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 Answering journalists' questions at the Chernobyl International Forum held in Italy, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban described Azerbaijan as a strategically important country for the European Union, Azernews reports. The Hungarian Prime Minister stated, "Azerbaijan closely cooperates with Europe. Currently, Azerbaijan has become a country of strategic importance. Therefore, as the chairman of the Council of Europe, we support the development of strategic cooperation with Azerbaijan." It should be noted that the Chernobyl International Forum is an event focused on discussing the legacy and ongoing challenges of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which occurred on April 26, 1986. Held periodically, the forum brings together international experts, policymakers, and stakeholders to address issues related to nuclear safety, environmental recovery, and the impact of the disaster on affected communities. The forum aims to share knowledge, assess progress, and promote collaboration to manage and mitigate the long-term effects of the Chernobyl accident. Laura Whitmore put on a playful display while walking the red carpet at New York Fashion Week on Saturday. The Love Island host, 39, was spotted at the alice + olivia show where she wowed in a colourful floral power suit. The star put on a cheeky display as she flashed her cleavage in a black lace bra which she wore underneath her black suit which featured a bright flower pattern. Laura added matching flared trousers to the low-cut blazer and donned a pair of white platform sandals as she flashed a smile and posed on the red carpet. The TV presenter, who shares a daughter with husband Iain Stirling, went for a bold red lip and kept her blonde hair natural as she posed for snaps at the show. Laura Whitmore, 39, put on a playful display while walking the red carpet at New York Fashion Week on Saturday The star flashed her cleavage in a black lace bra which she wore underneath her black suit which featured a bright flower pattern Laura added matching flared trousers to the low-cut blazer and donned a pair of white platform heels as she posed on the red carpet Laura's playful display follows the revelation last month that the star raised concerns about Giovanni Pernice's 'inappropriate' behaviour on Strictly Come Dancing six years ago. The TV host was partnered with the Italian dancer, 33, on the show in 2016. Although she hasn't made a formal complaint, Laura hopes to get 'just an acceptance' of what happened to her in the rehearsals room. Laura admitted she has discussed with six former Strictly stars about their time on the show and took their information to the BBC. On an Instagram post, Laura wrote: 'I was trying not to comment on recent press speculation until the BBC review is complete but feel there is a lot of misinformation in the press and I want to help and show support by setting the record straight. 'I was asked to speak to the BBC along with six people that I know of (who deserve anonymity as they don't want to be dragged through the press), about inappropriate behaviour they experienced similar to mine with the same individual. 'I initially raised concerns back in 2016. I thought my experience was specific to me but I've since learned I was wrong. 'The aim of this is to show a pattern of behaviour that I believe needs to stop. My evidence is to support other people's experience. It's a shame it takes this for someone to be heard. The TV presenter, who shares a daughter with husband Iain Stirling, went for a bold red lip and kept her blonde hair natural as she posed for snaps at the show Laura later posed with designer Stacey Bendet who wowed in a black sleeveless blouse and a colourful patterned maxi skirt Laura's playful display comes after she confirmed she has spoken to the BBC about Giovanni Pernice's, 33, 'inappropriate' behaviour on Strictly Come Dancing Laura admitted that she has discussed with six former Strictly stars about their time on the show and took their information to the BBC Amanda Abbington (pictured) - Giovanni's last celebrity partner - quit Strictly last year due to 'personal reasons' before reports she had demanded footage of their rehearsals after the experience in the competition left her with PTSD 'I am not looking for anything just an acceptance that what happened to me in the rehearsal rooms during my time on BBC Strictly was wrong and that it won't happen to anyone else again. 'Because I have not made an official complaint, and am providing evidence of my experience to support the investigation, not all the communication will be passed on to all parties involved. 'Misinformation is being put into the press so I want to set the record straight. Victim blaming must stop or we will never get better. 'I've tried to speak up in the correct way. I know the BBC and all outlets continue to do their best to be better, but for that to happen we must speak up.' Amanda Abbington - Giovanni's last celebrity partner - quit Strictly last year due to 'personal reasons' before reports she had demanded footage of their rehearsals after the experience in the competition left her with PTSD. Skye Wheatley has visited a plastic surgeon after touching down in Turkey for her controversial 'fox eye lift' cosmetic procedure. The influencer, 30, has been documenting every step of her latest plastic surgery journey on Instagram and shared yet another update with fans on Sunday. She re-shared a video posted to Instagram by Dr Vasfi Celik giving an insight into her consultation for her fox eye lift, which raises the eyes slightly for a cat eye effect. In the clip, Skye was all smiles as she was greeted by the plastic surgeon before they took photographs of her profile ahead of the procedure. They could then be seen looking over her photographs on a computer as Skye gets ready to undergo her latest cosmetic procedure. In a caption, Dr Celik wrote: 'Exciting Day at the Clinic! Today, I had the pleasure of meeting with the wonderful Skye Wheatley, who traveled all the way from Australia to visit us. 'We had an engaging consultation regarding her upcoming brow lift surgery. It was great to explore her goals and answer all her questions to ensure she's confident and prepared for the journey ahead. 'Here's to new beginnings and beautiful transformations!' Skye Wheatley has visited a plastic surgeon after touching down in Turkey for her controversial 'fox eye lift' cosmetic procedure In a video shared to Instagram, Skye was all smiles as she was greeted by plastic surgeon Dr Vasfi Celik during a consultation before they took photographs of her profile Skye has been accompanied on her trip to Turkey by her husband Lachlan Waugh and their two children - Forest, five, and Bear, three. Skye recently said of her travel and surgery plans: 'I am going to Turkey. I am getting the fox eye lift. It is pretty much a half face lift. The surgery itself is not very invasive. 'I want the smallest little lift, I don't want to look crazy, I don't want my eyebrows to be any higher than they are. I just want a little bit of a lift when my face is relaxed.' 'I know a few people who have had it and they look amazing,' she continued. 'At lot of people watching this don't know much about surgeries and will think I'm going to look older, that's fine but I'm still doing it.' The fox eye thread lift raises the edges of the brows using a dissolvable PDO (polydioxanone) thread, aiming to recreate the look of the surgical fox eye lift without the need for an operation. The pair could then be seen looking over her photographs on a computer as Skye gets ready to undergo her latest cosmetic procedure Skye has undergone a litany of cosmetic procedures over the years, including lip and cheek filler, rhinoplasty and an infamously botched boob job Skye also recently detailed her other cosmetic surgery plans, admitting she wants to have liposuction on her inner thighs and arms, but is worried it will look unnatural. 'I'm also thinking I would love to get lipo here again because my doctor didn't take enough,' she shared. 'I've always been like this and I've had tweaks done. I've had my nose done. I love treatments and I love that they make you feel more confident. I really want to be open and honest about what I'm having done.' 'I don't want people thinking I've had a BBL. I don't know if I would go down the liposuction route,' she added. Skye has undergone a litany of cosmetic procedures over the years, including lip and cheek filler, rhinoplasty and an infamously botched boob job. She also revealed last June she had invested in getting 'trapezius slimming' injections in her shoulders. She also went under the knife again last year to fix the botched boob job she received in Thailand in 2015. In April, Skye also had an anti-ageing treatment to remove fine lines and wrinkles around her neck. Sienna Miller has revealed why she doesn't want to be the 'biggest movie star in the world'. The American-British actress, 42, has worked in Hollywood for more than two decades and is best known for her big roles in Layer Cake, Alfie and Factory Girl. However, Sienna - who recently welcomed her second child - has admitted she has no desire to become the most famous actress ever as she gave a candid insight into her career ambitions. Despite having a staggering estimated net worth of $18million, Sienna also said she has no plans to retire early and wants to work for the rest of her life. 'I don't have to be the biggest movie star in the world. I love that I get to keep working,' she told this week's issue of Stellar Magazine. 'I know I will work the rest of my life. I get to do a play, I've got a beautiful new baby. Yeah, [I'm] very happy.' She said she has never felt more 'fulfilled' and that her career ambitions involve working with esteemed directors including Poor Things' Porgos Lanthimos and Martin Scorsese. Sienna is currently promoting her new movie - Kevin Costner's western epic, Horizon: An American Saga. Sienna Miller has revealed why she doesn't want to be the 'biggest movie star in the world' as she gave a candid insight into her career ambitions Sienna, 42, has worked in Hollywood for two decades and is best known for her role in Layer Cake, while she is currently promoting her new film Horizon: An American Saga (pictured) Elsewhere in the interview, Sienna also reflected on becoming a mother for the second time, 12 years after welcoming her first child. She gave birth to her daughter Marlowe with her ex Tom Sturridge in July 2012, and welcomed another daughter with her boyfriend Oli Green around eight months ago. She revealed that motherhood feels 'completely different' the second time around and said she is grateful she has been able to take her baby to work with her. 'I'm a very different person. People often have lots to say about having babies in your 40s as women, but I can't advocate for it more. I feel very lucky,' she gushed. Model Sienna has just returned to work after finishing her maternity leave and said she has found her job and motherhood both 'equally fulfilling'. Sienna recently said the 11-year age gap between her two daughters is 'quite useful because one is tiny and portable, and the other is becoming increasingly independent'. Sienna, who keeps her family life relatively private, was first spotted with her newborn daughter, whose name she has not revealed, in January. However, Sienna said she is not looking to become Hollywood's most famous actress and said she has no plans to retire early and wants to work for the rest of her life Sienna recently welcomed her second child with her boyfriend Oli Green. She also shares a daughter Marlowe, 12, (pictured) with her ex Tom Sturridge Sienna and her partner Oli, 27, were first linked in February 2022 and she recently gushed over their relationship as she reflected on dating a younger man. Speaking to Harper's Bazaar, Sienna said: 'I didn't expect to take it seriously and then quite quickly, I fell in love. I wasn't like, "I'm gonna get a younger boyfriend." It was more, "F*ck! Why are you young? That's so annoying".' 'There is a difference in the way that generation of men respect women. It's specific to him, he is very wise and well-adjusted, but I do believe it's also that generation. 'They have grown up with a slightly more level playing field. I see it in his female friends as well as in the men.' Australian lingerie brand Nala has hit back at Meta after Instagram took down a photo of model Simone Holtznagel breastfeeding her daughter Gia. The post, which came as part of Nala's bold new campaign, was flagged for 'nudity or sexual activity' by Meta's automated systems. But instead of backing down, the Melbourne-based brand has now fought back, taking a stand for women's rights and the normalisation of breastfeeding in public. In response to the removal, Nala reposted the image, along with a screenshot of Meta's report, which claimed the post violated their nudity guidelines. The image was met with overwhelming support from Nala's followers, with hundreds of comments calling out Meta's decision as outdated and sexist. The brand appealed the removal, and after significant backlash, Meta reinstated the original carousel of images, which is now boldly captioned: 'No edits, no apologies.' 'Advertising reflects our society, and suggesting certain content should be restricted implies that it should also be hidden from view in real life,' a spokesperson for Nala said to Daily Mail Australia. 'There's nothing inappropriate about showcasing a woman's body, especially when she's feeding her baby. Breastfeeding is natural, and it's time to normalise it.' Australian lingerie brand Nala has hit back at Meta after Instagram took down a photo of model Simone Holtznagel breastfeeding her daughter Gia The post, which came as part of Nala's bold new campaign, was flagged for 'nudity or sexual activity' by Meta's automated systems, but the brand have defiantly reposted the images The campaign, titled Sorry To Offend You, is designed to challenge the stigma around public breastfeeding and celebrate the beauty of motherhood. Simone, known for her appearance on Australia's Next Top Model, is the face of the campaign, which features her breastfeeding her daughter Gia, five months, at public locations around Melbourne. The powerful campaign also marked the first time that Simone and her infant daughter Gia had been photographed together for a solo photoshoot. However, just five days after Nala posted the images, Meta's AI system automatically flagged them for violating their nudity policy, leading to their removal. Nala appealed the decision, and after an outpouring of support, the content was reviewed by a human moderator, who deemed the images appropriate. Social media users have since rallied behind Nala and Simone, with fans flooding the comments to show their support for the campaign and to criticise Meta for its initial decision. The brand appealed the removal, and after significant backlash, Meta reinstated the original carousel of images, which is now boldly captioned: 'No edits, no apologies' Daily Mail Australia has contacted Meta for comment. Simone welcomed her daughter Gia with personal trainer Jono Castano on Easter Sunday, but the couple have since gone their separate ways. The couple had an acrimonious split just nine weeks after they welcomed Gia, with Jono publicly confirming their separation in July. 'Who knows what the future holds, our idea is just to be the best parents for Gia at this stage,' he told Daily Mail Australia in a statement at the time. Simone then told Stellar Magazine that she 'couldn't change' the man she thought she loved as she broke her silence in August. 'I wanted to set an example for my daughter; that's something that shifted for me. One day I was like, "What am I doing? This isn't right." And I would hate if she was ever in this situation,' she said. 'You have to do what is right for you at the end of the day. No matter the number of promises or anything else that people make, when they show you who they are, believe them. Because you can't change people.' Simone welcomed her daughter Gia with personal trainer Jono Castano (both pictured in May) on Easter Sunday, but the couple have since gone their separate ways Simone said she is content raising her baby, Gia, five months, alone, and that she is confident she made the right choice. 'I've never felt more sure of anything. And I know I can do it by myself. It's unfortunate that I'm mostly having to do it by myself, but I couldn't think of it any other way, really,' she said. 'What I'm doing just feels very right for me. The most important thing to me is that Gia is happy and healthy, and that I'm happy too. 'Because I firmly believe that if the mother is unhappy, it's hard to have a happy child. And I feel like Gia at this point is a reflection of me, as she's just a very content and happy little bubba.' Noel Gallagher is set to sell Oasis's back catalogue of hits for 200m (235m) after the band's reunion tour next year. He said he wants to set up his family for life because he fears if he leaves the song rights to his three children, they'd 'probably swap them for a PlayStation game'. Noel, 57, estimates the hits could be worth 200m and as he approaches 60, the cash would ensure a luxurious retirement. His comments will leave fans wondering if the sale plan was a factor in his decision to end the feud with brother Liam, both left, for the tour, which starts next July. Noel said: 'The way I look at it is I'll be approaching 60 and it's like, do I want to leave it to my kids, who'll probably swap it for a f****** PlayStation game? Noel Gallagher is set to sell Oasis's back catalogue of hits for 200m (235m) after the band's reunion tour Noel, 57, estimates the hits could be worth 200m and as he approaches 60, the cash would ensure a luxurious retirement 'Or do I get rid of it now and set everybody up for life? Bob Dylan sold his back catalogue. Hedge-fund guys are buying them up. What do you do? Leave it to your kids? They don't value music.' The clamour for tickets means Oasis's tour may be extended to two years across the world. They are considering adding gigs in South America, Asia and Australia. A music industry manager said: 'There were always going to be further dates added to the tour but not on the scale that is being planned now. 'We are talking about 200 dates over at least two years. It's estimated this could bring in around 1 bn (1.9bn).' Ten million fans from 158 countries queued for tickets when the tour was announced. HMV said sales of Oasis vinyl records and CDs have surged by 526% in a week. If the sale of Oasis songs goes ahead, they will follow the likes of Bob Dylan, who sold his songs to Universal Music for a reported 250m (295m) in 2020, and Bruce Springsteen, who sold his back catalogue to Sony for a reported 380m (450m) in 2021. Ashley Tisdale welcomed her second child with her husband, Christopher French, on Friday. On Saturday, the High School Musical alum, 39, and her husband announced that she gave birth and shared a first look of her newborn baby in a joint social media post. The actress took to Instagram to share a photo of her, her husband and their first child their three-year-old daughter Jupiter holding their newest family member's small and precious hand. In her caption, Tisdale whose former costar recently welcomed her baby too revealed their baby girl's name is 'Emerson Clover French.' 'All three of us are obsessed with you 9.6.24,' she penned alongside a four-leaf clover emoji in her short but sweet note. Ashley Tisdale has welcomed her second child with her husband, Christopher French; pictured April in Los Angeles On Saturday, the High School Musical alum, 39, announced that she gave birth the day before and shared a first look of her newborn baby on social media The arrival of the happy couple's newest family member comes after Tisdale made her pregnancy announcement back in March. At the time, she shared on social media and revealed that she and French were expecting their second child together. She shared the joyful news with snaps of herself showing off her baby bump while posing by a lemon tree at their Los Angeles home. 'We can't wait to meet you,' the star wrote in her caption. In her snap series, she was also seen holding her bump as she and French looked adoringly into each other's eyes. She also included an adorable snapshot of her firstborn daughter Jupiter, who was wearing a matching look, holding her hand and looking up sweetly at her pregnant mom. The couple who tied the knot in September 2014 welcomed Jupiter in March 2021. Just a couple weeks earlier, she shared that she 'can't wait to get that baby out' during her third trimester as she had been experiencing pregnancy sickness for a while as her due date approached. The actress took to Instagram to share a photo of her, her husband and their first child their three-year-old daughter Jupiter holding their newest family member's small and precious hand The arrival of the happy couple's newest family member comes after Tisdale made her pregnancy announcement back in March Just a couple weeks earlier, she shared that she 'can't wait to get that baby out' during her third trimester as she had been experiencing pregnancy sickness for a while as her due date approached The couple who tied the knot in September 2014 welcomed their first child, Jupiter, in March 2021 The former Disney Channel star vented about her 'exhaustion' as she explained her adenovirus infection had turned into a sinus infection and she had been sick for three weeks already. Adenovirus infections which can range from mild to severe most commonly affect one's respiratory system, and symptoms can resemble those of the common cold or flu, according to the Cleveland Clinic. 'I'm exhausted. I'm ready to have this baby but not ready,' she wrote over a photo of herself lying in bed. 'I still need to wallpaper the room, get everything organized, so don't come yet! BUT I've been sick for three weeks with adenovirus that turned into a sinus infection.' She continued: 'My whole body hurts and I literally can't wait to get that baby out. I think they make the last month this hard so you're welling to throw yourself into something that would normally be so scary but you do it anyway.' Fortunately, mom and baby both seem to be doing well as the family welcome their newest addition and celebrate her safe delivery. Ruby Tuesday Matthews put on a very daring display as she went topless in her latest post. The Byron Bay influencer, 30, took to Instagram on Sunday to share a video of herself soaking up the rays by the swimming pool. She showed off her incredible figure as she went topless in a pair of white skimpy thong bikini bottoms while enjoying the balmy weather. Ruby covered up her modesty with a black straw hat as she posed up a storm for the camera before heading for a swim to cool off. She faced away from the camera and covered her hands with her chest as she walked into the pool topless during her relaxing afternoon. She cheekily captioned the post: 'Quite literally the girl (mum) next door. When your neighbour has a pool and goes out for the day... New @robey.official ranch in charcoal. Coming soon in limited supply.' Ruby has gained a huge fanbase on Instagram for her candid fashion videos as well as her content documenting her day-to-day life with her family. She shares two sons Rocket, eight, and Mars, seven, with her ex partner Ryan Heywood, while she also has a daughter Holiday, two, with her fiance Shannan Dodd. Ruby Tuesday Matthews put on a very daring display as she went topless while sunbathing in her latest post on Instagram She showed off her incredible figure as she went topless in a pair of white skimpy thong bikini bottoms while enjoying the balmy weather Ruby famously made headlines in 2020 for holding up a Jetstar flight so she could dine on oysters, only to complain when she was heckled by frustrated passengers It is unclear when exactly Ruby and Shannan began dating, but loved-up Instagram photos of the pair began appearing on the platform in May 2021. The couple announced their engagement in June of that year. In 2020, she famously made headlines for holding up a Jetstar flight so she could dine on oysters, only to complain when she was heckled by frustrated passengers. Ruby was supposed to be flying from Byron Bay to Sydney in the afternoon but a technical issue caused the flight to be delayed. Jetstar asked travellers to stay at the airport while they flew an engineer over from the Gold Coast and told passengers the new departure time would likely be about 7.30pm that evening. Ruby and her travel companion decided to leave the airport to grab a bite to eat at a beachside restaurant as others ate at the airport. The influencer later posted a video to Instagram showing her eating oysters with a friend, captioning the footage: 'Flight delayed f*** my life'. She kept frustrated passengers waiting on the tarmac, who heckled her as she boarded 30 minutes after the plane was due to take off. Antonia Kidman looked solemn as she was seen visiting her late mother Janelle's home in Sydney on Sunday after her death at the age of 83. The younger sister of actress Nicole, 54, was seen carrying a bouquet of flowers from the property as the Kidman family rally together after the sad news. She cut a casual figure in a blue shirt and a pink jumper, which she wore with washed-out jeans and white trainers for the outing. The journalist framed her face with a pair of glasses and looked sombre as she stepped out from her late mother's home in Greenwich. She carried her essentials in a beige handbag and carried a bouquet of flowers and a plastic bag in one hand as she exited the property. The flowers had earlier been left at the home with Antonia then picking them up as the family's loved ones have flocked around them during the difficult time. On Saturday, her older sister Nicole revealed that their beloved mother had sadly passed away at the age of 83. The Australian actress, 57, was forced to leave Venice Film Festival to return to her native Sydney to be with her family after the devastating news. Antonia Kidman looked solemn as she was seen visiting her late mother Janelle's home in Sydney on Sunday after her death On Saturday, her sister Nicole revealed that their beloved mother Janelle had tragically passed away at the age of 83 (they are both pictured in December 2018) Her mother Janelle died just hours before Nicole was awarded Best Actress for her role in Babygirl on the final day of Venice Film Festival in a huge achievement. 'Today I arrived in Venice to find out shortly after, that my beautiful, brave mother Janelle Ann Kidman has just passed,' Nicole revealed in a statement read by director Halina Reijn upon her win. 'I am in shock and I have to go to my family, but this award is for her, she shaped me, she guided me, and she made me. 'I am beyond grateful that I get to say her name to all of you through Halina, the collision of life and art is heart-breaking, and my heart is broken. We love you all.' In an interview with the Fresh Air podcast in January 2022, Nicole spoke briefly about her mother's health issues after temporarily moving back to Sydney to support her. Her comments came as she told how she had taken Janelle to the Art Gallery of New South Wales after hours, where they saw the Matisse: Life & Spirit exhibition, describing it as a 'soothing balm' amid the Covid-19 pandemic. 'We're down here primarily to take care of my mother and to have her surrounded by her grandchildren,' she said. 'So luckily yesterday, even though Omicron is raging through this country, we were able to take her into the gallery after hours and show her the Matisse exhibit, which coming from a mother who's raised me in the arts, it was soothing balm. Matisse was soothing balm last night.' The younger sister of actress Nicole, 54, was seen carrying a bouquet of flowers from the property as the Kidman family rally together after the sad news She cut a casual figure in a blue shirt and a pink jumper, which she wore with washed-out jeans and white trainers for the outing She carried her essentials in a beige handbag and carried a bouquet of flowers and a plastic bag in one hand as she exited the property The journalist framed her face with a pair of glasses and looked sombre as she stepped out from her late mother's home After the news of her mother's death, Nicole has travelled back to Australia to be with her family, including her sister Antonia (both pictured in April) Nicole has long had an incredibly close relationship with her beloved mother Janelle and often spoke about her support and influence on her career over the years. Nicole was born in Honolulu and raised in Sydney by her beloved mother Janelle and her psychologist father Antony, who died in September 2014. After spending time in the United States, the Moulin Rouge star and her younger sister Antonia spent much of their childhood in Sydney. Nicole pursued her passion for acting when she was a teenager and was supported by both of her parents as she soared to global fame. They both remained closely involved with her career over the years, with Nicole recently admitting she would still go to her mother for advice. In November, the Big Little Lies star told how she would often ask her mother Janelle for advice on her outfits, despite working with a whole string of professional stylists. In a sign of their close bond, Nicole told People: 'My mother is still she's so involved in what I wear.' Nicole is known for her daring fashion choices but told how it was her mother and grandmother who first fostered her love for clothes. 'I love fashion. I've always loved fashion,' she gushed while speaking at the Planet Omega pop-up launch in New York. Nicole's husband Keith Urban (pictured on Friday, before the news of Janelle's death) is currently in Australia on tour and performed in Brisbane earlier this week Janelle tragically died just hours before Nicole was awarded Best Actress for her role in Babygirl on the final day of Venice Film Festival (Nicole is pictured at the awards' ceremony) The news of Janelle's death was revealed in a statement read out by director Halina Reijn on behalf of Nicole as she accepted the acting award on her behalf Nicole has long had an incredibly close relationship with her beloved mother Janelle and often spoke about her support and influence on her career over the years 'I grew up as a little girl with a grandmother that loved fashion and could sew and my mother the same. They loved beautiful clothes. They could make beautiful clothes,' she went on. 'I watched them sew, embroider, and knit, crochet. And I think when you grow up seeing the people in your household do that, then you love that.' Nicole was never shy of gushing over her affections for Janelle, sharing a touching tribute on her mother's 82nd birthday last year. Taking to Instagram, she posted a gallery of photographs of herself and her family celebrating with Janelle at a party and penned some sweet words in a caption. 'Happy birthday, mumma. You are so loved by all of us,' Nicole wrote. She had also taken the time to send her mother birthday well wishes while on the Oscars red carpet in Los Angeles with her husband Keith Urban. 'It's my mum's birthday today. Happy Birthday, mama. We love you soo much,' Nicole said to the camera. 'We did a party for her when we were back in Sydney. She is the heartbeat of our family, so we love you, mama.' In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald in May 2020, Nicole also spoke about missing her mother while living abroad in the United States. Nicole had an equally close bond with her father Antony and was left devastated when he died of a heart attack in September 2014 at the age of 75 (they are pictured in 2005) 'I would love to be able to have a cup of tea with Mum and sit on the balcony and talk about life, and have her tell me what I should be doing,' she said at the time. Nicole had an equally close relationship with her father Antony and was left devastated when he died of a heart attack in September 2014 at the age of 75. The Oscar-winning actress previously revealed that the 'sudden' death of her father, as well as a string of other losses, had deeply affected her. 'I've been given death as a very sudden thing. I've not nursed someone through a slow death, I've just had people taken,' she told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2020. 'I've now had it happen repeatedly, I almost get scared saying it because I get terrified it's going to happen again. I still have a lot of fear of that.' John Travolta kept a low-profile as he arrived at Sydney Airport alongside his family on Saturday to fly out of Australia. The Hollywood megastar, 70, and his family enjoyed a whirlwind three-day trip to Sydney after touching down in the city on Wednesday from New Zealand. He was accompanied by his family, including his 24-year-old daughter, actress Ella Bleu, and his son Benjamin, 13, who he shares with his late wife Kelly Preston. Arriving at the airport at the end of their visit, John cut a smart figure in a black shirt and blazer, which he styled with matching trousers. He completed his suave look with a pair of black boots and appeared to be in good spirits as he was greeted by ground staff. John, who famously holds a pilot's licence, was then seen gathering with his family at the Jet Aviation counter inside the airport as they prepared to board their private jet. Earlier this week, the Saturday Night Fever star piloted a private jet to fly his two children over to Australia from Queenstown. The family had spent a week in the South Island resort town and were believed to be staying in an upscale luxury lodge before their quick visit to Sydney. John Travolta kept a low-profile as he arrived at Sydney Airport alongside his family on Saturday to fly out of Australia The Hollywood megastar, 70, and his family enjoyed a whirlwind three-day trip to Sydney after touching down in the city on Wednesday from New Zealand He was accompanied by his family, including his 24-year-old daughter, actress Ella Bleu and his son Benjamin, 13, among others John has long been a lover of the NZ ski destination, previously sharing: 'Whenever I feel stressed, I just want to hop on a plane to Queenstown.' Ella and Benjamin are two of three children who John welcomed with his late wife Kelly during their marriage. John and the late actress, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 57 after a two-year breast cancer battle, also shared another son Jett. Jett tragically died at the age of 16 while on vacation with his family. John started learning how to fly when he was 15 years old, and he obtained his first jet license in 1978 the same year his iconic film musical Grease bowed in theaters and cemented his status as a popular leading man. His passion for flying is so renowned that he has earned a space on the Wall Of Honor at the Smithsonian's National Air And Space Museum. Arriving at the airport at the end of their visit, John cut a smart figure in a black shirt and blazer, which he styled with matching trousers He completed his suave look with a pair of black boots and appeared to be in good spirits as he was greeted by ground staff John, who famously holds a pilot's licence, was then seen gathering with his family at the Jet Aviation counter inside the airport as they prepared to board their private jet John appeared relaxed as he chatted with his family in the airport as they prepared to catch their flight The group all chatted together and appeared to be in good spirits as they prepared to board their private yet Passionate flyer John started learning how to fly when he was 15 years old, and he obtained his first jet license in 1978 the same year his iconic film musical Grease bowed in theaters He has been named worldwide ambassador for Qantas and been honored by the American Institute Of Aeronautical Engineers. In 2002, John led a Washington, DC, extravaganza that kicked off a year of festivities to mark a century of manned flight. At the following year's Dayton Airshow, he flew his own Boeing 707, with John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, as his passenger. At the following year's Dayton Airshow, he flew his own Boeing 707 with John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, as his passenger. The Room Next Door made its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Canada on Saturday night. Described as 'a visually exquisite and intimate adaptation of What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez' by TIFF, renowned Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar makes his English-language feature debut with the Spanish drama starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore. The two leading ladies looked amazing when they hit the red carpet, with Moore decked out in a plunging white dress with red floral appliques on the chest and skirt. Swinton showed off her unique sense of style in silky white blouse tucked into a pair of creme satin trousers. Written and directed by Almodovar, the plot deals with the rift between Martha (Swinton), a very imperfect mother and war correspondent, and her resentful daughter, as well as with the former's relationship with author Ingrid (Moore). Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton exuded elegance at the premiere of The Room Next Door at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Canada on Saturday night Described as 'a visually exquisite and intimate adaptation of What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez' by TIFF , renowned Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar makes his English-language feature debut with the Spanish drama starring Swinton and Moore Both Moore and Swinton posed both individually and together on the red carpet ahead of a screening of the film. At one point, while standing side-by-side, the actresses could be seen holding each other's hands, in a sweet sign of their friendship. Moore, 62, ended up rounding out her premiere outfit with sparkly earrings and her auburn hair styled in sleek, straight strands. Standing at 5ft11in, Swinton looked sensational in her all-white outfit. For a fun pop of color, she rocked a bright red lip. Like he has through his career that dates back to 1974, Almodovar wrote and directed the drama that also stars John Turturro and Alessandro Nivola. The cast also features the likes of Juan Diego Botto, Melina Matthews, Raul Arevalo, Victoria Luengo, Esther McGregor, Alex Hgh Andersen, and Alvise Rigo. A native of Calzada de Calatrava, Spain, Almodovar's many directorial credits include the Festival selections Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown (1988), Talk To Her (2002), Bad Education (2004), Volver (2006), Broken Embraces (2009), Julieta (2016), and Pain and Glory (2019). The Oscar-winning actress was decked out in a plunging white dress with red floral appliques on the chest and skirt She rounded out her look with sparkly jewelry Swinton showed off her unique sense of style in silky white blouse Her top was tucked into a pair of creme satin trousers For a pop of color, she threw on a bold red lip Swinton also attended the 2024 Sony Pictures Classics TIFF celebration dinner at Morton's The Steakhouse on Saturday In 2023, he received the Impact Media Award, which recognizes leadership in creating a union between social impact and cinema, at the TIFF Tribute Awards. While the ladies were doing their part in promoting the film at the Toronto International Film Festival, Pedro Almodovar was basking in all the glory of taking home the Golden Lion Award at the 81st Venice International Film Festival at Palazzo del Cinema in Venice, Italy, Variety reports. Dressed in a black suit with a white dress shirt and no tie, the Spanish legend proudly posed with his trophy, that's basically the best movie award, for the cameras. This is actually the filmmaker's second Golden Lion Award, which follows the honorary one he received in 2019. The two-time Academy Award winner thanked Moore and Swinton during his largely Spanish-language acceptance speech. 'This is my first movie in English but the spirit is Spanish,' Almodovar, 74, revealed during that passionate speech. While Moore and Swinton were promoting the film at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, writer/director Pedro Almodovar was basking in all the glory of winning the Golden Lion, which is a best movie award, at the 81st Venice International Film Festival in Venice, Italy The plot deals with the rift between Martha (Swinton), a very imperfect mother and war correspondent, and her resentful daughter, as well as with the former's relationship with author Ingrid (Moore) Described as 'a visually exquisite and intimate adaptation of What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez' by TIFF, renowned Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar makes his English-language feature debut with the Spanish drama Variety's Owen Gleiberman described The Room Next Door as 'a deceptively plainspoken but artful voyage into the river of emotion that accompanies the impulse to end ones life.' The film will preview at the 62nd New York Film Festival at the Alice Tully Hall on October 4, as part of the U.S. debut. The Room Next Door is then scheduled to be released theatrically in Spain on October 18. Sean Penn was spotted sharing a passionate kiss with his new girlfriend Valeria Nicov in Madrid on Saturday. The 64-year-old actor had a big smile plastered across his face after the public display of affection with the Moldovan actress, 30, while taking a romantic stroll through the streets of Spain. Between breaks of puffing on a cigarette, the filmmaker was seen making out with the starlet, who has acting credits in a few minor projects. After their dinner date, the two-time Oscar winner who denied the rumor that he physically abused his ex-wife, Madonna, during their turbulent marriage in the '80s and his new love interest continued their night out and seemingly couldn't keep their hands off of each other. His new romance comes two years after he divorced his ex-wife, Australian actress Leila George, 32, after two years of marriage. Sean Penn was spotted sharing a passionate kiss with his new girlfriend Valeria Nicov in Madrid on Saturday. The 64-year-old actor had a big smile plastered across his face after the public display of affection with the Moldovan actress, 30, while taking a romantic stroll through the streets of Spain Between breaks of puffing on a cigarette, the filmmaker was seen making out with the starlet, who has acting credits in a few minor projects After their dinner date, the two-time Oscar winner and his new love interest continued their night out and seemingly couldn't keep their hands off of each other. His new romance comes two years after he divorced his ex-wife, Australian actress Leila George, 32, after two years of marriage For their outing, Penn put on a casual display in a black utility jacket layered over matching shirt. He sported dark gray cargo pants and opted for effortlessly stylish comfort with a pair of all-white sneakers. Meanwhile, his statuesque girlfriend donned a racy, white lingerie top with cutouts running down the middle of the satin bodice. Over the tiny top, she layered an oversize, black blazer. The model also donned fitted, capri pants and black slip-on loafers. She is a multilingual model and actress, who is credited with roles in a few indie projects and made an minor appearance in Emily In Paris. The couple share a 34-year age gap, and Nicov is younger than both of his adult children. After Penn's divorce from George in 2022, he has been romantically linked to Olga Korotyayeva, Nathalie Kelley and many more beauties. Just several months earlier, he admitted that he is 'thrilled every day' to be single. Nicov is Penn's latest love interest after a string of public romances; pictured May 2022 in Cap d'Antibes, France His new romance comes two years after he divorced his ex-wife, Australian actress Leila George, 32, after two years of marriage For their outing, Penn put on a casual display in a black utility jacket layered over matching shirt During their stroll, he had a cigarette in one hand and was occasionally holding onto the brunette beauty's hand The pair were both grinning as they enjoyed their night out in the Spanish capital For their outing, Penn sported dark gray cargo pants and opted for effortlessly stylish comfort with a pair of all-white sneakers. His new love interest is a multilingual model and actress, who is credited with roles in a few indie projects and made an minor appearance in Emily In Paris The couple share a 34-year age gap, and Nicov is younger than both of his adult children. Previously, he was married a total of three times; the first time to Madonna was from 1985 to 1989. In 1996, he tied the knot with Robin Wright before they filed to dissolve their marriage in 2010. A decade later, he wed Leila George before they called it off two years later. He is father to two adult children son Hopper Penn, 31, and 33-year-old daughter Dylan Frances Penn both of whom he shares with his second wife. In June, he told The New York Times that he wanted to date freely and avoid heartbreak. 'I'm just free,' he told the outlet. 'If I'm going to be in a relationship, I'm still going to be free, or I'm not going to be in it, and I'm not going to be hurting,' he said. 'I don't sense I'll have my heart broken by romance again.' For their night on the town, she donned a racy, white lingerie top with cutouts running down the middle of the satin bodice. The model also donned fitted, capri pants and black slip-on loafers Every once in a while on their stroll, the pair were seen wrapping their arms around each other They couldn't keep their hands off of each other as they strolled through the streets. While sauntering through the Spanish capital, they kept sharing sweet smooches At one point, Nicov was seen holding Penn's hand tightly and leading the way as they walked He also admitted that he used to love drama in romance, but now he feels differently about visits from 'the trauma gods.' He said that even if he is madly in love with someone, unnecessary drama will make him lose his feelings entirely. 'I look at my dogs and say, "Hey, it's us again",' he said. Penn also said that throughout his life, he has experienced a number of relationships where 'the first thing I see in the morning are eyes wondering what I'm going to do to make them happy that day.' He said it was 'rarely reciprocated.' Call The Midwife star Helen George has joined celebrity dating app Raya, according to new reports. The actress, 40, who plays Nurse Trixie, set up a profile on the VIP site after she 'drifted apart' from axed co-star Olly Rix, who played her onscreen husband Matthew Aylward. Helen and Olly were said to be supporting each other as they navigated their respective splits. She split from her partner Jack Ashton in July 2023 after seven years together, whilst Olly separated from his girlfriend Natasha Fagri at a similar time. In November, she was snapped leaving Olly's home which sparked rumours of a growing connection between the pair - but have now unfollowed each other on Instagram. Call The Midwife star Helen George, 40, has joined celebrity dating app Raya , according to new reports The actress, who plays Nurse Trixie, set up a profile on the VIP site after she 'drifted apart' from axed co-star Olly Rix (pictured), who played her onscreen husband Matthew Aylward Moving on from Olly and Jack, Helen signed up to the star-studded app last month, according to The Mirror. On her profile, Helen describes herself as an actor and says she liked to go to hotels, restaurants and bars, meditation, theatre, travel, dogs and antiques. MailOnline have contacted Helen's representatives for a comment. The actress recently ignited romance speculation among fans online after sharing a slew of images from her latest Italian getaway, featuring some new faces. She looked gorgeous in the carousel of images, including a bikini selfie and a few group photos where she was up-close with a previously-unseen brunette man. Curious fans of the star rushed to the comments, writing: 'Whos the new dude?' and 'A new beau? Very handsome!' However, Helen was quick to shut down the romance rumours and confirm that the mystery fan was in fact just a friend, who is married. She responded to one suggestive comment that asked who the man was, with: 'My best friends Ryan and Oliver who are married to each other,' alongside a laughing emoji. Finding humour in the situation, the actress went on to joke: 'Sadly Im not their type.' Helen and Olly were said to be supporting each other as they navigated their respective splits She split from her partner Jack Ashton in July 2023 after seven years together Olly split from Natasha after seven years together in July after allegedly drifting apart due to work commitments (pictured together) Moving on from Olly and Jack, Helen signed up to the star-studded app last month On her profile, Helen describes herself as an actor and says she liked to go to hotels, restaurants and bars, meditation, theatre, travel, dogs and antiques In the caption, Helen continued: 'Puglia with my wonderful friends. Thank you @yvette_robinson_ for such a wonderful trip and my best friends, husbands- @ryspeaks and @oliverthorntonhome for being wonderful and the best traveling pals a gal could wish for.' The star looked stunning in her holiday snaps, in group photos putting on a busty display and donning a black lacy maxi dress. Another picture with her pal saw the actress sporting a leopard print bikini and wearing her hair in plaits for a boat snap. Helen's Italian getaway comes just after she was spotted filming scenes for series 14 for the first time, after her on-screen husband Olly Rix was written out of the BBC show. The actress, who has played Nurse Trixie Franklin since the show's inception in 2012, transformed into the heroic midwife as the series steps closer to the 1970s. Call The Midwife's 14th series will begin with a festive special on Christmas Day before airing its full run of eight episodes in January 2025. The 13th series ended with Trixie opting to join her husband Matthew after he travelled to New York. However, after it was reported that actor Olly had been written out of the series, it appears that Trixie will return to Poplar in future episodes, without her husband. The actress recently ignited romance speculation among fans online after sharing a slew of images from her latest Italian getaway, featuring some new faces She responded to one suggestive comment that asked who the man was, with: 'My best friends Ryan and Oliver who are married to each other,' alongside a laughing emoji However, Helen was quick to shut down the romance rumours and confirm that the mystery fan was in fact just a friend, who is married The actress, 40, ignited speculation among fans online after sharing a slew of images from her latest getaway, featuring some new faces A source told The Sun on Sunday: 'They were there for each other in the wake of their splits. 'But it seems they are no longer close and have made this clear by removing each other on social media. 'Olly even went one step further and deleted a picture of him and Helen from Instagram.' MailOnline has contacted representatives for both Helen George and Olly Rix for comment. Sydney Sweeney flashed her cleavage in a daringly-cut dress as she joined Ana de Armas at the Golden Globes party in Toronto, Canada on Saturday. The Anyone But You star, 26, put on a very risque display in the cleavage-flashing ensemble and flashed her torso in the sheer cut-out detailing. The Road to the Golden Globes Party was held at the Four Seasons Hotel during Toronto International Film Festival 2024. Co-stars Ana and Sydney have been in Toronto promoting their new movie Eden, in recent days. Sydney looked radiant and glowing in the stunning velvet gown and met with the Spanish actress, 36, inside the event. Sydney Sweeney, 26, flashed her cleavage in a daringly-cut dress as she joined Ana de Armas, 36, at the Golden Globes party in Toronto, Canada on Saturday The Anyone But You star put on a very risque display in the cleavage-flashing ensemble and flashed her torso in the sheer cut-out detailing Ana put on a very leggy display in the strappy mini dress, adorned with a matching flowing train. The glamorous duo looked sensational as they chatted to Denis Villeneuve inside the event. Earlier in the day, the captivating co-stars descended on the red carpet and led their castmates as they celebrated the premiere of their new survival thriller film Eden. Sydney and Ana star opposite each other in Eden, which is based on the true story of a few European settlers in Floreana Island. The star-studded cast also includes Vanessa Kirby, Jude Law and Daniel Bruhl who were also spotted in attendance at the premiere held at the Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, Ontario as well as Felix Kammerer, Toby Wallace and Richard Roxburgh. Inside of the venue, Sweeney took the stage alongside Bruhl, de Armas and Law ahead of the movie screening. During the premiere, the screening was paused due to a 'medical emergency' as an attendee was carried out on a stretcher, according to a Variety report. The screening began at 5:45 p.m. and was interrupted around 7 p.m. as staff responded to the incident. The Road to the Golden Globes Party was held at the Four Seasons Hotel during Toronto International Film Festival 2024 Sydney looked radiant and glowing in the stunning velvet gown and met with the Spanish actress inside the event Ana put on a very leggy display in the strappy mini dress, adorned with a matching flowing train Ana and Sydney were all smiles as they chatted with Denis Villeneuve The cast and the director all reportedly stayed seated in the mezzanine as the attendee was carried out of the Roy Thomson Hall. The condition of the moviegoer is unknown, but the screening resumed at around 7:20 p.m. Eden follows the story of a pair of 'high-minded Europeans' played by Law and Kirby. Their respective characters, Dr. Friedrich Ritter and Dora Strauch Ritter, 'seek a new life on a previously uninhabited island in the Galapagos, only to discover that hell is other people,' according to the logline. As the pair encounter other island settlers, 'nothing will test their mettle more than the challenge of coexisting with desperate neighbors capable of theft, deception and worse.' Joining the star-studded ensemble cast ahead of the premiere, Howard said: 'Just watching these scenes come together through their talent and artistry and creative endurance is everything I could've hoped for.' After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, Eden will be released by Amazon Prime in Canada but does not yet have a U.S. distributor. Carol Vorderman has slammed critics of her Botox and insisted 'everyone on TV' has it done in a candid new interview. The former Countdown star, 63, told how she has a 'no f***s given' approach to ageing as she recounted the abuse she often gets over her appearance. In a wide-ranging interview with The Sunday Times Magazine she also took a swipe at the BBC for her 'sexist' sacking. She said of her ageing: 'Everyone on telly has Botox. I look the way I do because it makes me happy. 'But you get to a point in life where it's no f***s given. I love what David Bowie said about ageing: "You become the person you always should have been." Carol Vorderman has slammed critics of her Botox and insisted 'everyone on TV' has it done in a candid new interview The former Countdown star, 63, told how she has a 'no f***s given' approach to ageing as she recounted the abuse she often gets over her appearance (seen before Botox in 2000) 'My sixties is the age I always should have been. The abuse I get is off the scale but I don't give a monkey's. Actually it spurs me on.' She also told how she has actually never had a boob job but that she went up three cup sizes when she went through menopause. Carol is a fan of sharing sizzling Instagram posts showing off her incredible hourglass figure - which attracts both criticism and positive comments. In the chat she also claimed she was 'threatened' by the channel for her controversial tweets about the then-Conservative government. Carol was axed from her role at BBC Radio Wales because she was 'not prepared to stop' venting her 'strong beliefs' on her social media pages. In the same week she was sacked, Huw Edwards was arrested for making indecent images of children - to which he pleaded guilty in July. She has claimed this was blatant sexism. Carol had been accused of 'flagrantly breaching' the BBC's impartiality rules with her anti-Tory outbursts, which have included calling ministers 'a lying bunch of greedy, corrupt, destructive, hateful, divisive, gaslighting crooks'. In a wide-ranging interview with The Sunday Times Magazine she also took a swipe at the BBC for her 'sexist' sacking She said of her ageing: 'Everyone on telly has Botox. I look the way I do because it makes me happy' She added: 'But you get to a point in life where it's no f***s given. I love what David Bowie said about ageing, 'You become the person you always should have been' (seen in 2000) Carol is a fan of sharing sizzling Instagram posts showing off her incredible hourglass figure - which attracts both criticism and positive comments The BBC brought in new social media rules for its presenters following outrage last year over Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker's tweet comparing the Government's Rwanda policy to Nazi Germany. Carol revealed the change in social media rules were a threat. MailOnline has contacted the BBC for a comment. Some of Carol's controversial tweets to ministers included one including her questioning if the Conservative Party is the 'sleaziest in history' and wrote on Twitter that the public is 'ashamed' about the Home Secretary's recent remarks about homelessness. Suella Braverman claimed on the social media platform that rough sleeping is sometimes a 'lifestyle choice' and called for and end to 'pitching tents in public spaces'. Carol quoted her post, saying: 'What I want to stop, and what the law-abiding majority wants to stop, is your vile government clinging on to power for a day longer. 'You don't speak for us. Every week you debase democracy further. We're ashamed of you. Go now.' In August 2023, the presenter mocked Penny Mordaunt's call to bring back national service. She wrote: 'Bring Back National Service' cries Penny Mordaunt. What a pile of utter nonsense. She also spouts that Tories alone believe in personal responsibility and looking after others. WOW! Current Tories care only about themselves and their snouts in the troughs of power and money. FACT' And in June 2023 she tweeted: 'The Tory Gov has now lost around half of those who voted for them in 2019. Why? Cos they're a lying bunch of greedy, corrupt, destructive, hateful, divisive, gaslighting crooks. No need for a focus group Sunak....it'll just tell you the same' Huw, 62, was arrested on suspicion of receiving the images via a WhatsApp exchange with paedophile Alex Williams, 25, in November 2023. He was charged this year on June 26. In July, Huw pleaded guilty to possessing seven category A images, 12 category B images and 22 category C images of children at Westminster magistrates' court. Until last year, the former news anchor was one of the primary presenters on BBC One's News at Ten, often covering major national events. And while he has not been facing the BBC programme for over a year, he has been allowed to keep his monthly salary. Huw has never publicly commented in year since he was suspended. MailOnline understands he received no pay off from the BBC - but had been paid his 439,000-a-year salary while he was suspended. Huw was the corporation's highest paid newsreader, with a pay bracket of 435,000 - 439,999 in the year 2022/2023, according to the corporation's most recent annual report. In the chat she also claimed she was 'threatened' by the channel for her controversial tweets about the then-Conservative government In the same week Carol was sacked, Huw Edwards was arrested for making indecent images of children - to which he pleaded guilty in July The presenter said she was 'not prepared to stop' venting her 'strong beliefs' on Twitter and Instagram This was up from 410,000 - 414,000 the year before, putting him fourth on the 2022/23 list. TV executive and former Editor-in-Chief and Chief Executive of ITN, Stewart Purvis, said last year: 'Huw Edwards has been paid half a million pounds a year to do nothing, I don't think that situation could have continued any longer. 'They're saying that it's at the request of Huw Edwards but there will be relief across the BBC that this situation has been resolved because frankly it has become embarrassing for the BBC quite how long it was taking to sort it out. He continued: 'Looking at the high, high profile of Huw Edwards, looking at all the other knock-on issues, for instance, who is going to present the BBC's election night programme?'. Police are launching a probe into a bomb threat targeting the West End theatre where Amanda Abbington was performing. The threat was made when the Strictly star was performing in her play When It Happens To You at London's Park. Amanda, 50, complained that professional dancer Giovanni Pernice bullied her during their rehearsals last year - allegations he strongly denies. Since Amanda's complaint, multiple accusations have emerged of bullying and abusive behaviour from former contestants, leaving the primetime family favourite embroiled in controversy over how the professional dancers teach the celebs. A source told The Sun: 'Its feared the person behind this could be a twisted fan who is targeting Amanda because she made a complaint to the BBC against Giovanni. Police are launching a probe into a bomb threat targeting the West End theatre where Amanda Abbington, 50, was performing (pictured) The threat was made when the Strictly star was performing in her play When It Happens To You at London's Park (pictured) 'The police were alerted and are taking it very seriously.' MailOnline have contacted Amanda's representatives for a comment. It comes after Amanda was left 'shocked and terrified' after she received a chilling death threat, which is also being investigated by police. Amanda is said to have received an email saying she would 'die on stage' unless she withdrew her bullying complaint against the Italian pro dancer. According to The Sun, officers turned up to Park Theatre in Finsbury Park on Friday afternoon where Amanda is currently appearing in the play, When It Happens To You. They interviewed the Sherlock star and retrieved data from the email in the hope of tracing the sender. A source said: 'Amanda was left terrified by the incident. She has already had to delete social media after death and rape threats. 'This was a shock especially as she is performing in a small venue where the audience are within touching distance.' Police are thought to have returned to the theatre and security measures have been ramped up. Amanda complained that professional dancer Giovanni Pernice bullied her during their rehearsals last year - allegations he strongly denies It comes after Amanda was left 'shocked and terrified' after she received a chilling death threat, which is also being investigated by police Amanda is said to have received an email saying she would 'die on stage' unless she withdrew her bullying complaint against the Italian pro dancer (Amanda pictured in rehearsals) Amanda is 'deeply disappointed' with BBC bosses over fears their 'protecting' Giovanni amid bullying probe. The report has been completed and is ready to be published within days. A friend of Amanda told The Sun: 'She's deeply disappointed with the BBC. She thinks it feels like such a boys' club. 'As well as the probe taking so long, it feels like they are protecting Giovanni to save themselves and ignoring not only her experience but that of other women who've bravely come forward. 'Amanda feels tired, upset and very angry with the way it's all been handled. 'She is worried there will be a predictable whitewash and others will, once again, suffer from aggression and abuse.' It comes after it was revealed Amanda has found BBC bosses line of questioning 'highly offensive' amid the show's ongoing misconduct probe. The actress has been quizzed for a second time about an illicit video shared with her by the dancer as well as a 'lewd remark' he made about another celebrity contestant when the video was sent. Amanda is 'deeply disappointed' with BBC bosses over fears their 'protecting' Giovanni amid bullying probe An investigation was launched after several celebrities including Amanda Abbington and Zara McDermott (pictured) sparked abuse and bullying scandals on the family show Giovanni is also reported to have made a crude comment about a member of Amanda's own family, only for her to 'effectively be asked' by BBC bosses whether the dancer meant the remark as light-hearted banter. A source told The Sun: '[Amanda] found this line of questioning highly offensive.' In regards to the alleged video they told the publication: 'The BBC can't ignore the fact the video was sent. There seems to be a trail of evidence'. 'Even if it is established the footage was shared with innocent intentions, the BBC are concerned this could constitute a breach of conduct according to the contract handed to the pro dancers.' A BBC spokesman said: 'As we have said before, we will not be commenting on individuals or engaging in speculation'. Amanda shares her children with ex partner Martin Freeman (pictured 2015) and he has reportedly reached out to support the actress amid the scandal Amanda shares daughter Grace and son Joe with ex partner Martin Freeman, 52, who she was for 16 years from 20002016. It comes after Martin reached out to her to support after the scandal and been someone to lean on amid the turbulent time, as well as her fiance Jonathan Goodwin, reports The Sun. It is expected that the probe into Giovanni will soon be completed by the BBC after several weeks of investigations. Nicole Kidman was seen arriving in Venice on Saturday to collect her prestigious Film Festival award - just hours before confirming her beloved mother Janelle had sadly died. The actress, 57, was being awarded the Best Actress actress accolade for her role in Babygirl that night but ended up not being in attendance for the event after the family passing. Instead, her director Halina Reijn read a statement from the actor, revealing that Nicole's mother Janelle died at the age of 83 while she was in Venice. And just hours before the announcement of her mother's death she arrived in Venice looking in good spirits. She wore a smart light grey suit which she teamed with a plane white T-shirt, cap and dark shades. Nicole Kidman was seen arriving in Venice on Saturday to collect her prestigious Film Festival award - just hours before confirming her beloved mother Janelle had sadly died The actress, 57, was being awarded the Best Actress actress accolade for her role in Babygirl that night but ended up not being in attendance for the event after the family passing 'I'm in shock, and I have to go to my family, but this award is for her,' the actress said in a statement, as Janelle's passing meant the actress was unable to accept her Venice honour Nicole stars as a high-powered New York business executive who starts a risky affair with her much-younger intern, played by Harris Dickinson, in Babygirl. The statement read at the event said: 'Today I arrived in Venice to find out shortly after, that my beautiful, brave mother Janelle Ann Kidman has just passed. 'I am in shock and I have to go to my family, but this award is for her, she shaped me, she guided me, and she made me. 'I am beyond grateful that I get to say her name to all of you through Halina, the collision of life and art is heart-breaking, and my heart is broken. 'We love you all.' In an interview with the Fresh Air podcast in January 2022, Nicole spoke briefly about her mother's health issues. She said they'd managed to visit the Art Gallery of New South Wales after-hours, where they took in the Matisse: Life & Spirit exhibition, describing it as 'soothing balm'. 'We're down here primarily to take care of my mother and to have her surrounded by her grandchildren,' she said. Just hours before the announcement of her mother's death she arrived in Venice looking in good spirits She wore a smart light grey suit which she teamed with a plane white T-shirt, cap and dark shades Nicole with her mother Janelle as they attend the 2018 AACTA Awards Nicole stars as a high-powered New York business executive who starts a risky affair with her much-younger intern, played by Harris Dickinson, in Babygirl In an interview with the Fresh Air podcast in January 2022, Nicole spoke briefly about her mother's health issues She wore her blonde tresses in loose waves over her shoulders and opted for a glowing natural makeup look She completed her look with comfortable white trainers and gave a wave as she hopped onto a water taxi She arrived in Venice to collect the award but after finding out about the sad death did not attend the event She wore dark shades and a cap after arriving back in Venice 'So luckily yesterday, even though Omicron is raging through this country, we were able to take her into the gallery after hours and show her the Matisse exhibit, which coming from a mother who's raised me in the arts, it was soothing balm. Matisse was soothing balm last night.' Later in the interview, Nicole said she felt privileged to be able to see the world through her mother's eyes, describing it as 'so beneficial'. 'I'm at the place where I'm being given the chance to view the world, because of how close we are, my mum is giving me the chance to view the world through an 81-year-old woman's eyes,' she explained. 'That is so beneficial right now, because she's so cognisant. She has every brain faculty available, so she hasn't lost anything. She hasn't lost any memory, which is fascinating, and she's extremely bright. 'She's giving me access, because she's also very direct and very honest, and so I'm getting access to the world through her eyes, my mother's eyes, so therefore a part of me almost at 80.' She added: 'It's her perspective, obviously. There's many different 80-year-old perspectives, but it's her perspective, and her particular path, but I'm drinking it in and learning.' During Venice Film Festival, Nicole admitted she felt 'vulnerable' filming multiple scenes of masturbation, plus a depiction of a submissive/dominant relationship for the erotic new thriller. Rising British star Harris Dickinson has a career-making turn as Samuel, the intern who intuits that his boss Kidman, the CEO of a tech firm, wants to be dominated. Nicole has made nothing like it since the dream-like erotic thriller Eyes Wide Shut with then-husband Tom Cruise 25 years ago. She said that an intimacy co-ordinator and closed set had been vital to conjuring the sex scenes which tell the story of her character's existential crisis, resolved through a taboo-busting sexual odyssey. The actress said: 'I think this film is obviously yes about sex, but it's about desire it's about your inner thoughts, it's about secrets, it's about marriage, it's about truth, power, consent. 'This is one woman's story and this is I hope a very liberating story. It's told by a woman through her gaze. It's Halina (Reijn's) script, she wrote it and she directs and that made it unique, that suddenly I was going to be in the hands of a woman with this material. It was very dear to our shared instincts and very, very freeing.' She added: 'I don't think there's a judgement attached (about the character). It's for each person to react to Romy and the way she behaves. 'My connection to it is that I want to examine human beings, women, on screen, to explore what it means to be human in all the facets of that and the labyrinth of that.' She said that she was: 'exposed and vulnerable and frightened when it comes to giving it to the world' but that her experience of making it had been: 'delicate and intimate and very deep.' She said: 'I knew she wasn't going to exploit me. However anyone interprets that, I didn't feel exploited. I felt very much a part of that. There was enormous caretaking by all of us, we were all very gentle with each other and helped each other. It felt very authentic, protected and, at the same time, real.' The film opens with Kidman's character, Romy Mathis, faking a very convincing orgasm while having sex with her husband, played by Antonio Banderas, and then going into another room and masturbating to pornography. She explores her desire to be dominated with her intern but unlike in previous erotic dramas such as Basic Instinct female desire doesn't destroy her career or her family life and, without giving away the ending, she remains professionally powerful and married at its conclusion. Director Reijn said: 'I think all beings have different sides within ourselves and we all have a beast within ourselves. For women, we don't have a lot of space yet to explore this behaviour. 'I don't believe in good or evil I believe that we are both.' She added that men needed to work on the 'huge orgasm gap.' Actor Dickinson chimed in: 'Everyone deserves a good orgasm.' He added: 'I think there is a confusion about how to conduct yourself and how to conduct yourself within sex. Halina was always ready to dissect and challenge that and to challenge the nuance of that behaviour that opened up a whole new world for me.' The steamy movie will also include some very intimate scenes including one of Nicole's character masturbating after having sex with her husband, played by Antonio Banderas . Addressing the erotic scenes, Nicole - who most recently starred in another age-gap romance, A Family Affair - admitted it is the most 'exposed' she has ever felt in front of the camera. She was accompanied by members of her team She carefully boarded the water taxi after arriving back in Italy She was helped down to the boat by the water taxi driver She carried a sleek black leather bag Her director Halina Reijn read a statement from the actor, revealing that Nicole's mother died while she was in Venice, meaning she would be accepting her acting award on her behalf In an interview with the Fresh Air podcast in January 2022, Nicole spoke briefly about her mother's health issues Nicole said she felt privileged to be able to see the world through her mother's eyes, describing it as 'so beneficial'. Pictured with her mother and sister Antonia The actress is seen in Babygirl She is seen at the Babygirl premiere during Venice Film Festival last week Speaking to Vanity Fair, Nicole said she isn't sure she is 'brave enough' to watch the film on the big screen at its Venice Film Festival premiere next month. 'There's something in me going: 'Okay, this was made for the big screen and to be seen with people. I'm not sure I have that much bravery,' Nicole told the publication. 'I've made some films that are pretty exposing, but not like this,' she added of the 'confronting' experience. Nicole shared her apprehension over audiences seeing the sex scenes, admitting that the 'vulnerable' filming process left her feeling 'ragged'. Peter Andre is 'inspired' by his parents' marriage. The pop star, 51, has been married to Emily MacDonagh, 35, for almost a decade and took to social media on Thursday to share a clip of his dad Savvas, 92, and his mum Thea, 87, celebrating their anniversary. The couple tied the knot in 1955, meaning that next year will be their Platinum anniversary. In the clip, Savvas is visiting his wife in her care home in Australia and is carrying with him a huge bunch of flowers. Peter wrote alongside the video: 'My 91 year old dad giving flowers to my beautiful mum with his classic one liner for their 69th wedding anniversary. Peter Andre is 'inspired' by his parents' marriage and upon their 69th wedding anniversary, took to social media with a sweet post In the clip, Savvas is visiting his wife in her care home in Australia and is carrying with him a huge bunch of flowers 'Honestly, they inspire me so so much. 'I love them both beyond words. I Thank them everyday for being the best parents I could wish for. 'See you in a few weeks 1 year away from the big 70. Thank you sis @the.beauty.couture for looking after them.' Savvas quipped to the nurses that he has been married for 'three life sentences' and impressed them with a huge black-and-white photo from his wedding day. Thea suffers from Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, and earlier this year, Peter made a heartbreaking admission as he struggled to cope. In his column for new! magazine, Peter said: 'I can't believe I'm nearly 51. I was worried as I approached 50, but I'm over that and I feel great. 'I'm loving life and age is just a number. You can live life to the fullest at any age. I will be honest, though, the only thing that makes me sad about getting older is that my parents are too.' Thea suffers from Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, and earlier this year, Peter made a heartbreaking admission as he struggled to cope Savvas quipped to the nurses that he has been married for 'three life sentences' and impressed them with a huge black-and-white photo from his wedding day Peter wrote alongside the video: 'My 91 year old dad giving flowers to my beautiful mum with his classic one liner for their 69th wedding anniversary. 'Honestly, they inspire me so so much.' Peter admitted to seeing a 'rapid decline' in the health of his mother Thea (seen with Peter and his wife Emily MacDonagh), 88, as she lives with Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Peter and Emily have children - Amelia, 10, and Theo, seven, and and Peter has Junior, 19, and Princess, 17, with Katie Price, 45 Peter continued: 'Although I thank God my parents are still here, I am seeing the rapid decline, especially in Mum. I find that part hard to deal with. 'Like most people, l'm so close to my parents that it is really difficult to come to terms with.' The Mysterious Girl hitmaker has spoken in length about how it is 'very tough and emotional' to watch Thea's health decline. Peter has children Junior, 19, and Princess, 17, from his first marriage to Katie Price and has Amelia, 10, and Theo, seven, and Arabella, three months, with Emily. Amanda Abbington reportedly has no regrets over the Giovanni Pernice bullying probe on Strictly Come Dancing. Sherlock actress Amanda, 50, has made a series of accusations about her pro Giovanni's teaching methods and has described his behaviour as 'unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean'. He strongly denies all of the claims. The report investigating what went on during training has been completed and is ready to be published within days. And a new report from The Sun claims that she has no regrets as she 'knows what went on in the training room' and knows it was 'unacceptable'. A source told the publication: 'Amanda has given the BBC all the information she can to help them with the investigation. Amanda Abbington reportedly has no regrets over the Giovanni Pernice bullying probe on Strictly Come Dancing Sherlock actress Amanda, 50, has made a series of accusations about her pro Giovanni's teaching methods and has described his behaviour as 'unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean'. He strongly denies all of the claims 'Amanda was greatly reassured during her first interview when she was told by the BBC investigators that her account was fully believed - and now it is down to the corporation to release their findings. 'Her biggest concern, from day one, has been to ensure that others don't have to go through the same traumatic experience that she has.' The source added that she believes the BBC need to do much more to 'help, support and safeguard those taking part in the programme'. A representative for Amanda has been contacted by MailOnline for comment. It comes after the publication reported that she is 'deeply disappointed' with BBC bosses over fears they're 'protecting' Giovanni amid the bullying probe. It was also recently revealed Amanda has found BBC bosses line of questioning 'highly offensive' amid the show's ongoing misconduct probe. The actress has been quizzed for a second time about an illicit video shared with her by the dancer as well as a 'lewd remark' he made about another celebrity contestant when the video was sent. Giovanni is also reported to have made a crude comment about a member of Amanda's own family, only for her to 'effectively be asked' by BBC bosses whether the dancer meant the remark as light-hearted banter. The report investigating what went on during training has been completed and is ready to be published within days And a new report from The Sun claims that she has no regrets as she 'knows what went on in the training room' and knows it was 'unacceptable' A BBC spokesman said: 'As we have said before, we will not be commenting on individuals or engaging in speculation'. Amanda shares daughter Grace and son Joe with ex partner Martin Freeman, 52, who she was for 16 years from 20002016. It comes after Martin reached out to her to support after the scandal and been someone to lean on amid the turbulent time, as well as her fiance Jonathan Goodwin, reports The Sun. It is expected that the probe into Giovanni will soon be completed by the BBC after several weeks of investigations. It comes after it was reported that Amanda recently handed over more texts with fresh revelations over Giovanni 's behaviour on Strictly. It has been claimed the dramatic intervention has thrown the BBC investigation into professional Giovanni's behaviour into chaos and has 'changed the course of the probe'. Amanda has made a series of accusations about Giovanni's teaching methods and has described his behaviour as 'unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean'. He strongly denies all of the claims. In one interview, Amanda compared the dance show to 'the trenches' telling Channel 4 News that BBC producers had been left 'horrified' by clips that also allegedly exhibited 'humiliating behaviour of a sexual nature'. In another, where she spoke to Christine Lampard on Lorraine , she said: 'It was inappropriate, it was mean, it was nasty, it was bullying and I put up with it for five, six weeks. 'It started very early on and when it started to happen I would shut down because I recognised those red flags. 'And so I would shut down and it would be difficult to get in, and that would be a self-fulfilling prophecy.' In one interview, Amanda compared the dance show to 'the trenches' telling Channel 4 News that BBC producers had been left 'horrified' by clips that also allegedly exhibited 'humiliating behaviour of a sexual nature' Talking about her schedule on the show, she said: 'I was going into the rehearsal room every day. I've been in rehearsal rooms for 32 years. 'I know what rehearsal rooms are supposed to be like. 'I don't care what background you're from whether it's dancing, acting, singing you have a duty of care to bring into that rehearsal room compassion, understanding, sensitivity and kindness. 'And that wasn't extended to me (at Strictly). And so I just said I don't think this is right.' Yvette Fielding quit Most Haunted after a terrifying incident 'defied all logic'. The presenter, 55, had hosted the paranormal reality show since 2002 when she was doing a live show in Edinburgh and quit on the spit. A crew member had fallen foul to a sudden injury without any explanation and when he had to be rushed to hospital, Yvette knew she had had enough. She told The Sun: 'The worst one was the sound guy who collapsed onto the floor because he had such a deep cut in the side of his leg, you could see the bone. And he had to go to A&E to get it stitched up. 'It's quite embarrassing because I actually resigned live on air because I just can't understand what's happened. And I saw it happen with my own eyes and it defied logic.' Yvette Fielding quit Most Haunted after a terrifying incident 'defied all logic' and she threw in the towel live on air A crew member had fallen foul to a sudden injury without any explanation and when he had to be rushed to hospital, Yvette knew she had had enough The former I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! contestant was left so shocked by the incident that she couldn't leave the house. She admitted that was the first time she considered the possibility that ghosts could ever cause any harm. She added: 'I was so frightened, I didn't sleep for weeks and was too scared to leave the house.' Her comments come just days after she admitted that she had 'never' received an apology from the BBC over the way she was allegedly treated during the early days of her TV careeer. Yvette was just a teenager when she landed a hosting job on the broadcaster's flagship children's programme and previously claimed that her boss Biddy Baxter would tell her she was 'fat and useless' But, she insisted that the 'abuse' only gave her the impetus to carry on in the world of showbiz. She said: 'They have never apologised to me. It doesn't bother me. I'm not bitter or unhappy about it. It was an experience.' Yvette admitted that was the first time she considered the possibility that ghosts could cause any harm (pictured with Derek Acorah) The former I'm A Celebrity..Get Me Out Of Here! contestant was left so shocked by the incident that she couldn't leave the house The Most Haunted presenter said her experience with Biddy has shaped her career and has 'no bitterness' towards her The television personality said the responsibility of looking after Bonnie, who was one of Blue Peter dog Goldie's second litter, was terrifying (pictured together in 1987) The TV star quit Blue Peter in 1992 after five years, and a decade later started up her own production company with husband Karl Beattie Yvette claimed that upon winning the job she had to leave her parents' house, was flown to Russia for six weeks before being told by producers she had to live with and care for Bonnie. The television personality said the responsibility of looking after Bonnie, who was a puppy from Blue Peter dog Goldie's second litter, was terrifying as she was 'the most famous dog in the country'. She added: 'I felt very lonely because I was the youngest. I was considered a kid and a pain in the a**e of a kid,' Yvette said on the Celebrity Catch-Up: Life After That Thing I Did podcast. Sienna Miller was spotted in Italy with her boyfriend Oli Green on Sunday. The actress, 42, and her partner, 27, were seen arriving at Venice Marco Polo airport to take a private flight after the Venice Film Festival. For the outing, Sienna kept things casual as she donned a pink vest, jeans and cowboy boots as she threw her blonde locks up into a bun. She looked to be in good spirits as they made their way into the airport, with Oli also cutting a casual figure as he followed behind. The pair looked to be in the middle of a good conversation as she turned and beamed at him while they went about their day. The actress, 42, and her partner, 27, were seen arriving at Venice Marco Polo airport to take a private flight after the Venice Film Festival The pair looked to be in the middle of a good conversation as she turned and beamed at him while they went about their day The actress gave birth to her daughter Marlowe, now 12, with her ex Tom Sturridge in July 2012, and welcomed a daughter with Oli earlier this year. And Sienna has now told this week's issue of Stellar Magazine that she could not recommend late motherhood more highly. The American Sniper star welcomed a baby girl, whose name she has not revealed, with boyfriend Oli in January. 'My own experience of motherhood 12 years later is completely different' the British star told the publication. 'I'm a very different person. People often have lots to say about having babies in your 40s as women, but I can't advocate for it more. I feel very lucky.' Sienna went on to say that she has found it easy to balance motherhood and her career. 'I've just finished maternity leave. My baby is eight months old. It's great, since this whole focus on the female experience in Hollywood, I can take my baby everywhere and they'll have to stop filming for me' she said. The American Sniper star welcomed a baby girl, whose name she has not revealed, with boyfriend Oli in January Sienna Miller (pictured) welcomed her second child earlier this year at the age of 42 and could not recommend late motherhood more highly The American Sniper star welcomed a baby girl, whose name she has not revealed, with boyfriend Oli Green in January. Pictured at the Cannes Film Festival joined by Oli and daughter Marlowe, 12, at the premiere of her film Horizon: An American Saga 'I'm a very different person. People often have lots to say about having babies in your 40s as women, but I can't advocate for it more. I feel very lucky' she said. Sienna showed off her baby bump at the Vogue World in December, before giving birth a month later to a baby girl Sienna, 42, and Oli, 27, were first linked in February 2022 and welcomed their baby daughter together eight months ago. Speaking to Harper's Bazaar about Oli, Sienna said: 'I didn't expect to take it seriously and then quite quickly, I fell in love. I wasn't like, "I'm gonna get a younger boyfriend." It was more, "F*ck! Why are you young? That's so annoying".' 'There is a difference in the way that generation of men respect women. It's specific to him, he is very wise and well-adjusted, but I do believe it's also that generation. 'They have grown up with a slightly more level playing field. I see it in his female friends as well as in the men.' She instantly became a pop culture icon after bursting into the public eye as loudmouthed Page 3 girl, Jordan. Having tried her hand at modelling, singing, presenting, campaigning and reality TV, the glamour model quickly became a household name in Britain. Yet while Katie Price's moniker will ring a bell for both young and old, you would be forgiven for not recognising the star on sight alone, with Katie famously undergoing numerous cosmetic procedures over the years. After two decades in the spotlight, Katie is almost unrecognisable from the naturally pretty teenager who burst on to the modelling scene at the age of 16, with her natural curls and fresh-faced beauty winning her an army of fans. Katie, now 46, has undergone an array of procedures over the years, including rhinoplasty, a silhouette facelift, 3D, veneers, lip fillers and Botox, culminating in her first facelift in 2017. Now, after two decades under the surgeon's scalpel, MailOnline takes a look at the many faces of Katie Price. The many faces of Katie Price: MailOnline takes a look at the star's changing look after two decades of boob jobs, Botox and face lifts 1995 - Barefaced beauty At the age of 17, Katie Price was a fresh-faced natural beauty looking to make it into the world of glamour modelling. At a friend's suggestion, the teenager had professional photographs taken and was quickly snapped up by a modelling agency who landed her a Page 3 slot in The Sun newspaper the following year, sparking the creation of her glamour model alter ego, Jordan. Speaking last year, Katie revealed she was glad that she wasn't exposed to social media at the time as she had 'no idea what Botox was or fillers', otherwise she may have started her tweaks and enhancements at an even earlier age. 1995: At the age of 17, Katie Price was a fresh-faced natural beauty looking to make it into the world of glamour modelling 1998 - First boob job Having just turned 20, the rising glamour model experienced her first taste of cosmetic surgery, boosting her 32B cup breasts to a 32C. The procedure cost 4,500 and it's thought her mum Amy and stepdad Paul helped pay for her to have the procedure. Katie has since spoken out about her decision to go under the knife, admitting she was 'too young' and that she feels sorry for young girls growing up these days in a world of social media and filters. 1998: Having just turned 20, Katie experienced her first taste of cosmetic surgery, boosting her 32B cup breasts to a 32C 1999 - Second and third boob job Despite having only just increased her breast size, Katie opted to have two more procedures the following year at the age of 21. Katie boosted her bust from a C cup to a D cup and just a few months later went up again to a F cup. Katie has previously claimed that she has only paid for two of her boob jobs over the course of her career - it is not known if these were the ones. 1999: Despite having only just increased her breast size, Katie opted to have two more procedures at the age of 21 2001 - Lip fillers At the age of 21, Katie had her first cosmetic procedure on her face, opting for lip fillers. While the glamour model did not confirm the rumours at the time, she was seen sporting a noticeably fuller pout while out enjoying the party scene. Her overall look had also started drastically transforming, with the model sporting dramatic false lashes, bright lipstick and pale hair extensions. 2001: At the age of 21, Katie had her first cosmetic procedure on her face, opting for lip fillers 2004 - Botox Aged 26, Katie began to experiment with Botox injections that relax the muscles in your face to smooth out lines and wrinkles. She made no secret of her love of the procedure, announcing at the time: 'I get my forehead and around my eyes Botoxed every six months and I love it. You can't beat it. It just freezes all the wrinkles and that's what you want.' At the time, Katie insisted she would never take things further and have a facelift, explaining: 'I'd never have a full facelift. I've seen what they can do to people and I don't want to go through that.' 2004: Aged 26, Katie began to experiment with Botox injections that relax the muscles in your face to smooth out lines 2006 - Fourth boob job Katie went under the knife yet again to take her F cup breasts up to a G cup. The glamour model also played around with her overall look and embraced her dark side with a new brunette hairstyle. She also continued to dabble with fillers and Botox. 2006: Katie went under the knife yet again to take her F cup breasts up to a G cup 2007 - First nose job and veneers At the age of 29, Katie took her love of surgery to the next level, undergoing rhinoplasty, a chemical peel and treating herself to a 25,000 set of new veneers. 'Oh my God, it burned like hell!' she said at the time. 'The next day I had this hideous red rash on my chin but two days later there wasn't a single spot left.' Speaking about her nose job at the time, she admitted to liking her original nose, explaining: 'I liked my nose before and now. If I had a cupboard with both noses, I would alternate between them!' 2007:Katie took her love of surgery to the next level, undergoing rhinoplasty, a chemical peel and a 25,000 set of veneers 2008 - Fifth boob job Despite gradually increasingly her bust size over the year, Katie fancied a change on her 30th and brought her bra size back down from an F cup to a C cup. The procedure meant that Katie had returned to the size of her first boob job 10 years prior. Katie's changing shape also coincided with the launch of her first clothing line - an equestrian range. 2008: Despite gradually increasingly her bust size, Katie fancied a change and brought her bra size back down to a C cup 2011 - Sixth boob job Katie's smaller chest didn't last long, and at age 33 she went back under the knife again to boost her bust to an F cup. Katie also underwent body-contouring treatment and cheek and lip fillers. The Loose Women panelist admitted that she loved having her cheeks filled to give her a 'plumper, more youthful look'. 2011: Katie's smaller chest didn't last long, and at age 33 she went back under the knife again to boost her bust to an F cup 2015 - Seventh and eighth boob job Just before appearing on Celebrity Big Brother, the reality star had a botched boob reduction that left her with a hole in her breast and an implant protruding from her flesh. Katie told her shocked housemates: 'Ive got no tits anymore. Theyve gone. Theres not even anything there. If you saw what Im like underneath. The scars gone septic. My whole implant was hanging out on New Years Day.' Shortly after leaving the Big Brother house she underwent corrective surgery and had her implants swapped for a D-cup. 2015: Just before Celebrity Big Brother, the star had a botched boob reduction that left her with a hole in her breast 2016 - Ninth boob job and tattooed makeup Despite her surgery horror the year before, Katie was undeterred and flew to a Brussels clinic to go under the knife yet again, this time settling on a 32GG bust. The reality star also had her eyebrows and lips tattooed, also known as 'permanent make-up', explaining that she prefers to go make-up free on a day-to-day basis. Additionally the star has regular facial treatments, last year sharing a bloodied selfie after having a dermal roller micro-needling treatment, which sees a dermaroller with many tiny needles rolled across into the skin - designed to stimulate cells into regeneration. 2016: Despite her surgery horror the year before, Katie flew to a Brussels clinic to get another boob job, this time a 32GG cup 2017 - First face lift, new veneers and 10th boob job Despite insisting she would never have a face lift and could rely on Botox, Katie went back on her word undergoing a 'Silhouette' face lift. The procedure is designed to lift a sagging cheeks and blurred jawline, using 'sutures' implanted under the skin to sculpt features. However, Katie was soon spotted with puffy features, revealing that she suffered an allergic reaction to anesthetic penicillin after having further work on her veneers. She also had her breast implants reduced from 1000ml implants to 795ml. 2017: Despite insisting she would never have a face lift and could rely on Botox, Katie went back on her word 2018 - Second face lift Katie claimed her first face lift had been a botched job and went back under the knife the following year aged 40 to correct it. She said at the time 'I need to get my face re-corrected after surgeon has totally f**ked my face up', admitting it had He agent added: 'She had the thread and it really quite distorted her look. She got a lot of backlash, a lot of negative press, a lot of trolling, everyone saying shed taken it too far, when actually it was a job that had not gone to plan.' 2018: Katie claimed her first face lift had been a botched job and went back under the knife the following year aged 40 2019 - Third face lift, boob job first Brazilian bum lift and 11th boob job Katie jetted to Turkey to overhaul her entire look with a full body transformation. The reality star opted for a face, eye and eyelid lift, Brazilian bum lift along with a tummy tuck. Just three months later she returned to the clinic and opted for another boob job, going back down to a D cup. 2019: Katie jetted to Turkey to overhaul her look with a face, eye and eyelid lift, Brazilian bum lift along with a tummy tuck 2020 - 12th boob job and another set of veneers Katie returned to Turkey to have another set of veneers and revealed her real teeth had been reduced to stubs as she flashed a smile on her YouTube channel. The mother-of-five then jetted to Belgium to correct botched surgery on her breasts, saying her surgeon was utterly shocked by the 'awful' previous procedure. Katie said: 'They looked deformed, they were absolutely awful. That's the first time I've gone to a different surgeon. I had to go back to Frank with my head down, ashamed that I'd been to another clinic.' 2020: Katie returned to Turkey to have another set of veneers then jetted to Belgium to correct a botched boob job 2021 - Liposuction, eye and lid lifts and 13th boob job Amid the Covid pandemic, Katie jetted off to then red-list Turkey for a complete cosmetic surgery overhaul, undergoing full body liposuction, eye and lip lifts, liposuction under her chin, and fat injected into her bum. The reality star also visited Belgium to have her 13th boob job as well as full body liposuction with bum fat removal. The plastic surgery - performed by Dr Frank Plovier - came just five days ahead of the glamour model's sentencing for her shocking drink-drive crash. 2021: Katie jetted to Turkey for a complete cosmetic surgery overhaul, undergoing full body liposuction, eye and lip lifts 2022 - Another brow and eye lift Katie secretly jetted back to Belgium at the beginning of 2022 for an eye and brow lift and had been concealing her new look with her head in a bandage. Dr Judy Todd, an aesthetic doctor at Clinica Medica in Glasgow, said: 'It appears like she's had a face lift, temporal brow lift, and possibly an upper blepharoplasty.' It was reported last month that Katie plans to travel to Turkey imminently for yet more plastic surgery, amid claims she wanted to get some tweaks in after being unhappy with her latest work. Sian Dellar, Brow Specialist and Founder of Sian Dellar Permanent Makeup Clinic, added: 'Katie's eyebrows, like the rest of her, have changed lots over the years! 'Back in the 90s she had a very thin over plucked brow which was the fashion at the time, and today she has an extremely thick and unnatural looking brow. 'Currently it seems the face or eye lift that shes had have pulled her brows outward which looks unnatural and makes the brows appear almost stretched. 'Of course, as with any enhancement, its personal preference but we recommend not going too many shades darker, and keeping the shape as natural looking as possible and work to create or enhance brows to frame the face. 'Katies choice to have them so thick and dark and in that unusual positioning means they dominate her face and are the first thing the eye is drawn to. I would love to see Katie take her brows back to 2015/2016 when the fuller brow became a big trend. She got it right then and they framed her face well.' 2022: Katie secretly jetted back to Belgium for an eye and brow lift and is planning to to travel to Turkey for more surgery 2023 - 16th and 'biggest ever' boob job It's not clear if Katie lost track of the number of breast augmentations or opted to keep some of her surgery private but by 2023 it emerged she'd undergone her 16th boob job, two years after claiming to be on her 13th. The star went under the knife in a bid to have the 'biggest in Britain' and was subsequently pictured being wheeled into surgery at the Be Clinic in Belgium. She is said to have wanted even bigger breasts, opting for 2120 CC implants in a bid to boost her already large bust size. Katie told OK! magazine of her boobs: 'I love them. They healed really quickly and they didn't hurt at all. That probably doesn't help. Because I heal quickly, it doesn't put me off and I have more. 'I would go bigger as well and I will eventually. I just love having big boobs and a small body. I've always loved that look. In my eyes, if I'm having a boob job, I want them to look fake, I don't want them to look natural. I don't like the natural look. 'I just like that old-school American Playboy pin-up look. When I have surgery, that is what I'm striving for. If I could look like my airbrushed pictures, that would be amazing. But that's impossible to achieve.' 2023: It's not clear if Katie lost track of the number of breast augmentations or opted to keep some of her surgery private but by 2023 it emerged she'd undergone her 16th boob job, two years after claiming to be on her 13th 2024 - MORE facial surgery In July 2024 Katie confirmed she is travelling to Turkey for facial surgery, to be filmed for a new documentary, after failing to attend a bankruptcy hearing. The former glamour model was absent at a scheduled 760,000 bankruptcy court hearing having flown overseas for her latest cosmetic procedure. A warrant was subsequently issued, with Katie admitting she's 'doing the best she can' to rectify her financial issues after receiving 'very clear warnings' that she needed to attend court. Strictly Come Dancing winner Rose Ayling-Ellis has revealed she 'hated' an emotional moment with Giovanni Pernice on the show. The EastEnders star, 29, brought viewers to tears in 2021 when she and her professional dance partner Giovanni, 34, performed part of their dance routine in silence. Rose, who is a British Sign Language (BSL) user, and the Italian star danced to Clean Bandit's track Symphony as a way of honouring the deaf community. As part of their contemporary routine, they danced for a 30-second segment completely without music. The dance proved so moving it was celebrated at the BAFTAs with an award for 'moment of the year'. Strictly Come Dancing winner Rose Ayling-Ellis, 29, has revealed she 'hated' an emotional moment with Giovanni Pernice, 34, in a new interview Rose, who is a British Sign Language (BSL) user, and the Italian star danced to Clean Bandit's track Symphony as a way of honouring the deaf community But almost three years on, Rose has admitted in an interview with The Guardian that she was against the idea when it was first suggested. She explained that she felt it was she was a cheap grab for sympathy and she didn't want it to be perceived as tokenistic. Speaking to The Guardian, the actress said: 'I hated it. I watched this pre-recorded video by external choreographers and immediately didn't like what they'd come up with. 'I was up for the idea, as long as it wasn't a patronising stunt.' She added that she felt it was a skewed perception of what deaf people experienced, explaining: 'It was what hearing people think deaf people experience,' 'Very insular, cut-off, small. It was so sad. And that's not me.' Instead, she thought the the routine should be 'energetic, vibrant, and full of life', and the pair decided to dance to the track Symphony. According to Rose, she realised the moment would be considered a 'big deal' and she was right with many viewing the routine as one of the show's most defining performances in it's 20-year history. The EastEnders star, 29, brought viewers to tears in 2021 when she and her professional dance partner Giovanni, 34, performed part of their dance routine in silence According to Rose, she realised the moment would be considered a 'big deal' and she was right with many viewing the routine as one of the show's most defining performances (pictured with the winning trophy) Rose has not spoken publicly about the claims made against Giovanni - who left Strictly this year amid a workplace misconduct probe from the BBC. Amanda Abbington, 50, made a series of accusations about Giovanni's teaching methods and has described his behaviour as 'unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean'. He strongly denies all of the claims. In one interview, Amanda compared the dance show to 'the trenches' telling Channel 4 News that BBC producers had been left 'horrified' by clips that also allegedly exhibited 'humiliating behaviour of a sexual nature'. In another, where she spoke to Christine Lampard on Lorraine , she said: 'It was inappropriate, it was mean, it was nasty, it was bullying and I put up with it for five, six weeks. 'It started very early on and when it started to happen I would shut down because I recognised those red flags. 'And so I would shut down and it would be difficult to get in, and that would be a self-fulfilling prophecy.' It is expected that the probe into Giovanni will soon be completed by the BBC after several weeks of investigations. Rose's admission comes as Tasha Ghouri has broken her silence on the scandal. Giovanni's former flame Tasha gave her thoughts on Sunday ahead of her stint on the show which starts later this month. The former Love Island star, 26, - who was born deaf - dated the now-axed pro, 34, about six months before finding fame on the ITV dating show. It has been a tough year for Giovanni who was let go from the show after Sherlock actress Amanda Abbington, 50, made a series of accusations about his teaching methods Giovanni's ex flame Tasha Ghouri broke her silence on the Strictly Come Dancing scandal on Sunday ahead of her stint on the show which starts later this month Tasha has now told The Sun of the scandal: 'I wasn't there I'm here for my own experience on the show. So I'm focusing on myself to just really enjoy it.' She added of her old romance with Giovanni: 'I've met up with him a few times. But that was years ago. We are not in touch now, this is like ancient history. I'm so happy with Andrew, and he's my future, so I don't want to talk about the past. 'It's not my place to comment on [the allegations against Giovanni]. I'm here for my own experiences. I'm here just for me.' Tasha also told how she has received advice from former winner of the show Rose who was also born deaf and was partnered with Giovanni. Selena Gomez reunited with her Emilia Perez co-star Zoe Saldana on Sunday to promote their queer crime musical at the Variety TIFF Studio during the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada. The 32-year-old certified billionaire enlisted her hairstylist Marissa Marino to give her a voluminous sixties bouffant aided by a top hairpiece fastened to the back of her head. Selena wore a midi-sleeve LBD with dark tights and matching pumps selected by stylist Erin Walsh. A glimpse at Gomez's shrinking 5ft5in figure in 2024 versus 2023 has certainly sparked rumors she's hopped aboard the trendy Ozempic train. Make-up artist Melissa Murdick fully contoured the Emmy nominee's complexion, brought out her bushy brows, and overlined her lips. Selena Gomez enlisted her hairstylist Marissa Marino to give her a voluminous sixties bouffant aided by a top hairpiece fastened to the back of her head The 32-year-old certified billionaire reunited with her Emilia Perez co-star Zoe Saldana (R) on Sunday to promote their queer crime musical at the Variety TIFF Studio during the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada Selena - who boasts 648.8M social media followers - Instastoried two behind-the-scenes snaps of herself in Toronto on Saturday. Gomez stars as Jessi Del Monte, a transgender Mexican cartel leader's wife, in Jacques Audiard's critically-acclaimed film hitting select theaters November 1 before streaming November 13 on Netflix. Last Friday, the 'Texican' pop star's rumored fiance Benny Blanco voiced his approval of her performance in Emilia Perez. The 36-year-old music producer - who began dating Selena in June 2023 - gushed in her Instagram comments: 'This is one of the best movies I have ever seen!' Indeed, the film currently has an 89% critic approval rating (out of 46 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes. And next Sunday, Gomez will compete for the outstanding lead actress in a comedy series trophy for her role as Mabel Mora in Hulu's Only Murders in the Building at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards. The two-time Grammy nominee faces heavy competition against Abbott Elementary's Quinta Brunson, The Bear's Ayo Edebiri, Loot's Maya Rudolph, Hacks' Jean Smart, and Palm Royale's Kristen Wiig. Meanwhile, Zoe (born Zoe Yadira Saldana Nazario) wore a black knit top with matching trousers and peep-toe heels selected by stylist Petra Flannery. The half-Dominican, half-Puerto Rican 46-year-old - who portrays unappreciated lawyer Rita Moro Castro - wore her signature raven locks in a French twist coiffed by hairstylist Mara Roszak. Make-up artist Vera Steimberg brought out Saldana's natural beauty for the film festivities. Selena wore a midi-sleeve LBD with dark tights and matching pumps selected by stylist Erin Walsh 2024 vs. 2023: A glimpse at Gomez's shrinking 5ft5in figure in 2024 versus 2023 has certainly sparked rumors she's hopped aboard the trendy Ozempic train Make-up artist Melissa Murdick fully contoured the Emmy nominee's complexion, brought out her bushy brows, and overlined her lips Selena - who boasts 648.8M social media followers - Instastoried two behind-the-scenes snaps of herself in Toronto on Saturday Gomez stars as Jessi Del Monte, a transgender Mexican cartel leader's wife, in Jacques Audiard's critically-acclaimed film hitting select theaters November 1 before streaming November 13 on Netflix Last Friday, the 'Texican' pop star's rumored fiance Benny Blanco (R, pictured July 24) voiced his approval of her performance in Emilia Perez The 36-year-old music producer - who began dating Selena in June 2023 - gushed in her Instagram comments: 'This is one of the best movies I have ever seen!' Indeed, the film currently has an 89% critic approval rating (out of 46 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes Zoe (born Zoe Yadira Saldana Nazario) wore a black knit top with matching trousers and peep-toe heels selected by stylist Petra Flannery The half-Dominican, half-Puerto Rican 46-year-old - who portrays unappreciated lawyer Rita Moro Castro - wore her signature raven locks in a French twist coiffed by hairstylist Mara Roszak Make-up artist Vera Steimberg brought out Saldana's natural beauty for the film festivities Selena and the Lioness producer-star were joined at TIFF by their castmates Karla Sofia Gascon (L), Adriana Paz (2-L), and Edgar Ramirez (M) Gomez gushed to Variety on Sunday: 'Oh my god, I loved [Edgar Ramirez]!' She continued: 'I only say the past tense because I have a new love in my life, sorry! But it was a blast. He made it incredibly easy and was always making sure I was comfortable with whatever I was doing. And he supported me' Selena and the Lioness producer-star were joined at TIFF by their castmates Karla Sofia Gascon, Adriana Paz, and Edgar Ramirez. 'Oh my god, I loved [Edgar Ramirez]!' Gomez gushed to Variety on Sunday. 'I only say the past tense because I have a new love in my life, sorry! But it was a blast. He made it incredibly easy and was always making sure I was comfortable with whatever I was doing. And he supported me.' Composers Clement Ducol and Camille Dalmais were honored with the TIFF Variety Artisan Award that same day. The Emilia Perez gang will next head to Northern California on October 5 for the Mill Valley Film Festival, which will honor the cast with the outstanding ensemble performance trophy. On May 25, the Cannes Film Festival awarded the best actress prize jointly to the Rare Beauty founder, Zoe, Karla, and Adriana. Elsewhere at TIFF, Lupita Nyong'o and Catherine O'Hara attended the premiere of DreamWorks Animation's animated sci-fi flick The Wild Robot at Roy Thomson Hall. Elsewhere at TIFF, Lupita Nyong'o (L) and Catherine O'Hara (R) attended the premiere of DreamWorks Animation's animated sci-fi flick The Wild Robot at Roy Thomson Hall The 41-year-old Oscar winner - who voices a robot called Roz - flashed her neon-green panties beneath a sheer matching cut-out gown and peep-toe platforms selected by her longtime stylist Micaela Erlanger The 70-year-old Emmy winner - who voices opossum Pinktail - wore a pink floral cropped blazer with a slightly matching maxi-skirt and black booties selected by stylist Andrew Gelwicks Mark Hamill - who voices grizzly bear Thorn - flashed finger guns and salutes in his blue suit over a black top The 72-year-old Star Wars icon, Lupita, and Catherine then joined their co-star Kit Connor, director Chris Sanders, and producer Jeff Hermann for a pre-screening Q&A Stephanie Hsu - who voices evil robot Vontra - excitedly posed with fans on the red carpet in her strapless black dress and pumps selected by stylist Alexandra Mandelkorn Maren Morris - who wore a leggy high-low dress - will release two songs Kiss the Sky and Even When I'm Not on The Wild Robot soundtrack dropping September 27 The 41-year-old Oscar winner - who voices a robot called Roz - flashed her neon-green panties beneath a sheer matching cut-out gown and peep-toe platforms selected by her longtime stylist Micaela Erlanger. The 70-year-old Emmy winner - who voices opossum Pinktail - wore a pink floral cropped blazer with a slightly matching maxi-skirt and black booties selected by stylist Andrew Gelwicks. Mark Hamill - who voices grizzly bear Thorn - flashed finger guns and salutes in his blue suit over a black top. The 72-year-old Star Wars icon, Lupita, and Catherine then joined their co-star Kit Connor, director Chris Sanders, and producer Jeff Hermann for a pre-screening Q&A. Stephanie Hsu - who voices evil robot Vontra - excitedly posed with fans on the red carpet in her strapless black dress and pumps selected by stylist Alexandra Mandelkorn. Maren Morris - who wore a leggy high-low dress - will release two songs Kiss the Sky and Even When I'm Not on The Wild Robot soundtrack dropping September 27. Juliette Binoche joined her The Return co-star Charlie Plummer and director Uberto Pasolini inside the Getty Images Portrait Studio to promote the Odyssey-inspired historical drama. Pharrell Williams easily defied his 51 years in an orange sweatshirt and blue jeans while promoting Morgan Neville's Lego-animated documentary Piece by Piece about himself at the Variety TIFF Studio. Jude Law joined his The Order castmates Jurnee Smollett, Tye Sheridan, and Nicholas Hoult for the world premiere of their film at TIFF on Sunday Juliette Binoche joined her The Return co-star Charlie Plummer and director Uberto Pasolini inside the Getty Images Portrait Studio to promote the Odyssey-inspired historical drama Pharrell Williams easily defied his 51 years in an orange sweatshirt and blue jeans while promoting Morgan Neville's Lego-animated documentary Piece by Piece about himself at the Variety TIFF Studio Elizabeth Olsen looked sophisticated in a brown-striped double-breasted pantsuit and pointy-toed oxblood heels selected by stylist Elizabeth Stewart The 35-year-old Emmy nominee was in Canada promoting her new film The Assessment alongside co-stars Himesh Patel and Alicia Vikander as well as director Fleur Fortune at the Variety TIFF Studio Rachel Sennott donned a zip-up black halter bustier and cigarette pants selected by stylist Jared Ellner The 28-year-old Independent Spirit Award nominee was at TIFF promoting her new SNL-inspired film Saturday Night alongside Ella Hunt, Jason Reitman, Cory Michael Smith, Dylan O'Brien, Lamorne Morris and Gabriel LaBelle at the Deadline Studio John David Washington turned up to TIFF in a white button-up shirt beneath a grey vest, matching trousers, and black Oxfords selected by stylist Sierra Simone The 40-year-old nepo-baby's new film The Piano Lesson is truly a family affair with his younger brother Malcolm Washington directing the 1936-set Pittsburgh drama and their famous father Denzel Washington producing it 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai glammed up in a seafoam-colored ensemble to attend the TIFF premiere of Sue Kim's Apple Original documentary The Land of the Sea Women, which she produced Rebecca Hall (L) donned a cropped black blazer with a schoolgirl skirt while promoting upcoming BBC One series The Listeners with executive producer Jordan Tannahill and director Janicza Bravo inside the Getty Images Portrait Studio Anderson .Paak brought his 13-year-old son Soul Rasheed to the Variety TIFF Studio to promote his feature directorial debut K-Pops! in which he attempts to make his long-lost child famous in the popular musical genre Natalie Benally (L) and Cathy Shim (R) glammed up in red looks to celebrate their respective films Rez Ball and Step & Repeat during the festival The 35-year-old Emmy nominee was in Canada promoting her new film The Assessment alongside co-stars Himesh Patel and Alicia Vikander as well as director Fleur Fortune at the Variety TIFF Studio. Rachel Sennott donned a zip-up black halter bustier and cigarette pants selected by stylist Jared Ellner. The 28-year-old Independent Spirit Award nominee was at TIFF promoting her new SNL-inspired film Saturday Night alongside Ella Hunt, Jason Reitman, Cory Michael Smith, Dylan O'Brien, Lamorne Morris and Gabriel LaBelle at the Deadline Studio. John David Washington turned up to TIFF in a white button-up shirt beneath a grey vest, matching trousers, and black Oxfords selected by stylist Sierra Simone. The 40-year-old nepo-baby's new film The Piano Lesson is truly a family affair with his younger brother Malcolm Washington directing the 1936-set Pittsburgh drama and their famous father Denzel Washington producing it. 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai glammed up in a seafoam-colored ensemble to attend the TIFF premiere of Sue Kim's Apple Original documentary The Land of the Sea Women, which she produced. Rebecca Hall donned a cropped black blazer with a schoolgirl skirt while promoting upcoming BBC One series The Listeners with executive producer Jordan Tannahill and director Janicza Bravo inside the Getty Images Portrait Studio. Anderson .Paak brought his 13-year-old son Soul Rasheed to the Variety TIFF Studio to promote his feature directorial debut K-Pops! in which he attempts to make his long-lost child famous in the popular musical genre. Meanwhile, Natalie Benally and Cathy Shim glammed up in red looks to celebrate their respective films Rez Ball and Step & Repeat during the festival. While other industries are suffering from mass layoffs, healthcare is growing at a stunning rate. The recession-proof industry has grown by 11 percent since the beginning of 2022 - double the pace of other sectors, Market Watch reported. To put that in perspective, business and professional services have inched along at 3.7 percent, according to the Department of Labor. And as well as doctors and nurses, there is also huge demand for administrative staff who don't require an advanced degree, Nina Cisneros, Express Healthcare Staffing's healthcare director, told the outlet. Meanwhile, other roles such as nursing assistants, who need a certification rather than a full degree, are expected to be in needed in the coming years. The report comes as the latest employment figures out Friday showed that the US added 142,000 jobs in August - fewer than hoped. It's not just doctors and nurses who are in demand, but administrative roles that don't require an advanced degree too The healthcare industry has grown 11 percent since the beginning of 2022 - double the pace of other sectors Express Healthcare Staffing has seen its job postings jump 20 percent in the last couple of weeks, Cisneros said. 'Healthcare is the way to go,' she said, regarding job security. Although, like other industries, healthcare has recorded a drop in job listings since the pandemic, it is still 17 percent higher than it was at the start of 2020, according to Market Watch. The fact is that people will always need care so even during difficult economic periods, the healthcare industry typically continues to hire. 'It never has those huge setbacks, those huge disruptions,' ZipRecruiter Chief Economist, Julia Pollak, told Market Watch. 'It can just sort of keep growing.' Express Healthcare Staffing has seen its job postings jump 20 percent in the last couple of weeks 'People need care. That is never going to change,' Cisneros said. Many of the job openings in healthcare are a result of scores of workers leaving the sector after being burned out during the horror years of the pandemic. An ageing population which requires more access to healthcare has also boosted demand for workers. Employee benefits company, Mercer, warned of a shortage of more than 100,000 healthcare workers by 2028, especially those in nursing assistant roles, according to Market Watch. Business and professional services have inched along at 3.7 percent, and the media has only grown a marginal 0.3 percent as they suffer mass layoffs (stock image) The fastest growing healthcare jobs are mental health practitioners and physicians, which have grown nearly 14 and 13 percent The fastest growing healthcare job roles are mental health practitioners and physicians, which have grown nearly 14 and 13 percent respectively, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, viewed by Market Watch. Other services, such as blood and organ banks have grown by 6 percent, psychiatric and substance abuse facilities by 5 percent and mental health outpatient and residential facilities by a little over 4.5 percent in the last year. Jobs that require more advanced education are also in high demand. Nurse anesthetists, midwives, and nurse practitioners roles are expected to increase by around 35 percent by 2032. The median income for this position is around $125,000 and requires a master's degree. Demand for physicians assistants is expected to grow by nearly 40 percent, registered nurses by 6 percent, and paramedics by 5 percent, according to the Department of Labor. Physician assistants make around $126,000 a year, while registered nurses make $81,000, and paramedics make around $50,000. All need various levels of post-secondary education. Other recession-resistant industries include IT, tech, education, and engineering, among others. McDonald's new Big Arch burger has two-thirds of calories you should eat each day - and that is without fries or a drink. The fast food giant's latest bid to win back customers has been dubbed a 'Big Mac on steroids' due to its size. While it has yet to reach the US, it is now available across Canada - meaning Americans in northern states can cross the border to try one. It is set to come to the US later this year. The Big Arch is being lined up as the fast-food giant's first new permanent, worldwide product since Chicken McNuggets in 1983. The new burger has two patties and comes with crispy and sliced fresh onions, three slices of white processed cheese, pickles and lettuce - and a brand new 'tangy' Big Arch sauce. That all adds up to 1,030 calories and 66g fat, according to the menu listing. McDonald's Big Arch burger has finally been unveiled Adult women typically require 1,600 to 2,400 calories a day and men 2,200 to 3,000, according to US health officials. A Big Arch would therefore account for as much two-thirds of a woman's allowance and just under half for a man. The burger does have an impressive 52g of protein. And McDonald's is keen to point out that its menu items are meant as occasional treats rather than something eaten daily. 'It's a quintessential McDonald's burger with a twist on our iconic, familiar flavors,' CEO Chris Kempczinski told analysts in July as he announced the new burger - at the same time as revealing the company had its first fall in sales since Covid. The Big Arch has been rolled out widely in Canada and Portugal after months of testing in the two countries. A similar trial in select areas of the US are being lined up ahead of being sold nationally across what is by far McDonald's biggest market. Bosses want to ensure restaurants can make it at scale - and also that US customers like it. Menu items often have subtle differences between countries based on local preferences. Based on feedback, they may tweak the size, recipe and price if needed. In Canada, a Big Arch meal - with a drink and fries - was $12.59 at one of the selection test locations in Ontario. That is about $9 in the US. Currently, McDonald's most substantial single-patty burger is the Quarter Pounder, which competes roughly with Burger King's Whopper. Although both are made up of patties that are claimed to weigh four ounces before they are cooked, the Whopper has 670 calories while the McDonald's Quarter Pounder with cheese contains just 520 calories. McDonald's has experimented with bigger burgers before - but by offering larger versions of what it has on offer. In January, the Double Big Mac - which has four beef patties instead of two and extra sauce - returned for a limited time. It cost around $7 and was a hit while on sale for a month. McDonald's new bigger burger is part of its plan to attract customers back. At the end of July, the chain had reported a surprise fall in sales in the April to June quarter - as customers cut down on trips to the fast food giant. The Chicago burger giant introduced a $5 meal deal at US restaurants - either a McChicken or McDouble, four-piece chicken nuggets, fries and a drink - in June as part of its plan to lure back value-conscious customers. Across the board, chains are reeling from falling customer numbers as Americans fed up with two years of price rises stay away - so most are rolling out all these offers. McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski said the burger will break the bank McDonald's is bringing back the Double Big Mac on January 24 - but it could just be for a limited time McDonald's is opening CosMc - a spinoff which focuses more on coffee and drinks than food Burger King's $5 Your Way Meal offers four items like McDonald's. Wendy's has similar $5 deal too, as well as a $3 breakfast offer . Meanwhile, a McDonald's customer has pointed out a frustrating flaw with the fast food giant's app in a viral video on TikTok. The man, Stephen, reported to followers his steak egg cheese bagel was more expensive on the McDonald's app than it was on the drive-through menu board. He only found this out after the app didn't work for him, at which point he decided to drive over to the restaurant and order through the speaker the old-fashioned way. McDonald's has also started rolling out CosMc - a spinoff which focuses more on coffee and drinks than food and which is said to be Starbucks-inspired. It was so busy that cars lined up for hours when it first opened. This ambitious project aims to digitise and map land records, addressing long-standing issues of land disputes and enhancing transparency in land dealings Bihar is undergoing a significant transition with the commencement of a Special Land Survey covering 45,000 villages across the state. To expedite this process, the government has deployed 10,000 officials, aiming to complete the survey by August 2025. The Department of Revenue and Land Reforms has already digitized 64 million revenue documents. The digitisation of an additional 160 to 200 million documents is expected to be completed within the next year. These documents will be available to the public for a nominal fee. The primary goal of the survey is to digitize and map the state's land data to enhance transparency in land dealings and address the persistent land disputes that overwhelm Bihar's courts. Our main focus is to prepare accurate land records, including Kistwar (Plotting) and Khanapuri, to ensure legitimate land ownership, states Vinod Kumar Singh, Additional District Magistrate of Vaishali district. Singh emphasizes the importance of this initiative, noting that 60% of land-related crimes in Bihar arise from missing or inaccessible Record of Rights (RoR) documents. Fraudulent claims on land titles have also contributed to the problem. Regarding the Vanshavali (Pedigree) Form, Singh clarifies that approval is not required from the Sarpanch (Panchayat Head). Individuals can certify and submit the form themselves along with Self-Declaration Form-2 (Prapatra 2). This form is particularly crucial for ancestral properties, regardless of the type of ownership, such as Khatiyan or Property Sale Deed. Vipin Kumar Yadav, Settlement Officer (Bandobust Adhikari) of Vaishali, adds that if land is in the father's name and agricultural rent is being paid, a Vanshavali form is not necessary. However, if the father wishes to distribute the property among his children, the form must be completed along with Self-Declaration Form-2. Khatiyan is a legal document that records rights related to Khata (Account) number, Kheasara (Plot) number, Mouza (area), tenant's name, and land area. It specifically pertains to ancestral immovable property. The digitization and mapping efforts through the Special Land Survey are commendable. By reducing land disputes, these measures will enable farmers to focus on enhancing agricultural productivity instead of engaging in protracted legal battles. Given that agriculture contributes 18% to India's GDP, improving land record management is crucial for the sector's growth. In conclusion, Bihar's Special Land Survey represents a crucial step towards modernizing land management and resolving persistent land disputes. By digitizing and mapping extensive land records, the initiative aims to enhance transparency, reduce legal conflicts, and empower farmers to focus on agricultural productivity. With the goal of completing the survey by August 2025, this project underscores the state's commitment to improving land administration and supporting the agricultural sector, which is vital for Bihars economy. As digitization progresses, stakeholders can look forward to a more efficient and equitable land management system. (The author is a columnist, views are personal) National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval will visit Moscow for two days starting September 10 to hold discussions focused on resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modis visits to Ukraine and Russia in the past few weeks. Favouring dialogue to end the conflict, the Prime Minister during his talks with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on August 23 said both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the ongoing war and that India was ready to play an active role to restore peace in the region. Prime Minister Modi also said he would even like to contribute personally for a peaceful resolution of the crisis. Moreover, Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 5 named India among the three countries he is constantly in touch over the conflict. He also said these countries are sincerely making efforts to resolve it. Other world leaders, too, are of the view that India can play a key role in finding a resolution to the Ukraine conflict. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Saturday held talks with Zelenskyy. China and India have a role to play in resolving the conflict. What must not happen is to think that the conflict can be resolved by abandoning Ukraine to its fate, she said, according to reports in Italian media. As regards Dovals upcoming visit, shortly after his trip to Ukraine, Prime Minister Modi spoke to President Putin over the phone on August 27. A Russian Embassy statement said during the phone call, Prime Minister Modi informed President Putin about his recent visit to Kiev and stressed Indias commitment to bring about a settlement for Ukraine by political and diplomatic means. According to sources, it was during this phone call that the leaders decided that NSA Doval would travel to Moscow for peace talks. During his visit, Doval will also take part in the Brazil, India, Russia, China and South Africa (BRICS)-NSA meeting, sources said. On the sidelines of the BRICS-NSA meeting, Doval will also hold bilateral meetings with his Russian and Chinese counterparts with the possibility of following up on the discussions from the July summit in Moscow. The last BRICS-NSA meeting was held in South Africas Johannesburg in 2023, where Doval also represented India. Vladimir Putin shared his principled assessment of the destructive policies of the Kiev authorities and their Western patrons, and went on to highlight Russias approaches to resolving this conflict, the Russian Embassy said about the phone call. The Prime Ministers Office said the two leaders exchanged views on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The PM shared insights from his recent visit to Ukraine. He underlined the importance of dialogue and diplomacy as well as sincere and practical engagement between all stakeholders to achieve an abiding and peaceful resolution of the conflict, a PMO release said. The Prime Minister reiterated Indias firm commitment to support an early, abiding and peaceful resolution of the conflict on his official social media handle. During parleys with Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Modi said, India was never neutral, we have always been on the side of peace. President Putin has named India among the three countries Russia is in touch with over the Ukraine conflict. We respect our friends and partners, who, I believe, sincerely seek to resolve all issues surrounding this conflict, primarily China, Brazil and India. I constantly keep in touch with our colleagues on this issue, Putin said. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has sharply divided the world and most global powers have taken sides. New Delhi, however, has constantly called for peace, with Prime Minister Modi stressing that this is not an era of war. When Prime Minister Modi travelled to Russia in July and hugged President Putin, President Zelenskyy had referred to a Russian missile strike that killed 37 people, three of them children. He had said it is a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the worlds largest democracy hug the worlds most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day. On his recent visit to Ukraine, Prime Minister Modi embraced President Zelensky and the Ukraine leader said he and Prime Minister Modi had honoured the memory of children whose lives were taken by Russian aggression. Children of every country deserve to be safe. We must make it possible, he said. Prime Minister Modis nearly nine-hour visit to Ukraine, the first by an Indian Prime Minister since its independence in 1991, came six weeks after he held summit talks with President Putin that triggered anguish in some Western countries. Amid rising Mpox (Monkeypox) cases globally, including in neighbouring Pakistan, India on Sunday reported its suspected first case at a designated hospital here. The Union Health Ministry said that there is no cause for any undue concern. The patient, a young male with recent travel history to an affected African nation, is stable and in isolation, said the Ministry in a statement here. Testing is underway to confirm the diagnosis, and contact tracing is being conducted to identify potential sources and assess the situation. The patient has been isolated in a designated hospital and is currently stable, said the Ministry. Mpox, a viral disease, is caused by the monkeypox virus. Samples from the patient are being tested to confirm the presence of Mpox. The case is being managed in line with established protocols, and contact tracing is ongoing to identify potential sources and assess the impact within the country, said the Ministry. Following reports of Mpox-positive cases globally particularly in neighboring countries Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), the Centre has issued an alert while designating three hospitals in Delhi as nodal centers for Mpox. Surveillance at borders and airports has been enhanced. At the Lady Hardinge Medical College, RML Hospital, and Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi isolation wards have been established to treat and monitor Mpox patients. Any patient testing positive for Mpox, can be admitted to these hospitals. In addition, at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi, five beds have been reserved for suspected monkeypox cases. If any patient shows symptoms of Mpox or is suspected of having it, they will be shifted to these beds for treatment. The World Health Organisation in August declared Mpox a public health emergency of international concern, which is twice in two years. There are vaccines available for Mpox, and vaccination should be considered along with other public health interventions. Common symptoms of Mpox include a skin rash or mucosal lesions that can last 2-4 weeks, accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes. Mpox can be transmitted through close contact with someone who has the virus, contaminated materials, or infected animals. During pregnancy, the virus may be transmitted to the foetus or to the newborn during or after birth. The first announcement of the global outbreak was made in 2022 when cases began to be reported worldwide. With 122 countries reporting more than 99,518 confirmed cases and 208 deaths, Mpox is emerging as a major global health threat. Pakistan is also witnessing the spread of this virus, with 11 confirmed cases and one death reported since the initial detection At a time when the Congress and AAP are trying to finalise a seat-sharing arrangement for the October 5 Haryana Assembly polls with the latter agreeing to contest on five seats, senior leader and former Delhi minister Somnath Bharti has spoken out against the ongoing talks with the Congress, saying the AAP supporters do not favour such a misfit and selfish alliance and added that the party should contest all 90 seats in Haryana alone. In a post on X, Bharti said that before the AAP-Congress alliance is finalised in Haryana, the AAP must evaluate the effectiveness of a similar coalition formed in Delhi during the Lok Sabha elections 2024. During the Lok Sabha polls, the two parties formed an alliance and fought the polls with a seat-sharing agreement of three seats for Congress (North East, North West and Chandini Chowk) and four seats for the AAP (East, South, West and New Delhi). The alliance, however, lost all seven Delhi seats to the BJP. He said that while the AAP national convenor and Congress leader Arvind Kejriwal did roadshows for all Congress candidates during the parliamentary polls, the Congress did not support the AAP candidates, including himself, despite requests. Bharti, a three-term MLA from Malviya Nagar, also served as a minister in the AAP government. He contested Lok Sabah polls from New Delhi against BJPs Bansuri Swaraj. Bharti alleged that senior Congress leader Ajay Maken refused to meet. Local leaders like Jitender Kochchar in Malviya Nagar worked against the alliance and sought votes for the BJPs MP candidate allegedly for money, he said. No event of Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi or Kharge was organised in our parliamentary constituencies to consolidate Congress votes in our favour, he said. And we must not forget that the imaginary sharab Ghotala which gave BJP a reason to arrest our leaders for months n years was hatched and severely pursued by Sri Maken. When it comes to defeat AAP, BJP and Congress both work together openly or discreetly, Bharti added. Sources in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said no final decision has been taken on the alliance with the Congress for the October 5 Haryana Assembly polls yet while some leaders aware of the development said the alliance might be forged on Monday. "The talks are underway but there is no final decision yet," said an AAP source. Insiders said talks between Congress' Deepak Babaria and AAP leader Raghav Chadha have been progressing in a positive direction. There are chances that the alliance might be finalised by tomorrow. AAP has agreed on contesting five seats in the state," they said. The last date to file nominations is September 12. Earlier in the day, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha said both Congress and his party are trying to forge an alliance for the Haryana elections by keeping aside their individual aspirations. Chadha said while the parties are yet to reach a consensus on the alliance, the talks are progressing in a "positive" direction and they are hopeful of a good outcome. He, however, added that the AAP will not proceed with the alliance "if there is no win-win situation". "The talks are happening in a positive atmosphere. Both parties are working towards contesting the elections together, prioritizing unity and the demands of the people of Haryana, while setting aside individual party and candidate aspirations," he said. "Ball by ball commentary cannot be done on the seat-sharing arrangement. Both the parties have desire and hope to form an alliance," he added. Polling in Haryana to the 90-member assembly will take place on October 5. The last date to file nominations is September 12. According to sources, while the AAP is demanding 10 seats, the Congress is ready to give them only seven. However, Chadha refused to divulge any details about the seat-sharing arrangements discussed so far. "We will take a decision well before (September) 12, the last day of nomination. If there is no win-win situation, we will leave it. The talks are going on, good discussions are happening, I hope a good conclusion will come out of it," he added. Earlier, the Congress and AAP, partners in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), entered a seat-sharing agreement for Lok Sabha polls in Delhi, Haryana and Gujarat. In Haryana, AAP state president Sushil Gupta was the lone party candidate in the Lok Sabha polls in the state. He lost to BJP's Naveen Jindal. Gupta recently asserted that the AAP is ready to strongly contest on all the 90 assembly seats in Haryana on its own "with an alliance with the people of the state". The Congress and AAP contested the Lok Sabha polls independently in Punjab. After about three years, the Central Government has allotted houses to Jharkhand under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin in the election year. In the decision taken in the Union Cabinet, a target of building three crore PM houses has been set across the Country. In view of this, PM houses have been allotted to Jharkhand along with other States. The Central Government has given the target of building 113195 houses to Jharkhand. In this regard, the Union Rural Development Ministry has given the allotment order to Jharkhand. The maximum number of houses have been allotted to Palamu, Garhwa, Giridih and Ranchi districts. Koderma and Khunti districts have got the target of building the least number of houses. As soon as the target is achieved, the Rural Development Department will start the process of selection of eligible beneficiaries again. An amount of Rs 2 lakh will be allotted to each beneficiary for building a house. It is noteworthy that Jharkhand Government had prepared a list of 10 lakh beneficiaries in 2020-21 itself and sent it to the Central Government. After reviewing, the Center removed the names of two lakh ineligible beneficiaries from the list. After this, there was a demand to provide housing to eight lakh beneficiaries. The Center put a condition that the pending houses should be completed first, only after that new houses will be allotted. However, the State Government did the work of building more than two lakh pending houses rapidly, but still 33 thousand houses are pending. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Hemant Soren accused the Central Government of depriving the poor of housing. After this, he started the Chief Minister Abua Housing Scheme. In which approval was given to give two lakh rupees for building a three-room pucca house. In the first phase, eight lakh beneficiaries were selected, against which two lakh houses have been allotted. However, later the target of providing housing has reached 20 lakh. Now the Central Government has also approved the PM Awas Yojana. Sources said that Jharkhand state has received very less allocation of houses as per the requirement. The state Government is already providing concrete houses to the poor through the Abua Awas Yojana. NEW YORKIn a move that protracts the Manhattan criminal case against former President Donald Trump, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan has agreed to delay sentencing in his hush money trial verdict once again. Sentencing was scheduled for September 18, but will now take place November 26weeks after the election. Trump's attorneys last month pressed the court to delay sentencing until after the 2024 presidential election. Being less than 60 days away, Merchan thought it to be prudent to adjourn sentencing once again in a bid to ensure the independence and apolitical nature of the court and to prove that Trump's sentencing isn't a political hitjob. "Unfortunately, we are now at a place in time that is fraught with complexities rendering the requirements of a sentencing hearing, should one be necessary, difficult to execute," writes Merchan in a four-page order issued Friday. "This is not a decision this court makes lightly but it is the decision which in this Court's view, best advances the interests of justice," ordered Merchan. Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a conspiracy to cover up an affair he had with AVN Hall of Famer Stormy Daniels in 2006. He was convicted on May 31. Sentencing was expected over the summer but was delayed partly for Merchan to consider the implication of a controversial ruling that the U.S. Supreme Court handed down in a separate federal criminal case against Trump that greatly expanded presidential immunity protections to cover most official acts. Merchan adjourned at that time to consider the ruling and the prosecutors' and defense arguments. Defense lawyers for Trump argued in filings made in July and August that he was immunized from certain elements in the Manhattan District Attorney's case against him under the Supreme Court's broad expansion of presidential immunity. This includes the use of evidence and former White House officials who testified to speak to Trump's blending of the criminal conspiracy with his personal affairs. It is the position of the prosecution that the immunity ruling doesn't apply and that they had a strong case against Trump without the use of evidence and testimony that would cross into the realm of him serving in his official capacity as president of the United States. The theory among legal pundits and reporters is that Trump committed these crimes in his personal capacity, not his official capacity. Trump posted on his Truth Social account to millions of his followers, The Manhattan D.A. Witch Hunt has been postponed because everyone realizes that there was no case, I did nothing wrong!" Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney, stated to several news outlets, "A jury of 12 New Yorkers swiftly and unanimously convicted Donald Trump of 34 felony counts. The Manhattan D.A.'s Office stands ready for sentencing on the new date set by the court." Merchan's order comes days after a federal district judge declined another attempt by Trump's defense team to remove the case from state court and bring it to federal court. AVN has reported extensively on Trump's criminal trial involving Stormy Daniels. Trump is running for his second term at the White House alongside anti-porn U.S. Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, on the Republican Party's ticket. Both are up against Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on the Democrat Party's ticket. A doctor and lady nurse on duty at Dwarka's Indira Gandhi Hospital was allegedly cussed at by two intoxicated men who became aggressive after they were told that x-ray services were unavailable at the hospital in the early hours of Sunday. The incident occurred around 4 am Sunday when the two came to the hospital with one of them having a glass cut on his right hand. Dwarka Deputy Commissioner of Police Ankit Singh, said, " On Sunday, a PCR call was received in Dwarka South police station regarding a quarrel at Indira Gandhi Hospital, Sector-9 Dwarka. There was no physical assault, but the incident involved misbehaviour by the patients. Police reached at the hospital and met the caller - Dr. Manohar Lal, in Emergency Department who stated that, at about 4.15 AM, two intoxicated persons arrived at emergency ward and one of them identified as Sonu, resident of Shahbad Mohammadpur, injured was undergoing treatment, the DCP said. An altercation ensued over the point of bereftness of X-Ray facility at night. Dr Manohar Lal, who was on duty that night and the complainant, said that the men abused him verbally when he asked them to visit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital in west Delhi. "I explained that he needed to go to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital because after 8 pm, our hospital no longer had x-ray services available, and due to his glass wound, an x-ray was required," Dr Lal said. "When I asked him to go to the hospital, he began abusing me. Meanwhile, another patient with low blood pressure and other health issues came into the emergency room. As this patient was in a critical condition, I began treating him. At this point, the first patient started filming me, accusing me of ignoring his treatment and attending to another patient. They continued filming and verbally abusing me," he added. The two men, however, decamped after the doctor called security. The Federation of All India Medical Associations condemned the incident and highlighted the mental trauma experienced by healthcare providers. Facts are being verified, alleged persons have been identified and search for them is on. Appropriate legal action is being taken, Singh added. Dynastic politics carries a negative connotation, but it is unfair to solely attribute its promotion to any single party in Haryana Assembly election. The allocation of tickets by the national and regional political parties Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) for the Assembly election in the State has demonstrated the influence of dynastic ties in furthering careers across the political spectrum. In its first list of 67 out of 90 Assembly seats, BJP has tried to play all cards including giving tickets to kin of prominent party leaders in order to score a hat-trick in the State despite strong anti-incumbency sentiment. The BJP seems to have kept aside its oft-repeated principled stand against dynastic politics. The party has named the grandchildren of three former Chief Ministers among nine people who hail from prominent political families in its first list of 67 names for the Assembly elections in the State, triggering allegations of dynastic politics from the opposition. The grandchildren of former Chief Ministers Rao Birender Singh, Bansi Lal, and Bhajan Lal have been nominated by the BJP. The formidable Lal trio former chief ministers Devi Lal, Bansi Lal, and Bhajan Lal, separately ruled the State for a total of over 30 years and birthed the fiercely competitive clan-based politics that came to shape Haryana. As far as the lists of candidates released by various political parties for Haryana polls are concerned, so far, the BJP has topped the list with nine candidates hailing from known political families. Arti Singh Rao daughter of Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh and the grand-daughter of former Chief Minister Rao Birender Singh has got a ticket to contest from the Ateli constituency. She is among seven women the party has fielded. Shruti Choudhry daughter of Rajya Sabha member Kiran Choudhry, who recently switched from Congress party has been fielded from Tosham. The veteran politician and former Congress Minister Vinod Sharmas wife and Ambala Mayor Shakti Rani Sharma, has been fielded from Kalka, just days after she left the Haryana Janchetna Party to join the BJP. Bhajan Lals grandson, Bhavya Bishnoi who is sitting MLA from Adampur has also been named in the list. In its first list of 32 candidates, Congress played very safe by naming all the sitting MLAs in their constituencies concerned. Many sitting MLAs in Congress are relatives of prominent party leaders. Neeraj Sharma, son of former Haryana Minister and Congress leader Shiv Charan Lal Sharma, was given a ticket. He is currently MLA from Faridabad NIT assembly segment. Amit Sihag, grandson of Devi Lal and sitting MLA, has been named from Dabwali; while Chiranjeev Rao, son of senior Congress leader Ajay Singh Yadav, has been fielded from Rewari. Mohammad Ilyas and Aftab Ahmed, who are also relatives of senior Congress leaders, have been fielded from Punahana and Nuh, respectively. Moreover, Haryanas former Chief Minister and INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautalas son Abhay Chautala and grandson Arjun Chautala has been included among the eight candidates announced by the party for the Vidhan Sabha polls. Abhay and Arjun are contesting election from Ellenabad and Rania Assembly seats, respectively. INLDs then state president Nafe Singh Rathi and a two-time MLA from Bahadurgarh was shot dead allegedly by members of Lawrence Bishnoi gang in his constituency in February this year. Now his wife Sheela Rathi will be contesting as INLD nominee from Bahadurgarh. BJP leader Aditya Devi Lal, the grandson of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal, who joined the INLD on Sunday, was fielded from Dabwali Assembly constituency. Jannayak Janta Party has declared its first list of candidates on 15 Assembly seats. Senior JJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala has been fielded from Uchana Kalan, from where he is a sitting MLA. JJP has fielded Dushyants brother and senior leader Digvijay Singh Chautala from Dabwali seat. JJP is headed by Dushyant and Digvijay's father and former MP Ajay Singh Chautala. The party has yet not named its candidate from Badhra where Dushyant's mother Naina Chautala is the sitting MLA. On the remaining seats in which BJP, Congress, INLD and JJP are yet to announce their candidates, their leaders including Ministers, several legislators, office-bearers and senior leaders too have presented the names of their children as eligible candidates. Political observer opined that now, without exception, dynasty politics is well entrenched and parties are not keeping up the morale of ordinary cadres by fielding grassroots workers. The list of candidates for Assembly seats announced by these parties in Haryana showed that there was no hesitation in fielding father-son and father-daughter duos. If dynasties are the flavour of Indian politics, Haryana could well be its capital. From the Hoodas of Rohtak, the Chautalas of Sirsa to the Bishnois of Hisar, Haryana is home to at least five prominent political dynasties, which date back at least three generations, all of which are in the fray for the Assembly elections in the State on October 5. The families have also managed to have a stake in power by either en masse switching of loyalties from one national party to another or forming breakaway factions from within, said a political expert. Another political observer opined that Prime Minister Narendra Modis aggressive narrative against dynasty politics in Congress and regional parties has no relevance in Haryana as all the three leading political parties, including BJP, are saddled with political dynasties. It has been a long-held convention that if a sitting member passes away, his or her family member is given the ticket in the by-election. Dynasty politics is for self-protection and it is not a good sign, they added. Punjab Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO on Sunday issued stringent directives to the state power utility Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to combat power theft aggressively. Emphasizing a zero-tolerance policy against corruption, the Minister called for comprehensive special checks across the state to detect and prevent power thefts. The Minister stressed the Punjab Government's commitment to energy conservation and curbing revenue losses due to power theft. He underscored the necessity of regular inspections to safeguard the interests of law-abiding consumers and to ensure efficient service delivery. He instructed the PSPCL officials to conduct thorough inspections of all types of power connections, including domestic, commercial, agricultural, and industrial. Reports from these inspections are to be submitted to him daily. He warned that any PSPCL or PSTCL official involved in power theft would face immediate termination and legal action. The Minister also directed the imposition of penalties and registration of FIRs against those caught stealing electricity. The PSPCLs recent efforts have been notable. A total of 81,262 connections have been checked statewide, resulting in the detection of theft in numerous cases. Penalties amounting to approximately Rs 13.30 crore have been imposed on defaulters. Zone-wise, the Border Zone in Amritsar reported 27,285 checks with 989 theft cases and a penalty of Rs 3.01 crore. The West Zone in Bathinda saw 6,079 checks, detecting 872 thefts with Rs 3.03 crore in penalties. The North Zone in Jalandhar, Central Zone in Ludhiana, and South Zone in Patiala also reported significant theft cases and penalties. The Minister emphasized that power theft equates to corruption and reaffirmed that no leniency will be shown towards those involved. Any PSPCL or PSTCL official and employee found indulging into power thefts directly or indirectly would not be spared at any cost. Any such official of any rank would be terminated as per rules with immediate effect, he said while asking the Distribution and Enforcement Teams to adhere his instructions in toto otherwise they should remain ready to face strict action. He made it clear that he will personally oversee the enforcement of these measures to ensure the integrity and efficiency of Punjabs power sector. In a heart-wrenching incident reported from Kushinagar district, a man was forced to sell his two-year-old son to settle the hospital bill and secure the release of his wife and newborn. Harish Patel, the father, lacked the money to pay the hospitals Rs. 4,000 bill. Desperate, and advised by hospital staff, he sold his second child to a couple for Rs 20,000. Financial desperation led to this tragic decision. Harish Patels wife gave birth at a private hospital in Kushinagar. However, unable to pay the modest hospital bill, Harish was faced with an unimaginable decision. The hospital staff allegedly refused to release his wife and newborn until the bill was settled. Under immense pressure, Harish sold his two-year-old son, a heart-breaking choice made out of sheer desperation. On getting information, the authorities quickly responded and recovered the child safely. Five individuals, including the couple who purchased the child and two hospital employees, have been arrested. The police confirmed that the sale of the child was facilitated through fake adoption documents. The accused, including Bhola Yadav (the buyer), mediator Amresh Yadav, Tara Kushwaha and hospital staff, have been detained. The Delhi Police arrested a 37 year old man who murdered his wife on the suspicion of her having an extramarital affair in North Delhis Wazirabad village. According to the police on Sunday, the husband has been identified as Ved Prakash Tiwari and the wife as a 27 year old Parul Tiwari. Elaborating on the case, DCP North Manoj Kumar Meena said, Information was received at 8:37 am on August 5 regarding Khasra No. 107, Gali No. 14, near Tent Wali Dukan, Wazirabad Village, about lady being dead and on receiving the call senior officers arrived at the scene, finding Parul Tiwari, dead on the ground floor. He added that they had two daughters aged 4.5 years and 2.5 years, who were also present there. Crime team and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team inspected and photographed the scene. The body was shifted to Sabji Mandi Mortuary. The husband of the lady was not found on the spot, Meena said. Further, proceedings under Section 194 BNSS were initiated and statements of relatives were recorded. In the latest development in the case, murder case under section 103 BNS has been registered as per the statements and circumstances. The husband of the deceased lady has been arrested in the case. Motive of the murder was suspected extramarital affair of the wife, another senior official said, adding that the Post mortem has been conducted. In a shocking incident, a 15-year-old girl was abducted and gang-raped in Meerut. Police have registered a case and constituted three teams to nab the rapists. The girl had gone to attend her sewing class and did not return home on Saturday evening. The family members were worried and started searching for her and found the girl in a nearby vacant house, bleeding and unconscious. According to neighbours, a boy had brought the girl to the house and later several other boys joined him. It is alleged that the girl was subjected to a brutal gang-rape, leading to her losing consciousness. The perpetrators reportedly fled the scene, leaving the girl in a critical condition. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has slammed the state government and demanded justice for the victim. The inaction of the government and administration in the matter of gang-rape of a minor in Meerut is as reprehensible as the incident itself. There should be justice!, Yadav posted on X in Hindi. Meanwhile, in another tragic incident reported from Bulandshahr district, a man, identified as Hasrat Ali, hanged himself to death. He was under severe financial and emotional distress. Alis daughter-in-law had accused him of rape and demanded Rs 10 lakh for a settlement, a sum that Hasrat Ali was unable to pay. Hasrat Alis death has shocked family members and neighbours. Facing allegations of rape and unable to meet his daughter-in-laws substantial financial demands, Hasrat Ali wrote a detailed suicide note before taking his own life. According to sources, the note revealed his anguish over the financial pressures and the accusations he faced. The suicide note is a crucial piece of evidence in understanding the circumstances leading up to his tragic decision. The family members claimed that the demand for Rs 10 lakh from his daughter-in-law, which came at a time when Hasrat Ali was already struggling with a dire financial situation and mental trauma of rape accusation, placed an unbearable burden on him, exacerbating his stress levels. Depressed with it, he finally decided to end his life. The local authorities have launched a thorough investigation into the case to unravel the exact details of the financial and legal pressures that culminated in this tragic event, with the aim of understanding the circumstances that drove Hasrat Ali to such a desperate measure. Officials said that if rape charges were found to be false, action would be taken against the complainant. Patients across Punjab are bracing for a severe disruption in healthcare services from Monday onwards as the Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA) has announced an indefinite strike starting September 9. The strike, which will initially suspend outpatient department (OPD) services from September 9 to 11, will mean that routine consultations and elective surgeries will be put on hold. During this period, only emergency trauma cases and caesarean sections both elective and emergency will be performed. As the strike progresses into its second phase from September 12 to 15, the situation may worsen, with a potential complete halt to medico-legal examinations if the standoff continues into the third phase starting September 16. The decision to strike comes after protracted negotiations with the Punjab Government failed to address critical issues faced by the medical community. Doctors are protesting against stalled career progressions, unpaid arrears from the Sixth Pay Commission, and insufficient security measures at healthcare facilities. The current strain on Punjabs healthcare system is exacerbated by a significant shortage of medical staff, with 2,800 out of 4,600 sanctioned doctor positions remaining vacant. This shortfall has left the remaining doctors overburdened with additional responsibilities, including VIP duties, postmortems, and medico-legal cases. Patients seeking medical care will face considerable challenges during the strike. Non-emergency procedures will be postponed, leading to longer wait times and increased pressure on emergency services. Those requiring routine medical examinations or general medical services will find their appointments canceled or delayed, potentially exacerbating existing health issues. Additionally, essential tasks such as reporting on dengue cases will continue, but other routine reporting and examinations will be halted. The strikes impact extends beyond immediate healthcare services. The Punjab Government has issued directives to address security concerns and maintain safety within healthcare facilities. New measures include forming District Health Boards under the leadership of District Commissioners, with the boards tasked with overseeing security and preventing violence in hospitals. Police stations near busy health centers have been instructed to stay alert, and hospitals are to display emergency contact numbers prominently. Moreover, the Health Minister has mandated that patients will now be allowed only one attendant per hospital visit, with all staff required to wear ID cards. These steps aim to improve security but may add to the challenges faced by patients and their families during the strike. The announcement of this indefinite strike reflected deep-seated frustrations among doctors over systemic issues within the Punjab healthcare system. Recent tragic events, including an assault on a junior doctor in Kolkata, have heightened awareness and solidarity among medical professionals, further fueling the current unrest. The strike represented a critical juncture in the ongoing struggle for better working conditions and effective reforms. Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria is set to embark on a crucial tour of the states border districts in the last week of September a move that comes against the backdrop of Chief Minister Bhagwant Manns attempts to foster better relations with Kataria after bitter clashes with his predecessor Banwari Lal Purohit. The visit has raised curiosity, as Mann had previously locked horns with Purohit over similar tours, particularly regarding border security and drug trafficking. It will be interesting to observe how Mann responds to Katarias tour, given the sensitive history surrounding such visits. It has been learnt that Kataria will spend three days, from September 25 to 28, visiting key districts along the border, including Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Tarn Taran, and Pathankot. Though the Governor's office is yet to confirm the exact details, officials in these districts have already been put on high alert. Katarias visit marks his first official tour of the border districts and follows in the footsteps of Purohit, who had made seven trips to the region during his tenure. Purohit had frequently criticized the AAP Government, raising serious concerns about illegal mining and drug trafficking, and had pointed out that drug addiction had infiltrated even the younger population, with school children becoming victims. Purohits stance on these issues often put him at odds with Mann, leading to a strained relationship. The former Governors criticism included not just local governance but also the apparent lack of coordination among security agencies operating in these sensitive areas. During his last visits to border areas in July this year, Purohit had drawn attention to the growing use of drones by Pakistan to smuggle drugs into Punjab. He warned that despite measures to counter these tactics, large portions of the State remained vulnerable. Purohit emphasized that local villagers often knew about these illegal activities but were too afraid to report them. He noted a lack of coordination between Central and State security agencies, which further hampered efforts to tackle drug smuggling. To combat this, Purohit had launched several initiatives, including the formation of Village Defence Committees and the incentivization of residents to report suspicious activities. He had announced that villages ridding themselves of drugs would receive a reward of Rs three lakhs from the Governors Fund. His efforts extended to enhancing communication between various agencies, including the Army, BSF, NIA, and local police, by mandating monthly meetings aimed at improving cooperation and efficiency. Purohit had also allocated funds to strengthen the states anti-drone measures, aiming to cover more vulnerable areas. With Kataria now stepping into the spotlight, it remains to be seen whether he will continue these measures or introduce new strategies to address the ongoing issues of drug trafficking and illegal activities in the border districts. His upcoming visit, which includes engagements with security agencies and local communities, is highly anticipated. Residents of these districts are expected to provide crucial feedback on the challenges they face, particularly regarding drug smuggling and cross-border threats. Katarias response to these concerns will be critical in shaping the states strategy moving forward, especially as Mann watches closely to see how the Governor navigates this politically sensitive terrain. Sankalp Residency, located on Jugsalai ME School Road, is hosting a vibrant seven-day Ganesh Utsav for its residents, filled with devotion and exciting activities. The festival commenced in a traditional manner with the ritualistic installation of Lord Ganesh's idol, bringing the community together in celebration. The residents, young and old alike, are actively participating in a range of engaging activities designed to promote health, creativity, and community spirit. The festivities kicked off with a Plantation Drive led by senior citizens, symbolizing growth and environmental consciousness. This was followed by a series of fun competitions, including Eat & Run, Sit & Draw, Spoon & Marble Race, No-Fire Cooking Contest, and a lively Party Makeup Contest, ensuring theres something for everyone. In addition to the recreational activities, the organizers prioritized the well-being of the residents by holding an Eye Checkup Camp led by renowned ophthalmologist Dr. Vivek Kedia. The camp witnessed a large turnout, including children, ensuring the health of the community is taken care of during the festive period. The Ganesh Utsav at Sankalp Residency is not just a celebration of culture and tradition but also an opportunity to strengthen the bonds within the community through activities that promote creativity, health, and well-being. The joyous atmosphere continues as the five-day festival promises more exciting events in the days to come. In a significant step towards promoting semiconductor manufacturing, the Uttar Pradesh government is gearing up to host Semicon India 2024 at the India Expo Mart in Greater Noida from September 11 to 13. This event, organised in partnership with SEMI, Messe Muenchen India and the Electronic Industries Association of India-ELCINA, aims to bolster Indias semiconductor industry, positioning the nation as a key player in the global market. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the event on September 11. The semiconductor industry in India is rapidly emerging, with projections indicating that the regional chip market could surpass $55 billion by 2026. Recognising this potential, the UP government is actively courting semiconductor industries to invest in the state. Semicon India 2024 will feature a comprehensive exhibition from September 11 to 13, showcasing the latest advancements in semiconductor technology. Manufacturers from around the globe will set up stalls, offering insights into the industrys future. The event will kick off with the inauguration by Prime Minister Modi, followed by workshops on smart manufacturing and presentations on Indias semiconductor ecosystem. The second day of the event will focus on cross-regional partnerships, flexible hybrid electronics, supply chain management, and sustainable practices within the industry. The final day, September 13, will feature a presentation by Micron on package manufacturing, a bootcamp on semiconductor fabrication by ISA, and a session on the semiconductor industrys journey thus far by IESA. The Semicon India exhibition and conference will be held in conjunction with Electronica India and Productronica India, the largest electronics industry fairs in Southeast Asia. This landmark event will bring together a host of domestic and international companies, offering them a platform to explore Indias rapidly expanding semiconductor ecosystem and uncover new business opportunities. Semicon India 2024 will feature a wide array of comprehensive exhibitions, insightful programmes and exclusive networking opportunities. Participants will have the chance to engage with local leaders and government officials, gaining valuable insights into the nations semiconductor landscape. To advance technological development in the country and meet domestic demand, the India Semiconductor Mission (an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) has attracted big companies like AMD, Applied Materials and Micron Technology to invest in its chip sector. Recognising the vast potential for semiconductor manufacturing in Uttar Pradesh, the state government has introduced its first-ever UP Semiconductor Policy, offering a range of lucrative incentives to investors. Key highlights of the policy include a 50 per cent additional capital subsidy on top of the capital subsidy approved by the Government of India. Additionally, the policy offers a 75 per cent land rebate for industries involved in compound semiconductors, silicon photonics, sensors, ATMP and OSAT. Chief Minister Yogi has invited investors, urging them to tap into the immense potential of UP as the state works towards its ambitious goal of becoming a $1 trillion economy. Over the past seven years, the Yogi government has relentlessly worked to create a conducive environment for industries, transforming UP into a thriving hub for electronics manufacturing. The states efforts have borne fruit, with more than 200 electronics manufacturing companies now operating within Uttar Pradesh, solidifying its reputation as a major player in the sector. Notably, Uttar Pradesh has also emerged as a leader in mobile manufacturing, contributing a remarkable 65 per cent to India's total mobile production. The Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, September 5, 2024. /Xinhua Editor's note: Adhere Cavince, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is an international relations scholar with a focus on China-Africa cooperation. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily those of CGTN. The 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit concluded with a resounding resolve among African and Chinese leaders to amplify synergy in their collective push for inclusive and sustainable development. In the 24 years since the forum was initiated, Africa's partnership with China has seen the most development compared to any other arrangement with a single country. In China, the continent has found a dependable partner whose unique history, demography and stage of development in many ways mirror those of African countries. Ahead of the FOCAC Summit, a perception survey by the Johannesburg-based Ichikowitz Family Foundation that works in community engagement and entrepreneurship found that African youths consider China to be the most influential power in Africa, polling 82 percent, compared to the United States at 79 percent. Like the previous FOCAC meetings, the just-concluded summit has set the stage for comprehensive political and socioeconomic engagement between China and Africa for the next three years. China has pledged 360 billion yuan (about $51 billion) in financial support to implement these actions. From major infrastructure construction, green energy transition and agricultural modernization to industrial expansion, China has demonstrated its willingness to stand with Africa. Since 2009, China has been Africa's largest trade partner. By agreeing to import more African products, China has handed Africa diversification away from traditional markets, which means higher incomes for farmers and other producers. Over the next three years, China will provide about 60,000 training opportunities to Africans, mainly to women and young people. The skills and technology transfer to young Africans is a key enabler in entrepreneurship a pathway out of unemployment and poverty. Young Africans today prefer China for training because of the high-quality education, affordable cost of living, and experiential learning in similar home contexts. Such exchange programs also foster understanding, friendship and cultural amity among the people of China and Africa. On the other hand, Africa is also offering value proposition to China. With abundant natural resources including renewables, Africa's partnership with China, which is the largest source of green energy technology in the world, can be a powerful force in climate mitigation and adaptation. Africa is forging ahead with the implementation of its free trade area, which is the largest after the World Trade Organization by member states. Africa's market is youthful and dynamic, presenting opportunities for Chinese enterprises. Africa also offers Chinese firms an opportunity to internationalize and drive economic transformation for win-win outcomes. Many of the partnership actions proposed by China can well be implemented under the purview of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Today, all African countries with diplomatic ties with China have signed agreements on cooperation under the BRI framework. It is a mark of confidence in the initiative as an avenue to galvanize international consensus on economic development. The BRI's full implementation will lead to a net good for Africa and common prosperity for humanity, as envisaged under the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Africa and China stand at a pivotal point in history. The two must band together in search of a strong global voice and representation on multilateral platforms. FOCAC has lived up to its billing as one of the most effective mechanisms of South-South cooperation and a key driver of the attainment of the SDGs. CGTN Delhi Finance Minister Atishi on Sunday said she will raise the issue of imposition of GST on research grants procured by educational institutions in the 54th GST Council meeting. Addressing a press conference, the minister said, "The (central) government has reduced budget allocation for research from 2014 to 2024. If an educational institution gets a research grant from a private entity, the government imposes 18 per cent GST, which is not justified. We will oppose it." She added that the central government claims that research grants received by institutions like IIT Delhi and other colleges and universities between 2017 and 2024 are liable for GST. Imposing GST on research is wrong, and the Delhi government strongly opposes this, the Delhi Minister stated. She also said that taxes are not imposed on research grants in foreign countries such as the US and UK. If you look at the data, youll see that the countries we consider developed invest a significant portion of their GDP into research grants for educational institutions. Israel invests 4.94 per cent of its GDP, Japan 3.82 per cent, the US 2.83 per cent, Germany 3.13 per cent, and even Brazil, which is also a developing country, invests 1.16 per cent. Atishi said the second issue she will raise in the 54th meeting of the GST Council to be held on Monday is the imposition of GST on online transactions below Rs 2,000. "The central government is coming up with a proposal to impose GST on online transactions of less than Rs 2000. No GST was earlier imposed on such small transactions. We will oppose this proposal," she added. Today, primarily small shops, businesses, and startups sell their goods online. Many startups today operate exclusively as online businesses. In Delhi, many young entrepreneurs run small businesses through their websites or Instagram, selling fashion-related items, clothing, designer products, jewelry, cakes, pastries, etc, she asserted.The senior AAP leader said that these small businesses primarily rely on payment gateways for transactions. So if GST is imposed on payment gateways, then small businesses and startups will be affected the most, she mentioned. She added that the Delhi government will strongly oppose the central government's proposal to impose GST on transactions less than Rs. 2000 in the GST Council tomorrow. This proposal will affect startups, small businesses, and the common consumer who often makes small online purchases, concluded Minister Atishi. The GST Council on Monday is expected to deliberate on a host of issues, including taxation of insurance premium, GoM's suggestions on rate rationalisation, and a status report on online gaming, according to sources. At the meeting, the Fitment Committee, comprising central and state tax officials, will present a report on GST levied on life, health and reinsurance premiums and their revenue implications. The GST Council is chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprises state ministers. The Hemant Government has failed on the parameters of policy, intention and credibility. The time has come to oust this useless Government from power. Youth should keep moving forward with this resolve, said AJSU party president Sudesh Mahato. Mahto said these things in the Jharkhand Navnirman Sankalp Sabha organized by Yuva AJSU at Prabhat Tara Ground in Ranchi on Sunday. Thousands of educated unemployed youth from across the State joined the meeting and demanded an account of the Government's broken promises. Mahato said that policy, intention and credibility are required to create the Jharkhand of the dreams of the martyrs. "The current Government has failed on these three parameters. Our youth are on the streets. The youth are demanding employment. They have BA degree, they have MA degree. They have engineering degree, polytechnic degree, every necessary degree but they do not have a job degree. And this is the degree the government had to give," he said. The party president said that the State Government had promised unemployment allowance to the youth. If they had worked on their promise, every youth would have received Rs 4.20 lakh today. The Hemant Government has not only looted the State, the land and the mines, but they have also looted Rs 4.20 lakh of every youth, he said. The AJSU chief said that the Government had promised to give a stove allowance of Rs 2,000, but now when the elections have come, they are giving an election allowance of Rs 1,000. "If the Government had given every woman a stove allowance at the rate of Rs 2,000 per month as per its promise, then every woman would have received Rs 1,20,000 in the last 5 years. They are not giving Rs 1,000 as allowance to women, but have usurped Rs 1,20,000 of every woman. Women should demand this amount from the Hemant Government," he said. On the occasion, Central Senior Vice President and Giridih MP Chandra Prakash Chaudhary addressed the youth and said that the Government is organizing the Government Aapke Dwar programme for the fourth time. "Till date not even a single application has been processed. If it had been done, they would not have needed to hold this program for the fourth time. Today thousands of youths who came here took a pledge to remove this uselessGgovernment from power and we will all work together to fulfill it," he said. The party's central principal general secretary Ramchandra Sahis said that the youth have the ability to change the direction and condition of the state. The Government has reneged on its promises. This useless Government cannot be trusted. On this occasion, general secretary and MLA Lambodar Mahato, general secretary and MLA Sunita Chaudhary, vice president Umakant Rajak, Kushwaha Shivpujan Mehta, chief spokesperson Dr. Devsharan Bhagat, Hasan Ansari, Rajendra Mehta, Banmali Mandal, Harish Kumar, Arvind Kumar, Amit Kumar of Yuva AJSU, Gautam Singh, Amit Mahato, Jabbar Ansari, Om Verma, Jyotsna Kerketta, Vishal Mahato, etc. were mainly present. The new NEP is a gamechanger and states that have not adopted the policy yet should rethink and revisit their stance, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar said on Sunday. Addressing the International Literacy Day celebrations, Dhankar cautioned against people who taint, tarnish and demean India's institutions and urged people to show light to those "misguided souls" not able to acknowledge the impressive growth of the country. The vice-president said it was time "for us to be in mission mode" with commitment and passion to ensure 100 per cent literacy at the earliest. "Education is something that no thief can take away from you. No government can snatch it from you. Neither relatives nor friends can take it away from you. There can be no reduction in it. It will grow and continue to grow as long as you keep sharing it. If literacy is pursued passionately, India can reclaim its ancient status as a centre of learning, like Nalanda and Takshashila," Dhankar said. Appealing to the states yet to adopt the new National Education Policy (NEP) to rethink and revisit their stance, he emphasised that the policy was a gamechanger for the nation. "This National Education Policy empowers our youth to fully exploit their talent and energy, giving due importance to all languages," he said. Cautioning against the people who taint, tarnish and demean India's institutions, Dhankhar urged to "show path to those misguided souls who are not able to acknowledge the impressive growth of Bharat and are not recognising the ground reality". Highlighting the special significance of the mother tongue, Dhankhar stated that it was the language in which people dreamed. The vice-president also emphasised India's unparalleled linguistic diversity. "There is no country in the world like India. We are a unique nation when it comes to the richness of language, with several languages." Reflecting on his experience as Rajya Sabha chairman, he said, "I afford members the opportunity to speak in 22 languages. When I hear them speak in their language, I listen to the translation but their body language itself tells me what they are saying." Dhankhar also called upon everyone to resolve to make at least one person literate. "When we make someone literate, we liberate him or her, we help that person discover himself or herself, we make him or her feel dignity, we cut down dependence, we generate independence and interdependence. It enables a person to help himself or herself. It is a supreme facet of hand-holding," he said. In his address, Dhankhar called upon everyone to promote literacy. "Time for us to be in mission mode with commitment and passion to ensure 100 per cent literacy at the earliest but I am sure this is achievable sooner than we think. Let each one make one literate, this will be a spinal contribution for Viksit Bharat," he said. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is travelling to Russia this week against the backdrop of calls for India's possible role in finding a solution to the Ukraine conflict following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visits to Moscow and Kyiv. Doval is visiting Russia primarily to attend a conclave of national security advisors of the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) grouping that is taking place amid a renewed push for peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv to end the conflict. NSA Doval is travelling to Russia for the BRICS meet, official sources said. He is also expected to hold talks with his Russian counterpart and is likely to discuss ways to bring peace to the region. Doval's visit to Russia comes two-and-half weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high-profile trip to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. On Saturday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, following her talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said India and China can play a role in finding a solution to the dragging conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a panel discussion at the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok on Thursday, named India, Brazil and China as possible intermediaries that could play a role in resolving the conflict "First of all, it is the Chinese People's Republic, Brazil and India -- I am in contact with my partners and I have no doubt that the leaders of these countries, and we have relations of trust and confidence with one another, will be really interested and provide a helping hand," he said. His remarks came in response to a question on possible countries that can act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine. In his talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Modi had said both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the ongoing war and that India was ready to play an "active role" in restoring peace in the region. The prime minister said India was on the side of peace since the beginning of the conflict and he would even like to contribute personally to a peaceful resolution of the crisis. Modi's nearly nine-hour visit to Ukraine on August 23, the first by an Indian prime minister since its independence in 1991, came six weeks after he held summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. India has been maintaining that the conflict in Ukraine must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that the evidence against jailed former prime minister Imran Khan points towards a military trial in the cases concerning the violence on May 9 last year, a media report said on Sunday. Speaking to a private news channel on Saturday, Asif said that military trials had taken place before and will continue to do so in future as well, Geo News reported. "Evidence against founder Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party founder (Imran Khan) points towards military trial," Asif said. His remarks come after 71-year-old Khan - fearing a military trial over his alleged involvement in the May 9 riots - filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to stop his potential trial in military courts. However, the IHC registrar's office raised objections over Khan's plea, saying that neither it mentioned any specific first information report (FIR) nor any documentation or order was attached to the petition and how a petition be filed in a high court while the matter of military trials is sub judice in the Supreme Court. It is not the first time that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) expressed such a possibility. Several leaders of the party have accused Khan of orchestrating the May 9, 2023 violence. On September 2, Asif had said that a military trial of Khan was "possible". He had said that during the Khan-led government, military trials of the civilians were held and he remembers cases of 24 civilians who went through the process of facing military court. On May 9 last year, violent protests erupted after the arrest of the PTI founder by paramilitary Rangers from the premises of the Islamabad High Court in connection with an alleged corruption case. His party workers allegedly vandalised a dozen military installations, including the Jinnah House (Lahore Corps Commander House), the Mianwali airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad. A mob also attacked the Army headquarters in Rawalpindi. Khan's party has ruled out the possibility of him being subjected to a military trial. The Supreme Court in December 2023 suspended its October 23, 2023, order wherein it declared civilians' trials in military courts null and void in connection with the May 9 riots. The verdict was announced on intra-court appeals filed by the federal and provincial governments and the defence ministry against the top court's verdict. The December order stated that military court trials would be conditioned on the Supreme Court's final verdict on the intra-court pleas. Speaking on the issue, the defence minister said that he lacked access to the investigation related to the PTI founder as they were confidential. "The army was targeted in cities where demonstrations took place [...] This leads us [to believe] that some people were directing [rioters]," the politician said, recalling the May 9 events. The directions related to protests must've been of the PTI founder, he added. Asif also said that Lt Gen (retd.) Faiz Hameed, who was recently arrested, approached the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz to become army chief. The former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has been arrested over allegations of land grabbing and snatching valuables from the owner of a private housing society. "General (retd) Faiz wanted to become army chief, his name was in the list. He contacted the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) leadership and assured of his loyalty against support for his bid for army chief," Asif claimed, adding that the ex-ISI chief also gave certain guarantees as well. The minister said that following the appointment of Gen Asif Munir as army chief, Faiz's complaints intensified. "The general had an acquaintance with the PTI founder [and] he must be speaking about this following his arrest," the minister said, noting that the former spy chief would attempt to shift the blame on someone else. "He (Faiz) might say that even if he was part of the conspiracy then the objectives (of conspiracy) were of the PTI founder's and not his," Asif said. "Both of them tried to take over the country after losing power. Both failed to create an uprising within the military," he added. Khan was arrested on August 5 last year after his conviction in the first Toshakhana corruption case filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan. Since then, he has been in jail in different cases. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Ashtead Group (LON:AHT Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a GBX 6,500 ($85.47) price objective on the stock. Several other brokerages also recently commented on AHT. Barclays reissued an overweight rating and issued a GBX 6,600 ($86.79) target price on shares of Ashtead Group in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a buy rating and issued a GBX 6,150 ($80.87) price objective on shares of Ashtead Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ashtead Group currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of GBX 4,933.13 ($64.87). Get Ashtead Group alerts: Get Our Latest Analysis on Ashtead Group Ashtead Group Trading Down 1.4 % Ashtead Group Increases Dividend Shares of AHT stock opened at GBX 5,190 ($68.24) on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of 22.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,880.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.22. Ashtead Group has a 12-month low of GBX 4,437 ($58.34) and a 12-month high of GBX 6,180 ($81.26). The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 150.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of GBX 5,256.68 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 5,473.69. The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be paid a $0.89 dividend. This is a boost from Ashtead Groups previous dividend of $0.16. This represents a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 8th. Ashtead Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,898.55%. Insider Transactions at Ashtead Group In related news, insider Lucinda Riches sold 4,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 5,480 ($72.06), for a total value of 219,200 ($288,231.43). In related news, insider Lucinda Riches sold 4,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 5,480 ($72.06), for a total transaction of 219,200 ($288,231.43). Also, insider Brendan Horgan sold 37,063 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 5,112 ($67.22), for a total transaction of 1,894,660.56 ($2,491,335.38). 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Ashtead Group Company Profile (Get Free Report) Ashtead Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the construction, industrial, and general equipment rental business in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It provides pumps, power generation, heating, cooling, scaffolding, traffic management, temporary flooring, trench shoring, and lifting services. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Ashtead Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ashtead Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Hargreaves Lansdown plc (LON:HL Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of Hold from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is GBX 1,048.20 ($13.78). HL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Hargreaves Lansdown from GBX 671 ($8.82) to GBX 684 ($8.99) and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Hargreaves Lansdown to a hold rating and increased their target price for the stock from GBX 1,035 ($13.61) to GBX 1,140 ($14.99) in a research report on Wednesday, June 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a buy rating and set a GBX 1,342 ($17.65) target price on shares of Hargreaves Lansdown in a research report on Wednesday, June 19th. Finally, Shore Capital reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Hargreaves Lansdown in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Get Hargreaves Lansdown alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on HL Hargreaves Lansdown Price Performance Hargreaves Lansdown Increases Dividend Shares of LON HL opened at GBX 1,105 ($14.53) on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of 5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,782.26, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.66. Hargreaves Lansdown has a twelve month low of GBX 676.40 ($8.89) and a twelve month high of GBX 1,169 ($15.37). The firm has a 50-day moving average of GBX 1,101.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 938.25. The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued a GBX 30 ($0.39) dividend. This is a boost from Hargreaves Lansdowns previous dividend of $13.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a dividend yield of 2.78%. Hargreaves Lansdowns dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6,935.48%. About Hargreaves Lansdown (Get Free Report Hargreaves Lansdown plc provides investment services for individuals and corporates in the United Kingdom and Poland. The company offers stocks and shares individual savings accounts (ISAs), fund and share accounts, and junior and lifetime ISAs. It also provides pension services, including self-invested personal pensions (SIPP), junior SIPPs, annuities, and drawdown; share dealing services; fund dealing; and cash management services. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Hargreaves Lansdown Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hargreaves Lansdown and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Chris Bulman Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Vanguard Information Technology ETF (NYSEARCA:VGT Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 959 shares of the exchange traded funds stock, valued at approximately $553,000. A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VGT. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Vanguard Information Technology ETF by 54,658.6% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,506,958 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $868,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,504,206 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in Vanguard Information Technology ETF by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 2,984 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $1,721,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vanguard Information Technology ETF by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 58,421 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $33,685,000 after buying an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI raised its holdings in shares of Vanguard Information Technology ETF by 47.1% in the second quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 103 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vanguard Information Technology ETF by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Get Vanguard Information Technology ETF alerts: Vanguard Information Technology ETF Stock Down 2.4 % NYSEARCA:VGT opened at $533.17 on Friday. Vanguard Information Technology ETF has a 52 week low of $397.76 and a 52 week high of $609.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $568.26 and a 200 day moving average of $542.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.30 and a beta of 1.41. About Vanguard Information Technology ETF Vanguard Information Technology ETF seeks to track the investment performance of the MSCI US Investable Market Information Technology 25/50 Index, a benchmark of large-, mid-, and small-cap United States stocks in the information technology sector, as classified under the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS). See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VGT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Vanguard Information Technology ETF (NYSEARCA:VGT Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Vanguard Information Technology ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Vanguard Information Technology ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME Free Report) by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 430,709 shares of the technology companys stock after purchasing an additional 42,577 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned about 0.19% of AMETEK worth $71,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AME. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AMETEK in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in AMETEK during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the first quarter worth $43,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AMETEK in the second quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AMETEK in the first quarter valued at $50,000. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get AMETEK alerts: AMETEK Price Performance AME stock opened at $163.64 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.10. The stock has a market cap of $37.88 billion, a PE ratio of 28.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.17. AMETEK, Inc. has a one year low of $136.89 and a one year high of $186.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.76. AMETEK Dividend Announcement AMETEK ( NYSE:AME Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.02. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.51% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. AMETEKs dividend payout ratio is 19.68%. Insider Buying and Selling In other AMETEK news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,440 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.93, for a total transaction of $250,459.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,809 shares in the company, valued at $4,315,029.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of analysts recently issued reports on AME shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on AMETEK from $216.00 to $215.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of AMETEK from $165.00 to $158.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $204.00 to $201.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of AMETEK to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of AMETEK from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $186.29. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AMETEK AMETEK Profile (Free Report) AMETEK, Inc manufactures and sells electronic instruments and electromechanical devices in the North America, Europe, Asia, and South America, and internationally. The company's EIG segment offers advanced instruments for the process, aerospace, power, and industrial markets; process and analytical instruments for the oil and gas, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, semiconductor, automation, and food and beverage industries; instruments to the laboratory equipment, ultra-precision manufacturing, medical, and test and measurement markets; power quality monitoring and c devices, uninterruptible power supplies, programmable power and electromagnetic compatibility test equipment, and sensors for gas turbines and dashboard instruments; heavy trucks, instrumentation, and controls for the food and beverage industries; and aircraft and engine sensors, power supplies, embedded computing, monitoring, fuel and fluid measurement, and data acquisition systems for aerospace and defense industry. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AME? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for AMETEK Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AMETEK and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Altria Group (NYSE:MO Free Report) had its target price increased by Bank of America from $52.00 to $57.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock. A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $48.58. Get Altria Group alerts: Get Our Latest Research Report on MO Altria Group Price Performance Shares of NYSE MO opened at $53.69 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $50.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.02. The company has a market capitalization of $92.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $54.95. Altria Group (NYSE:MO Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Groups revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year. Altria Group Increases Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.60%. This is a positive change from Altria Groups previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Groups payout ratio is presently 85.36%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% in the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the companys stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Altria Group Company Profile (Get Free Report) Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Altria Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Altria Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. In parliament on Wednesday, Revival called for a referendum on delaying the countrys eurozone membership until at least 2043. Despite support from Revival, the Bulgarian Socialist Party, and the populist There Is Such a People (European Conservatives and Reformists) party, lawmakers from the pro-European formations GERB (EPP), PP-DB (Renew, EPP) and MRF (Renew Europe) rejected the proposal to undermine Bulgarias full integration into the EU. The debate was indicative of an attempt by pro-Russian forces in Bulgarian politics to spread misinformation ahead of the countrys next parliamentary elections on 27 October. Revival leader Kostadin Kostadinov went so far as to call directly for Bulgaria to leave the EU and NATO. If we want to have a future, we have no place in these agonising structures, which are the EU in this format and NATO. If the EU is not reformed, we must leave it because we will not die with it, he said. Bulgarias pro-Russian radical party Revival is one of the founding members of the sovereignist group in the European Parliament, along with Germanys Alternative for Germany. Revivals new electoral thesis is that Bulgaria should become a member of BRICS, and the party has begun sending representatives to the organisations forums. The goal of officials in Sofia is for Bulgaria to join the eurozone by mid-2025 at the latest. Most experts argue that the realistic deadline is 1 January 2026 due to the ongoing political crisis in the country. According to the latest polls, Bulgarians are split 50-50 in favour of adopting the euro, with the main fear being price rises. Revival MP Tsoncho Ganev said that the Bulgarian people should be asked whether they wanted to be part of the eurozone or not. Without mentioning facts to support his claim, he explained that the BRICS was a richer club than Western countries and that this causes a frantic fear of the Euro-Atlantic parties to go to a referendum. The latest World Bank data show that Bulgarias GDP per capita is higher than that of any BRICS country except the oil-rich UAE, although Bulgaria still has the lowest GDP per capita in the EU. You dare to say that the Bulgarian people are not competent to make such decisions. Do you hear what you are saying? the Bulgarian people are competent to make such a decision, he said, addressing the pro-European parties in parliament. In response, Martin Dimitrov of the pro-European coalition PP-DB said: The suspicion remains that you are trying to harm Bulgaria with this referendum, to take our country out of the EU. Ballentine Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of iShares Russell 3000 ETF (NYSEARCA:IWV Free Report) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 168,793 shares of the companys stock after selling 1,359 shares during the period. iShares Russell 3000 ETF accounts for approximately 1.0% of Ballentine Partners LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Ballentine Partners LLC owned 0.37% of iShares Russell 3000 ETF worth $52,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in iShares Russell 3000 ETF in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in iShares Russell 3000 ETF during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new stake in iShares Russell 3000 ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in iShares Russell 3000 ETF in the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of iShares Russell 3000 ETF during the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. Get iShares Russell 3000 ETF alerts: iShares Russell 3000 ETF Price Performance Shares of NYSEARCA IWV traded down $5.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $307.60. The company had a trading volume of 142,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 177,886. iShares Russell 3000 ETF has a 12 month low of $233.54 and a 12 month high of $322.19. The firm has a market cap of $14.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.59 and a beta of 1.03. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $312.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $302.69. iShares Russell 3000 ETF Profile iShares Russell 3000 ETF, formerly iShares Russell 3000 Index Fund (the Fund), is an exchange traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the United States equity market, as represented by the Russell 3000 Index (the Index). Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IWV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Russell 3000 ETF (NYSEARCA:IWV Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares Russell 3000 ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Russell 3000 ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Ballentine Partners LLC lessened its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM Free Report) by 10.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,175 shares of the semiconductor companys stock after selling 3,459 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLCs holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing were worth $5,419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TSM. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the second quarter valued at approximately $530,000. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 68.1% during the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 61,649 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $10,749,000 after buying an additional 24,965 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC purchased a new stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the 2nd quarter valued at $302,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,479 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $2,690,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Custom Index Systems LLC purchased a new position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the second quarter valued at about $400,000. 16.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Susquehanna reiterated a positive rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $130.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $168.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $200.00. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Down 4.2 % Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing stock traded down $6.88 on Friday, hitting $156.82. 14,964,411 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,454,126. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited has a 1 year low of $84.01 and a 1 year high of $193.47. The firm has a market cap of $813.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $169.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.29. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The semiconductor company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $20.33 billion. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a net margin of 37.85% and a return on equity of 25.54%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturings revenue was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th will be paid a $0.4871 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. This is an increase from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturings previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturings dividend payout ratio is presently 37.52%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Profile (Free Report) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, packages, tests, and sells integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices in Taiwan, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, the United States, and internationally. It provides a range of wafer fabrication processes, including processes to manufacture complementary metal- oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) logic, mixed-signal, radio frequency, embedded memory, bipolar CMOS mixed-signal, and others. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Barclays from $146.00 to $151.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock. H has been the subject of a number of other reports. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Hyatt Hotels from $185.00 to $178.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $204.00 to $200.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $141.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $127.00 to $120.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $148.06. Get Hyatt Hotels alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Hyatt Hotels Hyatt Hotels Stock Down 1.9 % H opened at $144.50 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firms fifty day moving average price is $146.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.89. Hyatt Hotels has a fifty-two week low of $96.77 and a fifty-two week high of $162.24. Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.76 billion. Hyatt Hotels had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 10.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Hyatt Hotels will post 3.97 EPS for the current year. Hyatt Hotels Dividend Announcement The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Hyatt Hotelss payout ratio is currently 9.32%. Insider Activity at Hyatt Hotels In other Hyatt Hotels news, insider Mark Samuel Hoplamazian sold 51,388 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.77, for a total transaction of $7,696,380.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 623,556 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $93,389,982.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Hyatt Hotels news, insider Mark Samuel Hoplamazian sold 51,388 shares of Hyatt Hotels stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.77, for a total transaction of $7,696,380.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 623,556 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $93,389,982.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael A. Rocca sold 1,189 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.52, for a total value of $177,779.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,023,144.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 96,796 shares of company stock worth $14,424,763 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 23.50% of the companys stock. Institutional Trading of Hyatt Hotels A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hyatt Hotels during the 2nd quarter worth $610,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 8.1% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,996 shares of the companys stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 16.6% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,244 shares of the companys stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 700.5% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 122,746 shares of the companys stock valued at $18,648,000 after purchasing an additional 107,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in Hyatt Hotels during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $501,000. 71.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. About Hyatt Hotels (Get Free Report) Hyatt Hotels Corporation operates as a hospitality company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Owned and Leased Hotels, Americas Management and Franchising, ASPAC Management and Franchising, EAME Management and Franchising, and Apple Leisure Group segments. The company manages, franchises, licenses, owns, and leases portfolio of properties, consisting of full-service hotels and resorts, select service hotels, and other properties, including timeshare, fractional, residential, vacation, and condominium units. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Hyatt Hotels Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hyatt Hotels and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. CTT Correios De Portugal, S.A. (OTCMKTS:CTTPY Get Free Report)s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $8.02 and last traded at $8.02, with a volume of 0 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $7.81. CTT Correios De Portugal Stock Up 2.7 % The company has a 50-day moving average of $7.99 and a 200 day moving average of $8.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. About CTT Correios De Portugal (Get Free Report) CTT Correios De Portugal, SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides postal and financial services worldwide. It operates through Mail, Express & Parcels, Financial Services & Retail, and Bank segments. The company offers courier and urgent mail transport services; postal financial services; and banking services. See Also Receive News & Ratings for CTT - Correios De Portugal Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for CTT - Correios De Portugal and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Custom Index Systems LLC increased its holdings in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR Free Report) by 22.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,477 shares of the construction companys stock after buying an additional 1,381 shares during the period. Custom Index Systems LLCs holdings in KBR were worth $480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norden Group LLC boosted its holdings in KBR by 30.8% in the 2nd quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 12,083 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 2,845 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in KBR by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 37,814 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $2,425,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC bought a new position in KBR in the 2nd quarter valued at $277,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in KBR by 2,029.2% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 511 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Finally, Pembroke Management LTD boosted its holdings in KBR by 74.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pembroke Management LTD now owns 225,728 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $14,478,000 after purchasing an additional 96,683 shares during the period. 97.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get KBR alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth KBR has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen downgraded shares of KBR from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of KBR from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of KBR from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a buy rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of KBR in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $75.50. Insider Buying and Selling In related news, insider Jalal Ibrahim sold 35,000 shares of KBR stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total value of $2,329,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 106,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,091,968. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. KBR Price Performance Shares of NYSE:KBR opened at $62.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.33 billion, a PE ratio of -32.31, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.90. The companys fifty day moving average is $65.83 and its 200 day moving average is $64.32. KBR, Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.37 and a 52 week high of $69.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. KBR (NYSE:KBR Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.88 billion. KBR had a net margin of 2.77% and a return on equity of 27.92%. Research analysts anticipate that KBR, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year. KBR Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. KBRs payout ratio is presently -31.25%. About KBR (Free Report) KBR, Inc provides scientific, technology, and engineering solutions to governments and commercial customers worldwide. It operates through Government Solutions and Sustainable Technology Solutions segments. The Government Solutions segment offers life-cycle support solutions to defense, intelligence, space, aviation, and other programs and missions for military and other government agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. See Also Receive News & Ratings for KBR Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for KBR and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Mizuho upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP Free Report) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $200.00 price objective on the real estate investment trusts stock, up from their previous price objective of $175.00. A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on EGP. Truist Financial lifted their target price on EastGroup Properties from $176.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on EastGroup Properties from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. They issued a neutral rating and a $167.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $179.00 to $214.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $191.20. Get EastGroup Properties alerts: View Our Latest Research Report on EastGroup Properties EastGroup Properties Stock Down 0.8 % Shares of NYSE:EGP opened at $184.94 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.12, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.99. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $182.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.18. EastGroup Properties has a 12-month low of $154.75 and a 12-month high of $192.61. EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.91). The company had revenue of $159.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $156.70 million. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 37.16% and a return on equity of 8.69%. EastGroup Propertiess revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties will post 8.32 EPS for the current year. EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a boost from EastGroup Propertiess previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. EastGroup Propertiess dividend payout ratio is 121.48%. Institutional Trading of EastGroup Properties A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,863,129 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,233,785,000 after acquiring an additional 210,207 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in EastGroup Properties by 7.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 975,450 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $175,359,000 after purchasing an additional 71,614 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 26.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 953,736 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $171,399,000 after buying an additional 197,427 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in EastGroup Properties by 7.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 728,092 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $123,848,000 after buying an additional 53,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 646,613 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $118,679,000 after buying an additional 146,381 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.14% of the companys stock. About EastGroup Properties (Get Free Report) EastGroup Properties, Inc (NYSE: EGP), a member of the S&P Mid-Cap 400 and Russell 1000 Indexes, is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with an emphasis in the states of Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and North Carolina. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for EastGroup Properties Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for EastGroup Properties and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN Free Report) by 4.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,358 shares of the energy companys stock after purchasing an additional 1,938 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLCs holdings in Devon Energy were worth $2,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Devon Energy by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,457,056 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $3,836,615,000 after buying an additional 2,559,039 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Devon Energy by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,077,042 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $320,609,000 after buying an additional 1,488,374 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Devon Energy by 7,165.6% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,376,253 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $65,234,000 after buying an additional 1,357,311 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Devon Energy by 447.6% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,179,538 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $56,299,000 after buying an additional 964,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Devon Energy by 467.1% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 719,672 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $36,113,000 after buying an additional 592,765 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.72% of the companys stock. Get Devon Energy alerts: Devon Energy Trading Down 1.8 % Shares of NYSE DVN opened at $41.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.11. Devon Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $40.47 and a 52-week high of $55.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $45.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.56. The stock has a market cap of $26.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 2.03. Devon Energy Announces Dividend Devon Energy ( NYSE:DVN Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The energy company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.15. Devon Energy had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 29.14%. The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. The companys revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Devon Energy Co. will post 5.37 EPS for the current year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Devon Energys dividend payout ratio is currently 16.79%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $65.00 to $57.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Devon Energy from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $48.00 to $43.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Devon Energy has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $58.63. Check Out Our Latest Report on Devon Energy About Devon Energy (Free Report) Devon Energy Corporation, an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. It operates in Delaware, Eagle Ford, Anadarko, Williston, and Powder River Basins. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DVN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Devon Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Devon Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by UBS Group from $130.00 to $145.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sell rating on the technology companys stock. IBM has been the subject of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a buy rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised International Business Machines from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $185.93. Get International Business Machines alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on IBM International Business Machines Price Performance NYSE:IBM opened at $200.74 on Wednesday. The businesss 50-day moving average is $189.52 and its 200 day moving average is $182.50. International Business Machines has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $205.95. The company has a market capitalization of $184.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $15.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $15.62 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.59% and a net margin of 13.52%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.18 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that International Business Machines will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. International Business Machines Dividend Announcement The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. International Business Machiness payout ratio is 75.65%. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the second quarter worth about $40,068,000. Creekside Partners purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $584,000. Farmers National Bank increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 11.0% during the second quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 22,715 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $3,929,000 after buying an additional 2,247 shares during the period. Souders Financial Advisors raised its stake in International Business Machines by 1.4% in the second quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 4,392 shares of the technology companys stock worth $760,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.9% during the second quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 7,848 shares of the technology companys stock worth $1,357,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About International Business Machines (Get Free Report) International Business Machines Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated solutions and services worldwide. The company operates through Software, Consulting, Infrastructure, and Financing segments. The Software segment offers a hybrid cloud and AI platforms that allows clients to realize their digital and AI transformations across the applications, data, and environments in which they operate. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for International Business Machines Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for International Business Machines and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (BATS:QUAL Free Report) by 53.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,531 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 2,972 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc.s holdings in iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF were worth $1,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF by 141.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,677,664 shares of the companys stock valued at $275,724,000 after buying an additional 982,323 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC grew its holdings in iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF by 1,460.0% during the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 973,510 shares of the companys stock worth $143,242,000 after acquiring an additional 911,104 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,886,985 shares of the companys stock worth $571,931,000 after purchasing an additional 897,256 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,751,547 shares of the companys stock worth $3,936,223,000 after purchasing an additional 744,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF by 22,145.5% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 623,541 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 620,738 shares in the last quarter. Get iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF alerts: iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF Stock Down 1.2 % Shares of iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF stock opened at $170.66 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $172.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.72. iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF has a fifty-two week low of $71.96 and a fifty-two week high of $88.63. The firm has a market cap of $45.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.03 and a beta of 1.03. iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF Profile The iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality index. The fund tracks an index of US large- and mid-cap stocks, selected and weighted by high ROE, stable earnings growth and low debt\u002Fequity, relative to peers in each sector. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding QUAL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (BATS:QUAL Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. TransDigm Group (NYSE:TDG Free Report) had its price target increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $1,350.00 to $1,435.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the aerospace companys stock. TDG has been the subject of several other reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on TransDigm Group from $1,300.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of TransDigm Group from $1,390.00 to $1,350.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of TransDigm Group from $1,310.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $1,500.00 price target on shares of TransDigm Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of TransDigm Group in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. They set a neutral rating for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $1,438.24. Get TransDigm Group alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on TDG TransDigm Group Trading Down 2.6 % Shares of TDG opened at $1,294.17 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $72.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.34, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.42. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $1,276.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,263.25. TransDigm Group has a 1-year low of $802.46 and a 1-year high of $1,380.83. TransDigm Group (NYSE:TDG Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The aerospace company reported $9.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $7.77 by $1.23. TransDigm Group had a net margin of 21.83% and a negative return on equity of 66.70%. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.55 EPS. TransDigm Groups quarterly revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that TransDigm Group will post 30.57 earnings per share for the current year. Insider Activity at TransDigm Group In other TransDigm Group news, CEO Kevin M. Stein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,228.24, for a total transaction of $12,282,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 8,158 shares in the company, valued at $10,019,981.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other TransDigm Group news, Director Robert J. Small sold 21,210 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,315.87, for a total transaction of $27,909,602.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 100,962 shares in the company, valued at $132,852,866.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin M. Stein sold 10,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,228.24, for a total value of $12,282,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 8,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,019,981.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,783 shares of company stock valued at $92,191,316 over the last quarter. 4.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Institutional Trading of TransDigm Group Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in TransDigm Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $790,822,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of TransDigm Group by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,535,539 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $4,354,369,000 after acquiring an additional 442,182 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of TransDigm Group by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,669,460 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $2,056,109,000 after acquiring an additional 192,962 shares in the last quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in TransDigm Group during the 2nd quarter worth $210,806,000. Finally, Argent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in TransDigm Group in the 1st quarter worth about $75,910,000. 95.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. TransDigm Group Company Profile (Get Free Report) TransDigm Group Incorporated designs, produces, and supplies aircraft components in the United States and internationally. The Power & Control segment offers mechanical/electro-mechanical actuators and controls, ignition systems and engine technology, specialized pumps and valves, power conditioning devices, specialized AC/DC electric motors and generators, batteries and chargers, databus and power controls, sensor products, switches and relay panels, hoists, winches and lifting devices, and cargo loading and handling systems. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for TransDigm Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for TransDigm Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Paramount, you got some splainin to do! 'I Love Lucy: The Complete Series' Blu-ray Box Set Coming November 5th! Kerusso Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 53,439 shares of the energy companys stock, valued at approximately $2,533,000. Devon Energy makes up approximately 1.8% of Kerusso Capital Management LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DVN. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Devon Energy in the second quarter worth $27,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Devon Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Devon Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Devon Energy by 104.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 731 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Devon Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.72% of the companys stock. Get Devon Energy alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In DVN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Devon Energy in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Devon Energy from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Devon Energy from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a sector outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Bank of America restated a buy rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Devon Energy in a report on Friday, June 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $58.63. Devon Energy Trading Down 1.8 % Shares of DVN opened at $41.34 on Friday. Devon Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $40.47 and a 12 month high of $55.09. The stocks 50-day moving average is $45.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $26.13 billion, a PE ratio of 7.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 2.03. Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The energy company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.15. Devon Energy had a return on equity of 29.14% and a net margin of 22.60%. The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. Devon Energys revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Devon Energy Co. will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Devon Energy Announces Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Devon Energys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.79%. Devon Energy Company Profile (Free Report) Devon Energy Corporation, an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. It operates in Delaware, Eagle Ford, Anadarko, Williston, and Powder River Basins. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Devon Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Devon Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC bought a new stake in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:AGG Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 284,377 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $27,604,000. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF accounts for 2.5% of Koss Olinger Consulting LLCs holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vawter Financial Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 0.9% during the second quarter. Vawter Financial Ltd. now owns 11,001 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Bank Hapoalim BM grew its position in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Hapoalim BM now owns 8,782 shares of the companys stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. CGN Advisors LLC increased its stake in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 25,898 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,536,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 44.8% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 346 shares of the companys stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 1.7% during the second quarter. Cambridge Advisors Inc. now owns 6,458 shares of the companys stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 83.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF alerts: iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Trading Up 0.1 % Shares of NYSEARCA AGG opened at $101.19 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $99.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.66. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF has a 1 year low of $91.58 and a 1 year high of $101.60. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Company Profile IShares are index funds that are bought and sold like common stocks on national securities exchanges as well as certain foreign exchanges. iShares are attractive because of their relatively low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. Investors can purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AGG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:AGG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Lynch & Associates IN lifted its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW Free Report) by 10.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,154 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the quarter. Lynch & Associates INs holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the second quarter valued at approximately $18,782,000. Norden Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 43.8% in the 2nd quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 1,365 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 6,381 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $1,904,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 690 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torray Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 0.9% during the second quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,500 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $4,924,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Sherwin-Williams alerts: Insider Buying and Selling In other Sherwin-Williams news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $366.83, for a total value of $5,326,371.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 63,520 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $23,301,041.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SHW shares. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an outperform rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up from $386.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $418.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $375.00 to $412.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $362.68. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Sherwin-Williams Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 0.2 % SHW stock opened at $360.83 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $339.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $324.97. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $232.06 and a twelve month high of $371.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.49 billion, a PE ratio of 38.47, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.19. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 75.58%. The business had revenue of $6.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.29 EPS. Sherwin-Williamss revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.47 EPS for the current fiscal year. Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Sherwin-Williamss dividend payout ratio is 30.49%. Sherwin-Williams Company Profile (Free Report) The Sherwin-Williams Company engages in the development, manufacture, distribution, and sale of paints, coating, and related products to professional, industrial, commercial, and retail customers. It operates through three segments: Paint Stores Group, Consumer Brands Group, and Performance Coatings Group. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Sherwin-Williams Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sherwin-Williams and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. MRA Advisory Group purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO Free Report) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 4,854 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $221,000. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 120.6% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the companys stock valued at $382,201,000 after acquiring an additional 4,789,788 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 103.9% in the 4th quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 1,803,226 shares of the companys stock valued at $72,742,000 after purchasing an additional 919,058 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in Altria Group by 131.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,418,284 shares of the companys stock worth $57,211,000 after purchasing an additional 805,051 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 415.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 984,285 shares of the companys stock worth $42,935,000 after purchasing an additional 793,327 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1,712.8% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 820,969 shares of the companys stock valued at $35,811,000 after buying an additional 775,681 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the companys stock. Get Altria Group alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $48.58. Altria Group Stock Performance Shares of NYSE MO opened at $53.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $92.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.23, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a fifty day moving average of $50.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.02. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $54.95. Altria Group (NYSE:MO Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year. Altria Group Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Altria Groups previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Groups payout ratio is 85.36%. Altria Group Company Profile (Free Report) Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Altria Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Altria Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Ciena (NYSE:CIEN Free Report) had its target price increased by Rosenblatt Securities from $54.00 to $60.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the communications equipment providers stock. A number of other research firms have also commented on CIEN. Bank of America reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ciena from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $54.00 in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a buy rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Ciena from $68.00 to $66.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Ciena from $67.00 to $60.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $59.15. Get Ciena alerts: Check Out Our Latest Analysis on CIEN Ciena Stock Performance Shares of CIEN opened at $51.16 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.92. The stock has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.19, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.94. Ciena has a 12-month low of $39.94 and a 12-month high of $63.24. The company has a current ratio of 3.88, a quick ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ciena (NYSE:CIEN Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $942.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.31 million. Ciena had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 3.71%. The companys quarterly revenue was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ciena will post 1.15 EPS for the current fiscal year. Insider Activity In related news, SVP David M. Rothenstein sold 3,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.81, for a total value of $170,835.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 212,421 shares in the company, valued at $10,368,269.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,712 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.29, for a total value of $130,962.48. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 96,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,635,840. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP David M. Rothenstein sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.81, for a total value of $170,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 212,421 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $10,368,269.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ciena Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 119.9% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,397,560 shares of the communications equipment providers stock valued at $260,054,000 after purchasing an additional 2,943,146 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Ciena by 1,944.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,062,394 shares of the communications equipment providers stock valued at $101,986,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961,513 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Ciena by 7,767.2% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,966,414 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $94,742,000 after buying an additional 1,941,419 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ciena in the 4th quarter worth $73,476,000. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Ciena in the 1st quarter valued at about $48,214,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the companys stock. About Ciena (Get Free Report) Ciena Corporation provides hardware and software services for delivery of video, data, and voice traffic metro, aggregation, and access communications network worldwide. The company's Networking Platforms segment offers convergence of coherent optical transport, open optical networking, optical transport network switching, IP routing, and switching services. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Ciena Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ciena and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust increased its position in Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW Free Report) by 23.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 201,504 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after acquiring an additional 37,943 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust owned approximately 0.38% of Tidewater worth $19,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Tidewater by 25.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,814,738 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $442,956,000 after purchasing an additional 985,398 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Tidewater by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,323,725 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $214,055,000 after buying an additional 243,489 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Tidewater by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,805,483 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $130,195,000 after buying an additional 31,292 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Tidewater by 72.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 443,833 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $42,257,000 after acquiring an additional 185,972 shares during the period. Finally, Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. bought a new position in shares of Tidewater in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,898,000. 95.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Tidewater alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Separately, Raymond James upped their target price on Tidewater from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $111.25. Insider Transactions at Tidewater In related news, Director Louis Raspino sold 25,666 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.19, for a total value of $2,674,140.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,566,856.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Tidewater news, CEO Quintin Kneen sold 166,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.76, for a total transaction of $17,224,160.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 335,718 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $34,834,099.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Louis Raspino sold 25,666 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.19, for a total value of $2,674,140.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 43,832 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,566,856.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 211,666 shares of company stock valued at $22,025,901 over the last three months. Company insiders own 8.33% of the companys stock. Tidewater Stock Performance NYSE:TDW opened at $74.43 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $91.82 and a 200-day moving average of $93.13. The firm has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.65 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Tidewater Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.53 and a twelve month high of $111.42. Tidewater (NYSE:TDW Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.22. Tidewater had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 18.04%. The firm had revenue of $339.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $331.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was up 57.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Tidewater Inc. will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Tidewater announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 6th that allows the company to buyback $13.90 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 0.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the companys management believes its stock is undervalued. Tidewater Profile (Free Report) Tidewater Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore support vessels and marine support services to the offshore energy industry through the operation of a fleet of marine service vessels worldwide. It provides services in support of offshore oil and gas exploration, field development, and production, as well as windfarm development and maintenance, including towing of and anchor handling for mobile offshore drilling units; transporting supplies and personnel necessary to sustain drilling, workover, and production activities; offshore construction, and seismic and subsea support; geotechnical survey support for windfarm construction; and various specialized services, such as pipe and cable laying. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Tidewater Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Tidewater and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Travel + Leisure (NYSE:TNL Free Report) had its target price trimmed by Truist Financial from $65.00 to $60.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock. Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Travel + Leisure from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Travel + Leisure from $53.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Travel + Leisure from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Travel + Leisure has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $56.63. Get Travel + Leisure alerts: Read Our Latest Research Report on Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Price Performance NYSE TNL opened at $42.70 on Thursday. Travel + Leisure has a fifty-two week low of $32.10 and a fifty-two week high of $49.91. The stocks 50-day moving average is $44.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.62. Travel + Leisure (NYSE:TNL Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $985.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $987.20 million. Travel + Leisure had a negative return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 11.35%. The firms revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Travel + Leisure will post 5.61 EPS for the current year. Travel + Leisure Dividend Announcement The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Travel + Leisures dividend payout ratio is currently 36.83%. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Travel + Leisure Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Travel + Leisure in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Travel + Leisure by 2,759.1% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 629 shares of the companys stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in Travel + Leisure during the second quarter worth $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Travel + Leisure in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of Travel + Leisure in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. 87.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Travel + Leisure Company Profile (Get Free Report) Travel + Leisure Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides hospitality services and travel products in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Vacation Ownership; and Travel and Membership. The Vacation Ownership segment develops, markets, and sells vacation ownership interests (VOIs) to individual consumers, as well as provides consumer financing in connection with the sale of VOIs; and property management services at resorts. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Travel + Leisure Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Travel + Leisure and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Pacific Armed Forces Europe Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands American Samoa Federated States of Micronesia Guam Palau Alberta, Canada British Columbia, Canada Manitoba, Canada New Brunswick, Canada Newfoundland, Canada Nova Scotia, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada Nunavut, Canada Ontario, Canada Prince Edward Island, Canada Quebec, Canada Saskatchewan, Canada Yukon Territory, Canada Zip Code Dr Ryan Feeney, Vice-President for Governance and External Affairs and Registrar at Queens University Belfast, has been appointed a Board Member at the Centre for Cross Border Studies in Armagh. The Faughanvale man holds a Doctorate in Governance specialising in political science and public policy from the National University of Ireland with a specific focus on the operations and functions of the Strand Two structures of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. He was the Executive Producer for an RTE documentary, The Agreement, on the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement negotiations and has been a Visiting Professor in Governance and Public Policy at Ulster University. Dr Feeney has organised and curated numerous major international conferences at Queens University, including the 20th and 25th anniversary events for the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. He is currently leading the organisation of the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils Global Innovation Summit in November 2024, on the theme of Advancing Global Sustainability and Economic Inclusion. Ryan is the former Director of Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility and Head of Public Engagement at Queen's University. He was Director of Strategic Communications and Engagement at the Police Service of Northern Ireland from 2018 to 2021, where he was responsible for civic and political engagement, media relations, and digital and creative services. An independent member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board from 2011-2018, Ryan was the lead for Human Rights and Professional Standards and the Vice-Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee. Peter Osborne, Chair of the Centre for Cross Border Studies, said: Were delighted that Ryan has joined the Centre for Cross Border Studies. He brings a wealth of experience and skills in political science, governance, strategic communications and community engagement. "Ryan has extensive knowledge of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and Im confident he will make an excellent contribution to the work of the Centre as we look to the next 25 years. Ryan added: It is a privilege to join the Board of the Centre for Cross Border Studies. The work of the Centre is vital to promoting research, collaboration, and reconciliation, and I look forward to supporting the excellent team and their strategy to enhance social and economic cohesion across the island of Ireland. Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council Cllr Lilian Seenoi Barr hosted a meeting recently with the Mayors of Belfast, Newry, Mourne and Down, and Lisburn and Castlereagh to discuss how they can work together to promote diversity and inclusion within their respective Councils with a particular emphasis on the inclusion of all minority groups, including people with disabilities and complex needs. Mayor Barr said she was delighted to welcome the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Micky Murray; the Chairperson of Newry, Mourne & Down, Councillor Pete Byrne and the Mayor of Lisburn and Castlereagh, Councillor Kurtis Dickson, to Derry on Friday last to discuss working as a team and to find a common theme during their remaining time in office. Mayor Barr described the meeting as very positive and said it was a great honour to host the dignitaries and to discuss how they can use their influence to make a positive impact on promoting diversity and inclusion. She said: I was deeply honoured to host the meeting and to have the three Mayors visit this wonderful city. It was a very positive engagement and I am delighted that we have agreed in principle to work collectively on a number of joint mayoral initiatives during our mayoral terms. "We look forward to building on this relationship during our Mayoral term and do what we can collectively to promote diversity and inclusion by reaching out to all minority groups in our Council areas. I want to thank the Mayors for their encouragement and enthusiasm and look forward to working with them over the coming weeks and months to bring forward these collaborative initiatives. Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Micky Murray, welcomed the commitment to work together with mayoral colleagues in neighbouring councils. He said: Recent weeks have shown the very real need to foster continued good relations between all our citizens and to highlight and emphasize the many benefits that increased diversity, inclusion and tolerance bring to all our communities. "Belfast is proud to be a City of Sanctuary and I look forward to working with my fellow Mayors to showcase the many positive projects and initiatives already underway in each of our areas, as well as finding new ways to bring people together and share the many things that we all have in common. Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson, Cllr Pete Byrne said: I would like to thank the Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council Cllr Lilian Seenoi Barr for the warm welcome to me and the Mayors of Belfast and Lisburn and Castlereagh. It was a wonderful opportunity for us all to meet in person and discuss our commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion in our respective districts. We look forward to sharing more detail on our initiatives in the near future. Mayor of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council, Cllr Kurtis Dickson said: As Mayors, we recognise the strength that comes from bringing together people of different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. By embracing diversity in all its forms, we can create a vibrant and inclusive environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute to society. "We have a shared ambition to further promote diversity and inclusion, and we can achieve so much by working together. I look forward to continuing to work in partnership with my fellow Mayors and I want to thank Mayor Barr for hosting a very engaging and productive meeting. Foyle Hospice is celebrating the incredible work of its staff and volunteers who deliver services across the whole of the Western Health and Social Care Trust area as part of Palliative Care Week. This years national theme is You, me and Palliative Care, which resonates with the dedicated team at Foyle Hospice, where the primary aim is supporting patients to live as well as they can for as long as they can. The Hospice's compassionate family of staff and volunteers are at the heart of providing specialist palliative care to those who have been diagnosed with a life-limiting illness. Chief Executive, Donall Henderson explained: As always, we are pleased to endorse Palliative Care Week, which is led by the All-Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care. This years theme will help highlight how palliative care can affect all of us and how the services provided through hospice are of benefit to patients, along with their families, carers and friends. We are so fortunate to have such experienced staff, supported by our volunteers, who continue to ensure a holistic approach in delivering high quality care and support. Improving the quality of life for patients, families and carers underpins the values of Foyle Hospice which services include; Community Specialist Palliative Care the Community Team provide invaluable support to patients in the comfort of their own homes. Inpatient Unit - Patients can avail of treatment, 24 hours a day in a home from home environment. Day Therapy provides holistic services for patients and respite for families and carers who are often providing 24-hour care for their loved one. Integrative Care Clinic provides outpatient appointments for patients requiring advice, support and help with symptom management. Bereavement support - Foyle Hospice offers bereavement support to both adults and children who may be finding it difficult during their bereavement journey. Foyle Hospice will be promoting Palliative Care Week across Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn so please make sure to join in and help raise awareness of this campaign! If you would like to find out more information about Foyle Hospice, please visit: www.foylehospice.com or call: 028 71351010. Campaigners gathered in front of Stormont on the eve of the return of the Assembly calling for MLAs to prioritise tackling an environmental crisis that is killing Lough Neagh. Noxious blooms of blue-green algae covered large parts of the lough last summer and also affected other waterways and beaches in the region. The algae returned this summer. The UK and Irelands largest freshwater lake provides more than 40% of Northern Irelands drinking water and supports Europes largest commercial eel fishery. It also drains around 40% of Northern Irelands land, of which three-quarters is agricultural. Nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural fertiliser running off fields is believed to be a major contributory factor in the blue-green algae blooms. The spread of the invasive zebra mussel species is also understood to have played a role in the blooms, as they have made the water clearer, allowing more sunlight to penetrate, stimulating more algal photosynthesis. Climate change is another factor cited In July, Stormonts Environment minister Andrew Muir secured Stormont Executive approval for a 37-point action plan for Lough Neagh. At the time, Mr Muir said the approval was the first step on a journey towards the long-term rehabilitation of water quality in the lough. However campaigners have called for tougher action to be taken, including against those found to have polluted the lough. The Save Lough Neagh coalition organised the gathering on Sunday, which was addressed by campaigners as well as People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll and Green Party Belfast councillor Brian Smyth. Paddy McNicholl, from the coalition, called for the pressure to be kept on politicians. Were here on the eve of Stormonts return to say that enough is enough, he said. Our environment is not just dying before our eyes with Stormont in action, but being killed with their policies that have caused this crisis. He said Lough Neagh is symptomatic of the environmental crisis in the North. He added: But if we can save Lough Neagh then we have a chance at saving our rivers, other loughs, a chance at saying no to any fossil fuel projects and giving nature rights at last, he said to applause. We need to keep feet on the street and we are not going away any time soon. We need the climate to be at the top of the agenda, not the bottom of the agenda at long last. He also said there is to be a large march on October 26 in Belfast coinciding with one in England calling for clean water. 36% of people in Louth didnt take all their holidays last year, according to research on annual leave undertaken by FRS Recruitment. This is below the national average, with 42% of people around the country failing to use up all their leave last year. 19% of people in Louth didnt take five days of annual leave or more, which in employment terms represents a weeks leave. 7% didnt take four days, 17% had three days which went unused, 13% also opted against using up two days of leave and 14% had one day of their holidays remaining. The FRS Recruitment Annual Leave Report also had a range of other findings about how people in Louth make use of their holiday entitlements and the various employment policies in place around the use of annual leave. 92% in Louth used annual leave for foreign travel last year and another 75% used it for domestic travel. A further 17% used it for family reasons, 11% for personal reasons and 8% due to illness. For 21% of people in Louth, the longest period of annual leave they took last year was less than a week. In the case of 35% their longest break was one week and 39% took two weeks of holidays. While 5% say they took a break for longer than two weeks. Before taking annual leave, 48% of all Louth employees say they have to give their employer two weeks notice. Another 42% must provide one months notice and a further 8% in Louth only have to tell their work about their leave plans one week or less in advance. 28% of people in Louth say unused annual leave is carried into the following year and a similar proportion (29%) receive a payment in lieu. However 23% of Louth employees say their leave is lost if it is not used. When it comes to other types of leave taken, 26% in Louth say they took sick leave last year, 14% took care leave, 18% took maternity/ paternity leave, 2% took study leave and 3% took leave due to a bereavement. A majority of people in Louth (69%) would like their employer to introduce unlimited leave, while 63% in the county would also be in favour of a four day work week, even if it impacted on their salary. A total of 1,886 people took part in the survey used to compile the FRS Annual Leave Report. FRS Recruitment is one of Irelands leading recruitment agencies with 10 offices nationwide. Speaking about the research, Lynne McCormack, General Manager with FRS Recruitment said, Holidays and annual leave are such an important part of professional life for employees in Louth and their employers. Yet before now there havent been many statistics available showing how it is used and the various policies associated with annual leave in the workplace. With this research, we in FRS Recruitment wanted to take a closer look at how annual leave is being treated and get a sense of how widely different leave policies are applied. Holidays are a key point of negotiation between Louth employees and their employers and are vital in maintaining work/ life balance. They play a significant role in how we manage the many demands on our time outside of work. So it is useful to get a practical sense of how they are actually being used. What was surprising was the number of people who are not making full use of their leave, both in Louth and around the country. Even more eye opening are the number of days leave that havent been used, with five days or more not being used by one in five people in Louth last year. Work wise, effectively thats a week of holidays going unused for those people. Not using their annual leave may suit those in Louth who are able to carry their leave into the following year, or who receive payment in lieu. However there is a sizeable number of people locally and nationally who face losing any days that go unused. When we do holiday, it is also interesting to consider the length of breaks we take. The most popular choice nationally and in Louth was two weeks in one go, which would traditionally have been seen as the standard, main holiday of the year. Yet for one in five people locally, their longest break was less than one week. In FRS Recruitment we have also seen a number of candidates interested in the concept of unlimited leave. While this has gained some traction in the US, it isnt a common policy in Ireland. Yet a sizeable number of people in Louth and nationally would like to see it introduced by their employers, despite the significant proportion of the employees who arent using up their allocated leave as it currently stands. A majority of people around the country would also support a four day work week, even though it may impact on their salaries The use of holidays and annual leave is clearly evolving, both from a policy perspective and in terms of what we do with that time. Longer term this will have implications for how we view our days off and how they are managed by our employers too, Ms. McCormack concluded. The fifth annual Alzheimers Memory Walk takes place nationwide next month on Sunday 22 September. Set to be the largest Memory Walk to date, Anne Shortt from The Alzheimer Society of Ireland in Louth is urging the people of Louth to register now at www.memorywalk.ie and walk with her on the 22nd September in Drogheda. Speaking ahead of Alzheimers Memory Walk, Anne commented, I am really looking forward to this year's Louth Memory Walk. It is going to be a great day to get together and walk with and for loved ones who are living with dementia and to remember loved ones who are sadly no longer with us. It is a chance to share memories and create new ones together and is such a lovely event for everyone who attends. I would encourage everyone who can to register now at www.memorywalk.ie to join me on September 22nd at St Dominick's Park in Drogheda at 1.45pm. The Alzheimer Society of Ireland is encouraging everyone to get behind this years Alzheimers Memory Walk, supported by Payzone, on Sunday, September 22nd to help raise awareness and funds to help those living with dementia. Register online now at www.memorywalk.ie to make and share memories on Sunday, 22nd September at a location near you. You will receive an Alzheimers Memory Walk Participant Pack including your t-shirt and a special pack of Forget Me Not flower seeds to sow at home to help create an annual memory each time the flowers bloom. Adult registration costs 20 and a childs pack is 5. Memory Walk honours, remembers, and celebrates the 64,000 people in Ireland living with dementia, along with their families and carers. It also cherishes the memory of those who are no longer with us. In 2023, 3,500 walkers participated in Memory Walk and raised over 120,000 which helped fund vital services for people with dementia, including Daycare, Daycare at Home, Family Carer Training, Social Clubs, Cafes, and a National Helpline. For more information or to register for a Memory Walk near you, please visit www.memorywalk.ie. Ardee based company ABP Food Group has become the first Irish beef processor to launch in the South Korean market by securing an export agreement with K Meat, a premium meat importer with advanced sales channels across South Korea. This significant long-term supply agreement has seen ABP deliver three shipments to date from its locations in Monaghan, Tipperary, and Wexford. The official announcement will be made later this week as part of the trade mission to China and South Korea led by Charlie McConalogue T.D., Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine; and Minister of State, Martin Heydon T.D. As part of the first leg of the two-nation trip, members of the Ministerial trade mission joined ABP in China to visit its customer Dalin Rongze, a food service business servicing high-quality restaurants in Beijing, and AP Shanghai Food Company Limited in Shanghai, which supplies Fresh Hipo, a retail chain for groceries and fresh goods that has 273 self-operated stores, primarily located in tier-one and tier-two cities in China. ABP has maintained a constant supply of beef to the Chinese market since the lifting of a restriction on Irish beef imports in May 2020, with all of ABPs seven Irish sites producing beef products for China. Martin McMahon, General Manager of ABP international sales, ABP Food Group said: Our extended presence in Asia marks a significant step forward for both ABP and the Irish beef sector as a whole. China and South Korea are extremely important markets and there is a great opportunity for quality Irish beef in the food service and retail spaces. Read Next: Plans for 47 new houses in Ardee ABP would like to thank and recognise the Department of Agriculture and Bord Bia for their tremendous work in helping to establish and build on this important trade channel. We would encourage continued efforts for further access in both markets. We look forward to continuing to build upon our customer relationships in South Korea and China and to further grow this market. Jim OToole, Chief Executive, Bord Bia said: The launch of Irish beef in Korea is the culmination of years of relationship building with Korean trade supported by significant government efforts to gain access. Since access was achieved four months ago, there has been immediate interest from the Korean trade who recognise that Irish beef offers a premium, grass-fed alternative to their existing portfolio. Bord Bia has the in-market expertise to support ABP and other exporters looking to grow their trade in this dynamic market. We will present a valuable insight study on beef conducted with Korean consumers to better understand their taste preferences. We look forward to fully debriefing Irish beef exporters on this in the coming weeks. In May 2018, ABP became the first European beef processor to secure a contract in China when it secured an exclusive three-year agreement with Asian restaurant chain Wowprime Corporation. In 2019 the company reached a deal with Beijing Hopewise Ltd to launch a range of premium Irish beef products on JD.com, one of the largest business-to-consumer online retailers in China and a Fortune Global 500 Company. A number of children were allegedly sexually abused in nine schools run by religious orders throughout Louth according to a national Scoping Inquiry by Senior Counsel Mary OToole. The inquiry engaged with alleged survivors of abuse who alleged they were abused while attending schools between 1927 and 2013. The report revealed that there were at least 47 allegations made regarding schools under the patronage of religious orders in Louth against at least 26 alleged abusers. Six of the schools named in the report were run by the Christian Brothers. In Dundalk, nine allegations were made against five alleged abusers at the Christian Brothers Primary School while four allegations were made against three individuals at the Christian Brothers Secondary in the town. Separately in Dundalk, nine allegations were made against four individuals at St. Mary's College, Secondary School which was run by the Marist Fathers. In Omeath, there were five allegations against three alleged abusers at St. Michael's College Post Primary which closed in 1986. Elsewhere in Louth, there were fourteen allegations against six alleged abusers at the St. Joseph's CBS Primary School in Drogheda run by the Christian Brothers. There were four allegations relating to two alleged abusers at St. Mary's CBS, Drogheda Secondary School under the patronage of the Christian Brothers. At Drogheda CBS Primary School run by the Christian Brothers there were two allegations against two alleged abusers. Additionally at St. Joseph's CBS Secondary School in Drogheda run by the Christian Brothers there was one allegation against one individual. An allegation, or allegations, have also been made in relation to St. Mary's School, Drumcar run by Saint John of God Hospitaller Ministries (SJOG HSG). No breakdown was given for Saint John of God Hospitaller Ministries schools. The inquiry revealed there were 144 allegations against 36 alleged abusers across seven Saint John of God Hospitaller Ministries schools. Nationally, the Scoping Inquiry reported 2,395 allegations of historical sexual abuse, involving 884 alleged abusers in 308 schools across all parts of the country between the years 1927 to 2013. Most of these allegations have been reported from the records of 42 religious orders who currently or previously ran schools in Ireland. Minister for Education Norma Foley has announced that a Commission of Investigation is to be established, following a recommendation in the Report of the Scoping Inquiry set up to examine historical sexual abuse in day and boarding schools run by religious orders. The establishment of a State inquiry into historical sexual abuse is one of a number of recommendations made by Senior Counsel, Mary OToole in her report to the Minister. The Scoping Inquiry organised a Survivor Engagement process where those who had experienced sexual abuse in day and boarding schools run by religious orders were invited to come forward and share their views regarding an appropriate State response. Participants reported experiences of sexual abuse in primary, post-primary and special schools, both public and private, run by religious orders across the country. One of the most compelling aspects of the Report is that older participants provided devastating accounts of how sexual abuse in childhood has affected their entire lives, from their schooldays through adolescence, early adulthood and right through to later years. I am pleased to note that the report states that current child protection measures in schools are robust and effective and I am conscious that the safety of children today is a matter of paramount concern to survivors and all of society, said Minister Foley. The Scoping Inquiry report further recommends that consideration be given by government to establishing a redress scheme for survivors of historical sexual abuse in day and boarding schools run by religious orders. Further recommendations relate to improving the experience for survivors in legal processes and the establishment of dedicated support services for survivors, particularly in relation to the Commission and potential participation in that process. Read Next: An Bord Pleanala gives go ahead for Ardee development An Garda Siochana is appealing to anyone who wishes to report a crime relating to Historical Sexual Abuse in Day and Boarding Schools Run by Religious Orders. For the purpose of reporting to An Garda Siochana, the following options are available: By emailing GNPSB_SCMU@garda.ie By phoning the Garda Child Sexual Abuse Reporting Line on 1800 555 222. This is a confidential and free service available 24/7 Calling to your local Garda Station An Garda Siochana is also appealing to anyone who may have information, including as a witness, relating to crimes of Historical Sexual Abuse in Day and Boarding Schools run by Religious Orders, to make contact with them so that such crimes can be investigated. This October, for the first time, the sacred relics of 7th century Irish martyr, Saint Kilian, will return to his home country and native county of Cavan from Wurzburg in Germany, as well as stopping off in Kildare. Maynooth has been chosen as a stopping point on the journey, with the relics open to the public for veneration in the College Chapel following Vespers at 6.30pm on Wednesday, October 2. While the event is open to all, St Patricks College is particularly interested in spreading the word among those sharing the Saints name and are putting a call out to all Kilians, Killians or Cillians to come and join the special evening on October 2. This major religious and civic event is being organised by the Diocese of Kilmore, the Parish of Mullagh and Cavan County Council. The historic pilgrimage will involve the visit of Saint Kilians relics, along with those of his martyred colleagues, Saints Totnan and Kolonat. The relics will be transported from their resting place in the Altar of Wurzburg Cathedral, for five days from 2 to 6 next month. The relics inlaid with precious stones are contained in a specially preserved glass case and it will be the first time that they will have left Germany. Monk-scholars like Kilian were schooled in great Irish monasteries. They built monasteries that became spiritual and cultural centres that served the religious and educational needs of the people where they settled, becoming catalysts for some of Europes cities and towns, like Wurzburg and Salzburg, and many others across the continent. They motivated wandering tribes to settle by teaching them agriculture, bee keeping and brewing beer. Therefore, they were the societal architects of Europe whose legacy can still be experienced today. In the estimation of some scholars, these monk-scholars contributed to the saving of Europe and the Christian civilization which was coming close to extinction. Rev Prof Michael Mullaney, President of St Patricks College, Maynooth said: The visit of St Kilian will be a moment to remember the great contribution that many Irish monk-scholars like Colmcille, Columbanus, Aidan, Fergal, Gall and Kilian himself made in the cultural development and spiritual renewal of Europe in the Dark Ages. The visit to St Patricks College underlines the importance of the University as a centre of learning and faith and as the successor of the early Irish monasteries. The stories of St Kilian and the other Irish monk-scholars remind us of the importance of the mission and mandate of the College as the National Seminary and the Pontifical University to continue education and faith formation of those preparing for ministry in the future both as priests, ministers, deacons and lay parish workers, he added. To register to attend the veneration of the relics, please click here. 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The results of the summers local elections brought the arrival of nine new faces to the council chamber, namely Labours Peter Horgan and Laura Harmon, Fianna Fails Margaret McDonnell and Terry Coleman, Sinn Feins Joe Lynch and Michelle Gould, Padraig Rice (Social Democrats), Honore Kamegni (Green Party) and Albert Deasy (Independent). One of the success stories emerging from Junes local elections was the gains made by Labour. The party managed to treble its presence on Cork City Council, with sitting councillor John Maher easily retaining his seat in addition to the election of Peter Horgan and Laura Harmon. Labour Party members Finbarr OSullivan, and Peter Horgan at the local election count at City Hall last June. Picture: Larry Cummins. Mr Horgan, who unsuccessfully ran for election in 2019, said he was delighted to secure a seat on the council the second time around and that he is aware of the challenges ahead. Voice for working families On my election, the obvious feeling was elation buttressed by the need to deliver on my campaign to be that voice for working families and tackle the issues of housing, transport and more amenities in our communities, he said. The South East ward councillor said it has been somewhat of a slow start to the role with the summer months intervening, but that it has been good to begin making representations on different issues and devise policies with party colleagues and other like-minded parties focusing on issues like playground investment and pedestrian safety. Over the term of the council, Mr Horgan said he would aim to secure additional investment in amenities and advocate for better housing across all sections, along with enhanced public transport for the city. His party colleague, South West ward councillor Laura Harmon shares these ambitions. My immediate priority will be housing I will continue to call for solutions to the housing crisis as I have done over many years, the long-term campaigner told The Echo. I will also be pushing for more pedestrian and road safety I have been a strong voice on calling for road safety for Lehenaghmore residents for example. Ms Harmon, one of the nine first-time councillors elected, said she has been enjoying the role of a councillor so far. When the term of the council concludes in 2029, Ms Harmon said she hopes to see solutions for housing in place across the city and a massive reduction in derelict properties. I intend to work hard to log repairs for roads and footpaths and to campaign for more green spaces, playgrounds and public toilets, she added. Terry Coleman said that being approached to run for Fianna Fail in the South West ward was a huge privilege. The 2024 local elections were also a success story for Fianna Fail in Cork city, with all of the partys councillors from the previous council term being returned in addition to the election of two non-incumbents, Margaret McDonnell and Terry Coleman. Mr Coleman said being approached by the party to run in the citys South West ward was a huge privilege. Pride Having lived in Bishopstown all his life, Mr Coleman said he felt he could be a strong candidate to run and represent the residents and the many groups and associations in the suburb and its environs. The feeling when I was elected on the night in City Hall was one of immense pride in both my family and my campaign teams support and efforts throughout the 12 months in the run-up to the election day, he said, reflecting on the fateful results weekend. Since becoming a councillor in early June the reception I have received from neighbours and residents from all over the Cork City South West Ward has been tremendous. The transition to becoming a first-time councillor has been a smooth one because of the incredible staff in Cork City Hall, in all departments. The help and support that I have received has been amazing, he said. When meetings start back on Monday, Mr Coleman said his immediate priorities are getting straight down to work in addressing the issues in the area that have been brought to his attention during the summer months. I can assure you that there is as much work done on the ground when the council is not sitting as there is when we are sitting, he said. In his native Bishopstown and in the surrounding areas of Wilton, Glasheen and Model Farm Rd, Mr Coleman said footpaths is the predominant issue that has been raised with him. On a more city-wide basis, dereliction and an ask for a more visible Garda presence on the streets in the city centre have been two key matters raised by his constituents. Sinn Fein councillor Michelle Gould at Boyces Street. In the citys North West ward, Michelle Gould is one of the newly elected Sinn Fein councillors. Diverse Asked how she has found the role as a councillor this far, busy! was how the Gurranabraher-based public representative replied. But thats to be expected! Im really enjoying it. Ive hit the ground running. The variety of issues that people come to me with is very diverse. It has been a great learning curve familiarising myself with the workings of City Hall and attending training days etc, she added. Ms Gould said she has always had a keen interest in politics and the local community and felt the time was right this year to seek election. I had been approached 10 years ago to put my name forward but at the time my children were too young. Now I felt this was the right time, Ms Gould said. I was thrilled when I got elected especially since it was my first time running in a local election. It was an emotional moment for me and my family and I know that my late dad Barry Cotter would be so proud. Working to bring about an increased delivery of social and affordable housing is one of her key priorities, Ms Gould said. Since Ive become a councillor, the amount of people contacting me looking for social housing is huge, she said, also stating that she believes additional staff and funding should be sought to improve housing maintenance of existing housing stock. Ms Gould said advocating for an improved bus service and improved water quality are two other key focuses for her. Learning curve In the South West ward, Ms Goulds party colleague Joe Lynch said that naturally there has been a learning curve as a first-time councillor in terms of figuring out the way the council works and how different services are delivered, but I think Ive managed to hit the ground running representing the community he added. Mr Lynch described Ballincollig, where he lives, as a special place full of great people and spoke of the need to increase the supply of social and affordable homes in the area as well as across the city. Ballincollig is a very special place full of great people. The sense of community here is very important and one of the great tragedies of the housing crisis is that people I have grown up with who have lived in Ballincollig and Carrigrohane their whole lives cannot afford a home to buy or rent in the area, so increasing the supply of affordable homes locally and across the city is my number one priority for the coming council term, he said. When council meetings resume one of the first items councillors must agree is the budget for 2025, Mr Lynch pointed out. Well move quickly into considering the councils budget for next year when council meetings resume, so ensuring there is adequate provision of local services, and that they are funded properly will be very important, he said. The newly elected councillors will also be attending our first committee meetings which do very important work at a local level and at a policy level across the city. Honore Kamegni, Green Party, celebrates his election at the local election count centre at City Hall. Picture: Larry Cummins Also among the first-time councillors is the Green Partys Honore Kamegni who made history in the recent local elections when he became the first black person to secure a seat on Cork City Council. Corks population is diverse and multicultural, our city council was not, he said. Determined to secure a seat on Cork City Council, Mr Kamegni said he canvassed for 14 months, knocking at over 15,000 doors. Hard work pays off, I was elected the first black councillor and the first black Deputy Lord Mayor of Cork last June. I feel very proud to have achieved this. I hope to inspire the future generation and I want my election to serve as a pathway to them, he said. If I did it, they can do it as well. Focus Tackling dereliction is one issue he feels passionately about and said that this will be a key focus for him during his time on council. Over the five-year term, the South East ward councillor said he would like to see the council substantially clear dereliction and increase the provision of housing with a focus on developing brownfield regeneration sites within the existing built-up footprint of the city, particularly in the docklands, and supporting housing solutions that give people security and affordability. The development of Horgans Quay and the Railyard Apartments are two live examples of the kind of good housing development I want to see, Mr Kamegni continued. Another key focus for the newly elected councillor is bringing the citys transport system into the 21st Century, saying that an immediate priority must be to ensure there are enough bus drivers to make the planned new bus network a reality. Padraig Rice this summer became the Social Democrats first-ever councillor elected to Cork City Council. Another new councillor to make history in his own right in the 2024 locals was Padraig Rice (Social Democrats) when he became the partys first-ever councillor elected to Cork City Council. So far, being a councillor has been really interesting and really rewarding, the Cork South Central councillor told The Echo. I have loved being able to help people and to raise issues of concern for people. It has also been frustrating at times. There are lots of things I would like to see changed, improved and modernised. Number one focus The Ballyphehane-based councillor said housing will continue to be his number one focus when meetings resume. Its a huge issue. Right now rents in Cork are unaffordable, and house prices are far too high for people on average incomes. We need far more houses to be builtbut not any kind of housingwe need more affordable and social housing. It is the only way to end the housing crisis. Cork City Council has a key role to play in building these new sustainable communities. Footpath improvements, road repairs, and the provision of more public toilets in the city are also issues Mr Rice intends to focus on while he is a councillor. I also want to see real improvements to public spaces including places like Douglas Street, which has so much potential and would really benefit from public realm improvements and street redesign. We must also take climate change more seriously. I hope that in five years time, we will have a better public transport system, more trees planted, and better preparation for flooding and other climate-related issues. Very positive Meanwhile, Independent councillor Albert Deasy, who was born and reared on Pouladuff Road and who now lives in Bishopstown, said he has had a very positive experience so far since being elected onto Cork City Council for the first time. My fellow councillors have been very generous with their advice, the staff at City Hall are completely professional and supportive, and there is a very good flow of information. What I am enjoying most is meeting the people of the area and working to provide solutions to the issues they raise, he said. Mr Deasy said he felt both proud and grateful when it was announced that he had been elected to Cork City Council. I know the people and they want the same thing as me: A safe, affordable area, where we can rear and educate our families, and improve our lives by availing of opportunities to prosper. I am only a mouthpiece for that vision so when I was elected, I felt so proud of, and grateful to, those who favoured me with their vote, he said. The South West ward councillor said his immediate priority is to press for a significant improvement in funding to address infrastructural shortfalls, especially in roads, footpaths and traffic calming. Mr Deasy said other key issues for him include city centre dereliction, loneliness and isolation being experienced by people in the city and working to ramp up the provision of affordable housing. A 24-year-old man has appeared before Cork District Court charged with assault causing harm of a man called Gavin Sheehan outside a cafe on Oliver Plunkett Street in Cork city on Friday afternoon Evidence of arrest, charge and caution was given by Garda Joe Crowley. He told Judge Philip OLeary that he arrested Aaron Bohane of St Vincents Hostel in the city at 9.40am yesterday. He said that Mr Bohane made no reply when he was subsequently charged with two offences. Mr Bohane was charged with assault causing harm to Mr Sheehan at Oliver Plunkett Street in Cork city centre on September 6 contrary to Section 3 of the Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997. He was also charged that on September 6 at Oliver Plunkett Street, while committing an offence of assault causing harm, that he produced an article capable of inflicting serious injury namely a bladed object. The alleged offence is contrary to Section 13 of the Firearms and Offences Act 1990. Defence barrister Elaine Audley said that there was no application for bail at this juncture. However, Mr Bohane is reserving his position in relation to his bail application. Free legal aid was granted as Mr Bohane is unemployed. Judge OLeary remanded Mr Bohane in custody to appear before Cork District Court on Wednesday by video link. No direct evidence was given in relation to the incident. The alleged assault occurred outside at cafe on the junction of Oliver Plunkett Street and Grand Parade shortly after 5pm last Friday. The injured man was transferred to Cork University Hospital for treatment. He has since been discharged from hospital. A man who was allowed to use a pub toilet then went to an upstairs staff room and stole property, it was alleged as a 34-year-old man accused of burglary appeared in court. Antonio Arundel of 54 Shannon Lawn, Mayfield, Cork, appeared at Cork District Court where an outline of the allegations was given. Sergeant John Kelleher said the Director of Public Prosecutions had accepted jurisdiction to have the case dealt with at the District Court. It was a matter for Judge Mary Dorgan to decide if she was also accepting jurisdiction to hear the case. Sgt Kelleher said: It is alleged that a man entered the Shelbourne Bar on MacCurtain Street, Cork, on June 25 and asked to use the toilet. He entered and then left the toilet and proceeded to enter the staff locker room. Staff went to look for the man and met him leaving the staff room where he had no permission to be. Items were missing from the staff room. Security arrived and the man handed over all property from his pockets, consisting of two sets of keys, a wallet containing numerous bank cards and IDs, a bottle of aftershave and 8 in loose change. Judge Dorgan accepted jurisdiction and the case was adjourned until September 9. Mr Arundel was represented by solicitor Shane Collins-Daly. A Cork man accused of burgling the home of an 85-year-old woman in Mayfield had the case against adjourned until September 18 at Cork District Court. Thirty-six-year-old Don Duggan of 65 Ballinderry Park, Mayfield, Cork, will appear again at Cork District Court by video link from prison following a refusal of bail. The charge states that he entered the home at Iona Park, Mayfield, on June 28 as a trespasser and attempted to commit the arrestable offence of theft. Sergeant John Kelleher said the Director of Public Prosecutions had directed that the case could proceed at Cork District Court. Garda Elaine Murphy said previously that the allegations in the case were that Don Duggan entered the home of an 85-year-old woman through the rear door of the house. He was disturbed by the daughter of the household and fled out the bedroom window. He was pursued on foot from the scene by the daughter and he ran up Murmount Crescent. CCTV captured the man running from the scene, Garda Murphy said. Gardai identified the man on CCTV as Don Duggan. The defendant said said it was not him. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has met with Irish Taoiseach Simon Harris in Dublin, Azernews reports, citing Simon Harris announced the meeting on X. "As new leaders, we are both working to strengthen relations between our countries. Our first meeting in the UK in July made it clear that we share high ambitions for what we can achieve together. Today in Dublin, we are putting those ambitions into action," he added. Inmates in Cork Prison will be able to participate in this years Culture Night as the detention centre is among 13 institutions around the country to be gifted books by some of Irelands most well-known writers. The Arts Council will be gifting a curated list of 30 books to each of the prisons involved on Culture Night, which takes place this year on September 20. The package includes a diverse selection of novels, short stories, and poetry, described as reflecting the vibrant literary landscape of Ireland. Comic book artist Will Sliney, who illustrates for Marvel, has been chosen to deliver the books to Cork Prison while Pat Sheedy is bringing a package to Portlaoise. Colm Keegan will be bringing books to Shelton Abbey Prison and Annemarie Ni Chuireann will be going to Dochas Centre (the female prison in Mountjoy) with the titles contained on the Arts Council list. Empower According to Maureen Kennelly, the Arts Council director, the aim is to empower prisoners with the knowledge and inspiration that can open new paths in their lives. This programme underscores our commitment to making the arts accessible to everyone, regardless of their circumstances, said Ms Kennelly. Caron McCaffrey, the Irish Prison Services director general, described the initiative with the Arts Council as a brilliant partnership which would give prisoners access to a catalogue of new books from which to choose so they could participate in Culture Night. Reading has always been a popular pastime in prisons, he said. For those with poor literacy skills it can also be a challenge, but our education units do incredible work to enable those in our care to begin to enjoy reading. The Arts Council has a longstanding relationship with the Irish Prison Service through initiatives such as the Artists in Prison Scheme and the Writers in Prison Scheme. These programmes, delivered through the prison service education programme, have provided many service users with the opportunity to meaningfully engage with the arts and artists. (Photo: REUTERS / Siegfried Modola)Giovanni Mougounou, 10, who lost both legs in April 2013 to what his family say was a rocket-propelled grenade launched by Seleka fighters on a church, pushes his wheel chair close to his home in the district of Boy Rabe in the capital Bangui February 4, 2014. Dr. Samuel Kabue, coordinator of the Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network says, "The inclusion of persons with disability is not an option but a defining characteristic of the Church." Members of EDAN, a program of the World Council of Churches, met in the Netherlands to develop a new statement with the working title "Gift of Being: Called to be a Church of All and for All." The new document aims to build on the WCC interim statement on disability "A Church of All and for All" issued in 2003, the WCC said in a statement. It is founded on the premise that even a decade later, persons with disabilities experience marginalization both in societies and in the church communities themselves. The meeting, held from 12-15 October at the Mennonite Conference Centre at Elspeet, included staff members of the EDAN, the WCC Faith and Order Commission and the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism. Hosted by Professor Hans Reinders of the Free University of Amsterdam, the meeting initiated theological reflection on both disability and the place of disabled persons within the life of the churches as part of just and inclusive communities. CHURCHES ON ISSUES OF DISABILITY Dr. Kabue, coordinator of EDAN, said, "Churches have moved on issues of disability in the last 10 years, but there are still continuing challenges that must be addressed. The new statement from the EDAN will give churches a fresh momentum to address the issue of disability." During discussions on the WCC's new mission statement Kabue said the issue of disability poses a clear challenge to the churches in terms of its unity, mission and witness. "The communion of the churches in unity and diversity is impaired without the gifts and presence of all people, including persons with disability. "The mission of the church is to proclaim God's reign of justice and peace and is less than credible if the churches do not actively and visibly receive the diverse gifts of all its members, including persons with disability," he said. At the meeting, Rev. Gordon Cowans, EDAN's Caribbean coordinator, drew attention to the working title of the document. He said since "life is a gift, every life has intrinsic value." Fadi El Halabi, a Maronite Christian from Lebanon and EDAN's Middle East coordinator, said, "The new document from the EDAN will challenge churches in the Middle East to address disability from a theological perspective and find new ways of making the church an inclusive community at all levels." EDAN will finalize its statement in February 2015 and will present it to WCC governing bodies for approval. (Photo: Peter Williams/WCC)Rev. Lynda Katsuno during the Opening Prayer at the World Council of Churches 10th Assembly in Busan, South Korea in 2013. Churches around the world are mourning the death of Rev. Lynda Susan Katsuno, Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network pioneer, after a yearlong struggle with cancer, but a life not letting her wheelchair slow down her cause. Katsuno, who died on Aug. 28, aged 72, was a third-generation Japanese Canadian who had a permanent physical disability from 1973. From 1970 to 1983, she was an elementary school teacher in Toronto, Canada, and a member of the Anglican Church of Canada, but she also did much work with the United Church of Canada, according to the World Council of Churches.. "Many of us who were there in the 1980s will remember her crisscrossing the corridors of the Ecumenical Centre in her wheelchair and her precious contributions to the celebrations in the chapel," recalled Hubert van Beek. Van Beek worked at the World Council of Churches (WCC) from 1992 to 2004 in the Church and Ecumenical Relations office. Katsuno was a liturgist and musician and pioneered what is now the Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network. Van Beek noted, "And there was, for her, no place in the world where she would not travel." "Once she called from the Frankfurt airport to say that she had broken her leg," he recalled. "It turned out to be a wheel of her chair, and she gave the people from a church in Frankfurt, where she had called for help, no rest until it was repaired and she could continue her journey." Anjeline Okola, program coordinator for the WCC Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network, recalled Katsuno as a dynamic woman in the ecumenical movement. She was said Okola, despite being a paraplegic, in air travel terms, a "complete carry-on" who loved traveling and interacting with the churches on disability inclusion. "Having pioneered the work on disability inclusion within WCC, she paved the way for the current work within the WCC and her member churches," said Okola. "She was 'our' liturgist whom we gladly shared with other ecumenical partners whenever there was a big gathering anywhere in the world and it was not surprising finding her liturgy being used in places that she had not been," said Okola. Katuson's liturgy always had a life of its own, going to places where the prayers, readings, and music she wrote were needed "for the worship life of the faithful." Okola added: "All she needed was the concept paper and the Biblical text after which she could come up with a beautiful liturgy that enhanced our worship life while at the same time celebrating and strengthening our faith journey. We will surely miss her." WCC ASSEMBLY IN VANCOUVER Following the WCC 6th Assembly in 1983 in Vancouver, Canada, she joined the WCC staff, staying in Geneva until the end of 1991 and officially forming the "desk" that worked on the issues of disabilities. "My love and passion for music and liturgy became a huge part of the work I did for the WCC, along with a commitment to women's concerns," Katsuno wrote. After moving back to Canada, she wrote and facilitated daily worship for the 1988, 1994, and 1997 Triennial Assemblies for the Canadian Council of Churches. She also wrote for the 1991 International Assembly for the global YMCA (held in Seoul), the International Assembly of the World Association of Christian Communicators held in 1995 in Bangkok, along with many conferences and gatherings for the Anglican and United Church of Canada. She worked with her parish team for a Toronto-based program called, "Out of the Cold," which provides a home-cooked meal and overnight shelter during the winter months for people who call the streets of Toronto "home." A Requiem Mass was held for Katsuno on Sept. at the church of St Mary Magdalena, her home parish. News / Local by Gary Gerald Mtombeni Bulawayo came alive with vibrant colors and festivities during the annual King Mzilikazi Day celebrations, which halted business in the city and marked the most significant event yet honoring the founding Ndebele monarch.The occasion has become an anticipated annual spectacle, offering participants the opportunity to display traditional attire and remember the historic journey of King Mzilikazi from KwaZulu-Natal to present-day Bulawayo. The celebrations have cemented themselves on the city's cultural calendar, with a growing number of attendees each year.The festivities drew a diverse crowd of young and old, who gathered early in the City of Kings to honor their heritage through song, poetry, and traditional ululations.The journey to Mhlahlandlela, the late king's capital along Old Gwanda Road, was marked by clouds of dust as hundreds traveled in vehicles of all sizes. The event stood out for its multi-ethnic participation, reflecting the inclusive nature of the kingdom King Mzilikazi once led.Chief Dakamela of Nkayi District expressed gratitude to all who traveled far and wide to attend the celebration. He highlighted the presence of people from South Africa and various races, emphasizing the unity King Mzilikazi fostered by bringing people from different backgrounds together.Chief Dakamela praised the spirit of "Ubuntu" on display, as people united to remember and honor their past, urging continuous support for future events that celebrate the Ndebele heritage.Chief Gwebu of Umzingwane District was particularly encouraged by the growing involvement of young people in the celebrations. He noted the importance of preserving the legacy of King Mzilikazi and expressed hope that the participation of the younger generation would ensure the continuity of their culture and traditions. The chief viewed this intergenerational involvement as a promising sign for the future of Ndebele heritage.Chief Gampu from Tsholotsho used the occasion to announce the upcoming unveiling of a tombstone for the first Chief Gampu in October. He expressed excitement about the continued growth of the King Mzilikazi celebrations and hoped that the event would inspire more people to attend traditional ceremonies in the future. His announcement highlighted the ongoing efforts to honor significant figures in Ndebele history.Thokozani Khumalo, representing Amantungwa from South Africa, commended the presence of young people at the event, viewing it as essential for the future preservation of Ndebele culture. She emphasized the importance of unity within the royal family and the broader Ndebele community, urging everyone to take responsibility for safeguarding their cultural heritage. The Khumalo family, though not solely responsible, was committed to leading this effort.Midard Khumalo, another representative of Amantungwa, reflected on the growth of the celebrations since 2023. Although some family members could not attend due to a funeral, he was impressed by the increasing significance of the event and the dedication of Ndebele people to their roots. He encouraged those present to inspire others to attend next year, ensuring that the legacy of King Mzilikazi continues to thrive. 4 Espana responde a Israel que "esta fuera de lugar" que le acuse de ser "un paraiso de odio" que incita a su destruccion An investigation has launched after 40 sheep were stolen from a Perthshire farm, amid a rise in livestock theft incidents across the UK. Police officers said the theft of 20 ewes and 20 lambs took place on land in Fossoway near Kinross at some point between 8 July and 31. After determining the sheep had not wandered off or gone missing, the farmer reported the theft to police on 26 August. Officers explained that the sheep are believed to be worth an estimated 5,400. Farmers across the UK have reported an increase in both small and large scale livestock thefts, police forces recently warned. The crime causes suffering to animals which are often treated badly by thieves and sometimes even slaughtered out in the fields. Livestock rustling is also a cause of food crime and can present a risk to public health as the quality and safety of stolen meat products cannot be guaranteed. Last year, the crime cost farmers an estimated 2.7 million, and a number of incidents saw animals butchered on fields. Constable Ben Samson said of the Perthshire case: Enquiries are ongoing to establish what happened to the sheep and we are appealing for anyone with information which could assist our investigation to get in touch. If members of the public saw or heard any suspicious activity in the area between the dates the sheep were taken we would urge you to come forward. Anyone with information can contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting reference CR/0329442/24. Alternatively you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Police recently called on the public to come forward with information after thieves stole nearly 100 sheep from a farm in Warwickshire. The incident happened sometime between 9 August and 21 August on fields in Kenilworth, Warwickshire Police said. Another incident recently occurred in Staffordshire, after livestock rustlers stole 36 lambs from a farm in Perton. Nicole Kidman loved her late mothers life advice and sense of style. Nicole Kidman loved her late mothers life advice and sense of style The 57-year-old actress told fans she was in shock after she heard her former nursing instructor mum Janelle Kidman had passed away hours before she was awarded a best actress award for her role in her new movie Babygirl at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday. (08.09.24) Nicoles recent interviews about her incredibly close relationship with Janelle have resurfaced as she fights grief, with concerned fans sharing them online as part of their well-wishes they have been sending the actress online. The actress, who was born in Honolulu and raised in Sydney by Janelle and her psychologist father Antony who died in September 2014 told People in November her mum was vital when it came to her fashion choices. She said about turning to Janelle despite having the worlds best stylists at hand: My mother is still shes so involved in what I wear. I love fashion. Ive always loved fashion. I grew up as a little girl with a grandmother that loved fashion and could sew and my mother the same. They loved beautiful clothes. They could make beautiful clothes. I watched them sew, embroider, and knit, crochet. And I think when you grow up seeing the people in your household do that, then you love that. In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald in 2020, Nicole told how she missed her mum and her wisdom when she was living in the US. She said: I would love to be able to have a cup of tea with mum and sit on the balcony and talk about life, and have her tell me what I should be doing. Nicole also had an equally close relationship with her dad Antony and was left devastated when he was killed by a heart attack in September 2014 aged 75. The Oscar-winner previously revealed his death, as well as a string of other losses in her family, had let her traumatised. Nicoles shock over her mums death was announced by Babygirl director Halina Reijn, 48, at the Venice Film Festival. She read a statement to fans from Nicole that said: Today I arrived in Venice to find out shortly after, that my beautiful, brave mother Janelle Ann Kidman has just passed. I am in shock and I have to go to my family, but this award is for her, she shaped me, she guided me, and she made me. I am beyond grateful that I get to say her name to all of you through Halina, the collision of life and art is heart-breaking, and my heart is broken. We love you all. Nicole Kidman is in shock after her mother died. Nicole Kidman is in shock after her mother died The 57-year-old actress made the announcement to fans her mum had passed away hours before she was awarded a best actress award for her role in Babygirl at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday. (08.09.24) Nicole, who stars as a business executive who starts an affair with her younger intern in the film, was not in attendance at its premiere at the event, and the movies director Halina Reijn read a statement from the actress revealing her mother Janelle had died while she was in Venice. The statement in full from Nicole said: Today I arrived in Venice to find out shortly after, that my beautiful, brave mother Janelle Ann Kidman has just passed. I am in shock and I have to go to my family, but this award is for her, she shaped me, she guided me, and she made me. I am beyond grateful that I get to say her name to all of you through Halina, the collision of life and art is heart-breaking, and my heart is broken. We love you all. Nicole told the Fresh Air podcast in 2022 her mum was experiencing a string of health issues. She added they had managed to visit the Art Gallery of New South Wales to see the Matisse: Life and Spirit; exhibition, which she said was like a soothing balm. Nicole added at the time: Were down here primarily to take care of my mother and to have her surrounded by her grandchildren. So luckily yesterday, even though Omicron is raging through this country, we were able to take her into the gallery after hours and show her the Matisse exhibit, which coming from a mother who's raised me in the arts, it was soothing balm. Matisse was soothing balm last night. Nicole added she felt lucky to be able to see the world through her mothers eyes, and described her outlook as so beneficial. She said: Im at the place where I'm being given the chance to view the world, because of how close we are, my mum is giving me the chance to view the world through an 81-year-old womans eyes. That is so beneficial right now, because shes so cognisant. She has every brain faculty available, so she hasnt lost anything. She hasnt lost any memory, which is fascinating, and shes extremely bright. Shes giving me access, because shes also very direct and very honest, and so Im getting access to the world through her eyes, my mothers eyes, so therefore a part of me almost at 80. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was among a string of light-filled speakers at an Oprah Winfrey book club session. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was among a string of light-filled speakers at an Oprah Winfrey book club session The 43-year-old who has son Archie, five, and daughter Lilibet, three, with her 39-year-old husband Prince Harry was a guest at the event on Saturday (07.09.24) night, and spoke in front of a sales stand on which her partners controversial memoir Spare was on display. It was also attended by actor Marco Leone, astrology and psychology expert Dr Jennifer Freed, and author, teacher and psychic medium Laura Lynne Jackson. They gathered at the Goodmothers bookstore in Summerland, miles from Meghans mansion in Montecito, California with Laura hailing Meghan as one of the evenings light-filled speakers. It is unclear what Meghan said, but the event was billed as one of a series of conversations with guests being hosted by Godmothers, which is co-owned by literary agent Jennifer Rudolph Walsh. The store is promoting celebrity books including Meghans childrens book The Bench and Prince Harrys Spare memoir. It can currently be found at the front of the shop as part of its Hometown Heroes shelf. Hes being billed as belonging to the community despite spending most of his life being raised in Britain before he quit the country with Meghan for a new life in the US. The event was held on the eve of the second anniversary of Queen Elizabeths death. Meghan and Oprah, 70, have been friends for years, with the chat show host one of the guests at the duchess wedding to Harry in May 2018. Her and Harrys $14 million Montecito mansion is close to Oprahs home, and in 2021 Meghan famously sat down with the broadcaster and her husband for an 85-miniute interview in which she accused an unnamed member of the royal family of asking what colour their first child would be. Sir Ian McKellen is facing calls to hand back his knighthood. Sir Ian McKellen is facing calls to hand back his knighthood The Lord of the Rings actor, 85, is at the centre of outrage after he made a string of digs at the Royal Family including branding Prince Harry dim, and Queen Elizabeth quite mad and rude. Royal biographer Margaret Holder has now told the Daily Express about his remarks which he made during a chat with The Times: Perhaps if Sir Ian feels so slighted by the Queen he could consider returning his knighthood, although he may regret that in the future. Margaret also referred to the actors fall from stage in June in London, which left him hospitalised, adding: We have to remember this is an elderly man who had a nasty accident recently. Perhaps he may say something different in time to come. Dickie Arbiter, the late Queens official spokesman between 1988 and 2000, also hit out at the actor for making his comments after accepting an honour from the Queen. He said: Ian McKellen was being somewhat churlish and over the top suggesting the late Queen was rude when she asked if people were still going to the theatre. Theatres have complained for years about high costs and a lack of bums on seats a perfectly legitimate question. If that's how he felt, why accept the honour? It was a snide attack not expected of an intelligent man with such stature. The question is, Did the late Queen really say that? and, if so, why come out with it now? A cheap shot. Sir Ian was knighted for services to the performing arts in 1991 and Queen Elizabeth II appointed him Companion of Honour for his services to drama and equality in 2008. He said about the Queen: Im sure she was quite mad at the end. And on the few occasions I met her she was quite rude. When I received a medal for acting, she said, Youve been doing this for an awfully long time. I said, Well, not as long as you. I got a royal smile for that, but then she said, Does anyone still actually go to the theatre? Thats bloody rude when youre giving someone a medal for acting. It meant, Does anyone care a f*** about you because I dont. Now off you go! Ian added about the Queens late husband Prince Philip he was deeply, deeply eccentric possibly deeply unhappy. He said: Same with the present king. He sort of survives, but he is clearly damaged. As for (Prince) Harry, hes probably not bright enough or doesnt have the right friends to really help himself. View this post on Instagram A post shared by aaAaaaAa aaaaAaAaAa (@deepikapadukone) The couple tied the knot in December 2018 in Lake Como, Italy in an intimate ceremony. The couple tied the knot in December 2018 in Lake Como, Italy in an intimate ceremony. Congratulations are in order for Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh - the couple have welcomed their first child a baby girl. While they couple haven't announced it on their social media handles - the news has been announced via multiple news portals. On Friday, the couple were spotted at Mumbai's Siddhivinayak temple, along with their family members seeking blessings ahead of the arrival of their little one.Ranveer and Deepika had announced their pregnancy earlier this year with a cute post announcing the arrival of the baby in September 2024. The European Union's GDP experienced moderate growth in the second quarter of 2024, with a seasonally adjusted increase of 0.2 per cent in both the euro area and the EU compared to the previous quarter. This follows a 0.3 per cent rise in GDP in the first quarter of 2024, according to Eurostat. Over the past year, the euro areas GDP rose by 0.6 per cent, while the EU saw a 0.8 per cent increase, showing slight improvements from the previous quarter. Employment in the EU also grew, although modestly, with a 0.1 per cent increase over the same period, Eurostat said in a press release. In Q2 2024, the EU and euro area recorded moderate GDP growth of 0.2 per cent, following a 0.3 per cent rise in Q1. Annually, GDP increased by 0.6 per cent in the euro area and 0.8 per cent in the EU. Poland led with 1.5 per cent growth, while Ireland and Latvia saw declines. Government spending boosted growth, but investment in fixed capital fell sharply. In comparison, the United States saw more robust GDP growth of 0.7 per cent in the second quarter, building on a 0.4 per cent increase in the first quarter. On an annual basis, US GDP surged by 3.1 per cent. Within the EU, Poland led in GDP growth with a significant 1.5 per cent increase from the previous quarter, followed by Greece (+1.1 per cent) and the Netherlands (+1.0 per cent). In contrast, Ireland, Latvia, and Austria saw the largest declines, with GDP shrinking by 1.0 per cent, 0.9 per cent, and 0.4 per cent respectively. Examining the components of GDP, household consumption remained stagnant in the euro area and slightly grew by 0.1 per cent in the EU. Government consumption, however, showed a stronger increase, rising by 0.6 per cent in the euro area and 0.7 per cent in the EU. Investment in fixed capital fell sharply by 2.2 per cent in the euro area and 1.8 per cent in the EU, while both exports and imports saw growth. The overall contribution of household consumption to GDP growth was neutral, while government spending contributed positively. However, gross fixed capital formation had a negative impact on growth, with exports contributing significantly to the GDP gains in both the euro area and the EU. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD) News / Local by Gary Gerald Mtombeni Bulawayo is exploring the use of deep drilling rigs to access water from aquifers beneath the city as a solution to its ongoing water shortages. Despite being situated atop a significant aquifer, the city has struggled with water scarcity.A recent council meeting highlighted the need to tap into this aquifer to alleviate the water crisis, with Mayor David Coltart noting the potential of using advanced drilling rigs, similar to those used in Botswana for gas extraction, which can reach depths of up to 2000 meters.Councillors at the meeting voiced concerns about the deteriorating water situation in Bulawayo as summer approaches. They pointed out that several supply dams are nearing decommissioning, which could exacerbate the problem. Issues such as evaporation losses and leaks in the water reticulation system were also discussed, raising alarm about the city's ability to manage its water resources effectively.There were also concerns about illegal mining activities along the riverbed, which have exposed the Insiza pipeline and increased the risk of further damage. Councillors called for increased security measures from the Central Government to protect these critical infrastructure components and prevent additional harm.A particular emphasis was placed on the need for extensive research into the city's underground water sources. Critics argued that the current medium- and long-term plans are inadequate given the region's erratic rainfall and delays in the construction of the Bhopoma dam. The urgency of developing more effective strategies for managing water resources was a key point of discussion.Residents are increasingly affected by the water crisis, with many experiencing weekly water delivery restrictions and extended periods without access to council water. The reliance on bowser water services has raised concerns about contamination risks due to the transfer of water from bowsers into domestic containers.Mayor David Coltart acknowledged the council's efforts to investigate borehole drilling technologies to access deeper aquifers. However, he also pointed out the negative impact of illegal gold panning, which has damaged riverbanks and worsened water quality, complicating efforts to secure a reliable water supply.The meeting highlighted the urgent need for sustainable solutions to Bulawayo's escalating water crisis. Residents are calling for clear timelines and actionable plans to improve water service delivery, as the city continues to face significant challenges in managing its water resources. The firms emphasized that the removal of blanket exclusions would catalyze Ukraine's growth and future reconstruction Aon and Marsh McLennan today called on the (re)insurance industry to build upon the capital, expertise and historical role of the (re)insurance industry to help Ukraine's resilience by catalyzing economic growth and strengthening the country's foundations for a post-conflict economy. The firms emphasized that the removal of blanket exclusions, which ignore the diversity of risk throughout the country, would further support Ukraine's economy. Additionally, since the start of the war, many global reinsurers have grouped risks originating in Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus together, excluding them from reinsurance contracts, limiting (re)insurance capital and impeding economic growth and stability. The inclusion of Ukraine with Russia and Belarus is not rooted in the data and analytics that drive the assessment of risk and overlooks that Ukraine, while under siege, seeks to further align as a free and democratic economy and member of the European Union. "Marsh McLennan is dedicated in our support of Ukraine helping it attract global investment to rebuild the country, and recover from the devastating impact of war on its people and economy," said John Doyle, president and CEO of Marsh McLennan. "We call on the global insurance community to join us in this effort and end blanket exclusions for Ukraine." "Aon's support of Ukraine leads us to look forward to its economic recovery," said Greg Case, CEO of Aon. "Insurance capital is essential for the reconstruction of Ukraine's health care, energy and agricultural sectors. We're asking the insurance industry to look closely at Ukraine's risks and work to strengthen the public private partnerships under development." Marsh McLennan and Aon each are already working with the Ukraine, U.S. and UK governments, along with many other international organizations, to support Ukraine's economy as it endures ongoing attacks and accelerate investment in the country's eventual economic recovery. In March, Marsh McLennan announced the expansion of its public-private partnership with the Ukraine government to cover all shipping to and from Ukraine's ports. This follows Marsh McLennan's support in helping the Ukraine Government develop its war risk data platform which provides investors and (re)insurers with granular transparent data on the impact of the conflict to date and degree of war risk. In June, Aon worked with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to create a first-of-its-kind insurance program to support war risk policies for businesses operating in Ukraine. The availability of insurance for war risk, especially across health care and agriculture, will stimulate economic expansion and employment, while strengthening the foundation of Ukraine's economy to support a robust reconstruction. The firms assert that arbitrary exclusions for Ukraine contribute to confusion about the vastly different levels of risk in the country. As a result, there are potential issues with how (re)insurers underwrite risks between regions directly impacted by the war and many areas of central and western Ukraine which have suffered little to no war damage. The use of data and analytics can enable more impactful insights into where insurance capital can contribute to Ukraine's reconstruction and further economic growth. About Marsh McLennan Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC) is a global leader in risk, strategy and people, advising clients in 130 countries across four businesses: Marsh, Guy Carpenter, Mercer and Oliver Wyman. With annual revenue of $23 billion and more than 85,000 colleagues, Marsh McLennan helps build the confidence to thrive through the power of perspective. For more information, visit marshmclennan.com, or follow on LinkedIn and X. About Aon Aon plc (NYSE: AON) exists to shape decisions for the better to protect and enrich the lives of people around the world. Through actionable analytic insight, globally integrated Risk Capital and Human Capital expertise, and locally relevant solutions, our colleagues provide clients in over 120 countries with the clarity and confidence to make better risk and people decisions that protect and grow their businesses. Follow Aon on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram. Stay up-to-date by visiting Aon's newsroom and sign up for news alerts here. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240907031227/en/ Contacts: Marsh McLennan Jason Groves jason.groves@mmc.com +44 (0)7733 325 587 Aon mediainquiries@aon.com Toll-free (U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico): +1 833 751 8114 International: +1 312 381 3024 - The firms emphasized that the removal of blanket exclusions would catalyze Ukraine's growth and future reconstruction MONTE CARLO, Sept. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Aon and Marsh McLennan today called on the (re)insurance industry to build upon the capital, expertise and historical role of the (re)insurance industry to help Ukraine's resilience by catalyzing economic growth and strengthening the country's foundations for a post-conflict economy. The firms emphasized that the removal of blanket exclusions, which ignore the diversity of risk throughout the country, would further support for Ukraine's economy. Additionally, since the start of the war, many global reinsurers have grouped risks originating in Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus together, excluding them from reinsurance contracts, limiting (re)insurance capital and impeding economic growth and stability. The inclusion of Ukraine with Russia and Belarus is not rooted in the data and analytics that drive the assessment of risk and overlooks that Ukraine, while under siege, seeks to further align as a free and democratic economy and member of the European Union. "Marsh McLennan is dedicated in our support of Ukraine - helping it attract global investment to rebuild the country, and recover from the devastating impact of war on its people and economy," said John Doyle, president and CEO of Marsh McLennan. "We call on the global insurance community to join us in this effort and end blanket exclusions for Ukraine." "Aon's support of Ukraine leads us to look forward to its economic recovery," said Greg Case, CEO of Aon. "Insurance capital is essential for the reconstruction of Ukraine's health care, energy and agricultural sectors. We're asking the insurance industry to look closely at Ukraine's risks and work to strengthen the public private partnerships under development." Marsh McLennan and Aon each are already working with the Ukraine, U.S. and UK governments, along with many other international organizations, to support Ukraine's economy as it endures ongoing attacks and accelerate investment in the country's eventual economic recovery. In March, Marsh McLennan announced the expansion of its public-private partnership with the Ukraine government to cover all shipping to and from Ukraine's ports. This follows Marsh McLennan's support in helping the Ukraine Government develop its war risk data platform which provides investors and (re)insurers with granular transparent data on the impact of the conflict to date and degree of war risk. In June, Aon worked with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to create a first-of-its-kind insurance program to support war risk policies for businesses operating in Ukraine. The availability of insurance for war risk, especially across health care and agriculture, will stimulate economic expansion and employment, while strengthening the foundation of Ukraine's economy to support a robust reconstruction. The firms assert that arbitrary exclusions for Ukraine contribute to confusion about the vastly different levels of risk in the country. As a result, there are potential issues with how (re)insurers underwrite risks between regions directly impacted by the war and many areas of central and western Ukraine which have suffered little to no war damage. The use of data and analytics can enable more impactful insights into where insurance capital can contribute to Ukraine's reconstruction and further economic growth. About Aon Aon plc (NYSE: AON) exists to shape decisions for the better - to protect and enrich the lives of people around the world. Through actionable analytic insight, globally integrated Risk Capital and Human Capital expertise, and locally relevant solutions, our colleagues provide clients in over 120 countries with the clarity and confidence to make better risk and people decisions that protect and grow their businesses. Follow Aon on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram. Stay up-to-date by visiting Aon's newsroom and sign up for news alerts here. About Marsh McLennan Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC) is a global leader in risk, strategy and people, advising clients in 130 countries across four businesses: Marsh, Guy Carpenter, Mercer and Oliver Wyman. With annual revenue of $23 billion and more than 85,000 colleagues, Marsh McLennan helps build the confidence to thrive through the power of perspective. For more information, visit marshmclennan.com, or follow on LinkedIn and X. Media Contacts Aon mediainquiries@aon.com Toll-free (U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico): +1 833 751 8114 International: +1 312 381 3024 Marsh McLennan Jason Groves jason.groves@mmc.com +44 (0)7733 325 587 Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1632623/Aon_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/aon-and-marsh-mclennan-call-on-reinsurance-industry-to-aid-ukraines-resilience-302241050.html Announces 6 million fundraising programme for installation and trialling of an in-field demonstration plant and the drilling of further boreholes DURHAM, England, Sept. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Northern Lithium Ltd (Northern Lithium or the Company) is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed a 30-day lithium brine pump testing programme, a further step forward to proving the commercial viability of its lithium-in-brines development project in the Northeast of England. The tests, which were conducted at two litres per second, also provided indications of long-term yields significantly in excess of the Company's own production modelling at commercially viable flow rates of 30 litres per second. Having further demonstrated proof of concept for the project, over the next twelve months Northern Lithium will now proceed with key next steps towards commercialisation, including: the installation and trialling of an in-field Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) demonstration plant, the delivery of a new 60-day pump test at significantly higher flow rates, the drilling of further production capable and feasibility boreholes in 2025, and the preparation and submission of major applications for planning and permitting. Northern Lithium has been funded to date largely by private investors alongside UK Government support through a feasibility study grant from the Automotive Transformation Fund, run by the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK. To achieve these new milestones, the Company will be raising in the region of 6 million, commencing with an initial tranche to accelerate the near-term DLE demonstration plant trials and further pump tests. Funds will be raised from a combination of strategic, high net worth and, for the first time, retail investors via a Crowdcube offering, reflecting the fact that the project has now been significantly de-risked. Further details will be provided in due course. The 30-day continuous testing process, utilising two existing boreholes drilled by Northern Lithium, successfully demonstrated the achievement of a number of key milestones: it proved the consistent presence of commercially viable concentrations of lithium, at sustained and significantly high flow rates, throughout the testing period, it showed a steady increase in abstracted brine temperature as the tests progressed, providing further evidence that the brines are being recharged from depth, and it demonstrated the ability to simultaneously abstract and re-inject lithium brines using separate boreholes, providing a pathway to delivering a viable closed loop lithium brine processing system, maintaining the status quo in the deep groundwater system, and meeting all environmental requirements. Nick Pople, Northern Lithium Managing Director, said, "The results of the 30-day test programme mark a major milestone for Northern Lithium and are a first for the UK lithium sector as a whole, delivering proof of concept that our lithium brines can be abstracted and successfully reinjected using a pair of nearby boreholes. With a clear path to commercialisation now demonstrated, we remain confident in meeting our goal to achieve first commercial production from 2027 and within the next decade scale up to in excess of 10,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium delivered per year from production sites across the Northern Pennine Orefield. The fundraising programme we are announcing today will provide us with the runway we require to further develop the business and move significantly nearer to commercial production." It is forecast that the UK will need up to 80,000 tonnes of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) per year by 2030 and as much as 135,000 tonnes per year by 2040. The Advanced Propulsion Centre UK said in its Q1 2024 Quarterly Automotive Demand Forecast (June 2024) that Electric Vehicle (EV) production in the UK is expected to top one million per annum between 2030 and 2035 creating a demand for over 100 GWh of automotive batteries from just 7GWhs of demand in 2023. Julian Hetherington, Director, Automotive Transformation at Advanced Propulsion Centre UK said, "I'm delighted to see the significant progress made by Northern Lithium following support from the Automotive Transformation Fund. We hope that this project will play an important part in the UK meeting its potential to become self-sufficient in battery-grade lithium, supporting the UK's green growth ambitions. Low impact, resilient critical minerals supply and processing are key elements in the UK's Critical Minerals and Battery Strategies." Battery requirements for grid scale energy storage are also increasing exponentially, adding to the supply chain pressure for lithium. Forecasts suggest global demand for lithium-ion batteries for grid scale energy storage could overtake EVs by 2050. The National Grid ESO, the electricity system operator for Great Britain, is forecasting that the UK will need nearly 200GWh of energy storage by 2050 against 4.6GWh of operational grid-scale battery energy storage capacity at the end of 2023. Located next to the Northeast of England's growing cluster of gigafactories and EV manufacturing hubs, Northern Lithium has up to 45 years' exclusive development, appraisal and production rights covering mineral rights owned by the Church Commissioners for England across circa. 240 sq kms (60,000 acres), of the North Pennine Orefield. The Company is at the forefront of delivering a secure, sustainable domestic supply of lithium at scale for the UK, using UK sourced lithium brines, UK developed advanced DLE (Direct Lithium Extraction) technology and UK process engineering expertise. Northern Lithium recently signed a contract with UK advanced technology filtration specialists Evove Ltd who will install and trial the demonstration plant incorporating their membrane DLE technology. Jeff Townsend, Founder, Critical Minerals Association, said, "Given the rapid electrification of the UK economy that we will see over the next decade, it is imperative that the UK secures a reliable and sustainable supply of lithium to power clean technologies. Northern Lithium's promising test results and plans to reach commercial production puts them in a strong position to be one of the leaders in the UK domestic lithium production sector for decades to come." Northern Lithium Established in 2017, Northern Lithium is a privately-owned innovative critical minerals development company, based in County Durham, Northeast of England, focused on delivering a secure domestic supply of lithium from the North East for UK gigafactories and the UK's electric vehicle and power storage industries, using sustainable extraction and production techniques. www.northernlithium.co.uk View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/northern-lithium-signals-major-step-towards-commercial-production-of-uk-lithium-as-latest-test-results-exceed-expectations-302241255.html Kunstliche Intelligenz hat spatestens nach dem Raketenstart von Chat GPT das Leben aller verandert. Doch der Superzyklus steht nach Meinungen von Experten erst am Anfang. Wahrend Aktien wie Nvidia von der ersten Aufwartsentwicklung stark profitieren konnten, versprechen aussichtsreiche Player aus der zweiten Reihe noch enormes Aufwartspotenzial. Im kostenlosen, exklusiven Spezialreport prasentieren wir ihnen 5 innovative KI-Unternehmen, die bahnbrechende Entwicklungen in diesem Sektor pragen konnten. Warum sollten Sie dabei sein? Trotz der jungsten Erfolge steht die Entwicklung der kunstlichen Intelligenz noch am Beginn eines neuen Superzyklus. Experten gehen davon aus, dass der Sektor bis 2032 global auf 1,3 Billionen US-Dollar explodieren wird, wobei ein groer Teil auf Hardware und Infrastruktur entfallen wird. Nutzen Sie die Chance! Fordern Sie sofort unseren brandneuen Spezialreport an und erfahren Sie, welche 5 KI-Aktien das grote Potenzial zur Vervielfachung besitzen. Dieser Report ist komplett kostenlos und zeigt Ihnen die aussichtsreichsten Investments im KI-Sektor. Handeln Sie jetzt und sichern Sie sich Ihren kostenfreien Report! AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo's datopotamab deruxtecan demonstrated meaningfully greater magnitude of progression-free survival benefit in patients with this biomarker AstraZeneca and Roche Tissue Diagnostics are collaborating to co-develop and commercialize the TROP2-QCS biomarker companion diagnostic Results from an exploratory analysis of the TROPION-Lung01 Phase III trial showed TROP2 as measured by AstraZeneca's proprietary computational pathology platform, quantitative continuous scoring (QCS), was predictive of clinical outcomes in patients with advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who were treated with datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd). In patients with TROP2-QCS biomarker positive tumors, datopotamab deruxtecan demonstrated a meaningfully greater magnitude of efficacy versus docetaxel than in the overall trial population. These results will be featured in a Presidential Symposium (PL02.11) at the IASLC 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. TROP2 is a protein broadly expressed in NSCLC on the surface of and inside tumor cells.1,2 When assessed using conventional immunohistochemistry (IHC)-based pathology, TROP2 expression has not been predictive of patient responses to TROP2-directed antibody drug conjugates (ADC).3,4 QCS is a fully supervised computational pathology platform, developed by AstraZeneca, that analyzes digitized images of patient tissue samples and precisely quantifies targets, like TROP2, on and inside a tumor cell. Datopotamab deruxtecan is a specifically engineered TROP2-directed DXd ADC discovered by Daiichi Sankyo and being jointly developed by AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo. In this analysis, QCS was used to analyze tissue samples collected from patients in TROPION-Lung01. This produced a normalized membrane ratio for each tumor cell in each sample. Patients' tumors were considered TROP2-QCS biomarker positive if the majority (=75%) of tumor cells exhibited a ratio below a predetermined value (=0.56), indicating a greater proportion of TROP2 in the cytoplasm. The analysis showed a greater proportion of patients with nonsquamous NSCLC were considered TROP2-QCS biomarker positive than those with squamous NSCLC (66% vs. 44%, respectively). The threshold for biomarker positivity was optimized for progression-free survival (PFS) in the subgroup of patients with nonsquamous NSCLC without actionable genomic alterations because it represents a population with significant unmet medical need and without actionable biomarkers. In patients with TROP2-QCS biomarker positive tumors (60% of the biomarker evaluable population including patients with nonsquamous and squamous NSCLC), datopotamab deruxtecan reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 43% versus docetaxel (median PFS of 6.9 vs. 4.1 months; hazard ratio [HR] 0.57; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.41-0.79). By comparison, in the primary analysis of the overall trial population, datopotamab deruxtecan reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 25% versus docetaxel (PFS of 4.4 vs. 3.7 months; HR 0.75; 95% CI 0.62-0.91; p=0.004) as presented at the 2023 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress.5 In the subgroup of patients with nonsquamous NSCLC without actionable genomic alterations and with TROP2-QCS biomarker positive tumors, datopotamab deruxtecan reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 48% (PFS of 7.2 vs. 4.1 months; HR 0.52; 95% CI 0.35-0.78). Marina Garassino, MD, The University of Chicago, Professor of Medicine and investigator in the trial, said: "TROP2 is broadly expressed on solid tumor cells, including non-small cell lung cancer, but it has yet to be established as a predictive biomarker for any TROP2-directed antibody drug conjugate. We have shown with this analysis that the more precise quantitative measurement of TROP2 on and inside tumor cells, enabled by AstraZeneca's computational pathology platform, can identify which patients with non-small cell lung cancer are most likely to benefit from treatment with datopotamab deruxtecan." Susan Galbraith, Executive Vice President, Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca, said: "This analysis demonstrates the power of our computational pathology platform to discover new predictive biomarkers and substantially improve patient selection for datopotamab deruxtecan. It also has great potential to help more precisely select patients across our broader antibody drug conjugate portfolio. We are excited to extend our collaboration with Roche Tissue Diagnostics with the aim of validating this exploratory approach for TROP2, developing the companion diagnostic and bringing it to the clinic as quickly as possible." Ken Takeshita, MD, Global Head, R&D, Daiichi Sankyo, said: "The results from the QCS analysis support the potential of TROP2, as measured by quantitative continuous scoring, as a predictive biomarker for datopotamab deruxtecan and begin to answer the question of why certain patients with non-small cell lung cancer respond better to treatment. These insights are critical to advancing our understanding of how we can more precisely identify patients with non-small cell lung cancer who may benefit from treatment with our TROP2-directed antibody drug conjugate." In the biomarker evaluable population, no new safety concerns were identified and rates of Grade 3 or higher treatment-related adverse events (TRAE) were similar regardless of TROP2 status. In patients with TROP2-QCS biomarker positive tumors, Grade 3 or higher TRAEs occurred in 30% and 46% of patients in the datopotamab deruxtecan and docetaxel arms, respectively. The most common Grade 3 or higher TRAEs were stomatitis (7%, 3%) and ocular surface events (3%, 0%). Grade 3 or higher adjudicated drug-related interstitial lung disease events occurred in 3% and 1% of patients in the datopotamab deruxtecan and docetaxel arms, respectively. Summary of TROPION-Lung01 QCS analysis results Overall biomarker evaluable population (n=352) TROP2-QCS biomarker positive TROP2-QCS biomarker negative Dato-DXd (n=107) Docetaxel (n=107) Dato-DXd (n=65) Docetaxel (n=73) Median PFS 6.9 months 4.1 months 2.9 months 4.0 months HR (95% CI) 0.57 (0.41-0.79) 1.16 (0.79-1.70) ORR 32.7% 10.3% 16.9% 15.1% Nonsquamous histology without actionable genomic alterations subgroup (n=221) Dato-DXd (n=68) Docetaxel (n=72) Dato-DXd (n=40) Docetaxel (n=41) Median PFS 7.2 months 4.1 months 4.0 months 4.4 months HR (95% CI) 0.52 (0.35-0.78) 1.22 (0.74-2.00) ORR 36.8% 15.3% 22.5% 12.2% CI, confidence interval; HR, hazard ratio; ORR, objective response rate; PFS, progression-free survival AstraZeneca and Roche Tissue Diagnostics collaborate to co-develop and commercialize the TROP2-QCS biomarker companion diagnostic AstraZeneca and Roche Tissue Diagnostics are extending their existing collaboration to co-develop a novel companion diagnostic incorporating AstraZeneca's proprietary computational pathology platform, QCS, which will be deployed within Roche's navify Digital Pathology image management system. Jill German, Head, Roche Tissue Diagnostics, said: "Our collaboration with AstraZeneca continues to push the boundaries of traditional cancer diagnostics. By developing an innovative Al tool that goes beyond human capabilities, the solution will be able to help determine which cancer patients are most likely to benefit from targeted therapies, potentially improving patient care." Under this expanded collaboration, Roche Tissue Diagnostics and AstraZeneca will co-develop and commercialize a novel companion diagnostic in Roche's navify Digital Pathology platform, based on the QCS computational pathology platform, to aid pathologists in interpreting an investigational VENTANA TROP2 assay. As the leading provider of pathology lab solutions, Roche Tissue Diagnostics is delivering an end-to-end digital pathology workflow from tissue staining to producing high-quality digital images that can be reliably assessed using automated clinical image analysis algorithms. Notes Advanced non-small cell lung cancer Nearly 2.5 million lung cancer cases were diagnosed globally in 2022.6 NSCLC is the most common type of lung cancer, accounting for about 80% of cases.7 Approximately 75% and 25% of NSCLC tumors are of nonsquamous or squamous histology, respectively.8 While immunotherapy and targeted therapies have improved outcomes in the 1st-line metastatic setting, most patients eventually experience disease progression and receive chemotherapy.9-11 For decades, chemotherapy has been the last treatment available for patients with advanced NSCLC, despite limited effectiveness and known side effects.9-11 TROP2 is a protein broadly expressed in the majority of NSCLC tumors.1 There is currently no TROP2-directed ADC approved for the treatment of lung cancer.12,13 TROPION-Lung01 TROPION-Lung01 is a global, randomized, multicenter, open-label Phase III trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of datopotamab deruxtecan (6.0mg/kg) versus docetaxel (75mg/m2) in adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC with and without actionable genomic alterations who require systemic therapy following prior treatment. Patients with actionable genomic alterations were previously treated with platinum-based chemotherapy and an approved targeted therapy. Patients without known actionable genomic alterations were previously treated, concurrently or sequentially, with platinum-based chemotherapy and a PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor. The dual primary endpoints of TROPION-Lung01 are PFS as assessed by blinded independent central review (BICR) and OS. Key secondary endpoints include investigator-assessed PFS, objective response rate, duration of response, time to response, disease control rate as assessed by both BICR and investigator, and safety. TROPION-Lung01 enrolled approximately 600 patients in Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America. For more information visit ClinicalTrials.gov. Datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) Datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) is an investigational TROP2-directed ADC. Designed using Daiichi Sankyo's proprietary DXd ADC Technology, datopotamab deruxtecan is one of six DXd ADCs in the oncology pipeline of Daiichi Sankyo, and one of the most advanced programs in AstraZeneca's ADC scientific platform. Datopotamab deruxtecan is comprised of a humanized anti-TROP2 IgG1 monoclonal antibody, developed in collaboration with Sapporo Medical University, attached to a number of topoisomerase I inhibitor payloads (an exatecan derivative, DXd) via tetrapeptide-based cleavable linkers. A comprehensive global clinical development program is underway with more than 20 trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of datopotamab deruxtecan across multiple cancers, including NSCLC, triple-negative breast cancer and HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. The program includes seven Phase III trials in lung cancer and five Phase III trials in breast cancer evaluating datopotamab deruxtecan as a monotherapy and in combination with other anticancer treatments in various settings. Daiichi Sankyo collaboration AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo entered into a global collaboration to jointly develop and commercialize fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki in March 2019 and datopotamab deruxtecan in July 2020, except in Japan where Daiichi Sankyo maintains exclusive rights for each ADC. Daiichi Sankyo is responsible for the manufacturing and supply of fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki and datopotamab deruxtecan. AstraZeneca in lung cancer AstraZeneca is working to bring patients with lung cancer closer to cure through the detection and treatment of early-stage disease, while also pushing the boundaries of science to improve outcomes in the resistant and advanced settings. By defining new therapeutic targets and investigating innovative approaches, the Company aims to match medicines to the patients who can benefit most. The Company's comprehensive portfolio includes leading lung cancer medicines and the next wave of innovations, includingosimertinib and gefitinib; durvalumab and tremelimumab-actl; fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki and datopotamab deruxtecan in collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo; savolitinib in collaboration with HUTCHMED; as well as a pipeline of potential new medicines and combinations across diverse mechanisms of action. AstraZeneca is a founding member of the Lung Ambition Alliance, a global coalition working to accelerate innovation and deliver meaningful improvements for people with lung cancer, including and beyond treatment. AstraZeneca in oncology AstraZeneca is leading a revolution in oncology with the ambition to provide cures for cancer in every form, following the science to understand cancer and all its complexities to discover, develop and deliver life-changing medicines to patients. The Company's focus is on some of the most challenging cancers. It is through persistent innovation that AstraZeneca has built one of the most diverse portfolios and pipelines in the industry, with the potential to catalyze changes in the practice of medicine and transform the patient experience. AstraZeneca has the vision to redefine cancer care and, one day, eliminate cancer as a cause of death. About AstraZeneca AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines in Oncology, Rare Diseases and BioPharmaceuticals, including Cardiovascular, Renal Metabolism, and Respiratory Immunology. Based in Cambridge, UK, AstraZeneca operates in over 125 countries, and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. For more information, please visit www.astrazeneca-us.com and follow us on social media @AstraZeneca. References Mito R, et al. Clinical impact of TROP2 in non-small lung cancers and its correlation with abnormal p53 nuclear accumulation. Pathol Int. 2020;70(5):287-294. Shvartsur A, et al. Trop2 and its overexpression in cancers: regulation and clinical/therapeutic implications. Genes Cancer. 2015 Mar;6(3-4): 84-105. Shimizu T, et al. J Clin Oncol 2023;41:4678-87. Heist RS, et al. J Clin Oncol. 2017;35:2790-7. Ahn M-J, et al. Datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) vs doxetaxel in previously treated advanced/metastatic (adv/met) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): results of the randomized phase 3 study TROPION-Lung01. Presented at: ESMO Congress 2023, 20-24 October 2023; Madrid, Spain. LBA12. World Health Organization. Global Cancer Observatory: Lung. Available at: https://gco.iarc.who.int/media/globocan/factsheets/cancers/15-trachea-bronchus-and-lung-fact-sheet.pdf. Accessed September 2024. Cancer.net. Lung Cancer Non-Small Cell: Statistics. Available at: https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/lung-cancer-non-small-cell/statistics#:~:text=NSCLC%20is%20the%20most%20common,be%20diagnosed%20with%20lung%20cancer. Accessed September 2024. National Cancer Institute. SEER Cancer Statistics Factsheets: Lung and Bronchus Cancer, 1975-2017. Accessed September 2024. Chen R, et al. Emerging therapeutic agents for advanced non-small cell lung cancer. J Hematol Oncol. 2020;13(1):58. Majeed U, et al. Targeted therapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer: current advances and future trends. J Hematol Oncol. 2021;14(1):108. Pircher, A, et al. Docetaxel in the Treatment of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) An Observational Study Focusing on Symptom Improvement. Anticancer Research. 2013;33(9):3831-3836. Rodriguez-Abreau D, et al. Pemetrexed plus platinum with or without pembrolizumab in patients with previously untreated metastatic nonsquamous NSCLC: protocol-specified final analysis from KEYNOTE-189. Ann Onc. 2021 Jul;32(7): 881-895. American Cancer Society. Targeted Drug Therapy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/lung-cancer/treating-non-small-cell/targeted-therapies.html. Accessed September 2024. US-93494 Last Updated 9/24 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240908421397/en/ Contacts: Media Inquiries Brendan McEvoy +1 302 885 2677 Chelsea Tressler +1 302 885 2677 US Media Mailbox: usmediateam@astrazeneca.com SAR satellites and data enable Greece to monitor their areas of interest and improve their natural catastrophe detection and maritime awareness capabilities. HELSINKI, Sept. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ICEYE, the global leader in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite operations for Earth Observation, persistent monitoring, and natural catastrophe solutions, has today announced signing the contract for the Greek National Satellite Space Project Axis 1.2 (radar program) for the Greek Space Agency and Greek Ministry of Digital Governance, together with the European Space Agency. Axis 1.2 covers the Greek SAR Space Segment and includes both radar imagery and the development of a Greek Observation System with two ICEYE SAR satellites, and their launches. In addition to sovereign satellites, Greece will also have access to ICEYE's existing SAR satellite constellation, the largest in the world, and can start monitoring its areas of interest already while building its space capabilities. Since 2018, ICEYE has launched 38 satellites for its own constellation and for the use of its customers internationally. Delivery of the ICEYE SAR imagery to the Government of Greece is expected to commence immediately, providing quick access to monitor the relevant areas of interest. Following that, the satellites are scheduled for a rapid delivery enabled by ICEYE's fast production capabilities and booked launch schedule for many years to come. ICEYE is establishing a stronger presence in Greece to accelerate the growth of the Greek space sector, and the satellites will be assembled in a new ICEYE facility to be opened in Greece. "ICEYE is proud to contribute to the building of the space program for the Government of Greece. ICEYE's SAR satellites and data will enable Greece to monitor their areas of interest and improve its national observability for Safety and Security, including flooding and wildfires, and maritime awareness capabilities. The project also showcases ICEYE's unique ability to provide a seamless continuum of SAR capabilities spanning satellite delivery and data services. We very much look forward to collaborating with the Greek space industry and to accelerating its growth", said Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and Co-founder of ICEYE. Minister of Digital Governance, Dimitris Papastergiou said: "We are excited to partner with ICEYE on this critical project, which will enhance Greece's capabilities in disaster management and national security. The SAR satellites developed by ICEYE will provide us with unprecedented insights, enabling faster response times and more effective management of natural disasters such as floods. This collaboration demonstrates our commitment to leveraging cutting-edge space technologies for the safety and well-being of our citizens." Deputy Minister of Digital Governance, Konstantinos Kyranakis said: "This agreement marks a significant step forward in Greece's space program. By harnessing the power of SAR satellite data, we will greatly improve our ability to monitor and protect key areas of interest, both on land and at sea, under any light and weather conditions. We are confident that this partnership, not only will strengthen our disaster response capabilities but will also drive innovation within the Greek space sector." Secretary General of Telecommunications and Posts, Prof. Konstantinos Karantzalos said: We have designed and now implementing an ambitious satellite programme that will significantly enhance our upstream and downstream capabilities. With this contract today between ESA and the consortium lead by ICEYE we emphasise on 24/7 dual-use remote sensing monitoring applications including object detection and surveillance based on very high resolution radar." "The assignment of the development of the Greek SAR Constellation to ICEYE is a proof of the Agency's continuous commitment in supporting National initiatives from the ESA Member States, and demonstrates ESA's unique ability to maximise the cross-benefit of all such initiatives by providing a unified framework for observations exchange among and for the benefit of Member States. Having included ICEYE's X-Band SAR observation capability in the Greek National Satellite Space Project is yet another powerful example of space technologies providing immediate and critical benefits here on Earth," said the Director of Earth Observation Programmes at the European Space AgencySimonetta Cheli. Carried out under an ESA Contract in the frame of the Greek National Satellite Space Project. Views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union/European Commission/European Space Agency/Greek Ministry of Digital Governance. Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and European Union/European Commission/European Space Agency/Greek Ministry of Digital Governance, cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. About ICEYE ICEYE delivers unparalleled persistent monitoring capabilities to detect and respond to changes in any location on Earth, faster and more accurately than ever before. Owning the world's largest synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellation, ICEYE provides objective, near real-time insights, ensuring that customers have unmatched access to actionable data, day or night, even in challenging environmental conditions. As a trusted partner to governments and commercial industries, ICEYE delivers intelligence in sectors such as insurance, natural catastrophe response and recovery, security, maritime monitoring, and finance, enabling decision-making that contributes to community resilience and sustainable development. ICEYE operates internationally with offices in Finland, Poland, Spain, the UK, and the US. We have more than 700 employees, inspired by the shared vision of improving life on Earth by becoming the global source of truth in Earth Observation. Media contact: press@iceye.fi Visit www.iceye.com and follow ICEYE on LinkedIn and X for the latest updates and insights. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2499367/VGK2156.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2499374/Greek_Release_Photos_ID_c874abf34ce6.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/iceye-to-deliver-sar-satellites-and-data-to-greeces-national-satellite-space-project-in-collaboration-with-the-european-space-agency-302241278.html In a Facebook post, the WCC expressed hope that all industry members would come in open solidarity and spirit to adopt a cinema code of conduct. read more The Women in Cinema Collective, an outfit of women professionals working in the Malayalam film industry, on Saturday said it would soon come up with a set of recommendations to rebuild the industry as an equal and safe workspace. In a Facebook post, the WCC expressed hope that all industry members would come in open solidarity and spirit to adopt a cinema code of conduct. The Collective said in the wake of the publication of the Justice K Hema Committee report, it would commence a series with its proposed recommendations in this regard. Advertisement To rebuild the Malayalam film industry as an equal and safe workspace for all, we are commencing a series today with our proposed recommendations. We hope all industry members will come together in open solidarity & spirit to adopt a Cinema Code of Conduct that will help transform our film industry onscreen & offscreen for the better. Stay tuned ! the FB post said. The outfits action came weeks after the publication of the Justice K Hema Committee report which shed light into the alleged exploitations and ill-treatment of women in the Malayalam film industry. The committee was constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case and its report revealing instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry. Following the allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation cropping up against several actors and directors, the state government on August 25 announced the establishment of a seven-member special investigation team to probe them. In a statement posted on his website, the family said Mendes, who had been suffering from the effects of long Covid, died peacefully surrounded by his wife and children read more Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes, who brought bossa nova to international audiences in the 1960s, died on Friday at the age of 83 in Los Angeles, his family said. In a statement posted on his website, the family said Mendes, who had been suffering from the effects of long Covid, died peacefully surrounded by his wife and children. One of the most successful Brazilian artists internationally, Mendes recorded more than 35 albums, many of which went gold or platinum. Advertisement A three-time Grammy award winner and Oscar nominee, Mendes last performed in November 2023 to sold out and wildly enthusiastic houses in Paris, London and Barcelona. Mendes leaves an incredible musical legacy from more than six decades of a unique sound first showcased by his band Brasil 66, the family said. American musician Herb Alpert, who helped Mendes launch his international career, said on Instagram that Mendes was an extremely gifted musician who brought Brazilian music in all its iterations to the entire world with elegance and joy. News / National by Staff reporter The Harare School of Excellence, a council initiative, has recently partnered with the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) to introduce degree programs aimed at enhancing the skills of local authority employees.Established nearly seven years ago, the school initially focused on providing certificate and diploma courses. The new partnership will offer advanced academic opportunities, including Bachelor's and Doctoral degrees, allowing employees to further their education while continuing to serve the city.Stewart Mungofa, Head of the Harare School of Excellence, highlighted the importance of having a skilled workforce to achieve high-quality service delivery in Harare. He emphasized that the school's mission is to cultivate talent that aligns with the city's vision of becoming world-class. The goal is to enhance employee performance and, consequently, the overall effectiveness of city services.Mungofa also noted that the city has adopted a comprehensive approach to employee development, supported by the Office of the President and Cabinet. The Harare School of Excellence will use the mayoral residence in Gunhill as its main campus.This September, the school will launch degree programs in collaboration with ZOU, including Bachelor's degrees in Public Administration and Local Governance, and a Doctoral program in Public Administration, Local Governance Accounting, and Public Health.The school plans to enroll 65 employees in the undergraduate programs and 12 in the Doctoral program, with the latter occasionally contributing to lectures.The institution will draw on the city's workforce for teaching staff and maintain a database of part-time lecturers with specialized expertise. Additionally, the school will have various branches across the city, including a nursing school at a local hospital and vocational centers offering technical courses.Since its inception, the Harare School of Excellence has already produced graduates in several programs, including certificates in Local Governance Training and Education, as well as diplomas in Local Governance Administration.The school is also preparing to graduate students in fields such as Credit Management, Project Management, and Female Leadership. This expansion reflects the school's commitment to providing comprehensive educational opportunities for city employees. Paetongtarn Shinawatra has become Thailands new prime minister nearly two decades after her father Thaksin was ousted by the military. Lets take a closer look at the challenges she faces and why some fear she may ultimately share her fathers fate read more Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, arrives at Government House in Bangkok ahead of a royal oath-taking ceremony for her cabinet. AFP Thai politics has witnessed yet another twist. The countrys most famous and controversial political dynasty returned to power today with Paetongtarn Shinawatra being sworn in as prime minister. Paetongtarns ascendance comes nearly two decades after her father Thaksin was ousted by the military. But can Paetongtarn avoid her fathers fate? Remember, her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra too was removed by a military coup. Paetongtarn took the oath of office today(September 6) along with her cabinet of ministers. But many question the influence Thaksin will have on the new government. Advertisement Lets take a closer look: History of the Shinawatras Thaksin established the Shinawatra political dynasty after winning back-to-back elections in 2001 and 2005 after making a massive fortune in the telecom industry. His Thaksinomics policies of debt relief and social welfare programmes earned him huge and lasting support from rural and working-class voters previously ignored by Thai politicians. But his success infuriated the traditional elite of generals, senior bureaucrats, courtiers and business leaders who saw Thaksin as corrupt and his policies as a threat to the long-established social order. The army ousted Thaksin in a coup in 2006, and he fled Thailand for 15 years as mass street protests, elections and judicial interventions roiled the kingdom. Thaksins parties kept winning elections, coming first in everyone until last year, only to be thrown out by court orders or coups. His sister Yingluck became prime minister after the 2011 election until she too was toppled by the generals in 2014. Reason for their popularity among the masses For millions of poorer Thais, Thaksins government brought economic security and social mobility, Napon Jatusripitak of Singapores ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute told AFP. The establishments attempts to suppress Thaksin and his allies served only to burnish his reputation among supporters, he added. Paradoxically this legacy has endured not because Thaksin continued to perform economic miracles, but because of the widespread impression that he had been blocked from doing so by forces threatened by his rise to power, Napon said. Advertisement Supporters of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra hold placards as they wait outside Bangkoks Don Mueang airport. AFP Paetongtarn carried the family brand to a new generation in last years election and, with her youth and taste for designer clothes, brought a dash of glamour to a political scene long dominated by elderly men in suits and uniforms. More prosaically, the Shinawatra familys vast wealth has enabled it to maintain extensive patronage networks a vital tool in Thailands shady political scene. Challenges Paetongtarn may face The economic picture is grim. Thailand has struggled to bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic and the government has made little progress on its flagship digital wallet cash handout policy. Theres no honeymoon period for Paetongtarn and it will be a very, very tough job, analyst Virot Ali of Thammasat University told AFP. Advertisement The tricky climate could endanger the long-enduring Shinawatra reputation. Thaksin has never really been given the chance to fail in delivering on his promises until now, that is, Napon said. Establishments likely to threaten Paetongtarn A bigger threat to Paetongtarn will likely come from the conservative elite that sank her father and aunts rule. Evidence of the establishments clout came last month when her predecessor as PM, Srettha Thavisin, was thrown out of office by the Constitutional Court following a petition by ex-senators appointed by the last junta. Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang, an analyst from Chulalongkorn University, said that while a full-blown coup was very unlikely, trouble could come from judicial or anti-corruption bodies with close ties to the military old guard. Advertisement Thailands former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra (R) arrives at the Criminal Court in Bangkok. AFP They will watch closely for Thaksin wielding undue influence over his daughters government. If he makes a mistake, if the government makes a mistake, it is very possible that the court is going to aggressively review that mistake and might axe the government, Khemthong told AFP. The next step The emergence of the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) at last years election, where it won most seats, posed a threat to both the Shinawatras Pheu Thai party and the conservative establishment. Pheu Thai buried the hatchet with conservative pro-military parties to form a coalition to shut MFP out of government. MFP was dissolved by court order last month but immediately reformed as the Peoples Party, with the same pledges to reduce military influence, break up business monopolies and reform lese-majeste laws. Right now the establishments biggest concern is the emergence of Move Forward now the Peoples Party, Khemthong said. Advertisement I think this is an existential threat. For now at least, it seems to serve the establishments interests to keep Paetongtarn in power. But in the long run the deal with the pro-military parties could come to haunt the Shinawatras as it is seen by many liberal voters as a betrayal, Khemthong said. With inputs from AFP A 24-hour work limit per week for students in Canada is not good news for many, especially Indians. We explain why in our weekly wrap and look at other big headlines from around the world read more A student walks in front of the University of Toronto, St. George campus, in Toronto, Ontario. The 24-hour work limit for foreign students will affect Indians. Representational picture/Reuters Its been a week filled with heartbreaking news. It started with the deaths of six hostages in Gaza. Anger and grief once again overcame the everyday Israelis who took to the streets to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In the United States, the same old story unravels. There was yet another school shooting and the suspect is all of 14. Why would a teen pick up a gun and go on a killing spree in school? Its a question that continues to haunt America. Advertisement Another shocker of a story comes from France. A 71-year-old man is on trial for inviting more than 50 men to rape his wife. We tell you whats going on in the case. As far as politics goes, France finally has a new prime minister Michel Barnier. He was appointed by President Emmanuel Macron two months after the countrys parliamentary elections. In Canada, Justin Trudeau is facing a crisis. The Jagmeet Singh-led NDP has withdrawn support for the Liberals. We bring you an in-depth view of these global stories in our weekly roundup. 1. Fear, anger and pain continue to grip Israelis. There were massive protests as thousands took to the streets outraging against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The trigger was the death of six hostages, which the countrys military claims, were killed by Hamas in Gaza. Many in Israel blame the PM for not doing enough to secure a hostage deal. But will this be a turning point in the countrys politics? We explain. A demonstrator with her hands painted in yellow calls for a ceasefire deal and the immediate release of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas during a protest in Tel Aviv, on September 4. AP 2. 218. That is the number of times a gun has been fired or brandished at a school in the US in 2024 so far. The shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, killed four and injured nine. The suspected gunman is 14, one of the youngest in the country. Heres what we know about Colt Gray and his troubled childhood. Advertisement A woman kneels near Apalachee High School to place flowers as she mourns for the slain students and teachers on September 5 in Winder, Georgia. AP 3. A trial in France had left the world horrified. It involves a 71-year-old man who drugged his wife and invited 50 others to rape her 100 times over 10 years. As the case unravels, more shocking details have emerged. Dominique P also photographed his daughter naked after drugging her. We have been tracking this story closely. 4. Talking of violence against women, the focus now shifts to Kenya. Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei died on 5 September (Thursday) after she was set on fire by her former boyfriend. Her killing has put a spotlight on femicide in the East African nation. How prevalent is it? Advertisement 5. While all eyes are on the US election, trouble is brewing for Justin Trudeau in Canada. In a big setback, key ally Jagmeet Singhs New Democratic Party has withdrawn support for the PMs minority Liberal government. What does this mean for Trudeau and his party? Are early elections on the cards? We answer the questions in this explainer. After NDPs decision, the big question remains if Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau can avoid an early election. File photo/Reuters 6. Lifes not easy for foreign students in Canada. If the housing crisis wasnt enough, now the government has decided to cap the work hours for students. It will be implemented later this fall, said Canadas Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada. According to the new rule, students can work off-campus up to 24 hours a week. Most shifts are for eight hours, which means students can take up three shifts. Indians make up the largest group of students in the country with many dependent on these jobs. How will this affect them? Advertisement 7. Russias ambition for military dominance is not new. Now two American researchers have revealed what they claim is a deployment site for the 9M370 Burevestnik missile. Its a nuclear-powered cruise missile that Vladimir Putin has touted as invincible. Heres why the flying Chernobyl has sent alarm bells ringing. Thats your Sunday reading list. If you like our recommendations, you can bookmark this page. PS: Now for our most popular story from the week. Dont miss these wildlife photographs that will make you go wow. Fridgescaping, a trend that transforms refrigerators into artful displays with flowers, antiques, and decor, has captivated social media. While some praise it as a creative outlet, critics argue its impractical and out of touch in a world where many struggle with food insecurity read more Fridgescaping is where fruit and vegetables are displayed in decorative bowls rather than in protective containers. Representational Image/X Fridgescaping, a trend that turns the interior of refrigerators into meticulously styled spaces, has sparked a mix of fascination and controversy across social media platforms. This trend goes far beyond simple organisation, incorporating elements such as flowers, antiques, string lights, and even artwork to transform the refrigerator into a visually stunning display. While some see it as a whimsical and creative outlet, others criticise it as impractical and excessive, especially in a world where food insecurity remains a pressing issue. Advertisement How did Fridgescaping come about? Fridgescaping, though it may seem like a product of social media culture, has roots that predate the rise of platforms like TikTok. The term was first coined in 2011 by Kathy Perdue, a retired design consultant based in Brentwood, California. In a blog post, Perdue introduced the concept as a riff on tablescaping, advocating for a more aesthetically pleasing arrangement of food items inside refrigerators. Why not put your everyday food items in pretty containers and have something pretty to look at when you open the door?! Perdue wrote. Her version of fridgescaping was simple and practical, more akin to the fridge restocking videos popular on Instagram, where groceries are arranged in visually satisfying yet functional displays. However, what started as a straightforward idea has since evolved into a trend that blends home organisation with interior design, driven by influencers and lifestyle bloggers. Lynzi Judish, a 37-year-old lifestyle blogger from Hopewell Junction, New York, is one of the most prominent figures in this space. Judishs fridgescapes are elaborate, themed displays that reflect her artistic sensibilities and love for decor. Advertisement Her refrigerator, at 37 degrees Fahrenheit, has become a canvas for creativity, featuring setups like an enchanted forest with fairy figurines and fresh flowers, or a Fridgerton theme inspired by the Netflix series Bridgerton. For the latter, Judish swaps out regular condiments and unsightly cartons for decorative items such as picture frames, porcelain busts, and even figurines. Advertisement Judish first gave fridgescaping a try a few months ago after being inspired by other fridges she had seen on TikTok. Now, its a hobby that reportedly brings her satisfaction. The trend of fridgescaping sits at the intersection of home organisation and interior design. It involves displaying fruits and vegetables prominently in decorative bowls, rather than hiding them in Tupperware, and turning drinks into part of the decor. Advertisement Leftovers and practical items like condiments are often tucked away in the back, out of sight. Videos showcasing these curated interiors have a niche but dedicated audience on TikTok, where they garner thousands, if not millions, of views. What is the controversy about? Fridgescaping has sparked a polarising debate, with some hailing it as a fun and creative outlet while others view it as an unnecessary and even frivolous activity. Critics argue that the trend is out of touch with reality, especially in a time when many people struggle to afford basic groceries. The impracticality of fridgescaping is another point of contention. Critics argue that turning a fridge a space meant for food storage into a display piece undermines its functional purpose. Advertisement Judish herself acknowledges that fridgescaping maybe sounds excessive, and admits that it is not a practice suited for everyone. Her first fridgescape took hours to complete, involving deep cleaning, preparing the produce, and even lead-testing all of her food storage containers before placing them in the fridge. Some have raised concerns about the safety of fridgescaping, particularly when non-food-safe items are introduced into the fridge. Judish advises others to be cautious, especially when using antique items that might not be lead-free. If you tend to leave meat in your refrigerator, uncovered, you can easily contaminate fruit if you also have it [in the open]. Something like that always needs to be packaged, she warns. The trend has even made its way into a popular Reddit forum where users share their disagreements and ask others to weigh in. One Reddit user shared a story about telling their wife that her fridgescaping hobby was stupid, leading her to remove all the decor from the fridge and become emotionally distant. This incident highlights the divisive nature of the trend, with some embracing it as a form of self-expression and others dismissing it as unnecessary. Does fridgescaping impact your health? Despite the criticisms, fridgescaping has had a noticeable impact on the lifestyles of those who practice it. Judish claims that her fridgescaping hobby has motivated her to eat healthier by making her more aware of the produce she has on hand. Ive never felt healthier, which is a very unexpected side effect, she said. By organising her fridge in a visually appealing way, she finds herself more inclined to use up ingredients before they spoil, leading to less food waste. Judishs approach to grocery shopping has also changed due to her fridgescaping activities. She curates her grocery list around her fridgescape themes, which means shes cooking something new every week. Tiffany Bishop, another influencer whose fridge-related content has gone viral with over 900,000 views, draws parallels between fridgescaping and the concept of dopamine dressing, where people dress in colors and patterns that elevate their mood. She suggests that having a fridge that one actually enjoys looking at could inspire healthier eating habits and reduce the temptation to order takeout. Yes, we should all smile just [because of the fact that] theres food in the fridge. But also what would create that extra dopamine hit when you open the fridge door? she asks. Doesnt this trend portray food insecurity? While some embrace fridgescaping as a fun and creative project, others question its practicality and the message it sends in a world where not everyone has access to enough food. Millennials have rebranded hoarding as aesthetic because there is no such thing as fridgescaping this is just some undiagnosed mental illness its not even bc of the whole trad wife phenomenon also these ARE NOT spoof accounts pic.twitter.com/XVm7xTZURb Andrea (@iiiitsandrea) July 30, 2024 Ellen Marie Bennett, founder and chief brand officer of Hedley & Bennett and host of Kitchen Glow Up, a kitchen makeover show, is skeptical about the trend. I think [fridgescaping] is a really funny, bizarre trend, but I dont think its a trend by people that cook, she told Food & Wine. I think its a trend by people that maybe decorate and want to make their house look cute, but are by no means trying to bring function to their home. However, Bennett also acknowledges that fridgescaping could inspire people to cook more by making them more mindful of the contents of their fridge. The irony of it all is this will make people cook more, she noted. Wanting to use up the contents of a beautifully arranged fridge isnt so different from choosing produce from the farmers market based on its looks, she explained. Also Watch: The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has mandated a ban on film shootings in government hospitals, following controversy over a recent shoot at Angamaly Taluk Hospital. The Commission criticized the choice of a hospital as a filming location, emphasising that such activities disrupt medical facilities and are inappropriate given their primary function of patient care read more Months after the shooting of a Malayalam film starring Fahad Fazil at a state-run hospital triggered a row, the Kerala State Human Rights Commission has called for a complete ban on shooting in government hospitals. Commission member V K Beena Kumari has issued an order to avoid film shootings in government hospitals with 24 hour facilities like casualty department. The order was issued in the case registerd with regard to the shooting of the movie in Angamaly Taluk Hospital in June, a statement said here on Sunday. Advertisement The panel warned the superintendent of the Taluk Hospital not to repeat such incidents. It also asked the Director of Health Department to give necessary instructions to the superintendents of hospitals in the state in this regard. In the report submitted by the Superintendent of Angamaly Taluk Hospital, it was said that the patients were given care despite the rush of shooting on June 27, it said. The Commission, however, said that the government hospitals are places people go for treatment and granting permission for shooting there is against the pledge taken by health professionals. Noting that it was inappropriate for the film crew to choose a government hospital for shooting, the panel wanted the health officials to be more more vigilant in such cases. Though the superintendent,who appeared for the panel sitting on July 5, had argued that there was no denial of treatment or difficulties to the patients due to that shooting, the Commission rejected the claims and made it clear that the act was wrong, the statement added. Be it the trolling of Kamala Harris or his sexist and xenophobic remarks likening renewable energy to homosexuality, jokes made by the Russian president always have a hidden objective read more Behind Putins crude and high-voltage humour, especially while talking about global politics, conflicts, and fellow leaders, is an attitude and personality that is unconventional for a Head of State in the public eye Russian President Vladimir Putins comments, endorsing Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Thursday, sent everyone into a tizzy. She laughs so expressively and infectiously that it means that shes doing well," he added, a remark that many interpreted as a taunt, echoing Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trumps frequent criticism of Kamala Harris public demeanour. The Russian President was clearly in a sardonic mood as he went on to denounce Donald Trump for placing more restrictions on Russia like no other President has ever introduced to him. Advertisement This was thinly veiled sarcasm, as Donald Trump has openly criticised the continued use of sanctions against Russia and is often whispered to be Moscows first choice. A sense of humour, lighthearted or scornful, does not often find a place in global politics or diplomacy, but Vladimir Putin seems to be a sincere fan. By flattering Kamala Harris, not only did he take a swipe at her, but he also managed to stir the pot of US politics in the run-up to the hotly anticipated US presidential elections, to be held later this year. And he did this in the most Russian fashion, known for their unique brand of humourdark, cynical, and deadpan. A very particular brand of humour that is necessary for survival in the Siberian Tundra. When you think of the Russian President, an ex-KGB officer turned authoritarian supremo, funny is not the first word that comes to mind.However, it turns out that Putin does indeed possess a tickle bone, ironical and distasteful as it may sometimes be. The man has had a penchant for trolling before it was ever a thing. Early in his career, he made a promise to rub out terrorists in the outhouse. Well, we all know how thats gone down. He once remarked at a public political event that if your grandmother had male genitals, shed be your grandfather. Another attempt at dry humour in 2022 was comparing the Wests focus on renewable, or as he termed it, unconventional energy, to the Wests obsession with homosexuality. Advertisement This kind of jarring statement gives you an insight into the man and his worldview. Unlike other politicians, he is clearly not a believer in following a strict script while speaking in public, instead preferring to speak his heart out. Whether this is a carefully crafted attempt to appear edgy and cool or the hallmark traits of narcissism is anybodys personal guess. One thing is for sure: his jokes always seem to have an agenda, and boy do they land! Be it the trolling of Kamala Harris and his veiled support for Donald Trump camouflaged by sarcastic flattery or his sexist and xenophobic remarks likening renewable energy to homosexuality, the joke always has a hidden objective. Advertisement The enemy of any raw material economy such as Russia is technology, since the dependence on natural resources is automatically diminished. Scientific and technological progress aims to reduce peoples dependence on oil and gas. It is a slow trend, but definitely one to watch out for in the future. A fact that is clearly not lost on Putin, judging from his caustic humour. This side of his personality is not reserved only for political matters; the man also enjoys a personal quip or two. In 2006, when then President of Israel Moshe Katsav was investigated for sexual harassment, Putin famously said to an Israeli delegation, He turned out to be a strong man! Raped ten women! I never would have expected this of him. He has surprised us all; we envy him. It was one of those unbelievable moments for the international press. Some were left dumbfounded, while others burst into laughter. Advertisement Later, Kremlin had to do damage control as they confirmed the remarks but explained that since Russian is a complicated language, words tend to get misrepresented and that the President meant dealing with ten women and was not condoning rape. However, the damage was done, firmly cementing Putins position as a man with a very strange sense of humour. Also, a man so fearless, he couldnt care to mince his words or bother about what people think. Very Russian and very KGB traits, both. In 2022, at a press conference, while commenting on the Russia-Ukraine war, he regaled a joke that he said he often repeats to his colleagues. He said he heard it from a German friend. Advertisement A familythe son asks his father, Dad, why is our house always so cold? Father replies, Because Russia invaded Ukraine. The child askedwhat does it have to do with us? The Dad replies, We imposed sanctions against Russians. Son asked, Why? Dad replied, To make the Russians feel bad. Son asked, Are we Russians? Putin guffawed after this, at his joke, meant as an ominous warning to the countries imposing sanctions on Russia because of the ongoing war. It was also a carefully worded reinforcement of his message that Russia is a superpower and the holder of natural resources that the world needs so desperately. After Biden once rather inappropriately called him a crazy son of a bitch, Putin responded by praising him, explaining sarcastically that this was the very reason Kremlin held Biden in such high regard. Behind Putins crude and high-voltage humour, especially while talking about global politics, conflicts, and fellow leaders, is an attitude and personality that is unconventional for a Head of State in the public eye. Yes, political leaders have been known to make gaffes, but Putins humour is very deliberate and almost always hits a bulls eye, with a scandalously complete disregard for any consequences or collateral damage. Might makes right, and power offers you the freedom to not have to answer questions or be rude to those who are asking. Putin has over the years relied heavily on style, and his press conferences and live speeches are now no less than any rock concert. He is the rockstar, and his fans are always ready to sing along to his songs, loudly enough to drown out any other noise. A showman needs his show, and in Putins Russia, it seems like the show must and will go on. The author is a freelance journalist and features writer based out of Delhi. Her main areas of focus are politics, social issues, climate change and lifestyle-related topics. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. Through the deployment of fifth-generation stealth J-20 fighter aircraft, China wants to increase its airpower along the Line of Actual Control. India, though well off to handle the threat, must be prepared read more India-China relations have been at lows since the Galwan skirmish four years ago. There is an uneasy calm at present and an attempt to re-engage, but a range of divergences persist between the two Asian giants. China is aggressively building infrastructure in Tibet and Xinjiang along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The Chinese want to add air power to the conflict. Chinas Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) recently deployed fifth-generation stealth fighters J-20 at Shigatse Air Base around 300 kilometres north of the Indian Air Forces (IAF) Rafale air base at Hasimara and just 150 km from the LAC in Sikkim. Advertisement J-20s have operated at Hotan Airbase in Xinjiang, 350 km north of Pangong Tso Lake. And just 120 km from Indias claim line in Aksai Chin. It is important to understand the PLAAF resources and capabilities at these two operationally important airbases. Shigatse (Xigaze) Air Base Shigatse (Xigaze) is the second largest city in Tibet Autonomous Region. Shigatse Airbase, also called the Shigatse Peace Airport, is a dual-use airfield in Tibet, around 180 kilometres west of Lhasa. Construction began in 1968 and was completed in 1973. PLAAF started operating there in 1973, and civil operations began in 2010. The airport is at an elevation of 3,782 m / 12,408 ft above mean sea level (AMSL) and is one of the highest airports in the world. It has two concrete runways, 09/27 with 5,000 m (16,404 ft) length, and the second, 07/25 with 3,000 m (9,843 ft) length. It has the longest public runway in the world; the only other with the same length is Ulyanovsk Vostochny Airport in south-west Russia. The airport sees over 2,000 movements a year and around 200,000 passengers. Significant cargo is also transported by air. The second (shorter) runway was constructed in 2017, and Guizhou WZ-7 Soaring Dragon UAVs were seen operating from here. In May 2024, six J-20 stealth fighters were seen operating from the airbase. Also, at least eight J-10 aircraft and one KJ-500 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft were seen parked at the airbase. The runway at Shigatse is very large, and therefore it will be able to partially neutralise the disadvantage of weight carriage during high-altitude airfield operations. Advertisement The Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon The Chengdu J-20 is the Chinese twinjet stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft. The aircraft has three variants: the initial production model J-20A, the thrust-vectoring J-20B, and the twin-seat aircraft teaming capable J-20S. The aircraft made its first flight in January 2011, and the first J-20 combat unit was formed in February 2018, making China the second country in the world and the first in Asia to field an operational stealth aircraft. Nearly 250 have been built as of date. J-20 squadrons have been allotted to all the theatre commands. The aircraft has the Type 1475 (KLJ-5) active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. Six electro-optic sensors provide omnidirectional IR coverage, which is fused with the radar picture for better situational awareness. Advertisement The aircraft is powered by a Chinese WS-10Cs engine with thrust of 142-147 kN and has serrated afterburner nozzles for enhanced rear-aspect stealth. The finally intended powerplant is the Shenyang WS-15 with a thrust of 180 kN. The main weapon bay is capable of housing both long-range air-to-air missiles (PL-12, PL-15, PL-21) and precision-guided munitions. The two smaller lateral weapon bays can carry short-range AAMs (PL-10). The estimated production rate was 40 to 50 airframes per year in 2022 and 100 to 120 airframes per year in 2023. PLA Air Force (PLAAF) currently has around 240 aircraft. The J-20 fleet could reach 1,000 aircraft by the early 2030s. Advertisement J-20S will be a twin-seat variant. The second operator to coordinate attack and reconnaissance missions and manage unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) as loyal wingmen such as the AVIC Dark Sword and stealth Hongdu GJ-11 UCAV. Significance of Deployment at Shigatse Shigatse is rather close to LAC near Sikkim (150 km) and IAFs Hasimara air base (300 km). Hasimara air base is in the Siliguri corridor, known as the Chickens Neck. It is a stretch of land, 2022 kilometres at the narrowest section. This geopolitical and geoeconomic corridor connects the seven northeastern states to the rest of India. The airbase is very significant as it houses one of the only two squadrons of the top-end IAF aircraft, the Rafale. If this base was to be neutralised even for short periods, it would have implications for India. Advertisement If an unfriendly regime takes charge in Bangladesh, the complexity of the narrow Siliguri corridor increases. But then India has lived with much more hostile East Pakistan. Today, India is a much more powerful country, but so is China. J-20 vs Rafale The Indian Rafale is a 4.5-generation aircraft with front-hemisphere stealth. It is much better than J-20 in terms of weapons, electronic warfare, and aero-engine reliability. The J-20 has yet to leave its shores, even for an airshow. It has no combat experience. It has yet to exercise with any foreign air force. Rafale has been combat-proven for 20 years in Iraq, Afghanistan, Mali, Libya, and Syria. IAF regularly exercises them with the top air forces of the world, most recently in Red Flag (USA) and the ongoing exercise Tarang Shakti in India. IAF Options Against Shigatse Even though Hashimara is the home base for Rafale, the aircraft will be in hardened shelters. Also, all the aircraft dont remain at home bases and move to operational detachments at other bases. Like China may attempt to neutralise IAF bases, India would do the same against Shigatse using fighter and missile strikes. India has much more air base options for aircraft dispersal and deployment, whereas Shigatse is a sole base in the region. Indian air bases are at much lower altitude and will allow a higher weapon and fuel load and therefore reach targets without refuelling. The IAF has a significant number of Su-30 MKI squadrons in the eastern air bases (Tezpur and Chabua) with very significant air strike capabilities, including the deadly BrahMos missiles, among others. Clearly, IAF can launch many more missions than PLAAF. IAF will also deploy significant air defence systems, including the S-400. Hotan Air Base The Hotan airfield in the Xinjiang autonomous region was built in 1957, around the time China began building the contested Aksai Chin Highway (G219) through Indian Ladakh. The airfield elevation is 4,672 feet (1,424 m) AMSL. It has two parallel concrete runways (11/29) with a wide parallel taxiway 3,200 m (10,499 ft) long. The civil airport has a capacity of around 1.5 million passengers annually. Hotan is just 130 km north of Indias claim line and 270 km north-east of Karakoram Pass. It is 380 km north-east of Leh. These distances are not large for airborne platforms. The Hotan airbase plays a critical role in Chinese military operations in the Ladakh area. Both runways at Hotan are now active. The second runway is longer than the original and is about 3,700 meters long. A number of military buildings and aprons have also come up along with the new runway. The new runway would enable more sortie rates. China is constantly upgrading its military preparedness since the standoff with India began in eastern Ladakh in 2020. Hotan is one of the seven strategic dual-use airports that have been upgraded since 2017. The Chinese air force has built an underground command and control centre at Hotan Airbase. There are hardened shelters and secure ammunition and fuel storage areas. There are PLA Rocket Forces (PLARF) dugout positions. Besides Hotan, Chinese have also carried out extensive upgrades at their airports in Ngari Gunsa. Kashgar is another airbase a little further north in Xinjiang province. Nearly 300 km north of the Indian claim line and 600 kilometres from Leh. Elevation is 4,529 ft (1,380 m) AMSL, and it has a 10,499 ft long runway. There is significant PLAAF presence here with sunshelters and hardened blast pens. Fighter aircraft can be seen in satellite pictures. J-20s at Hotan Hotan had seen between 70 and 100 aircraft during the Galwan crisis. These included cruise-missile carrying and nuclear-capable H-6K bombers, J-11, J-10, UAVs, AEW&C, and EW platforms. The then still operationally greenhorn J-20s were also briefly seen at Hotan in 2020, during Galwan perhaps making show of flag missions, in the hope of intimidating. In June 2022, PLAAF once again stationed around two dozen frontline fighters, including the J-20, J-11, and J-10 at Hotan. The Y-20 strategic transport aircraft has also been observed at the airbase. These would facilitate faster and larger entry of troops and equipment. AEW&C KJ-500 deployments have also been seen. One can see the UAV apron and hangars, and CH-5 UAV have been observed. There are SatCom antennas and vehicles. IAF Response to J-20s in Hotan The Rafale base is at Ambala. Most IAF fighters can operate from Leh. The MiG-29s were deployed in Thoise. A sizable number of Su-30 MKI can cover the Ladakh region. Immediately after the Galwan skirmish, IAF fighters began making significant day and night flights in the region. IAF Mirage-2000 and MiG-29s have been upgraded. A few more are being acquired. Meanwhile, India is building a full-fledged airbase in Nyoma, just 35 kilometres from the LAC. Summary India has been significantly upgrading the IAF airfields facing China. Also, the road-rail network, bridges, and tunnels are coming up at high speed. India has a significant inventory of surface and aerial strike weapons with significant range. India has nearly 28 airfields overlooking the LAC, and most are at much lower altitudes vis-a-vis China, which are much fewer in numbers and at altitudes above 10,000 feet. Nearly 118 ongoing projects of Indias Border Roads Organisation (BRO) involve construction of airfields, bridges, and roads near the LAC. IAF has seen much more combat, and its aircrew are exposed and trained for better employment tactics and concepts of operation, and most importantly, skill sets, experience, and combat readiness status. IAF has fought a war at Himalayan heights in Kargil. IAF is engaged in logistic support operations at the highest battleground in Siachen and elsewhere in Ladakh and north-east throughout the year. Many Indian analysts behave like sceptics, painting doomsday scenarios relative to China. Actually, India is fairly well off, and IAF will be able to launch many more missions. Of course India must quickly build its fighter squadron numbers, more so because Pakistan could take an advantage and create a two-front threat situation. Indias own fifth-generation fighter, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), is still under initial development and will take another 10-15 years to be operationally deployed with the IAF. While India must accelerate the Light Combat Aircraft and AMCA programs, which are currently facing delays, there is an urgent need to acquire the 114 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) gap to bolster the 4.5-generation inventory. India must increase its satellite- and aircraft-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capability. It must increase the number of AEW&C and FRA quickly. Atmanirbhrta in aerospace has to be accelerated. Time to act is now, lest we get left too far behind. The writer is former Director General, Centre for Air Power Studies. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. Whether managing the unpredictability of a second Trump term or navigating the potential shifts in policy under a Harris administration, Indias strategic interests will require careful and astute diplomacy read more Both Trump and Harris will likely view India as a critical counterweight to Chinas regional ambitions. However, the nuances in their approaches could significantly impact the nature of this partnership As the 2024 US presidential election approaches, India closely watches how the candidates policies might impact its diplomatic and economic future. India mainly focuses on potential changes in American financial policies and foreign direct investment. The election outcome could significantly shape Indias economic growth and strategic ties with the United States. The two nations have trade in goods and services topping $191 billion in 2022. India has had a complicated yet steadily improving relationship with the US. From Bill Clintons visit to India in 2000, which marked a turning point, to the current Biden administration, US presidents have steadily deepened ties with India. This bipartisan support has transformed the US into one of Indias most trusted strategic partners, encompassing trade, defence, technology, and cultural exchanges. Advertisement For instance, in the defence sector, since 2000, India and the US have deepened their defence ties by signing four key defence agreements: General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) in 2002, Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016, Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) in 2018, and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) in 2020. These agreements enhance military cooperation, logistical support, and the exchange of critical geospatial data. But with the 2024 election, India finds itself at a crossroads, unsure of whether the next occupant of the White House will be a continuation of past policies or a departure into uncharted territory. On one side, we have Donald Trump, a man who left an indelible mark on US-India relations during his presidency. Despite his unpredictable style, Trumps policies on immigration and trade, and, most notably, his hard stance on China, aligned closely with Indias strategic interests. His return to the political stage is being watched with anticipation and caution in New Delhi. Since both Trump and Modi have a conservative outlook on their political ideology, the relations can be seen as natural from a political perspective. Trumps admiration for Prime Minister Narendra Modi was evident during his time in office, and the personal rapport they shared led to a stronger strategic partnership between the two nations. However, Trumps mercurial nature and protectionist tendencies could also bring uncertainty, particularly in trade areas where his America First or Make America Great Again (MAGA) policy might clash with Indias economic interests. On the other hand, Kamala Harris, now stepping into the spotlight as the Democratic candidate following President Joe Bidens decision not to seek re-election, presents a different set of considerations. With her half-Indian heritage, Harris is often viewed with a sense of cautious optimism in India. However, her track record suggests that her connection to India may be more symbolic than substantive. While her advocacy for a merit-based immigration system resonates well with many in India, her broader foreign policy stance remains somewhat nebulous. Advertisement As Bidens Vice President, Harris has been involved in several critical areas of interest to India, including technology partnerships and immigration reform. Yet, her commitment to NATO and the defence of Ukraine may pose challenges for India, particularly given its historical ties with Russia. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has forced India to walk a tightrope between its long-standing relationship with Russia and its strategic partnership with the United States. Indias careful balancing act could become even more precarious depending on how the next administration approaches this issue. Amidst this backdrop, it is crucial to consider the perspective of Ashley J Tellis in his recent Foreign Affairs article, Americas Bad Bet on India. Tellis, a former US policymaker and a long-time observer of US-India relations, argues that Washington may have overestimated the strategic value of its relationship with India. He suggests that India, driven by its national interests, might not align as closely with the US as some American strategists hope. Telliss critique underscores the complex and sometimes contradictory nature of the U.S.-India partnership, reminding both sides that mutual interests, rather than mere sentiment or shared democratic values, will ultimately determine the strength and direction of their relationship. Advertisement This nuanced view is essential as India evaluates the potential impact of the 2024 US presidential election. While Trumps transactional approach may lead to short-term gains, particularly in defence and counterterrorism, it could also strain the relationship if economic pressures or unilateral demands become too onerous. On the other hand, Harris might bring a more predictable but less dynamic partnership, focusing on multilateralism and collective security. This could increase pressure on India regarding its stance on Russia and human rights issues. Theres no denying that Indias growing strategic importance in the Indo-Pacific region will ensure that it remains a crucial partner for the US, regardless of who wins the election. Both Trump and Harris will likely view India as a critical counterweight to Chinas regional ambitions. However, the nuances in their approaches could significantly impact the nature of this partnership. Advertisement While potentially beneficial in areas like defence cooperation, Trumps transactional style could also lead to friction if his demands on trade or other issues are perceived as too one-sided. Harris, on the other hand, may bring a more collaborative approach, but one that could also include a greater emphasis on human rights and democratic valuesissues that have, at times, caused tension in US-India relations. As the campaign progresses, Indian policymakers, scholars, and political leadership must carefully watch what the candidates say or not say about India. Speeches are not just about garnering votes; they are windows into the priorities and philosophies of those who seek to lead. For India, the 2024 US presidential election is not just a distant political event but a crucial juncture that will shape the future of US-India relations in an increasingly volatile world. The choices made by American voters will reverberate far beyond their borders, and India must be prepared to navigate the opportunities and challenges that will come with either a Trump or Harris presidency. Advertisement Whether managing the unpredictability of a second Trump term or navigating the potential shifts in policy under a Harris administration, Indias strategic interests will require careful and astute diplomacy. As the US presidential race heats up, India will be watching closely, acutely aware that the outcome will have profound implications for its future. The author is a PhD candidate at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. The views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal received the Crown Prince at the airport following which he was accorded a ceremonial welcome, in reflection of the importance India has attached to the visit. read more Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, arrived in New Delhi on Sunday for a two-day official visit to boost bilateral relations between the UAE and India, focusing on sectors such as energy and connectivity, amidst escalating tensions in West Asia. A new milestone in a historic relationship. His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in Delhi on his first official visit to India, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on X. Advertisement Warmly received by @CimGOI @piyushgoyal and accorded a ceremonial welcome, he said. -| A new milestone in a historic relationship. His Highness Shk Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi arrived in Delhi on his first official visit to India. Warmly received by @CimGOI @piyushgoyal and accorded a ceremonial welcome. pic.twitter.com/ZDDDDP6ppw Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) September 8, 2024 The Crown Prince is accompanied by several ministers from the UAE government and a business delegation. After concluding the Delhi leg of his visit, Al Nahyan will travel to Mumbai to participate in a business forum. Top business leaders from both countries will participate in the forum on Tuesday. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the visit of Al Nahyan will further reinforce strong ties between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and open avenues for partnership in new and emerging areas. Prime Minister Modi and the Crown Prince will hold talks on Monday. Following the landmark visit of Modi to the UAE in August 2015, bilateral relations between the two countries were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Both countries signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in February 2022 and a Local Currency Settlement (LCS) System in July 2023 to promote the use of Indian Rupee and AED (United Arab Emirates Dirham) for cross-border transactions. Advertisement According to official data, the two countries are among each others top trading partners with a bilateral trade of about USD 85 billion in 2022-23. The UAE is also among the top four investors in India in terms of foreign direct investments in 2022-23. About 3.5 million strong and vibrant Indian communities form the UAEs largest expatriate group. The UAE was invited as a special invitee for G20 during Indias Presidency of the grouping. In February 2023, the India-UAE-France (UFI) trilateral was formally launched. With Indias active support, the UAE joined SCO as a dialogue partner in May 2023. The UAE also joined BRICS as a member on January 1 with Indias support. The India-UAE defence cooperation has also renewed momentum in the last few years. Advertisement In January 2024, the first India-UAE bilateral army exercise Desert Cyclone was held in Rajasthan. Yunus, 84, made the remarks while responding to a question at a meeting with students who had participated in the student-people revolution that ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last month, state-run BSS news agency reported. read more Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus salutes to the attendees upon arrival at the Bangabhaban in Dhaka, Bangladesh. File Image-Reuters. Bangladesh wants to maintain good relations with India, said Interim governments Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus Sunday, asserting that it should be based on equity and fairness. We need to maintain good relations with India. But it should be based on equity and fairness, the chief advisers special assistant Mahfuj Alam quoted him as saying. Mahfuj, who briefed the media after the meeting, added that the chief adviser said Bangladesh always gives importance to mutual respect and equity in maintaining relations with neighbours. Advertisement He stressed reviving the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to enhance regional cooperation, state-run BSS news agency reported. The interim government headed by Yunus was appointed days after Hasina resigned and fled to India on August 5 following unprecedented anti-government student-led protests over a controversial quota system in government jobs. Neighbourly relations have been strained by the student-led uprising that toppled Bangladeshs leader Sheikh Hasina. Hasina, 76, fled to India on Aug. 5 as anger against her government swelled. But the ouster triggered more violence. Police went on strike and mobs rampaged across the country until a new interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus was sworn in. Last week, Yunus expressed a desire for good ties with India but insisted that New Delhi must abandon the narrative that only Hasinas leadership ensures the countrys stability. Meanwhile, Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain Sunday expressed surprise over Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singhs remarks, emphasising that he does not foresee any immediate threat of conflict between the two neighbours. I am more surprised than concerned. I dont understand why he (Singh) made such remarks I dont find any reason behind that, he told reporters at the foreign ministry here when asked for his comments on Singhs remarks. Advertisement Addressing a joint commanders conference in Lucknow on Thursday, Singh called upon the top military brass to analyse the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza as well as the current situation in Bangladesh to predict any future problems and stay prepared to deal with the unexpected. With inputs from agencies. Blinkens trip to the UK will come before British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pays a visit to US President Joe Biden read more The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken (centre), with Keir Starmer (left) and the US president, Joe Biden, at the Nato summit in Washington in July. AP As the situation in the Middle East continues to spiral downward, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit London next week to discuss the ongoing crisis in the region. The US Department of State confirmed the news on Saturday. Blinkens trip to the UK will come before British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pays a visit to US President Joe Biden. It is pertinent to note that Blinkens two-day trip to London, which will take place on Monday and Tuesday, will be the visit by the most senior US official since the Labour Party won the general election in July, ending 14 years of Conservative rule. Advertisement According to the statement released by his office, the US Secretary of State will take part in a strategic dialogue reaffirming our special relationship, the State Department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, said. He will discuss Asia as well as the Middle East and our collective efforts to support Ukraine, he added. Starmer to hold talks with Biden Before the announcement of Blinkens trip, the White House announced that UK PM Starmer would visit Washington next week. This will be the British premiers second trip to the United States since coming to power. In July this year, Starmer met Biden, just days after taking office. The meeting between the two leaders took place on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington. The US and the UK have cooperated in lockstep on several global issues, including the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and Russia-Ukraine war. It is pertinent to note that Starmer has taken a harder line on Israel since taking office, with his government announcing a suspension of some arms shipments to the Jewish nation. The Labour Party has also raised concerns about the growing risk of British arms being used to violate humanitarian law. Keeping this in mind, the Starmer administration has also dropped its Conservative predecessors plans to challenge the right of the International Criminal Court to seek the arrest of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Meanwhile, the US, which is not a member of the ICC, has opposed efforts to target Netanyahu. Washington has argued that Israel has its own system of accountability and questioned the arrest warrant against the Israeli premier. However, the US, which remains Israels primary weapons supplier, did not question the UKs decision to block certain arms shipments to Israel. Washington maintained that London had its own process to make assessments. Advertisement With inputs from agencies. News / National by Staff reporter Zimbabwe's privately owned airline, Fastjet, will scale up its services between Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport and Bulawayo's Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport.Fastjet will introduce a third frequency between Johannesburg and Bulawayo on 1 November.Getaway reports that the airline will offer additional services three days a week.Fastjet already operates double daily flights between Johannesburg and Bulawayo.In October last year, Fastjet started operating two flights a day between Johannesburg and Bulawayo.The third frequency will operate on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.These flights will depart from Johannesburg at 11:10 and will arrive in Bulawayo at 12:30.From Bulawayo, flights will depart at 13:00 and are set to arrive in Johannesburg at 14:20.Flights are operated with an Embraer Regional Jet. The aircraft, an E145, seats up to 49 passengers.Fastjet Zimbabwe's spokesperson, Nunurai Ndawana, said that the additional flights will facilitate business and leisure trips to Johannesburg and Bulawayo.Bulawayo is an important industrial hub in the landlocked country. That said, it is also located very close to a handful of noteworthy tourist attractions.As Zimbabwe's industrial hub, ensuring improved connectivity to Bulawayo is our foremost priority. We continue to engage the market to establish more ways to better serve our customers," Ndawana said.These new flights between Johannesburg and Bulawayo might also benefit travellers wishing to explore tourist attractions in and around Bulawayo.This includes two World Heritage sites which are located outside the city. Matopos National Park and Zimbabwe's second largest stone-built monument, the Khami Ruins.Last year even Sir Richard Branson enjoyed a Fastjet flight to Zimbabwe.The famous British celebrity entrepreneur surprised Fastjet crew and staff when he flew to Zimbabwe's capital, Harare in July last year.The fact that Branson took a Fastjet flight sparked some curiosity.At the time, there was speculation that the entrepreneur was looking to invest in the privately owned airline.Branson has made several trips to Zimbabwe over the years. According to Zimlive, he has even bungee-jumped in Victoria Falls.Branson engaged in some wildlife conservation projects during his trip to Zimbabwe.These included the Zambezi Elephant Fund and Wilderness Destinations Ruckomechi Camp, owned by The Rise Fund, a charity he co-founded.Often considered a low-cost carrier, Fastjest is not that at all.It offers services on par with full-service airlines.The value carrier offers superb inflight service, excellent passenger handling and reliability. Thus, Fastjet is definitely not a low-cost carrier. Burns who attended a panel discussion with the head of MI6, Richard Moore, recalled that the US had brushed off a previous Russian nuclear scare in autumn 2022 read more As the Russia-Ukraine war continues to escalate, CIA boss Bill Burns said that the Western leaders shouldnt be intimidated by the Kremlins nuclear threats. The proclamation from the CIA head came on Saturday amid debate over whether Anglo-French Storm Shadow missiles should be used inside Russia. Burns who attended a panel discussion with the head of MI6, Richard Moore, recalled that the US had brushed off a previous Russian nuclear scare in autumn 2022. He insisted that threats from Moscow should not always be taken literally. Advertisement Putins a bully. Hes going to continue to sabre rattle from time to time, Burns said. We cannot afford to be intimidated by that sabre rattling we got to be mindful of it. The US has provided enormous support for Ukraine, and Im sure the president will consider other ways in which we can support them," the CIA boss furthered. CIA boss urges world to not take every threat from Russia literally While giving his take on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis, Burns was asked about the growing nervousness in Washington and other Western allies due to the risk of escalating the war by giving permission for Storm Shadow, a missile with a range of at least 190 miles, to be used inside Russia. None of us should take lightly the risks of escalation, the veteran spy chief said at an event hosted by The Financial Times. There was a moment in the fall [autumn] of 2022 when I think there was a genuine risk of the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons, by Russia in Ukraine, Burns said, but he believed such concerns should not be taken too seriously. I never thought we should be unnecessarily intimidated by that, he added. Burns recalled that at that time, US President Joe Biden had sent him to pass on a direct warning to Sergey Naryshkin, the head of the Russian foreign intelligence service, at a meeting in Turkey in November 2022. He insisted that the meeting was conducted with the intention to make very clear what the consequences of that kind of escalation would be and noted that a similar approach was in place today. Advertisement So far, the White House has been hesitant to allow the use of Storm Shadow inside Russia, despite repeated pleas from Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, including one made on Friday. Burns on Gaza crisis During the panel discussion, the CIA director noted that the US was working very hard on fresh proposals for a ceasefire in Gaza with new texts and creative formulas. He insisted that a new plan is being devised with the help of mediators from Qatar and Egypt and it would emerge in the next several days. However, Burns emphasised that it is the question of political will whether Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and the Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar were willing to strike a deal. Whether or not leaders on both sides recognise that enough is enough and that the time has come to finally make some hard choices," the CIA director averred. Advertisement In the past, Israel has severely degraded Hamass military capabilities over the past 11 months, Burns said. However, the CIA boss admitted that the Jewish nation did not eliminate the movement in the ravaging war. It is also a movement and an idea, the spy chief said, and you could only kill an idea with a better idea, meaning there needed to be some long-term hope for Palestinians. With inputs from agencies. According to the Ifop poll for the Journal du Dimanche, 52 percent of people polled said they were satisfied with the appointment of 73-year-old Barnier, a former foreign minister who acted as the European Unions Brexit negotiator, as head of government read more The French are largely satisfied with the appointment of the centre-right Michel Barnier as prime minister, but believe he will not last long in his new post, a poll said on Sunday. According to the Ifop poll for the Journal du Dimanche, 52 percent of people polled said they were satisfied with the appointment of 73-year-old Barnier, a former foreign minister who acted as the European Unions Brexit negotiator, as head of government. Advertisement By comparison, 53 percent of respondents approved the nomination of Barniers predecessor, Gabriel Attal, when he was appointed prime minister in early January, becoming Frances youngest-ever prime minister at 34. The poll was released after more than 100,000 left-wing demonstrators rallied across France on Saturday to protest against the nomination of Barnier as prime minister and denounce President Emmanuel Macrons power grab. Barniers appointment marks a potential turning point following two months of political chaos in the wake of snap elections called by Macron that left no group close to an overall majority in the National Assembly lower house of parliament. According to the Ifop poll, a majority of respondents see Barnier, the oldest prime minister in the history of modern France, as competent (62 percent), open to dialogue (61 percent) and likeable (60 percent). However, the left has vowed to topple Barnier with a no-confidence motion, and 74 percent of respondents polled believe he would not last long in the post, according to the survey. Ifop polled 950 adults online on September 5-6. The margin of error was up to 3.1 points. Phone records provided by a relative to the Post show a 10-minute call to Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, at 9:50 a.m., about 30 minutes before the attack began. read more People walk as law enforcement officers work at the scene of a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. A 14-year-old gunman killed four people in the shooting using an "AR-platform-style weapon". Reuters The mother of the teenager charged with fatally shooting two students and two teachers at a Georgia high school on Wednesday called the school that morning and warned a counselor about an extreme emergency, the Washington Post reported. Marcee Gray, the mother of the suspected shooter, 14-year-old Colt Gray, said she told the counselor to find her son immediately, the newspaper reported. Phone records provided by a relative to the Post show a 10-minute call to Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, at 9:50 a.m., about 30 minutes before the attack began. Advertisement Gray declined to detail what prompted her call but told the Post on Saturday she had shared that with law enforcement. She expressed remorse for the pain and suffering that the victims and their families are going through. A school administrator went to her sons math class that morning, according to another student, the Post reported, but he was not in the room. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the lead investigative agency, referred questions to the Piedmont Judicial Circuit District Attorneys Office, which is prosecuting the case. The office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday. Colt Gray has been charged as an adult with four counts of murder. His father, Colin Gray, is also charged with murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children, in an emerging legal strategy to hold parents responsible for allowing access to firearms to minors who carry out attacks. Prosecutors say Colin Gray provided the weapon used in the shooting. In May 2023, investigators from a neighboring county interviewed both Colin and Colt Gray about online threats to carry out a school shooting. Colt Gray said he had not made the threats, and his father said his son did not have free access to his hunting rifles. Advertisement The case was closed after investigators could not substantiate that either Gray was connected to the threats. Greece relies heavily on tourism, the main driver of the countrys economy which is still recovering from a decade-long crisis that wiped out a fourth of its output. read more Greece plans to impose a 20-euro levy on cruise ship visitors to the islands of Santorini and Mykonos during the peak summer season, in a bid to avert overtourism, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Sunday. But some of its most popular destinations, including Santorini, an idyllic island of quaint villages and pristine beaches with 20,000 permanent residents, risk being ruined by mass tourism. Speaking at a press conference a day after outlining his main economic policies for 2025, Mitsotakis clarified that excessive tourism was only a problem in a few destinations. Advertisement Greece does not have a structural overtourism problem Some of its destinations have a significant issue during certain weeks or months of the year, which we need to deal with, he said. Cruise shipping has burdened Santorini and Mykonos and this is why we are proceeding with interventions, he added, announcing the levy. Greek tourism revenues stood at about 20 billion euros in 2023 on the back of nearly 31 million tourist arrivals. In Santorini, protesters have called for curbs on tourism, as in other popular holiday destinations in Europe, including Venice and Barcelona. Part of the revenues from the cruise shipping tax will be returned to local communities to be invested in infrastructure, Mitsotakis said. The government also plans to regulate the number of cruise ships that arrive simultaneously at certain destinations, while rules to protect the environment and tackle water shortages must also be imposed on islands, he said. Greece also wants to increase a tax on short-term rentals and ban new licenses for such rentals in central Athens to increase the housing stock for permanent residents, Mitsotakis said on Saturday. The government will detail some of the measures on Monday. The Iran-backed Lebanese movement has exchanged near-daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces in support of ally Hamas since the Palestinian militant groups October 7 attack on Israel triggered the war in the Gaza Strip read more Smoke rises and a flare is deployed in the southern Lebanese Marjayoun plain after being hit by Israeli shelling on September 7, 2024, amid the ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. AFP Hezbollah announced retaliatory rocket fire targeting a town in northern Israel early Sunday, hours after Lebanons health ministry said an Israeli attack killed three civil defence personnel in the countrys south. The Iran-backed Lebanese movement has exchanged near-daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces in support of ally Hamas since the Palestinian militant groups October 7 attack on Israel triggered the war in the Gaza Strip. Hezbollah said it had bombarded Kiryat Shmona with a volley of Falaq rockets early Sunday in response to the enemy attacks and particularly the attack that killed the emergency workers in the Lebanese village of Froun. Advertisement Hezbollah usually says it targets military positions in northern Israel, while Israel has said it targets Hezbollah infrastructure and fighters in south and east Lebanon. On Saturday, Lebanons health ministry said the Israeli enemy targeting of a Lebanese civil defence team that was putting out fires sparked by the recent Israeli strikes in the village of Froun led to the martyrdom of three emergency responders. Two others were wounded, one of them critically, the ministry added. Lebanons civil defence said in a statement that three of its employees were killed in an Israeli strike that targeted a firefighting vehicle after they had finished a firefighting mission. The health ministry statement condemned the blatant Israeli attack that targeted a team from an official body of the Lebanese state. Hezbollah ally the Amal movement said two of its members were among the dead in Saturdays strike. It said they were killed while carrying out their humanitarian and national duty defending Lebanon and the south. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the attack on the emergency workers, saying in a statement that this new aggression against Lebanon is a blatant violation of international laws and human values. Repeated, deliberate Lebanons health ministry said the attack was the second of its kind against an emergency team in less than 12 hours. Advertisement Earlier Saturday, the ministry said two emergency personnel from the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Committee were wounded when the Israeli enemy deliberately targeted near a fire they were heading to extinguish in south Lebanons Qabrikha, causing their vehicle to swerve. Several militant groups operate health centres and emergency response operations in south Lebanon. Hezbollah had announced a string of attacks on Israeli troops and positions near the border on Saturday, including with Katyusha rockets and explosives-laden drones, some in a stated response to Israeli enemy attacks on south Lebanon. The Israeli military said Saturday that it had identified projectiles crossing from Lebanon and intercepting some of them, adding a number of UAVs (drones) were identified crossing from Lebanese territory. Advertisement It said the air force struck Hezbollah military infrastructure and a launcher in the Qabrikha area, while its artillery targeted several other areas of south Lebanon. The cross-border violence has killed some 614 people in Lebanon, mostly fighters but also including 138 civilians, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, including in the annexed Golan Heights, authorities have announced the deaths of at least 24 soldiers and 26 civilians. A statement from Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said that due to the (Israeli) aggression, 27 emergency personnel and health workers have been killed and 94 others wounded since October. Two hospitals and 21 health centres have been targeted, while 32 fire or ambulance vehicles have been put out of service or partially damaged, the statement said, urging an end to the repeated and deliberate targeting of health workers and civilians. In a recent update on the situation, the London Police Department has identified 32-year-old Joseph A. Couch as a person of interest and the main suspect in the case read more The authorities in Kentucky are on the hunt for an active shooter who shot multiple people near an interstate highway. The Laurel County Sheriffs office said that the incident took place on Saturday and the police blocked the Interstate 75 which is nine miles north of the small city of London. In the latest update on the incident, the Sheriffs office called the attack an active shooter situation. I-75 is closed at mile marker/Exit 49, and U.S. 25, nine miles north of London due to an active shooter situation. Numerous persons have been shot near I-75, the office said in a Facebook post. Advertisement Meanwhile, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has been briefed on the matter and he assured that the authorities are actively monitoring the situation. I am receiving initial reports from the Kentucky State Police and our Office of Homeland Security together we are actively monitoring the situation and offering support in any way possible. Please pray for everyone involved, the Kentucky governor wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. I am receiving initial reports from the Kentucky State Police and our Office of Homeland Security together we are actively monitoring the situation and offering support in any way possible. Please pray for everyone involved. ^AB Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) September 7, 2024 Who is the prime suspect? According to NBC News, agents with the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were responding to assist state police and local authorities in hunting down the active shooter in the region. Officials are now urging people to avoid the area. The highway is closed between exits 41 and 59, FOX 5 reported, citing the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Advertisement In a recent update on the situation, the London Police Department has identified 32-year-old Joseph A. Couch as a person of interest and the main suspect in the case. Couch is considered armed and dangerous and is described as a White man, roughly 5 foot, 10 inches, weighing about 154 pounds by the police. The Suspect has not been caught at this time we are urging people to stay inside!! We will try our best to get you as much information as it becomes available!! Kentucky State Police Trooper Scottie Pennington wrote in a Facebook post. With inputs from agencies. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called for India and China to play a significant role in resolving the Ukraine conflict, emphasizing the interconnectedness of international law and economic stability. Her remarks, made at the Ambrosetti Forum, followed a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, where they discussed urgent defense needs and reconstruction efforts read more India and China can play a role in finding a solution to the dragging conflict in Ukraine, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday after holding talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Italian prime ministers comments at northern Italys Cernobbio city came two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin named India, Brazil and China as possible intermediaries that could play a role in resolving the conflict. China and India have a role to play in resolving the conflict, Meloni was quoted as saying in Italian media. Advertisement What must not happen is to think that the conflict can be resolved by abandoning Ukraine to its fate, she said. The decision to support Kyiv is in line with Italys national interest and will never change, Meloni said, reaffirming her governments full support for Ukraine. On Thursday, Putin, speaking at a panel discussion at the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok, said that he was in touch with India, Brazil and China on the Ukraine conflict. First of all, it is Chinese Peoples Republic, Brazil and India I am in contact with my partners and I have no doubt that the leaders of these countries and we have relations of trust and confidence with one another will be really interested and provide a helping hand, he said. His remarks came in response to a question on possible countries that can act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kyiv last month during which he conveyed to Zelenskyy that both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the ongoing war and that India was ready to play an active role to restore peace in the region. The prime minister said India was on the side of peace since the beginning of the conflict and he would even like to contribute personally for a peaceful resolution of the crisis. Modis nearly nine-hour visit to Ukraine on August 23, the first by an Indian prime minister since its independence in 1991, came six weeks after he held summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. India has dispatched 1,000 metric tonnes of rice to Malawi as humanitarian aid to combat the severe drought caused by the El Nino phenomenon. This assistance aims to alleviate the food crisis in the drought-affected Southeast African nation, which has faced significant crop damage and food shortages read more A consignment of 1000MT rice while in transport to drought-hit Malawi. Source: MEA India has sent 1,000 metric tonnes of rice as part of humanitarian aid to drought-hit Malawi. The Southeast African nation has been reeling under dry spells that caused widespread damage to crops and negatively affected food production. Humanitarian assistance in solidarity with the people of Malawi. A consignment of 1000MT rice departed today for Malawi, to address the consequences of the severe drought caused by El Nino phenomenon, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on X on Saturday. Advertisement In March, the government in Malawi declared a state of disaster following drought in 23 of the countrys 28 districts. The dry spells have severely crippled the countrys food supplies. The White House declined to confirm the weapons transfer but reiterated its concern that Iran is deepening its support of Russia. The White House has been warning Iran for months not to transfer ballistic missiles to Russia read more The United States has informed allies that it believes Iran has transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the matter. They did not offer any details about how many weapons have been delivered or when the transfers may have occurred, but they confirmed the U.S. intelligence finding. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a matter that has not been publicly disclosed. Advertisement The White House declined to confirm the weapons transfer but reiterated its concern that Iran is deepening its support of Russia. The White House has been warning Iran for months not to transfer ballistic missiles to Russia. Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation in Irans support for Russias war of aggression against Ukraine and lead to the killing of more Ukrainian civilians, National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement. This partnership threatens European security and illustrates how Irans destabilizing influence reaches beyond the Middle East and around the world. The U.S. finding comes as the Kremlin tries to repel Ukraines surprise offensive that has led to the seizure of about 500 square miles (1,300 kilometers) of Russias Kursk region. Meanwhile, Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is pressing allies to allow his country to use Western-supplied missiles to strike deep inside Russia and hit sites from which Moscow launches aerial attacks. Iran, as it has with previous U.S. intelligence findings, denied providing Russia with weapons for its war in Ukraine. Iran considers the provision of military assistance to the parties engaged in the conflict which leads to increased human casualties, destruction of infrastructure, and a distancing from ceasefire negotiations to be inhumane, according to a statement from Irans mission to the United Nations. Thus, not only does Iran abstain from engaging in such actions itself, but it also calls upon other countries to cease the supply of weapons to the sides involved in the conflict. Advertisement CIA Director William Burns, who was in London on Saturday for a joint appearance with his British intelligence counterpart, warned of the growing and troubling defense relationship involving Russia, China, Iran and North Korea that he said threatens both Ukraine and Western allies in the Middle East. The White House has repeatedly declassified and publicized intelligence findings that show North Korea has sent ammunition and missiles to Russia to use against Ukraine, while Iran supplies Moscow with attack drones and has assisted the Kremlin with building a drone-manufacturing factory. China has held back from providing Russians with weaponry but has surged sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and other technology that Moscow in turn is using to produce missiles, tanks, aircraft and other weaponry, according to U.S. officials. Advertisement The White House has been on edge for months about a possible deal between Iran and Russia. The Democratic administration said in January that U.S. intelligence officials had determined a Russian-Iran deal had not been completed, but officials were concerned that Russias negotiations to acquire missiles from Iran were actively advancing. Last September, according to the White House, Iran hosted a top Russian defense official to show off a range of ballistic missile systems, adding to the U.S. concern that a deal could come together. The U.S. and other countries have taken steps aimed at thwarting the supply, sale or transfer involving Iran and ballistic missile-related items, including issuing guidance to private companies about Iranian missile procurement practices to make sure those companies are not inadvertently supporting Irans development efforts. Advertisement President Joe Biden is set to host British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for talks at the White House on Friday. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said continuing robust support to Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression will be on their agenda. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the U.S. intelligence finding. During the 2016 elections, Trump has repeatedly described the probes into Russian interference in the polls as a hoax. He attempted to dismiss the allegations this time around as well read more While spending most of his time proving his innocence in a plethora of legal cases hurled against him, former US President Donald Trump dismissed new warnings of Russian interference in elections. Trump brought up the controversial subject at a campaign rally in Wisconsin on Saturday. Trumps remarks over the matter came just moments after he used his 49-minute press conference revisiting and denying sexual misconduct allegations levelled against him. The remarks from the former president also came days after US intelligence officials warned that the Russian governments covert efforts to sway the presidential election are more sophisticated than in prior election cycles." Advertisement During the 2016 elections, Trump has repeatedly described the probes into Russian interference in the polls as a hoax. He attempted to dismiss the allegations this time around as well. The Justice Department said Russia may be involved in our elections again, Trump told the crowd at his rally. And, you know, the whole world laughed at them this time. Its Russia all over again On Wednesday, two Russia-based employees of Russias state-run news site, RT, were indicted in an alleged scheme in which they paid an American media company to spread English-language videos on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and X, The Washington Post reported. The intelligence officials warned that Moscow is using artificial intelligence to create increasingly convincing fake content that could help Trump in the long run. While responding to the new revelations, Trump asked the authorities to focus elsewhere. Its Russia, Russia, Russia all over again. But they dont look at China and they dont look at Iran. They look at Russia. I dont know what it is with poor Russia, Trump said. In the past, the Senate Intelligence Committee unanimously endorsed the US intelligence communitys conclusion that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to boost Trump. The recent indictments are now considered to be part of Washingtons most sweeping effort yet to tackle what it described as Russian disinformation campaigns ahead of the November polls. Amid the allegations, Russian spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told The Washington Post that the recent indictments are nonsense. He went on to deny allegations that Russia is interfering in the upcoming elections or it interfered in the 2016 polls. On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he wants the US Vice President Kamala Harris to win the election, rather than Trump, in a tongue-in-cheek endorsement which many experts saw as a way to undermine her. Advertisement I knew Putin, I knew him well, Trump said at the Saturday rally. The other day he endorsed Kamala. He endorsed Kamala. I was very, offended by that I think it was done maybe with a smile," he added. Earlier this month, Peskov noted that Moscow views Harris as a more predictable opponent to win the polls than Trump. The Democrats are more predictable. And what Putin said about Bidens predictability applies to almost all Democrats, including Ms. Harris, he said. During the Saturday rally, Trump reiterated that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war would have never happened if he was in the Oval Office. I will have that war finished and done and settled before I get to the White House, Trump vowed Saturday, repeating sentiments that the Kremlin has previously dismissed. As president-elect, I will get that done. Advertisement With inputs from agencies. News / National by Stephen Jakes The ongoing controversy involving Pan-Africanist Rutendo Matinyarare, and the Innscor Group has taken a new turn with the human rights activist Abigale Mupambi and the International Coalition Against Covid-19 and African Development Zimbabwe Vice President Max Mkandla joining the condemnation of deployment of unhealthy food to African nations, Zimbabwe included.Mupambi and Mkandla have sided with Matinyarare in his ongoing dispute with Innscor, which recently secured a legal victory against him.Matinyarare had accused Innscor Africa of allegedly supplying genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in its food products without adequately informing consumers.He raised concerns that these GMOs might contain carcinogens, potentially contributing to the rising cancer cases in Zimbabwe.Mupambi criticized the legal outcome favouring Innscor, arguing that the court's decision is meaningless without addressing the core allegations.The Innscor win in the South African courts remains a myth as long as the courts ignore the core issue: Is Innscor supplying potentially cancerous products to the market, as alleged?- she said.Mupambi said Innscor should have focused on disproving these allegations rather than silencing Matinyarare.She urged Zimbabwean citizens to refrain from patronizing Innscor's fast-food outlets until the company addresses these serious health concerns.Mupambi said Zimbabweans could be facing a health crisis, evidenced by long hospital queues mirroring those at fast-food restaurants.She called for meaningful dialogue among all stakeholders, stressing that while investment is vital for Zimbabwe's development, it should not come at the expense of public health and safety.Mupambi reiterated the importance of Innscor answering the critical question at the heart of this issue: Do their products contain GMOs that could be carcinogenic?Her stance reflects a broader concern for consumer rights and public health in Zimbabwe, urging transparency and accountability from major corporations.Meanwhile, Mkandla said GMO's flooding African countries these years might be a long term indirect depopulation of Africa strategy by the imperialists and citizens must be wary of these GMOs. "I really support the stance taken by Mupanbi in supporting Matinyarare's bid to fight against GMOs flooding our food market through this company. The rate at which cancer is escalating in Zimbabwe must be a cause for concern and authorities must institute investigations to find out Matinyarare's claims, they might be true," Mkandla said."We used to eat natural foods and people's health was not as bad as we are seeing it these days. It is very obvious that the food that we eat these days have these side effects and have a potential of wiping out the whole population in a few years time if we are not careful." Libyas chief prosecutor has ordered the detention of Mohamed Bahroun, a prominent militia leader, and his aide as part of an investigation into the killing of notorious human trafficker Abdel-Rahman Milad. The detention follows allegations of their involvement in Milads September 1st shooting in Tripoli read more Libyas chief prosecutor ordered the detention of a militia leader and one of his aides pending an investigation into the killing of one of the countrys most notorious human traffickers. Mohamed Bahroun, commander of the First Support Battalion and an influential militia leader, as well as one of his associates, handed themselves over after allegations surfaced about their role in last weeks killing of Abdel-Rahman Milad in the capital, Tripoli. The office of General Prosecutor al-Sediq al-Sour said in a statement late Saturday that prosecutors ordered both men to remain detained after they were interrogated and shown evidence of their involvement in Milads slaying. Advertisement Milad, sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council and imprisoned in Libya on trafficking charges, was shot and killed on Sep. 1 while in his vehicle in the Sayyad area, in the western part of Tripoli. The late human trafficker and Bahroun hailed from the western town of Zawiya where Milad commanded a notorious coast guard unit. Both rose to prominence during the chaos after a NATO-backed uprising that turned into civil war toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The oil-rich nation has since then split between two administrations, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments. Both Milad and Bahroun held government positions in the lawless western part of the Mediterranean country. Since then, Libya has emerged as a major conduit for people from Africa and the Middle East fleeing wars and poverty and hoping to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean Sea. In June 2018, the Security Council imposed sanctions on Milad and five other leaders of criminal networks for their alleged engagement in trafficking migrants and others from Libya. At the time, Milad was described in a U.N. report as the head of a coast guard unit in Zawiya that is consistently linked with violence against migrants and other human smugglers from rival gangs. Advertisement U.N. experts monitoring sanctions claimed Milad and other coast guard members are directly involved in the sinking of migrant boats" by opening fire to intercept the vessels. The intercepted migrants are held in government-run detention centers rife with practices that amount to crimes against humanity, according to U.N.-commissioned investigators. The abuse often accompanies attempts to extort money from the families of the imprisoned migrants before releasing them or allowing them to leave Libya on traffickers boats to Europe. Milad had denied any links to human smuggling and said traffickers wear uniforms similar to those of his men. He was jailed for about six months between October 2020 and April 2021 on human trafficking and fuel smuggling charges. Walzs jabs at Vance came during his address to the LGBTQ+ advocacy group on Saturday evening read more Former Minnesota Governor Tim Walz slammed Former US President Donald Trumps Vice Presidential pick JD Vance for saying that school shooting is a fact of life. Earlier this week, the Ohio Senator commented on the devastating Georgia school shooting. While he condemned the incident, Vance did not speak about the need to strengthen gun laws. Walzs jabs at Vance came during his address to the LGBTQ+ advocacy group on Saturday evening. US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris VP pick made it clear that such events are not fact of life. The war of words between Walz and Vance started after a 14-year-old named Colt Grey went on a shooting rampage at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, killing 4 people. Advertisement I dont like this. I dont like to admit this. I dont like that this is a fact of life. But if youre, if you are a psycho and you want to make headlines, you realize that our schools are soft targets, and we have got to bolster security at our schools, Vance said at a campaign event in Phoenix, a day after the attack. Walz hits back On Saturday, Walz recalled Vances remarks while addressing the Human Rights Campaign, a major LGBTQ+ advocacy group, during its annual dinner in Washington. Its a fact of life some people are gay. But you know whats not a fact of life? That our children need to be shot dead in schools, Walz said. Thats not a fact of life. Folks are banning books, but theyre okay with weapons of war being in our schools," the Minnesota Governor added. The Harris-Walz campaign also slammed Vance for his remarks. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz know we can take action to keep our children safe and keep guns out of the hands of criminals, Harris spokesperson Ammar Moussa said in response to Vances Thursday comments. Donald Trump and JD Vance will always choose the NRA and gun lobby over our children. That is the choice in this election," he added. Advertisement Meanwhile, spokespersons from the Trump and Vance campaigns are yet to respond to Walzs comments. Walz raises concerns over Project 2025 During the Saturday event, Walz reiterated concerns over the Project 2025. He called it a playbook for Trump if he came back to office and said that the plan would demonize the LGBTQ+ community and limit abortion access. This time, they are not playing, they are coming to do the things they say they wanted to do, Walz told the crowd. He insisted that the Americans should deliver a message to Trump and Republicans on November 5 (the day of polling). Leave our kids the hell alone, he remarked. Advertisement Walz continued targeting Vance, noting that he wouldnt let Republicans lecture him or anyone on family values". He slammed Vance for missing the Senates vote on the Child Tax Credit and also blasted Trumps rambling regarding how he would tackle high childcare costs. Hes got a plan on childcare costs that no one in the world understood a damn word about, Walz exclaimed. We organize, we donate, we volunteer, Walz told the crowd of 3,500 people, adding they had a chance to change the trajectory of the country for generations. With inputs from agencies. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf slammed the government for its crackdown on the party as police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. read more Jailed former premier Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Sunday held a power show, demanding his immediate release while slamming the government for its crackdown on the party as police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. The rally postponed twice in the last two months was held near Sangjani Cattle Market in the suburbs of Islamabad after the capital administration issued a no-objection certificate (NOC). Thousands of Khans supporters attended the rally, proving that the partys power base was intact despite several hurdles it faced, including the incarceration of its 71-year-old founder. Advertisement Khan was arrested on August 5 last year after his conviction in the Toshakhana corruption case filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan. Since then, he has been in jail in different cases. On Sunday, Khan completed 400 days in prison. The rally was scheduled to end at 7 pm (local time) as per the NOC. As soon as the deadline ended, the district administration directed the police to take action against the rally-goers for not complying with the NOC. The authorities stated that the organisers violated the rules and regulations by not concluding the gathering before the deadline. In response to the crackdown, PTI workers began pelting stones at police, injuring many security personnel, including Senior Superintendent of Police Shoaib Khan. Strong turnout for PTI rally despite the states tactics to limit numbers through roadblocks and containers, and despite the risk of violent crackdowns and arrests. Its size and popularity ensure its mobilization capabilities remain intact despite relentless attempts to curb it, Micheal Kugleman, a South Asian expert, said in a post on X. Several PTI leaders addressed the gathering, demanding Khans immediate release. The PTI leader in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub Khan, said that the party would not sit until Khan was released. We are soldiers of Imran Khan and will not sit until he is set free, he said, adding that soon Khan would be with his supporters. Advertisement He condemned physical hurdles put on roads to restrict the movement of participants and also announced that the PTI would now hold rallies across the country. It was the first major rally by the PTI in Islamabad since the February 8 elections. The party wants to exert pressure on the government to release Khan, who languishes in jail despite the courts either acquitting him or giving him bail in all cases he was convicted. Khan has repeatedly shown a willingness to hold talks with the establishment while refusing to sit with the government. So far, all his tactics have failed to get any relief. Mass protest is an option, but his party has been facing pressure to avoid it. Advertisement Todays rally was a test for both the government and the PTI as it will help them gauge the ground power swell for Khan and fine-tune their policies and tactics in the coming days. Sources told PTI that the Islamabad administration put security on high alert this morning and blocked off multiple arteries leading to the capital city. Hospitals were put on alert by the administration. The Metro bus services were stopped in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Addressing the rally, former minister Hammad Azhar said the hindrance created by the rulers showed that they were afraid of Khan and his supporters. Advertisement He pointed out that most of the partys Punjab leadership is in jail, paying tribute to incarcerated leaders, including Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Umar Sarfraz Cheema. Another leader Sher Afzal Marwat said they will soon hold rallies in Punjab for Khans release and the supremacy of law and the Constitution. We will enter Punjab with 50,000 people from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa within a week, he said, adding that they will even set off on foot and face the tear gas. Additional forces have been summoned to the location where the clash between the police and party workers originally started. Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari signed into law the Public Order and Peaceful Assembly Bill 2024 hours before the planned rally, instituting strict measures for unauthorised gatherings. Advertisement The new law introduces penalties for holding gatherings without permission in Islamabad, with violators facing up to three years in prison and fines. Repeat offenders could be sentenced to up to 10 years in jail. As per the new plan, India is expected to host the Quad summit next year. read more Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to join the leaders of the US, Japan and Australia at the Quad summit in the US later this month as the influential grouping is likely to deliberate on pressing global challenges including the situation in Ukraine. The summit is likely to take place on September 21 in US President Joe Bidens hometown of Wilmington in Delaware, people familiar with the matter said. There is no official announcement yet on the date and venue of the high-profile summit. It was Indias turn to host the Quad summit this year. However, the leaders of the grouping decided to hold the summit at a venue convenient to all in view of constraints of a tight calendar. Advertisement Modi, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida are among the world leaders who are travelling to the US to attend the UNs Summit of the Future in New York on September 22 and 23. The Quad summit is likely to focus on boosting cooperation among the member nations in the Indo-Pacific besides delving into various key challenges facing the globe including the conflict in Ukraine. In July, the foreign ministers of the Quad member nations held wide-ranging talks in Tokyo with a focus on boosting overall cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. In a loud and clear message to China, the Quad foreign ministerial meeting reaffirmed the groupings steadfast commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and resolved to work towards a region where no country dominates others and each state is free from coercion in all its forms. The foreign ministers also announced a plan to expand its ambitious Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) programme to the Indian Ocean region that would facilitate monitoring the strategic waters. In New York, Prime Minister Modi is also set to address an Indian community event besides holding talks with a number of world leaders on the sidelines of the UN summit, the people cited above said. Advertisement The Summit of the Future will bring leaders from various countries to forge a new international consensus on how to deliver a better present and safeguard the future, according to the UN. Effective global cooperation is increasingly critical to our survival but difficult to achieve in an atmosphere of mistrust, using outdated structures that no longer reflect todays political and economic realities, the UN said. The Summit of the Future is a chance to get back on track, it said. There are calls for the 87-year-old pontiff to speak out on child abuse when he lands in the former Portuguese colony Monday as part of his Asia-Pacific tour read more When Pope Francis becomes the first pontiff to visit an independent East Timor, he will confront a clergy beset by child abuse scandals that have been largely ignored by the deeply Catholic countrys freedom heroes. Cases include Nobel-winning Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, who helped Asias youngest nation free itself from Indonesian occupation, but who the Vatican secretly punished over claims he had sexually abused young children for decades. There are calls for the 87-year-old pontiff to speak out on child abuse when he lands in the former Portuguese colony Monday as part of his Asia-Pacific tour. Advertisement We ask Your Holiness to encourage the leaders and the people of Timor-Leste to take more effective measures to prevent sexual abuse, the Timor-Leste NGO Forum, a civil society coalition, wrote in a letter Wednesday to Francis. BishopAccountability.org, a documentation centre on Catholic Church abuse, also called on the Vaticans sexual abuse commission chief, Cardinal Sean OMalley, to urge Francis to be the victims champion on his visit. Catholic-majority East Timor is one of many countries that has suffered the global scourge of child abuse by members of the clergy long veiled in secrecy. In 2002 Pope John Paul II accepted the abrupt resignation of Bishop Belo, then the head of East Timors church, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996. The Vatican said it was for health reasons but did not explain further. It then permitted him to be sent to Mozambique as a missionary where he worked with children, before he moved to Portugal. The Vatican secretly sanctioned the bishop in 2020 after claims he sexually abused underage boys over a 20-year period up to 2002. Advertisement It banned Belo from any contact with children or with East Timor, conditions it said he formally accepted. Only when Dutch magazine De Groene Amsterdammer reported the restrictions in 2022, including testimony from a victim who said they were raped by Belo, did the Vatican go public. The Dutch magazine reports author says allegations about Belo were known in 2002. Francis later suggested the decision to let Belo retire instead of face consequences was made when attitudes were different. Widespread support The bishop had won the Nobel Prize for his defence of human rights during the Indonesian occupation, which lasted more than two decades. He is revered at home for sheltering young demonstrators and saving their lives. Advertisement It has helped him retain strong support among the countrys 1.3 million people, of which 98 percent are Catholic. We feel we have lost him. We miss him, Maria Dadi, East Timor national youth council president, told AFP. Because after all he really contributed to the struggle of Timor-Leste. In another case, defrocked American priest Richard Daschbach was found guilty in 2021 of abusing orphaned, disadvantaged girls. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, but has also found support at the highest levels of Timorese society. Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao courted controversy last year when he visited Daschbach to celebrate his birthday and shared cake with the convicted paedophile. He also attended his trial. Advertisement For many in the country, they favour Belo returning for the popes visit. We are very sad without the presence of Bishop Belo, said 58-year-old academic Francisco Amaral da Silva. The government and the Catholic Church should invite him. East Timors presidential office did not respond to a request for comment. President Jose Ramos-Horta has said punishments for Belo should be handled by the Vatican. Limited value The pontiff will meet with the Catholic faithful, children, Jesuits and preside over a huge mass during his stay in the capital Dili. But it remains unclear if he will raise cases that have shocked observers of one of the worlds poorest countries. Advertisement The popes schedule does not include a meeting with victims, and the Vatican did not comment before he departed Rome. Yet he could ad-lib the subject in one of his speeches, which would be a strong gesture. Francis could also meet victims privately as he has done before, the latest on a 2023 Portugal trip. But survivor advocates said the pope must acknowledge the sexual violence by Church officials on East Timorese children, including by Belo. Those abused by Bishop Belo and other clergy will expect a public statement by Pope Francis on the Churchs continued failure to deal with its wayward clergy, said Tony Gribben, founder of the Northern Ireland-based Dromore survivors group. Gribben said a meeting would have limited value, citing apologies given by Francis to abuse victims on an Ireland trip in 2018. The event was a well-crafted PR exercise, he added. But since then, its business as usual. Three Israelis were shot and killed Sunday at the border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, Israeli officials said, in what appeared to be an attack linked to the 11-month-old war in Gaza. read more Palestinians inspect damage in Qatari-funded Hamad City, following an Israeli raid, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on August 24, 2024. Reuters File The Qatar Red Crescent and the U.N. agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) signed an agreement on Sunday, with $4.5 million from a Qatari state development fund, to aid more than 4,400 stranded Palestinian workers and patients from Gaza in the West Bank. [The] cash assistance will represent vital support for those displaced who have not been able to return to the Gaza Strip since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Strip last October, a statement from the Qatars state news agency said. Advertisement Thousands of Palestine refugees from Gaza remain trapped in the West Bank, trapped in this crisis situation, stranded from their loved ones and livelihoods, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said. Since Israels blockade of Gaza began in 2007, movement in and out of the Strip has been heavily restricted, forcing individuals to seek medical care, education, or jobs in the West Bank, while escalating violence often closes borders, trapping those in need of essential services. Meanwhile, three Israelis were shot and killed Sunday at the border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, Israeli officials said, in what appeared to be an attack linked to the 11-month-old war in Gaza. Israels military said the gunman approached the Allenby Bridge Crossing from the Jordanian side in a truck and opened fire at Israeli security forces, who killed him in a shootout. Israels Magen David Adom rescue service said the three Israelis were all men in their 50s. Relatives identified the gunman as Maher al-Jazi, a retired Jordanian soldier from Athroh, a town in the impoverished area of Maan. Jordan is investigating the shooting, its state-run Petra News Agency reported. The Western-allied Arab country made peace with Israel in 1994 but is deeply critical of its policies toward the Palestinians. Jordan has a large Palestinian population and has seen mass protests against Israel over the war in Gaza. Advertisement Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack and linked it to Israels larger conflict with Iran and allied militant groups, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Israeli-occupied West Bank has seen a surge of violence since Hamas Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza triggered the war there. Israel has launched near-daily military arrest raids into dense Palestinian residential areas, and there has been a rise in Israeli settler violence and Palestinian attacks on Israelis. Also on Sunday, loved ones mourned Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, an American-Turkish woman who was shot dead on Friday in the West Bank. She had been demonstrating against Israeli settlements there. The White House has said it was deeply disturbed and called on Israel to investigate, while her family seeks an independent investigation. Her body remained at a hospital in the West Bank city of Nablus. Advertisement Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in their Oct. 7 attack. They abducted another 250 and are still holding around 100 after releasing most of the rest in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel during a weeklong cease-fire last November. Around a third of the remaining hostages inside Gaza are believed to be dead. The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to broker a cease-fire and the return of the hostages, but the negotiations have repeatedly bogged down. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem territories the Palestinians want for a future state in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel withdrew soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005 but maintained control over its airspace, coastline and most of its land crossings. Along with Egypt, it imposed a blockade on Gaza after Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Advertisement With inputs from agencies. Moscow has stepped up its aerial attacks in recent weeks, but it is also trying to fight off a major Ukrainian cross-border offensive into its western Kursk region, which has reshaped the course of the two-and-a-half-year war. read more Russian forces had advanced in eastern Ukraine on Sunday as Kyiv reported deadly air attacks and urged the West to allow it to carry out more retaliatory strikes inside Russia. While, two NATO members said that Russian drones violated their airspace, as one reportedly flew into Romania during nighttime attacks on neighboring Ukraine while another crashed in eastern Latvia the previous day. A drone entered Romanian territory early Sunday as Moscow struck civilian targets and port infrastructure across the Danube in Ukraine, Romanias Ministry of National Defense reported. It added that Bucharest had deployed F-16 warplanes to monitor its airspace and issued text alerts to residents of two eastern regions. Advertisement It also said investigations were underway of a potential impact zone in an uninhabited area along the Romanian-Ukrainian border. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Kyiv launched its Kursk offensive on August 6 hoping to force Russia to redeploy troops pressing forward in the east of the country. But Moscow has appeared to intensify its attacks there, chalking up its most significant territorial gains in almost two years over the month of August. And on Sunday, its military claimed to have captured another small village on the route towards the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region. Russias defence ministry said its troops had liberated the settlement of Novohrodivka, which lies around 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Pokrovsk. The town is one of Russias larger territorial conquests of recent weeks, home to more than 14,000 inhabitants before Moscow launched its full-scale offensive in February 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week his main aim in Ukraine after 30 months of fighting was to capture the eastern Donbas area, which includes Donetsk. He claimed that Ukraines Kursk counter-offensive had made that easier. Drones breach NATO airspace Moscow drew fresh condemnation on Sunday after its drones were detected in Latvia and Romania, both NATO and EU members. Advertisement A Russian military drone crashed in the eastern part of Latvia yesterday. There is an ongoing investigation, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said on X, formerly Twitter. Romania said a Russian attack drone targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine overnight had entered its airspace. NATO must respond to the fact that Russian Shaheds feel free to fly in the airspace of European countries. They need to be shot down, Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskys chief of staff, said on Telegram, referring to the Iranian-style self-detonating drones. Zelensky himself on Sunday also urged Kyivs partners to give him more scope to use Western-supplied weapons against targets inside Russia. Advertisement In just one week, Russia has used over 800 guided aerial bombs, nearly 300 Shahed drones, and more than 60 missiles of various types against our people, he said in a Facebook post. Terror can only be reliably stopped in one way: by striking Russian military airfields, their bases, and the logistics of Russian terror, he said. Seven people were reported killed across the country on Sunday after Russian rocket, missile and shelling attacks. Two people died in an air strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy, the capital of the region from where Ukraine poured troops and tanks across the border into Russia in its shock counter-attack. Advertisement Four more people were injured, including two children, Sumy military authorities said in a statement. Four were killed in separate Russian rocket and missile strikes on the frontline Donetsk region late Saturday and early Sunday, local officials said. Shelling of the northeastern Kharkiv region killed one and wounded 10, the regions governor said. Officials in the central city of Poltava said the death toll from a strike on a military education facility last week had risen to 58, after three more casualties succumbed to their injuries. Russian strikes also killed seven in the western city of Lviv last week, a relatively rare deadly strike on the city hundreds of kilometres from the frontlines and close to Ukraines borders with EU and NATO members. Advertisement Kyiv has for months been calling for the West to supply longer-range missiles and lift restrictions on their use. With inputs from agencies. The defence minister said when Pakistan stops sponsoring terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, India will start dialogue with them. read more Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday that India is ready to start dialogue with Pakistan if it stops terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. Addressing a rally in this assembly segment of Ramban district in support of BJP candidate Mohd Saleem Bhat, Singh said Article 370 of the Constitution, which granted special status to J-K, was revoked to end the misery of the people and make the region prosperous. This provision will not be restored as long as the BJP is there, he asserted. Advertisement The National Conference and the PDP have called for talks with Pakistan in their election manifestos. Some people want us to talk with Pakistan. I want to tell them Pakistan should stop taking support of terrorism. Who would not like to improve relations with neighbouring countries? Because I know the reality that you can change a friend but not your neighbour. We want improved relations with Pakistan but first of all they should stop terrorism, he said without naming the parties. The defence minister said when Pakistan stops sponsoring terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, India will start dialogue with them. Among those who fell to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, 85 percent were Muslims. Terror incidents used to be a routine affair in Kashmir. Were Hindus being killed in the terror acts? I have been a home minister, and I know the highest number of Muslims lost their lives in the incidents of terror, Singh said. Earlier in the day, the defence minister addressed an election rally in nearby Ramban in support of party candidate Rakesh Singh Thakur and said more than 40,000 people have lost their lives in terror incidents in Jammu and Kashmir over the past three decades. Bhat is pitted against former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president and ex-minister Vikar Rasool Wani who is looking for a hat-trick of wins from the Banihal seat. National Conferences Sjjad Shaheen and the PDPs Imtiyaz Shan make it a multi-cornered contest. Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed a massive rally in support of the party candidate in Sangaldan area on September 4. Advertisement Accusing the NC and PDP of having sympathy for terrorists, Singh said the BJP finished terrorism in J-K to a large extent. We will not tolerate terror activities at any cost. Is taking the lives of Hindus, Muslims or Christian by terrorists is acceptable to you? Reiterating the BJPs assertion that Article 370 has become a history, and resolve that it can never be restored, the defence minister said, We have finished this constitutional provision to end your misery and bring prosperity to J&K. What Article 370 gave to you? The Congress, NC and the PDP used it to mislead you. Advertisement Who has created the atmosphere of terror in J&K the BJP or those who ruled J&K for a long time? Singh said the change is visible in J-K with terror on decline, and roads, highways and government schemes reaching every nook and corner of the union territory. We know there are many who try to create hatred against us. But you know me and you have seen the working of the prime minister. We never do politics on the basis of caste, creed and religion. We do politics based on justice and humanity, the defence minister said, urging people to vote for the party candidate and ensure his victory. Advertisement He said schemes brought by the Modi government benefit every section of society as we treat everyone, whether a Hindu, Muslim or Christian, living on the soil of India as our family. But the Congress, NC and PDP have never done justice with J-K and always pursue discriminatory policies, he said. I want to tell them that politics should not be done to form governments by misleading people but our effort should be in the direction of building society and nation, he said, adding PM Modi wants to make India a developed nation and J-K a developed state. The former President accused Democrats of rampant Cheating and Skullduggery and said that he would imprison anyone who engage in malicious behaviour during the November polls read more While reiterating his false claims that the 2020 US Presidential Election was stolen, former US President Donald Trump unleashed lethal warnings against anyone who engages in unscrupulous behaviour during the 2024 race results. Trump issued the threat in a post on TruthSocial. The former President accused Democrats of rampant Cheating and Skullduggery and said that he would imprison anyone who engages in malicious behavior during the November polls. The 2024 Election, where Votes have just started being cast, will be under the closest professional scrutiny and, WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again, the former reality TV star wrote on TruthSocial. Advertisement Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country, he added. The threat is part of the wide-ranging agenda he laid out during his campaign after losing the 2020 polls to US President Joe Biden. Not a novel threat This is not the first time Trump has threatened to put his political opponents in prison. In 2016, way before the 2020 polls, the business-mogul-turned-politician threatened to jail his then-presidential opponent Hillary Clinton. However, the 2020 election saga saw poll workers across the country being subject to threats, most famously Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss. Two election workers entire lives were uprooted when Trump and his allies targeted them after the 2020 election with false accusations of fraud. Trumps provocative statements eventually led to the January 6 riots in Capitol Hill. Trump reiterated his desire to ensure that the integrity of the polls remains intact, while he was addressing a crowd in Wisconsin. He claimed that the GOP must stop Democrats from cheating. We gotta stop the cheating. If we stop that cheating, if we dont let them cheat, I dont even have to campaign anymore, Trump said. Were going to win by so much. In the meantime, too big to rig, too big to rig. Meanwhile, the Democrats said that the Republicans are attempting to sow seeds of doubt about the result if Donald Trump loses. With inputs from agencies. Johnsons new company, Better Earth Limited, also came under scrutiny after it employed Charlotte Owen, a junior aide with just a few years of work experience, whom he elevated to the House of Lords last year at the age of 29 read more The former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom came under major scrutiny after reports emerged that he failed to disclose the fact that he met with a uranium lobbyist while he was in office. According to The Observer, what makes the meeting controversial is the fact that it took place right before the British premier entered into a new business with a controversial Iranian-Canadian uranium entrepreneur. Johnsons new company, Better Earth Limited, also came under scrutiny after it employed Charlotte Owen, a junior aide with just a few years of work experience, whom he elevated to the House of Lords last year at the age of 29. Transparency campaigners also noted that there appear to be serious public interest questions to be answered over the nature and timeline of Johnsons relationship with his co-director, Amir Adnani. Advertisement Adnani is the founder, president and CEO of Uranium Energy Corp, which is a US-based mining and exploration company, championed by former US President Donald Trumps advisor, Steve Bannon. Collaboration between Johnson and Adnani Amir Adnani is the director of a network of offshore companies based in the British Virgin Islands. The Canadian citizen incorporated Better Earth into his business empire last year. On May 1, Companies House filings revealed that The Rt Hon Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson was added as a director and co-chairman of the entity. In the summer of this year, Owen joined the company to work alongside Johnson as Better Earths vice president, The Observer reported. In April 2024, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), which oversees ex-ministerial appointments, explicitly warned Johnson about the broad overlap between his role in the office and his company, along with the unknown risks it entails because of the lack of transparency over the firms clients. The unknown nature of Better Earths clients specifically that there is a risk of a client engaging in lobbying the UK government, the statement from the Cabinet Office at that time noted. the unknown nature of Better Earths clients specifically that there is a risk of a client engaging in lobbying the UK government, The Observer reported. Advertisement Meanwhile, Johnsons team reassured Acoba that the former premier did not meet with, nor did he make any decisions specific to Better Earth during his time in the office. However, the latest reports suggest that Johnson met Scott Melbye, the executive vice president of Uranium Energy Corp Adnanis company while he was in office. After the meeting in 2022, Adnani wrote on X, then Twitter, that Melbye and Johnson spoke about nuclear power and uranium. However, this was not recorded in the British premiers official diary. Just days before leaving office, Johnson announced a 700m investment in the controversial Sizewell C reactor, stating the country needed to Go nuclear, go large!. Advertisement Among those who cheered about the plan was Adnani. Boris Johnson plans to sign off on new 30bn nuclear plant in his final week in power! #uranium, he wrote on X at that time. The whole saga also raised questions about Johnsons ties with Owen, an erstwhile junior political adviser who was eventually appointed to the House of Lords. Many question the fact that, with just a few years of job experience under her belt, she now holds the position for life. She eventually got a senior role in Better Earth as well. This made many question if she was qualified for either of the jobs. News / National by Staff reporter Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal said that India sent food assistance to Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi on Saturday.In a post on X, Mr Jaiswal said, "India sends humanitarian aid to Zimbabwe. A consignment of 1000MT rice departed from the Nhava Sheva port for Zimbabwe today. This would help meeting food security needs of the Zimbabwean people."India also sent 1,300MT Maize to Zambia to meet food and nutrition needs of Zambian people.In a post on X, Mr Jaiswal said, "India's humanitarian assistance for the people of Zambia. A shipment of food grains (1300MT Maize) departed today for Zambia. This would help to meet food and nutrition needs of our friendly Zambian people."The MEA Spokesperson said that India also sent humanitarian assistance for the people in Malawi to address the consequences of the severe drought caused by El Nino phenomenon.In a post on X, Mr Jaiswal said, "Humanitarian assistance in solidarity with the people of Malawi. A consignment of 1000MT rice departed today for Malawi, to address the consequences of the severe drought caused by El Nino phenomenon."El Nino and La Nina are climate patterns in the Pacific Ocean that can affect weather worldwide.Earlier on April 26, at least 155 people have lost their lives as a result of flooding and landslides caused by heavy rains in Tanzania, according to Al Jazeera.In an address at the Parliament on Thursday, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said that the current rainy season has been made worse by the El Nino climate pattern, which has resulted in flooding and the destruction of roads, bridges, and railroads."The heavy El Nino rains, accompanied by strong winds, floods and landslides in various parts of the country, have caused significant damage," Majaliwa said. House Speaker Mike Johnson has proposed a six-month stop-gap funding bill that includes a controversial requirement for proof of citizenship for voter registration. The bill is expected to face strong opposition from Democrats and may complicate efforts to avoid a government shutdown read more House Speaker Mike Johnson is heeding the demands of the more conservative wing of his Republican conference and has teed up a vote this week on a bill that would keep the federal government funded for six more months and require states to obtain proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, when registering a person to vote. Congress needs to approve a stop-gap spending bill before the end of the budget year on Sept. 30 to avoid a government shutdown just a few weeks before voters go the polls and elect the next president. Advertisement Johnsons decision to combine the proof of citizenship mandate with government funding complicates prospects for getting that task done. The bill is not expected to go anywhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate, if it even makes it that far. But the effort could help Johnson, R-La., next year should House Republicans retain their majority and he seeks to become speaker again. The vote also could give Republicans an issue to go after Democrats in competitive swing districts as Republicans make immigration-related matters a campaign cornerstone. Today, House Republicans are taking a critically important step to keep the federal government funded and to secure our federal election process, Johnson said Friday. Congress has a responsibility to do both, and we must ensure that only American citizens can decide American elections. Democrats will oppose the GOP effort overwhelmingly and warn that any continuing resolution must have buy-in from both political parties. They said Johnson was making the same mistake then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., did a year ago as he tried to placate conservatives. In the end, they rejected his efforts, forcing him to rely on Democrats to get a temporary spending bill passed. That fight led just a few days later to eight Republicans joining with Democrats in removing McCarthy from the speakers job. As we have said repeatedly, avoiding a government shutdown requires bipartisanship, not a bill drawn up by one party. Speaker Johnson is making the same mistake as former Speaker McCarthy did a year ago, by wasting precious time catering to the hard MAGA right, Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Patty Murray of Washington state said in a statement, referring to Donald Trumps Make America Great Again movement. This tactic didnt work last September and it will not work this year either. Advertisement They said that if Johnson drives House Republicans down this highly partisan path, the odds of a shutdown go way up, and Americans will know that the responsibility of a shutdown will be on the House Republicans hands. Schumer is the Senates majority leader. Murray leads the Senate Appropriations Committee. The voter registration measure is popular with House Republicans. The House Freedom Caucus, which generally includes the chambers most conservative members, called for it to be attached to a stop-gap bill that would keep the government funded into early 2025. Republicans say that requiring proof of citizenship would ensure U.S. elections are only for American citizens, improving confidence in the nations federal election system, something that Trump has sought to undermine over the years. Advertisement Opponents say it is already against the law for noncitizens to vote in federal elections and that the document requirements would disenfranchise millions of people who do not have the necessary documents readily available when they get a chance to register, say at a concert, county fair or at a college voter registration drive. In an earlier vote on the voter registration bill, Republicans unanimously backed it while all but five Democrats voted against it. President Joe Bidens administration strongly opposed that measure, saying the the alleged justification for the bill is easily disproven. Some Republicans are arguing that if Schumer will allow a vote, assuming the bill passes the House, then a government shutdown would be on him. Advertisement If Chuck Schumer decides he doesnt want to bring it, then Chuck Schumer will be deciding that he wants to shut down government. Its not us, said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., during an interview on Fox Business News. Trump and other Republicans have revved up their complaints about the issue of noncitizens voting with the influx of migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border under Bidens administration. They are contending Democrats let them in to add them to the voter rolls. But the available evidence shows that noncitizen voting in federal elections is incredibly rare. Another major question to address as part of the short-term spending bill is how long to extend funding. Before the August recess, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said he preferred that the next president be able to pursue top priorities without the distraction of a messy spending fight. Advertisement But the House Freedom Caucus is banking on Trump winning the White House and putting the GOP in better position to secure the spending cuts and policy priorities they desire. So they want to extend funding until after the inauguration in January. Congress returns to Washington on Monday after spending the past five weeks back in their home states and districts. The short-term bill is necessary because the House and Senate are nowhere near completing their work on the dozen annual spending bills that keep government agencies and programs operational during the coming budget year. So far, the House has passed five of the 12 annual spending bills, while the Senate has passed none, though the Senate has opted to take a more bipartisan approach to the challenge by moving 11 of the bills through the Senate Appropriations Committee with broad support from lawmakers in both parties. Meanwhile, Republicans in the House are using their majority to push bills through with the vast majority of Democrats in opposition. Rodriguez confirmed the news in an Instagram post on Saturday. She maintained that the Venezuelan opposition leader left the Spanish embassy where he was seeking asylum read more The opposition's presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez shows his ballot as he votes in the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, who was touted as the true winner of the elections held in the country, has fled amid a looming arrest warrant. Venezuelas Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Saturday that Gonzalez left the country for Spain. Rodriguez confirmed the news in an Instagram post on Saturday. She maintained that the Venezuelan opposition leader left the Spanish embassy where he was seeking asylum. Today, September 7, the opposition citizen Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia has left the country, who, having voluntarily taken refuge at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in Caracas for several days, requested before that government the processing of political asylum, Rodriguez said in a statement she shared on Instagram. Advertisement In this regard, once the pertinent contacts between both governments had taken place, the facts of the case had been met and in compliance with international legality, Venezuela has granted the due safe conduct for the sake of the tranquillity and political peace of the country. This conduct reaffirms the respect for the law that has prevailed in the actions of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in the international community, she added. The looming arrest warrant Venezuela has been embroiled in a major political crisis since authorities declared that the countrys President Nicolas Maduro won the highly contentious polls on July 28. For days, Gonzalez has been in hiding in the Spanish embassy, and an arrest warrant was issued after the disputed results of the elections. The opposition has maintained that it has evidence that Gonzalez had won by a comfortable margin. They shared the voting tally to support their arguments, following which the US and several other Latin American nations considered Gonzalez as the winner. Before leaving the country, the Venezuelan leader has been accused of ignoring three successive summons to appear before prosecutors. The arrest warrant came as post-election violence continues to grapple Venezuela and has already claimed 27 lives. In their crackdown on the protests, the Maduro administration has arrested 2,400 people, and most of them have been sent to high-security prisons. Advertisement With inputs from agencies. News / National by Staff reporter Avocado producers from Zimbabwe will join South African exporters in sending fruit to China, it has emerged.According to the Harare-based Horticultural Development Council, "Avocados can now be exported to the Chinese market for the first time, thanks to a new agriculture protocol signed between the two countries at the ongoing Forum on China and Africa Cooperation (Focac) in Beijing."The council noted the opportunity and emphasized the need for strategic intent to meet the Chinese market's strict requirements."We are ready to discuss investment requirements."Zimbabwe is projected to produce a record 6 000 metric tonnes of avocados in 2024."The volume of exports to China would depend on the terms outlined in the new protocol, particularly sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, and the associated costs for exporters, the Council remarked."The body is also "working with stakeholders to pursue similar protocols for blueberries, pecans, and macadamia nuts for the Chinese market". Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2024. News / National by Staff reporter South Africa's (SA) former President Thabo Mbeki has suggested the deadly 2008 xenophobic attacks in Alexandra were part of a planned operation to drive Zimbabweans back home to vote out Robert Mugabe.Mbeki made the startling revelations this week during a conversation with students at the University of South Africa, in Pretoria. He said there was an intelligence report which he was privy to as President at the time, that lists the people and the motives behind the attacks."Historically, the African community here has never been xenophobic about other Africans. So, 2008 all manner of trouble breaks out in Alexandra Township in Johannesburg, attacks on these foreigners, particularly Zimbabweans. Then it spread elsewhere. Xenophobia, Afrophobia.So, I say when I saw that, as President, this is not Alexandra township. Alexandra, for decades, has had Zimbabweans and Mozambicans, and so on. There was never ever this kind of conflict.Why? There's a mistake we made as government, and that is not to declassify an intelligence document about what happened in Alexander in 2008. That thing was organised to drive the Zimbabweans out of the country back to Zimbabwe because there were elections in Zimbabwe.People were being driven out; they were going to vote against Bob (Robert) Mugabe there. An Intelligence Report which has got the names and the dates and venues where people met and planned this and so on. It is presented as a xenophobic attack by the people of Alex against others, it was wrong. It was organised, systematic, for reportedly political purpose. I'm saying the mistake we made, we should have this declassified, that Intelligence Report.It's got the names and the dates and the venues of the meetings, which were organised in order to produce this outcome. We've got many, many challenges of the economy here. Unemployment, very serious problem. The economy is in crisis," Mbeki said. Scott Ritter Says Ending Cooperation With RT, Sputnik Due to US Sanctions Sputnik News 20240905 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter, who works as a political analyst now, said that US sanctions force him to end his cooperation with RT and Sputnik, and thanked his Russian colleagues for the professionalism they have shown over the past few years. The US Department of the Treasury issued a statement on Wednesday to announce sanctions against the Rossiya Segodnya media group, RIA Novosti, RT, Sputnik and Ruptly. The sanctions affected Rossiya Segodnya and RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan and a number of other senior executives. "The actions by the Department of the Treasury in levying new sanctions against RT, Sputnik, and other Russian media organizations has made it impossible for me to continue my work as an outside contributor for RT and Sputnik, as well as participating in interviews and other collaborations with other Russian media," Ritter said on X. He said his work with Russian media organizations was legitimate journalism. "I reject the notion that the work I have done over the past years with the newly sanctioned Russian media organizations has been anything other than legitimate journalism, the content of which has been factually correct and analytically sound, and always of my own creation," Ritter said. However, he said, he is committed to obeying US laws. "Nonetheless, I am fully committed to obeying US law, and as such will be terminating all contractual relationships with both RT and Sputnik effective immediately, as well as suspending my participation in any and all media interaction with sanctioned individuals and organizations until which time it is deemed lawful to do so by US authorities," Ritter said. He said he will continue to exercise his free speech rights. "I am deeply grateful for the professionalism of all of my Russian colleagues over the past several years, and am proud to have made their acquaintance. I regret the actions of my government in silencing legitimate journalistic outlets, and look forward to the day when freedom of speech and a free press is not constrained by a dubious 'Russian exception' that is violative of Constitutional norms and values," Ritter said. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, commenting on the US sanctions imposed against the Rossiya Segodnya media group, told Sputnik that attacks on Russian media are the result of operations by Western security services to "sterilize" the information space. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Taiwan intelligence chief attends Latin American, Caribbean meeting ROC Central News Agency 09/07/2024 10:24 PM Taipei, Sept. 7 (CNA) Director-General of Taiwan's National Security Bureau (NSB) Tsai Ming-yen (eZa) recently attended a regional meeting of intelligence chiefs that was held in Paraguay, and he met with that country's President Santiago Pena, the NSB said Saturday. The annual meeting of intelligence and security chiefs from Latin America and the Caribbean, including nine from Taiwan's diplomatic allies, raised concerns about China's political and economic infiltration in the region, the NSB said in a statement. In the meeting, Taiwan shared information about China's interference in Taiwan's presidential and legislative elections in January and the response measures taken by Taiwan, said the NSB, which did not disclose the date of the regional conference. The participating intelligence chiefs signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the annual meeting, agreeing to work with each other to strengthen international intelligence cooperation and exchange experience in boosting intelligence efforts, according to the NSB. Under the MOU, the signatory countries will seek to build capacity by means of cross border training, thus helping to ensure security, the bureau said. During Tsai's visit to Paraguay, he also delivered a letter to Pena from Taiwan President Lai Ching-te (ea), who was elected in January, the bureau added. Pena sent greetings to Lai and reiterated his appreciation for the friendship between the two countries, which have maintained diplomatic relations for the past 67 years, according to the bureau. (By Wu Shu-wei and Frances Huang) Enditem/pc NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Kentucky National Guard Hosts State Partner Djibouti By Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Crane, Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs Office September 6, 2024 BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- Logistics officers from the Djiboutian Armed Forces (FAD) visited the 1792nd Combat Support Sustainment Battalion while in Kentucky Aug. 19-22. The visit was part of the Department of Defense National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program. Kentucky and Djibouti have been partners in the program since 2015. The focus of the engagement was to build relationships between the military members of the two countries' logisticians and maintainers. "The event was truly significant for both parties in learning and refining their logistics and maintenance," said Capt. Wesley Hanna, the incoming bilateral affairs officer for Djibouti. "It was especially impactful for the FAD representatives as a precursor to the upcoming construction of a new logistics base in Djibouti." Each shared their respective protocols, procedures and lessons learned to support the relationships, maintenance procedures and the KYNG maintenance organization. "By engaging with KYNG and seeing our techniques in action, the FAD is able to glean what is applicable to their organization in planning for future maintenance and logistics upgrades and refinements," added Hanna. During their visit to Bowing Green, they toured the 1792nd's Headquarters, their field maintenance shop and the famous Corvette Museum. They also visited the Field Maintenance Shop 4 at Boone National Guard Center, the Combined Support Maintenance Shop in Richmond and the Unit Training Equipment Site at Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center in Greenville. "We surely keep this relation for long term, as we told Col. Cooper (SPP director), for 100 years and more," said Lt. Col. Amina Mohamad Moussa, FAD logistics officer. "We need to learn from your expertise and experience, especially in the logistics domain." The Soldiers from Djibouti also thanked the Kentucky Soldiers for their hospitality. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address SECNAV Del Toro Attends USNS Lansing (EPF 16) Keel Laying at Austal Shipyard US Navy - Press Release 06 September 2024 MOBILE, Ala. (Sept. 6, 2024) - Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro attended the keel laying ceremony for USNS Lansing (EPF 16) alongside ship sponsor Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in Mobile, Alabama, Sept. 6, 2024. The Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) shipbuilding program provides high speed, shallow draft transportation capability to support the intra-theater maneuver of personnel, supplies and equipment for the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Army. "Our EPFs are force multipliers for our combat logistics fleet," said Secretary Del Toro. "They allow for quicker responses to crises, strengthen our ability to conduct humanitarian and disaster relief operations, and provide logistical support for special forces missions." Lansing will be manned by dedicated crews, comprised of both civilian mariners from the Military Sealift Command and embarked military personnel, whose expertise and teamwork will ensure the ship operates at peak efficiency, delivering critical resources and services exactly when and where they're needed. The keel laying represents the success and importance of our Maritime Statecraft initiative, which encompasses a national, whole-of-government effort to restore the comprehensive maritime power of our nation. "Michigan has a world-class skilled workforce and is a leader in developing the techno-industrial workforce we need to build and assemble the ships, munitions, parts, and pieces our Navy, Marine Corps, and indeed our nation need to promote peace around the world," said Del Toro. "Austal, building this ship, represents another key line of effort under our new, national approach to Maritime Statecrafta foreign shipbuilder establishing a U.S. subsidiary, investing in America, and partnering with us to build American ships." USNS Lansing is the first ship named in honor of Michigan's capital city, Lansing. A previous USS Lansing (DE 388) was named for Aviation Machinist Mate First Class William Henry Lansing and decommissioned in 1965. Bridging the gap between low-speed sealift and high-speed airlift, EPFs transport personnel, equipment and supplies over operational distances with access to littoral offload points including austere, minor and degraded ports in support of the Global War on Terrorism/Theater Security Cooperation Program, Intra-theater Operational/Littoral Maneuver and Sustainment and Seabasing. EPFs enable the rapid projection, agile maneuver and sustainment of modular, tailored forces in response to a wide range of military and civilian contingencies such as Non-Combatant Evacuation Operations, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief. Secretary Del Toro made the announcement alongside Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Mayor Andy Schor of Lansing, Michigan, July 22, in addition to announcing the Michigan Maritime Manufacturing (M-3) initiative. Austal USA, located in Mobile, Alabama, was realized in 1999 for the purpose of reaching the ever increasing commercial and defense aluminum vessel market in the United States. Our shipbuilding facility occupies 164 acres on the eastern shore of the Mobile River and is strategically positioned at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico. -30- NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israeli drone strike kills three people in Lebanon IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Sep 7, 2024 Tehran, IRNA -- An Israeli drone attack in southern Lebanon has killed at least three emergency workers, according to an announcement by the Lebanese Health Ministry. It made the announcement on Saturday, saying that the emergency workers were killed after the strike hit their vehicle in the town of Froun. The workers from the Lebanese Civil Defense -- which is a public emergency medical service involved in patient transportation, search and rescue activities and fire-fighting response - were extinguishing a fire in Froun when their vehicle was hit by the Israeli drone. Lebanon's Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi condemned the Israeli attack, saying that such crimes are rejected under humanitarian law. The Israeli regime has killed dozens of Lebanese civilians since fighting began with Hezbollah resistance movement at Lebanon's southern border on October 8. The fighting began a day after Israel unleashed its devastating war on Gaza, with Hezbollah being engaged in clashes with the regime to support the Palestinian people in Gaza. 4194 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran FM commends Yemen's support for Palestinians amid Gaza war IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Sep 7, 2024 Tehran, IRNA -- Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi praised Yemen's unwavering support the Palestinian resistance amid the Israeli regime's ongoing genocidal war on the Gaza Strip. In a phone conversation Saturday with Jamal Ahmed Ali Amer, the foreign minister of Yemen's National Salvation Government, Araghchi expressed gratitude for Yemen's firm stance on the Israeli war crimes against Palestinians. He emphasized the importance of strengthening bilateral relations and continued consultations between Iran and Yemen to enhance regional security. The top diplomat noted that while many countries merely express their positions against Israel, Yemen has defended the Palestinian people in practice. Amer, for his part, called for strengthening of mutual cooperation with the Islamic Republic and underscored Yemen's steadfast support for the Palestinian people. 4353**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Zionist regime pursuing strategy of "scorched earth" in Palestine: Iran FM spokesman IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Sep 7, 2024 Tehran, IRNA -- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani has claimed that the Zionist Israeli regime is disappointed of victory over resistance and the Palestinian nation and is pursuing the strategy of "scorched earth". He made the remarks in a post on his official X account on Saturday few hours after the Israeli troops withdrew from Jenin and Tulkarm in northern and northwestern of the occupied West Bank, with reference to the footage of the "insane destruction of all the urban and services infrastructure of the #Gaza Strip and now those of some northern parts of the West Bank, in particular in Jenin and Tulkarm". The Iranian spokesman said that countries and international institutions are morally, humanly and legally duty-bound to prevent the recurrence of war crimes in the West Bank by the Israeli regime. 9341**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address News / National by Stephen Jakes Gwanda North community members based in South Africa have formed a funeral and bodies repatriation services group fund due to desperation of some colleagues whenever death strikes across the Limpopo.Amatshetshe Bereavement Fund and Amatshetshe Funerals and Repatriation Services (AFR) chairperson, Vusumuzi Dube said the group drew members from Gwanda North villages such as Shake, Mkwidzi, Dambashoko and Magedleni formed an organization which they termed Matshetshe Bereavement Fund (MBF) in 2019.He said the organization was formed by a group of about 40 members."The purpose of the organization was initially to help Matshetshe community members in SA during bereavement by issuing condolences contributions of R8000 towards the bereaved family after noting the challenges Zimbabweans face in difficult times of bereavement in South Africa," Dube said."The organization was not intended to be a funeral home but 'umakhalisana'. There is no joining fee, but members contribute only R100 per month. Each principal member presents six beneficiaries under his/her name."Dube said a committee was established and is composed of him as Chairperson, Ngqabutho Sibanda Vice chairperson), Sitholile Ndlovu Secretary, Busi Masuku core secretary, Sizakele Ngwenya, Bulisani Hanje Ndlovu and Mthandazo Ncube account signatories, Nkosinathi Nkomo, Thembelani Nkomo, Moset Nkomo and Siphathisiwe Nkomo, Foster Nduna are committee members."The organization has benefited 13 different families across Matshetshe communal lands since its inception in 2019," he said."Now, MBF has a total of 62 members from the wards and villages under chief Mbiko Masuku."Dube said it has a business bank account at First National Bank (FNB) and it is currently concentrated in Gauteng Province of South Africa."However, the intention is to spread to all parts of South Africa and to expand the scope from Matshetsheni communal area to all parts of Gwanda, Matabeleland Provinces, Zimbabwe as a whole and to SADC countries," he said."Motivation behind this MBF and the following AFR has been noted with pain the escalating number of Zimbabweans dying in poverty in South Africa,having no policies at all and families struggling to repatriate bodies.""Secondly, other foreign nationals in South Africa have no documents and stable jobs that enable them to join funeral policies, hence we decided to come to their rescue by accepting every African regardless of his/her ethnic origin starting from micro level to macro perspective."He appealed to well wishers/NGOS/governments and individuals to support their cause materially and in kind."We also urge our people to join in big numbers. Our new dimension is to pave a way to the formation of our own funeral home by the name of Amatshetshe Funeral and Repatriation Services (AFR)," Dube said.He said as the Director being MBF chair, the sister organization offers among other things; funeral services, repatriation services across South African provinces, SADC countries mostly Botswana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe Swaziland, and Mozambique."The newly formed parlour intends to assist even undocumented foreigners in South Africa who can not join insurance companies because they neither have permits nor asylum papers and identity cards," he said."Every SADC citizen is accepted with his or her home country identification book/card. There are currently plans or options/ policies for joining and there is no joining fee. Monthly subscriptions starting from as little as R70 can cover a minimum of 10 members."Dube said there are policy 2 for R105, policy 3 for R120, policy 4 for R160, policy 5 for R220 and policy 6 for R240. Gaza war: 22 Palestinians martyred in last 24 hours IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Sep 7, 2024 Tehran, IRNA -- Some 22 people were martyred in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours in the brutal Israeli war in the enclave. The Israeli regime conducted attacks on Al Burayj and the Nuseirat refugee camps over the past 24 hours, killing 22 Palestinians, Al Jazeera reported. The death toll since October 7, 2023, also exceeded 40,930 on Saturday, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry also reported that nearly 94,616 people have been injured in the ongoing assault. According to the Palestinian Sama news agency, Israeli warplanes have bombed the Haleema Al Saadia Secondary Girls School in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. Four people were martyred and 15 others wounded in the airstrike on the UN-run school, which has been housing refugees since the onset of the Gaza war. 7129**4354 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hezbollah pounds Israeli regime's Golan Brigade headquarters IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Sep 7, 2024 Tehran, IRNA -- The Lebanese resistance movement, Hezbollah, announced a missile attack on the headquarters of the Golani Brigade of the Israeli regime's army. Hezbollah announced in a statement on Saturday that its fighters targeted the Jabal Neriya Golani base with Katyusha rockets in retaliation for the atrocities committed by the Israeli regime against residential buildings, especially the regime's recent aggression against the Froun village in southern Lebanon. According to the statement, the Jabal Neriya Golani base is currently the headquarters of the Golani Brigade of the regime's army. On Friday, Hezbollah also announced in a statement that it had attacked the Ma'yan Baruch military base, the Zabadin barracks, as well as the buildings used by the Zionist military in the town of al-Mutala'a in the north of occupied Palestine with drones and missiles. Since the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Storm by the Palestinian resistance groups, Hezbollah has carried out daily and heavy strikes against the Zionist regime's positions in order to engage a large number of its forces in the north of occupied Palestine and reduce the pressure on the resistance in Gaza. The regime's Army Radio recently reported that in August, Hezbollah launched 1,307 rockets from southern Lebanon towards the occupied territories, which is the highest rate since the onset of the genocidal war against the Gaza Strip. Al Mayadeen, the official TV channel of Hezbollah, said later today that the resistance group launched a rocket attack against the Zionist Hadab Yaron base at 8:15 local time. The Zionist media have also confirmed that some missiles have been fired from southern Lebanon to Al Jalil. 4208**9341**4354 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israeli regime bombs another school in Gaza, killing four people IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Sep 7, 2024 Tehran, IRNA -- The Israeli regime's army has bombed another school in the northern Gaza Strip, killing four people. According to the Palestinian Sama news agency, Israeli warplanes bombed the Haleema Al Saadia Secondary Girls School in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. Four people were martyred and 15 others wounded in the airstrike on the UN-run school, which has been housing refugees since the onset of the Gaza war. Earlier, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini said that more than 70 percent of UN schools in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged, and most of them have been turned into crowded shelters for hundreds of thousands of displaced families and cannot be used for education. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip had previously announced that the number of martyrs in the Gaza war had risen to 40,878. At least 94,454 Palestinians have also been injured in the regime's genocidal war. The Zionist regime has been waging a devastating war against the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023. During this period, 70% of the homes and infrastructure of the Gaza Strip have been severely damaged, and the siege and severe humanitarian crisis, along with unprecedented famine and hunger, threaten the lives of the residents of the Gaza Strip. 4208**4354 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Sept. 6: 'Axis of Resistance' operations against Israeli occupation Iran Press TV Saturday, 07 September 2024 6:27 PM By Press TV Website Staff Amid Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed at least 40,939 Palestinians so far, the majority of them children, resistance groups in Palestine and across the region continue their operations against the Tel Aviv regime and its Western backers. The major operations carried out by the Palestinian and regional resistance groups on Monday, September 6, are as follows: Al-Quds Brigades' operations on September 6: Downed an Israeli military reconnaissance drone of the "EVO Max" type while it was conducting surveillance missions over the central Gaza Strip. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades' on September 6: Targeted Israeli military vehicle gatherings with mortar shells in the area of advancement east of Rafah city, in the southern Gaza Strip. Martyr Omar Al-Qasim Forces' operations on September 6: Targeted Israeli forces in the Al-Tannour neighborhood, east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, with mortar shells. Hezbollah's operations on September 6: Targeted the Maayan Baruch site with a drone. Struck the Zebdin barracks with missiles. Attacked military buildings in the settlement of Metula with appropriate weapons. Launched missile strikes on the Ruwaysat al-Qarn site. Targeted surveillance equipment at the Metula site with appropriate weapons. Attacked Israeli forces in the vicinity of the Abirim settlement with drones. Struck a military building in the Manara settlement with appropriate weapons. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Three Lebanese civil defense members killed in Israeli attack Iran Press TV Saturday, 07 September 2024 6:04 PM The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health says three emergency personnel have been killed when the Israeli military attacked a civil defense team as they were putting out fires in southern Lebanon. "Israeli enemy targeting of a Lebanese civil defense team that was putting out fires sparked by the recent Israeli strikes in the village of Froun led to the martyrdom of three emergency responders," the health ministry said in a statement on Saturday. Two others were wounded, one of them critically, the statement added. The health ministry "condemns this blatant Israeli attack that targeted a team from an official body of the Lebanese state", the statement noted. The Israeli regime has repeatedly attacked southern Lebanon since October 7 last year, when it launched a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed at least 40,939 Palestinians, most of them women and children, so far. Another 94,616 individuals have also been injured in the onslaught. In retaliation, Hezbollah has launched near-daily rocket attacks on Israeli positions. Some 610 people have been killed on the Lebanese border, including at least 135 civilians, according to an AFP tally. Israel says at least 24 soldiers and 26 settlers have been killed in the area. The fighting has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands from the northern part of the occupied territories, amid rocket fire and shelling carried out by Hezbollah and allied Palestinian groups. Hezbollah has already fought off two Israeli wars against Lebanon in 2000 and 2006. The resistance forced the regime to retreat in both conflicts. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel using 'starvation campaign' in Gaza: UN expert Iran Press TV Saturday, 07 September 2024 2:51 PM A UN expert has said Israel is carrying out a "starvation campaign" against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, adding that the regime is using humanitarian aid as a weapon of war to kill people in the besieged strip. In a report to the UN General Assembly this week, Michael Fakhri, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, said that the Israeli military has severely restricted the flow of food, medicines and other humanitarian supplies to Gaza since it launched its aggression against the besieged territory in early October last year. "By December, Palestinians in Gaza made up 80 percent of the people in the world experiencing famine or catastrophic hunger," Fakhri said. "Never in post-war history had a population been made to go hungry so quickly and so completely as was the case for the 2.3 million Palestinians living in Gaza," he added. The UN special rapporteur went on to say that since the beginning of the war, he has received direct reports of the destruction of Gaza's food system, which also has been documented by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and others. He also stressed that "Israel then used humanitarian aid as a political and military weapon to harm and kill the Palestinian people in Gaza." Fakhri further noted that Israel has been deploying "the full range of techniques of hunger and starvation against the Palestinians, perfecting the degree of control, suffering and death that it can cause through food systems" since 76 years ago when the illegal occupying regime was created. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied the allegations, saying accusations of Israel limiting humanitarian aid are "outrageously false." Israel has repeatedly closed the tightly controlled crossings in a deliberate attempt to block the flow of food, medicines and basic supplies into Gaza, using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare. The Kerem Shalom crossing is the main entry point for incoming aid to southern Gaza. Palestinians in Gaza say they struggle to afford enough food for their families. Israel waged its brutal war on the Gaza Strip on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance groups carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for the regime's intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people. The Tel Aviv regime has so far killed at least 40,939 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 94,616 others. Meanwhile, Palestine's official Wafa news agency, citing medical sources, reported that a young girl from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis has died of malnutrition. The girl, identified as Yaqin al-Astal, succumbed to both malnutrition and dehydration amidst a severe shortage of supplies, the news agency said. Wafa further stated that at least 37 children have died of malnutrition since Israel began its devastating war on Gaza. The latest development came a day after UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric called the humanitarian situation in Gaza "beyond catastrophic," saying that more than one million people in central and southern Gaza did not receive any food rations in August. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UNRWA warns of soaring rates of anxiety, depression in Gaza amid Israel's genocidal war Iran Press TV Saturday, 07 September 2024 1:46 PM The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) says eleven months of intense Israeli ground and airstrikes against Palestinians in Gaza have aggravated mental health and psychosocial support needs in the besieged territory. "Since October 2023, 2.1 million Palestinians living in Gaza have witnessed or experienced an unprecedented number of violent and traumatic events, including direct violence, repeated displacement, and the loss of loved ones, homes, and belongings," the world body said in a statement on Friday. "Such experiences have increased anxiety, depression, and other mental health and psychosocial problems. Extensive destruction of the healthcare system prevents even basic treatment of these conditions in the immediate and long term," it added. The UN agency noted that "both food security and nutrition clusters continue to experience access challenges; in August more than one million people did not receive any food rations in southern and central Gaza." It further elaborated that "continuous displacement is disrupting access to nutrition sites and distribution cycles, hindering the humanitarian partners' ability to maintain consistent service delivery." UNRWA chief: Humanity must prevail in Gaza Meanwhile, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini has reiterated his demand for a complete ceasefire in Gaza. "No one can take this any longer," he wrote in a post published on the social media platform X on Saturday. "Humanity must prevail." Israel has repeatedly equated UNRWA staff with members of the Palestinian Hamas resistance group in efforts to discredit them, providing no proof of the claims, while lobbying hard to have UNRWA closed as it is the only UN agency to have a specific mandate to look after the basic needs of Palestinian refugees. The Tel Aviv regime authorities argue that if the agency no longer exists, then the refugee issue must no longer exist, and the legitimate right for Palestinian refugees to return to their land will be unnecessary. Israel launched its atrocious onslaught against the Gaza Strip, targeting hospitals, residences, and houses of worship since Palestinian resistance movements launched a surprise attack, dubbed Operation al-Aqsa Storm, against the usurping regime on October 7. At least 40,939 Palestinians have been killed, most of them women and children. Another 94,616 individuals have sustained injuries as well. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address IRGC chief: Iran hit 12 Israeli vessels after its oil tankers targeted Iran Press TV Saturday, 07 September 2024 10:53 AM Chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami says Iran hit over a dozen Israeli vessels after the regime targeted Iranian oil tankers in international waters. "They (Israelis) hit 14 of our ships in order to choke off the export of crude oil. Initially, we did not know which party was responsible for the attacks as they were being conducted mysteriously. Finally, we discovered that the Zionist regime was accountable for them and 12 of their ships were hit. "Once their fifth ship was hit, they held up their hands and called for the cessation of the ship war," Salami said on Saturday during a visit by President Masoud Pezeshkian to Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters in the capital Tehran. He said when the UK seized an Iranian oil tanker off Gibraltar, "we took the Stena Impero and they surrendered", referring to the IRGC's confiscation of the British-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz in 2019. "They took two ships from us in Greece, we took two ships from them and finally they surrendered," Gen. Salami said, referring to Iran's retaliation in May 2022 after the US seizure of an Iranian tanker off the Greek coast. "When our two oil tankers headed to Venezuela, the Americans threatened to seize the two oil tankers. I myself and [IRGC Navy chief Rear Admiral Alireza] Tangsiri simulated the operation of seizing an American oil tanker and announced it on radio call. When the Americans saw it, our tankers reached their destination safely," he added. Salami stated that Iran was going through an extremely difficult period at the time as top Iranian anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani had been assassinated in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport, the COVID-19 pandemic had overwhelmed the country, economic sanctions were being applied at their maximum level, and enemies were trying to completely isolate the Islamic Republic. The IRGC then utilized all capacities at its disposal to domestically develop and manufacture coronavirus vaccines, mitigate the economic fallout caused as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, secure the shipping lanes, nullify sanctions, and fight off the threat of foreign-sponsored Takfiri terrorist groups, he said. "We successfully managed to shut off all the openings that the enemy had created. The safest shipping lanes now belong to those vessels carrying the Iranian flag," Salami added. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hezbollah targets Israeli military command center with Katyusha rockets Iran Press TV Saturday, 07 September 2024 9:08 AM Hezbollah has launched barrages of Katyusha rockets at an Israeli military command center in the north in retaliation for assaults on southern Lebanese regions. Hezbollah said in a brief statement that its members targeted the Golani Brigade headquarters at the Mount Neria base with salvos of rockets on Saturday morning, resulting in a direct hit. The statement said the operation came in support of steadfast Palestinians in Gaza and resistance factions fighting off Israeli aggression, and in retaliation for Israeli attacks on the southern Lebanese towns and villages, especially the recent assault on Froun village in the Bint Jbeil district. For its part, the Israeli military said at least 30 rockets were fired from southern Lebanon at areas on the northern side of the occupied territories. Meanwhile, sirens sounded in a number of communities close to the southern Lebanese border, warning of a suspected drone attack. Hezbollah also announced in a separate statement that it targeted the Israeli Hadab Yaron site with artillery shells. On Friday, Hezbollah targeted the Ma'ayan Baruch post with an explosive-laden drone, and later the Zebdine barracks and buildings and surveillance equipment in Israeli Metula and Menara military sites. The group also targeted a post in the occupied Shebaa Farms. Later in the day, Hezbollah targeted Israeli troops in Abirim with an array of kamikaze drones, in response to an Israeli strike that killed a Hezbollah fighter in the southern town of Kafra on Thursday. The Israeli regime has repeatedly attacked southern Lebanon since October 7 last year, when it launched a genocidal war on Gaza. In retaliation, Hezbollah has launched near-daily rocket attacks on Israeli positions. Hezbollah has already fought off two Israeli wars against Lebanon in 2000 and 2006. The resistance forced the regime to retreat in both conflicts. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Uzbekistan's Increasingly Influential First Daughter Seen As Successor To President Mirziyoev By RFE/RL's Uzbek Service September 07, 2024 Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev amended the country's constitution last year to pave the way for him to potentially stay in power for another 14 years. Critics say the authoritarian Mirziyoev may be planning to keep the presidency in the family for decades, grooming his 39-year-old daughter, Saida Mirziyoeva, as a possible successor. Mirziyoeva, the eldest of three children, joined the government in April 2019 as the deputy head of the Agency for Information and Mass Communications, a position that also automatically made her a deputy presidential adviser. Despite no prior experience in politics, Mirziyoeva rapidly rose through the ranks: In 2023, she was appointed the first assistance to the president, the second-highest position in the presidential administration after the head of state. "It's been a meteoric career rise for Mirziyoeva," says independent Uzbek journalist Jahongir Muhammad. 'A literally unknown person got the second-highest post in Uzbekistan out of the blue." Mirziyoeva has become one of the most visible politicians in Uzbekistan, frequently attending official meetings, greeting foreign dignitaries, touring the country's regions, and making diplomatic visits abroad. In a foreign trip last month, Mirziyoyeva visited neighboring Kazakhstan where she held an official meeting with President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev -- ahead of the arrival of her father. Experts say Mirziyoeva's rising profile not only means the Uzbek president is increasingly relying on his family to run the country but also signals he is preparing his offspring for the top job. Keeping the presidency in the family could provide a security guarantee for members of Mirziyoev's clan, many of whom have amassed vast fortunes since he took office in 2016. In the absence of democracy in Uzbekistan, the president's power is unchecked. Uzbek political experts say Mirziyoev is likely to follow the example of the first family in neighboring Turkmenistan, where strongman leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov handed over the presidency to his son, Serdar, in a managed election in 2022. Prior to taking office, Serdar Berdymukhammedov held several high-ranking government positions. "Uzbekistan is a dictatorship where the government is being run by the first family, who control everything," said Alisher Taksanov, a former Uzbek diplomat. "Almost all of Mirziyoev's relatives are in power -- either in ministries or other state agencies. The family also control the security services and businesses," the Switzerland-based Taksanov added. Mirziyoev -- who styled himself as a reformer -- has opened up the isolated Central Asian country, improved ties with its neighbors, released many political prisoners, and ended the notorious child labor in the cotton industry. However, he did not deliver true democratic reforms. There is no official political opposition or independent media in Uzbekistan, which with 37 million people is the most populous in Central Asia. The government also brutally crushes free speech and dissent. Taksanov predicts that under Uzbekistan's current conditions a transfer of political power from father to daughter could take place without any real opposition or public outcry. "Mirzioyev will announce: 'I have prepared a successor for you,' and the people will accept everything and vote for it as usual," the former diplomat said. Nadezhda Ataeva, head of the Paris-based Association of Human Rights In Central Asia, said Mirzioyeva's government work is a rehearsal for her taking the reigns of the presidency. "Recent videos indicate that Mirziyoeva is quite comfortable in the public arena. Her service in official positions increasingly resembles an internship before a career leap," Ataeva said. "Mirziyoeva commands much more power than was afforded her predecessors or any other official in the presidential administration." 'Another Contender' But not everyone believes Mirziyoeva's path to succeed her father would be as smooth as predicted. According to Alisher Ilhomov, head of the London-based research center Central Asia Due Diligence, there is another powerful contender for the presidency within the first family: Otabek Umarov, the president's trusted personal bodyguard who also happens to be married to his younger daughter, Shahnoza. The deputy head of the president's State Security Service, Umarov "has his own levers of influence, is close to the president, and accompanies him on trips and events," Ilhomov said. RFE/RL investigations indicate Umarov, 40, has accumulated enormous wealth through his family ties and is also widely seen as a behind-the-scenes power broker among the country's political and economic elites. Ilhomov said Umarov "acts more as a personal bodyguard than as an official who manages the entire presidential Security Service...[and holds] a very influential position" [with great access to the president]." He added that there is a "certain rivalry" between Umarov and Mirziyoeva. Two separate sources with knowledge of the situation spoke to RFE/RL about what they described as a conflict between Umarov and Komil Allamjonov, a close associate of Mirziyoeva. One of the sources claimed Umarov suspected Allamjonov was behind the exposure of an "unofficial office" that put pressure on businesses and officials working on Umarov's behalf. Uzbek authorities did not respond to RFE/RL's requests for comment. Security Service's Role Any transfer of power in Uzbekistan must have the backing of the powerful security service, Ilhomov and other experts say. Mirziyoeva can currently count on the support of her father-in-law, Botir Tursunov, who is the deputy chairman of the State Security Service, Ilhomov said. But he does not rule out Umarov making a move to the security service in the future, effectively becoming a "kingmaker." "In such a scenario, Umarov would have more chances to become president, unless Mirziyoeva manages to install her own person [in the security service] since Tursunov is getting old," the analyst said. The first family have never publicly hinted at any succession plans or rivalry and continue to present a united front. In the meantime, as Mirzioyeva's public profile continues to rise, Uzbeks draw a parallel to former first daughter Gulnara Karimova, whose involvement in massive corruption led to a falling out with her father, late President Islam Karimov. Karimova, who was once seen as a possible heir to her father, is currently serving a prison sentence on money laundering, extortion, and other crimes. She had reportedly accumulated more than $1 billion and held a vast portfolio of real estate abroad through illegal business practices. Taksanov claims some of Karimova's illicitly gained assets "have quietly passed to the ownership of the Mirziyoev family" in recent years. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-saida- mirziyoeva-otabek-umarov-rivalry/33105949.html Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Bolivian government has declared a state of emergency across the country in response to widespread forest fires, Azernews reports. Defense Minister Edmundo Noviglio announced the measure, citing severe air pollution and a "sanitary danger" due to the fires. President Luis Arce noted on social media that emergency teams have been deployed to assist affected populations, firefighters, and volunteers. So far, medical aid has been provided to 6,162 people in the Pando department. Authorities have requested international assistance as they contend with 72 active fires that have scorched 3.8 million hectares of land. News / National by Staff reporter Former Group Chief Executive of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) Lucky Montana expressed sadness at the jailing of the agency's former head Engineer, Daniel Mthimkhulu, and committed to "stand with him till the end."Mthimkhulu, once a top-ranking Chief Engineer after joining Prasa in 2000, was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for faking his qualifications.Mthimkhulu was sentenced in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Tuesday after being convicted in January 2022 on three counts of fraud.He was found guilty of misrepresenting his qualifications to Prasa and submitting a fraudulent job offer letter that he claimed to have received from a German engineering firm, making way for R2.8 million per annum salary.However, his former boss and now member of the MK party in the National Assembly, Montana, said in a statement on Friday that he felt Mthimkhulu was "crucified by the media"."The devil had struck. My heart bleeds for this young talent. I feel for him and will stand with him till the end. Mthimkhulu's story is a sad one. It is a story of a partisan and compromised South African Media, bent on driving a false narrative about our country, black people, and the many challenges we face."With his one mistake, Mthimkhulu's name has become synonymous with everything wrong about PRASA. His name is always used to demonstrate State Capture and prove how "corrupt" PRASA was under Lucky Montana."The media ignore all relevant facts in its determination to crucify Mthimkhulu, and by extension, Lucky Montana. The fact is I was not involved in the recruitment of Mthimkhulu. He was recruited by Metrorail, then under Transnet. This was seven years before Metrorail was transferred to the SARCC in 2005 and eight years before Montana was appointed SARCC CEO. This was eleven years before PRASA was formed in 2009," wrote Montana.Explaining how Mthimkhulu rose to power, he said "Mthimkhulu and a group of fellow student engineers submitted a proposal to Metrorail in Braamfontein, Metrorail seemed fascinated by his ideas. The company appointed him in 1998 as a trainee engineer or apprentice, and, later, transferred him to Cape Metrorail."Those who appointed him knew he did not complete his engineering degree. The management of Metrorail further promoted him numerous times to senior engineering and operational management roles, based on his competency and experience".Montana said Mthimkhulu did not use the time he had to complete his engineering degree, which was his mistake.According to Montana, whenever Metrorail presented a list of its engineering or technical team, Mthimkhulu's name was always on the list."When I joined the SARCC, predecessor to PRASA, he was listed in the technical grades," he stated.Clarifying his position on the role played by the media in Mthimkhulu's qualifications scandal, he argued the media wanted to make the point that Mthimkhulu was Montana's "fake engineer"."The innuendo and systemic dishonesty is that Montana brought Mthimkhulu to PRASA to manage big tenders and manipulate these in favour of Montana's political allies and friends."The media went further and labeled him "PRASA's Senior Engineer" - a position that never existed at PRASA. Mthimkhulu never performed the "Senior Engineer" role for PRASA as implied by the media"He did not plan and design systems or develop technical drawings. He was the Executive Manager in PRASA's Rail Division, a management role overseeing rail engineering teams. He reported to PRASA's Rail Divisional CEO, Mosengwa Mofi, and not to me as PRASA Group CEO."Montana mentioned that the media was not interested in Mthimkhulu's immediate boss, but were after Montana."Mthimkhulu may have lied about his academic qualifications or called himself a "Doctor", but he did not make any misrepresentation to Metrorail, SARCC, or PRASA about his qualifications. He did not commit fraud."My heart is bleeding with this travesty of justice, which has become so common when judicial officers feel it is their duty to fight State Capture or Corruption, and go out of their way to deal with this, irrespective of the evidence before them. The NPA refused to prosecute many others who lied about their qualifications, arguing this was not a crime. The same principle, however, did not apply to Mthimkhulu."He explained that Mthimkhulu made a significant contribution to the country's railways, adding that he was part of the agency when it functioned and delivered passenger services to citizens."Today, under the very forces persecuting him and fighting State Capture, everything had collapsed. His beloved Metrorail, PRASA, and Transnet have collapsed and are unable to deliver services which he had built as Senior Technical Operations Manager at Metrorail and later as an executive manager within the PRASA Group."Montana said he would be visiting his former colleague in prison and that he intended to engage his family, legal counsel, and other legal minds to see what other legal options were available to him as he believed Mthimkhulu did not deserve the punishment imposed on him. IDF Says Attacked Hamas Command Center Located in Gaza School Sputnik News 20240907 MOSCOW, (Sputnik) - The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it attacked a command and control center of Palestinian movement Hamas, located in a school in the northern Gaza Strip. "A short while ago, with the direction of IDF and ISA [Israel Security Agency] intelligence, the IAF conducted a precise strike on terrorists who were operating inside a Hamas command and control center. The command and control center was embedded inside a compound that previously served as the 'Halima al-Sa'diyya' School in the northern Gaza Strip," the IDF said on Telegram on Saturday. Hamas members used the command and control center to plan and "execute terror attacks" against the IDF, the statement added. The Israeli military reportedly took measures "to mitigate the risk of harming civilians." On October 7, 2023, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. In addition, Hamas fighters infiltrated the border areas, opened fire on the military and civilians and took hostages. Israeli authorities say that about 1,200 people were killed during the raid. The IDF launched Operation Iron Swords in the Gaza Strip and announced a complete blockade of the enclave. The enclave's health ministry says that the death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip since October 7 has exceeded 40,800. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Gaza war enters 12th month with fighting, no sign of cease-fire deal By VOA News September 07, 2024 The war in Gaza entered its 12th month on Saturday with at least 16 Palestinians killed in Gaza, a plea for justice from the family of a U.S. citizen killed in the West Bank, and no sign of progress on a cease-fire deal. Israel and Hamas, along with the Islamic Jihad and Fatah, battled Israel across the Gaza Strip Israel with airstrikes and ground forces, Hamas and its allies with anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs. On Saturday, the family of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a woman killed Friday by Israeli soldiers during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in the West Bank, demanded an independent investigation. The White House also called for an investigation. The 26-year-old Eygi, described as an activist, was shot while posing no threat to Israeli forces and during a calm period following earlier clashes, according to witnesses. "Her presence in our lives was taken needlessly, unlawfully, and violently by the Israeli military," Eygi's family said in a statement. "A U.S. citizen, Aysenur was peacefully standing for justice when she was killed by a bullet that video shows came from an Israeli military shooter." The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday its troops "responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them" during the protest. "The IDF is looking into reports that a foreign national was killed as a result of shots fired in the area. The details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review," the military said in a statement. Eygi died as the Israeli military was withdrawing from Jenin and its refugee camps after a 10-day operation in the West Bank. Fighting in Jenin accounted for the deaths of 21 of 39 Palestinians reportedly killed during the operation. While not confirming the withdrawal, the IDF summarized its "counterterrorism operations in Jenin," saying it had eliminated 14 terrorists, apprehended more than 30 suspects, and dismantled numerous terrorist infrastructure sites, including an underground weapons storage facility and an explosives lab. The governor of Jenin, Kamal Abu al-Rub, called it the most destructive incursion by the IDF to date. Workers continue vaccinating children Despite the fighting, health workers completed the second of three phases of polio vaccinations. They aim to vaccinate 640,000 children amid a health care system destroyed by the war. The drive was prompted by the first polio case in the Palestinian enclave in 25 years. United Nations officials said they have reached more than half of the children needing the drops in the first two stages in the southern and central Gaza Strip. The third phase of vaccinations will be in the north on Sunday. A second round of vaccination will be required four weeks after the first. Fighting rages At least nine Palestinians were killed and about two dozen others were wounded overnight into Saturday by Israeli air raids on the urban refugee camp of Nuseirat. Five people were killed in a house and another four in a residential building, according to The Associated Press. A woman and two children also died in a strike on a house near the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. And in northern Gaza, Israel struck a school that was sheltering displaced people in Jabaliya, killing at least four people and wounding about two dozen others, according to Gaza's Civil Defense authority. Israel's military said it struck a Hamas command post embedded in a former school compound. "The terrorist Wassem Hazem, head of the Hamas terrorist organization in Jenin, was also eliminated," the IDF said in one of the attacks. "Hazem directed shooting and explosive attacks in Jenin and was responsible for advancing terror attacks in Judea and Samaria." The conflict began after the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. Since then, Israel's response has killed nearly 700 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Palestinian health officials. The IDF said most of those killed were militants. Most of the West Bank casualties were men, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. In Gaza, Israel's counteroffensive has resulted in nearly 41,000 Palestinian deaths, according to the territory's health ministry, which says most of the dead are women and children. Israel, which has lost 340 soldiers in Gaza, says most of the dead are combatants. Hamas has been designated a terror group by the U.S., U.K., EU, and others. Protests and peace talks Israelis poured into the streets again Saturday in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and other cities to demand that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu make a deal to free the hostages held in Gaza. About 100 remain, though Israel believes a third of them are dead. Netanyahu says Hamas has introduced unacceptable conditions. Senior Hamas official Hossam Badran said on Saturday that the group has not made new demands and remains committed to a July 2 proposal put forward by the United States. The U.S., Egypt and Qatar have been mediating talks for months. CIA Director William Burns, the chief U.S. negotiator, told an event in London that a more detailed proposal would be made in the coming days. Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Family demands investigation into Israeli military's killing of American By VOA News September 07, 2024 The family of a Turkish-American woman shot and killed Friday by Israeli soldiers during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in the West Bank demanded an independent investigation Saturday. They accuse the Israeli military of killing her "brutally." The White House said it was "deeply disturbed" and called for an investigation. Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, described as an activist, was shot while posing no threat to Israeli forces and during a calm period following earlier clashes, according to witnesses. "Her presence in our lives was taken needlessly, unlawfully, and violently by the Israeli military," Eygi's family said in a statement. "A U.S. citizen, Aysenur was peacefully standing for justice when she was killed by a bullet that video shows came from an Israeli military shooter." The family called on U.S. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to order an independent investigation and ensure accountability for the responsible parties. The Israeli military said Saturday its forces "responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them" during the protest. The director of Rafidia Hospital in Nablus told Reuters that Eygi arrived in critical condition with a head wound. "We were trying to save her, but unfortunately, we couldn't revive her heart because of her severe injury, and then we announced she lost her life," Fouad Nafaa said. Paramedic Faiz Abdel Jabar described to Reuters that during the protest in Beita, near Nablus, Israeli forces shot two bullets, one of which hit Eygi in the head. Eygi, a member of the International Solidarity Movement, was in Beita for a weekly demonstration against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, ISM said. Turkey condemned her killing as "barbaric," and Washington has urged Israel to investigate the incident. At a news conference in the Dominican Republic, Blinken expressed condolences and said Friday that the U.S. is focused on gathering facts about the shooting. "First things first, let's find out exactly what happened, and we will draw the necessary conclusions and consequences from that," Blinken said. U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said the U.S. reached out to Israel for more information and requested an investigation. The Israel Defense Forces said on X and Telegram that its forces responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks and posed a threat. "The IDF is looking into reports that a foreign national was killed as a result of shots fired in the area. The details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review," the statement said. The incident follows an Israeli military withdrawal from Jenin and its refugee camps after a 10-day operation in the West Bank. Fighting in Jenin accounted for the deaths of 21 of 39 Palestinians reportedly killed during the operation. In a video interview, Jenin Governor Kamal Abu al-Rub confirmed the withdrawal and described it as the most destructive incursion by the IDF to date. While not confirming the withdrawal, the IDF summarized its "counterterrorism operations in Jenin," saying it had eliminated 14 terrorists, apprehended over 30 suspects and dismantled explosives. The IDF statement also said it dismantled numerous terrorist infrastructure sites, including an underground weapons storage facility and an explosives lab. Since the conflict began following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Israeli fire has killed nearly 700 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Palestinian health officials. The IDF reports that most of those killed were militants. In Gaza, Israel's counteroffensive has resulted in nearly 41,000 Palestinian deaths, according to the territory's health ministry, which says most of the dead are women and children. Israel claims most of the dead are combatants. In separate incidents in northern and central Gaza, at least 8 Palestinians were killed and about two dozen others were wounded overnight into Saturday by Israeli strikes on a school housing refugees and a residential building in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Authority's official news agency, WAFA. Gaza's Civil Defense authority, which operates under the Hamas-run government, said four of the dead were in refugee tents at Halima al-Sa'diyya School in Jabaliya, in northern Gaza. The Israeli army said in a statement it had "conducted a precise strike on terrorists who were operating inside a Hamas command and control center ... embedded inside a compound that previously served as the 'Halima al-Sa'diyya' School in the northern Gaza Strip." In another incident, five people were killed in an Israeli strike on a house in western Nuseirat in central Gaza. "The terrorist Wassem Hazem, head of the Hamas terrorist organization in Jenin, was also eliminated," the IDF said. "Hazem directed shooting and explosive attacks in Jenin and was responsible for advancing terror attacks in Judea and Samaria." Hamas is designated a terror group by the U.S., U.K., EU, and others. Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Kyrgyzstan follows regional trend, takes Taliban off terrorist list By Masood Farivar September 07, 2024 Shunned by the West for over three years, Afghanistan's Taliban scored a diplomatic victory of sorts this week when the small Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan quietly removed the group from its list of banned terrorist organizations. The move underscores warming ties between the Taliban, in power since August 2021, and the countries of Central Asia. While the United States has led an international campaign to deny the Taliban government legitimacy, over a dozen regional countries, led by China and Russia, have embraced the self-styled "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan." "It fits with the broader trend of governments in the region and internationally warming up to the idea of having to work with the Taliban," said Lucas Webber, a senior threat intelligence analyst at Tech Against Terrorism and a research fellow at the Soufan Center. "Generally, there is a recognition that the Taliban is not going anywhere, so you have to work with whoever is ruling Afghanistan for economic and security reasons." Taliban reaction The government of Kyrgyzstan, once considered a close U.S. ally in the region, did not publicize its decision to delist the Taliban, but the Taliban's Foreign Ministry quickly seized on it as the latest breakthrough in its regional diplomacy. "Aligning with actions of other countries, the step taken by Kyrgyzstan signifies a growing political recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan on both regional and international levels, and removes a barrier to strengthening bilateral relations between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan & other countries," it said Thursday in a statement. The Taliban, which first ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 before waging a 20-year insurgency, has appeared on various international terrorist lists over the years. While the U.S. has not officially labeled them a "foreign terrorist organization," it considers members "specially designated global terrorists." Kyrgyzstan is the second Central Asian country to delist the Taliban in recent months. In December, Kazakhstan took the group off its own terrorist list as part of its growing economic engagement with the Taliban. In May, Russia said it, too, was considering such a move as it decides whether to recognize the Taliban's government. Although no country has extended official recognition to the Taliban, more than a dozen, including all six of Afghanistan's neighbors, have allowed Taliban diplomats to take charge of Afghan embassies or consulates. Among them, three have accepted accredited Taliban envoys: China in January, followed by Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates last month. In pursuing ties with the Taliban, Central Asian countries are taking their cues from Russia and China, both of which have deepened their engagement with Afghanistan's de facto government in recent years. "They're pursuing practical policies, and they're also given a kind of umbrella by two of the major great powers Russia and China who are working with the Taliban quite closely," Webber said. A 'necessary evil' In a report on the Taliban's regional diplomacy, analysts at the International Crisis Group noted how various countries pursue disparate agendas. Afghanistan neighbors such as Iran, Pakistan and Uzbekistan view dealing with the Taliban as a "necessary evil if they are to address core concerns," the analysts wrote. Those concerns include extremist threats as well as trade. For Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, a planned project designed to carry surplus power to Afghanistan and Pakistan is a priority. Regional powers China, India and Russia use engagement to contain "any spillover" from Afghanistan, the analysts said. Russia regards the Taliban as a bulwark against the Islamic State's local branch. And while China has signed lucrative investment deals with Afghanistan, it, too, is motivated by fear of terrorism. Countries farther afield, such as the UAE and Qatar, aim "to challenge the Taliban's Islamic exceptionalism but [are] also spurred by the need to balance their own regional rivalries," they wrote. Strategic interests vs. human rights Significantly, none of the countries that have established diplomatic ties with the Taliban were classified as "free" by Freedom House, the freedom and democracy advocacy group. All but two are labeled "not free," according to a VOA review. Only Pakistan and Turkey are designated as "partly free." This suggests that the Taliban can ward off international isolation if enough countries prioritize strategic interests over human rights and democracy, according to experts. While human rights haven't always been a U.S. foreign policy priority, the Biden administration, along with its Western allies, have made Taliban recognition contingent on respect for human rights, women's rights and an inclusive government. "Given the issues related to the treatment of women and other human rights issues, it's more difficult for liberal democratic governments to recognize and work with the Taliban than it is for less democratic governments or nondemocratic governments, where they can be more practical in terms of pursuing their national interests solely and then working with the Taliban on this basis," Webber said. The implications for Afghanistan's future and U.S. diplomacy are immense. Increased political and economic engagement could embolden the Taliban to keep their harsh policies, such as their ban on girls' education after sixth grade, experts say. It could also force Washington to reassess its dual policy of engaging and isolating the Taliban. Since the Taliban takeover, U.S. and European diplomats have held ongoing talks with Taliban officials in Qatar, where they maintain their Afghanistan embassy operations. Biden administration officials have also reportedly weighed working with the Taliban to combat the Afghan-based Islamic State Khorasan terror group, even while refusing to establish diplomatic ties. "There is going to be pressure as more governments recognize that this kind of resistance to working more closely with the Taliban doesn't hold up," Webber said. "But it will be hard to do so publicly and officially, given the humanitarian violations and problems that we see with the Taliban government." The Biden administration defends its Afghanistan policy. Asked about the Taliban's growing diplomatic footprint, a State Department spokesperson noted that no country has said that it recognizes the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan. "The Taliban seek recognition as Afghanistan's government," the spokesperson said in a statement to VOA. "The United States and the international community have been clear with the Taliban that our ability to take meaningful steps toward normalization will be based on the Taliban's own actions." These include respecting the rights of women and minorities, fulfilling anti-terror obligations and starting a political process for inclusive governance, the spokesperson said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Fierce border clashes erupt between Pakistan and Afghanistan By Ayaz Gul September 07, 2024 Border security forces of Pakistan and Afghanistan were engaged in intense clashes Saturday, reportedly resulting in several casualties on both sides. The war zone is located between the southeastern Afghan border province of Khost and the adjoining Pakistani district of Kurram, as reported by security officials and residents on both sides. The conflict reportedly broke out when Taliban forces attempted to construct a security outpost on the Afghan side, prompting Pakistani troops to open fire to force the other side to stop the activity. Pakistani officials maintain neither side can construct new posts unilaterally under mutual agreements regarding the nearly 2,600-kilometer border between the two countries. Multiple sources reported that ongoing heavy clashes had injured at least five Pakistani soldiers, including an officer, and more than four Afghan border guards. Pakistan and Afghanistan authorities have not commented immediately on the fighting. This is the second time in as many days that the two countries have clashed over the construction of the disputed Afghan border outpost. The military tensions come amid Pakistan's persistent allegations that militants linked to the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, have taken shelter on Afghan soil and are being facilitated by the country's Taliban leaders in orchestrating cross-border terrorist attacks. "We have, on numerous occasions, presented evidence of the activities of these terror groups, which have hideouts and sanctuaries inside Afghanistan," Mumtaz Baloch, the Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson, reiterated Thursday. "We urge the government of Afghanistan to take action against these terror groups and to ensure that these terror groups do not stage terror attacks against Pakistan," she told a weekly news conference in Islamabad. Taliban authorities deny foreign militant groups, including TTP, are present in Afghanistan, saying no one is being allowed to threaten neighboring countries from their territory. However, recent United Nations assessments disputed the Taliban claims and backed Pakistan's concerns that TTP operatives had intensified cross-border violence with the help of the de facto Afghan government in Kabul, which no country has officially recognized. Since the Taliban regained power three years ago, bilateral ties have been strained due to increasing TTP attacks inside Pakistan and occasional border skirmishes, significantly undermining trade and transit ties between Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russo-Ukraine War - 07 September 2024 - Day 927 Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos. On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace. "To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal] The UK Ministry of Defence reported that Russian forces have made increased tactical gains around the town of Vuhledar, situated approximately 30km southwest of Donetsk city in eastern Ukraine. Vuhledar has been a long-term target for Russian forces, which has acted as a lynchpin against Russian advances in southern Donetsk oblast. Russia has previously made repeated attempts to assault the town, which resulted in heavy losses, but with little territory gained. However, in August 2024, Russian forces made advances to the east and west of Vuhledar, taking control of the nearby villages of Prechystivka and contesting Vodiane. In the next month, it is likely that Russia will continue attempts to advance around Vuhledar and threaten the town itself. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that the Defense Forces continue to decisively repel attempts by Russian units to advance deep into Ukrainian territory, directing major efforts to disrupt the Russian occupiers' offense tasks, inflicting heavy casualties to the Russian enemy. During the current 24 hours, there have been 168 combat clashes. On the territory of Ukraine today, Russia made one missile strike with the use of one missile, 70 air strikes, dropping 90 cabiv. In addition, Russian forces launched 581 kamikaze drones for strikes and carried out more than 3,100 shelling at the positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements using different types of weapons. In the Kharkiv direction Russian terrorists once, supported by aviation, stormed the positions of Ukrainian units in the Vovchansk area. According to the information available at this time, Ukrainian defenders in the Kharkiv direction eliminated and wounded more than 60 Russian occupants, destroyed two tanks, four armored vehicles, 40 BPLAs and a car, and an artillery system and four Russian cars were also damaged. Seventeen times Russian forces attacked Ukrainian positions in the Kupyan direction. Near the settlements of Sinkivka, Lozova, Stelmakhivka, Petropavlivka, Glushkivka and Andriyivka, the units of the Defense Forces repelled seven offensive actions. The situation is tense, ten boezitknen are ongoing. In the Lyman direction a day, Russian troops attacked Ukrainian defenders 25 times in the areas of Chernistan, Nevsky, Lozova, Torsky, Makiyivka and Dibrova. At this time, three clashes continue. The activity of the Russian enemy in the Siver direction was manifested by seven assault actions, the occupiers tried to push Ukrainian defenders out of positions in the areas of Spirny, Verkhnyokamiansky and Viimka. There's a battle going on. In the Kramatorsky direction, Ukrainian soldiers fought off six attempts of the zagarbnikiv to advance near the Chasovoy Yar, Andriyivka and Klishchievka. All attacks are called off. In the Toretsky direction, the Russian occupiers, supported by aviation, attacked Ukrainian positions near Toretsky, Nelipivka and Sukhoi Balka eight times. Four fights are still going on. In the Pokrovsky direction throughout the day, Russian forces attacked Ukrainian units 44 times. The largest activity was shown in the area of novogrodivki, mikhailivki and hrodivki. The Defense Forces of Ukraine repelled 39 attacks, five more clashes continue. According to available information, today Russian forces in this direction lost more than 240 soldiers killed and wounded. The countdown continues. The situation is also tense and in the Kurakhiv direction, where at this time of the day Ukrainian defenders repelled 42 Russian attacks. Russian zagarbniki tried to advance near Konstantinivka, Krasnogorivka, Galitsinivka and Georgievka. Seven clashes are underway. In the Vremivs komu direction for today, Russian forces six times stormed the front edge of defense in the direction of Vodyany and Vugledar. Ukrainian soldiers have stopped six Russian attacks, another attack is in progress. In the pridniprovsk direction 11 Russian assault actions did not have success. A loss of positions is not allowed. In other directions, there have been no significant changes. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that in Bryansk, Liptsy and Volchansk directions, units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted losses on units of the 57th Motorised Infantry Brigade, 92nd Assault Brigade of the AFU, and 34th Marine Brigade near Glubokoye, Staritsa, and Volchansk (Kharkov region). The AFU losses amounted to up to 65 troops and two 122-mm D-30 howitzers. The Zapad Group of Forces improved tactical situation, engaged manpower and military hardware of 14th, 23rd, 43rd, 44th, and 67th mechanised brigades, 143rd Infantry Brigade of the AFU, 110th and 117th territorial defence brigades, 12th Azov Special Forces Brigade near Kupyansk, Petropavlovka, Tabayevka, Kovsharovka, Lozovaya (Kharkov region), Makeyevka, Nevskoye (Lugansk People's Republic), Torskoye (Donetsk People's Republic), and Serebryansky Forestry. Russian forces repelled eight counter-attacks launched by assault detachments of the 115th and 116th mechanised brigades, 3rd Assault Brigade, 77th Aeromobile Brigade of the AFU, and 1st National Guard Brigade. The AFU losses amounted to up to 450 troops, a tank, a Kozak armoured fighting vehicle, six pickups, a UK-made 155-mm Braveheart self-propelled system, U.S.-made 155-mm M198 and M777 howitzers, a UK-made 155-mm FH-70 howitzer, a 152-mm Msta-B howitzer, a 152-mm D-20 gun, a 122-mm D-30 howitzer, a UK-made 105-mm L-119 howitzer, and a U.S.-made 105-mm M119 howitzer. Anklav and Kvertus electronic warfare stations and five field ammunition depots were destroyed. The Yug Group of Forces continues to advance into the hostile defence, engaged formations of foreign legion 24th, 30th, 54th, 93rd mechanised brigades, 56th Motorised Infantry Brigade, 144th Infantry Brigade, 10th, 79th, 80th assault brigades, 46th, 81st airmobile bridges of the AFU, 114th and 119th territorial defence brigades near Seversk, Verkhnekamenskoye, Fyodorovka, Grigorovka, Stupochki, Predtechino, Krasnogorovka, Maksimilyanovka, and Katerinovka (Donetsk People's Republic). The AFU losses amounted to up to 810 troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, 12 motor vehicles, a 203-mm Pion self-propelled gun, two U.S.-made 155-mm M198 howitzers, two 152-mm D-20 guns, four 122-mm D-30 howitzers, two U.S.-made 105-mm M119 howitzers, and a field ammunition depot. The Tsentr Group of Forces liberated Kalinovo of the Donetsk People's Republic. The Russian units engaged 31st, 53rd, 63rd, 100th, 151st mechanised brigades, 142nd, 144th, 152nd infantry brigades, 95th Air Assault brigade, 109th Territorial Defence Brigade near Dzerzhinsk, Shcherbinovka, Nelepovka, Nikolayevka, Poltavka, Dimitrov, Grodovka, Selidovo, Memrik, and Galitsynovka (Donetsk People's Republic). The Russian Armed Forces repelled seven counter-attacks of the 32nd Mechanised Brigade, 25th Airborne Brigade of the AFU, 2nd and 14th national guard brigades, and Lyut Assault Brigade of the Ukraine national police. The AFU losses amounted to up to 470 troops, U.S.-made MaxxPro and Kozak armoured fighting vehicles, four motor vehicles, a Grad MLRS launcher, one French-made 155-mm CEASAR howitzer, two 152-mm Msta-B howitzers, a 122-mm Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, and six 122-mm D-30 howitzers. The Vostok Group of Forces seized more favourable lines and positions, engaged 72nd Mechanised Brigade, 58th Motorised Infantry Brigade of the AFU, 102nd and 105th territorial defence brigades near Vodyanoye, Prechistovka, Rovnopol (Donetsk People's Republic), and Dorozhnyanka (Zaporozhye region). The AFU losses amounted to up to 110 troops, two motor vehicles, a U.S.-made 155-mm M777 howitzer, a Bukovel-AD EW station, and a U.S.-made AN/TPQ-50 counter-battery radar. Units of the Dnepr Group of Forces inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the 65th Mechanised Brigade, 128th Mountain Assault Brigade of the AFU, 37th Marine Brigade, and 124th Territorial Defence Brigade near Novodanilovka, Pyatikhatki (Zaporozhye region), Tyaginka, and Sadovoye (Kherson region). The AFU losses amounted to up to 60 troops, seven motor vehicles, a 122-mm Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, an Anklav electronic warfare station, and a field ammunition depot. Operational-Tactical Aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, and Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces destroyed workshops manufacturing Grom-2 missile components and Palyanitsa UAVs, depots of foreign missile and artillery ammunition, telecom satellite station of the AFU, and infrastructure of a military airbase. In addition, clusters of AFU manpower and hardware have been hit in 139 areas. Air defence systems shot down three French-made Hammer guided aerial bombs, four U.S.-made HIMARS projectiles, and 30 unmanned aerial vehicles. In total, 642 airplanes and 283 helicopters, 31,098 unmanned aerial vehicles, 578 air defence missile systems, 17,953 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,447 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 14,226 field artillery guns and mortars, as well as 25,766 units of support motor vehicles have been destroyed during the special military operation. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation also reported the Sever Group of Forces supported by aviation and artillery repelled two attacks launched by assault detachments towards Borki, Matveyevka, as well as thwarted the enemy's attempts to launch attacks in the direction of Korenevo, and Russkaya Konopelka. The enemy's losses were up to 20 troops killed and wounded and two armoured fighting vehicles. Aviation, artillery, and actions of Russian troops inflicted losses on manpower and hardware clusters of the 22nd, 61st, 115th mechanised brigades, 80th, 82nd, 95th air assault brigades, 92nd Assault Brigade of the AFU, and 129th Territorial Defence Brigade near Apanasovka, Vishnyovka, Borki, Vnezapnoye, Gogolevka, Zamostye, Kazachaya Loknya, Kruglenkoye, Kurilovka, Lyubimovka, Malaya Loknya, Martynovka, Novoivanovka, Obukhovka, Snagost, and Cherkasskaya Konopelka. Operational-Tactical Aviation and Missile Troops delivered strikes at concentration areas in Sumy region of reserve manpower and military hardware of the 22nd, 61st mechanised brigades, 80th, 95th air assault brigades of the AFU, 1st National Guard Brigade, and 103rd, 106th, 107th, 113th, and 118th territorial defence brigades near Alekseyevka, Belopolye, Boyaro-Lezhachi, Vladimirovka, Glukhov, Krasnopolye, Sumy, Khoten, and Yampol. Over the past 24 hours, the AFU losses have amounted to over 280 troops, 13 armoured vehicles, including three tanks and 10 armoured fighting vehicles, nine artillery guns, including a U.S.-made 155-mm M777 howitzer, nine motor vehicles, and an EW station. Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk region, the AFU losses were over 10,700 troops, 84 tanks, 41 infantry fighting vehicles, 74 armoured personnel carriers, 609 armoured fighting vehicles, 348 motor vehicles, 82 artillery guns, 24 MLRS launchers, including seven of M142 HIMARS and five of U.S.-made M270 MLRS, eight SAM launchers, two transport-loading vehicles, 20 EW stations, seven counter-battery radars, two air defence radars, eight engineering vehicles as well as two counterobstacle vehicles and one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle. The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pakistani man faces 20 years in New York Jewish center plot By VOA News September 07, 2024 A Pakistani man living in Canada faces up to 20 years in prison for allegedly planning a mass shooting in New York in support of Islamic State, the U.S. Department of Justice said Friday. Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, is accused of plotting an attack on a Jewish center in Brooklyn on the first anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack in Israel, which triggered the current conflict in the Middle East, federal authorities said. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or RCMP, arrested Khan on Wednesday in Ormstown, Quebec, south of the city of Montreal. RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme said in a statement, "This planned antisemitic attack against Jewish people in the U.S. is deplorable and there is no place for such ideological and hate-motivated crime in Canada." U.S. authorities said Khan began sharing Islamic State, or IS, propaganda and showing support for the group on social media and an encrypted messaging app in November. Khan discussed with two undercover officers the idea of starting a "real offline cell" of IS to attack "Israeli Jewish Chabads" or community centers in the United States. He mentioned needing AR-style rifles, ammunition, hunting knives and other materials for the attacks, the Justice Department said. He also planned to cross the border from Canada and considered timing the attack with either the October 7 anniversary or October 11, which is the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur. On August 20, Khan provided undercover officers a photo of the specific spot in a Jewish center where he planned to carry out the attack, the Justice Department said. Khan targeted New York City because he said it has "the largest Jewish population in America," prosecutors said. His online messages described the Brooklyn site as "the ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Jews' world headquarters." A representative for Chabad-Lubavitch, a prominent Hasidic Jewish movement based in Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood, did not comment on the report Friday. Authorities said Khan started his journey to the U.S. on the morning of September 4 from the Toronto area. He traveled in a car with other passengers, changing vehicles near Napanee and around Montreal before being stopped near Ormstown, about 12 miles from the U.S. border. Khan intended to travel from Canada to New York City with the "goal of slaughtering, in the name of ISIS, as many Jewish people as possible," U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said, using another acronym for the terrorist group. Khan, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, was arrested on September 4 and charged with attempting to provide material support to Islamic State. Garland said in a statement, "Jewish communities a like all communities in this country a should not have to fear being targeted by a hate-fueled terrorist attack." It is unclear if Khan has legal representation or where he is being held in Canada. Canadian authorities have said he will appear in the Superior Court of Justice in Montreal on September 13. Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China's top diplomat meets U.S. climate envoy in Beijing People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 09:08, September 07, 2024 BEIJING, Sep. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's top diplomat Wang Yi met with U.S. Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy John Podesta here on Friday. Wang, Chinese foreign minister and also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, noted that this year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the United States. The 45 years of experience have revealed that China and the United States should be partners instead of being rivals, said Wang, adding that the two sides should enable each other's success instead of competing viciously. China stands ready to work with the United States to follow the important common understandings reached by the two presidents in San Francisco, find a right way to get along with each other as two major countries, and strive for the sound, stable and sustainable development of bilateral relations, Wang said. Noting that China is firmly committed to green, low-carbon and sustainable development, Wang pointed out that dialogue and cooperation on climate change is not only an integral part of bilateral relations, but also an important measure to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state. He noted that the teams of both sides on climate response have maintained close communication and reached a series of practical cooperation outcomes this year. It is hoped that the U.S. side will maintain policy stability, earnestly respect China's concerns, avoid protectionism and overstretching the concept of security, and jointly address this global challenge with China. Podesta stated that cooperation on addressing the climate change is an important consensus reached by the two heads of state, and it is a key component of the U.S.-China relationship and concerns the global multilateral cooperation process. The collaboration between the United States and China will not only benefit the people of both countries but also bring more welfare to the world, he said. The U.S. side is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China and engage in constructive cooperation, Podesta said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address DR Congo leaders want more from Beijing than mineral sales By Emmet Livingstone September 07, 2024 Officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo will be heading home from the two-day Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing with limited success in their bid to expand economic relations beyond the mineral exports that have dominated trade, analysts say. "The Chinese will continue to want to consolidate their position in Congo, including on minerals," says Jean-Pierre Okenda, a Congolese consultant on mining issues. Although the DRC has a trade surplus with China, while most African countries have large deficits, almost all of it is from minerals China is buying to feed its manufacturers that are hungry for raw materials. The central African nation is the world's largest producer of copper and cobalt, a metal used in electronics and a key material for batteries used in electric vehicles. The DRC has about 70% of the planet's cobalt reserves. Expanding trade, investment? China's customs authority shows trade flows to the DRC dropped 13% last year to $18.75 billion compared with 2022, the vast majority of it due to China's decreased imports from the DRC, which dropped by nearly 14% to $14.27 billion. While the drop was largely due to fluctuating prices, it underscored how deeply the DRC, one of the poorest countries in the world, relies on China. China is by far its largest single trading partner, representing nearly half of its merchandise exports and more than a quarter of its imports, according to 2022 data from the World Trade Organization. Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi was the first African leader to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of the conference. According to a statement from his office, Tshisekedi made it clear he wants to see bilateral trade expanded to other sectors "such as agriculture, renewable energy and especially industrialization through the local processing of the DRC's mineral wealth." China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said ahead of the forum that Xi declared his nation is ready to "deepen cooperation in agriculture, mineral products processing, vocational training and other fields." Many in the Congolese leadership were hoping to come away from the conference with large pledges of Chinese investment in the country. Julien Paluku, the DRC's trade minister, on Thursday published a plea for Kinshasa to be given a large chunk of the $50 billion that Xi promised at the conference to invest in Africa over the next three years. "We focused our arguments on DRC's pivotal role in the Belt and Road Initiative, highlighting its strategic location as a connectivity point from North to South and East to West across the African continent," he wrote on X. Business climate Christian-Geraud Neema, a Congolese researcher on China-Africa relations and the Francophone Africa Editor of the China Global South Project, says complaints about the investment climate in the DRC are an issue. "There is a sort of reluctance to increase projects," he says, referring to Chinese investments in Congo. "China will make promises, but not very committed promises." The DRC is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, ranking 162 out of 180 countries in Transparency International's corruption perceptions index. Chinese businesses have also come under increasing pressure under Tshisekedi's administration, with the government working to renegotiate long-standing deals with Chinese mining firms. In January, the Congolese government concluded talks on renegotiating a deal with the Chinese consortium running Sicomines, a copper-cobalt mine in Congo's southeast. That renegotiation saw the investors behind the consortium agree to spend a massive $7 billion on developing infrastructure, such as badly needed roads and bridges, in the DRC. Another Chinese company, CMOC, which runs the largest copper-cobalt mine in the world, situated in the DRC, agreed to pay $2 billion to the Congolese state last year after a commercial dispute. Although many analysts believe those mining deals are still favorable to China, the uncertain business environment and the costs associated with rampant corruption have caused unease, say analysts. "The operating conditions in Congo, everyone knows what they're like," says Okenda, explaining that Chinese firms were among the few willing to brave Congo's tough business environment. Defense cooperation Defense is another area where some in the Congolese administration had been hoping for more cooperation in light of the country's struggle to end the brutal conflict in eastern DRC. Tshisekedi's office said that he discussed security concerns with Xi and that he "praised China's influence on the lifting of the [U.N.] arms embargo on the DRC while it is unjustly attacked by Rwanda and M23 terrorists." The M23, a Rwandan-backed rebel group, has captured swathes of territory in the region since launching a rebellion in late 2021 and displaced more than 1 million people from their homes. The DRC's army, which critics say is weak and plagued with corruption, has struggled to fight back, losing battles and territory. But the DRC army did purchase nine high-tech Chinese CH-4 Rainbow attack drones, which it has used effectively in battle despite some being shot down. Jean-Pierre Bemba, who was the DRC's defense minister before moving to the transport portfolio in April, said in Beijing this week that he hoped China and the DRC could go beyond their traditional areas of cooperation and work more closely on defense. Analysts are skeptical the defense relationship will go much further. Okenda, the mining consultant, said that "China's interest isn't in defense," and that Beijing's overriding concern was natural resources. Neema, the researcher, said that the prospect of a minerals-for-arms deal with Chinese firms had been a vague idea for years, but that Congolese leaders had never pursued it for fear of angering the United States, another important diplomatic partner. He said closer defense cooperation remained unlikely, unless the situation in the eastern DRC deteriorates further. "Expediting military factors could push the Congolese government to make a deal," he said. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in their statement on Xi's meeting with Tshisekedi, indicated he made no reference to defense cooperation and gave only a boiler plate comment about working together for peace. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un Inspects Defence Industrial Enterprise Korean Central News Agency of DPRK Pyongyang, September 8 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un , general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, visited a defence industrial enterprise under the Second Economy Commission to learn about the production of military hardware. He was accompanied by Jo Yong Won, Pak Jong Chon, Ri Il Hwan, Kim Jae Ryong, Jo Chun Ryong and Kim Jong Sik, leading officials of the C.C., WPK. Going round production sites of the enterprise, the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un acquainted himself with the production of military hardware in the second half of the year. Highly appreciating the indomitable fighting spirit and extraordinary ideological and moral world of the officials and workers of the enterprise, he expressed thanks to them for carrying out the huge munitions production tasks in a responsible and correct way and making a great contribution to the development of our armed forces, true to the Party's policy on munitions industry. Learning about the structural characteristics, performance and tactical and technical data of military hardware under development and production, he stressed the need to raise the scientification and modernization level in the munitions production and thoroughly guarantee the combat performance of military hardware. Repeatedly expressing his satisfaction over the fact that the prospect for confidently attaining the goal of military hardware production within the five-year period decided and assigned by the Eighth Party Congress is guaranteed thanks to the dynamic struggle of the munitions industry workers, he clarified the principles and ways for the defence industrial enterprise to hold fast to in the munitions production permanently. -0- NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address News / National by Staff reporter The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), the party has announced new appointments to enhance its communication structure.Welshman Ncube, acting president of CCC, issued a statement today confirming that Honorable Willias Madzimure and Kuraone Chihwayi have been appointed to key roles within the party.Honorable Willias Madzimure will take up the position of Secretary for Information and Publicity, effectively serving as the Party Spokesperson.Meanwhile, Kuraone Chihwayi has been named Presidential Spokesperson. These appointments are effective immediately.Additionally, the statement confirmed that Honorable Discent Bajila will continue his role as Deputy Spokesperson. Ncube emphasized that the appointments are intended to improve the party's communication efficiency and effectiveness, bolstering its capability to disseminate information to the public more effectively.These appointments come as the CCC aims to streamline its communication efforts and enhance its public engagement strategy ahead of upcoming political challenges. Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un Inspects O Jin U Artillery Academy Korean Central News Agency of DPRK Pyongyang, September 8 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un , general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, on September 6 inspected O Jin U Artillery Academy, a pedigree establishment for training the backbone of the artillery force in the country. The academy is famous as it has trained commanding officers of the first arm of the heroic Korean People's Army which is reliably defending the country and the people and justice and peace while displaying its invincible might and courage. Its campus was filled with the great emotion and joy of all the teaching staff and cadets who would have the highest honor and privilege of meeting the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un . When Kim Jong Un arrived at the academy, they raised stormy cheers of "Hurrah!" as the highest respects of the artillerymen to the iron-willed brilliant commander, the symbol of the absolute might of the DPRK and the banner of all victories and glory. He was greeted by Army Senior Colonel Yu Chang Son, headmaster of the academy, and Army Senior Colonel Choe Hun, director of its Political Department. After receiving a salute from the headmaster, Kim Jong Un paid homage to the colors. An educator and a cadet of the academy presented bouquets of fragrant flowers to him, reflecting the boundless reverence of all the artillery officers and men. Responding to the enthusiastic cheers, Kim Jong Un sent militant encouragement to all the teaching staff of the prestigious academy, which has creditably discharged its sacred mission as the basic cornerstone and driving force for bolstering up the artillery force reliably guaranteeing the continued war-victory history and the strongest military and technical edge of our revolutionary armed forces, and its cadets growing up to be commanding officers of the core arm. He was accompanied by Pak Jong Chon, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission of the WPK and secretary of the C.C., WPK, Kang Sun Nam, minister of National Defence of the DPRK, Ri Yong Gil, chief of the KPA General Staff, Jong Kyong Thaek, director of the General Political Bureau of the KPA, Kim Myong Sik, commander of the Navy, Ri Chang Ho, director of the General Reconnaissance Bureau, and leading officials in the military education field of the DPRK Ministry of National Defence. Accompanying him were also Jo Yong Won, Ri Il Hwan and Kim Jae Ryong, secretaries of the C.C., WPK. Kim Jong Un reviewed a march-past of the academy cadets. He looked round the room for education in the revolutionary history. He stressed that the academy, which has developed into a major center for training artillery commanding officers of the KPA under the great care of the peerlessly great men, recording immortal military feats in its history, should thoroughly implement the Party's idea of prioritizing the artillery and its policy on military education in the future, too, in order to train the competent military personnel strong in idea and faith with the absolute loyalty to the Party and the revolution and the spirit of devotedly serving the country and the people and with high military qualifications. Guided by leading officials, he went round the arms study room and watched drill lectures given at the ground-based artillery firing research room and the artillery tactical research room. Then he learned in detail about the updating of education at the combined information control room for education. It is our Party's philosophy of artillery and the core of its idea of attaching importance to artillery to open the road of advance with artillery and defeat overwhelmingly the enemy with artillery and display fireworks for celebrating the war victory and thus the most important aspect in the front of military education, a fortress and the forefront for implementing the line of building a powerful army of our Party, is the education field specializing in artillery, he said. Noting that no matter how difficult the subjective and objective situation may be, the revolution in training for the thorough combat posture of the entire army and the revolution in military education for making the entire army a cadre army and modernizing the entire army are the two fronts for building a powerful army that should be pushed forward simultaneously and vigorously without missing any one, he said that the academy should duly stand in the vanguard of a new revolution in military education for guaranteeing the eternal development of the armed forces of the DPRK. Noting that our Party has put the military technical strength on an absolutely high level by directing the main efforts to bolstering up the artillery force of specially great strategic and tactical significance among all arms of service in the army with a keen insight into the trend of the development of modern military capabilities, he stressed that whether or not the very powerful ultra-modern military hardware can fully display their performance for actual war entirely depends on the level and role of the artillery commanders. He appreciated that the academy has intensified lectures for judging the combat situation of a commanding officer and giving a decision on his ability to command at a simulated war through a group discussion, and called for steadily accelerating the work to modernize educational means and put education on an IT and scientific basis. He called on all the teachers and researchers of the academy to turn out as one in the work for bringing a revolution in the artillery tactics and the military theory of artillery pieces, with a noble sense of duty that they are responsible for the future of the Juche-based artillery force, and thus improve the quality of education and thoroughly establish a revolutionary habit of studying and military discipline in the campus so that cadets can acquire deeper and richer military knowledge during their school days. He stressed the need to improve and adjust the academic system and educational system of the academy in a practical and efficient way in conformity with the trend of the development of modern military education so that the cadets can learn the practical tactics to be applied to actual warfare without fail. He said that all the artillery commanding officers from this academy should be a-match-for-a-hundred all-powerful artillerymen and artillery talents well versed in the Juche-based artillery tactics and ultra-modern military hardware with different striking capabilities and possessed of full combat command capability capable of rapidly, fully and overwhelmingly containing and wiping out the enemy in any situation of modern warfare. Saying that to improve the educational conditions and environment in conformity with the academy's important duty and position in bolstering up the armed forces of the DPRK is very essential for considerably raising the quality of military education, he expressed the will to wonderfully turn the academy into a model of the military educational institutions of the entire army and a world-class military school, and took an important measure for doing so. He indicated the ways for further strengthening the military education institutions at all levels of the KPA in line with the developing trend of modern education and for improving the educational environment. That day Kim Jong Un had a significant photo session with the teaching staff and cadets of the academy. All the teaching staff and cadets expressed boundless thanks to the iron-willed brilliant commander who, with his outstanding idea of building the revolutionary armed forces and far-sighted wisdom, indicated the bright path to be followed by the academy for bolstering up the artillery force and repeatedly showed deep loving care and trust for them. Kim Jong Un expressed belief that the prestigious artillery academy would as ever live up to the great expectations of the Party, revolution, country and people with the proud military educational successes in training the core backbones of the revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK most wonderfully and perfectly. Thunderous shouts of " Kim Jong Un " and "Death-defying Defence", raised at the campus sending off Kim Jong Un , shook the sky and land. The inspection of the artillery academy by Kim Jong Un with the steadfast will for building a powerful army to firmly consolidate the tremendous military muscle and thus reliably defend the sovereignty and interests of the DPRK, an independent power, and the security and well-being of its people for all ages, will remain long in the history of the country as a special occasion in ushering in a new heyday of strengthening the Juche-based artillery force and developing the military education. -0- NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran dismisses allegations of transferring ballistic missiles to Russia IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Sep 7, 2024 New York, IRNA -- Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York has dismissed Western media reports alleging that the Islamic Republic had transferred ballistic missiles to Russia for use in the Ukraine war. The mission said on Friday that Iran's position on the Ukraine war, which emphasizes the need for refraining from any measure leading to the escalation of hostilities, has not changed. "Iran's position vis-A -vis the Ukraine conflict remains unchanged. Iran considers the provision of military assistance to the parties engaged in the conflictawhich leads to increased human casualties, destruction of infrastructure, and a distancing from ceasefire negotiationsato be inhumane." The Iranian mission also called for a cessation of the transfer of weapons to either of the warring sides. "Not only does Iran abstain from engaging in such actions itself, but it also calls upon other countries to cease the supply of weapons to the sides involved in the conflict." On Friday, US officials expressed concern about what they described as a dangerous escalation in the Ukraine war following reports by Western media outlets that Iran had transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia. Accusations against Iran regarding arms delivery to Russia have been leveled time and again by Western countries, particularly the US, Britain and France, since the onset of the war in February 2022. On Thursday, Iran's Ambassador to the UN Amir Saied Iravani categorically rejected the "baseless and misleading" allegations in letters he sent to the UN chief and the Security Council president. "It is both ironic and hypocritical that three countries directly involved in the Ukraine conflict and significantly contributing to its escalation through the supply of advanced weaponry have boldly made such baseless claims against Iran," Iravani said, adding that the provision of Western arms has "prolonged" the Ukraine war and inflicted harm on civilians and civilian infrastructure. "The Islamic Republic of Iran views these allegations as merely the narrow and shortsighted political agendas of these three permanent members of the Council, aimed at advancing their own political interests", the Iranian envoy further said. 4194**4354 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address White House warns Iran on missile transfers to Russia By VOA Persian September 07, 2024 A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, responding to VOA's request for comments on recent reports of the Islamic Republic's delivery of ballistic missiles to Russia, warned that such actions would have consequences for the Iranian government. In a statement sent to VOA Friday, spokesperson Sean Savett wrote, "We are aware of these concerning reports, and the transfer would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran's support for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine." On Monday, Bloomberg News first reported that, according to its unnamed sources, European officials believed the Iranian government is poised to provide ballistic missiles to Russia. According to the American news agency, the officials did not specify the type or range of the missiles or the exact timing of their delivery to Moscow. However, one official suggested that the delivery might begin within the next few days. However, on Friday, The Wall Street Journal newspaper, citing American and European officials, reported that Tehran has delivered short-range ballistic missiles to Moscow. According to Western officials, the shipment includes hundreds of missiles. The report also indicated that the Islamic Republic is anticipating sending additional weapons to Russia. Savett said that the United States has been warning about the "deepening security partnership between Moscow and Tehran" since the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He added, "As we and our allies made clear at both the G7 summit and the NATO meeting this summer, we are prepared to deliver a swift and severe response if Iran were to move forward with such transfers." Savett, commenting on Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's claims about efforts to improve Iran's relations with the West, said, "Despite these claims, the missile transfer program demonstrates that the Islamic Republic continues to alienate itself from the international community and contribute to threats against European security. Therefore, we assess the leadership of the Islamic Republic based on their actions, not their statements." In late August, Reuters news agency reported first that dozens of Russian military personnel were being trained in Iran to operate the Fath-360 close-range ballistic missile system. The report also indicated that hundreds of the satellite-guided missiles are expected to be delivered to Russia shortly for use in the conflict with Ukraine. At that time, Vedant Patel, deputy spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, expressed Washington's deep concern, saying, "We remain in close contact with our European partners and allies about potential actions we may take." The White House had previously said in a statement "the U.S. has consistently warned about the deepening security cooperation between Russia and Iran since the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. That cooperation poses a threat to European security and highlights that Iran's destabilizing influence has expanded beyond the Middle East to a global scale." However, on Friday, the Islamic Republic's mission to the United Nations, responding to CNN, denied reports of sending ballistic missiles to Russia. It said, "The Islamic Republic considers the provision of military assistance to the parties engaged in the conflict a which leads to increased human casualties, destruction of infrastructure, and a distancing from cease-fire negotiations a to be inhumane." Increasing cooperation between the Islamic Republic and Russia in recent years has led Western countries to impose several extensive sanction packages on Iranian individuals and institutions. Experts indicate that Russia's current ballistic missile arsenal includes domestically produced missiles and those manufactured in North Korea, which are known for their low accuracy. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Observers Report Difficulties Accessing Polling Stations In Russian Regional Elections By RFE/RL's Russian Service and RFE/RL's Idel.Realities September 07, 2024 Election monitors have reported being denied access to polling stations as Russia's nationwide elections continue, while various infractions, including carousel voting and vote-buying, have been recorded. The elections taking place in 83 regions and cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg, will run until September 8 in some areas and will choose governors and regional legislators. The vote has drawn criticism from groups that defend voters' rights after many opposition candidates were barred by electoral authorities, with Golos, an independent monitoring group, saying before voting began on September 6 that it was an "imitation" of an election with no genuine competition. Golos has reported difficulties in the monitoring of the vote. Carousel voting was reported at some polling stations, while at least one case of vote-buying was alleged by a candidate. In the Kasnoselsky district of St. Petersburg, 112 observers were not allowed to monitor voting, which the authorities said was because they were not on approved lists. It was previously reported that district electoral commissions were not working on the days observer lists were submitted, forcing potential observers to send their applications by mail. Observers were also refused entry to polling stations in St. Petersburg's Moscow district and in the southwest Bryansk region. Outside Moscow, observers were reportedly prevented from inspecting or filming inside polling stations, and in Moscow a member of the electoral commission was suspended because he had moved about within the polling station while trying to carry out his work. In the town of Dolgoprudny in the Moscow region, a "carousel voter" was detained by police after he had voted at several polling stations. And in voting for the Novosibirsk City Council in central Russia, a candidate claimed he had been offered money to vote for a competitor. In the central region of Bashkortostan, state media reported long lines at polling stations, which observers and non-state media suggested was the result of promises of lottery prizes, including vacation packages and electronics for voters. Carousel voting and the removal of independent election monitors was also reported in Bashkortostan. Central Election Commission Ella Pamfilova said during a press briefing on September 7 that the elections were proceeding normally, although she said that 4,600 digital attacks on electronic voting systems had been reported. Most votes are being cast electronically in many regions, although voters can apply to use paper ballots. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-election-observers- infractions/33110664.html Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Putin: BRICS Forum Initiatives Will Bolster Members' Global Economic Positions Sputnik News 20240907 MOSCOW/SOCHI (Sputnik) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has welcomed the participants of the 13th BRICS Trade Union Forum and expressed confidence that their initiatives would help strengthen the positions of the BRICS countries in the global economy, according to a telegram published by the Kremlin on Saturday. More than 50 people are taking part in the event. The program includes several sessions, where each country will present national reports sharing their experiences and initiatives for uniting trade unions, a Sputnik correspondent reported. "Given the recent expansion of the BRICS association with the accession of a group of countries with dynamically developing economies, your activities are taking on a new scale ... I am confident that you will hold meaningful and constructive discussions, and that your proposals and initiatives will be implemented in practice and will contribute to the strengthening of the positions of the BRICS countries in the global economy," the telegram read. Putin said that the goals of the forum aligned with Russia's BRICS presidency agenda. The Russian leader added that ambitious socioeconomic and humanitarian development tasks could only be fully met through systematic approaches to employment, rights protection, creative potential and improvement of professional skills of citizens. The 13th BRICS Trade Union Forum is being held in Russia's Sochi from September 7-8. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan ROC Ministry of National Defense 2024/09/07 PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan 1.Dateis 6 to 6 a.m. (UTC+8) Friday to Saturday, Sep. 6-7 2.PLA activitiesis 9 PLA aircraft, 7 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 1 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait . ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and employed CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and coastal missile systems in response to the detected activities. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkey neutralizes high-profile PKK member responsible for Iran terror attacks Iran Press TV Saturday, 07 September 2024 3:10 PM The Turkish National Intelligence Organization, known as MIT, has neutralized a prominent member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant group during a counter-terrorism operation in Iraq's northern semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. Saliha Aybiyik, better known by the nom de guerre Nujiyan Amed, who was in charge of terror attacks in Iran, was targeted in an operation in the city of Sulaymaniyah. She had been active in the terror outfit since 1993. Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to imply that the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured. PKK militants regularly clash with Turkish forces in the Kurdish-dominated southeast of Turkey attached to northern Iraq. Turkey, along with the European Union and the United States, has declared the PKK a terrorist group and banned it. The militant group has been seeking an autonomous Kurdish region since 1984. Turkish ground and air forces frequently carry out operations against PKK positions in the country as well as in northern Iraq and neighboring Syria. More than 40,000 people have been killed during the three-decade conflict between Turkey and the autonomy-seeking militant group. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Estonian Minister of Defence Pevkur in Ramstein: Let Ukraine Strike Russian air bases Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Defence 6. September 2024 - 14:17 At the Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting, held yesterday and today at the Ramstein Air Base, defence ministers were briefed on Ukraine's critical needs, the situation on the battlefield, and the current state of military aid. In addition, Estonian Minister of Defence Pevkur met bilaterally with Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umerov. "Estonia's position has been and remains very clear: we must give Ukraine everything it needs and quickly so that they can win the war and push the enemy out of their territory. We all see the media reports about Russian attacks on residential buildings, even far from the front lines in western Ukraine. Russia is also massively attacking critical infrastructure to leave people without heat and electricity for the winter. Ukrainians know where these strikes are coming from, but those points are currently out of their reach. Therefore, let Ukraine strike back at these air bases to eliminate the sources of attacks and save lives," said Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur. "The Ukrainian success in Kursk has shown that Russia cannot control what happens on its own territory. Russia is provoked by fear and weakness - when met with a show of strength, they will crumble," Pevkur added. Meeting with Ukraine's Defence Minister Umerov, Minister Pevkur provided an overview of Estonia's next aid plans to Ukraine and handed over a list of Estonia's defence industry capabilities for producing support next year. "Our latest shipment of Mistral short-range air defence missile systems reached Ukraine at the end of July. With this, Estonia has surpassed its commitment to support Ukraine with 0.25% of its GDP annually. If all countries contribute similarly in the long term, we can lead to Ukraine's victory. We will continue our efforts, and as soon as we receive feedback from Ukraine on their needs that the Estonian defence industry can meet, we will immediately proceed with procurement to ensure that this aid reaches Ukraine's defenders as quickly as possible," added Minister Pevkur. At a meeting of capability coalitions' lead nations, Estonia was represented by Undersecretary for Defence Policy Tuuli Duneton, who leads the IT Coalition steering group, co-chaired by Estonia and Luxembourg. Duneton noted that the meeting provided a good opportunity to discuss progress and to invite others to join, contribute, and build upon previous commitments. "So far, 13 countries have joined the coalition, and Spain officially joined during the meeting. We have raised nearly a70 million in financial contributions and received a90 million in material donations, amounting to a total of a160 million in support," Duneton explained. "Several deliveries have already reached Ukraine and are in use on the battlefield." The IT Coalition, led by Estonia and Luxembourg, was initiated at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting in September 2023. The goal of the coalition is to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces in establishing a secure IT infrastructure that meets NATO standards, contributing to Ukraine's combat capability. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pentagon chief: Use of US arms for long-range strikes in Russia no game changer Iran Press TV Saturday, 07 September 2024 7:27 AM Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin says Ukraine's use of weapons and munitions donated to Kiev by the United States for long-range strikes inside Russian territory is not a game changer. The use of donated US weapons for long-range strikes into Russia would not turn the tide of the war for Ukraine, Austin said on Friday, indicating Washington's reluctance to give in to Kiev's wishes for arms restrictions to be lifted. Speaking to reporters at a press conference after the 24th Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Germany, Austin said Washington would provide Ukraine with an additional military aid package worth $250 million. "I'm pleased to say that President [Joe] Biden will announce today an additional $250 million security assistance package for Ukraine," Austin said, adding, "It will surge in more capabilities to meet Ukraine's evolving requirements." He did not, however, announce what the exact contents of the new package would be to meet the new developments in the frontline. For the first time in months, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky attended the meeting in person to lobby once more for added military deliveries, namely air defense systems and long-range weapons to strike targets inside Russia as Russian troops continued advances in the east. Zelensky has repeatedly announced that while he is grateful to the West for their military support, the volume of the aid and the speed of delivery is unacceptable. Meanwhile, France said it will use a share of 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in revenues from frozen Russian assets to finance the purchase of military equipment for Ukraine. "Alongside other (EU) member states, the ministry... will take part in implementing the new support measure for Ukraine from the European Peace Facility," the French defense ministry said in a statement on Friday. The European Commission in Brussels had given the go-ahead for "swift procurement of priority material from French industry", including ammunition, artillery and air defenses, the ministry added. The 27-nation European Union has frozen around a200 billion in Russian assets since Moscow launched its special military operation in Donbas in 2022. Around 90 percent of the Russian assets are held in Belgium, where the international clearinghouse and securities depository Euroclear is headquartered. EU member states agreed in May to use the interest generated by seized assets belonging to the Russian central bank to support Kiev. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine Says 5 Killed In Russian Shelling Of Donetsk Region By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service September 07, 2024 Russian shelling of the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine on September 7 killed five people, regional authorities said. Three men between the ages of 24 and 69 were killed in the town of Kostyantynivka, Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin said on Telegram. Four people were injured, he said. Two men in their 50s were reported killed in shelling near the town of Toretsk about 20 kilometers to the southeast of Kostyantynivka. Public broadcaster Suspilne quoted Anastasia Medvedeva, a spokeswoman for the Donetsk Prosecutor-General's Office, as saying a fourth person was injured in the attack on Kostyantynivka -- a 57-year-old woman who suffered a shrapnel wound and a head injury. Medvedeva said the two people killed in Toretsk were men ages 52 and 53. The city of Khariv also was shelled late on September 7, the regional Prosecutor-General's Office said. The grounds of a private business and nine vehicles were damaged, and a 61-year-old security guard was injured. A residential building caught fire and 10 private houses were damaged in the village of Mala Danylivka in the Kharkiv region. Four people were injured -- three women and a man. Earlier on September 7, a large fire at an arms depot prompted local authorities to evacuate some 600 people in southwest Russia's Voronezh region. Governor Aleksandr Gusev said on Telegram that the fire in the region's Ostrogoz district was caused by debris from a drone. Gusev said nearby residents of several settlements were evacuated to safety and that no injuries were reported. Videos showing a large fire and in which explosions can clearly be heard were posted on social media sites. The Russian Defense Ministry, while reporting that Ukrainian drones had been shot down over Russia's southwestern Belgorod and Kursk regions, made no mention of any drone attacks in the Voronezh region. Gusev in late August announced the evacuation of about 600 residents of the Voronezh region's Ostrogoz district after claimed downings of drones led to fires and the detonation of explosives that lasted almost two days. In Ukraine, the air force reported on September 7 that air defenses were scrambled across the country to defend against a massive overnight drone attack by Russia. The air force said 67 long-range drones were shot down. On the evening of September 6, one person was reported killed in the southeastern city of Pavlohrad in the Dnipropetrovsk region as the result of missile strikes, and that 64 people were injured in the region. Russian forces were also continuing to push toward the strategic city of Pokrovsk in Ukraine's Donetsk region, where RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service captured footage from near the front line that showed the village of Novohrodivka ablaze. The Russian Defense Ministry on September 7 said that its forces had seized the village of Kalynove, which lies just 25 kilometers southeast of Pokrovsk, a key supply and logistics hub for Ukraine's frontline troops. Russia has been advancing on Pokrovsk for months, prompting an evacuation of the city, as part of Russia's objective of taking all of the Donbas region. Russia has also pounded Ukraine across the country with missile and drone strikes, including one on a military facility in the central city of Poltava on September 3 that killed at least 55 people and wounded more than 300. Funeral services for the victims took place on September 7 in a solemn ceremony. A major Russian strike on September 4, just one day after the Poltova attack, killed seven people in the western city of Lviv. Ukraine, meanwhile, has seized more than 1,300 square kilometers and claims to have killed or wounded about 6,000 Russian soldiers in a surprise incursion launched last month into Russia's western Kursk region. Ukraine's top military commander, recently promoted General Oleksandr Syrskiy, said this week that he considered the Kursk incursion a success because it had reduced the threat of Russian attacks. Syrskiy also acknowledged that the situation around Pokrovsk was difficult but that Ukrainian forces had succeed in blunting the Russian offensive there. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on September 6 appealed to allied partners at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany to free Ukraine to use donated weapons to strike deeper into Russian territory. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said after the meeting that no single military weapon would be decisive for Ukraine to defeat Russia's full-scale invasion and that the use of donated U.S. weapons for long-range strikes into Russia would not turn the tide of the war in Ukraine's favor. Austin said Russia had moved its glide bombs back to positions beyond the range of U.S.-made Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and that Ukraine itself had significant capabilities to attack long-range targets. With reporting by AP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-depot-attack- voronezh-evacautions/33110535.html Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address News / National by Staff reporter A High Court judge has reduced the sentence of Calvin Madau, who was convicted of three counts of theft but mistakenly sentenced for four counts due to a trial magistrate's error. Justice Paul Musithu found no issue with Madaus conviction on the three counts but reduced his sentence by a quarter to reflect the correct number of charges.Justice Musithu urged magistrates to remain vigilant to avoid elementary mistakes, stating, "Trial magistrates are urged to be always vigilant so that elementary mistakes of this nature are avoided."Madau had originally been charged with four counts of theft but pleaded not guilty to three counts, and a full trial proceeded on those charges. However, the record of proceedings did not address the fourth count. A regional magistrate reviewing the case raised concerns, noting that Madau had only pleaded to three counts, contrary to the trial magistrate's claim that he pleaded not guilty to all four.As a result, the High Court reviewed the proceedings, ruling that the trial magistrate's failure to record the fourth count was an irregularity. Justice Musithu stated that because Madau had not pleaded to the fourth charge, sentencing him for four counts was unjust.Madau's original sentence included a Z$400,000 fine or 30 days in jail, along with an eight-month jail term that was fully suspended. On review, Justice Musithu reduced the fine to Z$300,000 and cut the jail sentence from eight to six months, with the same conditions for suspension.Madau was also ordered to pay Z$495,000 in restitution to the complainant, down from the original Z$630,000. If he had already paid the larger amount, the court ordered that he be refunded Z$135,000 within 14 days.Justice Musithu confirmed that the Prosecutor General could still pursue a fresh prosecution on the unaddressed fourth count. Ukraine Loses Over 10,700 Soldiers, 84 Tanks in Kursk Region Attack - Russian Ministry Sputnik News 20240907 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Ukrainian armed forces have lost over 10,700 soldiers and 84 tanks in the course of the offensive in Russia's Kursk Region, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday. Meanwhile, over past last 24 hours, the Russian forces eliminated over 280 Ukrainian soldiers, 13 armored vehicles, including three tanks and 10 armored combat vehicles, nine artillery units, including a US-made 155mm M777 howitzer, 9 vehicles and an electronic warfare station in the Kursk direction, the ministry added. The Russian armed forces have also defeated the Ukrainian forces in a number of regional settlements, including Apanasovka, Vishnevka, Borki, Vnezapnoe and Gogolevka. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Zelensky Fails to Convince Allies to Lift Weapon Limits for Strikes on Russia - Reports Sputnik News 20240907 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Volodymyr Zelensky has not convinced his backers to lift restrictions on the use of Western weapons to strike deep into Russian territory, The Washington Post reported. Zelensky reportedly turned to his allies during a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany. However, Washington has not changed its stance regarding the restrictions on Kiev's use of long-range weapons against Russia. Earlier in the week, the White House said that the US was not considering any changes to its current policy that prevents Ukraine from using US-made weapons to launch long-range strikes deep into Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously stated that NATO strategists must realize "what they are playing with" when considering the possibility of allowing Ukraine to conduct such strikes with Western weaponry. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Orban Says Not in Europe's Interests to Take Ukraine's Stance in Conflict With Russia Sputnik News 20240907 MOSCOW (Sputnik) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban believes it is irrational for the European Union to adopt Ukraine's stance in its conflict with Russia, as this draws European countries deeper into the conflict, he has told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. Orban stressed that such stance would be harmful. "My critical remarks on European policy refer to the fact that instead of following European interests, we are identifying our position with the position of Ukraine, and this draws us deeper into the conflict. This is not good for Europe, on the contrary, it is very harmful," Orban said in the interview on the sidelines of an economic forum in the Italian city of Cernobbio. Brussels is interested in terminating the conflict, but the EU has become one of its sides, the politician added. "Our security is not under threat. If Europe decides to become a party in this conflict, then Hungary does not back such a position," Orban said, commenting on the alleged Russian threat to Europe. In July, Orban met separately with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Volodymyr Zelensky, as part of his diplomatic efforts to open up lines of communication to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. He also met with US presidential candidate Donald Trump. Some EU leaders protested what they saw as Orban's alleged misuse of the bloc's rotating presidency. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russian Forces Liberate Kalinovo Settlement in Donetsk People's Republic - Defense Ministry Sputnik News 20240907 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian Defense Ministry reported on the progress of the special military operation and the key achievements of the Russian Armed Forces in the last 24 hours. Russia's Tsentr (Center) Battlegroup has taken control of the settlement of Kalinovo in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday. "As a result of the active actions of the units of the Tsentr Battlegroup, the settlement of Kalinovo in the DPR has been liberated," the ministry informed. Likewise, Kiev lost up to 810 soldiers in battles with troops of Russia's Yug (South) Battlegroup in the past 24 hours, while the latter managed to eliminate an ammunition stockpile and two armored vehicles, the ministry said on Saturday. The Zapad (West) Battlegroup eliminated up to 450 Ukrainian soldiers, the ministry added. Kiev also lost up to 110 soldiers as a result of actions by the Vostok (East) Battlegroup, the ministry said, adding that Ukrainian forces also lost two vehicles, a US-produced 155 mm M777 howitzer, a Bukovel-AD electronic warfare station and a US-made AN/TPQ-50 counter-battery radar. In the past 24 hours, the Tsentr (Center) Battlegroup eliminated up to 470 Ukrainian soldiers and repelled seven counterattacks, the ministry informed. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine Is Committed to Cooperation and Fulfills All Obligations to the IMF - Iryna Mudra President of Ukraine 7 September 2024 - 14:11 Deputy Head of the Office of the President Iryna Mudra discussed with representatives of the International Monetary Fund mission the key reforms necessary for the fifth review of the EFF financing program. During the meeting, the main attention was paid to the establishment of the High Specialized Court to hear public law disputes against national state bodies, as well as the extension of the mandate of the Public Council of International Experts to successfully complete the competition for the positions of judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court. Iryna Mudra assured the representatives of the mission that Ukraine is ready to establish the High Specialized Court. Candidates for judicial positions will undergo a professional competence and integrity check with the participation of independent experts with international experience. Strengthening the independence and effectiveness of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine in controlling the use of state budget funds was also discussed at the meeting. The parties agreed on continuing active dialogue to implement reforms. The Deputy Head of the Presidential Office also noted that Ukraine is committed to cooperation and continues fulfilling all obligations under the Memorandum with the IMF. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The President Met with the Leader of the Dutch Party for Freedom Geert Wilders President of Ukraine 7 September 2024 - 13:15 During the Ambrosetti Forum in Italy, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the leader of the Party for Freedom, Member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands Geert Wilders. Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the Netherlands and all the Dutch people for their comprehensive support of Ukraine: defense, financial and humanitarian. "We are very grateful for the help and warm attitude that our forced migrants have received in the Netherlands since the beginning of the full-scale war. Thank you for all the support provided. We have very good relations with your country," the Head of State said. In particular, the President praised the significant contribution of the Netherlands to the strengthening of Ukraine's air defense. The Head of State informed Geert Wilder about the security situation in Ukraine and the challenges our country faces in countering full-scale Russian aggression. Volodymyr Zelenskyy also described Ukraine's efforts to restore a just and lasting peace. In particular, he spoke about the process of implementing the Peace Formula based on the outcomes of the first, inaugural Peace Summit and preparations for the second Summit. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Support for Ukraine, Implementation of the Peace Formula and Reconstruction: Volodymyr Zelenskyy Met with Giorgia Meloni President of Ukraine 7 September 2024 - 12:34 On the sidelines of the Ambrosetti Forum, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President of the Council of Ministers of Italy Giorgia Meloni. The Head of State thanked for all the allocated military and technical assistance packages and emphasized the importance of transferring the relevant weapons to Ukraine as soon as possible. "We are very grateful to you and your team, to all the Italian people for the support you have provided us," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The President informed Giorgia Meloni about the situation on the battlefield, the recent shelling of our country's civilian and critical infrastructure by the Russian Federation and spoke about current defense needs. The leaders discussed steps to implement the decision of the G7 to provide Ukraine with nearly USD 50 billion from frozen Russian assets. The Ukrainian leader also commended Italy's decision to host the next Ukraine Recovery Conference to be held in 2025. Preparations for the event have already begun. The restoration and reconstruction of Ukraine, in particular of its energy system, was one of the issues discussed during the meeting. Special attention was paid to the implementation of the Peace Formula. Italy is actively involved in the implementation of each point. In addition, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about our country's next steps on its path to European integration and praised Italy's support. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Italian Business Representatives Discussed Cooperation with Ukrainian Companies President of Ukraine 7 September 2024 - 08:54 On the sidelines of the Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with representatives of Italian business - more than 30 leading companies from various branches of the economy. Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Italian entrepreneurs for developing their projects in Ukraine right now. He also commended the companies that provide Ukrainian partners with energy equipment, including in the form of humanitarian aid. During the meeting, the parties discussed the post-war reconstruction of our state. The President emphasized that it would be necessary not only to restore but also to build a qualitatively new economy and modern infrastructure. "The reconstruction of Ukraine should include the introduction of innovative technologies and modern infrastructure," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The President noted that the Italian business community might be interested in cooperation with Ukraine, especially in the defense production, machine building as well as energy, aerospace, and IT industries. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US, UK spy chiefs urge support for Ukraine in joint essay By VOA News September 07, 2024 The heads of the American and British foreign intelligence agencies said in a joint essay published Saturday that ongoing support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia is essential. They pledged to enhance cooperation between their agencies and address other global challenges. CIA Director William Burns and Richard Moore, head of Britain's MI6 secret intelligence service, wrote the opinion piece in the Financial Times newspaper. This marks the first time the leaders of the two agencies have co-written an essay. The spy chiefs highlighted that their partnership is a cornerstone of the "special relationship" between the U.S. and Britain. They noted that their agencies have collaborated for 75 years and are united in opposing Russia's aggression against Ukraine. "Staying the course in Ukraine is more vital than ever," they wrote. Russian President Vladimir Putin, they said, "will not succeed in extinguishing Ukraine's sovereignty and independence." They committed to continuing support for Ukrainian intelligence. Russian forces are making slow progress in eastern Ukraine, while Ukrainian troops continue their activities in Russia's Kursk region. Kyiv has been seeking additional air defense support from the U.S. and its allies. The spy chiefs also addressed Russian intelligence operations, accusing them of sabotage and disinformation across Europe. Russia has denied those allegations. Burns and Moore said their agencies have reorganized to confront a growing challenge from China, which they described as the principal intelligence and geopolitical concern of the 21st century. They also emphasized their efforts to use intelligence to promote restraint and de-escalation in the Middle East, including working toward a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Burns is leading U.S. negotiations to resolve the conflict and address humanitarian issues. On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged military allies to provide more weaponry to strengthen Ukraine's defense as Russia continues its invasion. Speaking at Germany's Ramstein Airbase during the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting, Zelenskyy stressed the need for improved air defense systems and permission to use U.S.-supplied long-range weapons to target locations in Russia and Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory. Zelenskyy highlighted the urgent need for additional air defense systems due to recent drone and missile attacks. He noted that while some support has been provided, several promised systems have not yet arrived. U.S. policy currently restricts Ukraine from using U.S. weapons to strike deep within Russia. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby confirmed that the policy remains unchanged but noted that discussions with Ukrainian officials are ongoing. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaking at the UDCG meeting, reiterated support for Ukraine's immediate needs, including air defense and armor. He also emphasized the importance of Ukraine boosting its own defense production for long-term security. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, in a related development, called for continued military support for Ukraine, echoing Zelenskyy's appeal. He stressed that a strong Ukraine is crucial for ending the war and urged all allies to maintain their support during this critical period. Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine mourns victims of Russian attack on military institute By VOA News September 07, 2024 As Ukraine buried the victims on Saturday of one of Russia's deadliest airstrikes, the heads of the U.S. and British foreign intelligence agencies said that ongoing support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia is essential. Hundreds of Ukrainians, including sobbing relatives, gathered at the Cathedral of the Assumption in Poltava to mourn the more than 50 dead and more than 300 injured in a Russian missile strike on a military training facility and a nearby hospital. Late Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 55 people were killed and 328 injured in the Tuesday attack in Poltava. "That includes people with severe injuries, such as amputations and internal organ damage," Zelenskyy said, speaking at a conference outside the Italian city of Milan. Zelenskyy, frustrated by Western allies' reluctance to remove restrictions on the use of the weapons they supply, said Ukraine is developing its own drones and missiles. "Eventually, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin will feel the pressure to seek only one thing: peace," he said. US, British intelligence publish statement Meanwhile, in their joint opinion essay published Saturday in the Financial Times newspaper, CIA Director William Burns and Richard Moore, head of Britain's MI6 secret intelligence service, pledged to enhance cooperation between their agencies and address other global challenges. "Staying the course in Ukraine is more vital than ever," they wrote. "Putin will not succeed in extinguishing Ukraine's sovereignty and independence." It marked the first time the leaders of the two agencies have co-written an article. The spy chiefs also addressed Russian intelligence operations, accusing them of sabotage and disinformation across Europe. Russia has denied those allegations. Russia launches drones Overnight Friday into Saturday, Russia launched 67 drones into Ukraine, the Ukrainian Air Force said. Sixty-one were destroyed, it said. No injuries or serious damage were reported, but drone debris could be seen outside Ukraine's parliament building. In the eastern city of Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region Governor Vadym Filashkin said an artillery attack killed four people and injured three more. It also damaged a high-rise building and power lines. Ukraine launched its own strikes Saturday, targeting an ammunition depot in the Russian region of Voronezh, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) from Ukraine. Governor Aleksandr Gusev said that Russia "neutralized a drone" but the debris fell, sparking a fire "that spread to explosive devices and caused them to detonate," prompting the evacuation of residents, he said. No one was injured, he added. Russian Telegram channels said the fire broke out in a local ammunition depot, according to Agence France-Presse, adding that the Security Service of Ukraine, also known as SBU, later claimed it had hit a Russian ammunition depot. Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Dubai, UAE, Sept. 07, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LedgerAI, a leader in artificial intelligence and business solutions technology, is thrilled to announce it has secured its first Letter of Intent (LOI) with Financial Recovery Strategies (FRS), marking a transformative moment as the company redefines the future of business intelligence by applying Artificial Intelligence (AI), intelligently. This will be part of an ongoing series of LOI announcements with clients. Aura Vision: The Intelligent Heart of FRS This cutting edge AI interface will function as an unparalleled Board and Executive Concierge, Chief of Staff, and Chief Administrator, but these titles only scratch the surface of its functional capabilities. At the core of this partnership with FRS is LedgerAIs flagship AI platform, Aura Vision a dynamic, next-generation AI-powered interface designed to act as the nerve center of FRS. Aura Vision doesnt just support decision-making; it revolutionizes it by seamlessly integrating into every layer of FRSs operations. From real-time analysis of class action litigation landscapes to forecasting financial recovery trends, Aura Vision ensures FRS is always one step ahead, making decisions with a confidence rooted in data-driven intelligence. Aura Vision is engineered to anticipate the needs of FRSs leadership and operational teams, proactively delivering critical market insights, risk assessments, and internal intelligence. It sifts through vast data streams, identifies patterns, and presents actionable insights with unparalleled speed and accuracy. Michael Epstein, CEO of FRS: "Aura Vision is a game-changer for FRS. Its like having a team of the worlds top strategists, analysts, and advisors working 24/7, but with the precision and efficiency that only AI can provide. For an organization like ours, with over 29,000 clients, the ability to proactively manage and interpret vast amounts of data is invaluable. Aura Vision doesnt just tell us whats happening; it tells us whats coming, allowing us to act swiftly and strategically." Strategic Partnership: A New Era for FRS and LedgerAI Epstein also spoke highly of the team of four co-founders behind LedgerAI: "The brilliance of CEO Paul Chou and his executive team at LedgerAI cannot be overstated. From Pauls visionary leadership to Bob Carellas financial expertise and client focus, David Laras operational and market insights, and Jorge Guinovarts marketing reach, this partnership is the perfect alignment of innovation and execution. Aura Vision represents the culmination of their efforts, and we at FRS couldnt be more excited to integrate it into our operations. The immediate ROI we anticipate from Aura Visions proactive intelligence-sharing capabilities is very exciting." Looking Ahead: Redefining Business Intelligence The LOI with FRS positions LedgerAI as a leader in AI innovation. Aura Vision is not just another tool; its a revolutionary platform that will redefine how companies like FRS operate making business intelligence more intuitive, integrated, and impactful by applying Artificial Intelligence, intelligently. About FRS Financial Recovery Strategies (FRS) is a leading firm specializing in class action settlement claims recovery and cost-saving strategies. With over 29,000 clients, more than 400 of them being fortune level companies, FRS provides comprehensive management of class action claims, from tracking litigations to overseeing settlement distributions. For more information, visit www.frsco.com . Michael Epstein Mepstein@frsco.com Website | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube About LedgerAI LedgerAI is at the forefront of artificial intelligence and business solutions technology, dedicated to revolutionizing how businesses operate through cutting-edge AI platforms like Aura Vision. LedgerAI continues to push the boundaries of innovation and deliver exceptional value to its clients. For more information, visit www.ledgerai.co or contact our media relations team at info@ledgerai.co . Website | Twitter | LinkedIn | Telegram | Instagram | YouTube https://www.ledgerai.co/ Disclaimer: The information provided in this release is not investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is recommended that you practice due diligence (including consultation with a professional financial advisor) before investing or trading securities and cryptocurrency. HINGGAN LEAGUE, China, Sept. 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On September 7, a series branded event themed "Discover the Beauty of Arxan" kicked off in Arxan, Hinggan League, Inner Mongolia. This event is aimed at showcasing the natural scenery, cultural heritage, and tourism resources of Arxan from all angles, attracting more tourists to discover the beauty of Arxan. A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on this link. During the event, participants praised the enchanting autumnal scenery of Arxan for the multicolored fields, vibrantly hued forests, and mirror-like lakes, which create a colorful paradise. Located on China's northern border with Mongolia, Arxan boasts unparalleled ice and snow resources nationwide and a world-class hot spring cluster. In recent years, Arxan has been continuously strengthening ecological conservation, promoting environmental protection and economic growth simultaneously. In August 2024, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China honored the Arxan resort area with the title of National Tourist Resort, which marked a breakthrough for the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in obtaining this title. This is another "shining title" granted to Arxan following the National 5A-level Scenic Area and the UNESCO Global Geopark. With the ambition to become a "first-class Chinese and renowned international" tourist resort city, Arxan is committed to creating a wider range of new products, industries, and models, pushing forward the quality optimization and upgrade of the resort area, and constantly improving scenario-based experiences of tourists, thereby making Arxan National Tourist Resort become the first, optimal, best and necessary choice of a resort destination for wellness and relaxation both domestically and internationally. Source: Organizing Committee of the "Discover the Beauty of Arxan" Event SAN DIEGO, Sept. 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The law firm of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP announces that purchasers of Methode Electronics, Inc. (NYSE: MEI) common stock between June 23, 2022 and March 6, 2024, inclusive (the Class Period), have until October 25, 2024 to seek appointment as lead plaintiff of the Methode Electronics class action lawsuit. Captioned Salem v. Methode Electronics, Inc., No. 24-cv-07696 (N.D. Ill.), the Methode Electronics class action lawsuit charges Methode Electronics as well as certain of Methode Electronics top former executive officers with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. If you suffered substantial losses and wish to serve as lead plaintiff of the Methode Electronics class action lawsuit, please provide your information here: https://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases-methode-electronics-inc-class-action-lawsuit-mei.html You can also contact attorneys J.C. Sanchez or Jennifer N. Caringal of Robbins Geller by calling 800/449-4900 or via e-mail at info@rgrdlaw.com. CASE ALLEGATIONS: Methode Electronics designs, engineers, and produces mechatronic products for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). The Methode Electronics class action lawsuit alleges that defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Methode Electronics had lost highly skilled and experienced employees during the COVID-19 pandemic necessary to successfully complete Methode Electronics transition from its historic low mix, high volume production model to a high mix, low production model at its Monterrey facility; (ii) Methode Electronics attempts to replace its General Motors center console production with more diversified, specialized products for a wider array of vehicle manufacturers and OEMs, in particular in the electric vehicle (EV) space, had been plagued by production planning deficiencies, inventory shortages, vendor and supplier problems, and, ultimately, botched execution of Methode Electronics strategic plans; (iii) Methode Electronics manufacturing systems at its critical Monterrey facility suffered from a variety of logistical defects, such as improper system coding, shipping errors, erroneous delivery times, deficient quality control systems, and failures to timely and efficiently procure necessary raw materials; (iv) Methode Electronics had fallen substantially behind on the launch of new EV programs out of its Monterrey facility, preventing Methode Electronics from timely receiving revenue from new EV program awards; and (v) as a result, Methode Electronics was not on track to achieve the 2023 diluted earnings-per-share guidance or the 3-year 6% organic sales compound annual growth rate represented to investors and such estimates lacked a reasonable factual basis. The plaintiff is represented by Robbins Geller, which has extensive experience in prosecuting investor class actions including actions involving financial fraud. You can view a copy of the complaint by clicking here. THE LEAD PLAINTIFF PROCESS: The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 permits any investor who purchased Methode Electronics common stock during the Class Period to seek appointment as lead plaintiff in the Methode Electronics class action lawsuit. A lead plaintiff is generally the movant with the greatest financial interest in the relief sought by the putative class who is also typical and adequate of the putative class. A lead plaintiff acts on behalf of all other class members in directing the Methode Electronics class action lawsuit. The lead plaintiff can select a law firm of its choice to litigate the Methode Electronics class action lawsuit. An investors ability to share in any potential future recovery of the Methode Electronics class action lawsuit is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. ABOUT ROBBINS GELLER: Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP is one of the worlds leading law firms representing investors in securities fraud cases. Our Firm has been #1 in the ISS Securities Class Action Services rankings for six out of the last ten years for securing the most monetary relief for investors. We recovered $6.6 billion for investors in securities-related class action cases over $2.2 billion more than any other law firm in the last four years. With 200 lawyers in 10 offices, Robbins Geller is one of the largest plaintiffs firms in the world and the Firms attorneys have obtained many of the largest securities class action recoveries in history, including the largest securities class action recovery ever $7.2 billion in In re Enron Corp. Sec. Litig. Please visit the following page for more information: https://www.rgrdlaw.com/services-litigation-securities-fraud.html Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Services may be performed by attorneys in any of our offices. Contact: Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP J.C. Sanchez, Jennifer N. Caringal 655 W. Broadway, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA 92101 800-449-4900 info@rgrdlaw.com Melbourne, Australia, Sept. 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SPEE3D, a leading metal additive manufacturing company, announced they will showcase their Expeditionary Manufacturing Unit (EMU) the complete on-site mobile additive manufacturing solution at the Land Forces International Exposition, taking place from September 11-13 in Melbourne, Australia at booth A125. EMU combines SPEE3D's expeditionary metal 3D printer, XSPEE3D, with the SPEE3Dcell post-processing and testing unit in two 20-foot shipping containers, and together produce high quality metal parts in record time close to the point of need. This is the first time EMU will be on display in Australia. In addition, SPEE3D continues to partner with the Australian Department of Defence to support its efforts to aid Ukrainian war efforts. Australian Defence has purchased three SPEE3Dcell units that will be used to complement the previous three WarpSPEE3D printers purchased last year, helping Ukrainian soldiers maintain and repair military equipment and salvage machinery. The SPEE3Dcell offers an expeditionary solution that enables personnel to machine, heat treat, and test metal parts that could otherwise halt an advance or cripple an operation. "Land Forces is the premier exposition for defence in Australia, and we are excited to display our Expeditionary Manufacturing Unit (EMU) for the first time at the event," said Byron Kennedy, CEO of SPEE3D. "We are also proud to continue our partnership with Australian Defence, with their purchase of SPEE3Dcells to complement existing WarpSPEE3D printers. Together, they offer a complete solution for military personnel to manufacture and test metal parts in real-time and at the point of need, helping Ukrainian soldiers stay in the fight." Land Forces International Exposition is the premier gateway to the land defence markets of Australia and the region, and a platform for interaction with major prime contractors from the United States and Europe. With strong commitment from the Australian Army and a substantial Asian, European, and US industry presence, Land Forces provides an interface between Australian, regional, and international industry on every level, from Defence Force customers to prime contractors, small to medium enterprises, and start-up companies. About SPEE3D: SPEE3D is a leading metal additive manufacturing technology company dedicated to the research, development, and delivery of metal 3D printers and integrated systems utilizing its patented Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing (CSAM) technology. As a result, SPEE3D's product portfolio enables significantly faster production than traditional metal manufacturing for a wide range of metals, including Copper, Aluminium, Stainless Steel, Aluminum Bronze, and now, Nickel Aluminium Bronze Expeditionary. To learn more, visit www.spee3d.com. Attachment Android 15 out to devs, Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 is here, Week 36 in review Another week down, so let's recap. Google released Android 15 to developers and Pixels are expected to get the update within "weeks". Other makers should announce their update roadmaps shortly. Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3. The new mid-range platform comes to take over from the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 as the company seemingly forgot there's no second-gen version of the 4nm chip. The Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 brings improved AI performance for tasks like activity tracking and noise cancellation during calls. The chip is really similar to the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 with some downgrades in the CPU and Display departments. The chip choice of the Galaxy S25 family has been a point of discussion in the past few weeks. First we heard that it would be an Exynos-only affair, then two separate reports told us to expect Snapdragon everywhere. Now another rumor, from Samsung's home of Korea, confirms the Snapdragon win. The Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25+, and Galaxy S25 Ultra will all allegedly use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 globally. This has apparently been done to "maximize the performance" of the S25 series. The Exynos 2500 will instead be used in the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Galaxy Z Flip7 that will be released in the second half of next year. That's an interesting twist, as the foldables have so far relied on Snapdragon chips. Qualcomm silently introduces Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 The chipset is just like the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 but with underpowered efficiency cores. We saw the first render of Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition. It's noticeably thinner than the ongoing Galaxy Z Fold6, has a brushed finish on the back, and a slightly different camera island. One of the lenses looks like a periscope zoom, and we expect a 200MP main camera. Sadly, rumor has it this phone will be exclusive to China and South Korea. IFA kicked off this week. Among the key announcements were the 8-core Snapdragon X Plus, Honor holding the global launch of the Magic V3, MagicPad 2, and Intel-powered MagicBook Art 14. Honor also unveiled a Snapdragon X Elite-powered variant of the MagicBook Art 14. Finally, Huawei's tri-fold Mate XT was pictured in the wild, and later on the company released a teaser of it. These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales. With funding thats half of what it asked for in fiscal year 2025, the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority is anticipating hiring freezes, reduced nursing staff, and longer wait times in the emergency room, according to hospital officials. The budget passed by senators late last month will give GMH a subsidy of $37.7 million. Thats only about half of the $74.3 million that the hospital said it needs to keep up with the cost of keeping doors open in fiscal 2025. GMH doesnt make enough money in any given year to keep up with costs, and needs tax revenue from GovGuam to help cover the gap. Already short in fiscal 2024, GMH leadership has projected a $40 million increase in expenses for fiscal 2025. Hospital Administrator Lilian Perez-Posadas said the hospitals executive management council met last week to figure out how to increase funds and costs in light of the shortfall in funding from lawmakers. GMH Chief Financial Officer Yuka Hechanova said the only big cost cut that can be made is on personnel. Hospital supplies have seen steep price increases in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, but we need all the supplies, Hechanova said, and there is no cut that can be made there. That leaves funding for staff positions that arent currently filled, which could save a significant amount of money if cut but will leave GMH unable to hire medical personnel. Most of the people rolling in on our payroll are nurses and clinical staff...because they have a high turnover rate, were constantly hiring, theyre retiring, theyre leaving, theyre moving to the states, Hechanova said. A hiring freeze is not in effect yet, though Perez-Posadas said it may have to come down the line. She said GMH management will have to work through that with the hospital board of trustees. Cant afford travel nurses anymore Besides vacancies, the $8 million that GMH is paying for travel nurses is something that GMH cant afford anymore, according to Hechanova. There are 31 travel nurses on staff at GMH, and that number could be reduced by around half as travel nurse numbers are scaled through October and November. Management now needs to make tough decisions, like leaving beds unstaffed as travel nurses are pushed off the payroll, Perez-Posadas said. Patients in the emergency room, when they come in for a cardiac bed, telemetry bed, they may have to wait longer in the emergency room, the administrator said. Keeping nurses on board has been a challenge for the hospital, and the 18% pay bump meant to boost retention has been so far successful, according to Perez-Posadas. Around 70 nurses quit GMH last year, with only around 40 hired. This year, the hiring of about 30 nurses has outpaced departures, Perez-Posadas said. But pay raises have also made it harder for GMH to keep up with costs, Hechanova noted. In the last three or four years, adjustments for all staff, including nurses and doctors have added $20 million to $25 million. Its a very expensive endeavor to keep the hospital open, because we need all our people here and like health care across the country, thats been the biggest cost is labor. Were paying our doctors more so that they dont leave, and we have to pay our people more, Hechanova said. Other costs to be weighed are outpatient specialty services and elective procedures, like gastroenterology and cardiology. Those services bring in cash for GMH, but they also require nurses who would otherwise be staffing acute care beds. We really dont want to, Perez-Posadas said, but cutting back on those services may have to be weighed. After getting a $30 million bailout for GMH vendor payments early this year, the hospital is once again behind by about $17 million on vendor payments, Hechanova said. Improvements in collections and billing have brought GMH income up to around $13 million a month, she said, but it still takes around $16 million to cover costs. Thats the deficit that we really need to (address)...from the Legislature for the extra money, just so we can get that we pay vendors so late. They really dont like us, because were terrible customers, Hechanova said. Billing, collection woes GMH has a collection rate of about 36%, but according to Hechanova, after adjusting for patients who cant pay at all and caps on Medicare reimbursements, or what we expect to collect, the figure is closer to 85% or 90%. Perez-Posadas stressed that the hospital doesnt turn any patients away. There is some help coming onboard to improve billings and collections, according to Perez-Posadas. The Guam Economic Development Authority put a contract for hospital finance consulting services out to bid, which Perez-Posadas said will help with improvements in billing and collection. Another $150,000 in grant funding will also help with information technology infrastructure assessment, which will further help with billings, she said. Funding comes from the $158 million in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment, BEAD, grant funds that GovGuam has received. In the short term, GMH is still hoping that senators will provide more money, when talks of a supplemental budget come around, Perez-Posadas said. Lawmakers are expected to sort out, around October, what to do with about $27 million in excess revenue GovGuam has collected this fiscal year. There are about $100 million worth of competing programs for the money, the Pacific Daily News has said. For patients, come Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year, you will still be taken care of, Perez Posadas said. Heart patients that need a spot in the telemetry unit, you may have to wait a little bit longer, she said. A multi-agency team that the governor formed four weeks ago to help 18 public schools pass health sanitation inspections in order to open for a new academic year is now working on four remaining campuses. The supposed fifth campus, Chief Brodie Memorial Elementary School in Tamuning, will no longer be addressed following guidance from the Guam Department of Educations facilities and maintenance unit, according to Adelup on Sunday. While the Tamuning campus is pending a public health inspection, students have resumed in-person learning at Juan M. Guerrero Elementary School. Both elementary school populations are operating five days a week without disruption, Adelup said. As of Sunday, the governors School Opening Readiness Team, SORT, continues to address the four remaining campuses: Southern High School J.Q. San Miguel Elementary School Inarajan Middle School Price Elementary School Its been a month since we mobilized our School Opening Readiness Team (SORT), and weve seen remarkable progress from north to southall for the benefit of our islands students, Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said in a statement. As GDOE Superintendent Dr. (Erik) Swanson has stated, Failure is not an option, and our administration mirrors this sentiment, which is why we keep pushing forward. The team has started with 18 schools unable to open to just five, and we are proud of this progress, Lt. Gov. Joshua Tenorio said in a statement. He said the team worked diligently alongside hundreds of others, including dedicated teachers and staff and their families, the GDOE facilities and maintenance team, and community volunteers who donated their time and resources. We commend everyone who stepped up to ensure the safety and well-being of our students, Tenorio said. The remaining four campuses have proven the most challenging due to significant repairs needed to plumbing and electrical systems, he said. Because of this, our agencies, especially those with skilled workers, are consolidating efforts to addressand restore in-person education to our remaining affected students and their families, Tenorio said. GDOE is aiming to get all uninspected schools cleared and back open by Sept. 30. GDOEs state of emergency will end once all schools are reopened. Haiti - FLASH : Kenyan Commander announces arrival of contingents from 3 other countries On Saturday, 7 September 2024, Godfrey Otunge, the Kenyan Commander of the Multinational Security Support Mission (MMSS) held an important meeting with Miroslav Jenca, Under-Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia, United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) of the Americas and Department of Peace Operations (DPO). Jenca was accompanied by Ulrika Richardson, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), Jean Charar and Lukas Fulde, UN Delegates, Alexander Tadion, Special Assistant (BINUH) and Papa Samba Mbodj, Head of the Police Component (D1 - BINUH). Otunge shared the achievements and challenges of the MMSS while stressing the need to establish forward operating bases that will play a key role in maintaining the already pacified and recaptured areas of gangs as well as government infrastructure. Otunge highlighted the good collaboration between the Mission and BINUH and called for continued commitments and cooperation. He announced that The Bahamas, Jamaica and Belize are expected to send their advance contingents before the end of this month. He stressed that this will give the mission a multinational face. Otunge pledged support for the ongoing security operations in Delmas, Solino and Croix-des-Bouquets. He stressed that gang leaders will have nowhere to hide unless they lay down their weapons and surrender to the Government, where they should expect to be charged. Jenca commended and appreciated Kenya for taking the bold initiative to lead and send its troops to Haiti. He stressed that although the Mission is in the deployment phase, its achievements are impressive. He called on other contributing countries that have yet to deploy their troops in the theatre of operations to expedite the process. He stressed that the UN looks forward to a fully operational Mission that will make a big difference in Haiti leading to a more secure environment and conducive to free and fair general elections. Jenca assured the Force Commander that the UN and other contributing countries remain steadfast in their support for the Mission. SL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Crisis : Impacts of insecurity on higher education, OPC calls on the State to act urgently In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Garry Conille, the Office for the Protection of Citizens (OPC) explains the impacts of insecurity on the right to education in general in Haiti and its disastrous consequences on scholars of the State University of Haiti (UEH) in particular. "[...] The current situation requires urgent measures at the level of the central government in order to facilitate the continuity of higher education activities which constitutes an essential path towards sustainable development. personal development and economic, technological and social transformations. [...] Indeed, during the armed assaults perpetrated in downtown Port-au-Prince, various faculties of the State University of Haiti (UEH) were violently attacked. According to the assessment drawn up by the Rector of the UEH, Professor Fritz Deshommes, the losses recorded are considerable. Among the vandalized structures are : the Faculty of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine; the Faculty of Sciences; the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy; the Faculty of Law and Economics; the Ecole Normale Superieure; the Ecole Nationale des Arts... All these entities have been ransacked by armed bandits who control, for the most part, the metropolitan area, making it impossible for students to access classrooms. [...] Important materials and equipment, books and other goods have been taken away or destroyed by criminal groups. In addition, the premises of the Faculty of Applied Linguistics have been invaded by displaced persons looking for a place to take refuge. Faced with this sad reality, while an inestimable number of students have chosen to seek refuge in other regions of the country to escape gang violence, others decide to continue their studies in Port-au-Prince despite the precarious conditions. At the same time, no one is able to accurately inventory the number of young university students who have simply left the country due to despair about restoring security and many other factors, in the indifference of certain state authorities. Teachers and administrative staff of the faculties are not spared. This situation has even caused a considerable drop in enrollment and also jeopardizes the quality of higher education. [...] Consequently, the OPC invites the Government to place the problems of the State University of Haiti at the center of its priorities so that urgent measures are adopted, in concert with the Rectorate, with a view to creating the material and security conditions essential for the full resumption of academic activities within all entities of the UEH [...]" HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Economy : Debate on investment and financing opportunities in Haiti The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI) launched on September 5 the 17th edition of "Thursdays of MCI" which allow to discuss investment and financing opportunities in Haiti. Excerpts from the opening speech of James MONAZARD, Minister of Commerce and Industry : "[...] Ladies and Gentlemen The context is difficult! Very difficult even! We started the 2020-2030 decade with the COVID-19 pandemic which generated national socio-economic impacts [...] then the great South, one of the strategic regions in terms of investment opportunities, was hit by an earthquake on August 14, 2021 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34479-haiti-flash-magnitude-72-earthquake-in-the-nippes-updated-10am.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34488-haiti-flash-more-than-300-dead-nearly-2-000-injured-very-significant-material-damage-provisional-assessment.html [...] and as if that were not enough, the security situation has experienced an accelerated deterioration, marked by the spectacular increase in kidnapping cases, unprecedented gang violence, the blocking of strategic roads and the forced displacement of populations, among other consequences. The combination of all these factors has caused a contraction of the national economy [last 5 consecutive years], and contributed to the establishment of a climate of instability, anxiety and terror that has particularly and very harshly affected the industrial and commercial sector, in all its components. Ladies and Gentlemen In making these reminders, I do not intend to complain [...] I intend rather to paint a portrait of the situation in its real proportions; as serious as it may be, we cannot remain inactive. More than that, we, the forces of the Nation, must act together to get the country out of the ruts of violence and instability, so as to set it on the path to development. [...] With the help of the Multinational Security Support Mission, our valiant police officers have been carrying out, for some time, a series of operations aimed at restoring the free movement of people and goods throughout the territory. We hope that soon the country will find the Peace that is necessary for the proper functioning and development of the industrial and commercial sector. Ladies and Gentlemen, The future of Haiti is not in instability and violence, but rather in investment to create decent jobs, boost economic growth, organize a better sharing of wealth and guarantee the quality of life of citizens as well as collective well-being. It is in this perspective that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is organizing this 17th Edition of the Thursdays of MCI, which allows for the discussion of investment and financing opportunities in the country. In the public debate, we often highlight the availability of labor. We report on the obstacles to the development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. We index the under-allocation of domestic credits to private initiatives... But, do we communicate enough on investment opportunities ? Do we talk enough about promising sectors or poles of economic development and growth ? Are we drawing enough attention to the investment incentives that exist ? In short, in which promising sectors can we invest today or tomorrow in Haiti ? What financing is available or possible ? These are the questions that the Ministry intends to raise, by making this discussion framework available to the different groups of stakeholders and sectors concerned : entrepreneurs, investors, project leaders, academics, stakeholders in the local financial world, without forgetting those who operate the multiple incentive and investment support mechanisms. By organizing this activity, the Ministry wishes to encourage a structuring and interinstitutional reflection on the facilities that are dedicated to investors via the Commercial Code, without forgetting the other State support mechanisms. It also wishes to contribute to the popularization of financial products and services that exist at the level of banking institutions, financing companies, the cooperative sector and Haiti's technical and financial partners. [...]" HL/ HaitiLibre Sunday September 8, 2024 FILE - Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed delivers a speech during a national ceremony, emphasizing the countrys commitment to safeguarding its sovereignty amid growing regional tensions. His remarks highlighted Ethiopias historical stance on peace and self-defense, as military personnel stood in formation behind him. Mogadishu (HOL) Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has vowed that Ethiopia will never negotiate its sovereignty, warning that any attempt to challenge the nation's independence would be met with strong resistance. His declaration comes as tensions rise in the Horn of Africa, particularly with neighbouring Somalia and Egypt. "Ethiopia has never invaded another country in its history, and we will not allow anyone to violate our sovereignty," Abiy said during Ethiopia's Sovereignty Day celebration. His remarks follow the arrival of two Egyptian C-130 military planes in Mogadishu, which has heightened concerns in Addis Ababa over Egypt's growing influence in Somalia. Ethiopia and Somalia recently engaged in indirect talks mediated by Turkey, though the negotiations concluded without resolution. Ethiopia's concerns are compounded by Egypt's long-standing dispute with Addis Ababa over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which Cairo fears will reduce its share of Nile waters.Egypt has petitioned the United Nations to intervene, calling for urgent action against the completion of the GERD project, which Ethiopia considers crucial to its energy needs."Anyone intending to invade Ethiopia should think ten times before doing so. We have a long history of defending ourselves," Ahmed said, adding that Ethiopia has not engaged in conflicts with neighbouring countries in recent years.Ethiopia's Sovereignty Day, celebrated annually on Pagume 13. Pisces (19th February to 20th March) Daily Horoscope Prediction says, Your decisions are always bold Pisces Daily Horoscope Today, September 09, 2024. Continue the discipline in financial affairs to stay prosperous. Consider spending more time with the lover. Look for options to augment your career and deliver the best professional results. Financially you are good. Maintain a balanced personal and professional life. Continue the discipline in financial affairs to stay prosperous. Pay more attention to your health today. Pisces Love Horoscope Today Value the opinions of your lover and avoid bickering over minor issues. There can be minor frictions and an ex-lover may back into life. However, married Pisces natives should be careful to not hurt the current relationship. Single Pisces natives can confidently approach the crush to express their feelings. The response will be positive. Some females may have issues at the spouses house and this must be settled by discussing with the spouse. Married females can expect to get pregnant today. Pisces Career Horoscope Today No serious challenge will come up at the office today. However, you need to focus more on the job as there will be many issues including office gossip to divert your attention. Those who are in crucial positions including in judiciary, management, law enforcement, administration, and public affairs will be under severe pressure from vested persons. Females holding senior positions at the office may need to be extra vigilant as some employees under you can try emotionally influencing you for personal interests. Businessmen looking for options to take to new territories can go ahead. Pisces Money Horoscope Today You may also renovate the house but do not invest in speculative business. A legal issue will be settled, saving you time and money. Stock market, speculative business, and real estate are smart investment options today. You may also provide financial assistance to a needy friend or relative. However, confirm that you will get the money back in the next hour. Pisces Health Horoscope Today The first part of the day may see minor health issues. There can be troubles associated with the liver, lungs, or chest. Those who have asthma or respiratory issues must avoid dusty areas. Be sure to carry medicines while traveling and skip both tobacco and alcohol. Senior natives must be careful while using the staircase and even while boarding a bus or train. Pisces Sign Attributes Strength: Conscious, Aesthetic, Kind-hearted Weakness: Sentimental, Indecisive, Unrealistic Symbol: Fish Element: Water Body Part: Blood Circulation Sign Ruler: Neptune Lucky Day: Thursday Lucky Color: Purple Lucky Number: 11 Lucky Stone: Yellow Sapphire Pisces Sign Compatibility Chart Natural affinity: Taurus, Cancer, Scorpio, Capricorn Good compatibility: Virgo, Pisces Fair compatibility: Aries, Leo, Libra, Aquarius Less compatibility: Gemini, Sagittarius By: Dr. J. N. Pandey Vedic Astrology & Vastu Expert E-mail: djnpandey@gmail.com Phone: 91-9811107060 (WhatsApp Only) Apple's new iPhone 16, slated to be launched on Monday, September 10, 2024, will break new ground with a big AI shift for Apple and accomplish matters like smartening up Siri, AP wrote, adding that this is going to be one of the biggest jumps for Apple ever since launching the original iPhone itself 17 years ago. The Apple logo is illuminated at a store in the city center in Munich, Germany, on Dec. 16, 2020 (Matthias Schrader/AP) The launch of the iPhone 16 will take place in a Cupertino, California, auditorium which is named after Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who unveiled the first iPhone in 2007, waving it like a magic wand while predicting it would reshape society. Also Read: Australia's mandate for big tech to improve kids' online safety results in a corporate hot potato game Since then, billions of iPhones have been sold, creating about $3 trillion in shareholder wealth. However, a recent slump in its sales was caused by just minor upgrades being given to each iPhone generation, making people hold off their purchases. When did Apple's AI focus became known and what was the result? Apple's shift in focus to AI became known three months back in June this year, with the tech giant previewing its approach at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024. Also Read: Elon Musk denies report xAI is in talks to get Tesla revenue for providing technology Since then, Apple's stock is up 13%, propelling the company's market value by almost $400 billion, since it previewed its AI strategy in June this year. How is Apple's AI effort different from the rest? Apple's suite of AI features has been collectively named Apple Intelligence,' and most of the tasks will be done remotely on the phone itself as opposed to data centres, which requires a processor capable of handling all that. How is Apple's competition doing? Apple's competitors including Samsung and Google have made strides in AI, with Google introducing its latest Pixel phones with AI last month itself, instead of its usual October timetable in an effort to upstage the iPhone 16's release. Also Read: Jeff Bezos' Project Kuiper satellite internet to get UK approval, competition with Elon Musk's Starlink intensifies Elon Musk currently leads the way when it comes to providing satellite internet service, with Starlink having more than 6,000 satellites, according to a report by The US Sun, which added that Amazon's Jeff Bezos, with his own Project Kuiper, that has lagged behind so far, may soon be closer to catching up. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off carrying Amazon's two prototype relay stations for a space-based internet service it calls Project Kuiper, from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. (Reuters) Also Read: Elon Musk dares the world to take on X as he scoffs at Brazils ban Starlink, which has been used by even Ukraine for maintaining communications during the war with Russia, has already started signing deals with mobile networks, including US-based T-Mobile. Elon Musk had also recently announced that Starlink will enable free calls to emergency services. However, Project Kuiper is now planning to launch 3,236 satellites into space, despite not having launched any Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, except for two prototypes in November last year, and the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has already granted Amazon permission to launch the satellites over five phases. Also Read: Italian officials feel EUs 2035 combustion engine ban is absurd,' seek reversal Despite this, Amazon also needs permission to operate in other countries too, which it looks like it may get, since the UK's Ofcom regulator is already about to approve it, according to the report. Ofcom is currently asking for feedback as part of a consultation that will go on till October 4. Is there any opposition for Jeff Bezos' Project Kuiper or satellite internet services in general? The only opposition for satellite internet services like Starlink and Project Kuiper comes from astronomers who have by now, already complained that the presence of too many satellites are ruining the night sky view and is obstructing telescopic space exploration. Also Read: Apple's new iPhone 16 to use Arm's latest V9 chip technology for accommodating AI features: Report Stellantis NV recalled about 1.46 million Ram trucks, citing a software problem that could mistakenly disable their electronic stability control systems. This photo shows the 2025 Ram 1500. The big change for 2025 is the debut of a new turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine that replaces the previous V8. (Courtesy of Stellantis via AP) Also Read: Australia's mandate for big tech to improve kids' online safety results in a corporate hot potato game The recall affects some of its 2019 and 2021-2024 Ram 1500 trucks, the company said in a statement Saturday. Most of the recalls are in North America, with 61,000 vehicles subject to recall elsewhere. The bug causes the trucks adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, antilock braking system and electronic stability control indicator lights to be illuminated, which indicate that those systems are unavailable, according to Stellantis. Foundation brake function would still be available, the company said. Also Read: Byju's slams auditor BDO's resignation, calls it escapist, questions legality: Report The fluke means those vehicles would potentially fail US federal motor standards, which require the electronic stability control system to be operational. Affected trucks can be fixed with a software update, which the company said will be provided free. Customers will be notified via mail. Netherlands-based Stellantis, also the parent of the Jeep, Chrysler and Fiat brands, said its unaware of any accidents related to the recall. Also Read: Jeff Bezos' Project Kuiper satellite internet to get UK approval, competition with Elon Musk's Starlink intensifies The Karnataka government has unveiled plans to develop a new economic corridor to enhance connectivity between Bengaluru and Kalyana Karnataka, including Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal, Ballari, and Vijayanagara. The Public Works Department (PWD) will lead the project, which will be funded by the Kalyana Karnataka Regional Development Board (KKRDB), the Moneycontrol reported. The proposed greenfield expressway, covering approximately 600 kilometres, aims to streamline travel and improve transport efficiency between Bengaluru and Bidar. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) The proposed greenfield expressway, covering approximately 600 kilometres, aims to streamline travel and improve transport efficiency between Bengaluru and Bidar. Currently, the journey on National Highway 50 takes 12-14 hours. The new corridor will connect key industrial zones, district headquarters, and financial centres, providing a faster, safer route for goods and passengers, the report noted. ALSO READ | Traffic arrangements announced in Bengaluru for Ganesha immersion, St. Mary's Basilica procession PWD has issued a tender to select a consultant for a pre-feasibility study to determine the optimal route, number of lanes, land acquisition needs, and potential benefits. This project marks PWD's first foray into constructing a greenfield expressway. The study will also consider existing alignments, traffic data, and future growth potential to ensure the corridor meets economic and technical viability standards, thee report said. The Kalyana Karnataka region, a key political area for Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, has been allocated 5,000 crore in the 2024-25 budget by the Siddaramaiah-led government to address developmental needs. This corridor is expected to significantly boost the region's socioeconomic status. In related infrastructure developments, PWD plans to upgrade State Highway 104, which links Bengaluru to Nandi Hills and Kempegowda International Airport, the publication added. The 50-kilometer road will be improved as part of the State Highway Development Project. Recent complaints about its condition have prompted immediate action, including a tender for a 2.6-kilometer section at a cost of 24.28 crore. Further improvements are expected to enhance travel to the airport and surrounding areas. Arresting six people, including two women, the cyber cell of Chandigarh Police has dismantled a large-scale immigration fraud ring that duped numerous victims out of lakhs. According to police, the accused used various deceptive tactics to lure victims, posting attractive advertisements on social media platforms, promising work visas to various foreign countries. (Shutterstock) The scam came to light when Ganeshmal, a resident of Rajasthan, filed a complaint against Global Consultant, a visa consultancy at SCO Number 292, Sector 32D. Ganeshmal said he saw an advertisement of the consultancy on Facebook, claiming to provide work visas to Azerbaijan. Enticed by the offer, he visited the office with his son-in-law and met the consultancys staff, comprising two men and three women. The consultancy promised to process work visas in exchange for 1.35 lakh per person, requesting half the amount upfront and the remainder upon receipt of the visa. Complying, Ganeshmal deposited the full amount. However, when he and his family arrived at the Delhi airport on June 15, their tickets were found to be fake and their calls to the consultancy went unanswered. As per police, through this modus operandi, the consultancy duped over 40-45 persons, totalling the fraud amount to approximately over 65 lakh. The main accused was identified as Sanjeev Kumar,43, a resident of Sikar, Rajasthan. Investigators said Kumar advised his staff to use fake names and documents to deceive clients. He would never meet the clients directly to remain discreet. After the fraud was discovered, he closed the office and reopened a new consultancy, Dream Land Immigration at Sector 34. Lakhvir Singh, 27, a resident of Rupnagar, worked as a bodyguard for Kumar. He would tackle complainants who would approach the office after realising the fraud. Vicky, 28, residing in Mohali, served as a bodyguard alongside Lakhvir. Navpreet, 34, a resident of Manimajra, worked as a receptionist at the fraudulent office. Monika, 24, residing in Kishangarh, and Mehak Kapoor, 26, from Nayagaon were also employed as receptionists. Police also recovered 15 mobile phones, 15 SIM cards, three stamps and five reception registers from the accused. According to police, the accused used various deceptive tactics to lure victims, posting attractive advertisements on social media platforms, promising work visas to various foreign countries. The operation involved creating a facade of legitimacy through social media advertisements and a seemingly professional office set-up. The fraudulent nature of the visas was only revealed when victims arrived at their intended destinations with fake tickets. Troubles have deepened for travel agent Veenu Malhotra and her brother Amit Malhotra as the police have registered three more fraud cases against them. The duo, already in legal trouble, now face complaints from residents of Ludhiana, Amritsar and Haryana, who claim they were duped of large sums of money on the pretext of being sent to the United Kingdom. Troubles have deepened for travel agent Veenu Malhotra and her brother Amit Malhotra as the police have registered three more fraud cases against them. (HT File) Along with Amit and Veenu, the police have also booked Karun Kumar, the manager of Globalway Immigration, as an accused in these new cases. The Model Town police have lodged all three FIRs under sections 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). In the first case, Baljinder Mani, a resident of Guru Nanak Colony, Block-A, alleged that he was defrauded of 18 lakh. Mani said that he contacted Globalway Immigration to arrange a work visa for his wife to the UK. He paid the accused in installments, but despite receiving the full amount, the accused neither arranged the visa nor returned the money. The second FIR comes from Darseval Singh, a resident of New Pratap Nagar, Amritsar. He claimed that his son, Jaskirat Singh, and daughter-in-law, Sandeep Kaur, were looking to go to the UK on study visas. The accused demanded 8 lakh for documentation and college fees but failed to deliver on their promise, refusing to return the money afterward. The third complaint, filed by Balraj from Jind, Haryana, stated that the accused charged him 14.5 lakh to send his son and daughter-in-law to the UK. Despite waiting for months, no visas were arranged. After pressure from influential people, the accused returned 9.7 lakh but did not pay the interest owed. Model Town police station station house officer (SHO) sub-inspector Avneet Kaur said six FIRs have been lodged against the accused. The accused Veenu Malhotra and her brother Amit Malhotra were arrested. However, their aide Karan Kumar is yet to be arrested. The SHO stated that initial investigations showed that the accused did help some clients obtain visas, but later, when some applications were rejected, they failed to return the money. This led them to pursue further frauds, accepting payments without even applying for visas in many cases. In a petition filed by Jaskirat Singh and Yogesh Maini regarding the installation of solid impermeable interlocking tiles above road levels in various localities, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has pulled up the authorities for disregarding previous orders. These orders, issued in a case titled Kapil Dev vs. State of Punjab, instructed against such practices. In a petition filed by Jaskirat Singh and Yogesh Maini regarding the installation of solid impermeable interlocking tiles above road levels in various localities, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has pulled up the authorities for disregarding previous orders. (HT File) Jaskirat Singh highlighted that despite the NGTs 2021 orders, the Municipal Corporation of Ludhiana (MCL) and the Ludhiana Improvement Trust have continued to install solid concrete tiles within restricted areas. These tiles are also being fixed above road levels, leading to waterlogging during rains, which further damages the roads. Since these tiles are impermeable, they prevent water from seeping into the ground, negatively impacting the groundwater levels and causing significant environmental damage. Maini told the media that the Ludhiana Improvement Trust is similarly violating these orders at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar. The petitioners filed a rejoinder, showing that both departments were ignoring the NGTs directives. After hearing the case, the Bench questioned why proceedings under Section 26 of the NGT Act should not be initiated against the municipal commissioner for defying orders. The counsel for MCL requested seven days to comply and replace the impermeable tiles with percolated ones. The petitioners emphasised that the NGT had mandated the use of tiles with 50% holes to allow rainwater to percolate and recharge the groundwater. However, the departments continued non-compliance has not only caused environmental damage but also wasted public funds. They demanded an investigation and strict action against the responsible officials. Kapil Dev and Kuldeep Singh Khaira of the Public Action Committee stated that they will monitor ongoing interlocking tile projects. If the use of impermeable tiles continues in Ludhiana, they plan to file another rejoinder seeking strict action against the violators. MC additional commissioner Paramdeep Singh Khaira said, I will discuss the issues with the officials concerned and we will implement the NGT orders. A 37-year-old factory worker, Ashu Yadav, was dragged for about 500 meters by bike-borne snatchers on Saturday night while he was walking back home. The two accused, Shubham and Aman, both residents of Amritsar, were later apprehended by passersby and handed over to the police. A 37-year-old factory worker, Ashu Yadav, was dragged for about 500 meters by bike-borne snatchers on Saturday night while he was walking back home. (HT File) The incident occurred near Bhola Colony, Tajpur Road, Ludhiana, when Yadav was intercepted by the accused, who threatened him with a sharp-edged weapon and snatched his mobile phone. In an attempt to prevent them from escaping, Yadav grabbed one of the snatchers, who was riding pillion. The snatchers accelerated their bike, causing Yadav to fall, but his steel bracelet got entangled in the bike, and he was dragged along the road for nearly 500 meters. The passerby intervened when the bike hit a speed breaker, causing a sudden jerk that freed Yadav. The crowd managed to stop the bike and apprehend the two snatchers. Later, the police were informed. The police recovered four stolen mobile phones from their possession. Yadav, who sustained injuries, was taken to the hospital. The Division Number 7 police registered an FIR against the accused under sections 304 (snatching), 307 (theft with preparation to cause death or hurt), and 115 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the BNS. Sub-inspector Jagdish Raj stated that the accused admitted having snatched a mobile phone on Friday and two more on Saturday before targeting Yadav. He added that Aman already has two theft FIRs against him. Woman robbed of gold chain in Ghumar Mandi The Division number 8 police on Saturday booked two unidentified men for snatching a gold chain from a 53-year-old woman in Maya Nagar, Ghumar Mandi. The woman, who is the wife of an ex- sarpanch was going to a medical store to buy medicines. The victim, Parminder Kaur, of village Mannowal stated that she came to Ghumar Mandi to visit a family member. She said she was going to a nearby medical store when bike-borne two men robbed her of a gold chain. The incident was captured in the CCTVs installed near the spot. The woman gave a chase to the accused, however, they managed to flee. ASI Satnam Singh said a case has been registered against the unidentified accused. The police are scanning the CCTVs to identify the accused. Four armed men opened fire outside a nightclub in Delhi's Seemapuri, an episode during which its bouncers, including a woman, were made to sit on their knees by the gang. Screengrab from CCTV footage of the incident (Courtesy: India Today) The incident, caught on CCTV, occurred at around 11:45pm on Thursday at the Kaanch club in Seemapuri's Jhilmil Industrial Area. In the CCTV footage, the miscreants are seen arriving at the nightclub, fully armed. Three of them storm inside, while one stands outside and threatens the bouncers, forcing them to kneel. A few minutes later, two of the attackers begin firing rounds indiscriminately into the air and the group then flees from the scene. More than a dozen rounds were fired, India Today reported. As per the eyewitnesses, the female bouncer was held at gunpoint, with a gun placed to her head, it stated. Preliminary investigations have suggested the club's refusal to pay extortion money as the motive behind the attack, the website added. However, according to Navbharat Times and The Times of India, the accused were previously denied a free entry, leading to the late night assaul`t on Thursday. Additionally, two of the attackers have been identified as Tanish alias Pehelwan, and Shahrukh. Among the bouncers, on the other hand, two were identified as Umar and Amil. Delhi Police have registered a case under the Arms Act. A manhunt is underway to nab the accused. New Delhi, The Delhi government will soon notify new rates and norms for buses at interstate terminals, Raj Niwas officials said on Sunday. HT Image Lt Governor VK Saxena inspected the Maharana Pratap ISBT at Kashmere Gate on August 31 and subsequently held a high-level meeting that was attended by Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot. The transport department is set to notify the new rates and norms for to-and-fro interstate buses utilising the iconic terminals. Delhi has three operational interstate bus terminals at Kashmere Gate, Anand Vihar and Sarai Kale Khan. "Emphasising that efficiency and equality are two most important factors to achieve optimum utilisation of facilities, the lieutenant governor suggested equal parking rates for government and private buses and also reducing parking time equally to achieve a higher turnaround," a Raj Niwas official said. Saxena also directed that only buses with Fastag be allowed to enter the terminals to ensure tracking. Once notified, the new norms will not only ensure efficiency in the functioning and operation of ISBTs but also enable the facilities to function to their optimum capacity of 3,000 per day against 1,700 now, he added. The under-utilisation is because of rate differences between government and private buses, poor management of parking bays, staff using terminals as resting places, and systemic issues such as staggered circulation due to extended turnaround times leading to traffic snarls outside, the official said. According to the new plan, private and government interstate buses will pay the same parking fee and using the bus bays at ISBTs, he said. As of now, private buses are charged higher. This leads to a situation where they are parked on roads outside ISBT complexes, resulting in huge traffic snarls, apart from causing passenger/revenue loss for state-run buses, he added. A system of differential parking or utilisation charges based on time is also set to be notified to reduce turnaround times. Lower turnaround times will not only reduce the waiting period for passengers but also ensure that buses circulate at a faster pace, speed up traffic-pedestrian and vehicle movement outside ISBTs, and generate more revenue for the transport department, the official said. Buses will be provided with a parking time slot of 25 minutes at a fixed rate. After that, charges will be applied for every five-minute extra. Enforcement and implementation will be ensured through Fastags, he said. Buses without Fastags will not be permitted inside the terminals. A facility will be provided outside the ISBT complex where a bus without Fastag can buy one before entering, he added. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. A principal of a government school in Kota belonging to a minority community was arrested on Friday night for allegedly deleting a couple of posts on Ganesh Chaturthi festival from a social media group of the school committee, said officials familiar with the matter. Police said they have arrested the principal for attempting to disturb the social harmony. (Representational image) The principal belongs to a minority community. On Friday, he deleted two posts on a WhatsApp group of the Block School Development Committee that enraged the other members including a few teachers of the Hindu community. They started staging a protest in front of the school. We have arrested the principal at night for attempting to disturb the social harmony, said Uttam Singh, the station house officer of Kotas Bapawar Kala. Also read | 21-year-old NEET student dies by suicide in Rajasthans Kota: Police According to police, many schools have a development committee comprising the principal, schoolteachers, block education officer, a few guardians, and other officials. The committee, sometimes, also maintains a WhatsApp group to discuss the necessary decisions. On the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, the members were sharing posts expressing good wishes to each other in that group on Friday morning. However, the principal, Muhammed Shafiq, deleted one post which was primarily ignored by the members. The action was repeated with another post about two hours later when the members got angry and started protesting against the principal, said the SHO. The tension escalated when a large number of villagers, and also a few people of local Hindu outfits reached in front of the school and started protesting against the teacher. Police immediately reached the spot and deployed an additional force to maintain the law-and-order situation while a few WhatsApp group members and other villagers also lodged an FIR against the principal. Also read | JEE student found dead in hostel in Rajasthans Kota: Police The case was lodged under Section 196 (disturbing communal harmony) of the BNS. We have arrested the principal late at night. He said the move happened mistakenly which seems a bit unusual as he did it twice within two hours. We are questioning him. Further investigation is underway. The peace was reinstated in the area by Saturday morning, said the SHO. West Bengals Birbhum district police are investigating a Visva Bharati University students death by suicide on September 5 following a complaint lodged by her parents who live in Varanasi, police said. Police have collected the mobile phone and bank account details of the deceased amid speculations on campus that she was collecting money to pay a blackmailer. (Representational image) The 22-year-old third-year undergraduate student from the art department allegedly died by suicide inside her hostel room on the afternoon of September 5. The woman from Uttar Pradesh was first rushed to the clinic on campus and later to a district hospital where she died hours later. Her parents, who came rushing from Varanasi, claimed that she died by suicide under tremendous mental pressure. A forensic team collected samples from the hostel room which has been sealed. The investigation started on the basis of a complaint lodged by the parents on September 6, Rana Mukherjee, additional superintendent of the Bolpur police, told the media. The hostel inmates told the police that the student appeared worried in the last few weeks and she collected money from fellow students and teachers saying her sister had met with an accident in Uttar Pradesh and needed to undergo an expensive operation. She also sent portions of a WhatsApp chat to a classmate which indicated that someone was threatening her. Police have collected the mobile phone and bank account details of the deceased amid speculations on campus that she was collecting money to pay a blackmailer. Founded by Rabindranath Tagore in 1921, Visva Bharati is West Bengals only Central university. The Prime Minister is the chancellor. In September 2023, Santiniketan, the town where Tagores father Maharshi Debendranath Tagore set up the first school which subsequently became a university, was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha member Jawhar Sircar, a retired bureaucrat, wrote to the partys chairperson and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday that he is going to resign from Parliament and also quit politics as he is unable to bear with corruption which, he said, has contributed to the mass outrage against the August 9 rape and murder of a junior doctor at a Kolkata hospital. TMC Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar. (PTI File Photo) People have lost confidence in the TMC government, Sircar wrote in the long two-page letter which was leaked to the media. He addressed Banerjee as Dear madam chairperson. Believe me, the present spontaneous outpouring of public anger is against this unchecked overbearing attitude of the favoured few and the corrupt. In all my years I have not seen such angst and total no-confidence against the government, even when it says something correct or factual, Sircar wrote. I have suffered patiently for a month since the terrible incident at R G Kar Hospital and was hoping for your direct intervention with the agitating junior doctors, in the old style of Mamata Banerjee. It has not happened and whatever punitive steps that government is taking now are too little and quite late. I think normal may have been restored in this state much earlier, if the caucus of the corrupt doctors was smashed and those guilty of taking improper administrative actions punished immediately after the scandalous incident happened, Sircar wrote, apparently pointing at the recent suspension of some doctors and health officials. The former Prasar Bharati CEO, who joined TMC and became a Rajya Sabha member in August 2021, talked of leaving the party in 2022 as well after the Enforcement Directorate seized more than 50 crore in cash from a close aide of the then Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee during investigation into the bribe-for-job scam in state-run schools. He was restrained by some senior leaders at that time. Sircar is the second TMC Rajya Sabha member to raise his voice after the RG Kar Hospital incident. Sukhendu Sekhar Roy was the first to take part in a public agitation and express his personal opinions on social media. He was even summoned by the Kolkata police for claiming that sniffer dogs were not taken to the crime scene on time. The summon was withdrawn after Roy moved the Calcutta high court. Sircar repeatedly focused on corruption in TMC in Sundays letter. After 41 years in the IAS, I can live without embarrassment in a small middle-class flat, next to a big slum, and drive a very ordinary nine-year-old car. But I get amazed to see that several elected panchayat and municipal leaders have acquired big properties and move around in expensive vehicles. This hurts not only me, but the people of West Bengal, he wrote. It is also true that leaders in other parties and other states have amassed much more wealth, but West Bengal is unable to accept this extravagant corruption and domination. I know that the present Central regime thrives on the multi-billionaires that it has enriched and not a day goes when I do not accuse it of dirty crony-capitalism. I just cannot accept some things, like corrupt officers (or doctors) getting prime and top postings. No, Sircar wrote. Sircar described the ongoing mass agitations as non-political and spontaneous. It is my belief that the mainstream of the agitation is non-political and a spontaneous one and it is not correct to take up confrontational stand by labelling it political. Of course, the opposition parties are trying to fish in troubled waters, but the mass of the youth and the common people who are out agitating on the streets every second day do not encourage them. They want no politics: they want justice and punishment, he wrote. Let us analyse frankly and realise that the movement is as much for Abhaya as it is against the state government and the party. This calls for course correction immediately or else communal forces will capture this state. I had to say all this in writing as I have not had the opportunity to speak privately with you in several months. I express my gratitude again for the opportunity you gave me to raise Bengals issues in Parliament for three years, but I do not wish to continue as MP at all. My commitment to fight corruption, communalism and authoritarianism in the Centre and the states is simply non-negotiable. I shall go to Delhi soon and offer my resignation to the chairman of the Rajya Sabha and will also disassociate myself totally from politics. Please do something to save this state and my regards and best wishes are with you, Sircar said in the concluding para. TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said: Sircar has expressed his concern about certain issues. He has decided to quit. It is his prerogative. We want our leaders Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee to take some positive steps to address this mass grievance. The Bharatiya Janata Party reiterated its demand for Mamata Banerjees resignation after Sircars letter became public. Sircar has done the right thing as a person with a conscience. People within TMC are now raising their voice, sending a message that Mamata Banerjee should step down, Samik Bhattacharya, Bengal BJPs chief spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member said. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury hailed Sircar. It is praiseworthy that a person has raised his concern for people of Bengal from within the ruling party. But I dont think it will have any effect, said Chowdhury. Mumbai, Thousands of devotees bid an emotional farewell to Lord Ganesh on Sunday by immersing the idols of the elephant-headed deity across Mumbai. HT Image More than 10,000 Ganesh idols have been immersed in the city till late in the evening, said Bhushan Gagrani, commissioner of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation . The 10-day Ganesh festival began in the city with pomp and gaiety on Saturday, with families and savajanik mandals installing the idols of their beloved god at homes and community pandals. The idols taken out for immersion on Sunday afternoon after one and a half days were from households. Chants of Ganpati Bappa morya, mangal murti moryapudchya varshi lavkar ya, urging the Lord to return early next year filled the air as devotees took their idols to beaches and artificial water bodies for immersion. Lord Ganesha is the one who brings a lot of prosperity and removes obstacles from our way, Gagrani told reporters. Like in the past, the government, BMC and police have made necessary arrangements for the smooth immersion of idols this year as well, he said. For the first visarjan of today , followed by the fifth day, Gouri visarjan and last day , we have made traffic diversions. Arrangements have been made with enough deployment of traffic police here, he said. BMC and police have ensured that there are arrangements for separate parking, mobile toilets, flood lights, bodyguards, prayer mandaps for devotees and VIP pandals, he said. We ensure a rich, seamless and incident-free Ganpati experience here for all devotees, he said. As many as 12,000 personnel have been deployed to help citizens with the idol immersion off the beaches and in 204 artificial ponds across the city and suburbs. As many as 71 control rooms have been set up, civic officials said earlier. They said that 761 lifeguards and 48 motor boats have been pressed into service at the beaches. BMC has also made facilities to collect the nirmalya brought with the idols. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh, along with the ruling party MLAs, including his Cabinet colleagues and the Assembly Speaker, submitted a memorandum to Governor Laxman Prasad Acharya on Sunday, demanding that the unified command of the state government be handed over to the chief minister. Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh during an interview(PTI) Biren and his MLAs took this step following escalated violence in Manipur over the past few days. A press statement issued from the Raj Bhavan Secretariat mentioned that CM N. Biren Singh, along with the Speaker, council of ministers, and ruling MLAs, submitted a memorandum to Governor Laxman Prasad Acharya. A person familiar with the matter, who did not wish to disclose their identity, said that besides requesting the handover of the Unified Command of Manipur to CM N. Biren Singh, the memorandum also demanded the abrogation of the Suspension of Operations with Kuki militants. The memorandum, which has not yet been made public, reportedly includes several other demands from the state government and civil society organisations (CSOs) of Manipur since the violence erupted. These demands include the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) with the base year 1961 to identify illegal immigrants, the protection of Manipurs territorial boundaries, opposition to separate administration, and others. Also read | Amid violence in Manipur, CM Biren Singh meets Governor for second time During the meeting, the CMs convoy urged the governor to press the Centre for peace restoration in Manipur. A photograph of the meeting showed the chief minister, six ministers and 14 MLAs, including Assembly Speaker Satyabrata. However, officials familiar with the matter said altogether they were 29, including the CM and the Speaker. After six people were killed in the border district of Jiribam, a gunfight restarted on Sunday morning at Mongbung-Seijang village between combined security forces and Kuki militants. Police officials familiar with the matter said that Kuki militants attacked Meitei residences at Mongbung, about 18 km southeast of the Jiribam Police Station. At around 4.30am on Sunday, Kuki militants attacked the Meitei village. Village volunteers defending the Meitei residences retaliated. Also read | Anti-drone systems deployed in Manipur amid surge in attacks Upon receiving the information, the district police, along with central forces, rushed to the area. The combined team exchanged fire with the Kuki militants, which continued until around 7am. Later, at around 4.30pm the same day, the gunfight resumed between combined security forces and Kuki militants, and by 5.30pm, the gunfight was reportedly still ongoing. No casualties have been reported so far. On Saturday, a heavy gunfight occurred after a man was attacked at his residence in Nungchapi, about 6 km east of Jiribam Police Station. In the exchange of fire, five armed miscreants were killed. Meanwhile, the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an apex body of civil society organisations, temporarily suspended the indefinite public emergency imposed across the state since Friday. Besides, the Directorate of Education-School, Manipur, issued an order on Sunday stating that all schools of the state, including government schools, aided schools, private, and central schools shall remain closed for another two days till Tuesday. The decision to close the schools was taken after the continuous drone and long-distance rocket attacks towards Meitei villages by Kuki militants. A press statement issued on Sunday mentioned that the emergency was declared as a preventive measure against Narco-Terrorist attacks, which included drone and long-range rocket attacks. The public emergency was suspended following advice from various sections, considering the impact on students careers and the struggles of daily bread earners. Osmania University has announced the Round 1 Telangana State Common Post Graduate Entrance Test or TS CPGET 2024 seat allotment results on Sunday, September 8. Candidates who registered for the CPGET Counselling 2024 can check the seat allotment results on the official website at cpget.ouadmissions.com. TS CPGET 2024 Round 1 seat allotment result has been released at cpget.ouadmissions.com. Check via direct link. To check the results, candidates need to enter details such as Hall Ticket Number and Rank. Notably, as per the revised schedule, reporting to the respective colleges by the candidates will be on or before September 13, 2024. Additionally, the second phase registrations will commence from September 18, 2024. Also read: APSSB CSLE 2024: Registration for 452 vacancies closes tomorrow at apssb.nic.in It may be mentioned here that candidates need to pay a counselling fee to finish the registration process. For General and Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidates, the registration fee is 200, and for candidates belonging to categories such as Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Persons with Disabilities, it is 150. Also read: BIS Recruitment 2024: Bureau of Indian Standards to fill 345 group A, B, C posts, apply from tomorrow Meanwhile, the official website stated that M.Ed and M.P.Ed Counselling will be conducted separately, and the dates for the same will be announced soon. TS CPGET 2024 Round 1 seat allotment result: Heres how to check Candidates can follow the steps mentioned below to check the seat allotment results. Visit the official website of TS CGPET at cpget.ouadmissions.com. Click on TS CPGET 2024 seat allotment result link available on the home page. Enter the login details and click on submit. The provisional seat allotment result will be displayed on the screen. Check the result and download the page. Keep a hard copy of the same for further need. For more information, candidates are advised to visit the official website. Also read: Enrolment of female students in higher education has increased, informs Tripura CM Manik Saha Popular convenience platform Swiggy has joined hands with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) to launch Swiggy Skills, an initiative designed to offer a range of skilling and employment opportunities within its food delivery and quick commerce network. Swiggy and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship have signed an MoU to launch Swiggy Skills that will offer range of skilling and employment opportunities. The new platform was launched on September 7 in New Delhi by Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Minister of State for Education. Also read: TS CPGET 2024 Round 1 seat allotment result released at cpget.ouadmissions.com, direct link here An MoU was signed between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Swiggy aimed towards creating employment, internship, and training opportunities for people in restaurant operations, and various aspects of retail management, a press release issued by Swiggy stated. Speaking on the occasion, Chaudhary stated that the logistics sector will play a key role in India to realize the goal of Viksit Bharat @ 2047. Also read: APSSB CSLE 2024: Registration for 452 vacancies closes tomorrow at apssb.nic.in He said, Our government has launched the National Logistics Policy in India. We are also creating an enabling ecosystem for the growth in this sector where skilling and education work hand in hand. The minister stated that the partnership showcases how public-private partnerships can accelerate and create new avenues for the workforce in the sector. Rohit Kapoor, CEO of Swiggy Food Marketplace, stated that Indias F&B and retail sectors are expanding rapidly, contributing around 13% of the overall GDP and generating significant employment. Also read: Enrolment of female students in higher education has increased, informs Tripura CM Manik Saha Highlighting Swiggy Skills, he said that the initiative will have four broad components. Kapoor stated, We plan to integrate with MSDEs Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) across our partners' apps, enabling almost 2.4 lakh delivery partners and the staff of our 2 lakh restaurant partners to easily access online skill development courses, offline certifications, and training modules. He added, Second, youngsters who have undergone training under MSDEs programme for operational roles such as retail and logistics management, and operational aspects of F&B business, will be connected to Swiggys ecosystem of restaurants and retail backend operations, where they can find suitable opportunities. In Swiggy Instamart operations, we will be able to provide recruitment to 3,000 individuals across the country. We have also planned to provide training and internship to 200 people trained by MSDE, in our quick commerce operations at the senior level, and finally Swiggy, under our employee volunteering program will be able to provide in-house expertise to create training modules on emerging issues such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Marketing, Retail, Quick Commerce, Logistics, and more, the Swiggy CEO said. Bollywood actor Aamir Khan recently took a break from his busy schedule to join his family for Ganesh Chaturthi celebration at his sister Nikhat's home. In several photographs, Aamir is seen engaged in the traditional festivities, revelling in the joy and warmth of the family reunion. Also read: Aamir Khan on his plans to marry for a third time: 'I'm 59, mushkil lag rha hai' On Saturday, Aamir Khan attended Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations at the Ambani house in Mumbai. Family time for Aamir Several pictures of Aamir celebrating the festival with his sister and her husband Santosh Hegde at their Mumbai residence have emerged. In the photographs from the celebration, Aamir is seen enthusiastically participating in the rituals, contributing to the festive atmosphere. He is seen performing puja and participating in various traditional rituals alongside his sister and her family. For the family outing, the Laal Singh Chaddha star opted for a simple blue kurta paired with black pants, engaging in the rituals and enjoying quality time with his loved ones. In one picture, his youngest son, Azad Rao Khan, is also seen participating in the puja along with Aamir. Meanwhile, Nikhat is seen standing beside Aamir, looking elegant in a pink silk saree. On Saturday, Aamir attended the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations at Ambani residence. He attended the event with his sons Junaid Khan and Azad Rao Khan. Aamir wore a red kurta and denims, while Junaid was seen in a mustard kurta and a cream pyjama. Azad opted for a pink kurta and white pyjama. About Aamirs sister For the unversed, Nikhat is married to Santosh, who retired as the CEO of a Pune-based pharmaceutical company. It is believed that the couple met during a trip to Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. After dating for a short time, they tied the knot. The couple initially lived in Pune, but relocated to Mumbai after Santoshs retirement. She was seen in a brief role in Shah Rukh Khans Pathaan. Aamirs work front When it comes to work, Aamir is busy with his home production Sitaare Zameen Par, directed by RS Prasanna. It is a sports drama based on the 2018 Spanish film Champions. The movie also stars Genelia Deshmukh in a crucial role. The film is expected to release on December 25. Aamir was last seen in Laal Singh Chadha, alongside Kareena Kapoor Khan. The film, which received mixed reviews, bombed at the box office. Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh have welcomed their first child, a baby girl, on Sunday. The baby was reportedly born at Mumbais HN Reliance Hospital. Hindustantimes.com couldnt independently verify this information and an official statement from the couple is awaited. Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh become parents to a baby girl Stork comes visiting Amidst a lot of buzz, Deepika gave birth to a healthy baby, marking a new chapter in her and Ranveer Singhs lives. On Sunday, the couple along with their family members was seen arriving at the hospital. The photographers were unable to click their pictures as they sat inside their curtained car. Their spotting was soon followed by the arrival of their family members. The arrival of the baby comes just days after the new parents were spotted seeking blessings at Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai on Friday. In the video shared by a paparazzo, Deepika was seen wearing a traditional green saree and matching blouse. Her baby bump was visible as she visited the temple bare feet. About the pregnancy It was in February this year that the couple announced their pregnancy. The duo shared a joint post which read, "September 2024," with cute motifs of baby clothes, baby shoes and balloons. Deepika and Ranveer posted pictures from their maternity photoshoot, where she was seen happily flaunting her baby bump with Ranveer by her side. New chapter Several reports suggest that the couple might start this new chapter of their life in a new house. It is believed that reported that Deepika and Ranveer might move into their swanky apartment in Bandra, which is next to superstar Shah Rukh Khans bungalow Mannat. According to reports, once the building finishes its completion, the couple will move into the new residence, which will be occupying floors 16 to 19 of the building and will also have a private terrace. About their love story Deepika and Ranveer started dating in 2013 on the sets of Goliyon Ki Rasleela: Ram-Leela, and kept their relationship a secret till the time they sealed the deal through wedding. They got married at Lake Como, Italy in 2018 in presence of their friends and family. Work report When it comes to work, it is reported that Deepika plans on resuming work in 2025 and would like to dedicate the next few months to her newborn. Her maternity leave will last till March of next year. And after that, shell immediately get busy with filming the sequel of Kalki along with Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan and Prabhas," said a source to News18. Next, she will be seen in Rohit Shetty's ensemble cop drama Singham Again, which also stars Ranveer. Meanwhile, Ranveer will be also be seen in Aditya Dhar's next action film and Farhan Akhtar's long-awaited crime drama Don 3. If the trailer of The Buckingham Murders gave fans any indication, the mystery thriller promises to be an intense ride. Kareena Kapoor plays a detective and mother who, after losing her own child, must investigate the murder of a 10-year-old in Buckinghamshire. However, many fans also thought that the film had a similar plot to Kate Winslet's Emmy-winning show Mare of Easttown. Director Hansal Mehta is not in the mood to feed these unjust comparisons, and reacted to a comment made by a user on X (previously Twitter). (Also read: Kareena Kapoor talks about producing The Buckingham Murders, praises Ektaa Kapoor for having the guts to stand by her) Kareena Kapoor Khan and director Hansal Mehta at the trailer launch of The Buckingham Murders (Photo by Sujit JAISWAL / AFP)(AFP) What Hansal Mehta said A user took to X and tagged the director to write: Mare of Easttown... God please!! Plz Get something original... This did not escape the attention of Hansal, who responded to the allegations saying: Decide after you watch. Dont jump to conclusions. Meanwhile, Kareena did mention her love for Mare of Easttown in an earlier interview. Speaking to Variety, Kareena said that her character is inspired in part by Kate Winslets role and added, "I love Mare of Easttown and when Hansal came to me, I said this is something that I've really been dying to do. So we've molded a little bit on those lines, she plays a detective cop in that." Mare of Easttown is an acclaimed HBO show comprising of seven episode series, that stars Kate Winslet as a grizzled detective in Philadelphia. Kate won her second Emmy for the role in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie category. More details The Buckingham Murders is written by Aseem Arrora, Kashyap Kapoor, and Raghav Raj Kakker. It is produced by Balaji Telefilms and TBM Films alongside Shobha Kapoor, Ektaa Kapoor, and Kareena. With this film, Kareena is making her debut as a producer. The film also features Ash Tandon, Ranveer Brar, and Keith Allen. The film will be released in cinemas on September 13, 2024. Ever since she shared pictures from her wedding, Sonakshi, 37, and Zaheer, 35, received a lot of hatred on social media for their inter-faith union. There was a point when she disabled comments on some of her posts. Sonakshi celebrates Ganesh Chaturthi with Zaheer On Sunday, the actor took to Instagram to share a glimpse of how she celebrated the Ganesh festival. She shared a video of herself along with Zaheer performing Ganesh aarti together at Arpita Khan Sharmas grand Ganpati celebrations. Sharing the video through a joint post, she wrote, Love grows in respect when a couple honours each others beliefs in true harmony Our first Ganpati after shaadi." For the outing, Sonakshi picked a teal blue flowy anarkali with silver zardozi and hand embroidery work done in a jaal design all over, while Zaheer was seen in a blue and white kurta. Wooowwww, happy Sona, happy Zooo, Happy Gannu, happy everyone! Love ittt, wrote one fan reacting to the video. Another fan mentioned, This is what I like accepting and embracing each others religion and the rituals and ignore the world. Sonakshi Sinha on interfaith marriage Sometime back, in an interview with ETimes, Sonakshi and Zaheer said that their respective faiths have never been a part of any discussions. Talking about imbibing each other's cultures as a married couple, Sonakshi said, Absolutely! I think it will be beautiful. But genuinely, we're not that very different from each other. Our core values are the same. Basically, our parents have taught us to be good human beings and believe in God, irrespective of whatever name you know him by. The most important thing in life is to be a good person kind of values we have imbibed - that's the kind of values we have imbibed. About the couple Sonakshi Sinha tied the knot with Zaheer Iqbal on June 23 in an intimate ceremony surrounded by loved ones, including family, friends, and industry colleagues. The couple's love story, which began on June 23, 2017, culminated in a marriage on the same date, making it a special occasion. The couple later celebrated with a grand reception at Bastian. Interestingly, they met through Salman Khan, a close childhood friend of Zaheer's father, Iqbal Ratansi. Salman also supported Zaheer's debut film, Notebook, where he starred alongside Pranutan Bahl. Sonakshi and Zaheer's connection grew stronger after working together on the film Double XL, co-produced by Huma Qureshi. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitts son, Pax reportedly had another accident before his e-bike crash. It was a car accident which occurred two months before the bike crash and involved Pax. The 20-year-old crashed his Tesla into a truck parked outside the RED Studios Hollywood on May 19, 2024, as reported by TMZ on Saturday. This accident followed by the e-bike crash landed him in ICU. Pax Jolie-Pitt was involved in a car accident in May before his e-bike crash in July.(AP) Also Read: Taylor Swift breaks major wedding dress rule with Travis Kelce at model Karen Elsons NYC nuptials: Packs on PDA Paxs car crash prior to e-bike accident The security footage of the car crash showed the collision of the black car with the truck sometime around late at night. Pax escaped any injuries from the accident and the police with just a warning. No police report was made of the accident and he did not hit anyone apart from the truck itself, as reported by TMZ. The officers ensured that Pax was not driving under the influence at the time of the accident. However, the reason for why the accident occurred has not been disclosed. As per the media outlets report, Pax was informed about the accident by an exec at RED Studios and was soon after picked up by an unidentified person. Within less than three months, he was admitted to the ICU after sustaining a head injury in his e-bike accident where he was not wearing his helmet. A source revealed to Page Six at the time that Pax had a long road of recovery. They added, He suffered complex trauma, and now begins the long road of recovery and physical therapy. Also Read: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce enjoy NYC date night after Chiefs season opener win Pitt and Jolies concern Both of Paxs parents were concerned about his well-being after his e-bike accident. The sources revealed to the media outlet that Pax and Jolie were deeply grateful for the quick and life-saving action of first responders, and the outstanding medical care. A source previously also informed that while Pitt is estranged from the kids, he still cares a lot about Pax. The media outlet also reported that Paxs friends were very worried about him as the former was being reckless and had been in multiple e-bike accidents. TORONTO Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield made one the most emotionally wrecking, tenderly exquisite movies of their careers. But whats gone viral from We Live in Time? A horse. Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield debate the yeas and neighs of the We Live in Time horse meme We Live in Time, directed by John Crowley , premiered over the weekend at the Toronto International Film Festival. In it, Pugh and Garfield play a couple whose life together isnt told chronologically, but spans meeting, falling in love, having a child and battling cancer. The film, which A24 will open in theaters Oct. 11, captures some elemental passages of life, with Pugh and Garfield giving extraordinarily lived-in performances. When one of the first images from the film was released, it captured the pair on a merry-go-round, a good representation of the movie at its most joyful. But at the bottom of the frame was a yellow carousel steed with a cartoonishly bug-eyed expression. The internet quickly went to work. One post has been viewed nearly 50 million times. Stephen Colbert made it a segment on his late show. Countless iterations followed. When Pugh and Garfield sat down for an interview the day after their premiere, the conversation inevitably turned to the runaway meme and the horse that is very, very briefly seen in the movie. Here are their comments, straight from the well, you know. GARFIELD: How do you feel about the horse? PUGH: I was just so grateful its actually not in the movie. GARFIELD: It is in the movie. It was there. PUGH: Not its not. The head of it was. The eyes werent. I was waiting for it. GARFIELD: Dude, it was there. I'm sorry. PUGH: When? GARFIELD: In the scene when were on the thing. I promise you. PUGH: I dont think it was. I heard you laugh. GARFIELD: It was there for a flash. Am I wrong? PUGH: I dont think it was in the movie, babe. GARFIELD: Baby. This is undebatable. PUGH: OK, maybe it wasn't in it as much as that picture was. But I was so worried when it went the internet. It was hilarious, and it was funny. But that part of the movie is my favorite part of the movie. It's when theyre like: OK, lets go. Lets go on a date. Lets have sex. Lets get pregnant. Let's just do it. GARFIELD: And then the horse steals the show! PUGH: And I was just so worried that that amazing, gorgeous, glittery moment was going to be s- on by this horse meme which was hilarious, sure. But I was like, No! Not at that point in the movie. So I think last night I was so grateful that it wasn't, like, doing the thing that it does in that picture, which ruins it. GARFIELD: Man, I love the horse meme. I was about to go into a retreat for six days where I wouldnt have my phone. And I saw this image for our film that had been released. And I noticed the horse. And I was like, Whoa, thats an interesting choice. I don't know, did I approve that? I'm pretty sure Florence didn't approve that. PUGH: You know, it wasnt approved. GARFIELD: . So I saw that and I was like, Oh, thats a choice, man.Ah, Im sure Im the only one to notice it." Turn my phone off for six days. When Im in the departure lounge coming back from wherever I was, I turn my phone on finally. And its just horse meme. I was wrong. People noticed it. And Colbert noticed and did a whole monologue on it. Honestly, I was crying. PUGH: I loved The Shining. It was brilliant. BoJack Horseman. GARFIELD: And the one where its like all of us have the horse face. Some of my favorite ones I have saved. Actually, Im not going to open up my photos right now. PUGH: What's on your phone? GARFIELD: Just lots of dick pics. My own. Cut this out. PUGH: I didnt know you could do press like this. I didnt know you could say something outrageous and be like, Cut. Whats worse is theyre next to your horse pics. GARFIELD: Yeah, it does look like the ratio is off. PUGH: Jesus Christ, Andrew. GARFIELD: What, you set me up. PUGH: Did you just hear our publicists sigh? Please dont cut this. Let him be punished. Hell never do it again. GARFIELD: I will, thats the problem. Im insatiable when it comes to stupidity. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Nicole Kidmans Venice Film Festival experience was abruptly cut short due to the tragic loss of her mother. After gracing the red carpet in an avant-garde couture by Daniel Roseberry for Schiaparelli, the Hollywood A-lister missed out on the Best Actress award, which was later accepted by "Babygirl" director Halina Reijn on her behalf. Nicole shared a written statement about landing in Venice but leaving as soon as she heard the devastating news. In the acceptance speech, she dedicated the award to her mother. Angelina Jolie and Nicole Kidman body-shamed at Venice International Film Festival Nicole Kidman announces the death of her mother "I'm in shock and I have to go to my family, but this award is for her," Nicole Kidman shared in a written statement, which was read aloud by director Halina Reijn during the award acceptance moment, as seen in a video posted on X. "She shaped me, she guided me, and she made me. I am beyond grateful that I get to say her name to all of you through Halina," the actress added. The Big Little Lies star explained that she had made it to Venice but was informed shortly after that her "beautiful, brave mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, had just passed." "The collision of life and art is heartbreaking, and my heart is broken," she continued. Also read: YouTuber Nikocado Avocado's dramatic 250 pound weight loss in just 7 months leaves internet baffled After sharing Kidman's message with the audience in Venice, Reijn concluded with a heartfelt, "We love you, Nicole." Nicole, who stars in Halina Reijn's highly anticipated erotic thriller Babygirl, was attending the festival to present and promote the film. Nicole Kidman grieves the loss of her mother, requests privacy A representative for Nicole Kidman confirmed to Page Six on Saturday that her mother had passed away. The family is grieving and has asked for privacy during this difficult time. Nicole and her mother reportedly had a very close relationship, often discussing the actress's career and fashion choices. In a November 2023 interview with People, Nicole mentioned that her mother still had a big influence on her style. Also read: Jennifer Lopez slays racy skin-baring dress at TIFF 2024 as Ben Affleck avoids any awkward run-ins Shes given me the fire to pursue the career I have because Ive always wanted to please her, Kidman said in a 2020 interview as per Hollywood reporter. But she also carved her own path and wanted her daughters to have the same opportunity to carve their own paths, she added. On the work front, Babygirl premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival on August 30 and is set to be featured at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, before its theatrical release on December 25, 2024. Guwahati, Rich tributes were paid to Bhupen Hazarika on his birth anniversary on Sunday, with compositions by the musical maestro reverberating across Assam as special programmes were organised to mark the occasion. Tributes paid to Bhupen Hazarika on birth anniversary Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya, in a post on X, said, "Like the ever-flowing waters of the Burhaluit, may the words of love, unity and harmony of Sudhakanth echo in the hearts of every Assamese." The Brahmaputra is also referred to as the Burhaluit, and the suffix 'Sudhakanth' is used for Hazarika. "I pay my respects to the evergreen artist Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika on his birth anniversary," he added. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also paid his tributes on the micro-blogging site. "The music of Dr Bhupen Hazarika transcends all barriers! His songs radiate the message of justice, harmony and brotherhood. Today on his Jayanti, we pay homage to the Bard of Brahmaputra," he wrote. The state government organised a cultural programme at the Samadhi Kshetra of the 'Bard of Brahmaputra' at Jalukbari on the outskirts of the city. Assam Cultural Affairs Minister Bimal Borah paid floral tribute to the memory of Hazarika at the Samadhi Kshetra, where a cultural programme has also been organised. The Bhupen Hazarika Sangaskritik Nyas also organised a programme to pay tribute to the late artist. Ninety-nine flags were hoisted by eminent people from different walks of life as part of the programme, while songs of the musical maestro were also performed on the occasion. Education Minister Ranoj Pegu also hoisted a flag at the event, urging the people to imbibe and follow the ideals of brotherhood and harmony espoused by Hazarika in their lives. Tributes were paid to the legendary musician in different parts of the state, with programmes organised to commemorate the 98th birth anniversary of the legend. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Actor Vishal arrived to attend South Indian Artist Association meeting in Chennai on a bicycle. On Sunday, the actor was seen entering the office premises in his bicycle and interacting with a few fans. (Also read: Vishal reveals the truth behind his video with mystery woman: It's just a prank) Vishal arrives on a bicycle to attend 68th South Indian Artist Association meeting.(PTI) Vishal arrives on his bicycle On Sunday morning, PTI posted a minute-long video where Vishal, who is also the Nadigar Sangam General Secretary, was seen in a white shirt and blue jeans, as he made his way from the main gate with his bicycle. He shook hands with and smiled at some fans standing near the gate, even as s paparazzi gathered around him to click pictures. After a few seconds, he was welcomed by a member of the South Indian Artist Association with a badge. As per a report on The News Minute, Vishal, who celebrated his birthday last month, addressed the media on whether a similar panel like the Hema Committee could be formed in the state. The Nadigar Sangam will form a committee in the next ten days. Preparations are underway and an announcement will be made soon. It is our duty to do so. The association is not just for the men in the industry. Its also for women to know that there is someone there for them, the actor said. More details Earlier this month, a redacted version of the Justice Hema Committee report on harassment faced by women in the Malayalam cinema industry was made public. It contains shocking accounts alleging harassment, exploitation, and ill-treatment of women professionals. The 235-page report, published after redacting the names of witnesses and the accused, notes that the Malayalam film industry is controlled by about 10 to 15 male producers, directors, and actors who dominate and exert control over the industry. At least six people were killed in the Jiribam district of strife-torn Manipur on Saturday, officials aware of the matter said, as the fresh wave of violence to besiege the state and rupture the fragile peace maintained for close to three months spiralled. Family members of a person who was killed when a missile struck mourn at Moirang in Manipur on September 6, 2024.(REUTERS) According to police, armed Kuki militants attacked Nungchepi village at around 4am, killing 63-year-old Yurembam Kulendra Singha, a Metei, in his sleep. They then targeted the Rasidpur village, roughly 7km away, triggering separate gunfights with village volunteers and police, which resulted in the deaths of four more people. Members of the Metei community reside in both villages. Early morning, suspected Kuki militants attacked Nungchappi village under Jiribham district, in which 63-year-old civilian Yurembam Kulendra Singh was killed in his bed, additional director general of police (administration) K Jayenta said. He added: The armed miscreants continued firing and moving towards Rasidpur village. The village volunteers there retaliated, leading to an exchange of fire, during which 41-year-old Baspatimayum Lakhi Kumar Sharma, a resident of the district, was killed. The Jiribam district police rushed to the spot, but they were also attacked by the armed miscreants. The police fired back and managed to control the situation. Jayenta said that while searching the area, they found three bodies, suspected to be of the militants, in full combat gear. Later in the day, the police said in a statement that they recovered another body from the spot. The situation in the area is tense but under control. We have deployed additional forces in the area, he said. Located around 220km from Imphal near the Assam border, Jiribam is home to Meiteis, Kukis, Bengalis, Nepalis, Nagas, and other communities. It had remained largely peaceful despite the state being roiled in clashes, with Meitei and Kuki groups pledging not to indulge in violence during a meeting at the police superintendents office in June 2023. However, the killing of 59-year-old S Saratkumar Singh, a resident of the village, in June this year brought the district to the boil and forced many to flee the region as the houses of both Kuki and Metei community members were set ablaze by mobs. Saturdays violence was the deadliest in the northeastern state this year and highlighted an escalation in hostilities between ethnic groups. The same day, separate gunfights also broke out at Sugnu and Napat villages of Kakching district bordering Churachandpur, officers aware of the matter said. No casualties were reported in these incidents. Amid a flare up in clashes, chief minister N Biren Singh called an emergency meeting of the lawmakers from the states ruling coalition to discuss the law and order situation. He then met governor Lakshman Acharya. The clashes in Jiribam broke out a day after militants fired rockets at two spots, including the home of the states first chief minister in Bishnupur district, killing one person and injuring five. The conflict in the state has ratcheted up since September 1, with militants turning to newer technologies such as drones and rockets even as the use of rifles and grenades continued unabated. Last Sunday, one person was killed as militants used drones to drop explosives. Since then, Kuki militants have used drones to drop explosives at two more places, adding to security woes and prompting the CM to call them acts of terrorism. In the last six months, security forces have shot down at least 18 drones in the valleys and hills of Manipur. But until September 1, the drones were used by militants on both sides only for surveillance. Due to the recent drone attacks, an anti-drone system has been deployed, and the state police is in the process of purchasing additional anti-drone guns, which will be deployed soon, Jayenta said. The Centre has also formed a committee of top officers from the police, army, and paramilitary forces to examine the use of explosive-bearing drones. The committee is now preparing a report that it will submit by September 13. Inspector general of police (intelligence) K Kabib said they have stepped up combing operations to prevent attacks through rockets and drones. The combing operations on both sideshills and valleyhave been intensified, focusing on areas from which long-range rockets and drones were fired. These operations will cover a minimum of 3-5 km, concentrating on these areas, he said. The senior police officer said during two combing operations at Loibol Khullen and Tingkai Khullen, which border Kangpokpi and Bishnupur districts, a significant cache of sophisticated arms and ammunition was recovered. This included nine sophisticated arms, a modified sniper rifle, 21 different types of ammunition, 21 explosives and grenades, and a wireless set. Manipur has been in the throes of a violent conflict since May last year. What began as an ethnic conflict between the majority Meiteis and the tribal Kukis has grown into seemingly irreconcilable cleavages within Manipuri society, with at least 230 killed and an estimated 50,000 displaced, armed militia prowling the streets, police forces divided on community lines, and lives being led in enclaves of fear. AAP's Somnath Bharti on Sunday suggested the party should contest all 90 assembly seats in Haryana on its own, with his statement coming amid talks between the AAP and Congress over an alliance in the BJP-ruled state, where voting will be held on October 5. AAP's Somnath Bharti (File Photo) As an example, Bharti cited the recent Lok Sabha elections in Delhi, where the BJP achieved a hattrick of winning all seven parliamentary seats, despite the AAP-Congress joining hands, contesting under a 4-3 agreement, respectively. Supporters of AAP are majorly not in favour of such a misfit and selfish alliance. Before the alliance is inked in Haryana, AAP must evaluate the effectiveness of the alliance formed in Delhi during the Lok Sabha Election. While my national convenor @ArvindKejriwal Ji did roadshows for all the three Congress candidates and cabinet ministers of AAP campaigned for all three Congress candidates, but AAP candidates especially myself were not supported at all especially by Congress Delhi and local leaders, he posted on X. Bharti, who lost to BJP's Bansuri Swaraj from New Delhi, also claimed that the saffron party, in power in Haryana since October 2014, was on deathbed in the state. Congress facing massive in-fights and Haryana being home state of Kejriwal ji, @AamAadmiParty should contest on all 90 seats on its own strength to give first non-BJP and non-Congress Honest Govt in Haryana, he added. Meanwhile, for the debacle in Delhi, the AAP member listed multiple season, including then state unit chief Arvinder Singh Lovely, joining BJP, in the middle of the campaign. Bharti also called on AAP supporters to not forget the imaginary liquor policy scam, for which party supremo and Delhi chief minister Kejriwal is in jail as the main accused. Ajit Doval, National Security Adviser to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is set to visit Russia next week to address the situation in Ukraine, Azernews reports citing foreign media. Doval will be in Moscow from September 10 to 11. During his visit, Doval is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss peace efforts for the Ukrainian conflict. Additionally, he will attend a BRICS security meeting and hold talks with Russian and Chinese officials to further discuss regional security matters. Chinese Vice President Han Zheng meets with Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, Sept. 7, 2024. Han visited Mongolia from Friday to Sunday upon invitation. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) China is willing to deepen bilateral ties and expand cooperation with Mongolia, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng said here on Saturday. During his three-day visit from Friday to Sunday, Han met separately with Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene, President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh and Parliament Speaker Dashzegve Amarbayasgalan. Chinese Vice President Han Zheng meets with Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, Sept. 7, 2024. Han visited Mongolia from Friday to Sunday upon invitation. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) When meeting with Oyun-Erdene, Han said China and Mongolia will continue to consolidate political trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and promote mutual understanding among people. Han called for cooperation in energy, connectivity and infrastructure construction, as well as consultation and coordination in international and regional affairs between the two countries. China welcomes Mongolia's designation of 2023-2025 as the "Years to Visit Mongolia," and stands ready to strengthen exchanges with Mongolia's youth, students and media. The Chinese vice president also expressed hope for deepening cooperation among China, Mongolia and Russia, calling for the speeding up of the construction of the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor. For his part, Oyun-Erdene said this year marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Mongolia and China, the 30th anniversary of the revision of the Friendship and Cooperation Treaty between Mongolia and China, and the 10th anniversary of the establishment of their comprehensive strategic partnership, saying that Mongolia is willing to work with China to push forward bilateral relations in a new era in the spirit of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and common development. Chinese Vice President Han Zheng meets with Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, Sept. 7, 2024. Han visited Mongolia from Friday to Sunday upon invitation. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) During his meeting with Khurelsukh, Han stressed that China and Mongolia are good neighbors, good friends and good partners. China has always placed its relations with Mongolia at an important position in its neighborhood diplomacy, Han said, adding that the two sides have firmly supported each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns. He expressed hope that the two sides will take the building of a China-Mongolia community with a shared future as the guide and push forward bilateral ties to a higher level. Chinese Vice President Han Zheng meets with Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, Sept. 7, 2024. Han visited Mongolia from Friday to Sunday upon invitation. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) Khurelsukh said Mongolia attaches great importance to developing the comprehensive strategic partnership with China, firmly adheres to the one-China policy and is willing to work with China to build a Mongolia-China community with a shared future to benefit the people of the two countries and the region. Chinese Vice President Han Zheng meets with Mongolia's Parliament Speaker Dashzegve Amarbayasgalan in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, Sept. 7, 2024. Han visited Mongolia from Friday to Sunday upon invitation. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) At the meeting with Amarbayasgalan, the Chinese vice president said China appreciates that Mongolia takes developing friendly and cooperative relations with China as a key priority in its foreign policy, supports legislatures and political parties of the two countries in strengthening exchanges and cooperation, and hopes that Mongolia's State Great Hural will continue to play an important role in promoting the steady and long-term development of China-Mongolia relations. Amarbayasgalan said it is Mongolia's strategic choice and consensus to maintain and strengthen friendly and cooperative relations of mutual benefit with China. The Mongolian State Great Hural and all political parties look forward to further expanding exchanges and cooperation with China, learning from each other and helping expand and deepen cooperation. Wrestler-turned-politician Bajrang Punia filed a complaint with Haryana Police after he received a threatening message on WhatsApp asking him to quit the Congress party or face dire consequences, news agency PTI reported. A police official said they have registered a complaint, and the matter is under investigation. New turf: Within hours of joining the Congress, Punia was appointed as the working president of the All-India Kisan Congress.(Jitender Gupta) Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini said the issue will be investigated, and action will be taken against the accused. Earlier, Punia had challenged the chief minister to contest the polls from the Julana constituency if he believes defeating Vinesh Phogat is easy. The wrestler also said that he and Vinesh Phogat would have been hailed as patriots if they had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rather than the Congress. Punia said that both of them are being labelled as anti-nationals for aligning with the Opposition ahead of assembly election in their home state Haryana. "We would have become patriots if we had joined the BJP, but because we have joined the Congress, they are calling us anti-nationals. We are with our leader Rahul Gandhi and his struggle. He is raising the voice of all sections, be it farmers, youth or athletes", Punia told news agency ANI. When asked about the BJP's swipe that Congress was mulling an alliance with AAP as it was not confident about winning the Haryana election, the Olympic bronze medallist shot back saying the BJP, with 240 seats at the Centre, should be sitting at the opposition if they have problem with alliance. If the BJP has a problem with the (Congress-AAP) alliance, then why are they in alliance at the centre? They have 240 (seats). They should sit in the opposition, Punia said. "We are moving ahead with the INDIA alliance parties with strength. If they (the BJP) are against the alliance, then they should also sit in opposition", he added. Talking about his new position within the party, Punia expressed confidence about raising the concerns of farmers in a better manner as the new working president of the All India Kisan Congress. Brij Bhushan's charge Earlier in the day, BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh alleged that the two wrestlers joining the Congress party proved that they were part of a larger conspiracy, orchestrated by former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to frame him. Responding to Singh's allegations, Vinesh Phogat said he doesn't represent the country, and the people are standing with her. The voting for the 90-member legislative assembly in Haryana will be held on October 5 and the last date for filing nominations is September 12. The counting of votes will be held on October 8. (With ANI, PTI inputs) West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose directed chief minister Mamata Banerjee to hold an emergency meeting of the state cabinet to discuss protesting doctor's demand to sack Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal, news agency PTI reported. West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose (File image)(PTI) "Governor Bose has directed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to hold an emergency Cabinet meeting to discuss people's demand for justice for the deceased woman doctor," a source said. "According to the Governor, the state should function within the Constitution and the rule of law. The ostrich-like attitude will not pay, and the state must address the public demand to remove the Police Commissioner of Kolkata," the source added on the Governor's position. Controversial top cop The commissioner has come under fire from the opposition in West Bengal for the alleged lapses after the rape and murder of a female doctor inside Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. West Bengal Leader of Opposition and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari had urged the President and the Ministry of Home Affairs to forfeit the top cop's police medal in a letter sent on Thursday. He alleged that Goyal was complicit in destroying evidence in the case and failed to act to prevent vandalism at the hospital on night of August 14. Besides the opposition, protesting junior doctors have also been demanding the resignation of Goyal. A delegation of doctors met the commissioner after a 22-hour impasse and gifted an artificial spine as a way of urging the police to grow a backbone against the alleged lapses by the state. Even before the rape and murder in Kolkata, Goyal had been at loggerheads with Raj Bhavan over allegations of sexual assault by a woman employee against Governor CV Ananda Bose. The governor, in a report submitted to Home Minister Amit Shah in July, alleged that police officers posted in Raj Bhavan were encouraging allegations by the woman. He also alleged that Goyal was functioning in a manner which is completely unbecoming of a public servant. (With inputs from agencies) A 15-year-old boy died in Bihars Saran district after a fake doctor allegedly performed surgery to remove a gall bladder stone using instructions from YouTube. According to the family of the deceased, they brought the boy to Ganpati Hospital in Saran after he had vomited several times, and they claimed that the doctor carried out the operation without their consent, as reported by NDTV. The family of the deceased boy said that they took him to Ganpati Hospital in Saran after he experienced severe vomiting. (Pic used for representation) When asked why they took Krishna Kumar to the fake doctor, Ajit Kumar Puri, despite doubts about his qualifications, the family said, We just wanted the vomiting to stop. He conducted the operation without our consent. The NDTV report further said that police have registered an FIR and sent the body for an autopsy. Efforts are underway to locate the self-styled doctor and other staff from Ganpati Seva Sadan. Meanwhile, other patients at the nursing home have been abandoned after the staff disappeared. Here's what happened Krishna Kumars family said that they took him to Ganpati Hospital in Saran after he experienced severe vomiting. As his condition worsened, the doctor arranged for an ambulance to transfer him to a hospital in Patna. We admitted him and the vomiting stopped soon after. But the doctor Ajit Kumar Puri said he needs to be operated upon. He conducted the operation by watching videos on YouTube. My son died later, the family member said. According to the family, the boy passed away on the way to the hospital, and the doctor along with others abandoned his body at the hospital before fleeing. The family expressed uncertainty about the doctors qualifications, saying, "We think he was self-styled and fake." Krishna Kumars grandfather, Prahlad Prasad Shaw, said the boy seemed to improve after the vomiting stopped. But the doctor sent the father away on an errand and started operating on the boy without the family's consent. The boy was in pain. When we asked the doctor why he was in pain, he snapped at us and asked if we were doctors. Later in the evening, the boy stopped breathing. He was revived (with CPR) and then rushed to Patna. He died on the way. They left the boy's body on the stairs of the hospital and fled, he said. Similar fake doctor arrested in Mumbai In March, police arrested Parvez Abdul Aziz Shaikh, a 46-year-old Bandra resident, for allegedly treating patients using his wifes Bachelor of Unani Medicine and Surgery (BUMS) degree in Mumbai's Malwani. Following a tip-off, crime branch officials alerted the Medical Officer from the P North ward in Malad, who conducted a surprise inspection at Shaikhs Malwani clinic. Shaikh was arrested under Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act. His wife has been issued a notice to appear for investigation. The police further disclosed that Shaikh was also wanted in a separate case in Mulund, where a man had died due to incorrect treatment administered by him in 2023. Shaikh faces charges including murder, attempted murder, forgery, and impersonation under Sections 420, 419, 416, 465, and 424 of the Indian Penal Code. Aizawl, C Lalchhandami has resigned as the chairperson of the Mizoram State Commission for Women following protests by opposition party Mizo National Front over her appointment citing an age bar, an official said on Sunday. C Lalchhandami resigns as chairperson of Mizoram women commission following MNF protests Lalchhandami submitted her resignation to the Social Welfare Department secretary on Saturday, the official said. The MNF had been demanding the resignation of Lalchhandami claiming she had already crossed the age limit for the post and that her appointment was illegal. According to the Mizoram State Commission for Women Act 2004, any person who has crossed the age of 65 years cannot be appointed as chairperson of the commission. The MNF demanded that Lalchhandami should tender her resignation on or before September 9. The party has also filed a police complaint over her appointment. Lalchhandami was appointed as the chairperson of MSCW in March this year. In her resignation letter, Lalchhandami said that she had to tender her resignation to save the image of the commission and protect its reputation as the "issue has snowballed into a political vendetta". She also claimed that she could have continued as the chairperson as per the law because she has not attained the age of 65 years yet. However, she said she chose to resign as she was not in a position to enthusiastically continue in her post amid strong protests from a political party. Lalchhandami also claimed that during her five-month tenure, the commission has heard over 100 cases, which was far greater than the 86 cases heard from May 2019 to February 2024. She claimed that 80 per cent of the 100 cases have been amicably resolved or disposed of, which indicated a great achievement made by the commission during the span of five months. Social Welfare Minister Lalrinpuii had earlier defended the government over the appointment of Lalchhandami stating that there was no any irregularity from the government's side. As per the birth certificate submitted by Lalchhandami, she was born in 1960, she said. The government accepted the birth certificate and accordingly, Lalchhandami was appointed as the chairperson of MSCW, Lalrinpuii had said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. The Centre on Saturday discharged probationary IAS officer Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar from the Indian Administrative Services with immediate effect, officials aware of the matter said. Puja Khedkar (File Photo) Officials said Khedkar was discharged a term used when a probationary officer is dismissed after completion of an enquiry against her, under Rule 12 of the IAS (Probation) Rules, 1954. Khedkar, a trainee officer of the 2023 batch, was accused of faking her identity to get more attempts in the UPSC examination. She was also accused of wrongly availing benefits under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and disability quotas. Disparities in her candidature came to light after reports emerged that she was misusing her power during her training in Pune. The Centre on July 11 set up a committee to probe the disparities, which submitted its report on July 24. Officials said that taking note of the findings of the report, the government proceeded for a summary enquiry. it was seen that she was ineligible to be a candidate at the CSE-2022, which was the year of her selection and appointment to the IAS. Therefore, she was ineligible to be recruited to IAS and has been discharged, said an official privy to the development. The Maharashtra cadre officer was allotted the IAS based on her result in CSE 2022. The official, requesting anonymity, noted that Khedkar availed more attempts in the civil services examination (CSE) than the maximum permissible number of nine attempts. She applied and appeared for the civil service examination between 2012 to 2023, the official said. t is seen that she availed more attempts than the maximum permissible number of nine attempts in her claimed category (OBC and PwBD), which she had exhausted by attempting the exam between 2012 and 2020, the official said. Delhi Police, which has registered a case against Khedkar, said that she appeared for subsequent exams by changing her name in 2021 and by making incorrect or false statements regarding the number of attempts already availed by her. The Delhi police has charged Khedkar under sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) Indian Penal Code; 66D Information Technology Act, and 89 and 91 Rights of Persons with Disability Act, 2016. While Khedkar was granted interim protection from arrest, the police objected saying her custody was needed to unearth a deep-rooted conspiracy she hatched with other people to get benefits. The Chhattisgarh government has asked the Narayanpur district administration to acquire 54,543 hectares of land, official documents show, for the Armys Maneuver Range inside the forests of Abujhmad in Bastar, the strongest fortress of Maoists in the state. Abujhmad, which is a 4,000-square-kilometre expanse of forests, straddles Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. (FIle Photo) In an August 7 letter, Chhattisgarhs Revenue and Disaster Management Department wrote to Narayanpur district collector regarding the establishment of the Indian Armys Maneuver Range. The letter said that the range will be established in the Sonpur-Garpa region of Orchha tehsil of the district, which falls in Abujhmad forests. HT has seen a copy of the letter. Umesh Kumar Patel, undersecretary of Revenue and Disaster Management department, confirmed the development and said the letter has been sent. The development has come to light weeks after Union home minister Amit Shah told officers of states affected by Left-Wing Extremism that the time has come to end Maoism, highlighting that the extremists were holed up in small areas in Chhattisgarh due to continued security operations. Abujhmad, which is a 4,000-square-kilometre expanse of forests that straddles Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, is one such area. Abhujhmad is an amalgamation of the Gondi words Abujh and Maad that translates to the hills of the unknown an area that is yet unmapped by the government of India. Several attempts at conducting preliminary surveys in the region have taken place since 2017, but each has been stymied by the extremely difficult geography, complete lack of infrastructure, and heavy Maoist fortification. According to officials of the revenue department, acquisition of land for the Armys range was pending since 2017. Nothing much happened in the last seven years. Now, we plan to fast track the acquisition, an official said requesting anonymity. According to the revenue department letter, the Maneuver Range will be established over an area of 54,543 hectares, which will require the utilisation and transfer of government land in Narayanpur district, which is in Abujhmad area of Bastar. The revenue department has also referred to its previous letters dated September 13, 2017, November 21, 2017, and February 17, 2021, and has requested the Collector to promptly send the required information. Maneuver Range is an area for tactical war exercise involving fire tactics such as moving and firing in all directions, protecting flanks, and defending against enemy tanks. To practise these tactics, a large piece of land is required, which is why maneuver ranges are used. These ranges provide a dedicated area for tank training and simulation of various battlefield scenarios, allowing troops to hone their skills in a realistic and safe environment, said an army officer, on condition of anonymity. An internal security expert said that setting up such a range in a conflict zone helps in area domination and aids security forces to maintain law and order. The army will not be carrying out any operation, but they have a large area which will be dominated by them in the core area of Maoists, said a senior police officer of Chhattisgarh. This year alone, the Chhattisgarh police have opened up four new camps in Abujhmad Maspur, Kasturmeta, Mohandi and Irrakbhati. Chhattisgarh intelligence officials believe that most of the senior leaders of CPI(Maoists) are camping the southern and south western part of Abujhmaad near Maharashtra border and Narayanpur-Maharasthra-Bijapur trijunction. Actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay announced on Sunday that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has officially registered his party and granted it permission to participate in electoral politics. Actor-turned-politician and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam President Vijay unveils party's flag at party headquarters, on the outskirts of Chennai.(PTI) The actor-turned-politician announced the development through a letter on X (formerly Twitter), saying that the Election Commission of India was approached on February 2 for the registration of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam as a political party and that the registration has been granted. The Election Commission of our country has considered it legally and has now registered our Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam as a political party and allowed it to participate in electoral politics as a registered party. I am very happy to share this with you, said Vijay. He mentioned that the first door is now open to the party as an initial step towards the challenges ahead. In this context, he said that the party has initiated preparations for the state conference and advised waiting for the official announcement regarding it. Let's break the barriers, raise the flag, carry the torch of policy and come to Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam as the leading political party for the people of Tamil Nadu, added Vijay. When did actor Vijay launch his political party? The Tamil superstar Joseph Vijay, better known as Thalapathy (the commander) Vijay announced his political party on February 2. He said that he would contest in the 2026 assembly polls instead of the 2024 elections. He unveiled the flag and symbol for his political party on August 22 and later hoisted it at the Panaiyur party office and released an official song for the political party as well. The two-coloured maroon and yellow flag has elephants on both sides and a peacock surrounded by stars at the centre. The actor also promised to work for the welfare of Tamil Nadu and said, Tamil Nadu will be better from now on. Victory is sure. The colleagues of the Kolkata doctor who was raped and murdered inside RG Kar Medical College and Hospital have revealed the victim's grueling schedule hours before her death. They said the victim was a focused individual and was known for her punctuality. Kolkata: Health workers and others take part in a protest rally against the West Bengal administration over the sexual assault and murder of a trainee doctor.(PTI file photo) The victim used to stay at a hostel. However, for the past one year, she had been commuting to work from her house on the outskirts of Kolkata. She reported to work at 10 am at the OPD of the hospital on August 8. She was assigned to unit 2A. She admitted six patients that day, reported TOI. She had her lunch after 3 pm in the sleep room. "She came in after 3 pm and had her food in the sleeping room next door where we usually eat. She was a little reserved but very focused," her colleague told the newspaper. He said he left the hospital at 4.30 pm, instructing her to call him if any patient's health deteriorated. "The call never came and the next morning I learned of her gruesome death," the doctor added. Her junior colleague said he had met her in the corridor of the hospital hours before the crime. "Didi was dashing to the ward when I bumped into her in the corridor. We exchanged pleasantries and she said she had a lot of work in the ward," the trainee doctor recalled. At midnight, she had her dinner. She took a round of the ward. At 2 am, after 16 hours of working, she retired to the seminar hall of the hospital. She was found dead in the hospital in the morning. The police have arrested a Kolkata police civil volunteer named Sanjay Roy for the crime. He was seen entering the seminar hall at 4.03 am in the CCTV footage. They also found his Bluetooth headset at the crime scene. He told the CBI during his polygraph test that when he entered the seminar hall, the woman was already injured and unconscious. The agency, however, claims he has been trying to mislead the investigators. The CBI has told a court that the woman hadn't been gang-raped. She was allegedly raped and killed by Sanjay Roy. The Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), a single-point organisation for jointness under the defence ministry, will on Monday begin a five-day programme for senior military officers, with a focus on boosting jointness and integration among the armed forces, an essential prerequisite to the creation of theatre commands. Jointmanship refers to a degree of co-ordination and integration in terms of strategy, capabilities and execution across the three services. (File Photo) The programme, called Combined Operational Review and Evaluation (CORE), is being conducted by IDS for the first time and has been conceptualised to prepare senior officers of the armed forces for leadership roles by honing their skills in strategic planning and to help them anticipate and prepare for future threats and conflicts, the defence ministry said in a statement on Sunday. The development comes at a time when the armed forces are charting a path towards theaterisation, a long-awaited reform for the best use of the militarys resources to fight future wars. The single-point organisation for jointmanship, headed by CISC (chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Commitee), integrates policy, doctrine, war-fighting and military purchases. Jointmanship refers to a degree of co-ordination and integration in terms of strategy, capabilities and execution across the three services. The CISC reports to the chief of defence staff (CDS) who is spearheading the theaterisation drive. The development-cum-orientation programme, CORE, has been designed for two-star officers from the three services, as well as officials from the defence, external affairs and home ministries. It aims to foster jointness and integration and enhance cooperation and coordination among the services to create a detailed understanding of the operational environment, the defence ministry said. The programme is being conducted days after jointness came into sharp focus at the Joint Commanders Conference in Lucknow where defence minister Rajnath Singh made a firm push for cultivating a joint vision, preparing for future wars, and delivering a synergised, swift and proportionate response to provocations. The military is ready with the blueprint of the theaterisation model and will present it to the government for final approval soon. The effective conduct of future wars will hinge on three vital elements: military leaders, combatants (man-machine interface) and support staff. The Indian armed forces are taking dynamic steps towards modernisation. It is imperative for future senior military leaders to stay abreast of changing geo-political dynamics and futuristic combat scenarios...to take comprehensive decisions, the statement said. The programme will involve panel discussions and lectures by 30 eminent speakers and subject matter experts from different fields. The topics will include the changing nature of warfare, globalisation and interconnectedness, lessons from ongoing global conflicts, impact of non-kinetic warfare, cyber and information warfare, and adoption of artificial intelligence and autonomous systems in the military. In Lucknow, Singh drew the militarys attention to the ongoing wars between Russia and Ukraine, and Israel and Hamas, and the instability in Bangladesh. He asked the military leadership to analyse the troubling global developments, predict the challenges that India could face, and build capability and stay prepared to deal with the unexpected. The minister emphasised the need for a broader and deeper analysis of security dynamics by the top military leadership in light of the situation along the countrys border with China and developments in the neighbouring countries, which threaten peace and stability in the region. Speaking at the Lucknow conference, CDS General Anil Chauhan also made a pitch for jointness and integration for the military to adapt to the contours of future warfare. The theaterisation model being pursued involves raising the China-centric northern theatre command in Lucknow, the Pakistan-centric western theatre command in Jaipur, and the maritime theatre command in Thiruvananthapuram. A young male patient who recently returned from a country with ongoing Mpox (monkeypox) transmission has been identified as a suspected case of the virus, the Union health ministry said on Friday. The patient has been placed in isolation at a designated hospital and is reportedly in stable condition. Mpox or monkey pox is an infectious viral disease.It can be serious and even fatal in some cases. (Reuters) The health ministry confirmed that samples have been taken and are undergoing testing to verify whether the patient has contracted Mpox. Samples from the patient are being tested to confirm the presence of Mpox. The case is being managed in line with established protocols, and contact tracing is ongoing to identify potential sources and assess the impact within the country, the ministry said in a statement. Also Read | UNICEF issues emergency tender to secure mpox vaccines The government has assured that the situation is under control, stating that the development is consistent with previous risk assessments conducted by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). There is no cause of any undue concern, the ministry said. The country is fully prepared to deal with such isolated travel related case and has robust measures in place to manage and mitigate any potential risk. The suspected Mpox case was detected in India three weeks after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreaks in 12 African countries a global emergency. Meanwhile, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the WHO launched a continent-wide response plan to the Mpox outbreak on Friday. The six-month plan, with an estimated budget of nearly $600 million, will focus on surveillance, laboratory testing, and community engagement, according to Africa CDC director-general Dr. Jean Kaseya. On Thursday, Congo received its first batch of 100,000 doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine, donated by the European Union through HERA, the EU's health emergency agency. These vaccines are seen as vital in protecting health workers and vulnerable populations. However, the doses received represent only a small fraction of the 3 million vaccines needed to end the outbreak in Congo, which remains the epicentre of the global health crisis. Kaseya confirmed that the vaccine rollout would initially target adults who have been in close contact with infected individuals, as well as sex workers. However, the vaccination campaigns start date remains unclear. The European Medicines Agency is evaluating data for potential administration to children aged 12 to 17, with a decision expected by the end of the month. From September 7 to 8, Burkina Faso's Prime Minister Apollinaire Kyelem de Tambela visited Henan province in central China to strengthen bilateral exchanges. He toured the Henan Modern Agriculture Research and Development Base, Sanquan Food Co., Ltd., the Yellow River Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd., and the Henan Geological Bureau. During his visit, the Prime Minister gained insights into Henans agriculture and food industries, water conservancy projects in Africa, and land and mineral development. He praised Henan's agricultural progress and expressed interest in collaboration in areas such as agricultural machinery, food processing, and transportation, with the goal of contributing to building a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future. Kolkata rape-murder case live updates: Amid nationwide protests, the Supreme Court has listed the next hearing date in the RG Kar hospital rape and murder case, on September 9. A bench consisting of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra is slated to hear the matter, after the initial hearing on August 22 took place when the court took suo moto cognisance of the case....Read More The hearing will also deal with a recent application filed by the central government alleging that the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government had been non-cooperative in aiding the CISF which has been providing security at the RG Kar hospital. Latest developments - Kolkata is also gearing up to have the third Reclaim the Night protest on September 8. The protest will mark the one month since the the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar hospital. - While the festive occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi has started, several Ganesh Puja committees in Kolkata, have used their platform to demand justice for the victim and have scaled down their celebrations. - West Bengal governor CV Anand Bose has also sent the Aparajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws and Amendment) Bill 2024 to President Droupadi Murmu for her assent after it was passed in assembly. The anti-rape bill seeks capital punishment for rape convicts if their actions result in the victim's death or leave her in a vegetative state. - The BJP has renewed it's calls for the resignation of chief minister Mamata Banerjee once again, after the father of the victim alleged that the Kolkata police had offered them bribes to stay quiet about the hurried cremation of their daughter. - The CBI has also reportedly narrowed down their investigation to a single suspect - prime accused Sanjay Roy, after ruling out possibilities of a gang-rape. The CBI conducted several interviews and polygraph tests in its investigation and is required to submit a report to the Calcutta high court on September 17. Malayalam film actor Vinayakan was arrested at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on Saturday evening after allegedly causing a disturbance while being intoxicated, ANI reported. Malayalam actor Vinayakan has courted controversy with his recent remarks on the MeToo movement. Inspector K Balaraju of the RGI Airport police station said the situation occurred around 6pm. Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) inspector reported that Vinayakan, who had arrived on an Indigo flight from Kochi and was to travel to Goa, engaged in inappropriate behaviour with airport gate staff. They also reported that he was in a visibly drunk state. "The actor was under the influence of alcohol and created a significant disturbance. We have registered a case accordingly," Balaraju said, according to ANI. Vinayak was subsequently handed over to the RGI airport police, and a case was filed against him under the City Police Act. Last year too, the Malayalam actor was arrested for allegedly obstructing the duty of a police officer and issuing threats and verbal abuse in an inebriated state. The actor allegedly created a ruckus at the Ernakulam Town North police station, where he was summoned by the police over a dispute with his wife at his apartment. Vinayakan was booked under sections 118(A) and 117(E) of the Kerala Police Act. He was later let off on bail after a medical examination. The police said the actor had caused similar acts of commotion in the past at the police station. The actor had stoked controversy in the past for allegedly using disparaging words against former Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy and for his remarks on the MeToo movement. Also Read | Malayalam actor Vinayakan criticised for his 'clueless' remarks on MeToo (Inputs from ANI) Six people were killed as fresh violence erupted between the warring ethnic communities of Kukis and Meitei in the northeastern state of Manipur on Saturday. A convoy of Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh arrives at the Raj Bhavan in Imphal to meet Governor Lakshman Acharya on Saturday. (PTI) The Meitei and Kuki communities have clashed intermittently since last year following a court order for the state to extend the Kukis' special economic benefits and quotas in jobs and education to the Meiteis as well. In response to the tense situation, chief minister N Biren Singh has met with coalition government legislators and briefed Governor L. Acharya about the law and order conditions. Over 225 people have been killed and around 60,000 displaced since the clashes began. Here's what we know so far about the recent surge in violence: A nine-foot-long crocodile was rescued on Sunday, after it strayed into a residential housing society in the Mulund area in Mumbai. A 9-foot-long crocodile was rescued in Mulund by RAWW and the Mumbai forest department (Photo credit: Yogesh Naik/Hindustan Times) A wildlife welfare group representative told PTI that the crocodile was rescued on Sunday morning by members of the Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW) in coordination with forest department officials. The forest department control room had received a distress call earlier about a huge crocodile being spotted at the Nirmal Lifestyle housing society in Mulund area. Pawar Sharma, founder of the RAWW and honorary wildlife warden with the forest department, stated that the female Indian Marsh crocodile was rescued at 6:30 am. After a medical examination by Dr. Priti Sathe and Dr. Kirti Sathe, associate veterinarians with RAWW, the crocodile was deemed fit and released into its natural habitat, according to a Hindustan Times reporter. In July, a crocodile was seen in Mumbai's Mithi river as well, causing panic among citizens. However, the river is its natural habitat, and people were warned to not respect the creature and not venture into the river. In the same month, a large crocodile took people in Chiplun by surprise after it was found strolling on a main road amid heavy rainfall. Due to flooding caused by rains, crocodile sightings near rivers in Maharashtra and Gujarat have been reported often. In Vadodara, 24 crocodiles were rescued in just 2 days after the Vishwamitra river flooded due to extreme rainfall. The crocodiles were disturbed from their place and were forced to enter residential areas close to the riverbed. However, no humans were harmed by the crocodiles. (With inputs from PTI and Hindustan Times reporter Yogesh Naik) Stating confidently that the alliance of National Conference (NC) and Congress will be victorious in the upcoming assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, NC supremo Farooq Abdullah on Sunday asserted the parties will get statehood restored in Jammu and Kashmir. NC supremo Farooq Abdullah (2nd from right) with son Omar (extreme left) and Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge (2nd from left) and Rahul Gandhi (extreme right) during a recent meeting in Srinagar. National Conference and Congress will ensure that we get our statehood back, the veteran politician told reporters. The former J&K chief minister was responding to a statement by Union home minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah from the previous day. Addressing a BJP rally in Jammu city, Shah accused NC and Congress of misleading people on statehood, which, he pointed out, can be restored only by the Centre. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has been the country's ruling coalition since May 2014. In October 2019, Jammu and Kashmir's statehood was withdrawn, and two new Union territories came out of it: J&K, and Ladakh. Abdullah, meanwhile, also claimed that despite abrogation of Article 370, there was no end to terrorism in the Valley. They say if the NC and Congress come to power, terrorism will start again. I ask them, when they abolished Article 370, did terrorism end? he asked. Article 370 of the Constitution of India was revoked by the BJP-led government in August 2019, less than two months after it won its second consecutive term. Article 370 gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. In its first assembly election since December 2014, Jammu and Kashmir will poll on September 18, 25, and October 1. The counting of votes will be conducted on October 8, on the same day as Haryana, where polling is on October 5. National Security Adviser Ajit Dovals visit to Russia this week to attend a meeting of senior security officials of Brics member states will be closely watched against the backdrop of a renewed push for peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. (File Photo) Doval will attend the meeting of NSAs and senior security officials of the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (Brics) grouping to be held in St Petersburg during September 10-12, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. He will also participate in a meeting of Brics-Plus high-level security officials, they said. The meetings are being organised by Russia, current chair of Brics, ahead of the groupings summit in Kazan in October. Doval is also expected to hold several bilateral meetings, including with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu, the people said. However, Dovals visit comes at a time when world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, have spoken of a possible role for India in helping find a solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Meloni was the latest to comment on this matter, telling reporters after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday that China and India can and must play a role in resolving the conflict. Zelensky had proposed after his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kyiv on August 23 that India can host the second summit for peace in Ukraine, given its leading role in the Global South, provided New Delhi signs on to the joint communique issued after the first peace summit in Switzerland in June. India sent a senior official to the first summit but didnt endorse the joint communique, mainly because Russia wasnt part of the meeting. Last week, Putin said at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok that Brazil, China and India can be possible intermediaries for peace talks with Ukraine, since he has relations of trust and confidence with the leaders of these countries. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Izvestia daily the same day that India can help in establishing a dialogue on Ukraine. The relationship between Putin and Modi allows for a line to be taken to obtain first-hand information from participants in the Ukrainian conflict, Peskov said. He added Modi communicates freely with Putin, Zelensky and the US, and India has a very good chance of using its weight on the global stage and its influence to encourage the Americans and Ukrainians to take the peaceful path of settlement. Peskov, however, noted there were no specific plans about such an approach. There are no specific plans, and it is unlikely that they could exist now, because...we do not see any preconditions for negotiations now, he said. India has not publicly censured Russias invasion of Ukraine and its leadership has consistently called for a return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue and a cessation of hostilities. Modi told Putin at their last meeting in July that talks cant succeed under the shadow of the gun, and he told Zelensky last month that a solution to the conflict cant be found without engaging Russia. National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah stated on Saturday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were keeping their options open for post-poll alliances with parties such as People's Conference and Apni Party for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections,, National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah addresses the public rally ahead of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, at Wakoora, in Ganderbal on Saturday. (JKNC-X) Addressing party workers in Shalbugh, Ganderbal, Omar Abdullah pointed out that the BJP was willing to ally themselves with other parties as well as independent candidates in order to form government. He said, Home Minister Amit Shah was saying the name of parties with which they will not be forming a government. He didn't mention several parties, including Engineer Rashid's party, Apni Party, Peoples Conference.... This means that tomorrow if the BJP wants, it can form the government with them. Omar Abdullah, who is contesting from two seats against independent candidates, stated that the BJP is likely to ally with those contesting independently as well, reported ANI. Taking a dig at the Congress and NC, Amit Shah said that the two parties wanted to bring back the old system and start talks with Pakistan. However, Shah said, there could be no talks with Pakistan, until peace was achieved. He also stated that the manifestos of the two parties were intent on spreading terrorism, snatching reservations from Gujjars, Bakarwal, Paharis and Dalits, releasing criminals and starting LOC trade with Pakistan. The BJP's own manifesto, with 25 pledges, has primarily focused on empowerment of women and youth, return of the Kashmiri pandits, restoration of temples and wiping out terrorism. The Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls are set to be held in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1. The parents of a 10-year-old rape survivor in Chennai have accused the police of assaulting and detaining them at the police station for several hours on August 31. The police, however, rejected these allegations. A day earlier, on August 30, the child's mother had noticed a strong odour coming from her daughter after she returned from school. The minor was immediately taken to a nearby health facility, where doctors suspected sexual abuse and advised the family to visit a government hospital for further examination, reported India Today. Parents of a 10-year-old rape survivor in Chennai have accused the police of assaulting and detaining them. ((PIC FOR REPRESENTATION)) The first information report mentions that the mother did not inform her husband and took the girl to the hospital for a further check-up, where doctors confirmed she had been sexually assaulted. Read: How did Kolkata rape-murder victim spend her last day? Colleagues reveal In her complaint, the mother informed the police that her daughter had named Satish, a water delivery person as the accused. The child also told that Satish had abused her over a period of seven days and threatened her with severe consequences if she reported it. Based on the complaint, a police team arrived at the hospital to take the mothers statement. The police officials also questioned the minor and the medical staff. What are the parents' allegations against the police? However, the situation escalated dramatically with the release of a video reportedly recorded by an NGO worker. In the video, the girl's father, a construction worker claimed that police officers had physically assaulted him and treated him unfairly. He also alleged that the officers questioned his wifes behaviour and threatened to file a counter-complaint against him. They questioned my wifes behaviour and even threatened to file an FIR against me, the report quoted the father as saying in the video. Also read: SI suspended, disciplinary action against woman cop for delay in filing rape case The video also showed the minors mother alleging that she was assaulted and questioned about her character by the police. In response to the allegations, the police issued a formal statement denying any misconduct. An official reported that an inquiry into the parents' allegations found no evidence of police brutality at the station. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the United States this month, his first after assuming office for a third straight term. The trip to the US comes days after Modi visited Ukraine and Russia in the last two months. The prime minister will attend the Quad Summit on September 21 in Wilmington, the home town of outgoing US president Joe Biden in Delaware. It is the last gathering of all the current leaders of the Quad alliance together, as both Biden and Japan's Fumio Kishida are stepping down from the office. Biden recently announced that he will not run again for a second stint at White House. Kishida also made his plans clear of not seeking re-election as the head of Liberal Democratic Party. US President Joe Biden, Australian PM Anthony Albanese, Japan's Fumio Kishida and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi, now in his 11th year as prime minister, has been a senior leader among the four. The development assumes significance as India will be hosting the Summit in 2025. The Delaware summit will mark 20 years of the formation of Quad alliance. Biden owns a home in Wilmington and used to travel to Washington on an Amtrak during his days as senator. According to several media reports, the US had initially explored the Sunnylands estate in California for the summit. In 2013, then US president Barack Obama had hosted then China's newly appointed president Xi Jinping. The Chinese leader had proposed a new model of major-country relations under which both Washington DC and Beijing would agree to no conflict or confrontation. PM Modi's jam-packed itinerary in US After the Quad Summit in Delaware, PM Modi will head to New York to attend the United Nations Summit of the Future on September 2223. On September 22, the prime minister will address a mega community event titled Modi & US Progress Together', on September 22 at the 16,000-seater Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island. However, PM Modi will not address the UN General Assembly. External affairs minister S Jaishankar will address on behalf of India on September 28. Modi's visit to the US comes months ahead of the presidential elections, where Republican candidate Donald Trump is facing Democrat nominee Kamala Harris. BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 8. President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held a meeting with the Chairman of the People's Council of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Trend reports referring to the administration of the President of Kazakhstan. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev expressed gratitude to Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov for his personal participation in the opening ceremony of the 5th World Nomad Games. President of Kazakhstan noted that the visit of the Chairman of the People's Council of Turkmenistan to Astana is of great importance for the further promotion of bilateral cooperation. According to him, today Kazakh-Turkmen relations are developing very successfully and fully correspond to the level of strategic partnership. In turn, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov expressed gratitude for the traditionally warm welcome and wished the large-scale sporting event a success. The national leader of Turkmenistan noted the high role of Astana in organizing major international events that contribute to increasing the country's authority on the world stage. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov discussed previously reached agreements in the trade and economic, energy and transport and logistics spheres and expressed satisfaction with the progress of their implementation. Special attention was paid to further strengthening cultural and humanitarian ties, comprehensively developing in the spirit of friendship and good neighborliness. The issues of preparation for the upcoming visit of the President of Kazakhstan to Turkmenistan in October of this year were also considered. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday urged residents of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to join India, saying they are considered "our own" unlike in Pakistan, where they are treated as "foreigners." Defence minister Rajnath Singh addressed a public rally in the Ramban area of Jammu on Sunday.(PTI /File) During an election rally in the Ramban constituency of Jammu and Kashmir, Rajnath Singh appealed to the people to support the BJP to bring about further development in J&K, suggesting that this progress would be so evident that the people of PoK would prefer to join India. "Support the BJP to form the next government in J-K so that we can facilitate massive development in the region. There will be so much development that the people in PoK on seeing this should say that we do not want to live with Pakistan and instead will go to India," the defence minister said. Also Read | J&K election: Omar Abdullah reacts to Amit Shah's 'revival of terrorism' warning Singh referred to a recent affidavit filed by Pakistans additional solicitor general which stated that PoK was foreign territory. "I want to tell PoK residents that Pakistan considers you foreigners, but the people in India do not consider you so. We consider you our own and so come and join us," he said. The senior BJP leader came down heavily on the National Conference-Congress alliance over its poll promise of restoring Article 370 and said it is impossible as long as the BJP is there. Also Read | J&K elections: BJP needs to fight public perception in the Valley, not just fight with proxies Singh also accused them of fearmongering over the abrogation of Article 370. "We did it boldly and nothing had happened". Election in Jammu and Kashmir The defence minister's election rally in support of BJP candidate Rakesh Singh Thakur followed Union home minister Amit Shah visit to the region, where he unveiled the BJP's election manifesto and met with party leaders. Polling in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases: September 18, September 25, and October 1. The counting of votes will take place on October 8. There are a total number of 90 assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, out of which 7 seats are reserved for SCs and 9 seats are reserved for STs. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has told a court that the ex-principal of Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Dr Sandip Ghosh, twisted the process for the recruitment of medical house staff at the hospital to appoint doctors of his choice. Sandip Ghosh being taken to Alipore judges district and session court in in Kolkata on Tuesday. (ANI) The agency also accused him of granting the hospital's contracts to his cronies in violation of rules. Here are Top 10 updates on the Kolkata rape and murder. Union defence minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday attacked the National Conference, accusing the party of sympathising with terrorists and questioned Omar Abdullah, asking if Afzal Guru should have been garlanded. The National Conference has show sympathy towards terrorists. I recently heard what Omar Abdullah said, that Afzal Guru should not have been hanged. I want to ask him, should Afzal Guru have been garlanded instead? Rajnath questioned. Union Defence Minister and BJP leader Rajnath Singh being welcomed on his arrival for a public rally for J&K Assembly elections in Ramban on Sunday.(PTI) National Conference has been talking about restoring Article 370, but in the last five years, 40,000 jobs have been created, said Rajnath Singh, urging for BJP government formation in the state. He was addressing a public rally in Ramban district, which will go to the polls in the first phase on September 18. Once our government is formed in Jammu and Kashmir, we will carry out development that will make the people of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) want to become part of India, Singh added. In a message to the people of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), the defence minister said that while Pakistan considers them foreigners, India regards them as its own. The additional solicitor general of Pakistan has said that POK is foreign land. I want to tell the people of POK that while Pakistan considers you foreigners, India regards you as its own, said Rajnath. Omar Abdullah's comments on Afzal Guru spark controversy Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Friday sparked a political row after he said that the execution of Afzal Guru, convicted in the 2001 Parliament attack, did not serve any purpose. He also said that the Jammu-Kashmir government would not have granted approval for the same if it was required in Guru's hanging. While speaking to news agency ANI, NC vice-president Omar Abdullah clarified that the Jammu and Kashmir government had no involvement in the hanging of Afzal Guru, and said that it served no purpose. Two workers of Cha Raja Ganpati Mandal in Mumbai's Mulund were hit by a speeding BMW car early morning on Saturday, killing one person and seriously injuring the other, news agency ANI reported. Pritam Thorat and Prasad Patil, of the famous Mulund Cha Raja Ganesh Mandal were putting up banners near the Aakruti Tower in Gavanpada when a speeding BMW hit and ran over them. (REPRESENTATIVE PIC) "Two workers of Mulund Cha Raja Ganpati Mandal were hit by a speeding car, one died, and one is in critical condition. The incident happened at 4 am. Police have registered a case," said a statement by Mumbai Police. According to the police, the two workers, Pritam Thorat and Prasad Patil, of the famous Mulund Cha Raja Ganesh Mandal were putting up banners near the Aakruti Tower in Gavanpada when a speeding BMW hit and ran over them. As the driver fled the location, the onlookers rushed the victims to a nearby hospital. While Thorat succumbed to his injuries, Patil continues to be critical and is undergoing treatment. Mulund Police traced the accused driver's location to Navi Mumbai and arrested him. Police have identified him as Shakti Alagh, a Mulund (West) resident. Alagh told the police that he was helping with festive preparations at a local Ganesh Mandal till 10 pm on Friday, before going home. Police believe that Alagh, who worked in a call centre earlier, had bought the BMW second-hand. A senior inspector told The Indian Express that the accused could not fall asleep and decided to take his newly serviced BMW for a test drive. It was while out on a drive that the incident took place. Fearing he would be beaten up, he fled from the spot and parked his car in his building. He took a bike and fled from there to Navi Mumbai. Eventually, we arrested him from Kharghar, the official added. Though the accused did not appear to have been under the influence of alcohol, the police have sent his blood samples for medical tests. Police are expected to produce the accused in court on Sunday and seek his custody for further investigation. (With ANI inputs) The Union health ministry on Sunday said there is a suspected case of mpox (monkeypox) reported from one of the designated hospitals to manage the disease in the country. Further investigations are currently underway to confirm the diagnosis in a man who has a history of travel to one of the affected African countries. Mpox is a viral disease caused by the monkeypox virus. (Representational image) A young male patient, who recently travelled from a country currently experiencing Mpox (monkeypox) transmission, has been identified as a suspect case of Mpox. The patient has been isolated in a designated hospital and is currently stable, read the health ministry statement. Mpox is a viral disease caused by the monkeypox virus. Samples from the patient are being tested to confirm the presence of Mpox. The case is being managed in line with established protocols, and contact tracing is ongoing to identify potential sources and assess the impact within the country, said the health ministry. On August 14, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern, which is twice in two years. The first announcement of the global outbreak was made in 2022 when cases started getting reported from world over. The infection can spread between people, mainly through close contact, and occasionally from the environment to people via things and surfaces that have been touched by a person with mpox. In settings where the monkeypox virus is present among some wild animals, it can also be transmitted from infected animals to people who have contact with them. Most people recover from monkeypox within several weeks and the disease has only been fatal in rare cases. Symptoms include lesions, eruptions on the face, palms or soles, scabs, fever, muscle ache and chills. The incubation period (interval from infection to onset of symptoms) is usually from 6 to 13 days but can range from 5 to 21 days, with communicability of 1-2 days before the rash to until all the scabs fall off or get subsided. Virus is killed by proper chlorination. Mpox is usually a self-limiting disease with symptoms lasting from 2-4 weeks. Severe cases occur more commonly among children and are related to extent of virus exposure, patient health status and nature of complication. There is no specific treatment for the disease; it is largely supportive that includes patient isolation; protection of compromised skin and mucous membranes; rehydration therapy and nutritional support; antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections if they develop; and monitoring and treatment of complications. Preventive measures include practicing good hand hygiene washing hands with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer after contact with infected animals or humans; and importantly using appropriate personal protective equipment when caring for patients. The development of this case is consistent with the earlier risk assessment conducted by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and there is no cause of any undue concern. The country is fully prepared to deal with such isolated travel related cases and has robust measures in place to manage and mitigate any potential risk, said the health ministry. Trinamool Congress MP Shatrughan Sinha on Sunday once again backed his party chief Mamata Banerjee amid the protests over the August 9 brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Medical College and Hospital. TMC MP Shatrughan Sinha.(PTI file) Stating that it would be unfair to blame any chief minister for the crime, Sinha said,"I have also supported the doctors' protests and at the same time, the anti-rape bill that Mamata ji has brought is historic. It would not be fair to blame any Chief Minister in this case. This case is very shocking and disgusting. But the way this is being politicized, I am with Mamata ji. Being a soldier of Mamta ji, I have presented this issue very well and will do so in the future too." ALSO READ: Kolkata rape-murder: Sandip Ghosh rigged RG Kar's staff selection? "I would also appeal to the Governor and the Centre to support this bill and pass it as soon as possible. It is not right to ask for the resignation of CM Mamata. If this is the parameter, then even the Prime Minister will have to resign on issues like Manipur, Hathras, Unnao, Kathua," ANI quoted the actor-turned-politician as saying. The Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government is under fire from the opposition over its handling of the Kolkata murder case, that has sparked a nationwide outrage. ALSO READ: Kolkata rape-murder: Colleagues reveal how victim spent her last hours TMC MP Jawhar Sircar writes to Mamata, says he will quit politics Earlier in the day, TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar in a letter to Banerjee said he will resign from Parliament and also quit politics as he is unable to bear with corruption. ALSO READ: BJP says Jawhar Sircar's letter to Mamata exposes 'corruption, dictatorial attitude within TMC Believe me, the present spontaneous outpouring of public anger is against this unchecked overbearing attitude of the favoured few and the corrupt. In all my years I have not seen such angst and total no-confidence against the government, even when it says something correct or factual," Sircar wrote. In a letter to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool Congress leader Jawhar Sircar wrote on Sunday that he would resign from the Rajya Sabha in the wake of Kolkata doctor's rape and murder. He also exhorted the TMC chief to save the state. Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Jawhar Sircar speaks in the Rajya Sabha. (ANI file photo)(SansadTV) The politician said he would go to Delhi and submit his resignation to Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. In the letter, he wrote that he had thought Mamata Banerjee would interfere in the "old Mamata style". I thought you would interfere in the ongoing movement in the old Mamata style, but I did not see it," he said. He wrote in the letter that the ongoing agitation of doctors was against the "unchecked overbearing attitude of the favoured few and the corrupt". He claimed there was angst and a lack of confidence in people against the government. I have suffered patiently for a month since the terrible incident at RG Kar Hospital and was hoping for your direct intervention with the agitating junior doctors, in the old style of Mamata Banerjee. It has not happened and whatever punitive steps the government is taking now are too little and quite late, the letter reads. He said normalcy in the state would have returned earlier had the government punished those guilty of taking improper administrative actions. He said he would "disassociate myself totally from politics" after his resignation. On August 9, a trainee doctor was found raped and murdered inside Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The police have arrested a man named Sanjay Roy for the crime. However, the hospital administration and the Kolkata police's role after the murder came under the scanner due to questionable decisions. The ex-principal of the hospital, Dr Sandip Ghosh, allegedly tried to pass off the murder as a suicide. The victim's family was made to wait for over three hours before they were allowed to see the body of their daughter. The murder FIR was filed around 14 hours after the body had been found. The CBI arrested Dr Sandip Ghosh last month over alleged financial irregularities in the hospital. Doctors and civilians have been protesting against the shocking incident for several weeks. What did TMC say about Sircar's remarks? TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said the protesters misunderstood the administration. "At present, we are working like soldiers under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee but this does not mean that I criticize the personal principle of Jawhar Sircar, it is not so, it is his decision, he can take it. We condemn this (RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-murder) incident, people are angry about this incident, and they misunderstand the administration. In such a situation, as a soldier of the party, we have to try to explain to the people, we will follow the role of our soldier. If Jawhar Sircar takes any decision, he is a very senior and wise person, he has different principles, and our top leadership will consider it. We cannot say anything about this," he said. BJP demands Mamata Banerjee's resignation "If someone should give the resignation it should be West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee...The TMC government and Mamata Banerjee institutionalised corruption and in his letter, he wrote that whenever he raised the issue of corruption he was silenced...Mamata Banerjee tried to destroy the evidence and save the accused," said BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla. With inputs from PTI, ANI In a shocking case, a mother had to deliver her baby in an ambulance on Saturday, on the way to a hospital, after she was refused admission at another hospital in Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh due to the absence of their anesthesiologist, reported news agency ANI. Representative image: A mother had to deliver her baby in an ambulance after a hospital in Mainpuri,Uttar Pradesh, refused admission to her (HT File Photo) The Sausaiya Matra Shishu Chikitshalaya in Mainpuri region of Uttar Pradesh referred the mother to another hospital due to the lack of an anesthesiologist due to which they couldn't deliver the baby. The father of the baby said that the hospital had initially told him that the baby could not be delivered normally due to complications and they would need to carry out an operation. Then, later, the hospital revealed that their anesthesiologist was not present and the operation could not be carried out, after which the mother was referred to another hospital. On the way, the mother delivered the baby in the ambulance. Following the incident, a two-member investigating committee was formed to probe into the matter. Chief medical officer, Dr RC Gupta told ANI, "A complaint was registered by the concerned person, and for this I have made a two-member investigating committee. In one week they will submit the report, and further investigation will take place following that report." While cases of mothers delivering in the ambulance with the support of staff is not unheard of, the hospital denying the mother due to the lack of an anesthesiologist on duty, has become a matter of concern. In Kerala, in March this year, a woman delivered her child in the ambulance after she was transferred from a district hospital to the government hospital in Alapuzzha, reported The Hindu. Thankfully, the baby and the mother were in stable condition without any complications. Award-winning filmmaker Jeo Baby said that a big revolution is happening within the Malayalam film industry and a massive change will occur in workplaces in Kerala. And that change has been led by the women in our society and the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), he added. WCC was formed in May 2017, three months after a Kerala actress was allegedly sexually assaulted. (File Photo) The director known for his several critically acclaimed movies, including The Great Indian Kitchen, which show formidable depiction of women and are critique of gender roles and patriarchal norms was speaking at a news conclave on August 30. His remarks came a fortnight after the release of the landmark Justice Hema committee report, which has documented the systemic sexual abuse of women in the Malayalam film industry, the presence of a male power group that calls the shots and many other issues. Baby is not alone. Numerous other actors, activists, technicians and former members of the film fraternity, even from outside Kerala, have commended the efforts of WCC a first-of-its-kind all-woman outfit in the Indian cinema for continuously fighting for the establishment of a non-discriminatory workplace in Malayalam cinema since 2017. The trigger for WCCs formation WCC was founded by 18 women from the Kerala film industry in the wake of the alleged horrific kidnapping and sexual assault of a leading female actor in a moving car by a gang of men in February 2017. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of police, which investigated the case, booked leading actor Dileep on charges of orchestrating the assault, based on a personal grudge against the actress. The entire episode wedged a rift in the states film industry with many extending support to Dileep, while others pitching their voice against him. The influential actors body, Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), expelled the actor from its primary membership in 2017, however, it froze that decision in June 2018, drawing ire of activists and WCC members. WCC was formed in May 2017, three months after the actress was allegedly sexually assaulted, and was registered as a society under the Travancore Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Registration Act, 1955. According to its website, the incident of assault reaffirmed the stronghold of patriarchal beliefs in the film industry highlighting the challenges faced by survivors in the course of their pursuing justice. Following Dileeps reinstatement in AMMA, four prominent actresses and WCC members, including the actor who was allegedly sexually assaulted, resigned from the actors body, making it clear that they have lost faith in the outfit for protecting their interests. In fact, the survivor said she had raised several complaints, particularly allegations that he dashed her opportunities in the industry, against the actor to the AMMA leadership years before the incident. But AMMA did nothing to address them, she alleged. And in October 2020, actress Parvathy Thiruvoth, a founding member of WCC and who had stayed back in AMMA to fight for internal changes within the film body, announced her resignation too, bolstered by the utterly disgusting remarks of then general secretary Edavela Babu about the sexual assault survivor. When asked whether the survivor would feature in a movie that AMMA was planning to make, he had said, She is not in AMMA anymore. We cannot bring back the dead. The journey of WCC WCC, which has a lateral structure, is composed of a managing committee that has all the founders in it. It claims that volunteers drive their day-to-day activities from policymaking to the creation of organisational systems and running campaigns. It was the WCC members who first met Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in May 2017 with a written request to commission a study to understand the issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry. A month later, the government responded positively and announced a committee headed by retired high court justice K Hema and two other women, yesteryear actress Sarada and former IAS officer KB Valsala Kumari for the purpose. It wasnt a judicial commission, the government underlined, but a committee that could study the problems in the film industry and recommend solutions to fix them. The committee submitted the report in December 2019 and after a long gap of over four-and-a-half years, a redacted version by protecting testimonies of victims was published on August 19 this year. In September 2017, WCC took up the #Avalkoppam or #WithHer campaign to express solidarity to the actor of the alleged sexual assault case that generated a big trend on social media platforms. It coincided with the global #MeToo movement as part of which sexual assault survivors came out with accounts of abuse they faced in various domains. Since then, the womens outfit has engaged in a variety of activities from organising discussions on misogyny projected on screen at film festivals such as IFFK to screenings of classical films, holding meetings with AMMA leadership for effecting gender-friendly norms and filing PILs with the Kerala high court to demand that industry bodies should adhere to rules of the Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment Act, 2013 (PoSH Act). The state governments decision to set aside a budget to fund films by women directors in 2019 was also seen as a result of WCCs efforts. However, the journey has not been smooth sailing for the outfit. Its members have been targeted by online trolls for their public comments and their opportunities in the film industry dried up as a result of raising their voice and engaging in the tussle with AMMA. WCC members have a strong case that they were all banned from cinema because they openly stated undesirable things that happen in cinema, the Hema panel report noted. The position of WCC was vindicated especially on August 27 this year, when actor Mohanlal resigned as the AMMA president and its executive committee was dissolved in the wake of serious sexual abuse allegations against its members. The actors body admitted that it was taking moral responsibility amid calls for resignation against those enjoying top posts in the body and facing allegations. The wheel has come a full circle. High Court advocate and social critic Harish Vasudevan posted on Facebook, WCC members spoke out against injustice despite knowing that they could face professional setbacks and personal losses. They played a key role in the formation of the Hema committee and in ensuring more security in the workplace for other women. A court in West Bengal's Siliguri on Saturday sentenced the convict in a rape and murder case, involving a minor girl, to death. The crime took place last year. The death penalty was imposed under two consecutive sections: Section 302, which pertains to murder, and Section 6 of the POCSO Act. (Pic used for representation) The additional district and sessions Judge sentenced MD Abbas to the death penalty. On the last occasion, we pleaded for the death sentence because three sections on which the punishment was proved among the other sections carries a maximum punishment. So last day I had a one-and-a-half hour hearing on this point trying to project this case as one of the rarest of the rare cases, special public prosecutor Bivas Chatterjee was quoted as saying by ANI. Also Read | Kolkata murder case: Mamata govt proposes death penalty for rape convicts in draft bill Chatterjee further explained that the death penalty was imposed under two consecutive sections: Section 302, which pertains to murder, and Section 6 of the POCSO Act. Additional Sessions Judge Anita Mehrotra Mathur concluded the case after recording testimonies from 33 witnesses and considering the prosecution's arguments. According to ANI, the incident occurred on August 21, 2023, when a minor girl on her way to school was brutally raped and murdered in an abandoned area under the jurisdiction of Matigara Police Station in Siliguri. The police launched an investigation and arrested MD Abbas within six hours of the crime. Also Read | Haryana man gets death penalty for rape-murder of minor This judgment comes at a time when the nation is witnessing protests over the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The case is still under investigation, with one accused, Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer, arrested. In a remand note to the trial court, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said that Roy alone committed the crime and that there was no gang rape involved in the incident. Other similar judgements in rape cases In May this year, the Kerala High Court upheld the death sentence handed down by a trial court to Muhammed Ameer ul-Islam, the sole convict in the 2016 rape and murder of a 30-year-old law student in Ernakulam district. The accused, a 22-year-old migrant labourer from Assam, had trespassed into the victims home near Perumbavoor on April 28, 2016, and fled after committing the crime. The law student, who lived with her mother, was found murdered in her residence. According to the police, she was raped and brutally assaulted with sharp-edged weapons before being killed. In February this year, a 28-year-old man was sentenced to death by a sessions court for raping and murdering a three-year-old girl after abducting her while she was leaving a bhandara organised near a temple in Gurugram, five years ago. The crime took place on November 11, 2018. The special fast-track court of Additional Sessions Judge Shashi Chauhan found him guilty on February 3. The court sentenced him to death under Section 376AB (rape of a woman under 12 years of age) and Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code and imposed a fine of 25,000. BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 8. President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev received the head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Aisen Nikolayev, Trend reports referring to the administration of the President of Kazakhstan. During the meeting with Aisen Nikolayev, who arrived in Astana to participate in the opening ceremony of the 5th World Nomad Games, key areas of strengthening interregional cooperation and expanding bilateral ties were discussed. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized that the comprehensive development of cooperation between the regions is an integral part of the strategic partnership and allied relations between Kazakhstan and Russia. President of Kazakhstan drew attention to the significant potential for increasing cooperation with the Republic of Sakha in various sectors, including industry, trade, the IT sector, agriculture and the extractive industry. Aisen Nikolayev thanked for the warm welcome and emphasized the importance of expanding contacts between Yakutia and Kazakhstan. He also noted the willingness to work together in priority sectors and expressed confidence in further success in developing bilateral ties. The fight against tobacco addiction is a critical public health endeavour, with a profound impact on the lives of millions and in India, despite concerted efforts, the prevalence of smoking remains alarmingly high, posing significant risks to individuals health and placing a burden on the healthcare system. Public health experts believe it is imperative to explore and adopt innovative approaches that have demonstrated success in other countries but the conventional approaches to quitting tobacco in India need reinforcement, and it is time to consider alternative strategies that have shown promising results in other parts of the world. Kicking the habit of smoking: Exploring safer alternatives for tobacco cessation in India (Photo by Pexels) In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Narender Saini, Former General Secretary at the Indian Medical Association, shared, Tobacco cessation is the process of quitting tobacco use.. It is well-established that smoking is a leading cause of preventable diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory illnesses. Conventional methods of smoking cessation, such as counselling, nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) and pharmacological treatments, play a vital role in helping individuals quit smoking. However, the high relapse rates and the deeply ingrained smoking culture in India highlight the need for additional strategies. Learning from global success stories Countries like Sweden, the USA, the UK and Japan, have adopted novel approaches to tobacco cessation with remarkable success. Dr Narender Saini shared, These countries have embraced heated tobacco products (HTPs) as a safer alternative to conventional cigarettes, significantly reducing smoking rates. The Japanese experience, in particular, offers valuable insights into the potential of HTPs to revolutionize tobacco cessation efforts. Japan has witnessed a dramatic decline in cigarette sales, halving over the past decade due to the widespread adoption of HTPs. Dr Narender Saini revealed, According to a study published by the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction, the introduction of HTPs in Japan contributed to a 52% reduction in cigarette sales from 2015 to 2023. This unprecedented transition highlights the effectiveness of HTPs in encouraging smokers to switch to less harmful alternatives. In Japan, HTPs like IQOS, Ploom TECH, and glo have become popular due to their ability to deliver nicotine without burning tobacco. Unlike traditional cigarettes, which combust at high temperatures and release harmful chemicals, HTPs heat tobacco at lower temperatures, reducing the levels of toxicants and carcinogens. This significant reduction in harmful emissions makes HTPs a viable harm reduction tool for smokers who find it difficult to quit using conventional methods. The need for innovative approaches in India India's tobacco burden is unique, with both traditional forms like bidis and modern cigarettes contributing to widespread tobacco use. Dr Narender Saini highlighted, Despite stringent tobacco control measures, approximately 267 million people in India still use tobacco, leading to nearly one million deaths annually from tobacco-related illnesses. This statistic underscores the urgency for innovative and effective cessation strategies. He gushed, The success of HTPs in Japan suggests that alternatives to conventional smoking methods should be explored. It is crucial to create a favourable legislative environment that encourages the use of scientifically backed, safer tobacco smoking products. Such measures could help reduce smoking rates and alleviate the public health burden. One of the key lessons from the Japanese experience is the importance of providing smokers with a range of cessation options. Not all smokers are ready or able to quit abruptly, and having access to safer alternatives like HTPs can make a significant difference. It's crucial to educate the public about the relative risks of different tobacco products and empower them to make informed choices about their health. Kay takeaways from a multi-pronged approach According to Dr Narender Saini, the fight against tobacco addiction requires a multi-pronged approach, combining traditional cessation methods with innovative harm reduction strategies. He concluded, As a public health expert, I urge policymakers, healthcare providers, and the public to consider the potential benefits of HTPs and other novel alternatives. By learning from global success stories and adapting these strategies to the Indian context, we can make significant strides toward a smoke-free future. Remember, quitting tobacco is a journey, not a destination. By adopting a comprehensive and innovative approach to tobacco cessation, we can make strides towards a healthier, smoke-free India. Let's support smokers with all the tools at our disposal, including exploring potentially safer alternatives and seize this opportunity to bring about change and improve the lives of millions. Russian president Vladimir Putin has made an important statement. We respect our friends and partners, who, I believe, sincerely seek to resolve all issues surrounding this conflict, primarily China, Brazil and India, he said. Russian spokesman Dimitri Peskov went a step further and claimed that Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi could play a pivotal role in facilitating talks between the two sides. It isnt an ordinary achievement. This is the same Moscow that in 1971 had welcomed Indira Gandhi, the then PM of India, when she went seeking Russias help after being humiliated by US president Richard Nixon. Leonid Brezhnev was then the head of Soviet Union. The friendship forged then has survived the test of time. From the time Modi rose to power in 2014, he has made extensive efforts to define Indias role in the emerging global order. From August 21 to September 5, the PM travelled to Poland, Ukraine, Brunei and Singapore. During this period, foreign minister S Jaishankar visited the Maldives and Kuwait. The South Block is now busy preparing for Modis upcoming visit to Russia and the US over the next few weeks. Modis visits are shaping Indias place in the shifting geopolitical landscape. The PMs latest Brunei and Singapore visits exemplify this. Brunei has immense oil reserves and part of its shores lie in the South China Sea, where China has aggressive ambitions. China wants to strongarm Brunei and get concessions on oil from the small nation. This is unacceptable to the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah. Seen from this perspective, Modis presence in Brunei assumes tremendous significance. Like China, India needs oil and like Brunei, it has been facing problems from China for decades. Singapore, in turn, has been our old ally and its spectacular progress attracts young enterprising Indians. The island nation plays a key role in Asean and in the changing global scenario, India-Singapore relations needed timely strengthening. With Singapores help, we can fulfil our dream of turning India into a semiconductor hub. The current scenario requires nimble diplomacy. Why? A new global challenge has emerged over the past two-and-a-half years with Russia and Ukraine bleeding each other. Experts had felt that the conflict would spread to neighbouring areas and they have been proven right. Now Israel and its neighbours are locked in a deadly war, leading to another geopolitical crisis. The US, her allies and all their might havent been able to stop the war. We are in the age of declining US power. In this chaotic world, China wants to increase its influence. Its leader Xi Jinping wants to make China the global leader replacing the US. His ambitions propel him to fuel global flare-ups instead of bringing them to an end. Indias role in brokering peace has thus become significant. Singapores seasoned diplomat, expert in geopolitics and economics, writer and speaker Kishore Mahbubani says the world is spiralling out of control and it needs a country such as India and a leader like Modi to re-establish order. Mahbubani rates Modi as the third most influential leader after the presidents of the US and China and even suggests that Britain should relinquish its seat at the UN Security Council for India. But Modi is facing headwinds within the country. The PMs grand welcome in Brunei and the killing of a young man in Faridabad hogged media headlines in equal measure. Cow vigilantes had shot the young man dead suspecting him to be a cattle smuggler. Who are these cow vigilantes? Who has given them the right to kill in the name of protecting cows? Who will rein them in? Tragically, those leaders who should have shouldered the responsibility of tackling the menace are aggravating it. Those who took oath on the Constitution are inciting people to use Bangladesh as a scapegoat. Its not a surprise that many thoughtful Bangladeshis are unhappy that their countrys image is being tarnished to further internal political gains. Such needless statements have made our diplomats work even harder as they work tirelessly to build a positive image for India with sincerity and integrity. Are those indulging in the business of hate listening? The country, which has big dreams, expects them to behave responsibly. Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. The views expressed are personal While sleeping, a 58-year-old man from Henan Province, China, unintentionally inhaled a cockroach. Before seeking medical attention, the man, known as Haikou, suffered from excruciating pain for several days after coming into contact with the insect while he was asleep. The cockroach caused days of discomfort for the man. (Unsplash) What happened with the man? Reports state that the man inadvertently breathed in the bug while he was sleeping. When he woke up, he could feel something crawling into his nose, and then it looked to be moving down his throat. (Also Read: US doctor removes wrong organ during surgery, man dies in surgery room: Report) He ignored the entire thing the next day and carried on with his day until he became mindful of his particularly foul breath. He made the decision to get medical attention since, even after three days, his breath continued to smell awful and he began to cough up yellow sputum. When the man initially visited an ENT specialist at Hainan Hospital, nothing unusual was discovered during an examination of the upper respiratory tract, reported Oddity Central. How did the doctor find the cockroach? However, the patient was sure that something was wrong, so later, he referred to Dr Lin Ling, a respiratory and critical care physician at the hospital. He performed a chest CT scan and discovered a shadow in the posterior basal region of the right lower lobe, indicating that a foreign item had been lodged there. The suggested treatment was a bronchoscopy. (Also Read: Doctor removes patients lung tumor while operating machine from 5,000 km away. Video surfaces) What did the doctor say about the incident? Dr Lin Ling told Seehua.com, "During the operation the next day, I clearly saw something with wings in the bronchus. The foreign body was wrapped in a lot of phlegm. After sucking out the surrounding phlegm, the foreign body was exposed. It was a cockroach. At the same time, the secretions around the cockroach were repeatedly washed until they were completely cleaned out. After the operation, the patient felt very relaxed and felt very good. The cough and yellow phlegm were reduced, and there was still a little bit of odour." Abdelmadjid Tebboune, re-elected for a second five-year term, has sought to reshape his bureaucratic image into that of a reassuring figure, though his record remains tarnished by criticism over freedoms and human rights. Algeria's Tebboune: reassuring to some but criticised over rights, freedoms He was re-elected Sunday with almost 95 percent of the vote and a "provisional average turnout" of 48 percent, according to the electoral authority ANIE. He was facing moderate Islamist Abdelaali Hassani, 57, who won 3.17 percent of the vote, and socialist candidate Youcef Aouchiche, 41, who won 2.16 percent. Tebboune, 78, was elected in December 2019 with 58 percent of the vote, despite a record abstention rate exceeding 60 percent, amid the massive Hirak pro-democracy protests. The demonstrations, which began in February of that year and led to the ousting of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, under whom Tebboune served in various ministerial roles, sought a sweeping political overhaul. With a calm demeanour and, to some, an affable appearance, Tebboune attempted to appease the protests, pardoning a few dozen jailed activists. He has claimed to uphold the Hirak's "blessed" spirit, which he says freed the North African country from an oppressive past. Yet he oversaw the imprisonment of hundreds of other activists, banned the movement's weekly rallies, and cracked down on dissent with support from the military. Five years on, Tebboune's tenure still reflects "a democratic deficit", said Hasni Abidi, an analyst at the Geneva-based CERMAM Study Center. Algerian authorities "have maintained their repression of civic space by continuing their brutal crackdown on human rights", Amnesty International said. The London-based rights group denounced "a zero-tolerance approach to dissenting opinions" in "a climate of fear and censorship". Tebboune, however, has avoided addressing such accusations, instead touting his social and economic credentials and pledging more if re-elected. The incumbent president frequently refers to Bouteflika's final years in power as the "mafia decade", when control of Algeria's energy wealth was concentrated in the hands of a "gang". During his tenure, several key figures from that era, including Bouteflika's brother Said, were convicted on corruption charges and imprisoned. Tebboune claims he has since put Algeria, Africa's third-largest economy, back on track, with the Ukraine-Russia war boosting natural gas prices to the country's benefit as the continent's top exporter. He has capitalised on this by promising free housing, more jobs, a higher minimum wage and increased social pensions. During campaigning, Tebboune aimed to appear close to the people, even wearing traditional Tuareg clothing while rallying in the southern Sahara region. He has also courted the young vote about a third of registered voters and pledged to create 450,000 jobs and increase monthly unemployment benefits if re-elected. In March, he expressed pride in being called "ammi Tebboune" , deeming it even "a paternal relationship". Running as an independent, Tebboune has sought to distance himself from political parties, which have lost credibility among many Algerians. His supporters say he has revived the presidency, which became largely invisible under Bouteflika after his 2013 stroke. "The presidency has shifted from being a phantom institution to a real centre of power," said the analyst Abidi. However, critics argue that Tebboune rose to power with military backing. Like Bouteflika, he serves as defence minister and supreme commander of the armed forces and has never challenged the military's political role, calling it "the backbone of the state". He is often seen with chief of staff Said Chengriha at public events. A graduate of the National School of Administration, Tebboune climbed the ranks in the 1980s as a prefect in several provinces, eventually becoming part of the state apparatus that the Hirak protests later wanted to be reformed. In 1991, he served as minister of local communities under president Chadli Bendjedid, who was ousted in early 1992 as the Algerian civil war began. Dubbed the Black Decade, the war saw the military step in to halt legislative elections after the Islamic Salvation Front won the first round and vowed to establish religious rule. Tebboune largely disappeared from the political scene during the war, which ended in 2002, but returned when Bouteflika was elected in 1999, briefly serving as communications minister. He held various other portfolios until 2002, followed by a decade-long hiatus. Tebboune returned in 2012 as housing minister and became prime minister in 2017, though he was dismissed after only three months, allegedly confronting oligarchs close to Bouteflika. Many of those oligarchs were later jailed for corruption during Tebboune's presidency. Once a heavy smoker with a thin moustache, Tebboune, now married with three sons and two daughters, quit smoking in 2020 after contracting Covid-19 and spending two months hospitalised in Germany. He returned to Germany in 2021 for foot surgery. abh-ad/fka/bou/jsa This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Newly appointed chief prosecutor of Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Mohammad Taijul Islam said on Sunday that the country will take necessary steps to secure the extradition of deposed former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from her exile in India. Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina speaks during a press conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (File image)(AP) Necessary steps will be taken to bring former prime minister Hasina back under the extradition treaty with India to try her on charges of mass killings during the student-led protests in July and August, the official was quoted as saying by The Daily Star newspaper. At a press briefing on the tribunal's premises in Dhaka, Islam said an application will be filed with the ICT, when it resumes functions, to issue arrest warrants against Hasina and all the absconding accused. "Information, documents and evidence against the accused persons will have to be collected from across the country and those will have to be compiled, examined and placed properly before the tribunal, which is very much challenging and huge task," Islam said. He also added that the new interim government would be consulted on bringing necessary legal amendments to the country's existing International Crimes Tribunal Act, for holding the trial of new cases. The official also said that the ICT and its investigation team have to be reconstituted with new appointments, as previous judges, prosecution team and investigators stepped down after a new interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was formed in the country. Bangladesh's ICT has launched an investigation against Hasina and nine others on charges of "genocide" and crimes against humanity. The charges have been invoked for her government's repression during weeks-long student-led mass movement that ultimately led Hasina to flee the country and seek asylum in India. According to the interim government's Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum, more than 1,000 people have been killed and hundreds injured during the protests against the Hasina-led government. (With PTI inputs) FGN29: BANGLA-HASINA-TRIBUNAL Following are the top foreign stories at 1700 hours ****Bangladesh to take necessary steps to extradite deposed PM Hasina from India Dhaka: Bangladesh will take necessary steps to extradite deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina from India to try her on charges of mass killings during the student-led mass movement against her government, the newly-appointed chief prosecutor of the country's International Crimes Tribunal said on Sunday.**** FGN31: PAK-ASIF-IMRAN ****Pakistan's defence minister says evidence against Imran Khan points towards military trial Islamabad: Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that the evidence against jailed former prime minister Imran Khan points towards a military trial in the cases concerning the violence on May 9 last year, a media report said on Sunday.**** FGN30: BANGLA-MINISTER-PUJA ****Bangladesh interim govt warns against communal unrest during Durga puja Dhaka: Amid concerns of possible unrest during Durga puja, Bangladesh's interim government on Sunday warned potential troublemakers, pledging tough action against those disrupting communal harmony or targeting places of worship during the Hindu festival.**** FGN25: PAK-IMRAN-NAB ****Pakistans ex-PM Imran Khan seeks acquittal under NAB amendments he criticised Islamabad: Pakistans jailed former prime minister Imran Khan has moved an application in an accountability court seeking his acquittal in a 190 million pounds corruption case on the grounds of the amended anti-graft laws, which he had severely criticised earlier, a media report said on Sunday.**** FGN19: SAUDI-JAISHANKAR ****EAM Jaishankar in Saudi Arabia for India-GCC foreign ministers' meeting Riyadh: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived here in the Saudi capital on Sunday on a two-day visit to attend the first India-Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers' meeting.**** FGN18: PAK-IMRAN PARTY-RALLY ****Imran Khan's party set to stage rally in Islamabad Islamabad: Pakistan's capital was tense on Sunday ahead of a planned rally by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party to press the government for his release.**** FGN14: US-RAHUL ****Cong leader Rahul Gandhi arrives in US to 'further strengthen' bond between India and America Houston: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday arrived in the US on a three-day visit during which he will hold "meaningful discussions and insightful conversations" to further strengthen the bond between India and America.**** FGN13: US-BISWAL-INDIA ****US wants to work with India to address key global problems: Top Biden admin official Washington: The US is keen on working with India to address some of the key global problems, including in areas like healthcare, clean energy and climate change, a top Biden administration official has said.**** FGN12: UN-FRANCIS-INDIA ****India an avid, committed advocate of multilateralism: UNGA President United Nations: Describing India as a leader at the United Nations, General Assembly President Dennis Francis has said the country has been an avid and committed advocate of multilateralism and as a democracy of 1.4 billion people, it has a bright future in making a continued strong contribution to global affairs.**** This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Moroccan authorities on Sunday said four people died and 14 were missing in flooding caused by an "exceptional" climate phenomenon in southern areas. Four dead, 14 missing in Morocco flooding "Four people have died and 14 have gone missing" since heavy rains began on Friday in the province of Tata, some 740 kilometres south of Rabat, a local official told AFP, saying the toll could potentially rise. "Eight houses were washed away by floods in some valleys" near Tamanart, a rural area in the Tata region, said the official, who did not wish to be named. Usually arid areas in southern Morocco and Algeria have been drenched in floods caused by massive rainfall since Friday, officials told AFP Sunday. Areas in southern Morocco have been affected "by an extremely unstable tropical air mass", the spokesman for the Moroccan General Directorate of Meteorology, Lhoussaine Youabd, told AFP. This "led to the formation of unstable and violent clouds" that caused massive rainfall, he said. Youabd described the phenomenon as "exceptional" and said the areas saw "heavy thunderstorms and significant rainfall, leading to river flooding" as "humid tropical air masses moved northward". As a result, the Ouarzazate region received 47 millimetres of water in three hours, and Tagounite, near the Algerian border, some 170 millimetres, according to the Moroccan weather service. The heavy rains hit regions of Morocco that have been suffering from drought for at least six years. In neighbouring Algeria, authorities meanwhile confirmed one person dead and one missing in flooding in the south. Algerian civil defence said an unnamed young girl was swept away by the waters in Illizi, in the far south, and another person who was trapped in a vehicle was still missing. It also said it had rescued several families trapped by flooded rivers, mostly in Illizi and Bechar, also in the south. Videos posted on social media showed that some areas in the Sahara desert were drenched. In Morocco's Ouarzazate, entire streets were flooded. "We haven't seen such rain for about 10 years," Omar Gana, a local, told AFP. Morocco has been experiencing severe water stress after six consecutive years of drought, shrinking dam levels to less than 28 percent of capacity by the end of August. The rains were accompanied by strong winds, reaching up to 100 kilometres per hour in Ouarzazate and 76 km/h in Marrakesh, where they caused "an optical phenomenon, giving the sky an orange tint", according to the General Directorate of Meteorology. hic-isb-bur-fka/bou/jsa This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. The Indonesian police have detained seven people in connection with a terror plot aimed at attacking Pope Francis during his visit to Jakarta earlier this week. Most of the arrests occurred on September 2 and 3 in Jakarta, as well as in the surrounding cities of Bogor and Bekasi, West Sumatra province, and Bangka Belitung Islands province, according to media statements from the country's national police anti-terrorism squad Detachment-88, reported The Straits Times. Pope Francis (REUTERS) Pope Francis's visit, part of his 12-day Asia-Pacific tour that includes stops in Jakarta and Singapore, is expected to have a significant impact in Dili despite ongoing abuse scandals within the church, the report added. On Friday, Pope Francis concluded the first leg of the tour in the archipelago. Detachment-88 spokesman Colonel Aswin Siregar informed reporters that the investigation is still ongoing and it has not yet been determined whether the seven detainees are connected or belong to the same terror cell. We have a mechanism to monitor and filter. We had tip-off information from members of the public, Colonel Aswin was quoted as saying. What may be the reasons behind the plot? Searches conducted at the home of one of the militants suspected of planning an attack on Pope Francis who visited Jakarta from September 3 to 6 revealed bows and arrows, a drone, and ISIS leaflets, according to a source cited by The Straits Times. Some of those arrested had pledged allegiance to ISIS, the source added. One of the arrested is a militant who belongs to the same terror group that attacked Wiranto, the source quoted by the newspaper said, referring to Indonesias former Chief Security Minister, who was stabbed by two ISIS-radicalized assailants in 2019 and had to undergo surgery following the attack. He said the militants were upset about Pope Francis visit to Jakartas Istiqlal Mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia, and were angered by the governments request to television stations to temporarily halt the usual broadcasting of the azan (Islamic call to prayer) in favour of live coverage of the Popes visit. Instead of airing the azan, television stations displayed a running text. Pope Francis' four-nation tour On Sunday, Pope Francis celebrated Mass in Papua New Guinea, honouring the Catholic Church's outreach to remote areas before heading to a secluded South Pacific nation with humanitarian aid and toys for the local faithful and missionaries, Associated Press reported. Later, Francis flew into Vanimo, a remote area on Papua New Guineas northwest coast, to visit the small Catholic community served by missionaries from Argentina. He travelled with only his closest aides and security team, leaving the Vatican's full delegation in Port Moresby. Francis visit to Vanimo was the key event of his trip to Papua New Guinea, marking the second leg of his four-nation tour across Southeast Asia and Oceania. After his initial stop in Indonesia, Francis will travel to East Timor on Monday and conclude his tour with a visit to Singapore later in the week. For the past seven years, President Emmanuel Macron has basked in the largely undivided attention of the French nation, enjoying freedom in shaping the country's foreign and domestic policy. Jupiter's fall? Macron cuts diminished figure in shake-up The appointment of Michel Barnier, a 73-year-old traditional conservative, as Macron's new prime minister on Thursday marks the beginning of a new era for a president who once famously said he wanted to rule like Jupiter, the Roman god of the sky and thunder. Under the new power-sharing arrangement that the Elysee presidential palace calls an era of "demanding coexistence", Macron will cut a diminished figure both at home and abroad. "We won't have the same presidency," said Anne-Charlene Bezzina, an expert in public law. "It's up to the prime minister to get his hands dirty, to build alliances and coalitions. He's the one who'll be caught in the National Assembly's crossfire." The appointment of Barnier marked a potential turning point following two months of political chaos in the wake of snap elections called by Macron that left no group close to an overall majority in the National Assembly lower house of parliament. Barnier, a former foreign minister who acted as the European Union's Brexit negotiator, quickly indicated he would be his own man. "The president will preside and the government will govern," Barnier, the oldest premier in the history of modern France, said on Friday evening. Macron is expected to be the "guarantor" of France's institutions and no longer dictate government policy. Having been known for his top-down leadership style since coming to power in 2017, observers say Macron will have to learn humility. The Elysee presidential office and Matignon, the office of the French prime minister, will no longer share advisers, as has been the case for the past seven years, and Macron's advisers will no longer attend interministerial meetings. Barnier will be in charge of the budget, security, immigration and healthcare, and will have to take into account the interests of the far-right National Rally, the single largest party in a fragmented parliament, to avoid a motion of no confidence. Barnier, a member of the right-wing Republicans party who is not affiliated with the president's centrist faction, has promised "change". "We're going to do more than just talk," he said. But some are sceptical that Macron will be able to take a back seat on the home front. "Emmanuel Macron can't stand still. He won't be able to remain on the sidelines," said a former presidential adviser, asking not to be named. "At the slightest jolt, he'll be back." Political scientist Vincent Martigny said he would be surprised if Macron "stopped intervening". "Politicians don't change, least of all Macron," said Martigny. "They have a method, a personality." Macron's parliamentary group, Ensemble pour la Republique, which has 99 seats, has ruled out any "unconditional" support for Barnier but is expected to be the government's main bulwark in the lower house. Several outgoing ministers could also be reappointed, with powerful Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin letting it be known he is keen to stay on, possibly with a promotion to the foreign ministry. Bezzina said that Barnier comes from the centre right, and "it would be incredible" if he became "a violent opponent of someone whose matrix is relatively compatible". The shifting political landscape also gives Macron, who has long been criticised for being arrogant and disconnected from reality, an opportunity to reconnect with the French people. "In the coming weeks, he'll want to have direct contact with the French," said an outgoing minister, asking not to be named. Barnier's predecessor Gabriel Attal, 35, was France's youngest-ever prime minister and sparked inevitable comparisons to Macron, who became France's youngest president at the age of 39. "He's a little bit like my little brother," Macron quipped in June. The relationship dynamic will be very different between Macron and Barnier, who has a half-century career behind him, observers say. "He's proud," a former minister said of Barnier. "Will he be a puppet? I don't think so." Guillaume Klossa, president of the EuropaNova think tank, struck a similar note. "He's never been anyone's vassal," he said. Barnier said that he was open to naming ministers of all political stripes, including "people from the left". "He'll want to choose ministers he considers best for the country himself," said Klossa. Political analysts warn that France's political crisis might be far from over. Eurasia Group risk analysis firm said that Barnier is likely to have minority support in the Assembly, and the far right's Marine Le Pen will be key to his hopes of success. She can bring down the Barnier government "whenever she chooses", it said. "Le Pen's position could change at any moment." fff-vl-as/sjw/ju/bc/smw This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Pakistan has found large deposits of natural gas and oil in its territorial waters after a three year survey, reported Times of India. Pakistan has discovered oil and gas deposits in its territorial waters which could revitalise it's economy (Photo by Amna YASEEN / AFP)(AFP) A senior security official at Dawn News TV was quoted by TOI, stating that these reserves have the potential to significantly boost the nation's economy. The official also said that these reserves would be key in forming a blue water economy for the country. The survey has currently mapped out and identified the locations of these reserves and informed relevant government bodies. Though the reserves have been discovered, they have a way to go before contributing to the economy, as they are still in the early stages of exploration. The labour required to dig wells and further extract oil will take years. Also Read: Alleged Georgia school shooter Colt Gray sent haunting text to mom before opening fire Tapping into the ocean as a source of economics benefit could yield great rewards for Pakistan with valuable minerals that can be extracted, the official told TOI. It is estimated that these reserves could be one of the world's largest, with Pakistan potentially having the fourth-largest deposit globally. Currently, Venezuela, leads the board in oil reserves, with around 3.4 million barrels, followed by Saudi Arabia, Iran, Canada and Iraq. The United States also holds the record for the most untapped shale oil reserves. In an interview with Dawn News TV, former member of Pakistan's Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), Muhammad Arif, said that though the development is positive, they need to be cautious as the reserves may not end up being as large or as easily extractable as they seem. If this is a gas reserve, it can replace LNG imports, and if these are oil reserves, we can substitute imported oil, he added. Arif also said that there would be a requirement for significant financial investment in the process of exploring these reserves, estimating costs to be around 5 billion dollars. BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, September 8. Kyrgyzstan has significantly increased its gasoline exports to Afghanistan and Uzbekistan in the first half of 2024, Trend reports, citing the analytical company Argus. The agency highlights that this increase in exports is attributed to the rise in fuel production at local mini-refineries. Kyrgyzstan exported 5,800 tons of gasoline from January through June, more than double the 2,600 tons exported during the same period last year. The bulk of this gasoline, specifically AI-80 and AI-92 grades, was shipped to Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. Exports to Afghanistan surged to 3,700 tons from 500 tons, with retail network operators in northern and central Afghanistan being the primary buyers, as reported by traders. "Gasoline shipments from Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan increased slightly to 2,100 tons from 2,000 tons in the previous year. Retail network owners in Uzbekistans Fergana and Tashkent regions are likely showing increased interest in Kyrgyz fuel," Argus stated. Islamabad, Pakistan on Sunday declared an education emergency on International Literacy Day to educate around 26 million out-of-school children in the country. Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif declares education emergency on International Literacy Day Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the measure and urged the private sector and civil organisations to join hands with the government, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported. The 72-year-old Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader reaffirmed his commitment to advancing the education agenda, striving for a more informed and sustainable nation. We have declared an educational emergency across the country, launched an enrolment campaign for students and initiated midday meals for children in schools, he stated. He said that literacy is a fundamental human and constitutional right that guarantees the future of our country and added that literacy was not merely the ability to read and write but rather a gateway to empowerment, economic opportunities and active participation in society. To reduce the dropout rate and encourage every child to complete their education, the prime minister pointed out that the government had introduced scholarships and other incentives. In this rapidly emerging world, developing literacy and skills in line with technology is inevitable, the premier stressed, adding that the government was implementing a comprehensive plan to integrate technology into the educational system and ensuring that the youth were equipped with the necessary skills to thrive in the digital economy. He said that the private sector and civil society organisations were equal partners in the governments efforts. By establishing effective partnerships, we can link education with employment and self-employment opportunities, creating a stronger and more inclusive workforce, he added. Earlier in May, Shehbaz had declared an education emergency and vowed to get around 26 million out-of-school children enrolled. Today, with iron conviction, and the support of provinces, we will handle the challenge of 26 million out-of-school children. We will bring them back to schoolI declare from this moment an emergency in education all over PakistanThe way we did it in Punjab, we will do it in Pakistan, the prime minister had said while addressing the National Conference on Education Emergency. The premier said the enrolment of 26 million out-of-school children and stunted growth were major challenges facing Pakistan which required huge financial resources. International Literacy Day is observed on September 8 to remind policy-makers, practitioners, and the public of the critical importance of literacy for creating a more literate, just, peaceful, and sustainable society. UNESCO has highlighted that the lack of access to education remains a significant barrier, as three out of four children in developing countries cannot read or comprehend a basic text by the age of 10, and there are still 754 million illiterate adults globally, two-thirds of whom are women. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. VANIMO, Papua New Guinea Pope Francis traveled to the remote jungles of Papua New Guinea on Sunday to celebrate the Catholic Church on the peripheries, bringing with him a ton of medicine, musical instruments and a message of love for the people who live there. Pope arrives in the remote jungles of Papua New Guinea with a ton of humanitarian aid and toys Francis flew aboard a Royal Australian Air Force C-130 transport plane from Port Moresby to Vanimo, on the northwest coast of the South Pacific nation. There, Francis met with the local Catholic community and the missionaries from his native Argentina who have been ministering to them. For an Argentine pope who marveled in 2013 at having been chosen from the end of the Earth to lead the church, it was a voyage to another end of the Earth on the longest, farthest trip of Francis' pontificate. Francis has previously traveled to the edge of the Arctic , and into the Peruvian Amazon , and to the plains of Ur, Iraq . But even by his standards, Sunday's trip to remote Vanimo was extraordinary. A crowd of an estimated 20,000 people gathered on the field in front of the Vanimo cathedral singing and dancing when Francis arrived, and he promptly put on a feathered headdress that had been presented to him. In remarks from a raised stage, Francis praised the church workers who go out to try to spread the faith. But he urged the residents of Vanimo to work at home at being good to one another. He urged them to be like an orchestra, so that all members of the community come together harmoniously to overcome rivalries. Doing so, he said, would help to drive out fear, superstition and magic from peoples hearts, to put an end to destructive behaviors such as violence, infidelity, exploitation, alcohol and drug abuse, evils which imprison and take away the happiness of so many of our brothers and sisters. It was a reference to the tribal violence over land and other disputes that have long characterized the countrys culture but have grown more lethal in recent years. Francis arrived in Papua New Guinea to urge an end to the violence, including gender-based violence, and for a sense of civic responsibility to prevail. Francis had started the day with a Mass before an estimated 35,000 people at the stadium in the capital, Port Moresby. In his homily, Francis told the crowd that they may well feel themselves distant from both their faith and the institutional church, but that God was near to them. You who live on this large island in the Pacific Ocean may sometimes have thought of yourselves as a far away and distant land, situated at the edge of the world, Francis said. Yet today the Lord wants to draw near to you, to break down distances, to let you know that you are at the center of his heart and that each one of you is important to him. Francis was elected pope largely on the strength of a speech he gave to his fellow cardinals in 2013 about the need for the church to go out to the peripheries where people need God most. In keeping with that philosophy, Francis has largely shunned foreign trips to European capitals, preferring instead far-flung communities where Catholics are often a minority. Vanimo, population 11,000, certainly fits the bill of being remote. It is located near Papua New Guineas border with Indonesia, where the jungle meets the sea, and is for the most part only reachable by plane or boat. Francis, historys first Latin American pope, has also had a special affinity for the work of Catholic missionaries. As a young Argentine Jesuit, he had hoped to serve as a missionary in Japan but was prevented from going because of his poor health. Now, as pope, he has often held up missionaries as models for the church. The Rev. Martin Prado, an Argentine missionary of the Institute of the Incarnate Word religious order, was responsible for getting the pope to Vanimo. As he waited for Francis to arrive Sunday, he recounted for reporters the crazy story of how he accompanied a group of Vanimo parishioners to Rome in 2019, and ended up scoring an audience with the pope after his parishioners insisted that they wanted to give him some gifts. Prado, who has spent the past 10 of his 36 years working as a missionary in Vanimo, said he wrote a note, left it for the pope at the Vatican hotel where he lives, and the next day received an email from Francis' secretary inviting his group in. I invited him, but he wanted to come, Prado said. He has a big heart for people. Its not just words: He does what he says. Prado said some people deep in the interior of the diocese, in the jungle where cars have yet to arrive, need clothes, and for them a plate of rice and tuna fish is glorious. Francis was bringing a cargo of about a ton of medicine, clothing, musical instruments and toys, the Vatican said. Prado said Francis was also helping to build a new secondary school. He said half of the children of the diocese are unable to go to high school because there simply arent enough spots for them. The event had a very Argentine flair to it: On the stage was a statue of the Virgin of Lujan, the patron of Argentina who is particularly dear to Francis and whose name also graces the local girls' school. When Francis met privately after the event with the nuns and missionary priests, they served him mate, the Argentine tea. There are about 2.5 million Catholics in Papua New Guinea, according to Vatican statistics, out of a population in the Commonwealth nation believed to be around 10 million. The Catholics practice the faith along with traditional Indigenous beliefs, including animism and sorcery. Francis visit to Vanimo was the highlight of his visit to Papua New Guinea, the second leg of his four-nation tour of Southeast Asia and Oceania. After first stopping in Indonesia, Francis heads on Monday to East Timor and then wraps up his visit in Singapore later in the week. Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The is solely responsible for this content. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. * Russia takes Ukrainian town in advance on Pokrovsk Russia's defence ministry claims control of Novohrodivka near Pokrovsk * Ukrainian General Staff reports fierce battles in Pokrovsk sector * Putin says Ukrainian incursion into Kursk failed to slow Russian advance MOSCOW, Sept 8 - Russia said on Sunday its forces had taken full control of a town in eastern Ukraine as Moscow's forces advance on the strategically important city of Pokrovsk and seek to pierce the Ukrainian defensive front lines. Russian forces, which control about a fifth of Ukraine since invading in February 2022, are advancing in eastern Ukraine in an attempt to take the whole of the Donbas, which is about half the size of the U.S. state of Ohio. Russia's defence ministry said its forces had taken the town of Novohrodivka, which lies 12 km from Pokrovsk, an important rail and road hub for Ukrainian forces in the area. The town had a population of 14,000 before the war. Yuri Podolyaka, an influential Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger, published maps showing Russian forces attacking beyond Novohrodivka in at least two places less than 7 km from Pokrovsk. The General Staff of the Ukrainian military, in a late afternoon report, described the situation as "tense" throughout the Pokrovsk sector and said "fierce battles" gripped areas around several towns, including Novohrodivka. "So far, the enemy has carried out 23 assaults on Ukrainian positions," the report said. Battles are going on in six locations." Reuters was unable to immediately verify battlefield reports from either side due to restrictions on reporting in the war. President Vladimir Putin said last week that a Ukrainian incursion into the Russian region of Kursk had failed to slow Russia's own advance in eastern Ukraine and had weakened Kyiv's defences along the front line in a boost to Moscow. Ukraine's top military commander said on Thursday that Kyiv's incursion into the Kursk region was working and that there had been no Russian advances on Pokrovsk for the previous six days. He said that one of the objectives of the Kursk incursion was to divert Russian forces from other areas, primarily Pokrovsk and Kurakhove. Russia had diverted large numbers to Kursk, but was also strengthening the Pokrovsk front, he added. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said the Kursk operation was also to prevent Russian forces from crossing the border in the opposite direction. Russia currently controls about 80% of Donbas. Given the speed of recent Russian advances in the east, some Russian war bloggers have raised concern about the army overreaching itself. Putin ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine more than two and a half years ago in what he calls a special military operation. Ukraine and its Western backers have vowed to defeat Russian forces and expel all Russian troops. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Romania and Latvia, both NATO members and supporters of Ukraine in its 2 1/2-year-old war with Russia, on Sunday were investigating instances of Russian drones that crashed after breaching their airspace, authorities in both countries said. A Russian drone(Reuters/Representational image) The incidents prompted officials to call for measures to act jointly to counter Russia air incursions. NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana denounced the incidents as "irresponsible and potentially dangerous", while saying there was no indication of a deliberate attack on Alliance member-states. The Romanian defence ministry said the "radar supervision system identified and tracked the path of a drone which entered national airspace and then exited towards Ukraine". Romania scrambled two F-16 fighter jets to monitor the incursion. Residents of the southeastern Romanian counties of Tulcea and Constanta were warned to take cover. "From existing data, the possibility of an impact zone on national territory was identified, in an uninhabited area near the village of Periprava," the ministry added. Ministry personnel were searching the area of impact. In Latvia, which borders both Russia and its close ally Belarus, President Edgars Rinkevics posted on social media platform X that his government sought a common NATO response. "The number of such incidents is increasing along the Eastern flank of NATO and we must address them collectively," Rinkevics wrote. The LETA news agency quoted the defence ministry as saying initial investigation showed that the drone had entered Latvian airspace from Belarus and crashed near the city of Rezekne. Leonids Kalnins, Commander of Latvia's Joint Headquarters, said experts believed the drone "did not have a specific purpose to fly into Latvia". Defence Minister Andris Spruds, quoted by LETA, said the incident was "confirmation that we need to continue the work we have started to strengthen Latvia's eastern border, including the development of air defense capabilities and electronic warfare capabilities..." Ukraine's newly-appointed Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, wrote on X that the two cases were "a stark reminder that Russia's aggressive actions extend beyond Ukraine" and called for maximum support from Ukraine's allies. Romania shares a 650-km (400-mile) border with Ukraine and has had Russian drone fragments stray into its territory repeatedly over the past year. Romanian territory lies a few hundred metres from Ukrainian Danube River ports, frequent Russian targets. "There weren't serious issues on the ground," Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu told reporters on Sunday after consulting with the defence minister. "(Attacks) will continue. That is it, we have a war on the border." Romanian lawmakers plan to consider legislation at their current session on enabling Romania to shoot down drones invading the country's airspace in peacetime. KYIV, Ukraine Two NATO members said Sunday that Russian drones have violated their airspace, as one reportedly flew into Romania during nighttime attacks on neighboring Ukraine while another crashed in eastern Latvia the previous day. Two NATO members say Russian drones have violated their airspace A drone entered Romanian territory early on Sunday as Moscow struck civilian targets and port infrastructure across the Danube in Ukraine, Romania's Ministry of National Defense reported. It added Bucharest had deployed F-16 warplanes to monitor its airspace and issued text alerts to residents of two eastern regions. It also said investigations were underway of a potential impact zone in an uninhabited zone along the Romanian-Ukrainian border. There were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage. Later on Sunday, Latvias Defense Minister Andris Spruds said that a Russian drone fell the day before near the town of Rezekne, and had likely strayed into Latvia from neighboring Belarus. Rezekne, home to over 25,000 people, lies some 55 kilometers west of Russia and around 75 kilometers from Belarus, the Kremlins close and dependent ally. While the incursion into Latvian airspace appeared to be a rare incident, Romania has confirmed drone fragments on its territory on several occasions since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, as recently as July this year. Mircea Geoana, NATO's outgoing deputy secretary-general and Romania's former top diplomat, said on Sunday morning that the military alliance condemned Russias violation of Romanian airspace. While we have no information indicating an intentional attack by Russia against Allies, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous, he wrote on X. Latvia's military on Sunday similarly said that there were no indications that Moscow or Minsk purposely sent a drone into the country. In a public statement, the military said it had identified the crash site, and that a probe was ongoing. Spruds, the Latvian defense minister, sought to downplay the significance of the drone incursion. I can confirm that there are no victims here and also no property is infringed in any way, Defense Minister Andris Spruds told the Latvian Radio on Sunday, adding that any risks in the event were immediately eliminated: Of course, it is a serious incident, as it is once again a reminder of what kind of neighboring countries we live next to. Civilians reported killed in Ukraine In Ukraine, two civilians died and four more suffered wounds in a nighttime Russian airstrike on the northern city of Sumy, the regional military administration reported. Two children were among those wounded, the administration said. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed later that day that its forces struck foreign pro-Kyiv fighters in a village on Sumy's northern outskirts. It was not immediately clear whether this was a reference to the same attack. In the Kharkiv region in the east, overnight shelling killed two elderly women, according to local Gov. Oleh Syniehubov. During the night, Ukrainian air defenses shot down one of four cruise missiles and 15 of 23 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia, Ukraine's air force reported. It added that none of the cruise missiles had hit targets. Later on Sunday, three women were killed after Russian forces shelled a village in the eastern Donetsk region, Gov. Vadym Filashkin reported on the Telegram messaging app. Elsewhere in the province, rescue teams pulled the bodies of two men from the rubble of a hotel destroyed on Saturday evening in a Russian airstrike, according to Ukraines state emergency service. That same day, the death toll rose to 58 from the massive Russian missile strike that on Tuesday blasted a military academy and nearby hospital in the eastern city of Poltava, regional Gov. Filip Pronin reported. More than 320 others were wounded. Since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the Russian military has repeatedly used missiles to smash civilian targets, sometimes killing scores of people in a single attack. Poltava is about 350 kilometers southeast of Kyiv, on the main highway and rail route between Kyiv and Ukraines second-largest city, Kharkiv, which is close to the Russian border. The attack happened as Ukrainian forces sought to carve out their holdings in Russias Kursk border region after a surprise incursion that began Aug. 6, as the Russian army hacks its way deeper into eastern Ukraine. Russian forces continued their monthlong grinding push towards the city of Pokrovsk, and also ramped up attacks near the town of Kurakhove farther south, Ukraine's General Staff reported. Russia's Defense Ministry said Sunday its troops had taken Novohrodivka, a small town some 19 kilometers southeast of Pokrovsk. An update published Saturday evening by DeepState, a Ukrainian battlefield analysis site, said Russian forces had advanced in Novohrodivka and captured Nevelske, a village in the southeast of the Pokrovsk district. Pokrovsk, which had a prewar population of about 60,000, is one of Ukraines main defensive strongholds and a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region. Its capture would compromise Ukraines defense and supply routes, and would bring Russia closer to its stated aim of capturing the entire Donetsk region. Elsewhere, falling debris from downed aerial objects injured two young boys and an adult in Russia's Belgorod region, some 20 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, local Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov reported on Sunday. Russia's Defense Ministry the same day claimed that its forces had shot down multiple Ukrainian drones over the province, and a further one over the neighboring Kursk region. Associated Press writers Stephen McGrath in Sighisoara, Romania, and Jari Tanner in Helsinki, Finland contributed to this report. Follow the s coverage of the war at /hub/russia-ukraine This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. * Typhoon Yagi wreaks havoc on infrastructure, factories in Vietnam Strongest storm in Asia this year kills 21 in Vietnam * Yagi weakens but risks of flash floods, landslides remain * Storm caused power and telecommunications outages By Francesco Guarascio and Minh Nguyen HANOI/HAIPHONG, Sept 8 - Typhoon Yagi, Asia's most powerful storm this year, was downgraded to a tropical depression on Sunday, after wreaking havoc in northern Vietnam, where it damaged factories and infrastructure in export-oriented industrial hubs. Vietnam's meteorological agency issued the downgrade on Sunday but cautioned about the ongoing risk of flooding and landslides as the storm, the strongest to hit the country in decades, moved westwards. On Saturday, Yagi disrupted power supplies and telecommunications in Vietnam's capital, Hanoi, causing extensive flooding, felling thousands of trees and damaging homes. The typhoon and subsequent landslides and floods killed 21 people in Vietnam and injured 229, according to preliminary estimates from the government, after claiming the lives of four people on the southern Chinese island of Hainan and 20 in the Philippines, the first country it hit a week ago. In Haiphong, a Vietnamese coastal city of 2 million which hosts factories of several multinationals, industrial parks remained closed on Sunday, workers and managers told Reuters. One was flooded, and workers said they had been sent home after they tried to go to work unaware of the conditions at their plants because telecommunications networks had not been restored. "The damage for the factories is really significant. Some have lost roofs or entire front facades," said Bruno Jaspaert, head of DEEP C industrial zones, which host plants from over 150 investors in Haiphong and the neighbouring province of Quang Ninh. He said at least 80% of the factories had been damaged but the industrial parks had not been flooded. "It might take a month if things go well before I fully recover from this damage," said Do Van Truong, a 45-year-old shop owner in Haiphong, noting the ceiling of his seafood shop had collapsed while power and water supplies had not yet been restored. Several highways in the north of the country were flooded or seriously disrupted, state media reported, publishing pictures and footage of landslides. RISK OF FLASH FLOODS After it made landfall in Vietnam on Saturday afternoon, Yagi triggered waves as high as 4 metres in coastal provinces, leading to extended power and telecommunication outages that have complicated damage assessment, the government said. The meteorological agency warned of continued "risk of flash floods" in riverside areas, including in Hanoi. As winds subsided, authorities in Hanoi rushed to clean up streets from toppled trees scattered across the city centre and other neighbourhoods. "The storm has devastated the city. Trees fell down on top of people's houses, cars and people on the street," said 57-year-old Hanoi resident Hoang Ngoc Nhien. Hanoi's Noi Bai international airport, the busiest in northern Vietnam, reopened on Sunday after closing on Saturday morning. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. By Rich McKay Active shooter near Kentucky highway, reports of 'numerous persons' shot -Kentucky police reported an "active shooter situation" on Saturday evening near Interstate-75 in London, Kentucky, where "numerous persons" have been shot in traffic. The incident began just before 6 p.m. about nine miles outside of London, when officers were called for reports of multiple vehicles being fired at on Interstate 75 in Laurel County, multiple media accounts said. The shots were reportedly coming from a wooded area or an overpass. How many were shot and the nature of the injuries was not immediately clear. Police officials said the suspect had not been caught. Please avoid I-75 around Ext 49. Until further notice! Use alternative route do not be any where in that area, London Mayor Randall Weddle said on Facebook. Kentucky state Trooper Scottie Pennington wrote on Facebook, "The suspect has not been caught at this time and we are urging people to stay inside." Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear wrote on X: Kentucky, we are aware of a shooting on I-75 in Laurel County. Please avoid the area. We will provide more details once they are available. He also asked that residents, "Please pray for everyone involved." Agents, from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have been called in to assist the Kentucky State Police and local law enforcement, the agency posted on X, calling it a "critical incident." London is a small city of about 8,000 residents near the Daniel Boone National Forest, about 90 miles south of Lexington. This shooting comes just days after a mass shooting at a Winder, Georgia high school that saw two teachers and two students killed and nine others wounded. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Alleged Georgia school shooter Colt Gray sent a haunting text to his mother, Marcee Gray, before opening fire at Apalachee High School in Winder on Wednesday morning, September 4. Colts grandfather revealed that the 14-year-old apologised to his mother before carrying out the shooting, following which Marcee, 43, made a desperate call in an attempt to stop the tragedy. Colt Gray sent haunting text to mom before opening fire (Barrow County Sheriff's Office via AP)(AP) Im sorry, mom, Colts message to his mom read. Marcee subsequently called Apalachee High School and warned a counsellor of an extreme emergency, a relative told The Washington Post. I was the one that notified the school counselor at the high school. I told them it was an extreme emergency and for them to go immediately and find [my son] to check on him, she told her sister. After Marcee got her sons text, she quickly began driving to Winder, which is about three hours away. Halfway there, she learned that two students and two teachers had been killed, Colts grandfather Charles Polhamus told New York Post. The four deceased people have been identified as math teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. At least nine others were injured. Gray will reportedly be charged with murder as an adult. He is probably one of the worst narcissists in the world Meanwhile, Polhamus said that the stage for the violence was set long back. He blasted Colts father, Colin Gray, as evil and accused him of getting Marcee addicted to drugs. Collie Gray did this to his family and he will rot in hell for it. Thats a fact, Polhamus said. He needs the death penalty. He is probably one of the worst narcissists in the world. Besides Colt, Colin too faces charges of murder in connection to the Georgia school shooting. Colin is facing two counts of second-degree murder, and the charges push the legal limits of parental responsibility for the alleged gun crime committed by a child. The mother of alleged Georgia school shooter Colt Gray has broken her silence for the first time after the shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder. Colt killed two students and two teachers, and injured at least nine others. He will be charged with murder as an adult, as per reports. Alleged Georgia school shooter Colt Gray's (L) mom Marcee Gray (R) breaks silence (Barrow County Sheriff's Office via AP, Ben Hill County Sheriff's Office) Marcee Gray, Colts mother, has spoken out for the first time since the shooting, telling New York Post outside her fathers home in Fitzgerald, Its horrible. Its absolutely horrible. The outlet reported that Marcee, a mom of three kids, looked devastated as she carried pillows inside the home. She was seen wearing a pink T-shirt, jeans, sneakers and a large cross necklace. On being asked if she wanted to say anything to the families of the victim, Marcee said, Nothing to anyone right now. Ill have my time to speak. Its not right now. The victims have been identified as math teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Colt Grays haunting text to his mom This was the first time Marcee was spotted after the tragedy. Colts grandfather Charles Polhamus previously revealed that the accused 14-year-old shooter sent a haunting text to Marcee before going on the rampage at the school. Im sorry, mom, the message read. After getting the message, Match desperately called Apalachee High School to warn a counsellor of an extreme emergency, a relative told The Washington Post. I was the one that notified the school counselor at the high school. I told them it was an extreme emergency and for them to go immediately and find [my son] to check on him, she told her sister. Marcee rushed to her car and began to drive to Winder, but halfway there, she heard that two students and two teachers had been murdered, Polhamus claimed. Donald Trump has said that no props or lifts will be used in the upcoming debate to make any candidate look taller. Taking to Truth Social, the former president declared that this would be called cheating. Donald Trump says no boxes or artificial lifts will be allowed during upcoming debate (AP Photo/Morry Gash)(AP) No boxes or artificial lifts will be allowed to stand on during my upcoming debate with Comrade Kamala Harris. We had this out previously with former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg when he was in a debate, and he was not allowed a lift. It would be a form of cheating, and the Democrats cheat enough. You are who you are, it was determined! Trump wrote on Truth Social. Trump and Harris are set to face each other on the debate stage next week. In Trumps official health records during his term in office, his height was listed at 63 by Dr. Ronny Jackson, the physician for the White House. Harris, on the other hand, is believed to be 54, but her height would increase if she wears heels. It is unclear if ABC has agreed to Trumps demands. This is, however, not the first that the former president has pointed out height change differences with fellow politicians. Back in 2020, Trump posted on social media, mocking Bloomberg, "Mini Mike is illegally buying the Democrat Nomination. They are taking it away from Bernie again. Mini Mike, Major Party Nominations are not for sale! Good luck in the debate tomorrow night and remember, no standing on boxes!" Debate rules The debate will be hosted by ABC News. Candidates will be given two minutes to answer questions, two minutes for rebuttals and one minute for follow-ups, clarifications or responses. There will be no audience during the debate. Each candidate will get two minutes for their closing statements. Each candidate will be handed a pen, pad of paper and water bottle. Candidates will not be allowed to carry any pre-written notes or props on stage. During the commercial breaks, campaign staff will not be permitted to interact with the candidate. BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 8. Iran will take steps towards new discussions on its nuclear program, former Iranian MP Heshmetullah Falahatpish said, Trend reports. According to him, the Comprehensive Joint Action Plan implemented between Iran and the "5+1" group (USA, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) has already become history. Falahatpish said that during the newly organized discussions, the work carried out within the framework of the Comprehensive Joint Action Plan will be officially recognized, and a short schedule for lifting the sanctions applied against Iran will ultimately be shown. "Currently, the main issue between Iran and the US is the Iranian nuclear program, and this issue can be resolved in a simpler way than in previous years," he said. In January 2016, the Comprehensive Joint Action Plan on the Iranian nuclear program was implemented between Iran and the "5+1" group (USA, Russia, China, UK, France and Germany). In May 2018, the United States announced it was withdrawing from the plan and imposed sanctions on Iran in November of that year. Iran announced that there would be no restrictions on the Iranian nuclear deal in 2020. By US News Live: Get real-time updates on the biggest news from the United States, including politics, economics, technology, and more. Dye found in Doritos turns mouse's skin transparent like magic trick, new study finds Get the latest updates and breaking news from the US on politics, economics, technology, and more all right here This is an AI-generated live blog and has not been edited by Hindustan Times staff....Read More Nikki Haley has not been asked to be part of Donald Trump's campaign. The former United Nations ambassador opened up on her willingness to be a part of the GOP nominee's presidential bid against Kamala Harris on Sunday. She explained that Trump is aware of the fact that she's ready if he ever needs me to do that. Nikki Haley, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, listens to medias during her press conference before leaving Taipei, Taiwan, Saturday, Aug.24, 2024. (Chiang Ying-ying)(AP) Donald Trump has not asked Nikki Haley to be part of his campaign He knows I'm on standby, the 52-year-old, who once challenged the former president for the Republican nomination, said during her Sunday morning appearance on CBS Face the Nation. I talked to him back in June. Hes aware that Im ready if he ever needs me to do that, Haley told host Margaret Brennan. ALSO READ: Trump thanks Brittany Mahomes for strongly defending him, Taylor Swift fans raise eyebrows When she dropped out of the presidential race in March, Haley claimed that she would not endorse Trump unless he earned her support. However, it appears that her feelings have now changed, considering she told Brennan she would be happy to be helpful should the Trump campaign ask her to be a part of it. Thats his choice. He can, you know, whatever he decides to do with his campaign, he can do that, Haley went on, adding, But when I called him back in June, I told him I was supportive. I think the teams have talked to each other a little bit, but there hasnt been an ask as of yet. ALSO READ: Ex-prez George Bush reveals his endorsement plans for 2024 presidential election Despite being supportive of his campaign, the former South Carolina governor has some reservations about Trump. I think he is the Republican nominee, Haley said of the former president. And I think putting him against Kamala Harris - for me, it's not a question. Now, do I agree with his style, do I agree with his approach, do I agree with his communications? No, she added. Singapore, During his visit to Singapore next week, Pope Francis will use two handmade chairs crafted by an Indian-origin carpenter here for his inter-religious dialogue sessions. Pope Francis to use handmade chairs by Indian-origin carpenter during Singapore visit The chairs are made by 44-year-old Govindharaj Muthiah, who took his passion for woodworking full-time in 2019, according to a Channel News Asia report last week. Muthiah said when he received the fortuitous call from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore around end-July, he did not expect to be presented with the coolest addition to his CV to date. Even though he completed both "100 per cent handmade" chairs within a whirlwind month, Muthiah said the news of being assigned to do the chairs still had not sunk in. When I got the call, the first question was: Hi, we knew you do furniture. We were introduced by someone. And they asked if I could make a chair. I was like, Okay, do you have the dimensions? Ill work on it, he told CNA. Then said, No its more than that, theres a lot of specific details. And I said, Okay, send me the drawing. Usually what I tell customers is, if you can draw it and show me, I will build it for you. So likewise, I said that, thinking hes on the same page. He paused for a while and said, Its for the Pope. I was like, Sorry? Who? He : For the Pope', Muthiah recalled. Pope Francis will be in the city-state from Sep 11 to 13, in the last leg of his 12-day four-nation Asia-Pacific tour to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore. It is his longest trip away from the Vatican since he became head of the worldwide Catholic Church in 2013. In Singapore, the 87-year-old Pope's itinerary includes meeting President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, presiding over mass at the National Stadium, and holding an interreligious dialogue session with youth at Catholic Junior College. The chairs will be used during the interreligious dialogue. So, it is perhaps fitting that Muthiah, a practising Hindu, approached temples and mosques that had just undergone renovation for leftover lumber he could repurpose. Muthiah said when he eventually put pencil to paper, he wanted the final design to be very vintage, inspired by furniture from the 18th century. A "normal chair" was a no-go. The headboard of one chair was inspired by the distinctive frontage of the old Novena Church here, also known as Church of St Alphonsus. The base of the other chair was inspired by the facade of Basilica of San Jose de Flores, a catholic church located in Pope Francis birthplace of Buenos Aires, Argentina. This chair also has a B-shaped armrest an homage to Pope Francis family name, Bergoglio. And while Pope Francis has a tight schedule, Muthiah is keeping his fingers crossed that he gets to meet the man himself. He said should he get the chance, he plans to present the Pope with a miniature model of the chair. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Prince Harry is still in touch with some of his family members despite his ongoing feud with Prince William and King Charles. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex famously fell apart from the Royal Family following their move to the US in 2020. Despite the growing rift, Prince Harry reportedly shares a close bond with the members Spencer Family, the late Princess Diana's family. Prince Harry is reportedly still in contact with some of his family members despite the ongoing rift with Prince William(AP) Prince Harry still in touch with his family amid Prince William, King Charles rift The Duke of Sussex recently flew to the UK to attend the memorial service of his uncle, Lord Robert Fellowes, who died on July 29. While there, Prince Harry allegedly stayed with his uncle Charles Spencer at Althorp House, the ancestral property that served as his mother Diana's childhood home. Following her shocking death in 1997, she was laid to rest on an island within the Round Oval Lake at Althorp House. ALSO READ: Prince Harry missed an opportunity to make amends with Prince William, says royal expert Decoding what his stay with the Spencer Family means, former BBC Royal correspondent Jennie Bond told OK!, When Dianas coffin arrived back at Althorp and the gates closed behind the hearse, Earl Spencer said simply: 'Diana is home.' And he has clearly honoured his pledge that her blood family would allow William and Harry to experience as many different aspects of life as possible and to let their souls sing openly as she had planned. Quietly, behind the scenes, it is obvious that the Spencer family have kept the communication channels open with Harry and that their affection for him is reciprocated, she went on, adding, Im sure Harry feels its important that he still has some kind of anchor here in the UK and, for now at least, it seems that it is with his aunts and uncle. And that has to be a positive thing. ALSO READ: Prince Harry won't rejoin the royal family unless Prince William does this Although the Prince of Wales and Prince Harry were both in attendance at their uncle's funeral, they avoided having an awkward run-in. The royal expert noted that the fact that the two brothers did not speak to each other makes Prince Harry's relationship with the Spencers significant. Its much better that Harry has some links with his UK family, even if reconciliation with the Windsor side maybe a long way off, if indeed it is possible, Bond said. Bernie Sanders is applauding the Cheneys for endorsing Kamala Harris. On Sunday, the senior senator from Vermont praised former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter for showing courage by backing the Democratic nominee. The 83-year-olds remarks come after Liz Cheney, a staunch Trump critic, pressed Republicans against the former president to take the extra step and endorse Harris. Sen Bernie Sanders lauds ex-Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, Liz Cheney for endorsing Kamala Harris(AFP) Sen Bernie Sanders lauds Dick and Liz Cheney for backing Kamala Harris What I think Dick and Liz Cheney are saying is that in this existential moment in American history, its not just issues, Sanders said on NBC Newss Meet the Press. Cheney and I agree on nothing no issues. But what we do believe in is that the United States should retain its democratic foundations, Sanders added when asked about whether he would be willing to welcome the Cheneys. ALSO READ: Nikki Haley reveals Donald Trump hasn't asked her to be part of his campaign, I'm on standby Sanders went on to say, I applaud the Cheneys for their courage in defending democracy. Obviously, on all the issues we have very different points of view. His remarks follow Liz's comment slamming the Republicans against Trump for not endorsing Harris. Its not enough to simply say, Im not going to vote for him,' Cheney argued on ABC Newss This Week. ALSO READ: Tulsi Gabbard says Biden administration placed her on secret terror watchlist after she criticised Kamala Harris The longest-serving Independent further said of the Cheneys that they were among a bigger group of Republicans willing to support Democrats to prevent Trump from being reelected. I think there is a significant number of Republicans that say, Well, you know, I may not agree with the vice president on this issue or that issue, but I cannot support somebody who is a pathological liar, somebody who fomented an insurrection to overthrow the election,' Sanders said. Police have arrested a teenager accused of shooting a classmate dead on Friday, September 6, at a Maryland high school. Jaylen Rushawn Prince, 16, is being charged as an adult for "murder, first and second-degree assault, and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony/crime of violence," according to the Harford County Sheriffs Office. Teen arrested for allegedly shooting classmate dead at Maryland high school (Lloyd Fox/The Baltimore Sun via AP)(AP) Prince was apprehended minutes after fatally shooting his classmate, 15-year-old Warren Curtis Grant, at Joppatowne High School, in the bathroom. Authorities found him trying to break into a nearby apartment to evade capture. What led to the shooting? It is unclear what happened between Grant and Prince before the shooting. However, the two were acquainted, as per authorities. Police said that the crime took place at Joppatowne High School after a confrontation, The Mirror reported. It was the first day that Prince was attending the school after classes began earlier this week. After Grant was shot, fellow students dragged him into the hallway where he was provided aid by school nurses. He was then airlifted to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Grant later died. Prince initially fled the scene but was caught around 12:50 p.m. Police have said that the suspect had previous involvement with law enforcement. Officers said there were more than 10 incidents since 2022 in which Prince had been listed as a victim, witness, or suspect in prior investigations by the Harford County Sheriffs Office. The firearm used in the shooting has yet to be located. This incident came shortly after a tragic shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia, which led to the deaths of two students and two teachers. A 14-year-old student of the school, Colt Gray, is in custody and will be charged with murder as an adult. The four deceased people have been identified as math teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. At least nine other people were wounded in the attack. At a rally on Saturday, Donald Trump had a bit of a slip-up, calling his current favourite Elon Musk Leon instead. This mix-up comes just hours after Musk accepted Trumps proposal to chair a new government efficiency council, humorously dubbed D.O.G.E. for Dogecoin. Trump was discussing how SpaceX would be sending a spacecraft to rescue stranded NASA astronauts after Boeings failure. Fans quickly picked up on the slip, with some jokingly suggesting Trump might be slurring his words again. Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaking at the 27th annual Milken Institute Global Conference. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (AFP) Donald Trump mixes up Musks name at rally Boeing, I shouldnt say anything there is a beautiful Boeing plane right there, Trump was heard speaking to his Mosinee, Wisconsin crowd referring to his Trump Force One. But, ehh, he added, Boeing had a little hard time, so they are going to saveLeon is going to send them a rocket." The former president was trying to hype up SpaceXs Crew Dragon mission, which aims to rescue NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore. They are stranded on the ISS after Boeings starliner experienced a propulsion system issue and had to make an emergency departure, leaving its two crew members behind. NASA deemed it too unsafe to bring the astronauts back on the Boeing vehicle. Also read: Prince Harrys US green card could be a financial dagger for royals: Why he may be on a rare golden visa He looks forward to it, thats all he thinks about is things like that, Trump added. The blunder followed Trumps pitch at the New York Economic Club, where he outlined his economic plan and welcomed Musk's role in the new council. Internet thinks Trump is slurring again Elon cant even get us to stop saying Twitter, now he had to worry about Trump calling him Leon, a person commented on the rally video. Wait is he slurring again, the second added. Classic Donmentia, a third chimed in. You dont just say Leon when you mean Elon if youre referring to the owner of this app unless your mind is alphabet soup. Also read: YouTuber Nikocado Avocado's dramatic 250 pound weight loss in just 7 months leaves internet baffled Donald Trump is now the oldest candidate in the presidential race after Joe Biden endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, for the upcoming election. The Republican candidate is under intense scrutiny regarding his age and mental sharpness, similar to the scrutiny Joe Biden faced before stepping down. Elon Musk debuts DOGE look Meanwhile, Elon Musk, eyeing a potential role in the Trump administration, has jumped into his role at the "Department of Government Efficiency," or D.O.G.E. Although DOGE might not officially become real, Musk took advantage of it to get Dogecoin some attention. He even shared an AI-generated image of himself with the D.O.G.E. label, donning a leather jacket, gold chain, and oversized black sunglasses. Can asteroid 99942 Apophis hit the Earth? Scientists so far have dismissed this possibility, but Canadian astronomer Paul Wiegert has discovered one condition that may set the giant asteroid on a collision course towards our planet. Nicknamed the God of Chaos, it is predicted to come as close as 18,300 miles to Earth in 2029. Image used for representational purposes only What is the God of Chaos? Will it hit Earth? 99942 Apophis, or the God of Chaos, is a 1,210-foot-wide near-Earth asteroid. First discovered in 2004, it is expected to fly by our planet on Friday the 13th (April 13, 2029). The massive space rock, which approaches Earth once every 7,500 years, earned its name from the demon serpent in ancient Egyptian mythology. Experts initially ruled out its chances of hitting the Earth on the dreaded date as 2.7%. ALSO READ: Asteroid strikes Earth's atmosphere, burns up in fireball over Philippines. Watch However, a recent study published in The Planetary Science Journal notes that even a small object colliding with the asteroid could dramatically alter this. Wiegert, who co-authored the study alongside Benjamin Hyatt, examined the chances of another asteroid colliding with Apophis and changing its current path. According to their findings, an object as small as 0.6 meters or two-foot-wide could cause the God of Chaos to hit our planet at a later date. For the asteroid to be set on a collision course directly towards Earth, the object must be about 3.4 metres in size. The odds of an unseen small asteroid deflecting Apophis enough to direct it into a collision with Earth in 2029 are approximately 10-8. Given that only 5 percent of such impulses are in the correct direction to generate an Earth impact, the overall probability of a small impact directing Apophis into a collision with the Earth is less than one in two billion, Wiegert explained. ALSO READ: NASA discovers Earth's hidden electric field that creates polar wind Despite the chances of the asteroid hitting the Earth at a later date is less than one in a million, Wiegert noted that the risk of an impact persits. An additional element of the story is that Apophis has been largely unmonitored by telescopes since May 2021 and will remain so through 2027, Wiegert said, adding that this is due to the relative geometry of Apophis, Earth, and the Sun, which puts the asteroid in the daytime sky for the time span in question. Chilling details have emerged about Marcee Gray, the mother of alleged Georgia school shooter Colt Gray. Marcee once described herself as a victim of abuse. Around the same time when investigators visited Colt to question him over an alleged threat he made to shoot up his school, she boasted online that her children were thriving. Who is Marcee Gray? Alleged Georgia school shooter's mom shared chiiling posts (Ben Hill County Sheriff's Office) Colt, 14, opened fire at Apalachee High School in Winder on Wednesday morning, September 4, killing two students and two teachers. At least nine others were injured. Gray will be charged with murder as an adult, according to Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey. Who is Marcee Gray? On social media, Marcee shared posts opening up about her former husbands abusive upbringing. She also detailed their apparently troubled relationship. I packed myself and my babies up and relocated to my hometown in south GA. We are all good and my kids are thriving, Marcee wrote on LinkedIn in May 2023. (Marcee Gray/LinkedIn) Marcee announced that she had departed from the family home after she wrote about her husband Colin Grays childhood as one of severe physical abuse. From my husbands first memory, all he knew was abuse. Im talking everything from getting a broken arm at age 8 while he was totally asleep to having a barstool crack his skull open, she wrote on Facebook in November 2022. I still rub my fingers across the scar/gouge on his scalp and think to myself How?! I cant even comprehend it!that is what substance abuse can do. To a mama, a daddy, a spouse, a sibling.you name it and it will reach them, she further said. (Marcee Gray/Facebook) I know its hard to understand from the outside looking in. Everyone in my and his family couldnt understand why I stayed as long as I did, she wrote in another post, adding, Ultimately it was my own decision. In a separate post, Marcee, 43, wrote, No one but me understands the pain that my husband lives with every single day. Every single person in his life has hurt or betrayed him. And I truly believe that the Lord sent me to him because no one else was strong enough to stay by his side through thick and thin. Im not about to give up on him now We are just taking a break, she added. (Marcee Gray/Facebook) The couple called it quits a month later. They have three children. Marcee later wrote on LinkedIn, Finally separated from my abusive husband of almost 14yrs Hardest sh-t Ive ever done but were in good hands. Marcee herself has a rap sheet of her own. Her arrest record reportedly includes charges for drug possession, aggravated battery, theft and criminal trespass. She once even threatened to kill her husband, sources told the Daily Mail. Gray allegedly also tied up her elderly mother, leaving her for 24 hours. Most recently, she was in jail in Barrow County after being arrested on suspicion of possessing methamphetamine, fentanyl and muscle relaxants. She also faced charges of aggravated battery, theft by taking, criminal trespass, false imprisonment and failure to appear in January, in Fitzgerald County. An arrest warrant indicated that Marcee had a glass jar containing methamphetamine, a baggie containing fentanyl, a baggie containing multiple muscle relaxants, as well as a glass pipe used for the ingestion of narcotics. She was sentenced to as many as five years behind bars. While she spent the first 46 days in jail, she spent the rest on probation. Meanwhile, Colin told cops that after he separated from Marcee, she took his younger two kids. Colt is believed to have stayed with him. Colin is facing two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the school shooting. The charges against the alleged shooters father push the legal limits of parental responsibility for the alleged gun crime committed by a child. AS THE SUN beats down on the dusty yellow soil and a cluster of tin shacks near the city of Galkayo, in central Somalia, mothers point to their children, looking on shyly. Then almost all express variations of the same words: I dont know what I will feed them, or I have not cooked today because I have no food. Theirs is a despair felt across a country where first it never rained, and then it poured. Between 2020 and late 2022 the rains, which usually come twice a year, failed five times in a row, causing Somalias worst drought in 40 years and pushing the country to the brink of a famine. Disaster was averted only by a $2.4bn emergency response led by the UNs World Food Programme (WFP) and international charities including Save the Children. Then last year came the countrys worst flooding in a century, which swept away fields, driving up food prices, and forced more than a million people to leave their homes. If anyone doesnt believe in climate change, this is clear testimony that it is happening, says El-Khidir Daloum, the WFPs country director for Somalia. The Somali people didnt contribute to the climate crisis, but they are suffering from it. The tiny settlement of Samawade is a microcosm of Somalia, a fragile state that has been engulfed in war since 1991 and that now finds itself at risk of being overwhelmed by more frequent extreme weather. Almost all of the 167 families living here have fled conflict, drought or floods, some of them more than once. Some, strictly speaking, are refugees from nearby countries, including Ethiopia and Yemen. The precarious lives they now lead highlight not only how hard it is to rebuild failed states, but also how even the best-intentioned international efforts to do so can still leave people stuck in a dismal limbo, unable to return home but also unable to move on. And as the number of displaced and desperate Somalis has grown, so their mounting humanitarian needs are running up against rising donor fatigue. About 4m Somalis, or roughly a fifth of the population, are facing crisis or emergency food insecurity, in the jargon used by the UNs experts to describe the finer gradations of human suffering. Plainly put, these are the two topmost rungs of a ladder of unimaginable misery, just below famine, the top rung. Among those climbing this ladder of death are 1.7m children under the age of five who face acute malnutrition. My biggest worry is what will my children eat, says Muslimo, a mother of nine. We need help. Yet her plea is being ignored. Of the $1.6bn required for the humanitarian response in Somalia this year, less than $200m has been funded. That, says Mohamed Abdiladif, the acting country director for Save the Children in Somalia, is forcing aid agencies and charities to make impossible choices about whom to help. You see with your own eyes children who are severely malnourished and there is nothing very much you can do for them, he says. When you are incapable to help, it really makes you question a lot. Extreme weather and conflict are the most direct causes of the current crisis. But they would not be nearly as deadly if Somalias people had not been impoverished by decades of fighting and rapacious rule by warlords, jihadists and corrupt officials. Almost all statistics in the country, including population estimates, should be taken as guesswork. The last census was conducted in 1986, but was never released. Even so, it is certain that Somalia is one of the poorest countries on earth. Its GDP per person is probably less than $800. Two things keep the economy afloat. The first is Somalias diaspora, which sends home about $2bn a year, a sizeable sum in a country with a GDP of only around $10bn. The second is foreign aid, which added up to about $3.6bn last year. That makes aid Somalias biggest industry after agriculture. It is also a tempting source of patronage and a target for graft in a country ranked the most corrupt out of 180 in an annual index compiled by Transparency International, a watchdog. Somalias reliance on humanitarian aid may also help explain why roughly one in five of its people is stuck in godforsaken camps like Samawade. Across Somalia almost 4m people are classified as internally displaced, up from about 1m a decade ago. Many would much rather return to their old homes and livelihoods or get jobs and new homes in the cities than stay where they are. I love farming, says Halima, a grandmother. You sleep when you like and you work when you like. Yet going home is not always an option: her farm was washed away by floods. Daka, who has lived for five years in Kulmiye Garsoor, another camp, hankers after her old life of tending herds that roamed in search of grazing. I would go back because I would be someone with something, she says, recounting how she once owned 40 goats and two donkeys. The grass has returned with the rains, but Daka has no capital to replace her livestock, which perished in a drought. Instead it is displaced people who are, in effect, being herded having been pushed into camps, often on private land, where they have no security of tenure and rely on handouts. Right now they need urgent help to feed their children and themselves. But if Somalia is to break its cycle of crises, its rulers will have to start seeing them as citizens, not displaced people, and invest in transforming supposedly temporary camps into permanent neighbourhoods, complete with schools, clinics, decent housesand jobs. Sign up to the Middle East Dispatch, a weekly newsletter that keeps you in the loop on a fascinating, complex and consequential part of the world. And for more coverage of climate change, sign up for the Climate Issue, our fortnightly subscriber-only newsletter, or visit our climate-change hub. Exactly two years ago, the world was shocked by the terrible news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. The 96-year-old monarch passed away on September 8, 2022, due to deteriorating health. In her last moments, the royal was surrounded by her closest and dearest people. ADVERTISIMENT Shortly before her death, the British crown princess managed to meet with the then Prime Minister Liz Truss. Elizabeth II received the politician not at Buckingham Palace, as usual, but at the royal castle in Balmoral, where she passed away later that day. In the photos from the meeting with Truss, the subjects saw a huge purple bruise on the monarch's arm. This caused concern among British citizens, who later learned that the Queen was no longer alive. ADVERTISIMENT On the eve of Elizabeth II's funeral, the palace published her last official portrait, which was taken on the occasion of Her Majesty's platinum jubilee in 2022. The photo depicted a smiling Queen wearing a pale blue dress. Along with her smile, a snow-white necklace and pearl earrings sparkled in the photo. A laconic blue brooch could be seen too. At the end of September 2022, the royal family released a photo of the tombstone in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Elizabeth II was buried next to her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose body was transferred to his wife in the memorial chapel. ADVERTISIMENT The Queen, who reigned for the longest time in the history of the United Kingdom, rests in the memorial chapel of her father George VI. The names of Queen Mother Elizabeth and Prince Philip are also engraved on the stone. Elizabeth II's sister, Princess Margaret, is also buried here. Only verified information is available on OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Over the past few days, videos have been posted on social media of Ukrainian military dropping fire-spewing Dragon' drones on positions held by the Russian army in the Russia-held region of Kharkiv in Ukraine. Screengrab from a purported video of Ukraine using thermite bombs in (Courtesy: x.com/Nastushichek) On Wednesday, even Ukraine's defense ministry uploaded a video to Telegram, showing the low-flying drones releasing torrents of fire (actually molten metal). What is a Dragon drone? (1.) The drone actually drops thermite, a white-hot mixture of aluminum powder and iron oxide. (2.) Thermite burns at temperatures up to 4000 degrees Fahrenheit (2200 degrees Celsius). Therefore, it can quickly burn off trees and vegetation cover. (3.) As it comes down, the mixture resembles the fire spewed by the mythical dragon, and hence the name. (4.) There is little protection against thermite as it can burn through almost everything, including even metals. (5.) Previously, it has been used by Germany and the Allies in World War II, and by the United States military from the 1960s through 2014, and then resuming production again in 2023. (6.) Discovered in the 1890s and originally used to weld railway tracks, the material is dropped directly through the hatches, where the intense heat quickly ignites, and drops everything inside, according to Action on Armed Violence (AOAV). (67) This precision, combined with the drone's ability to bypass traditional defense, makes thermite a highly effective tool in modern warfare, says AOAV, a UK-based anti-war advocacy group. (8.) Thermite is just one type of incendiary weapon, with others including napalm and white phosphorous. (9.) Incendiary weapons cause massive destruction and environmental damage and produce fires that are difficult to predict and contain, as per the United Nations Office for Disarmament. (10.) These can inflict fourth or fifth-degree burns and damage muscles, ligaments, tendons, nerves, blood vessels, and even bones, states Human Rights Watch (HRW). Madrid on Sunday said it would grant political asylum to Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who was heading into exile in Spain after a month in hiding in the crisis-hit South American country. Gonzalez Urrutia -- who disputed President Nicolas Maduro's July 28 re-election -- left Venezuela after ignoring three successive summons to appear before prosecutors, arguing that attending the hearing could have cost him his freedom. Madrid's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said that Gonzalez Urrutia had requested political asylum in the European country, and that Spain would "obviously" grant it to him. He earlier confirmed on X that the opposition leader had departed on a Spanish military aeroplane, adding that Spain was "committed to the political rights" of all Venezuelans. Caracas said it had agreed to his safe passage. Venezuela has been in political crisis since July when authorities declared Maduro the victor of the election. The opposition cried foul, claiming it had evidence Gonzalez Urrutia had won by a comfortable margin. Numerous nations, including the United States, European Union and several Latin American countries, have refused to recognise Maduro as the winner without Caracas releasing detailed voting data. After the election, Venezuelan prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez Urrutia over his insistence that he was the rightful winner of the election. Venezuela's vice president Delcy Rodriguez said on social media that Caracas had agreed to the safe passage of Gonzalez Urrutia, who had taken "refuge voluntarily at the Spanish embassy in Caracas a few days ago". Speaking at a socialist party meeting on Saturday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described Gonzalez Urrutia as "a hero who Spain will not abandon". Attorney General Tarek William Saab said he would make an "important announcement", which the public prosecutor's office said would take place at 11:00 am (1500 GMT) on Sunday. Lawyer Joel Garcia, who has defended opposition figures in Venezuela, said that if Gonzalez Urrutia was charged with everything the government has accused him of, he could face a jail sentence of 30 years. Authorities said Maduro had won re-election to a third, six-year term with 52 percent of the vote. The opposition published its own voting records, which it says showed Gonzalez Urrutia winning 67 percent of the vote. Venezuela's electoral authority has said it cannot provide a full breakdown of the election results, blaming a cyber attack on its systems. Observers have said there is no evidence of any such hacking. Post-election violence in Venezuela has claimed 27 lives and left 192 people injured, while the government says it has arrested some 2,400 people. Prior to the election, Gonzalez Urrutia was a little-known retired diplomat. He became the last-minute presidential candidate after main opposition figure Maria Corina Machado was banned from running by state institutions seen as loyal to Maduro. After Venezuela's last election, in 2018, Maduro was proclaimed winner amid widespread accusations of fraud. He has led the oil-rich but cash-poor country since 2013. His tenure -- which has suffered from domestic economic mismanagement as well as international sanctions -- has seen GDP drop 80 percent and more than seven million of the country's 30 million citizens emigrate. Exactly two years ago, on September 8, former Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain passed away at the age of 97. Her Highness, who held the status of the longest-reigning monarch in the history of England, spent her last hours surrounded by family and grandchildren. ADVERTISIMENT Despite the fact that the official cause of death of the Buckingham Palace representative, according to an extract from the National Register of Scotland, is old age, there is an assumption that she passed away due to a secret illness. In honor of the anniversary of Elizabeth II's death, OBOZ.UA collected facts about the last days of the ruler's life and the "positive" that Prince Harry found in his grandmother's death. What ailment the monarch was hiding A few months after the passing of the former Queen of Great Britain, biographer and close friend of the late Prince Philip Giles Brandreth told in his book Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait that in recent years Her Highness has been battling a serious illness, bone marrow cancer. According to him, the monarch hid the disease, but was preparing for death. ADVERTISIMENT "I had heard that the Queen had some form of myeloma - bone marrow cancer - which would explain her fatigue, weight loss, and mobility problems that we were often told about during the last year or so of her life," the man wrote. So far, there has been no confirmation of the veracity of Giles Brandreth's words, so it is officially believed that she died "of old age." Elizabeth II realized that her time on earth was coming to an end According to Edward Young, the personal secretary of the British royal family, her heart stopped beating during her sleep: "Very peacefully. In a sleep. Gone. Old age. She was not aware of what was happening. No pain." ADVERTISIMENT Despite the fact that the monarch's death was unexpected for most citizens, the author of the biographical work "Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story," Robert Gardman assured: "Elizabeth realized that her time to pass away had come. A locked red box was found near the late queen's deathbed, inside of which were two sealed letters: one to her son Charles, the other to Sir Edward. In addition, the monarch placed in the box her last order, in which she selected candidates for the prestigious Order of Merit for "exceptionally meritorious service." What "positive" did Prince Harry find in his grandmother's death ADVERTISIMENT According to former actress Meghan Markle, despite the fact that she and her husband, Prince Harry, had a very difficult time with the death of the former queen, her chosen one tried to find the positive even at such a tragic moment. She admitted that the monarch reassured himself with the thought that his grandmother could see her beloved Prince Philip, who died in 2021, again. "I feel deeply grateful that I had the opportunity to spend time with her and get to know her better. It was a difficult time, but my husband, who is always optimistic, said: "She is now reunited with her husband," the Duchess of Sussex said. ADVERTISIMENT Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Travelodge Tahiti InterContinental Tahiti - Aerial View Johan Drone Adventure The InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa, known to many as Beachcomber, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Originally opened on June 19, 1974, as "Travelodge Tahiti," the resort has long stood as a premier destination in French Polynesia where luxury meets the vibrant spirit of Polynesian culture. As part of this milestone year, InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa announced Laurent Vigneron as the new General Manager. Laurent succeeds Thierry Brovelli, who dedicated nine years to leading the resort and retired after a distinguished 32-year career in the Pacific. Laurent brings a wealth of experience from his previous roles in luxury hospitality across Bora Bora, Moorea, Morocco, Algeria, and Switzerland. Known for his commitment to excellence, culture, and sustainability, Laurent is eager to continue the resort's legacy. Additionally, to commemorate this significant milestone, the resort opened an exhibition at the Tahiti airport in May 2024, showcasing portraits of the resort's dedicated employees who have contributed to its storied history. Additional portraits are displayed at the resort until year's end. Alongside the exhibition, a special short film highlighting the vibrant life and culture of the resort was created. The resort also hosted its annual Mini Heiva in early August, featuring top dance troupes and celebrating the rich cultural heritage of Tahiti. This year's event was particularly special, tracing the resort's evolution through performances by the award-winning HEITOA dance troupe which the InterContinental Tahiti formed with several members of the staff. Beginning with 200 rooms and 17 bungalows on a private motu, the resort has undergone several transformations, first rebranding as "Tahiti Beachcomber" in 1979-1980 and later as "Tahiti Beachcomber Parkroyal" in 1987, before finally becoming the prestigious InterContinental Tahiti Resort in 2001. Throughout its evolution, the resort introduced signature experiences, such as the Friday-night Tahitian dance show in 1982, which evolved into the beloved Te 'Ui Tapairu, celebrating the rich traditions of Tahitian dance. Additional noteworthy milestones include the introduction of the lagoonarium, a natural fish and coral reserve; the establishment of partnerships with renowned chefs like Marc Haeberlin and Bruno Oger; and the ongoing commitment to cultural preservation and community engagement. Windsor was one of three Berkshire Communities to receive funding. Windsor Awarded $400K to Replace Culvert WINDSOR, Mass. The town was awarded a $400,000 Culvert Replacement Municipal Assistance (CRMA) Grant to replace the Dry Brook Culvert. The Town of Windsor will replace a perched and degraded culvert on a tributary to Dry Brook on Cheshire Road, which is an important road between towns for emergency services, commuting, and school bus routes. The grant is part of a series of grants announced by the Healey-Driscoll Administration totaling over $3.7 million for river and wetland restoration projects throughout Massachusetts. The CRMA Grants, provided by the Department of Fish and Game's (DFG) Division of Ecological Restoration (DER), help municipalities replace outdated culverts with new, improved crossings. These upgrades restore river ecosystems, enhance fish and wildlife passage, and reduce flood risks, improving climate resilience and public safety. The Training Site Initiative will turn some of these project sites into training hubs, creating a network of locations for hands-on learning to teach local roadway managers about culvert replacements in Massachusetts. "As climate change brings more intense storms and flooding, building resilient infrastructure and restoring ecosystems are vital for Massachusetts. Ecological restoration is key to this effort. DER is leading the charge with nature-based solutions to ensure a strong, resilient future," said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. "The Healey-Driscoll Administration is committed to supporting projects that restore healthy waterways and looks forward to continued collaboration with municipalities and partners, so we can expand our impact and help communities thrive amid the challenges ahead." In Berkshire County, two other communities were awarded CRMA Grants. Savoy was awarded a $62,000 grant to collect field data, perform design and engineering work, and conduct permitting work for the replacement of an undersized culvert on Old Main Road over Phelps Brook, which is a Coldwater Fisheries Resource. Stockbridge was awarded a $51,500 grant to collect field data for a partially-crushed and perched culvert on Rattlesnake Mountain Road over Marsh Brook, where flooding has been an issue. The Housatonic Valley Association was also given funding through DER's Regional Restoration Partnerships Program. Berkshires Clean, Cold, Connected Partnership was awarded $248,000 to support a network of organizations, agencies, and communities working for healthy aquatic systems and building climate resilience in the Hoosic, Housatonic, and Farmington River watersheds. This award supports their efforts to continue building local and regional capacity for restoration education, planning, and support the implementation of locally-driven priority restoration projects. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II died two years ago at the age of 96, and this shocked the whole world. Buckingham Palace and the current King of Great Britain, Charles III, honored the memory of the former monarch. ADVERTISIMENT The royal family's official Instagram posted an archival photo of a happy Elizabeth II. She was wearing a pale pink dress with white trim and a hat of the same color. It was decorated with pink and white rowan branches. Her Majesty emphasized her look with earrings and a pearl necklace. By the way, they are the most favorite jewelry of Elizabeth II. "In memory of Queen Elizabeth II, 1926-2022," Buckingham Palace laconically captioned the photo. In particular, a black-and-white portrait of the monarch on her 80th birthday was published on the page demonstrating the values of the royal family, and her memory was also honored. ADVERTISIMENT "This portrait was taken for Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday in 2006 and was later used in 2022 to announce the late Queen's death. With only a camera and rolls of monochrome film, without an assistant, Jane Bown used natural light, which allowed her to be as unobtrusive and quick as possible," the explanation reads. Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote that a few hours before her death , Elizabeth II managed to meet with the then Prime Minister Liz Truss. She received the politician not in Buckingham Palace, as usual, but in the royal castle in Balmoral, where she died later that day. ADVERTISIMENT At the end of September 2022, the family released a photo of the tombstone in St. George's Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle. Elizabeth II was buried next to her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose body was transferred to his wife in the memorial chapel. It also became known what serious illness Her Majesty could have been hiding. According to biographer and close friend of the late Prince Philip Giles Brandreth, the Queen was preparing for her death. Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The first reactions have rolled in for new film Nightbitch days after a terrible first trailer concerned Amy Adams fans. Nightbitch is the next film from director Marielle Heller, whose past credits include The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Can You Ever Forgive Me? and A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood, and its adapted from the popular novel by Rachel Yoder. The book follows an unnamed woman who, after giving birth, is forced into a stay-at-home routine while raising her child. Due to the feral nature of motherhood, Adamss character starts to develop strange new habits, such as walking around on all fours and eating directly from a bowl, leading her to conclude she is turning into a canine. The trailer, released days before its premiere at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), was roundly branded awful by fans of Yoders book. These readers complained that the comedic tone of the film appeared to be at odds with the darker aspects of the story. While reviews of the films have been rather middling, those who have seen the film are urging people to ignore the trailer, concluding that the film is not as bad as it was made to look. However, its worth noting that those left disappointed by the overall movie are raving about Adamss performance. NextBestPictures Matt Neglia wrote on X/Twitter: NIGHTBITCH is so much better than the trailer would lead you to believe, but he did acknowledge that, while the film is consistently funny and razor-sharp, he wishes it went darker. Globe and Mail's Barry Hertz added: NIGHTBITCH: Ignore the terrible trailer, this is a fantastic showcase for Amy Adams, who gets her meatiest role since THE MASTER. Elsewhere, critic Mike Ryan said: I kinda hated the trailer. That trailer is not this movie, with AwardsRadars Joey Magidson adding: The trailer is not indicative of the film. TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey called Adamss performance one of the strongest Ive seen from her, stating: She is just on fire in the film. Its certainly one of the strongest performers Ive seen all year. Theres no denying her skill, the quality of her performance and what she commits here. Shes just incredible. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free There is currently no release date for Nightbitch, but the film will receive its UK premiere at the BFI London Film Festival in October. Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Andrew Garfield has responded to rumours that he could be involved in a fourth Spider-Man film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe alongside Tom Holland and Tobey Maguire. Garfield, who is currently at the Toronto International Film Festival promoting his new romance film We Live in Time with Florence Pugh, was asked about his future as the Marvel web-slinger. The 41-year-old actor played Peter Parker in two Amazing Spider-Man movies released between 2012 and 2014 respectively. He then returned as the character in 2021 for Spider-Man: No Way Home which featured all three of the live-action Spider-Man actors and became the highest-grossing film of that year. In an interview with Gizmodo in July, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige said that a new Spider-Man film is in the works, adding: We have writers who are going to be delivering us a draft relatively soon. Given the success of the previous movie, speculation has naturally developed about who will be in the new film. Yet Garfield has been quick to silence his involvement. Speaking to Indie Wire he said: I mean, like the internet is a big place. I think theres a lot of people who will just say anything to get clicks. So you might have been duped, Im afraid. That being said, Garfield previously stated that he would not be appearing in No Way Home only to appear in the finished movie. I am not [in No Way Home], the Tick, Tick... Boom! actor told GQ in a 2021 interview. However, the films writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers did later reveal that some of the surprise actors in the movie did not sign on until halfway through filming. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free Elsewhere, Jacob Elordi is rumoured to be taking over from Garfield in Guillermo del Toros forthcoming Frankenstein adaptation for Netflix. According to initial reports, the Oscar-winning director was interested in casting Garfield in the titular role; however, The Hollywood Reporter has now confirmed that Euphoria breakout Elordi, 26, has landed the role. He will star alongside Oscar Isaac, Christoph Waltz and All Quiet on the Western Front breakout Felix Kammerer in Del Toros second feature for the streamer. Mia Goth, Lars Mikkelsen, David Bradley and Christian Convery are also set to star. Garfields departure from the project apparently came down to scheduling conflicts related to last years Hollywood writers strike, Showbiz411 reported. Garfield stars alongside Florence Pugh in rom-com We Live in Time ( StudiocanalUK ) Aside from We Live in Time, the British actors next role will be in Challengers and Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagninos thriller After the Hunt. In 2021, the mother of Alison Lapper was asked on film, Do you think in hindsight things would have been different had [your daughter] been adopted? Lapper, who is an internationally recognised artist, was born without arms and shortened legs (a congenital condition called phocomelia) and, having learned how to paint with her mouth, was the first disabled person to be accepted on the fine arts course at the University of Brighton, and the only person to be awarded a first-class honours degree in her year. She was awarded an MBE in 2003 and shot to fame when, while pregnant, she was immortalised in Italian marble by fellow artist Marc Quinn in a 3.5-metre sculpture displayed on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square from 2005 to 2007. The statue was then recreated in inflatable form at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Paralympics in London. Her work has been exhibited across the globe. But back to her mother. Yes, responded the woman who gave birth to Lapper in 1965 after an affair with a married man. Things, she said, would have been different the unspoken suggestion being better had her child been adopted. Because somebody would have loved her, wouldnt they? Obviously, she wasnt getting it from me. Watching this for the forthcoming BBC documentary In My Own Words: Alison Lapper, her face in close-up, the artist is visibly traumatised. Ouch, she says. But, while it might hurt, its not a surprise. Its a clip she has seen before: Im very good at pushing things aside but it broke me all over again. She basically said on camera that she didnt love me. Id always suspected, but to actually be proven that thats the case, its horrible. She never said to me, Im so proud of you. I never sat in her lap. All those things. And yet she said that Im cold and I didnt love her. Well, guess who taught me to be cold? By the time Alison arrived, her mother already had an eight-year-old daughter from a previous marriage. Shed be taken on holiday. I wasnt, she remembers. Some of my mum and dads friends turned up from work one Christmas, I was about 12 or 13, they didnt know who I was. They had presents for everybody, but not me. They were so embarrassed they gave me some money, but thats not the point. I died inside yet again, and thats what kept happening... I would die inside because I hadnt pleased her, I hadnt made her proud. I always thought Id do something like having my son Parys and that would make her proud. And, it didnt, did it? Her mother died in May 2022. She did not go to the funeral. I realise now that she needed therapy, she says. open image in gallery Alison Lapper Pregnant on display in Trafalger Square ( Getty ) Lapper is an enthusiastic advocate of therapy (I have it all the time, she says, I need it) and when you consider that her relationship with her mother is not even the most traumatic or dramatic act in the story of her incredible life so far, that is hardly surprising. From the age of six weeks until 17 she lived mostly at Chailey Heritage in East Sussex. It is now recognised as a special school with an outstanding rating from Ofsted but at the time Lapper was there it was an institution for, in the nomenclature of the time, handicapped children with experimental workshops and where, she recalls with barely disguised disgust, The matrons used to say, Dont pick the babies up, they dont need a hug. Determined that her life wouldnt be limited by her condition, she threw away her artificial legs at the first available opportunity (I didnt need to be 5ft 1in even though the school thought I did), learned to drive and, before going to university when she was 26, moved to London with friends. open image in gallery My drive has always been to be able to do what I want to do, not what everybody else wants me to do ( BBC/Chalk Productions/Harry Truman ) I had a great time, she says. We were out drinking, night clubbing and just being 20-year-olds having fun. It was the first time that I was out of care I was leading my own life. My drive has always been to be able to do what I want to do, not what everybody else wants me to do and it gets me into trouble. But so be it. Her mother had told her that she was ugly and nobody would ever want her, but six days into the new millennium 34-year-old Alison Lapper gave birth to the son who had been sculpted by Quinn while in her belly. The pregnancy was deemed controversial from the beginning. Some people objected to Quinns public display of her naked body and the disapproving commentary continued once her miracle boy was born. Concerns surrounded how an unmarried disabled mother who would be able to pick him up when he fell, needed feeding or changing. People said Its disgusting that someone like that is allowed to have a baby because we all have to pay for it. No, they didnt. I work. What is it that stops people imagining that disabled people work and have mortgages? What is it that they think we do? Sit in a wheelchair all day? And then that familiar laugh born, from a lifetime of unwanted comments. She says, sitting in a wheelchair! Things are hard when you get older, put a disability on top of that and my bodys already going, Hey, Im really tired. Can you stop now? But I cant stop People were there to help, but even after Lapper was shown on TV cooking, answering the phone and changing nappies with her teeth, the fear of Parys being put into care remained an ever-present concern. Mother and son, however, managed to co-exist within a bubble of mutual love until Parys began to notice that people stared at them when they were out. Up until 2013, his childhood was recorded intermittently by another BBC documentary, Child of Our Time an ambitious project co-produced with the Open University to follow the lives of 25 children born at the beginning of the 21st century. In 2010, it captured a mop-haired boy unhappy at school who longed for the bell to ring and who, the voiceover noted, Scores high on the neuroticism trait. When he went to secondary school, the problems that can accompany this personality type typically, emotional instability, anxiety, self-doubt and depression were exacerbated and became a serious mental health problem. He used to say to me, Mum, dont come to school for parents evening because I just get bullied the next day. And I stopped going. I shouldnt have done, but I did, recalls Lapper. Teenagers are cruel, arent they? The school environment is not a good place for young people who are emotionally not ready. Parys began self-medicating with cannabis and then alcohol, ultimately dropping out. open image in gallery The artist faced huge backlash for deciding to have a child by herself ( Getty ) When her son turned 17, his behaviour spiralled. He was sectioned and suffered from social phobia and anxiety and was moved around several locations within the system (Lapper estimates 19 or 20 times in two years). In July 2019, he was discharged from the NHS mental health service for failing to engage. On 13 August 2019, Parys was found dead in a hotel in Worthing after an accidental drug overdose. The people that said, Shell never cope with this baby, shell never be able to bring him up properly, including my mother, have been proved right she reflects in a low moment, Lo and behold, I lose Parys when hes 19 years old through mental health and addiction. The coroner at the inquest pointed to the lack of provision in the system for young people who choose not to engage and Lapper has also described her despair at the lack of help on offer in the face of her sons declining health. I have a mothers guilt, she says gently. I love Parys and to not have him by my side, or know that hes in the world, is horrendous. He used to sit on the side of my wheelchair at 18 and 19 with his arm around me. open image in gallery Lapper with Parys at the unveiling of Marc Quinns statue in September 2005 ( PA ) It was Parys and me against the world and sometimes its like, Why would I want to be here? People say, You shouldnt say that but, of course, Im going to say that. I miss him. Although she was unable to lose herself in art for three years after his death, Lapper eventually managed to turn her grief into a moving exhibition called Lost in Parys. Her friend Marc Quinn and the photographer Rankin collaborated on the installation. The art is raw, honest and uncompromising. One painting of Parys titled Bleeding Out Image of the Mask Like Face with Blood references the traces of dried blood Lapper could see on her dead sons face. Going through his journey, that wasnt a happy place, she says. It was bloody difficult, and I cried a lot. Some days I would say, I cant do this. I cant do it. But Im glad I did, because it helped me and people have come up to me after seeing it and said, I lost a child, and I know you understand. There are still bad days, but her return to painting has provided much-needed emotional succour and she has established a charity, The Drug of Art, to use creative expression to help young people with their mental health. I turn 60 next year, she says. Which is a miracle in itself. Things are hard when you get older, put a disability on top of that and my bodys already going, Hey, Im really tired. Can you stop now? But I cant stop. Im at the stage when you start to realise that maybe youve got less in front of you and more behind you, but Ive got too much to do and too much to say still to make disability acceptable in this country. In My Own Words: Alison Lapper airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on 9 September. 10pm Lost in Parys is at the Worthing Museum and Art Gallery until 29 September For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Carol Vorderman has branded the BBC sexist for sacking her the same week bosses kept on Huw Edwards despite knowing the serious nature of his arrest. In November 2023, Vorderman was forced out of her BBC Radio Wales show because she was not prepared to lose her voice after the introduction of the corporations new social media guidelines. The broadcaster, 63, who had hosted the Saturday morning programme since 2018, said she had decided to continue to criticise the UK government following the crackdown on BBC employees sharing their opinions on social media amid an impartiality row with Gary Lineker. The presenter said that these changes to her radio contract were non-negotiable, and would have seen her unable to share social media posts about her political views. That same week, the BBC decided to continue paying former newsreader Huw Edwardss salary despite being aware police had arrested him on child abuse image charges. In July, following Edwardss official resignation, the former newsreader pleaded guilty to making child sex abuse images. Vorderman told The Times: BBC management made two decisions about two presenters within 24 hours. One was to sack me for five innocuous tweets. The other, knowing the serious nature of Huws arrest, was to keep him on and carry on paying his salary. I mean no sexism! Edwards has since been asked to hand back the salary he earned from the corporation after being arrested on these charges. In a letter to staff, the BBC chair Samir Shah wrote that Edwards had behaved in bad faith, saying that the corporation believed he had taken his salary despite preparing to plead guilty to the appalling offences. Today, the board has authorised the executive to seek the return of salary paid to Mr Edwards from the time he was arrested in November last year, the board statement said. open image in gallery Huw Edwards pleased guilty to making child sex abuse images ( POOL/AFP via Getty Images ) Mr Edwards pleaded guilty to an appalling crime. Had he been upfront when asked by the BBC about his arrest, we would never have continued to pay him public money. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free open image in gallery Carol Vorderman said the timing of her sacking was sexist ( Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images ) Vorderman called the BBCs guidelines that led to her departure a nonsense, adding: I get it if youre working in news or a political programme, but I was with my friend Nathan Sussex, asking questions such as How many things can you do with a Wellington boot? The rest of it was music. There were no complaints from listeners. In a statement provided at the time of Vordermans departure, as pokesperson for the corporation said: Carol has been a presenter on BBC Radio Wales since 2018. Wed like to thank her for her work and contribution to the station over the past five years. The BBC published its new Social Media Guidance last September which strike a balance between the BBCs commitment to impartiality and freedom of expression. The guidance sets out clear expectations for freelancers, which includes a particular responsibility to uphold civility in public discourse. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Former Strictly Come Dancing pro Giovanni Pernice has announced his comeback to the dancefloor just months after being axed from the BBC show. The 34-year-old Italian professional dancer has been embroiled in a behind-the-scenes controversy since Amanda Abbington complained to the BBC about his conduct and inappropriate behaviour while being partnered with him on the dance competition in 2023. He denies any wrongdoing. While it was reported that the investigation had drawn to a close, with Pernice on the cusp of finding out the results, it was then revealed that Sherlock star Abbington had been questioned a second time about her claims amid new evidence. In June, the BBC revealed the professional cast for its forthcoming season of the dancing competition, but Pernices name, as well as Graziano Di Prima, does not appear alongside those of his colleagues on the show. The Italian professional dancer, 34, has been on the show since 2015 when he reached the grand final with Coronation Street star Georgia May Foote. Now, in a new post on Instagram Pernice has confirmed to fans that they can see him back on TV but not on the BBC. Instead, Pernice is returning to Italy to take part in Ballando con le stelle, or as he puts it the Italian Dancing with the Stars. In the video, Pernice says: Hi everyone, its me, Giovanni. Hope everyone is having a nice rest of the summer. Im here in Portofino, and I just finished two fantastic weeks with my family. But Im here to give you some exciting news because I can finally reveal that from next week, I will be joining the cast of Ballando cone le Stelle, which is the equivalent of Dancing with the Stars - the Italian version. Of course, Im excited because finally, Im back on the dancefloor and hopefully I will create some new magic on the dance floor. So Im very, very very happy. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free In the caption, he added that he was delighted to be joining the show and that he cant wait to get started and to get back to dancing for all of you! Thank you for all of your continued support! This comes after fellow Strictly pro, Aljaz Skorjanec addressed claims that he acted in an aggressive manner. The Slovenian dancer is returning to the hit series this year after departing in 2022 but it was reported on Saturday (7 September) that his comeback ruffled feathers due to an alleged shocking altercation with a female professional co-star while performing as part of the Strictly tour. Skorjanec has denied allegations levied against him, with his spokesperson telling The Independent: Aljaz has the utmost respect for everyone he works with. He chose to leave the show in 2022 of his own accord but he has always loved Strictly and was delighted to be asked back. It is untrue to say or suggest he was forced out or that he acted in an aggressive manner at any time. He is excited to make his return to the dancefloor this year. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Former HBO CEO Chris Albrecht has recalled the time The Sopranos star James Gandolfini stormed out of an intervention. Albrecht makes the recollection in the new Max docuseries Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos, which shows the writer and director reflecting on the series by sharing insights into its creation, casting and classic scenes. We did an intervention with him at my apartment in New York, Albrecht said in the documentary. That was to try to get him to go to a facility for rehab. Wed had a lot of friction by that point, and the ruse was that I was inviting Jimmy over so we could talk things through and kind of clear the air. Gandolfini suffered from alcohol and drug abuse for years amid the pressure of leading the hit series. Attendees at the intervention included Gandolfinis sisters and several of his castmates, said Albrecht. He walked in, and he saw everybody sitting there, and he went, Aw, f--- this. And he walked out. Everybody went, Jimmy, Jimmy! And he turned to me and he went, Fire me, and he left. Gandolfini ultimately led the show through its entire six seasons from 1999 to 2007. open image in gallery James Gandolfini in The Sopranos ( Sky ) Steven Van Zandt, who starred opposite Gandolfini as Silvio Dante, noted that the actor often threatened to exit the production. He probably quit the show every other day. Maybe every day, said Van Zandt in the documentary. Every other day we would go to a bar and we would have the exact same conversation. Wed get drunk and [hed] say, Im done. I cant, Im not going back. And I would say, Okay, you got a hundred people depending on you here. And hes like, Ah, yeah, yeah, okay. His onscreen wife Edie Falco added: He was incredibly invested in making that character believable, and unless youre really diligent you can end up taking your work home. And as an actor, thats not always a great idea. The Sopranos creator David Chase likened Gandolfini to his acerbic mobster character. He was really a good guy and really complicated, Chase said in Wise Guy. You might say, and Im not sure about this, maybe there was more Tony there than he wanted to admit. That it was too easy for him. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free Gandolfini died of a heart attack on June 19, 2013, at the age of 51. Earlier this year, fellow Sopranos actor Michael Imperioli penned a heartfelt tribute to mark the 11th anniversary of Gandolfinis death. Dear Jim, Thinking of you today as now youve been gone 11 years, Imperioli, who played Christopher Moltisanti, wrote on Instagram. And your absence feels as strange, sudden and not real as it did on that terrible day 11 years ago. Today I was thinking about when I came backstage after seeing you on Broadway in God of Carnage. This was 2 years after The Sopranos ended. You were so happy doing a play again after so many years away from the stage. You told me I feel like a real actor again. Now I know what you meant by that as the show Im doing approaches its 130th performance! Wish you could see itAs the years go by I grow more proud of the work we did together. And the memories of all the fun we had and all the laughs grow more and more precious. Wish we could make another run. Perhaps we will. Thank you again dear friend. Miss you. Love Michael. Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos is available to stream on Max, as are all six seasons of The Sopranos. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A building collapse in the most populous Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has claimed eight lives and injured 28 people, police said. The incident occurred on Saturday evening in Lucknows Transport Nagar area, and rescue efforts are still underway. The building, identified as the Harmilap Building, housed godowns and a motor workshop. The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) recovered three bodies from the debris on Sunday morning, bringing the death toll to eight. "We had come down to the ground floor because it was raining. We noticed that a crack had developed on a pillar of the building. Suddenly, the entire building collapsed on us," Akash Singh, an injured survivor, told the Press Trust of India. According to police, the building, which was constructed around four years ago, was undergoing renovation work when it collapsed. Most of the victims were on the ground floor at the time of the incident. The injured individuals have been transported to several medical facilities, including Lok Bandhu Hospital, for treatment. The buildings layout consisted of a motor workshop and storage area on the ground floor, a medical storage facility on the first floor, and a cutlery storage area on the second floor, as confirmed by officials. The Relief Commissioners office released a statement identifying the deceased as Raj Kishore, Rudra Yadav, Jagrup Singh Sahani, Jagroop Singh, Dheeraj Gupta, Pankaj Tiwari, Arun Sonkar, and Rakesh Lakhan Pal. President Droupadi Murmu expressed deep sorrow over the Lucknow building collapse. "I'm deeply saddened by the loss of lives. My condolences go out to the bereaved families, and I pray for the swift recovery of the injured." Prime minister Narendra Modi announced Rs200,000 (1,813) ex-gratia for next of kin of the deceased and Rs50,000 (453) for injured in Lucknow building collapse. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has taken cognisance of the incident and directed district officials to accelerate relief efforts and ensure proper medical care for the injured. "The loss of life due to the collapse of a building in Lucknow district is extremely sad and heartbreaking. My condolences are with the grieving families of the deceased," said the chief minister of the state ruled by prime minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party. Defence minister Rajnath Singh, who is also the Lok Sabha MP from Lucknow, expressed his sorrow over the deaths. "The news of the collapse of a building in Lucknow is extremely painful. I have spoken to the District Magistrate of Lucknow over the phone and got information about the situation at the spot," he said. The police have filed a case against the building owner, and an investigation is underway. The rescue operation is ongoing, with officials ensuring that no one else remains trapped under the rubble. "It was a terrifying sight," Bacchan Pandey, manager of a security agency just 10m away from the site, told the Times of India. "We have never seen anything like this before. It crashed like a mound of dust. I ran to the site to help, offering water to those who were rescued. I just hope the injured recover quickly." The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine condemns the premiere of the pro-Russian film "Russians at War" at the Venice Film Festival. The ministry noted that the screening of this film is offensive to the victims of the war unleashed by Russia on Ukrainian soil. ADVERTISIMENT This was reported on the official Facebook page of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry also emphasized that the film is a tool of Russian propaganda that distorts the reality of Russian aggression. "We demand to stop attempts to provide Russia with an international cultural stage, which Russia uses to whitewash its crimes. Russian soldiers who commit atrocities in Ukraine should not be speaking at prestigious film festivals, but in the dock," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said. In a letter sent by Ukraine's Ambassador to Italy Yaroslav Melnyk to the President of the Venice Biennale Pierpaolo Buttafoco, he emphasizes the inadmissibility of showing the film in the context of the war that Russia is waging against Ukraine. "We are shocked by the decision of the Venice Film Festival jury to select the film Russians at War by Russian-Canadian director Anastasia Trofimova for the out-of-competition program. We consider this choice to be inappropriate and offensive to the Ukrainian people," the letter reads. ADVERTISIMENT The ambassador emphasizes that the film "Russians at War" shows sympathy for the aggressor, despite the thousands of Ukrainians killed and millions injured by Russian troops. The film tries to emphasize the "humanity of the killers" by putting the aggressor and the victim on the same level. ADVERTISIMENT The Consulate General of Ukraine in Toronto has also appealed to the organizers of the Toronto International Film Festival to cancel the screening of this film. Earlier it was reported that after the premiere of the Russian documentary "Russians at War" at the 81st Venice Film Festival, for which the Canadian government allocated $340,000, director Anastasia Trofimova plans to show the film in Toronto. Earlier, OBOZ.UA reported that the Venice Film Festival screened a film-justification of the Russian occupiers, Russians at War. The film "Russians at War" directed by Anastasia Trofimova was created on the basis of material filmed during 7 months of staying with a battalion of the Russian Armed Forces in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! ADVERTISIMENT For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Former housing secretary Michael Gove has said criminal prosecutions should be brought against Grenfell Tower cladding firms. Companies that are still making vast profits without acknowledging their full responsibility must also be punished financially, he suggested. Writing in the Sunday Times, Mr Gove claimed attempts to punish Kingspan, Arconic and Celotex when he was in government had been blocked by bureaucracies. There was insufficient action from foreign governments on responsible companies based abroad, he said, adding that attempts to restrict imports of their products ran up against the commercial purism of Treasury Mandarin Brain. You cannot purchase prosperity at the price of justice. Those who are the guiltiest must pay, and pay the most Former housing secretary Michael Gove The final report of the Grenfell Inquiry, published last week, said the west London tower block was covered in combustible products because of the systematic dishonesty of firms who made and sold the cladding and insulation. Kingspan had, from 2005 and even after the inquiry began in the wake of the fire, knowingly created a false market in insulation for use on buildings over 18 metres tall (59ft), it said. Celotex then, in an attempt to break into the market created by Kingspan, embarked on a dishonest scheme to mislead its customers and the wider market, inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said. Mr Gove apologised to the relatives and survivors of the tragedy who were let down by successive governments, including governments of which I was a part. Companies which manufactured materials used on the tower have still not shown proper awareness of their guilt, contrition for their crimes or restitution for their wrongs, he added. Because Kingspan is based in Ireland, and Arconics European operations and Celotex are in France, our jurisdiction was limited. But we were determined to go after them, Mr Gove said. The former Conservative Party leadership hopeful pressured Ulster Rugby and Mercedes F1 team, asking them to reconsider their relationship with Irish insulation firm Kingspan in 2021. Last year, he warned shareholders in cladding companies that the firms will face severe consequences if no post-Grenfell financial support package is forthcoming. Mr Gove said taking the necessary action against cladding firms will require toughness I know there will be voices opposed to robust action. You cannot purchase prosperity at the price of justice. Those who are the guiltiest must pay, and pay the most, he added. Speaking to the BBCs Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said appropriate cases should go through to court. The worst we could do is say or do anything which would prejudice the outcome of any proceedings, he added. While the general election headlines were dominated by Sir Keir Starmers landslide and Rishi Sunak leading the Conservative Party to its worst defeat in history, the Green Party was quietly making history as well. The party enjoyed a surge in support, jumping from 865,707 votes in 2019 to 1.9 million and securing four MPs, compared to one in the last parliament. At its conference in Manchester, co-leader Adrian Ramsay painted the breakthrough as the start, not the end, and vowed to take the fight to Labour on issues such as climate change, the two-child benefit cap and Israels war in Gaza. However, the Green Partys coalition is built on shaky foundations, with a chunk of its support coming from small-c conservatives concerned about the erosion of Britains landscape and green spaces. Another chunk comes from left-wing Labour voters disaffected with Sir Keir Starmers leadership on issues such as climate change and Gaza. The Independent looks at whether the partys 2024 coalition is a base on which it can build, or whether tensions will emerge that lead to it falling apart. Adrian Ramsay, co-leader of the Green Party ( Getty ) A key challenge for the party is its stance on the development of infrastructure needed to tackle the climate crisis. Shortly after being elected to parliament, Mr Ramsay became embroiled in a hypocrisy row over his opposition to pylons being built through his picturesque Waveney constituency. He has argued he simply wants an assessment of the various options available, but Sir Keir has said it is extraordinary for the Green co-leader to oppose vital clean energy infrastructure. Pollster Chris Hopkins, director of research for Savanta, told The Independent one of the biggest challenges for the Greens is the party being Yimby (yes in my backyard) nationally but Nimby (not in my backyard) locally. For the Greens to capitalise on their recent success, they need to both broaden their appeal and ensure their positions locally and nationally are not at odds with one another, he said. Mr Hopkins said the lowest-hanging fruit for Labour in this parliament will be disaffected voters continuing to turn away from the party during its time in government. But others have warned that by pursuing left-wing votes, the Greens risk alienating their traditional support base and those who switched from the Conservatives in July, particularly in seats such as Waveney Valley and Herefordshire. Luke Tryl, UK director of pollster More in Common, said the Greens should focus on a double doughnut strategy, winning inner city student seats, while Labour win the outer city and the suburbs and the Tories win in rural areas. To do so, the Greens will have to take left-wing stances on issues such as gender, Gaza and tax to win over left-wing Labour supporters. But Mr Tryl warned it would mean turning off voters in the more Conservative-leaning seats they have won. He told The Independent: If the greens want to hold them they need to go old school green, but if they do so (as the pylon row showed) they risk alienating their liberal left vote which is where the growth prospects are. The long and short of it is that they will have to choose. In an interview with The Independent ahead of the Green Party conference, Mr Ramsay rejected claims there was a tension between the partys traditional supporters and its newer, younger voters. Instead, he highlighted the links between economic and social inequality and the climate crisis and said that the party is equally committed to tackling both. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Dallas police officer Darron Burks, who was fatally shot in what the police chief called an execution, was remembered Saturday as a hero during a funeral service in Dallas. A hero who made the ultimate sacrifice ... the grief is overwhelming, said Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia during the nearly two-hour-long service that was often marked by applause for Burks' mother, Cherie Jeffery, and laughter at memories of Burks. He loved me every day, he didn't wait until my birthday" or various holidays, Jeffery said as she stood next to a portrait of Burks in his uniform, adding that her son texted her daily. Darron loved everybody. Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said Burks was tragically taken, targeted because he was a police officer. Burks was a hero ... with a spirit of service and selflessness, Johnson said. Bagpipes played and mourners streamed past his open coffin that was draped with a U.S. flag and uniformed police officers at either end until the casket was closed for the service. Burks, 46, was sitting in his patrol car Aug. 29 when he was fatally shot by 30-year-old Corey Cobb-Bey, who spoke briefly with Burks and recorded the encounter before pulling out a handgun and shooting Burks, according to police. I know the word ambush has been thrown around ... that's not what happened here, Garcia said following the shooting. Officer Burks was executed. Cobb-Bey shot and wounded two other officers as they arrived, then fled the scene and was pursued by police to Lewisville, Texas, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Dallas, police said. When Cobb-Beys vehicle came to a stop on Interstate 35, he exited with a shotgun in his hand and pointed it at officers. Six officers opened fire, killing Cobb-Bey who was struck multiple times, police said. Burks joined the police force in December after graduating from the police academy. He previously spent 17 years as a high school math teacher. Gov. Greg Abbott, at the request of Johnson, said state of Texas and United States flags could be lowered to half-staff on Saturday to honor Burks. The First Lady and I extend prayers of comfort for the Burks family during their time of grief, and we urge all Texans to remember and honor Officer Burks service as a dedicated and trusted law enforcement officer, Abbott said in a letter to Johnson. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} East Timor is in a festive mood as it prepares for the arrival of Pope Francis on his first trip to the deeply Catholic country, hard on the heels of the 25th anniversary of the referendum on independence from Indonesia. Francis is due to arrive Monday in one of the world's poorest countries of 1.3 million people, also known as Timor-Leste, following visits to Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Banners and billboards have filled the streets of the seaside capital, Dili, to welcome the pontiff. The popes visit is the biggest, the best marketing anyone can aspire to promote the country, to put the country on the tourist map, East Timors President Jose Ramos-Horta said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday. The 74-year-old former independence fighter and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who returned to the presidency in 2022, said the papal visit is a reward for the depth of faith shown by the Timorese, some 98% of whom identify as Catholic, and recognition of the progress toward peace in recent years. The World Bank in its semi-annual report in February praised East Timor as a peaceful, democratic nation. For more than 10 years, free and fair elections have been held despite tensions between the two largest parties that have occasionally erupted into violence. The country's path to statehood has been traumatic. The Timorese first declared their independence from Portugal, the colonial ruler, on Nov. 28, 1975, but that move was crushed nine days later when neighboring Indonesia invaded. As many as 200,000 people were killed during the 24 years of Indonesian rule. On Aug. 30, 1999, Timorese cast their ballots in a United Nations-backed referendum that backed independence from Indonesia with 78.5% of the vote. Indonesias military responded with a scorched-earth campaign that shocked the world. About 1,500 people were killed, more than 300,000 were displaced and over 80% of East Timors infrastructure was destroyed. An international force led by Australia intervened to restore security. After a period of direct U.N. governance, East Timor finally became an independent state on May 20, 2002. The transition to democracy has been rocky, with leaders battling poverty, unemployment and corruption. East Timors economy is heavily dependent on energy resources in the Timor Sea, but according to the U.N. Human Development Index, oil and gas income is falling as reserves are depleted, and the economy is not yet diversified. About 42% of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the U.N. Development Program. Unemployment is high, job opportunities in the formal sector are generally limited and most people are subsistence farmers with no steady income. In the health sector, 47% of children still suffer from stunting and for every 1,000 babies born in East Timor, 49 died before their 5th birthday due to malnutrition, according to the U.N.'s Group for Child Mortality Estimation. Nearly all medicines must be imported and supplies sometimes run out. Patients seek more advanced care overseas. Achieving national independence and managing the country afterward are not easy tasks, Koji Sakane, the director of Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan, said in his February study. In other words, it is not easy for less experienced figures and organizations to provide the people with a stable living environment and gain their trust. Out of necessity, Sakane said, the country was run by leaders and organizations who lacked experience in key areas, including coordination between competing political parties and control of ex-combatants and weapons from the struggle for independence. While poverty levels remain high, East Timor joined the World Trade Organization last month as its 166th member, after 7 1/2 years of negotiations. It also applied for a full membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It currently has observer status, and wealthier members of the regional bloc like Singapore had feared it would be a burden and delay the creation of an ASEAN Economic Community. Both East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and Ramos-Horta highlighted the importance of joining the 10-nation grouping of more than 700 million people to give foreign companies and investors the confidence and security to invest in the country. Last In 2023, ASEAN member states adopted a roadmap for East Timor's full membership. It includes a requirement for East Timor to prepare a special budget to meet its obligations, such as building infrastructure to host ASEAN meetings and accommodate delegates. As an ASEAN member, the island nation would have to attend 1,300 meetings a year, host summits, and contribute $2.5 million per year to the groups budget. I can assure you that it's on the right track, said Milena Maria da Costa Rangel, East Timor's vice foreign minister for ASEAN affairs, adding that the government is involving the private sector and civil society to meet the criteria in the roadmap. Ramos-Horta expects that East Timor will become a full member of ASEAN in 2025, under Malaysia's chairmanship. However, economic analyst Fernando Dias Gusmao, from the Peace University in Dili, was more downbeat, saying the government has moved slowly to implement the roadmap. East Timor continues to face challenges in terms of infrastructure, including the airports, accommodations and IT network necessary to host high-level meetings, Gusmao said. It was a big wish but the steps to make that wish come true are not yet optimal, Gusmao said. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The parents of twin boys who were victims of serial killer nurse Lucy Letby have condemned recent questions regarding her conviction, saying: We would like to say, shame on you all. The convicted NHS worker, who is currently serving 15 life sentences, has recently built a new legal team, appointing the leading human rights barrister Mark McDonald to challenge her case. In recent weeks, doubts and questions have been raised as to whether the 34-year-old is the victim of a miscarriage of justice, despite a jury at Manchester Crown Court finding her guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six while working in the neonatal ward at Countess of Chester Hospital. Letby was also found guilty of the attempted murder of a baby at a retrial on one count for which the original jury could not reach a verdict. For the parents of babies E and F, as they are known for legal reasons, calls to release Letby have compounded their grief and distress after enduring a 10-month long traumatic trial. Letby is currently serving 15 life sentences and will never be released from prison ( Cheshire Constabulary/PA Wire ) Our family is deeply shocked by the ongoing speculation surrounding what is being referred to as a miscarriage of justice, the parents toldThe Sunday Times. Certain pieces of evidence being discussed in the media are grossly out of context and misrepresented. Misinformation is being circulated about what transpired in court. Having attended the trial ourselves, we are fully aware of what was said. Letby was convicted of murdering baby E by fatally injecting him with air and an attack on baby F by poisoning him with insulin, which he survived. The family said the traumatic experience had made us question humanity, adding: Why are people going out of their way to support a serial killer of babies? They said the prosecution case put together individual bricks of evidence, adding: Once they were all put together the wall of evidence was overwhelming. To take each brick out separately is simply taking evidence out of context. The spread of lies and misinformation is deeply distressing and makes us sick to our cores. We just want some peace to grieve, knowing the person who caused so much agony is where she belongs. Letbys new barrister Mark McDonald has visited her in prison ( Getty Images ) Among those questioning the conviction is former Brexit minister and Conservative MP David Davis, who has said he is willing to visit Letby in prison if his research into the evidence persuaded him she was innocent. Asked on Channel 5 News whether there was a strong case for her innocence, Letbys new lawyer Mr McDonald said: Absolutely, there is. And I will be drafting the application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). You know, Ive been so encouraged by the amount of people that have come forward: experts in neonatology, anaesthetists, pathology, statistics; that have come forward and have identified flaws in the trial that now want to give evidence for her, and well want to draft reports to put in to the CCRC to assist. Letby is said to be aware of the growing campaign to revisit the convictions, and has been visited by Mr McDonald in prison. A public inquiry examining events at the Countess of Chester Hospital following Letbys multiple convictions is due to begin on 10 September in Liverpool. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A woman and child have died in unexplained circumstances at a property in Cornwall, police said. Emergency services attended an address in the Fletchersbridge area after receiving a report of concern for two people in Bodmin. Devon and Cornwall Police said officers were called by the ambulance service on Saturday morning, with the woman and child given emergency treatment. Both were later confirmed dead at the scene, with formal identification ongoing. Police said no one else is being sought in connection with their deaths. Their next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers. Detective Inspector Neil Blanchard said: This is a tragic and incredibly sad incident. The deaths are currently being treated as unexplained and we are investigating them to establish the full circumstances of what occurred. I would like to reassure the community that this is being treated as an isolated incident and at this time we are not seeking anyone else in connection to the deaths. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Post Officecampaigner Sir Alan Bates has married his partner Suzanne Sercombe on Sir Richard Bransons Necker Island. The wedding was officiated by the Virgin billionaire on his private island in the British Virgin Islands last month, according to The Sunday Times. Sir Richard reportedly invited the couple to the island after Sir Alan, 70, said in an interview in January: If Richard Branson is reading this, Id love a holiday. The wedding came as a surprise to the new Lady Bates, 69, who had to wear a patterned sundress she had packed for the holiday, the newspaper reported. Sir Richard, 74, told The Sunday Times: It was an absolute joy to play a small part in Alan and Suzannes love story, and I know they will continue to spread the beautiful light they share with everyone around them. Born in Liverpool, campaigner Sir Alan rose to prominence after a TV drama shone a spotlight on how he was forced to lead a campaign on behalf of subpostmasters following one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in UK history. Sir Alan and Lady Bates tied the knot on Richard Bransons Necker Island ( Alamy ) Sir Alan received a knighthood in June 2024 for his campaigning which he described as a bit of a surprise which sort of came out of the blue. Im quite honoured by it to be recognised for the work that Ive done over the years, he said. Its been a hard slog over many years. The campaigner was played by Toby Jones in the ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office. The British Post Office scandal was uncovered in 2019 in which thousands of subpostmasters were accused of being deceitful when faulty Post Office accounting software created shortfalls in peoples accounts. The show drew renewed public attention to the subpostmasters who were wrongly prosecuted during the Horizon IT scandal. Over 700 subpostmasters were prosecuted by the Post Office and given criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015, as Fujitsus faulty Horizon IT system made it appear as though money was missing at their branches. Actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, who played Sir Alans wife in the ITV drama, said Suzanne is the wind beneath his wings. The Post Office Inquiry will continue on September 23. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Great Ormond Street Hospital has begun an urgent review into hundreds of cases of children seen by one of its former consultant orthopaedic surgeons after concerns were raised about his practice, according to reports. The hospital trust said the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) was asked to review its paediatric orthopaedic service following accusations about Yaser Jabbar. Citing a leaked report, The Sunday Times said that of the 37 cases already reviewed, 22 children have been found to have come to some degree of harm, 13 of them classed as severe harm that is, likely to include lifelong injuries. Some children seen by one of the hospitals former doctors endured botched surgeries. Caroline Murgatroyd, of Hudgell Solicitors, which represents some former patients, said initial findings by the RCS paint a very worrying picture of the treatment provided to children by Mr Jabbar. They outline unacceptable assessments, examinations, clinical decision making, and treatments of patients, poor communication with families with regards to seeking their consent for treatments and procedures, as well as failures to make it clear what kind of complications children could face after undergoing surgery, she continued. There are also references to children being subjected to surgeries which the RCS review panel could see no justification for, with children undergoing procedures which brought them no clear benefit. The findings so far have been shocking to read and have been very upsetting for our clients. In one case a child underwent an amputation which could have been avoided with a different route of treatment, according to the RCS review panel ( Getty ) In one case a child underwent an amputation which, according to the RCS review panel, could have been avoided with a different route of treatment. Some children suffered leg length discrepancies following operations, which will require years of further treatment. Mr Jabbar, who no longer works at the London hospital, is reported to be an expert in limb reconstruction but has not had a licence to practise medicine in the UK since 8 January, according to the General Medical Councils website. Earlier this year, Great Ormond Street Hospital wrote to the families of all children treated by Mr Jabbar and apologised for any worry and uncertainty the letters about the care provided by him may have caused. It could now face multiple claims for compensation. The hospital trust said the RCS was asked to review its paediatric orthopaedic service following concerns raised by family members and staff. The RCS then raised concerns about Mr Jabbar, which the trust said are being taken incredibly seriously and will now be reviewed by independent experts from other paediatric hospitals. The GMCs website indicates the orthopaedic surgeon was made the subject of certain conditions on 4 January which included having a clinical supervisor at all times and seeking approval from the GMC before beginning work in a non-NHS post or setting. A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street said previously: Following concerns raised by family members and our staff, we asked the Royal College of Surgeons to review our paediatric orthopaedic service. We are taking these concerns incredibly seriously. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} British tech tycoon Mike Lynch is likely to have died of suffocation after running out of oxygen, according to a source close to the investigation. They cited initial examinations carried out on Saturday after the businessmans body was recovered from the family yacht that sank off Sicilys coast last month during a freak weather incident. Mr Lynch died alongside his 18-year-old daughter, the boats chef and four others, who were onboard the British-flagged superyacht Bayesian to celebrate his recent acquittal after a lengthy decade-long legal battle. Initial results of examinations of Hannah Lynchs body on Saturday were inconclusive, the source told the Reuters news agency. They only ruled out any traumas or wounds as the cause of death, leaving open the possibility she ran out of oxygen or drowned. Examinations on his daughter Hannah have been inconclusive ( Tancredi ) Preliminary results from autopsies on four other victims Morgan Stanley international chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judith, lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda indicated suffocation as the likely cause of death, judicial sources said. Further forensic tests have been ordered of all the victims, with results expected in the coming weeks. Fifteen people, including Mr Lynchs wife, survived the sinking while three crew members, including the captain, are under investigation as part of the probe into the cause of the sinking. The bodies of the dead, except the cook, were found in cabins on the left-hand side of the 56m vessel, where the trapped passengers may have tried to search for remaining bubbles of air, the head of Palermos Fire Brigade said last month. A large-scale search operation continued for five days, with divers tackling challenging conditions with debris and furniture blocking the narrow passageways of the sunken yacht. The moment the yacht Bayesian became engulfed in a storm ( Giornale di Sicilia / Reuters ) The incident has puzzled maritime experts, who said a vessel such as the Bayesian, built by high-end yacht manufacturer Perini, should have withstood the storm. Following Mr Lynchs death, tributes flooded in from across the tech industry, with his family issuing a statement to reflect their unspeakable grief at the loss of both him and Hannah. David Tabizel, who co-founded software giant Autonomy with him in 1996, posted on X: It looks like weve lost our dear Dr Mike Lynch. RIP. The world has lost a genius. His family have lost a giant of a man. New French Prime Minister Michel Barnier has announced plans to present his political program to the National Assembly in early October, Azernews reports. In a recent statement to journalists, Barnier highlighted that health sector reforms will be a major focus for his administration. He also emphasized the importance of initiating reforms in the social and economic fields as part of his broader agenda. It should be noted that former French Prime Minister Jean Castex, who served from July 2020 to May 2022, focused on managing the COVID-19 pandemic and implementing economic recovery measures. His tenure included efforts to strengthen Frances health system and navigate complex social and economic challenges. Castex was succeeded by Michel Barnier in September 2022. Antarctic ice sheet continues to melt at a record pace. Geologists warn that the consequences could be catastrophic. ADVERTISIMENT Antarctica is losing weight and this is allowing the continent to rise from the ocean. Scientists compare it to a once-squished sponge now free to expand again, ScienceAlert writes. According to scientists, this process is called post-glacial uplift, and new research shows that it will have a huge impact on future global sea level rise. This could reduce Antarctica's contribution by up to 40 percent, or make the situation worse overall, depending on how much fossil fuels that trap heat and affect ice melt humanity continues to release into the atmosphere. "With nearly 700 million people living in coastal areas and the potential cost of sea-level rise reaching trillions of dollars by the end of the century, understanding the domino effect of Antarctic ice melt is crucial," said glaciologist Natalya Gomez of McGill University. ADVERTISIMENT Gomez and her colleagues studied the Earth's mantle beneath the Antarctic glacier and found that it is particularly soft in some key areas. Seismic data showed that this high level of viscosity creates an unexpectedly rapid rise of the earth. "Our measurements show that the solid earth that forms the base of the Antarctic ice sheet is changing shape surprisingly quickly," said geologist Terry Wilson of Ohio State University. The team of researchers used 3D modeling to understand the sea level rise due to Antarctic land change under different scenarios. According to the scientists, if the level of warming remains low, it will contribute to a 1.7 meter sea level rise by 2500. But if humanity continues to contribute to global warming, the sea level will rise to a dangerous 19.5 meters. ADVERTISIMENT According to scientists, when the retreat of the ice sheet outstrips its rise, more water enters the ocean. But if this melting can be slowed, land rise will lift some of the ice away from the warm ocean waters, allowing it to persist longer. Since the Earth is not a perfectly smooth ball, different parts of our planet are affected by sea level rise in different ways due to gravitational, rotational, and geological features. The scientists emphasize that there is still a lot of uncertainty in their research, in particular due to the lack of seismic data from West Antarctica. And these estimates do not even take into account what is happening to the ice in Greenland and the mountains of the world. ADVERTISIMENT Rising sea levels are already affecting low-lying islands, such as those in the central and western Pacific, for example, in Kiribati. Much of South Tarawa is less than 3 meters above sea level, where villagers in Temaiku have tried to hold back the ocean with sandbags. But in early 2024, the barriers were washed away and flooded houses, soil, and wells with salty sea water. "Reducing greenhouse gas emissions will allow the rebound of the solid Earth to play a greater role in preserving more of the Antarctic ice sheets and avoiding the worst and most inequitable impacts of future climate change on global coastlines," Natalya Gomez and her colleagues concluded. Only verified information is available on OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Workers are being cheated out of holiday pay worth 2 billion as some employers deliberately deny holiday requests, according to a new report. The TUC said its research suggested that 1.1 million employees did not take any of the paid holiday to which they were entitled last year. The main reasons included a culture where workers feared asking for paid time off could lead to them being treated unfavourably, staff struggling with unrealistic workloads that did not allow time to take leave, as well as requests being turned down, said the TUC. The report, published to mark the beginning of the TUCs annual Congress on Sunday, said the missing weeks of holiday paid added up to 1,800 per affected employee. The research indicated that black and minority ethnic (BME) staff were hardest hit, with 6 per cent not getting any paid holiday last year, compared to 4 per cent of white employees. The jobs with the highest numbers of staff losing out were waiters and waitresses (59,000), care workers and home carers (55,000), and kitchen and catering assistants (50,000), showing that low-paid workers were most at risk of losing paid holiday entitlement, said the report. The TUC is supporting Labours plans for a Fair Work Agency ( PA ) The TUC added that millions of workers were missing out on many other basic employment rights due to a lack of enforcement. The union organisation called for effective enforcement of employment rights to help workers, as well as decent employers who were being undercut by those ignoring their legal duties. The TUC is supporting Labours plans for a Fair Work Agency and has accused the previous Conservative government of allowing bad employers to cheat staff out of basic workplace rights. TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: We all deserve a break from work to spend time off with our friends and family, but more than a million working people have been deprived of any of the paid leave they are due, and hundreds of thousands more have been denied basic rights like being paid the minimum wage. The Conservative government sat back and let bad employers cheat their staff out of their basic workplace rights. Tory ministers were more concerned about stopping people getting what they were due by introducing anti-union measures, than funding enforcement bodies properly. Now its time to reset the dial and to end the Tories race to the bottom. This week at Congress we will be debating how we can drive up standards at work. These shocking findings show why we need the Employment Rights Bill and the Fair Work Agency. PA Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} One of the worlds most dangerous birds has been successfully hatched for the first time in a bird park in the Cotswolds. A southern cassowary chick, which is related to the emu, is considered deadly because of its powerful legs and claws and aggressive behaviour when threatened. Keepers at Birdland in Bourton-on-the-Water in Gloucestershire have been trying to breed the giant bird for over 25 years, with the species particularly challenging to breed in captivity. The cossowary chick is the first to be born in the UK since 2021. The bird is native to tropical forests in northern Australia and New Guinea. When we caught our first glimpse of the tiny chick it was a very special moment indeed, said keeper Alistair Keen to the BBC. The chick hatched at a bird park in Gloucestershire (stock image) ( Getty Images/iStockphoto ) Cassowaries have a reputation as one of the worlds most dangerous birds and their size, speed and power combined with their dagger-like, 10cm claws mean we have to take looking after them extremely seriously. In 2019, Marvin Hajos, 75, died when he was attacked by one of his pet cassowaries at his home in Florida. They are considered to be among the largest and heaviest bird species in the world and can weigh more than 45kg and run up to 30mph. The website of the US Library of Congress states: The cassowary is usually considered to be the worlds most dangerous bird, at least where humans are concerned, although ostriches and emus can also be dangerous. Crosswaries have been at Birdland since 2012 and are part of the European Endangered Species Programme, but are challenging to breed due to their environmental needs. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Diane Abbott has claimed former Labour leader Neil Kinnock viewed his black MPs as an embarrassment. Ms Abbott, who is the longest-serving black member of parliament, was elected alongside three other black Labour MPs in 1987. In her book, A Woman Like Me, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington is deeply critical of Lord Kinnocks leadership, accusing him of dismissing the concerns of Black people. Recalling her experience after being elected, Ms Abbott said she and her fellow black Labour MPs felt they were not allowed to bask in the glory of our achievement as both the party leadership and officials did not see it as a triumph and noticeably did not celebrate it as such. She added: Kinnock thought of his Black MPs as an embarrassment. We were the embodiment of the loony left, and this was precisely the image he was trying to get away from. Diane Abbott has claimed former Labour leader Neil Kinnock viewed his black MPs as an embarrassment ( PA Wire ) Lord Kinnock strongly denied the allegations and told The Independent he was delighted, certainly not embarrassed at the election of four black Labour MPs to Parliament. He pointed to his Labour conference speech of 1987, which saw him celebrate their election and what he saw as the beginnings of a multiracial parliament to reflect our multi-racial society. Ms Abbott, the daughter of Jamaican parents who were a part of the Windrush Generation, also says Lord Kinnock pushed back against the creation of Black Sections a movement designed to empower black members in the Labour Party. They seemed reasonable enough demands, yet the Labour Party leadership thought that Black Sections were completely unreasonable, not to mention dangerous, she wrote. Ms Abbott claimed that, when her and her fellow MPs tried to table a Black Sections resolution at the Labour Party conference that year, they were roundly denounced by the great and the good from the conference platform. She continued: Neil Kinnock was particularly opposed to Labour Party Black Sections, which seemed to him like dangerous radicalism. He appeared to think that his occasional expression of concern for Black People far away, such as campaigners against apartheid in South Africa, meant that he could dismiss the concerns of Black people on his doorstep. But Lord Kinnock denied that his opposition to the movement came because of concerns over dangerous radicalism, instead he said it arose from concerns that implied racial segregation in the Labour Party would have been malign and regressive something he claims to have made clear to Ms Abbott at the time. He added: My views were similar to those of comrades in the Anti-Apartheid Movement and several non-white party and trade union members. All of us had rather more than occasional concern for black people far away, as our lifetime record of anti-racist, pro-equality activity demonstrates. Lord Kinnock also claims some who favoured Black Sections did so for opportunistic and sectarian purposes, adding: They were from the loony left that inflicted serious harm on the Labour Party in London and elsewhere. To safeguard against that, and to reinforce efforts to attract and retain people from ethnic minorities, I established an ethnic minorities officer in party headquarters in order to ensure guaranteed inputs in Labour policies and operations. Lord Kinnock also noted that, at the 1990 Labour conference, the party established a Labour Party Black Socialist Society, something he said came about with his advocacy and support. The society became operational in 1993 and its successor organisation became BAME Labour. In her book, A Woman Like Me , the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington is deeply critical of Lord Kinnocks leadership ( PA ) Ms Abbott also criticised Labour for blocking the candidacy of Martha Osamor ahead of the 1989 Vauxhall by-election. She claims that the Labour Party did not bother to give a serious reason for blocking her candidacy, adding: That she was Black, female and left-wing was enough. Ms Abbott said she wrote to Lord Kinnock, who was leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992, to lobby on Ms Osamors behalf. Recounting the correspondence, Ms Abbott said: He wrote to us saying: I am sure that you will see the NECs shortlist for Vauxhall as reflecting a serious commitment to having a candidate who will be in tune with the electors. There was no doubt that by a candidate in tune with the electors, Kinnock meant someone white. But Lord Kinnock said the skin colour of the candidate was not relevant in that or any other case, saying the decision not to select Ms Osamor was based solely on political alignment. He said it was vital to try to ensure that we held the seat after experiencing by-election defeats when candidates that could not make a broad appeal had been selected. Ms Osamor, who had migrated to Britain from Nigeria, won the Labour shortlist but was deselected after being interviewed by a panel of the partys ruling National Executive Committee. Instead, Kate Hoey who went on to win the seat was selected as the Labour candidate for Vauxhall. Ms Hoey had won only one local nomination compared to Ms Osamors eight. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The Green Party will pile pressure on Labour to pursue closer ties with the European Union after members backed a motion calling for the party to fight to rejoin. Party members used the second day of the Greens conference in Manchester to vote for a change that will see it fight for much closer relations with the EU. The change means that the partys official position is now that Britain should seek full membership of the bloc as soon as the political will is present. Adrian Ramsay, co-leader of the Green Party, opened their conference yesterday on his own ( Getty ) In the meantime, it means the party will press the government to be braver and bolder in overcoming the negative impacts of Brexit. Ellie Chowns, one of the four Green MPs, said: There are win-win first steps that the new government should be taking today. For instance, working with the EU to tackle the twin crises of climate breakdown and biodiversity loss would deliver the change we need and create public confidence. We should also rejoin the customs union to begin to overcome the obstacles that small businesses have faced in trading with our closest partners since Brexit. The policy was in the Green Partys general election manifesto, which saw it gain four MPs and win almost two million votes. Ms Chowns, MP for North Herefordshire, said: While joining the Single Market would provide benefits in terms of free movement of people, goods, services and capital, membership of the Single Market without membership of the EU would not be an ideal long-term solution because the UK would not be a full partner in decision-making processes. The four new Green MPs who won seats in the 2024 general election (l to r) Sian Berry (MP for Brighton Pavilion), party co-leader Carla Denyer (MP for Bristol Central), party co-leader Adrian Ramsay (MP for Waveney Valley) and Ellie Chowns (MP for North Herefordshire) pose for photos on College Green opposite the Palace of Westminster (Ian West/PA) ( PA Wire ) The party backs the use of so-called citizens assemblies, where representative groups of ordinary people are brought together to deliberate on issues, to discuss membership of the EU. Any move to rejoin the customs union or the EU itself would face furious opposition from Brexiteers. It would also threaten to reopen the divisions seen during years of wrangling over Britains departure from the EU. The vote adds to the issues the Green Party has vowed to use to pile pressure on Labour, after speeches from co-leader Adrian Ramsay saw the party attack Sir Keir Starmers refusal to lift the two-child benefit cap and Labours decision to withdraw the winter fuel payment from millions of pensioners. Deputy leader Zack Polanski addressed the conference, slamming Labours refusal to implement a full suspension of arms sales to Israel. Sir Keir is pursuing a reset of relations with the EU after years of negotiations by Conservative prime ministers around Brexit left ties strained. But, with the PM on a visit in Ireland to meet Taoiseach Simon Harris, deputy Irish MP Michael Martin warned Sir Keir there will not be an a la carte menu of Brexit reforms for him to pick and choose from. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Tory former housing secretary Michael Gove has claimed that the Treasury impeded his efforts to punish firms responsible for the flammable cladding on Grenfell Tower. The damning final report of the seven-year inquiry into the blaze which killed 72 people on 14 June 2017 this week accused the three firms Arconic, Celotex and Kingspan whose cladding products were installed at Grenfell of systematic dishonesty. The firms engaged in deliberate and sustained strategies to manipulate the [fire safety] testing processes, misrepresent test data and mislead the market, the 1,600-page report by Sir Martin Moore-Bick found. In the wake of the reports publication, the bereaved relatives of those who died in what was the worst residential fire since the Second World War are demanding manslaughter charges for those responsible after seven years without justice. With pressure growing on government figures over the lack of accountability for Grenfell, Mr Gove who served as housing secretary for more than two years prior to the July election claimed in an article forThe Sunday Times that his own efforts to punish the cladding firms were stymied. The task now falls to others to secure the justice I sought but failed to bring, Mr Gove wrote. I hope the Crown Prosecution Service and Metropolitan Police will do all they can to bring criminal prosecutions quickly. But pursuing a few of the most guilty individuals is not enough when these companies are still making vast profits without acknowledging their full responsibility. Accusing the three firms of having willingly, knowingly, recklessly put greed ahead of decency, Mr Gove alleged that his own attempts to restrict imports of their products ran up against the commercial purism of Treasury Mandarin Brain. The Treasury was approached for comment. Former housing secretary Michael Gove apologised to the relatives and survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire ( Aaron Chown/PA ) And the former Tory minister said there had been insufficient action from foreign governments on companies based overses. Because Kingspan is based in Ireland, and Arconics European operations and Celotex are in France, our jurisdiction was limited. But we were determined to go after them, Mr Gove said. He claimed to have pressed the Irish government to act against Kingspan without success, while receiving only haughty froideur from France. Warning that taking the necessary action will require toughness, he wrote: I worry that the new government may be dissuaded from doing everything necessary by those counselling caution. Grenfell United had called for Arconic witnesses in France to come to give evidence to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry ( Kirsty OConnor/PA ) Citing arguments in Whitehall that the cladding firms can be partners in combating climate change, that the UK shouldnt pick fights with EU neighbours when we want a closer commercial relationship and that pursuing companies abroad could deter foreign investment, Mr Gove said: I understand all those arguments. But you cannot purchase prosperity at the price of justice. You cannot build a safe home for the vulnerable on an unquiet grave. You cannot allow the unacceptable face of capitalism to be left smirking when the tears of victims are still wet. Those who are the guiltiest must pay, and pay the most. However, Grenfell Next of Kin a group whose immediate family members died at Grenfell accused Mr Gove of historical revisionism. In a statement to The Independent, the group said: Has he forgotten he was in cabinet almost continuously from 2010 onwards, and the coalition government of David Cameron with his policy of bonfire of regulations which launched a deregulation of planning standards? The political and policy decisions that embraced the unacceptable face of capitalism he speaks of? He nudges us with emotive language of purchasing prosperity at the price of justice and our wet tears when it was precisely these policies that created the wild west conditions that allow these manufacturers to do harm. It is the ashes of his governments bonfire of regulation that were returned to us, the ashes of our kin to be buried. Thanks for championing our justice, but we think we got this from here on. Members of a support group for the next of kin and families of some the 72 people killed in the Grenfell Tower fire ( Yi Mok/PA ) Warning that all those to blame for Grenfell need to be punished, the group added: The deliberate deflection of the responsibility of the state in our tragedy by Michael Gove ignoring the role of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, a Tory jewel in the crown where he and half the Tory cabinet lived at the time of the fire, and the Tory government at the time of the refurbishment of the tower, is historical revisionism at best. Apologising in The Times for the governments failures, Mr Gove criticised the many others who failed the victims of Grenfell, including tenant managers, Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council, the Building Research Establishment, and developers. Speaking to the BBCs Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Sir Keir Starmer said appropriate cases should go through to court, with the prime minister adding: The worst we could do is say or do anything which would prejudice the outcome of any proceedings. Additional reporting by PA Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Sir Keir Starmer has insisted the US backed Britains decision to suspend some arms sales to Israel, after reports the move had angered Britains closest ally. The prime minister said Washington understands the decision we have taken and was told about the move in advance. He was quizzed about Britains decision to suspend around 30 of its 350 arms export licences to Israel after a review found there is a clear risk that they could be used to breach international humanitarian law. Starmer insisted there was no rift with the US over arms exports to Israel ( PA ) The decision was announced by foreign secretary David Lammy, who stressed the UKs ongoing support for Israel and said the decision was not taken lightly. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the move as a shameful decision by the UK, while reports claimed the US had been caught off guard and angered. Challenged over the moves impact on UK-US relations, Sir Keir told the BBCs Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: Youre wrong about that. He added: We have been talking to the US. We have been talking to the US beforehand and afterwards, and theyre very clear that theyve got a different legal system, and they understand the decision that weve taken. So thats very clear. The PM will travel to the US next week ( PA ) Sir Keir is making his second visit to the US next week for a meeting with president Joe Biden in Washington DC on 13 September. The PM said his visit is not related to Britains suspension of arms sales to Israel, but because the situation in Ukraine is becoming ever more pressing, as is the situation in the Middle East. He added: What I want to have the opportunity for is a more strategic discussion about the next few months in relation to Ukraine and in relation to the Middle East. So it is that more strategic discussion about the next few months in relation to Ukraine and the Middle East that will be the central focus of the visit. It comes a week after Mr Lammy told the House of Commons that a review conducted by the UK government could not arbitrate on whether or not Israel has breached international humanitarian law in Gaza, but ministers have a legal duty to review export licences. He said Israel had a right to defend itself but he said that he was not satisfied with answers after he had raised concerns with the Israeli government. Rishi Sunaks government had refused to suspend arms sales to Israel, and shadow foreign secretary Andrew Mitchell said Labours decision was not easy to swallow. Mr Lammy said the criteria states the government will not issue export licences if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law. He told the House of Commons: It is with regret that I inform the House today that the assessment I have received leaves me unable to conclude anything other than that for certain UK arms exports to Israel there does exist a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Tory leadership hopeful James Cleverly has revealed that he hopes to be the Ronald Reagan of his party and encourage people to vote for them with a spring in their step. While many of his rivals aspire to be the new Margaret Thatcher, who led the party to three election victories and transformed the UK in a decade in power in the 1980s, Mr Cleverly said he was looking for a more optimistic role model. The shadow home secretary was answering 12 questions for a video to help Tory members get to know him better and was asked which politician he would want to model himself on. Ronald Reagan is Mr Cleverlys chief inspiration although he admired Thatcher too ( Bettmann Archive ) The 54-year-old, who grew up in the Thatcher era, said: I think every Conservative will, as I have done, talk about their memories of Margaret Thatcher. But for me, it was Ronald Reagan a fantastic communicator, a fantastic motivator, won that landslide victory in his second term, had a positive vision, an upbeat persona. I think that is what we need to do. We need to put forward our Conservative values, we need to put forward Conservative policies and Conservative plans. But we need to do it with an optimism and an enthusiasm. I want people to want us to win. Thats how you get them to vote for you, not holding their nose but with a spring in their step. Thats what we have got to focus on going into the future elections. His comments come after the party suffered its worst defeat in its 346-year history, returning just 121 MPs after Rishi Sunaks disastrous campaign following months of bitter civil war. Mr Reagan, who won two terms for the Republicans in 1980 and 1984, was famous for his optimism and positivity embodied in his election campaign ad Its morning in America again, which told an upbeat story about his country. Many have contrasted it to the negativity of Donald Trumps Make America Great Again message. James Cleverly is runnng for the Tory leadership ( PA Wire ) Mr Reagan was close to Mrs Thatcher and the two led their countries through the end of the Cold War, as well as pushing through massive programs of privatisation and tax cuts. Mr Cleverly was part of the cohort of MPs elected in 2015 who supported Brexit and wanted to see tax cuts. He initially supported Liz Truss over Mr Sunak and was foreign secretary in her government, which was responsible for the disastrous mini-Budget. He continued as foreign secretary after she resigned and later became home secretary in Mr Sunaks cabinet. Mr Cleverly is seen as one of three centrist contenders to replace Mr Sunak alongside former security minister Tom Tugendhat and ex-work and pensions secretary Mel Stride. The contenders on the right are former business secretary Kemi Badenoch and former communities secretary Robert Jenrick. Earlier this week former home secretary Priti Patel became the first to be knocked out of the race, which is set to finish in November. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The question do Tory MPs fix leadership votes with dirty tricks? is usually on a par with is the Pope a Catholic? or do bears s*** in the woods?. It is obvious and it happens every time even if it takes place in secret. So it is of no surprise to anybody that allegations are already being expressed that vote fixing took place in the first round of the current Tory leadership competition. The suspicions surround former work and pensions secretary Mel Stride who, while seen as a decent chap, is not seen as a serious candidate to replace Rishi Sunak. Somehow, he managed to get enough Tory MPs to put him on the original ballot and then he got 16 votes, one more than Priti Patel in the first round meaning the former home secretary was the one who was eliminated. This was achieved even though Mr Stride has not even had an official leadership campaign launch yet. Mr Stride now has one of the other early favourites in his sights, former security minister Tom Tugendhat, who only managed to get one more vote, with 17 in the first round. Robert Jenrick speaking at a Conservative Party leadership campaign event (PA) ( PA Wire ) Essentially, Tory leadership vote fixing is the practice by one of the frontrunners of lending votes to a much less popular candidate who can then be moved up to take out a more serious rival. This can happen because the Tory MPs get to decide who the final two are before members vote in an open contest. There have been strong allegations of this happening before. Infamously, MPs supporting Boris Johnson supposedly switched to Jeremy Hunt to ensure he kept Michael Gove out of the final two in 2019. Mr Gove was seen as the bigger threat to Mr Johnson. Mr Gove was also rumoured to have lost out in 2016 when votes were allegedly switched to Andrea Leadsom by the Theresa May camp. Ms Leadsom was such a weak candidate that she pulled out of the race altogether before members even got a chance to pick from the final two. Back in the distant past, supporters of Iain Duncan Smith voted to get Ken Clarke into the final two to knock out the overwhelming favourite, Michael Portillo. Priti Patel at her campaign event in London before being eliminated ( PA ) Sometimes it can backfire. Rishi Sunaks team allegedly lent votes to Liz Truss to stop Penny Mordaunt in July 2022 but lost anyway. What is raising suspicion now is the ever-presence of two former chief whips Gavin Williamson and Julian Smith around the Commons. They have previously been accused of tactical voting ploys. In fairness, Mr Williamson has insisted to The Independent that he is staying out of this leadership contest. But the allegation is that Robert Jenricks camp has lent votes to Mr Stride to first eliminate his main rival on the right, Dame Priti Patel, and will do it again to take out Mr Tugendhat. While Dame Priti took her defeat with incredible good grace, some of her supporters have angrily been making allegations. There was a claim that three votes were switched from Mr Jenrick to Mr Stride, whom every camp had calculated had 13 supporters, rather than 16. Team Badenoch now seems to be making a similar claim against the Jenrick camp, possibly in an attempt to dirty his name after he shocked everyone by beating Kemi Badenoch by six votes 28 to 22. There is a clear worry that Ms Badenoch, the long-time bookies favourite to replace Mr Sunak and who tops polls of members, could suffer the same fate as Mr Portillo in 2001 before members get a chance to vote for her. The irony of that is that for months now former culture secretary Nadine Dorries has been claiming that there is a plot to install Ms Badenoch as the next Tory leader involving Mr Gove and backroom operator Dougie Smith. That plot does not seem to be working at the moment if it was ever true. Kemi Badenoch has been the bookmakers favourite (James Manning/PA) ( PA Wire ) But figures in Team Jenrick are staggered by the claims and have told The Independent that they are utter b*****ks. There could be something to this. After the first round votes were counted, and Mr Jenrick came out as the clear winner, his response was delayed because, as his spokesperson confided, we need to take his jaw off the ground first, such was his apparent surprise. The team had calculated he would get 24 votes and was trying to work out where the extra four had come from when they were being accused of giving three away to Mr Stride. And while dirty tricks have featured in previous contests there is a serious question mark over whether it could feasibly happen this time, with the Tories reduced to a mere 121 MPs. As one Team Jenrick insider said: There are far too few MPs to play games with anymore. Literally, a swing of one or two could be the difference between staying in or not. Its utter b*****ks to suggest we lent votes because we simply did not. We had expected to come second to Kemi [Badenoch] and were planning our messaging around having picked up momentum to win. We needed as many MPs as we could get so there was no interest in lending votes. Others have suggested that it was really Team Badenoch who lent the votes. But if that were true they have done her campaign immense harm by landing her in a distant second place, especially as Patel votes are expected to split mostly between Mr Jenrick and James Cleverly. Going into the final four, Ms Badenoch could now find herself struggling in third place. So while Tory leadership elections are almost always characterised by intrigue, maybe this particular leadership election is that most unusual of things a relatively clean contest. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Sir Keir Starmer has accused the Conservatives of breaking the NHS in a way that is unforgivable as the government prepares to publish a damning report on the state of the health service. The prime minister said the Tories began draining money from the NHS after coming to power in 2010 and pursued a series of hopelessly misconceived reforms. With a warts and all review by former health minister and surgeon Ara Darzi set to report on Thursday, Sir Keir said it will show the NHS has been left in an awful position by the last government. In his first major TV interview since becoming prime minister, he told the BBCs Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg:Everybody watching this who has used the NHS, or whose relatives have, know that its broken, they know that its broken, that is unforgivable, the state of our NHS. Keir Starmer accused the last government of leaving the NHS in an unforgivable state ( PA Wire ) He added: The money that was taken out of the NHS, particularly in the early years of the coalition from 2010 onwards, the Lansley reforms, which were hopelessly misconceived, and then of course Covid on top of all that, which has put us in this awful position for the NHS. The Lansley reforms led to the complete overhaul of the management and bureaucratic structure of the NHS, while also placing a stronger emphasis on competition and markets in the provision of care. But they coincided with a time of rising pressure on hospitals and GPs from an ageing and growing population, as well as a dramatic slowdown in government funding. Health experts have said the reforms were damaging and distracting for the NHS and contributed to major crises in the service. Lord Darzis report is expected to lay bare the scale of the crisis facing childrens care in the NHS, finding that too many are being let down. Former health minister Lord Ara Darzi was asked to tell hard truths ( PA Archive ) It will highlight 100,000 infants who were left waiting more than six hours in A&E departments last year, as well as a 60 per cent rise in waiting times for infants since 2010, with around 800,000 children and young people on NHS waiting lists. Of those, 175,000 are waiting between six and 12 months while 35,000 have been waiting more than a year. Lord Darzi, who was made a minister in DHSC in 2007 as part of Gordon Browns attempt to form a government of all the talents, is also expected to highlight falling vaccination rates among children, growing ADHD prescriptions, and soaring numbers of hospital admissions for children and young people with eating disorders. And, the report will show that children from the most deprived backgrounds are twice as likely to be obese by reception age. Sir Keirs interview is the PMs latest attempt to highlight the dire inheritance Labour received when taking power from the Conservatives. He told the BBC: Its the last government that broke the NHS. Our job now through Lord Darzi is to properly understand how that came about and bring about the reforms, starting with the first steps, the 40,000 extra appointments. But weve got to do the hard yards of reform as well. And as I say, I think its only a Labour government that can do the reform that our NHS needs, and well start on that journey. Lord Darzi was commissioned to carry out his review by health secretary Wes Streeting in July, with Mr Streeting calling for a full and frank assessment of the state of the NHS, warts and all. Elsewhere in the interview, to be broadcast on Sunday morning, Sir Keir will answer questions about the summer riots, the Grenfell tragedy, the governments claims of inheriting a 22bn black hole, his upcoming visit to the White House and the name of Downing Streets new cat. Tory shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins said: After 14 years in opposition, with time to think about the issues facing modern-day healthcare, Labours instinct is to politicise childrens health, rather than provide solutions and reform of our NHS. Labour knows that the Conservatives brought more doctors, more nurses and more investment into the NHS, including in mental health services, as well as long-term funded plans to reform the NHS and expand the workforce. We have always acknowledged that there are pressures, including the impact of social media on young minds, a growing reluctance in some parts of society to vaccinate children and an increase in diagnoses of ADHD. To find solutions to these issues requires serious and sober thinking, not headline chasing. Sadly, all Labour has done in health since the election is issue press releases, appoint cronies and give a budget-busting pay rise to striking junior doctors, with no plans for reform. I will work constructively with anyone who wants to improve our nations health; Labour should stop politicising our childrens health and the NHS if they are serious about reform. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Labour will use its upcoming annual conference to condemn the legacy of 14 years of Conservative rule. Senior figures including chancellor Rachel Reeves are expected to criticise the Tory partys record on managing the country over its time in power. It is understood that Labours inheritance will be one of the big themes of the event, being held in Liverpool at the end of this month. The four-day event comes just weeks before Ms Reeves delivers the first ever Budget from a female chancellor. Sir Keir Starmer has already warned the country will be hit with a very painful Budget, as his new Labour administration tries to fix the rot left by the Tories. Rachel Reeves is expected to highlight the legacy left by the Conservative government at the Labour conference ( POOL/AFP via Getty ) Within weeks of entering office Ms Reeves also announced she had found a 22bn black hole in the public finances, left by the previous government. In response, she announced a series of measures including stripping the winter fuel payment from millions of older people, a decision expected to be widely discussed on the conference fringe. A Labour source said: There will be a lot of talk about the inheritance the Tories have saddled the country with. You can expect to see that across the piece, from other departments not just the Treasury. Labour sources also downplayed the idea there will be lots of major announcements from secretaries of state during the conference, pointing out that they will have been in office a matter of weeks when the conference opens. A pro-Corbyn fringe festival held outside the main event is expected to be absent, for the first time in nearly a decade ( PA ) The event is expected to feel very different now the party is in power, with less of a presence of the partys Corbynite left wing. Jeremy Corbyn was re-elected as an MP in July but as an independent. And a total of seven MPs on the left of the party, including high-profile names like the former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, are currently suspended after they rebelled to vote for a Commons amendment which would abolish the two-child benefit limit. A pro-Corbyn fringe festival held outside the main event is expected to be absent, for the first time in nearly a decade. But Sir Keir is still expected to face opposition from thousands of pro-Gaza marchers who will target the event to demand ministers go further after they suspended some arms exports to Israel. Yaz Ashmawi apologised for grabbing Starmer during his glitter-throwing stunt last year ( PA ) The Labour leaders conference speech got off to a shaky start last year when a protester stormed onto the stage and covered him in glitter. The heckler was heard shouting: We demand a peoples house, we are in crisis politics needs an update. We are in crisis. But Sir Keir was applauded for keeping his cool, removing his jacket and rolling up his sleeves as he told delegates: If he thinks that bothers me he doesnt know me. Protest not power, that is why we changed our party conference. The annual meeting is due to take place in Liverpool this year between 22 and 25 September. More than 17,000 attended the conference last year, but that figure is expected to be even larger this year now the party is in government. A fire broke out at the AvtoVAZ plant in the Russian city of Togliatti, Samara Region. The fire broke out at the metallurgical production facility in the second building. ADVERTISIMENT This was reported by Russian media. Details about the cause of the incident are still unknown. According to the information, a molding line on an area of 50 square meters caught fire. Employees of the plant evacuated, no one was injured. AvtoVAZ is Russia's largest passenger car manufacturer. It produces cars under the Lada brand. The company also supplies machine sets for the production of Lada cars and their modifications. Previously, the manufacturer produced cars under the VAZ brand, known as Zhiguli, Sputnik, Samara and Oka. ADVERTISIMENT Earlier it was reported that on Sunday, September 8, explosions occurred in the Russian city of Belgorod. The "cotton" was followed by "smoke". Prior to that, the region was warned of a missile threat, and air defense was reported to be in operation. As a reminder, the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation continues to complain about "attacks by Ukrainian drones. " This time, two Russians were allegedly injured, including one of the local officials, the head of the Malinovskoye village settlement, Igor Startsev. He was hospitalized. As OBOZ.UA previously reported, Russia accused Ukraine of shelling the village of Rakytne in the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation. The Ukrainian Armed Forces allegedly attacked the village on the night of August 25, and the governor of the region reported the deaths and injuries. ADVERTISIMENT Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber .Do not fall for fakes! Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Progress tackling cardiovascular diseases stalled under the Conservatives and is now in decline, a damning review into the NHS will find this week. A warts and all probe into the health service ordered by health secretary Wes Streeting is to say cardiovascular health has been going in the wrong direction, with the British Heart Foundation describing the picture as extremely concerning. Former health minister Ara Darzi, who has carried out the review, is expected to say: Once adjusted for age, the cardiovascular disease mortality rate for people aged under 75 dropped significantly between 2001 and 2010. But improvements have stalled since then and the mortality rate started rising again during the Covid-19 pandemic. Health Secretary Wes Streeting (Tejas Sandhu/PA) ( PA Wire ) And, in its own submission to the investigation, the British Heart Foundation said: We are extremely concerned that the significant progress made on heart disease and circulatory diseases (CVD) in the last 50 years is beginning to reverse. The number of people dying before the age of 75 in England from CVD has risen to the highest level in 14 years. Lord Darzis review is the latest example of Labours tying 14 years of Conservative government to crises in the justice system, health service, public finances and other key areas. A spokesman for the Department for Health and Social Care, which will publish the review on Thursday, said: Its alarming that the progress made on heart disease and stroke is now in decline. It points to a failure to help people stay healthy, and a failure of the NHS to be there for us when we need it. This government is acting to cut waiting times and reform the NHS, so it catches illness earlier, which is better for patients and less expensive for our health service. The probe has uncovered wide variations in the standard of care being offered by the NHS to those with cardiovascular problems. While heart attack patients in Surrey are likely to receive rapid interventions to unblock arteries in less than 90 minutes, less than 50 miles away in Luton, Bedford and Milton Keynes patients wait around four hours, the probe found. It also found the average time for the highest-risk heart attack patients to receive the procedure has risen by 28 per cent since 2013, from 114 minutes to 146. Former health minister Ara Darzi ( PA ) The report also pointed to a strong link between cardiovascular disease and health inequalities. In 2022, people under the age of 75 living in the most deprived areas of England were 2.6 times more likely to die from heart disease than people living in the least deprived areas. Mr Streeting on Sunday said the NHS is "broken but not beaten" and restated plans to utilise the private sector to improve outcomes. He told Sky News: "I think what Lord Darzi, who is a very experienced clinician with decades of experience in the NHS and experience of serving both Labour and Conservative governments in different capacities, what he essentially says is the NHS is broken, but not beaten, and the investment matters, but so does reform. "And if we dont change the way that the NHS works as a system, then we will continue to see a heavy price for failure. "The reason why we asked Lord Darzi to do this report was, if you dont provide an accurate diagnosis for the patient, youre not going to prescribe the right treatment." Mr Streetings intervention came as Sir Keir Starmer accused the Conservatives of leaving the NHS in an unforgivable state. In his first major TV interview since becoming prime minister, he told the BBCs Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: Everybody watching this who has used the NHS, or whose relatives have, know that its broken, they know that its broken, that is unforgivable, the state of our NHS. Shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins ( PA Wire ) Shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins has accused Labour of using Lord Darzis health review as "cover" to raise taxes in the upcoming Budget. Speaking to Sky News, Ms Atkins said: "I was clear as secretary of state that to build an NHS for the next 75 years, we have to marry reform with investment, and I tried to do that through the productivity plans, bringing tech to the frontline of NHS services, which I hear that Labour is cancelling. "What worries me is what weve seen so far from the health secretary, the only thing hes done is to give junior doctors a pay rise with no productivity reform." Put to her by presenter Trevor Phillips that the previous Conservative government broke the NHS, Ms Atkins said she welcomed discussion about future-proofing the NHS but insisted Labour were "choosing the headlines they pick" from Lord Darzis review and had ignored the health situation in Wales, which is "far, far worse". She added: "This report, I fear, is cover for the Labour Party to raise our taxes in the budget in October, and they are laying the groundwork for this. "They werent straight with us about winter fuel payments, theyre not being straight with us about taxes, and we need to have a grown-up conversation about the NHS, but this is not the way to go about it." For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A Russian drone violated Romania's airspace during nighttime attacks on neighboring Ukraine, the NATO member reported Sunday, urging Moscow to stop what it described as an escalation. The incident occurred as Russia carried out attacks on civilian targets and port infrastructure across the Danube River in Ukraine, Romania's Ministry of National Defense said. Romania deployed F-16 warplanes to monitor its airspace, and NATO allies were kept informed, the ministry said. Romanian emergency authorities also issued text alerts to residents of two eastern regions. Preliminary data indicates there may be an impact zone in an uninhabited area near the Romanian village of Periprava, the ministry said. It added that an investigation is underway. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Romania has confirmed drone fragments on its territory on several occasions and as recently as July this year. The Romanian Defense Ministry strongly condemned the Russian attacks on Ukraine, calling them unjustified and in serious contradiction with the norms of international law. Mircea Geoana, NATO's outgoing deputy secretary-general and Romania's former top diplomat, said the military alliance also condemned Russias violation of Romanian airspace. While we have no information indicating an intentional attack by Russia against Allies, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous, he wrote on X. Civilians reported killed in Ukraine In Ukraine, two civilians died and four more suffered wounds in a nighttime Russian airstrike on the northern city of Sumy, the regional military administration reported. Two children were among those wounded, the administration said. In the Kharkiv region farther east, overnight shelling killed two elderly women, according to local Gov. Oleh Syniehubov. During the night, Ukrainian air defenses shot down one of four cruise missiles and 15 of 23 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia, Ukraine's air force reported. It added that none of the cruise missiles had hit targets. In Ukraine's industrial east, Russian forces continued their montshlong grinding push towards the city of Pokrovsk, and also ramped up attacks near the town of Kurakhove farther south, Ukraine's General Staff said. Russia's Defense Ministry said its troops had taken Novohrodivka, a small town some 19 kilometers (11 miles) southeast of Pokrovsk. ___ Associated Press writer Stephen McGrath in Sighisoara, Romania contributed to this report. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Plans by the Namibian government to kill 83 elephants and 640 other wild animals to feed the meat to people have sparked a fierce international row. The British high commissioner to the country is among those backing the idea, but ecologists are warning of a colossal disaster for Africas wildlife. Hunters are being brought in to shoot the animals dead because of a severe drought across southern Africa that has left some people struggling for food, the environment ministry says. Its understood the mass cull has already begun, with the elephants due to be shot this week. Meat from elephants in national parks will be handed out to humans ( AFP via Getty ) Already 157 animals have been hunted by professional hunters and companies contracted by the government, yielding more than 56,800kg of meat. Officials say nearly half of Namibias population is forecast to experience food insecurity in the coming months following the drought. As well as the 83 elephants, those to be culled in national parks and communal areas are 30 hippos, 60 buffalos, 50 impalas, 100 blue wildebeest, 300 zebras and 100 eland antelopes. Setting out regions where the elephants will be killed, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism said: This offtake will assist in reducing the negative impact of drought on the conservation of wild animals in both our national parks and communal areas. They said human-wildlife conflicts were expected to increase without intervention. British high commissioner Charles Moore wrote on social media: Namibia is very responsible in its use of natural resources. None of the species are endangered, so its a good/rational solution to help 300k+ people in desperate need. Sheltering animals wont help. Elephants that see family members killed suffer lasting trauma that increases conflict with people, experts say ( AFP via Getty ) But the status of elephants there is contested. Adam Cruise, a wildlife investigative journalist in Cape Town, says numbers in Namibia are falling, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list of conservation classifies African elephants as either endangered or critically endangered. However, according to World Population Review, the latest estimate indicates Namibia has more than 24,000 elephants, a rise of 5.36 per cent in a year. A report by African conservationists and scientists suggests the cull is motivated by forthcoming national elections and lacks environmental or food security assessments. The experts are anonymous in the report because they say they face considerable risks, many having received threats or being subjected to actions such as the revocation of permits, deportation, or worse. This oppressive environment tragically results in media outlets often publishing government statements and strategies without the benefit of opposing views from the conservation community, the report warns. An IUCN map shows elephants are mostly in the north of the country ( IUCN ) The authors warn culling will hit tourism, and that cattle do not graze in national parks so culling there will not help livestock farmers outside them, as the ministry insists. Elephants who witness culling, which typically targets entire families including young calves, is well established to exacerbate human-elephant conflict, rather than relieve it. Elephants who escape are known to experience lasting trauma from witnessing family members being shot, the report says. The ministry said in its announcement: This exercise is necessary and is in line with our constitutional mandate where our natural resources are used for the benefit of Namibian citizens. This is also a prime example that conservation of game is really beneficial Not only do Namibians benefit through the meat provided for drought relief, but the ministry has over the years supplied meat for national, regional, and traditional events in line with our policies and laws. Namibia has suffered an intense drought ( Getty ) Game meat benefits are also extended to communities in rural areas especially those in conservancies. But Dr Cruise told the BBC: Its a bit insulting to toss a bit of game meat in the direction of starving, impoverished people, living on subsistence basis without any kind of meaningful developments in terms of employment opportunities and general social development. According to elephant biologist Dr Keith Lindsay, the cull will provide only short-term relief and set a dangerous precedent of reliance on wildlife to solve human problems. He said: This practice, if adopted and normalised, is very likely to create a continuing demand on vulnerable wildlife populations that would be unsustainable in the dwindling areas of natural habitat. The plan includes culling 300 zebra ( Getty ) There is also the risk that it will give neighbouring nations a strong case for doing so as well, triggering a colossal disaster. The UK-based Action for Elephants organisation warned of similar schemes on an even bigger scale by unscrupulous governments across Africa. If other African countries with depleted wildlife see that no action is taken this time, no protest lodged, and no consequences to face, they will feel emboldened to do the same, it said. Izak Smit, of the Desert Lions Humans Relations Aid organisation told the ministry in a letter: It has become clear that the human-wildlife-conflict thingy has become a very handy tool and scapegoat to accommodate abuse and dark agendas, one of which is availing trophies in cases where it cannot be justified in terms of sustainability. He said communities towards the west were more poverty and hunger-stricken than those that would receive the meat. The Independent has approached the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism for comment. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The grandfather of the teenager accused of carrying out a school shooting in Georgia that left two teachers and two students dead has said the boy's "evil" father should get the death penalty. Charles Polhamus, 81, is the maternal grandfather of the 14-year-old alleged Apalachee High School shooter, Colt Gray. Polhamus said his former son-in-law, Colin Gray, should face the most severe punishment available under US law. Spending 11 years with that son of a b**** screaming and hollering every day it can affect anybody, he told the New York Post. "He's evil." The grandfather agreed that his grandson had to face justice for his alleged actions, but said his father's influence no doubt drove the boy toward violence. Colt has to pay for what he did, but Im telling you, he was driven, no question in my mind, Polhamus told the outlet. He was driven by his father to do what he did. Thats as plain as I can put it, and I know Im right." Colin Gray sits in the Barrow County courthouse for his first appearance The elder Gray has been charged with four counts of manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children for his role as an alleged accessory to the shooting. Investigators claim that the elder Gray gave his son the AR-15-style rifle that was used in the shooting on Wednesday. Polhamus said that his former son-in-law "got what he deserved" when he was charged, but took it a step further, telling the New York Post that he "needs the death penalty." Gray will face up to 180 years in prison if he's convicted. His son, Colt, has been charged with four counts of murder and will face trial as an adult, according to prosecutors. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison. Polhamus insits his grandon was a "good kid" before he spent his formative years with a "dysfunctional dad who was a screamer and a hollerer." Colt Gray, 14, left, and his father Colin are both facing charges ( AP/Reuters ) He also insisted his daughter was a "good person" who only tried to help her son. However, she also has a lengthy criminal record, with numerous drug and domestic violence arrests. The New York Post spoke to a neighbor who claimed that Colt's mother, Marcee Gray, used to "lock him and his sister out of the house." And they would be banging on the back door, just screaming like, Mom! Mom! Mom! and crying. It was absolutely devastating," the woman, who requested anonymity, told the paper. Colt texted his mother on the day of the shooting with a message saying, Im sorry, mom. Roughly a half hour before gunfire was reported, she tried to call the school to warn them that her son might become violent, asking if they could check on him immediately, according to The Washington Post. After the shooting, Marcee Gray complained to her sister about the time that had elapsed between when she called the school and when the massacre unfolded. It was just a long time for them to intervene so Im curious to know what happened in that time, she texted her sister. Editors Note: This story has been updated to clarify that Marcee Gray contacted the school before the shooting unfolded. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The mother of the suspected Apalachee High School mass shooter called the school hours before the shooting about an extreme emergency involving her 14-year-old son, according to a report. Newly revealed text messages indicate that there were warning signs about 14-year-old suspected shooter Colt Grays mental health one week ahead of when he is accused of opening fire at his own high school in Winder, Georgia on Wednesday, killing four people and injuring nine others, The Washington Post reported. But a mere hour and a half before the mass shooting, Marcee Gray, his mother, phoned the school at 9.50am warning school officials to check on her son immediately, according to the Post. The suspects mother also confirmed she made the call in texts sent to relatives. I was the one that notified the school counselor at the high school, Marcee Gray texted her sister after the shooting, according to the Post, which obtained the messages. I told them it was an extreme emergency and for them to go immediately and find [my son] to check on him. Marcee Gray is said to have warned the school of an emergency involving his son before he allegedly opened fire at his school ( Ben Hill County Sheriff's Office ) On the call, a school counselor informed the panicked mother that her son had been talking about a school shooting that morning, Annie Brown, Marcees sister, told the outlet. Around 10am, after the call, a school administrator approached Colt Gray in his math class, a student in the classroom at the time told the Post. But confusion ensued. There was a student with a similar name to the now-suspected shooter, and neither student was in the room when the school official walked in and left with the other students backpack. Moments later, around 10.20am, gunshots rang out. After the shooting, Marcee complained about the time gap between her call to the school and when her son opened fire, texts reveal. She wrote to Brown that it was just a long time for them to intervene so Im curious to know what happened in that time. Its unclear what caused the delay or whether the administrator was looking for Colt Gray due to his mothers call after all. The Independent has reached out to the school and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for comment. Booking photo of Colt Gray, the 14-year-old suspect who has been charged as an adult with murder in the shootings at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia ( Barrow County Sheriffs Office ) Texts also revealed that the family and school officials were discussing the suspected shooters mental well-being one week before the shooting. One week before the shooting, Deborah Polhamus, Colt Grays grandmother, had met with a school counselor for help for him, and texted Brown afterward that he starts with the therapist tomorrow, the outlet reported. Days later, on August 29, Brown praised the plans for the teen to seek therapy to a relative, but added that she was worried about his mental health in combination with his close proximity to guns in the home. He has been having homicidal and suicidal thoughts, he shouldnt have a gun, and he shouldve been in THERAPY months ago, Brown texted. After the tragedy, authorities detained Colt Gray, who has been charged with murder. He will be tried as an adult over the shootings. The Posts reporting offers even more insight into the seemingly troubled life of the teen. In May 2023, the FBI was already looking into the teen. Local investigators interviewed Colt Gray and his father Colin, 54, after they had received a tip from the FBI that the then 13-year-old had possibly threatened to shoot up a middle school tomorrow. Colin Gray, 54, enters the Barrow County courthouse for his first appearance, on Friday, September 6 ( AP Photo/Brynn Anderson ) Months later, Colin Gray reportedly purchased an AR-15-style rifle as a holiday gift in December 2023 for his son. More recently, authorities searched the high school freshmans bedroom this week, finding documents referencing other mass shootings. Law enforcement sources told the New York Times that he was obsessed with the shooting. On Thursday, Colin Gray, 54, the father of the suspect, was arrested and charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Close London mayor urges Kentucky residents to keep doors locked after highway shooting The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A mass shooter identified as Joseph A Couch, 32 was at large after opening fire near near I-75 in Kentucky, striking multiple people, according to authorities. Authorities searched for Couch, considered a person of interest in a shooting that broke out just after 6.30pm on Saturday near the interstate highway nine miles north of London, the Laurel County Sheriffs Office announced. Although authorities initially closed I-75 at Exit 49 and US 25 due to an active shooter situation, at around 9.20pm, the sheriffs office announced that the highway had reopened in both directions. Officials warned against approaching him, as he is considered armed and dangerous. He has not yet been apprehended, according to London Mayor Randall Weddle. Seven people were injured not all from gunshot wounds and none have died as a result of the incident, the mayor said. Others were injured from an accident. The victims have not yet been identified and their conditions have not been released. Governor Andy Beshear urged locals to avoid the area in a post on X: Kentucky, we are aware of a shooting on I-75 in Laurel County. Law enforcement has shut the interstate down in both directions at exit 49. Please avoid the area. We will provide more details once they are available. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} At least five people are believed to have been shot near I-75 in Kentucky and a manhunt is underway for the suspect, 32-year-old Joseph A Couch, according to authorities. Just after 6.30pm, the Laurel County Sheriffs Office announced that interstate highway at Exit 49 and US 25 nine miles north of London was closed due to an active shooter situation. The highway has since reopened but the search for Couch continues. After 8.30pm, the sheriffs office identified Couch as the person of interest in the shooting. Authorities warned against approaching him. He is considered armed and dangerous. The shooter is still at large, Randall Weddle, the mayor of London, said. The subject or subjects have not been apprehended, he said but emphasized that authorities are searching for the suspect in an area of rugged terrain and a lot of tree lines. Although initial reports said numerous persons had been shot, Weddle clarified that seven people were injured and none have died. In a Facebook video update, he added that not all of the injuries were due to gunshot wounds some were wounded due to an accident. Five people were shot in the incident, a Laurel County Sheriffs Office deputy told the New York Times. The victims have not been named and their conditions are not immediately known. Joseph A Couch considered a person of interest in Kentucky highway shooting ( Laurel County Sheriffs Office ) The White House has reached out to the mayor, he said. The Independent has emailed a spokesperson for the sheriffs office for more information. The Suspect has not been caught at this time we are urging people to stay inside!!We will try our best to get you as much information as it becomes available!! Kentucky State Police Trooper Scottie Pennington wrote on Facebook just after 7pm. The states governor, Andy Beshear, urged locals to avoid the area in a post on X: Kentucky, we are aware of a shooting on I-75 in Laurel County. Law enforcement has shut the interstate down in both directions at exit 49. Please avoid the area. We will provide more details once they are available. He added: Please pray for everyone involved. Laurel County legislators issue a statement condemning senseless violence on Saturday evening: While the situation at I-75 and US 25 is ongoing, we ask community members to avoid the area and request those who live in the vicinity remain in their homes as local law enforcement and the Kentucky State Police work, the statement read. As we continue to learn more about this attack, we ask for prayers for everyone involved, the victims, their families, and the first responders. Without a doubt, this is an act of senseless violence that does not reflect the values of this community, our Commonwealth, or its people. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Police are still searching for the gunman in a mass shooting that injured five people and turned a Kentucky interstate into a madhouse on Saturday. The shooting occurred on Interstate 75 around 5pm local time, according to the Laurel County Sheriff's Office. Investigators said they do not believe the shooting was the result of a road rage incident, and have identified Joseph Couch, 32, as a person of interest in the shooting. When Laurel County Sheriff's deputies arrived at the scene near London a small city approximately 75 miles south of Lexington they found that nine vehicles had been damaged by bullets near Exit 49. "When our first two units got to the scene there, they said it was a madhouse: people on the sides of the road, emergency flashers going, bullet holes, windows shot out, nine vehicles shot. Can you imagine that? Just chaotic," Deputy Gilbert Acciardo said on Sunday during a press conference. All five people who were shot are in stable condition, though one suffered "very serious" injuries, according to CBS News. A picture released by the Laurel County Sheriffs Office on their Facebook page of Joseph A Couch, a person of interest in the shooting ( Laurel County Sheriff's Office/A ) Police continued their search on Sunday. Investigators found an AR-15 discarded in a thick, wooded area near the interstate. They believe it was the weapon used in the attack, according to Acciardo. "We're going to go in and we're going to find this guy," Acciardo said. Multiple agencies joined the deputies during the search on Sunday, including the US Marshal Service, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Drones and infrared technology are also being used to scan the area for any sign of Couch. Traffic stopped on Interstate 75 during the shooting near London, Kentucky ( AFP ) The deputy said he did not believe the shooter was in a vehicle, and said it was "definitely not road rage." Deputies have not determined a motive yet. As the manhunt is ongoing, residents living near the scene of the attack have been urged to stay inside and to watch for anyone matching Couch's description. Police described him as caucasian, 5'10, and weighing approximately 154 pounds. Police said he should be considered "armed and dangerous" and said anyone who thinks they've seen him should report the sighting to police. The Laurel County Sheriff's Office warned residents not to approach anyone they believe to be Couch. London Mayor Randall Weddle advised residents on Facebook to stay inside and not to try to take the law into their own hands, in part to protect investigators searching for the shooter. If you think you hear something outside of your home, please do not go outside shooting, Weddle said. Our officers could be in that area or first responders. Call 911. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump falsely claimed yet again that children are the subject of brutal gender operations at schools across the US. Kamala supports states being able to take minor children and perform sex change operations, take them away from their parents, perform sex change operations, and send them back home, Trump said in Mosinee, Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon. Can you imagine youre a parent and your son leaves the house and you say, Jimmy, I love you so much. Go have a good day in school and your son comes back with a brutal operation, he added. Can you even imagine this? What the hell is wrong with our country? Theres no evidence this has ever happened or been planned. In states where gender-affirming surgery is legal for people under the age of 18, parental consent is required. Trump made a similar false claim while speaking to the conservative group Moms for Liberty last week. The transgender thing is incredible. Think of it. Your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation. The school decides whats going to happen with your child, he falsely claimed. Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign event at the Central Wisconsin Airport on September 07, 2024 in Mosinee, Wisconsin. Trump made a rambling speech in which he made baseless claims about gender operations ( Getty Images ) An adolescent medicine physician at the Yale School of Medicine, Dr Meredithe McNamara, told CNN on Monday that everything in this statement is false. Of course surgery of any kind happens in a qualified medical center and not in a school. Of course, parents are the medical decision-makers for their kids, especially when it comes to gender-affirming care, she added. Pediatrician Michael OBrien reacted to Trumps rally speech on Saturday night, writing on X: I cannot overstate this if you are afraid that your child is going to have a gender-affirming surgery at school but you arent afraid they may be shot at school, there is no way were living in the same nation. Can you imagine youre a parent and your son leaves the house, and you say, Jimmy I love you so much. Go have a good day in school and your son doesnt come back because of a guy armed with an AR-15? Because that actually happens, all across this country, actor George Takei wrote. Trump continued his rambling performance by bashing Vice President Kamala Harriss running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as Tampon Tim, a moniker used widely by rightwingers. Did you see signed a bill where tampons will be in every boy's bathroom? ... He's a whack job, Trump said of Walz on Saturday. Walz rose to prominence as he appeared on cable news in the lead-up to his selection as Harriss VP pick, dubbing Trump and his running mate Ohio Senator JD Vance as weird, something which appears to have gotten under Trumps skin. No, he's weird. He is really weird. This guy, can you imagine I'm weird? It's just, you know, they do sound bites, Trump said on Saturday. Pivoting to one of his favorite subjects, immigration, Trump made the bizarre claim that as border czar, Kamala Harris let in over 20 million, they're now saying the number could be 25 million illegal aliens from 168 different countries. Most people don't even know that you have that many countries, he added. Trump made his oft-repeated claim that the people crossing the border are coming from prisons and jails, insane asylums and mental institutions and terrorists at a level that we've never seen before. Trumps numbers are heavily overestimated. Since the start of President Joe Bidens time in office, Customs and Border Protection has recorded about 10 million migrant encounters across the country, but it should be noted that a migrant can be counted as an encounter on several occasions. Both independent and government analyses estimate that repeat encounters make up between a quarter and more than half of all encounters, The New York Times noted in June. Meanwhile, border officials also estimate that about 1.7 million people avoided detention and have entered the US since fiscal year 2021, government data shows according to a Fox News Freedom of Information Act request. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} John Fetterman, one of Joe Bidens loudest defenders during calls from within his own party to step down, still believes that the incumbent president could have beaten Donald Trump a second time. The freshman senator from Pennsylvania elected in 2022, was one of the many Democrats who refused to call for Biden to step aside in the wake of a whispery, wandering performance at a June debate with Trump in Atlanta. But Fetterman, who suffered a stroke and battled his own issues with speech impairments in the final days of his winning 2022 campaign, took things a step further as he suggested that Bidens critics in the Democratic Party were helping Trump win a charge that seemed at odds with polling that showed Biden behind the former president long before the outpouring of Democratic whinging began. In a mid-July interview that ended up taking place just days before Biden dropped out of the 2024 race, Fetterman told Fox News Sunday: That whole abandon Biden thing thats the dumbest shit Ive ever heard...I mean, if you are more inclined to vote for a Democrat or be a Democrat, if youre willing to walk away from Joe Biden youre by defecting helping Trump. On Sunday, he had hardly changed his tune and told CNNs State of the Union that he believed Biden would have defeated Trump a second time, despite what all available polling and the trajectory of the race after the June debate indicated. Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, one of Joe Bidens loudest supporters, endorsed Kamala Harris onstage at the Democratic convention in August ( Getty Images ) Dana Bash, the shows host, asked Fetterman about those comments specifically and whether theyd been born out by the reality of where the race is now at the beginning of September. No, Fetterman seemed to concede, before adding: But what I said was, I do believe, fundamentally, that Joe Biden would have beaten Trump. And it was going to be very close, and I have always predicted that as well too. And now Harris. And shes had an amazing run so far...its going to be very close. Even his latest answer seemed to acknowledge the reality that Harris remains largely neck-and-neck with Donald Trump in the key battleground states either candidate will need to win in November despite, as Fetterman said, her amazing run of campaigning successes since she took over the Democratic ticket in July. Harriss team pulled in more than $500m in her first month in the race, while achieving a comeback in the polls that has put her in striking distance not only in states like Georgia and Arizona, which sealed Bidens victory in 2020, but states such as North Carolina and Florida which went for the Republican ticket in the last cycle. .@DanaBashCNN asks @JohnFetterman about his past support for President Biden staying in the race: "I do believe fundamentally that Joe Biden would have beaten Trump, and it was going to be very close, and I have always predicted that as well too, and now Harris." pic.twitter.com/kW8y7cSM5C State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) September 8, 2024 Her recovery to mathematic contention in such a wide range of states while she has not pulled ahead with a substantial lead seems to suggest that at least a fair portion of Harriss gains can be attributed to regaining lost ground with voters who were leaning Democratic already but were turned off by concerns about Bidens age and mental faculties. Her surging poll numbers in Florida and North Carolina, however, suggest that she may also be winning over voters who opposed Joe Biden or didnt vote at all in 2020. Fetterman, once a darling of the progressive left thanks to a populist attitude and outspoken support for transgender rights, marijuana legalization and support for health care as a human right, has undergone a rapid political evolution since taking office. His outspoken support of Israels military onslaught against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which has led to more than 40,000 Palestinian deaths, is reviled by his once-allies and has led to his mockery on social media by progressives. His evolution was made concrete in an interview with NBC News earlier this year the Bernie Sanders-endorsing, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez-backed lawmaker declared, Im not a progressive to a journalist. Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign stop in New Hampshire as she presses her newfound polling advantage ( AP ) The shift has reportedly alienated once-close staff and led to an exodus of his communications team. Just last month, he saw a very public rejection of his views on foreign policy by his own currently-employed communications director. "I don't agree with him," Carrie Adams, Fetterman's communications director, told The Free Press of her bosss views in August. I have a sense that his international views are a lot less nuanced than my generation, because when he was growing up, it was might makes right, and for my generation and younger who, of course, are the ones protesting this, they have a much more nuanced view of the region." Las Vegas Metro Search and Rescue spotted a mysterious monolith in the Nevada desert. Law enforcers are trying to find out how this mirrored structure got there. ADVERTISIMENT The Las Vegas Police Department confirmed that the monolith was found along a popular hiking trail near Gass Peak. This is not the first time such mysterious pillars have appeared in the United States, People writes. "We see a lot of strange things when people go hiking: not being prepared for the weather, not taking enough water... But look at this! A mysterious monolith near Gass Peak to the north of the valley. How did it get there?" representatives of the Las Vegas Police Department wrote on their Facebook page. ADVERTISIMENT Fans of mystical phenomena are already posting thousands of comments on social media saying that the location for the "space" monolith was not chosen by chance. After all, the Gass Peak hiking trail, which is located about 30 kilometers from the northern part of the city, has a height of 2133 meters and is the highest peak in Las Vegas. So it's a sign from other worlds. "This is so cool! The Galactic Federation is starting to show itself. We are not alone, they are among us!", "Maybe it's a portal that goes to another place", "It happened in Utah too. So cool," Facebook readers commented on the monolith's appearance. ADVERTISIMENT Indeed, this is not the only mysterious appearance of unknown objects in recent years. In March of this year, a traveler stumbled upon a silver monolith in Wales, and in 2020, several such structures appeared around the world. Many believed that these cases were some form of artistic installation that compared the monolith to the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey". However, the biggest stir was caused by the mysterious appearance and equally mysterious disappearance of the monolith in Utah in November 2020. Although the Aviation Bureau of the Utah Department of Public Safety did not disclose its exact location, thousands of mystery lovers went in search of the unknown structure. And when they finally found it, the monolith mysteriously disappeared. ADVERTISIMENT The BLM Bureau of Land Management said they were not involved in the disappearance of the monolith. "The BLM did not remove the structure, which is considered private property," the department said in a statement. However, a Denver photographer and witness, Mike Newlands, told ABC News that the metal structure was removed with a wheelbarrow during a nighttime mission by a group of four unidentified men five days after its existence was announced. ADVERTISIMENT Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} One of Georgias senators has responded to Republican vice presidential contender JD Vance after he referred to school shootings as a regrettable fact of life in modern society. Raphael Warnock, who won a six-year term in 2022 after defeating a Republican challenger to secure his first full term in office, appeared on NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday after a shooting in his state claimed the lives of two students and two teachers at a high school. Nine others were injured. He was asked about the comments by Vance, which ignited a media firestorm and were seized upon by Kamala Harriss campaign as the latest sign of Republicans refusal to address such horrific attacks in American schools. The Ohio senator, speaking at a rally in Arizona, lamented, I dont like that this is a fact of life after the shooting took place last week. Listen, JD Vance claims that this random, routine carnage is a fact of life. No, its not. This is a fact of American life, Warnock stressed to NBCs Kristen Welker. He added: There are children that are troubled in other countries. This only happens here. Its the guns. In America, its not safe to be in our schools, its not safe to be in our shopping malls. Were all sitting ducks. WATCH: @SenatorWarnock (D-Ga.) says no single law could have prevented the Georgia shooting and many politicians are beholden to the gun lobby. Warnock: In America, it's not safe to be in our schools, it's not safe to be in our shopping malls. We're all sitting ducks. pic.twitter.com/o5TaWsdQMm Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) September 8, 2024 Warnock is correct; the US experiences shooting incidents in schools at a number that is unmatched by any other country in the developed world. Homicide, with gun violence making up the lions share, is the second-leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 30. Political debate in America after a mass shooting typically revolves around the roles of firearms in American society and whether the prevalence and availability of guns contribute to the USs higher rates of gun violence compared to other developed nations. Warnock, who represents a purple state in the deep south, took the position Sunday that no individual piece of gun control legislation would have stopped the Apalachee High School shooting while pointing to the overall number of guns in America as a reason for the higher rates of violence. A country that allows this to continue, without putting forth just common-sense gun safety measures, is a country that has in a tragic way lost its way. Warnocks victory in 2022 (as well as sweeping victories for him and other Democrats just two years earlier) has emboldened Democrats pushing to turn Georgia into the first real crack in the red wall of the American South. The state is a top battleground for the 2024 election and hosted the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden in June before the latter dropped out of the race. The shooting in Georgias Barrow County came after the 14-year-old suspect was reportedly gifted an AR-15-style rifle by his father despite a known history of suicidal and homicidal thoughts. Both the suspected shooter, Colt Gray, and his father remain in police custody following the attack. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will follow up on Harriss Tuesday face-off against Donald Trump by embarking on a whirlwind tour of swing states in hopes of seizing momentum off her debate performance this week. The Harris-Walz campaign says the vice president and her running-mate will criss-cross the country following Tuesday nights debate to make appearances in each individual media market in every single swing state over a four-day period next week. The candidates spouses, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz, will also make a series of appearances in support of the campaign in the coming days. Harris is currently in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where she is huddled with aides and advisers while she prepares for her debate against Trump in Philadelphia on Tuesday. Shell resume her official schedule following the debate with a series of appearances to commemorate the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on New York and Washington before kicking off her swing-state campaign tour in North Carolina on Thursday. The Tar Heel State is considered a prized battleground by the vice presidents campaign, though no Democrat has carried the states electoral votes since Barack Obamas 2008 victory there. If Harris can defeat Trump there, it all but forecloses his path to the 270 votes needed to take back the White House. After visiting North Carolina, Harris will return to Pennsylvania considered the most crucial of the battlegrounds as it forms part of the Democratic blue wall of states that would provide her the easiest way to victory. At the same time, her running-mate will be spending Thursday and Friday in Michigan and Wisconsin, the other two blue wall states which he and Harris must carry to have any hope of keeping her in the White House. Emhoff is scheduled to make stops in Nevada, Arizona, and Florida this week, while Gwen Walz will visit Georgia, New Hampshire, and Maine. With her debate against Trump just days away, Harris is also rolling out a new advertisement in which she attempts to follow up on her recent foray into economic policy by vowing to make the fight against price gouging a central focus of her administration. The ad, which bears the title New Way Forward, is airing nationwide and in eight battleground states Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Nebraska starting Sunday. Viewers in each state will see a targeted version of the spot, in which Harris says the election between her and Trump is about two very different visions for the US: One focused on the future and the other focused on the past. Lowering the cost of living will be a defining goal of my Presidency, she says before adding that she will act to lower prescription drug and insulin costs for everyone, following up on and expanding the Biden administrations initiatives to lower such costs for seniors on Medicare. Harris also promises to pass the first ever federal ban on price gouging on food and enact a tax cut for more than 100 million Americans. Together, we will build an economy where everyone can compete and have a real chance to succeed, she says. Now is the time to chart a new way forward. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A man who described Donald Trump as a malevolent George Costanza and a malfunctioning appliance is helping Kamala Harris prepare for her first debate with the former president. Philippe Reines, a former deputy assistant secretary of state and senior advisor to Hillary Clinton, is the stand-in for Trump in mock debates ahead of the real thing on September 10. This is the second time he has played the role after acting as Trump in Clintons own preparations in September 2016, and he takes the job seriously. I dressed up like him, but I didnt put on an orange face or a wig, Reines told The Michael Smerconish Program on Sirius. Although one day I put self-tanner on one half of my face and no one noticed, so I didnt bother again. Reines had worked on Al Gores 2000 presidential campaign before joining Clinton for her first failed run for the White House in 2008. At the time, Vogue magazine described him as Clintons "Michael Clayton-esque image man and fixer. Reines, a longtime Clinton aide, has played the role of Trump several times ( Getty Images ) In her memoir Hard Choices, Clinton described Reines as passionate, loyal, and shrewd and said she could always trust him to speak his mind. He worked for Clinton for 17 years. He was a senior advisor when she became secretary of state and was at the center of her second campaign for the presidency. It was then that he became her Trump whisperer. Around three weeks before Clintons first debate with Trump, in September 2016, Reines joined a team of around 10 advisors in a ballroom at the Doral Arrowwood Hotel in Westchester. I didnt stand there all the time yelling crooked Hillary! or email email email! Thats not helpful Philippe Reines on what it was like to play Donald Trump with Hillary Clinton Among them were a handful of researchers and a smattering of consultants. Ron Klain, who would later become Joe Bidens chief of staff, was running the show, as he had done for Barack Obama in 2012 and would do so later for Biden in 2020. A replica of the debate stage had been set up in the room, where the advisors huddled for days discussing Clintons positions and running drills. They performed around eight full debate run-throughs 90 minutes at a time with no breaks and everyone staying in character. Reines described the experience as kinda like batting practice. Donald Trump looms over Hillary Clinton as she answers a question from the audience during their presidential town hall debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S., October 9, 2016. ( REUTERS ) In the case of Donald Trump, a lot of it is learning how to filter out the noise and expect the unexpected, he said in the Sirius interview. To prep, he studied Trumps performances in the Republican primary debates and other forums he took part in. He even watched them with the sound off so he could mimic his mannerisms and body language. A video of their 2016 mock debate released after the election shows Reines and Clinton preparing for an unwanted hug from Trump. The two burst into laughter as Reines bear hugs Clinton and she attempts to run away. Not easy to avoid the unwanted Trump hug, sometimes it even takes practice... A favorite moment from debate prep (9/24/16): pic.twitter.com/JAAHaqKFoa Philippe Reines (@PhilippeReines) May 19, 2017 Reines said he rarely went full-Trump in their mock debates, but he did try his best to get under Clintons skin. I didnt stand there all the time yelling crooked Hillary! or email email email! Thats not helpful, he said. The balance that I brought was knowing enough about Trump and studying enough about Trump, but also knowing Hillary. If Reines has a grand unifying theory on debating Trump, it is that the former president is both a terrible debater and incredibly difficult to debate. The frequency of his lies and mistruths makes it difficult to answer all of them. He has instead argued for striking a balance between countering them and sticking to the message. Theres a hard balance where you wanna stand up for yourself, but you also dont wanna kill time, Reines said. Hillary Clinton moves to avoid a hug from 'Donald Trump' ( Twitter/Philippe Reines ) Clinton said the same in one of her many debriefs after the debates. It is a waste of time to try to refute Mr. Trumps arguments like in a normal debate. Its nearly impossible to identify what his arguments even are. He starts with nonsense and then digresses into blather, she wrote in the New York Times in June this year, ahead of Bidens ill-fated debate with Trump. Trumps lack of filter obnoxious though it may be makes him appear more at ease and natural than most of his opponents, who have likely rehearsed lines and practiced talking points. Reines believes that to beat Trump requires fighting dirty. Democrats need to be able to communicate and attack in the same kind of blunt language that has until now been inappropriate in national politics, he wrote in a Politico article in 2019. So forget the glass houses rule and get out your slingshot, he added. He noted in the same article that Bidens refusal to take full responsibility for his past mistakes in office in the Democratic primary debates in 2019 actually helped him. If his various interviews given in recent years are any guide, Reines will likely advise Harris to pursue a similar strategy: Dont get bogged down in defending your record, hit back instead. On that note at least, Harris may be a step ahead of Clinton. The vice president has made mocking Trump and his running mate JD Vance for being weird a feature of her campaign, and the strategy appears to be working. Harris has also shown a willingness in previous debates to match her opponents energy when they are rude to her. In 2020, when she was repeatedly interrupted by vice president Mike Pence, she responded with words that would instantly become a viral meme: Mr. Vice President, Im speaking. Then Secretary of State-designate and U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton waiting for an elevator with her press secretary Philippe Reines at the U.S. Capitol January 7, 2009 in Washington, DC. ( Getty Images ) In short, viewers should expect her to come out swinging. But overall, there may not be a substantial difference between how Harris and Clinton handle Trump. Reines believes Clinton won both of her clashes with him, and so may seek to pursue a similar strategy as before. They were her most successful three days between the high of accepting the nomination and the low of Election Day, he wrote in Politico. The public generally agreed with him, according to polls taken after the debates ; but the margin was insufficient for her to win the race. Harris will likely face the same problem the then-secretary of state faced. Clinton was graded on a curve for the entirety of her campaign, and the debate was no different. She was expected to win the debate and needed to crush him decisively to claim the greater victory. When that didnt happen, the debates were looked back upon as a missed opportunity for her. But Harris will have a few things working in her favor, however. Trump was something of an unknown quantity on the debate stage in 2016 his match-up against Clinton was the first time hed been in a head-to-head match. Reines will now have much more footage to study, more foibles to exploit, and more traps to set. Harris, as her campaign stump speech has been clear to point out, believes her experience as a courtroom prosecutor, district attorney of San Francisco, and attorney general of California, gives her an edge against Trump. "In those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds: predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain," she has said in her speech at campaign events across the country. "So hear me when I say, I know Donald Trumps type. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Liz Cheney is ready to force a reckoning for those Republicans who have come around to support Donald Trump for what she says are purely political reasons. Anti-Trump Republicans including Cheney have become increasingly vocal in the past few months as Kamala Harris has ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket; emboldened by the new vigor her party has found in her wake. Trump, now running for the presidency for a third time, is poised to either pull off a massive political comeback or suffer his second defeat in as many presidential election cycles to say nothing of the defeats his hand-picked candidates suffered in 2022s midterms. His enemies on the right, despite his dominating victory in the Republican primary earlier this year, still smell blood in the water and are now looking to Harris to deal an electoral deathblow this November. Other GOPers in this vein accepted speaking roles at the Democratic convention last month, including Cheneys former compatriot on the January 6 committee, Adam Kinzinger, and former Trump White House communications director Stephanie Grisham. But Cheney made the news of the month this weekend with a joint announcement from the former Wyoming congresswoman and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney: the two will both be supporting Kamala Harriss campaign this fall. The former VPs statement was closely followed by another from former President George W. Bush, Dick Cheneys old running mate, who stated that he would decline to endorse either candidate for the presidency this year. Liz Cheney announced on Friday that she and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, would both support Kamala Harris for president ( The Independent ) Dick Cheney will be voting for Kamala Harris, she said onstage Friday at the Texas Tribune Festival. If you think about the moment were in, and you think about how serious this moment is, my dad believes and he said publicly there has never been an individual in our country who is as grave a threat to our democracy as Donald Trump is. And on Sunday, she took it a step further by going on the offensive against Nikki Haley, Trumps longest-standing competitor for the GOP nomination this year. Cheney appeared on ABCs This Week to discuss Haleys endorsement of Trump onstage at the Republican convention in July, explaining: I can't understand her position on this in any kind of a principled way. I think that the things that she said, that she made clear when she was running in the primary, those things are true, Cheney continued. Those of us who have fidelity to the Constitution, have a responsibility and a duty to recognize [that] this is not about partisan politics. As Nikki Haley stands behind Donald Trump despite campaigning against him in the primary, former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney says, I can't understand her position on this in any kind of a principled way. This is not about partisan politics. https://t.co/dnNCJRQCIm pic.twitter.com/qP1hVNwL8f This Week (@ThisWeekABC) September 8, 2024 While she was not explicit, Cheney referred to Haleys description of Trump when she was running against him: that Trump was unqualified to be president. Haley made that argument while pointing to Trumps comments about her husbands military service; she also argued in separate interviews that she did not have faith that Donald Trump would follow the Constitution as president. Cheney was much more explicit in her condemnation of Trump himself, describing him in the interview as a president who will use violence to achieve his own ends. Haley would go on to say in her withdrawal from the 2024 race that Trump would need to earn the votes of her and her supporters; however, by July she was fully back on board the Trump train. Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period, Haley told a cheering crowd at her partys convention, a crowd that had booed her entrance moments earlier. Though the ex-president was hoping to have consolidated the GOP base before heading into the general election season, it appears that fissures remain in the partys foundation. Cheney, Kinzinger and others like Maryland Senate candidate Larry Hogan continue to vocalize their criticisms of Trump and the Maga wing of the GOP, while polls increasingly show Kamala Harris competitive in every battleground state won by Joe Biden in 2020 as well as others like Florida and North Carolina. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley bent the knee and endorsed her ex-opponent at the RNC in July. ( Getty Images ) A defeat for Trump in the general election this year would almost certainly kick off another battle for control of the Republican Party, which is eager to recover from a string of defeats on the national stage. The former president himself remains adamant that unproven claims of fraud are responsible for his defeat in 2020 while denying analyses from pundits, journalists and members of his own party theorizing that his selection of right-wing election deniers for key state races in 2022 contributed to the GOPs under-performance that cycle. The two presidential candidates are set to meet for the first time on Tuesday at what is technically the first debate of the general election cycle. A previous debate in late June between Joe Biden and Donald Trump occurred before either man was officially nominated as their partys candidate, though both had secured enough pledged delegates in their respective party primaries to do so. Following a widely panned performance, Biden would go on to drop out of the race before his partys nominating convention in August. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump promised to prosecute those who cheated during the 2020 election as he intends to keep a close eye on the November race, the Republican nominee said in a late night rant. The former president vowed in a post shared to X on Saturday night to seek political retribution when he retakes the White House for Democrats who, Trump baselessly claimed, committed rampant cheating and Skullduggery during the 2020 election. Despite Trumps insistence and his teams legal challenges to the election results across the country, no court has supported these fraud claims. CEASE & DESIST, the former president wrote. WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again. Trump said he plans to watch the Sanctity of the 2024 Presidential Election very closely and warned the ballots cast will be under the closest professional scrutiny. We cannot let our Country further devolve into a Third World Nation, AND WE WONT! Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials, Trump warned. Donald Trump at a press conference at Trump Tower on September 06, 2024 in New York City. He vowed long prison sentences for who those he claimed cheated in the 2020 presidential election ( Getty Images ) Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country, he continued. This isnt the first time this week that Trump has warned about potential voter fraud. Speaking in North Carolina on Friday to the Fraternal Order of Police, hours after the largest police union endorsed him, the former president claimed that Democrats could only win by fraudulent means in November. Watch for the voter fraud, because we win without voter fraud, he said. We win so easily. Trump who was criminally convicted in May of falsifying business records as part of a conspiracy to corruptly influence the 2016 election continued: You can keep it down just by watching, because, believe it or not, theyre afraid of that badgeTheyre afraid of you people. Theyre afraid of that more than anything else. Also this week, in an interview with podcaster Lex Fridman released Tuesday, Trump repeated familiar election fraud claims but also admitted that he lost by a whisker in 2020. When Fridman pressed the GOP nominee about how to address independent voters who could be troubled by his debunked fraud claims and the ongoing lawsuits in various states over the fake electors scheme, Trump still pointed a finger at the Democrats. I think the fraud was on the other side, he replied. I think the election was a fraud, and many people felt it was that, and they wanted answers. And when you cant challenge an election, you have to be able to challenge it, otherwise its going to get worse, not better. Meanwhile, late last month, Trump faced a superseding indictment in the federal case over his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, after the Supreme Court ruled in July that he has some immunity from prosecution. The former presidents legal team has urged the judge to dismiss the case. Trump faces separate criminal charges for allegedly trying to cheat in the 2020 election, in part, by pressuring state officials in Georgia to find him enough votes to overturn his defeat. He denies any wrongdoing in both cases. On the state level, prosecutors in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin have been taking on fake electors and Trump allies connected to the alternate electors scheme. A similar case in Nevada was dismissed in June. Trumps heated post comes three days before he is set to face Kamala Harris in a debate on ABC News, likely the only debate that will happen ahead of the November election. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump has issued yet another ominous warning about his potential second term in the Oval Office, this time promising a "bloody story" for the millions of immigrants he intends to deport. He made the comments at a campaign rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin on Saturday, echoing the broader Republican National Committees 2024 platform. The GOP's plans for America after a Trump victory include aggressive immigration enforcement and mass deportations. That's when Trump alluded to the blood. "And ya know getting them out will be a bloody story," Trump said. "[Undocumented immigrants] should have never been allowed to come into our country. Nobody checked them." Though Trump did not explain what he meant by "bloody story," he has frequently and falsely insisted that many undocumented workers crossing into the US illegally are criminals released from Venezuelan prisons or other violent lawbreakers. Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump holds a rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin, U.S. September 7, 2024 ( REUTERS ) He told his supporters that "in Colorado, they're so brazen they're taking over sections of the state," which is likely a reference to a fake story claiming that a Venezuelan gang took over an apartment building in the city. The fearmongering and dehumanizing language used by Trump to describe immigrants may be intended to prime his base for more brutal ICE crackdowns, should he succeed in November. As was previously reported by the New York Times, Trump's vision for America includes mass deportations that will be so extensive that "huge camps" will be needed to detain people. To execute his vision, Trump has proposed the creation of a deportation force pulled from local police and National Guard troops volunteered by "Republican-run states." In other words, Trump wants an army of Republican-loyal racial purity troops and concentration camps. Following the Eisenhower model, we will carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history," he told a crowd in Iowa earlier his month. The phrase "Eisenhower model" refers to a 1954 campaign to kick Mexican immigrants out of the country. The effort was given the brazenly racist name "Operation Wetback." In addition to the "bloody story" for undocumented immigrants, things won't be much better for documented students who dared to criticize Israel's actions in Gaza. Under his plan, foreign students who participated in pro-Palestine or anti-Israel protests would have their visas canceled. And to ensure no one who thinks differently from Republicans makes it across the border, US consular officials would be directed to enact ideological screenings of applicants. Trump's most notable anti-immigrant minion, Steven Miller, assured the New York Times that there would be no underplaying the severity of the crackdowns under a second Trump regime. Any activists who doubt President Trumps resolve in the slightest are making a drastic error: Trump will unleash the vast arsenal of federal powers to implement the most spectacular migration crackdown, Miller said. The immigration legal activists wont know whats happening. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump has claimed Israel will be gone if Kamala Harris wins the election, during a speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas. If they win, Israel is gone. Just remember that. If they win, Israel is gone, Trump told the crowd via live video feed on Thursday. You can forget about Israel, thats whats going to happen. So they have to get out on Nov. 5 and they have to vote for Trump. If they dont, I think its going to be a very terrible situation. He also claimed Jews who vote for Democrats need to have their head examined and wondered: How do they exist? He also claimed if Harris becomes president, youre not going to have an Israel...Israel will no longer exist. During the speech, the former president appeared to initially misstate the last name of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israel-American hostage killed by Hamas, as Goldman. Goldberg-Polin was one of six hostages found dead in Gaza last week, which prompted widespread protests across Israel as residents demand faster progress on returning the remaining Hamas captives, and ending the war nearly a year after the militant groups initial October 7 invasion. The Republican presidential candidates remarks to the group in Vegas were met with a mix of praise and criticism. A longtime member of the RJC told The Dispatch that the room largely viewed Trump as the superior candidate to Harris. People may have lingering concerns or they wish maybe their preferred primary candidate would have prevailed, the member said. But everybody here I think isnot everybody, but the vast majority of people arepractical, living in the real world, and they understand that its a binary choice and most people think thats a very easy choice. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump appears via live video feed at the Republican Jewish Coalition annual leadership summit on September 5 in Las Vegas ( AP ) Caroline Glick, an Israel-based policy expert and political commentator, said on X after the speech Trump was on fire at the RJC event. Others argued that Trumps remarks, which echo claims he has made on the campaign trail, were both inaccurate and antisemitic. The Harris campaign says it will strongly support Israel if the Vice President wins the White House in November, while also pushing for a ceasefire with Hamas and the return of hostages. The Democrats campaign accused Trump of being an insincere ally to Jewish people. Donald Trump openly demeans Jewish Americans, proudly dined with a neo-Nazi, and reportedly thinks Adolf Hitler did some good things, Harris-Walz 2024 spokesperson Morgan Finkelstein said in a statement to Politico. He has said the only people he wants counting his money are short guys wearing yarmulkes, and praised neo-Nazis who chanted Jews will not replace us as very fine people. Others echoed that criticism. For centuries antisemites have depicted Jews as existential threats lurking inside the countries they inhabit, Rob Eshman wrote in the Forward, a Jewish news publication. Trump makes the same charges, not against all Jews, just against the ones who refuse to vote for him which is most Jews. He added: Theres a word for hatred directed at Jews you disagree with. The word is: antisemitism. Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, had a similar view, tellingThe Washington Post, This is antisemitism, plain and simple, and if any other elected official or candidate said these things even once let alone on a nearly daily basis they would be condemned as antisemitic. In office, Trumps actions on Israel won praise from the countrys prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, but did not earn him the support of most U.S. Jews, nearly three-quarters of whom identify as Democrats. Many young Jewish people have also been at the forefront of pro-Palestinian activism across the U.S. since October 7, and are unlikely to side with Trump on Israel issues. During the Trump administration, the U.S. recognized Jerusalem as the Israeli capital; formally recognized Israels annexation of the Golan Heights; and pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal. The Trump administration also helped usher in the Abraham Accords, through which the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain became the first Gulf states to formally normalize relations with Israel. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A British prisoner described as very dangerous is among five inmates who have escaped from a high-security prison in Portugal. Mark Cameron Roscaleer, 39, has been serving a nine-year sentence in the Vale de Jedeus jail after committing kidnap and robbery. President of the National Union of Prison Guards Frederico Morais described Roscaleer as very dangerous and advised that he and the four others should not be approached. They managed to jump a net because there are no guards to watch the perimeter... put the ladder against the wall and, from there, with a handmade rope, they climbed over the wall, he said. Mark Roscaleer ( Solarpix ) The men, who are all aged between 33 and 61, escaped on Sunday morning, with investigators saying they had external help from accomplices. The other fugitives have been named as Fernando Ferreira, 61, Fabio Loureiro, 33, Rodolf Lohrmann, 59, and Shergili Farjiani, 42. They were serving sentences including drug trafficking, kidnapping, money laundering and theft. Speaking to the Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Noticias, the national director of the Judicial Police, Luis Neves, said the escape was very well prepared. He told a news conference that the group had already tried to escape from prison, and added: When I say everything, I mean everything, including the fact that human life may be at stake here. Herminio Barradas, president of the Association of Chiefs of the Prison Guards Corps (ASCCGP), criticised security at the prison, saying there had been no watchtowers for nine years. According to both the ASCCGP and SNCGP unions, the prison had only half the number of guards needed to oversee more than 500 inmates. There had been a delay in alerting the authorities as the guards became aware of the escapes when the inmates were due to return to their cells. An internal investigation has been launched by the Portuguese prison service. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump boasted of a very good relationship with both Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin on Friday as he hosted the Ukrainian leader for a meeting at his New York City skyscraper. The former president also repeated a bizarre boast that he could, if re-elected in November, negotiate an end to the nearly three-year Russian war against Ukraine. Trump, who was impeached in 2019 for using American defense assistance to pressure Zelensky to launch sham investigations into President Joe Biden and his son, was being briefed on Kyivs latest plan for victory against Putin. We have a very good relationship, he told reporters as he stood with Zelensky. And I also have a very good relationship, as you know, with President Putin. And if we win, I think were going to get it resolved very quickly, he said. Zelensky quickly interjected: I hope we have more good relations between us. Zelensky said he and Trump share a common view that the war ... has to be stopped, and Putin cant win and Ukrainians have to prevail. And I want to discuss with you the details of our plan, he added. Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump meets with Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky at Trump Tower, Friday 27 September in New York ( AP ) For his part, Trump said he and Zelensky have had a great relationship, citing Zelenskys decision to deny that Trump had exerted any pressure on him during the July 2019 phone call in which hed linked sending Javelin anti-tank missiles to Zelenskys announcement of investigations into the Bidens. So we're going to sit down just discuss it, and if we have a win, I think long before January 20, before I would take the presidency ... I think that we can work out something that's good for both sides. It's time, he said. Trump had previously cancelled plans to meet with the Ukrainian leader after Zelensky sparked GOP outrage by visiting the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in the battleground state of Pennsylvania over the weekend. He reversed course late Thursday after Zelenskys meeting with Harris, during which the Democratic presidential nominee told Zelensky that her support for Kyivs defense is unwavering. In what appeared to be a veiled swipe at Trump and his Republican allies, Harris admitted to Zelensky that there are some in the US who would instead force Ukraine to give up large parts of its sovereign territory, who would demand that Ukraine accept neutrality, and would require Ukraine to forgo security relationships with other nations. These proposals are the same as those of Putin, and let us be clear: They are not proposals for peace. Instead, they are proposals for surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable, she said. Zelensky has been in the United States for the UN General Assembly, where on Wednesday he warned world leaders that Russian President Vladimir Putin is attempting to break the Ukrainian spirit by targeting his countrys energy infrastructure. He also cautioned against accepting purported peace deals that would be negotiated without Ukraine having a say. Any parallel or alternative attempts to seek peace are, in fact, efforts to achieve an out instead of an end to the war, he said, adding later that he was skeptical of the true interest behind a recent push by China and Brazil to foster an end to the conflict. When some propose alternatives, half-hearted settlement plans, so-called sets of principles, it not only ignores the interests and suffering of Ukrainians ... it not only ignores reality, but also gives Putin the political space to continue the war, he said. Earlier in the week, Zelensky also toured a Pennsylvania plant where munitions destined for his armed forces are being made. That visit drew anger from Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who called for Zelensky to fire the Ukrainian ambassador to the US in response. Johnsons outrage was supposedly due to no Republicans being invited along to the tour of the plant, though White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre dismissed it as a political stunt by the GOP at a press conference on Thursday afternoon. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Three Israeli men have been shot dead at a border crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan, Israeli officials have said. It was the first attack of its kind along the border with Jordan since 7 October, when Hamas carried out an attack on southern Israel, sparking a new phase in the Israel-Palestine conflict in Gaza that has since escalated throughout the region. The Israeli military said the gunman had approached the Allenby Bridge crossing in a truck from the Jordanian side, before exiting the vehicle and opening fire. The attacker was eliminated during the shootout, while three Israeli men, all in their 50s, were pronounced dead. An official said that those killed had been security guards who were not part of the army or police. The truck has since been searched for explosives, with Jordan saying they are investigating the shooting. The border point has been closed from both sides. The Western-allied Arab country made peace with Israel in 1994 but is deeply critical of its policies toward the Palestinians. Jordan has a large Palestinian population and has seen mass protests against Israel over the war in Gaza. All crossings to Jordan have now been closed ( AP ) A Jordanian border official told Reuters that at least two dozen Jordanian truck drivers had been detained in the offloading area by Israels military for questioning. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack and linked it to Israels larger conflict with Iran and allied militant groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon. At the start of a cabinet meeting, he sent his condolences to the victims families and said: A loathsome terrorist murdered three of our citizens in cold blood at the Allenby Bridge. The Allenby Bridge over the Jordan River, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, is mainly used by Palestinians and international tourists, as well as for cargo shipments. It lies about halfway between Amman and Jerusalem, and is the only entry point to the West Bank that does not go through Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned the attack ( AP ) The Hamas attack on 7 October killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Another 250 people were abducted and taken into Gaza. Hamas and other militant groups are still holding around 100 after releasing most of the rest in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel during a week-long ceasefire last November. Around a third of the remaining hostages inside Gaza are believed to be dead. In the wake of the Gaza conflict, the West Bank has also seen a surge of violence, with near-daily military arrest raids being carried out in dense Palestinian residential areas. There has also been a rise in violence between Israeli settlers and Palestinians. On Sunday in northern Gaza, an Israeli airstrike killed a senior aid official and four members of his family, who had been living in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp. Mohammed Morsi, who was the deputy director of northern Gazas civil defence group, died in the attack alongside two women and two children. Also on Sunday, loved ones mourned Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, an American-Turkish woman who was shot dead on Friday in the West Bank. She had been demonstrating against Israeli settlements there. The White House has said it was deeply disturbed and called on Israel to investigate, while her family seeks an independent investigation. Since the outbreak of violence in Gaza, more than 600 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank amid army raids and settler attacks. Meanwhile, over 40,000 Palestinians have died inside the besieged enclave, while an estimated 90 per cent of Gazas population of 2.3 million people have been displaced. Ceasefire negotiations led by the United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to broker a deal and the return of the hostages taken by Hamas, but neither side have been able to agree on terms. On Saturday, September 7, the Russian occupiers shelled a community in Poltava. The consequences of the attack were shown online. ADVERTISIMENT The pictures were published by Suspilne Poltava. The head of the Poltava Regional Military Administration, Philip Pronin, reported on Telegram that the attack targeted civilian infrastructure. At the same time, as the footage shows, residential buildings were also damaged. Their roofs, windows, walls, and doors were smashed. ADVERTISIMENT As reported, on September 5, the debris removal at the site of the missile attack on the Institute of Communications in Poltava was completed. The number of victims has increased to 55. According to rescuers, 328 people were injured in the strike. The occupiers hit Poltava with two ballistic missiles on September 3. One of the buildings of the Institute of Communications was partially destroyed, Volodymyr Zelenskyy informed earlier. He expressed condolences to the families of the victims. ADVERTISIMENT As reported, at midnight on September 8, Russian troops shelled Komyshany in the Kherson region. Four people were injured: two men and two women. On the night of September 8, Russians also attacked the city of Sumy. Two people were killed and four wounded, including two children. Only verified information is available on OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! On Thursday morning, a reusable rocket on its 15th flight lifted off from Cape Canaveral on a mission that has become so routine that only local news outlets bothered to cover the event. It was the 89th orbital launch for SpaceX in 2024 just seven shy of the record-breaking number of launches it achieved in 2023 and onboard were 21 Starlink satellites that took the total number of its space internet constellation above 7,000. Shortly after the Falcon 9 rocket touched back down, SpaceX boss Elon Musk posted to his social media platform X: Starlink now constitutes roughly two-thirds of all active Earth satellites. It is an incredible feat, taking SpaceX just five years to achieve, but it has also raised serious concerns from regulators, advocacy groups and astronomers. When Musks X app was banned in Brazil last week, the worlds richest person figured he could get around it by beaming it from space through his Starlink network. Musk claimed the move was in the name of free speech, calling the judge responsible for the order an evil tyrant and dictator. Although Starlink eventually relented to the ruling, it demonstrated the power Musk can wield through his near-monopoly control of low-Earth orbit. There are concerns, especially when it comes to national sovereignty, Paula Bernardi, a Sao Paolo-based internet policy adviser, told The Independent. It is concerning, for example, that one person could make the decision to take down the service for hundreds of thousands of people. Working for the Internet Society, a non-profit advocacy group aimed at making the internet a global force for good, Bernardi noted that Starlink is also a revolutionary force for good through its ability to connect people in new ways. View more At an average rate of three new Starlink satellites in orbit every day since the first mission launched in 2019, SpaceX now has more than 6,300 active satellites orbiting Earth with several hundred more inactive or deorbited. The private company plans to increase its constellation to 42,000 over the coming years, holding the potential to become the worlds largest internet provider. Starlink is already available in more than 100 countries, having expanded to Botswana, Ghana and Kenya in the last week. After initially targeting people in remote areas, the company has a relatively modest three million customers globally, each paying a monthly subscription to connect to the high-speed broadband network through a $300 dish. open image in gallery Countries where Starlink operates (light blue) and where it plans to launch (dark blue), as of 6 September 2024 ( SpaceX/Starlink ) As the constellation continues to expand in size, the improved speeds and decreasing costs could see Starlink challenge conventional internet service providers, while the next generation of satellites will also deliver 4G phone connectivity. The company expects to launch the network in dozens more countries over the next 12 months, although several key markets will remain without access due to trade restrictions or strict internet censorship within the country. These include Afghanistan, China, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Syria, though some people have found ways to illegally access the network through smuggled Starlink terminals. Activists in Iran managed to secretly import dozens of devices in 2022 to bypass blackouts and heavy internet restrictions in the country, despite authorities claiming they deviate morality and culture. A 2022 study from the Internet Society found that internet satellite systems can also be useful in situations like disaster response and areas prone to outages. Researchers wrote that it offered a way to bridge the digital divide and connect many more people to the internet. However, they also warned of risks related to a lack of competition in the space. The satellite internet industry is not immune to the concerns about market power and economic consolidation that are prevalent across all sectors of technology, the study noted, adding that it could lead to control choke points. The researchers also highlighted the lack of regulation, with no international entity assigned to allocating orbital slots for the satellites. This means Starlink could achieve a monopoly over the best orbital spaces, leaving later entrants with less optimal choices, or none. The main competitor to Starlink is OneWeb, a subsidiary of French firm Eutelsat, which has one-tenth the number of satellites as SpaceX. OneWeb also focuses on enterprise customers, while Starlink serves everyone from governments to individuals living in the wilderness. Others are planning to launch rivals to Starlink, including the worlds second richest person, Jeff Bezos. The Amazon and Blue Origin boss established Project Kuiper in 2019 the same year that SpaceX launched the first Starlink satellites but has only launched two test satellites to date. Meanwhile, SpaceX accounts for more than half of all rocket launches globally. View more Musk is well aware of the power this affords him, especially when combined with his other ventures. Between Tesla, Starlink and Twitter, I may have more real-time global economic data in one head than anyone ever, he tweeted in April 2023. A single person with access to this much data, together with control of the worlds most vast satellite network, could be seen as an existential threat to the internet as we know it. But it has also provided lifelines at critical moments, such as when Russia attacked Ukraines telecommunication networks when it invaded in 2022. Starlink offered a vital way to stay connected, with Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraines digital minister, telling The New York Times last year that the number of lives that Starlink has helped save can be measured in the thousands. open image in gallery A visualisation by the European Space Agency of satellites in Earths orbit. Elon Musks Starlink network constitutes more than 62 per cent of all active satellites as of 6 September 2024 ( ESA ) Whether Starlink is used as a force for good or harm on Earth remains Musks prerogative, but its impact on space may be irreversible. The size of the network has prompted fears from astronomers that it could fundamentally slow down scientific discoveries and damage our understanding of the universe. The large constellations are impacting optical astronomy and the visibility of the pristine night sky, Piero Benvenuti, general secretary of the International Astronomical Union, told The Independent. The core of the issue is their increasing numerosity, which makes it very difficult to avoid their traces in the astronomical images. If the total number of LEO satellites becomes larger than about 100,000 then any mitigating measures, like predicting with high accuracy the position of all the satellites from any ground observatory, will become very difficult to implement and to be effective. This is the worst-case scenario. Sir Keir Starmer has said he is worried about the rise of the far-right, warning that it offers "the snake oil of the easy answer." The prime minister told Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, 8 September: "We can see what is happening in Germany with the recent election, see what is happening in France and other countries. "I am convinced that the answer to it is delivery in government." Sir Keir's comments came after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won the most votes in Germany's regional elections in Thuringia. Residents in Kentucky were urged to keep their doors locked after an active shooter opened fire near the I-17, striking multiple people according to authorities. Police are searching for Joseph A Couch, 32, who is considered a "person of interest" in the incident that occurred just after 6:30pm on Saturday, 7 September, nine miles north of London. The highway was initially closed at Exit 49 and US 25 and has since reopened in both directions. None of the seven people injured have died as a result of the incident, and not all were injured from gunshot wounds, officials said. Animals fled raging forest fires in Bolivia as a national emergency was declared on Saturday, 7 September. Environment minister Alan Lisperguer said 3.8 million hectares had been affected to date. According to Inpe, Brazil's space research agency that monitors fires, Bolivia has seen the largest number of wildfires since 2010 with at least 3 million hectares (7.5 million acres) burned in 2024 alone. It comes amid the peak fire season in South America, which usually spans throughout August and September. South Korean companies have said they are excited about the opportunity to access Irish beef. Photo: Getty The launch of Irish beef in South Korea is being tipped as paving the way for more food and drink exports in the potentially lucrative market. Junior minister agriculture Martin Heydon made the comments at the conclusion of a joint Government and Bord Bia trade mission to South Korea and China. In May, South Korea agreed to open its market to Irish beef for the first time. On Wednesday, Larry Goodmans meat processor ABP Food Group became the first Irish beef processor to launch there having secured an export agreement with K Meat, a premium meat importer. Mr Heydon said he believed Irish beef could open the door for other food and drink exports in South Korea. There are opportunities here, when you build these relationships with these food services companies, that all of a sudden we are not just talking about beef, he said. Mr Heydon mentioned several industries with potential to boost sales in the market, including Irish horse feed, pet food, pigmeat, dairy and whiskey. These would be bolstered by the promotion of beef, as South Korean consumers gained greater knowledge of Irelands food and drink offerings. The Fine Gael TD met with the largest food services company in South Korea, which had a 28pc market share and served one million meals a day. He said the company was excited about the access of Irish beef to the market. It does feel like a market that could make a very big difference, Mr Heydon added. Agriculture, Food and the Marine Minister Charlie McConalogue visited K Meat on Friday as part of the trade mission as the importer launched Irish beef in the market. Mr McConalogue said it had been a key target to get the South Korean market open for Irish beef. It is a really exciting market, I think it is one of the most exciting markets weve had the opportunity to get opened and to be able to develop in a long, long time. There is a strong economy here in Korea. Internationally, the consumption of meat is very strong. They are pretty discerning beef consumers and they have a high import need. He added that the Irish grass-fed beef offering was quite unique in the market. As a result, he felt it was a market we would be prioritising in the time ahead, looking to develop. This [Korea] is a market that I think can really offer opportunities, he said. So thats the reason why we put such effort into it. In the mid-1990s we were planting over 20,000 hectares a year 400,000 hectares of Sitka spruce were planted in the Eighties and Nineties. Photo: Getty Irish timber sales to the UK could double to 2bn a year over the next 15 years, with a huge amount of Irish commercial forestry set to mature, according to one industry lobby group. Last week Forestry Industries Ireland (FII) met its UK counterpart, Confor, in Belfast. This is a big market opportunity for Irish commercial forestry, said FII director Mark MacAuley. The UK supplies only 20pc of its own timber needs and is the worlds second biggest importer Weve developed this big national resource of 400,000 hectares of Sitka spruce planted in the Eighties and Nineties that will be available over the next 15 years or so. The timing is good, with huge demand predicted in the UK for that time period. The maturation of these forests will double the supply of Irish timber. Well also be looking to double our exports, he said. This year is not necessarily a boom year for timber sales in the UK, but theyre expecting big numbers down the road. The UK supplies only 20pc of its own timber needs and is the worlds second biggest importer of timber. It imports about 6m cubic metres of sawn softwood a year mainly from Scandinavia with Ireland supplying about 7pc in total. That is currently worth about 1bn. We are looking to grow that market share, as its really the only volume export market that we have, said McAuley. But the supply boom may not last beyond a 15-year period, he said. The peak for planting in Ireland was in the mid-1990s when we were planting over 20,000 hectares a year. Now we are only planting 2,000 hectares, he said. Partner Content: Ireland has a strong pipeline of up-and-coming gaming firms A gamer in a VR headset at gamescom 2024 in Cologne. Photo: Getty Transcending borders, digital gaming is a culture which brings together people from all corners of the world and all walks of life. Today, there are more than three billion active gamers worldwide, according to Newzoo (the industry's primary source for market intelligence). Moreover, global revenue generated by the gaming industry is greater than the global revenue generated by the music and movie industries combined, reports Forbes. A contingent of Irish-owned gaming companies last month travelled to gamescom in the city of Cologne, Germany. The Glastonbury of the gaming world, gamescom attracts leading experts and stakeholders from business, culture, education, science and game development. The gaming market in Germany reached almost 10bn in 2023 More than 1,400 exhibitors from 64 countries showcased products at the event, while 335,000 visitors from 120 countries travelled to Cologne. This years gamescom focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and democracy, with sessions on how games can strengthen our democratic coexistence, and how AI can help curb fake news and hate speech. The event was an invaluable opportunity for Irish digital games companies to connect with peers, thought leaders, publishers and gamers. It also provided a great platform for them to gain exposure, network with industry experts and exchange ideas. Its no coincidence gamescom takes place in Germany, as the country is a hotbed for gaming companies, including Irish firms, to break new ground. Gaming enthusiasts at gamescom . Photo: Getty Despite Germans buying fewer games last year, the gaming market in Germany reached almost 10bn in 2023, according to the German Games Industry Association. Why? German gamers are willing to pay more for quality titles, so games carry a higher-than-average price tag. Moreover, the German Games Industry Association also reports that 62pc of Germans (thats more than 44 million people) consider games the medium of our time. Ireland has a strong gaming community, with a pipeline of up-and-coming gaming firms. Galway-based ByoWave is behind the Proteus controller, a modular video game controller for disabled and non-disabled gamers, making gaming more accessible. Romero Games is another Galway-based gaming company making its mark. Founded in 2015 by Brenda and John Romero, the firm is responsible for international successes like Wolfenstein and Empire of Sin. Headquartered in Dublin, games studio Outliers strategy games are also a hit with gamers worldwide. Founded in 2018, in 2022 the studio released its debut title, This Means Warp, and officially announced at gamescom that its new project, Mars Attracts, is set for release in 2025. Other studios rising up the gaming ranks are Dublin-based Kybolt, creators of Causeway, a game that helps players develop positive leadership skills, while Enigma Studio in Galway develops award-winning sci-fi games. Viridian Software in Dublin builds software to help developers create better games. It also provides game porting services for developers and publishers to bring their titles to multiple platforms, including Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and Xbox. The digital games market is poised for further growth throughout the world, delivering huge opportunities. Nows the time for Irish firms to take advantage of the global phenomenon. For more information on Enterprise Ireland funding and mentoring supports, visit www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/supports/start-ups. Jane Greene is Enterprise Irelands senior market advisor for consumer retail and digital tech for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Brian OMalley is a senior development advisor at Enterprise Ireland Irish News LATEST | We will it evaluate when it comes closer Tanaiste responds to soldiers concerns they may not be able to come home at end of Lebanon tour Ukraine will produce its own weapons at underground factories. In addition to security concerns, one of the reasons for this decision is delays in the delivery of military aid. ADVERTISIMENT This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky at the International Economic Forum in Italy. He also offered Italian business cooperation in the defense industry. "We are building underground facilities for the production of weapons so that Ukrainian soldiers can defend themselves even when supplies from our partners are delayed," the head of state said. The President noted that Italian business may be interested in cooperation with Ukraine - first of all in defense production, but also in machine building, energy, aerospace and IT industries. Zelenskyy also added that Ukrainian specialists have already developed new drones and missiles, which, in particular, are used to bring the war back to Russia. ADVERTISIMENT Separately, the president invited Italy to take part in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, because, according to him, the country will need not only to restore but also to build a qualitatively new economy and modern infrastructure. "The reconstruction of Ukraine should include the introduction of innovative technologies and modern infrastructure," he said. As reported by OBOZ.UA, Zelensky met with a delegation of the US Congress led by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham in Italy. The head of state discussed with the congressmen the consequences of Russian missile terror and the priority needs of the Ukrainian military. The President also briefed the congressmen on the situation at the front, the results of the operation in the Kursk region and the consequences of Russian missile terror. In Italy, Zelenskyy also allayed allies' fears that Ukraine might strike back at the Kremlin if it received permission to launch long-range strikes with Western weapons against targets in Russia. He assured them that this would not happen, as the range of the missiles transferred would not allow it. ADVERTISIMENT At the Ambrosetti forum, Zelensky reminded the world of Russia's crimes against the Ukrainian people: since the beginning of September alone, the occupiers have massively fired missiles at Kharkiv, Poltava, Lviv, Kryvyi Rih, Kyiv, and other cities. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber . Do not fall for fakes! LATEST | We will it evaluate when it comes closer Tanaiste responds to soldiers concerns they may not be able to come home at end of Lebanon tour Former housing secretary Michael Gove has apologised to the relatives and survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire (Aaron Chown/PA) Former housing secretary Michael Gove has said criminal prosecutions should be brought against Grenfell Tower cladding firms. Companies that are still making vast profits without acknowledging their full responsibility must also be punished financially, he suggested. Writing in the Sunday Times, Mr Gove claimed attempts to punish Kingspan, Arconic and Celotex when he was in government had been blocked by bureaucracies. There was insufficient action from foreign governments on responsible companies based abroad, he said, adding that attempts to restrict imports of their products ran up against the commercial purism of Treasury Mandarin Brain. The final report of the Grenfell Inquiry, published last week, said the west London tower block was covered in combustible products because of the systematic dishonesty of firms who made and sold the cladding and insulation. Kingspan had, from 2005 and even after the inquiry began in the wake of the fire, knowingly created a false market in insulation for use on buildings over 18 metres tall (59ft), it said. Celotex then, in an attempt to break into the market created by Kingspan, embarked on a dishonest scheme to mislead its customers and the wider market, inquiry chairman Martin Moore-Bick said. Mr Gove apologised to the relatives and survivors of the tragedy who were let down by successive governments, including governments of which I was a part. Companies which manufactured materials used on the tower have still not shown proper awareness of their guilt, contrition for their crimes or restitution for their wrongs, he added. Because Kingspan is based in Ireland, and Arconics European operations and Celotex are in France, our jurisdiction was limited. But we were determined to go after them, Mr Gove said. The Grenfell Tower fire was the culmination of decades of failure by central government and the construction industry, the final report into the 2017 disaster concluded (Natalie Oxford/PA) The former Conservative Party leadership hopeful pressured Ulster Rugby and Mercedes F1 team, asking them to reconsider their relationship with Irish insulation firm Kingspan in 2021. Last year, he warned shareholders in cladding companies that the firms will face severe consequences if no post-Grenfell financial support package is forthcoming. Mr Gove said taking the necessary action against cladding firms will require toughness I know there will be voices opposed to robust action. You cannot purchase prosperity at the price of justice. Those who are the guiltiest must pay, and pay the most, he added. Speaking to the BBCs Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Britains Prime Minister Keir Starmer said appropriate cases should go through to court. The worst we could do is say or do anything which would prejudice the outcome of any proceedings, he added. In a statement, Kingspan welcomed publication of the report which it said explains clearly that the type of insulation involved was immaterial in the disaster, and that the principal reason for the fire spread was the PE ACM cladding, which was not made by Kingspan. The company said it had long acknowledged the wholly unacceptable historical failings that occurred in part of our UK insulation business. These were in no way reflective of how we conduct ourselves as a group, then or now. While deeply regrettable, they were not found to be causative of the tragedy. Some of the offences include misuse of drugs, assault and robbery. Stock image The Defence Forces has said that of 79 members found guilty of crimes under civil and military law over the past four years, 54 of them remain in service. Soldiers convicted of offences including misuse of drugs, assault, breaches of Covid-19 restrictions, and robbery or burglary are still serving. Earlier this year, Taoiseach Simon Harris said that any member of the Defence Forces with a criminal conviction should not remain in the organisation. This followed outrage over the suspended sentence given to soldier Cathal Crotty following a brutal assault on Natasha OBrien in Limerick in 2022. Data released under Freedom of Information shows that 63 members of the military have been convicted of a crime under civil law since January 2021. Many, but not all, appear to have been for more minor offences, according to the figures. There were eight convictions for assault and three of these people continue to be members of the Defence Forces There were 38 convictions for road traffic offences, with 33 of those people still serving in the Defence Forces. Four soldiers were successfully prosecuted under misuse of drugs laws, but only one of them remains in the military. There was one case involving theft and fraud and that person is no longer a soldier. There were eight convictions for assault and three of these people continue to be members of the Defence Forces. The figures also showed that one person had been prosecuted for possession of an offensive weapon and is still serving. Two were convicted of burglary or robbery and both remain members while one person who broke pandemic restrictions continues in service. Five successful prosecutions for public order offences were listed, with three of those involved still serving in the military. The Defence Forces said that two members had been convicted of sexual assault and one of those has already left the organisation. It said: [This other] individual has appealed their conviction, and as per An Tanaistes direction, this individual has been put on special leave pending the outcome of their appeal. There was also one conviction for harassment and that person also remains a serving member. The Defence Forces said there had been 16 prosecutions under military law with an even eight-eight split between members who were discharged and those who remain in the armed forces. In one case, a soldier was found guilty of sexual assault and conduct that would prejudice good order and discipline. That soldier is no longer a serving member in the military. There was one guilty verdict in a case of striking or offering violence to a superior officer as well as insubordinate behaviour and disobedience and that soldier continues to serve in the armed forces. One prosecution involved no less than 14 different charges, which included behaving in a disorderly manner while under the influence of an intoxicant Another case saw six separate charges including false imprisonment, assault, and conduct that would prejudice good order and discipline and the member involved has since been discharged. One prosecution involved no less than 14 different charges, which included behaving in a disorderly manner while under the influence of an intoxicant. The Defence Forces listed punishment in that case as a term of detention and a series of fines along with severe reprimands. That person is no longer serving, according to the details that were provided. Asked about the records, a spokesman said the Defence Forces had been clear there was no place for any form of gender-based violence, abuse or any form of inappropriate behaviour by members whether on or off duty. The Defence Forces unequivocally condemns any actions by serving personnel that are contrary to military regulations or that do not reflect our values, he said. Any conviction in a civilian court may have implications for the retention and service of members of the Defence Forces, as stipulated in military regulations. The spokesman said that in practical terms the Defence Forces always had to await the culmination of any appeals before discharges or other measures could commence. Where disciplinary issues occur within the scope of military discipline, it remains a matter for the independent offices of the Director of Military Prosecutions and the Military Judge, he said. Stamp duty on bulk buying of new homes by vulture funds should be doubled to 20pc, a Fine Gael Junior Minister has said. Neale Richmond, Fine Gaels Minister of State with responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance, said he wants the measure to be introduced in Budget 2025 on October 1. If it isnt, he said his party will include it in its upcoming general election manifesto, in a move that looks likely to annoy coalition partners. It follows a proposal last January from opposition party Sinn Fein, who sought to increase the rate of stamp duty on bulk purchases of new homes by vulture funds to 17pc. The proposal was subsequently rejected by the Government following a Dail vote. Mr Richmond told The Sunday Times that his party intends to increase the duty on the purchase of ten or more homes within a year. Asked today whether he was admitting that the Governments current policy is inadequate, the Fine Gael Junior Minister told RTEs This Week programme: No. What I am putting out quite clearly is that we have to keep policies always under constant review. He stressed that the stamp duty rate that was put out has worked to an extent by slowing down the amount of bulk purchases but it hasnt worked completely. The Dublin-Rathdown TD referenced an unconfirmed figure of 600 homes that were allegedly picked up this year by vulture funds. "That is 600 homes that could be going to families within my constituency or anywhere around the country. We in Fine Gael are the party of home ownership. We want to be flexible and use every lever so that more people can own their own home, he said. He added that if the current 10pc rate isnt working then his party must be ambitious and double its rate to 20pc. Referring to Sinn Feins earlier attempt to raise the rate to 17pc in January, Mr Richmond said Housing Minister Darragh OBrien said he had no intention at that stage of introducing it. He added that budgetary proposals shouldnt be made at that stage. Mr Richmond said he will be raising the proposal of doubling the rate of stamp duty for vulture funds to 20pc with Finance Minister Jack Chambers when they sit down for budgetary discussions next week. When asked if he has mentioned the proposal to Minister OBrien, the junior minister said he has not as he has not had the opportunity to do so. Asked if his proposal is an attempt at electioneering, Mr Richmond said he completely rejects the assertion. "This is about going into the budgetary process and in due course, planning out what we want in terms of delivering homes in the coming months and in due course, for the next five-year term, he said. When asked if he is trying to put pressure on his Fianna Fail coalition partners to deliver the stamp duty doubling in the Budget so as to claim credit, Mr Richmond responded: What this is about, is delivering more homes for Irish people to own. He credited the good work done by Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and the Green Party in delivering more housing. "I dont think this will cause any friction. I dont know how wanting to deliver more homes to be owned by Irish people will cause friction, he said. This might not be something that can be done in this Budget and I accept that.. But if not it will absolutely be a plank of my partys manifesto going forward and hopefully any programme for government future negotiations going forward. Reacting this evening, a spokesperson for Darragh OBrien said the Housing Minister had introduced changes to the planning system in May 2021 to protect traditional family homes from commercial institutional investors bulk purchasing them in competition with the owner-occupier market. These changes have resulted in approximately 50,000 houses and duplexes being prevented from bulk sales, the spokesperson said. In May 2021, the Department of Finance also introduced a 10pc stamp duty levy on the cumulative purchase of 10 or more residential houses in a 12-month period. "As said at that time, this measure would be kept under review. Minister O'Brien understands a review is being carried out by the Department of Finance and awaits its completion, the spokesperson added. Former taoiseach Leo Varadkar will tell his story 'with courage and candour', say his publishers Former taoiseach Leo Varadkar has sold rights to his memoirs, after a bidding war involving nine publishers. The deal, for a substantial six-figure sum, has been signed with Sandycove, an imprint of the publisher Penguin. The autobiography, which will cover both his political and personal life, will be published in autumn 2025. Eight serving, retired and deceased gardai are set to be honoured with Scott Medals for bravery this morning. Garda Commissioner Drew Harris will host the ceremony at Garda HQ in Dublin, which will also be attended by Justice Minister Helen McEntee. Two recipients of Gold Scott Medals were targeted by gunmen and died in service. Superintendent John Curtin was on duty on March 21, 1931 and had conducted a late-night inspection of Golden Garda Station in Friarsfield Co Tipperary. When he returned home the gates to his house had been closed and he was ambushed by armed gunmen who shot him a number of times, fatally wounding him. He was unarmed at the time. He died that same night without regaining consciousness. Despite receiving a threatening letter in November 1930, Superintendent Curtin continued with his duties at a time of great uncertainty in Ireland. In the days prior to his death, he had brought a number of suspects before the Circuit Court in Clonmel in relation to paramilitary activity. Superintendent Curtin will be posthumously awarded a Gold Scott Medal, as will Detective Sergeant Denis OBrien who was shot dead while leaving his home in Rathfarnham to attend work at Dublin Castle on September 9, 1942. He found his gates had been closed against him and he was ambushed by a number of men. He managed to draw his weapon and open fire, but was shot by a man with a Thompson machine gun. One gunman was subsequently convicted and sentenced to death by hanging. A Silver Scott Medal is to be awarded to Garda Timothy McSweeney who on March 24, 2022, responded to a call at a house in Douglas Co Cork, where there was a domestic incident taking place and the injured party was in fear for her safety and that of her children. Garda McSweeney entered the house and spoke with a man who threatened him with a large knife. Garda McSweeney grabbed his wrist with the intention of disarming him, and a violent struggle ensued where Garda McSweeney suffered a number of knife wounds to his arms and an injury to his knee and back when he was dragged to the floor. Despite his injuries, Garda McSweeney continued to struggle with the man for some time until he managed to get the male onto the ground, drew his baton and restrained him. Five Bronze Scott Medals will be awarded to Garda Morgan Lahiffe, posthumously, who helped apprehend armed raisers of a shop in Togher, Cork, on August 20, 1971; Sergeant Niamh Connaughton and Detective Garda Warren Farrell, who were threatened at gunpoint while foiling an armed raid at an off-licence in Clondalkin on March 27, 2013; and Inspector Joseph Finnegan and Sergeant Kieran Flynn, who in treacherous conditions recovered the bodies of two men who had become trapped in a sea cave at Belderrig, Co Mayo, on October 25 1997. In 1924, Colonel Walter Scott donated to An Garda Siochana a $1,000 gold bond, in perpetuity, to endow a bravery medal, the Walter Scott Medal, and included the dies from which all Scott medals would be struck. The Scott Medal is the highest award that can be bestowed by the Commissioner of An Garda Siochana and is awarded for most exceptional bravery and heroism involving the risk of life in the execution of duty. Hugh Bredin, who has died aged 85, was a senior lecturer at Queens University Belfast (QUB) in scholastic philosophy and will be remembered for his prolific writing, strong social conscience, his diverse range of interests and his commitment to his students. Such was his political awareness, he was one of a number of academics who publicly opposed internment without trial in the North during the Troubles and he taught prisoners in Long Kesh on a voluntary basis. A lifelong friend of Seamus Heaney from schooldays, he had a keen interest in poetry, art and literature. He had a facility for languages and translated writings on medieval aesthetics by Umberto Eco, the Italian philosopher, novelist and cultural critic. Hugh Terence Bredin was born in Coleraine, Co Derry, in April 1939 and grew up in Maghera, where his parents were primary school teachers. He attended secondary school at St Columbs College in Derry, where Heaney was one of his classmates. Later Bredin registered to study for the priesthood in Maynooth University, but took a degree in English instead as he was said to have been disillusioned with the regimentation and potential boredom of a church vocation. He became a school teacher and taught from 1961 to 1964 before opting to register for a masters degree in philosophy at QUB. He credited the universitys professor of philosophy Theodore Crowley for encouraging him to pursue an academic career. Bredin shared an apartment with Heaney during his early postgraduate years and secured a PhD in philosophy in 1967. During the 1960s, he was a member of The Group, a creative writing and discussion forum initiated by poet and critic Philip Hobsbaum who was then lecturing in the arts faculty at QUB. Members included James Simmons, Stewart Parker, Bernard MacLaverty, Michael Longley and Seamus Heaney. He was appointed as assistant lecturer at QUB in 1966 and became senior lecturer in 1974. He took a keen interest in the writings and work of Noam Chomsky during a year as a visiting fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where the US linguistic expert and social critic worked as a professor. Bredins linguistic ability meant that he could teach himself a new language wherever he was for research purposes. This skill extended to music. While a student at Maynooth University, he taught himself to play cello for a one-off performance and he maintained an interest in music, particularly piano, throughout his life. During his 39 years at QUB, he held administrative and committee roles, with much committee work reflecting his interest in student welfare. He supervised a number of postgraduate students, including journalist and writer Fionola Meredith, who said that she valued his exceptional clarity of thought and his ability to express and explain complex philosophical ideas in language of great eloquence and simplicity. We are all empirically aware of the brutalising effects of ugly surroundings on the people who live in them Among the many students he influenced was Kieran Conway, a republican prisoner in Long Kesh when Bredin taught voluntarily there in the 1970s. Writing in Southside Provisional: From Freedom Fighter To The Four Courts, Conway, who became a lawyer, credits Bredins influence and says Bredin brought an entirely new dimension to my thinking. Bredin was co-author with Liberato Santoro-Brienza of the seminal work, Philosophies Of Art And Beauty: Introducing Aesthetics, published by Edinburgh University Press in 2000. He contributed many papers to academic journals on subjects ranging from art and literature in Platos Republic to the semantic structure of verbal irony. In his paper on the theory of beauty, which his widow Isabel quoted from at his funeral, Bredin wrote that we are all empirically aware of the brutalising effects of ugly surroundings on the people who live in them, and a partial measure of the nobility and wealth of a culture is its concern for beauty and its capacity to create and enjoy it. He wrote a piece on censorship for the Newman Review in 1969, which, in the opinion of his son, Lurach, reflects how his philosophical and cultural views were connected to the world in which he lived, with the lived experience of people and cultures, as opposed to the more formalist and abstract tendencies in philosophy and culture. An evil in itself, it is a perversion of law and infringes the most fundamental human right of all: freedom Bredin was also a signatory to a statement opposing the policy of internment without trial introduced by the British government in the early 1970s in Northern Ireland. The signatories described internment as an evil in itself, because it is a perversion of law and because it infringes the most fundamental human right of all, the right to freedom. He sent more than 50 copies of the statement to various diplomats and politicians, and his extensive library includes replies from the late former taoiseach Garret FitzGerald and Conor Cruise OBrien. Bredin married Noelle Agnew, daughter of mid-Ulster Irish republican lawyer and activist Kevin Agnew, and the couple had three children. They later divorced and he married Isabel Kangas in 1983 and the couple had two children together. Bredin undertook literary reviews, wrote regular reviews of poetry for Fortnight magazine, and wrote a short story, The White Flower, about a clerical student fed up with church management. It appeared in Modern Irish Love Stories, edited by David Marcus and published in 1974. Towards the end of his academic career, he railed against QUB managerial forces which were proposing cutbacks in key humanities departments. Having always been interested in Chomsky, he took his political gadfly approach to the issue, editing and writing anonymously on the impact of such evisceration of the arts and humanities for a satirical magazine, Barbarus. In a letter to The Irish Times in July 2002 on the closure of the school of classics in QUB, he responded to a fellow academics statement that the study of classical texts in their original language would continue in Queens, even though the languages in which the texts were written would no longer be taught. This is rather like saying that physics will be taught at Queens even though mathematics wont. Or that palaeoecology will be taught without students having to learn about carbon dating, Bredin wrote. Bredins connection with Italy and with North America was abiding for much of his life in addition to a broad interest in the wider world, and a deep and multi-faceted connection to the culture of Ireland, his son Lurach said. At his funeral, celebrant Brett Lockhart recalled how Bredin was part of a notable generation who taught scholastic philosophy at QUB, alongside colleagues such as his close friend Tim Lynch and Jimmy McAvoy. Bredin exemplified what the 19th century theologian and priest Saint John Henry Newman envisaged in his The Idea Of A University: to think and to reason and to compare and to discriminate and to analyse, Lockhart said. For all his erudition and academic sophistication, Lockhart said, he also had a strong faith which was straightforward, uncomplicated and unwavering. When Bredin was diagnosed with dementia, he felt the assault on his mind which had been such a forensic instrument very deeply. Lockhart said the insight of Dylan Thomas resonated with his family, when the poet wrote: Do not go gentle into that good night, / Old age should burn and rave at close of day; / Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Bredin's cousin, journalist and author Deaglan de Breadun, gave a reading at the funeral ceremony. Hugh Bredin is survived by his wife, Isabel, and his children Susannah, James, Lurach, Michael and Anne. Ryanair co-founder Declan Ryan on giving away his fortune, battling depression, and his friend Michael OLeary An interview for the Oxygen Advantage podcast offered a rare glimpse into the life of the entrepreneur, writes Liam Collins in one of September's most read articles An interview for the Oxygen Advantage podcast offered a rare glimpse into the life of the entrepreneur, writes Liam Collins in one of September's most read articles Liam Collins Sun 8 Sep 2024 at 03:30 Ryanair co-founder Declan Ryan has said he has given away most of his wealth through his philanthropic agency, One Foundation. I just wanted to punch a wall Meet the family that said no to a mobile phone for their teenager When writer Emily Hourican realised the terrible impact of giving a phone to her oldest child, she decided to ban her younger daughter, Bridget Crann, from owning one. Mother and daughter give their honest views on a thorny subject... Emily Hourican - Why I won't give my 14-year-old a mobile phone Emily Hourican and Bridget Crann Sun 8 Sep 2024 at 03:30 Im a nearly 14-year-old girl in second year and Im the only person my age I know without a phone. On September 7, cyber specialists of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine attacked several Russian companies. In particular, companies that produce components for radio electronics, spare parts for Russian weapons , and metal processing equipment were targeted. ADVERTISIMENT This was reported on the official Telegram channel of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine. The resources of companies involved in the construction of Russian military infrastructure were also affected. Among the attacked companies are SMKomplekt EC, KristElKom, Kontur-NIIRS, Chip-prof, Chelyabinsk Plant of Industrial Modernization, Sibinstrument, Smetka.ru, and others. The propaganda "Simferopol Forum" also came under attack. DIU specialists gained access to 14 servers and destroyed the internal infrastructure, erasing system files, databases and backups. ADVERTISIMENT On September 7, on the occasion of the Day of Military Intelligence of Ukraine, the DIU cyber specialists conducted a special operation in Russia. They posted an original greeting card on Russian web resources. Earlier, OBOZ.UA reported that the DIU cyber specialists attacked Russian infrastructure. Lukoil, the State Traffic Police, the Bank of Russia, and Russian authorities were under attack. A total of 18 servers were destroyed beyond repair, and the infrastructure of Antenna LLC, which provides services to a large number of government agencies and commercial enterprises involved in supporting Russia's aggression against our country, was affected. ADVERTISIMENT Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Last Thursday morning in Dublin, if you put bikeshed into a Google search, the awesome power of the algorithm was all too evident. In a nanosecond, your search became Leinster House bikeshed. Equally, a search for Leinster House helpfully gave you adverts for bikesheds alongside your results. Its no wonder the politicians are tearing their hair out. Just as Simon Biggles Harris was guiding his fighter to an airstrip that had only lately come into view, throwing out bales of political chaff to distract onlookers, the plane shudders from a direct hit. Thrust into the global spotlight last week as the victim in Frances worst mass rape case, Gisele Pelicot has conducted herself with an almost superhuman courage and dignity. But her dignity, as she has explicitly stated, is not just a coping strategy, it is also a political act. When she holds her head high walking out of court each day, she is doing it not just for herself but also for every woman who has ever been sexually abused. She is pursuing her intention to ensure that shame changes sides. Since the publication of the Scoping Inquiry report on abuse in Catholic schools, various ministers have condemned what happened. They have rightfully called on the religious orders involved to pay restitution to their victims. However, this is the same Government that has done nothing to implement a 2014 ruling from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in favour of Irish citizen Louise OKeeffe, regarding the abuse she suffered at national school. This brave woman should not have been pushed all the way to the ECHR in a quest for justice. It is another case of deflect and deny by our Government. Their obligation to the children who attended national schools is no more and no less than that of the religious orders they have now called out. It appears some ministers would like Justice to peek out from under her blindfold to ensure the scales are tilted in their favour. Paddy Murray, Castlepollard, Co Westmeath Dont discount probability that abuse also happened in non-religious schools The reports of abuse in Irish schools make for horrific reading, all the more so when perpetrated by those aligned with religious orders. My personal experience was a mixed bag. In primary school, I had the misfortune to spend five years under the less-than-tender care of a brute who was physically and verbally abusive. I hasten to add that he wasnt affiliated to a religion, but was a lay teacher. My secondary education was much better. It was mainly provided by diocesan priests, who were gentle by nature. It appears that the UK was no better in this regard. Charles Spencer, brother of the late Princess Diana, recently revealed that he was subjected to horrific physical and sexual abuse at his secondary school. Sadly, it appears that the teaching profession attracted too many dubious individuals. Hopefully, it has improved. Eric Conway, Navan, Co Meath Emotional scars dont heal victims carry burden for remainder of their lives I attended Willow Park and Blackrock College as a boarder in the 1960s. Sadly, I experienced many years of physical and mental abuse. Any kind of abuse, be it sexual or otherwise, stays with victims for the rest of their lives. The following is from a notice to students, both past and present, from both schools. It is an acknowledgment of the findings laid out in the Scoping Inquiry report. We are deeply saddened and regretful that a significant number of students, in the care of the schools, were subjected to historical sexual abuse over the years. Both the scale of the abuse and the duration of the time frame over which the abuse was perpetrated is shocking and a shameful period in the history of the schools. Brian McDevitt, Glenties, Co Donegal People with a dim outlook filled roles they should never have been let near All right-thinking adults are horrified by the contents of the Scoping Inquiry report. However, this should not be seen as an opportunity to attack all members of the clergy. The perpetrators were beguiling people to begin with. A majority of the clergy, to be truthful, were ignorant of life, both its pleasures and traps. Reading material was severely restricted and, as we know, narrow education narrows thinking. When combined with the illusion that these were Gods specially chosen people, it can be no great shock that reality flew the coop. This was pushed further by a public that placed them on a platform of straw upon their appointments as clerics and teachers. There is a giant elephant in the room. Nobody wants to address it, but it needs to be addressed very seriously by anyone who claims to be Christian. Christian teaching is that God is omnipotent that He/She knows everything about each and every persons life. The denials and mistruths by church leaders about sexual abuse of children can be seen as denial of Gods omnipotence. If not, these men and women are of the opinion they can fool God. Declan Foley, Melbourne, Australia Offensive image in school book was like a depiction of Ireland from the 1920s Occasionally, establishment Ireland pulls back the curtain and we get a picture of how we are really viewed. A recent junior cycle booklet on health and well-being contained a chapter titled All Different, All Equal. An image shows Paddy and Patricia with two red-haired children. The children are ceili dancing next to a thatched roof and wearing Aran jumpers. The girls skirt is in the colours of green, white and orange. Dad is in wellingtons with pike in hand, while cows graze in the field. In case we miss how some view us, the book says they eat potatoes and cabbage every day. It adds that they dont like change or difference either. I am 72. I recall how we laughed at Eamon de Valeras failed vision from the 1920s of his idyllic Ireland, which involved comely maidens. I cringed through Darby OGill and the Little People and The Quiet Man. Turned out Devs Ireland existed around me all the time. U2, Rory Gallagher, Thin Lizzy, The Pogues, Ryanair, the Celtic Tiger, Cillian Murphy, Jacks Army and our Olympians were all a figment of my imagination. We were potato-munching culchies all along. I will remind you that the chapter was titled All Different, All Equal. It seems to me that, just like in George Orwells Animal Farm, some are more equal than others and it isnt Paddy or Patricia. An apology has been issued and it has been changed, but it should never have come to that. John Cuffe, Co Meath Insulting potato-eating picture outdone by family with big carbon footprint The publishers of the school book depicting a traditional Irish family as well as a new, mixed-race Irish family have agreed, thankfully, to remove it from the curriculum. However, while people rightfully expressed dismay regarding the traditional potato-eating, Aran jumper-wearing family, I was more concerned about the new Irish family. They like curry, pizza and Asian food, which doesnt sound particularly wholesome. They also love travelling abroad. This family has little concern for the impact of their behaviour on the environment. Peter Declan OHalloran, Belturbet, Co Cavan Spiritans twisted their missionary ethos to export a known abuser The Supreme Court in Ireland decided in 2009 that the State is not liable for historical abuse in schools. Victims of abuse want that to be changed as a matter of urgency Abusers Arthur Carragher and Henry Maloney were moved after committing their crimes Colin Murphy Sun 8 Sep 2024 at 03:30 One day in 2001, I arrived in the bombed-out town of Camacupa in central Angola as part of a team from the charity Concern. Camacupa had been cut off for years by the Angolan civil war, but had just been declared safe for us to visit. After what it termed an Armed Struggle and the Long War, the Provisional IRA called a complete cessation of military operations on 31 August 1994. By that stage, the organisation was responsible for the deaths of 1,700 people. The IRA never actually used the word, but this cessation became known as the ceasefire. The cessation broke down 17 months later with the IRA detonating a massive bomb in Londons Canary Wharf killing two people. However, the level of violence never returned to previous levels, and the first ceasefire is widely seen as a key event in the Peace Process. This episode of the Indo Daily come from our sister podcast the BelTel. Ciaran Dunbar looks at the lead up to the ceasefire, the debates in the IRA and how the announcement was made. Hes joined by journalists Brian Rowan and Allison Morris, former Belfast Telegraph editor Ed Curran and historian Fearghal Mac Bhloscaidh. South Sligo is well known in traditional music circles as one of the most important regions in the development of the music we know today. Fiddle players such as Paddy Killoran, Michael Coleman and James Morrison came from the area originally, before moving away to New York to become some of the most important figures in Irish musical history. Many more local musicians, such as Fred Finn and Peter Horan, Sonny McDonagh and Willie Coleman were also well known within the music community. Many of the old musicians from the area have been honoured by their local communities with a monument in their honour, lest we forget. Monuments to the deceased musical greats can be found all over the broader North Connacht region. As part of this years Paddy Killoran Festival, in Ballymote on 13th-15th September, there will be a bus tour visiting many of the closest monuments to Ballymote, (it would take a week to explore the whole of North Connacht!). Daithi Gormley, acclaimed musicologist and accordion player, is one of the foremost authorities on the history of music in South Sligo. He co-produced the Sligo Masters DVD in 2015 which told the stories of Coleman, Morrison and Killoran. Daithi will host the tour, talking about the musicians, playing their music, with recordings, meeting some of the locals at the monuments, and generally having a bit of craic, in a fairly relaxed, informal , but informative, way. The bus will depart at 1.30pm from the Paddy Killoran Monument, which is at the Town Park entrance on the Creamery Road (50 metres from the small roundabout, signposted Gurteen). Bring your own snacks, as most of the stops will be in fairly remote locations. The tour is scheduled to arrive back in Ballymote between 4pm and 4.30pm. You can wind down with a few more tunes in Gormleys Corner House or Doddys , where the Session Trail continues for the whole weekend. Enniscorthy councillor Jackser Owens is calling for the council to employ a traffic warden for St. Aidans primary school to safeguard children on their morning commute to school. St Aidans is the second biggest primary school outside of Dublin, with over 1,000 pupils attending the school. The size of the student body, coupled with the busy road outside the premises means it is a health and safety issue, according to Cllr Owens. "I have been told that parents are remarking that it is not safe and crazy that there are no traffic wardens positioned outside the school. The two existing wardens retired and the council knew about this issue in June, so they had enough time to employ someone, he said. Having been a traffic warden for many years, but recently giving it up as he reached the retirement age of 70, Cllr Owens knows too well how essential the role of warden is. "I know first hand how dangerous the roads can be the employment of a school warden is a priority. 99 per cent of the time, a car will stop for passing children, but the other one per cent wont, and one per cent is enough of a risk, he added. A spokesperson from Wexford County Council has issued a statement that the Roads Section are currently carrying out surveys and assessment as to whether the school needs a school warden. "The Roads Section are currently carrying out an assessment of the type and numbers of vehicles passing the school and the numbers of unaccompanied school going children crossing the road in the vicinity of the school. This assessment is carried out whenever a Warden resigns / retires and is part of the Councils policy on whether we continue to provide an Adult School Warden service or consider alternative measures," they said. They said the purpose of the surveys is to establish whether there has been an increase or decrease in unaccompanied students crossing the road in the vicinity of the school, as well as if vehicular traffic numbers have increased or decreased also. "Unfortunately, these surveys could only be undertaken after the school had reopened and we expect a decision to be made within the next fortnight, they added. Reflecting on his time as a school warden, Cllr Owens said he will miss seeing the children off every day while ensuring their safety. "It was a job I took great pride in for the last decade and I will miss seeing all the smiling faces of the kids and parents every day. I just want to wish all the boys and girls the best of luck for the future, he said. A warm tribute was paid to the outgoing chairperson of the Kennedy Summer School, New Ross man Willie Keilthy, at the speaker's lunch. Current chair Eileen Dunne thanked all of the speakers who, she said, had given up of their time to participate in the summer school. I want to say a particular welcome to our American guests and most particularly our colleagues from Purdue University. The inaugural summer school in 2012 was designed as a precursor to a series of events marking the 50th anniversary of JFK's visit here in 1963. It was founded by some very special people, Noel Whelan, Sean Reidy and Willie Keilthy. She said Willie has been at the helm for many years. Along the way unfortunately we have lost our dear friend Noel Whelan, but I'm happy to say that Sinead, his wife, remains on the board of directors and we are also joined by his son Seamus. She said the committee suffered another blow, with the passing of Dr Bob Mauro of Boston College. Eileen thanked everyone who makes the event possible: Wexford County Council, Liz Hore, Eamonn Hore, Alan Fitzhenry, Failte Ireland and their CEO Paul Kelly, the OPW and their team, Purdue University, Sean Connick and the JFK Trust and all the team here and my fellow directors. She paid a special tribute to Sharon Doyle also for all her work in organising the festival. Mr Keilthy was presented with a framed photo of all of the programmes for the festivals down through the years. "Willie has been at the helm over the last number of years through good times and bad. Through the deaths of Noel and Bob, and then Covid. She thanked Willie's wife EIleen also, for making such a huge contribution to the Kennedy Summer School and to the town of New Ross. The West Wicklow Festivals winter programme brings together world-class musicians for a busy November schedule of concerts taking place at Manor House at Tulfarris Hotel and Golf Resort. Things commence on Thursday, November 14, as Irish violinist Patrick Rafter and festival founder and pianist Fiachra Garvey celebrate the launch of their debut album with Rubicon Classics, starting at 8pm. This much-loved duo will perform a captivating programme beginning with the poignant Poeme Elegiaque by Ysaye, inspired by Shakespeares tragic love story, Romeo and Juliet, and dedicated to Faure. The connection to Faure continues with Ravels Sonata No. 2 in G major. The second half comprises Lekeus gargantuan Sonata in G major. Irish clarinettist Carol McGonnell, English violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen, and Fiachra Garvey take to the stage on Friday, November 15. The trios programme will include the evocative and folk-inspired Trio for clarinet, violin, and piano by Khachaturian, followed by Stravinskys dynamic LHistoire du soldat, inspired by the Russian tale of The Runaway Soldier and the Devil, and Milhauds spirited Suite Op.157b, written for the stage play The Traveller Without Baggage. This concert will also proudly include a new festival commission by the acclaimed Irish composer and video-game music sensation Eimear Noone, to commemorate the West Wicklow-born ballet icon Ninette de Valois. Fiachra Garvey, artistic director of the festival, commented: For several years now I have wanted to commission a work to pay tribute to one of the greatest cultural icons from west Wicklow, Dame Ninette de Valois. "A pioneer in so many respects, one of her greatest legacies was the establishment of the Royal Ballet. Born locally at Baltyboys House as Edris Stannus, Ninettes story is one of great adventure! "When I was contemplating a composer to approach with regards to writing this new commission, I immediately thought of Eimear Noone, particularly due to her close connection to the LA Ballet for many years. Concluding this concert will be Bartoks vibrant Contrasts Sz.111, written for the American clarinettist Benny Goodman. The music continues on Saturday, November 16, at 12 noon with a Rising Stars concert that will showcase the talents of South Korean violinist Jisun Min and Latvian pianist Didzis Kalnins. The dynamic duo will present a stunning programme including Stravinskys ballet-inspired Suite Italienne, Mendelssohns lyrical Sonata in F major and Ravels fiery Tzigane. Min and Kalnins will also perform an exciting world premiere of the winning composition from the West Wicklow Festivals composition competition, in partnership with the Contemporary Music Centre. On Saturday evening the acclaimed French piano trio, Trio Talweg, present a compelling programme starting with Brittens French-influenced Introduction and Allegro, Schumanns most celebrated and intensely romantic Piano Trio No.1 in D minor, Op.63, Irish composer Gerald Barrys uniquely vivacious and rhythmical Triorchic Blues, and finishing with Ravels exquisite Piano Trio in A minor, M. 67, arguably the most loved of all piano trios. On Sunday, November 17, an exquisite Sunday afternoon recital featuring Irish star soprano Anna Devin and Fiachra Garvey takes place. The wide-ranging programme will include songs and solo piano works by Chausson, Debussy, Ravel, Grieg, Gershwin, and Korngold. Two particular highlights will be Ravels exotic interpretation of Sheherazade and the roar of American jazz in Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue for solo piano. The West Wicklow Festival has also launched a new partnership with Baltinglass Further Education and Training Centre and Music Generation Wicklow to launch a 10-week course in adult music appreciation and education, running from September to November. Participants will showcase their experiences and learnings in a coffee concert on Sunday, November 17, the final day of the Winter Weekend Festival. Tickets for the concerts can be purchased from www.westwicklowfestival.com. A Waters of Life public meeting has been scheduled to discuss water quality in rivers around Annamoe, Laragh, Oldbridge, Moneystown and Sally Gap. The status of water quality in the Avonmore sub-catchment is mixed according to a recent publication by the EU-funded meeting hosts. The sub-catchment includes the Glenmacnass and Inchavore rivers as well as Cloghoge Brook and the upper section of the Avonmore River. The projects summary is based on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data and a catchment assessment by the Local Authorities Water Programme (LAWPRO). The Glenmacnass river has been assigned good ecological water quality status by the EPA. The river includes the spectacular Glenmacnass falls and runs alongside military road. It has not been deemed at risk of losing its status. The upper sections of the Avonmore river range in moderate to high water quality status as it rises near the Sally gap and flows into Laragh. All rivers with moderate water quality need to be restored under Irelands legal commitment to the EU Water Framework Directive. Waters of Life will be working to restore water quality in the upper reaches of the Avonmore river and Inchavore rivers as well as Cloghoge Brook. Two sections of river in the sub-catchment are at risk of not meeting their objective, according to the EPA. The public meeting takes place in the Brockagh Resource Centre in Laragh from 7.30pm on Thursday, September 12, and will address issues and pressures in the area, as well as an approach to protecting and restoring water quality. Anne Goggin is project manager with Waters of Life and said: We chose the Avonmore as a demonstration sub-catchment because it has the potential to be among the best in the country for water quality status. It has some areas of high status and well be working with landowners to try and restore other areas. We had good discussions about local issues and pressures at our drop-in consultations in Laragh last month. Forestry was a recurring theme and well be talking about some of the solutions were working on at our public meeting. Water quality in the area runs from moderate to high. Well be working to protect some areas and improve others but there are risks there based on the issues and pressures identified. Were hoping for a big turnout out for the public meeting. Working with the community is vital for our catchment management plan. The LAWPRO assessment found that too much fine sediment, nutrients and acidity were issues in the Avonmore sub-catchment. Fine sediment occurs in nature, but too much of it in the wrong place can suffocate a river. Nutrients such as phosphorous can cause eutrophication the growth of too much algae and other plants in rivers. Too many plants rob water of oxygen, making it hard for fish and other animals to survive. When a water body gets too acidic, it is harmful to most animals depending on it. LAWPRO also identified forestry, peat and domestic waste water treatment systems as pressures in the area. Forestry works, such as planting or felling, can increase soil erosion and the amount of fine sediment and nutrients entering rivers. The project is aiming to support landowners with measures that work both for water quality and their land-use while helping communities to understand the importance of water quality. Their goal is to inform future policy for long-term impact at a national and EU level. US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has said that if he wins the election, he will end the war in Ukraine before he officially takes office - his inauguration is scheduled for January 20, 2025. His plan is to cut energy prices by half or more. ADVERTISIMENT Trump said this during a speech at the New York Economic Club, according to The Singju Post. He wants to achieve this result within 12 months of taking office. "When Putin has a barrel (of oil - Ed.) at $100, the war works. At $40 per barrel, it will not work at all," the politician said. In this way, he intends to end high energy prices, which allow Russia to continue to finance its war against Ukraine. Trump expressed confidence that he could end "this terrible war." "If we win, I believe I can end this war as president-elect before I even officially take office. I can stop this war because it is a terrible, terrible war. And there are far more people being killed in Ukraine than you realize," he said. Earlier, Donald Trump said he could "stop any war with a phone call." In particular, he assures that he will end "this terrible war between Russia and Ukraine." At the same time, the presidential candidate accused Joe Biden's administration of having "created" Russia's aggression against Ukraine. ADVERTISIMENT However, even those around him do not believe that he understands what he is talking about. For example, former Trump adviser John Bolton said that Trump has no idea how to end the war in Ukraine. As reported by OBOZ.UA: - Donald Trump said that in a conversation with President Volodymyr Zelensky he spoke about the need to end the war in Ukraine. He substantiated his opinion by saying that Russia is a "military machine" that "defeated Napoleon and Hitler." - Volodymyr Zelensky reacted to Donald Trump's promise to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of his election. The Ukrainian president said that if someone managed to do this, everyone in the world would just breathe a sigh of relief, but the question remains: at what cost will peace be achieved and who will pay this price. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! ADVERTISIMENT Our style guru caught up with Paul Costelloe to hear how his son and Paris inspired his spring/summer collection of pastels. With an array of sketches to showcase his work, the designer is excited for his 40th year anniversary at London Fashion Week This collection is fresh, young, sprezzatura (an Italian word meaning to make ones actions seem effortless), says Paul Costelloe. Sketch: Courtesy of Paul Costelloe I imagined a woman sitting outside Cafe de Flore, drinking her coffee, waiting for her boyfriend, looking very French," Paul Costelloe says of his latest collection. Sketch: Courtesy of Paul Costelloe An exclusive sketch hand-drawn by Paul Costelloe of his Spring/Summer 25 Collection. Sketch: Courtesy of Paul Costelloe Designer Paul Costelloe is set to showcase his Spring/Summer 25 Collection at London Fashion Week this week. Photo: Mike Marsland/WireImage Its all been running so smoothly, were ahead of time. We could show tomorrow, says Paul Costelloe. This is a statement rarely heard at London Fashion Week. Often models are pinned and prodded right up until the moment they step on the runway. So what has the designer feeling so serene? Hes embraced the beauty of simplicity. Its a non-statement, easy collection, rather than killing myself with these winter collections which have so much hard work and tailoring in them. This collection is fresh, young, sprezzatura (an Italian word meaning to make ones actions seem effortless). Its very feminine, featuring soft shapes. My motto is look good, run fast Sharlene Mawdsley on her path to the Olympics Although Costelloe is opting for softer silhouettes this season, we can still see some relaxed tailoring in his sketches above. To match the gentle silhouettes, Costelloe embraced a pastel palette. An exclusive sketch hand-drawn by Paul Costelloe of his Spring/Summer 25 Collection. Sketch: Courtesy of Paul Costelloe I went to a trade show in Milan. I found this one company that had these beautiful, very basic fabrics in pastel colours. In the SS25 collection, we opted for pale blue, pale pink, yellow and pale green. After that, I was sitting in bed with my wife [Anne], I was looking at a vase my son William had thrown in Portugal in a ceramics company he did work experience with. There was a beautiful, very simple print on it. I said to William: Why dont we make that a print for the collection. He redrew it in the pale colours and thats how we conceived it. It was so simple. Paul Costelloe's synonymous relaxed tailoring will feature in his Spring/Summer 25 Collection. Sketch: Courtesy of Paul Costelloe William Costelloe inherited his fathers artistic talents and now works closely with Costelloe as a creative director of the brand. The designer mentions he was also inspired by the Left Bank of Paris. I imagined a woman sitting outside Cafe de Flore, drinking her coffee, waiting for her boyfriend, looking very French, says Costelloe. I imagined a woman sitting outside Cafe de Flore, drinking her coffee, waiting for her boyfriend, looking very French," Paul Costelloe says of his latest collection. Sketch: Courtesy of Paul Costelloe Were also launching a hosiery collection so I have these striped socks that have all been designed to work with the colour story. Its very fresh. You could describe the look as akin to Emily In Paris. The French inspiration, however, will not stop at the clothing alone. My wife got involved in the music, I resigned on that front. It will feature songs by Francoise Hardy. When you listen to the music of the show, youre listening to Anne Costelloes creation, not mine. The garments have been sewn, the music chosen, the patterns carefully placed. Now all thats left to do is wait for the models to walk down the runway on September 13 at London Fashion Week. paulcostelloe.com Crazy runway moments Photo courtesy: x.com/LueElizondo A former Pentagon official has made shocking claims regarding the US government's dealings with extraterrestrial phenomena, media reports said. Luis Elizondo claims that the government has retrieved unidentified spacecraft and has examined biological samples from these alien beings. "The United States has been involved in the recovery of objects, vehicles of unknown origin that are neither from our country nor any other foreign country that we're aware of," the former senior US government intelligence officer told NewsNation. "We as a nation have been interested in not only the vehicles themselves but the occupants of these vehicles; to include biological specimens... We're not alone," Elizondo told the outlet. Former Pentagon official @LueElizondo sits down one-on-one with @rosscoulthart to reveal details about the U.S. government's UFO/UAP programs. Watch the prime time exclusive on Friday, Aug. 23 at 9p/8C! Then, tune in for a special edition of @BanfieldonNN. https://t.co/O1UNrX5fBq pic.twitter.com/wV8c5eEliM NewsNation (@NewsNation) August 17, 2024 Elizondo asserts that one of the recovered spacecraft is linked to the notorious 1947 Roswell incident. He further claims that the government has known about extraterrestrial life for decades and has deliberately kept this information hidden from the public. "We are not alone in this universe and it is a simple fact. The US government has been aware of that fact for decades." The former Pentagon official's statements have ignited controversy and debate. While Elizondo offers detailed descriptions of his experiences, the U.S. government has strongly denied his claims, asserting that there is no credible evidence supporting the existence of extraterrestrial activity. "I saw a technical device that had been removed, excised by the Department of Veterans Affairs by a surgeon, a trained physician, from a US military service member who claimed to have a UAP encounter," he told the outlet. "The physician claimed that the object tried to run on him or evade being excised." If true, Elizondo's revelations could deeply impact our understanding of the universe and raise questions about the U.S. government's handling of classified information. According to News Nation, the Department of Defense has rejected these claims, emphasizing that there is no "credible evidence of extraterrestrial activity." "The department is fully committed to openness and accountability to Congress and the American people, which it must balance with its obligation to protect sensitive information, sources, and methods... To date, we have not found any credible evidence of extraterrestrial activity," Department of Defense spokesperson Sue Gough told the outlet. "To date, AARO has not discovered any verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs regarding the possession or reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or exist currently." According to the outlet, he also claims that Elizondo "had no assigned responsibilities for the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) while assigned to the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security." Elizondo in an article for Newsweek wrote that he "graduated from the University of Miami with majors in microbiology and immunology, with studies in parasitology." After working in the army, Elizondo claimed that he "served as a special agent in counterintelligence" for the US. In image Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir/ Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons Islamabad/IBNS: After 25 years the Pakistani Army has, for the first time, admitted its involvement in the 1999 Kargil War. During an event to observe the neighbouring country's Defence Day, Pakistan's army chief, General Asim Munir, stated that the country lost many soldiers while fighting in the wars of 1965, 1971, and in Kargil in 1999. The statement assumes significance given the fact that the Pakistani army has never accepted its direct involvement in the Kargil War in the past. It has rather claimed that it was the work of "mujahideen or freedom fighters" Addressing the gathering the Pak Army Chief said, "Be it 1948, 1965, 1971, or the Kargil war of 1999, thousands of soldiers have sacrificed their lives for Pakistan and Islam." His statement is being seen as the first official confession by a sitting Army Chief on the direct role of the military in the Kargil war. Former Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf always claimed that the Kargil War was a successful localized action. The Kargil War was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Ladakh (erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir) and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). The Indian Air Force jointly fought with the Indian Army to flush out the Pakistan Army and paramilitary troops from vacated Indian positions along the LoC, in what was designated as Operation Safed Sagar. India has always stated that Pakistan's military move in Kargil was a calculated attempt to strengthen its grip over Kashmir. However, documents left behind by casualties and later statements by Pakistan's Prime Minister and Chief of Army Staff showed the involvement of Pakistani paramilitary forces, led by General Ashraf Rashid. In image ex-RAW chief Amarjit Singh Dulat/ courtesy: Wikimedia Commons Srinagar/IBNS: Former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief Amarjit Singh Dulat has suggested that the Congress-National Conference alliance will benefit from voters in Jammu but if it fails to remain intact, the Bharatiya Janata Party will secure a win and that J&K will have a Hindu chief minister for the first time in history. In his opinion piece titled Den of Intrigue: Indias border with Pakistan chooses a new chief minister which was carried by Russian media house RT on Saturday, Dulat, said while the Narendra Modi government claims to have brought normalcy in Kashmir, but it is abnormal normalcy." Dulat served as Joint Director of Indias Intelligence Bureau (IB) during the most turbulent period of Kashmirs history between 1988-1990. In 1999, he became chief of the Research and Analysis Wing until his December 2000 retirement. After retirement, he was appointed as Adviser on Kashmir in the Prime Ministers office where he served from January 2001 to May 2004. As per his opinion piece, Dulat believes Kashmir can see a radical change overnight as the region heads for a historic election. But which way it is now headed, nobody can say. It looks increasingly messy and fragile, he said. More scary is the silence in Kashmir. Silencing even the past is not easy and will continue to haunt us. To paraphrase the renowned Kashmiri-American poet Agha Shahid Ali, desolation cannot provide peace, Dulat wrote. According to him, there was a presence of around 100 foreign terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir; 50 in the valley and 50 in Jammu recently. The actual figure may be twice as many, Dulat insisted. Opining about the recent spate of attacks in the otherwise peaceful Jammu, Dulat said, "the Pakistani Armys Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI) appears to have figured out our counterterrorism deployment and strategy, whereas our sources of humint (human intelligence) are drying out with shifting loyalties. An increase in terrorism is a clear sign of the growth of pro-Pakistan sentiment." The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), a conglomerate of separatist Kashmiri organizations, was a Pakistani creation but because of our engagement with it, we always had information from across the line of control. The separatists are now muted but so is intelligence, said the former RAW chief. Commenting about the jailed parliamentarian from north Kashmir, Er Rashid, Dulat said, As for now, Sheikh Abdul Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid, who was elected to parliament from North Kashmir in June (despite having been detained in Tihar jail since 2019 for allegedly funding separatists in the valley), is of more value to Pakistan than the Jamaat. Let him out on parole and he will not be half as useful to anyone than he is in jail. Expressing his views on NC chief Farooq Abdullah, Dulat said that when it comes to elections in Kashmir, nobody can choreograph an election better than he can. He concluded the article by saying, If the Congress-NC alliance stays, then Jammu will vote for it; if it frays, then the BJP is sitting pretty and we have every chance of a Hindu chief minister for the first time in Jammu and Kashmirs history. The Jammu Kashmir Assembly polls are historic, being held for the first time since the region underwent major changes over the past five years, including the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019. This led to the conversion of the state to a Union Territory (UT) and its division, with Ladakh becoming a separate UT without a legislature. The elections will be held in three phases on September 18, September 25, and October 1, with the results expected to be announced on October 4. Photo Courtesy: S Jaishankar X page Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday arrived in Riyadh city to attend the First India Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Foreign Ministers Meeting. After arriving in the city, Jaishanakr posted on X: "Arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to take part in the First India - Gulf Cooperation Council Foreign Ministers Meeting." "Thank Abdulmajeed Al Smari, Deputy Minister for Protocol Affairs for the warm reception," he said. During the visit, he is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with Foreign Ministers from GCC member countries. "India and the GCC enjoy a deep and multifaceted relationship, in areas including political, trade & investment, energy cooperation, cultural and people to - people ties," read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs. Arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to take part in the First India - Gulf Cooperation Council Foreign Ministers Meeting. Thank Abdulmajeed Al Smari, Deputy Minister for Protocol Affairs for the warm reception. pic.twitter.com/cZBtBIYBdW Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) September 8, 2024 The GCC region has emerged as a major trading partner for India and is home to a large Indian expatriate community, numbering around 8.9 million. The Foreign Ministers meeting will be an opportunity to review and deepen institutional cooperation between India and the GCC across various sectors. On the second leg of the visit, External Affairs Minister will travel to Berlin, Germany for a 2 day visit from 10 11 September 2024. This will be his 3rd visit as Minister to Berlin. Both India and Germany share a robust Strategic Partnership and Germany is one of Indias prominent trading partners and among the largest Foreign Direct Investors. During the visit, EAM will meet German Federal Foreign Minister as well as the leadership and other Ministers from the German government with an objective to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations between India and Germany. The External Affairs Minister will thereafter travel to Geneva, Switzerland for an official visit from 12-13 September, 2024. "Geneva is home to a large number of UN bodies and international organizations. During the visit, EAM will meet with heads and representatives of international organizations with whom India is actively engaged," the MEA statement said. During the visit, EAM will also meet Swiss Foreign Minister to review the close partnership between the two countries and explore avenues to enhance the bilateral relationship further. Photo Courtesy: IBNS Thousands of people from different walks of life, including doctors, students, rickshaw pullers and artisans, shouted slogans demanding justice for the RG Kar rape and murder victim with Kolkata witnessing multiple rallies across various points in the city on Sunday. The fresh protests are occurring just a day before the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case related to the rape and murder of the female doctor whose body was recovered from the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. According to media reports, over 4000 former students of various schools in Kolkata walked in south Kolkata's Rashbehari Avenue over the incident which has triggered massive demonstrations in the state and across the nation for the past month. "We will not stop until justice is delivered. We will continue this protest," one of the female protesters, who walked into the rally, told media. Another ex-student of a south Kolkata school said the entire country will be looking forward to the Supreme Courts observation in the case on Monday. "We are waiting for justice and we will continue to wait for it," she said. Holding placards and banners in their hands, shouting slogans, former students belonging to different age groups were seen walking together down the busy street in South Kolkata. In another rally, held from Rabindra Sarani to Shyambazar's five-point crossing in north Kolkata, clay artisans took out a rally over the crime which has put the ruling government in West Bengal in troubled waters. The clay artisans spend busy days during this period of the year when they create idols of the goddess Durga ahead of the annual Hindu festival. "Every girl we see is Goddess Durga for us and when our girls are not safe then we need to protest," a clay artisan who participated in the rally. In the heart of the city, junior doctors of NRS Medical College and Hospital took out a rally from Sealdah to Esplanade. Apart from these rallies, Kolkata is also witnessing the third 'Reclaim the Night' campaign on Sunday night when demonstrators are hitting the streets across all corners of the city. In Garia, one of the participants told the media: "We are hoping for justice from the Supreme Court tomorrow. It is our last hope." "We are hoping for the best. We are waiting for justice tomorrow," another demonstrator participating in the rally said. The first and second campaigns were held on August 14 and September 4. Crowd also demanded a quantum of punishment for Sandip Ghosh, ex-principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital who has been arrested by the CBI in connection with alleged corruption and irregularities in the state government-run hospital. Though the RG Kar case is now being probed by the CBI, the state administration is facing public anger over its slow progress in the case until it was handed over to the premier investigating agency under the central government. Despite civic volunteer Sanjoy Roy's arrest in connection with the case, junior doctors, who are on a ceasework, as well as the victim's parents suspect more people are involved in the case. The CBI had arrested RG Kar Medical College and Hospital principal Dr. Sandip Ghosh in connection with the financial irregularities in the state-run hospital. The CBI has ruled out gangrape in the RG Kar case and said that available evidence indicates only Sanjay Roy, arrested by the Kolkata Police, was involved in the crime, The CBI was handed over the case after the Calcutta High Court expressed dissatisfaction and pointed out several lapses in the investigation by the Kolkata Police. Photo courtesy: Pixabay Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Police has filed a case against Virender Bahadur Pal, a former state secretary of the Samajwadi Party (SP), for allegedly raping a female lawyer who worked as his assistant, media reports said. The complaint was filed by the woman, who is also a former president of the Mau Bar Association, in Mau district, Uttar Pradesh, according to an India Today report. The woman accused Pal of blackmailing her with videos and photos, coercing her into a sexual relationship over the past year, and making repeated threats. Following the filing of the FIR, Pal, who has twice served as the president of the Mau Bar Association, is currently absconding. The police have launched a full investigation, and the victim has undergone a medical examination, said the report. Reports indicate that two days prior to the complaint, a physical altercation occurred between Pal and the woman at the court premises. Mau City Circle Officer (CO) Anjani Kumar Pandey stated, "On September 7, the victim lodged a complaint detailing sexual assault, physical violence, and threats. An FIR has been registered under the relevant sections of the law." Pandey added that Pal, a lawyer from Chak Mehndi, Saraylakhansi, is under investigation, and legal action is ongoing, the report stated. Pal is not only a practising lawyer but also a prominent SP leader. His father, Dayaram Pal, previously served as a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) during the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government and is currently the national secretary of SP, managing party activities in Uttarakhand. Pal's connections with senior SP leaders such as Akhilesh Yadav, Shivpal Yadav, and Ghosi MLA Sudhakar Singh have been widely shared on social media, highlighting his political influence. However, the police have assured that they are taking all necessary steps to apprehend him and conduct a thorough investigation, India Today reported. This case emerges shortly after another SP leader, Nawab Singh Yadav, was arrested for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl. Yadav, a former aide to Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav, was arrested on August 12 under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and POCSO Act and placed in 14-day judicial custody for the alleged rape of the minor. Photo courtesy: Facebook/INC Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's struggle with corruption allegations has triggered a power tussle within the state Congress, with several leaders expressing interest in the chief minister's position, media reports said. Although the Karnataka Congress and its ministers assert that Siddaramaiah will retain his role, some party members have openly signalled their readiness to step in should he step down. Senior leaders MB Patil and Shivanand Patil have been involved in a heated exchange over whether seniority should determine the next chief minister. "If the party decides and you have the support of the legislators (for the chief minister's post), there is no question of seniors or juniors," MB Patil said. "As of today, the seat (chief minister's post) is not vacant. But one day, naturally, I will occupy the seat. I am confident about that. The opportunity for Shivanand Patil is far off, as he has come from JDS/BJP," he added. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's struggle with corruption allegations has triggered a power tussle within the state Congress, with several leaders expressing interest in the chief minister's position. Although the Karnataka Congress and its ministers assert that Siddaramaiah will retain his role, some party members have openly signalled their readiness to step in should he step down. Senior leaders MB Patil and Shivanand Patil have been involved in a heated exchange over whether seniority should determine the next chief minister. MB Patil was reacting to Shivanand Patil's statement, where the latter emphasised the importance of seniority in the party. "There are many people who are seniors to him (MB Patil). Are there no seniors? He will have to wait, shouldn't you wait when there are seniors?" he asked. Shivanand Patil, while excluding himself from the race for the chief minister's position, expressed support for Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar to take on the role. "There are a lot of people who have worked hard for the party. Our KPCC president (DK Shivakumar) worked hard and built the party. He wanted to become chief minister but at the end someone else became CM. There are others and juniors who should get a chance to become CM. MB Patil has forgotten that Siddaramaiah was in JDS too. I won't remind him this," he said. In addition to MB Patil, other senior ministers like Home Minister G Parameshwara and PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi are also being considered for the chief minister's role. Supporters of Jarkiholi have even initiated a campaign in Belagavi, advocating for him to become Karnataka's next chief minister if the position becomes vacant. An advertisement in a prominent Karnataka daily featured Satish Jarkiholi's photos alongside BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his brother, BJP leader Ramesh Jarkiholi. The campaign, supported by the Rajneesh Acharya Foundation, has garnered significant attention, with many expressing hope for Belagavi to have its first chief minister. However, Satish Jarkiholi downplayed any aspirations for the role, stating he has not staked a claim and believes Siddaramaiah will remain in the position. Meanwhile, senior Congress MLA RV Deshpande expressed interest in the chief minister's post last week. "I have become minister many times. If anything, I have to become chief minister. Everyone has ambitions in life. We shouldn't run towards it. I leave it to high command," Deshpande had said. "I am older to Siddaramaiah by two years. The CM post change is far from true. Siddaramaiah is the chief minister and will continue in the post. If there's an opportunity for me to become chief minister, Siddaramaiah should give permission as he's my friend," he added. Siddaramaiah faces scrutiny over alleged irregularities in the allocation of compensatory land to his wife by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) during his tenure as Chief Minister. The controversy concerns a 3.16-acre plot in Kesaru village owned by Siddaramaiah's wife, Parvathi. MUDA acquired this land for a layout development and, as compensation, allocated 14 premium sites in Vijayanagar to Parvathi in 2022 under a 50:50 scheme. Activists claim the compensated plot has a higher market value than the original land owned by Parvathi. While the BJP has demanded Siddaramaiah's resignation over the allegations, the Congress denies any plans for his removal. The Karnataka High Court is set to resume the hearing on Siddaramaiah's petition on Monday, challenging Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's sanction for his prosecution in the matter. Siddaramaiah had filed this petition on August 19, questioning the legality of the Governor's order. Russian war criminals are increasingly killing Ukrainian soldiers who surrender. This is documented not only by law enforcement agencies but also by international organizations, but the latter cannot ensure the safety of our prisoners. ADVERTISIMENT In particular, we are talking about the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) - it continues to show the position of an "ostrich". This was stated by the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets. "The organization cannot ensure the protection of the rights of Ukrainian prisoners of war," he said. Mr. Lubinets emphasized that the ICRC does not fulfill its functions and does not record or condemn the crimes of the Russian Federation either publicly or even in its internal reports. "It seems to me that if the ICRC continues to take such an ostrich position, all countries of the world will understand why this organization exists if it does not fulfill its direct mandate," the ombudsman said. He emphasized that Ukraine requires an effective response from the international community, including new arrest warrants for criminals from the International Criminal Court (ICC). ADVERTISIMENT Russian war criminals are increasingly killing Ukrainian soldiers who have surrendered: orders are given by specific commanders of the occupation army. The latest execution, which became known, was recorded last week in the Pokrovsk direction. And in early September, the Russian occupiers committed another war crime - the enemy shot three Ukrainian prisoners of war in the Toretsk sector. Three soldiers from one of the brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine came out of the basement of a house with their hands up when Russian soldiers approached them almost closely. The occupiers laid our soldiers face down on the ground, and then almost immediately shot them in the back. In total, since November last year, at least 15 murders of unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war have been reported by Russian invaders, most of them confirmed by drone video and audio intercepts. ADVERTISIMENT As reported by OBOZ.UA, the Institute for War Studies also drew attention to the fact that the Russian occupiers are increasingly executing Ukrainian soldiers who surrender. The invaders' command seems to approve of the spread of such war crimes. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Photo courtesy: Facebook/Arindam Sil Kolkata/IBNS: The Directors Association of Eastern India (DAEI) has suspended popular Bengali filmmaker Arindam Sil following sexual harassment allegations on the sets of one of his films. The suspension, effective immediately, came after the body reviewed the seriousness of the allegations as well as the preliminary evidence. According to a statement from the DAEI Secretary Sudeshna Roy, the decision to suspend Sil was taken owing to "certain allegations" and "prima facie evidence" that raised significant concerns. The association stated that Sil will remain suspended until the allegations are fully investigated and resolved. The controversy began several months ago when a female actor on Sil's film set accused him of inappropriate behaviour with her. According to her allegation, Sil kissed her on the cheek while explaining a shot. The complaint was filed with the state's women's commission, leading to three hearings involving Sil. Last Friday, Sil appeared before the Women's Commission and issued an apology. He was asked to submit a letter expressing regret. "If the actor has been insulted by my unintended behaviour, I sincerely apologise for it." Speaking to a local media channel, he reiterated his regret for "hurting the female actor unintentionally" but said he was never spoken to regarding the suspension. "They neither asked me for any clarification nor did they clarify what the evidence is. I believe my letter to the Women's Commission was considered as their prima facie evidence." Photo Courtesy: WalesUpdatesUK X page A six-year-old girl from the UK has left people stunned after she climbed the highest mountain in North Africa. The purpose of her climbing the top of the mountain will surely win hearts. She is trying to raise fund for the hospital which saved her life when she was a baby. Seren, from Carmarthenshire, is the youngest girl to climb Mount Toubkal in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, her father Glyn told BBC. The girl is now planning to climb the top of western Europe's highest mountain Mont Blanc as a part of the initiative to raise money for Birmingham Children's Hospital. "When I was a baby, I had a big lump on my neck and they helped me," the girl told BBC. Glyn and Seren joined their guide to undertake the eight-hour trek at 40 C temperatures to reach Mount Toubkal base camp. After staying there for the night, they commenced their journey to scale the mountain top the next morning. Glyn said they had a 'brilliant' experience after reaching the top of the mountain. Speaking on her upcoming plan to climb Mont Blanc, the six-year-old told Mirror she was excited to be "seeing the snow". Asked what she loves most about climbing, Seren replied: "I like spending time with my dad, and seeing the nice things when I'm at the top of the mountain." Her father Glyn is a teacher by profession who also enjoys climbing mountains. He told Mirror: "I have a boy and I've tried to take him up the mountains, he's not interested - but Seren loves it." The girl claimed she trained for a week before reaching the top of Mount Toubkal. Her father told Mirror: "I think it was a little more than a week." Toubkal, also Jbel Toubkal or Jebel Toubkal, is a mountain in southwestern Morocco, located in the Toubkal National Park. At 4,167 m (13,671 ft), it is the highest peak in Morocco, the Atlas Mountains, North Africa and the Arab world. Photo Courtesy: IDF X page At least three Israeli civilians were shot dead during a shooting incident at the Allenby Crossing on the border between the occupied West Bank and Jordan, Israel Defense Forces said on Sunday. The Israel Airports Authority, which runs the border terminal at the Allenby Crossing with Jordan, told CNN that the three men who died worked at the crossing. Giving details about the attack, IDF posted on X: "Earlier today, a terrorist approached the area of the Allenby Bridge from Jordan in a truck, exited the truck, and opened fire at the Israeli security forces operating at the bridge." Earlier today, a terrorist approached the area of the Allenby Bridge from Jordan in a truck, exited the truck, and opened fire at the Israeli security forces operating at the bridge. The terrorist was eliminated by the security forces, three Israeli civilians were pronounced pic.twitter.com/QUPVaeHRZl Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 8, 2024 IDF claimed the attacker was 'eliminated' by security forces. "IDF soldiers were dispatched to the scene and are currently operating to rule out the suspicion of the truck being rigged with explosives, further details to follow," the security force said. The identity of the attacker is still not known. The manager of the crossing, Alex Chen, told CNN the shooter was a Jordanian driver, adding that the crossing has been closed until further notice. Quoting the Israel Airports Authority, media reports claimed all Israel's crossings with Jordan have been shut down following the incident. The Allenby Bridge crossing is considered to be crucial since it lies halfway between Amman and Jerusalem. It is the only official crossing point between West Bank and Jordan. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned the attack. In remarks at the beginning of the weekly government meeting, Netanyahu was quoted as saying by CNN that Israel was surrounded by a murderous ideology led by Irans axis of evil. According to reports, the Jordanian interior ministry has said its authority has begun probing the incident. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have reported welcomed the attack. In a statement, Hamas was quoted as saying by The Times of Israel that the attack was a natural response to the holocaust carried out by the Nazi Zionist enemy against our people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, and its plans for the Judaization of the Al Aqsa mosque. In a world brimming with sensationalism and misinformation, it has become increasingly essential to guard the sanctity of truth, especially when it involves the hallowed concepts of martyrdom and justice. A recent program aired on the UK-based MATV titled Gurdwara MiriPiri on September 2nd stirred necessary debate around this very issue the worrying trend of designating individuals as shaheeds (martyrs) within the Sikh community, often with scant regard for the truth and hasty accusations against the Government of India. The presenters did not hold back in critiquing this dangerous trend. They highlighted the increasing frequency with which ordinary deaths, even from natural causes, are being labeled as the result of conspiracy, with the blame disproportionately directed at India. This is not only misleading but harmful to the integrity of the communitys quest for justice. As an example, they cited the case of a photographer who tragically died of a heart attack during a Nagar Kirtan but was hastily declared a shaheed, a martyr, without proper investigation. This pattern of misinformation weakens legitimate struggles for justice and distorts the narrative for future generations. The MATV presenters also discussed the cases of UK-based Avtar Singh Khanda and Canada-based Hardeep Singh Nijjar, two figures whose deaths have become embroiled in controversy. In one case, Khanda, a cancer patient, died in a Birmingham hospital. Despite his known illness, some in his circle alleged that he had been poisoned by the Indian government. Such claims, the presenters pointed out, not only lack evidence but also cast doubt on the credibility of real issues that the Sikh diaspora has long sought to address. It was particularly insightful when they referred to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus hasty public statement blaming India for Nijjars death. Without clear evidence, such a rush to judgment serves no one it neither honours the deceased nor provides justice. Instead, it prematurely taints the narrative, creating unnecessary diplomatic tensions and clouding the path to truth. The presenters also cited the unresolved murder of Tarsem Singh Purewal in the UK, a case that remains a mystery to this day. Despite years of investigation, no one has been held accountable. Here, the presenters urged caution, reminding viewers that attributing blame without substantial evidence does more harm than good. It sows distrust in institutions, whether in the UK, Canada, or India, and fosters a culture of paranoia that benefits no one. Their message was clear: we must resist the urge to quickly declare anyone a shaheed without due process, and we must refrain from making baseless allegations against the Indian government. The presenters rightfully emphasized that such actions dishonor the true spirit of martyrdom, which is built on sacrifice, courage, and above all, truth. The discussion grew even more spirited when one caller expressed vehement disagreement with the presenters, only to be met with thoughtful rebuttals. This highlights a crucial point debate within the Sikh community, like any other, is vital, but it must be rooted in facts and a genuine pursuit of justice, not emotional reactions or political maneuvering. After the program aired, one of the presenters reportedly received anonymous calls, presumably from individuals unhappy with the discussion. This serves as a sobering reminder of the volatility surrounding this issue. However, the choice of the presenter to ignore these calls is a testament to the importance of standing firm in the face of intimidation. We cannot allow fear or pressure to dilute the pursuit of truth. In Punjab, where the legacy of our martyrs is deeply cherished, it is imperative to approach such matters with utmost care. The word shaheed carries immense weight in Sikh history, symbolizing selfless sacrifice for the greater good. To loosely apply this title to individuals without proper investigation not only disrespects the true martyrs of our history but also risks politicizing grief. As we reflect on the MATV program and its repercussions, let us remember that as a community, we must uphold the values of fairness, justice, and truth. Martyrdom should never be politicized or exploited for short-term gains or personal vendettas. The search for justice demands patience, wisdom, and above all, a commitment to the facts. Only then can we truly honor the legacy of those who sacrificed their lives for our community, our faith, and our freedom. (Image and text courtesy: Khalsavox.com) Photo Courtesy: Unsplash The World Uyghur Congress (WUC), a rights organisation,has condemned an alleged continuing campaign of 'threats, disinformation and smear tactics' by China against its staff, leadership and scholars. "In the last few weeks, the WUC, along with its leadership members and staff have been the target of an apparently coordinated campaign of disinformation and smear tactics, orchestrated by anonymous accounts, via individualised videos and posts," WUC said in a statement. The WUC condemned the smear campaigns against its leadership and staff members as well as the ongoing threats made against the WUC. "It is deeply troubling that this campaign includes attempts to intimidate and tarnish the personal reputations of WUCs leadership and its female and male staff," WUC said in a statement. The smear campaigns have targeted especially staff members and leadership, including WUCs interim president, Dr. Erkin Ekrem, Vice President, Perhat Muhammed, and staff members, Erkin Zunun, Ekber Tursun, Iptihar Abdureshit, Zumretay Arkin, using their private lives to spread disinformation, harm their credibility and reputation within the community and beyond and put them at risk of attack. A suspicious package was also sent to the private residence of a staff member, WUC claimed. The WUC members have also received repeated, suspicious, requests to send private information about Dolkun Isa in exchange for financial compensation. Just this week, the WUC has also learned that several anonymous individuals, purporting to represent the WUC, have been sending threatening messages to scholars who have signed a joint letter against harassment. This anonymous individual does not speak on behalf of the WUC. The WUC firmly rejects any threats made against individuals, especially for expressing their opinion and calls for a cautious response when anyone purports to speak on behalf of the WUC, outside official channels. "These tactics are an indication of the lengths that some will go to, to silence the WUC and the Uyghur cause," WUC said. These personal attacks are designed to intimidate Uyghur rights activists, undermine the WUCs credibility, discourage the youth within the movement and ultimately weaken the global movement for Uyghur rights. The WUC is a democratic and transparent organisation, and it strongly condemns any effort to instrumentalise these core principles in order to damage human rights activists credibility and the organisation, without just cause. "The Chinese government has long sought to silence Uyghur human rights activists, and critics by fabricating lies and smear campaigns. These attacks can be dangerous and undermine an entire movement," WUC said. The WUC said it will continue to monitor these cases and work to ensure a safe working environment for all and urges everyone to refrain from attacking or harassing its employees, members and concerned individuals. We will not be deterred from our work and commitment to the human rights of the Uyghur people. Photo Courtesy: Wallpaper Cave Two separate terror incidents in Wana and Lucky Marwat area of Pakistan have left at least three people, including two head constables, dead, media reports said. The attacks left three others injured. In the first incident, an explosion occurred in Kadikoy Bazaar, a village near Wana in Lower Waziristan district, leaving one person, identified as Shamsuddin, son of Malik Jameel, killed, and three others injured, reported ARY News. A targeted vehicle was completely damaged in the incident. The injured people were shifted to hospital for medical treatment. Suspected terrorists opened fire in Abba Khel, Lucky Marwat, and killed Head Constables Safiullah and Naveedullah in a separate terror incident. Pakistan has been witnessing a spike in terror activities in recent times. Photo Courtesy: @CubanOnlyTrump/Apex X page Georgia school shooting accused Colt Gray's grandfather sent a 'haunting' text and apologised before he allegedly attacked the school and shot dead four people. In an exclusive interview with New York Post, Charles Polhamus said his daughter Marcee Gray was visiting him at his home in Fitzgerald, Georgia, when Colt sent her a text Wednesday morning, just hours before he allegedly committed the crime. Im sorry, mom, the message read. Marcee, 43, reportedly called Apalachee High School and informed the counsellor of an 'extreme emergency'. I was the one that notified the school counselor at the high school, Marcee Gray texted her sister following the shooting on Sept. 4, according to a screenshot of the exchange as quoted by The Washington Post. I told them it was an extreme emergency and for them to go immediately and find [my son] to check on him," the text said. Marcee Gray described the developments in the school as 'horrible'. Its horrible. Its absolutely horrible, Marcee told the New York Post. The Apalachee High School shooter, who killed two teachers and students during the shooting incident this week, was raised in a troubled home, media reports said. Colt Gray, the baby-face Georgia school shooting suspect who is charged with murdering two classmates and two teachers, grew up in a broken and neglectful home, which police and child services visited on a regular basis, a former neighbour and landlord told The New York Post. His mother, Marcee, 43, has a lengthy rap sheet with drug and domestic violence arrests, the American newspaper reported. Colt's father Colin Gray was arrested with authorities saying he 'knowingly allowed his son' to have the weapon. Colin Gray has been arrested with four counts of Involuntary Manslaughter, two charges of Second Degree Murder and eight of Cruelty to Children, said the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). Meanwhile, Lauren Vickers, who lived next-door to the Grays in Jefferson, Georgia, told The New York Post that there were problems immediately when the Grays and their three children moved into the well-manicured neighborhood 60 miles east of Atlanta in 2022. There were nights where the mom would lock him and his sister out the house. And they would be banging on the back door, just screaming like Mom! mom! mom! and crying. It was absolutely devastating, she said. Colt Gray was charged with four counts of felony murder in connection to the shooting at Apalachee High School, an incident which left the country shocked. "He was taken to the Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center. Additional charges are expected," GBI said in a statement. Victims identified Two students and two teachers died in the shooting incident in the school which is located in Winder city. GBI identified the two deceased students as Mason Schermerhorn (14) and Christian Angulo (14). The teachers, who lost their lives in the shooting incident, were identified Richard Aspinwall (39) and Cristina Irimie (53). This was the 45th mass shooting in a US school in 2024. It was the deadliest shooting incident since March 2023 when six people died after a gunman attacked The Covenant School in Nashville. Bollywood's beloved couple, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, have stepped into a new chapter of their lives as they welcomed their first child, a baby girl, on Sunday. The joyous news arrived on the festive occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, adding to the significance of the moment. The festival, known for symbolizing new beginnings and the removal of obstacles, made the timing of their daughters birth all the more special. Social media quickly lit up with well-wishes for the couple, with fans and celebrities alike pouring in their love and blessings. Here's how the internet reacted to this joyous update: Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh are blessed with a baby girl Congratulations to the couple! Praying for babys wellbeing #DeepikaPadukone #RanveerSingh pic.twitter.com/mdXuXF7bGf Deepika Padukone Fanpage (@DeepikaAccess) September 8, 2024 Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh gave birth to a girl. Congratulations to them today#DeepikaPadukone pic.twitter.com/N0xmCSSvjC No One cares 2.0 (@MonuOfficial60) September 8, 2024 Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh are blessed with a baby girl Congratulations to the couple! Praying for babys wellbeing #DeepikaPadukone #RanveerSingh pic.twitter.com/fmbD5f8yAa ASHISH BENIWAL ( ) (@ASHISH_BENIWAL7) September 8, 2024 Just a day earlier, Deepika was spotted at the H. N. Reliance Hospital in Mumbais Girgaon area, as her delivery date approached. On Friday, she and Ranveer, along with their families, visited Mumbai's famous Siddhivinayak Temple, seeking blessings ahead of the big moment. Baby girl and Deepika in good health The couple first shared their pregnancy news in February, to the delight of their fans. Deepika and Ranveer, who tied the knot in a private ceremony at Italys picturesque Lake Como in November 2018, later hosted lavish receptions in Bengaluru and Mumbai. Since then, they have remained one of Bollywoods most admired pairs. Reports confirm that both mother and baby are doing well, and the couple, along with their families, are thrilled to welcome their little bundle of joy. Deepika and Ranveer's fans have been eagerly awaiting this milestone ever since the duo got married, and this happy news has only deepened their love for the pair. Back in February, while Deepika was in her second trimester, the couple took to Instagram to announce they were expecting their child in September, though they did not specify the exact due date. In recent days, speculation began circulating that the babys arrival was imminent. Ranveer, who had been busy with work commitments, made sure to return to the city to support his wife as the big day drew near. Also Read: Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh reportedly become parents to a baby girl Deepika was last seen in Nag Ashwins "Kalki 2898 AD," and according to the director, she even shot scenes while pregnant. Meanwhile, the couples upcoming film "Singham Again" is set to release in November. For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. Bollywood's power power couple, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, welcomed their first child, a baby girl, on Sunday. The news was shared by sources close to the couple. Deepika Padukone checked into Mumbais HN Reliance Foundation Hospital on Saturday evening, preparing for the birth of her first child. Ranveer Singh and Deepika were seen arriving at the South Mumbai hospital with their families. So, let's delve into the fascinating love story and the staggering net worth of the couple. The story of Deepika and Ranveer began in 2012 on the sets of the film "Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela," directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. What started as a fiery on-screen romance soon blossomed into a real-life love story. Both stars, with their distinctive charmDeepika's graceful poise and Ranveer's vibrant energycaptivated audiences and have since become two of the most sought-after actors in Bollywood. Deepika & Ranveer net worth Individually, both Deepika and Ranveer have built impressive careers that contribute significantly to their combined net worth of INR 860 crore, according to Siasat.com. Ranveer, known for his dynamic performances, commands a hefty INR 20 crore per film. Deepika, with her elegant screen presence, earns about INR 12-15 crore per film. In addition to their acting fees, they rake in substantial amounts from brand endorsements and business ventures. Deepika, for instance, is the face of major brands like Tanishq, Asian Paints, and global labels such as Louis Vuitton and Cartier. She also owns the skincare brand 82E and the production house Ka Productions. Real estate When it comes to real estate, Deepika and Ranveer live in style. They own a lavish 5 BHK apartment in Worli, worth around INR 40 crore, and a 4-BHK house in Prabhadevi costing INR 16 crore. Their most recent acquisition is a stunning apartment near Shah Rukh Khans Mannat, spread across four floors and valued at INR 119 crore. They also have a picturesque holiday home in Mapgaon, Alibag, costing INR 22 crore. Luxury cars Their taste for luxury extends to their car collection as well. Their garage boasts an impressive lineup including a Mercedes-Maybach GLS600 (INR 2.80 crore), an Aston Martin Rapide S (INR 3.29 crore), and a Lamborghini Urus Capsule (INR 4.5 crore), among other high-end vehicles. From their glamorous homes to their impressive car collection, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singhs lives are a testament to their hard work and success in Bollywood. As they step into this new chapter of parenthood, their continued achievements and opulent lifestyle only add to the fascination with Bollywoods favorite couple. Pakistans Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir has made a significant acknowledgement regarding the countrys military involvement in the 1999 Kargil conflict with India. Speaking during a Defence Day event at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, General Munir paid tribute to the sacrifices made by Pakistani soldiers in past wars, including Kargil, marking a historic moment in Pakistan's military narrative. First public statement of its kind from a serving army chief "1948, 1965, 1971, the Kargil war between Pakistan and India, or the war in Siachen, thousands sacrificed their lives and were martyred for the safety and security of the country, Munir said, acknowledging for the first time the Pakistan Army's direct role in Kargil. Historically, Pakistan has maintained that the Kargil conflict was led by Kashmiri militants rather than its military forces. This narrative has been long debated, with former Chief of Army Staff General Pervaiz Musharraf previously describing the operation as a successful localized action. He also acknowledged the involvement of the Force Command Northern Areas (FCNA), a unit within the Pakistan Army. While the involvement of the military was an open secret, this is the first time a sitting army chief has made such an open admission. Families of soldiers and several officials, including Mushahid Hussain Syed, have confirmed that then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was unaware of the full details of the Kargil operation, which remains a divisive issue in Pakistans military history. Background of General Asim Munir General Asim Munir became the Chief of Army Staff on November 29, 2022, after the retirement of General Qamar Javed Bajwa. Known for his distinguished military career, Munir entered the Pakistan Army through the Mangla Officers Training School and earned the Sword of Honour for his exceptional performance as a cadet. Throughout his career, he has held several key leadership positions, including directing both Military Intelligence (MI) and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). His dual experience leading both agencies makes him unique among Pakistans army chiefs. Munir is widely regarded as a disciplined and professional soldier who has maintained an apolitical stance during his tenure, even when political situations in Pakistan were unstable. He has commanded critical divisions, including those overseeing Kashmir, and has also served in Saudi Arabia, further strengthening his leadership credentials. Analysts highlight Munir's commitment to institutional integrity, noting that he has gained respect within military circles for keeping the army out of domestic politics. His leadership is viewed as crucial to addressing the public's concerns about the military amid ongoing political and social challenges. For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. Over the past day, September 7, Russian occupants suffered losses in equipment and personnel in southern Ukraine. In particular, the Defense Forces eliminated 70 invaders and 32 units of weapons and military equipment. ADVERTISIMENT This was reported in Telegram by the head of the Kherson City Military Administration Roman Mrochko. He specified that the destroyed equipment included: - 8 artillery systems; - 12 units of armored vehicles; - 5 reconnaissance UAVs; - 6 boats; - 1 motorcycle. In addition, according to Mrochko, several other enemy targets were hit: - 2 field supply points; - 10 dugouts, - 4 observation posts, - a firing position, - 4 enemy personnel hiding places, - 2 command and observation posts and a UAV launch site. Earlier, Captain Dmytro Lykhoviy, spokesman for the Tavria operational group of troops, said that the occupation forces of the Russian aggressor country had increased the intensity of assaults and the number of artillery attacks in southern Ukraine. Ukrainian soldiers, in turn, are actively defending themselves and are having some success, including regaining some positions. ADVERTISIMENT As reported by OBOZ.UA, an officer of the Armed Forces reserve, military expert Andriy Kramarov said that the group of Russian occupation forces in southern Ukraine has serious problems with logistics and supplies. However, it is not easy for the Defense Forces to launch an operation to liberate the territories, for several reasons. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! When students at the Southwestern University PHINMA in Cebu, Philippines saw the grey-haired Toh Hong Keng in class, they thought he was the professor. But much to their surprise, they were looking at another freshman medical student. In July 2024, the retired executive from Malaysia finally graduated from medical school and went on to become one of the world's oldest to do so. Who is the 70-year-old retiree from Malaysia who recently graduated from medical school? When most spend their retirement years planning travel routes across the world, indulging in gold and other long-ignored hobbies, Toh Hong Keng was already planning his stint in life: to become a doctor. My family and friends were surprised at first. Several of my friends thought I was crazy wanting to study medicine at this age, he told CNN. "It wasnt always easy," he admitted. "At 65 to 70 years old, my memory, eyesight, hearing and body are not as good as when I was younger." Keng spent his formative years living in a rubber plantation with his family in Malaysia. The youngest members of the family--him a teenager along with his siblings--would get up at the crack of dawn at 4 am to tap rubber from trees and once the task was done, they'd head to school. But becoming a doctor wasn't always his dream. "In those days we didnt have much idea about what our dreams are. We just hoped that we could have a better life." Keng went on to study engineering and chemistry at the University of Bradford in Britain, then moved to London for a master's degree. Having already worked gruelling hours as a garbage collector to pay off his student loans, Keng didn't find it difficult to find a job once back on homeground in Malaysia. After several stints and a trip across Asia, he finally settled in Hong Kong with his wife and three kids. When did he decide he wanted to become a doctor? Credit: Toh Hong Keng/Henry Ahn Photo Studio via CNN | It was less a challenge and more a life skill that he felt could help him one day In 2018, while on vacation, he met two Indian medical students in Kyrgyzstan, which is when he had an epiphany: he could become a doctor one day. The only reason why I decided to study medicine was because I wanted something useful to do, he said. Ive done different courses. Ive done economics, Ive done chemistry, Ive done electronic engineering but I dont want to do that again. It was less a challenge and more a life skill that he felt could help him one day. "If I cant be a practising doctor, at least I can look after myself somewhat," he revealed. The challenge... His search for a university and program made him realise there was a cap on the age of an applicant, with most at 40. After much research and some exams and interviews, he bagged an offer at the Southwestern University in Cebu. While most universities and colleges have a cap on an applicant's age, there are doctors who continue to practise despite their age. In India, the National Medical Commission announced in 2022 that the age restriction would be removed, and the same would be applicable to NEET that very year. What are your thoughts on this? Hit us up in the comments section below and let us know. Lead image credit: Toh Hong Keng via CNN To stay updated on the stories that are going viral follow Indiatimes Trending. Mass layoffs, zero work-life balance, hospitalisations and now... deaths. 'Corporate culture' almost sounds like a misnomer at this point; to have culture means to celebrate the customs and ideas of a community and to be able to create a distinct mark on the world by doing so. But that somehow is not the case here. Only recently there was a story on a Wells Fargo employee who was found dead at her desk four days after last clocking in. She would probably not even have been noticed missing was it not for the foul odour that started emanating from her cubicle. Earlier this month, an entrepreneur from Mumbai shared how he ended up in the hospital after suffering a terrible headache and countless bouts of vomiting. He found the culprit to be the exhaustive hours he was putting in at work and barely sleeping or eating enough. Sadly, this recent case is yet another drop in that dark ocean. A 30-year-old man from China reportedly died due to multiple organ failure after working an exhaustive 104 days with just one day off. How did the man die after working 104 days with one day off? Sadly, for the 30-year-old, even his death wasn't enough it seems; a court in Zhejiang province found the company to be only '20 per cent responsible.' According to the South China Morning Post, the man identified as Abao contracted a pneumococcal infection that arises when the immune system is weak and eventually succumbed to multiple organ failure. There was widespread outrage following the news of A'bao's death. The report explains that A'bao was signed on to work as a painter for a company whose name was withheld by the court. He began with a project in Zhoushan and clocked in a whopping 104 days of work between February and May of 2023. In all these days of work, he only got April 6 off. He then reported feeling unwell on May 25 and his condition worsened three days later. After his colleagues got him admitted to a hospital, it was found that he had a lung infection and had suffered respiratory failure. He succumbed to the infection on June 1. What did the investigation reveal? According to SCMP, officials did not classify Abaos death as work-related, following which his family took the matter to court, alleging employer negligence and asking for compensation. While the company argued that his workload was manageable and any extra hours he may have put in were voluntary, the court found 104 straight days of work to be a violation of Chinese Labour Law, eventually holding the company 20 per cent liable in the case of A'bao's death. The family was awarded a compensation of US$ 56,000 (Rs 47,00,000 lakh, roughly). What are your thoughts on this? Hit us up in the comments section below and let us know. To stay updated on the stories that are going viral follow Indiatimes Trending. The less said about corporate culture the better. The one side to it is being forced to come back to office, dealing with the constant threat of being fired, silent layoffs and dry promotions... the list goes on. One aspect of this shallow concept is also working parents being told in no uncertain terms that they can't take a leave when their child falls sick. So what are they supposed to do? Let the child get sicker? Something of the sort happened to one person who took to Reddit to voice their angst. What did the viral post spark debate online? This whole business of controlling employees has reached a ridiculous stage it seems. In a recent post on Reddit, u/__7_7_7__ asked, "Where would you report this kind of behaviour?" Right below the question was an image showing a notice a company, not named, had issued its employees recently. Be warned, it's 100 per cent infuriating. "Calling out because your child is sick is no longer a valid excuse to miss work and will now result in a write up. We do not employ your children and as such their sickness is not an excuse for you to miss work. Go team!" read the notice. The post again triggered a debate on corporate work life and exactly how fulfilling (not) it is at the end of the day. Going by the recent news of a Wells Fargo employee dying at their desk and an entrepreneur ending up in the hospital due to gruelling work hours, apparently, there's no limit to just how far companies are willing to push their employees. How did people react? Comment byu/__7_7_7__ from discussion inantiwork Comment byu/__7_7_7__ from discussion inantiwork Comment byu/__7_7_7__ from discussion inantiwork Comment byu/__7_7_7__ from discussion inantiwork Comment byu/__7_7_7__ from discussion inantiwork What are your thoughts on this? Hit us up in the comments section below and let us know. To stay updated on the stories that are going viral follow Indiatimes Trending. In yet another example of all things wrong with corporate India, a man claims his "toxic," "Indian" boss kept calling him on his day off and screamed his head off once he called back. After he tried to make calls to clients believing he was guilty, he realised there was "zero work." This isn't anything new, but one of a million cases in India where bosses treat employees as nothing more than "resources" that are meant to be used 27/4. What did the Reddit post reveal? "TL;DR - My boss is furious why I (8-5 weekdays manager) didn't pick up his call at 10pm on a Friday evening with no prior notice?" he asked. Somehow it's not hard to see that the concept of work-life culture is close to nonexistent in India. Add to that the problem of employers who don't care if it's your day off and you'll magically reappear in office in case there's work. If not that, there's the problem of zero overtime pay. With the covid lockdown and the rise of work from home most realised they were slowly getting to enjoy the work-life balance in the truest sense. It's no surprise some companies didn't prefer it that way and coerced workers back to the office. Another disgruntled soul, OP took to the 'India' sub Reddit and wrote: "Some context: I work a 8 to 5 job as a business manager - sometimes late evening calls with counterparty 12 hour time zone away. Had a 6.30pm call with my boss, and he didn't mention that we need to cover calls that night. Proceeds to call all evening amd berates me at 7am on Saturday (when I don't work) for not picking the call previous evening. We follow up, ABSOLUTELY ZERO work takes place except that my weekend is ruined." What is immediately apparent is how he was first berated for not answering calls on the weekend, and then he was dragged into the office only to realise there was no work. If that isn't a huge red flag right there, what is? Also read: Company warns employees not to skip work when their kids fall sick: 'We don't employ your children' How did people react? The post was shared on September 8 just a few hours ago and already has 1.5k upvotes and a barrage of comments. Take a look: Comment byu/inwarded_04 from discussion inindia Comment byu/inwarded_04 from discussion inindia Comment byu/inwarded_04 from discussion inindia Comment byu/inwarded_04 from discussion inindia Comment byu/inwarded_04 from discussion inindia What are your thoughts on this? Hit us up in the comments section below and let us know. To stay updated on the stories that are going viral follow Indiatimes Trending. The Body Shop, known for its ethical and eco-friendly cosmetics, has been saved from administration thanks to a major investment by Mike Jatania, an Indian-origin business tycoon. His firm, Aurea, secured the acquisition of the brand's assets, which include its stores in the UK, Australia, and North America. The deal, finalized on Friday, has ensured that 113 UK stores will continue to operate, safeguarding around 1,300 jobs. Jatania, excited about the acquisition, emphasized that his focus would be on innovation while staying true to The Body Shop's core values. Credit: The Body Shop The leadership of the company is also set to undergo a transformation. Charles Denton, formerly the CEO of Molton Brown, has been named the new Chief Executive of The Body Shop, with Jatania stepping in as Chair. Denton, known for his experience in the beauty industry, highlighted the importance of taking "bold action" to bring The Body Shop back to its former glory. Founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick, The Body Shop became a pioneering brand in the world of ethical consumerism. However, after facing a series of financial challenges under previous ownership, it entered administration earlier this year, leading to store closures and layoffs. Fortunately, this new acquisition marks the beginning of a fresh chapter for the iconic brand, though its franchises in countries like India remain unaffected by the restructuring. Who is Mike Jatania and what is his business background? Mike Jatania, the driving force behind this acquisition, has an extensive track record in the beauty and personal care industry. According to Pitchbook.com, Jatania is a co-founder and partner at Aurea Group. His career in business began in the family-owned Lornamead company in 1984, where he held various roles before becoming Chief Executive in 1990. Under his leadership, Lornamead flourished, acquiring over 35 well-known brands, including those from Unilever, Proctor & Gamble, Sara Lee, Wella AG, and Henkel. Jatania successfully transformed Lornamead into a global company, recognized for reviving heritage beauty and personal care brands. Lornamead's portfolio included popular names such as Yardley London, Finesse, and Lypsyl, and the companys products reached over 50 countries. After a series of strategic acquisitions, Lornamead was sold in 2013 to a mix of buyers, including a Chinese multinational and a large Indian corporation, marking a successful exit for Jatania and his family. Jatania holds a degree in accounting from South Bank University and is well-regarded for his ability to turn around struggling brands. How The Body Shops struggles led to its decline The Body Shop, once a leader in ethical beauty products, faced a steep decline in recent years. It first rose to prominence in the 1990s and early 2000s with its focus on natural ingredients, eco-conscious practices, and social responsibility. However, the brand struggled to maintain its identity after being sold to large corporate owners. L'Oreal acquired it in 2006, and it was later sold to Natura & Co., a Brazilian beauty conglomerate. Under these new ownerships, The Body Shop began to drift away from its original values, causing customers to lose faith in the brand's authenticity. New competitors like Lush and Rituals emerged, offering a more modern and engaging approach to ethical beauty, leaving The Body Shop trailing behind. Despite efforts to revive the brand through celebrity endorsements and creative retail concepts like the "Changemaker's Workshop" in Canada, the company couldn't regain its foothold in the market. By early 2024, The Body Shop announced plans to close nearly half of its 200 stores in the UK, laying off 40% of its London-based headquarters staff, affecting around 400 employees. These closures were a direct result of disappointing sales during the 2023 holiday season, as well as ongoing financial difficulties. Also Read: Who was Fabrizio Longo, Audi Italy boss who died after falling 10,000 feet from a mountain? The companys entry into administration earlier this year prompted the appointment of experts from FRP Advisory to oversee its operations. Early this year, it was also reported that the brands operations in Asia, particularly India, which are run by franchisees, were not impacted by the UK restructuring. For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. More than 30 yet to be identified persons, have been killed in a deadly petrol tanker explosion, which happened in Niger state. It was gathered that the horrible incident occurred at Dendo community in Agaie LGA of the state at about 12:30 am on Sunday. In a statement, made available to the public, Abdullahi Baba-Arab, the director-general of Niger State Emergency Management Agency, disclosed that the tanker was involved in a head-on collision with a trailer loaded with cattle. Advertisement Baba-Arab added that two other vehicles, a crane truck and a pickup van were also caught in the explosion. The statement reads: NSEMA has received a report of a deadly tanker explosion that occurred on Sunday, the 8th of September, 2024, at about 12.30 am along Lapai-Agaie, 2km from Dendo Community in Agaie LGA. READ MORE: Four Vehicles Burnt As Petrol Tanker Explodes In Ibadan The incident occurred when a petrol tanker loaded with PMS collided with a trailer truck loaded with travellers and cattle from Wudil in Kano State heading to Lagos, two other vehicles, a crane truck and a pickup van were also caught in the incident. Over 30 people are already confirmed dead, with over 50 cattle burnt alive. NSEMAs Rapid Response Team (RRT), in conjunction with LGEMCs, is still on scene of the incident conducting search and rescue operations as more corpses are still trapped inside the trucks. Apostle Chibuzor Chinyere, the founder of Omega Power Ministries, has finally forgiven the controversial ex-security men Happie Boys and lifted the curses he placed on them. The controversy surrounding the Happie Boys, ex-dancers of Chicken Republic, dates back to 2022. Following their rise to fame, subsequent job loss, and eventual sponsorship by Apostle Chibuzor Chinyere to study abroad, the groups problems began. Advertisement The Happie Boys had been sighted living in the trenches once more, barely making a living, after their conflict with the pastor and their subsequent expulsion from Cyprus, where they had gone to study. In a new development, Apostle Chibuzor Chinyere revealed on his official Facebook page on Saturday that he has forgiven the Happie Boys. READ MORE: N1bn Lawsuit: Prophet Fufeyin Absent In Court As VeryDarkMan Vows To Ensure Accountability The curse he had cast upon them, which said that anyone who aids the Happie Boys would also be cursed, was also lifted by him. The post read Today 7 September 2024. I HRM KING APOSTLE CHIBUZOR GIFT CHINYERE the general overseer of omega power ministry OPM hereby forgive happy boyz and I also release them from every curse I placed upon their life and destiny because of JESUS CHRIST. They still remain my children. From today anyone that helps happy boyz will not inherit happy boyz curses. SEE POST: The All Progressives Congress, Edo State chapter, has condemned the decision of the state government to suspend the resumption date for schools over the hike in the price of fuel. Recall that the Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Education, Ojo Akin-Longe, via a memo, announced the postponement of Sept.9, the earlier scheduled date until further notice. Reacting to the development while speaking to newsmen, on Saturday, the Publicity Secretary of the APC, Peter Uwadiae-Enosorogbe described the decision as expensive political gimmickry. Advertisement He expressed shock that the state government was willing to sacrifice the educational pursuit of the children for politics. He said: You cannot sacrifice the education pursuit of the children for fuel scarcity. It is not today we are having a hike in fuel price. This cannot derail the educational system. READ MORE: Edo Govt Suspends School Resumption Over Hike In Fuel Price Nobody is protesting the hike and no parents have complained that they cannot take their children to school for learning. This is not adding up. To every reasonable and rational individual, the government has erred again. It is one of the mistakes of the state government. It is not in the interest of the children; it is not in the interest of the parents and it is not in the interest of the educational system, If you now postpone resumption, how are you going to mitigate the time you have made them to stay at home deliberately. Meanwhile, the parents are not complaining. Police operatives in Edo State have arrested one Kingdom Paul for the murder of a 38-year-old woman, Victory Oro, in the state. The 18-year-old was among the suspected criminals paraded by the spokesman for the state police command, Moses Yamu, at the command headquarters on Saturday. Advertisement He said the suspect stabbed the deceased at a local lodge in Benin City where they had gone to have sex following a negotiated arrangement. READ ALSO: Edo: Police Nab Teenage Herbalist After Failed Bulletproof Charm Kills Client Yamu added that a fight broke out after they had sex and the suspect allegedly stabbed the woman. He said: On 05/09/2024 at about 12:00 noon, operatives of Evbuotubu Division acting on information, arrested one Kingdom Paul m 18 years who stabbed one lady named Victory Oro f 38 years in a lodge where they went to have fun. The victim was immediately rushed to Supreme Hospital, Upper Ekenwan where she gave up the ghost. Her corpse has been deposited at the hospital mortuary for autopsy. Investigation is ongoing. At least, four vehicles have been destroyed as petrol-loaded truck caught fire at Ajia, along the Ibadan-Ife road, on Saturday. It was gathered that the driver of the tanker was attempting to divert to another lane when it caught fire at about 4.45pm. According to Daily Trust, the accident led to a traffic gridlock on the highway, as motorists and commuters were stranded for several hours. Advertisement An eyewitness, identified as Adegbola Nurudeen, described the incident as devastating, adding that the affected vehicles were on the other side of the express lane when the fire spread to them. Mr. Nurudeen also noted that the passengers of the vehicles managed to escape but sustained injuries. READ MORE: Six Killed, Three Injured In Fatal Crash On Lagos-Ibadan Expressway However, the General Manager of the State Fire Services, Mr. Yemi Akinyinka, confirmed the incident. He said: On September 7, 2024, at approximately 5:45 PM, a devastating fire broke out inside a petroleum truck. The fire ravaged the trucks pump, displacing several families and causing significant damage to property. The West continues to remove restrictions on Ukraine's use of Western weapons to strike military targets deeper in Russia. The United States explains the issue by saying that such attacks would be irrational as Russia has moved 90% of its aircraft inland, beyond the reach of ATACMS missiles. ADVERTISIMENT However, this argument is not true, and authorizing strikes on military targets in Russia would have saved many lives and had a significant impact on the aggressor state. Oleksandr Kovalenko, a military and political columnist of the Information Resistance group, told OBOZ.UA how exactly. According to him, there are currently 20 air bases within the reach of ATACMS missiles (300 km of the Ukrainian-Russian border), which are actively used by the Russians for their bombers, fighters and helicopters. The occupiers are forced to deploy them so close because the flight range of most of them does not exceed 600 km (for helicopters, it is even shorter, about 400-500 km), and they need to not only fly to the combat zone but also return back. In particular, air bases in the areas of Yeysk, Kursk, Voronezh, Morozovsk, etc. are actively used. ADVERTISIMENT "And if Ukraine had permission to strike all these bases with Western-made missiles, Russia would lose the opportunity to use these 90% of its aviation, which it has not withdrawn anywhere, and if it did, it would simply have no chance of reaching the border with Ukraine in full combat load," Kovalenko said. He is convinced that the destruction of these bases and Russia's further use of them more than 300 kilometers from the border would have affected the average daily number of air strikes on Ukraine. "The use of long-range missile weapons on Russian territory would disarm and critically weaken Russian aviation. It would make it as useless as the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which has now turned into a flotilla. When our Western partners justify the lack of permission to strike Russia and its airfields with their missiles by saying that there is nothing left to strike, it is an outright lie. Or it is the lack of knowledge of the speaker, who does not understand what he is talking about," the columnist is convinced. ADVERTISIMENT In addition, he reminded, Russia has deployed hundreds of other military facilities at a distance of up to 300 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, which can and should be destroyed. However, Ukraine is still not allowed to do so. At the end of August, Ukraine handed over to the United States a list of targets in Russia that could be hit by long-range ATACMS missiles. In this way, Kyiv tried to convey to Washington the need to protect Ukraine from Russian terror. However, the United States is not going to revise the restrictions. Following Western media reports, officials have begun to say that such strikes "will not be of strategic value" ad that ATACMS will not be able to hit 90% of Russian aircraft attacking Ukraine because they have already been moved deeper into Russia. In addition, the US claims to be "focused on helping Ukraine be more effective" and says that our country already has its own weapons that are not inferior to Western long-range missiles. ADVERTISIMENT Only verified information is available on OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! The operatives of the Jigawa state police command, have apprehended a 32-year-old man, identified as Bashir Umar, for allegedly luring an eight-year-old girl into a restroom, tortured and sexually assaulted her. The Commands spokesman, DSP Lawan Adam, who confirmed the incident in a statement on Sunday, disclosed that Umar is from Galamawa town, Dutse Local Government Area of the state. He added that the suspect subjected the girl to unimaginable torture before sexually assaulting her in most heartless circumstances, saying that Umar inserted scissors and a spoon into the innocent girls private parts. Advertisement The Command spokesman lamented that the perpetrator exploited the girls vulnerability, offering her N150 and threatening to harm her and her parents if she disclosed the sexual abuse to anyone. READ MORE: Tea Vendor Kills Boy For Stealing His Bread, Indomie, Petrol In Jigawa The statement reads: Thereafter, the perpetrator exploited the girls vulnerability, offering her N150 and threatening to harm her and her parents if she disclosed the sexual abuse to anyone. Following the sexual trauma, the victim suffered severe physical consequences, including urinary and stool-related complications. The survivor is currently at Rashid Shekoni Teaching Hospital, Dutse, where she was admitted and receiving treatment. The suspect was arrested and transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Dutse, for discreet investigation. Seven suspected illegal miners have been arrested in Jaguna, Kogi State. The arrest was made by the Mining Marshals during a clearance exercise in the area, off Iye/Odogbe communities in Yagba East Local Government Area. The arrests occurred during a clearance exercise conducted by the Mining Marshals on July 15, 2024. Advertisement Segun Tomori, the Ministers Special Assistant on Media, confirmed this in a statement released on Saturday. The statement reads, On 15th July 2024, Jaguna was raided by the Mining Marshals, resulting in the arrest. Labourers on-site were given a directive to vacate the area within five days. Rather than comply with the directive, the illegal miners mobilised additional workers and fortified the site with armed protection. This led to the latest operation by the Mining Marshals to dislodge them. The follow-up action was necessary after the illegal miners also ignored appeals from community traditional rulers to vacate the site. This was to allow the licensed mineral titleholders unhindered access to the area for legitimate operations. For over 16 years, the rightful license holders had been unable to access the site due to the activities of armed illegal miners. Acting on intelligence reports that the illegal operators remained defiant, the Mining Marshals moved in last week, neutralised resistance from armed guards, and successfully cleared the area. READ MORE: Reduce Fuel Price To N450, If You Love Nigerians Paulo Okoye Appeals To Tinubu ACC John Attah Onoja, Commander of the Mining Marshals, underlined the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake,s steadfast commitment to eradicate illegal mining in Nigeria. He issued a stern warning to anyone involved in these illegal activities, regardless of their status, to desist or face the full consequences of the law, Onoja stated. The Mining Marshals, who work for the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, are tasked to protecting the mining environment and increasing investor trust in the industry. Chidimma Adetshina, the newly crowned Miss Universe Nigeria, has addressed the identity theft allegations leveled against her by the South African government. In an interview on Arise News shared on Instagram Saturday, Chidimma denied any involvement in identity theft, stating that shes waiting for the conclusion of the investigation before making further comments. Advertisement She explained that her decision to leave the Miss South Africa pageant was not an attempt to escape the allegations, but rather to pursue her dream of competing in the Miss Universe Nigeria pageant. READ MORE: Miss Universe Nigeria: I Earned My Win, Not Pity Victory Chidimma Adetshina In her words I did not steal anyones identity. Im just waiting for the conclusion of the case and the whole matter. Then moving forward I will know exactly what to say because I feel right now if I say something and another thing comes out tomorrow. Im just avoiding all those two things contradicting each other. I really avoided the questions because it is a legal matter and I dont have all the facts around the matter, but what I can say is that I was not running away from any of that. I was just running because I knew I had a dream that I wanted to fulfil. Im not fully aware of the matter. But what I can speak on is that I know I did not steal anyones identity. Watch her speak below A suspected female kidnappers informant has been captured by 6 Brigade/Sector 3 Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS) troops in Taraba State. According to a statement sent to journalists in the early hours of Sunday in Jalingo, the state capital, the female suspect was apprehended by military on September 6, 2024, in Sondi village of Wukari local government council. The soldiers verified that the suspect, identified as Miss Markus Grace, was the girlfriend of a notorious kidnapper called Chen, who was reportedly terrorising the surrounding area. Advertisement The statement was signed by the Acting Assistant Director, 6 Brigade Army Public Relations, Captain Oni Olubodunde. The suspect is currently in custody and undergoing further investigation to reveal the extent of her involvement in various criminal enterprises, the statement read. An AK-47 rifle and a vehicle were reportedly recovered during the operation that resulted in the arrest. The troops, determined to rid Taraba State of individuals causing harm to its citizens, alleged that Grace was complicit in supporting kidnappers and criminal activities in the region. In a separate operation, the military announced that they had intercepted a Toyota Yaris vehicle with the registration number Taraba KLD 652 XA, which was carrying an AK-47 rifle, an AK-47 magazine, and two NURTW Identity Cards. During a separate operation in the late hours on 5 September, 2024, troops of the Brigade while on routine stop and search patrol in Bantaje town of Wukari council, flagged down a suspicious Blue Toyota Yaris vehicle with Registration Number, Taraba KLD 652 XA coming from Wukari and heading towards Jalingo. Upon being stopped, the driver abandoned the vehicle and fled into nearby bushes. A thorough search of the abandoned vehicle led to discovery of an AK-47 rifle, an AK-47 magazine and 2 Identity Cards of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Mutum Biyu, he said. READ MORE: Kogi: Mining Marshals Apprehend Seven Illegal Miners According to the statement, the investigation into the identity card carriers, Isa Ibrahim and Mallam Isa Garin Tukura, is currently ongoing in order to trace and arrest the suspects, as well as determine the role of individuals with the identification cards. In response to the operation, Brigadier General Kingsley Chidiebere Uwa, Commander of 6 Brigade, praised the troops for their professionalism and quick action. He asked communities to continue working with security services by providing timely information that can help prevent and combat illegal activity. A mother of three and one yet to be identified man have been killed in a flood that occurred at Ugwu Mkpume Layout, Achalla Agu community in Nkpor Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State. It was gathered that the victims were sleeping, when the overflow suddenly broke into their various apartments, swept them away and they were found dead in another location. INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that the flood was caused by heavy downpour which happened on Thursday till in the early hours of Friday. Advertisement The Vice President, Ugwu Mkpume Achalla Agu Landlords Association, Ifeanyi Oghota, described the incident as unfortunate, adding that the good intentions of the state government in constructing roads, has turned to sorrow due to wrong channelling of the flood by the construction company that handled the road project at Inland doors Nkpor-Umuoji Road. He said: The damage is regrettable. We have not witnessed this type of flood in our community in 25 years. READ MORE: Anambra Police Nab Suspected Child Trafficker, Rescue Victims It is regrettable what the bad work of the construction company has caused to us and we appealed to the state government to come to our aid. One of the landlords in the area identified as Dr Alex, who spoke PUNCH, also said: This is what we woke up to see on Friday morning. The floods caused by the heavy rains on Thursday broke into our houses and damaged properties and farmlands. I am a pig farmer, it swept away my pigs. The floods pulled down many fences and walls. It also broke into a building where a family of five were living. The flood entered their apartment while they were asleep, and carried the mother and her three children away, their father managed to escape it. It was in the morning that residents saw the lifeless body of the woman. The bodies of the three children were also found somewhere else in another location, fortunately, they were still alive as of the time they were found and they were quickly rushed to the emergency unit at the Royal Hospital, Nkpor, where they are recovering. A lifeless body of another yet-to-be-identified man was also found in the flood. He must have also been swept away from his compound to that place. The losses as a result of the flood are very devastating and heartbroken. Houses were submerged and properties were destroyed. We have never experienced this type in the last 25 years. Casey Shively says that as his fathers dementia worsened, it became harder for the family to take care of him at home. He would start walking the neighborhood and get lost, Shively says. He would turn on the gas stove but not light the stove and the room would start filling up with gas. He would put clothing in strange places. I found socks in a punch bowl. It got to the point where we couldnt do this anymore. Read more Dan Shively had been a bank president who built floats for July Fourth parades in Cody, Wyo., and adored fly-fishing with his sons. Jeffrey Dowd had been an auto mechanic who ran a dog rescue and hosted a Sunday blues radio show in Santa Fe. By the time their lives intersected at Canyon Creek Memory Care Community in Billings, Mont., both were deep in the grips of dementia and exhibiting some of the diseases terrible traits. Advertisement Shively had been wandering lost in his neighborhood, having outbursts at home, and leaving the gas stove on. Dowd previously had been hospitalized for being confused, suicidal, and agitated, medical records filed in U.S. District Court in Billings show. When Dowd entered Canyon Creek, managers warned employees in a note later filed in court that he could be physically/verbally abusive when frustrated. On Shivelys fourth day at Canyon Creek, carrying a knife and fork, he walked over to a dining room table where Dowd was sitting. Dowd told Shively to keep the knife away from his coffee, according to a witness statement filed in court. Shively, who at 5-foot-2 and 125 pounds was half Dowds weight and 10 inches shorter, turned to walk away, but Dowd stood up and shoved Shively so hard that when he hit the floor, his skull fractured and brain hemorrhaged, according to a lawsuit his family filed against Canyon Creek. The doctor said theres not much they could do about it, his son Casey Shively said in an interview. Dan Shively died five days later at age 73. Police did not charge Dowd, then 66. He stayed at Canyon Creek for nearly three more years, during which time he repeatedly clashed with residents, sometimes hitting male residents and groping female ones, according to facility records filed in the court case. His anger would flare quickly. Im literally scared to death of Jeff, one nurse wrote in a filed statement describing Dowds dispute with another resident. In court, Canyon Creek denied liability for Shivelys death. Its privately held corporate owner, Koelsch Communities, declined to answer questions from KFF Health News. Chase Salyers, Koelschs director of marketing, said in an email to KFF Health News that the company prioritizes the health, well-being, safety, and security of our residents. Dowds relatives said in a statement via text they would not comment because they had no firsthand knowledge. We were very pleased with the care Jeffrey received at Canyon Creek, they added. Dowd was not named in the lawsuit and his current whereabouts could not be determined. Violent altercations between residents in long-term care facilities are alarmingly common. Across the country, residents in nursing homes or assisted living centers have been killed by other residents who weaponized a bedrail, shoved pillow stuffing into a persons mouth, or removed an oxygen mask. A recent study in JAMA Network Open of 14 New York assisted living homes found that, within one month, 15% of residents experienced verbal, physical, or sexual resident-on-resident aggression. Another study found nearly 8% of assisted living residents engaged in physical aggression or abuse toward residents or staff members within one month. Dementia residents are especially likely to be involved in altercations because the disease damages the parts of the brain affecting memory, language, reasoning, and social behavior. More than 900,000 people with Alzheimers or other types of dementia reside in nursing homes and assisted living centers. Many of the most seriously impaired live in the roughly 5,000 facilities with locked dementia floors or wings or the 3,300 homes devoted exclusively to memory care. These places are mostly for-profit and often charge thousands of dollars extra a month, promising expertise in the disease and a safe environment. Clashes can be spontaneous and too unpredictable to prevent. But the chance of an altercation increases when memory care homes admit and retain residents they cant manage, according to a KFF Health News examination of inspection and court records and interviews with researchers. Homes that have too few staffers or nonexistent or perfunctory training for employees have a harder time heading off resident conflicts. Homes also may fail to properly assess incoming residents or may keep them despite demonstrated threats to others. As much as long-term care providers in general do their best to provide competent, high-quality care, there is a real problem with endemic violence, said Karl Pillemer, a gerontologist at Cornell University and lead author of the JAMA study. There needs to be much more of an effort to single out verbal and physical aggression that occurs in long-term care, he said, and begin to create a model of violence-free zones in the same way we have violence-free zones in the schools. A Danger to Others The first signs of Shivelys vascular dementia emerged in 2011 as confusion, but the disease accelerated in 2016, according to interviews with his wife and children and his medical records. He began referring to mountains he knew well by the wrong name and forgot how to tie flies on his fishing line. The decline was so slow at first we thought we could manage, his wife, Tana Shively, said in an interview before her death this year. As the disease progressed, his outbursts became hard to handle. He took a swing at one of his sons when upset about the temperature in the house. He refused to swallow his medications and fell repeatedly. He would start walking the neighborhood and get lost, Casey said. He would turn on the gas stove but not light the stove, and the room would start filling up with gas. He would put clothing in strange places. I found socks in a punch bowl. It got to the point where we couldnt do this anymore. Dowd, meanwhile, had lived in a Santa Fe nursing home and had a long history of dementia with behavioral issues, major depressive disorder with psychotic features, and hypertension, according to medical records filed in court. Dowd entered Canyon Creek in October 2018 to be closer to his brother, who lived nearby in Wyoming, according to an admission notice the facility provided to employees that was included in the court record. The notice said Dowd suffered from dementia caused by excessive and long-term alcohol use. Two months later, Shively moved in. Montana licenses Canyon Creek, which has 67 beds, as a Level C assisted living facility, which permits it to house people with cognitive impairments so severe that they cannot express their needs or make basic care decisions. Montana law says these facilities cannot admit or retain a resident who is a danger to self or others. In the lawsuit, Shivelys family argued that, given that law, Canyon Creek never should have accepted or kept Dowd. The Shively familys lawyer, Torger Oaas, noted in court papers that Canyon Creeks intake assessment form for Dowd categorized his behavior as physically and/or verbally abusive/aggressive 1x per month. Oaas also wrote in court papers that in Dowds first weeks at Canyon Creek, he mocked and threatened to hit other residents and threw someones silverware to the ground during dinner. In its defense filings in the lawsuit, Canyon Creek said the Montana statute was too broad to be the basis of a negligence claim and argued that all memory care residents are unpredictable. And while Dowd had yelled and cursed at other residents at Canyon Creek, he hadnt had physical confrontations or any conflicts with Shively, Canyon Creek said. The accident was not reasonably foreseeable, Canyon Creek argued. In the days after Shivelys fall, nurses noted that Dowd was more anxious, angry toward others. Dowd yelled at a nurse to get off the phone and do your job, a nurse wrote in a logbook entry filed in court. He got into my face, the nurse wrote. It looked like he was going to hit me he had his hand/fist raised. As Bad as Ive Ever Seen It People with dementia will lash out because they no longer have social inhibitions or because its the only way they can express pain, discomfort, fear, disagreement, or anxiety. Some common triggers overstimulation from loud noises, a frenzied atmosphere, unfamiliar faces are hallmarks of dementia care institutions. We cant expect someone who is constantly and unfailingly disoriented to adapt to our environment anymore, said Tracy Wharton, a licensed clinical social worker and dementia researcher in Florida. We have to adapt to them. Eilon Caspi, a University of Connecticut researcher, analyzed 105 fatal incidents involving dementia residents and found 44% were fatal falls in which one resident pushed another. Some people are aggressive, and some are violent, Caspi said, but if you look closely, the vast majority are doing their best while living with a serious brain disease. Holly Harmon, a senior vice president at the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living, an industry trade group, said in a written statement that conflicts cannot always be averted despite facility operators best efforts. If they do occur, she said, providers respond promptly with interventions to protect the residents and staff and prevent future occurrences. But Richard Mollot, executive director of the Long Term Care Community Coalition, a resident advocacy group, said many operators of assisted living centers, including memory care units, are driven by the bottom line. The issue that we see quite often is that assisted living retains people they should not, Mollot said. They dont have the staffing or the competency or the structure to provide safe care. Conversely, he said, when facilities have enough rooms filled with paying customers, they are more likely to evict residents who require too much attention. They will kick them out if theyre too cumbersome, Mollot said. Teepa Snow, an occupational therapist who founded Positive Approach to Care, a company that trains dementia caregivers, noted that the space inside many facilities, with double rooms, tight common areas, and restricted outdoor access, can fuel conflicts. She said the pandemic degraded conditions in long-term care, as dementia residents with limited social skills atrophied in isolation in their rooms and staffing grew even sparser. Its as bad as Ive ever seen it, she said. Very Common Fits of Rage The following account of Dowds time at Canyon Creek is based on 44 pages of nurses notes, witness statements, and internal resident-on-resident altercation reports; all were contained in the facilitys records and filed as exhibits in the court case. After Shivelys death in December 2018, Dowd was given new prescriptions, although the court record is unclear if the change was because of Shivelys death. Still, the records show, Canyon Creek was unable to head off recurring altercations involving Dowd. Some were verbal threats. Once, Dowd yelled at residents in the living room to shut up, called them retards, and told them they should all die, a caregiver wrote in a witness statement. He grabbed one residents face and threatened to kill him, according to a nurses note. Another time, Dowd went up to a resident sitting on a sofa and grabbed his walker. Dowd shook it and told him to shut up. According to a witness statement, as a nurse took the resident to the bathroom, Dowd muttered under his breath: Stuff his head in the toilet. Other conflicts were physical. Dowd shoved a resident down on his back so hard his head bounced off the floor, a nurse recorded in a note. In a different incident reported by a nurse, Dowd pushed a resident who had been agitated and cursing into a chair. On separate occasions, Dowd hit two residents on the head, once causing bleeding, according to two resident altercation reports. The notes detail that Dowd was not always the initiator. Once, Dowds roommate scratched and punched him after Dowd told him to use the toilet rather than pee on the floor, resulting in a fight. Caregivers separated the two. Another day, a resident named Bill wandered into Dowds room and pulled Dowds hair and beard. Dowd told the nurses he felt unsafe and VERY angry, a nurses note said. The nurse led Bill out of Dowds room, but Dowd followed, yelling at Bill that he was a fat bastard and saying he was going to make Bills wife a widow. Jeff kept making a closed fist as tho he was going to hit Bill, the nurse wrote in a witness statement. I was legit scared because there was nothing I could do to defuse the situation. Im literally scared to death of Jeff. Im scared to approach him and talk to him when he gets into these very common fits of rage. Dowd ultimately went back to his room and a worker locked his door so no other resident would go in. The records describe how Canyon Creek caregivers intervened after altercations began, often separating the fighting residents and updating Dowds brother on the clashes. Nurses would remove Dowd or the other resident from a room and discourage such acts. Tried to explain it was inappropriate to hurt others, one nurse wrote after one incident. Salyers, the company marketing director, said in his email that the workers at Canyon Creek and other Koelsch facilities are highly qualified and extensively trained. He said the companys memory care communities are distinctively designed and staffed for people with Alzheimers and other forms of dementia. Its Nice To Have a Girlfriend The nursing notes and statements in the court file suggest that incidents were frequent enough that nurses commented on Dowds occasional serenity. No agitated or aggressive behaviors this shift, one note said. Another nurse note said Dowd continues to isolate at meals, sitting at a table by himself. While Dowd enjoyed reading books and doing puzzles, he was overheard saying he was depressed and was wondering if he wouldnt be better off if he wasnt around anymore. Nurses noted Dowd repeatedly exhibited sexual behavior that was either inappropriate making crude oral gestures while looking at younger females or ambiguous, such as placing his hand on a residents shoulder and commenting, Its nice to have a girlfriend. Someone saw Dowd grabbing on multiple residents[] private areas, a witness statement said. When nurses caught the behavior, they separated those involved and rebuked Dowd. A staff member wrote in a statement that Dowd was inappropriate throughout her shift, making sexual jokes and trying to grab me. According to nursing notes, in summer 2021, Dowd told one female resident he wanted to see her genitals and later touched her breast. In August, a caregiver walked into Dowds room and found him touching the same resident under her shirt and pants. The caregiver told Dowd to stop it and not ever do that again and brought the woman out to meet her family, who had come to visit her. After that incident, Canyon Creek sent Dowd to the emergency room at Montana State Hospital, a public psychiatric facility, according to a nurse administrators testimony in a deposition filed in court. The nurse testified Dowd was no longer at Canyon Creek. That is the last mention of Dowds whereabouts in the public record. A spokesperson for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, which oversees the hospital, would not confirm whether he was a patient. At a pretrial hearing, the judge excluded discussion about Dowds altercations after Shivelys death. In a court filing, Shivelys lawyer asked permission to share evidence with the jury that Canyon Creek gave its executive director a bonus any month when 90% or more of the beds were filled so he could argue Canyon Creek had a financial motivation to admit Dowd. But the judge also barred that information from the trial, which Canyon Creek said in a court filing was irrelevant. The Shively case went to trial in 2022 before a federal civil jury in Billings. Despite the exclusions, the jury decided Canyon Creeks negligence caused Shivelys death. It awarded the family $310,000. For us, the money wasnt a huge factor, said Spencer Shively, another of Dan Shivelys sons, who called the damages so modest as to be a victory for Canyon Creek or its insurer. At least they were negligent per se. But I dont know it really changed anything. For me, I got some closure. I feel like these facilities are just continuing to do the same things theyre going to do because there hasnt been systemic change. KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFFan independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF. Philadelphia police along Somerset near Kensington Avenue on June 19. A woman arrested during a sweep in Kensington last week died in jail Saturday. Read more A 31-year-old woman who died in a Philadelphia jail Saturday morning had been arrested for drug possession just days earlier in Kensington as part of a coordinated sweep in the neighborhood. Amanda Cahill, of Roxborough, was found unresponsive in a cell at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center Saturday morning, according to a jail spokesperson. The medical examiner has not released an official cause of death, but Cahills family said authorities suspect she died of complications related to drug intoxication or withdrawal. Advertisement Cahill was one of 34 people arrested Wednesday on charges related to narcotics and open warrants. The police-led sweep was one of the largest concerted arrest efforts in Kensington since June, when the department announced it would ramp up enforcement of drug laws in the neighborhood. For months, City Hall has had an intense focus on Kensington, where Mayor Cherelle L. Parker has pledged to end the notorious open-air drug market. Cahills death is certain to raise new questions about the jails ability to absorb an influx of inmates out of Kensington, and it comes amid existing scrutiny of the understaffed system. Last month, a judge ordered the city in contempt of a 2022 settlement agreement over inhumane conditions in the jails. READ MORE: Drug deaths and overdoses plague Philly jails, raising concerns about plans to step up Kensington arrests John Mitchell, a spokesperson for the prisons, said the department had advance notice of the sweep in Kensington last week and were prepared for a surge of inmates. He said a nurse performing withdrawal assessments visited Cahill at about 1 a.m. Saturday, and Cahill indicated she was fine. About six-and-a-half hours later, a nurse found Cahill unresponsive and administered CPR. Mitchell said a medical response team continued lifesaving efforts, but Cahill never regained consciousness, and was pronounced dead at 7:45 a.m. Cahills sister, Amber Clark, said jail officials told her family that Cahill likely went into cardiac arrest as a result of withdrawal and that there were not signs of a fight or other trauma. Clark said she questions how Cahill could have died in custody. There are tons of thoughts going through our mind, she said. Like, what happened when she got there? What was she given? Did they give her any medications to help her with the withdrawal? The sweep in Kensington Philadelphia police conducted the sweep in a small section of Kensington Wednesday afternoon, focusing on the 3200 block of G Street, from F Street to Kensington Avenue, and Westmoreland Street to Allegheny Avenue, East District Sgt. Michael Hanuscin said during a community meeting in Harrowgate on Thursday. During that sweep, officers arrested 34 people for various offenses of them, 11 were taken to the hospital, said 24th District Capt. Christopher Bullick. It remains unclear whether Cahill was transported to the hospital. Police said she was arrested at about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday on the 700 block of East Allegheny Avenue. Courts records show she was charged with drug possession and she had an open bench warrant in Chester County for a separate drug-possession case from 2020. Clark said her sister has lived in different parts of the city but frequented Kensington, where about 700 people are currently living on the street. Police Staff Inspector LaVerne Vann said last week thats up from about 500 at this time last year. This is the most weve ever seen, Vann told residents. Bullick said officers have been focused on making more arrests for possession of drug paraphernalia. The first goal, he said, is to stop open use. So far this year, Philadelphia police have arrested about 870 people for drug possession about 250 more than the same time period last year, but still fewer than the number of arrests reported in the years prior, according to data from the District Attorneys Office. That arrest total remains far below the more than 4,500 people arrested for drug possession during the same time just five years ago. And while the number of drug possession arrests has ticked up, arrests for drug sales are flat. So far this year, more than 1,900 people have been charged with selling narcotics, which is on par with the total amount reported in the last two years, but about a 20% decrease compared to the same time in 2021. More than two-thirds of all drug-crime arrests this year have been reported in the 24th and 25th police districts, which include Kensington. Concerns about jail preparedness If Cahill indeed died of drug-related causes, she would be one of at least 26 people who have died in a Philadelphia jail since 2018 due to an accident related to drug intoxication, according to an Inquirer analysis of city records. Thats led some, including activists and members of City Council, to question the administrations strategy in Kensington and ask whether the jails can handle a wave of inmates with complex physical and behavioral health needs. The system has been understaffed for several years the departments job vacancy rate was about 44% in April, the most recent month for which data is available. City Councilmember Nicolas ORourke, of the Working Families Party, said Cahills death is a call to action for city officials. Hes called for reducing the citys jail population with the short-term goal of closing one jail facility, the Detention Center, to ease staffing demands. They cant take any more people into these jails safely. That is the truth. And responsible governance would heed that truth, he said. Were mobilizing with gusto to lock people up for drug charges when we know our jails are no place for recovery or support. That is unacceptable. Prisons Commissioner Michael Resnick said in July that preparations were not needed to ensure the safety of people potentially arrested in Kensington, saying the point of the mayors program is they wont be incarcerated theyll be going into treatment. But both Parker and Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel have made clear that some people would be incarcerated as part of the Kensington initiative. The Police Department outlined its strategy in an April document, describing narcotics and warrant sweeps that are part of a focused and intense effort. Incarceration is even more likely for people who are arrested and have open warrants, like Cahill. In addition to the Chester County case, Cahill was awaiting sentencing on identity theft charges in Bucks County, court papers show. Clark said Cahill struggled with addiction since she was a teenager first it was prescription pills, then heroin and fentanyl. But she was also a loving mother to two boys, ages 12 and 6, Clark said, and was very funny and all-around caring. A lot of people have a bad memory of Amanda. But I would not want them to remember her like that, she said. How I remember her is she was caring and fought hard for her family and her friends. Staff writer Chris Palmer contributed to this article. Im a very private person. Thats just who I am. But the very nature of this story, the personal nature, demands I open up. In 2022, I was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the lower right mandible. I thought it was an abscess. I felt a lump on my lower right jaw and saw it in the mirror when I opened my mouth. It didnt hurt. I thought it was an abscess, which is a buildup of pus from an infection. I thought that because I had a tooth removed at the end of 2021. No, it was a cancerous lesion that would have to be removed. I contacted a Penn Medicine specialist in otorhinolaryngology head and neck surgery Karthik Rajasekaran. In my opinion, cancer, no matter what form, is humanitys enemy number one. Im not the kind of man who gives in to fear, and even when the diagnosis was confirmed, my lifetime of spiritual and religious studies, personal convictions, and training in physical and emotional control all kicked in. Advertisement I would need it. The surgery In June of that year, I underwent surgery. I spent 10 days in the hospital and three months on disability, recovering. The nature of the surgery wasnt just removing the lesion, but also the lower right jawbone. A portion of bone from my right shoulder blade would replace it. The lower right portion of my face was hugely swollen after surgery and permanently slightly disfigured. Im vain, I admit it, but my care team at Penn Medicine assured me the swelling would go down, and it did. I didnt need chemotherapy, but six weeks of targeted radiation therapy at the Abramson Cancer Center was necessary. Before the surgery, the doctor told me I wouldnt be able to turn or lift my head. The procedure changed my center of gravity, necessitating the use of a cane sometimes, and as if that wasnt enough, when I could eat solid foods again, my taste buds were off. That was the easy part of this journey. The road of recovery This is a journey in and through the dark places of the heart, mind, and soul. Really dark places. My life is twisted inside out. I sleep much more. Chewing is hard. I soften foods to eat and make thick soups that I puree and eat through a straw. Ive lost a lot of weight, which might not seem like a bad thing. But I have a closet full of very nice suits and shirts I cant wear. Speaking has become a labored process; my resonant, expressive voice is altered. It has improved, but its been a difficult process. I carefully pronounce some words to be understood. If I talk for about 20 minutes, my jaw starts to ache and saliva seeps down the right side of my mouth. Oh, did I mention the right lower portion of my face leaks fluid? Both the saliva and the leaking fluid smell. I didnt notice the odor at first. Then my ex-wife, who has an uncanny sense of smell, told me. I keep my neck bandaged and change the dressings twice a day and at bedtime. The dressings are always saturated with fluid in the mornings. And theres pain. Serious pain. The surgery damaged the nerves of the lower right jawline. It wasnt very bad at first, but as the nerves healed, it worsened. I had never experienced such pain before. I take gabapentin with two extra-strength Tylenol every eight hours. In between I have oxycodone, a small dose every four hours. It all helps a lot, but God help me, I want to be the healthy, strong man I used to be. Handsome, well-dressed, and articulate. The man I was is gone. Im adapting to a new reality, and I hate it. Where I am now The awful truth is cancer robbed me of who I was. The illness forced me to retire from my position at Ceisler Media and Issue Advocacy. I still have a piece of my career, doing independent journalism for the Delaware Valley Journal and opinion pieces in The Inquirer. Sometimes I get a story published in Broad & Liberty. But its not the same. I miss me. Im scheduled for a second surgery to address the fluid leaking from my neck. My surgeon explained during my last visit about osteoradionecrosis of the jaw. My options? A procedure as complicated as the original except the cancer is gone. I didnt sleep that night. I was all the way in that darkness of the soul. Angry, depressed, bad dreams. I didnt pray at all. But I did the next morning. Lord God, Im not angry with you, but I am angry because of whats happened to me. I continued with words that must remain private. I wasnt in the dark place anymore, and I havent been back, although I feel sad almost every evening. Praying is always beneficial for me. Sharing my troubles with a friend, who shared her own that day, helped. Ive since learned there is a less complicated option that will help my neck heal. Writing this is healing in a way, and the recovery is a lengthy process filled with unknowns. Cancer killed my mother and my sister. It killed one of my brothers last year. One of my editors shared with me that his wife is a 13-year breast cancer survivor. He mentioned a breakthrough in research into the cause of pancreatic cancer a disease that took the life of his father, his wifes grandmother, and one of her uncles. READ MORE: Breast cancer strikes young Black women at alarming rate | Expert Opinion Cancer, regardless of the diagnosis, leaves people fractured if they survive surgery and live through recovery. In my opinion, cancer, no matter what form, is humanitys enemy number one. It affects us all; no one is free from it. Every single human being knows someone who has survived it or died from it. But I believe if the nations of Earth poured all of their resources into killing cancer instead of each other, we could not only have a cure within a decade, we would also understand that humanity is natures ultimate weapon against death. What a revelation that will be. Larry Miller is a retired special projects manager for Ceisler Media and Issue Advocacy and a former police reporter for the Philadelphia Tribune. He is a lifelong resident of Philadelphia. Keyna Drinks lost her husband to gun violence, so she started a nonprofit that helps others after their investigations have gone cold. Read more Keyna Drinks was doing whatever she could in 2011 to draw attention to her husbands murder. She called on her local state representative, who helped organize a vigil and news conference. Advertisement She phoned the police constantly. In the months-turned-years with no answers, she never let up. She papered the North Philadelphia neighborhood where her husband was gunned down with flyers seeking information, and passed out buttons and T-shirts calling for Justice 4 Kevin Drinks. When police quickly arrested a suspect in the shooting death of Officer Moses Walker Jr., killed eight months after her husband, Drinks went public with her frustration. She was glad the officers killer was caught, but she reminded anyone who would listen that her husbands case still languished and that every murder victim in the city deserved justice. Her decade-long odyssey ended in 2022, when the men responsible for killing her husband were sentenced. It was a tragic case of mistaken identity. They shot the wrong guy. After fighting for years for answers and accountability, Drinks has now started a nonprofit shes named Still Waiting On Justice Advocates to help guide other families in similar circumstances. Ive been where they are, she said. And I know what it feels like to feel alone when youre trying to get answers and trying to get people to listen. There are a lot of organizations in our city to help the growing fellowship of families of murder victims navigate their grief most started by survivors themselves. Theyve become lifelines for many. But when Drinks told me she wanted to focus on guiding families through concrete steps to help keep unsolved homicide cases from turning ice cold, I was all ears. Ive written a lot about the tireless efforts of family members determined not to have the loss of their loved ones overshadowed by the hundreds of homicides in Philadelphia every year. In 2019, one Philly mother whod traveled her own treacherous path to bring her sons killers to justice organized a two-day silent protest over unsolved murders in front of police department headquarters. And while it got police brass attention for a full hot minute, there still isnt a week that passes when Im not hearing from the relatives of a murder victim who are struggling to contact a homicide detective. For every murder that gets attention, there are countless others that get none, which leaves loved ones in the dark and unsure of who to turn to or what to do next. A resource like the one Drinks is growing could potentially fill that void, and make survivors feel less alone. Thats Drinks hope, too but she wanted to be clear when we recently spoke that her fledgling organization is not meant to solve cases and that it aims to focus on homicides that have gone cold after three or more years. (She can be reached through her website stillwaitingonjusticeadvocates.org and is seeking volunteers.) To begin, Drinks will draw on her own experience to encourage and guide others. It will be a partnership, she said, between her, her small team, and families who must take the lead. Her first piece of advice? Keep in constant contact with police, which shes aware can be easier suggested than done. Keep calling no matter what, she said, referring to the well-known communication breakdowns between police and families of murder victims in our city. Connect with public officials and the press and urge them to share your story. Remind people that the city offers a $20,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of homicide suspects. Theres the Citizens Crime Commission and 6abcs Crime Fighters, which features unsolved murder cases, and the Philadelphia Obituary Project, which tells the stories of Phillys gun violence victims. And, look, Ill also take this moment to remind readers that theres also me, who has dedicated much of my career to covering Philadelphias gun violence, and a lot of other city reporters committed to amplifying the impact of unsolved murders in our city. You have to be persistent, Drinks said. These cold cases can be warmed up. She saw it herself in her husbands case, where years after the murder, a detective listening to recordings of jailhouse telephone conversations heard something that reignited the investigation. Already, Drinks has recruited a handful of people to be part of her volunteer team, including Thomas Moore, whose sons murder in 2020 is unsolved Moores 28-year-old son, Thomas Moore Jr., and a friend were shot multiple times while they stopped at a broken traffic light at Limekiln Pike and Middleton Street, in the West Oak Lane neighborhood. His friend survived. The shooting makes no sense to the father; both were hardworking young men who stayed out of trouble. But what also doesnt make sense is the lack of communication from the police. Moore said he stopped hearing from the detective on his sons case a long time ago. At Drinks encouragement, Moore shared his story on Crime Fighters a year after his sons death. I watched the episode recently and was struck by something Moore said. Were losing this war to silence. Moore was referring to eyewitnesses who choose not to come forward, but also to a city where, despite some improvements, justice remains out of reach for far too many families as police investigations go quiet. It doesnt have to be that way. It shouldnt be, and Drinks is determined that the families of murder victims are heard loud and clear. Iranian officials did recognize the transfer of ballistic missiles and kamikaze drones to the terrorist country Russia. Tehran claimed that it was bartering weapons to Moscow, receiving soybeans and corn in return. ADVERTISIMENT Moreover, Iran has noted that such cooperation allows Russia to avoid Western sanctions. This was stated by a member of the National Security Commission of the Iranian Parliament, Bakhshaish Ardestani. According to him, Iran is allegedly forced to supply missile weapons and UAVs to the Russian occupation army. The Iranian MP explained that Tehran receives agricultural products in return. "Iran exports drones and missiles to Russia as part of its economic and political cooperation. On the other hand, the Russians cooperate with Iran to circumvent sanctions. We import a lot of goods from Russia. We have to deal with the import of soybeans and wheat to meet our needs," Ardestani said. The member of parliament also added that he sees nothing wrong with arms supplies, adding that the new sanctions do not scare Iran. Ardestani emphasized that Tehran also provides missiles to the Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist groups. ADVERTISIMENT "We sell weapons, receive dollars, circumvent sanctions through partnership with Russia, and import soybeans and corn from Russia. Europeans sell weapons to Ukraine. We give missiles to Hezbollah, Hamas and Hashd al-Shaabi, so why shouldn't we give missiles and drones to Russia to support our ally," Ardestani said. As a reminder, Iran's transfer of ballistic missiles is part of deepening its strategic partnership with Russia. Iran is interested in financial injections from Russia, receiving Su-35 fighters, as well as assistance in modernizing its cyber capabilities and space and missile programs. As reported by OBOZ.UA, the White House said it was "alarmed" by the strengthening of cooperation between Iran and Russia in the field of arms. According to US National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett, Iran's transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia will mark a sharp escalation of the war. ADVERTISIMENT Earlier it was reported that Russia has already received the first batch of short-range ballistic missiles from Iran. According to preliminary data, the Iranian regime could have transferred more than 200 ballistic missiles to the Russians. After that, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine responded to Iran's possible transfer of ballistic missiles to the terrorist country of Russia. The diplomatic agency called on the leadership of the Islamic Republic to refrain from cooperating with the Russians. Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Born in 1955, Rita Ann Higgins grew up in Ballybrit, Galway city. In 1986, Salmon Poetry press published Goddess on the Mervue Bus, her first of a dozen poetry books which capture the essence of Irish life and being alive. She also writes essays, plays and screenplays, and regularly reads on the Brendan O'Connor's radio show. Her latest collection of poetry, entitled The Long Weekend, is published by Gill Books. Love of literature I didnt read until I was in my twenties, while recovering from TB. Wuthering Heights and Animal Farm kick-started me into the world of literature. I still think of the Half-Lung Club in Thomas Manns Magic Mountain how they could whistle through their pneumothorax and bamboozle passers-by, making it look as if they were whistling from inside their chests. Or did Herman Melville want us to think that Ishmael and Queequeg were lovers or were they just wrapped around each other to keep out the cold on a bed made from whalebone? A well-written book stays with you all your life, like Charlotte Perkins Gilmans The Yellow Wallpaper or Mary Wollstonecrafts A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Street theatre In the early 1980s, the arts festival invited Footsbarn Theatre Company and Els Comediants to Galway. It was important to allow children to experience these street spectacles, the giddiness of it all. Huge beasts roaming through the streets. Later we had Macnas, which might have been inspired by these aforementioned companies. I recall seeing Footsbarns Hamlet, and all the actors were on stilts in the Big Top at Fisheries Field. Another year I saw King Lear, another A Midsummer Nights Dream. A great way into Shakespeare. This was a cultural education and a half, all reasonably priced. Visual arts In the mid-1980s, the Artspace collective in Nuns Island Arts Centre was founded, where you could view the likes of Kathleen Furey, Ruth McHugh, Sharon OMalley and Marja Van Kampen where you learnt who the up-and-coming artists were. Or you might see one of them around town at the Saturday market displaying their paintings. Brian Bourke and John Behan were already established. It was a great time to be opening up to art and literature. It led me to conclude there was life outside the working class housing estate. Mary MacSwiney Mary MacSwiney the sister of Terence MacSwiney, the hunger striker has been a role model for me. She was also a hunger striker. She was a great advocate for womens rights. Mary MacSwiney. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images) In my radical phase, there was a Conradh na Gaeilge starting up in Galway and I suggested we call it the Mary MacSwiney Conradh. I read and learned that she was a great debater. She could stand on her feet without notes and speak for up to two hours. It was written, too, that she was cranky, controlling, but she was important in the scheme of things for me. Endgame Druids production of Endgame this summer brought us bleakville and a different kind of emptiness. Its tragicomic and you say, Thank f*ck for that. You are laughing because its all you can do, but the despair and the greyness is not wasted on you. You trust the language to buoy you along. With Beckett, you have no choice but to trust the language. I kept thinking about the two in the bins it must have been tough on the joints. Was there a little cushion? Nell didnt even get a biscuit. It was a powerful production. You trusted the set and the actors. You knew there was no real way out. Beckett always brings you back to the bereft place, the place with no cushions. Mark ORowes Reunion Lately, I saw Reunion by Mark ORowe in Galways Black Box Theatre. There is a seanfhocal in Irish which could apply to this play: Ni mar a shitear a bhitear nothing is ever as it seems. An all-consuming family get-together, which is really code for the altogether falling apart. ORowe gets inside the heads of his characters and tinkers with the nice switch and turns it to nasty or borderline nasty. Reunion, from left, Leonard Buckley, Robert Sheehan, Simone Collins and Stephen Brennan. Picture: Marcin Lewandowski You dont get to love his characters in the traditional way theatre in the past coaxed us to do. Their idiosyncrasies are always just a beat away. This was a great play, well-executed, sparing no one and exposing the hypocrisy of several characters. The undercurrent was edgy, nearly menacing. Whats Left Us Then The artist Yvonne McGuinness has a documentary called Whats Left Us Then about the savage appeal and cruelty of concrete. The film manifests decay and ecological pillage, as seen through hideous and spectacular concrete structures. The concrete wave with its masculine DNA is presented to us by a female narrator. Its different, warm-hearted and revealing. Part of it featured Inis Meain, which is a favourite place I love to visit. I hadnt seen this unfinished monstrosity on Inis Meain whose idle stationary concrete assault features in the film. The Drifters in Seville I love Seville and I love The Drifters. I was with my husband in Seville one time at this hotel and The Drifters were playing. I remember saying to my husband Christy, We have to go. It was fantastic. It was a balmy night. It was so memorable. I loved all their songs. That was real nostalgia for me. All their songs bathe you in some kind of security and a time passed that was nice and pleasant and a loving time. I just love them. Ive no issue with schmaltz. Bernadette Kiely Bernadette Kielys Dont Need No Country, Dont Fly No Flag at the Printworks Gallery in Galway during the summer was a wonder. Its a visual arts exhibition about borders and a warming world. Flooded landscapes, drawing from memories, past emotions, the flooded street, the flooded house, river rats, debris and how you live through it on the River Nore. A haunting exhibition that lingers in the mind. Elaine Feeney Elaine Feeneys latest poetry collection All the Good Things You Deserve is a mesmerising collection, ducking and dodging trauma, and how to cope with its consequences when it reoccurs. In 24 cantos she takes us through her journey of survival. All we can see is courage and strength. You might be reading about trauma, but you view it through the lens of a work of art. Dirty Linen Martin Doyles Dirty Linen: The Troubles in My Home Place is an unsettling read. Its set in The Linen Triangle, later called The Murder Triangle. Growing up in Laurencetown, in the parish of Tullylish, he didnt see any killings but he soon realised something sinister was happening to people his parents knew, to neighbours down the road. Dirty Linen is full of empathy and compassion. Youd be nearly crying reading it, drawn in by the matter-of-fact way Doyle describes people who suffered great losses around him, the thousands of small, intriguing details that made up the lives of people he knew. This book makes sure the lost lives of his parish will never be forgotten. A remarkable Cork grandmother has revealed how travelling abroad for brain surgery transformed her life 13 years after hearing that a Parkinson's diagnosis would leave her unable to walk or talk. Two years after undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the UK, which involves the implanting of electrodes in the brain, Frances McCann is fighting fit and continuing to defy the odds. She will be among the thousands expected to turn out at this years Walk in the Park for Parkinson's Ireland later this month as she marks 15 years since being diagnosed with the the brain disorder. Parkinson's causes involuntary movements such as shaking, stiffness and balance and co-ordination issues. It affects around 18,000 people in Ireland and is the second most common neurodegenerative condition after Alzheimers disease. Symptoms can begin with a small tremor in the hand before growing in severity. Walk in the Park events will take place in various locations across the country on Saturday, September 21, from 11am to raise vital funds for Parkinson's Ireland. This years Cork event will kick off at the Lee Fields. Frances is taking part in the fundraiser to remind people that there is life after Parkinson's. She is currently mastering everything from Tai chi to set dancing, thanks to activities organised by the Cork branch of Parkinson's Ireland. The 72-year-old spoke of the new lease of life deep brain stimulation (DBS) has given her and how she hopes new breakthroughs and treatments will help people with Parkinson's. She is urging the public to donate to Parkinson's Ireland to help people diagnosed with the condition and their families. Frances McCann who explained how a little known hardship of Parkinson's is the loss of ones ability to smile. Picture: Chani Anderson Two years ago Frances opted to undergo DBS which has considerably improved her balance and allowed her to participate in several Parkinson's Ireland activities. The procedure involves implanting electrodes within areas of the brain. These are controlled by a pacemaker-like device placed under the skin in the upper chest. A wire running under the skin links the device to electrodes in the brain. Frances spent the years leading up to this coming to terms with her diagnosis. I remember the doctor asking me if I had ever got bad news. I kind of braced myself after that because I knew it was coming. I was told that the outcome would be that I wouldnt be able to walk or talk. That was very tough. I was just taking every day as it came. "I wondered at the time how I would be able to cope with the outcome but it has been so different to what I had expected. I do a lot with the group and am even joined the choir so my life is very active. "I knew very little about Parkinson's before I was diagnosed. Some people know about it because they have a friend or relative with it but I had no experience. There are around 40 different symptoms of Parkinson's and each person will present differently depending on the symptoms they have. Frances recalls travelling to the UK for treatment. When I had the device fitted all my symptoms improved. I didnt fall as much and all my symptoms declined. My memory was better and my balance improved. I still fall and I had a serious fall about two weeks ago which left me with a black eye and one side of my face all black. The falls are a very difficult part of having Parkinsons. The danger is not knowing how you are going to fall. If you fall the wrong way you can do untold damage. The grandmother admits she was apprehensive about undergoing surgery. There have been people who were suitable but just too scared to go ahead with DBS. I could have run away from the operation but I chose not to. Of course I was still nervous. "My initial thought was 'nobody is going to be fooling around with my brain'. You hear about all the things that could go wrong and risks of things like brain bleeds and irreparable damage. "The day I went over, the team explained to me just how straightforward it was going to be. The team had a lot of experience and this put my mind at ease. All of my details were fed into a computer and a robot did most of the operation. I just cant imagine what he did. Frances hasnt looked back since. The 72-year-old described how she has adapted to life after DBS treatment. There are some challenges, she told the Irish Examiner. Last June I went on a cruise and accidentally left the charger on the ship. The cruise ship were no help. When I tried to get it returned and they simply told me it was with a third party. "My husband was trying to stress to them how serious the situation was and explained that I needed to charge it every week. They wouldnt answer our phone calls and we had no success with them at all. My doctor was out of her mind with the thought and increased all the medications to the levels they were at before the operation. "It would be 11 or 12 weeks before Id have the charger returned to me. However, we got on to Boston Scientific and they were great to deal with. They loaned me a replacement until I got mine back. We contacted DHL and it was on its way within an hour. She hopes that awareness can be raised about the condition. I think some people have very different views of Parkinsons disease and what its like to live with. The reality is that no two diagnoses are ever the same. I do my best to stay active. Independence is also very important to me. I have my own car and Im careful. Its all about feeling the fear and doing it anyway. Jerome Maume Jerome Maume from Cork knows this only well, having being diagnosed with the disease shortly before his brother. I was diagnosed around 2014 when I was 46. However, I kept it a secret until my 50th birthday, he told the Irish Examiner. My mum rang me and said that they thought my brother had Parkinson's. That was when I told my mum that I had been diagnosed four years before. Even though my brother is two years older than me he was diagnosed after me and our symptoms were completely different. I always say that once youve met one person with Parkinson's youve met one person with Parkinson's as no two people will have the same symptoms. The fact that two brothers can have completely different symptoms just goes to prove that point. He recalled how the diagnosis gave him a certain degree of closure. Waiting for the diagnosis was quite scary. However, I remember being told that you dont die from Parkinson's, you die with it. It was a small comfort to know that. Jerome explains why he initially decided to keep his diagnosis a secret. Jerome Maume (left) and Frances McCann (right) in Glounthaune getting their steps in ahead of A Walk in the Park. Picture: Chani Anderson I was afraid of what people would say. I was even more afraid of how people would react. As a lawyer I was worried that it might affect my work. I was coming to terms with my diagnosis and what it meant to have the condition but I was also worried that people would question my competency as a lawyer. "There was a woman who joined Young Parkinson's Ireland at the same time as me. She hadnt told anyone about her diagnosis either. We were always the ones at the meeting hiding any time there were photographs being taken. He says that his priorities changed during that difficult period. Between the ages of 46 and 47 I should have been coming into my prime earning capacity but my priorities changed after that. I have three sons but they were so young at the time that I didnt tell them until I turned 50. There were no very obvious symptoms so I didnt feel the need until then. I thought they might have looked at me differently but they were fantastic. The former lawyer says he does everything he can to keep his symptoms at bay. Many dont know what to say when they find out you have Parkinson's. Ive had people come up to me and tell me that they are sorry but I tell them not to be. Im doing really well. "This is probably because of the positive attitude I have and the use I make of what little dopamine I have left in my body by keeping active with exercise and singing and music. I was able to benefit from speech therapy which was what saved my voice. "Im grateful that my doctor didnt just kick me out the door with loads of drugs. There was a lot that helped after my diagnosis. Parkinson's Ireland provides a range of services and supports, both locally and nationally to people living with Parkinson's disease, their families and carers. Their work includes raising awareness of the condition. They also provide information and advice, and an advocacy service for those affected by the disease. The organisation also has a focus on research. To find out more about the Walk in the Park for Parkinson's visit parkinsons.ie. Police in the US are searching for a gunman in a rural area of south-eastern Kentucky after up to seven people were hurt in a shooting near Interstate 75 and a crash that accompanied the violence. The shooting began just after 6.30pm on Saturday and was followed by an intense search for a suspect by multiple law enforcement agencies. The Laurel County Sheriffs Office said in a post on Facebook that it was an active shooter situation and numerous persons were shot near the highway. In a video statement, London Mayor Randall Weddle said he was told seven people had been hurt, but not all of them were wounded by gunfire. Some of the victims were injured in an accident when the shooting started, he said. London, a small city with a population of about 8,000, is about 75 miles (120km) south of Lexington. There are no deceased at this time. No-one was killed from this, thankfully, but we ask that you continue to pray, Mr Weddle said. Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, of Laurel County Sheriffs Office, gives a statement on the investigation into the shooting along Interstate 75 (Timothy D Easley/AP) Officials at the Saint Joseph London hospital said the facility was treating multiple patients, LEX 18 reported. The hospital said they all had minor injuries. A spokesman for the University of Kentucky Albert B Chandler Hospital said two victims were admitted but he did not have any information about their condition. The sheriffs office announced that a person of interest has been identified in connection with the shooting, saying he should be considered armed and dangerous and people should not approach him. He was named as Joseph A Couch, a 32-year-old white male, and anyone with information about his location was urged to call 911. State politicians from Laurel County urged residents in the area to stay at home as police continued to search for the gunman. Without a doubt, this is an act of senseless violence that does not reflect the values of this community, our commonwealth, or its people, they said in a statement. Mount Vernon Fire Department said a heavy presence of police and fire personnel was on the scene and working diligently to address the situation. It advised motorists to avoid I-75 and US 25. Image released by Kentuckys London Police Department of Joseph Couch (London Police Department/AP) The interstate was closed 9 miles (14km) north of London but reopened about three hours later, according to the sheriffs office. In a video update on Facebook late on Saturday night, Mayor Weddle tried to calm fears as the search continued for the gunman. He urged residents to call 911 if they heard or saw anything suspicious near their homes. Were asking folks please do not go outside your home shooting because we might have first responders in that area. Its important to know you are safe. We have multiple agencies in this community, in the city of London and in Laurel County, he said. He said searchers know the general area where this individual is but would not give specific details. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said in a post on social platform X, formerly Twitter: I am receiving initial reports from the Kentucky State Police and our Office of Homeland Security together we are actively monitoring the situation and offering support in any way possible. Please pray for everyone involved. Former Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has fled into exile after being granted asylum in Spain, delivering a major blow to millions who placed their hopes in his campaign to end two decades of single-party rule. The surprise departure of the man who Venezuelas opposition and several foreign governments consider the legitimate winner of Julys presidential race was announced by Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez late on Saturday night. She said the government decided to grant Mr Gonzalez safe passage out of the country, just days after ordering his arrest, to help restore the countrys political peace and tranquillity. Neither Mr Gonzalez nor opposition leader Maria Corina Machado have commented. Meanwhile, Spains centre-left government said the decision to abandon Venezuela was Mr Gonzalezs alone and he left on a plane sent by the countrys air force. Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told Spanish national broadcaster RTVE, while en route to China with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez for a state visit, that his government will grant Mr Gonzalez political asylum as he has requested. I have been able to speak to (Mr Gonzalez) and once he was aboard the airplane he expressed his gratitude toward the Spanish government and Spain, Mr Albares said. Of course I told him we were pleased that he is well and on his way to Spain, and I reiterated the commitment of our government to the political rights of all Venezuelans. Mr Albares said Mr Gonzalez had spent an unspecified number of days at the Spanish Embassy in Caracas before his departure. Protesters in the Catia neighbourhood of Caracas demonstrate against Venezuelas official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro the winner (Cristian Hernandez/AP) Mr Gonzalez, a 75-year-old former diplomat, was a last-minute stand-in when Ms Machado was banned from running. He was previously unknown to most Venezuelans, but his campaign nevertheless rapidly ignited the hopes of millions desperate for change after a decade-long economic freefall. While President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of the July vote, most Western governments have yet to recognise his victory and are instead demanding that authorities publish a breakdown of votes. Meanwhile, tally sheets collected by opposition volunteers from more than two-thirds of the electronic voting machines indicate that Mr Gonzalez won by a margin of more than two to one. The tally sheets have long been considered the ultimate proof of election results in Venezuela. In previous presidential elections, the National Electoral Council published the results of each of the more than 30,000 voting machines online, but the Maduro-controlled panel did not release any data this time, blaming an alleged cyber attack mounted by its opponents from North Macedonia. Attorney General Tarek William Saab, a staunch Maduro ally, sought Mr Gonzalezs arrest after he failed to appear three times in connection with a criminal investigation into what it considers an act of electoral sabotage. Mr Saab told reporters the voting records the opposition shared online were forged and an attempt to undermine the National Electoral Council. Experts from the United Nations and the Carter Centre, which at the invitation of Mr Maduros government observed the election, determined the results announced by electoral authorities lacked credibility. In a statement critical of the election, the UN experts stopped short of validating the oppositions claim to victory, but they said the voting records it published online appear to exhibit all of the original security features. Three Israelis were shot dead at the border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan on Sunday, Israeli officials said, in what appeared to be an attack linked to the 11-month-old war in Gaza. The military said the gunman approached the Allenby Bridge crossing from the Jordanian side in a truck and opened fire at Israeli security forces, who killed the assailant in a shootout. It said the three people killed were Israeli civilians. Israels Magen David Adom rescue service said the three people who were killed were men in their 50s. Jordan is investigating the shooting, its state-run Petra News Agency reported. The Western-allied Arab country made peace with Israel in 1994 but is fiercely critical of its policies toward the Palestinians. The Allenby crossing is mainly used by Israelis, Palestinians and international tourists. Israeli police stand guard near the Allenby Bridge crossing between the West Bank and Jordan after the deadly shooting (Mahmoud Illean/AP) Jordan has a large Palestinian population and has seen mass protests against Israel over the war in Gaza. Authorities in Israel and Jordan said the crossing has been closed until further notice, and Israel later announced the closure of both of its land crossings with Jordan, near Beit Shean in the north and Eilat in the south. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack and linked it to Israels larger conflict with Iran and allied militant groups, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Israeli-occupied West Bank has seen a surge of violence since Hamass October 7 attack out of Gaza triggered the war there. Israel has launched near-daily military arrest raids into dense Palestinian residential areas, and there has also been a rise in settler violence and Palestinian attacks on Israelis. Meanwhile, in Gaza, an Israeli air strike early on Sunday killed five people, including two women, two children and a senior official in the Civil Defence first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government. The Civil Defence said the strike targeted the home of its deputy director for north Gaza, Mohammed Morsi, in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The army says it tries to avoid harming civilians and only targets militants. Authorities in Israel and Jordan said the crossing has been closed until further notice (Mahmoud Illean/AP) Gazas Health Ministry says more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war erupted 11 months ago. It does not say how many were fighters and how many civilians. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack on Israel. They abducted another 250, and are still holding around 100 of them after releasing most of the rest in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel during a weeklong ceasefire last November. Around a third of the remaining hostages inside Gaza are believed to be dead. The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to broker a ceasefire and the return of the hostages, but the negotiations have repeatedly bogged down. At 60 years of age, Lidia Rodriguez still keeps the recipe for farina practically intact, just as her ancestors made it. To obtain a kilo of this flour, it takes almost two years of work, from planting the yuca the root of the cassava plant to packaging it. The tuber is cleaned, fermented, kneaded, sifted and passed through the cassava flour. Knead it like this, she says, shrugging her shoulders. There are no shortcuts. Every eight days, this woman travels from the community of La Chorrera to Leticia, the capital of the Colombian region of Amazonas, to try to sell her bags of farina, mojojoy (beetle larva) and casabe. She admits that, sometimes, she brings the farina back. They want to buy it from me for 10,000 pesos (about $2 per kilo), she says, annoyed. The people of Bogota seem to be from a different country than those of us who come from the jungle. If it werent for us, Colombians wouldnt know even half of the fruits of their own country. When shes speaking about city folks, shes referring to the 16 haute cuisine chefs who are gathered at the Mini-Mal restaurant in the capital, to create sophisticated and delicious dishes with Rodriguezs farina, Marianela Cuiris mambe, or Alonsos uva camarona. The culinary revolution on the continent has a lot to do with returning to Indigenous roots and getting into the jungle. Rodriguez dreams that it will also end up sneaking into the neighborhood kitchens and onto more economical menus. Lidia Rodriguez, an organic farmer from La Chorrera, in the Amazonas region of Colombia. ANDRES GALEANO Corn empanadas with tucupi ham, puff pastries filled with mambe custard, smoked mushroom soup and wild tomatoes, yuca tamales with copoazu ice cream tasting the jungle is like discovering new colors. Sometimes, theres nothing to compare them with. In the kitchen at Afluente, the ecosystem is a fusion of Colombia and Tanzania. Jeferson Garcia, the owner of the establishment and head chef, also wanted to honor his grandmother and great-grandmother. After 13 years living abroad in Denmark, Chile and Thailand, he returned to Colombia feeling like a tourist. I decided to rediscover [the country] on foot. Along the way, I found new ingredients: moorland chili, coralito, vinagrillo, moron... thats what my grandmother, Mercedes, used to eat. And now, I put it in my dishes with the techniques Ive learned, this young man says with a smile. He used to cook at the iconic Central restaurant, in Lima, Peru. Were learning to work with our own products. And the producers who make them, they count as well. Sometimes, we pay them up to three times more than what they ask. Its sad that there are people who haggle with them, he laments. Garcia supplies a significant part of his pantry with crops from the fall harvest in the jungle. This involves going into the Amazon after heavy rains, to collect the fruits that have fallen so that the animals in the area dont eat them. The greatest satisfaction for him is the approval of Mercedes: Its different, but she says she likes it. Between camu camu ice creams and macambo desserts, theres a stand thats busier than all the others. Atop some small bijao leaves are mixtures of beaten egg with turmeric, filled with wild mushrooms and chili. This is served by Pedro Miguel Schiaffino, by hand. Hes one of the great innovators of the urban cuisine that looks towards the jungle for inspiration and ingredients. He says he prepares this nina juane very similar to Japanese chawanmushi because it preserves the unique flavour of the Amazon. Haute cuisine is changing. But you have to do things not just because theyre trendy or attractive or because theyre new, but because theres a value behind all of this, says the owner of the gourmet restaurants Malabar and Amaz, both located in Lima. Pedro Miguel Schiaffino, Peruvian chef. ANDRES GALEANO The Peruvian admits that he has always dreamed of integrating not only the ingredients, but also the Amazonian culture into the main capitals of Latin America. And [I want these ingredients] to be on everyones table; thats the challenge, but the restaurants are the spearhead. What Ive seen in Bogota is incredible, because theres tremendous integration, much more than in Lima. Bogota is a great trailblazer in this movement. El Chato, Mesa Franca, Humo Negro, Salvo Patria, Afluente... the offer of restaurants with this approach is increasingly common. The Spanish and the French have the technique, but we have the pantry, says the Barranquilla-based chef Andrews Arrieta. Minimal, the mythical corner of Bogota that pays homage to products from the Pacific and the Amazon, was decked out for the Amazon Basket event, held in mid-August. This meeting, organized by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), brought the flavors of the Amazonian foothills, the deep Amazonia, and the Orinoquia to the Chapinero neighborhood in Bogota. For Jose Luis Gomez, director of WCS for the Andes-Amazon-Orinoquia region, cooking is one of the many economic alternatives in the Amazon. The competition is mining and illegal deforestation. Its a huge challenge to make the offer to these producers attractive, when compared to illicit economies, he explains. But over the last decade, it has begun to be a driving force. The other challenge, he says, is to prevent the demand from becoming massive and avoid producing monocultures of a single food. The key is to reach fair pricing agreements and work with the communities, to establish a different kind of relationship. We have to achieve that in some way and we can vote with our wallets. The role of the consumer is very important. A gourmet take on nina juane, one of the main dishes from the cuisine of the Peruvian jungle. Its made of rice, meat, olives, hard-boiled eggs, leaves and spices. ANDRES GALEANO With the money that the seven women producers of the Dona Cuiru cooperative have saved, they buy the necessities for the house and pay for solar panels so they can have some electricity. But we almost always spend money paying for transportation from the community to the highway, the women note. In this area of the Amazon, public infrastructure is conspicuously absent. Dozens of communities including the one where the cooperative is based lack drinking water, electricity, roads, or highways. The state should subsidize these initiatives, but normally, public investment is concentrated where there are more people, Gomez laments. The peripheral territories dont receive much investment, but we hope that this will change. A healthy economy allows customs and traditions to be preserved everything that the illicit economy is destroying. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition A Russian drone violated Romanias airspace during night-time attacks on neighbouring Ukraine, the Nato member reported on Sunday, urging Moscow to stop what it described as an escalation. The incident happened as Russia carried out attacks on civilian targets and port infrastructure across the River Danube in Ukraine, Romanias Ministry of National Defence said. Romania deployed F-16 warplanes to monitor its airspace, and Nato allies were kept informed, the ministry said. Romanian emergency authorities also issued text alerts to residents of two eastern regions. NATO condemns the overnight Russian airspace violation into Romanian airspace. While we have no information indicating an intentional attack by Russia against Allies, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous. Mircea Geoana (@Mircea_Geoana) September 8, 2024 Preliminary data indicates there may be an impact zone in an uninhabited area near the Romanian village of Periprava, the ministry said. It added that an investigation is under way. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Romania has confirmed drone fragments on its territory on several occasions and as recently as July this year. The Romanian Defence Ministry strongly condemned the Russian attacks on Ukraine, calling them unjustified and in serious contradiction with the norms of international law. Mircea Geoana, Natos outgoing deputy secretary-general and Romanias former top diplomat, said the military alliance also condemned Russias violation of Romanian airspace. While we have no information indicating an intentional attack by Russia against Allies, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Meanwhile, in Ukraine, two civilians were killed and four others, including two children, injured in a night-time Russian air strike on the northern city of Sumy, the regional military administration reported. Relatives cry over the coffin at the funeral in Poltava of a Ukrainian serviceman killed in a Russian rocket attack on a military academy (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP) In the Kharkiv region further east, overnight shelling killed two elderly women, according to local governor Oleh Syniehubov. During the night, Ukrainian air defences shot down one of four cruise missiles and 15 of 23 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia, Ukraines air force reported. It added that none of the cruise missiles had hit targets. Later on Sunday, three women were killed when Russian forces shelled a village in the eastern Donetsk region, governor Vadym Filashkin reported on the Telegram messaging app. Elsewhere in the province, rescue teams pulled the bodies of two men from the rubble of a hotel destroyed on Saturday evening in a Russian air strike, according to Ukraines state emergency service. That same day, the death toll from a massive Russian missile strike on Tuesday that blasted a military academy and nearby hospital in the eastern city of Poltava rose to 58, regional governor Filip Pronin reported. More than 320 other people were injured. Since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the Russian military has repeatedly used missiles to smash civilian targets, sometimes killing scores of people in a single attack. Poltava is about 200 miles (350km) south-east of Kyiv, on the main highway and rail route between Kyiv and Ukraines second-largest city, Kharkiv, which is close to the Russian border. The attack happened as Ukrainian forces sought to carve out their holdings in Russias Kursk border region after a surprise incursion that began on August 6, as the Russian army hacks its way deeper into eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian servicemen carry the coffin of a comrade who was killed in a Russian rocket attack on a Ukrainian military academy at his funeral in Poltava (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP) In Ukraines industrial east, Russian forces continued their months-long grinding push towards the city of Pokrovsk, and also ramped up attacks near the town of Kurakhove further south, Ukraines General Staff said. Russian forces continued their months-long grinding push towards the city of Pokrovsk, and also ramped up attacks near the town of Kurakhove further south, Ukraines General Staff reported. Russias Defence Ministry said on Sunday that its troops had taken Novohrodivka, a small town some 11 miles (19km) south-east of Pokrovsk. An update published on Saturday evening by DeepState, a Ukrainian battlefield analysis site, said Russian forces had advanced in Novohrodivka and captured Nevelske, a village in the south-east of the Pokrovsk district. Pokrovsk, which had a pre-war population of about 60,000, is one of Ukraines main defensive strongholds and a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region. Its capture would compromise Ukraines defence and supply routes, and bring Russia closer to its stated aim of capturing the entire Donetsk region. Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia left Venezuela on Saturday and is flying to Spain, where he has received political asylum, according to diplomatic sources who spoke to EL PAIS. The opposition candidate, who represented Maria Corina Machado in the last elections against Nicolas Maduro, held a meeting on Saturday morning with Spanish diplomats. According to these same sources, former Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero played a key role in these negotiations. The diplomatic operation to grant Edmundo Gonzalez asylum has been going on for two weeks. Spain insists that it was Edmundo himself who requested political asylum, but other sources privy to the talks maintain that the offer is the result of a negotiation that even included Delcy and Jorge Rodriguez, the political allies closest to Maduro. On Friday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called Gonzalez a hero and said that Spain was not going to abandon him. At that time, it was known that the opposition leader was close to making a decision. On Saturday, while safe conducts were being prepared so that Gonzalez could arrive at the airport and leave Venezuela without being detained by authorities, a Spanish military plane was waiting in the Dominican Republic to transfer him as soon as possible to Madrid. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez was the Chavista spokesperson who announced that Gonzalez had left Venezuela. In a message on social media, she said that Venezuela had granted the presidential candidate the due safe conducts for the sake of the tranquility and political peace of the country. Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister Jose Manuel Albares told the press that Gonzalez, not Spain, initiated the process. Gonzalez has requested the right of asylum, and Spain is of course going to grant it to him. I have been able to speak with him, he has expressed his gratitude and I have expressed my happiness that he is well, said Albares, who denied that there was any negotiation with the government of Nicolas Maduro. Albares added that Spain will not recognize Maduros controversial victory in the July 28 elections while it refuses to release the voter tally sheets. These records are printed by the voting machines and then retained by the electoral authorities, the military that guard the electoral records, and the witnesses of each party. The opposition quickly collected and scanned these documents, and with 83.5% of these tally sheets, were able to show that Gonzalez Urrutia won 67% of the vote. Venezuelas Prosecutors Office, however, classified these records as false, despite the observations made by a U.N. panel of experts who stated that after analyzing a small sample, they found that they maintained the security parameters to make them reliable. There is so far no sign that other members of the opposition, or Maria Corina Machado the undisputed leader of the opposition are thinking of following the same path as Gonzalez. The 75-year-old was facing jail after being accused by the Maduro government of five charges, and has sought asylum in Spain, along with his wife. Some 100,000 Venezuelans have taken advantage of a special regime set up by Spain due to the tensions in the country. Before leaving the country, Gonzalez had been staying at the Spanish ambassadors residence in Caracas. When Venezuelan security forces surrounded the Argentine embassy on Friday, it was a clear signal, both for Gonzalez and Spanish diplomats, that there is no safe haven in Venezuela right now. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition By Lauren Johnston, University of Sydney | (The Conversation) China-Africa relations have deepened over the past two decades, characterised by increased economic cooperation, investment and infrastructure development. China is now Africas largest trading partner, with partnerships focused on building roads, railways and energy projects. As the ninth Forum on ChinaAfrica Cooperation (FOCAC) kicks off this week in Beijing, a new, green theme is shaping their relationship: the global renewable energy race. We asked Lauren Johnston, a development economist with expertise in China-Africa relations, to provide some insights into this development as it positions both regions as key players in the global shift towards green energy. How is the race for green energy shaping relations between China and Africa? The global climate crisis has created a push for renewable energy technology like solar or wind power which would lessen reliance on polluting energy sources. China saw some years ago it had a chance to lead in such a new industry. Africa is home to a lot of the important minerals needed to create renewable technologies like copper, cobalt and lithium, key ingredients in battery manufacture. The race for green energy is therefore leading to a rush for these minerals in Africa, led by China, the US and Europe. Chinese mining presence in Africa, which is much lower than western presence, is concentrated in five countries: Guinea, Zambia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Among them, the DRC, Zambia and Zimbabwe are the crucible of the new green energy race in Africa. They are home to Africas copper belt and the greatest store of lithium, copper and cobalt. The DRC is particularly important. It has significant reserves of cobalt and high grade copper, as well as lithium. Cobalt is an unusually hard metal with a high melting point and magnetic properties. It is a key ingredient in lithium batteries. More than 70% of the worlds cobalt is produced in the DRC and 15%-30% of that is produced by artisanal (informal) and small-scale mining. China is the leading foreign investor it owns some 72% of the DRCs active cobalt and copper mines, including the Tenke Fungurume Mine the worlds fifth largest copper mine and the worlds second largest cobalt mine. Chinas CMOC Group is the worlds leading cobalt mining company. It could produce up to 70,000 tonnes, thanks to the new Kisanfu mine. In 2019, the DRC and China were responsible for about 70% of global production of cobalt and 60% of rare earths. Zimbabwe is another country in which China has been investing within the context of the green energy race. Zimbabwe is home to Africas largest lithium reserves, a critical element in electric-vehicle battery production. In 2023 Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, a subsidiary of Chinese company Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, opened a US$300 million lithium processing plant. It has capacity to process 4.5 million tonnes a year of hard rock lithium into concentrate for export, against a global backdrop of some 200 million tonnes produced annually. Digital, Midjourney, PS Express, 2024 There are a couple of other developments on the continent that are worth watching. China is investing in the first mega-scale battery factory on the continent, in Morocco. Chinese interests also have permission to develop the worlds largest untapped high-grade iron ore deposit, in Guinea. Iron ore, used in steel production, plays a crucial part in the renewable energy sector in several ways for instance, steel is used in wind turbines and in mounting structures for solar panels. The agreement to exploit the Simandou iron ore deposit involves various countries. Chinas steel-making giant Chinalco is among the players. Production is due to begin in early 2026. As China ramps up investments in these green minerals, what concerns exist for African countries? Chinas growing control over key renewables minerals brings several challenges to African minerals suppliers. For African countries it generates concerns for development many want to add value to their minerals endowment at home rather than export raw materials to China and then import manufactures. China has been criticised for abandoning African interests by adding value in China and not in Africa. Many people and industries on the African continent lack access to reliable and affordable energy and local industry is keen to capture that market. For instance, according to the International Energy Agency, China controls over 80% of the global manufacturing steps involved in making solar panels. The concentration of production in China, alongside competition, has pushed down global solar panel prices. Chinas solar industry is keen to close Africas energy gap, providing sustainable energy to the millions that dont have access. For instance, at this years Forum on ChinaAfrica Cooperation gathering, China is expected to advance its Africa Solar Belt Programme. This is an agenda supported by the World Resources Institute which not only seeks to use solar energy to close Africas energy gap, but also to focus on powering schools and healthcare facilities with solar too. Some countries, like South Africa, are pushing back by imposing tariffs on solar imports to protect their local industries. There are also fears that the race to renewables, and the approach of Chinese mining-sector firms in Africa, is setting back workers conditions. Expansion of mines in some countries has also led to forced evictions and human rights abuses. What can African countries do differently to take advantage of Chinas mineral rush? There are several steps they can take. First, they can pay more attention to basic labour standards and human rights. Second, African firms should aim to learn from their Chinese partners. They can develop the industrial knowledge and understanding of the skills and capabilities needed on the continent, similar to how China learned from Japanese, Taiwanese, Singaporean and western companies in the past. Third, learn from how other emerging markets manage their relations with China. For instance, with Chinas help, Indonesia has taken control of the global nickel market. Indonesia started by banning nickel exports in 2014, aiming to build up its own industries for processing and manufacturing. This plan was supported by Chinese investments. Lastly, what I call Chinas Hunan Model for Africa has a focus on agriculture, mining, transport and construction industries, and on building talent. This includes technical and vocational training. The more African nations position themselves to take advantage of training programmes from other countries, the better their young people will be prepared to drive industrial growth and economic development in Africa. Lauren Johnston, Associate Professor, China Studies Centre, University of Sydney This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) Azerbaijan is making the most of its hosting of the UN climate summit (COP29) in November this year. Its president, Ilham Aliyev, has been on a whirlwind tour of the world to court major nations for a climate finance pact that will feature Bakus initiative on a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), which originally was a pledge to provide $100 billion annually for climate action in developing countries. He also enlisted the support of his neighbor, Russia. On August 18-19, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a two-day state visit to Azerbaijan. Aliyev invited him to attend COP29. Putin hasnt been fond of climate summits, but this one will be hard for him to skip. If he attends, he will, for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine, sit next to leaders of P5, G-7, BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), G-20, and the 38-member OECD (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development) countries. Except for G-7, Russia is a key member of all these groupings. Putin will be tempted to support the NCQG, since it would give him an opportunity to name and shame those who have been historically the worlds largest emitters of greenhouse gases (GHG). But there is an irony involved here. The Russian economy is awash in resource extraction, especially the extraction of oil and natural gas. Russia is worlds fourth largest emitter of greenhouse gasses, after China, the United States, and India. Should Russia call out rich nations for their historical contribution to GHG emissions, it will be the pot calling the kettle black. Besides their shared past as former Soviet republics, Azerbaijan and Russia are fellow littoral states that share the long, transnational Caspian coastline. With a surface area of 143,000 square miles, the Caspian is the worlds largest inland body of water. It is inland because it doesnt feed into any larger waterway, such as the ocean. Its year-round cumulative moisture makes coastal economies hum. As one of the five littoral statesthe others being Kazakhstan, Russia, Iran, and TurkmenistanAzerbaijan is the most dependent upon the Caspian. One-fourth of Bakus oil reserves are located offshore in the Caspian. Azerbaijan could live without this oil, but it cannot live without the food, water, and ecological treasures that the Caspian lavishes upon it. Sturgeon is the queen fish of the Caspian, which yields the world delicacy of caviar. Up to 90 percent of the worlds caviar is sourced from the Caspian . Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan and host to COP29, is built on the shore of the Caspian. The lake is the citys water tower and its food pantry. But the Caspian is fast drying up. With climate-induced soaring temperatures, the lake is rapidly evaporating, leaving behind sprawling patches of dry land. On average, the Caspian has been receding by 20 centimeters per year. It is projected to drop by 18 meters by the end of the century, while the northern Caspian is already only 5-6 meters deep. It has now passed below the level at which it can support the marine ecosystem. Aliyev showed Putin rocks that were peeking out of the lakes fast developing shallows. The Azeri leader fears that this process will eventually turn the lake into an island, just as it did to the Aral Sea. The latters seabed is now land surface with miles upon miles of dirt trails. The Kazakh port city of Aqtau has already dried up, leaving the vibrant urban center and its economy in ruin. Photo by MohammadReza Jelveh on Unsplash At slightly over a million square miles, Kazakhstan is comparable in size to Western Europe and thus can absorb the loss of a city. Azerbaijan is, however, far more compact with a land area of just 33,436 square miles. Its surface and subsurface territorial waters in the Caspian are twice as large as its landmass. Losing so much of the country to climate change would be unthinkable for any Azeri. Putin has promised Aliyev to save the lake. Despite his promise, there is little Putin can do. Putins Russia is an upstream country on the Caspian. The other four coastal nations, including Azerbaijan, want Moscow to cease impounding and diverting tributaries to the Caspian. One such tributary is the Volga River, which is the longest and the largest (in volume) body of water on the European continent. The Volgas headwaters are located northwest of Moscow. Caspian nations argue that the Volga makes up 80 percent of the inflow to the lake. The remainder (20 per cent) comes from two downstream river systems: the Kurra and the Aras. The Volgas uninterrupted flow is, therefore, critical to the life of the Caspian. But Russia has built 40 dams and diversions on the Volga, and 18 more are in various stages of development, all of which have slashed flow to the Caspian to a trickle. Dams and diversions do diminish inflows, but climate change too is having an impact. If the Caspian itself is evaporating from hotter and drier conditions, the Volga is no exception to this phenomenon either. Reduced precipitation is contributing to the problem. A case in point is the transboundary Helmand River that drains both Afghanistan and Iran. Lack of rainfall has reduced the Helmands flow so much that it seldom makes it to Iran, inflaming tensions between Kabul and Tehran. Ironically, all five Caspian economies Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan are heavily dependent on fossil fuel production, which is at the heart of climate breakdown. Despite platitudes about reaching net zero, the global capitalist economy is also hooked on fossil fuels. As a result, carbon emissions are on the rise, and atmospheric temperatures are smashing records. Since the Paris Climate Pact in 2015, the world has gone backward on climate change. Unless hydrocarbon resources are kept in the ground, there is little hope of saving world monuments such as the Caspian. COP 29 is a great occasion to showcase what the Caspian means to the region and the rest of the world. Azerbaijans initiative on climate finance couldnt be more urgent to help preserve the Caspian and similar natural wonders. The United States will better serve the cause of climate stability by taking the lead in supporting the NCQG. President Joe Biden could further burnish his climate legacy by giving his vision at COP 29 of the Great Transition to a global green economy. Biden and others need to go well beyond the business as usual of climate adaptation to strike at the root of the problem: fossil capitalism. Calling Francis Kurkdjian detail-oriented is an understatement. A self-described creative director with a mathematical mind, before working at Dior, the perfumer carried out an extensive investigation of the French luxury house. It seemed like he was the one that was going to hire the brand, not the other way around. He spent a month preparing a 12-page guide to its main points of interest, from its most famous perfumes to its boutiques. I also bought things online, to see how the process worked. In Paris, I went to stores, a secret shopper, he recalls, seated between immense rocks in the Utah desert. More than three years have passed since he turned that booklet over to Diors president, full of suggestions and requests, including a list of everything he wanted to change if he was hired. They hired him. And he has largely made good on those proposals. Now, he is facing one of the houses greatest challenges: the relaunch of Sauvage, the best-selling perfume not only of the brand, but in the world, including womens and mens scents. This month, he will release his Eau Forte version. It will be a challenge in terms of sales, its sector, and the company itself. Is he worried that people wont like it? I dont care, he says, loud and clear. Is it good for Dior, is it what it needs? Thats not up to the people, but the house itself. If you think about the people, you forget the brand. The product is the icon. Colorado River at Horseshoe Bend, the famous site of the Grand Canyon and the place where Sauvage was presented. Matt Martian Williams Kurkdjians determination is nearly legendary in the industry. Serious and rigorous, he peppers his speech with marquee statements and then qualifies them, such as when he says that he deserves his job, that not everyone is capable of doing his job, that he does not like to be called lucky, but rather, that he is audacious. In the world of perfumes, his name is becoming as famous as the scents in the bottles he fills. He has transcended the realm of connoisseurs and is almost a star in the eyes of the general public. None of this, of course, matters to him in the least. I do my job to the best of my ability. I do my best to be at the service of perfumery. You can think Im an icon or not, I dont care, he says, his gaze direct, free of false modesty. What matters is to go beyond the limits. Maria Callas said it once in a very nice way, that she was at the service of music. If at my level I can do that, Ill be happy. Kurkdjian allows himself to be photographed during the presentation of Sauvage Eau Forte in a remote corner of the western United States, at the Amangiri Hotel in Canyon Point, Utah, where EL PAIS has traveled at the brands invitation. Its still the middle of June, but temperatures are approaching 104F in this strange paradise in the middle of nowhere, comprised of some 30 carefully appointed micro-bunkers with all amenities and a superb swimming pool carved into the rock. The perfume industry is an imposing market whose sales, according to Statista, reached $58 billion in 2023 and are expected to continue to grow considerably, at around 3% every year. Dior, which is part of the LVMH group (whose fragrance division grew 12% in the first half of 2023, rising above $4 billion, according to Forbes), chose the hotel, one of the most exclusive in the world, to present the launch to representatives of around 20 international media companies. The nose poses, agile and formal, among curves created by the meandering Colorado river. He doesnt bat an eye, but he cant be too comfortable. Does the press attention bother him? Its part of the job. It would be completely irresponsible to think that anyone could do this job. It demands a lot and its not for everyone; Im not saying that Im great, that Im the best. Im at Dior because creating my own company, without money, was much more difficult. The swimming pool at the Amangiri hotel in Canyon Point, Utah. Matt Martian Williams Dawn rises over Horseshoe Bend. Matt Martian Williams The company in question is the first atelier he launched in 2001, after which came the still-renowned Maison Francis Kurkdjian, founded in 2009 with his partner, Marc Chaya, who, upon meeting Kurkdjian, sensed his talent and thought that founding a house under his own name, an uncommon move in the perfume industry, had potential. That name had already attracted some fame in the industry when at 26 years old, Kurkdjian created an instant classic in Jean Paul Gaultiers Le Male, which continues to enjoy healthy sales three decades after its debut. Being at Dior is so easy in comparison with what I did before, since I was 25 years old, he says, but later qualifies the statement, admitting that his current position is not a simple job either. Its easy because I have an understanding of what I do, of the materials, the formulas, the stories, of training people. I have had to do many things on my own and with my partner, with my own hands, he says. Coming to the French house has been the icing on the cake, because I do what I want and if I need something, I only have to ask for it. Theres a lot to do, its not easy, but I have everything I need to do the job as I want. Seeing him seated underneath the powerful air conditioning that insulates the luxurious, sand-colored hotel from the desert in which it nestles, clad head to toe in the brand he represents, one might fall into the temptation of seeing the nose as a chosen one, destined to this future of opulence. But he did not grow up in Grasse, nor were his parents linked to a world of fragrance and finery. His paternal grandparents were humble teachers in Turkey; his mothers parents were sheep farmers and landowners in Armenia. Their holdings were lost after fleeing the 1915 genocide, and Kurkdjian grew up outside of Paris in an Armenian neighborhood. Of course, 30 years ago, I wanted to create perfumes for Dior and Yves Saint Laurent, but I couldnt imagine ever having my own house or working with artists, or even traveling, says the creator of Baccarat Rouge 540, a viral perfume that came out a few years ago (not to mention 50 other fragrances for that luxury house), in addition to Narciso Rodriguez for Her; Elizabeth Ardens famous summertime scent Green Tea, and Mr. Burberry and Her for the eponymous British firm. He has been responsible for installations in the Grand Palais of Versailles and Villa Medici. He can be serious, even short, on occasion, but Kurkdjian is true to his roots. The first time I got on an airplane I was 12 and the second, 24. Many things have happened since where I come from, with my parents and my grandparents as immigrants. And that makes me happy. Francis Kurkdjian, Diors perfume creation director, shot in Utah. He grew up outside Paris with his family, who are from Turkey and Armenia. Matt Martian Williams One of his goals is to become an inspiration for new generations. For me, thats something truly important. Because this is often thought of as a caste, passed down from father to son, that you have to be from a perfumer family and live in Grasse I want to show young people that if you work hard, if you dare, you can achieve many things, without fear of people telling you its impossible, he says, in a tone free of naivete. The majority of people dont do things because theyre made to see them as unreachable, not because they cant, but because they tell them, You wont make it because its hard. OK, but life is hard, says the man who was appointed knight in the order of arts and letters in France. Contrary to what one might think, his work isnt limited to pipettes. Im never in the laboratory. When you write an article, youre not at the printer, he says as a comparison. I only need a paper and pencil. I can work from here and send formulas to Paris, I just need a wi-fi connection. That thing about how all perfumers are shown in laboratories is misleading. Working for a house as titanic as Dior imposes many deadlines: by the end of September 2024, you have to have the 2025 and 2026 launches ready. How can he know what people will like a year and a half from now? I dont care, he says. You have to focus on the product, he repeats. Detailed view of the Utah desert. Matt Martian Williams Bottle of Diors new Sauvage Eau Forte, which was presented to the world in Utah. Matt Martian Williams Disproving myths is fast work for Kurkdjian, who makes it clear that his work goes far beyond the blending of fragrances, which is often considered the be-all-and-end-all in the world of the perfumer. For him, storytelling holds weight. His communication with marketing teams is constant, in both directions. He tells them what he has created, and also tries to understand what the company wants. I have to have the complete story, I need to understand the why. Why are we launching a new perfume? What is the reason? To preserve the business? To continue being number one? To give new shape to its history because it is not well-articulated? What do we want to do? What importance can Dior have today? Once you respond to all these questions, its easier to work because you have the story, he says. From there, he has redesigned the houses classics for women, like LOr de Jadore, for babies like Baby Dior, and now, he has dared to imagine a new edition of the best-selling fragrance on the planet, used by King Charles III of England. Why? Because when you are number one in the world, you cant be content. You have to keep innovating, advancing. With Eau Forte we have created our own new technology and are putting something different on the market, that is innovation. And when you have a story to tell, its easy. His workload is enormous. Kurkdjian had flown from Paris to this lost corner of Utah, a nine-hour time difference, for just a couple of days. Afterwards, he would go to New York. Soon, Japan awaits. He is a creator, but also an ambassador for the French house, at the end of the day. The work is demanding, but he does it from scratch, aware of how hard it is to make name for himself and for his own brand. When you begin from zero its much more demanding. When you work in such a beautiful organization, with people who know exactly what to do, talented Its a matter of being very organized. He is that, even when he has too many things to do. He wont stand for credit being given to extraneous factors, like his own luck. No. I deserve it, he laughs. Not even a little bit, a touch? A little touch of luck is good, but its not luck, I assure you. I prefer audacity to luck. Its a word I like better than luck because its associated with work. Christian Dior was audacious, if you look back and see how at the beginning, they wanted to rename his house and he refused. When you see videos of him, he is very shy, very correct. Its odd because hes quiet and discreet. Its hard to imagine him raising his voice and saying, This has to be named after me. Thats audacity. You have to be bold at Dior, it doesnt work on luck. He knows the history of the perfume house and its great founder by heart, he says. It forms part of his inspiration, but of course, asking where his inspiration comes from strikes him as corny. It doesnt come, of course, he says. The key is to know ones origins in order to later have a good story to tell. You have to create stories but then kill them, create them and kill them, until you think you have the perfect one, he says. His own story, which began three years ago with a letter sent to the house, almost seems made-up. It all began when he found out there was a vacancy and of course, raised his hand. Who wouldnt say, me, please? No, I didnt say please, he corrects. Theyre lucky Im here. I didnt beg. I told them, I have things to say, will you listen to me? It was a couple of lines or three. I hear youre looking for someone. Id like to be considered, are you interested in me and my vision for Dior? Thank you. They couldnt say no. Sunday, September 8, 2024 - A 21-year-old woman, Gugu Christina Makwakwa, was brutally shot and m8rdered by a man known to her in Tembisa, Johannesburg, South Africa. An advocacy group disclosed this in a statement on Friday, September 6, 2024. According to the group, Gugu was killed on 29 August. It is alleged that Gugu was shot multiple times outside the house. No one has been arrested yet. We are heartbroken over the loss of such a beautiful soul. Fly high, Sister," the statement read. Sunday, September 8, 2024 - Renowned blogger Martha Mwihaki Hinga has confirmed that Reverend Ruth Wamuyus marriage with Bishop Theuri is on the rocks. Taking to her Facebook account, the trusted blogger said Bishop Theuris infidelity was the main cause of Wamuyus marital woes. However, she dismissed reports that Wamuyu fell pregnant for another man, leading to their break up. Wamuyu is currently in the United States of America where she fled after her marriage reportedly crumbled due to Bishop Theuris cheating behaviours. Her husband was recently embroiled in a scandal after he impregnated one of their church members by the name of Sabina Mutheu, with reports indicating that he has a special appetite for women. A few months ago, he was secretly filmed indulging in alcohol while surrounded by a bevy of beauties in Kilimani. Reverend RUTH WAMUYUs husband, BISHOP THEURI, was secretly filmed in a nightclub surrounded by a bevy of beauties. pic.twitter.com/qRSvNs02Ax DAILY POST (@dailypost_ke) April 14, 2024 Below is a post by Martha Mwihaki Hinga on Reverend Ruth Wamuyus flopped marriage. The Kenyan DAILY POST. Sunday, September 8, 2024 - Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday, September 5, pledged over $50 billion in financing for Africa over the next three years. More than 50 African leaders and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are attending this weeks China-Africa forum, according to state media. Addressing the leaders at the forums opening ceremony in Beijings Great Hall of the People on Thursday, Xi said ties with Africa is in their best period in history. Xi promised to deepen cooperation in infrastructure and trade with Africa. China is ready to deepen cooperation with African countries in industry, agriculture, infrastructure, trade and investment, Xi said. Over the next three years, the Chinese government is willing to provide financial support amounting to 360 billion yuan ($50.7 billion), Xi said. Over half of that will be in credit, he said, with $11 billion in various types of assistance as well as $10 billion through encouraging Chinese firms to invest. He also promised to help create at least one million jobs for Africa. The Chinese leader pledged $141 million in grants for military assistance to the continent as well. Beijing would provide training for 6,000 military personnel and 1,000 police and law enforcement officers from Africa, Xi said. Also addressing the meeting, UN chief Guterres told African leaders that growing ties between China and the continent could drive the renewable energy revolution. Chinas remarkable record of development including on eradicating poverty - provides a wealth of experience and expertise, he said. China is Africas largest trading partner and has sought to tap the continents vast troves of natural resources including copper, gold, lithium and rare earth minerals. Sunday, September 8, 2024 - Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya has ruled out the possibility of listing Kenyans who have defaulted the Hustler Fund loans on the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB). This is even as he had vowed to go after the defaulters by any means necessary, including listing them on CRB. Speaking during an interview, Oparanya noted that the government was exploring other ways to recover the funds. He explained that the government did not want to disrupt the businesses of defaulters, as it preferred them to continue operating. We havent gotten there yet. You know the President said these are hustlers. We want to see how we will talk to them slowly and then they pay. We also dont want to destroy their business life. We want them to continue doing business, Oparanya remarked. The CS maintained that the government was exploring using chiefs and assistant chiefs to reach the defaulters. "We want to use other ways such as having chiefs or assistant chiefs talk to them about the benefits of the Hustler Fund because, as I have said, we know where they come from," he added. The Kenyan DAILY POST Scientific evidence supports the idea that adolescents and preteens shouldnt have unfettered access to social media. This statement is supported by various studies, such as Windows of Developmental Sensitivity to Social Media published in 2022 in Nature Communications or Association of Habitual Checking Behaviors on Social Media With Longitudinal Functional Brain Development, published in 2023 by the American Psychological Association. Both research investigations indicate that exposure to these platforms can alter both the emotional well-being and neuronal development of minors between the ages of 12 and 18-years-old. But these arent the only reasons to limit their access to social media. Minors can also be influenced by what they see other adolescents doing, such as influencers. This is one of the consequences of teenagers between the ages of 15 and 18 especially on TikTok recommending cosmetics, creams and makeup to an audience of girls as young as 10-years-old. This situation has created a new mental health disorder in pubescent girls: cosmeticorexia. That is, excessive interest in the use of cosmetics and facial care products, which are often harmful to such young skin. In [my] consultations, its surprising to observe the number of adolescents who have introduced a large number of products into their daily cosmetic routine, says Elia Roo, a dermatologist and member of the Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. As she explains, the misuse of these products is due to the fact that teenagers usually dont consult a dermatologist, but rather are guided by social media. They end up using cosmetics intended for adult skin. The consequence is that they come to the [dermatological] consultation due to irritative dermatitis caused by products with high concentrations of active ingredients such as retinol or alpha hydroxy acids, which they dont know how to use or due to an excess of comedogenic cosmetic products and makeup, [which produce excess oil]. This makes their acne worse, she explains. The use of creams and serums with these types of ingredients useful for preventing aging can lead the skin to develop dermatological pathologies (such as dermatitis, skin irritations, or even sun intolerance) in the medium-term. The skin of a teenager around 13 or 14-years-old only needs good cleansing, hydration [or] sunscreen in their routine, says Pilar Perez Rivas, director of the masters degree in Cosmetic Formulation and Dermopharmacy at the International University of La Rioja, in Spain. However, Perez continues, in recent years, weve seen a significant increase in cases of girls who are completely addicted to makeup and cosmetics, [a phenomenon] due to recommendations from influencers. These are the dermatological consequences. But there are also issues when it comes to emotional well-being. [Linking] the essence of happiness to esthetics is already a very serious educational error. But if, additionally, we add the disproportionate and increasing need to use products to feel beautiful and be liked by others (which is what its all about), this starts to be a problem, says child and family psychologist Mara Cuadrado. This situation worsens if teens become influencers. Many girls and adolescents when they have a significant number of followers on their networks find themselves trapped in a virtual world, where they lose not only their childhood, but also control over themselves, she adds. Cuadrado explains that its at this moment when anxiety problems begin: Other additional problems are generated, such as possible eating disorders, or even school abstention, since [the girls and teens] put making their videos before any other academic or family activity. The use of certain creams and serums can have adverse dermatological effects on younger skin. FatCamera (Getty Images) On the other hand, as these youths are in the process of growth, theyre more vulnerable to whatever they see. When they open their social media every day, theyre impacted by these publications and these reels in which images of perfect girls appear they become convinced that they must also transmit that perfection. And this becomes a problem, Perez emphasizes. The university professor says that we must be especially careful with minors who have low self-esteem. [We need to take care of] girls who have a certain addiction to technology, who want to be popular at all costs, or who dream of perfect skin and perfect hair. In any case, according to Cuadrado, we must differentiate the behavior of rehearsing adult roles (such as little girls who occasionally take their mothers nail polish to paint their own) from the issue of becoming addicted to cosmetics and beauty products. This is when the girls or teens always feel compelled to show off their new look and influence their followers or friends, or even find themselves unable to go to school without completing their daily beauty routine. Prevention, in the hands of parents Limiting the use of technology, encouraging children and teens to have a good self-image, preventing them from wanting to belong to the adult world so quickly, educating them about image protection and teaching them forms of leisure other than technology are for Cuadrado some of the weapons that parents can use to avoid cosmeticorexia. Of course, it cannot be avoided that, when adolescence arrives, [youths] become more interested in their appearance, especially when they begin to have problems with acne or oily hair, this psychologist clarifies. Thats when they look for solutions and, sometimes, become obsessed with these types of [products] that promise the unattainable, she continues. Thats why its so important to remind them that not everything you see online is true, Perez also recommends. Cuadrado explains that the best way to help these young women is to talk to them about the need that this obsession responds to. Behind these excesses, theres usually loneliness: girls who spend too much time alone in their rooms, without adults to interact with them. The psychologist adds that these minors also often feel insecurity, as well as an uncontrolled desire to influence others, or to be admired, recognized and accepted. This expert recommends that fathers and mothers seek out psychological professionals who can help their daughters learn to like themselves as they are, to not need followers, to cultivate good humor, intelligence, as well as familial and social relationships. And, of course, they should go to a dermatologist to help them with skin problems not to an esthetician. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Sunday, September 8, 2024 - The Head of Creative Economy and Special Projects in Kenya Kwanza Alliance government, Dennis Itumbi, has thanked activist and lawyer Morara Kebaso for campaigning for President William Rutos re-election in 2027. Morara Kebaso has been traversing the country on board his Toyota Prado exposing President William Rutos lie and his unfinished projects. With the help of the Kenyan online citizenry, Kebaso was recently equipped with vehicles and other resources to help his campaign. Reacting to the developments, Itumbi said by the government critic touring the country highlighting the projects, he was popularising Ruto to the benefit of his 2027 re-election bid. "I think Morara Kebaso is doing a good job in campaigning for President William Ruto in 2027. "I can assure you that all he has done, he has put an encyclopedia or a work plan of the programmes Ruto will have completed in their majority," said Itumbi. While defending the president, Itumbi claimed that the highlighted projects stalled after they were allegedly defunded by the previous regime. He appeared to support Morara's initiative, saying the president would be keen to work on the projects given that they are being spotlighted. "I love what he is doing. It is good to take the government into account. I can assure you that all those projects will be completed because they are part of the plan. "I'm sure the script Morara will use in 2027 will be "I said this, and the government did"," said Itumbi. The Kenyan DAILY POST Sunday, September 8, 2024 - Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi has revealed the cause of Friday's nationwide power blackout, which resulted in billions of shillings in losses. In a statement on Saturday, Wandayi explained that the blackout occurred when a 220kV high-voltage transmission line tripped at the Suswa substation, disrupting the evacuation of 288MW from the Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) plant. "This was followed by another trip on the Ethiopia-Kenya 500kV DC interconnector that was then carrying 200MW, resulting in a total loss of 488MW. "The loss of 488MW, accounting for 27.3% of the total generation, resulted in cascade failure and partial collapse of the grid. "This affected most regions of the country except parts of Western Kenya, which was supported by supply through the interconnector to Tororo, Uganda, said Wandayi. The Energy CS noted that restoration efforts commenced immediately and by 11:30 am, power had been restored to parts of North Rift, Central Rift, Nairobi, and Mount Kenya regions. The Kenyan DAILY POST Sunday, September 8, 2024 - Police in Munich have shot dead a 'suspicious' person near a Nazi-era museum and Israeli Consulate. The suspect died at the scene after exchanging fire with police, the interior minister for the German state of Bavaria said on Thursday, September 5. The incident took place in the Karolinenplatz area in the city centre, with police saying there was no evidence of any more suspects connected to the incident. According to one of Germany's biggest daily papers, Suddeutsche Zeitung, a local resident heard gunshots and police sirens and there were dozens of officers at the scene. Shouts of "run, run" could be heard, they added. Benedikt Franke, deputy chairman and CEO of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), told BILD his office, located right next to the museum, reportedly the Munich Documentation Center, had been cordoned off and staff were under lockdown. He said there was a "loud bang" at 9.10am and "at least a dozen shots" were heard. Israel's foreign ministry said the consulate in Munich was closed when the shooting occurred and that no staff had been affected by the incident. The shooting happened on the 52nd anniversary of the Munich Olympic attacks which saw 11 Israeli athletes killed by Palestinian gunmen back in 1972. Police said they had increased their presence in the city, Germany's third-biggest, but they had no indication of incidents at any other locations or of any other suspects. Germany's interior minister said there was a "serious incident" in Munich and the protection of Israeli facilities was of the "highest priority". The museum and research institute, which focuses on the history of Germany's 1933-45 Nazi regime, is located near the Israeli Consulate in Munich's Maxvorstadt neighbourhood. Sunday, September 8, 2024 - ODM Chairperson Gladys Wanga has warned party members to stop engaging in succession politics, saying it was too early. Speaking in Homa Bay County, Wanga accused a section of ODM leaders, among them Embakasi East MP Babu Owino and the likes, of attempting to position themselves to take over the party from former Prime Minister Raila Odinga as he heads to lead the African Union Commission (AUC). Wanga termed succession talks as premature and urged the party members to shift their stance and focus to the upcoming grassroots elections. The Homa Bay Governor also called on ODM members to unite and help strengthen the party ahead of the 2027 General Elections. The African Union elections will be held next year, right now as we speak, Raila Odinga is the party leader of ODM. The party also has institutions," Wanga stated. This is like discussing how to inherit a wife whose husband is still alive so we don't want to get ourselves embroiled in that discussion," she added. According to Wanga, the discussion on Raila's potential successor could derail the party's opposition role of oversighting the government. The Kenyan DAILY POST Sunday, September 8, 2024 Head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis is saddened by the Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri that claimed the lives of 21 pupils and left several others nursing burn wounds. In a telegram addressed to Archbishop Anthony Muheria of Nyeri, Pope Francis expressed profound sorrow over the tragic fire and the lives lost. He conveyed his deep sadness, calling the incident a "calamity" that has shaken the Kenyan nation. I was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of young lives, the Pope stated. He also expressed his spiritual closeness to all who are suffering the effects of this calamity, especially the injured and the families who grieve. The Pope offered his prayers for the victims' families and commended the souls of the departed children to the loving mercy of Almighty God. He also extended his spiritual support to those injured in the incident and those still grappling with the overwhelming grief. The Holy Father offered his prayers for the personnel and the civil authorities who continue to provide assistance. The fire, which broke out on Thursday night, ravaged a boys' dormitory at the school, housing over 150 boys aged between 10 and 14. Eyewitness reports describe a scene of chaos as the flames rapidly consumed the dormitory, leaving little room for escape. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, with authorities yet to release an official statement on the origin of the blaze. The Kenyan DAILY POST Sunday, September 8, 2024 - Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has vowed not to be displaced in the government by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who is currently sharing the 'top layer' with President William Ruto. Raila, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader, hijacked the Gen Z protests and joined the Government in what is now being referred to as a broad-based government. While speaking at the funeral of the former NACADA CEO Victor Okioma in Trans Nzoia County, Gachagua dismissed concerns that Raila's collaboration with President William Ruto would impact his position in the government. "I am an old metal. I am in the government. Didn't I fight for this government? There's no way I can move even an inch," Gachagua said. He reiterated that including new people in the Kenya Kwanza government cannot displace those already there. He affirmed his support for Raila's involvement in the government, stating that it has contributed to uniting the country. "We have welcomed those that the president has brought into the government so we can start working together," he said. The second in command reiterated that any plans to displace him from the government would fail, as he remains strong. The Kenyan DAILY POST Sunday, September 8, 2024 - A close ally of former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has poured cold water on former Prime Minister Raila Odingas bid to become the next Africa Union chairperson (AUC). Raila Odinga's bid, backed by President William Ruto, has seen the government deploy its full machinery to campaign for the veteran politician. However, speaking on Saturday, Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo stated that Raila Odinga will fail miserably in his AUC bid, citing a lack of the necessary support to secure the prestigious role. Maanzo noted that during the launch of his bid at the State House in Nairobi, there was minimal representation from key diplomatic figures. "We all wish Raila well in the African Union. However, the way this campaign is being run is like a game. "If Raila were receiving a proper campaign, we would have seen presidents here on the launch day, at least 30; we would see Arabs here, we would see French-speaking people. "In diplomatic language, if a minister is being used, it means the president is telling you that you have failed," Maanzo stated. The outspoken senator further remarked that if Raila Odinga fails to secure the AUC chairperson role, President William Ruto will be held responsible. He accused Ruto and his allies of not putting enough effort into the campaign, implying that Raila was being misled. "So, we wish Raila well, but woe unto Ruto if Raila doesnt make it to the African Union. We will blame you, Ruto, because you are campaigning like a joke. "Its as if youre playing games with Raila Odinga," Maanzo stated. The Kenyan DAILY POST Sunday, September 8, 2024 - A British Airways pilot has been suspended following allegations that he drunkenly assaulted three female crew members during a night out between flights in Johannesburg, South Africa. The first officer, a married man in his 50s, reportedly flew into a rage after an argument with his 25-year-old lover, who had accompanied him on Flight BA057 from Heathrow on a discounted ticket. Following the altercation, the pilot returned to the crew hotel and allegedly confronted three colleaguesa cabin manager, a first-class stewardess, and an in-flight leadin the hotel bar. Security staff at the Marriott Hotel were forced to intervene, escorting him to his room as he was reportedly too intoxicated to stand. The situation escalated when the crew members refused to operate the return flight if the pilot was in the cockpit, prompting British Airways to fly him back to the UK as a passenger on a different flight. The pilot, a father of two, has been suspended pending further investigation. BA bosses are said to be increasingly concerned about unruly behaviour among their crew between flights. The airline has not yet issued a formal statement regarding the incident, but internal inquiries are ongoing. Sunday, September 8, 2024 - A 13-year-old Pittsburgh girl landed in an adult prison after lying to police about her name and age during a shoplifting arrest. Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible says the girl was reported missing early last month and arrested for shoplifting at a Dollar General in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, U.S. on Aug. 17. The girl gave police a false name and age, leading them to believe she was 18. Eventually, she came clean and told police she was a teenager from the area. The police said they would release her to her parents, but she told them she was homeless, and the fake name she gave turned up no records. Police followed protocol, arraigning her and placing her on bail. She ended up at the adult prison for two weeks until an employee recognized her from a missing persons alert issued on August 6. Beaver Falls police contacted child services agencies in Beaver County and Allegheny County to try to find information about the girl, but since she had given authorities a fake name, no records were found, Bible said. Pittsburgh police previously posted information about the missing teen, and there had been several reports that she was seen around the area riding public transportation. She has since been reunited with her parents, and the shoplifting charges were shifted to a juvenile court. It was either a jail employee or an inmate who saw the photo of this juvenile as a missing person and recognized her as being housed in the Beaver County jail, Bible said. Immediately, the deputy warden isolated the juvenile to keep her by herself. They contacted her parents, and her parents came and picked her up. Bible defended the police saying, "The officers did everything right and this happens quite frequently where they get a fake name or birthday from people who have warrants in different counties or different states," Bible said. They cant just let her go because they cant figure out who she is. I mean she did commit a crime. Sunday, September 8, 2024 - Italian parliament has been rocked by scandal after it was revealed the mistress of Italy's culture minister filmed herself several times in parliament with a secret camera hidden in her glasses. Gennaro Sangiuliano, 62, has publicly confessed to having an affair with fashion influencer Maria Rosaria Boccia, who he broke up with over the summer following their passionate affair. Sangiuliano said he first met Boccia at a party in Naples in May this year, but ended things with her between the end of July and the start of August. For calling off their relationship, the 41-year-old mistress has been releasing private conversations that have allegedly implicated Sangiuliano in a corruption and misappropriation of public funds scandal. She claimed that her former lover has been using public funds to pay for her trips, provided her with confidential information, and appointed her as a special adviser. Boccia appeared to support her claim with audio recordings of phone calls with government officials, screenshots of flight tickets, and photographs of programmes for official government events. She also used the Ray-Ban Stories sunglasses, which have a built-in microphone and camera, to record herself in the Palazzo Montecitorio, where it is forbidden to film. The minister claims to have paid for most of her trips out of his own pocket, and denied that his ministry approved an adviser contract. The minister said: 'She didn't have access to classified or confidential documents.' But she also appeared to counter that, publishing documents on Instagram that she claimed proved her involvement in official meetings, site visits, and consultations. In an interview with Italian media on Wednesday, he tearfully apologised to his wife, Federica Corsini: 'The first person I have to apologise to, who is an exceptional person, is my wife.' He also said he had apologised to his boss, Giorgia Meloni, who he said had rejected his resignation letter. Sunday, September 8, 2024 - The head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis his condolences to the families of the 21 pupils who perished in a dormitory fire at Hillside Academy in Endarasha, Nyeri County, on Thursday. In his statement, Pope Francis expressed his spiritual closeness to those affected by the fire tragedy in his condolences through a letter addressed to President William Ruto. He also prayed for the Lords blessings and strength during this difficult time. His Holiness Pope Francis was deeply saddened to be informed of the loss of the young lives that occurred during a fire at the Hillside Endarasha academy in the County of Nyeri and expresses his spiritual closeness to all who are suffering the effects of this calamity, especially the injured and the families who grieve. He commends the souls of the deceased to the loving Mercy of Almighty God and offers his prayers for the personnel and the civil authorities who continue to provide assistance. "Upon all, the holy Father invokes the Lords blessings of strength, peace, and consolation, the letter stated. The letter was delivered via the Apostolic Nunciature (Embassy of the Holy See) in Kenya. The fire, which broke out on Thursday night, ravaged a boys dormitory at the school, which housed more than 150 boys between the ages of 10 and 14. The Kenyan DAILY POST Sunday, September 8, 2024 Gen Z Lawyer Morara Kebaso may be secretly campaigning for President William Rutos 2027 re-election in his countrywide tours where he is exposing ghost projects. This was revealed by Head of Creative Economy and Special Projects Dennis Itumbi who suggested that the delaunch tours undertaken by political activist Morara Kebaso are to the advantage of Ruto. Kebaso took it upon himself to traverse the country to shed light on the projects launched by the president but later stalled. With the help of the Kenyan online citizenry, Kebaso was recently equipped with vehicles and other resources to help his campaign. Reacting to the developments, Itumbi said by the government critic touring the country highlighting the projects, he was popularising Ruto to the benefit of his 2027 re-election bid. "I think Morara Kebaso is doing a good job in campaigning for President William Ruto in 2027. I can assure you that all he has done, he has put an encyclopedia or a work plan of the programmes Ruto will have completed in their majority," said Itumbi. While defending the president, Itumbi claimed that the highlighted projects stalled after they were allegedly defunded by the previous regime. He appeared to support Morara's initiative, saying the president would be keen to work on the projects given that they are being spotlighted. "I love what he is doing. It is good to take the government into account. "I can assure you that all those projects will be completed because they are part of the plan. "I'm sure the script Morara will use in 2027 will be "I said this, and the government did"," said Itumbi. The Kenyan DAILY POST Sunday, September 8, 2024 - Duineveld High School in Upington, Northern Cape, has suspended four pupils who allegedly appeared in a TikTok video making racist comments. The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has launched an investigation into the incident. The video, which has gone viral, features three boys interacting with a content creator known as @uncleSeeno. In the clip, one white pupil can be heard repeatedly using a racial slur towards a black pupil. SAHRC spokesperson Wisani Baloyi expressed concern over the incident, stating, What is disturbing is these alleged utterances were repeatedly expressed by the minor on the social platform 30 years after apartheid. Baloyi noted that the SAHRC received a flood of complaints on its social media platforms from outraged members of the public calling for action. The SAHRC, through its Northern Cape provincial office, has initiated an investigation under Section 184 of the Constitution, which mandates the commission to promote and protect human rights. The constitution further empowers the commission to take steps to secure appropriate redress where human rights have been violated, Baloyi added. The SAHRC has already met with the Northern Cape education department to gather information and will visit the school to further investigate the matter. The commission aims to assist the school in conducting a fair and thorough investigation while also assessing the school's environment regarding social cohesion, justice, and diversity. Northern Cape education department spokesperson Geoffrey van der Merwe confirmed that the four pupils, aged 17 and 18, were suspended in line with the schools code of conduct. Disciplinary hearings are scheduled for September 17. The content of the video goes against the norms and values we instil in learners at school. The video sent shockwaves through the country and left many people in disbelief. The department reminds parents to monitor the social media usage of their children and make sure they act responsibly, said van der Merwe. Van der Merwe stressed that racism has no place in schools or communities. We need to support and educate learners on the many social injustices such as racism, colonialism, and apartheid, which continue to cause major issues in South Africa today, just as they did in the past, he added. Parliament's basic education portfolio committee chairperson, Joy Maimela, condemned the incident, calling it shocking, disappointing, and hurtful. This needs the attention of authorities at the highest level. It cannot be tolerated, Maimela stated, urging parents, communities, and schools to strengthen programmes and engagements on life skills to address such behaviour. Sunday, September 8, 2024 - A former reality TV star has allegedly been shot dead by her husband in their luxury home before he turned the gun on himself. Police reportedly found the body of Paulina Lerch, 33, who appeared on Top Model in her native Poland twice, after her family failed to get in touch with her for over a week. Police suspect her husband Sawomir, 47, shot her dead before killing himself at their home near Poznan City, Poland, on Sunday, September 1. He was reportedly found lying next to Lerch with fatal self-inflicted gunshot wounds. The house was locked from the inside and a revolver was discovered next to the young couple's dead bodies. Sawomir was an alleged drug trafficker and was arrested, along with 30 other suspects, in April and May this year after 60kg of drugs were found stashed in a warehouse. He was released from custody at the beginning of August. Lerch kept her marriage to Sawomir away from the public eye. It remains unclear whether Paulina's death was murder or a suicide pact between the pair. Paulina's family said they hadn't heard from her for over a week before her body was found. They then called the authorities out of concern for her wellbeing. An investigation into the shooting is ongoing. Sunday, September 8, 2024 Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has turned against President William Ruto. This is after he blasted him and a section of African Heads of State for attending the ongoing Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) being held in Beijing, China. Addressing a congregation in Bondo, Siaya County, Raila claimed there was no justifiable reason for over 40 presidents to attend a summit in China. The former Prime Minister instead, reiterated that it was the responsibility of the Chinese delegation to visit Africa if they wanted an audience with the continent's leaders. "I believe that Africa is punching below its weight and that Africa can do better. "I have seen African leaders moving around like you see, I have just come from a summit dubbed FOCAC, where almost 40 heads of state were," Raila claimed. "But I say, why should African leaders go to China? Chinese should be the ones coming to Africa, so these are some of the things that we want to reverse." Raila while insisting on the matter, promised to make a raft of reforms within the continent once he is elected as the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson. According to the ODM Leader, despite Africa facing several challenges, it had the potential to become the most successful continent globally. "Africa can punch at its level, and this is what I want to see. I have already said what I want to see in Africa and what Africa can do. "Africa has been undermined, exploited but we do not want to continue whining," Raila stated. Railas sentiments come barely days after he was spotted attending the summit in China alongside President William Ruto and other Heads of State. During their trip to Beijing, Raila and Ruto held a meeting with six African leaders as the duo sought to drum up support for Odinga's quest for the African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship. The Kenyan DAILY POST KYODO NEWS - Sep 8, 2024 - 11:31 | All, Japan A concerned passerby called the police after coming across an unusual emergency on Saturday -- a bird of prey appearing dazed and confused outside a shopping mall near JR Omiya Station in Saitama Prefecture. When the Omiya police officers landed on the scene, they found what they said was likely a wild hawk on the second-floor walkway of the commercial building near the station's west exit. The officers managed to coax the rogue raptor into a cage using a net, with onlookers whipping out their smartphones to snap photos of the brown-speckled bird. After making sure nobody was hurt, police set the animal free in a quiet area away from the crowds. Related coverage: Japan firm caters to growing demand for cremations for tiny pets Mongooses eradicated on Japan's natural heritage Amami-Oshima Island Japanese ex-breeder arrested for suffocating no-longer fertile dogs Maynooth University has conferred its first ever doctorate on a member of the Travelling community after Thomas McCann became the first Irish Traveller man to earn a PhD in Ireland when he is conferred with a Doctor of Social Science degree. His doctoral research focussed on community work and the Traveller struggle for human rights in Ireland. Thomas, who is also the first Traveller to complete a doctorate in MU, will be conferred this afternoon along with five Traveller undergraduate students who will also receive their Bachelor of Social Science Community and Youth Work degrees at MUs conferring ceremony. The four-year degree integrates academic coursework with practical experience. In 1985, Thomas became the first Traveller student in the university, participating in the first such education programme run by Dublin Travellers Education and Development Group, now Pavee Point. On completing this programme, he secured a place on the first MU undergraduate professional programme in Community and Youth Work. I was trying to find a coherent framework to support my political activism, and community development work offered this to me. Thats why I started out on this journey, said Thomas, who went on to found and manage the national Traveller Counselling Service. After earning a degree as a psychotherapist and studying for a Masters in Clinical Supervision in Trinity College Dublin, Thomas decided to return to MU to undertake a PhD. My aim was to stimulate something new in terms of thinking and to go beneath the surface and explore issues such as systemic racism against Travellers, intergenerational trauma and internalised oppression. These are values that are important to me, he said. I have strong values in terms of human rights and inclusion and the department in MU shared similar values. The fifth annual Alzheimers Memory Walk will take place nationwide on Sunday 22 September. Set to be the largest Memory Walk to date, Annmarie Kett from The Alzheimer Society of Ireland in Kildare is urging Lilywhites to register now at www.memorywalk.ie and walk with her that day at Moore Abbey Woods. The Kildare Memory Walk will start at 11am from the Moore Abbey Woods car park. https://red.westernpeople.ie/cms_media/module_img/7503/3751522_1_org_Kildare_memory_walk_Alzheimer_s_Society_of_Ireland.jpg Annmarie said she is thrilled to be a Kildare Local Champion for the 2024 Alzheimer's Memory Walk. I'm really looking forward to the Moore Abbey Forest Alzheimer's Memory Walk, which should attract large numbers, she said. I would encourage everyone around the county of Kildare to support Memory Walk and register now for their participation pack at www.memorywalk.ie. Lets walk together on September 22nd for people living with dementia and their carers across Kildare. Lets also remember loved ones who are sadly no longer with us and lived with dementia. The Alzheimer Society of Ireland is encouraging everyone to get behind this years event, supported by Payzone, to help raise awareness and funds to help those living with dementia. Register online and you will receive an Alzheimers Memory Walk Participant Pack including your t-shirt and a special pack of Forget Me Not flower seeds to sow at home to help create an annual memory each time the flowers bloom. Adult registration costs 20 and a childs pack is 5. Memory Walk honours, remembers, and celebrates the 64,000 people in Ireland living with dementia, along with their families and carers. It also cherishes the memory of those who are no longer with us. In 2023, 3,500 walkers participated in Memory Walk and raised over 120,000 which helped fund vital services for people with dementia, including daycare, daycare at home, family carer training, social clubs, cafes, and a national helpline. Share your Memory Walk experience on social media using #ASIMakingMemories #ASIMemoryWalk2024 #LetsWalkTogether. The choice of agricultural courses is considerable. Students planning a career in the agricultural, horticultural or equine sector and also qualifying as a young trained farmer may find it difficult to navigate the list of courses available. Teagasc Education Officer Hugh MacEneaney gives a synopsis on the options. Teagasc offers a wide array of courses from certificate to degree level. Recently we launched an apprenticeship in sport-turf and coming on stream this year will be offering apprenticeship in dairy, beef and equine. Green Cert Green Cert courses are available nationwide (QQI Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Agriculture). The Green Cert is the most widely accepted course to qualify for the Department of Agriculture schemes such as The Young Farmers Scheme and TAMS. It is also the qualification required for Stamp Duty Exemption to those under 35 years of age on the transfer of land. There are three options - Full-time Course Full-time course at Agricultural colleges (Kildalton, Ballyhaise, Clonakilty, Mountbellew, Pallaskenry and Gurteen). Apply online on Teagasc website. Distance Course Distance courses are delivered at Kildalton Agriculture College. Available to students who have a QQI Major level 6 or higher qualification in a non- agricultural area. Students attend a local education centre or college for 18 - 24 days to complete practical skills. This is accompanied with online and directed learning. Part-time Course At Kildalton Agriculture College and local education centres and agriculture colleges on a part-time basis. Students must be over 23. Students who successfully complete the Certificate in Agriculture Advanced Certificate in Agriculture may have the opportunities to gain entry to higher education courses. This is a great opportunity to further your studies post Green Cert. Further Education Further level courses are suitable for people who are looking at a career in agriculture but who do not wish to complete a higher level course. QQI accredited courses are suitable for future farmers and people seeking employment on farms. Examples are: Dairy Herd Management, Forestry, Crops and machinery Management, Horticulture, Equine Management, Pig Management, Poultry Management. Higher Level Courses University Colleges Dublin, Cork and Galway offer agricultural degree programmes in a variety of areas . Agricultural Degree courses are run in partnership with Institutes of Technology and Technological Universities such as SETU in Waterford. Students apply for higher level courses through the CAO. For information, contact your local Teagasc Education Officer - Hugh MacEneaney Teagasc, Kells Road, Kilkenny. R95 RX30. Email hugh.maceneaney@teagasc.ie, telephone 0567721153. KYODO NEWS - Sep 8, 2024 - 09:00 | All, Japan Female full-time workers in Japan were paid wages that were 70 to 80 percent of what their male counterparts received last year, a government survey showed, underscoring the challenge the country faces in achieving gender equality in workplaces. While the gap has been narrowing, Japan lags behind some European nations like Sweden, which has achieved over 90 percent parity. The figure reflects that the number of female workers in managerial posts in Japan is still low, while the average length of employment is shorter for women than men, the government said. Japan's average wage level for women was 74.8 against 100 for men in the 2023 survey. Kochi Prefecture saw the narrowest gender gap in wages with 80.4, while the gap was the widest in Tochigi Prefecture at 71.0. It is the first time the government has released the gender wage gap index since making it mandatory for companies with 301 workers or more in 2022 to report such data, aiming to encourage more women to join the workforce at a time when Japan's rapidly aging population is expected to further worsen the shortage of labor. Regional differences in wage levels for men and women are seen as one reason why more and more female workers prefer to move to urban areas like Tokyo, where more jobs are available and wages are higher than in rural Japan. The government has also set itself the goal of boosting the percentage of women in managerial positions to at least 30 percent by 2030. According to the private research firm Teikoku Databank Ltd., the percentage of women in such positions rose to 10.9 percent in a recent survey, topping 10 percent for the first time. Around 11,300 firms responded to the survey conducted in July. Related coverage: Japan plans to require more firms to disclose gender pay gap data JAL looks to diversify workplace, businesses under 1st female CEO By Junko Horiuchi, KYODO NEWS - Sep 8, 2024 - 10:21 | All, Japan, Travel/Tourism Rakuten Travel, Japan's major online travel agency, is banking on its multilingual website, offering a comprehensive travel guide, to help attract foreign tourists to the country's off-the-beaten-path destinations. Rakuten Travel's focus on less-explored areas comes as the central and local governments are looking into capitalizing on the growing popularity of such secondary destinations by repeat inbound travelers. Such places are often hard to access by public transportation and have only limited multilingual guidance. The governments are seeking to draw more visitors to Japan's rural areas to revitalize local economies and divert inbound travelers from the too heavily trafficked "Golden Route" focused on Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Mt. Fuji. "There are more hidden gems to discover, so I think people will keep coming back and keep wanting to discover the deeper Japan," Jeremy Bek, the global head of Rakuten Travel, operated by Rakuten Group Inc., said in a recent interview with Kyodo News. Rakuten Travel website is available in nine languages, including Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Indonesian, and offers a guide to car rentals and a customer call service to respond to troubles encountered during travels, Bek said. The website introduces various types of authentic accommodations, including "ryokan" inns offering "kaiseki" multicourse dinners, which are a popular option, "machiya," historic townhouses reflecting traditional Japanese architecture, and "minshuku," family-run guesthouses providing simple, moderately-priced lodging, he said. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization's survey conducted between January and March 2023 on travelers, over 80 percent of respondents in East and Southeast Asia said they want to visit areas other than Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto when they visit Japan. Bek said some 30 percent of international bookings at Rakuten Travel are for travels to secondary destinations, with more of them also attracted to nature and mountain climbing. Immersive experiences such as staying in a ryokan and going out to a festival "are very big in demand" among travelers to Japan, he said. Travel articles on the website, such as "Karatsu Kunchi Festival 2024: Dates, Highlights, and More!" featuring an annual autumn event in a small town in Saga Prefecture in Kyushu, one of Japan's four main islands, also have in-depth information for tourists, he added. Other Japanese tourism operators are also offering foreign travelers the chance to experience Japanese culture and nature. Hokkaido Treasure Island Travel Inc. organizes tailor-made tours in the northernmost main island of Hokkaido with a car, a personal driver and an English-speaking licensed tour guide. The company said it aims to make it more comfortable for travelers to visit hard-to-access locations for foreign visitors, with options such as dog sledding, snowshoeing, winter river canoeing and ice fishing. Related coverage: Himeji Castle entry fees set to be hiked for all non-local visitors Some travel cards back on sale in Japan as chip shortages ease 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. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Acadian Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO Free Report) by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,453,073 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after selling 105,677 shares during the period. Valero Energy makes up about 0.7% of Acadian Asset Management LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.44% of Valero Energy worth $227,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the companys stock. Get Valero Energy alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VLO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Mizuho upgraded Valero Energy from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Argus cut Valero Energy from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $174.50. Valero Energy Trading Down 1.0 % Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $134.19 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $119.88 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The firms 50-day moving average price is $148.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.88 billion, a PE ratio of 6.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.40. Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The firms revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year. Valero Energy Dividend Announcement The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. Valero Energys payout ratio is presently 21.20%. Valero Energy Profile (Free Report) Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VLO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Valero Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Valero Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. KYODO NEWS - Sep 8, 2024 - 17:20 | World, All North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has inspected the site of a planned naval base and emphasized the country's need to expand its naval capabilities, state media said Sunday. With the North "soon to possess large surface warships and submarines" that cannot be anchored at its current facilities, Kim was quoted by the official Korean Central News Agency as saying the "construction of a naval base for running the latest large warships has become a pressing task." The report did not disclose the planned base's location. North Korean naval power has primarily consisted of small fast-attack vessels partly intended for coastal defense. Kim also stressed the importance of shipbuilding and naval forces to the country, bordered by the sea to the east and west, according to KCNA. Related coverage: U.S., Japan, S. Korea discuss ways to counter N. Korea cyber threats Japanese firm referred to prosecutors for importing North Korean clams North Korea's Kim calls for country's development of more suicide drones Anchor Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 144,426 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $37,451,000. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Certuity LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth about $229,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 948.0% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 6,676 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,730,000 after acquiring an additional 6,039 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 12.0% in the second quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 7,706 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,998,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares during the period. Torray Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% during the second quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC now owns 21,013 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $5,449,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanlon Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.6% in the second quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,060 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. alerts: Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $294.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $64.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.55, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $218.63 and a fifty-two week high of $298.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $279.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $259.40. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. ( NYSE:AJG Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.16 EPS for the current fiscal year. The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.s payout ratio is 48.58%. Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total value of $2,181,530.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 36,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,560,583.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total transaction of $2,181,530.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 36,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,560,583.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total value of $1,799,520.10. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 30,053 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,536,855.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,348 shares of company stock valued at $13,342,910 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the companys stock. Analyst Ratings Changes Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $276.82. Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile (Free Report) Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AJG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT Free Report) by 46.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,484 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after acquiring an additional 14,107 shares during the quarter. Caprock Group LLCs holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Encompass More Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Encompass More Asset Management now owns 3,002 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the first quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Berger Financial Group Inc grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 3,423 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 567 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co LLC now owns 5,396 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the companys stock. Get Abbott Laboratories alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities analysts recently commented on ABT shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a buy rating and a $121.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Edward Jones lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $121.80. Abbott Laboratories Price Performance Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $113.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.47, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $107.87 and a 200-day moving average of $108.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The firms revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year. Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%. About Abbott Laboratories (Free Report) Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Meniere's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Abbott Laboratories Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Abbott Laboratories and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Certuity LLC increased its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW Free Report) by 870.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,203 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 41,443 shares during the quarter. Certuity LLCs holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $3,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Country Trust Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the second quarter worth $26,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 97.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 389 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. CGC Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the second quarter worth about $29,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Charles Schwab alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes A number of research analysts have issued reports on SCHW shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on Charles Schwab from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Charles Schwab from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and decreased their target price for the company from $80.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. JMP Securities lowered their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $85.00 to $82.00 and set a market outperform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $82.00 to $78.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $74.00. Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, President Richard A. Wurster bought 10,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $62.05 per share, with a total value of $620,500.00. Following the purchase, the president now directly owns 144,228 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,949,347.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, President Richard A. Wurster purchased 10,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $62.05 per share, with a total value of $620,500.00. Following the purchase, the president now directly owns 144,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,949,347.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bernard J. Clark sold 8,164 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $612,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,124,950. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 107,800 shares of company stock valued at $7,145,364. Insiders own 6.60% of the companys stock. Charles Schwab Trading Down 1.2 % Shares of SCHW stock opened at $62.90 on Friday. The Charles Schwab Co. has a fifty-two week low of $48.66 and a fifty-two week high of $79.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stocks fifty day moving average is $66.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.32, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.97. Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.68 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 26.30% and a return on equity of 18.14%. Charles Schwabs quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. Charles Schwabs payout ratio is 41.84%. About Charles Schwab (Free Report) The Charles Schwab Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a savings and loan holding company that provides wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Investor Services and Advisor Services. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Charles Schwab Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Charles Schwab and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. CLSA upgraded shares of Coupang (NYSE:CPNG Free Report) from a hold rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $31.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $18.00. Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on CPNG. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Coupang from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Coupang from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. UBS Group raised Coupang from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $18.50 to $26.00 in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Mizuho upped their price target on Coupang from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Coupang from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $27.25. Get Coupang alerts: View Our Latest Analysis on CPNG Coupang Price Performance Shares of NYSE:CPNG opened at $22.00 on Wednesday. Coupang has a fifty-two week low of $13.51 and a fifty-two week high of $23.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a P/E/G ratio of 877.23 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $21.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.93. Coupang (NYSE:CPNG Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.08. Coupang had a return on equity of 12.04% and a net margin of 3.87%. The business had revenue of $7.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.08 EPS. The firms revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Coupang will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year. Insider Activity In other news, Director Benjamin Sun sold 700,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.63, for a total value of $14,441,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,169,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,755,155.23. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Pranam Kolari sold 10,432 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total transaction of $207,596.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 170,356 shares in the company, valued at $3,390,084.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Benjamin Sun sold 700,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.63, for a total value of $14,441,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,169,421 shares of the companys stock, valued at $44,755,155.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 601,300 shares of company stock worth $13,604,354 and have sold 1,110,432 shares worth $23,870,597. Corporate insiders own 13.60% of the companys stock. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coupang A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coupang during the second quarter worth approximately $243,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Coupang by 122.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 65,332 shares of the companys stock worth $1,369,000 after buying an additional 35,992 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in Coupang by 585.9% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 96,187 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,015,000 after buying an additional 82,164 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Coupang by 97,573.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 97,673 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,046,000 after buying an additional 97,573 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coupang during the second quarter worth $3,850,000. Institutional investors own 83.72% of the companys stock. About Coupang (Get Free Report) Coupang, Inc, together with its subsidiaries owns and operates retail business through its mobile applications and Internet websites primarily in South Korea. The company operates through Product Commerce and Developing Offerings segments. It sells various products and services in the categories of home goods and decor products, apparel, beauty products, fresh food and groceries, sporting goods, electronics, and everyday consumables, as well as travel, and restaurant order and delivery services. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Coupang Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Coupang and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust decreased its holdings in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB Free Report) by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,600 shares of the companys stock after selling 12,000 shares during the quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trusts holdings in Metropolitan Bank were worth $3,224,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD bought a new position in Metropolitan Bank during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,876,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Metropolitan Bank by 133.4% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 48,548 shares of the companys stock worth $1,867,000 after purchasing an additional 27,752 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 21.3% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 82,931 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,193,000 after purchasing an additional 14,547 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 4.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 628,996 shares of the companys stock worth $24,216,000 after purchasing an additional 27,499 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Metropolitan Bank in the 2nd quarter worth about $273,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.83% of the companys stock. Get Metropolitan Bank alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MCB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $67.50 price objective (up previously from $55.00) on shares of Metropolitan Bank in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Metropolitan Bank from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Insider Transactions at Metropolitan Bank In related news, EVP Scott Lublin sold 1,005 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.11, for a total value of $55,385.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,077 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,145,513.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director George J. Wolf, Jr. purchased 1,183 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.00 per share, with a total value of $46,137.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 27,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,091,805. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott Lublin sold 1,005 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.11, for a total value of $55,385.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,145,513.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.50% of the companys stock. Metropolitan Bank Price Performance NYSE MCB opened at $50.40 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $48.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.88. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 52 week low of $30.20 and a 52 week high of $57.69. The stock has a market cap of $564.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.29 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $121.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.02 million. Metropolitan Bank had a return on equity of 10.47% and a net margin of 15.22%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 6.03 EPS for the current year. Metropolitan Bank Profile (Free Report) Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Metropolitan Commercial Bank that provides a range of business, commercial, and retail banking products and services to small businesses, middle-market enterprises, public entities, and individuals in the New York metropolitan area. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MCB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Metropolitan Bank Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Metropolitan Bank and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Northland Securities reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Nokia Oyj (NYSE:NOK Free Report) in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Northland Securities currently has a $6.50 price target on the technology companys stock, up from their previous price target of $6.00. Separately, StockNews.com raised Nokia Oyj from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $4.54. Get Nokia Oyj alerts: Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on NOK Nokia Oyj Price Performance Nokia Oyj stock opened at $4.24 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.82. The company has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 1.12. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $3.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.77. Nokia Oyj has a 1 year low of $2.94 and a 1 year high of $4.52. Nokia Oyj (NYSE:NOK Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The technology company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.01. Nokia Oyj had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 1.95%. The company had revenue of $4.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.12 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nokia Oyj will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current year. Institutional Inflows and Outflows A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its stake in shares of Nokia Oyj by 48.2% in the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 9,229 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Nokia Oyj during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Tieton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nokia Oyj in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nokia Oyj in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Nokia Oyj in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 5.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Nokia Oyj Company Profile (Get Free Report) Nokia Oyj provides mobile, fixed, and cloud network solutions worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Network Infrastructure, Mobile Networks, Cloud and Network Services, and Nokia Technologies. The company provides fixed networking solutions, such as fiber and copper-based access infrastructure, in-home Wi-Fi solutions, and cloud and virtualization services; IP networking solutions, including IP access, aggregation, and edge and core routing for residential, mobile, enterprise and cloud applications; optical networks solutions that provides optical transport networks for metro, regional, and long-haul applications, and subsea applications; and submarine networks for undersea cable transmission. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Nokia Oyj Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nokia Oyj and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated their buy rating on shares of Oxford Nanopore Technologies (LON:ONT Free Report) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a GBX 190 ($2.50) price target on the stock. A number of other equities analysts have also commented on ONT. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a GBX 260 ($3.42) price objective on shares of Oxford Nanopore Technologies in a research note on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an overweight rating on shares of Oxford Nanopore Technologies in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Berenberg Bank reissued a buy rating and issued a GBX 282 ($3.71) price objective on shares of Oxford Nanopore Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of GBX 235.50 ($3.10). Get Oxford Nanopore Technologies alerts: View Our Latest Report on ONT Oxford Nanopore Technologies Price Performance Insider Transactions at Oxford Nanopore Technologies Oxford Nanopore Technologies stock opened at GBX 142 ($1.87) on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.47, a quick ratio of 6.01 and a current ratio of 5.01. The firm has a market cap of 1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -747.37 and a beta of 0.79. The businesss fifty day moving average is GBX 118.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 115.77. Oxford Nanopore Technologies has a 52 week low of GBX 85 ($1.12) and a 52 week high of GBX 229.40 ($3.02). In other news, insider Gurdial (Gordon) Sanghera sold 45,466 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 96 ($1.26), for a total transaction of 43,647.36 ($57,392.98). Insiders bought a total of 414 shares of company stock worth $44,814 over the last 90 days. 34.49% of the stock is owned by insiders. Oxford Nanopore Technologies Company Profile (Get Free Report) Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc engages in the research, development, manufacture, and commercialization of a nanopore based sequencing platform that allows the real-time analysis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or ribonucleic acid (RNA) in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, and the Asia Pacific. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Oxford Nanopore Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Oxford Nanopore Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR Free Report) in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $287.00 target price on the insurance providers stock. Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on RenaissanceRe from $257.00 to $240.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on RenaissanceRe from $288.00 to $280.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America upped their price target on RenaissanceRe from $334.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com downgraded RenaissanceRe from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on RenaissanceRe from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, RenaissanceRe currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $265.55. Get RenaissanceRe alerts: Check Out Our Latest Report on RNR RenaissanceRe Stock Down 0.6 % Shares of NYSE:RNR opened at $258.27 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $234.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $228.86. RenaissanceRe has a 52-week low of $188.24 and a 52-week high of $261.62. RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $12.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.88 by $1.53. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. RenaissanceRe had a return on equity of 27.74% and a net margin of 25.38%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that RenaissanceRe will post 39.01 EPS for the current fiscal year. RenaissanceRe Dividend Announcement The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. RenaissanceRes dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.45%. Insider Transactions at RenaissanceRe In other news, CFO Robert Qutub sold 2,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.56, for a total value of $561,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 73,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,598,352.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP David E. Marra sold 1,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,675,120. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Robert Qutub sold 2,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.56, for a total value of $561,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 73,915 shares in the company, valued at $16,598,352.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On RenaissanceRe Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in RenaissanceRe in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in RenaissanceRe in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in RenaissanceRe in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in RenaissanceRe in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in RenaissanceRe in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. 99.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. RenaissanceRe Company Profile (Get Free Report) RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance and insurance products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Property, and Casualty and Specialty segments. The Property segment writes property catastrophe excess of loss reinsurance and excess of loss reinsurance to insure insurance and reinsurance companies against natural and man-made catastrophes, including hurricanes, earthquakes, typhoons, and tsunamis, as well as winter storms, freezes, floods, fires, windstorms, tornadoes, explosions, and acts of terrorism; and other property class of products, such as proportional reinsurance, property per risk, property reinsurance, binding facilities, and regional U.S. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for RenaissanceRe Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for RenaissanceRe and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Credit Suisse Group (NYSE:CS Free Report) in a report issued on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services providers stock. Credit Suisse Group Price Performance Shares of CS opened at $0.89 on Thursday. Credit Suisse Group has a 52-week low of $0.82 and a 52-week high of $6.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.53. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $0.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $0.89. The firm has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a PE ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.27. Get Credit Suisse Group alerts: About Credit Suisse Group (Get Free Report) Recommended Stories Credit Suisse Group AG is a holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services. It operates through the following four divisions: Wealth Management, Investment Bank, Swiss Bank and Asset Management and four geographic regions: Switzerland, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Asia Pacific, and Americas. Receive News & Ratings for Credit Suisse Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Credit Suisse Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. First poster and trailer released By KTimes The film "Harbin," starring Hyun Bin as independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun, will premiere in December. The announcement was accompanied by the unveiling of its first poster and trailer. "Harbin" is a spy thriller set in 1909, depicting the intense chase between those heading to Harbin for a single purpose and those pursuing them. Director Woo Min-ho, who previously captivated audiences with his sharp direction and keen insights in "The Man Standing Next" (2020), is returning with "Harbin" after four years. The newly released poster and trailer featuring Hyun Bin as Ahn Jung-geun, a lieutenant general in the Korean Independence Army, have heightened anticipation among viewers. Ahn (1879-1910) shot and killed Ito Hirobumi, Japan's first prime minister and resident-general of Korea, at Harbin Station. Korea was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945. The trailer is filled with the independent fighter's reflective monologue, penned by director Woo: "I was ready to give up everything and die. The harrowing cries of my fallen comrades lingered in my ears and hovered before my eyes. At that moment, I realized I lived in place of my fallen comrades. And I knew what I had to do to kill the leader of the Japanese wolves, the old wolf, who is ravaging the Korean Empire." Before its domestic release, "Harbin" will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Scheduled for Sunday at Roy Thomson Hall, the premiere will see Hyun Bin, Lee Dong-wook, and director Woo engaging with fans. An official at the production team said, "The fact that a film about Korea under Japanese occupation has been invited to the Toronto International Film Festival, one of the world's four major film festivals, is generating buzz even before its release." This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times. Multilingual Education Begins in North and East Syria Multilingual education has been launched across Kurdish-led northeastern Syria, where 900,000 children are now learning in their native languages, including Kurdish, Arabic, Syriac, Armenian and Turkish. The initiative aims to foster an "ethical and political society", according to Samira Hac Eli, co-chair of the region's Education and Teaching Committee. On 1 September, the 2024-2025 academic year began in 4,100 schools across the region, with 41,000 teachers. The curriculum is shaped by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan's concept of the "Democratic Nation", challenging the monolingual policies of nation-states. "Every child is starting education in their mother tongue," said Hac Eli, emphasising that students learn in their native language until the third grade, after which they also study the languages of neighbouring communities. Hac Eli highlighted that the new curriculum excludes elements of racism, nationalism and assimilation, previously imposed by the Baath regime. She described the education system as one that integrates directly with society, stating, "The purpose is not just to teach something to a person but to connect classrooms with communities." Reflecting on the changes since the Rojava Revolution, Hac Eli described the period as both a "women's revolution" and a "language revolution". She recalled the past restrictions on using Kurdish for education, names and even songs, and contrasted it with the current efforts to repair the cultural damage done under the Baath regime. "Today, we are turning everything that was homogenised into diversity," she said. Hac Eli also criticised the educational policies in areas controlled by Turkey and its paramilitary allies, claiming that they aim to homogenise the population and raise a nationalist generation by banning Kurdish and other local languages. She highlighted the challenges posed by ongoing Turkish attacks, including targeted assaults on schools, but vowed to continue providing education despite these obstacles. "We will mobilise all our resources to ensure every child receives education, even in the face of adversity," she stated. YANGON, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar on Sunday celebrated International Literacy Day, with students sharing benefits by learning multiple languages. Soe Lin Oo, a 32-year-old engineer from Tanintharyi township in Tanintharyi region, speaks four languages: Burmese, English, Chinese and local dialect Myeik. "Mastering multiple languages can help promote peace and understanding," he said, praising late former UN Secretary-General U Thant, a Burmese national who was fluent in English for his work for resolving conflicts. Now working for an international company, Soe Lin Oo said his boss is German, and his colleagues speak both English and Chinese. "Being able to communicate in these languages has helped me work effectively in this diverse environment," he explained. "At home, we speak Myeik, and I learned Burmese and English at school. I started learning Chinese in 2018. I chose to learn it because China is our neighbor, and Chinese communities are present all over the world," he said. Regarding learning new languages today, he noted that the Internet has made it easier, with resources like YouTube and online courses readily available. "All you need is the desire to learn," he said, adding, "It's never too late. I started learning Chinese after I graduated, and what truly matters is having a strong passion to learn." Cho Cho Theint, a 21-year-old university student in Yangon, said, "Learning new languages allows me to make friends with people from different cultures." After learning different languages, she said that she gained a deeper understanding of various cultures and people from other countries. "I speak Burmese, English and Japanese. I learned Burmese and English at school and Japanese through online classes," she said. "With English, I can quickly learn new skills online, like fixing some errors of my phone," she added. "Learning multiple languages is beneficial for studying and working in a multicultural and multilingual environment," she said, stressing the importance of mastering one's mother tongue while learning foreign languages. Ye Naing, a 28-year-old English teacher in Yangon, said, "Learning multiple languages is very beneficial. The world has become like a village now." He speaks Burmese and English and recently started learning Chinese. "I started learning Chinese because I want to better understand their culture. Chinese people are known for their strong work ethic," he said. An official from the Ministry of Education highlighted that multilingual education helps students understand the diverse world around them and fosters their ability to think about peace. "As the world becomes a global village, learning and appreciating different cultures is crucial for achieving mutual understanding. Multilingual education plays a vital role in reaching this goal," the official added. Myanmar is home to over 130 ethnic groups, each with its own language or dialect. While Burmese is the official language, many students grow up speaking their native languages at home, learn Burmese at school, and later pick up English or Chinese. Statistics based on the 2019 census from the Ministry of Education show that over 33 million out of over 37 million Burmese people aged 15 and above are able to read and write. According to the ministry, Myanmar has 168 private schools offering international curricula in English, and 455,394 students across the country are learning ethnic languages in schools. By Lee Yeon-woo The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) pledged to support domestic financial firms looking to expand into India. As part of its initial effort, the financial regulator hosted a seminar on Friday in collaboration with the Embassy of India to Korea and Indian financial authorities. The seminar aimed to enhance domestic financial firms' understanding of India's financial market and regulations. Indian financial entities, including the Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank of India, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, and the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, detailed the characteristics and requirements for foreign financial institutions entering the Indian market. Additionally, they emphasized improvements in the foreign investment environment and highlighted the strengths of India's market, including the expansion of infrastructure investment. More than 140 participants from over 50 companies, including the CEOs of domestic financial institutions and executives in charge of overseas operations, actively discussed key topics. According to the FSS, India has become a leading destination for domestic financial companies looking to expand. Currently, 12 Korean financial institutions operate 25 branches in India, making it the eighth-largest country in terms of branch numbers. The business outlook in India is also positive. Over the past three years, the total asset growth rate of Korean financial institutions branches in India skyrocketed from 0.8 percent to 13.6 percent, while net profits rose from $62 million to $88 million. By the end of August, Korean financial companies had plans to open 11 new branches in India, not only in major cities like Mumbai and New Delhi, but also across the country, including Chennai and Pune. "The combination of India's abundant resources and workforce with Korea's competitive financial services can establish a new growth foundation for both nations," FSS Governor Lee Bok-hyun said at the seminar. By Yi Whan-woo A relative of former Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung was detained Saturday for allegedly taking out massive, inappropriate loans from the groups banking arm, a court said Sunday. Identified as Kim, Sons brother-in-law is suspected of forgery and embezzlement in relation to a total of 35 billion won ($26.12 million) that Woori Bank provided in loans to individual business owners and companies tied to the ex-chairmans family members. (The court) issued a warrant to arrest and detain the suspect due to concerns of flight risk and potential destruction of evidence, the Seoul Southern District Court said. The prosecution has been searching Woori Banks headquarters and branch offices, alleging the bank offered inappropriate loans from April 2020 to January this year. Prosecutors suspect the bank improperly evaluated loan-related documents and collateral to provide such loans. With regard to Kim, prosecutors raided his home and office on Aug. 27 before arresting him last week. The case added to concerns over lax management and financial crimes occurring at the countrys banking groups, which, in turn, prompted calls for holding their management liable. Son headed the group, which controls Woori Bank, from 2020 to 2023. He was succeeded by Yim Jong-yong, who formerly led NongHyup Financial Group. Woori Bank was repeatedly embroiled in cases of embezzlement and other financial crimes involving its employees. The financial regulators have been closely monitoring Woori Bank and the groups other subsidiaries for questionable business practices. The Financial Supervisory Service will launch an inspection against these companies next month. North Korea sent more trash balloons toward South Korea on Sunday, the South's military said, in what marked the fifth straight day of such launches. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the North resumed its balloon campaign at around 9 a.m., just hours after it floated some 200 balloons late Saturday. "Considering the safety of our people as the top priority, the military will resolutely and calmly respond in accordance with the manual," the JCS said. In response to the balloon launches, the South's military has been blasting daily anti-North Korean propaganda broadcasts through loudspeakers on the border since July 21. It has refrained from directly shooting down the balloons, citing safety concerns. Around 50 trash bundles landed in the capital and Gyeonggi Province from Saturday's launch, but no hazardous materials have been found, the JCS said. They largely contained scrap paper, pieces of plastic and plastic bottles. Since late May, the North has launched thousands of balloons carrying trash in retaliation against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent across the border by North Korean defectors and activists in South Korea. Sunday's launch marked the 17th round of balloon launches since late May. (Yonhap) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un emphasised the importance of strengthening naval power during a tour of a naval base construction site, state media KCNA reported on Sunday. "Now that we are soon to possess large surface warships and submarines which cannot be anchored by the existing facilities for mooring warships, the construction of a naval base for running the latest large warships has become a pressing task," Kim said. During the tour, Kim stressed the need to build a naval port capable of operating weapons systems of the warships and revealed military measures to deploy anti-aircraft and coastal-defence systems for defending the port, according to the report. Kim said there were geopolitical advantages of the site as a strategic vantage for the country bounded on the east and west sides by the sea. The location of the site was not specified in the report. A recent satellite imagery analysis by 38 North indicated that North Korea's newest ballistic missile class submarine (SSB), the "Sinpo-C" class, was undergoing an extensive fitting-out period at the Sinpho South Shipyard. In a separate visit to a shipyard, Kim ordered to increase national investments in shipbuilding projects so that immediate tasks and long-term plans for laying the foundation for the development of the shipbuilding industry are pushed forward as scheduled. KCNA also reported on Sunday Kim's visit to a defence industrial enterprise, where he stressed the need to make munitions production more scientific and modernised to guarantee the performance of newly-developed military hardware, and an inspection of an artillery academy. (Reuters) North Korea condemned South Korea and the United States on Sunday for holding simulation drills in Washington aimed at enhancing nuclear deterrence cooperation, calling them "nuclear threats and blackmail." On Thursday and Friday (local time), Seoul and Washington conducted the first tabletop simulation of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), a key dialogue body for the allies' nuclear deterrence, to bolster nuclear deterrence and operational readiness on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea's foreign ministry issued a statement titled "We will continue to take practical measures to cope with the long-term nuclear confrontation with the U.S," according to the Korean Central News Agency. The ministry expressed serious concern and bitterly denounced the drills, claiming they are disturbing regional strategic stability and increasing the possibility of a nuclear clash. "The U.S. nuclear threat and blackmail will be thoroughly deterred by the DPRK's more perfect and developed nuclear forces for self-defence," the English-language statement said. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The North further claimed that Seoul and Washington have also conducted "nuclear war drills" in succession, by mentioning other exercises, such as Iron Mace 2 and Ulchi Freedom Shield. "The DPRK will strictly control and manage the security situation of the Korean peninsula, which is getting ever more intense due to the U.S. and its followers' nuclear war hysteria, and continue to take practical measures to cope with the long-term nuclear confrontation with the U.S," the statement added. Seoul and Washington launched the NCG in July last year as part of the Washington Declaration issued by President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden at their summit three months earlier. (Yonhap) The number of emergency care centers in full operation has fallen markedly over the past week as hospitals are experiencing a serious staff shortage amid the prolonged standoff between the government and trainee doctors over the state medical reform plan, officials said Sunday. A total of 88 out of 180 major hospital emergency rooms in Korea were able to provide medical treatments and other services to emergency and seriously ill patients suffering 27 kinds of illnesses as of Thursday, down from 109 in the first week of February, according to the data by the health ministry. The figure, particularly, fell sharply from 102 on Aug. 29, deepening concerns over further disruptions of the national emergency care system during the upcoming Chuseok holiday. Several hospitals have shortened the operation hours of emergency rooms after suffering from medical staff shortages as a majority of the country's junior doctors have left their workplaces since February in protest of the government's drastic increase in the medical school admissions quota. In response, the government has sent military and public doctors to short-staffed hospitals. But such measures are far from addressing the situation, according to doctors and hospital officials. The number of emergency centers that are able to carry out an emergency bronchoscopy for adults sank 45 percent to 60 last week from 109 in February. Compared with a week earlier, the figure dipped 40 percent. Hospitals that provide treatments for major burns also fell from 44 in February to 38 as of end-August and further to 28 last week. "The government is considering bearing the labor costs of doctors at emergency rooms, among other various options," a ministry official said. As part of the medical system reform, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration has vowed to increase the medical school admissions quota by 2,000 seats per year over the next five years or so to address a shortage of doctors. Doctors claim that medical schools will not be able to handle the increased enrollment, which will compromise the quality of medical education and ultimately the country's medical services. Last week, the government and the ruling People Power Party have proposed the establishment of a joint consultative body involving the rival parties, the government and the medical community to seek a breakthrough, saying that they are ready to revise the plan on the medical school quota for 2026 if the medical community presents a "reasonable" option. Doctors and medical professors remain cautious as the government has not made any official suggestions, while stressing that trainee doctors would not return to work unless the government revisits the quota hike plan for 2025. In June, the government already finalized a hike of some 1,500 students for next year, and procedures for college entrance have been under way. (Yonhap) Doctors divided over whether to participate in talks By Jung Min-ho Political parties and the government are working to establish a consultative body for negotiations with doctors' groups to resolve Koreas months-long medical crisis, which originated from disputes over an expansion in medical school admission quotas. Given the rare consensus between the ruling and opposition parties on this issue, there are growing calls for doctors to participate in the talks. The nations medical services are approaching collapse due to extended staff shortages. As of Sunday, the presidential office, the ruling People Power Party (PPP), and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) have agreed to establish a four-party group for dialogue. This group will address issues such as medical school admission quotas, as hospitals continue to struggle with labor shortages following a walkout by trainee doctors in February. Previously, even the PPP and the government had diverged on how to resolve the deadlock, as the presidential office rejected ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon's proposal to delay the medical school quota increase for 2026. However, the presidential office and the health ministry have since revised their position, saying they are open to discussions and will participate in the consultative panel. In a rare agreement with the ruling bloc, the DPK also decided to participate in the discussion body. With support from the political sphere and the government, the PPP aims to finalize the formation of the consultative body before the Chuseok holiday, which begins on Sept. 14. While it remains uncertain whether physicians will join the four-party consultative body, a group representing hospitals and doctors at Seoul National University welcomed the proposal, stating that all parties "should take a step back and try to resolve" the issue. Buoyed by the first positive sign in nearly seven months for talks from an influential group of doctors, Song Young-hoon, a PPP spokesman, expressed optimism and urged other doctors to join the discussion in a statement on Saturday. Yet challenges remain, as the government and doctors continue to disagree on a key issue: the quota increase for the 2025 academic year. Speaking to The Korea Times on Sunday, Choi Anna, a spokesperson for the Korean Medical Association (KMA), the countrys largest group of doctors, said the association will not join the consultative group unless the government retracts its plan to increase the quota by about 1,500. She said universities are ill-equipped to manage education programs for that many students and that the decision to increase the quota for 2025 should be reversed. Another official at the KMA told Yonhap News Agency that the association may participate in the four-way discussion body if the government agrees to discuss the quota increase from 2027. In a statement, the Medical Professors Association of Korea also said the quota hike decision should be suspended until the government and doctors come up with a reasonable number for admission quotas based on evidence. However, the government worries that accepting the demand could undermine the legitimacy of its quota decision. With universities set to begin their rolling admissions for medical schools later this month, the government could also face legal issues if it reverses its decision at this stage. For these reasons, the presidential office has said changing the quota size for the 2026 academic year would be possible through talks, but not for 2025. All this suggests a tough road ahead for the negotiations. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo reiterated the government's stance on Friday, saying, "Adjusting the 2025 quota is difficult because the university enrollment exams are imminent. However, we are open to discussing the 2026 quota if the medical community presents a reasonable proposal." Meanwhile, a strike by junior doctors has intensified the strain on the nations medical system, particularly emergency services, which have been curtailed by many hospitals due to a shortage of medical staff. With no signs of doctors returning anytime soon, concerns are mounting about a potential crisis leading up to the weeklong Chuseok holiday, when emergency medical services will operate with even fewer staff than usual. As of Friday, 105 out of 180 major hospital emergency rooms nationwide were confirmed to be able to handle patients with 27 types of severe, urgent medical conditions, down from 109 in the first week of February, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Sunday. By Jung Min-ho A Seoul court ruled in favor of city authorities who invalidated a taxi driver's license for repeatedly overcharging foreign customers. According to officials on Sunday, the Seoul Administrative Court recently upheld the Seoul Metropolitan Government's decision to revoke the taxi license of an individual who was caught overcharging foreign passengers for the third time in February 2023. In his most recent offense, the driver charged two Thai customers 72,000 won ($54) for a trip from the city metropolitan area to Incheon International Airport 9,700 won more than the correct fare, which included a highway fee of 6,600 won. The driver claimed the additional money was a tip from the customers, which the court dismissed. "If they were offering a tip of about 10,000 won, it would have been more natural for him to put 62,300 won in a taximeter before receiving 72,000 won in cash," Judge Seo Kyung-min said. The judge noted that his attempt to overcharge the customers using a taximeter was consistent with previous incidents, where he had manipulated the meter to inflate fares for foreign customers on at least two occasions the previous year. A giant-screen advertisement showing homosexual people kissing and embracing each other was taken down four days after it began airing on the streets of Seoul's southern district of Gangnam due to a series of complaints. The matchmaking app for homosexual people first appeared on the giant screen set up along the streets of Gangnam's Nonhyeon-dong on Aug. 26 under a contract that calls for the ad's airing at least 100 times a day for one year. The images showed gay and lesbian couples looking at each other, kissing and embracing. But the ad was suspended Aug. 30 at the request of the Gangnam Ward government. "Many complaints were received," a Gangnam Ward official said, adding the office asked for the ad's suspension under related law that bans advertisements that are feared to harm traditional customs with obscene content. The ad has been replaced with something else promoting another product of the company. The company expressed frustration. "We spent quite a lot of money to get the licensing contract for (the app's) operation in the country, but it is like the project has gone belly-up," the company's CEO said. "We had no idea that a project related to sexual minorities would be coldly treated like this in 2024." (Yonhap) By Lee Hae-rin The area around Seoul's Gimpo International Airport will be redeveloped into an Urban Air Mobility (UAM) hub by 2030, the Seoul city government said Sunday. The Gimpo Airport Innovation Zone, comprised of three blocks, will be built on 350,000 square meters of land in the Gimpo Airport Innovation District in western Seoul's Gangseo District, according to the city. The first block, now a parking lot for the airport's domestic terminal, will host a complex transfer facility, including a UAM take-off landing site. The UAM take-off and landing site will be located on the fifth to seventh floors of the facility. The second basement floor and the first floor of the building will feature a public transit transfer platform that gives riders access to taxis, subways and express buses. An elevator will connect the public transportation transfer facility and the UAM take-off and landing site. The project is scheduled to be completed by 2030. "Commercial and cultural facilities, international conference halls and hotels will also be built" on the site, the city added. The second block of the zone will feature aviation businesses and educational facilities, replacing the water pump stations currently installed in that area. Housed on the third block will be high-tech industrial facilities, studio apartment buildings and public facilities. The site now serves as a cargo warehouse. Also, tech clusters, such as for mobility, will be established on the third block to attract related businesses. The city plans to use development profits from creating a high-tech industrial cluster to expand public and other facilities. It will offer discounts on the rent of nearby shopping malls and studio flats to residents near Gimpo Airport and on public parking fees. "We are also planning to hire local residents first for resident companies in the innovation district," a city official said. The city government plans to complete the basic plan for the innovation zone by next year and begin construction after receiving approval for the project implementation plan by 2027. The 2.964 trillion won ($2.2 billion) project is slated to be completed by 2030. BEIRUT, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Hezbollah claimed on Sunday morning that it had struck two Israeli settlements with batches of Katyusha and Falaq rockets. In separate statements, the Shiite group said its fighters launched two attacks on the Kiryat Shmona settlement in northern Israel and another attack on the Shamir settlement on the western slopes of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, with barrages of rockets. The shelling came in response to the Israeli attacks on southern Lebanese villages and civilian homes, especially the Saturday strike targeting Lebanese Civil Defense personnel operating in south Lebanon's Wadi Froun area, the group noted. Meanwhile, Lebanese military sources, who spoke anonymously, said five batches of about 100 surface-to-surface rockets were reportedly launched from southern Lebanon to northern Israel at dawn and on Sunday morning, with some of them intercepted by Israeli Iron Dome missiles and many exploding in the airspace of southeastern Lebanon. They continued that in response, Israeli drones and warplanes launched six raids on four villages and towns in the eastern and central sectors of the border area in southern Lebanon. Three members of the Lebanese Civil Defense were killed and two others wounded in an Israeli drone attack on Saturday while they were extinguishing a fire caused by a previous Israeli raid on Wadi Froun, according to Lebanese medical and military sources. Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on Oct. 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas' attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon. It's time for change at the KFA By Cho Byung-jae As the 2024 U.S. presidential election approaches, the world watches with bated breath. Will Vice President Kamala Harris rise to become the 47th president of the United States, propelled by a whirlwind campaign? Or will former President Donald Trump, rallying under the banner of "retribution," reclaim the White House after a four-year hiatus? With only two months until the Nov. 5 vote, the stakes could not be higher. The mood in America is one of deep-seated pessimism. A Pew Research survey last year revealed that 66 percent of Americans believe the U.S. economy will weaken by 2050, 71 percent think the nations global influence will diminish, 77 percent expect political divisions to worsen and 81 percent foresee a widening gap between rich and poor. These gloomy forecasts have shown little change over the past year. More recently, a survey from April indicated that 59 percent of Americans believe the country has lost more than it has gained in trade. Whether Harris campaign, driven by a new sense of vitality and "politics of joy," can overcome this entrenched pessimism may well determine the election's outcome. Two Americas: A nation divided The United States today is more divided than ever a reality encapsulated by the phrase "Two Americas," first used by Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1960s civil rights movement. King spoke of "one America" that is "overflowing with the miracle of prosperity and the honey of opportunity," and "another America" where millions are "perishing on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity." Forty years later, political consultant Stanley Greenberg revisited this idea in his book "The Two Americas: Our Current Political Deadlock and How to Break It," published in 2004. His analysis came in the aftermath of the fiercely contested 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, culminating in the dramatic 35-day Florida recount. Greenbergs concept of "Two Americas" diverged from Kings, focusing less on economic inequality and more on socio-cultural divides race, religion, gun control and homosexuality. While the economy remains an external force, race and religion are deeply embedded within our identities. Two decades later, the idea of "Two Americas" has evolved into a profound ideological chasm. Last July, in a national address announcing his withdrawal from the presidential race, President Joe Biden described America as an "idea." "Its the most powerful idea in the history of the world," he said. "Were all created equal, endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." In stark contrast, Senator J.D. Vance, Trumps running mate, defined America as a "nation" during the Republican National Convention just a week earlier. "America," he declared, "is not just an idea or a set of principles. It is our homeland. People will not fight for abstractions, but they will fight for their homes." While an idea is absolute and intangible, a nation is a tangible reality that can be seen and touched. Is America an idea or a nation? As an idea, America champions a liberal international order. As a nation, it embraces "America First." The battle for Americas soul Trump and Harris each represent these "Two Americas," communicating their messages through distinct channels. The mainstream media such as The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN are consistently critical of Trump. However, from Trumps perspective, these outlets are part of the establishment, much like the Democrats or the so-called "deep state," both of which he believes must be dismantled to "Make America Great Again." Trumps trust lies with Fox News and newer internet platforms like Newsmax, which have become crucial in spreading the message of his MAGA campaign. In 2022, Trump even launched his own social media platform, Truth Social, to bypass traditional media channels altogether. The battle between these two visions of America is fierce. Both sides have a realistic shot at victory, yet neither possesses the strength to decisively defeat the other. As identity politics refuses to compromise, partisanship deepens, and polarization intensifies. Recent U.S. presidential elections have been determined by razor-thin margins, with a few tens of thousands of voters in key battleground states deciding the winner. The difference in votes may be small, but the implications are enormous. What it means for Korea American politics seems destined to remain in a state of impasse, with neither side likely to dominate the other in the foreseeable future. During this period, U.S. foreign policy will likely oscillate between advocating a liberal international order and embracing "America First." For over 70 years, South Korea has thrived within the liberal international order. We have grown comfortable within this framework. The "America First" doctrine represents a departure from this comfort zone, a shift that brings both uncertainty and opportunity. As the drama of "Two Americas" unfolds, the decision ultimately rests with the American people. For South Korea, what is required is strategic thinking setting realistic goals and utilizing limited resources efficiently. We must avoid being overly jubilant or despondent, regardless of the elections outcome. Instead, we should focus on navigating the changes ahead with a clear-eyed determination to seize the opportunities they present. Cho Byung-jae is chair professor of Kyungnam University. He served as chancellor of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy. By Robert Neff The General Sherman, an American merchant ship, sailed up the Taedong River in August 1866 right up to the very gates of Pyongyang. Ostensibly, the ships mission was one of peace: to establish trade and open the Hermit Kingdom to the rest of the world. However, the expedition ended disastrously. The General Sherman was destroyed, its crew slaughtered and its anchor chain became a symbol of defiance against foreign intervention. To this day, North Korea cites the General Sherman incident as an example of early unwanted American adventurism on the Korean Peninsula. The tale of the General Sherman and its fate is a well-known episode of early Korean-American history, but it might surprise you to know that there was another American ship named Sherman a military transport vessel that sailed in Korean waters at the end of the 19th century. Though not as infamous as its predecessor, the Sherman and its crew caused quite a stir among the populace on the East Coast. In the spring of 1899, the Sherman arrived at Wonsan in modern-day North Korea, in hopes of replenishing its coal bunkers unfortunately, the Russian navy had recently visited the port and purchased all the coal. A group of American soldiers, eager for the opportunity to stretch their legs after being cramped aboard ship for so long, went ashore and were soon surrounded by a large number of curious Korean men in winter clothing. Given that our narrator, an American infantry officer, was prone to exaggeration, I am a little skeptical of his claim of several thousand men, dressed like clowns in a circus were out on the beach to greet us. Despite his frequent embellishments, his amusing account of this early encounter is rather interesting. The Koreans all seemed very tired, as though they had been working for years without a let up and were smoking pipes that varied from a mere two feet to an extraordinary 6 feet long. According to our narrator, many of the men were far too weary and exhausted to hold their own pipes so they had their servants squat in front of them on the ground. The yangban upper-class gentlemen then rested their pipes on the shoulders of their servants. The soldiers were impressed, though not by the length of the pipes or the iron-fisted power of the yangbans over their servants, but by the manner in which the Koreans squatted perched high up upon their heels. The Americans soon met a Russian soldier roaming the streets who kindly consented to act as their guide around the city: [The] main street runs between rows of pigsties constructed of mud and straw, which afterward developed into the residences of the Coreans the people, not the pigs, though I am afraid this is a distinction without a difference. We came in a few minutes to a great swamp covered with filth. Opening upon it were several low-class Japanese tea houses, in one of which we took up our station to observe more closely the wonders of this new civilization that is, I believe, about five thousand years old. As military men, they were not impressed by the Korean officials they encountered. Each official rode a small Korean pony and required two minions to hold his steed for him by the ears or snout, while another servant walked by his side and held him in the saddle. The swamp turned out to be the central market and soon it was filled with merchants who offered the foreigners a countless number of tiger and leopard skins at temptingly low prices. Three or four silver dollars could purchase a leopard skin while tiger skins sold for 15-20 dollars. The Americans all purchased these great cat pelts and draped them over their shoulders causing the narrator to describe the unit as looking like the Hungarian body-guard of the Austrian Emperor. The Russian guide assured them that the countryside around Wonsan was filled with tigers and leopards and almost nightly they prowled the streets of the city rummaging in the garbage or snatching children who wandered away from the safety of their houses or drunken men who passed out in the streets. He wasnt exaggerating. It is a shame the men did not meet any of the foreign missionaries in the settlement; perhaps they would have also learned of the supernatural aspect of the Korean tiger: [Those] who die by tigers become tiger-spirits, and are so possessed until the tiger devours someone else, and so lets the spirit of the first victim free. At least one Korean man warned foreigners (those who suffered from an inordinate love for striped tiger skins) about the dangers of these tiger spirits, but it is unclear if they heeded his advice. Seeing the size of the tiger pelts and hearing of their predations upon the Korean public, the American soldiers looked upon their Korean hosts with a newfound respect. It also inspired them to go out on their own tiger-hunting expedition. They asked the Russian to help organize it but, despite his best efforts, he ultimately failed. He patiently explained: [The Koreans] say it is impossible to comply with your request for the following reason: the [Korean] sporting calendar is divided into two seasons of equal length. In one man hunts the tiger; in the other the tiger hunts the man; the present is the tiger-hunt-man season, consequently the hunt that you desire would run counter to the natural order of things, and besides it might prove dangerous. He then went on to add that Koreans hunt tigers during the winter, when the great beasts are weakened by starvation and hampered by the deep snow drifts. The Koreans then dig pits and cover them with twigs and snow and bait the trap with a goat or a pig. When the tiger pounces upon the bait, its weight causes it to fall into the trap at which point the villagers come and blow him to pieces with their blunderbusses and Chinese muskets. Just before the soldiers returned to their ship, they witnessed an angry confrontation between two Korea officials who were upset with their share of the commission from the tiger hides. Quivering with rage and foaming at the mouth, the two men met on the beach and the American sailors eagerly made bets amongst themselves as to which of these two men would win what was expected to be a display of the pugilistic art, according to the [Korean] dispensation. No punches were thrown, and no insults were hurled, but instead each man took off his hat and silently bowed. The soldiers, perplexed, looked to the Russian for explanation. You have seen the end of a lifelong friendship, he declared laughing. They have exchanged a formal bow; they have taken off their hats in contempt, and that in [Korea] is the one supreme and unpardonable insult. The Americans returned to their ship and sailed off. It is interesting to note that for the next 10 days, many of the soldiers attempted to imitate the manner in which the Korean men squatted on the beach. All failed. Several decades ago, when I was a young soldier, I had a similar experience with the Korean squat. Many of my peers tried to squat like the Korean soldiers in the camp next to us. Everyone failed except for me probably because I was a lot thinner then. Now just standing up is a chore. I guess some things never really change except our waistlines. I would like to express my appreciation to Diane Nars for her assistance and for allowing me to use one of her images. Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books, including Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters. By Mark Peterson Recently I met an old friend, Bruce Snow, who arrived in Korea a month before me in 1965. We talked of old times in Korea and recalled the perilous night in January 1968, when our house and the neighborhood in Cheongun-dong was shook by gunfire and night-time flares that lit up the night sky like it was day. It was the North Korean raid on the Blue House on Jan. 21, 1968. I thought it was a memorable event sufficient to warrant making a video on my YouTube channel and I soon discovered that the story has two parts the telling of what happened on that day and the reaction to telling the story today. Part one it was around 10 in the evening. We were having some popcorn and getting ready to turn in when we heard the pop pop pop of gunfire and the ratatatat of machine gun fire. We went outside to see what was going on, and suddenly, the night sky was lit up with flares that made it possible to see things as if it were midday. My friend Bruce recalled that day remembering he was one of our drivers, and he was commissioned to go pick up the daughter of our director, a girl about 10, who had been playing at a friends house, not far from ours. Bruce drove the car to go pick her up when, on the return, the shooting broke out. He had to get back home but ran into a police barricade that was set up to keep people out of our neighborhood where the shooting was taking place. Here, we must note that our place in Cheongun-dong was across a little valley from the Blue House, the residence of South Koreas president, at that time, Park Chung-hee. We first assumed that this was some sort of exercise. In those days, we had air raid drills from time to time, and if you were on the streets or on a bus, youd have to take shelter in an underground place till the drill was over. So, we were aware of national security issues and safe practices and initially assumed that we were in the middle of some kind of military exercise. We climbed up on the roof of the building to see what was going on. As I remember, since I had already been in the National Guard and had gone through basic training, I realized that we not only could hear the machine gun firing, but I saw the tracers every fourth bullet had some chemical on it that would light up when it flew through the air. If you see tracers, you realize that they are not shooting blanks. This was no exercise. This was real. Bruce, for his part, was stuck in the car at the police barricade and couldnt get home, but he chuckled as he related how clever he was to know some back streets that would get him past the barricade and safely home. Our compound though, had a large gate at the bottom of the hill that was our driveway. Bruce and his friend Rex were tasked to go down the hill and lock the gate. As they did so, they saw an armed soldier the North Koreans were wearing South Korean uniforms firing his weapon. They locked the gate without getting shot, but our neighbor, two doors down, was not as lucky. A 65-year-old woman opened her gate to see what was going on when a soldier came by he shot and killed her in the doorway of her own home. Two doors down! They killed all the North Korean agents but two. One died when he pulled a hand grenade off the belt of a South Korean soldier, pulled the pin and dropped it on the floor to kill everyone in the room. But a savvy South Korean soldier tackled him and threw him onto the ticking grenade, killing the North Korean, but saving everyone in the room. The other survived and eventually turned and became a South Korean citizen of some stature and a Christian minister. I visited him at his church ten years ago and video taped an interview with him for a documentary I was working on. He is alive in his 80s today. Part two the reaction to telling the story today. I was surprised to read the comments on my YouTube channel. The story divides people today. One comment said that only a foreigner could tell that story today that South Koreans dont want to hear the stories of North Korean provocations. Others wrote the opposite point of view, that they were pleased to see a reminder of the dangers of North Korea. Sadly, Korea remains divided today. In more ways than one. Mark Peterson (markpeterson@byu.edu) is a professor emeritus of Korean, Asian and Near Eastern languages at Brigham Young University in Utah. Vice chair declares 2024 as 1st year of AI home appliances, heralding long journey ahead By Nam Hyun-woo BERLIN Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman & CEO Han Jong-hee said the company's home appliances powered by artificial intelligence (AI) still only meet 30 percent of consumers' expectations, despite the company showcasing some of the most advanced AI home solutions in the industry at the IFA 2024 electronics show in Berlin. During a press conference on the sidelines of the exhibition Saturday, Han stressed that 2024 marks the first year of the paradigm shift to AI-powered home appliances, and the tech giant has a long journey ahead to meet extremely "high consumer standards." "The general perception of AI is that it can do anything you say," Han said. "That's how high consumer standards have become, and products still fall short of meeting their standards. If we consider consumer expectations to be at 100, our product currently stands at about 30. However, with enhanced security and improved natural language recognition, I believe we can raise that to around 60 or 70." Samsung Electronics presented a package of home appliances and services, all connected to comprise an AI-assisted home that offers more convenient and seamless daily life experiences. In doing so, the company highlighted its Knox data security technologies, given the importance of data in an AI-connected world, as well as new AI features such as Voice ID, which recognizes different users' voices to execute respective commands, and Ambient Sensing, which pinpoints users' location to activate the screens of appliances that are close to the user. Han said, however, that AI's scalability is "endless," and technologies and services will cater more to personalized demands to address "what consumers find inconvenient, dislike or struggle with" with AI. "This year is the first year of the era of AI," he said. "In the past, we strived to include AI into each device to improve functions, but now we are looking into the status of devices exchanging data to enable super-individualization of appliances," he added. To achieve that goal, Han noted that all of its new home appliance products will feature screens, and several breakthrough changes, including a new form factor, will be made to new appliances debuting next year, particularly washers. "Regarding home appliances, we are seeking to break out of the traditional molds," Han said. "We are even looking into changing the form factors of home appliances, which have been relying on centuries-old technologies. He added, "Adding screens to home appliances means that they will become smart devices, and there will be many smarter products in the segment of washers, air conditioners, vacuum cleaners and others." Samsung, now focusing on AI, is shifting its strategy to highlight the user experience consumers can expect from Samsung's new products rather than trumpet new features and specifications. "Just a decade ago, we contemplated titles like the world's first, biggest and best. Those times have gone," Han said. "We will be focusing on consumer experience from now on. There won't be many occasions (where Samsung boasts) about being the world's first." Regarding rumors about Samsung's interest in acquiring Nokia's mobile assets, Han said the company is "open to M&A opportunities in a way to enhance the company's existing or future businesses," adding, "it is difficult to make decisions because big deals have variables and obstacles." By Ko Dong-hwan Korail and SR, operators of South Koreas two fastest railway services, have introduced plans to address an expected surge in seat cancellations with one of the countrys major holidays approaching in less than a week, the state-run railways said Sunday. Records show that no-shows for Korail's KTX and SR's SRT services have been more frequent during Chuseok later this month and Seollal (Lunar New Year), Korea's two major holidays. To ensure their trains remain as fully booked as possible, the companies are either looking to boost sales of returned seats or increase cancellation penalties. Their measures come as seat cancellations for KTX and SRT have been consistently more frequent around the two holidays. According to Rep. Yoon Jong-kun of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, who is also a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, 41 percent of KTX seats booked during the two holidays from 2019 to this year were returned. On average each year, out of 3.31 million seats booked ahead of the holidays, over 1.35 million are returned. For SRT, the cancellation rate during this period stands at 15 percent. Korail saw a seriously high no-show rate last Seollal. Out of 4.08 million booked seats, 46 percent were returned. Among the returned seats, 195,000 seats remained unsold and empty until the train departed. SR, during the same period, sold 690,000 seats but saw 14 percent of the tickets returned. Among the returned seats, 54,000 remained unsold. "Canceling seats seconds before the train leaves or after it departs is no less than dumping the seats," Yoon said. "The operators will have to either raise their cancellation penalties or find ways to resell the returned seats, especially during holidays." To counter the issue, Korail is slashing 30 percent off its seat prices and offering an extra discount for family travelers during the upcoming Chuseok holiday. SR is also offering up to 40 percent discount for its seats. SR, moreover, has partnered with Danggeun, Bunjang and Joonggonara, the country's major online trading platforms for second-hand items, to preemptively nab illegal trades of purchased seats. The family of a Turkish-American woman shot dead while demonstrating against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank demanded an independent investigation into her death on Saturday, accusing the Israeli military of killing her "violently." Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was "shot in the head" while participating in a demonstration in Beita in the West Bank on Friday, the United Nations rights office said. "Her presence in our lives was taken needlessly, unlawfully, and violently by the Israeli military," Eygi's family said in a statement. "A U.S. citizen, Aysenur was peacefully standing for justice when she was killed by a bullet that video shows came from an Israeli military shooter. "We call on President (Joe) Biden, Vice President (Kamala) Harris, and Secretary of State (Antony) Blinken to order an independent investigation into the unlawful killing of a U.S. citizen and to ensure full accountability for the guilty parties." The Israeli military said its forces "responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them" during the protest. Eygi was a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a pro-Palestinian organisation, and was in Beita on Friday for a weekly demonstration against Israeli settlements, according to ISM. The group on Saturday dismissed claims that ISM activists threw rocks at Israeli forces as "false" and said the demonstration was peaceful. "Aysenur was more than 200 metres away from where the Israeli soldiers were, and there were no confrontations there at all in the minutes before she was shot," ISM said in a statement. 'Tragic' death In recent years, pro-Palestinian demonstrators have frequently held weekly protests against the Eviatar settlement outpost overlooking Beita, which is backed by far-right Israeli ministers. During Friday's protest, Eygi was shot in the head, according to the U.N. rights office and Rafidia hospital where she was pronounced dead. Turkey said she was killed by "Israeli occupation soldiers," with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemning the Israeli action as "barbaric." Washington called it a "tragic" event and has pressed its close ally Israel to investigate. But her family has demanded an independent probe. "Given the circumstances of Aysenur's killing, an Israeli investigation is not adequate," her family said. On Saturday, AFP footage showed Eygi's body, wrapped in a blue cloth, kept in a morgue next to the body of a young girl who was killed the previous day in a separate incident in the West Bank. The Palestinian health ministry said the 12-year-old Palestinian girl was shot and killed by "occupation (Israel) bullets" in Qaryut, near Beita. On Saturday, Nablus governor Ghassan Daghlas accused Israeli forces of killing the two. "Both were killed by the same bullets.... The same bullets," he said, referring to Israeli forces. "We call out the international community to stop the insane war on Palestine. Bullets do not differentiate between activists and a Palestinian child," he said. Eygi's family said she always advocated "an end to the violence against the people of Palestine." Israeli settlements in the West Bank where about 490,000 people live are illegal under international law. Since Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on Israel which triggered the war in Gaza, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 662 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry. At least 23 Israelis, including security forces, have been killed in Palestinian attacks during the same period, according to Israeli officials. (AFP) When Pope Francis becomes the first pontiff to visit an independent East Timor, he will confront a clergy beset by child abuse scandals that have been largely ignored by the deeply Catholic country's freedom heroes. Cases include Nobel-winning Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, who helped Asia's youngest nation free itself from Indonesian occupation, but who the Vatican secretly punished over claims he had sexually abused young children for decades. There are calls for the 87-year-old pontiff to speak out on child abuse when he lands in the former Portuguese colony Monday as part of his Asia-Pacific tour. "We ask Your Holiness to encourage the leaders and the people of Timor-Leste to take more effective measures to prevent sexual abuse," the Timor-Leste NGO Forum, a civil society coalition, wrote in a letter Wednesday to Francis. BishopAccountability.org, a documentation center on Catholic Church abuse, also called on the Vatican's sexual abuse commission chief, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, to "urge" Francis to "be the victims' champion" on his visit. Catholic-majority East Timor is one of many countries that has suffered the global scourge of child abuse by members of the clergy long veiled in secrecy. In 2002 Pope John Paul II accepted the abrupt resignation of Bishop Belo, then the head of East Timor's church, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996. The Vatican said it was for health reasons but did not explain further. It then permitted him to be sent to Mozambique as a missionary where he worked with children, before he moved to Portugal. The Vatican secretly sanctioned the bishop in 2020 after claims he sexually abused underage boys over a 20-year period up to 2002. It banned Belo from any contact with children or with East Timor, conditions it said he formally accepted. Only when Dutch magazine De Groene Amsterdammer reported the restrictions in 2022, including testimony from a victim who said they were raped by Belo, did the Vatican go public. The Dutch magazine report's author says allegations about Belo were known in 2002. Francis later suggested the decision to let Belo retire instead of face consequences was made when attitudes were different. The bishop had won the Nobel Prize for his defense of human rights during the Indonesian occupation, which lasted more than two decades. He is revered at home for sheltering young demonstrators and saving their lives. It has helped him retain strong support among the country's 1.3 million people, of which 98 percent are Catholic. "We feel we have lost him. We miss him," Maria Dadi, East Timor national youth council president, told AFP. "Because after all he really contributed to the struggle of Timor-Leste." In another case, defrocked American priest Richard Daschbach was found guilty in 2021 of abusing orphaned, disadvantaged girls. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, but has also found support at the highest levels of Timorese society. Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao courted controversy last year when he visited Daschbach to celebrate his birthday and shared cake with the convicted pedophile. He also attended his trial. For many in the country, they favor Belo returning for the pope's visit. "We are very sad without the presence of Bishop Belo," said 58-year-old academic Francisco Amaral da Silva. "The government and the Catholic Church should invite him." East Timor's presidential office did not respond to a request for comment. President Jose Ramos-Horta has said punishments for Belo should be handled by the Vatican. The pontiff will meet with the Catholic faithful, children, Jesuits and preside over a huge mass during his stay in the capital Dili. But it remains unclear if he will raise cases that have shocked observers of one of the world's poorest countries. The pope's schedule does not include a meeting with victims, and the Vatican did not comment before he departed Rome. Yet he could ad-lib the subject in one of his speeches, which would be a strong gesture. Francis could also meet victims privately as he has done before, the latest on a 2023 Portugal trip. But survivor advocates said the pope must acknowledge the sexual violence by Church officials on East Timorese children, including by Belo. "Those abused by Bishop Belo and other clergy will expect a public statement by Pope Francis on the Church's continued failure to deal with its wayward clergy," said Tony Gribben, founder of the Northern Ireland-based Dromore survivors group. Gribben said a meeting would "have limited value", citing apologies given by Francis to abuse victims on an Ireland trip in 2018. "The event was a well-crafted PR exercise," he added. "But since then, it's business as usual." (AFP) An influential evangelist preacher from the Philippines accused of sex trafficking and sexual abuse has been arrested, the interior minister said on Sunday. Apollo Quiboloy, self-proclaimed "owner of the universe" and "appointed son of god", is wanted on charges of child and sexual abuse and related allegations of human trafficking. He has denied wrongdoing. "Apollo Quiboloy has been caught," Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said on his Facebook page, without specifying how or where he had been. The pastor is also on the FBI's "most wanted" list in the United States on separate charges of sex trafficking and bulk cash smuggling, over which he has also denied wrongdoing. Over 2,000 police were deployed last month to search a sprawling compound in the southern city of Davao owned by Quiboloy's church, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), on suspicion that he was hiding there in a bunker. Quiboloy is followed by millions of people in the Philippines, where church leaders hold heavy sway in politics. He is a longtime friend of former president Rodrigo Duterte. (Reuters) Nadira Panjwani, chairperson of the Karachi-based Karachi Council on Foreign Relations (KCFR), addresses a seminar hosted by KCFR in Karachi, Pakistan, Sept. 6, 2024. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is beneficial for both countries as it creates many trade opportunities and helps Pakistan speed up the industrialization drive, the chairperson said. (Xinhua/Tang Binhui) by Xinhua writer Tang Binhui KARACHI, Pakistan, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is beneficial for both countries as it creates many trade opportunities and helps Pakistan to speed up the industrialization drive, Nadira Panjwani, chairperson of the Karachi-based Karachi Council on Foreign Relations (KCFR), has said. Addressing a seminar hosted by KCFR on Friday, the chairperson said the CPEC was a flagship project symbolizing tremendous potentials that exist for trade and regional connectivity. The expert said friendship between Pakistan and China is unbreakable, adding that as the world undergoes transformative changes and the global geopolitical landscape evolves, the two countries need to strengthen cooperation and strive to build a more interconnected, peaceful and sustainable world. Talking to Xinhua on the occasion, Habib Paracha, a member of KCFR and a film producer, said that China's modernization shows the world how a populous country alleviated poverty. "Pakistan should make good use of its resource advantages and learn from China's experience to solve the problem of unbalanced development and gradually move toward modernization," he said. Paracha said that agricultural cooperation between Pakistan and China should be broader, adding that it would benefit the Pakistani people, and the two countries should continue to strengthen cultural exchanges to promote mutual understanding. Speaking at the event, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong said that China is willing to strengthen exchanges on state governance with Pakistan and work together to promote the modernization of both countries. Launched in 2013, the CPEC, a flagship project of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, is a corridor linking Gwadar Port in southwest Pakistan's Balochistan province with Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport and industrial cooperation in the first phase, while the new phase expands to agriculture and livelihood, among others. TEHRAN, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Fifty-five people were injured early Sunday in a collision between a bus and a truck in northeastern Iran's Khorasan Razavi province, the official news agency IRNA reported. Shortly after the incident, which occurred on a road between Sabzevar and Neyshabur counties, four ambulance vehicles and medical emergency personnel were sent to the scene, IRNA quoted Gholam-Abbas Kafi, director of the emergency medical services and incidents department of Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, as saying. Kafi said 50 injured passengers received first aid on the spot, and the other five were transferred to a hospital in Sabzevar, located 230 km west of the provincial capital Mashhad. Hossein Mishmast, provincial traffic police commander, said the incident occurred at 5:00 a.m. local time (0130 GMT) and that the bus was carrying Afghan passengers returning from a pilgrimage to Iraq, according to the report. Mishmast attributed the cause of the collision to the fatigue and drowsiness of the bus driver, an Afghan national. U.S. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, husband to the Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris, made a direct appeal to Lehigh Valley Latinos to support Harris for president during a rally Saturday in Allentown. Emhoffs Lehigh Valley visit capped a week that saw Pennsylvania swings Wednesday by both the former President Donald Trump, who is the Republican candidate for president, and Harriss running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Trump spoke at a town hall in the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, while Walz visited the Republican stronghold of Lancaster County. Tuesday night, Harris and Trump are taking part in a debate in Philadelphia. On Saturday in Allentown, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and U.S. Rep. Susan Wild were among those who joined the second gentleman for the rally at Dieruff High School. Freelance photographer Donna Fisher was there to capture photos of the event. They can be viewed by clicking through the gallery above. Emhoffs visit coincided with National Hispanic Heritage Month and sought to highlight both the campaigns of his wife and Wild, who is in a tight race for reelection to the Lehigh Valleys 7th Congressional District. All the campaigning and national-stage attention serve to reinforce Pennsylvania as the nations premier swing state. Pennsylvania is one of just seven states where the campaigns for Harris and Trump will devote almost all of their remaining time and resources. And the Lehigh Valley is among the few purple regions remaining in the state. Northampton County was one of only two Pennsylvania counties to flip in 2020. The county voted for President Barak Obama twice before swinging to Trump in 2016. Only 77 counties in the nation pivoted in 2020 with 59 of them going to Biden. Wild, the Lehigh Valley congresswoman staved off a close Republican challenge that year. Wild this year is vying for a fourth two-year term representing the Lehigh Valley. She and challenger state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh, faced off Friday in the taping of a debate set to air during WFMZ-TV 69s Business Matters during two parts, on Sept. 16 and 23, both starting at 7:30 p.m. For the Nov. 5 election, Oct. 21 is the deadline for U.S. citizens who have lived in Pennsylvania at least 30 days to register to vote in Pennsylvania. Check your voter registration status at pavoterservices.pa.gov, and catch up on all voting information at pa.gov. In New Jersey, visit nj.gov. Additionally, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., faces a challenge in his run for a fourth six-year term from business executive Dave McCormick. In the sprint to Election Day, Harris and Trump are neck-and-neck in most national polls conducted since President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign. Tuesdays debate taking place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia will start at 9 p.m. EDT and is expected to last 90 minutes. Its being moderated by World News Tonight anchor David Muir and Prime anchor Linsey Davis. ABC News is carrying the debate live on its broadcast network as well as its streaming platform ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu. Several networks have also agreed to carry the event live. Itll be the first meeting for Harris and Trump. Its also Harris first debate since 2020, when she and Trumps running mate then-Vice President Mike Pence debated through plexiglass shields during the COVID-19 pandemic. After Tuesday, CBS News will host a vice presidential debate on Oct. 1 between Walz and Trumps running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance. That event is planned to be held in New York City. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. The Associated Press, Nick Falsone and Kurt Bresswein contributed to this report. A member of Israeli security forces stands guard at the Allenby Bridge, a border point between Jordan and the occupied West Bank on Sept. 8, 2024. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua) JERUSALEM/AMMAN, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Israel announced Sunday that it has closed all three of its border crossings with Jordan after three Israeli security guards were reportedly killed in the morning at one of the crossings. Earlier on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said a driver approached the Allenby Bridge, a border point between Jordan and the occupied West Bank, from the Jordanian side in a truck, exited his vehicle, and opened fire on Israeli security guards, leaving three dead at the scene. The attacker was shot dead by Israeli forces, the IDF added. Israel's state-owned Kan TV reported that early indications suggest the gunman was a Jordanian national. Following the shooting attack, the Israel Airports Authority said in a statement that it has shut down the Allenby Bridge, also known officially in Jordan as the King Hussein Bridge, together with the Wadi Araba Crossing or Yitzhak Rabin Crossing between Israel's Red Sea resort city of Eilat and Jordan's Aqaba, and the Jordan River Crossing or Sheikh Hussein Bridge between Israel's Beit She'an and Jordan's Irbid. The closures followed "instructions by security officials," it noted, without specifying the time of reopening the crossings. Also on Sunday, Jordan's Public Security Directorate announced the closure of King Hussein Bridge with the West Bank until further notice due to a shutdown from the other side. Bridge users should comply and stay updated regarding any changes in travel movements, which will be announced promptly, Jordan's state-run Petra news agency quoted the directorate as saying. According to Petra, Jordan's Interior Ministry has launched an investigation into the alleged shooting attack. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority confirmed that the movement of travelers between the West Bank and Jordan has been completely halted, with information about the reopening of the border crossing still unclear. Palestinian security sources reported that Israeli forces have tightened their military measures near the Jordan-Palestine border, detaining workers and drivers without knowing their identities. The shooting attack and subsequent developments come amid the rising tension and persistent Israeli raids in the West Bank and an 11-month-long war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Members of Israeli security forces stand guard at the Allenby Bridge, a border point between Jordan and the occupied West Bank on Sept. 8, 2024. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua) A free community event is aiming to help Northampton County residents tackle challenges regarding digital devices and accessibility. The Digital Navigator Coalition, an initiative focused on digital accessibility and lessening the digital divide, is hosting a Digital Device Training Workshop from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sept. 24. It will take place in the Northampton Community College Fowler Center in South Bethlehem, according to a news release. According to the release, the workshop will take place in two parts. From the first hour, the coalition will host an open discussion where community members can share experiences and address service availability, affordability and device access. Tina Smith, director of community and economic development for Northampton County, said one goal of this discussion is to gather information that may challenge data from the Federal Communications Commission. According to the coverage map on the FCC website, Northampton County shows 100% internet coverage in the majority of places. Smith said while the county is relatively well served, there are residents who may experience slower connection. Its just a lot of data collection so that we can figure out the problems that we need to solve moving forward as a coalition, Smith said. The second part of the workshop is hands-on training, which Smith said will be individualized. From 6 to 7 p.m., students from Bethlehem Area School District will be there to provide the training. Smith said the kind of training will depend on what attendees need help with, from uploading apps to working with Excel spreadsheets. Smith said attendees are encouraged to bring their own devices to individualize their experience. There will be devices at the event for general information, she said. Were not sure what those needs are, but were trying to meet anything that prohibits someone from using their devices or properly accessing the internet with the skills training, Smith said. She said internet service providers are invited to the event to educate attendees about their services and address their needs. Providers should register ahead of time, she said, and can call 610-829-6306 to learn more. Attendees can call the same phone number for more information. Weve only just begun to uncover the intricacies of the natural world around us. Thats one takeaway from a Lehigh Universitys recent experience at a Lehigh Valley nature preserve. Emmaus-based Wildlands Conservancy announced Will Yaeger, a member of Lehighs Class of 2024, discovered a new species of fungus at the nonprofits 400-acre South Mountain Preserve. It was August 2023 when Yaeger spotted the small white mushroom along the Emmaus area preserves Alpine Street Trail. He sent it to Mycota Lab, which researches fungal biodiversity, and learned this was a new species not yet described by scientists, according to a Wildlands news release. I remember making a note at the time that it really didnt look like it belonged to any species I recognized, which was exciting. Ive become pretty familiar with the fungi of the Lehigh Valley, so when I find something I havent seen before I get very curious, states Yaeger, described as a a mycology enthusiast who at the time was studying molecular biology and biocomputational engineering. His find was assigned the temporary name Leucoagaricus sp-PA01, reflecting the fact that it is the first new species of the genus Leucoagaricus to be found in Pennsylvania. Its very exciting to find a species that hasnt been documented before right here in our own backyardand this probably isnt the only one like it around here, Yaeger states in the release. Fungi are so diverse and so understudied that there are almost certainly other mushrooms in the Lehigh Valley that havent been described yet. National Public Radio two years ago reported only 1% of mushrooms are known to science. Mycota Labs founder and director, Stephen Russell, echoed that point. It is likely that the majority of the mushroom species that exist in North America are awaiting formal discovery, he told lehighvalleylive.com. It is possible to find a new species anytime someone ventures out in the woods and makes a decision to collect some mushrooms. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. 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. This October, for the first time, the sacred relics of 7th century Irish martyr, Saint Kilian, will return to his home country and native county of Cavan from Wurzburg in Germany, as well as stopping off in Kildare. Maynooth has been chosen as a stopping point on the journey, with the relics open to the public for veneration in the College Chapel following Vespers at 6.30pm on Wednesday, October 2. While the event is open to all, St Patricks College is particularly interested in spreading the word among those sharing the Saints name and are putting a call out to all Kilians, Killians or Cillians to come and join the special evening on October 2. This major religious and civic event is being organised by the Diocese of Kilmore, the Parish of Mullagh and Cavan County Council. The historic pilgrimage will involve the visit of Saint Kilians relics, along with those of his martyred colleagues, Saints Totnan and Kolonat. The relics will be transported from their resting place in the Altar of Wurzburg Cathedral, for five days from 2 to 6 next month. The relics inlaid with precious stones are contained in a specially preserved glass case and it will be the first time that they will have left Germany. Monk-scholars like Kilian were schooled in great Irish monasteries. They built monasteries that became spiritual and cultural centres that served the religious and educational needs of the people where they settled, becoming catalysts for some of Europes cities and towns, like Wurzburg and Salzburg, and many others across the continent. They motivated wandering tribes to settle by teaching them agriculture, bee keeping and brewing beer. Therefore, they were the societal architects of Europe whose legacy can still be experienced today. In the estimation of some scholars, these monk-scholars contributed to the saving of Europe and the Christian civilization which was coming close to extinction. Rev Prof Michael Mullaney, President of St Patricks College, Maynooth said: The visit of St Kilian will be a moment to remember the great contribution that many Irish monk-scholars like Colmcille, Columbanus, Aidan, Fergal, Gall and Kilian himself made in the cultural development and spiritual renewal of Europe in the Dark Ages. The visit to St Patricks College underlines the importance of the University as a centre of learning and faith and as the successor of the early Irish monasteries. The stories of St Kilian and the other Irish monk-scholars remind us of the importance of the mission and mandate of the College as the National Seminary and the Pontifical University to continue education and faith formation of those preparing for ministry in the future both as priests, ministers, deacons and lay parish workers, he added. To register to attend the veneration of the relics, please click here. Naas native and poet Derek Coyle has just launched his second poetry collection, Sipping Martinis under Mount Leinster, in a dual language edition in English and Swedish. The Swedish translations are by poet Peter Nyberg Mollung. As the title poem suggests, much of the collection is firmly rooted in Coyles vision of County Carlow, where he now resides, and its surrounds. As Coyle tells us, James Joyce taught us that the universal can be found in the particular. His vision of Dublin in Ulysses captures all cities, all humans, all places. I hope my vision of Carlow as it emerges in my work has something of this about it. That folk in rural Sweden, or rural Wales, and even the cosmopolitan capitals of the world, will recognise something of their town, their village, their place, in the vision of Carlow that I present here. Even as the poems are rooted in the locales of County Carlow, they roam far and wide and wild, with references to many authors, artists, and musicians, living and dead. Indeed, in the title poem many distinguished artistic luminaries turn up to sip martinis at a party that is something of a folk legend by now in the foothills of Mount Leinster. American poets, James Tate, Frank OHara, James Schuyler, rub shoulders with Irish poets like Medbh McGuckian, the German surrealist painter Franz Marc, and classical composer Ludwig Van Beethoven who, as it happens, is playing The Irish Rover on fiddle to entertain the guests. As such, this poem stands as a very original homage to the poets influences. Many poems deal with the recent Covid pandemic, particularly its impact on domestic relationships. Another poem The Manueline Style references earlier pandemics, cholera and dysentery, in its consideration of the historical court of King Manuel of Portugal. But this is not to say that the collections tone is in any way one of doom and gloom, or always covertly political. The collection contains many upbeat and amusing reflections on such ordinary everyday experiences as observing dandelions (in Dandelion) and hesitating to mow them due to their dazzling beautiful gold. The Boss offers a witty and insightful encounter with Bruce Springsteen in an obscure B&B in Mayo, where over an Irish breakfast, some understanding is given as to the inspiration for Springsteens classic song The River. As Coyle has remarked: One of my favourite quotes about poetry is from the American poet William Carlos Williams, and it is: if it aint a pleasure, it aint a poem. These poems were certainly a pleasure to write. I hope something of the joy of their discovery comes across to readers of the book. Id like to see people reflecting, thinking, being moved by the poems but also having a good laugh. We treat poetry way too seriously. Poets often have a wicked sense of humour. At the heart of this collection are many love poems,. Derek Coyles Sipping Martinis under Mount Leinster is lyrical and playful, serious and ambitious, in poems that are original and distinctive, poems that keep us on our toes with their unusual twists and turns, their unpredictable trajectories, and the striking corners of thought they take us to. You can order the book from Magnus Grehn Forlag at: https://magnusgrehnforlag.se/, or by emailing: mgrehn@hotmail.com. Government taxes on fuel account for 54 percent of the cost of diesel and 57 percent of the cost of petrol, Leitrim County Council has heard. This indicates that more than half of what Irish motorists pay for fuel is due to taxation, and a further double price hike may be proposed this October. At the September Council meeting, Cllr Cormac Flynn proposed a motion urging the Minister for Finance to scrap the planned double price hike set for October. Carbon tax on fuel, part of the Green Party policy, was passed in 2020. The rationale behind the policy is largely based on the fact that an increased cost of consumers would affect a behavioural change and reduce the amount of fuel motorists use, thus reducing carbon emissions. Carbon tax is currently equated to 56 per tonne of CO2 emissions produced and it is targeted to rise to 100 per tonne in 2030, Cllr Flynn explained. Fuel prices in 2020 when the policy was passed for diesel was at 1.19c. The same litre costs 1.74. When much of this increase is down to the international price of fuel, much of it is also down to Government taxation such as excise tax, rural tax, carbon tax, and better energy tax at a VAT rate of 23 percent. The price for a litre of diesel is 80c and petrol is 77c before Government taxes are added. Cllr Flynn told the Council that Irish motorists have endured a 13 cent increase per litre on petrol and 9 cent increase on diesel since January. In addition, Irish motorists are currently the third most taxed in Europe, and the plan for October will push Ireland to the top spot as the highest taxed. Since the inception of the carbon tax, fuel has risen by 46 percent. Its my argument that the Government has already recouped the planned revenue from this proposed increase in carbon tax by virtue of unplanned tax hikes, external factors and a consequential VAT increase to the tune of 11.5 cent per litre. Higher fuel prices have resulted in more tax being collected, however the VAT remains the same. In 2020, a 23 percent VAT on fuel equaled 21 cents per litre. By 2024, with fuel prices rising to 1.74 per litre, the same 23 percent VAT now equals 32.5 cents per litre. These price hikes will compound the cost of living crisis for all citizens, not just motorists. The increased cost including business, food, goods and services will be passed onto the consumer and everyone will suffer. Instead of easing the burden on hard pressed households, this policy is set to raise the burden further, not just on motorists, Cllr Flynn commented. This is an example where a policy has outstripped reality. Cllr Flynns motion was seconded by Cllr Gilmartin and garnered support across the assembly. What's New with Personio: Improved people insights, performance reviews and custom workflows drive impact for HR teams Personio, Europe's leading HR software company for small and mid-sized businesses, has today announced a series of advancements designed to alleviate the burden of manual and time-intensive administrative tasks for HR teams, and free them up to focus on delivering impact for their organizations. This comes at a time when data from Personio's latest research, Workforce Pulse 2024: Solving talent and engagement challenges, shows that retaining talent is the most important people challenge organizations need to address in the next year, as voted for by 35% of HR decision makers (HRDMs). This is followed by 35% who believe improving wellbeing should be a focus and 31% who say the same for improving productivity. The new innovations announced today help HR teams address these challenges with more functionality in people analytics and performance review cycles that adapt on the fly, alongside quicker ways to build and automate custom workflows. Maria Angelidou-Smith, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Personio, said: "Understanding our customers' needs and solving their challenges is the top priority for our Product organization. We've always seen it as our goal to ease the heavy load on HR teams and streamline how work gets done. I'm excited to introduce a range of new products and capabilities in people analytics, task automation, employee development, and more, all designed to help HR focus on the strategic work that truly makes a difference across their organization." People Analytics: improved data insights HR managers are often overwhelmed by scattered HR data and siloed systems. Personio's Workforce Pulse survey found that 72% of HRDMs agreed that HR is a more data-centric function than it was in the past. This makes it challenging for HR teams to pull actionable insights to inform decisions, while data reconciliation can take time and lead to a disjointed view of HR data. New features in People Analytics address these challenges to enable data-driven decision making, ensuring that it's easy to use data within Personio's ecosystem to understand the state of the workforce in real-time. These new product innovations empower HR managers to extract actionable insights from up to date data to drive strategies, people programs and resourcing discussions, while still enabling seamless consolidation of HR data into a reliable source. Performance & Development: adaptable processes for people reviews For HR managers, getting an overview of key employee performance data can feel like a disconnected struggle, while building a high-performance culture can often feel challenging. This means running reviews can be stressful, as traditional performance review processes are rigid and often don't allow for candid feedback, which can help move the needle on better performance. New innovations in Personio's Performance & Development product make HR teams - and managers - more effective by giving them the ability to create processes that match their organization's unique culture. This advancement means work is halved - HR Managers can adapt performance cycles on the go, with employee changes automatically surfaced and actioned in one click. Personio's upgraded solution equips HR with structured yet highly adaptable processes for performance cycles, as well as enabling easy access for all stakeholders to actionable insights so they can make better and faster talent decisions. As Nina Johansson, HR Manager at British Rowing, puts it: "Personio's Performance & Development module has been really helpful because we can pull data from every performance cycle across the business into one place. It's so much easier to see who's done what and it's standardized so we know what kind of questions are coming through. Plus we can get both peer-to-peer and bottom-up feedback." Workflow Automation: custom workflows and templates HR teams have to deal with the admin overload of manually running hundreds of business processes across siloed systems and teams. To address these challenges, new features in Personio's Workflow Automation solution enable HR teams to codify best-in-class business processes and run them at scale. New Workflow Automation features include pre-built templates that standardize common business processes with intuitive and adjustable steps. Additional features include a tool that enables HR teams to design custom workflows that suit their business needs and a monitoring dashboard that helps them keep track of how their workflows are progressing. And, coming soon, a redesigned inbox that spotlights critical tasks with all of the details teams need to make quick decisions and keep workflows moving forward smoothly. These updates and innovations come at a time when new customer data from Personio shows that HR teams using the platform experience on average a 39% improvement in HR productivity and an average 29% increase in HR cost savings. Organizations using Personio also saw an average monthly increase of 45% in employee time saving and a 20% improvement in employee satisfaction scores. For a detailed overview of What's New with Personio this quarter, including product demo videos, please visit the website. Personio study: Workforce Pulse 2024: Solving talent and engagement challenges (published August 2024) Personio study: The Power of Personio Report (published August 2024) About Personio: Personio is the all-in-one HR platform that unlocks the power of people for small and medium-sized organizations. Trusted by over 12,000 organizations that together manage more than 1 million employees, Personio drives productivity for HR teams, managers and employees by improving HR processes and boosting employee experience. Our ever-evolving product makes Personio a clear choice for organizations looking to upgrade their people platform for now and the future. Learn more about our product, or how to join our teams in Munich, London, Madrid, Dublin, Berlin, Barcelona, New York, Amsterdam and remotely, here: www.personio.com 8 september 2024 at 19:05 News published onand distributed by: It's hard not to fall under the spell of Pawo Choyning Dorji's The Monk and the Gun (streaming on Apple TV+), an acclaimed ode to peace and the lives of the humble. The action takes place in Bhutan, when the resigning king organizes a "blank" ballot in 2006 to teach his people how to vote in view of the upcoming first real parliamentary elections. This, is the only historical fact of the movie; the rest is a fable. Landlocked between China and India, Bhutan jealously guards its independence, its image, and its culture. It has earned a reputation as a paradise on earth, having enshrined the notion of "gross national happiness" in its constitution in 2008 a reputation that will be reinforced by the film's success. Who, indeed, would want to disturb this apparent harmony? Why impose political parties on these sincere Buddhists, who have remained simple in their mountains, parties that would disrupt their peaceful social life with unnecessary conflict? Who wouldn't be tempted, after discovering this Eden untouched by the defects of modernity, to reproach the Western Eve for handing the Himalayan Adam the poisoned apple of her model? Who would dispute the fact that wars, digital surveillance, and pollution accompany her? Read more Subscribers only Bhutan dreams of building the first 'mindfulness' city But this movie is like all fairy tales. Historical facts contradict the idyllic image that the script wants to impose. So, let's go back a few years to better judge the time of the story. In 1974, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck imposed Bhutanese culture on all the country's ethnic groups; in 1985, the Lhotshampas of the southern plains, of Nepalese origin, were stripped of their citizenship. Their language was banned and Bhutanese dress was imposed. Ill-treated minorities Some 100,000 of them fled to Nepal or India. There, they led a miserable life in camps, not noticed by anyone, and struggled in vain to regain their land. As for Tibetan refugees, who share the language and religion of Bhutan, they were forced to take Bhutanese nationality in 1979. Many fled. This tragic story emerges under the surface of the fiction, but so allusively that few filmgoers will stop to think about it. The Bhutanese monk who carries around the old rifle recounts with a smile that the weapon was once used to shoot Tibetans, but he is careful not to explain the reasons for those fratricidal wars. He is also careful to point out that Tibetans in exile are crying out for freedom and democracy. The demand for democracy is not exogenous, as The Monk and the Gun would have us believe, but endogenous. That's because reality is far from rosy in the kingdom of happiness. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) placed Bhutan 147th out of 180 countries in its 2023 World Press Freedom Index: "In the land of "gross national happiness," self-censorship is one of the main problems: many journalists avoid covering sensitive issues for fear of appearing to challenge the social order. In this predominantly Buddhist country, the media rarely refer to the situation of the Lhotshampa." You have 40.88% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only. LIMERICK City Fine Gael TD and Minister of State for the OPW, Kieran ODonnell has welcomed that Limerick City and County Council are to carry out a major extension to Castleconnell Playground, located at the Ferrybank in Castleconnell village. This is something he has campaigned for with the local community. Consultants will shortly be appointed by the council to design the extension. Minister ODonnell recently secured a general clean-up and power-washing, with new swings and seats installed at the existing playground, and painting will be carried out there shortly. I am delighted that Limerick City and County Council have advised me that they will very shortly appoint Consultants to design a major extension and enhancement to the existing Castleconnell playground, located at the Ferrybank in Castleconnell village," said Minister O'Donnell. READ MORE: Limerick National School welcomes its first students The plans for the playground extension and enhancement at Castleconnell playground will go out to public consultation and observations. In this regard, I have already discussed with the council to ensure that there is very early public consultation with local community groups, residents and stakeholders as part of this design process. When these plans are finalised, it will then go before the council for approval and thereafter the extension and enhanced playground will be constructed. I will continue to work to ensure this happens as quickly as possible. This Castleconnell playground extension is something I have been working on extensively with local residents and families to ensure there is a playground in Castleconnell Village that can accommodate the growing populations of families and children in the area. Whilst the current playground has served the area over time, there is now a great need for a major extension and enhancement to be carried out at Castleconnell Playground. When completed, this major extension and enhancement to the existing playground in Castleconnell will be greatly enjoyed by families and children," concluded Minister O'Donnell. THE WINDOWS and doors of a home in Kilmallock were smashed in an early morning attack, Limerick Live has learned, The shocking incident occurred on the town's Lord Edward Street in the early hours of Saturday morning. It is understood the house was occupied at the time. A garda spokesperson confirmed gardai are investigating an incident of criminal damage to a property in Kilmallock that took place on Saturday, September 7. "Investigations are ongoing at this time," said a garda spokesperson. The broken windows on the property have since been boarded up. It is unclear why this house was attacked. According to one local: "It appears this act was just pure thuggery and vandalism." Anybody who may have seen any suspicious activity in Kilmallock in the early hours of Saturday morning and may be able to help gardai with their enquiries is asked to contact gardai in Bruff on 061 382940. GAZA, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Deputy Director of the Palestinian Civil Defense Mohammed Morsi and his four family members were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the northern Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian sources on Sunday. The airstrike targeted the home of the Morsi family in Jabalia refugee camp with at least one missile, Palestinian security sources told Xinhua. There has been so far no comment from Israel on the airstrike. In a press statement, the Palestinian Civil Defense condemned the killing of Morsi, noting that 83 civil defense members have been killed and more than 200 others injured since the onset of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 11 months ago. Civil defense teams are still suffering from a shortage of specialized rescue equipment, fuel and spare parts needed to protect lives and property, it added. Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and around 250 others taken hostage. The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the strip has risen to 40,972, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Sunday. AN INCIDENT at Castlemahon Water Treatment Plant is being linked to a fish kill on the River Deel. Limerick Live understands aluminium sulphate - a coagulating agent in the purification of drinking water - made its way into the river course on Thursday, August 29. An Uisce Eireann spokesperson said they are carrying out investigations to determine the exact circumstances of an incident at Castlemahon Water Treatment Plant. The relevant bodies have been notified and Uisce Eireann is co-operating fully with Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) in relation to the investigation. We would also like to assure the community there has been no impact on the quality of drinking water, said an Uisce Eireann spokesperson. They didnt respond to a Limerick Leader query regarding aluminium sulphate. An Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) spokesperson said regarding the pollution event at the River Deel, the EPA and IFI are currently investigating the incident and the impact on the water treatment plant and the river. As part of the investigation, the EPA conducted a site inspection of the water treatment plant on August 30. This inspection confirmed that the quality of the drinking water being supplied to consumers was not affected by the incident. IFI have inspected the river and are working with Uisce Eireann to address any impacts on the River Deel, said the spokesperson. READ MORE: Limerick childs hair breaks after showering due to the quality of water Local fisherman Joe Hurley described the fish kill as shocking. We don't know how many fish have been killed because it's been going on for hours and they float away down with it, said Joe, who took a photo of five dead trout on the riverbank. He said trout stocks are under pressure all the time and this could be their death knell. It could be for the Deel anyway judging by the way the stuff has come down here, and the way it turned them up on their bellies. It's going to be that way, all the way down to Askeaton, said Joe. He thought it was milk in the river when he saw it first but says it wasnt milk. He traced where the contaminant was coming from and said it was coming from a pipe. Joe said it is very upsetting as they do their best to mind the fish stocks and farmers are a great help and doing their best. The farmers get blamed for everything but they cant be blamed for doing this. Every one of them has their own farmyard up to date and spotless - I can guarantee you that, said Joe. LOURDES is coming to Limerick as the relics of St. Bernadette Soubirous are presented in the city. Saint Bernadette Soubirous visions of the Virgin Mary led to the founding of one of the worlds most visited shrines in Lourdes, France. The two-day stay for the relics in Limerick at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Childers Road on Wednesday, September 11 and Thursday, September 12 is part of the first ever pilgrimage to Ireland of the relics, during which they will be presented in every diocese in the country. READ MORE: New deputy principal for Limerick secondary school St. Bernadette was born in Lourdes, a small town in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains in the year 1844. In 1858, she saw the Virgin Mary eighteen times at the Grotto of Massabielle: the Apparitions of Lourdes were authenticated in 1866 by the Bishop of Tarbes. St. Bernadette died at age 35 after a painful illness and was proclaimed blessed in 1925, then a saint in 1933. Today, the Grotto of Lourdes is visited by millions each year. Miracles have been attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes. Looking ahead to the visit, Bishop of Limerick Brendan Leahy, who is leading a Celebration of the Eucharist & Ceremony of Healing of the Sick on Wednesday, September 11 at the church, said the visit is a really special opportunity for Limerick. We know how much Lourdes means to us all and the annual pilgrimage to Lourdes is one of the high points for the diocese each year, Bishop Leahy said. To have St. Bernadettes relics here is, in a way, bringing Lourdes to Limerick and enables us to grow closer to St. Bernadette. Were very privileged to have this moment. All are welcome to visit Our Lady of Lourdes Church, with a special welcome extended to schools to bring students during the hours of 11:30am and 3:30pm on Thursday, September 12. Teachers should contact the Limerick Diocesan office to book a time. Clergy will also be available for confessions between 3:30pm and 6:30pm on Wednesday, September 11. The relics will also be greeted on arrival at Our Lady of Lourdes Church at 3pm on Wednesday with a Welcoming of the Relics & Water Gesture. A special box will be present also for those who wish to leave petitions to St Bernadette & Our Lady of Lourdes. Lourdes Water will be available to take home. AN EXHILARATING event invites the people of Limerick and beyond to take the plunge and abseil down Thomond Park. Coolmine Therapeutic Community, a national addiction treatment provider, is hosting the fundraising event on September 27 at the home of Munster Rugby. Coolmine Mid-West have their addiction treatment centre in Mahon House, Upper William St in Limerick city and supports community members on their recovery journeys. The abseil event invites participants to take the plunge from the iconic stadium, in support of ensuring that Coolmine can continue to deliver its vital addiction recovery services. READ MORE: Students from Limerick schools encourage others to complete Camino De Santiago David McPhillips, Coolmine Mid-West manager, said: The Coolmine Abseil is more than just an event - its a powerful show of community solidarity with those reclaiming their lives. Every euro raised helps us support more people, providing essential services to individuals and families in need. Each year, Coolmine must raise over 400,000 to continue delivering their services. Mr McPhillips said that events such as the abseil mean that Coolmines resources become energised by the communitys support. Through events like the abseil and private donations, we strive to secure the resources necessary to continue our life-changing work, he said. We look forward to an unforgettable day at Thomond Park, united in our mission to support people to overcome addiction and lead fulfilling lives. Coolmines Mid-West services have seen a significant increase in demand, particularly among women. In 2023, there was a 26% increase in the number of women accessing addiction recovery services in the region, with alcohol being the primary substance for which treatment was sought (41%). A cornerstone of Coolmines support for women, particularly mothers, is the Westbourne House mother and child residential facility in Limerick. This facility supported 44 women and 20 children last year, offering a unique programme that allows mothers to undergo treatment while remaining close to their children. BISHOP of Limerick Brendan Leahy has said that the distressing, harrowing and devastating impact of the sex abuse at schools has both destroyed the lives of victims and overwhelmed many in the church. In a letter to parishes in response to the publication of the scoping inquiry into abuse at religious-run schools, Bishop Leahy said: Throughout the Diocese thousands of Catholics go to our weekly celebration of Mass, receive pastoral support in their homes, in person or online through masses. I am conscious that as we engage now following the publication of the scoping inquiry into historical sex abuse at religious-run schools, we do so with a very heavy heart. We pray for those who have voiced the 2,395 allegations of sexual abuse by 884 abusers in 308 schools run by religious orders. The cries of abuse pierce heaven. The destruction of innocence, of lives is beyond comprehension. As much as we try, there is no combination of words that can match the pain and evil inflicted. READ MORE: Over 150 allegations of sexual abuse at religious schools in Limerick, inquiry finds Bishop Leahy said that beyond the horror inflicted on victims, the abuse impacts deep into the heart of the church. The whirl of the reports of devastation visited upon these survivors is a sword also through our own hearts. The level of it, and not a single case of abuse is understandable, too is appalling; 17 special schools recorded 590 allegations involving 190 alleged abusers. In our prayers and thoughts, we are mindful that what should have been places of sacred trust and care, schools run by Religious Orders, turned out to be locations of nightmarish horrors perpetrated by people, all of whom should have been nourished by the inspiring narratives of the founders of these Orders but who, instead, inflicted horribly destructive betrayals of vision, hope, and light. We must see those who abused for what they are. Perpetrators of the most horrific and vile crimes that destroyed young lives. Bishop Leahy continued, As well as praying for the survivors, we have the storm of emotions and thoughts, questions and perplexities as well as sentiments of shame, anger and confusion that we have heard or read about as well as felt also deep within us. It cannot be otherwise when we read in the Scoping Inquiry how participants described being molested, stripped naked, raped and drugged amidst an atmosphere of terror and silence. The distressing, harrowing and devastating impact of the abuse overwhelms us. Its impossible to get our mind around it. The inquiry offers, he said, important steps in articulating important distinctions between the levels of abuse both in terms of the orders and of the schools. It also offers expert opinions regarding both causes as well as processes and next steps that can help in moving forward. Bishop Leahy also acknowledged the impact the abuse has had on others in religious orders who have lived their life of vocation with love and kindness. We must not forget them today. They are suffering the experience of seeing so much good work done by their congregations to which they committed their lives, now being emptied before their eyes. "I am mindful too of all priests as well as lay members of Church communities whose faith is yet again put to the test as they are surrounded by a legitimate chorus of lament and criticism that impacts deeply on them too. Elisabet Balk didnt think twice when she uploaded a selfie and a photo of her national ID card to verify a new social-media account. So it terrified her when she discovered the images were for sale on Telegram, the messaging app. The Finnish beauticians private data was part of a torrent of illegally obtained materials on criminals new marketplace of choice. Telegram, whose chief executive Pavel Durov was detained in France last month, has become the premier internet platform to buy everything from hacked data and weapons to illicit drugs and child sexual abuse material, according to current and former law-enforcement officials and cybercrime researchers. Telegram, part social network, part messaging app, is easy to use. All you need to open an account is a phone number and it says it has never disclosed user data to any third party. Based in Dubai, Telegram has taken a laissez-faire approach to moderating content. French judicial authorities charged Durov with complicity in distributing child pornography, illegal drugs and hacking software on the app, which says it has almost one billion users. Authorities also charged him with refusing to cooperate with investigations into illegal activity on Telegram. Durov said Thursday that Telegram wasnt perfect, but neither was it a sort of anarchic paradise." He said Telegram was always open to dialogue with regulators. Telegrams Chief Operating Officer Mike Ravdonikas said exploding user numbers had caused growing pains in content moderation," which it was addressing. Telegram wasnt designed for criminals but the overwhelming majority of lawful users, he said. Telegrams moderators take down millions of harmful posts a day, he said, and it actively combats illegal content, including the sale of private data and sharing of child sexual abuse material. Identity thieves, pedophile rings and drug traffickers use Telegram as a shop window to sell their wares, according to researchers and chat records. A study this February by an international nonprofit found Telegram was the most widely-used app among offenders to view and share child-sex content. The Telegram channel that posted Balks images launched two years ago and had about 3,000 subscribers. Each day, it advertised a stream of passports, identity cards and selfies as samples" for larger bundles, which swindlers could use to open bank accounts in victims names. To buy a full pack, the channels owner told members to contact them in a private chat. The channel was taken down after The Wall Street Journal asked Telegram questions about it for this article. There are thousands of channels and groups on Telegram that offer stolen identities that can be used to open bank and investment accounts. Some claim to offer already created bank accounts created with stolen details. A channel called Bank Store Online listed accounts at over 60 banks and cryptocurrency exchanges for sale, ranging from $80 for a personal account to $1,800 for a business one. Payments were charged in crypto. In Russia, where Durov launched Telegram in 2013, it is also the go-to platform where middlemen arrange deals that get around U.S. sanctions, such as smuggling in weapons parts, the Journal previously reported. Several groups advertise the sale of drones and Starlinkssmall antennas to access the satellite internet network run by Elon Musks SpaceXto Russian combat units in Ukraine. In February, Musk tweeted that no Starlinks had been directly or indirectly sold to Russia, to the best of the companys knowledge. Its ground zero for every illicit activity you can think of," said Evan Kohlmann, founder of Cloudburst Technologies, which monitors cybercrime on Telegram and elsewhere, and a frequent adviser to U.S. agencies. The next iteration Before Telegrams ascent, criminals typically clustered in areas of the internet known as the darknet. These sites arent indexed by web browsers and are only accessible with specific software that cloaks users identities. Regular internet users rarely encounter them. A well-known example was the since-shuttered online black market Silk Road. Darknet-market sites are slow, with clunky interfaces and servers vulnerable to law-enforcement takedowns. Telegram is fast and functional, with features that make it easy to buy and sell things directly on the app. The platforms utility has turbocharged several types of alleged criminal activities, particularly the sale of stolen personal data and child abuse material, researchers say. Telegram marks the next iteration" after the internet first enabled pedophiles to group together online, said Dan Sexton, chief technology officer at the Internet Watch Foundation, a British child sexual abuse hotline that collects data worldwide. The IWF said it has found that newer websites selling child abuse material almost all direct people to Telegram to exchange financial details and make transactions. Unlike other social-media companies such as Meta and Snap, Telegram doesnt report child sexual abuse images to the IWF or its U.S. counterpart, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, both groups say. (Metas Instagram has also faced criticism about moderating such content.) In talks with Telegram, the IWF has encouraged the company to become a member, which would give Telegram access to its vast database of tagged abuse images to stop offenders from sharing them further. We havent had any success," Sexton said. Telegram said Friday it reached out to IWF to reopen discussions. Ravdonikas, the Telegram executive, said images uploaded on Telegram are checked against the companys database of child sexual abuse content, which it is working to expand with third-party data. In late August, a section of Telegrams website on reporting illegal content said that group chats were private and Telegram wouldnt process any requests related to them." Ravdonikas said moderators cant proactively check private group chats, which can have up to 200,000 members, but users can report content that is shared in them. Personal data for sale Personal data like Balks flows onto the black market through leaks and hacks. The 21-year-old, who lives just outside Helsinki, had uploaded the selfie and ID card image to verify an account on the adult social-media site OnlyFans. She said she was just messing around with some friends. Her images appeared this February on Telegram when the channel, called Dock Services, posted them as part of a bundle of Finnish identities for sale, available for $8 apiece. Her portrait photo appeared to have been manipulated with an artificial-intelligence tool into a deepfake video that could fool banks online verification processes, allowing swindlers potentially to borrow funds or launder dirty money in her name, according to cybercrime researchers who followed her case. I am really scared right now," Balk messaged another user who alerted her to the leak. I didnt know that this could happen to me." Balks photos were then resold elsewhere, including by the owner of another Telegram group, called The Dragon Boi," who bragged they were earning so much money from identity fraud that they had bought a Mercedes-Benz and a Rolex. Balk filed a police report for identity theft in Finland. Officers later told her in a written decision, reviewed by the Journal, that they had suspended the investigation as they couldnt identify any perpetrators. OnlyFans told Balk in an email it was reviewing any suspected data leaks. A spokeswoman for London-based OnlyFans said it cant comment on individual accounts, but its own systems werent compromised. Without any action to remove her images, Balk still worries that criminals on Telegram are selling my data over and over again." Write to Angus Berwick at angus.berwick@wsj.com and Ben Foldy at ben.foldy@wsj.com New Delhi: The number of international passengers flying to and from India rose in the quarter ended June, driving the share of domestic airlines in overseas traffic higher. International air traffic to and from India rose 13% on year to around 17.7 million passengers in April-June, according to the latest data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. That was more than 14% higher than the pre-covid levels of 2019. Low-cost carrier IndiGo had the largest individual share of the international traffic among domestic airlines at 18.3%, up from 17% a year earlier, as it flew 3.2 million people during the quarter. At a group level, the Tata-backed umbrella of airlines recorded the highest share of international traffic. Air India flew around 2.2 million passengers, cornering a 12.3% share. Its subsidiary Air India Express recorded 1.5 million passengers with a 8.3% share, while Vistaraits joint venture with Singapore Airlineshad a 4.2% share with 740,877 flyers. Akasa Air, which commenced flight operations in August 2022 and launched international flights from 28 March 2024, flew 19,065 international passengers for the quarter. Currently, it flies to Doha, Jeddah, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait. Budget carrier SpiceJet, which has been facing a financial crunch, saw a slight dip of around 0.6% in its overseas traffic at 416,269 passengers. Overall, the Indian airlines further expanded their share of the total overseas traffic in the Indian market to 45.6% compared with 43.9% share a year earlier and 35% in the same quarter during 2019. The share of foreign airlines shrunk to 54.4% from 56% a year ago. IndiGo and Air India have been focusing on the international segment to boost growth. And thats behind Air Indias order for 470 aircraft and IndiGos order for 500 planes in 2023. I think, it is time that we bring some of that economical wealth that sits outside of the countrya lot of foreign carriers are flying customers from India to the world, and I think that economic opportunity has to be brought back to this country, and I really do believe that between Air India and ourselves we will do what it takes to bring all of that back, IndiGo promoter and managing director Rahul Bhatia had told Mint last month. Overall Traffic Grows The total traffic carried by Indian carriers rose 17.6% on year to over 8 million passengers for the quarter ended June, while it rose 10% on year to 9.6 million for foreign airlines. Among the foreign airlines, Emirates, Etihad, Singapore Airlines, Air Arabia, and Thai Airways were among the largest by Indian international traffic. Dubai-based Emirates had the largest share at 1.4 million passengers, up 3.6% on year. Etihad recorded a 3.9% share with 680,588 passengers, while Singapore Airlines recorded an increase of 2.6% to 591,297. Emirates share in overall traffic declined to 7.9% from 8.6% a year ago, while it fell to 3.3% from 3.7% for Etihad. Also read | International airlines vie for the Indian globetrotter Ratings agency Icra expects the international air passenger traffic for Indian carriers to expand by a healthier rate of 15- 20% in FY25. It maintains a stable outlook on the Indian aviation industry amid continued growth in domestic and international air passenger traffic, and a relatively stable cost environment. The increased demand for air travel is also visible at not just the metros but even across the tier-2 cities in India as well, a focus area for both domestic and foreign carriers. The demand for overseas travel has been particularly robust for cities such as Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Lucknow, Kozhikode, Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram. Elon Musks AI startup xAI has discussed a deal where it would get some Tesla revenue in exchange for providing the carmaker access to its technology and resources, the latest example of the growing interconnectedness of Musks companies. Under a proposed arrangement as described to investors, Tesla would license xAIs AI models to help power its driver-assistance software, called Full Self-Driving, and share some of that revenue with the startup, according to people familiar with the matter. xAI would assist in developing other features for Tesla, including a Siri-like voice assistant inside its electric cars and software to power its humanoid robot Optimus, the people said. The terms of any revenue-sharing agreement between xAI and Tesla would depend in part upon how extensively Tesla relied on xAIs technology as opposed to its own, the people said. xAI executives have discussed an even revenue split from Teslas FSD, one of the people said.Musk has bet the future of Tesla on robotics and artificial intelligence. FSD costs Tesla drivers $99 a month or a flat fee of $8,000 to use the service, which requires drivers to keep their hands on the wheel. The company is also developing a robotaxi, which is scheduled to be unveiled Oct. 10. It is unclear when it will be made available to the public. Musk has promised for years that FSD will advance enough to make all Teslas fully autonomous and suggested that success could turn Tesla into a multitrillion-dollar company. Musk also has said Tesla would be worth basically zero" without full autonomous driving. Formalizing a partnership with xAI in which Tesla would hand over some of its revenue and future AI development to a separate Musk-controlled company would add to the tech moguls practice of sharing assets freely across his business empire.Musk is already shifting talent and hardware between xAI and Tesla as he plays catch-up in the AI race, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest. There is particular scrutiny around how Musk shares resources of Tesla, which is publicly traded. Several Tesla shareholders have filed suits claiming that the shift in resources to xAI has hurt the carmakers investors. The cases are pending in the Delaware Court of Chancery. xAI has hired multiple employees from Tesla, including several who have worked directly on the Autopilot team focused on developing self-driving capabilities. Musk also diverted thousands of hard-to-get Nvidia GPUs from Tesla to xAI last year. After that move became public, Musk said that Tesla had no place to send the Nvidia chips to turn them on, so they would have just sat in a warehouse." In pitches to investors, xAI representatives have described the company as a future key technology provider for Teslas suite of software products, the people familiar with the possible revenue-sharing agreement said. In a July post, Musk asked X users if Tesla should invest $5 billion into xAI. Two days later, he posted: Looks like the public is in favor. Will discuss with Tesla board." Musk has historically awarded companies that help his other businesses with their equity. Musk previously said he would give investors in his $44 billion X acquisition a quarter ownership in xAI. Grok, xAIs chatbot, is integrated into X, and the two companies share some resources. Tesla is learning quite a bit from xAI," Musk said on a July conference call with investors after the company reported earnings. Its been actually helpful in advancing Full Self-Driving and in building up the new Tesla data center." He also said there were opportunities to integrate xAIs Grok chatbot into Teslas software. In May, xAI raised $6 billion at a $24 billion valuation from investors including Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Valor Equity Partners, and Saudi Prince al-Waleed bin Talal and Kingdom Holding. This month, the company launched a new data center in Tennessee, dubbed Colossus, which Musk said is the most powerful AI training system in the world." Musk has also said Tesla would spend $10 billion in capital expenditures this year to build out its AI capabilities. If somebody doesnt believe Tesla is going to solve autonomy, I think they should not be an investor in the company," Musk told investors on an April earnings call. It is unclear how the deal with xAI would affect Teslas spending. Tesla has heavily invested in building out its data-center capabilities, including by developing special chips for a supercomputer it calls Dojo, with data centers in Palo Alto, Calif., and Austin, Texas, and plans for one in Buffalo, N.Y. Employees at xAI and Tesla have advised each other on the design and construction of their data centers, people familiar with the matter said. Teslas sales and profits have taken a tumble amid increasing competition in the electric-vehicle market, with its stock down about 14% this year through Friday. Tom Dotan and Meghan Bobrowsky contributed to this article. Write to Berber Jin at berber.jin@wsj.com and Becky Peterson at becky.peterson@wsj.com (Bloomberg) -- Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced measures aimed at addressing the negative impact of overtourism as visitors continue to arrive in record numbers in the post-pandemic era. The government has been very concerned about an influx of cruise passengers during certain months of the year and will begin charging fees, Mitsotakis said Saturday during his annual speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair. It will also increase a tax related to the climate-crisis on accommodation. Greece received a record 36.1 million visitors in 2023, while arrivals rose 16% to 11.6 million in the first half of 2024, according to the latest data from the Bank of Greece. The tourism sector contributes about 20% to the economy, making it vital to the health of the nation. The country will also expand its so-called Golden Visa program to investors who are willing to put at least 250,000 ($277,000) into local startups. Foreigners were previously required to buy property to acquire the visa. All passengers arriving at Greek ports will pay a fee, and the charge will be greater in the popular tourism islands of Santorini and Mykonos. A lodging tax for the April-to-October period also will be increased, with revenue benefiting local communities. Mitsotakis reiterated concern that parts of Greece face the problem of overtourism. In an interview with Bloomberg in June, he announced plans to restrict cruise ships visiting the countrys most popular islands from 2025. Short-term rentals have been blamed for fueling the countrys housing crisis, which along with high consumer prices has been at the center of recent political debate. The government will ban any new short-term leasing for at least one year in three main parts of Athens, Mitsotakis said. Property owners who change leases from short-term to long-term wont have to pay rental tax for three years, as will owners who decide to rent their homes instead of keeping them off the market, he said. Holiday rentals increased an annual average of 28% from 2019 to 2023, while available short-term rentals doubled in the same period. Meanwhile, hotel accommodation rose just 3.5% in that period, according to data published in a Grant Thornton report for the countrys Chamber of Hotels released this week. The government will also begin a new 2 billion program that will be used to reduce interest-rate costs for mortgage loans. More Measures Mitsotakis on Saturday also revealed a number of measures aimed at easing the cost of living, including a reduction in social insurance contributions by 1 percentage point in 2025 instead of a previous plan for a 0.5 point cut. The premier also announced, among others: I dont have a sack of reckless spending today, he said. Our spending for 2025 is well balanced. Greece has already pledged to meet a budget primary surplus an index that shows revenue minus spending excluding interest payments of 2.1% of GDP for both 2024 and 2025, up from 1.9% in 2023. Fiscal discipline is one of the most important criteria for financial markets, and the countrys recent prudent budget path was one of the drivers for ratings companies to return Greece to the investment grade zone in 2023 after 13 years at junk status. Healthy and rising primary surpluses, in tandem with sound nominal growth, will facilitate further significant reduction in the public debt-to-GDP, which is expected to fall to below 140% by 2027, from 161.9% in 2023, DBRS Morningstar said Friday. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com U.S. antitrust enforcers are intervening early to examine whether a handful of big tech companies such as Nvidia are using their leverage to establish dominance over the burgeoning artificial-intelligence market. The Justice Departments antitrust division has already contacted Nvidia, whose AI chip market share is estimated at over 80%, to ask questions about the terms of its contracts and partnerships, according to people familiar with the matter. The investigation is at an early phase, and government attorneys havent issued a subpoena to Nvidia for internal documents, the people said. The company said last week that it hadnt received a subpoena, after a media report said that it had. The department could issue a subpoena in the coming months if it determines a fuller-fledged investigation is needed, the people said. The Federal Trade Commission, which shares antitrust authority with the Justice Department, this year launched its own effort to examine investments that Microsoft, Amazon.com and Googles owner, Alphabet, have made in the most compelling AI startups. The FTCs review, which is ongoing, is looking into whether the tech giants received any special advantages over competitors by putting billions of dollars into the companies that are creating the most popular generative-AI products. The eagerness of the Justice Department and FTC to police the AI space in its nascent phase stands in contrast to the approach the agencies took with Google, Facebook and other companies before they became the internet titans of today. The feds previously were shy about intervening in fast-developing tech markets whose products were popular with consumers. Liberal and conservative critics have argued that the hands-off approach of the past two decadesacross administrationsallowed a handful of tech giants to amass too much power. The backlash helped spur a shift toward the aggressive antitrust enforcement the Biden administration is embracing. The Justice Department would say, Weve watched enough Big Tech to know that we want to kick the tires," said Randal Picker, a law professor at the University of Chicago. You are allowed to get market power, youre allowed to have it. The question is always, how do you exercise it?" A handful of the biggest technology companies are furiously jockeying for market position in AI, which requires huge capital investments that smaller competitors cant provide. There could be a tipping point, according to antitrust enforcers, when incumbents gain control over critical aspects of AIsimilar to how internet search and social media developed. FTC Chair Lina Khan has worried that dominant tech companies could obtain new monopolies in the growing field of generative AI, systems that have humanlike abilities to converse, create media, write computer code and more. There are very reasonable concerns now that the critical inputs into this technology may already be controlled by a handful of companies," Khan told the venture-capital firm and startup adviser Y Combinator last year. We may already be seeing bottlenecks that can impede innovation and impede competition." Jonathan Kanter, the Justice Departments antitrust chief, warned in May that competitive dynamics in the AI market are similar to those in other tech industries in which a single company emerged as dominant. AI relies on massive amounts of data and computing power, which can give already-dominant firms a substantial advantage," Kanter said in a speech at Stanford University. Powerful network effects may enable dominant firms to control these new markets." Nvidias chips are essential to training the AI models developed by OpenAI and others. The departments investigation comes as the company faces growing antitrust scrutiny across the globe, from the European Union and the U.K. to China and South Korea. Its French offices were raided last year by competition authorities. Nvidia said in an August securities filing that it has received requests from different enforcers for information about its sales, how it allocates its limited chip supplies and partnerships with AI companies. Nvidias high market share isnt itself illegal. The companys growth exploded after customers found that its specialized chips, once used mostly for computer gaming graphics and then by computers that run cryptocurrency transactions, were particularly well-suited for the computational demands of AI. To pursue an antitrust claim, the government would have to find instances in which Nvidia took steps, such as through restrictive contract terms, that harmed competition and artificially preserved or expanded its market power. Some of Nvidias rivals complain that it has used its outsize market share in AI computing to its advantage. Rodrigo Liang, the chief executive of the AI-chip startup SambaNova Systems, said that competition was growing and that there was strong demand for alternatives to Nvidia. But he added that there was a fear among some customers that Nvidia could withhold selling its AI chips, known as GPUs, to customers who explore other alternatives such as his. Its more of a commercial concern tied to, if the world is supply-constrained on GPUs, do I want to take the risk of not having supply?" he said. An Nvidia spokeswoman said the company doesnt require exclusivity and supports all of its customers and partners. Our customers know that they are free to choose any combination of suppliers they deem best, and well work with them no matter what they decide," she said. Because Nvidias chips are so heavily used in AI development, decisions about who gets them can have an impact on which companies succeed. Nvidias most advanced AI chips have long been supply-constrained, with customers sometimes waiting months for orders to be fulfilled. The company has said demand will exceed supply for its next-generation chips, code-named Blackwell and set to start shipping in the coming months. In a statement, Nvidia said its market position is due to the high AI computing performance of its products and said it was happy to answer questions from the government about how it conducts its business. Nvidia wins on merit, as reflected in our benchmark results and value to customers, and customers can choose whatever solution is best for them," the company said. Aside from scrutinizing companies business practices, antitrust enforcers can challenge mergers that remove too much competition from a market. The government was slow over the years to question deals that created todays technology giants. The FTC, for instance, allowed Facebook to acquire Instagram in 2012. The Justice Department is investigating Nvidias agreement in April to buy Run:ai, a startup that offers software that organizes and streamlines the use of clusters of AI chips to make them more efficient. The department began examining Nvidias deal for Run:ai after it reached a power-sharing agreement with the FTC over how the agencies should divide oversight of AI companies, people familiar with the matter said. Politico earlier reported the investigation of the Run:ai deal. The agencies efforts to investigate AI companies could stretch for months or years. Merger investigations can take as long as a year, and investigations of a companys broader conduct often stretch beyond that. Write to Dave Michaels at dave.michaels@wsj.com and Asa Fitch at asa.fitch@wsj.com The revised pension scheme for government employees announced by the Centre last month, and its likely adoption by states, could provide some relief to state governments in the mounting scale of their pension liabilities. Between 2016-17 and 2023-24, states combined pension expenditure increased at a steep 12.7% per year, against 9% for the Centre. The old pension scheme (OPS), in force till 2004, entitled retired government employees to a pension equal to half their last drawn payor, a defined benefit. It was replaced by a new scheme, now called the National Pension System (NPS), in 2004. The NPS was a defined contribution system, and the pension amount depended greatly on what an employee contributed towards it during their working life. Thus, the NPS shifted the onus from the government to employees. However, in recent years, several states, including Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Punjab, went back to the OPS, adding to their pension liabilities. Other states were also under political pressure to do so. As it is, states are running a high pension bill. In 2023-24, the combined pension expenditure of 28 states and three Union territories (UTs) was 12% of their total revenue expenditure, and that of the Centre was 7.4%. Further, for 25 states/UTs, this figure crossed 10%. Also Read: Unified Pension Scheme: a suitable compromise for pensioners? The upcoming variant, the unified pension scheme (UPS), can halt states from reverting to OPS and instead shift to UPS. The UPS strikes a middle ground by reverting to a defined benefit system, but with some contribution from employees. Defence unrest For 2024-25, the Centres projected spending on pensions is 2.67 trillion. The single biggest group in this is defence personnel, with about 1.41 trillion earmarked for them. In the last nine years, pension payments to defence personnel have amounted to 23-27% of total defence expenditure. Defence pensions are also among the categories of pensions under dispute. Retired defence personnel have agitated for years for a one rank, one pension (OROP) scheme. This would allow retired personnel to draw the same pension for a given rank or length of service, irrespective of the date of retirement. This would enable older pensioners to benefit from increases in pay of existing service members of similar ranks. While the current government introduced a version of the OROP in 2016 (causing defence pension expenses to rise sharply), it has continued to face criticism from retired personnel. Pension track The Centres projected 2024-25 spending of 2.67 trillion on pensions doesnt depict the full picture. While it covers defence pensions, it excludes those of the Indian Railways and public sector enterprises or banks. For 2024-25, the Indian Railways has budgeted 67,000 crore towards pensions, amounting to 24% of its total revenues. The Centre does not directly pay railways pensions. However, since the Railways doesnt generate enough revenues to service its pension liabilities, the Centre is on the hook for such commitments indirectly. In 2022-23, the Railways paid pension to around 1.6 million retired employees, up from 1.3 million in 2011. Its current total staff is 1.2 million. It was in the 1980s that its working employee base increased to about 1.6 million, and it is these employees who are beginning to retire now. This will further increase the Railways pension bill in the coming years. Social insecurity Governments, both at the Centre and states, are spending a substantial amount on pensions. Yet, in India, any form of old-age social security is rare outside of public sector employment, and is largely limited to salaried employees of large companies. But even within this category of salaried employees, less than 50% are covered with any form of social security, including pensions or other retirement benefits. The government does have old-age social security schemes for non-government employees, but their outlays are minuscule compared with payouts for government employees. For instance, the total outlay under the Indira Gandhi pension schemes for the aged, widows, disabled and other categories of recipients was around 9,600 crore in 2024-25. Further, these schemes are meant largely for below poverty line households. Indias pensions envelope ends up being limited and competes with several other imperatives. www.howindialives.com is a database and search engine for public data. Also Read: Mint Quick Edit | So, will UPS sign up private sector folks too? SHANGHAI, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which closed on Friday in Beijing, marks a significant upgrade in relations and a strong push to practical cooperation in various fields. During the summit, China forged or elevated strategic partnership with 30 countries. China has so far established strategic partnerships with all African countries that have diplomatic ties with China. Meanwhile, the overall characterization of China-Africa relations has been elevated to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era. China and Africa formulated a blueprint for future cooperation. In order for China and Africa to advance modernization over the next three years, China announced 10 partnership actions in areas such as mutual learning among civilizations, trade prosperity, industrial chain cooperation, and connectivity. China has pledged 360 billion yuan (about 51 billion U.S. dollars) of financial support to implement these actions. The new positioning of the China-Africa relationship responds to the evolving global landscape, the realistic need for strengthening China-Africa cooperation, and the common aspirations of their respective leaders and people. Thanks to decades of efforts from both sides, the China-Africa relationship is now at its best in history. Fruitful results since the launch of the FOCAC in 2000 highlight the resilience and dynamics of China-Africa cooperation. From 2000 to 2023, the bilateral trade volume increased from 10.5 billion U.S. dollars to 282.1 billion dollars. China has been the largest trading partner of Africa for the past 15 consecutive years. Chinese enterprises have built railways, highways, bridges, ports, schools and hospitals in Africa. China's role in promoting Africa's development has been consistent, comprehensive and practical, said Wang Heng, deputy director of the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University. With a combined population accounting for one-third of the world's total, the joint pursuit of modernization for China and African countries is of great significance for advancing the modernization of the Global South and the world at large, said Wang, adding that the upgrading of the China-Africa relationship provides a solid political basis and institutional guarantee for the modernization drive. Having eradicated absolute poverty and achieved a moderately prosperous society in all respects, the Chinese people are pursuing national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization. Africa is marching with solid strides toward the modernization goals set forth in the African Union's Agenda 2063. The joint modernization endeavors of China and African countries will also generate enormous opportunities for cooperation with each other, the Global South and the whole world, observers say. Sometimes efficiency is obvious. On a production line for, say, chocolatey treats, it is a series of whirring, specialised machines busy enrobing a biscuit in caramel, covering it in chocolate, and drying, packing and stacking the product. For an office worker communicating with colleagues it probably involves email. In both cases, the process has been made more efficient by technology. Across almost all industries the story, since the industrial revolution, has been one of tech boosting efficiency. A new paper by Cliff Asness, an illustrious quantitative investor, suggests the stockmarket is an exceptiona case that holds appeal today, given the market madness of August and the recent rollercoaster ride in the stock of Nvidia, a tech giant. The reason for the stockmarkets exceptional status is, in part, because market efficiency differs from production-line efficiency. An efficient market is one where prices reflect all information", according to Eugene Fama, a Nobel-prizewinning economist (and Mr Asnesss PhD adviser). In the 1990s electronic trading was the norm, but it was a far cry from the nanosecond version that today dominates. There is also now more information about any stock, which is disseminated more quickly. Speed, competition and greater information have clearly enhanced efficiency in one way: they have brought down the cost of trading. The trouble is that speed is not precision. Its hard to imagine new information doesnt impact stock prices faster than in the past, and that is a kind of efficiency," writes Mr Asness. But speed doesnt imply the level of prices before or after the new information was particularly accurate." Indeed, he points to evidence that accuracy has fallen. One source of evidence is so-called value spreads, which compare what investors pay for the priciest stocks to what they pay for the cheapest. The simplest version just looks at the price of a firm compared with its book value (what it would be worth if it were sold for parts). Using this measure, value spreads were stable between the 1950s and the 1990s, before spiking ahead of the dotcom crash. They have since climbed steadily over the past 20 or so years to near all-time highs. The flaw with this measure is that it can be skewed by a changing market make-up (tech firms tend to have higher price-to-book ratios than banks, for instance). Another, more sophisticated measure devised by Mr Asness includes all kinds of definitions of value by comparing prices with earnings, forecast future earnings, cashflows and so on, and only compares firms within an industry. This shows a similar trend. However things are cut, it is much harder to find a reason why investors are willing to pay todays prices. Mr Asness suggests three explanations for the puzzle. One is that two decades of low interest rates messed with measures of value in a way that has been hard to capture. This argument is easier to dismiss now, with rates back at positive real levels, than it was in the 2010s. A second is that index funds, which buy and hold the whole market, have crowded out smart investment. Imagine the market before such funds was made up of sharks" (informed investors) and minnows" (dumb money). If sharks had given up and opted for index funds, indexing might have made it harder for pros to push prices in wise directions. The third argument is the most compelling: social media produces mobs. Or, as Mr Asness puts it, instantaneous, gamified, cheap, 24-hour tradingon your smartphone after getting all your biases reinforced by exhortations on social media from randos and grifters with vaguely not-safe-for-work (NSFW) pseudonymsWhat could possibly go wrong?" This is an idea that resonates with others. For whatever reasons, markets now exhibit far more casino-like behaviour than they did when I was young. The casino now resides in many homes and daily tempts the occupants," Warren Buffett has mused. As Mr Asness readily admits, he is talking his own book: value spreads inform his investments. Given these have become more inexplicable over time, his returns have been uneven in recent years. A world in which the investing masses are making big errors should in theory be a good one for sharks. However, there is one big challenge: whether they can they hold their nerve in the face of obvious chaos. Nvidia, which is one of most valuable and most closely watched firms in the world, shed 10% of its value$280bnon September 3rd. The cause? A softish manufacturing data release. 2024, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com Bajaj Housing Finance Ltd (BHFL), the second largest housing finance company in India in terms of assets under management and a wholly owned subsidiary of Bajaj Finance, is set to make a significant stride by launching its initial public offering (IPO) on Monday. The company, known for its diverse range of mortgage products and focus on salaried customers, aims to carve out a distinctive niche in the prime housing segment, which is traditionally dominated by banks. The price band has been set in the range of 66-70 apiece, and the company is looking to raise a total of 6,560 crore from its primary stake sale, which includes a fresh share sale of 3,560 crore. To understand BHFL's market positioning and assess its prospects, we present a SWOT analysis. Standing out in the mortgage market Bajaj Housing Finance distinguishes itself from competitors with a diversified mortgage lending product suite. Unlike many peers who predominantly focus on home loans, BHFL offers a broader range of products, including home loan (57.8% share in FY24), loan against property (10.5%), lease rental discounting (19.3%), developer finance (10.5%), and others (1.9%). This diversified portfolio enables the company to cater to a wider array of customer needs and mitigates risk by spreading exposure across different product segments. In comparison, competitors like LIC Housing Finance, PNB Housing Finance, Can Fin Homes, Aadhar Housing Finance, Aavas Financiers, Home First Finance, and Aptus Value Housing Finance have a higher concentration in home loans, ranging from 69% to 86%. In terms of asset quality, BHFL has excelled with a low gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio of 0.28% as of June 2024, demonstrating effective risk management strategies. This ratio is significantly lower than those of its peers, such as LIC Housing Finance (3.29%) and other peer companies with GNPAs ranging from 0.91% to 1.70%. Moreover, it has a strong focus on salaried individuals, known for their financial stability and lower risk profile, with 86.7% of its home loan portfolio consisting of loans to salaried individuals as of June 30, 2024. Fastestturnaround time due to enhanced digital adoption in loan processing, as well as a high level of digitization incorporated to enhance simplicity and efficiency in customer servicing are the key features of BHFL to attract low-risk salaried customers for their home loan products," said Jignesh Shial, director of research and head of BFSI sector at InCred Capital. Also read Baazar Style IPO: Is it a fashionable investment opportunity? This focus aligns with the companys strategy of targeting specific customer segments and offering tailored products to meet their needs. "The company plans to maintain its market share across all customer segments, including salaried customers, by adopting a tailored approach based on the unique risks and returns associated with each segment. This strategy serves as a bonding tool, enabling the company to build strong relationships with its customers," Atul Jain, managing director, Bajaj Housing Finance, told Mint at the IPO launch. But profitability lags behind competitors Despite its strengths, Bajaj Housing Finance faces challenges in maintaining profitability compared to its peers. The company's return on average equity stood at 14.3%, which is notably lower than that of several competitors, including LIC Housing Finance (16.8%), Can Fin Homes (18.4%), Home First Finance (16.3%) and Aadhar Housing Finance (15.9%). Though the net interest margin profile is relatively vulnerable, there is enough headroom to improve operating efficiency which may drive return on equity outperformance," said Shial. Additionally, its return on average assets was at 2.3%, indicating that the company has struggled to generate profits from its assets as efficiently as its competitors including Aptus Value Housing Finance (7.3%), Aadhar Housing Finance (4.7%), Home First Finance Company (4.1%) and Aavas Financier (3.5%) as on June 30, 2024 on annualized basis. Also read: Ola Electrics IPO: charging ahead or running on empty? A high geographical concentration is another concern. The companys assets under management (AUM) are concentrated in a few key states, with Maharashtra accounting for 32.0%, Karnataka 22.7%, and Telangana 14.8% of its AUM as of June 30, 2024. While this concentration gives the company a strong market presence in these regions, it also exposes it to risks if the real estate market or economic conditions in these states deteriorate. According to Arun Kejriwal, founder of Kejriwal Research and Investment Services, India's housing finance sector is characterized by a specialized approach, where experts focus on specific market segments such as upper-end, premium, affordable, mid-range, and developer financing. This targeted strategy is a defining feature of the industry, with companies concentrating their efforts in particular regions and adopting a cluster approach to optimize efficiency. By doing so, they can tap into the unique dynamics of each market segment, rather than being bound by geographical location. External dependencies The companys reliance on external distribution networks for customer referralswhile the share of loans sourced through intermediaries has been declining from 46.1% in March 2022 to 43.1% in June 2024it exposes the risks associated with losing these channels as they also cater to competitors. Moreover, even as Bajaj Housing Finance has a strong presence in the prime housing finance segment, the segment remains highly competitive with banks dominating in terms of market share in total credit outstanding. Growth prospects The company focuses on prime housing, the segment that witnessed the fastest growth in housing finance in the last five years is expected to to grow at an annualized rate of 13-15% in the next three years, driven by rising disposable incomes, increasing urbanization, and government initiatives to promote affordable housing. BHFL looks well positioned to capitalize on the expanding housing finance landscape. Also read: FirstCry IPO: Cracking the baby business code Like a woodcut artist thinking in terms of negative light, or a jazz musician measuring silence not beats, the pleasures of a Colm Toibin novel often lie in the unsaid. Repressed feelings, buried recriminations, awkward silences being papered over with small talk. The Irish novelist, who has demonstrated his mastery over these elements, employs it again in Long Island, the sequel to the most critically and commercially successful book of his career, Brooklyn (2009). Unlike the decidedly slow-burning Brooklyn, however, Long Island drops its dramatic bombshell loudly and flamboyantly in the opening pages. The protagonist of Brooklyn, 20-something Eilis Lacey, is in her 40s at the beginning of Long Island, married to Italian-American plumber Tony Fiorello and mother to Rosella and Larry. She is paid a home visit by a man who says his wife is pregnant with Tonys child. His plumbing is so good that she is to have a baby in August, the man sneers. A nasty, uncouth joke by Toibins standards but then this is a nasty and uncouth situation. Tonys parents, who live next door, then try to convince Eilis that the child will be part of her wifely responsibilities. Everything that unfolds in the rest of Long Island flows downwards from this ground zero event. Explosive opening out of the way, Toibin settles down into a familiar stately pace. Mirroring Brooklyn, Eilis leaves for her hometown Enniscorthy in Irelands county Wexford. Toibin grew up there himself and it has been the setting for The Heather Blazing (1992), The Blackwater Lightship (1999) and Nora Webster (2014). Eilis is accompanied by her teenaged children. Theres so much to admire hereToibins razor-sharp attention to character arcs, for one. Eilis best friend Nancy, now a widow with grown-up children, has quietly become engaged to Jim Farrell, the man Eilis had an extramarital affair with in Brooklyn. And its clear that Jim (played with quiet dignity by Domnhall Gleeson in the 2015 movie), whatever he expresses in front of her, is still not over Eilis. Toibin gives all three central characters arcs that truly embrace everything theyve been throughgrief, abandonment, displacement. He is equally confident being inside all of their heads. At different points in the novel, all three are given the narratorial wheel, and every one of them commands the readers attention effortlessly. That Toibin is able to do so is in large part because of his beautiful, immaculately constructed paragraphs. He has never been a flashy writer yet together, his sentences have an unshakeable sense of collective purpose. Other familiar Toibin strengths reassert themselves, like the writers perennial meditations and variations on the mother-child relationship, especially when its strained, like it is in The Blackwater Lightship. Fittingly, the actress who played Eilis in Brooklyn, Saoirse Ronan, is best known for her role in Greta Gerwigs Lady Bird, the story of a difficult but ultimately redemptive mother-daughter relationship. Here, too, Eilis best friend Nancy is anxious about her upcoming nuptials to Jimnot because she is unsure of the man but because her own daughter is also about to be married. Nancy fears her daughter will accuse her of upstaging her big moment. Meanwhile, Eilis is amused and a little frightened by her aggressively American son Larry discovering the hospitality of Irish taverns. Toibin approaches these scenes with subtlety and gentle humour, allows his characters to breathe without having to constantly suffuse each utterance with supreme purpose. Even when mothers are upset at their errant children, they do not view them as extensions of their own selves, doomed to repeat the sins of the mother. Toibin has absolute confidence in the retentive powers of his story; he seldom allows the real world to encroach upon his tableaux. The year in which these events take place is not specified, though a few throwaway references to Watergate anchor us in the mid-1970s, but neither of Eilis children seem affected by the dominant register of a busy decade. This is a story concerned with emotive logic and all that it entails. More than realism, Long Island is about the interwoven strands of desire, compulsion and motivation that make up reality for most people. Theres a scene in the novels Irish midsection where Eilis notes that one day, shed want to tell her kids the story of how she came to America (the story of Brooklyn). She therefore resents her husbands brothers when they invented another version () as a way of entertaining the table. As that phrase indicates, Toibins novels usually have a point to make about the writerly cynicism of piling on plot twist upon plot twist. He comes perilously close to doing it himself with Long Island, because an awful lot happens in the last 60-70 pages of the book. But perhaps because this busy third act is preceded by pages of rare serenity, Long Island never feels rushed or haphazard. It is a suitably brilliant sequel to Brooklyn but more importantly, it is a great novel on its own. Right from the get-go in 2016, Google's approach to the camera experience on Pixel smartphones piggybacks on its machine learning smarts and computational photography, instead of packing in top-of-the-line camera unit hardware. But since last year, theres also generative AI that underlines, and powers, a bunch of new features that range from being mind-bending innovation to address real-world scenarios to fun gimmicks that can pass off as occasional party tricks. Heres a look at what the new Google Pixel lineup the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro XL offer in terms of its photography capabilities. Optical setup The Pixel 9 series packs in identical primary and telephoto to the last couple of generations, which isnt a bad thing, really. The 50MP main camera sensor isnt a top-tier choice in 2024, but Google is known to extract significant value from the components it packs. That said, Google claims that the company has refreshed its HDR (high-dynamic range) pipeline from start to finish for a more accurate tone mapping and optimized exposure. In some shots, the difference in details is noticeable especially when the telephoto lens is employed. The Pixel 9 series offers sharp and crisp shots with its signature contrast-heavy look, even if they arent a marked improvement over what Pixel 8 could manage. The ultrawide camera though is new with a wider aperture, and the beautiful shots captured in macro mode make it quite evident. And on the front, theres huge leap to a 42MP camera, up from 10.5 megapixels last year, along with a wider 103-degree angle of view. Wide Camera: 50 MP Octa PD | /1.68 aperture | 82 field of view | 1/1.31" image sensor size Ultrawide Camera: 48 MP Quad PD | /1.7 aperture | 123 field of view | 1/2.55" image sensor size [Only on Pro variants] Telephoto Camera: 48 MP Quad PD | /2.8 aperture | 22 field of view | 5x optical zoom | Super Res Zoom up to 30x | 1/2.55" image sensor size At a time when it is fashionable in some circles to assert that Indias real independence" came in 2014, and everything that took place before that was slavery", Kallol Bhattacherjee has done a great service. His book, Nehrus First Recruits: The Diplomats Who Built Independent Indias Foreign Policy, is a reminder that Indias foreign policy did not take shape in the hands of the current external affairs ministry, but has been built on a long legacy of a storied foreign service founded in 1948 by Indias first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. As the title suggests, Bhattacherjees book is about Indias very first diplomats, the men and women recruited to the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in the first dozen years after independence who helped shaped an independent foreign policy for a country that had been a British colony for nearly two centuries. Through their stories, the authora journalist who has been reporting on Indias foreign policy for more than two decadeshas woven a narrative of Indias early and expansive engagement with the world even as its leaders were preoccupied with steering a big shiplarge, poor, diverse and democraticthrough the choppy waters of communalism, sectarianism and wars with various neighbours. Bhattacherjee makes the many characters in the book, all of whom had important roles in the early days of the shaping of Indian diplomacy, leap out of the pages with their colourful back stories: a journalist working as foreign correspondent in Indonesia; Mohammed Ali Jinnahs aide who watched horrified as the idea of Pakistan took shape in his bosss mind and in his speeches and decided to quit; the ruler of a princely state who decided to give his own statement on the Vietnam war as the consul in south Vietnam; an executive of the Imperial Tobacco Company, whose family owned several sugar mills, and who died by suicide while posted in Vienna. Then there was the poet, none other than Harivansh Rai Bachchan, hired as a translator by Nehru, who coined the Hindi name for the external affairs ministryVidesh Mantralaya. Bachchan and Nehru were friends from their days in Allahabad, but they differed over Nehrus common form of language"a middle ground between Hindi and Urdu. Language was often a sticking point in the early days of nation-building, and while rashtra bhasha (national language) debates may not seem pertinent to diplomacy, Bhattacherjee brings these incidents in to illustrate the many challenges that came in the way of building a diplomatic corps that was to represent India to the world. He recounts a time when a translation of a speech in English by then President S. Radhakrishnan to a joint session of Parliament had to be read out in Hindi by Vice-President Zakir Hussain immediately after. The complexity" of the literary Hindi in Bachchans translation had Nehru fuming" as it made the text obscure". With hours to go before the speech was to be delivered, Nehru summoned Bachchan and pointed out that Hussain wont even be able to pronounce some of the words". When Bachchan responded with the quip that the speech should have been translated into Urdu instead, Nehru exploded". There is enough trouble in this country. Even if we get it translated into Urdu, wed have to call it Hindiand whats the difference between the two anyway?" Nehru said. View Full Image Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev with Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajendra Prasad in Delhi in 1960. (Getty Images ) Politics both at home and away play out in this book as a young country grappled with issues of varying importance, and Bhattacherjees telling brings perspective to the many compunctions and compromises of keeping the home base happy while building relationships abroad. Despite the many internal challenges, Indias foreign service was in place and all the posts filled by 1958. The decision to form the IFS to look after Indias external interests at home and abroad was made in October 1946, a month after an interim government headed by Nehru was formed in Delhi as Britain prepared for Indias independence. Work on foreign policy began almost immediately. Chandra Shekar Jha, a young Indian Civil Service officer, was sent by the interim government in 1946 as part of a fact-finding mission to look into and report on the tensions between Indian communities and Africans in East Africa as well as suggest solutions. This missions report was one of the first submitted to Nehru, and was instrumental in the government of independent India making a decision to announce scholarships for African students, a policy that exists to this day. This, in turn, laid the foundation for academic science and technology co-operation with African countries that gained independence soon after India. Jha was joint secretary in the ministry of external affairs from 1954-57, during which he witnessed the creative phase" of Nehrus diplomacy. At the pathbreaking Bandung Conference in Indonesia in 1955 (the Asia-Africa conference when 29 governments of Asian and African nations gathered to discuss economic development and decolonisation), Jha sat behind Nehru and watched him on the last day as he took notes. At the end of the proceedings, Nehru showed him what he was jotting downthe time that each of the 19 speakers had taken, totalling 102 minutes. Nehrus speech, at 17 minutes and in which he laid out the principles of non-alignment, was the longest. He gifted the chit of paper to Jha as a souvenir of the conference. 1955 was the year of Indian diplomacy; its when New Delhi emerged as one of the most visited capitals of the post-colonial world," writes Bhattacherjee. Apart from the Bandung Conference, Nehru rekindled ties with the then Soviet Union and visited the country. Later in the year, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and Premier Nicolai Bulganin arrived in Delhi. The Soviets had given a grand welcome to Nehru, and the understanding was that the Indian welcome would have to match that of Moscow," he writes. The job fell on Mirza Rashid Ali Baig, the ministrys protocol officer, who got his wife to help him plan the extravaganza. The lengths to which Baig went to put up the grand welcome tells us that the G20 hoopla that we all recently witnessed in Delhi also follows in a long tradition of extravagance that began seven decades ago. Many of the first recruits were men and women with a variety of experiences both within and outside government. Cyril John Stracey was one of theman Anglo-Indian officer who joined the British Indian Army in 1938, he switched sides to join Subhas Chandra Boses Indian National Army (INA) in 1942 and fought for independence as a senior INA officer till 1944. Stracey then designed and supervised the construction of a memorial to Subhas Chandra Bose in 1945 in Singapore to deliver a message to victorious British forces who were expected to land on the tiny island after the Japanese surrender. (The British would later blow up the monument.) Stracey then joined the IFS in 1948 and went on to serve in the Indian missions in Bonn, Paris and Antananarivo, eventually retiring as ambassador to Finland. Other former INA soldiers who were recruited into the first batch of the Indian foreign service include Abid Hasan Safrani, K.M. Kannampilly and N. Raghavan. Indias first woman career diplomat was C.B. Muthamma, who joined the service in 1949. Bhattacharjee builds a hold-all narrative of Indian diplomacy, world history and geopolitics in this book composed of many nuggets about the early days of the Indian foreign service. The writers research, and indeed the brilliant idea of writing on this particular subject, deserved a far better editor who could have brought some method to the chaos of information that he serves up in no particular order. Nirupama Subramanian is an independent journalist. In June 1924, as Franz Kafkatubercular, obscure, and a month short of his 41st birthdaylay dying in a sanatorium in Austria, he had no idea of the eventful afterlife hed go on to have. A century later, Kafka still haunts our imagination, immortalised in the word Kafkaesque", liberally invoked across cultures and languages to describe the systemic absurdities, ironies, tragedies and cruelties that plague the human condition. Kafkas writing continues to inspire a burgeoning ecosystem of films, books and artwork, bolstering a bustling tourism industry in Prague, the city of his birth. Kafkas literary genius is, no doubt, at the centre of his enduring global appeal. But there is also a certain je ne sais quoi about his mystique, an ineffable quality that makes Kafka Kafka", as scholar Karolina Watroba writes in her recent book, Metamorphoses: In Search of Franz Kafka. Starting from Oxford, where the bulk of Kafkas papers are kept at the Bodleian Library and where Watroba is a fellow of All Souls College, travelling to Germany, the Czech Republic and, curiously, Korea, she undertakes a journey to trace the legacy of the writer and decode his (often peculiar) impact on the world, 100 years after his untimely passing. Watroba begins her quest by grappling with a knotty question that scholars of Kafka continue to reckon with: Who does Kafka belong to? Born in 1883 in Prague, which was then a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, Kafka grew up speaking Czech, German and Yiddish. He chose to write in German as the language carried more cultural cachet than Czechand gave Kafka access to a much bigger and more prestigious literary market," Watroba writes. Later in life, Kafka went on to learn Yiddish and expressed a desire to move to Palestine, though he was neither a militant Zionist nor interested in anchoring his identity in his Jewishness alone. It was his friend and literary executor, Max Brod, who made much more of Kafkas religious origins than the writer did during his lifetime. By the time Kafka died, the Austro-Hungarian empire had fallen, and four different culturesGerman, Austrian, Czech and Jewishwere soon at loggerheads over their claims on him. Such contentious questions of belonging and appropriation are not unfamiliar to readers in the subcontinent, where Partition forced writers such as Saadat Hasan Manto and Qurratulain Hyder to choose sides and flatten their identities. Even though cultural citizenship still remains a heated topic, thanks to translations and the world wide web, it is impossible for one party to exert an exclusive claim on any author. As Watroba shows, Germany and the Czech Republic may be the chief opponents in the battle for Kafkas legacy, followed by Israel, his influence runs across much less expected terrains, like India, Japan, China and Korea. Even as Czech political leaders like Antonin Novotny and Vaclav Havel tried to co-opt Kafka into their nationalist agenda, French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre demanded, in 1962, that Kafka be demilitarised". Like all great writers, Kafka belonged to no one and everyone. View Full Image 'Metamorphoses: In Search of Franz Kafka', by Karolina Watroba. Such was the influence of Kafkas writing that he was being translated into Japanese, Korean and Chinese a decade after his death in these countriesin 1933, 1955 and 1966, respectively. Between 1960 and 2003, his unfinished novel The Castle was rendered into Korean more than 37 times. In 2010, Seagull Books published an English translation of writer Matei Visniecs novel, Mr K Released, in India (the only publisher to have done so), a sequel to The Trial by Kafka, featuring its central character Josef K, who, for reasons unfathomable to him, is arrested one fine morning for unspecified crimes. Those with a passing awareness of the recent history of India and other Asian nations like Japan, China and Korea, with the shadow of authoritarian regimes looming over them, will understand the attraction of Kafka in such societies. Even in the Middle East, where Kafka is being reimagined as an icon of Jewishness, his work is part of the Arab political lexicon," historian Jens Hanssen writes, precisely because many Arabs feel they have experienced his fiction as reality." The key to Kafkas persistence in the collective subconscious of the 21st century is explained in part by Hanssens statement. A hundred years after his death, Kafkas fiction remains a conduit not only for the dysfunctional sociopolitical realities of our lives, but also for the inner truth that so many of us are unaware of, or afraid to access. As the 20-year-old Kafka once said to a friend, Some books seem like a key to unfamiliar rooms in ones own castle." Literature, Kafka believed, was the panacea for lifes pains. His writing is informed by a similar cathartic power. Indeed, Kafkas belief finds a wide resonance among his readers, especially if they encounter him for the first time through his best-known masterpiece, The Metamorphosis. Although told from the point of view of a man, a working professional at that, the appeal of the story isnt in the specificities of the tragedy that befalls Gregor Samsa. Rather, it transcends his personal circumstances to deal with universal feelings of exclusion and alienation. Small wonder, Samsas confinement became a symbolic representation of our lives during the covid-19 lockdown, his rejection by his family compared to the fate of immigrants in Britain under Brexit. Samsas reach extends to other cultures as well, far from Europe. The protagonist of Korean writer Han Kangs International Booker Prize-winning novel, The Vegetarian (2015), aspires to a state of transformation that alludes to his fate. While Samsa woke up one fine morning as a monstrous bug against his wishes, Yeong-hye in Kangs novel deliberately gives up meat with the hope of turning into a tree. In fact, Kang later admitted her debt to Kafka in an interview. Like Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, who named one of his novels after the writer (Kafka on the Shore, translated in 2005), Kafkas sceptre casts a long shadow on Asian writers, including in India, where his novels have been translated into Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Tamil and Malayalam, even adapted into Marathi for the stage. Personally, as a teenager dealing with complicated family situations, I found solace in Kafkas fiction in high school. My introduction to his labyrinthine imagination was through The Metamorphosis, a book that propelled me to learn German, one that I still re-read every few years. With each reading, Gregor Samsas story keeps yielding fresh layers of meaning, insight and humour. But increasingly, it gives me a steely resilience to accept my isolation from, and belonging to, the world I live in. Im sure Im not alone in feeling this way. Somak Ghoshal is a writer based in Delhi. I live in a rented flat in Noida, U.P., paying a rent of less than two lakh per annum (INR). The flat owner is an NRI residing in Dubai, UAE. Please advise whether I, as a tenant, must deduct tax before paying rent every month to the NRI landlord. If yes, how much deduction is to be made, and how should I go about the formalities of deducting and depositing this amount to the tax authorities? The rented flat is for residential use only. Incomes arising in India are taxable for all persons, whether residents or not. Under the India UAE DTAA, you are exempt from paying income tax in India on your UAE income. However, your Indian income is taxable in India. So, you must deduct tax at source while paying rent to the NRI landlord. Please note that there is no basic threshold up to which you are not required to deduct tax regarding payments, like income, made to non-residents. So, irrespective of the amount of rent you pay, you have to deduct tax while paying the rent. While arriving at the amount on which tax is to be deducted, you can deduct 30% of the rent and deduct tax only on 70% of the rent, as the tax laws allow a standard deduction of 30% from the rent received. You have to deduct tax at 30% plus cess when making payments. Also Read | The NRIs guide to choosing the right kind of account to invest in Indian stocks Also Read | Can I pay municipal taxes on behalf of my NRI son? Residential Rent Payments to Non-Business Payers Exempt from Tax Deduction Account Number (TAN) Requirement When paying rent to a resident for a residential property, the payer, who is not engaged in any business, is not required to obtain a tax deduction account number (TAN). However, since you are paying rent to a non-resident, you will have to apply for and obtain TAN to deposit tax so deducted to the government's credit and for filing TDS returns. I would advise you to please seek assistance from a practicing CA in this matter. Read all our personal finance stories here Balwant Jain is a tax and investments expert and can be reached on jainbalwant@gmail.com and @jainbalwant on his X handle. The UAE Golden Visa programme has gained popularity among high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), particularly wealthy Indians, due to Dubai's proximity to India and its appeal as a global hub. Approximately 4,300 Indian millionaires are expected to move abroad in 2024, with a majority of them preferring to relocate to Dubai, the UAE, according to a recent Private Wealth Migration Report by Henley & Partners. Heres an overview of how the Golden Visa programme works. Application process The most popular way of applying for UAE Golden Visa for long-term residency in Dubai is through real estate investment. A minimum of AED 2 million (around 4.57 crore) investment is required to be eligible for Golden Visa. View Full Image ... Golden Visas are valid for 10 years and can be renewed thereafter. Once the requirements have been fulfilled, pending initial approval of the application, the successful applicant receives a six-month multiple-entry visa and travels to the UAE (United Arab Emirates) to apply for an ID card and undergo a medical check," explained Rohit Bhardwaj, country head India and director private clients at Henley & Partners. Thereafter, full approval is granted and the individual receives the residence visa. The processing time for the residence application takes over two months," he added. Buying real estate in Dubai also involves Dubai Land Department (DLD) fee of 4% of the value of the property. This is to be paid immediately at the time of registration of the property," says Karan Batra, a chartered accountant with operations in India and Dubai. Other costs range from AED 4,000 ( 91,000) to AED 4,500 ( 1.02 lakh), which includes government processing fees. Often, developers in Dubai bear these costs to attract buyers. In fact, the Golden Visas can be directly secured with the help of property developers, who provide support throughout the process. You can also check with consultants and advisors for any further help. Also Read: A Portugal Golden Visa can give you wide access to Europe. Should you apply? Certain skilled individuals can also apply for Golden Visa, without the need for investment. The Golden Visa programme also targets individuals with specialized talents and skills, including scientists, C-Suite executives, researchers and creative professionals. This emphasis on attracting top-tier talent has boosted the visas popularity," pointed out Abhishek Menon, executive partner - Middle East & Africa, Multipolitan, a global migration platform. The issuance of Golden Visas is regulated by General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFAD). There are other options also, but these are not allowed under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), which is overseen by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). For example, the Golden Visa now allows taking loans to buy a property, but FEMA doesnt allow it as it means taking leverage under foreign currency. Even buying under-construction property is under a grey area. If the construction work exceeds the LRS payment, it may be seen as contingent tax liability, potentially breaching FEMA regulations," said Vijay Thirumalai, co-founder of Goldwater Technologies, wealth-tech platform focusing on global mobility. A fixed deposit of AED 2 million in a specified bank is also an option, but this is also now in the grey area. Also Read: Invest 9 crore and secure a US Green Card. Heres how It appears that investment in fixed deposit offshore does not specifically get covered in the list of permitted investments. At the same time, it is not covered in the list of investments that are not permitted," said Prakash Hegde, aBengaluru-based chartered accountant. The Golden Visa may not directly lead to citizenship. To apply for an Emirati passport, one has to live in the UAE for at least 30 years and citizenship may be granted to those who have demonstrated exceptional service. Also, proficiency in Arabic is mandatory. Benefits of a Dubai Golden Visa Getting a long-term, renewable residency of ten years in Dubai can be an option for wealthy Indians looking for a second home in an international centre like Dubai. "For business owners with international operations, a Golden Visa can again come in handy, as Dubai is well-connected globally, in terms of time zones and flight connections," says Devina Mehra, founder and chairperson of First Global, who has been a long-time resident in Dubai. For a Golden Visa holder, starting a company in Dubai is easier. A Golden Visa holder can also open a bank account remotely. After the Golden Visa, one can live, work and study in Dubai or other cities of the UAE. Dubai also offers various tax benefits for individuals drawing a salary in Dubai or those running a business. For example, there is no personal income tax in Dubai. The corporate tax rate on profits in Dubai is 9%, but in certain free trade zones, there is no taxation. Also read | Why this Luxembourg-based couple invests in Indian stocks only Also, a Golden Visa holder can stay outside the UAE for more than six months without worrying about his or her residence visa becoming invalid. Other residence visas require the individual to re-enter Dubai within six months to ensure the visa remains valid. Golden Visa holders can sponsor family members, including spouses, children, and even domestic help. Should you opt? Dubai's Golden Visa programme was launched in 2019, largely to boost demand for its fast-developing real estate market. The Golden Visa can be useful for global entrepreneurs seeking better tax efficiency and better connectivity with the rest of the world. It also provides a valuable option for wealthy individuals seeking a second home near India. (Bloomberg) -- Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune easily won a second term at the helm of the OPEC nation, in an election critics said was held earlier than expected to sideline any serious challengers. Tebboune, whos seen as close to Algerias powerful military, secured 94.7% of ballots in the Sept. 7 contest against two other candidates, according to initial figures from election authorities on Sunday evening. Theyd earlier put turnout at 48%. With the outcome of the vote in little doubt, strong participation was seen as key to maintaining a sense of legitimacy for the 78-year-old leader, who came to power in 2019 against the backdrop of mass youth-driven protests that forced his veteran predecessor Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign. About 40% cast ballots in that years chaotic election, which Tebboune won with 58% of votes. The oil and gas-rich North African country has wielded growing international clout in recent years, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine made it a key alternative supplier for Europe. Tebbounes victory may allow him to press on with reforms that include opening the protectionist economy to more foreign investment and easing its reliance on energy receipts. Algeria is home to Africas second-largest gas reserves, and authorities have used a windfall that started in 2022 to expand a costly social safety net thats crucial in a country where almost two-thirds of the 47 million population are under 30. That drive could be jeopardized by a sustained fall in prices. Oil last week posted its biggest weekly drop in 11 months, potentially creating budget pressures. Algeria pumped about 890,000 barrels per day in August, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The election was initially scheduled for December, but was brought forward for what authorities said were technical reasons. The results are due to be finalized later this month after any legal appeals. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com (Recasts lead with proposed labor deal, adds background in paragraph 2, adds Starlink landing and labor deal in paragraphs 40-42) Sept 8 (Reuters) - Boeing has reached a tentative deal with a union representing more than 32,000 workers in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, an early win for new Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg that could help avert a possible crippling strike as the troubled planemaker looks to restore confidence with regulators, the industry and the public. Boeing, one of two global planemaking giants, has faced a reputational and safety crisis after a Jan. 5 mid-air panel blowout on a 737 MAX 9 jet, that led to the eventual resignation of CEO Dave Calhoun. Here is a timeline of recent issues surrounding Boeing: OCTOBER 2018: A Lion Air MAX plane crashes in Indonesia, killing all 189 people on board. NOVEMBER 2018: The FAA and Boeing say they are evaluating the need for software or design changes to 737 MAX jets following the Lion Air crash. MARCH 2019: An Ethiopian Airlines MAX crashes, killing all 157 people on board. China's aviation regulator becomes the first in the world to ground the MAX, followed by others including the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. APRIL 2019: The FAA forms an international team to review the safety of the 737 MAX. Boeing cuts monthly production by nearly 20%. JULY 2019: Boeing posts its largest ever quarterly loss. SEPTEMBER 2019: Boeing's board of directors creates a permanent safety committee to oversee development, manufacturing and operation of its aircraft. OCTOBER 2019: Boeing fires Kevin McAllister, the top executive of its commercial airplanes division. DECEMBER 2020: The company fires CEO Dennis Muilenburg in the wake of the twin crashes. JANUARY 2020: Boeing suspends 737 production, its biggest assembly-line halt in more than 20 years. MAY 2020: Boeing resumes 737 MAX production at a "low rate." JUNE 2020: Boeing begins a series of long-delayed flight tests of its redesigned 737 MAX with regulators at the controls. SEPTEMBER 2020: An 18-month investigation by a U.S. House of Representatives panel finds Boeing failed in its design and development of the MAX as well as its transparency with the FAA, and that the FAA failed in oversight and certification. NOVEMBER 2020: The U.S. FAA lifts the grounding order, allowing the 737 MAX to fly again. DECEMBER 2020: Congress passes legislation to reform how the FAA certifies new airplanes, including requiring manufacturers to disclose certain safety-critical information to the FAA. JANUARY 2021: The European Union Aviation Safety Agency approves the MAX's return to service in Europe. MARCH 2021: China's aviation regulator says major safety concerns with the MAX needed to be "properly addressed" before conducting flight tests. APRIL 2021: Boeing halts 737 MAX deliveries after electrical problems re-ground part of the fleet. NOVEMBER 2021: Current and former Boeing company directors reach a $237.5 million settlement with shareholders to settle lawsuits over safety oversight of the 737 MAX. OCTOBER 2022: The FAA tells Boeing that some key documents submitted as part of the certification review of the 737 MAX 7 are incomplete and others need a reassessment. DECEMBER 2022: Congress agrees to extend a deadline for new standards for modern cockpit alerts stemming from the 2020 legislation after intense lobbying from Boeing. APRIL 2023: Boeing pauses deliveries of some 737 MAXs to deal with a new supplier quality problem involving non-compliant fittings. JULY 2023: Boeing's first delivery of the 737 MAX 7 is delayed to 2024. AUGUST 2023: Boeing identifies a new 737 MAX supplier quality problem involving improperly drilled holes on the aft pressure bulkhead. SEPTEMBER 2023: Boeing 737 MAX deliveries fall to their lowest levels since August 2021. DECEMBER 2023: Boeing makes its first direct delivery of a 787 Dreamliner to China since 2019, seen as a precursor to China potentially unfreezing deliveries of the 737 MAX. JANUARY 2024: A mid-air cabin blowout compels Alaska Air to perform an emergency landing of its recently acquired 737 MAX 9 aircraft, prompting the FAA to ground 171 of these jets and initiate an investigation. The FAA also bars Boeing from increasing MAX output, but lifts the grounding of MAX-9s once inspections were completed. FEBRUARY 2024: The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) published its preliminary report on the Alaska Air incident involving a Boeing 737 MAX jet. According to the investigation, the door panel that flew off the jet mid-flight appeared to be missing four key bolts. MARCH 2024: ** The FAA's 737 MAX production audit finds multiple instances where Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements. This comes days after Boeing said it was in preliminary talks to buy Spirit. ** The ongoing crisis may mean Boeing will need more time to hit key financial targets for coming years, its CFO warns. ** Airbus clinches orders for 65 jets from two of Boeing's key Asian customers, Japan Airlines and Korean Air. ** The U.S. planemaker says CEO Dave Calhoun will step down and announces that Stan Deal, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO, will be succeeded by Stephanie Pope. MAY 2024 ** The U.S. Department of Justice says Boeing breached its obligations in a 2021 agreement that shielded it from criminal prosecution over 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. JULY 2024: ** Boeing acquires Spirit AeroSystems back in an all-stock deal for $4.7 billion in equity value. The deal comes as Boeing, which had sold Spirit in 2005 to cut costs, attempts to solve its quality hurdles and accelerate jet deliveries. ** Boeing agrees to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and pay a fine of $243.6 million to resolve the U.S. Justice Department investigation into the two 737 MAX fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. ** Boeing names former Rockwell Collins executive Kelly Ortberg as its new president and CEO after a months-long search. AUGUST 2024: **Reuters reports Boeing and Lockheed Martin are in talks to sell their rocket-launching join venture United Launch Alliance to Sierra Space, a deal that could value ULA at around $2 billion to $3 billion, sources said. SEPTEMBER 2024: **Boeing's Starliner spacecraft lands uncrewed in a New Mexico desert after technical issues left two astronauts it ferried to the International Space Station marooned there until February 2025, when a SpaceX vehicle is expected to return them to Earth. **Boeing said it had reached a tentative agreement with a union representing more than 32,000 workers in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, in a deal that could help avert a possible crippling strike as early as Sept. 13. The proposed four-year agreement must still be approved by union members. CHANGSHA, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- A shipment of mutton from Madagascar was cleared at Changsha Customs in central China's Hunan Province on Sunday, marking China's first mutton imports from Africa and an important breakthrough in China-Africa meat trade. Customs officials conducted an on-site inspection of the frozen mutton shipment, weighing 1,000 kg in total. The mutton was shipped by air from Madagascar to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in the capital of south China's Guangdong Province and then transported by road to Changsha, with the entire delivery time taking approximately 36 hours. The Madagascar mutton will be sold in various restaurants and supermarkets across Hunan, a leading Chinese province in economic and trade relations with Africa, and a pioneer in China-Africa cooperation. According to the customs department, the meat was produced by a Madagascar-based animal husbandry company, established with investment from Hunan's Yuan's High-tech Seed Co., Ltd. The company is also a key exporter of China's hybrid rice seeds to Africa. Yuan Ding'an, chairman of the company, told Xinhua that Madagascan mutton has both quality and price advantages in the Chinese market. The company aims to export 20,000 tonnes of mutton annually from Madagascar to China within three to five years. The animal husbandry company in Madagascar has established an industrial chain of sheep breeding and mutton processing, and is actively promoting the development of new tropical forage varieties, Yuan said. China signed an agreement with Madagascar to allow the mutton trade during the third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in Changsha last year. Consequently, Changsha Customs formed a task force to guide Madagascan meat producers on quality management and official procedures. In the first seven months of this year, Hunan imported African agricultural products valued at approximately 240 million yuan (about 33.9 million U.S. dollars), up 10.6 percent year on year. In addition to Madagascan mutton, Changsha Customs has facilitated the issuance of market access certificates for 24 batches of African food exports to China. These include wild aquatic products from Kenya and Tanzania, cashews from Guinea-Bissau, dried chili peppers from Rwanda, and dried anchovies from Kenya. Dallas police officer Darron Burks, who was fatally shot in what the police chief called an execution, was remembered Saturday as a hero during a funeral service in Dallas. A hero who made the ultimate sacrifice ... the grief is overwhelming, said Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia during the nearly two-hour-long service that was often marked by applause for Burks' mother, Cherie Jeffery, and laughter at memories of Burks. He loved me every day, he didn't wait until my birthday" or various holidays, Jeffery said as she stood next to a portrait of Burks in his uniform, adding that her son texted her daily. Darron loved everybody. Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said Burks was tragically taken, targeted because he was a police officer. Burks was a hero ... with a spirit of service and selflessness, Johnson said. Bagpipes played and mourners streamed past his open coffin that was draped with a U.S. flag and uniformed police officers at either end until the casket was closed for the service. Burks, 46, was sitting in his patrol car Aug. 29 when he was fatally shot by 30-year-old Corey Cobb-Bey, who spoke briefly with Burks and recorded the encounter before pulling out a handgun and shooting Burks, according to police. I know the word ambush has been thrown around ... that's not what happened here, Garcia said following the shooting. Officer Burks was executed. Cobb-Bey shot and wounded two other officers as they arrived, then fled the scene and was pursued by police to Lewisville, Texas, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Dallas, police said. When Cobb-Beys vehicle came to a stop on Interstate 35, he exited with a shotgun in his hand and pointed it at officers. Six officers opened fire, killing Cobb-Bey who was struck multiple times, police said. Burks joined the police force in December after graduating from the police academy. He previously spent 17 years as a high school math teacher. Gov. Greg Abbott, at the request of Johnson, said state of Texas and United States flags could be lowered to half-staff on Saturday to honor Burks. ATHENS, Greece (AP) Greeces prime minister said Saturday he would not allow excessive spending to derail the countrys recovery from the lengthy financial crisis that required an unprecedented infusion of funds from its creditors, in a key speech at the countrys most prestigious trade event. I have not come with a bag full of gifts, Kyriakos Mitsotakis told his audience at the Thessaloniki International Fair. Heads of government traditionally outline the following years economic policies at the fair every September, while touting their achievements. The European Unions new post-pandemic fiscal rules seek to keep spending growth under wraps, with violators facing fines, and Mitsotakis promised to stick by those rules, Mitsotakis did announce pension and minimum wage hikes, as well as measures designed to boost exports, improve productivity, help with housing shortages, encourage the young to stick with farming and address the countrys low birthrate. Several of those measures, such as a second round of low-rate mortgages for young families, worth 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) will be partly funded by the European Union. Addressing tourism growth criticized by some as excessive Mitsotakis said that short-term rentals should not be demonized but promised not to allow any new ones in central Athens for at least the next year. He also announced higher disembarkation fees for cruise ship passengers, especially, he said, on the tourist magnet islands of Santorini and Mykonos. Regarding Santorini, government officials have let it be known that the current fee of 35 cents ($0.38) per passenger could rise to between 10 and 15 euros ($11 - $16.60). Mitsotakis denied that his government in power since 2019 was suffering from reform fatigue and what he called the second term curse. And while his conservative party saw its share of the vote plunge by about a third in last Junes European elections a contest with not much at stake and marked by record abstention it nearly doubled the score of the runner-up, the left-wing Syriza, which also saw its numbers decline. The Greek leader noted that the government has more than a thousand days until the next national election to implement its program and claimed that his party is the only stabilizing force in Greek politics. It certainly faces little challenge from the opposition, where the two largest parties, Syriza and the socialist PASOK, are consumed by their internal divisions. Syriza leader Stefanos Kasselakis was facing a motion of no confidence at the partys central committee meeting later Saturday. The socialists are fighting their own leadership contest in early October with seven sharply differing candidates. As if to underscore the oppositions weakness, the traditional, sometimes violent, protest marches three of them, by unionists, communists and extreme leftists were the most sparsely attended in years, perhaps ever, with barely 7,500 people taking part, according to local police. They ended without incident. Thessaloniki, the countrys second-largest city, and the surrounding regions, are strongholds of the extreme, nationalist right, the main beneficiaries of the European elections, with three parties getting more than 16% of the national vote and sending deputies to the European Parliament. Mitsotakis made sure to tout the projects his government has completed in the area and noted that he appointed the popular, and populist, regional governor of Central Macedonia to be Greeces next EU commissioner. (Bloomberg) -- Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to still-tight battleground states after Tuesdays debate with Donald Trump, as a poll showed the former president ahead nationally and many voters saying they need to know more about Harris. Trump led Harris by 48% to 47% in a New York Times-Siena College poll published Sunday. While within the margin of error, the result suggests that Harris month-long rise in the polls may have stalled and Trumps support remains resilient. Most polls since Harris replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket in July have given her an edge over Trump. The simple truth is that when a survey reflects the actual electorate, President Trump is in the lead, the former presidents chief campaign pollster Tony Fabrizio wrote in a memo on Sunday. Brian Fallon, Harris senior adviser for communication, said in a social-media post that Harris has considered herself the underdog since she became in the Democratic nominee. She continues to campaign with that mentality, he added. Theres a lot of work ahead until Election Day, he said. While only about one in 10 in the poll of registered voters said they need to learn more about Trump, about a third 31% said the same about Harris. Harris will travel on Thursday to North Carolina, which Trump won in 2016 and 2020, and to Pennsylvania on Friday. Her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, will head to the Midwestern states of Michigan and Wisconsin, while his wife Gwen travels to Georgia, New Hampshire and Maine. Second gentleman Doug Emhoff is slated to make stops in Nevada, Arizona and Florida. Trump, who lives in Florida, is considered the favorite there but an abortion-rights ballot initiative has some Democrats feeling bullish about their chances in the Southern state, including in a key Senate race. Arizona also has an abortion-rights initiative this year. The Harris campaign will air a new ad in seven swing states along with Nebraska, where Democrats are fighting for a single electoral college vote in the mostly Republican stronghold. The spot focuses on the economy, in particular Harris proposals to ban corporate price-gouging in grocery stores, to cap the cost of prescription drugs and to address the nationwide housing shortage. Its time to turn a page on the divisiveness. Its time to bring our country together, chart a new way forward, Harris told reporters in Pennsylvania on Saturday, when asked about her main message to Trump at the debate. More than 60% in the New York Times poll said the next president should represent major change from Biden. Only 25% said that Harris reflects that change, while 53% associated it with Trump. The Sept. 3-6 poll of 1,695 registered voters has a margin of error of as many as 2.8 percentage points. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com The government on Sunday reported the first 'suspect' case of Monkeypox (Mpox) in the country and said there is no cause of any undue concern. The Union Health Ministry, in a statement, said a young male patient, who recently travelled from a country currently experiencing Mpox transmission, has been identified as a suspect case of Mpox in the country. The patient has been isolated in a designated hospital and is currently stable, the Union Health Ministry said, adding that the samples from the patient are being tested to confirm the presence of Mpox. Also Read | UNICEF issues emergency tender to secure mpox vaccines The development of this case is consistent with the earlier risk assessment conducted by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and there is no cause of any undue concern, the health ministry added. It is important to note that the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Mpox a public health emergency of international concern on August 14, 2024. The first announcement of the global outbreak was made in 2022 when cases started getting reported from world over. Also Read | A deadly new strain of Mpox is raising alarm Just after the WHO global alert, the Union Health Ministry in August itself incorporated suggestions from the NCDC, which included updated alert identifying sick patients at the ports of entry; isolation of suspected and confirmed cases; lab tests; symptoms, prevention, reporting of patients to the hospitals; surveillance strategies; community awareness; and hospital infection control measures. The new Mpox strain found in Africa is more lethal than the previous one detected in 2022 and can also spread through sexual contact. Also Read | Health ministry preparing new Mpox advisory as a deadlier strain spreads Prominent Bengali filmmaker Arindam Sil was suspended from the Directors' Association of Eastern India on Sunday amid sexual harassment allegations. The development came after an actress filed a complaint filed with the West Bengal Commission for Women the latest in a series of accusations levelled against Sil in recent years. DAEI said that it had found prima facie evidence against him and the allegations malign the entire organisation. The cycle of sin is reversed. I thought I might not be able to see it in my life. God, you have kept this word, this is a lot. It took 20 years, let it be. To all the girls in our world. The time has come, to seize the honor. No more fear. Raise your voice, raise your fingers and scream and tear the masks of dirty people, unmask them. Everyone come out. We hold hands and move together. It is our right, actor Swastika Mukherjee exulted in a Facebook post. The suspension will remain in place for for an indefinite period or until Sil is cleared of wrongdoing by the probe agencies. The well known actor-director however insisted that his actions had been misconstrued. Sil claimed in a recent statement that the incident in question had happened recently while he was explaining a scene to the actress during the shoot. He however admitted to his mistake and expressed regret about the incident. "I have been told that I mishandled an actress while explaining the shot to her. Everyone was there on the floorNo one objected to my actions or conduct at that timeI always explain scenes to my actors and actresses before taking a shot. After the particular incident, the actress concerned willingly took part in the shoot for four more hours," he said. Sil also claimed that he was asked to remove the word unintentional from his letter after apologising for the incident. "I have my assistant director and photographer and ep of surinder films as witness. They are now holding the letter against me. My guild didnt even speak to me. And they just took this decision, the letter added. Former RG Kar Medical College principal Sandip Ghosh has been accused of operating a criminal nexus for wrongful gains as the CBI continues its investigation into alleged financial irregularities. The probe agency had arrested Ghosh as well as two two vendors and his security person last month amid furore over the rape and murder of a Kolkata doctor. It is revealed that they all have been frequently in touch with each other, which corroborates the allegation of criminal nexus as in the FIR. Evidence collected during (the) investigation conducted so far, has revealed that Dr Sandip Ghosh, in criminal nexus with other co-accused persons, by way of illegal means, caused wrongful loss to the government and corresponding wrongful gain to himself and other accused persons, PTI quoted the CBI submission as explaining. The central agency outlined its allegations in a submission to a special court in Alipore on September 3. Also Read | How Kolkata rape-murder victim spent last few hours at RG Kar Hospital According to the CBI submission, Ghosh had known the two arrested vendors since he was posted with the Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital between 2016 and 2018. Both these vendors were in Murshidabad and Ghosh brought them to Kolkata when he was made the principal of the RG Kar hospital. They were favoured for supply of materials to the hospitalWe have found that they granted the contracts of RGKMC&H (RG Kar Medical College and Hospital) only because of their proximity with Ghosh, and officer told PTI. The probe agency is also investigating the role of his security guard as "he was the person who used to contact vendors to sell the biomedical waste of the hospital". Ghosh has also been accused of appointing house staff with an arbitrary selection process. As per the CBI submission, signatures of committee members were absent in the appointment of house staff in 2022 and 2023. While letters of work order used to be addressed to different officers of the hospital, the CBI said that these were never handed over to them. The CBIs probe also revealed how Ghosh favoured the organisation belonging to his security guard's wife by awarding the contract of a cafe inside the hospital. Delhi: Firefighting operations are currently underway to douse a fire that broke out in a clothes factory near Rajiv Ratna Awas in the Bakkarwala area of Outer Delhi, on Sunday. Deputy Chief Fire Officer M K Chattopadhyay said that the fire spread due to explosion in LPG cylinder and it has been brought under control. The Chief Fire Officer further stated that the fire broke out at 6:55am, and a total of 24 fire engines had reached the spot to take control of the situation. One of the owners in the factory based in Outer Delhi, Runu Mishra, said that the damage was worth crores of rupees. She said that the fire had not spread to her shop when she came to know of the incident. I came to know about the incident at 6 pm. When I came, then fire did not erupt in my premises. We tried our best to douse the fire. Then the cylinders exploded suddenly. Property worth crores has been damaged, Mishra said, reported ANI. In a video released by the ANI, thick plumes of smoke and intense flames can be seen billowing from the first floor of the double-story building. Earlier, the Delhi Fire Services Department officials said that fire tenders had been immediately rushed to the spot, upon receiving the news. Twenty-five fire engines were dispatched to the spot, and firefighting operations are ongoing, the officers were quoted as saying by ANI. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress have finalised a seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections, with the Arvind Kejriwal's party set to contest five seats, PTI reported on Sunday, citing sources. The report said the alliance might be finalised by tomorrow, September 9, as AAP's Raghav Chadha and Deepak Babaria of Congress have been engaged in positive talks, and both the parties are hopeful for a successful outcome. "Talks between Congress' Deepak Babaria and AAP leader Raghav Chadha have been progressing in a positive direction. There are chances that the alliance might be finalised by tomorrow. AAP has agreed on contesting five seats in the state," the news agency said citing an AAP source. Also Read | BJP leader Bachan Singh Arya resigns from party ahead of Haryana Assembly polls Earlier in the day, Chadha said both the parties are trying to forge an alliance by keeping aside their individual aspirations. He, however, added that the Aam Aadmi Party will not proceed with the alliance with the grand old party "if there is no win-win situation". "The talks are happening in a positive atmosphere. Both parties are working towards contesting the elections together, prioritizing unity and the demands of the people of Haryana, while setting aside individual party and candidate aspirations," the AAP Rajya Sabha MP told PTI. "Ball by ball commentary cannot be done on the seat-sharing arrangement. Both the parties have desire and hope to form an alliance," Chadha added. Though, AAP's Chadha refused to divulge any details about the seat-sharing arrangements, but according to media reports, the Kejriwal's party is demanding 10 seats for the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections, and the Congress is not ready to give them more than seven seats. Chadha said both the parties will take a decision well before the last day of nomination (September 12) and if there is no win-win situation, they will leave the talks. It is important to note that both the parties, partners in the INDIA block, entered a seat-sharing agreement in Delhi, Haryana and Gujarat during the Lok Sabha election 2024. Kolkata doctor rape case: Outrage over the rape and murder of a Kolkata doctor continued on Sunday with another reclaim the night rally slated for midnight. People from various walks of life former students, sculptors from Kumartuli, rickshaw pullers and junior doctors separately hit the streets as the agitation neared the one month mark. The Supreme Court is slated to hear the case on Monday amid continued criticism of the TMC government in West Bengal. Reclaim the Night Thousands of people from across West Bengal are expected to turn up at the third edition of the Reclaim the Night campaign on Sunday midnight to press their demand for justice for the doctor. The demonstration will be held on the completion of one month of the heinous crime. Also Read | How Kolkata rape-murder victim spent last few hours at RG Kar Hospital People from different fields, including musicians, artistes, painters and actors, are expected to join the 'Reclaim the Night' demonstration, which would start at 11 pm to awaken the ruler, social activist Rimjhim Sinha said. As part of the protest campaign, people would gather at various intersections, crossings and roundabouts. While there will be multiple gatherings from Gol Park to Garia along the SC Mallick Road in south Kolkata. A march has also been planned from Sodepur to Shyambazar along the BT Road in the north city. Besides Kolkata, demonstrations have also been planned in Barrackpore, Barasat, Budgebudge, Belgharia, Agarpara, Dumdum and Baguiati, among others. Earlier, the Reclaim the Night demonstration was held on August 14 and September 4. Thousands have already marched through Kolkata and adjoining districts on Sunday afternoon gathering at several key crossings, chanting for justice, and even hoisting the national flag. Around 4,000 former students of over 40 schools walked over two kilometres in south Kolkata demanding justice for the victim. The group which included of various ages and a large number of women, chanted 'We Want Justice' as they walked along Rash Behari Avenue to the crossing of Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Road from Gariahat. Another rally set off from the potters' hub of Kumartuli in north Kolkata with a girl dressed as Goddess Durga leading the procession. The protesters held aloft placards demanding speedy investigation and justice in the R G Kar murder-rape incident. Around 100 people also rallied with their hand-pulled rickshaws from Hedua Park to College Square in north Kolkata. Hundreds of junior doctors of state-run NRS Hospital took out a rally from Sealdah to Esplanade in the heart of the city. The body of the postgraduate trainee at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in north Kolkata was recovered on the morning of August 9 . A civic volunteer of the Kolkata Police was arrested the next day in connection with the crime. Kolkata doctor rape murder case: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP and former IAS Jawhar Sircar on September 8 resigned from his post in Parliament and said he is quitting politics. In his resignation letter, addressed to TMC Chairperson and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Sircar said he is quitting politics due to the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Sircar stated he is resigning as MP from the Upper House due to the incident of alleged rape and murder at RG Kar and related corruption at the hospital. Joined to Fight Communal Politics In the letter, Sircar said that his primary purpose of becoming an MP was to carry on the struggle against the autocratic and communal politics of the BJP and its Prime Minister, adding that he had some satisfaction on this aim. my several interventions in parliament, that are available on YouTube or on Sansad TV archives, will prove how hard and effectively I have fought against the authoritarian, divisive, discriminatory and anti-federal policies of the Modi regime, he added. On Kolkata Doctor Rape Case Sircar further said that the current outpouring of public anger is against this unchecked overbearing attitude of the favoured few and the corrupt is spontaneous and something he has never before seen. I have suffered patiently for a month since the terrible incident at RG Kar Hospital, and was hoping for your direct intervention with the agitating junior doctors, in the old style of Mamata Banerjee. It has not happened and whatever punitive steps that government is taking now are too little and quite late, he said. It is my belief that the mainstream of the agitation is non-political and a spontaneous one and it is not correct to take a confrontational stand, by labelling it political, he added. Sircar called out the opposition parties for trying to fish in troubled waters, but added that it is the youth and common people agitating on the streets everyday. They want no politics: they want justice and punishment. Let us analyse frankly and realise that the movement is as much for Abhaya as it is against the state government and the party. This calls for course correction immediately or else communal forces will capture this state, he added. Also Read | Google Doodle today celebrates 2024 Paris Paralympics closing ceremony On Resignation Sircar said that he does not wish to continue as MP, stating, my commitment to fight corruption, communalism and authoritarianism in the Centre and the States is simply non-negotiable. 1 shall go to Delhi soon and offer my resignation to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and will also disassociate myself totally from politics. He pled with Banerjee to please do something to save the state. Shocked by Corruption Among TMC Leaders Sircar in his resignation pointed to corruption within the TMC stating that he was shocked. He added that he has become increasingly disillusioned as the West Bengal state government seemed unconcerned about corruption and increasing strong-arm tactics of a section of leaders. Sircar acknowledged that leaders in other parties and other states have also amassed much more wealth, but said that West Bengal is unable to accept this extravagant corruption and domination. Reactions to Sircar's Resignation Speaking to ANI on the matter, TMC's Kunal Ghosh said the move is Sircar's personal decision. ... At present, we are working like soldiers under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee but this does not mean that I criticize the personal principle of Jawhar Sircar, it is not so, it is his decision, he can take it. We condemn this (RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-murder) incident, people are angry about this incident, and they misunderstand the administration. In such a situation, as a soldier of the party, we have to try to explain to the people, we will follow the role of our soldier. If Jawhar Sircar takes any decision, he is a very senior and wise person, he has different principles, our top leadership will consider it. We cannot say anything about this, Ghosh said. Speaking to ANI on Sircar's resignation, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said Banerjee should resign. People visit an exhibition, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors, at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. The exhibition, which opened on Sunday, showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) XI'AN, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- An exhibition opened Sunday at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors. The exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). In 1974, local farmers accidentally unearthed clay fragments while digging a well, leading to one of China's most significant archaeological discoveries -- the army of Terracotta Warriors -- which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987. Around 2,000 life-size clay warriors and numerous weapons had been unearthed from three pits surrounding Qinshihuang's tomb, covering an area of over 20,000 square meters. After 50 years of excavation and research, over 10 above-ground building sites and more than 500 underground burial pits and tombs have been discovered in the mausoleum. Over 50,000 pieces of relics have been unearthed. The museum has remained an iconic scenic spot in Xi'an. It received 11 million visitors in 2023, hitting a record-high number since its opening. People visit an exhibition, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors, at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. The exhibition, which opened on Sunday, showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) People visit an exhibition, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors, at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. The exhibition, which opened on Sunday, showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) People visit an exhibition, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors, at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. The exhibition, which opened on Sunday, showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) People visit an exhibition, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors, at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. The exhibition, which opened on Sunday, showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) A visitor takes photos at an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors, at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. The exhibition, which opened on Sunday, showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) People visit an exhibition, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors, at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. The exhibition, which opened on Sunday, showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) People visit an exhibition, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors, at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. The exhibition, which opened on Sunday, showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) People visit an exhibition, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors, at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. The exhibition, which opened on Sunday, showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) People visit an exhibition, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors, at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. The exhibition, which opened on Sunday, showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) A man visits an exhibition, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors, at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. The exhibition, which opened on Sunday, showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) People visit an exhibition, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors, at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. The exhibition, which opened on Sunday, showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) A Yuefu bell of inlaying gold and silver is pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) A kneeling archer with green-painted face is pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) Pottery horses are pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) Bronze water fowls are pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) A figure of hands in sleeves is pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) A kneeling archer with green-painted face is pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) A two-imperial-edict bronze bobweight of Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC) is pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) A bronze crane is pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) Color-painted figure heads are pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) Color-painted figure heads are pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) A two-imperial-edict bronze bobweight of Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC) is pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) A performer figure is pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) This combination photo shows a kneeling archer with green-painted face during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) A senior armored officer figure is pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) A dancing figurine is pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) Building parts are pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) Weapons and equipment of the Qin Army are pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) Bronze water fowls are pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) A figure of hands in sleeves is pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) A performer figure is pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) A figure of hands in sleeves is pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) A golden camel is pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) Terracotta Warriors are pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) A bronze tripod is pictured during an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the discovery and excavation of the iconic Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 8, 2024. Opening here on Sunday, the exhibition showcases 230 cultural relics in eight categories, many being revealed to the public for the first time, offering a glimpse into the era of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC). (Xinhua/Li Yibo) The death toll from the Lucknow building collapse incident has risen to eight, as rescuers recovered three more bodies from the rubble, officials reported on Sunday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of 2 lakh ex-gratia for the family members of each of deceased, and 50,000 for the injured. The loss of lives due to a building mishap in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh is saddening. Prayers with those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon, PM Modi wrote on X. The bodies of three people that were recovered have been identified as Raj Kishore (27), Rudra Yadav (24) and Jagrup Singh (35), Relief Commissioner G S Naveen said during the rescue operation. A three-story structure housing storage units and a motor workshop collapsed in Transport Nagar area on Saturday evening leaving 28 people injured. The injured have been admitted to various hospitals, including Lok Bandhu Hospital, in the district. Rescue operation is still underway. A senior district administration official said they are now focusing on ensuring that no one else is trapped under the rubble. According to the police, the building, which was constructed about four years ago, was undergoing some construction work at the time of the incident. Most of the victims were on the ground floor when the event took place at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday. Officials stated that the ground floor housed a motor workshop and warehouse, while the first floor was used as a medical storage facility, and the second floor contained a cutlery warehouse. Pillar of the building developed cracks Akash Singh, who worked in the medical godown and was among the injured, said a pillar of the building had developed a crack. "We had come down to the ground floor because it was raining. We noticed that a pillar of the building had developed a crack. Suddenly, the entire building collapsed on us," he said, as reported by PTI. Adityanath take cognisance Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took cognisance of the building collapse incident and instructed officials to hasten the relief efforts. He has also asked officials to promptly transport the injured to the hospital for proper treatment. CM Yogi has also wished for the speedy recovery of the injured. ADG Law and Order Amitabh Yash told ANI that CM Yogi is continuously reviewing the situation and the relief and rescue operations. The Manipur government has sought control over the Home Ministry-run Unified Command amid a fresh spate of violence in the northeastern state. Chief Minister N Biren Singh met Governor L Acharya on Sunday morning alongside 18 MLAs to put forth a list of demands. Speculative reports have broached the possibility of a rift within the BJP and a leadership change in Manipur. According to an NDTV report quoting sources, the list of demands includes a call for the central government to hand over the Unified Command and scrap a Suspension of Operations agreement between the government and Kuki insurgent groups. An all-party meeting held in January had also sought to end the agreement in order to allow security forces to launch a full-scale operation against insurgents. The Unified Command oversees security operations in Manipur and is currently handled by a team of Union Home Ministry officials, the state security adviser and the Army. The developments also came a day after Kuki militants deployed long-range rockets at two locations in civilian areas. The attack killed a 78-year-old man identified as RK Rabei and injured six others in Bishnupur. Earlier this week, BJP MLA Rajkumar Imo Singh had written to Home Minister Amit Shah seeking the removal of central forces deployed in the state. The son-in-law of N Biren Singh had dubbed them mute spectators and noted that the presence of around 60000 central forces in Manipur is not yielding peace. It is a worst situation in Manipur, it is very difficult to measure the magnitude of violence that has happened here. The recent attacks starting September 1 has changed. They are using sophisticated weapons, doing bombings. At this juncture, there is nothing to control by the state government. The power of the state has been totally ceased by the central government. More or less, it is like enforcement of Article 355. There is no power of CM at present, noted Manipur Congress President Keisham Meghachandra Singh. The Opposition politician also questioned the role of the Central government in combating the situation. The CM and his council of ministers met the Governor. They are demanding restoration of unified command. The role of central government is very difficult to understand. They don't want to end violence in Manipur. I don't know why? The entire Manipur is asking the same question, he added. Signboard banning the entry of "non-Hindus", Rohingya Muslims and hawkers were reportedly put up across Uttarakhand's Rudrapayag district. An image of the signboard surfaced on social media on Sunday. The text on the signboard read, "Non-Hindus, Rohingya Muslims and hawkers are prohibited to do business and roam around in the village. If found anywhere in the village, punitive action will be taken." This signboard was installed outside the Nyalsu village, ABP news reported. Earlier it was claimed that the directive had come from the gram sabha. But Nyalsu village pradhan Pramod Singh told the Hindustan Times that the villagers installed signboard outside his village, not the gram panchayat. The HT report cited Singh as saying that similar banners have been put up in almost all villages in Uttarakhand including Shersi, Gaurikund, Triyuginarayan, Sonprayag, Barasu, Jamu, Ariya, Ravigram, and Maikhanda. The issue reportedly came to light after two Muslim delegations from the Muslim Seva Sangathan and AIMIM called on Uttarakhand Director General of Police (DGP) Abhinav Kumar on September 5 and conveyed their concerns over rising anti-minority incidents in the state. 'We dont want outsiders to come here' because... Singh said the boards have been installed to prevent hawkers from entering the villages without a police verification. "Most men of our village are dependent on the yatra, and therefore, they live in Gaurikund and Sonprayag during the yatra. The women are in the houses alone," he was quoted by the Hindustan Times as saying. "Many hawkers come to the village without a valid ID and police verification. Those with verification have been regularly visiting the village, they are not stopped. If hawkers commit any crime and flee, they cant be traced," he claimed. Meanwhile, Chandni Devi, pradhan of Maikhanda village, also confirmed that a similar board was installed outside her village. We dont want outsiders to come into our village since there is a threat to our children and women, she claimed. Police takes action Rudraprayag Circle officer Prabodh Kumar Ghildiyal confirmed that they had removed several signboards and were trying to identify the culprits who put them up. It came to light that such boards have come up in some villages. We have been removing them. Some have already been removed from a few villages. We are also trying to ascertain the identities of those who have put up these boards, Ghildiyal was quoted by HT as saying. National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval is likely to visit Moscow, Russia for two days next week to take part in discussions on the Russia-Ukraine war. Doval is also expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and discuss peace efforts in connection Russia-Ukraine war, sources informed India Today TV. During the visit on September 10-11, Doval will also take part in the BRICS-NSA meeting, the India Today report said. BRICS is an informal group of 10 nations comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Egypt, and Ethiopia. The last BRICS-NSA meeting was held in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2023. Doval had represented India at the 2023 Johannesburg meeting. Doval's two-day trip is coming after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited both Russia and Ukraine in the past two months. Modi met Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky during the visit. Doval will also hold bilateral meetings with his Russian and Chinese counterparts with the possibility of following up on the discussions from the July summit in Moscow. After his meeting with President Zelensky, Modi spoke with President Putin over phone on August 27. Modi, in the telephonic conversation, informed President Putin about visit to Kiev and stressed India's commitment to bring about a settlement for Ukraine by political and diplomatic means, according to a statement issued by Russian Embassy. It was during this phone call that the leaders decided that NSA Doval would travel to Moscow for peace talks, NDTV report quoted sources. No more details about the visit are available as of now, the report said. Defence Minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh on Sunday said the residents ofPakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) should join India as unlike Pakistan, the New Delhi consider them our own. The Defence Minister was speaking at an Assembly election rally in Ramban of Jammu and Kashmir in support of the BJP candidate Rakesh Singh Thakur. Slamming the National Conference-Congress alliance over its poll promise of restoring Article 370, the Union minister said it is impossible as long as the BJP is there. The Union minister said following the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, there is a "sea change" in the overall security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, adding that youths now carry laptops and computers instead of pistols and revolvers. "Support the BJP to form the next government in J-K so that we can facilitate massive development in the region. There will be so much development that the people in PoK on seeing this should say that we do not want to live with Pakistan and instead will go to India," Singh said. I heard that National Conference leader Omar Abdullah sahab said that Afzal Guru should not have been hanged. I want to ask him that Afzal Guru should not have been hanged, should he have been garlanded publicly? ...Form a government here too, seeing the development here, the people of PoK will say that we do not want to stay with Pakistan, we want to go with India...we consider the people of PoK as our own, come and join us. I have received information, some border fencing work is going on, that border fencing work will also be completed, the Defence Minister added. "We have never discriminated with anyone. Our Army is here, I want to ask you, do they discriminate? You people are fortunate, we have abrogated Article 370 - we have done that for the prosperity and happiness of J&K. What did Article 370 give to you? Be it Congress, NC or PDP, they tell you that the BJP has discriminated against the people of J&K. I want to tell you, if we do any wrong, condemn it publicly. We don't want your support by keeping you in the dark..." Singh added. Singh, in Banihal rally, said the government is ready to start dialogue with Pakistan if it stops supporting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir Rajnath Singh, a star campaigner of the BJP, is also scheduled to visit adjoining Banihal constituency to seek votes for party candidate Mohd Saleem Bhat who is pitted against former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president and ex-minister Vikar Rasool Wani. Also Read | BJP releases 6th list of 10 candidates for J&K Assembly elections Pakistan's Islamabad administration will block internal and external routes of the capital city by midnight on Saturday and Sunday ahead of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) public gathering on September 8, ARY News reported, citing sources. ARY News reported that the police could also arrest PTI leaders and local activists throughout the district. ARY News quoted its sources privy to the development and said that the police increased patrolling and put all police stations on high alert. The law enforcers are also cracking down on motorcyclists, according to police sources. Earlier in the day, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf issued an advisory to its ticket holders and assembly members, directing the members of national assembly and members of parliament to arrive with at least 500 workers, while those from distant areas are expected to bring 150 workers on September 8 power show in Sangjani area of Islamabad, Pakistan-based ARY News reported. As per the directive, members have been asked to form convoys from their constituencies instead of gathering directly in Islamabad. Leaders from Rawalpindi, Murree, Hazara, Attock, Chakwal, and Jhelum are expected to bring additional workers to the event, ARY News reported. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar, Omar Ayub, and the Jalsa Committee instructed the attendees to reach the meeting venue by 2 pm, ARY News reported. Earlier on Saturday, the Islamabad district administration changed the venue for Imran Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's upcoming rally on September 8, ARY News reported. Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz issued a new NOC on Friday, relocating the event to a site opposite the original venue in Sangjani area of the city, as per ARY News report. Bollywood couple Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh has welcomed a baby girl on Sunday, September 8. The couple announced the arrival of their daughter on their Instagram handles. The development came a day after the Om Shanti Om actress was admitted to Mumbais Reliance Foundation Hospital, Deccan Chronicle reported. On September 7, Ujjala Padukone accompanied her 38-year-old daughter to the Mumbai hospital. The star-duo celebrated parenthood almost six years after their lavish wedding ceremony at Italy's Lake Como. Celebrities pour in warm wishes: Several Bollywood actors have poured in warm wishes for the couple in the comment section. Aliaa Bhatt chose a series of emojis to express her love for the new born, while Arjun Kapoor commented, Laxmi aayi hai!!! The queen is here!!! Celebrities react Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju of Made in Heaven fame, the transgender activist, Masaba Gupta, and Gauahar Khan also commented on the couple's post. Netizens react Netizens are abuzz with congratulatory messages for the couple. Welcome little princess,' said a user on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Another user wrote, There is a different joy in becoming a parent. This was also his dream which got fulfilled. May God bless all his loved ones with this happiness. A third user commented, The fame he has earned in Bollywood is something that very few people get. Best wishes to this couple who have proved their ability on their own. A fourth user remarked, Prakash Padukone will also happy with New Baby girl.After all he too has become a grandfather. However, according to Hindustan Times report the star couple and family members were seen arriving at the hospital on Sunday. However, the photographers were unable to take a snap of the star-duo as they were seated inside their curtained car. Subsequently, other relatives were spotting at the hospital premises. The news about baby's arrival comes two days after the new parents were spotted seeking blessings at Siddhivinayak Temple located in the financial capital. The actress dressed in traditional green saree sought Lord Ganesha's blessings before her delivery on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. The star couple announced their pregnancy in February this year. Also Read | Pregnant Deepika Padukone has a unique reason to attend Anant-Radhikas sangeet Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha on Sunday, September 8, acknowledged the warmth and greetings he received from the Indian Diaspora and members of the Indian Overseas Congress in Dallas city of Texas, US. Taking to Facebook social media platform, the senior Congress leader wrote, I am truly delighted by the warm welcome Ive received in Dallas, Texas, USA, from the Indian Diaspora and members of the Indian Overseas Congress. Also Read | Rahul Gandhi has all qualities of future PM: Sam Pitroda He added, I eagerly look forward to engaging in meaningful discussions and insightful conversations that will further strengthen the bond between our two nations during this visit. The post has seven photos attached showing the Indian Diaspora offering bouquets to the Rae Bareli MP. It has garnered over 39 thousand likes within a few minutes of being shared. Rahul Gandhi set off for the United States on Friday, this first international visit comes months after the Lok Sabha elections that were held in June this year. During this three-day US visit, the Congress leader is set to meet business and academic leaders and participate in other activities. Also Read | Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka express anguish over Ujjain rape case Given below is the US visit schedule According to the schedule, Rahul Gandhi met with the Indian Diaspora in Dallas city of Texas today, similar meeting with the Indian Diaspora is scheduled for September 9 in Washington DC. The Indian Overseas Congress through several posts on X (formerly Twitter) invited applicants to register for the event. According to the organisations website, the Texas meeting took place at the Toyota Music Factory in Dallas. On Monday, September 9, the Washington DC event spanning three hours will begin at 5:00 PM. The engagement with the Indian Diaspora will take place at the Hilton Washington Dulles, near Dulles Airport. Also Read | What is PM sorry for? asks Rahul as Maha govt faces ire over statue collapse By Michael Martina WASHINGTON, Sept 6 - Georgia Tech is ending its research and educational partnerships in the Chinese cities of Tianjin and Shenzhen, the U.S. university said on Friday, following scrutiny from Congress over its collaboration with entities allegedly linked to China's military. In May, the House of Representatives' select committee on China wrote a letter to Georgia Tech asking for details on its research with China's northeastern Tianjin University on cutting-edge semiconductor technologies. The Chinese school and its affiliates were added in 2020 to the U.S. Commerce Department's export restrictions list for actions contrary to U.S. national security, including trade secret theft and research collaboration to advance China's military. Spokesperson Abbigail Tumpey told Reuters in an email that Georgia Tech has been assessing its posture in China since Tianjin University was added to the entity list. "Tianjin University has had ample time to correct the situation. To date, Tianjin University remains on the Entity List, making Georgia Tech's participation with Tianjin University, and subsequently Georgia Tech Shenzhen Institute , no longer tenable," Tumpey said. Georgia Tech, a top tier U.S. engineering school and major recipient of Defense Department funding, said in an accompanying statement it would discontinue its participation in the Shenzhen institute, but that the approximately 300 students currently in programs there would have the opportunity to fulfill their degree requirements. Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for China's embassy in Washington, said that characterizing normal academic exchanges as a national security threat amounted to an "unwarranted smear campaign." "We oppose the U.S. generalizing the concept of national security, politicizing and instrumentalizing educational cooperation and academic exchanges, and blocking normal scientific research exchanges and cooperation," the embassy spokesperson said in a statement. In January, Georgia Tech touted that its researchers based in Atlanta and at the Tianjin International Center for Nanoparticles and Nanosystems had created the world's first functional semiconductor made from the nanomaterial graphene. It said this could lead to a "paradigm shift" in electronics and yield faster computing. The U.S. and China, intense geopolitical and scientific rivals, both view semiconductors as a strategic industry with civilian and military uses, including quantum computing and advanced weapons systems. In its May letter, the select committee noted the Tianjin research center is affiliated with a Chinese company with subsidiaries that supply China's People's Liberation Army . A Georgia Tech scientist who led the Tianjin project has defended the research, saying all the results were available to the public and that the collaboration had passed extensive legal reviews. "It shouldn't have taken a congressional investigation to spur Georgia Tech to end its partnership with a blacklisted Chinese entity," said U.S. Representative Virginia Foxx, Republican chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, who had joined the select committee on its letter. "Nonetheless, we're glad that Georgia Tech has made the right call and we hope other universities follow its lead," Foxx said in an email. U.S. agencies and Congress have stepped up scrutiny of China's state-sponsored influence and technology transfers at American colleges and universities, concerned that Beijing uses open and federally funded research environments in the U.S. to circumvent export controls and other national security laws. The U.S. Justice Department under President Joe Biden's administration ended a program from former President Donald Trump's administration called the China Initiative intended to combat Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft. Critics had said that program spurred racial profiling against Asian Americans and chilled scientific research. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday that India and China can play a role in finding a solution to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Her comments came after holding talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "Actors like China and India can and must play a role in resolving the conflict," Meloni was quoted as saying in Italian media. "What must not happen is to think that the conflict can be resolved by abandoning Ukraine to its fate," she said. Speaking at the 50th edition of The European House Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio, northern Italy, Meloni said, It is obvious that if the rules of international law are broken, we will get a multiplication of chaos and crisis, but it is also obvious that with the multiplication of crisis, we will have a natural fragmentation of the geo-economic space, that is, in the long run, economic globalization and questioning of the rules of international law will not walk together. "This is what I also said to my Chinese counterparts, we must choose, because the two things do not go together, it is also the reason why I think that in the end nations, like China and India, can play a role and must play a role in resolving the conflict in Ukraine," Meloni was quoted by IANS as saying. "The decision to support Kyiv is in line with Italy's national interest and will never change," Meloni said, reaffirming her government's full support for Ukraine, news agency PTI reported. Vladimir Putin tells who could play role in resolving Ukraine conflict The Italian prime minister's comments at northern Italy's Cernobbio city came two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin named India, Brazil and China as possible intermediaries that could play a role in resolving the conflict. On Thursday, Putin, speaking at a panel discussion at the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok, said that he was in touch with India, Brazil and China on the Ukraine conflict. "First of all, it is Chinese People's Republic, Brazil and India -- I am in contact with my partners and I have no doubt that the leaders of these countries and we have relations of trust and confidence with one another will be really interested and provide a helping hand," he said. His remarks came in response to a question on possible countries that can act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kyiv last month during which he conveyed to Zelenskyy that both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the ongoing war and that India was ready to play an "active role" to restore peace in the region. Also Read | Ukraine wakes War to Russia but struggles to inflict pain on Putin The prime minister said India was on the side of peace since the beginning of the conflict and he would even like to contribute personally for a peaceful resolution of the crisis. Modi's nearly nine-hour visit to Ukraine on August 23, the first by an Indian prime minister since its independence in 1991, came six weeks after he held summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, addresses the opening ceremony of the 24th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, Sept. 8, 2024. The 24th CIFIT opened in the city of Xiamen on Sunday. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan) XIAMEN, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Vice Premier He Lifeng on Sunday encouraged foreign-funded enterprises to participate in China's high-quality development and seek more business opportunities in the cause of Chinese modernization. He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when addressing the opening ceremony of the 24th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT), in the city of Xiamen, east China's Fujian Province. The vice premier said that, as an important platform to promote open cooperation through two-way investment, CIFIT has become more internationalized and specialized, adding that the development of CIFIT is a vivid portrayal of China's continuous efforts to open wider to the outside world. He said that to open up new vistas in Chinese modernization, China will stick to the fundamental national policy of opening up to the outside world, enhance its ability of opening up while expanding international cooperation, and build a new system of open economy at a higher level. He noted that China is promoting high-quality development, accelerating the development of new quality productive forces, further implementing the strategy of innovation-driven development, supporting innovation in an all-round way, and advancing high-level opening-up, adding that these efforts will help create a broader market space and a better business environment for foreign enterprises. He expressed the hope that the foreign-funded enterprises will be good practitioners of participating in China's high-quality development, promoters of deepening friendly cooperation between China and other countries, and facilitators of true stories about China's reform and opening-up to the world, so as to seek more business opportunities and achieve better development in the cause of Chinese modernization. Japans Prince Hisahito turned 18 on Friday and became the first male member of the royal family to reach adulthood in almost four decades. It is a significant development for the Japans royal family that has ruled for more than a millennium. Hisahito is the youngest of the 17-member all-adult imperial family, which currently has only four men. Hisahito, who is expected to become the emperor of Japan one day, is the nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito. His father Crown Prince Akishino, was the last to do so, in 1985. According to the 1947 Imperial House Law, only a male royal member can succeed to the throne and female royal members who marry commoners lose their royal status. The Imperial House Law largely preserves conservative pre-war family values. Hisahitos older cousin, Princess Aiko, the only child of Naruhito and his wife Masako, a Harvard-educated former diplomat, is considered the peoples favorite as the future empress. But the law forbids her to take over that role. Born on September 6, 2006, Prince Hisahito is a third-year student and is attending Senior High School at Otsuka, University of Tsukuba. Also Read | Prince Harry has no plans to return to UK and resume Royal Family duties Right now I would like to cherish my remaining time in high school," Hisahito said in a statement. He has long been interested in insects and even co-authored an academic paper on a survey of dragonflies on the grounds of his Akasaka estate in Tokyo, the statement said. The Imperial Household Agency also said that Prince Hisahito's Coming-of-Age ceremony and accompanying press conference will be scheduled for spring 2025 or later, following his high school graduation. Also Read | Prince Philip blamed Meghan Markle for Harry leaving Royal Family In January 2022, a government-commissioned panel of experts had recommended that the government propose allowing female members to keep royal status after marriage as a way to prevent the declining population within the imperial family, while adopting male descendants from now-defunct royal families to continue the male lineage with distant relatives. South Korea has been rocked by a wave of sexually explicit deepfake images being created and shared online, indiscriminately targeting women and girls using their school photos, social media selfies and even military headshots. A Telegram channel with more than 220,000 participants was reportedly being used to create and share these artificial intelligence-generated pornographic images, serving as a global reminder of the darker consequences from the widespread rush for this technology. Users could upload photos and in a matter of seconds create explicit content with the faces of their friends, classmates or romantic partners. The initial reporting from local news outlets prompted more women to come forward as victims and more Telegram channels being exposed, revealing the true scale of the issue. Many of the victims involved are minors. Protesters wearing white masks over their eyes gathered in Seoul calling for justice late last month. As outrage mounted, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called on his government to crack down on the digital abuse, and authorities said they would form a task force to tackle the issue. While police investigated, another disturbing trend emerged. Preliminary data indicate a vast majority of the suspected perpetrators from the recent wave of cases were in their teens. Some may dismiss it as a mere prank, but it is clearly a criminal act that exploits technology under the shield of anonymity, Yoon said during a cabinet meeting late last month, acknowledging that many of both the victims and perpetrators were minors. Yoon is right. This isnt just a prank, and the impact of this type of digital sexual violence can be devastating for victims. A lot of the blame is rightly being placed on Telegram, especially as the scandal is coming to a head at the same time as the platforms Chief Executive Officer Pavel Durov has been arrested and charged in France for alleged complicity in crimes, including the sharing of child pornography, committed on his app. Korean authorities said Telegram is cooperating with the investigation and requests to remove content. But Yoons words will ring hollow for some, given he came to power in 2022 courting young male voters with proposals to scrap the gender equality ministry, which he accused of treating men like potential sex criminals. He also claimed that systemic gender discrimination does not exist in South Korea, and implied feminism was to blame for the countrys low birth rate. Meanwhile, women earn some 30% less than their male counterparts, marking the highest gender wage gap in the developed world. Even in dual-income households, women bear the brunt of housework and childcare responsibilities. And before the recent crop of AI tools made generating deepfake explicit images much easier, advocacy groups had been drawing attention to a rash of digital sex crimes, usually involving non-consensual intimate images or hidden cameras. There is a host of reasons that South Korean women, like their counterparts across the developed world, are choosing not to have children, including rising participation in the labor force and the uneven toll of raising children. Rather than blame feminism, it might be more useful to look at this mountain of deeply troubling data. Ironically, one of the main Telegram groups spreading these images reportedly had some 227,000 members thats roughly on par with the number of babies born last year. South Korean women are boldly bringing this issue to light with protests and activism, the first step in enacting change for a crisis that is impacting people around the globe. Compared to other jurisdictions, the nation is also ahead of the curve when it comes to regulating deepfake porn. It actually has laws in place, including punishments of up to five years in prison and fines for people convicted of creating images with the intent to distribute. In the US, federal legislation has garnered bipartisan support among lawmakers but is still making its way at a snails pace through Congress. Regulation is important, but the cases in Korea also expose how difficult enforcement can be for such a widespread problem, as well as how easy it is for this content to be created and shared in the first place. Expanding laws to make it illegal to possess such material could help. But this still puts a lot of responsibility on victims to digitally trace back who created the content that upended their lives. The Telegram CEOs recent arrest shows theres increased global momentum to hold tech companies accountable for their role in harms taking place on their platforms. This is a step in the right direction; as more regulators shift responsibility to these powerful companies, more industry-led solutions would be welcome. Universities and research centers are developing some promising tools to protect images from AI manipulation. But not enough resources are being devoted to ensuring the responsible rollout of AI from the industry creating it. More onus must be put on tech companies to come up with proactive solutions. Many tech giants have pulled back on ethical and responsible AI teams in recent years amid broader cost-cutting. But the dignity of women and girls isnt something that should be sacrificed in favor of profit. South Korea is the current epicenter of this crisis. But it is a global issue that can impact anyone from celebrities like Taylor Swift to middle school girls from Seoul to New Jersey. The tech sector cannot keep skirting responsibility much longer. More From Bloomberg Opinion: This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Catherine Thorbecke is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asia tech. Previously she was a tech reporter at CNN and ABC News. /opinion Pennsylvania is emerging as the top battleground in the White House race with Kamala Harris and Donald Trump increasingly focusing their attention and resources on the Keystone state. The most populous of the swing states, Pennsylvania with its 19 Electoral College votes has drawn repeated visits from the candidates in recent weeks. And voters face a media torrent with campaigns and party committees booking $153 million in ad time for the post-Labor Day sprint, according to tracker AdImpact. The candidates treatment of Pennsylvania as more important than other battlegrounds underscores the significance of a state that saw close contests in 2016, when Trump carried it by less than three-quarters of a percentage point, and 2020, when President Joe Biden narrowly flipped it. The race there is a microcosm of the presidential contest at large. Trump and Harris have been barnstorming the state, seeking to address economic anxiety driven by high prices and worries about jobs and wages particularly among blue-collar workers in western Pennsylvania and to court suburban and independent voters in vote-rich suburbs around Philadelphia. The states importance will be further highlighted Tuesday when Philadelphia hosts what could be the only debate between Harris and Trump. Pennsylvania is the biggest electoral prize, said Aubrey Montgomery of Democratic consulting firm Rittenhouse Political Partners, explaining the frenzied focus and full-state blitz. Not only are they turning up their communities but theyre also providing resources to turning out the rest of the state. Lisa Camooso Miller, a Republican strategist, called Pennsylvania incredibly interesting right now, adding that we just dont know how its going to go. For more: See {ELEC GO} on the Bloomberg Terminal for US election news An August Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll shows a tight race, with Harris leading Trump in Pennsylvania by four percentage points. The Democratic nominee decamped to Pittsburgh on Thursday in what the campaign said was her 10th visit to the state this year. Shes expected to remain there this weekend preparing for the debate. Western Pennsylvania has been a focus for her campaign with Harris and running mate Tim Walz taking a bus tour through the region ahead of last months Democratic convention and with the vice president returning to Pittsburgh on Labor Day with Biden. Walz undertook his own swing this week, visiting Lancaster and Erie. Winning over organized labor and rural communities in western counties will be critical to both campaigns. While Harris boasts the support of union leaders, Trump has made deep inroads with rank-and-file workers once solidly in the Democratic column but drawn to his populist agenda. Its important to go everywhere and make sure that youre not just deciding where you go based on whats the biggest media market, said Brendan McPhillips, senior adviser for the Harris campaign in Pennsylvania. Trump has held at least eight events in the state this year, including the rally in Butler where he survived an assassination attempt. He held a rally last week in Johnstown and a town hall Wednesday in Harrisburg. Fracking, Steel Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro, who was on Harris running-mate shortlist, has said economic issues will be paramount in the state. Two topics are flashpoints in western Pennsylvania: fracking and steel. Biden is poised to kill a $14.1 billion deal for Nippon Steel Corp. to purchase Pittsburgh-based United States Steel Corp., a transaction opposed by the United Steelworkers union. Trump has vowed to block the deal if elected. The Republican nominee is also hammering Harris over her past opposition to fracking, the technique used to produce most US oil and gas today. Fracking has boosted the economy of Pennsylvania, the second-largest US producer of natural gas, with Pittsburgh sitting in the Marcellus shale formation. If she won you wont have any fracking in Pennsylvania, Trump said at Wednesdays town hall. Harris during her presidential campaign in the 2020 cycle said she was in favor of banning fracking. In an interview with CNN last month, Harris said she had reversed her opposition, saying she would not ban it if elected. Campaign Resources The candidates are also pouring money into the state. Pennsylvania is shaping up to be the state with the most political ad spending according to AdImpact, with Democrats accounting for $80 million of the $153 million booked post-Labor Day. The biggest spenders are Make America Great Again Inc., Trumps allied super political action committee; and pro-Harris Future Forward PAC, followed by the candidates campaigns. Eight other groups have reserved at least $1 million, though those numbers can change as resources shift during the race. Roughly a dozen ads have run on broadcast, cable and connected television since Labor Day in Pennsylvania markets, including a pro-Harris spot vowing to lower costs for middle-class families and a Trump campaign ad targeting her over immigration and Social Security. Harris thanked former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Representative Liz Cheney, for saying theyd vote for her in November. Both Cheneys portrayed Trump as a threat to Americas constitutional order. Its time to turn the page on the divisiveness, Harris told reporters during a stop at a Pittsburgh spice shop Saturday. Its time to bring our country together, chart a new way forward. Harris has set up 50 coordinated offices and has more than 350 staff on the ground in cities as well as rural counties, according to her campaign. Democrats are eager to turn out voters in heavily blue cities. Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair Sharif Street said outreach would intensify ahead of Election Day to more focused engagement where were more focused on encouraging people to return mail-in ballots. Trumps campaign has more than two dozen offices across the state, according to an official familiar with their organizing who spoke on condition of anonymity. The campaign also staffed a Hispanic-outreach office in Reading and an office for Black outreach in Philadelphia part of a broader bid to peel away support from key Democratic blocs. Acknowledging the tight race, Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump has said the party would consider putting more resources in, calling Pennsylvania a must-win. Every election cycle we have seen consistently how important that state has become, she said in a Bloomberg Television interview last month. Sign up for the Washington Edition newsletter to find out how the worlds of money and politics intersect in the US capital. With assistance from Bill Allison, Gregory Korte, Stephanie Lai and Akayla Gardner. Multiple people were shot Saturday along Interstate 75 in a rural area south of Lexington, authorities said. The Laurel County Sheriff's office said in a post on Facebook that it was an active shooter situation and numerous persons were shot near the highway. It added that the interstate was closed 9 miles north of London. The sheriffs office also announced that a Person of Interest has been identified in connection with the shooting, saying he should be considered armed and dangerous and people should not approach him. The mans name was given as Joseph A. Couch, a 32-year-old white male, and anyone with information about his location was urged to call the county 911 center. A heavy presence of police and fire personnel was on the scene and working diligently to address the situation, the Mount Vernon Fire Department said in a statement. It advised motorists to avoid I-75 and US 25. I am receiving initial reports from the Kentucky State Police and our Office of Homeland Security together we are actively monitoring the situation and offering support in any way possible, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a post on the social platform X. Please pray for everyone involved. We will provide more details once they are available, Beshear said. Also Read | Oil executives face gloomy reality at APPEC 2023 amid Chinas economic slowdown Why do ordinary citizens across the country have to stage public protests to demand justice for the victim of a heinous crime at a Kolkata hospital? If we peel away the extraordinary brutality and the political dimension and get to the core of the matter, we find that people have no confidence in the law enforcement system. It was the same in Pune a few months ago, where people had to get out onto the streets to ensure that the accused in a hit-and-run case, a 17-year-old son of a prominent builder, was prosecuted properly. People are angry. People are outraged. But beneath it all, people are showing that they do not trust the police and the lower judiciary to deliver justice. Also read: Delays in justice delivery can and should be rooted out If we have to prevent crimes against women, we have to get better at preventing crime in general. Unfortunately, our politics and public discourse is better at symbolic and symptomatic actions. In response to moral panics, we tend to demand fast-track courts, special laws and exemplary punishment. It is easy for the establishment to accede to these demands because they satisfy public anger. Their overall effect on law enforcement outcomes is ignored. Few stop to think that fast-tracking some cases means many other cases are de-prioritized. Indeed, the business of prioritization is itself the cause of much of the corruption, politicization and injustice that citizens so despise. We need a different approach. A systemic solution requires us to upgrade the law enforcement system and bring it into the Information Age. Police, prosecutors and lower courts have simply not scaled up with the explosion of population, technology, social change and diversity in the country. Also read: Written submissions to courts could speed up the delivery of justice In most places, law enforcement officials are just satisficing: they lack the capacity, mandate and motivation to do anything more. Fixing all that is broken is akin to moving a mountain. Yet, mountains can be moved if millions of people push in the same direction. The discussion on police reforms remains stuck at implementation of the Supreme Courts 2006 ruling in the Prakash Singh case. State governments have been loath to implement the order because it would mean political leaders relinquishing personal control over the coercive apparatus that they covet. As much as these structural reforms are desirable, we need to think of other politically feasible reforms that take us in the right direction. Heres an example. In 2017, I asked the gifted data scientist Karthik Shashidhar to help analyse data relating to crimes against women in a large, relatively well-governed south Indian state. He found that the conviction rate for all crimes was abysmally low (less than 1% for molestation, for instance). It was worse in the state capital. Cases took a long time to investigate and on an average took one-and-a-half years to be brought to court. There they languished for years and decades. As Karthik concluded, this leads to a perverse situation where victims are discouraged from reporting crimes and potential offenders are undeterred from committing them. Despite what you read in books and see on television, our police forces do not have an adequate number of trained detectives, forensic specialists and prosecutors. Karthik and I found that setting up specialist investigation units within police departments and publicizing successful prosecutions can deter crimes. These units can select cases from across the state based on a combination of severity and random sampling, so that there is an overall sense that perpetrators will be brought to court promptly. Further, setting up case progression units, with personnel trained in project management techniques, can help navigate the thickets of courts and bureaucracy. Such measures will have a deterrent impact across the board. At the margin, they will deter potential perpetrators from committing crimes. Successful prosecutions will gain media attention and amplify the effect. Reforms such as these are well within the capacity of state governments and do not require the drastic reforms that politicians are wary of. These are the type of immediate demands that protesters ought to make of their state governments. Such small changes can yield big improvements, but we also need a national policy commitment towards transforming law enforcement. Indias new penal code will not magically lead to better outcomes. The experience of the Prakash Singh ruling is instructive. It makes some good recommendations, but these are nearly two decades old and based on a public interest litigation filed a decade before that. There is a case to revisit the rulings issues in the context of changes in technology, economy and society. What is clear, though, is that without a determined cooperative federal push, forward movement is unlikely. A national blue ribbon commission, composed of the Union home ministry and all state governments, is a way forward. Yes, commissions often take long and their reports gather dust, but they create policy anchors that show the way forward. Thats one big step better than groping in the dark in despair. In July, a popular TikTok creator in Malaysia reported to local police that she was being tormented on the platform by users threatening to rape and kill her. A day later, Rajeswary Appahu died by suicide. One of those accused of cyberbullying her later pleaded guilty to communication offences on TikTok and was hit with a $23 fine. Malaysias communications minister said that the suicide was the straw that broke the camels back" as he defended the nations sweeping new social media licensing requirements that are set to take effect next year. But could this far-reaching and opaque attempt to regulate Big Tech companies have prevented the tragedy? How to hold tech firms accountable for the real-world harms that emerge from their services has become the most difficult governing test of our time, being debated across the globe. Elon Musks X went dark last week in Brazil amid a regulatory spat, and France last week charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with complicity in crimes committed on his app. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, meanwhile, accused the US government of pressuring him to censor pandemic-related content on his platforms. The divisive debate tends to fall into a simplistic trap that pits any regulation of Big Tech against freedom of expression, and content moderation as some form of censorship. But the reality is much more nuanced. In Malaysia, a diverse country of some 34 million, this ongoing global debate is set to face its biggest showdown. Malaysia said that it will require all social media and messaging platforms with more than 8 million users to apply for a regulatory licence and abide by yet-to-be finalized conditions. Companies claim this will hamper business and are arguing for self-regulation. Civil society organizations fear it will erode free speech and usher the country towards the path of an authoritarian regime." Despite the backlash, the government is forging ahead with the plan, saying it aims to curb scams, cyberbullying, and protect young people online. Yet its hard to know what this regulation will truly do, as the guidelines havent been finalized. Malaysians are right to be concerned about speech restrictions, and not in a flawed and self-serving billionaire kind of way. Avenues for freedom of expression have narrowed and the government still uses repressive laws to silence critics, Amnesty International said in a report. Licensing is also used to exploit editorial control in the media. Malaysia plunged to 107th this year on the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index, down from 73rd last year. As traditional news ecosystems shrink, many Malaysians, like in the rest of the world, have turned to voicing opposition online. It now seems the authorities are trying to censor content there as well. The government made the highest number of takedown requests to TikTok last year worldwide, skyrocketing from five such requests in 2021 to 2,202 requests in 2023. Worries that this attempt to tame social media could be abused to further choke free speech are warranted. A news outlet quoted the deputy prime minister as saying licensing could help check the spread of negative perceptions of the government. Malaysian officials are right to want to regulate this industry, and a licensing scheme shows potential, but they must offer specifics about how exactly this plan will hold Big Tech to account. Until they do that, its not clear how licensing social media would prevent the kind of cyberbullying that led to Appahus death, even though its hard to imagine anyone would argue that trolling a woman online with threats of violence would constitute free speech. We have to start somewhere. Malaysian lawmakers are looking at criminalizing cyberbullying and finding ways to up the accountability of platforms even without the licensing law. Officials said TikTok pledged to look at what went wrong with that case and offer full support. More than anything, it seems that simple step couldve helped prevent the attacks on the influencer the most. The battle is a sobering reminder that these platforms cannot be relied on as the main vehicles of civic discourse. They are not printing presses or town squares, they are businesses with growth models that are inherently opposed to social cohesion. Divisive, inflammatory content often drives better user engagement than complex or boring truths. Its not as simple as free speech versus content moderation. Policymakers should focus on the actual harms as they craft regulation. Malaysias vibrant society has shown resilience in rebuffing attempts to repress speech, but online abuses have also exposed a need for better safeguards. How this showdown plays out could serve as a testing ground for other jurisdictions. BLOOMBERG SINGAPOREWhile China asserts a more muscular influence on global affairs, Western experts face growing constraints in their efforts to study the emerging superpower. Scholars researching everything from urban development to religious belief in China say they are running into barriersmany erected by Beijing but some arising at homethat increasingly hamper their work. A relentless tightening of political controls by Chinese leader Xi Jinping has curtailed access to even routine information and throttled research into topics that were once open. Interactions between people in China and foreigners are subject to intensifying state surveillance, stymying the flow of ideas. Those obstacles have led some China scholars to change their fields of study, or reprise research techniques developed during the Mao Zedong era, when the country was largely closed off to the rest of the world. A sharp rise in anti-China sentiment in the U.S. and other Western countries is compounding the difficulties, according to many scholars. Some say they fear being denigrated for their association with China. Money is also getting harder to come by, with new data showing U.S. federal funding for China-focused research falling markedly in recent years. Some academics worry that a decline in China studies will make it more difficult for the U.S. and other democracies to manage relations with one of the worlds most consequential nations, while Beijing continues building expertise on open societies in the West. We just dont have the expertise on China that China has on us," said Rory Truex, a politics scholar at Princeton University. Concerns over data control and researchers safety have been sticking points in U.S.-China negotiations over the renewal of a landmark bilateral science and technology agreement that sets terms for academic cooperation. A short-term extension expired late last month, though a senior Biden administration official said the two countries remain in communication on the pact, including strengthened provisions for transparency, and scientific data reciprocity." Allowing the agreement to lapse could make it even harder for U.S.-based scholars to do work in China, as they would no longer be able to count on either governments commitment to facilitating access. Conditions for Western scholars of China have deteriorated steadily since Xi took power in 2012, but worsened further during the Covid-19 pandemic. Chinas border closures obliterated on-the-ground research by foreign academics, while many Chinese scholars couldnt go abroad. Chinese universities also controlled cross-border conversations on videoconferencing platforms. A growing number of foreign academics have returned to China since it reopened its borders in early 2023. But some say they have faced difficulties when entering or leaving the country, being held up for hours by immigration officials who grilled them about their research. Other researchers say they are hesitant to visit at all because of security risks for them and any Chinese people they speak to. They cited Chinas detentions of foreign nationals on alleged national-security grounds in recent years, as well as the disappearances of some Japan-based Chinese academics. Several scholars who have returned to China report finding a bleaker landscape than before. Social scientists and historians, for instance, found it harder to conduct in-person interviews, archival research and other fieldwork that they traditionally rely on. Ke Li, an associate professor at the City University of New Yorks John Jay College who studies gender and legal issues, said on previous trips she was able to talk directly with local judges and sometimes slip inside courtrooms to observe trials. Now, she said, that has become virtually impossible. For an ethnographer, that has almost like a death penalty," Li said. Some Chinese researchers stopped sharing data with foreign counterparts to avoid violating data-security laws, complicating collaboration and peer-review processes for assessing research quality. The uncertainty over broadly worded data-security regulations has brought anxiety and nervousness," said a professor at a leading university in Beijing. After interviewing more than a dozen China scholars in North America about their recent research experiences, the New York-based nonprofit American Council of Learned Societies reported last year that several had completely changed their areas of study because of the barriers they faced. Emily Baum, a co-author of that report and an associate professor of Chinese history at University of California, Irvine, said she had planned to visit China in 2020 on a Fulbright grant to study how the traditional practice of fortunetelling evolved and remained popular. But she discarded those plans due to Chinas Covid border controls, as well as increasing sensitivities around religion. I was not entirely confident that I would be able to find many materials anymore," said Baum, who switched to researching the practice of acupuncture in the U.S. Academic surveys have become more difficult to run in China. Fewer local survey firms are willing to work with foreign clients due to political sensitivities, said Reza Hasmath, a political scientist at the University of Alberta, who recently received quotes as high as $50,000 from Chinese vendors to run a survey that cost $10,000 or less a decade agoa surge that could price out some researchers. A rethinking of support for Chinese studies in Washington is compounding the difficulties. The Trump administration halted funding of Fulbright academic-exchange programs to China, in response to Beijings curtailing of civil liberties in Hong Kong. The Justice Departments defunct China Initiative, which targeted security threats from Beijing and resulted in a series of failed prosecutions of U.S.-based academics, also fueled concerns among scholars. The number of China-related research projects funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation fell by more than half from the 2012-2017 period to the 2018-2023 period, with the declines most pronounced in social and economic sciences, according to a forthcoming working paper by Princetons Truex and his research partner. They also found that NSF grants supporting field research in China fell by nearly 75% over the same time periods. It wasnt clear whether the decline was due to a reluctance to support China-focused research, or to scholars choosing not to seek funding for China-related projects out of fear or inconvenience. Some American universities have set new procedures for reviewing whether their faculty can accept flights, accommodation and speaking fees paid by Chinese hosts when attending conferences, or even barred them outright from receiving such perks, said Andrew Mertha, director of the China Studies Program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. This is partly out of a legitimate fear of losing U.S. government research support." For students who plan to go into government service, spending time in China has a direct negative effect on their ability to receive security clearance," Mertha said. The U.S. National Security Council didnt respond to queries on such China-related scrutiny. Heightened challenges in China studies are affecting scholarly output. Editors at several Western academic journals say they are seeing more submissions of studies that rely on data-driven quantitative analyses rather than ethnographic research. The growing reliance on data is generating research that sometimes isnt necessarily interesting or important," as academics work around whatever data sets they can access, said Timothy Hildebrandt, a London School of Economics associate professor and an editor of the China Quarterly, a prestigious U.K.-based academic journal. Some researchers are looking to the past for workarounds. One approach is studying time periods before Communist rule. Another is dusting off Mao-era research techniques, such as textual analysis of party documents, state-media reports and other material. It is an analog approach in an ever-digitalized world," which requires an appreciation of nuance and subtlety honed through endless immersion in often impossibly monotonous written sources," said Mertha, the Johns Hopkins professor, who has organized workshops where Mao-era experts shared their methods with younger scholars. Others are turning to modern technologies. Lauren Restrepo, an anthropologist who studies urban development in authoritarian states, said she likely isnt able to return to China given the sensitivities around her research, which analyzes how Chinese authorities use urban planning to assert control over ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslim communities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang. Restrepo, an assistant professor at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, now relies on remote sensing"reviewing sources such as satellite imagery, government documents, news and social mediato conduct research. It is an act of desperation," she said. You just do whats possible." Some scholars say they can still do useful fieldwork in China by stepping around sensitive topics and relying on local relationships, built over years or even decades. But the prognosis is grimmer for junior scholars and doctoral students, who have less experience and funding. A sharp decline in the number of American students in China during the pandemic and the lack of a significant post-Covid rebound have also raised concerns over the long-term pipeline of China expertise. We dont know whether in ten years China will be Americas enemy, competitor, or perhaps even friend," said Michael Szonyi, a Harvard University historian who traveled to China in August 2023 for an extended research trip after an almost four-year absence. Do we really think that under any of these scenarios, it is better that we know less about China rather than more?" Write to Chun Han Wong at chunhan.wong@wsj.com Congress party on September 8 released its second list of nine candidates for the upcoming Haryana assembly elections. The 90 seats of Haryana are voting in single phase on October 5. The votes will be counted on October 8. The nine candidates Mohit Grover from Gurugram, Ashok Arora from Thanesar, Kuldeep Sharma from Ganaur, Brijenda Sing from Tohana, Manju Choudhary from Nangal Chaudhary seat, among others. The nine candidates whose names were released on Sunday include Mohit Grover from Gurugram, Ashok Arora from Thanesar, Kuldeep Sharma from Ganaur, Brijenda Sing from Tohana, Manju Choudhary from Nangal Chaudhary seat, among others. On September 6, the Congress released its first list of 31 candidates for Haryana Assembly elections2024, hours after Olympian wrestlerVinesh Phogat and Tokyo Olympics medalist Bajrang Punia were inducted into the party fold by veteran leader KC Venugopal. Phogat hits campaign trail Earlier in the day, Phogathit the campaign trail ahead of the Haryana Assembly elections on Sunday. The wrestler freshly returned from a major setback at the Paris Olympics joined the party on Friday and soon became its candidate for the Julana seat. I've forgotten the pain that I had to go through because of the love and respect that I've received from you. Therefore, I will remain thankful if I'm able to reduce your sufferings. The land of Jind has been historic, and people here are very brave, she said. On Saturday, the wrestler-turned-politician had met with former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and said that her new journey is not just politics but a fight for service and justice on a new platform. Congress-AAP alliance Congress is engaged in seat-sharing talks with the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) for the upcoming polls in the state, however, some of its leaders have expressed reservations over a tie-up with the Arvind Kejriwal-led party. The two parties have finalised a seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections, with the Arvind Kejriwal's party set to contest five seats, PTI reported on Sunday, citing sources. For senior Chinese officials charged with wrongdoing, the road to justice is often long and winding. The first step is usually detention, interrogation and an internal investigation conducted quietly by the disciplinary arm of the Communist Party. This triggers frantic but uninformed chatter about the officials disappearance. Weeks or months later, state-controlled media confirm that he or she has been removed from their post and is under investigation. Some time after that it is announced that the official has been stripped of party membership. The matter then gets turned over to the justice system. Two notable figures have now reached the end of that process. Li Shangfu (pictured) and Wei Fenghe are former generals in the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA). Both men served as defence minister. Last summer they disappeared from public view and in the autumn Mr Li was removed from his post (Mr Wei had retired). On June 27th the official news agency, Xinhua, reported that they were being probed for serious" crimes. Each man had accepted a huge amount of money and valuables" in bribes, alleged investigators. The Politburo has expelled them from the party. They will now face criminal charges from military prosecutors. The cases of Messrs Li and Wei are part of a wider crackdown on corruption and malfeasance in the armed forces launched last year by Chinas ruler, Xi Jinping. Before serving as defence minister from 2018 to 2023, Mr Wei had been in charge of the PLAs Rocket Force, which is responsible for the countrys arsenal of land-based conventional and strategic missiles. Several leaders of the force, along with a handful of other generals, were dismissed from Chinas legislature last year, losing their immunity from arrest or criminal charges. The upheaval hints at serious problems with Mr Xis efforts to revitalise Chinas armed forces. Shortly after coming to power in 2012 he had a first go at tackling corruption, which was rife. Dozens of generals were dismissed, including two retired ones who had served at the top of the army, Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou. Yet even after that clean-up effort, high-level graft seemingly persists. As a result, some have questioned Chinas military readiness. Earlier this year Bloomberg, a news agency, reported that corruption in the rocket force had resulted in missiles loaded with water instead of fuel. American intelligence analysts were quoted as saying that graft in Chinas defence-industrial base was so bad that Mr Xi would probably shy away from military confrontation in the coming years. State medias reporting on the latest probes suggests that party leaders are furious. The alleged actions of Messrs Li and Wei are being painted as a betrayal. Both men were appointed by Mr Xi. According to Xinhua, Mr Li has brought enormous damage to the partys cause", while Mr Wei lost his faith and loyalty". Wayward leadership in the army, however, is not Mr Xis only problem. Around the same time that Messrs Li and Wei went missing, another murky scandal emerged, this one at the top of Chinas foreign ministry. With the clear backing of Mr Xi a diplomat called Qin Gang had leap-frogged other officials, becoming foreign minister in 2022. Last June he disappeared amid rumours of indiscretions in his personal life. Mr Qin has since been removed as foreign minister and stripped of other titles. But he has not been kicked out of the party, nor charged with corruption. He may avoid the fate of Messrs Li and Wei. On the path to justice, they are at the point where things tend to speed up. Trial, conviction and sentencing are the final steps. 2024, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com NCP chief Ajit Pawar said on Sunday that society did not like rifts within families citing his own strained ties as an example. The Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister had previously admitted to making a mistake by fielding his wife against Supriya Sule during the Lok Sabha elections. The remarks also came amid buzz that Bhagyashri the daughter of state minister Dharmarao Baba Aatram would cross over the the Sharad Pawar-led faction and contest elections against her father. You should support your father and help him win because only he has the capacity and determination to develop the region. The society never accepts breaking one's own family. I have experienced the same and accepted my mistake, Pawar said. The statement was made during a during a rally in Gadchiroli amid speculation about a potential contest between Bhagyashri and her father in the upcoming state assembly elections. The NCP has faced criticism from several quarters after its poor showing in the Lok Sabha elections. The party became a constituent of the Mahayuti alliance in the state last year following a rift within the Sharad Pawar-founded party. The development came mere days after Maharashtra Minister Gulabrao Patil stoked debate about a rift within the ruling alliance with a sharp swipe at state Finance Minister Ajit Pawar. State Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar however insisted on Saturday said that everything was going well in the Mahayuti. A department as incompetent as the finance department...it would be better if I did not utter those words. My file must have gone to the finance department 10 times, yes, 10 times... After going there, our file used to continuously come out negative, continuously negative but I did not leave it and neither did the people with me leave it, Patil had said earlier this week. Also Read | Z plus security may be an attempt to spy on me, says Sharad Pawar Economists and business leaders at the 2024 Bund Summit agreed that China's long-term quest for high-quality development and its capacity to innovate have become new engines for its economic growth in the long run. Nobel Laureate in Economics Michael Spence told the three-day summit via video link that China is facing a short-run aggregate demand problem, but in the long run, China's growth will be driven by the enormous capacity to innovate and increase productivity. Spence said China's economy will depend on the continued structural transformation on the supply side in the long run. "The growth potential is really quite substantial," he added. Liu Jun, president of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, said that China's economy will regain its great potential as the country can transform the whole economy to a new and high-quality level. "Technologies like the Internet of Things, cloud computing and AI drive the new economic paradigm. China's huge market and population (is) coupled with the Chinese people's passion for trying new things," Liu said. Also at the summit, Standard Chartered's China CEO Jean Lu told Xinhua that China's economy is undergoing a major transformation with the cultivation of new quality productive forces. New technologies and high-tech enterprises are emerging and developing fast, and the transformation and upgrade of the Chinese economy is accelerating, Lu said, noting that it is a remarkable trend and will boost China's economy in the long run. Thomas Fang, head of China global markets at UBS, told Xinhua that facing the complex and changeable international environment and the profound adjustment of economic structure, new opportunities and waves are emerging in China. The digital economy, high-end manufacturing and new energy, as well as other high-tech fields, will become the power source of China's economy, Fang said. "Here we see many opportunities associated with the development of AI," said Tim Wannenmacher, co-head of Global Markets Asia Pacific at UBS, adding that the country benefits from the advantage of an active engineering talent pool, large amounts of data and diverse use scenarios for large language models. The 2024 Bund Summit, themed "Navigating a Changing World," is being held in Shanghai from Sept. 5 to 7. This year's summit gathered former central bank governors, leading economists, and business leaders, among others from across the world. Israeli security forces stand guard near the Allenby Bridge, a key crossing point between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jordan, after a shooting attack on Sept. 8, 2024. A gunman opened fire on Sunday at the Allenby Bridge, killing three people before being shot dead by Israeli forces, Israeli officials said. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua) JERUSALEM, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- A gunman opened fire on Sunday at the Allenby Bridge, a key crossing point between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jordan, killing three people before being shot dead by Israeli forces, Israeli officials said. The Israel Defense Forces described the incident at the crossing jointly controlled by Israel and Jordan as a shooting attack. Police confirmed the assailant had been shot dead. Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said three men in their 50s were fatally wounded by gunfire, and their deaths were pronounced at the scene. Israel's state-owned Kan TV reported that early indications suggest the gunman was a Jordanian truck driver who approached the crossing, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, from the Jordanian side and fired at border guards at close range. The attack comes amid rising tensions, large-scale Israeli raids in the West Bank, and an 11-month-long war in the Gaza Strip. An Israeli soldier stands guard near the Allenby Bridge, a key crossing point between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jordan, after a shooting attack on Sept. 8, 2024. A gunman opened fire on Sunday at the Allenby Bridge, killing three people before being shot dead by Israeli forces, Israeli officials said. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua) Israeli police patrol near the Allenby Bridge, a key crossing point between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jordan, after a shooting attack on Sept. 8, 2024. A gunman opened fire on Sunday at the Allenby Bridge, killing three people before being shot dead by Israeli forces, Israeli officials said. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua) Israeli security forces stand guard near the Allenby Bridge, a key crossing point between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jordan, after a shooting attack on Sept. 8, 2024. A gunman opened fire on Sunday at the Allenby Bridge, killing three people before being shot dead by Israeli forces, Israeli officials said. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua) Police cars and an ambulance are pictured near the Allenby Bridge, a key crossing point between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jordan, after a shooting attack on Sept. 8, 2024. A gunman opened fire on Sunday at the Allenby Bridge, killing three people before being shot dead by Israeli forces, Israeli officials said. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua) An ambulance is seen near the Allenby Bridge, a key crossing point between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jordan, after a shooting attack on Sept. 8, 2024. A gunman opened fire on Sunday at the Allenby Bridge, killing three people before being shot dead by Israeli forces, Israeli officials said. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua) Israeli soldiers work at the scene of a shooting attack at the Allenby Bridge, a key crossing point between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jordan, on Sept. 8, 2024. A gunman opened fire on Sunday at the Allenby Bridge, killing three people before being shot dead by Israeli forces, Israeli officials said. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua) Israeli soldiers work at the scene of a shooting attack at the Allenby Bridge, a key crossing point between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jordan, on Sept. 8, 2024. A gunman opened fire on Sunday at the Allenby Bridge, killing three people before being shot dead by Israeli forces, Israeli officials said. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua) Israeli soldiers work at the scene of a shooting attack at the Allenby Bridge, a key crossing point between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jordan, on Sept. 8, 2024. A gunman opened fire on Sunday at the Allenby Bridge, killing three people before being shot dead by Israeli forces, Israeli officials said. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua) J-K Assembly Election: NC leader Farooq Abdullah criticised the BJP for allegedly intimidating Hindu voters in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of the assembly elections. "They believe that the Hindus will vote for them but today, the Hindus have changed now," he said. Farooq Abdullah, the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference president, said, They [BJP] want to threaten the Hindu community. They believe that the Hindus will vote for them but today, the Hindus have changed nowFirst they [BJP] tried to sell Ram and now they want to threaten them," reported PTI. Also Read | J&K: Farooq Abdullah confirms alliance with Congress on all 90 assembly seats Farooq Abdullah, who visited the Naseembagh mausoleum on the occasion of 42nd death anniversary of National Conference founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdulla, said, We are not intruders. We don't snatching away mangalsutraMuslims have an equal contribution towards the freedom of India. During the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that the Congress would "steal the gold of mothers and sisters" if it elected to power at the Centre. "Now these people's eyes are on the 'Mangalsutra' of women," he ad said. While speaking to reporters at the mausoleum, he asserted that terrorism is rising again and blamed the BJP for it. Farooq Abdullah added, They repealed Article 370 (of the Constitution) but did terrorism end? Terrorism is rising again and it is all their responsibility. Criticising the BJP's rhetoric, Abdullah vowed that the JKNC-Congress alliance will restore statehood. Emphasising the secularism principle of the Constitution, the former chief minister said BJP's manifesto was just a jumla and that Bharat belongs to all Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists. But we are against that Bharat which they [Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah] want to create, Abdullah said. "There are many questions. The biggest question, which the Congress Party and many parties have been raising is that you (BJP) took away the status of a full state from a state and made it a Union Territory. No bigger injustice has been done to any state in this country." PTI quoted Congress leader Pawan Khera as saying. A disagreement over a tiny strip of land along Gazas border with Egypt has become one of the major stumbling blocks to reaching a cease-fire. The Philadelphi corridor, also known as Salah al Din Axis, is a nearly nine-mile-long, 100-yard-wide area inside Gaza. It has played a key role for Hamas to smuggle arms and material across the border from Egypt, including through tunnels that the militants dug under the frontier. Israeli troops are currently in control of the corridor. The corridor is the oxygen of Hamas," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week, explaining why he believes Israeli troops should remain there until there is a new agreed-upon way for securing the area. At the heart of the disagreement are two seemingly irresolvable positions: The U.S. and Israel want to secure an initial cease-fire without resolving how to secure the Philadelphi corridor. Nothing in the agreement mentions the Philadelphi corridor," a senior U.S. administration official told reporters in a call Wednesday. That question and other thorny issues would be discussed after an initial cease-fire is in place and would be carried out in a second phase, according to the U.S. and Israel. Hamas, on the other hand, is insisting that Israeli troops leave the area to reach any sort of cease-fire, which is also what Egypt publicly says it wants. That disagreementalong with exchange of Hamas-held hostages for Palestinian prisoners in Israelhas delayed a cease-fire deal after months of painstaking negotiations. Yet the issue has caused confusion and consternation throughout the talks as well as conflict within Israeli leadership over Netanyahus demand. Here are the positions of the various parties: The U.S. proposal The current U.S.-backed bridging proposal" is intended to overcome disputes between Israel and Hamas for a cease-fire. During the initial phase, which would stop the fighting for six weeks, Israel is only required to withdraw troops from what are described as densely populated areas. Israel over the past couple of weeks proposed a significant reduction of its forces in the corridor, as it is adjacent to Rafah city, but not a complete withdrawal, the senior U.S. administration official said. Phase one, doesnt specifically address the Philadelphi corridor, though the Israeli commitment to withdraw from the heavily populated area will thin out the Israeli military presence there. The conditions for a full pullout would be discussed during the cease-fire, which could be extended beyond six weeks. A complete Israeli troop withdrawal, including from the Philadelphi corridor, would take place in the second phase if negotiations during the initial cease-fire are successful. The third phase would involve the reconstruction of Gaza. There are a number of ideas for how the Philadelphi corridor might be secured if Israeli forces were to leave in the second phase, including some ideas that involve technology, such as an underground barrier and surveillance equipment. But the U.S. hasnt publicly spelled out the ideas in its proposal, and there is no agreed plan for how to secure the corridor without Israeli troops. The Israeli view Netanyahu says he is firmly opposed to leaving the corridor at this time, insisting the presence of Israeli troops there is essential to prevent Hamas from rearming and critical to Israels stated war goals: destroying Hamass military and governing capabilities, as well as preventing Gaza from threatening Israels security in the future. Netanyahu also argues that if Israel leaves the corridor, Hamas will be able to smuggle hostages out of Gaza and into Egyptand from there beyond Israels reach. Gaza cannot have a future if Gaza remains porous and you can enable rearmament of terrorists through the Philadelphi corridor," he said in a news conference Wednesday night. Though Netanyahu has indicated that he is open to removing all of the Israeli troops from the corridor at a later point if a suitable security arrangement can be devised, he is facing dissension from others inside the country who favor a more immediate pullout. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz, a former war cabinet member and now opposition leader, both said this week that Israel didnt need troops on the corridor at this time. Gallant argued securing the release of hostages was more important than leaving troops along the border in phase one, while Gantz maintained Israeli forces could return to the area at any point. Egyptian resistance Egypt is openly rejecting Netanyahus position and says it wants Israeli troops to withdraw as part of any initial cease-fire. Cairo has long maintained it has secured the passageway properly and is against the presence of Israeli troops there. The Egyptian government, however, may be open to some Israeli troops staying in phase one, if there is a U.S.-backed guarantee that they would eventually leave, regardless of the outcome of phase two. Egypt already agreed to build a new U.S.-financed barrier along the border with sensors and security cameras, though there are disagreements about how much access Israel would get to the data. Cairo also asked the U.S. for written guarantees that Israel would stop fighting the war indefinitely and never return to the corridor or the Rafah crossing along the border, even if the second phase of negotiations fall apart. Hamass reluctance Hamas continues to insist there can be no agreement until Israel fully withdraws from Gaza, including the Philadelphi corridor. The militant group says Israelis must leave the corridor to conclude a phase-one deal, in part, because they fear that phase two may never come. Some U.S. officials also said that it remains unclear whether Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar wants a cease-fire, though they believe that Hamas field commanders would welcome a break in the fighting. Husam Badran, a member of the political bureau of Hamas, told Al Jazeera that Netanyahu was to blame for the lack of a cease-fire, according to a post Saturday on the militant groups Telegram account. It cited the Israeli leaders position, among other issues, on the Philadelphi corridor. Write to Alexander Ward at alex.ward@wsj.com, Dov Lieber at dov.lieber@wsj.com, Summer Said at summer.said@wsj.com and Michael R. Gordon at michael.gordon@wsj.com Leo Wurpillot was ten years old when he learned he had a brain tumour. To determine its malignancy, sections of the tumour had to be surgically removed and analysed. Now 19, he recalls the anguish that came with the subsequent three-month wait for a diagnosis. The news was good, and today Mr Wurpillot is a thriving first-year biomedical student at Cardiff University. But the months-long post-operative anticipation remains hard for patients to bear. That wait may one day be a thing of the past. On June 27th a group of brain surgeons, neuropathologists and computational biologists met at Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham to hear about an ultrafast sequencing project developed by researchers at Nottingham University and the local hospital. Their work will allow brain tumours to be classified from tissue samples in two hours or less. As brain surgeries typically take many hours, this would allow results to come in before the end of surgery and inform the operation itself. Different tumours require different types of treatment. Some can be dealt with by radiation therapy or drugs alone, whereas others require surgery. But deciding how much of the tumour must be cut away in the delicate area of the brain, where removals can have lifelong consequences for the patients, is exceptionally tricky. And without knowing how dangerous the tumour is, surgeons cannot make the right judgments about how aggressive to be. To help them out, the Nottingham team is relying on a technology called nanopore sequencing. This sequences molecules of DNA or RNA by passing them through tiny holes engineered into a membrane. By measuring how an electric current running through those holes changes as different parts of the molecule pass through, the DNA can be read in real time. Nanopore sequencers can also speed up the analysis by doing something called adaptive sampling. This scans each DNA strand to see if it contains specific mutations that might be of interest. If none is found, the strand is ejected from the pores, leaving them open to sequence another strand. As data come out of the sequencing device it is processed by algorithms that classify the tumour as malignant or otherwise. Since March last year the team have analysed tumours from 90 patients. Thirty were retrospective samples to check their technique matched the answers given by conventional molecular and genomic classification methods. A further 60 were prospective samples taken during surgery. Across all 90 patients, the results matched those obtained by the old techniques in over 90% of cases, says Simon Paine, a consultant neuropathologist at Nottingham University and part of the project team. Stuart Smith, a consultant neurosurgeon at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust and another member of the team, has canvassed colleagues about the data they have previously been able to generate on patients tumours. His results suggest the new technique would have changed the surgical strategies employed between 18% and 50% of the time. In some cases patients would have needed only one brain surgery rather than two. The approach is attracting interest. Dr Paine says that many of Britains neurology centres have contacted them about the technique. They think it could eventually spread to the analysis of other types of tumour, including lymphomas and leukaemias, for which a battery of tests already exists. If ultrafast sequencing can be speeded up even further, drugs capable of effecting genetic changes in a brain tumour could one day be given during the operation itself. The team hopes they can get the test validated and approved for use as a diagnostic tool in the coming months. Neurosurgeons are not the first clinicians to discover the benefit of nanopore sequencing. A recent three-year study at Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust used it to sequence the pathogens found on patients in intensive care, and found that 3% of patients were harbouring pathogens responsible for dangerous diseases such as Legionnaires as well as nasty strains of MRSA. Bringing genetic sequencing to the medical front lines heralds a new era of diagnostic possibilities. The various motions of celestial bodies and the cosmos, including the planets, their rotations on different planes and at different periods result in a range of phenomena. Notable astronomical phenomena such as nebula, solar and lunar eclipses, all give rise to a wide array of images. When viewed from the top, these occurrences can prove to be stunning and mesmerizing to look at. Space agencies such as NASA have been sharing images of these astronomical events time and again. Here are the top five images captured by NASA: The Moon, dressed like Saturn NASA had captioned this image as The Moon dressed like Saturn. While the photo may showcase the moon a bit bigger than its usual size, in reality it is not. The Moon is in a slight crescent phase, with much of its surface illuminated by reflected Earthlight, known as Da Vinci glow. The bright crescent is directly illuminated by the Sun from below, indicating that the Sun must be below the horizon, suggesting the image was taken before sunrise. This intriguing photograph was captured on December 24, 2019, just two days before the Moon moved in front of the Sun, causing a solar eclipse. In the foreground, the lights of small Guatemalan towns are visible against the backdrop of the massive Pacaya volcano, stated NASA. Supermoon beyond the Temple of Poseidon The image shows a Supermoon, which rose against the backdrop of the Temple of Poseidon in Greece. This supermoon was the first in a series of four supermoons for the year 2024. The third supermoon is expected in September. Supermoons appear a bit larger and brighter than typical full moons because they reach their full phase when they are slightly closer to Earthcloser than 90 percent of all full moons. The supermoon in the image was also considered a blue moon under the definition that it is the third of four full moons occurring in a single season. Blue moons are not actually blue in colour. The second full moon in a single month is often referred to as a blue moon. Moon eclipses Saturn We have often heard about solar and lunar eclipses, where the sun and moon often get hidden because of certain astronomical phenomena. This image by NASA captures an unusual moment where the moon eclipsed Saturn. A recent Saturnian eclipse, more formally known as an occultation, was visible across a broad region of Earthfrom Peru and across the Atlantic Ocean to Italyjust a few days ago. The color image shown is a digital composite of the clearest photographs taken during the event, with adjustments made for color balance and brightness to highlight both the relatively dim Saturn and the much brighter Moon, stated NASA. The exposure was captured from Breda, Catalonia, Spain, just before the occultation began. Eclipses of Saturn by Moon is expected to occur monthly for the rest of the year. However, each occurrence will only be visible to those with clear skies and the right location on Earth. Star Factory Messier 17 This image by NASA shows a star factory named Messier 17, which lies some 5,500 light-years away in the nebula-rich constellation Sagittarius. At that distance, this 1.5 degree wide field-of-view would span about 150 light-years. In the sharp color composite image faint details of the region's gas and dust clouds are highlighted with narrowband image data against a backdrop of central Milky Way stars. Also Read | NASA shares mesmerising image of Galaxy NGC 5033. Netizens react According to NASA, the stellar winds and energetic radiation from hot, massive stars already formed from M17's stock of cosmic gas and dust have slowly carved away at the remaining interstellar material. This produced the nebula's cavernous appearance and the undulating shapes, that can be seen in the image. A popular stop on telescopic tours of the cosmos, M17 is also known as the Omega or the Swan Nebula. Sky full of arcs, caused by the launch of an electron rocket On August 11, 2024, a Rocket Lab Electron rocket had been launched from a rotating planet, carrying a small satellite on a mission called A Sky Full of SARs (Synthetic Aperture Radar satellites). The rocket departed for low Earth orbit from the Mahia Peninsula on New Zealand's North Island. NASA's image captures the fiery trace of the Electron's graceful launch trajectory toward the east, set against a southern sea and skyscape. SpaceX plans to launch its first uncrewed Starships to Mars in two years, aligning with the next Earth-Mars transfer window, CEO Elon Musk's informed on Saturday. Musk explained that these missions will be used to assess the reliability of landing safely on Mars. If successful, the first crewed flights could take place in four years. Taking to X, Elon Musk stated, "The first Starships to Mars will launch in 2 years when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens. These will be uncrewed to test the reliability of landing intact on Mars. "If those landings go well, then the first crewed flights to Mars will be in 4 years. Flight rate will grow exponentially from there, with the goal of building a self-sustaining city in about 20 years. Being multiplanetary will vastly increase the probable lifespan of consciousness, as we will no longer have all our eggs, literally and metabolically, on one planet," he added. Musk, in another post, stated that SpaceX created the first fully reusable rocket stage and made the reuse economically viable. "SpaceX created the first fully reusable rocket stage and, much more importantly, made the reuse economically viable. Making life multiplanetary is fundamentally a cost per ton to Mars problem," Musk posted on X. "It currently costs about a billion dollars per ton of useful payload to the surface of Mars. That needs to be improved to USD 100k/ton to build a self-sustaining city there, so the technology needs to be 10,000 times better. Extremely difficult, but not impossible," he added. SpaceX's successful launch of starship In June of this year, SpaceX successfully launched its Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, achieving several key objectives during its fourth test flight, according to a report from CNN. The launch took place on June 6 at 8:50 a.m. ET from SpaceX's private Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, with the company providing live coverage via X. The Starship launch system consists of two main components: the upper Starship spacecraft and the Super Heavy booster. During the launch, 32 of the boosters 33 engines ignited, as mentioned in the SpaceX broadcast and reported by CNN. Several milestones were reached during the test flight, including the successful reentry of the Starship capsule, which withstood peak heating as it passed through Earth's atmosphere. Both the capsule and booster safely splashed down after the flight. Apple's ubiquitous iPhone is about to break new ground with a shift into artificial intelligence that will do everything from smartening up its frequently dim-witted assistant Siri to creating customized emojis on the fly. The new era will dawn Monday with the unveiling of the hotly anticipated iPhone 16 in a Cupertino, California, auditorium named after Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who pulled out the first iPhone in 2007 and waved it like a magic wand while predicting it would reshape society. Apple has sold billions of iPhones since then, helping to create about $3 trillion in shareholder wealth. But in the past decade, there have been mostly minor upgrades from one model to the next a factor that has caused people to hold off on buying a new iPhone and led to a recent slump in sales of Apple's marquee product. The iPhone 16 is generating a bigger buzz because it is the first model to be tailored specifically for AI, a technology that is expected to trigger the biggest revolution in the industry since Jobs thrust Apple into the smartphone market 17 years ago. The advances included in the iPhone 16 could set up Apple to be the gatekeeper of the consumer AI revolution," Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote in a research note. Apple's pivot began three months ago with a preview of its new approach during a developers conference, helping to build anticipation for Monday's showcase. Since that June conference, competitors such as Samsung and Google have made even more strides in AI. Google even took the unusual step of introducing its latest Pixel phones packed with their own AI magic last month instead of hewing to its traditional October timetable in an effort to upstage Apple's release of the iPhone 16. In an attempt to set itself apart from the early leaders in AI, the technology being baked into the iPhone 16 is being promoted as Apple Intelligence." Even so, Apple Intelligence is similar to the generically named AI already available on Google's Pixel 9 and the Samsung Galaxy S24 released in January. Most of Apple's AI tasks will be performed on the iPhone itself instead of remote data centers a distinction that requires a special processor within the forthcoming models and the high-end iPhone 15s that came out a year ago. That's why investors anticipate hot demand for the iPhone 16, spurring a surge in sales that has caused Apple's stock price to climb by 13% since Apple previewed its AI strategy in June. That spike has increased the company's market value by nearly $400 billion. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. 3.6 Crore Indians visited in a single day choosing us as India's undisputed platform for General Election Results. Explore the latest updates here! This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis addresses the guests at the opening of the 88th Thessaloniki International Fair, in Thessaloniki, Greece, Sept. 7, 2024. Mitsotakis announced on Saturday a package of economic measures that will be implemented over the next year as part of a wider "road map to 2027." (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) ATHENS, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Saturday a package of economic measures that will be implemented over the next year as part of a wider "road map to 2027." Mitsotakis made the announcement while delivering a speech on next year's economic program at the 88th Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF), the country's largest annual trade fair. The government's new term will end in 2027, and by then the goal is to achieve higher growth and fairly distribute it among all Greeks, he said. "Our country needs to move forward faster, safely, with hope ... and prosperity in every corner (of Greece) for each citizen," Mitsotakis said. The set of measures outlined is aimed at strengthening the income of households through further increases as of Jan. 1, 2025 in pensions and salaries in private and public sectors, as well as higher benefits for the most vulnerable groups, such as the unemployed and people with disabilities, he said. Mitsotakis also announced the establishment of an investment fund that will support projects in sectors such as artificial intelligence. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis addresses the guests at the opening of the 88th Thessaloniki International Fair, in Thessaloniki, Greece, Sept. 7, 2024. Mitsotakis announced on Saturday a package of economic measures that will be implemented over the next year as part of a wider "road map to 2027." (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) From the opening moments of Raquel Montero Calero's Corseted Art (when creativity bursts) the audience is aware of the magnitude of the themes to be explored. Last Friday Calero's stint as artist in residence at Shawbrook showed the first buds of the creative process that has been two years in the making. This presentation was a tasting menu, a glimpse of a work still in its nascent stage, yet alluding to the dramatic potential for the piece. The artistic project examines links between Spain and Ireland and represents the impact the Spanish Civil War had on the art scene. PICTURES | Style, glitz and glamour on Longford catwalk for The Devils in Prada Fashion Show Provoking discussion on the subsequent footprints the Irish left behind following their involved in the Spaniards troubles between 1936 and 1939 is another theme being developed. Even in this early offering the possibilities of the plan to incorporate contemporary dance, physical theatre and flamenco are apparent. The first part of the piece was in Shawbrook's Film Studio Theatre. This intimate setting was perfect as Calero commences the journey by acting against a soundscape that presents the turmoil of war. PICTURES | Longford audience highly impressed with Ballinamuck documentary which preserves legacy for future generations The opening interpretive dance is very much Andalusian in origin. When director James O'Donnell guided the audience out to the forest stage the conjoining of two cultures in a time of conflict manifested itself. The artist has used her residency to research the Irish who went to the Spanish Civil War, and that has evolved a story that builds through music and dance. At the forest stage Calero is first joined on stage by guitarist Juan Jose Manzano, then flamenco dancer Rebeca Sanchez. The interactions between the dancers and the musicians is mesmerising. Also read: Longford Culture night 2024: Everything from punk rock to piano and photography to drama At this stage the show has a strong identity and the audience reaction suggests that it is heading in the right direction. The sound design by Odhran O'Brien is a subtle star of the show. With this opening salvo Calero shows a keen eye for blending arts. The showcase of Corseted Art (when creativity bursts) took place in Shawbrook last Friday (August 30). The finished show will be performed in the Ramor Theatre, Virginia on October 12, 2024. PICTURES | Saturday night fever! Enjoying a fun night out in Longford in 2011 A Limerick family has been left living in torment after a review into the decision not to hold an inquest for their beloved brother and son, who was knifed to death in Manchester, was refused. Father-of-two Tom Murphy (pictured below), aged 42, from Ballyagran, died after he was stabbed 34 times with a kitchen knife by Stephen Owusu, 23, in a row about a broken plate in a shared rented house in September 2022. All we want is an inquest to get answers. Im a believer in the seven Ws - What, When, Where, How, Who, Which and Why - and then well see. Weve been left living in torment, said his younger brother Darragh in an interview with the Limerick Leader. Minister of State Niall Collins has written to Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin, asking him to engage with the UK Government through the Irish Ambassador and Consular Service in England and ask for an inquest into the death of Tom Murphy to be held. Darragh spoke of the familys disgust at the treatment by authorities in the UK and said justice has not been served. In the following days, weeks and months after Toms death, the family tried to find out as much as they could about what happened. We started asking questions. The Greater Manchester Police said they couldnt really tell us because if it got into the media it would jeopardise the case. We asked why did the man kill him and they said they believed it was over a broken plate. We were told all the questions we have will be answered at the inquest when the hearing was over, said Darragh. Darragh said the family wasn't consulted when the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the English equivalent of the DPP, decided to drop a murder charge and accept a plea to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility - paranoid schizophrenia. At the court case in October 2023, a judge imposed a hospital order on Owusu. He was sent to a secure hospital indefinitely for treatment for his mental health disorder instead of going to jail. A week later they learned there will be no inquest held into Toms horrific death in Manchester. He had lived and worked in the telecommunications industry in the UK for over 20 years. Darragh hired a solicitor to make a case for the decision not to hold an inquest to be reviewed. He was informed in recent weeks it was refused. Local TD Niall Collins said it is very hard to comprehend why there hasnt been an inquest. In Ireland, inquests are held in cases of sudden, unexplained or violent death of a person. Tom Murphy was stabbed 34 times. From speaking to the Murphy family, they have many unanswered questions. The least the Murphy family deserve is an inquest into Toms terrible death, where they can ask the questions that remain to be answered and hopefully get some small bit of closure, said Mr Collins, who has written to Tanaiste Micheal Martin about the case. The Murphy family have a number of questions regarding Owusus previous treatment for mental health difficulties and if Toms death could have been prevented. They drew parallels with the Nottingham Attacks where Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates were killed by Valdo Calocane in June 2023. Last month, Panorama investigated his history of mental ill health, the care he received in the three years before the Nottingham attacks and asked what lessons can be learned. Like Owusu, Calocane was given a hospital order after admitting manslaughter by diminished responsibility. Darragh said it emerged in Owusus court case he tried to attack his mum, before threatening to kill her while brandishing a knife. Police were called and officers attended. Owusu was referred to Derbyshire's Crime Diversion Scheme'. Later, Owusu turned violent towards his dad. Owusu was cautioned by cops, according to the Manchester Evening News. Darragh said one of a number of questions the Murphy family have is how Owusu, who believed voices in his head were talking to each other, was allowed free in the community and rent a room in a four-bed shared house in Manchester. That is when he met Tom Murphy. Two months later, Owusu would kill him because he thought Tom had broken his plate. Darragh said Tom told him on the phone prior to his death that he had concerns over Owusu, who he said had directed a racial slur against Tom. I remember the day of that conversation because it was the day the Queen died. He had rang my mam. I came into the kitchen and she put me onto him, recalled Darragh. He says the family do not accept the manslaughter verdict and would like him to serve his time in a normal prison. It would be the only thing that would give us comfort to think that the youngster would be amongst his own, said Darragh. He concluded by speaking about the anger they feel at being let down by authorities. All we want is an inquest to ask the questions that remain unanswered, said Darragh. Excited to know what Apple will announce at the September 9 press event on Monday? Oh boy, have you come to the right place. Because, in a shocking (yet totally believable) turn of events, Macworlds hardworking reporters have yet again hit journalistic paydirt. Those absent-minded folk at Cupertinos marketing department carelessly left the scripts and rehearsal tapes in the bins out back at Apple Parkwhoops!and after wiping off the worst coffee stains we can reveal all the juicy details here. Today is Amazon Prime Big Deal Days! Our editorial team lists the best tech deals here. ] So here, minute by minute, is everything that will be announced at the Its Glowtime! iPhone event. Possibly. (If you dont believe this is real, and you probably shouldnt, you can follow the real event on Monday with our Glowtime live blog.) Introduction 09:58 a.m.: The pre-stream starts up. Neon shapes dance hypnotically across the screen in time to the toe-tapping sounds of Third-Quarter Revenue Expectations by Chief Financial Officer. 10:00: Here we go! As weve come to expect, the presentation begins with a swooping camera shot (Is it a drone? Is it CGI?) over Apple Park. The camera comes to rest in front of the famous rainbow sculpture in the bucolic central courtyard, where Tim Cook smilingly welcomes us to a morning of propaganda and naked consumerism. 10:01: Today is going to be all about the future, Cook explains. The time of man is over, he chuckles, culture is dead, and art is obsolete. Rejoice as the omnipotent machine consumes your very soul! Sounds like were going to be hearing lots more about Apple Intelligence. 10:03: Apple will be focusing on four key product areas today: the iPhone, the Apple Watch, AirPods, and the iPad. Its going to be a busy morning! 10:04: Heres Jeff to tell you more. iPhone 16 10.05: The camera swoops to the lion enclosure of a nearby zoo, where Apple COO Jeff Williams is yawning and eating hunks of raw meat. He winks. 10:06: Thanks Tim. Here at Apple, were proud that iPhone brings so much joy to people around the world. It entertains you. It keeps you safe. And it keeps you in touch with the people you love. Thats why were excited to show you the next generation of iPhone! And for the next 11 minutes Im going to pretend this is the best phone we sell. 10:08: Were watching a video of iPhone 16. In most respects, it looks a lot like the iPhone 15, except ah yes, the twin cameras on the rear are vertically aligned, like on the old iPhone X. Not just a retro touch (and a way for buyers to show off the fact that theyve upgraded since last year) but better for capturing spatial video for the Vision Pro. Foundry Foundry Foundry 10:10: Confirmation too that the non-Pro models are getting the Action button that was previously limited to the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. And were seeing the advertising tagline for the iPhone 16: Iterating Conservatively For Shareholders Benefit. 10:11: We think youre going to love iPhone 16, says Williams, at least for the next six minutes. For example, it features an A18 processor! That sounds good, doesnt it? But in reality, its the same as the A17 Pro chip in last years iPhone 15 Pro handsets, only rebranded. Clever, arent we? 10:12: The iPhone 16 will be available in six colors: white, black, blue, green, pink, and octarine. These are exceptionally bright, eye-catching finishes. 10:13: iPhone 16 will be fully equipped with the latest developments in AI! Thanks to Apple Intelligence, you can generate soulless illustrations of your friends while artists starve. Its insanely great! 10:15: Williams holds up his iPhone 16 and shows a gen AI picture of a boot stamping on a human face. The human face has tears in all three of its eyes. 10:16: And on that jolly note, were moving on. No word on release dates or pricing just yet. 10:17: Were watching a promotional video for yep, its iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max! And these look seriously gorgeous. And they get a new button on the righthand edgeis that the Capture button? Yes! We were expecting that on all four models, but its a Pro exclusive. 10:18: The tagline is Please Spend More Money. 10:19: Forget the stupid, worthless iPhone 16. This is iPhone 16 Pro, a real phone for real consumers. We think youre going to love it. 10:20: The 16 Pro handsets are bigger than their predecessors. The 16 Pro has a 6.3-inch display (up from 6.1 inches) while the 16 Pro Max has a 6.9-inch display (up from 6.7 inches). The latter is the biggest screen Apple has ever made for a phone. 10:21: It seems the phones arent just bigger for the sake of bigger screens (although Apple is pushing that as a benefit) but also to accommodate bulkier camera hardware. The famous periscope lens is coming to the 16 Pro, having for size reasons been restricted to the larger Pro Max model last year. That means a 5x optical zoom on both Pro phones as of this year. 10:22: But the 16 Pro Max is still extra super duper special, because it now gets a larger 1/1.14-inch sensor, compared to 1/1.28-inch on the 16 Pro. Needless to say, this is the most sophisticated camera Apple has ever released, and you get a nice smartphone attached to it. 10:24: Williams is talking about Apple silicon now. With more than 20 billion transistors, our all-new A18 Pro chip is so powerful it will make the A18 look like a pathetic worm. It features an upgraded Neural Engine to handle the demands of Apple Intelligence, and frankly, anyone using an iPhone 16 to run Apple Intelligence needs their head examined. 10:26: Were rattling through some specs now. The 16 Pro phones have bigger batteries (another benefit of the size increase!) which means theyll last an hour longer than their respective predecessors. 10:27: The Pro handsets get Wi-Fi 7. We werent sure if that would happen so soon after Wi-Fi 6E landed on the iPhone 15 Pro last year, but this is the right decision. 10:28: The iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max are available in four colors: Sensible Black, Plain White, Somber Gray, and a new Dull Brown. 10:29: And were wrapping up! Pricing now: the iPhone 16 starts at $799, the 16 Plus at $899, and the 16 Pro Max at $1,199. Those are all the same as the equivalent models last year. The 16 Pro, though, gets a price bump this year (due to the new inclusion of a periscope lens), and it costs $1,099, up from $999 for the iPhone 15 Pro at launch. 10:30: The new phones are all available to pre-order from this Friday (September 13), and will appear in stores the following Friday (September 20). And were moving on, as Tim Cook returns to the virtual stage. David Price / Foundry David Price / Foundry David Price / Foundry Apple Watch 10:31: Ten years ago today, says Cook, twinkling affably, we unveiled the very first Apple Watch. And so much has changed since then! For example, it now looks slightly different. 10:32: Apple Watch is about to change more than ever before, Cook says. And Jeff Williams is going to tell us all about it. 10.33: Were back in the zoo, where Jeff Williams sits astride a mighty ostrich. He leaps off, does a pirouette, and drops down into a perfect lotus position. 10:34: Apple Watch is the perfect digital companion, he says. Its always with you, its intimately acquainted with your health and fitness, its easily controlled via the extremely reliable and never annoying Siri voice assistant, and its perfectly integrated into Apples ecosystem of products. Thats why we decided not to bother putting Apple Intelligence on it. Yes, this does seem like a strange omission. 10:36: Instead, he says, the next generation of Apple Watch is going to focus on a comprehensive redesign, and upgraded health sensors. 10:37: Were seeing a promotional video of the new Apple Watch. It looks genuinely different from last years Series 9. The chassis is noticeably slimmer, the edges are flatter, and theres something different about the way the strap is attached. This could be the rumored magnetic attachment. 10:39: And heres official confirmation that its called Apple Watch X. Presumably that will be pronounced ten, as was the case for the iPhone X and Mac OS X. 10:40: The watch may be slimmer, but it has a bigger display. As Williams explains, the Apple Watch X is available in 45mm and (matching the Apple Watch Ultra) 49mm sizes, with the old 41mm size retired. This means you can get the benefit of the Ultras giant screen without its excessive bulk on the wrist. 10:42: And heres another major physical change: the Apple Watch gets the customizable Action button that was previously available on the Apple Watch Ultra models only. Thats in addition to the Digital Crown dial and the side button on the righthand edge. 10:44: Williams is talking about health and fitness, which he says is vital to ensuring dominance over other creatures of the forest and field. He claims the Apple Watch is the most popular fitness device in the world, and is responsible for saving hundreds of lives thanks to its groundbreaking safety features and ability to offer early health warnings. 10:46: In that spirit, the Apple Watch is getting a new health feature: its a blood pressure monitor! This has been the subject of rumors for a long time but we expected it to be postponed to 2025this is a real coup for Apple. Jim Martin / Foundry Jim Martin / Foundry Jim Martin / Foundry 10:48: Williams is talking about straps now. The new magnetic band locking mechanism is, he says, easier and quicker to use than any watch attachment system in history. He expects users to change the strap on their Apple Watch multiple times a week, or to match outfits, moods, and activities. A coincidence, of course, that this will also enable Apple and its partners to sell more accessories. 10:50: Thats Apple Watch X, says Williams, and we think youre going to love it. 10.51: Were moving on rapidly, and whats this? Promotional video shows what looks like yes! Its Apple Watch SE 3. The design appears the same as on the 2nd-gen model, but the finish is somehow different. 10:52: We know that our customers love Apple Watch SE, so we gave it our full attention. Weve completely overhauled the design to make it better than ever, and even more affordable. We think youve going to love it. 10:54: Apple Watch SE has been redesigned from the ground up, which means okay, its still basically the same design but it has a plastic body. That doesnt sound hugely appealing, although Apple has managed to make it look pretty decent. And presumably will mean a lower price. 10:56: All new colors! Apple Watch SE 3 will be available in pink, yellow, neon green, tartan, leopard skin, and the Norwich City home kit from 1992 to 1994. 10:58: The price, we suspect, will be key to the appeal of the new SE, but no word on that just yet, because were moving on! 10:59: Promotional video of yes, its the Apple Watch Ultra. No major changes to the design this time. (Or last time, for that matter.) 11:01: Williams says the Ultra gets an all-new processor for this generation: the S10. (Note that this wasnt mentioned during the Apple Watch X presentation, because there were other things to talk about.) Other than that, its the Ultra you know and love, updated for 2025. 11:03: Oh, and theres a new second color option. The Ultra 2 is available in basic titanium only, but the Ultra 3 is also available in a blue titanium finish. 11:04: Right, were doing prices now. The all-new Apple Watch SE 3 will start at just $219 for the GPS model, and $259 for the cellular model. That compares to $249/$299 for the 2nd-gen model. Bit of a bargain, that. 11:05: Apple Watch X starts at $399 and Ultra 3 at $799. Those prices are both the same as the previous generations at launch. And the new Apple Watch models will all become available to pre-order on September 13 and hit stores on September 20. 11:07: Back to you, Tim! Foundry Foundry Foundry AirPods and iPad mini 11:08: Tim Cook says the new Apple Watches are sure to kickstart revenue expectations going forward and thanks the wearables team for their invaluable synergy within a hyperlocal snackable paradigm. 11:09: While were talking wearables Cook is now talking about AirPods. AirPods are the most iconic headphones on the planet and one of Apples most successful ever products. Which is why we hardly ever update them. He taps the side of his head, nodding sagely. 11:11: But it seems thats all about to change. Id like to introduce the newest member of Apples product team. Over to Taylor! 11:12: Taylor Swift (for it is she) is standing in an engineering lab deep in Apple Park. Shes wearing a lab coat and examining transistors through a microscope. Thanks, Tim. Im excited to be here at the unveiling of yet another iconic Apple device. If theres one thing I love, its product marketing. Roll the tape! 11:14: Were seeing a promotional video of Swift wearing a pair of AirPods as she goes about her day. Shopping, lunching, meeting record-company executives all while listening to music and podcasts, and holding phone calls, on her trusty Apple earbuds. 11:15: Official confirmation that Apple is today unveiling the 4th-gen version of its standard AirPods. We decided to take everything great about AirPods, and make it even better, says Swift. We think youre going to love it. 11:16: Apple has tweaked the design of the AirPods. They now have shorter stems and resemble a hybrid between the 3rd-gen AirPods and the AirPods Pro. 11:18: The new AirPods also get active noise cancellation, a feature previously exclusive to the AirPods Pro. Thats a big step. 11:19: When Im overseeing the edit of my latest award-winning album, I find that theres nothing better than Apples iconic AirPods Max over-ear headphones for delivering sharp audio at a surprisingly low price, says Swift, visibly reading from a script. They certainly arent laughably outdated. Im not even sure why someone would say that. 11:21: Apple is announcing, finally, the 2nd generation of AirPods Max! The first model came out back in December 2020, remember. 11:22: AirPods Max 2 feature a new, lighter design, and support for Apple Musics lossless audio. The case has been completely redesigned, too, for which we can only say, thank goodness. And they charge via USB-C instead of Lightning. 11:24: Pricing time! The 4th-gen AirPods will cost $189 with the MagSafe charging case (a small price bump compared to $179 for the 3rd-gen model). The 2nd-gen AirPods Max cost $599. Ouch. 11:25: And now, says Taylor, its over to Jeff for the latest iPad news. 11:26: Thanks Taylor, says Jeff Williams, who is sitting in a tree in the monkey enclosure. Big fan. Apple Apple Apple 11:27: Williams says the iPad is the leading tablet in the world, and hes been excited to see the response to the new iPad Air and Pro earlier this year. So we wanted to bring that same excitement to the iPad mini. 11:28: Promotional video time. The new iPad mini looks very much like the old iPad mini. (And it really is old. The 6th-gen iPad mini came out in September 2021.) No new design today. 11:30: This is potentially interesting, though: the mini is getting an M-class processor for the first time! Its getting a bump from the A15 to the M1. That leaves the 10th-gen iPad as the last A-class holdout in the iPad range. (The Air has M2 and the Pro has M4.) 11:31: The iPad also gets a bump in RAM allocation, from 4GB to 8GB. This is all part of a push to make it Apple Intelligence-ready. 11:32: Apple is also unveiling a new version of the Magic Keyboard Folio in the minis size. 11:33: And thats it. Williams says the new iPad mini will hit stores on September 20, and start at $499. Thats the same as before. 11:34: Thats iPad mini. We think youre going to love it. Back to you, Tim. Foundry Foundry Foundry One more thing 11:35: Tim Cook is wrapping things up now. Hes talking about the important products weve seen today, and how much theyre going to improve customers lives and generate value for the shareholders, which is the important thing. 11:36. I guess thats it. Except 11:37: Wow, its time for One More Thing! Were going back to Taylor Swift. 11:38: Thanks Tim. Now, if theres one thing I care about, its getting value for money on entry-level consumer products. And Apple is the place to come to for budget-friendly gadgets. 11:39: Cut to yet another video. (What is that now, eight?!) It shows Swift attending a Hollywood party while wearing another pair of AirPods! 11:40: Introducing AirPods SE. Not Quite As Good, But Cheaper. 11:41: The AirPods SE replace the 2nd-gen AirPods in Apples lineup. They cost just $99. Wow! 11:42: They launch this fall. No more detail than that. 11:43: Back to Cook, who wraps up, including giving his thanks to Luca Maestri (the outgoing CFO) for all his hard work over the years. And we really are done. CARACAS, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Brazil can no longer represent Argentina's diplomatic interests in Venezuela, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said in a statement released on Saturday. The statement said the decision was based on evidence that the Brazilian mission had been used for "planning terrorist activities." It also accused individuals inside the embassy of plotting "assassination attempts against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Vice President Delcy Rodriguez." Venezuela's National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner of the presidential elections on July 29, and called on the governments of Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay to withdraw their diplomatic staff accredited in the country, accusing the governments of those seven countries of "interference" in its internal affairs. Ann M. Murphy still counts the days. Twenty-three years. Its now been a generation, enough time for her brothers two children to have grown from little girls in kindergarten and nursery school into accomplished women, one an attorney and the other in her second year of medical school. Sally Trant brims with pride as she talks about her brothers two sons and how much theyve accomplished in the past two decades. One is married, and the brothers live and pursue careers in Denver, far from their familys East Coast roots. Kevin Shea says its been a good year for his family. He welcomed his first grandchild, there were two graduations and his daughters wedding on July 27 brought together all 17 of the Shea family cousins in Kansas City. Those festivities were topped off by announcement that his sisters son, Colin Creamer, will soon be a father. One thing remains unchanged. The city of Westfield, hometown to three young people who perished at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, the day terror struck America, never forgets its lost loved ones: Tara Kathleen Shea Creamer; Brian Joseph Murphy; and Daniel Patrick Trant. Creamer was aboard American Airlines Flight 11, the first of the jetliners that hijackers crashed into the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m. on that long ago morning. Murphy and Trant, both of whom worked for the financial firm of Cantor Fitzgerald, were on the 104th floor of the North Tower, unable to flee as the building collapsed just after 10. Within a year, Westfields Irish club, the Sons of Erin, dedicated a memorial to the three, and each year since pauses on the anniversary to honor and remember them and the nearly 3,000 who died in the attacks in New York, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Ann Murphy will be there on Wednesday. So, too, will Sally Trant, along with Brian Shea and Elizabeth Harris, two of the Shea siblings who still call Western Massachusetts home. Judith Bram Murphy and Brian Joseph Murphy are seen here with their two daughters, Jessica Bram Murphy and Leila Nicole Murphy. The girls were ages 5 and 3 when their father was killed on Sept. 11, 2001, in the terror attack at the World Trade Center in New York City. He worked for Cantor Fitzgerald Securities. A native of Westfield, he was one three people killed at the trade center with ties to Westfield. (MURPHY FAMILY PHOTO) Murphy isnt looking forward to the media coverage that approaches. The image of the first jetliner hitting the trade center is forever gut-wrenching, she said: I know where Brian was (then) so it brings it all back like it was 23 years ago. This anniversary comes against the backdrop of the announcement on July 31 that the government had reached an agreement in which Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the terror attacks, and his associates Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi would be spared the death penalty in exchange for pleading guilty. Within days, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III revoked the agreement, saying the decision would rest with him. I have mixed feelings, said Murphy. Honestly, I think the death penalty would be a fitting punishment. They have admitted culpability and to organizing the plots to execute the terror attacks. She makes clear she speaks only for herself and thinks of the trauma endured by her father, who died in 2003, and her mother, who died in 2014. Her two nieces have been to Guantanamo and believe the treatment of the 9/11 prisoners there over the past decade has been extremely inhumane, said Murphy. Im not sure I can convey that much empathy because I think about the trauma that was inflicted on our family and multiply it by almost 3,000 victims, she said. Its not only the victims of that day, but all the first responders who have suffered as a result of their involvement in rescuing and recovering. If you multiply the effects of that on society, that evil should not go unrecognized. It has to be punished or others will continue to carry out such acts. Daniel P. Trant, who grew up in Westfield, was killed on Sept. 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center. He worked for Cantor Fitzgerald in the North Tower. (TRANT FAMILY PHOTO) In the gated community where Sally Trant lives in Florida, shes become friends with a retired New York City firefighter who endures the health effects of all he breathed in while working at Ground Zero. It is an ever-present reminder that there are many more victims than the almost 3,000 who died that day in 2001, she said. It seems like it was yesterday. Then I stop and think how long my dads been gone and it just doesnt seem possible. Their family patriarch, William T. Trant, who had survived being among the first of Americas wounded in the D-Day invasion of France in 1944, died less than a year after 9/11, his passing hastened, the family has said, by the tragedy of 2001. All of the Trant siblings children, like her brother Dans, are now grown. Some were too little to have truly grasped what their uncle was like, Sally Trant said: They see pictures of him. They know all about him, but its more learned memory. Trant was so pleased by the defense secretarys revocation of the plea deal that she sent Austin a letter of appreciation. I thanked him, she said, and added, just for the record, that while the attorneys said they contacted the families about this, that is not true; I dont know of any family members who would agree to a plea deal. I think they deserve the death penalty. Trant is among family members of 9/11 victims who have kept pressure on the U.S. government via a lawsuit that accuses Saudi Arabia of being complicit for having aided some of the hijackers when they first arrived in the U.S. Lately, I am terrified something is going to happen again. Twenty-three years isnt long enough for me to think its in the past, Trant said. For the life of me, I cannot understand how after all these years and every political party in power, we are protecting Saudi Arabia. There is absolute evidence Saudi Arabia was behind this. Kevin Shea, the eldest of the six Shea children, credits his late father, James F. Shea, with guiding the family through the shock and grief of 9/11. In an interview on the 10th anniversary in 2011, the elder Shea said his mantra to comfort his family was simple: There are more happy times in life than sad times. The sad times are the jolts and bolts. You take the cuts, but (I) think about the good times. Tara K. Shea Creamer, of Worcester, who grew up in Westfield, was a passenger aboard American Airlines Flight 11 on Sept. 11, 2001. (SHEA FAMILY PHOTO)The Republican file photo Unknown to Jim Shea until after his daughters death, Tara Creamer had made a pact with her siblings that if anything happened to one of them, the others had to ensure their children would spend time with their cousins on a beach each summer, enjoying the same kind of family vacations theyd had as kids. He made certain that tradition continued, Kevin Shea said. Thus, the wedding this summer of Kevin Sheas daughter, Rylee, and how it united all 17 cousins carried immense meaning for the entire family. As my dad would say, its the good times that are important, and theres been plenty of good times. Youre going to get hit. You take the bolts. It makes it even more important to double down on the good times. Kevin Shea is approaching his 62nd birthday, the same age his father was on 9/11. How impossible that would sound if that had happened to me, he said. He was a great dad, a great leader of our family. He was pulling a big sled and we all reacted the way he reacted, (to) thank God for all you do have. You may scratch your head or not understand why (something) happens, but the older you get, there is more appreciation. There will be great appreciation among the Murphys, the Trants and the Sheas on Wednesday as their hometown remembers 9/11. God bless the city of Westfield for always doing it. I think its wonderful, and, as long as I am able, Ill be there, said Trant. Thats what means something to me. Thats where I feel the love for Danny and Tara and Brian. It makes me feel good.. Added Murphy, I think its a real testament to the community spirit of Westfield. Theyve gone out of their way to make sure we dont forget ... and to support the families, too, by providing that remembrance annually. For me, that really is Brians resting place. Said Shea, The message to your readers is that the Sheas and our extended family are doing great. Well cry a little bit, but well also be thankful that we came from a special place like Westfield that always remembers. Words cannot express what that means to us. Cynthia G. Simison is retired executive editor emerita of The Republican. She may be reached by email to csimison@repub.com . Since the beginning of 2022, the city of Boston has planted more than 5,000 trees on public property. Some of those trees are part of planned public works projects, but many are the result of simple requests from residents who can get a tree planted for free. Todd Mistor, director of the citys Urban Forestry Division, said his agency determines where new trees should be planted in a few ways. The first is replacing any tree that is removed: While they dont remove healthy trees, when trees begin to decline, they can pose safety risks to the public. If there was a tree there, we want to make sure that theres a tree there in the future, even if the existing tree is no longer viable, he said. In addition, whenever projects like street renovations or reconfigurations are undertaken, the Urban Forestry Division works with the Public Works Department to include space for new trees. The final way of adding trees is through resident requests. Any Boston resident can submit a request to have a street tree planted in front of their home. While it may not happen overnight, the city will do its best to determine a viable location and species at that address, as long as it leaves enough sidewalk space for accessibility and isnt too close to a crosswalk or street light. A painted rectangle painted in front of a home on Cowing Street in West Roxbury is where the city of Boston will plant a tree -- for free. It's part of a program to increase the tree canopy across the city.(Anne Brennan/MassLive) The Urban Forestry Division works with residential property owners who they know will be committed to protecting and caring for the tree in the coming years. If a renter requests a tree, they will contact the landlord through the tenant, tax records or neighborhood groups. If they cant find the property owner, they may hold off on planting a tree, because they cant guarantee that a renter will be there long-term. For these trees to survive and truly provide benefits for the neighborhood, they need to really survive in the first couple years after being planted there and then thrive for the next 15 to 20 years to provide those benefits, Mistor said. The division does outreach to spread the word about the program, he said, targeting the priority zones established in the Urban Forestry Plan. Whenever a new tree is going to be planted, a sticker is placed on the ground beforehand, letting neighbors know and providing a QR code allowing passersby to learn more and request their own tree. Then, once the tree is in the ground, a tag with the same information, as well as information about the trees care, is attached. A marker on the sidewalk on Cowing Street in West Roxbury provides information about the city of Boston's tree planting program.(Anne Brennan/MassLive) Communication with neighbors is crucial to ensuring the success of new trees, and that sometimes means scaling back on what they decide to plant, Mistor said. Urban forestry officials often choose to plant just a few trees at a time on a street, rather than lining a block all at once, he said, and can add more in subsequent years. This approach has the added benefit of diversity in the age of the trees and the opportunity to plant potentially better-suited species that may not be available at the time of the initial planting. Its about getting those first few people interested, and from there I think its easier for us to build interest in a neighborhood, or on a block, on the street, whatever it may be, he said. A street in Allston where a new tree was being planted led four or five neighbors to request trees. A tree request for private property However, only about 40% of the trees within Boston city limits are on public property. Some local nonprofits are working to plant trees on private property, too, including those that partner with the Boston Tree Alliance, a city program established in 2023 to encourage plantings and tree maintenance on land that the city does not control. One of the local organizations that has received a grant from the Boston Tree Alliance is Speak for the Trees, which allows residents of Dorchester, Roxbury, Hyde Park and Mattapan to request a free tree to be planted at their home. Like the city itself, the group does a lot of community outreach to encourage residents to sign up. Associate Director MarS McCormick said a lot of the organizations work has to do with relationship building and repairing harm done in the past to convince community members of the benefits of new trees. How to request a tree Requesting a tree to be planted in front of your home is easy and free. Residents can call 311 or submit a request through the 311 mobile app, or call the Urban Forestry Division directly at 617-635-TREE (8733). Tree locations must be at least 10 feet from light poles, driveways, fire hydrants and intersections. Trees can only be planted on sidewalks at least 6 feet wide, not including the curb, to maintain an accessible pedestrian path at least 5 feet wide. The tree must also have room to grow and cannot interfere with power lines or be located in front of a building entrance. Once you submit a request, an arborist will visit the site to determine if it is viable for a tree. If it is approved, the new tree will be planted within a year of the request being submitted (trees are only planted in the spring and fall). To learn more about the program, click here. When Nashoba Valley Medical Center and Carney Hospital in Dorchester closed their doors for the final time last week, scores of workers suddenly found themselves without a job. And with the hospitals owners, Dallas-based Steward Health Care, in the middle of a messy federal bankruptcy case, many more employees at the chains other Bay State facilities are thinking about their futures. Do they stay? Do they retire? Do they pursue another line of work? Thats where Tim Foley and Ellen MacInnis come in. Foley is the executive vice president of 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. The massive union represents health care workers statewide, including those at Steward-owned facilities in Massachusetts. MacInnis is a nurse at St. Elizabeths Medical Center in Brighton. She sits on the board of directors of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, which represents unionized nurses, including many who worked for Steward-owned facilities. Since Dallas-based Steward filed for bankruptcy in May, the two union leaders have been helping workers navigate the crisis and, as necessary, help them find new jobs. It hasnt been easy. And its often been painful. The workers stood together through this very difficult time to do their job, to provide high-quality community health care services for the residents of Massachusetts and beyond, Foley said during a news conference in Boston last week. He and MacInnis were on hand to lend their voices to an effort led by Democratic U.S. Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren to hold Stewards high-flying CEO, Ralph de la Torre, accountable for the companys implosion and his apparent defiance of a congressional subpoena. Their indignation and frustration at that news conference was palpable. U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., speaks during a news conference at the John F. Kennedy Federal Building in Boston, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. Markey and other lawmakers spoke about the financial collapse of Steward Health Care (John L. Micek/MassLive).John L. Micek Since Stewards bankruptcy filing, labor leaders have really stayed focused on three, main priorities, Foley continued. Thats [continuing] to provide high-quality health care services at community hospitals; [fighting] to maintain operations, and to keep all [the] hospitals open during bankruptcy proceedings. That got a little harder after Nashoba Valley and Carney closed for good on Aug.31, Foley acknowledged. But its also good news that six other Steward hospitals in the state are on the way to being sold, he added. MacInnis, who said shes spent decades at St. Elizabeths, the companys financial collapse has hit close to home. While Steward boss de la Torre sailed on his yachts, flew on his jets and vacationed around the world, those of us in the trenches of his depleted and embattled hospitals were forced to care for patients in understaffed units with broken and missing equipment, MacInnis said, her Boston accent adding extra punch. Nurses were also forced to contend with missing supplies, while nurses brought in their own food, to help feed patients living with diabetes, she added. Theres also the very real work helping displaced employees from Carney and Nashoba find jobs and making sure that theyre paid the severance money thats owed to them, the union leaders said. Were doing everything in our powers to protect our members ... their rights and what they have earned during their careers, Foley said. Last month, all 11 members of the Bay States Capitol Hill contingent sent de la Torre a letter, urging him, and another top executive, to honor those obligations. So far, there hasnt been an agreement, but Foley said hes hopeful itll be ironed out soon. Were trying to work on those issues so that people can make decisions around what they want to do with their lives and their career[s], he said. The Healey administration also has been lending a hand. Officials from the states Office of Labor and Workforce Development met with workers from both hospitals to help them find work. Gov. Maura Healey similarly has called on Steward to honor its commitments to the workers, her office said in a statement last month. Steward must keep its commitments and make good on all severance payments to these workers as part of any Massachusetts sales, Healey said. We are insisting on worker severance in our negotiations and will insist on severance funding to the Bankruptcy Court if thats what it takes. MacInnis has seen the impact on the nursing floor, with some nurses deciding that theyve just had enough. There are a lot of openings. And Steward has been abysmal at filling openings. Some folks are just retiring. Carney had a lot of nurses, she said. Theyre very committed to the hospital. And theyre just ready to be done. At this point, the trick is matching people not just with jobs but with positions that match complicated family schedules that have been in place for years. There are disruptions for people who have to pick up their kids at the end of the day, and the schedules that they have for many years, Foley said. So were trying to find the right fit for them. While theyre leaning into the work, it also was readily apparent from their comments last week that these two union leaders would rather not be doing it. And for that, they blame Steward, and its mismanagement of its Massachusetts hospitals. I come today to share [my] disgust at this loathsome behavior, and to register our support for any and all efforts you can muster to hold this greedy coward accountable for the suffering he has caused and the damage he has done to our health care system here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, MacInnis said. And the work goes on. BOSTON Trevor Story will play shortstop and bat seventh in the lineup for the Red Sox on Saturday as he returns from a 133-game absence. Boston will host the second game of its three-game series against the White Sox. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. on FOX. The Red Sox won 3-1 last night. Story dislocated his shoulder and fractured the glenoid rim diving for a ball April 5 in Anaheim. He underwent shoulder surgery, including a labrum repair, April 12 in Los Angeles. At the time, it was believed to be season-ending surgery. Its really exciting. We didnt think this day would be possible this soon, Story said. So it truly is a blessing that Im even in this situation. Its a big win for me personally just to come back this year and get some games under my belt. So excited about that and just pumped about joining the team and playing some games that matter. Masataka Yoshida is not in the Red Sox lineup against lefty Garrett Crochet. He got hit in the tailbone with a pitch Friday. Rob Refsnyder will serve as the DH and bat third. Manager Alex Cora said Yoshida is available. Hes OK, Cora said. Got him good. The Red Sox have seven right-handed hitters in the lineup against the lefty. Connor Wong is at first base. Romy Gonzalez will play second base. Red Sox lineup 1. Jarren Duran LF 2. Rafael Devers 3B 3. Rob Refsnyder DH 4. Tyler ONeill RF 5. Romy Gonzalez 2B 6. Connor Wong 1B 7. Trevor Story SS 8. Danny Jansen C 9. Ceddanne Rafaela CF Starting pitchers: LHP Garrett Crochet (6-10, 3.61 ERA) vs. Cooper Criswell (5-4, 4.14 ERA) BOSTON Trevor Story is back after missing 133 games. Doctors believed his shoulder surgery in April would end his season. But he is playing shortstop for the Red Sox on Saturday after his recovery and rehab went much quicker than expected. He will bat seventh in the order. Boston reinstated Story from the 60-day IL. Rookie catcher/infielder Mickey Gasper was optioned to Triple-A Worcester, clearing a spot on the active roster for Story. Meanwhile, right-handed reliever Isaiah Campbell was placed on the 60-day IL to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Story. Campbell, who made the Opening Day roster, hasnt pitched since July 13 for Worcester because of right elbow inflammation. Story dislocated his shoulder and fractured the glenoid rim diving for a ball April 5 in Anaheim. He underwent shoulder surgery, including a labrum repair, April 12 in Los Angeles. Its really exciting. We didnt think this day would be possible this soon, Story said. So it truly is a blessing that Im even in this situation. Its a big win for me personally just to come back this year and get some games under my belt. So excited about that and just pumped about joining the team and playing some games that matter. He appeared in four rehab games for Worcester, going 6 for 16 (.375 batting average) with a double, two RBIs and three runs. I felt good. I felt comfy in the box, Story said. I felt like I was controlling the at-bat. Thats kind of what youre looking for. Yeah, just hitting the ball hard and feeling like Im taking good swings. Just missed a couple more. So Im feeling good about it. So just looking to keep that feeling going. Obviously its (16) at-bats but I know I can help. So Im here. Gasper went 0 for 12 with three walks and five strikeouts in 10 games. APO Group , the leading Pan-African communications consultancy and press release distribution service, announced recently the appointment of Bas Wijne as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Bas Wijne, who previously served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) at APO Group, brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record to his new role as CEO. His leadership will be pivotal in guiding APO Group through its next phase of growth and innovation, building on the strong results achieved in recent years. This includes the companys exceptional year-over-year revenue growth. From 2012 to 2024, APO Group achieved an average annual growth rate of 35%. In his previous role as COO, Bas significantly enhanced the companys capabilities and profitability by focusing on operational excellence, process optimisation, and the integration of cutting-edge technologies. Bas Wijne has been an integral part of APO Groups journey, having previously served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) from 2019 to 2021, where he played a crucial role in advancing the companys technological infrastructure. His commitment to simplification and operational efficiency has created a culture of transparency and agility that benefits both colleagues and clients alike. With over 20 years of experience in the media and technology industries, Bas Wijne is ideally positioned to lead APO Group in delivering Pan-African communications support to prominent companies across the continent. His extensive global experience, which spans countries such as The Netherlands, South Africa, Australia, Hong Kong, the USA, Uganda, China, and the United Arab Emirates, has equipped him with the insights and expertise needed to manage a diverse and cross-cultural workforce. Bas Wijnes appointment as CEO marks an exciting new chapter for APO Group, said Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, Founder and Chairman of APO Group. Bass deep understanding of our business, combined with his vast experience and passion for technological innovation, makes him the perfect leader to guide us into the future. We are confident that under his leadership, APO Group will continue to thrive and set new benchmarks in the African communications industry. I am honoured to take on the role of CEO at APO Group, said Bas Wijne. Having witnessed first-hand the incredible talent and innovation within this company, I am excited to lead APO Group as we continue to pioneer new ways of adding value to our clients across Africa. Our unique blend of people, ideas, and technology positions us to remain at the forefront of the industry, and I look forward to working with our team to achieve even greater success. APO Groups appointment of Bas Wijne as CEO underscores the companys commitment to leadership, innovation, and excellence in serving the African market. His vision and expertise will undoubtedly drive APO Group to new heights as the premier communications partner on the continent. Spanish director Pedro Almodovar kisses the Golden Lion Award for Best Film for the movie "The Room Next Door" at the awards ceremony of the 81st Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Sept. 7, 2024. The 81st Venice Film Festival closed here Saturday. (Xinhua/Li Jing) ROME, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The film "The Room Next Door" by Spanish director Pedro Almodovar won the Golden Lion at the 81st Venice Film Festival on Saturday. The movie is the first ever English-language movie for the acclaimed filmmaker. The drama develops around the friendship between two women - a novelist and a former war correspondent - who were very close when young and have not seen each other for years. Brady Corbet won Best Director for his film "The Brutalist." Vincent Lindon was awarded Best Actor for "The Quiet Son." The Italian film "Vermiglio" took home the Grand Jury Prize, while the award for Best Screenplay went to "I'm Still Here." The 81st edition of Venice Film Festival runs from Aug. 28 to Sept. 7 at the Lido of the Italian lagoon city, with 21 feature-length films presented as world premieres competing in the main selection. Spanish director Pedro Almodovar poses with the Golden Lion Award for Best Film for the movie "The Room Next Door" at the awards ceremony of the 81st Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Sept. 7, 2024. The 81st Venice Film Festival closed here Saturday. (Xinhua/Li Jing) Spanish director Pedro Almodovar poses with the Golden Lion Award for Best Film for the movie "The Room Next Door" at the awards ceremony of the 81st Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Sept. 7, 2024. The 81st Venice Film Festival closed here Saturday. (Xinhua/Li Jing) Jury members of the 81st Venice Film Festival attend the film festival's awards ceremony in Venice, Italy, Sept. 7, 2024. The 81st Venice Film Festival closed here Saturday. (Xinhua/Li Jing) Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, a jury member of the 81st Venice Film Festival, poses for the red carpet before the film festival's awards ceremony in Venice, Italy, Sept. 7, 2024. The 81st Venice Film Festival closed here Saturday. (Xinhua/Li Jing) French actress Isabelle Huppert, president of the 81st Venice Film Festival jury, poses for the red carpet before the film festival's awards ceremony in Venice, Italy, Sept. 7, 2024. The 81st Venice Film Festival closed here Saturday. (Xinhua/Li Jing) Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi (L), a jury member of the 81st Venice Film Festival, attends the film festival's awards ceremony in Venice, Italy, Sept. 7, 2024. The 81st Venice Film Festival closed here Saturday. (Xinhua/Li Jing) French actress Isabelle Huppert, president of the 81st Venice Film Festival jury, poses for the red carpet before the film festival's awards ceremony in Venice, Italy, Sept. 7, 2024. The 81st Venice Film Festival closed here Saturday. (Xinhua/Li Jing) Spanish director Pedro Almodovar (3rd L) interacts with jury members at the awards ceremony of the 81st Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Sept. 7, 2024. The 81st Venice Film Festival closed here Saturday. (Xinhua/Li Jing) Italian director Maura Delpero poses with the Golden Lion Award for the Grand Jury Prize for the movie "Vermiglio" at the awards ceremony of the 81st Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Sept. 7, 2024. The 81st Venice Film Festival closed here Saturday. (Xinhua/Li Jing) American director Brady Corbet poses with the Golden Lion Award for Best Director for the film "The Brutalist" at the awards ceremony of the 81st Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Sept. 7, 2024. The 81st Venice Film Festival closed here Saturday. (Xinhua/Li Jing) Over 35,000 visitors from more than 140 countries across the world are expected to converge in Algiers, Algeria from 4 10 September 2025 to attend the Intra-African Trade Fair 2025 (IATF2025), Africas premier trade and investment event. During the week-long fair, more than 2,000 exhibitors, including businesses from the African continent and globally, will be showcasing their goods and services to the visitors and buyers while exploring opportunities and exchanging information. This is projected to translate into over US$44 billion in trade and investment deals. Hosted by the Government of the Peoples Democratic Republic of Algeria under the theme Gateway to New Opportunities, the week-long event offers a platform for boosting trade and investment. It aims to tap into opportunities from the single market of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) of over 1.4 billion people and a GDP of over US$3.5 trillion. The fair is held biennially by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), in collaboration with the African Union and the AfCFTA Secretariat. The Chairman of the Advisory Council of IATF and former President of Nigeria, H.E. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo said: The IATF has distinguished itself as an instrument for promoting intra-African trade and investment by enabling businesses to interact and access trade and market information opportunities. Over $100 billion in trade and investment deals have been closed cumulatively with over 70,000 visitors and more than 4,500 exhibitors participating in the last three editions of IATF. We welcome African businesses to tap into the opportunities to market, grow sales, expand to new markets and to exchange ideas with peers. We thank our host, Algeria, which is one of the continents more advanced economies. Heads of State and Governments, Ministers of Trade, Finance, Culture and other ministries as well as high profile business, small & medium enterprises and industry leaders are expected to attend IATF2025. Chief Obasanjo added: IATF is the largest, holistic trade fair championing the continents growth and development. It serves as a collaborative platform for driving shared aspirations for prosperity and stability, as envisioned by AfCFTA. It is a strong backbone for meaningful transformation of Africa and enhancing resilience by creating a gateway to new opportunities for economies and businesses through intra-African trade and investment. Key activities lined up for IATF2025 include a trade exhibition by countries and businesses; the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme with a dedicated exhibition and summit covering fashion, music, film, arts and craft, sports, literature, gastronomy and culinary arts; a four-day Trade and Investment Forum featuring leading African and international speakers; and the Africa Automotive Show for auto manufacturers, assemblers, original equipment manufacturers and component suppliers. There will be Special Days dedicated for countries as well as public and private entities to showcase trade and investment opportunities, and tourism and cultural attractions, as well as IATF Diaspora Day which highlights commercial and cultural ties between Africa and its diaspora, featuring a Diaspora Summit, market and exhibition, cultural and gastronomic showcase. Also planned is a business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) platform for matchmaking and business exchanges; the AU Youth Start-Up programme showcasing innovative ideas and prototypes; the Africa Research and Innovation Platform @ IATF for university students, academia and national researchers to exhibit innovations; and the African Sub-Sovereign Governments Network to promote trade, investment, educational and cultural exchanges at the local level. The IATF Virtual platform is already live, connecting exhibitors and visitors throughout the year. The Inishowen fishing port of Greencastle has been plunged into sadness following the death of Donna McDermott. Ms McDermott, who was aged in her 30s, became the fifth person to die on Donegal's roads in the last two weeks. Ms McDermott lost her life in a two-vehicle road traffic collision at Quigley's Point on Friday night. The fatal crash occurred at around 11.15pm at Carrowkeel, Quigley's Point, Muff on Friday, Septemver 6. Ms McDermott was a rear seat passenger in one of the cars involved and was fatally injured as a result of the collision. She is the 13th person to lose their life on Donegal's roads so far in 2024. Ms McDermott's body was removed from the scene to Letterkenny University Hospital where a post mortem examination will take place The female driver, aged in her 70s and male front seat passenger, aged in his 50s, were both removed from the scene to Atnagalvin and Letterkenny University Hospitals with non life threatening injuries. The male driver, aged in his teens, of the second vehicle was uninjured. The death of Ms McDermott has sent shockwaves through her local community and across the Inishowen peninsula. The Gleneely Development Association said: Our community mourns the tragic and sad loss of Donna McDermott. Donna will be missed by many. Donna was so thoughtful, helpful and supportive when we were establishing the community Defibrillator. The GDA sends our love, strength, thoughts, and prayers to Donna's family, friends and wider community. The road was closed to allow for a technical examination of the scene by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators and local diversions put in place. A Garda spokesperson said: Gardai are appealing for any witnesses to this collision to come forward. Gardai are also appealing for any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) who were travelling in the area at the time of the collision to make this footage available to Gardai. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Buncrana Garda Station on 074 932 0540, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station. Ms McDermott's death comes after four other road traffic victims were laid to rest within a week of each other. With still close to a third of the year still to go, the total number killed on Donegal's roads in 2024, 13, is already three more than in the whole of last year. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, September 8, 2024 Google and antitrust enforcers will face off Monday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, where the Department of Justice and 17 states will attempt to prove the company illegally monopolized ad-tech tools that power programmatic online display ads. The showdown is set to start just one month after a federal judge in Washington, D.C. ruled that Google violated antitrust law by arranging to serve as the default search engine on browsers operated by Apple and Mozilla, as well as on Android devices. The case against Google dates to January 2023, when the Justice Department and a coalition of states alleged that Google corrupted legitimate competition" by monopolizing markets connected to open web display advertising -- essentially meaning programmatic ads served on sites operated by newspapers and other online publishers. advertisement advertisement The Justice Department and states contend that Google's moves allowed it to enrich itself at the expense of publishers, who allegedly were deprived of ad revenue, and advertisers, who supposedly paid more than they would have in a more competitive market. The government is seeking an order that would force Google to divest some or all of its ad-tech products. Google denies that it acted anticompetitively, and also disputes the government's proposed market definitions. U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled in June that the suit raised factual questions that required a trial. The closely watched upcoming battle could be among the most significant antitrust fights involving the tech industry since the late 1990s, when the government accused Microsoft of monopolizing the browser market by tying Internet Explorer to the Windows operating system. A trial judge in that case determined that Microsoft violated antitrust law and ordered the company to be broken up, but an appellate court reversed the divestiture order. Microsoft and the government ultimately reached a settlement. A lengthy roster of potential witnesses in the upcoming trial includes YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, former UM Worldwide global chief media officer Joshua Lowcock and Trade Desk chief revenue officer Jed Dederick. At trial, the government will attempt to prove that Google's 2008 acquisition of DoubleClick for $3.1 billion enabled the company to unlawfully dominate programmatic advertising. Google allegedly did so by tying DoubleClick's ad server for publishers and its then-new ad exchange to Google's advertiser network, according to the prosecution. By conditioning effective access to any one of its tools on customers also using Googles other ad tech tools, Google locked publishers and advertisers into using its own ad tech tools rather than those offered by competitors, prosecutors wrote in a pre-trial statement filed with Brinkema last month. That filing calls attention to a widely quoted internal Google email in which an employee compared Google's control of the ad-tech stack to Goldman or Citibank owning the New York Stock Exchange. Google controls the tools used by both sides of advertising transactions: the tools publishers use to sell open-web display ads as well as the tools advertisers use to buy such ads, prosecutors wrote. Google benefits from a privileged position as the middleman, extracting monopoly rents whenever open web display ads are transacted by advertisers and publishers on its exchange, the government wrote, adding that the company charges supracompetitive prices for its AdX exchange. Google counters that its actions led to increased consumer choice, dramatically increased output, decreased prices, and greater opportunities for businesses of all sizes, especially small businesses. Google endeavored to maximize value for ad space buyers and sellers (as well as users) by improving ad safety and security, user privacy, auction transparency, and the customer experience, the company said in a pre-trial statement filed last month. Antitrust expert Chris Hockett, who teaches at Berkeley Law, notes that monopolizing a market doesn't in itself violate antitrust laws. Instead, one key issue will be whether Google acquired or maintained monopoly power through anticompetitive means. The question in this case is going to be whether Google's arrangements preferred their own tools to such an extent that it improperly, unlawfully interfered with potential competitors, he tells MediaPost. He adds that even if Google is found to have taken a relatively large share of programmatic ad revenue as commissions, doing so wouldn't in itself have been unlawful. We don't have antitrust laws that make it illegal for a firm that has high market share, or even a monopoly, to extract the benefits of that monopoly in the form of higher profits, he says. One of the key areas of contention will center the nature of the ad-tech market, according to NYU law professor emerita Eleanor Fox, an antitrust and trade regulation expert. "The definition of the market will definitely be a very serious issue, Fox says. The prosecution specifically contends that Google monopolizes three markets: publisher ad servers for open-web display advertising, advertiser ad networks for open-web display advertising, and ad exchanges for open-web display advertising. For its part, Google disputes the idea that the ad-tech stack can be broken up into three separate markets. Instead, the company contends, the ad-tech stack is a two-sided platform that brings together advertisers and publishers -- comparable to the way a credit-card company manages transactions between consumers and retailers. Google also challenges the idea that there is a distinct market for open web display ads -- defined by the prosecution as an image of text-based ad shown on sites of open web publishers and viewable on desktop or mobile devices. The company says that proposed market doesn't account for competition from streaming services like Disney+, social-media services like Meta and retailers like Amazon. Reflecting the industry reality that different ad channels and formats can serve interchangeable purposes, every industry participant in this case testified that advertisers shift ad spend to different ad channels or formats including from or to website-based display advertising, based on return on investment, Google argued in its pre-trial statement, which drew on deposition testimony. The company added that its internal documents describe numerous instances in which it lost advertiser business to competitors like Meta because ad buyers shifted spend in order to improve returns. Google also questions whether news sites that require passwords and subscriptions, like NYTimes.com, should be categorized as open web. Assuming that ads on news sites as well as MSN and Yahoo are included in the definition of open web display ads, the market comes to around $32 billion a year out of total U.S. ad revenue of around $400 billion, according to ad industry economist Brian Wieser, CEO of consulting firm Madison and Wall. In addition to disagreements about how to define the market, prosecutors and Google are at odds over the company's decision to bundle various components of the ad-tech stack together. Prosecutors argue that the bundling decision hurt competitors, but Google counters that its move protects against spam and fraud. Integrated tools have important benefits for both ad space buyers and sellers, Google wrote last month in a pre-trial filing. Security and safety concerns are better and more reliably addressed when Google operates an integrated system. The trial could last for several weeks. by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, September 8, 2024 Pavlo Prannyk, CEO of the small family-owned business olpr Leather Goods, has choices when it comes to where he runs ads. The company's founder mostly runs advertising through Google Ads and a bit on Amazon and Etsy, but he also has tried platforms such as Bing, Pinterest, Reddit and TikTok. I dont know what I would do without Google Ads, Prannyk says. I would have some organic customers come to the website, but its not enough to pay my workers or pay rent. Prannyks company also buys ads on Amazon, but advertisers are required to pay nearly 20% in commission fees. He said Amazon is a bigger evil partner than Google because it is ripping off all small businesses, because they push you to give consumers the lowest price on the products sold. advertisement advertisement Costs include paying for ads to run and a 20% commission for sales on the platform, and businesses are required to use their fulfillment centers to fulfill products. Amazon, Etsy, and Google each have their own ad platform. Prannyk must manage it all. He also sells product on his website, and must drive search traffic to each of its platforms and marketplaces. Prannyk shared his thoughts in a virtual press conference hosted by the Connected Commerce Council ahead of this weeks Google Ads antitrust trial. Small business owners, publishers and others on the call expressed concerns about possible outcomes of Google's U.S. Department of Justice antitrust trial, which is set to begin Monday. Rather then seeing lower costs, some believe they may need to hire agencies to help them through processes or the use of multiple companies. Google during the weekend in a post acknowledged the ability to buy online ad "cheaply and simply" could be challenged. About 69% of U.S. small and medium size businesses use digital ads to find new customers. Display ads are primarily the way to connect with consumers, says LaKita Anderson, who owns Simply LaKita, a recipe website. Anderson started her company in 2013, and began by partnering with brands on sponsored content. This process required many meetings and negotiations, and pressure to keep up was difficult. She experienced burnout from the process, so she began working to make money from her blog through display ads, which have now become her main source of revenue. Her biggest concern is that Google's ads would become less effective with any requirement change based on a DOJ decision to alter the company. Shifting her ad budget to search engines or social media would have a direct impact on revenue, she says. "I would have to bring in a person to manage all the different platforms," Anderson says. "I have a very small team. Everyone wears multiple hats, and we are already stretched to the max. We would have to bring someone in to manage it all and manage the process." From Anderson's perspective, the lawsuit seems to address a problem that does not exist. Digital marketing expert Salil Gandhi, who also participated in the discussion, works with many small businesses such as a local neighborhood bars and doctors' offices, including many businesses that have only one location. His agency supports clients that have small budgets. Theres a reason why small businesses and agencies use Google Display Ads, he says, pointing out that Google is not the only big display ad company. Apple and Facebook have large display ad businesses with multiple millions of users. Gandhi doesn't think people who have brought up this lawsuit understand the impact, and beneficiaries of a Google breakup will become small ad agencies that will need to manage the process for small businesses. He agrees that while reducing cost by increasing competition makes sense, that thinking will mostly impact large businesses with major advertising budgets. Google built its ad business on serving small companies. The vast majority of small businesses he has worked with have an ad budget of less than $500 per month. Saving a nickel or two on display ads wont impact them that much, Gandhi said, referring to small businesses. He believes cost and time spent managing multiple platforms will far out way cost saving that they get potentially by breaking up Google. While the lawsuit has good intentions, he says, it "has not been thought through in terms of the actual impact. Applying traditional advertising rules of competition in an online digital media world of supply and demand do not add up, says Beth Egan, associate professor of advertising at Syracuse University, who started a career in advertising before the internet. The risks are much greater to small businesses then large companies, she said. The Coca-Colas of the world will figure it out. If Google is broken up and stops funneling ads to third-party websites like the one owned by LaKita Anderson, Egan asks, then were does she get the revenue from? The Sherman Act and all the antitrust legislation, which is very important to keeping our capitalist society alive and well, is usually put in place to protect consumers, Egan says. In this instance it is not. Ad exchanges were created to solve a problem, but as the number of websites and publishers grew, it became impossible to connect with all. Google solved a problem, she adds. Amazon, Microsoft, The Trade Desk, Walmart Retail Media Network and many others have created competition for Google. Advertisers have the option to use these and many more. The challenge for Google is that it initially had more data on consumers compared with other companies, Egan says, but adds that that is changing. Apple also has a lot of data, she says. Dont let them fool you. Trusted Source Safety and efficacy of ATSN-101 in patients with Leber congenital amaurosis caused by biallelic mutations in GUCY2D: a phase 1/2, multicentre, open-label, unilateral dose escalation study Go to source Trusted Source Did You Know? 50% of childhood blindness cases are caused by inherited genetic conditions. #blindness #genetherapy #vision 50% of childhood blindness cases are caused by inherited genetic conditions. #blindness #genetherapy #vision Gene Therapys Life-Changing Impact Advertisement Advertisement Safety and efficacy of ATSN-101 in patients with Leber congenital amaurosis caused by biallelic mutations in GUCY2D: a phase 1/2, multicentre, open-label, unilateral dose escalation study - (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0140673624014478) Patients born with genetic blindness experienced significant visual improvements after a single treatment with gene therapy developed at the University of Florida (UF), published in the journal).One patient saw a star for the first time, while another marveled at snowflakes. Many others were able to perform daily tasks like navigating outdoors or reading labels, highlighting the profound impact of the therapy. The cause of these seemingly miraculous improvements? A gene therapy developed by University of Florida scientists, restored useful vision to most patients with the rare, inherited blindness known as Leber congenital amaurosis type I, or LCA1, in a small trial.Those who received thewere able to read more lines on an eye chart, and improved in their ability to navigate a standardized maze.For many patients, it was akin to finally turning on dim lights after trying to navigate their homes in the pitch black for years, the researchers said.The trial also tested the safety profile of the treatment. Side effects were largely limited to minor surgical complications. The gene therapy itself caused mild inflammation that was treated with steroids This is the first time that anyone with LCA1 has ever been treated, and we showed a very clean safety profile, and we also showed efficacy. These results pave the way for advancing the therapy in a phase 3 clinical trial and eventually commercializing it, said Shannon Boye, Ph.D., chief of the Division of Cellular and Molecular Therapy at UF, co-author of the study and co-founder of Atsena Therapeutics, the UF spinoff that developed the gene therapy and funded the study.Atsena is pleased to advance the foundational work that Shannon and Sanford Boye developed in their laboratory many years ago and thrilled that the 12-month data from our ongoing clinical trial have been published in a prestigious medical journal, said Kenji Fujita, M.D., chief medical officer of Atsena Therapeutics and co-author of the study.We look forward to sharing further results from this program as we continue progressing what has the potential to be a breakthrough in treating blindness in children and adults with LCA1.Shannon Boye, UF professor of pediatrics, and Sanford Boye, associate scientist of pediatrics, and their collaborators at the University of Pennsylvania and Oregon Health and Science University.LCA1 is rare. Only about 3,000 people have the condition across both Europe and the U.S. It is caused by having two defective copies of the gene GUCY2D, which is required for the light-sensitive cells in the eyes to function properly.or impossible to drive, read, or navigate the world visually.Shannon Boye has been developing the gene therapy targeting LCA1 for more than 20 years, since she enrolled as a graduate student at UF in 2001.In collaboration with her husband Sanford Boye, Shannon Boyes lab developed the virus-based transport system that is essential for delivering functioning copies of the GUCY2D gene into the correct cells in the eyes.The Boyes founded Atsena Therapeutics in 2019 to bring the LCA1 treatment and other gene therapies to market.Most pharmaceutical companies are not interested in treating these rare diseases, because they are not strong revenue generators, Sanford Boye said.But we think these patients deserve attention because we have treatments that work and provide really meaningful improvements to their quality of life .The study enrolled 15 subjects for treatment at the University of Pennsylvania or Oregon Health and Science University. Subjects received one of three different doses of the therapy to identify the safest and most effective dose for future trials.All patients received the treatment in one eye, which involved a surgical injection in the retina.Researchers followed the patients for a year to test their vision in the treated eye compared to the untreated eye. Subjects who received higher doses saw greater improvements in their vision.The researchers expect the gene therapy to last indefinitely, requiring just a single treatment per eye. So far, they have seen visual improvements last at least five years.Broad access to the treatment will require approval by the FDA following a phase 3 clinical trial, which tests the therapy in a larger population of patients.Source-Eurekalert KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Two NATO members said Sunday that Russian drones have violated their airspace, as one reportedly flew into Romania during nighttime attacks on neighboring Ukraine while another crashed in eastern Latvia the previous day. A drone entered Romanian territory early on Sunday as Moscow struck civilian targets and port infrastructure across the Danube in Ukraine, Romania's Ministry of National Defense reported. It added Bucharest had deployed F-16 warplanes to monitor its airspace and issued text alerts to residents of two eastern regions. It also said investigations were underway of a potential impact zone in an uninhabited zone along the Romanian-Ukrainian border. There were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage. Later on Sunday, Latvias Defense Minister Andris Spruds said that a Russian drone fell the day before near the town of Rezekne, and had likely strayed into Latvia from neighboring Belarus. Rezekne, home to over 25,000 people, lies some 55 kilometers (34 miles) west of Russia and around 75 kilometers (47 miles) from Belarus, the Kremlins close and dependent ally. While the incursion into Latvian airspace appeared to be a rare incident, Romania has confirmed drone fragments on its territory on several occasions since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, as recently as July this year. Mircea Geoana, NATO's outgoing deputy secretary-general and Romania's former top diplomat, said on Sunday morning that the military alliance condemned Russias violation of Romanian airspace. While we have no information indicating an intentional attack by Russia against Allies, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous, he wrote on X. Latvia's military on Sunday similarly said that there were no indications that Moscow or Minsk purposely sent a drone into the country. In a public statement, the military said it had identified the crash site, and that a probe was ongoing. Spruds, the Latvian defense minister, sought to downplay the significance of the drone incursion. I can confirm that there are no victims here and also no property is infringed in any way, Defense Minister Andris Spruds told the Latvian Radio on Sunday, adding that any risks in the event were immediately eliminated: Of course, it is a serious incident, as it is once again a reminder of what kind of neighboring countries we live next to. Civilians reported killed in Ukraine In Ukraine, two civilians died and four more suffered wounds in a nighttime Russian airstrike on the northern city of Sumy, the regional military administration reported. Two children were among those wounded, the administration said. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed later that day that its forces struck foreign pro-Kyiv fighters in a village on Sumy's northern outskirts. It was not immediately clear whether this was a reference to the same attack. In the Kharkiv region in the east, overnight shelling killed two elderly women, according to local Gov. Oleh Syniehubov. During the night, Ukrainian air defenses shot down one of four cruise missiles and 15 of 23 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia, Ukraine's air force reported. It added that none of the cruise missiles had hit targets. Later on Sunday, three women were killed after Russian forces shelled a village in the eastern Donetsk region, Gov. Vadym Filashkin reported on the Telegram messaging app. Elsewhere in the province, rescue teams pulled the bodies of two men from the rubble of a hotel destroyed on Saturday evening in a Russian airstrike, according to Ukraines state emergency service. That same day, the death toll rose to 58 from the massive Russian missile strike that on Tuesday blasted a military academy and nearby hospital in the eastern city of Poltava, regional Gov. Filip Pronin reported. More than 320 others were wounded. Since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the Russian military has repeatedly used missiles to smash civilian targets, sometimes killing scores of people in a single attack. Poltava is about 350 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Kyiv, on the main highway and rail route between Kyiv and Ukraines second-largest city, Kharkiv, which is close to the Russian border. The attack happened as Ukrainian forces sought to carve out their holdings in Russias Kursk border region after a surprise incursion that began Aug. 6, as the Russian army hacks its way deeper into eastern Ukraine. Russian forces continued their monthlong grinding push towards the city of Pokrovsk, and also ramped up attacks near the town of Kurakhove farther south, Ukraine's General Staff reported. Russia's Defense Ministry said Sunday its troops had taken Novohrodivka, a small town some 19 kilometers (11 miles) southeast of Pokrovsk. An update published Saturday evening by DeepState, a Ukrainian battlefield analysis site, said Russian forces had advanced in Novohrodivka and captured Nevelske, a village in the southeast of the Pokrovsk district. Pokrovsk, which had a prewar population of about 60,000, is one of Ukraines main defensive strongholds and a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region. Its capture would compromise Ukraines defense and supply routes, and would bring Russia closer to its stated aim of capturing the entire Donetsk region. Elsewhere, falling debris from downed aerial objects injured two young boys and an adult in Russia's Belgorod region, some 20 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, local Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov reported on Sunday. Russia's Defense Ministry the same day claimed that its forces had shot down multiple Ukrainian drones over the province, and a further one over the neighboring Kursk region. ___ Associated Press writers Stephen McGrath in Sighisoara, Romania, and Jari Tanner in Helsinki, Finland contributed to this report. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine BEIRUT, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Hezbollah announced on Saturday it had attacked several settlements and sites in northern Israel with Katyusha rockets and artillery shells in response to Israel's attacks in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese armed group said in three separate statements that it had shelled the Israeli military base on Mount Neria with volleys of Katyusha rockets, attacked Israeli soldiers around the Manot settlement with rockets, and intercepted an Israeli drone with a surface-to-air missile in Lebanon's Bekaa region. It also said that it had attacked "the main intelligence headquarters at the Mishar base, as well as the sites of Misgav Am, Al-Alam, Samaqa, and Hadab Yaroun, with artillery shells and Katyusha rockets." Lebanese military sources told Xinhua that the Lebanese army had monitored the launch of about 40 surface-to-surface missiles from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel on Saturday. Some of these missiles were intercepted by Israel, while many exploded in the airspace over southeastern Lebanon. Three personnel of the Lebanese Civil Defense were killed and two others wounded on Saturday in an Israeli drone strike on southern Lebanon, according to the sources. The sources also said that Israeli warplanes and drones carried out six raids on Saturday on four border towns and villages in southern Lebanon, and Israeli artillery shelled nine villages and towns in the eastern and central sectors with 35 shells, causing several fires and material damage. Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on Oct. 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by Hezbollah toward Israel in support of Hamas' attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon. CLARKSTON, MI - Her lyrics to Im With You could not have been more appropriate on this darn cold night at Pine Knob. Avril Lavigne brought her The Greatest Hits tour to Clarkston, Michigan with Simple Plan on Saturday, September 7. Temperatures dropped to the high 40s by shows end. Of course, it will be near 90 in a few days. Welcome to the ups and downs of September in Michigan. And this was an early arriving crowd. The lawn was almost full before Girlfriends took the stage at 7:00 p.m. with many people dressed in outfits with plenty of pink, purple and green colors and fishnet stockings, representative of Lavignes style. Girlfriends delivered a quick half hour of lyrically fun songs like, I Thought About You While I Was Taking a Shower, Shut Up and Kiss Me, and the breakup song: Lifes a Brittany, along with a rickin cover of Katy Perrys, I Kissed A Girl. Only 15 minutes went by before Simple Plan took the stage to what was now a packed house. They had a high energy, fun-filled 45 minute set which included covers of All Star and Mr. Brightside. They also had some people in Scooby-Doo costumes run around on stage during Whats New Scooby-Doo. Simple Plan opens for Avril Lavigne on her "The Greatest Hits Tour." The concert came to Pine Knob on September 7, 2024.Al Mannarino | For NJ Advance Me The band also performed fan-favorites: Im Just a Kid, Summer Paradise, Untitled and Perfect, among others. More from them coming up. Lavigne made her entrance at 9:30 p.m. and got right into it with one of her biggest hits, Girlfriend. The fast-pacing of the song was indicative of how the entire evening went. Lavigne sounded great and looked like she was having fun on stage as she performed all of the songs fans wanted to hear like, Complicated, Heres to Never Growing Up, My Happy Ending, Nobodys Home, Losing Grip, When Youre Gone, Sk8er Boi, Head Above Water and Im With You. The hits were just part of the fun. It was a treat when she brought back out Simple Plan as she and the band did a duet of one of their biggest hits, Addicted. Girlfriends returned to the stage next to do a cover with Lavigne of one of Blink-182s big hits, All the Small Things. Another cool moment saw Lavigne bring a half dozen fans on stage from the pit area to help her sing one of her songs. She surprised them by signing skateboards for them. Lavigne also threw concert t-shirts into the crowd for some more souvenirs. This concert really wasnt complicated. Lavigne simply delivered her hits with energy and a smile. It made for a happy beginning, middle and ending to the night for concertgoers. MONROE COUNTY, MI A 15-year-old girl was arrested, and a firearm was seized from her home after the girl allegedly made threats of violence toward a Monroe County school, police said. The teen, of Temperance, was taken into custody Saturday, Sept. 7, and lodged at the Monroe County Youth Center, according to the Monroe County Sheriffs Office. Her identity is being withheld. Monroe County sheriffs deputies initially learned of the plotted threat around noon on Saturday when police were contacted by Whiteford Agricultural Schools administrators. A threat of gun violence planned for Monday, Sept. 9, was disseminated via a group text message chat involving students at the school, police said. School officials were alerted to the threat by a parent of a student. Through an investigation, police learned the threats were made by a 15-year-old girl from Temperance. Police said contact was made with the girl and her parents. As a result, the teen was taken into custody and a small caliber bolt-action rifle was seized from her home. As a precaution, the Monroe County Sheriffs Office will provide additional staff during the school day on Monday, Sept. 9. Sheriff Troy Goodnough and the Monroe County Sheriffs Office continues to take an active role in school safety and a zero-tolerance approach to the threat of school violence, the sheriffs office said in a release. Anyone with any information about this incident is asked to call the Monroe County Sheriffs Office at 734-240-7530. Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page, the Ypsilanti-area news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Ann Arbor daily newsletter. BERRIEN COUNTY, MI State police are investigating after a Welcome to Pure Michigan sign was hit multiple times by gunfire. The sign that sits on northbound U.S. 31 in Berrien Countys Bertrand Township was shot 18 times with rifle rounds, Michigan State Police said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday, Sept. 7. What a week we had. Last week, Facebook erupted after a post claimed over 100 students were turned away from Saginaw schools for lacking enough credits on the first day. Though the info was misleading, debates arose about the districts communication, parents accountability and concern for the students. A parent claimed on a Facebook post that her daughter and 100 others were turned away from Saginaw United for not having enough credits. Her daughter was turned away, but there werent 100 others. Students who showed up to Saginaw United on the first day lacking credits were given a grade audit and enrolled in Success Academy, the districts alternative school, to recover credits, according to the superintendent. There were a few instances of miscommunication where some believed they had recovered their credits in summer school, but not 100. Once this was clarified by the superintendent, the debate shifted to why students were being sent to an alternative school instead of being helped directly. But think about it: If students cant graduate, the district offering a way to recover credits is a gift, not a punishment. Without it, the alternative is dropping out. Success Academy has helped my family. In the early 2000s, my oldest daughter, who had a child in high school, couldnt graduate on time, but the Academy allowed her to catch up. My son also benefited from the program. And in 1995, I was enrolled in Ruben Daniels to recover credits after falling behind at Saginaw High School. I eventually left that program to enroll in anotherTri-City SER. Credit recovery programs saved us from becoming dropouts. Theyre not perfect, but theyre a blessing, not a punishment. But I understand why they have a negative perception. When I was enrolled in Ruben Daniels, it was mainly for problem students the district didnt want in their flagship schools. The Rube, as it was known, was for adult education. I couldnt thrive in that environment. Thats why I left to enroll at Tri-City SER. Alternative schools that followed had the reputation of having students who were trouble. Behavioral issues. Drugs. Gangs. However, as those students started giving up on school completely, the programs have evolved to help the ones who just need a little help catching up so they can return to their original schools. Can the program use improvement? Sure. But we cant amputate an arm because of a hangnail. I look forward to these students recovering their credits and being able to join their classmates at the new high school. But more than that, I look forward to them graduating from Saginaw United and being able to share a great story of perseverance. SAGINAW, MI While some school districts opened for classes weeks ago, Saginaw Public Schools launched its 2024-25 academic year after the Labor Day holiday. That launch meant the opening of its brand-new, $85 million Saginaw United High School building. MLive published that story this week, along with news of the capture of a man accused of torturing and killing a woman in a Saginaw Township hotel room, the aftermath of the death of two motorcyclists, and other headlines. Here are some of the top stories from this week: Saginaw United High welcomes students on first-ever day of classes SAGINAW, MI First-ever-day jitters and a chilly wait outside greeted students who showed up for the inaugural day of classes at Saginaw United High School Tuesday, Sept. 3. Nearly four years after voters approved the $100 million school bond that led to construction of the five-story, 212,000-square-foot building across the river from downtown Saginaw, about 1,100 students arrived Tuesday morning ahead of the 7:42 a.m. first-hour bell. That collection of students represents the largest school enrollment number in generations for a single Saginaw Public Schools facility. The two schools that were dissolved to make way for Saginaw United High Arthur Hill High and Saginaw High schools enrolled 671 and 427 students, respectively, in the 2023-24 academic year, according to state data. Read more here. Social media went wild over Saginaw United claims. Superintendent clears the air. SAGINAW, MI Responding to social media-based uproar that included misinformation and confusion on the first day of classes at the brand-new Saginaw United High School, district leaders issued a statement attempting to provide clarity. Social media users on Tuesday, Sept. 3, complained some children were rejected enrollment at the $85 million school on its first day. Some comments seemed to suggest teenagers were turned away and given no other options, which led to uproar in comments shared on multiple Facebook group pages. That uproar amounted to confusion about the status of those students and failed to recognize school policy that provides a path to enrollment at Saginaw United High, Superintendent Ramont Roberts said in a statement uploaded to the districts Facebook page the next day. Accompanying that statement, the district on its Facebook page uploaded a letter sent to parents in February that explained students who did not meet academic credit criteria for the new school would be enrolled at The Success Academy, a district-operated alternative school at 1000 Tuscola. There, students would receive the opportunity to elevate their academic credit status to meet the criteria necessary to later enroll at Saginaw United, as explained in the letter from February. Read more here. Woman found dead in Saginaw Township hotel had been tortured for weeks, prosecutors say SAGINAW, MI Days after a womans body was found in a Saginaw Township hotel room, authorities are working to determine what caused her death. In the meantime, theyve charged her companion with torturing her in the weeks leading up to her death and concealing her body once she passed. Daniel J. Varnes, 46, on Wednesday, Sept. 4, appeared before Saginaw County District Judge A.T. Frank for arraignment on single counts of torture, assault with intent to murder, and concealing the death of an individual. The first two charges are life offenses, while the third is a five-year felony. Prosecutors wrote in a bond recommendation that Varnes admitted to brutally abusing the seeing-impaired Teressa M. Johnson, also 46, for one to two weeks. Varnes abuse included beating Johnson with his fists, elbows, boots, and a ratchet, burning her face with a crack pipe, and using needle-nose pliers on her mouth to shut her up, prosecutors allege. Varnes did not seek help once Johnson became unresponsive, nor did he notify anyone once she died, prosecutors contend. Read more here. Judge sentences woman who killed two motorcyclists in rural Saginaw County crash SAGINAW, MI Every time Mya Palacio hears a siren, shes transported to the day her father was killed while riding his motorcycle through rural Saginaw County. Losing my father was the worst pain Ive ever felt, Palacio told Saginaw County District Judge Terry L. Clark on Sept. 3. Life without my dad doesnt make sense. She appeared before the judge nearly a year to the day after her 54-year-old father, Kevin J. Palacio, was killed along with his beloved friend, Amanda L. Klich, 45, on Sept. 19, 2023. Seated nearby and awaiting sentencing was 23-year-old Jenna E. Vargas, who in July pleaded guilty to one count of reckless driving, a 93-day misdemeanor. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed two counts of reckless driving causing death, a one-year misdemeanor. After visiting a relative in East Lansing, Vargas had been driving an SUV north on M-52 (South Oakley Road) near Harris Road in Brady Township. Kevin Palacio and Klich rode a motorcycle heading in the opposite direction. Vargas crossed into the southern lane to pass another vehicle and crashed into the motorcycle. First responders pronounced Palacio and Klich deceased at the scene, while Vargas was uninjured. Read more here. Military dog tags lead police to identity of body pulled from Saginaw River SAGINAW, MI Police have identified a body recovered from the Saginaw River on Labor Day. About 1 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 2, a Saginaw County Sheriffs Marine Patrol boat was doing regular patrols on the waterway when some fishermen caught their attention. The anglers had spotted what they thought was a body near Water St., said Sheriff William L. Federspiel. Deputies recovered the body and brought it to shore, where they were met by Saginaw police, Mobile Medical Response, and the medical examiner, Federspiel said. The medical examiner determined the body had been in the water for about 50 hours, the sheriff said. Military dog tags found on in jean shorts on the body led deputies to the Veterans Administration, confirming the deceased as 68-year-old Paul E. Edwards, a city resident. Read more here. Want to work in a Christmas Wonderland? Bronners is hiring now. FRANKENMUTH, MI If youre already counting the days until Christmas, this seasonal job opportunity in Michigans Little Bavaria could be just right for you. Bronners Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth is hosting a job fair from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4. Job seekers should enter via Bronners south entrance and come to the program center in section two. Store management will offer on-the-spot interviews for a variety of part-time seasonal positions including: sales clerks, cashiers/packers, customer service, catalog operators, catalog fulfillment, embroidery machine operators, carts and baskets, ornament lettering and snack area employees. Were looking for employees who can commit to Bronners through December 31, Crissy Dutcher, salesroom and catalog/internet fulfillment personnel manager, said in a statement. Read more here. Want more Bay City- and Saginaw-area news? Bookmark the local Bay City and Saginaw news page or sign up for the free 3@3 daily newsletter for Bay City and Saginaw. ZARANJ, Afghanistan, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Authorities have set on fire 10 tonnes of illicit drugs in Afghanistan's western Nimruz province, according to provincial director for counter-narcotics Abdul Wasi Raihan on Sunday. The contraband, which included heroin, opium poppy, hashish and other objects used in manufacturing heroin, had been collected from across the province over the past four months and was burned publicly on Saturday, he said. In April 2022, the Afghan caretaker government banned poppy cultivation, drug processing, and drug trafficking. Since then, the administration has been striving to rid Afghanistan of the drug menace. KHARTOUM, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Visiting World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Saturday vowed to mobilize international efforts to support Sudan's health system, according to a statement by the Sudanese Health Ministry. Sudan needs more support from partners in the health field, the WHO chief said following talks with Sudan's Health Minister Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim in Port Sudan in eastern Sudan. Ibrahim said Tedros' visit will strengthen the relations between Sudan and the WHO, which "has made great efforts in providing technical and material support," according to the statement. Also on Saturday, Deputy Chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council Malik Agar received Tedros in Port Sudan, during which he briefed the WHO chief on the health and humanitarian conditions in the country, according to a statement issued by the council. Media outlets reported that Tedros arrived in Sudan earlier on Saturday for a visit, during which he is set to meet senior Sudanese officials and UN representatives, and inspect health facilities and shelters for internally displaced people. The Sudanese Health Ministry said Saturday that recent heavy rains hitting parts of Sudan have killed 205 people, while the country has registered 5,081 cholera cases, including 176 deaths. Since April 15, 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in a deadly conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, resulting in the loss of at least 16,650 lives. An estimated 10.7 million people are now internally displaced in Sudan, with approximately 2.2 million others seeking refuge in neighboring countries, according to the latest UN data. New York Life Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Free Report) by 9.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 110,504 shares of the companys stock after selling 11,512 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for 1.0% of New York Life Investment Management LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. New York Life Investment Management LLCs holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $100,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.5% during the second quarter. Northwest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the companys stock valued at $985,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 936 shares of the companys stock worth $847,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 6,370 shares of the companys stock worth $5,767,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 148.7% in the second quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 2,833 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,944,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the companys stock. Get Eli Lilly and Company alerts: Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company In other news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 15,022 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $882.47, for a total value of $13,256,464.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,778,788 shares of the companys stock, valued at $86,286,847,046.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 737,410 shares of company stock worth $669,719,100. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders. Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance Shares of LLY stock opened at $902.71 on Friday. The companys fifty day moving average price is $895.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $827.49. The stock has a market cap of $857.94 billion, a PE ratio of 132.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $516.57 and a 12 month high of $972.53. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $1.28. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.83 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 18.86% and a return on equity of 67.52%. On average, equities analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 16.51 EPS for the current fiscal year. Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Eli Lilly and Companys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.58%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $885.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $884.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $913.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $994.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $961.76. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on LLY About Eli Lilly and Company (Free Report) Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; Jardiance, Mounjaro, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes; and Zepbound for obesity. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Eli Lilly and Company Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Eli Lilly and Company and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Weil Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT Free Report) by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 504 shares of the aerospace companys stock after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Weil Company Inc.s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LMT. First Pacific Financial bought a new position in Lockheed Martin during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Lockheed Martin by 65.8% during the 1st quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC now owns 63 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 48.9% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 67 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.19% of the companys stock. Get Lockheed Martin alerts: Lockheed Martin Stock Down 0.3 % Shares of NYSE:LMT opened at $566.82 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $524.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $478.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10. Lockheed Martin Co. has a 12 month low of $393.77 and a 12 month high of $578.73. The company has a market cap of $136.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.46. Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend Lockheed Martin ( NYSE:LMT Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $6.45 by $0.66. The firm had revenue of $18.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $17.05 billion. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 95.03% and a net margin of 9.48%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.73 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.65 earnings per share for the current year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $3.15 dividend. This represents a $12.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Lockheed Martins payout ratio is currently 46.10%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LMT shares. Melius Research raised shares of Lockheed Martin to a strong-buy rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America reiterated a buy rating and set a $635.00 target price on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen upgraded Lockheed Martin from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $480.00 to $560.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Melius raised shares of Lockheed Martin from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $704.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lockheed Martin presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $553.43. Get Our Latest Stock Report on LMT Insider Activity In other news, insider Timothy S. Cahill sold 3,975 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $515.36, for a total transaction of $2,048,556.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,877 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,574,850.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.17% of the companys stock. Lockheed Martin Profile (Free Report) Lockheed Martin Corporation, a security and aerospace company, engages in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of technology systems, products, and services worldwide. The company operates through Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems, and Space segments. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LMT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Lockheed Martin Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Lockheed Martin and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Fiducient Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF (BATS:EFG Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 10,460 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,070,000. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 56,912.3% in the first quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,788,471 shares of the companys stock valued at $273,103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,783,580 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 60.9% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,742,137 shares of the companys stock worth $382,821,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416,067 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 320.9% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,638,113 shares of the companys stock valued at $170,020,000 after buying an additional 1,248,909 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 54.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,767,095 shares of the companys stock valued at $283,074,000 after buying an additional 973,742 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 56.9% in the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,661,636 shares of the companys stock worth $272,285,000 after buying an additional 965,407 shares in the last quarter. Get iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF alerts: iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF Trading Down 2.0 % Shares of BATS:EFG opened at $101.56 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $103.31 and a 200 day moving average of $102.78. The stock has a market cap of $11.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.36 and a beta of 0.97. iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF has a 12 month low of $67.58 and a 12 month high of $85.81. About iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Growth Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EAFE Growth Index (the Index). The Index is a subset of the MSCI EAFE Index and constituents of the Index include securities from Europe, Australasia (Australia and Asia), and the Far East. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Asana (NYSE:ASAN Free Report) had its price target trimmed by Citigroup from $15.00 to $13.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Several other research firms also recently issued reports on ASAN. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Asana from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson restated a neutral rating and set a $11.00 target price (down previously from $14.00) on shares of Asana in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Asana from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an underperform rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of Asana in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Asana from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $14.67. Get Asana alerts: Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Asana Asana Stock Performance ASAN opened at $11.78 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of -10.07 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.64 and a 200-day moving average of $14.62. Asana has a 52-week low of $11.29 and a 52-week high of $23.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. Asana (NYSE:ASAN Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 3rd. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $179.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.68 million. Asana had a negative return on equity of 77.48% and a negative net margin of 38.55%. The firms revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.31) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Asana will post -1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Insider Buying and Selling at Asana In other Asana news, CFO Tim M. Wan sold 5,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $75,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1,063,909 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $15,958,635. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Tim M. Wan sold 28,856 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.44, for a total transaction of $330,112.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1,050,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,015,248.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Tim M. Wan sold 5,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $75,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1,063,909 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $15,958,635. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 84,443 shares of company stock valued at $1,026,976 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 63.97% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Asana Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Asana by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 38,276 shares of the companys stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 4,401 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Asana by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 696,277 shares of the companys stock valued at $13,236,000 after purchasing an additional 43,564 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Asana in the 4th quarter valued at $197,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Asana by 27.9% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 53,345 shares of the companys stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 11,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Asana in the 4th quarter valued at $260,000. Institutional investors own 26.21% of the companys stock. About Asana (Get Free Report) Asana, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates a work management platform for individuals, team leads, and executives in the United States and internationally. Its platform helps organizations to orchestrate work from daily tasks to cross-functional strategic initiatives; manage work across a portfolio of projects or workflows, see progress against goals, identify bottlenecks, resource constraints, and milestones; and communicate company-wide goals, monitor status, and oversee work across projects and portfolios to gain real-time insights. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Asana Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Asana and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS Free Report) by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,126 shares of the investment management companys stock after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLCs holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $5,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GS. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter valued at about $138,000. Norden Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 649 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 39.2% in the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 8,754 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $3,960,000 after purchasing an additional 2,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,333,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the companys stock. Get The Goldman Sachs Group alerts: Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total value of $5,050,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,450 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $6,287,748. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.99, for a total transaction of $1,770,965.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,095 shares in the company, valued at $6,119,949.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total transaction of $5,050,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,450 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,287,748. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,013,500 shares of company stock worth $32,181,365. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $461.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $490.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $493.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $495.94. Get Our Latest Research Report on GS The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 1.7 % Shares of NYSE:GS opened at $479.61 on Friday. The businesss 50-day moving average is $489.33 and its 200-day moving average is $448.20. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.36 and a 1 year high of $517.26. The company has a market capitalization of $154.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.52 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.60 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 9.36%. Equities research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 35.07 earnings per share for the current year. The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Groups previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.86%. About The Goldman Sachs Group (Free Report) The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc, a financial institution, provides a range of financial services for corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals worldwide. It operates through Global Banking & Markets, Asset & Wealth Management, and Platform Solutions segments. The Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial advisory services, including strategic advisory assignments related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense activities, restructurings, and spin-offs; and relationship lending, and acquisition financing, as well as secured lending, through structured credit and asset-backed lending and involved in financing under securities to resale agreements. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for The Goldman Sachs Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for The Goldman Sachs Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Everest Group (NYSE:EG Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $527.00 price objective on the stock. Several other research firms also recently commented on EG. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Everest Group from $419.00 to $405.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Everest Group from $450.00 to $445.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Everest Group from $392.00 to $393.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Everest Group from $470.00 to $493.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a market perform rating and issued a $403.00 price target on shares of Everest Group in a report on Friday, August 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $439.00. Get Everest Group alerts: Read Our Latest Research Report on Everest Group Everest Group Stock Down 1.6 % EG opened at $383.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $379.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $378.82. Everest Group has a 52 week low of $343.76 and a 52 week high of $417.92. The company has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a PE ratio of 5.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Everest Group (NYSE:EG Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $16.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $16.97 by ($0.12). Everest Group had a net margin of 18.36% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The company had revenue of $4.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $15.21 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Everest Group will post 61.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Everest Group Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $2.00 dividend. This represents a $8.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Everest Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.89%. Institutional Trading of Everest Group A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Everest Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $466,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Everest Group during the second quarter worth approximately $495,000. Delphi Management Inc. MA increased its position in shares of Everest Group by 1.3% during the second quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 4,773 shares of the companys stock worth $1,819,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Everest Group by 9.0% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,316 shares of the companys stock worth $2,026,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Everest Group during the second quarter worth approximately $921,000. 92.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About Everest Group (Get Free Report) Everest Group, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance and insurance products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through two segment, Insurance and Reinsurance. The Reinsurance segment writes property and casualty reinsurance; and specialty lines of business through reinsurance brokers, as well as directly with ceding companies in the United States, Bermuda, Ireland, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Everest Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Everest Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Barrick Gold Co. (TSE:ABX Get Free Report) (NYSE:ABX)s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$23.50 and traded as high as C$26.50. Barrick Gold shares last traded at C$25.79, with a volume of 2,548,530 shares trading hands. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Barrick Gold from C$31.00 to C$33.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Argus raised Barrick Gold from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Eight Capital upped their price target on Barrick Gold from C$36.00 to C$38.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of C$30.18. Get Barrick Gold alerts: Read Our Latest Stock Report on Barrick Gold Barrick Gold Trading Down 1.9 % The businesss fifty day moving average is C$25.45 and its 200 day moving average is C$23.53. The company has a quick ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 3.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.54. The stock has a market cap of C$45.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.47. Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX Get Free Report) (NYSE:ABX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 12th. The basic materials company reported C$0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$0.36 by C$0.08. The firm had revenue of C$4.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$4.12 billion. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 7.20% and a net margin of 12.78%. Barrick Gold Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $0.138 per share. This is an increase from Barrick Golds previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Barrick Golds payout ratio is currently 47.41%. Insider Buying and Selling at Barrick Gold In other news, Director Andrew James Quinn sold 36,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$23.00, for a total value of C$828,000.00. In other news, Director Andrew James Quinn sold 36,000 shares of Barrick Gold stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$23.00, for a total transaction of C$828,000.00. Also, Senior Officer Riaan Grobler sold 94,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$18.99, for a total transaction of C$1,784,693.40. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders. Barrick Gold Company Profile (Get Free Report) Barrick Gold Corporation engages in the exploration, mine development, production, and sale of gold and copper properties in Canada and internationally. The company also explores and sells silver and energy materials. It has ownership interests in producing gold mines located in Argentina, Canada, Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Dominican Republic, Mali, Tanzania, and the United States. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Barrick Gold Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Barrick Gold and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. ISLAMABAD, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of police in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province said on Saturday that it had arrested 33 suspected terrorists in 475 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) across the province in August. The CTD said in a police statement that it had interrogated 475 suspects during the IBOs, out of which 33 were found to have strong links with banned organizations. According to the police, the operations were conducted in various districts of the province to counter the menace of terrorism and to avert any untoward incident. The police added that it had registered 32 cases against the suspects under various sections of the country's Anti-Terrorism Act. The police claimed to have confiscated 5 kgs of explosives, two hand grenades, two improvised explosive devices (IEDs), 26 detonators, 73 feet of safety fuse wire, and four pistols with live ammunition and prohibited printed material. According to the data provided by police, it had conducted 3,674 combing operations in the outgoing week and checked 186,331 persons and arrested 1,431 suspects who are under investigation. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO Free Report) in a research report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $108.00 target price on the financial services providers stock. Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on BRO. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Brown & Brown from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their target price for the company from $94.00 to $112.00 in a report on Monday, August 12th. Citigroup raised their target price on Brown & Brown from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Brown & Brown from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $91.00 to $101.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $100.00. Get Brown & Brown alerts: Read Our Latest Analysis on BRO Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.7 % NYSE:BRO opened at $103.94 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Brown & Brown has a one year low of $66.73 and a one year high of $106.02. The company has a market cap of $29.65 billion, a PE ratio of 31.98, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $98.33 and a 200-day moving average of $90.58. Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 21.95%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Brown & Brown will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year. Brown & Brown Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. Brown & Browns dividend payout ratio is currently 16.00%. Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown In related news, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total value of $250,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,445 shares in the company, valued at $8,872,802.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total transaction of $250,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,445 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,872,802.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total value of $14,071,226.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brown & Brown Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BRO. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.5% during the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 20,339 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,819,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 25,633 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.8% during the second quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 2,772 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Brown & Brown by 2.1% in the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,417 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 5.6% in the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 2,505 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Brown & Brown Company Profile (Get Free Report) Brown & Brown, Inc markets and sells insurance products and services in the United States, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services. The Retail segment provides property and casualty, employee benefits insurance products, personal insurance products, specialties insurance products, risk management strategies, loss control survey and analysis, consultancy, and claims processing services. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Brown & Brown Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Brown & Brown and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Chris Bulman Inc purchased a new stake in Invesco Senior Loan ETF (NYSEARCA:BKLN Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 21,763 shares of the exchange traded funds stock, valued at approximately $458,000. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Invesco Senior Loan ETF in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Invesco Senior Loan ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. SouthState Corp lifted its stake in Invesco Senior Loan ETF by 167.3% in the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 1,363 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Invesco Senior Loan ETF in the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Invesco Senior Loan ETF during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Get Invesco Senior Loan ETF alerts: Invesco Senior Loan ETF Stock Down 0.1 % NYSEARCA:BKLN opened at $21.01 on Friday. Invesco Senior Loan ETF has a twelve month low of $20.61 and a twelve month high of $21.27. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $21.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.08. Invesco Senior Loan ETF Company Profile The Invesco Senior Loan ETF (BKLN) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in high yield fixed income. The fund tracks a market-value-weighted index of senior loans issued by banks to corporations. BKLN was launched on Mar 3, 2011 and is managed by Invesco. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Invesco Senior Loan ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Invesco Senior Loan ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Cloud Peak Energy Inc. (OTCMKTS:CLDPQ Get Free Report)s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $0.00 and traded as high as $0.00. Cloud Peak Energy shares last traded at $0.00, with a volume of 106,200 shares changing hands. Cloud Peak Energy Price Performance About Cloud Peak Energy (Get Free Report) Cloud Peak Energy Inc produces coal in the Powder River Basin and the United States. The company operates through Owned and Operated Mines, and Logistics and Related Activities. It owns and operates three surface coal mines comprising the Antelope Mine and the Cordero Rojo Mine located in Wyoming; and the Spring Creek Mine located in Montana. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Cloud Peak Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Cloud Peak Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Core & Main (NYSE:CNM Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Loop Capital from $64.00 to $52.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock. Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Core & Main from $50.00 to $38.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Core & Main in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Core & Main from $65.00 to $57.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Core & Main from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Core & Main from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $49.30. Get Core & Main alerts: Check Out Our Latest Report on Core & Main Core & Main Stock Performance Core & Main stock opened at $38.05 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.04. Core & Main has a 1-year low of $27.75 and a 1-year high of $62.15. The companys 50-day moving average is $49.66 and its 200 day moving average is $52.65. Core & Main (NYSE:CNM Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.13). Core & Main had a return on equity of 20.01% and a net margin of 5.53%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Core & Main will post 2.32 EPS for the current year. Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, Director James G. Castellano sold 12,500 shares of Core & Main stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total value of $652,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,769 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $614,577.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Core & Main Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNM. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Core & Main during the second quarter worth $840,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in Core & Main by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 54,800 shares of the companys stock worth $2,682,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Core & Main by 1,103.3% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 495,199 shares of the companys stock valued at $24,235,000 after buying an additional 454,046 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp raised its stake in Core & Main by 7.9% in the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 162,250 shares of the companys stock valued at $7,941,000 after buying an additional 11,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in Core & Main by 12.4% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 176,875 shares of the companys stock worth $8,656,000 after acquiring an additional 19,443 shares in the last quarter. 94.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Core & Main Company Profile (Get Free Report) Core & Main, Inc distributes water, wastewater, storm drainage, and fire protection products and related services to municipalities, private water companies, and professional contractors in the municipal, non-residential, and residential end markets in the United States. Its products portfolio include pipes, valves, hydrants, fittings, and other products and services; storm drainage products, such as corrugated piping systems, retention basins, inline drains, manholes, grates, geosynthetics, erosion control, and other related products; fire protection products, including fire protection pipes, and sprinkler heads and devices, as well as fabrication services; and meter products, such as smart meter products, meter sets, meter accessories, installation, software, and other services. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Core & Main Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Core & Main and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. CT Real Estate Investment Trust (TSE:CRT.UN Free Report) had its price objective upped by TD Securities from C$15.00 to C$16.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a hold rating on the real estate investment trusts stock. Separately, Desjardins dropped their target price on shares of CT Real Estate Investment Trust from C$15.00 to C$14.50 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of C$15.75. Get CT Real Estate Investment Trust alerts: Get Our Latest Report on CRT.UN CT Real Estate Investment Trust Price Performance CT Real Estate Investment Trust Dividend Announcement The businesss 50 day simple moving average is C$14.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$13.94. The company has a market capitalization of C$1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.99. CT Real Estate Investment Trust has a 52 week low of C$12.57 and a 52 week high of C$15.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 75.45, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.10. The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.0771 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $0.93 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of . CT Real Estate Investment Trusts payout ratio is 101.09%. About CT Real Estate Investment Trust (Get Free Report) CT Real Estate Investment Trust is an unincorporated, closed-end real estate investment trust formed to own income-producing commercial properties located primarily in Canada. Its portfolio is comprised of over 370 properties totalling more than 30 million square feet of GLA, consisting primarily of net lease single-tenant retail properties located across Canada. Read More Receive News & Ratings for CT Real Estate Investment Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for CT Real Estate Investment Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Custom Index Systems LLC increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH Free Report) by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,459 shares of the medical research companys stock after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the quarter. Custom Index Systems LLCs holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 313.2% in the 1st quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 219 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Laboratory Co. of America alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes LH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $250.82. Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 1.5 % Shares of LH opened at $223.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.88 billion, a PE ratio of 45.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day moving average of $218.74 and a 200 day moving average of $211.10. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $238.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.16. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. Laboratory Co. of Americas revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.67 EPS for the current year. Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. Laboratory Co. of Americas payout ratio is 57.95%. Insiders Place Their Bets In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at $833,273.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at $3,647,501.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.85% of the companys stock. About Laboratory Co. of America (Free Report) Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as a life sciences company that provides vital information to help doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and patients make clear and confident decisions. It operates in two segments, Labcorp Diagnostics (Dx) and Biopharma Laboratory Services (BLS). Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Laboratory Co. of America Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Laboratory Co. of America and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Custom Index Systems LLC lowered its stake in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (BATS:EFV Free Report) by 19.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,445 shares of the companys stock after selling 5,482 shares during the period. Custom Index Systems LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF were worth $1,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EFV. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at $357,000. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 14.3% during the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 183,346 shares of the companys stock worth $9,725,000 after buying an additional 22,917 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 71,016 shares of the companys stock worth $3,767,000 after buying an additional 6,754 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 2,473 shares of the companys stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, MA Private Wealth increased its stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. MA Private Wealth now owns 506,598 shares of the companys stock valued at $26,870,000 after acquiring an additional 6,875 shares during the last quarter. Get iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF alerts: iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Stock Performance EFV opened at $55.45 on Friday. The firms fifty day moving average is $54.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.26. The firm has a market cap of $17.26 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.70. iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF has a twelve month low of $49.15 and a twelve month high of $59.57. About iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Value Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EAFE Value Index. The Index is a subset of the MSCI EAFE Index and constituents of the Index include securities from Europe, Australasia (Australia and Asia), and the Far East. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EFV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (BATS:EFV Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated their buy rating on shares of M&G (LON:MNG Free Report) in a research note released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a GBX 240 ($3.16) target price on the stock. A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on M&G from GBX 220 ($2.89) to GBX 215 ($2.83) and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a GBX 225 ($2.96) target price on shares of M&G in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, M&G has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of GBX 222.50 ($2.93). Get M&G alerts: View Our Latest Report on MNG M&G Stock Down 0.4 % M&G Cuts Dividend LON MNG opened at GBX 206.20 ($2.71) on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of 4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 1,718.33, a P/E/G ratio of -2.76 and a beta of 1.47. M&G has a fifty-two week low of GBX 188.65 ($2.48) and a fifty-two week high of GBX 241.10 ($3.17). The business has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 208.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of GBX 210. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 207.54. The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 12th will be given a dividend of GBX 6.60 ($0.09) per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 12th. M&Gs dividend payout ratio is currently 16,666.67%. Insider Activity at M&G In other news, insider Edward Braham purchased 24,600 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 204 ($2.68) per share, with a total value of 50,184 ($65,988.17). Corporate insiders own 1.74% of the companys stock. About M&G (Get Free Report) M&G plc, through its subsidiaries, engages in savings and investment businesses in the United Kingdom and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Asset Management, Life, and Wealth. It offers retirement, savings, and investment management solutions. The company also provides individual and corporate pensions, retirement, annuities, life, savings, and investment products, such as equities, fixed income, multi-asset and real estate. Read More Receive News & Ratings for M&G Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for M&G and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated their buy rating on shares of Direct Line Insurance Group (LON:DLG Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a GBX 240 ($3.16) price target on the stock. Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on DLG. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a GBX 195 ($2.56) price objective on shares of Direct Line Insurance Group in a report on Monday, June 24th. Berenberg Bank cut their price objective on Direct Line Insurance Group from GBX 220 ($2.89) to GBX 215 ($2.83) and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of GBX 206 ($2.71). Get Direct Line Insurance Group alerts: Get Our Latest Report on Direct Line Insurance Group Direct Line Insurance Group Stock Performance Direct Line Insurance Group Cuts Dividend The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.89, a current ratio of 8.31 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of 2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,144.38, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.45. Direct Line Insurance Group has a 1-year low of GBX 149.50 ($1.97) and a 1-year high of GBX 240.10 ($3.16). The company has a 50-day moving average price of GBX 188.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of GBX 193.88. The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of GBX 2 ($0.03) per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 12th. This represents a yield of 1.04%. Direct Line Insurance Groups payout ratio is 5,000.00%. Insider Buying and Selling In related news, insider Carol Hagh bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 195 ($2.56) per share, with a total value of 19,500 ($25,641.03). Insiders purchased 10,152 shares of company stock valued at $1,980,088 in the last three months. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. About Direct Line Insurance Group (Get Free Report) Direct Line Insurance Group plc engages in the provision of general insurance products and services in the United Kingdom. The company operates through Motor, Home, Rescue and Other Personal Lines, and Commercial segments. It offers motor, home, van, landlord, rescue, pet, tradesperson, business, creditor and select, and travel insurance products, as well as commercial insurance for small and medium-sized enterprises. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Direct Line Insurance Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Direct Line Insurance Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL Free Report) by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,378 shares of the transportation companys stock after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLCs holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DAL. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 220.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,600,741 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $346,008,000 after acquiring an additional 5,914,301 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,936,699 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $842,283,000 after acquiring an additional 1,689,053 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at $65,056,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 6,467,749 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $260,198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 96.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,487,387 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $119,057,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,074 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the companys stock. Get Delta Air Lines alerts: Delta Air Lines Price Performance NYSE:DAL opened at $42.03 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.60 and a 52 week high of $53.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.12 billion, a PE ratio of 6.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.34. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $42.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.04. Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend Delta Air Lines ( NYSE:DAL Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The transportation company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.37 by ($0.01). Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.46% and a return on equity of 36.02%. The business had revenue of $15.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. Delta Air Liness revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 30th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. This is a boost from Delta Air Liness previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 30th. Delta Air Liness payout ratio is presently 8.63%. Insider Buying and Selling In other news, Director Willie Cw Chiang acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $43.90 per share, for a total transaction of $439,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $878,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several brokerages have recently commented on DAL. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, HSBC assumed coverage on Delta Air Lines in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $72.80 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines currently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $60.70. View Our Latest Stock Report on DAL About Delta Air Lines (Free Report) Delta Air Lines, Inc provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Airline and Refinery. Its domestic network centered on core hubs in Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, and Salt Lake City, as well as coastal hub positions in Boston, Los Angeles, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, and Seattle; and international network centered on hubs and market presence in Amsterdam, Bogota, Lima, Mexico City, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Sao Paulo, Seoul-Incheon, and Tokyo. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Delta Air Lines Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Delta Air Lines and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. DAMASCUS, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) --Israel carried out air strikes on a scientific research facility and an arms depot in central Syria on Sunday night, a war monitor reported. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack targeted sites in Masyaf, in western Hama province. Ambulances were seen rushing to the area, the Britain-based group said, adding that a large fire was seen near Wadi al-Oyoun in western Hama following the strikes. Syrian state television reported that air defenses responded to "Israeli aggression" in central Syria. The Observatory said several missiles were intercepted. The extent of casualties and damage was not immediately clear. Israel has conducted numerous strikes in Syria in recent years, often targeting what it says are Iranian-linked and Hezbollah positions. Ellis Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in DigitalBridge Group, Inc. (NYSE:DBRG Free Report) by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 43,926 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 4,298 shares during the quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLCs holdings in DigitalBridge Group were worth $602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. New South Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of DigitalBridge Group by 40.1% in the 2nd quarter. New South Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,929,762 shares of the companys stock valued at $53,838,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125,549 shares during the last quarter. Wafra Inc. grew its holdings in DigitalBridge Group by 7.1% during the second quarter. Wafra Inc. now owns 15,455,808 shares of the companys stock worth $211,745,000 after buying an additional 1,020,409 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of DigitalBridge Group by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 45,735 shares of the companys stock valued at $627,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in DigitalBridge Group by 4.1% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,165 shares of the companys stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in DigitalBridge Group by 15.3% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 358,003 shares of the companys stock worth $4,747,000 after purchasing an additional 47,468 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get DigitalBridge Group alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several research analysts have recently commented on DBRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on DigitalBridge Group from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of DigitalBridge Group from $18.50 to $17.75 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on DigitalBridge Group from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of DigitalBridge Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, B. Riley cut their price objective on shares of DigitalBridge Group from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, DigitalBridge Group presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $19.22. DigitalBridge Group Stock Down 4.1 % Shares of NYSE DBRG traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $11.52. The stock had a trading volume of 2,803,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,115,992. The company has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.43, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.96. DigitalBridge Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.34 and a 1-year high of $20.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $13.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.01. DigitalBridge Group (NYSE:DBRG Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.06). DigitalBridge Group had a return on equity of 4.49% and a net margin of 35.10%. The business had revenue of $390.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $97.05 million. On average, research analysts forecast that DigitalBridge Group, Inc. will post 0.28 EPS for the current year. DigitalBridge Group Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. DigitalBridge Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.58%. About DigitalBridge Group (Free Report) DigitalBridge is an infrastructure investment firm specializing in digital infrastructure assets. They provide services to institutional investors. They primarily invest in data centers, cell towers, fiber networks, small cells, and edge infrastructure. DigitalBridge Group, Inc was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida with additional offices in Los Angles, California, and New York New York. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DBRG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for DigitalBridge Group, Inc. (NYSE:DBRG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for DigitalBridge Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for DigitalBridge Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Emerald Advisers LLC reduced its holdings in Terreno Realty Co. (NYSE:TRNO Free Report) by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 208,338 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after selling 9,035 shares during the quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Terreno Realty worth $12,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Terreno Realty by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,981,741 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $861,988,000 after acquiring an additional 919,851 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Terreno Realty during the 4th quarter worth $54,302,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Terreno Realty by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,155,458 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $342,322,000 after buying an additional 727,995 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its stake in shares of Terreno Realty by 91,086.2% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 713,076 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $44,688,000 after buying an additional 712,294 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Terreno Realty by 7.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,162,332 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $276,381,000 after acquiring an additional 291,051 shares during the last quarter. Get Terreno Realty alerts: Insider Activity In other Terreno Realty news, CFO Jaime Jackson Cannon sold 4,998 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $341,813.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 101,927 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,970,787.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Terreno Realty news, CFO Jaime Jackson Cannon sold 4,998 shares of Terreno Realty stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $341,813.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 101,927 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,970,787.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John Tull Meyer sold 6,145 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.64, for a total transaction of $421,792.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 110,988 shares in the company, valued at $7,618,216.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,643 shares of company stock valued at $1,277,581 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.40% of the companys stock. Terreno Realty Trading Up 0.2 % NYSE:TRNO opened at $68.58 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.90. Terreno Realty Co. has a twelve month low of $50.42 and a twelve month high of $71.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.99. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Terreno Realty (NYSE:TRNO Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $94.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.07 million. Terreno Realty had a return on equity of 5.08% and a net margin of 45.69%. As a group, analysts expect that Terreno Realty Co. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year. Terreno Realty Increases Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. This is a boost from Terreno Realtys previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Terreno Realtys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 102.08%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In TRNO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Terreno Realty from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Terreno Realty from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 24th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Terreno Realty in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. They set an outperform rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on Terreno Realty from $59.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price objective on Terreno Realty from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Terreno Realty currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $69.56. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Terreno Realty Terreno Realty Profile (Free Report) Terreno Realty Corporation (Terreno, and together with its subsidiaries, the Company) acquires, owns and operates industrial real estate in six major coastal U.S. markets: Los Angeles, Northern New Jersey/New York City, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Miami, and Washington, DC All square feet, acres, occupancy and number of properties disclosed in these notes to the consolidated financial statements are unaudited. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TRNO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Terreno Realty Co. (NYSE:TRNO Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Terreno Realty Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Terreno Realty and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust decreased its position in shares of Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO Free Report) by 17.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,424 shares of the semiconductor companys stock after selling 22,077 shares during the period. Onto Innovation makes up about 1.2% of Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trusts investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust owned 0.21% of Onto Innovation worth $22,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Onto Innovation by 6,707.0% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 116,332 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $25,542,000 after purchasing an additional 114,623 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Onto Innovation by 2.0% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,753 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $3,020,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Onto Innovation by 42.8% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 107,906 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $23,692,000 after purchasing an additional 32,329 shares during the last quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 58.1% during the second quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Onto Innovation during the second quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.35% of the companys stock. Get Onto Innovation alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research firms recently issued reports on ONTO. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Onto Innovation from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Onto Innovation from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Monday, May 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $265.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a buy rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, B. Riley upped their target price on shares of Onto Innovation from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Onto Innovation currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $259.00. Insider Transactions at Onto Innovation In related news, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 1,275 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.24, for a total transaction of $264,231.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,050 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,326,202. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the companys stock. Onto Innovation Price Performance Shares of Onto Innovation stock opened at $177.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.10 and a beta of 1.37. The firms 50-day moving average is $203.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $201.17. Onto Innovation Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.98 and a 1 year high of $238.93. Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The semiconductor company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $242.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.43 million. Onto Innovation had a net margin of 18.50% and a return on equity of 12.71%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Onto Innovation Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year. Onto Innovation Company Profile (Free Report) Onto Innovation Inc engages in the design, development, manufacture, and support of process control tools that performs optical metrology. The company offers lithography systems and process control analytical software. It also offers process and yield management solutions, and device packaging and test facilities through standalone systems for optical metrology, macro-defect inspection, packaging lithography, and transparent and opaque thin film measurements. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Onto Innovation Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Onto Innovation and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR Free Report) by 15.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,497 shares of the utilities providers stock after purchasing an additional 7,714 shares during the quarter. Entergy makes up about 1.2% of Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.s holdings in Entergy were worth $6,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Entergy by 64.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $440,690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630,057 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Entergy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $127,675,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Entergy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $92,257,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Entergy by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,961,859 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $400,901,000 after purchasing an additional 796,316 shares during the period. Finally, ClearBridge Investments Ltd grew its stake in Entergy by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd now owns 3,115,468 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $315,254,000 after buying an additional 706,059 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the companys stock. Get Entergy alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ETR shares. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Entergy from $116.00 to $115.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Entergy from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Entergy presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $123.04. Entergy Price Performance Shares of ETR stock traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $121.90. 1,523,795 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,521,238. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $26.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.73. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $114.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.14. Entergy Co. has a twelve month low of $87.10 and a twelve month high of $123.73. Entergy (NYSE:ETR Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.16. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 14.75%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Entergy Co. will post 7.2 earnings per share for the current year. Entergy Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. Entergys dividend payout ratio is presently 45.34%. Insider Buying and Selling In related news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $388,672.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $388,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at $18,307,787.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $619,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $614,040. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,638 shares of company stock worth $4,712,446. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the companys stock. About Entergy (Free Report) Entergy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production and retail distribution of electricity in the United States. It generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power in portions of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, including the City of New Orleans; and distributes natural gas. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ETR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Entergy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Entergy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Fiducient Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY Free Report) by 19.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,919 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 2,333 shares during the quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLCs holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 42.7% in the second quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 759 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Bristol-Myers Squibb alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In BMY has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a neutral rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $53.00 to $45.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $54.67. Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance Bristol-Myers Squibb stock opened at $48.70 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.71, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 52-week low of $39.35 and a 52-week high of $61.42. Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.43. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a negative net margin of 14.06% and a positive return on equity of 12.51%. The company had revenue of $12.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $11.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. Bristol-Myers Squibbs revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.77 EPS for the current fiscal year. Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 5th. Bristol-Myers Squibbs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -77.42%. About Bristol-Myers Squibb (Free Report) Bristol-Myers Squibb Company discovers, develops, licenses, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers products for hematology, oncology, cardiovascular, immunology, fibrotic, and neuroscience diseases. The company's products include Eliquis for reduction in risk of stroke/systemic embolism in non-valvular atrial fibrillation, and for the treatment of DVT/PE; Opdivo for various anti-cancer indications, including bladder, blood, CRC, head and neck, RCC, HCC, lung, melanoma, MPM, stomach and esophageal cancer; Pomalyst/Imnovid for multiple myeloma; Orencia for active rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis; and Sprycel for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Bristol-Myers Squibb Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bristol-Myers Squibb and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Finsbury Growth & Income (LON:FGT Get Free Report)s share price passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of GBX 838.43 ($11.02) and traded as high as GBX 846 ($11.12). Finsbury Growth & Income shares last traded at GBX 840 ($11.05), with a volume of 748,243 shares traded. Finsbury Growth & Income Trading Down 0.5 % The company has a current ratio of 5.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The firm has a market cap of 1.54 billion, a PE ratio of 1,377.05 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 838.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 842.59. Get Finsbury Growth & Income alerts: Insider Buying and Selling In other news, insider Pars Purewal acquired 17,802 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 838 ($11.02) per share, with a total value of 149,180.76 ($196,161.42). 5.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. About Finsbury Growth & Income Finsbury Growth & Income Trust PLC is a closed ended equity mutual fund launched Frostrow Capital LLP. The fund is co-managed by Lindsell Train Limited. It invests in public equity markets of the United Kingdom. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Finsbury Growth & Income Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Finsbury Growth & Income and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Frederick County Bancorp (MD) (OTCMKTS:FCBI Get Free Report) shares passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $36.00 and traded as low as $36.00. Frederick County Bancorp (MD) shares last traded at $36.00, with a volume of 600 shares changing hands. Frederick County Bancorp (MD) Trading Down 0.5 % The firm has a market capitalization of $57.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35 and a beta of 0.34. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $36.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.00. About Frederick County Bancorp (MD) (Get Free Report) Frederick County Bancorp, Inc operates as the holding company for Frederick County Bank that provides various banking services to individuals and commercial enterprises in the Frederick County, Maryland. It offers deposit products, including personal checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, and health savings accounts; and business checking accounts, savings and money market accounts, and certificates of deposits. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Frederick County Bancorp (MD) Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Frederick County Bancorp (MD) and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN Free Report) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 100,616 shares of the banks stock after purchasing an additional 3,451 shares during the quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLCs holdings in Banco Santander were worth $466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Banco Santander in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Banco Santander in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its holdings in Banco Santander by 1,853.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,359 shares of the banks stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 7,931 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Banco Santander in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Sunpointe LLC bought a new position in Banco Santander in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Banco Santander alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades SAN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of Banco Santander from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered Banco Santander from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Saturday, June 22nd. Banco Santander Price Performance NYSE:SAN opened at $4.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $75.01 billion, a PE ratio of 6.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50-day moving average of $4.76 and a 200 day moving average of $4.76. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 1-year low of $3.52 and a 1-year high of $5.27. Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.87 billion for the quarter. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 11.42%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year. About Banco Santander (Free Report) Banco Santander, SA provides various financial services worldwide. The company operates through Retail Banking, Santander Corporate & Investment Banking, Wealth Management & Insurance, and PagoNxt segments. It offers demand and time deposits, mutual funds, and current and savings accounts; mortgages, consumer finance, loans, and various financing solutions; and project finance, debt capital markets, global transaction banking, and corporate finance services. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SAN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Banco Santander Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Banco Santander and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated their buy rating on shares of Hilton Food Group (LON:HFG Free Report) in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a GBX 1,105 ($14.53) target price on the stock. Separately, Shore Capital reaffirmed a house stock rating on shares of Hilton Food Group in a report on Wednesday. Get Hilton Food Group alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on HFG Hilton Food Group Stock Performance Hilton Food Group Cuts Dividend Shares of HFG stock opened at GBX 900 ($11.83) on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 928.60 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 895.50. The stock has a market cap of 806.40 million, a PE ratio of 2,250.00, a P/E/G ratio of 17.31 and a beta of 0.57. Hilton Food Group has a 1 year low of GBX 634.03 ($8.34) and a 1 year high of GBX 996 ($13.10). The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 153.45, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.17. The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a GBX 9.60 ($0.13) dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 0.99%. Hilton Food Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8,000.00%. About Hilton Food Group (Get Free Report) Hilton Food Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the food packing business. It offers beef, pork, lamb, poultry, seafood, and vegan and vegetarian food, such as steak, roast, diced, mince, meatloaf, sausages, burgers, meatballs ribs, chops, bacon, gammon, schnitzel, pulled belly, rib rack, smoked loin, shanks, carcass, chicken kabab, chicken drumsticks, chicken tight, chicken wings, half chicken, duck leg, duck half, coated, salmon, white fish, shellfish, fish cakes, smoked salmon, strips, nuggets, pulled, and balls. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Hilton Food Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hilton Food Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Envista Holdings Co. (NYSE:NVST Free Report) by 36.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,657 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 7,338 shares during the quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.s holdings in Envista were worth $460,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Envista by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,167,767 shares of the companys stock valued at $413,056,000 after purchasing an additional 944,596 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Envista by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 8,892,200 shares of the companys stock valued at $190,115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,795,258 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Envista by 65.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,262,092 shares of the companys stock worth $126,606,000 after acquiring an additional 2,077,786 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC increased its holdings in Envista by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 4,781,320 shares of the companys stock valued at $102,224,000 after purchasing an additional 850,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. raised its position in Envista by 32.9% in the second quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 2,936,916 shares of the companys stock valued at $48,841,000 after purchasing an additional 727,406 shares during the period. Get Envista alerts: Envista Stock Down 2.2 % Shares of Envista stock traded down $0.39 during trading on Friday, hitting $17.44. 1,676,658 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,488,855. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firms 50-day moving average price is $16.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.70. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.22 and a beta of 1.31. Envista Holdings Co. has a 12-month low of $15.15 and a 12-month high of $31.32. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Envista ( NYSE:NVST Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $633.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $646.88 million. Envista had a positive return on equity of 4.86% and a negative net margin of 52.25%. Envistas revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Envista Holdings Co. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. NVST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Envista from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Envista from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Envista from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a hold rating on shares of Envista in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Envista from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $19.14. View Our Latest Research Report on NVST Insider Transactions at Envista In other news, CFO Eric D. Hammes bought 24,532 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.33 per share, with a total value of $400,607.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,532 shares in the company, valued at $400,607.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the companys stock. About Envista (Free Report) Envista Holdings Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells dental products in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Specialty Products & Technologies, and Equipment & Consumables. The Specialty Products & Technologies segment offers dental implant systems, guided surgery systems, biomaterials, and prefabricated and custom-built prosthetics to oral surgeons, prosthodontists and periodontists, and general dentist; and brackets and wires, tubes and bands, archwires, clear aligners, digital orthodontic treatments, retainers, and other orthodontic laboratory products. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NVST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Envista Holdings Co. (NYSE:NVST Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Envista Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Envista and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Photo taken on April 1, 2021 shows a bowl of Kalamata olives preserved in olive oil and brine in Messinia, Greece. (Photo by Lefteris Partsalis/Xinhua) Greece hails the recent upgrade of its economic outlook from "stable" to "positive," saying it confirms that Greece continues to move on the right track. ATHENS, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Greek officials and financial experts have hailed the recent upgrades of both the country's credit rating and that of its major banks, viewing it as another positive sign of the nation's economic recovery. On Friday evening, Canadian credit rating agency DBRS Morningstar raised Greece's economic outlook from "stable" to "positive," maintaining its credit rating at BBB in the investment-grade category. DBRS's statement noted that its outlook improvement is based on expectations of continued progress in areas such as fiscal discipline and the strengthening of the banking sector. Last year, DBRS was the first of the major credit rating agencies to lift Greece out of "junk" status, a label the country had held since 2010 when it was grappling with a severe debt crisis. Following the implementation of three tough bailout programs until 2018, Greek economy has recovered and successive positive assessments by third-party observers confirm that Greece continues to move on the right track, Kostis Hatzidakis, minister of national economy and finance, commented in a statement on Saturday. Tourists visit the Roman Agora in Athens, Greece, Sept. 10, 2022. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) The latest evaluation by DBRS is "another piece of good news on the course of Greek economy," he said. "It reaffirms that our economic policies with emphasis on fiscal discipline and investment-friendly measures are correct," he added. The minister noted that DBRS commended Greece for meeting fiscal targets, increasing the growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP) and reducing the public debt-to-GDP ratio. Greece's GDP will grow by 2.2 percent this year and 2.5 percent in 2025 mainly thanks to investments, supported by available European resources and private consumption, according to a report on the latest developments in Greek economy released by the central Bank of Greece (BoG) on Friday. Greek GDP grew by 2 percent in 2023. The debt-to-GDP ratio decreased by 10.8 percentage points compared to 2022, to 161.9 percent of GDP in 2023, the lowest since 2010, according to the report. It was expected to further shrink to 152.7 percent this year and below 140 percent by 2027. BoG also welcomed the upward trend of the credit ratings of Greece's four systemic banks that continues. A person walks past the Central Bank of Greece in Athens, Greece, Aug. 20, 2018. (XinhuaMarios Lolos) (wtc) On Wednesday, Fitch Ratings upgraded the credit ratings of National Bank of Greece, Piraeus Bank, Alpha Bank, and Eurobank with a positive outlook that reflects the improved assessment of Greece's operating environment, now rated at 'BB+,' according to a press statement. Both Fitch and DBRS justified their latest assessments taking into account the continuous reduction of non-performing loans (NPLs), expecting that Greece's banking sector will continue to have good profitability, they said. "The new positive assessments of the major credit rating agencies mark another positive development for Greece. The upgrades of the country's credit rating and its systemic banks underscore the remarkable progress steps achieved in recent years," George Xiradakis, president of the Association of Banking and Financial Executives of Hellenic Shipping, told Xinhua on Saturday. A positive environment means that Greek government bond yields and spreads may further retreat, Greek banks could borrow on better terms and subsequently finance the real economy to further grow to the benefit of businesses and households, he said. BoG as well as the rating agencies noted that as other small economies, Greece is more vulnerable to geopolitical crises the world is faced with that could impact negatively key pillars of its economy, such as tourism and shipping industries. Athens and international markets now await the forthcoming assessment of Greece's sovereign credit rating by Moody's expected on Sept. 13. So far Moody's evaluates Greece's credit rating at Ba1 with stable prospects. Ballentine Partners LLC reduced its holdings in iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF (NYSEARCA:IEUR Free Report) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 242,445 shares of the companys stock after selling 8,311 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLCs holdings in iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF were worth $13,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its stake in iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 6,740 shares of the companys stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF by 5.3% in the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,135 shares of the companys stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,051 shares of the companys stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lifted its holdings in shares of iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF by 50.0% in the second quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 675 shares of the companys stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC boosted its position in shares of iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF by 6.1% in the first quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 4,183 shares of the companys stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Get iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF alerts: iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF Stock Performance Shares of IEUR stock traded down $0.83 on Friday, reaching $58.32. 609,324 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 774,021. The company has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.22 and a beta of 0.85. iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF has a 12-month low of $47.10 and a 12-month high of $60.83. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $58.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.91. iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF Company Profile The iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF (IEUR) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI Europe IMI index, a market-cap-weighted index of developed European securities. IEUR was launched on Jun 10, 2014 and is managed by BlackRock. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IEUR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF (NYSEARCA:IEUR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Valence8 US LP grew its stake in iShares MSCI Japan ETF (NYSEARCA:EWJ Free Report) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 108,634 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the period. iShares MSCI Japan ETF comprises 3.9% of Valence8 US LPs investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Valence8 US LPs holdings in iShares MSCI Japan ETF were worth $7,413,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWJ. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 164.6% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 381 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF in the second quarter worth $29,000. Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 410.5% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 439 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in iShares MSCI Japan ETF in the second quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 665.0% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 941 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the period. Get iShares MSCI Japan ETF alerts: iShares MSCI Japan ETF Stock Performance Shares of EWJ opened at $68.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $69.29 and a 200-day moving average of $69.01. iShares MSCI Japan ETF has a 1 year low of $57.20 and a 1 year high of $72.32. iShares MSCI Japan ETF Company Profile iShares MSCI Japan ETF (the fund), formerly Ishares Msci Japan Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of publicly traded securities in the Japanese market, as measured by the MSCI Japan Index (the Index). Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EWJ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI Japan ETF (NYSEARCA:EWJ Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI Japan ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI Japan ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Mount Lucas Management LP reduced its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF (NYSEARCA:EWL Free Report) by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,674 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 1,135 shares during the period. Mount Lucas Management LP owned approximately 0.06% of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF worth $707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF by 17.7% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,430 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 1,120 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF by 1.7% during the second quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 193,316 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $9,320,000 after buying an additional 3,240 shares during the period. WestEnd Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF during the second quarter worth $55,000. Banque Pictet & Cie SA lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF by 66.7% during the second quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 16,000 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $771,000 after buying an additional 6,400 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet North America Advisors SA lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF by 162.5% during the second quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 79,457 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $3,831,000 after buying an additional 49,188 shares during the period. Get iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF alerts: iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF Trading Down 0.8 % Shares of NYSEARCA:EWL traded down $0.40 on Friday, hitting $51.02. 573,513 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 487,391. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.62 and a beta of 0.67. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $50.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.55. iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF has a 1-year low of $41.55 and a 1-year high of $53.03. About iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF iShares MSCI Switzerland Capped ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI Switzerland Capped Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI Switzerland 25/50 Index (the Index). See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EWL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF (NYSEARCA:EWL Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Umpqua Bank raised its holdings in shares of iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:IJK Free Report) by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,949 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 1,446 shares during the quarter. Umpqua Banks holdings in iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF were worth $1,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO grew its position in iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,089 shares of the companys stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC grew its position in iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 5,840 shares of the companys stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Country Club Bank raised its position in iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Country Club Bank now owns 12,963 shares of the companys stock worth $1,143,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC now owns 31,587 shares of the companys stock worth $2,882,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Mattern Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF by 2.6% in the first quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,988 shares of the companys stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Get iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF alerts: iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF Stock Down 1.4 % NYSEARCA IJK opened at $86.30 on Friday. iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF has a 52-week low of $67.63 and a 52-week high of $93.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $89.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.60. iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF Company Profile iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF, formerly iShares S&P MidCap 400 Growth Index Fund (the Fund), is an exchange traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P MidCap 400 Growth Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the mid-capitalization growth sector of the United States equity market and consists of those stocks in the S&P MidCap 400 Index exhibiting the strongest growth characteristics. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IJK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:IJK Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. TAP Consulting LLC raised its stake in iShares U.S. Insurance ETF (NYSEARCA:IAK Free Report) by 67.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,749 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 10,359 shares during the period. TAP Consulting LLCs holdings in iShares U.S. Insurance ETF were worth $2,908,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IAK. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in iShares U.S. Insurance ETF by 568.0% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 97,837 shares of the companys stock valued at $11,485,000 after purchasing an additional 83,191 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in iShares U.S. Insurance ETF during the 1st quarter valued at $6,539,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in iShares U.S. Insurance ETF by 299.0% during the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 50,724 shares of the companys stock valued at $5,728,000 after purchasing an additional 38,012 shares during the period. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in iShares U.S. Insurance ETF during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,967,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in iShares U.S. Insurance ETF during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,845,000. Get iShares U.S. Insurance ETF alerts: iShares U.S. Insurance ETF Trading Down 1.0 % NYSEARCA:IAK traded down $1.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $126.15. 51,800 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 72,319. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $119.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.92. iShares U.S. Insurance ETF has a fifty-two week low of $89.21 and a fifty-two week high of $129.79. The firm has a market cap of $700.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.19 and a beta of 0.40. About iShares U.S. Insurance ETF The iShares U.S. Insurance ETF (IAK) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the DJ US Select \u002F Insurance index. The fund tracks a market-cap index of US insurance companies. IAK was launched on May 1, 2006 and is managed by BlackRock. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IAK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares U.S. Insurance ETF (NYSEARCA:IAK Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares U.S. Insurance ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares U.S. Insurance ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Bunzl (LON:BNZL Free Report) had its price target raised by Jefferies Financial Group from GBX 2,600 ($34.19) to GBX 2,800 ($36.82) in a research note released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have an underperform rating on the stock. Several other brokerages have also commented on BNZL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Bunzl from GBX 3,300 ($43.39) to GBX 3,380 ($44.44) and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Shore Capital restated a buy rating on shares of Bunzl in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Bunzl to a sector perform rating and lifted their target price for the company from GBX 2,700 ($35.50) to GBX 3,350 ($44.05) in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a hold rating and set a GBX 3,200 ($42.08) price target on shares of Bunzl in a research note on Friday, June 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of GBX 3,182.50 ($41.85). Get Bunzl alerts: View Our Latest Analysis on BNZL Bunzl Stock Performance Bunzl Cuts Dividend LON BNZL opened at GBX 3,610 ($47.47) on Thursday. Bunzl has a twelve month low of GBX 2,709 ($35.62) and a twelve month high of GBX 3,638 ($47.84). The businesss 50-day moving average price is GBX 3,247.72 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 3,115.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 106.68. The company has a market capitalization of 12.13 billion, a PE ratio of 2,314.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.46. The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of GBX 20.10 ($0.26) per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.57%. Bunzls payout ratio is 4,358.97%. Insider Buying and Selling In related news, insider Jacky Simmonds bought 1,445 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 3,462 ($45.52) per share, for a total transaction of 50,025.90 ($65,780.28). 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Bunzl Company Profile (Get Free Report) Bunzl plc operates as a distribution and services company in the North America, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and internationally. The company offers food packaging, films, labels, cleaning and hygiene supplies, and personal protection equipment to grocery stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Bunzl Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bunzl and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS Free Report) had its price objective decreased by Morgan Stanley from $55.00 to $50.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the casino operators stock. A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $51.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Argus cut shares of Las Vegas Sands from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Las Vegas Sands from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $55.25. Get Las Vegas Sands alerts: View Our Latest Report on Las Vegas Sands Las Vegas Sands Price Performance Shares of LVS opened at $39.70 on Wednesday. The companys 50-day moving average is $40.37 and its 200-day moving average is $45.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.11. Las Vegas Sands has a fifty-two week low of $36.62 and a fifty-two week high of $55.65. Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The casino operator reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 44.41%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.45 EPS for the current year. Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Las Vegas Sandss payout ratio is 38.65%. Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 93.2% during the 2nd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 906 shares of the casino operators stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Vestor Capital LLC bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. About Las Vegas Sands (Get Free Report) Las Vegas Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops, owns, and operates integrated resorts in Macao and Singapore. It owns and operates The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, the Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Plaza Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip, and the Sands Macao in Macao, the People's Republic of China; and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Las Vegas Sands Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Las Vegas Sands and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Laurentian Bank of Canada (TSE:LB Free Report) had its target price boosted by Raymond James from C$26.00 to C$27.00 in a report published on Wednesday, BayStreet.CA reports. Raymond James also issued estimates for Laurentian Bank of Canadas Q4 2024 earnings at $0.95 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $3.63 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.84 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.01 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.96 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.04 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $3.84 EPS. A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Laurentian Bank of Canada from C$28.00 to C$26.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Desjardins lifted their price objective on shares of Laurentian Bank of Canada from C$25.00 to C$26.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Laurentian Bank of Canada from C$26.00 to C$25.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. CIBC reduced their target price on shares of Laurentian Bank of Canada from C$30.00 to C$28.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, National Bankshares dropped their price target on shares of Laurentian Bank of Canada from C$27.00 to C$26.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laurentian Bank of Canada currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of C$27.42. Get Laurentian Bank of Canada alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on LB Laurentian Bank of Canada Stock Performance Laurentian Bank of Canada Dividend Announcement TSE LB opened at C$26.11 on Wednesday. The firms fifty day moving average is C$26.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$26.59. Laurentian Bank of Canada has a one year low of C$24.45 and a one year high of C$36.75. The firm has a market cap of C$1.15 billion, a PE ratio of -42.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.24. The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.20%. Laurentian Bank of Canadas payout ratio is -303.23%. About Laurentian Bank of Canada (Get Free Report) Laurentian Bank of Canada, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial services to personal, business, and institutional customers in Canada and the United States. It operates through three segments: Personal Banking, Commercial Banking, and Capital Markets. The Personal Banking segment offers financial services, such as financial advisory services to financial intermediaries; and operates digital direct-to-customer platform to retail clients. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Laurentian Bank of Canada Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Laurentian Bank of Canada and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Liontown Resources Limited (OTCMKTS:LINRF Get Free Report)s share price was down 5.8% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as C$0.40 and last traded at C$0.40. Approximately 43,001 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 123% from the average daily volume of 19,274 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$0.42. Liontown Resources Stock Performance The firms fifty day moving average price is C$0.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$0.73. About Liontown Resources (Get Free Report) Liontown Resources Limited engages in the exploration, evaluation, and development of mineral properties in Australia. The company explores for lithium, gold, vanadium, copper, and nickel deposits, as well as platinum group elements. Its flagship property is the Kathleen Valley lithium project located in Perth, Western Australia. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Liontown Resources Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Liontown Resources and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. LSV Asset Management decreased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,627,149 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 63,800 shares during the period. LSV Asset Managements holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $212,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $322,199,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $121,113,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 60.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,122,824 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $238,605,000 after purchasing an additional 803,738 shares during the period. Elser Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $91,044,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $71,693,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the companys stock. Get Discover Financial Services alerts: Discover Financial Services Stock Down 2.8 % NYSE DFS traded down $3.70 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $128.68. 1,008,260 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,699,962. The companys 50-day moving average is $134.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.69. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $79.04 and a one year high of $147.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $32.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.42. Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement Discover Financial Services ( NYSE:DFS Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $3.06 by $3.00. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The firm had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.54 EPS. The businesss revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 12.75 EPS for the current fiscal year. The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Servicess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.93%. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Barclays upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $132.94. Read Our Latest Analysis on Discover Financial Services Discover Financial Services Profile (Free Report) Discover Financial Services, through its subsidiaries, provides digital banking products and services, and payment services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Digital Banking and Payment Services. The Digital Banking segment offers Discover-branded credit cards to individuals; private student loans, personal loans, home loans, and other consumer lending; and direct-to-consumer deposit products comprising savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, IRA certificates of deposit, IRA savings accounts and checking accounts, and sweep accounts. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DFS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Discover Financial Services Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Discover Financial Services and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Sunday expressed dissatisfaction with the Netherlands' decision to further expand the scope of export controls on lithography machines, which builds on the semiconductor export control measures implemented in 2023. An MOC spokesperson made the remarks in response to a relevant media query. Recently, China and the Netherlands have conducted multi-level and multi-frequency communication and consultation on the issue of semiconductor export controls, the spokesperson said. In recent years, to maintain its global hegemony, the United States has been constantly generalizing the concept of national security and coercing certain countries to tighten export control measures on semiconductors and equipment, which has seriously threatened the stability of the global semiconductor industrial and supply chains and undermined the legitimate rights and interests of relevant countries and enterprises, the spokesperson said. "China firmly opposes this." The spokesperson noted that the Dutch side should keep in mind international economic and trade rules and the overall situation of Sino-Dutch economic and trade cooperation. They should respect market principles and the spirit of contract, and avoid relevant measures that hinder the normal cooperation and development of the semiconductor industry of the two countries, the MOC spokesperson added. China urges the Netherlands not to abuse export control measures on semiconductor products and to earnestly safeguard the common interests of Chinese and Dutch enterprises while maintaining the stability of the global semiconductor industry and supply chains, the spokesperson said. ABUJA, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- At least 48 people were killed after a gasoline-laden tanker exploded on a busy highway in Niger, a state in Nigeria's central region, Sunday, local authorities said. The ill-fated tanker had a head-on collision with an oncoming truck laden with cattle along the Bida-Agaie-Lapai highway, causing the gasoline tanker to explode, Abdullah Baba-Arah, head of the State Emergency Management Agency, told reporters in Minna, the capital of the state. Two other vehicles were caught up in the inferno, Baba-Arah said, noting up to 48 people were killed. At least 50 cattle were also lost to the incident. A search operation was underway to recover bodies of more victims believed to have been trapped in the unfortunate vehicles, he added. LSV Asset Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Capital One Financial Co. (NYSE:COF) by 10.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,239,040 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 138,200 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Managements holdings in Capital One Financial were worth $171,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Capital One Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $2,299,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Capital One Financial by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 27,493 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $4,093,000 after purchasing an additional 4,840 shares during the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP boosted its stake in Capital One Financial by 5.6% during the first quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 68,504 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $10,200,000 after acquiring an additional 3,609 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Capital One Financial during the second quarter worth $511,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Capital One Financial by 3.2% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 122,264 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $16,927,000 after acquiring an additional 3,776 shares in the last quarter. 89.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Capital One Financial alerts: Capital One Financial Stock Performance NYSE COF traded down $3.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $139.00. 2,381,660 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,467,348. Capital One Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $88.23 and a 1 year high of $153.35. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $141.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.44. Capital One Financial Dividend Announcement Capital One Financial ( NYSE:COF Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $3.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $3.28 by ($0.14). Capital One Financial had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $9.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $9.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.52 EPS. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Capital One Financial Co. will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current year. The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. Capital One Financials dividend payout ratio is presently 18.79%. Insiders Place Their Bets In other Capital One Financial news, CEO Kevin S. Borgmann sold 61,532 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total transaction of $8,175,141.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 40,934 shares in the company, valued at $5,438,491.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Robert M. Alexander sold 30,742 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $4,611,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 73,734 shares in the company, valued at $11,060,100. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kevin S. Borgmann sold 61,532 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total transaction of $8,175,141.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 40,934 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,438,491.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the companys stock. Analyst Ratings Changes Several brokerages recently issued reports on COF. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Capital One Financial from $155.00 to $154.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Capital One Financial in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a neutral rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Capital One Financial from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Capital One Financial from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Capital One Financial from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a report on Thursday, June 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $145.89. Read Our Latest Analysis on Capital One Financial Capital One Financial Company Profile (Free Report) Capital One Financial Corporation operates as the financial services holding company for the Capital One, National Association, which engages in the provision of various financial products and services in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It operates through three segments: Credit Card, Consumer Banking, and Commercial Banking. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding COF? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Capital One Financial Co. (NYSE:COF Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Capital One Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Capital One Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Lynch & Associates IN decreased its position in The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA Free Report) by 3.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,639 shares of the aircraft producers stock after selling 724 shares during the quarter. Lynch & Associates INs holdings in Boeing were worth $3,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BA. Sanders Morris Harris LLC lifted its stake in Boeing by 869.1% in the first quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC now owns 22,775 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $4,395,000 after acquiring an additional 20,425 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Boeing by 20.7% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 10,543 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $2,035,000 after buying an additional 1,805 shares during the period. Williams Financial LLC bought a new position in Boeing in the second quarter worth about $1,637,000. Dakota Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Boeing by 47.1% in the first quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 12,730 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $2,457,000 after buying an additional 4,078 shares during the period. Finally, Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Boeing during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $561,000. 64.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Boeing alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BA. Baird R W raised Boeing to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Boeing from $300.00 to $240.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Boeing from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Boeing from $222.00 to $207.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a buy rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Boeing in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $211.29. Boeing Stock Down 2.8 % Shares of NYSE BA opened at $157.62 on Friday. The firms 50-day moving average price is $176.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.65. The Boeing Company has a 52-week low of $156.70 and a 52-week high of $267.54. The company has a market cap of $96.76 billion, a PE ratio of -44.40 and a beta of 1.57. Boeing (NYSE:BA Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The aircraft producer reported ($2.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.00) by ($1.90). The company had revenue of $16.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.35 billion. The companys revenue was down 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.82) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Boeing Company will post -4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year. Boeing Profile (Free Report) The Boeing Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, sells, services, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight and launch systems, and services worldwide. The company operates through Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; and Global Services segments. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Boeing Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Boeing and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Morton Community Bank lifted its holdings in shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG Free Report) by 5.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,475 shares of the energy exploration companys stock after buying an additional 1,330 shares during the quarter. Morton Community Banks holdings in EOG Resources were worth $3,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of EOG Resources by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,275,932 shares of the energy exploration companys stock worth $6,938,635,000 after acquiring an additional 146,674 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 28,889,715 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $3,693,261,000 after purchasing an additional 373,365 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in EOG Resources by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 26,782,454 shares of the energy exploration companys stock worth $3,423,869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,538 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in EOG Resources by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,564,463 shares of the energy exploration companys stock worth $1,478,401,000 after purchasing an additional 766,056 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in EOG Resources by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,948,119 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $598,475,000 after buying an additional 1,029,727 shares in the last quarter. 89.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get EOG Resources alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets EOG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $159.00 to $158.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $139.00 to $125.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an overweight rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho increased their price objective on EOG Resources from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and set a $147.00 target price on shares of EOG Resources in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EOG Resources has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $143.95. EOG Resources Trading Down 1.0 % EOG traded down $1.20 on Friday, hitting $120.35. 3,144,135 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,138,585. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.12. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $126.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.17 billion, a PE ratio of 9.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.28. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $108.94 and a 12 month high of $139.67. EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy exploration company reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.98 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.07 billion. EOG Resources had a net margin of 30.33% and a return on equity of 25.42%. The businesss revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 12.2 earnings per share for the current year. EOG Resources Announces Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 17th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 17th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. EOG Resourcess payout ratio is presently 28.75%. Insider Activity at EOG Resources In other EOG Resources news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.48, for a total value of $505,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 35,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,434,135.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other EOG Resources news, EVP Michael P. Donaldson sold 11,037 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.50, for a total value of $1,429,291.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,250 shares in the company, valued at $9,615,375. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of EOG Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.48, for a total value of $505,920.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 35,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,434,135.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,537 shares of company stock worth $2,751,612 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the companys stock. EOG Resources Company Profile (Free Report) EOG Resources, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, explores for, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas primarily in producing basins in the United States, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and internationally. The company was formerly known as Enron Oil & Gas Company. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EOG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for EOG Resources Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for EOG Resources and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Morton Community Bank grew its position in shares of American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG Free Report) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,945 shares of the insurance providers stock after acquiring an additional 2,030 shares during the quarter. Morton Community Banks holdings in American International Group were worth $3,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in American International Group by 199.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 359 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American International Group during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American International Group by 303.3% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 367 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in American International Group by 326.0% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 443 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its stake in American International Group by 123.8% during the 1st quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 452 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 90.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get American International Group alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several analysts have recently commented on AIG shares. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of American International Group from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American International Group from $80.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com downgraded American International Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $87.00 price objective on shares of American International Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on American International Group from $89.00 to $87.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $83.88. American International Group Stock Performance Shares of American International Group stock traded down $1.93 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $71.91. The company had a trading volume of 7,205,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,151,511. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.60. The firm has a market cap of $47.72 billion, a PE ratio of 10.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. American International Group, Inc. has a one year low of $57.72 and a one year high of $80.83. American International Group (NYSE:AIG Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.14). American International Group had a negative net margin of 1.54% and a positive return on equity of 9.52%. The company had revenue of $1.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that American International Group, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. American International Group Dividend Announcement The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. American International Groups payout ratio is currently 23.88%. Insider Buying and Selling In related news, major shareholder International Group American sold 1,932,609 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.20, for a total value of $56,432,182.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 292,271,027 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,534,313,988.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. About American International Group (Free Report) American International Group, Inc offers insurance products for commercial, institutional, and individual customers in North America and internationally. It operates through three segments: General Insurance, Life and Retirement, and Other Operations. The General Insurance segment provides commercial and industrial property insurance, including business interruption and package insurance that cover exposure to made and natural disasters; general liability, environmental, commercial automobile liability, workers' compensation, excess casualty, and crisis management insurance products; and professional liability insurance. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AIG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for American International Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for American International Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Ciena (NYSE:CIEN Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $65.00 target price on the communications equipment providers stock. A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on CIEN. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ciena from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Ciena from $52.50 to $54.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Raymond James lowered shares of Ciena from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating and cut their price target for the company from $59.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ciena from $63.00 to $55.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $59.15. Get Ciena alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on CIEN Ciena Stock Performance Shares of CIEN stock opened at $51.16 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a PE ratio of 49.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $51.06 and a 200-day moving average of $49.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 3.88 and a quick ratio of 2.76. Ciena has a one year low of $39.94 and a one year high of $63.24. Ciena (NYSE:CIEN Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.09. Ciena had a net margin of 3.71% and a return on equity of 7.16%. The company had revenue of $942.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.31 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ciena will post 1.15 earnings per share for the current year. Insider Activity at Ciena In other news, SVP David M. Rothenstein sold 3,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.81, for a total transaction of $170,835.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 212,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,368,269.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP David M. Rothenstein sold 3,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.81, for a total transaction of $170,835.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 212,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,368,269.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,712 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.29, for a total transaction of $130,962.48. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 96,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,635,840. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 119.9% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,397,560 shares of the communications equipment providers stock valued at $260,054,000 after purchasing an additional 2,943,146 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Asset Management Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Asset Management Holding S.A. now owns 5,021,719 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $226,028,000 after buying an additional 368,897 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Ciena by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,513,633 shares of the communications equipment providers stock valued at $158,149,000 after buying an additional 791,215 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Ciena by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,706,308 shares of the communications equipment providers stock valued at $130,392,000 after acquiring an additional 523,313 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Ciena by 1,944.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,062,394 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $101,986,000 after acquiring an additional 1,961,513 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the companys stock. Ciena Company Profile (Get Free Report) Ciena Corporation provides hardware and software services for delivery of video, data, and voice traffic metro, aggregation, and access communications network worldwide. The company's Networking Platforms segment offers convergence of coherent optical transport, open optical networking, optical transport network switching, IP routing, and switching services. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Ciena Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ciena and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Oak Thistle LLC increased its stake in shares of Dynatrace, Inc. (NYSE:DT Free Report) by 100.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,404 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 12,228 shares during the period. Dynatrace accounts for about 0.8% of Oak Thistle LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Oak Thistle LLCs holdings in Dynatrace were worth $1,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. 1492 Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Dynatrace by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. 1492 Capital Management LLC now owns 23,144 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,266,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Dynatrace by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,128 shares of the companys stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Dynatrace by 76.7% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 530 shares of the companys stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Dynatrace by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 34,514 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Dynatrace by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,659 shares of the companys stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.28% of the companys stock. Get Dynatrace alerts: Dynatrace Stock Up 1.8 % Shares of NYSE DT traded up $0.91 during trading on Friday, reaching $50.18. The company had a trading volume of 4,203,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,479,990. Dynatrace, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.42 and a 12 month high of $61.41. The stock has a market cap of $14.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.50, a PEG ratio of 7.62 and a beta of 1.05. The companys fifty day moving average price is $46.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.38. Analysts Set New Price Targets Dynatrace ( NYSE:DT Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. Dynatrace had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 9.77%. The company had revenue of $399.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $392.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.16 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Dynatrace, Inc. will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current year. A number of research firms have issued reports on DT. Truist Financial reissued a buy rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down previously from $70.00) on shares of Dynatrace in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Dynatrace from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Dynatrace from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Dynatrace from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Dynatrace from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Dynatrace presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $59.70. View Our Latest Stock Report on DT Insider Activity In other news, CEO Rick M. Mcconnell sold 50,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.41, for a total value of $2,320,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 732,491 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $33,994,907.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Dynatrace news, EVP Dan Zugelder sold 15,404 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total value of $681,164.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 237,772 shares of the companys stock, valued at $10,514,277.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Rick M. Mcconnell sold 50,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.41, for a total transaction of $2,320,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 732,491 shares of the companys stock, valued at $33,994,907.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.54% of the companys stock. Dynatrace Profile (Free Report) Dynatrace, Inc provides a security platform for multicloud environments. It operates Dynatrace, a security platform, which provides application and microservices monitoring, runtime application security, infrastructure monitoring, log management and analytics, digital experience monitoring, digital business analytics, and cloud automation. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Dynatrace Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Dynatrace and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Orca Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA Free Report) by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,823 shares of the companys stock after selling 126 shares during the quarter. Snap-on comprises 1.0% of Orca Investment Management LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Orca Investment Management LLCs holdings in Snap-on were worth $999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SNA. Gallacher Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Snap-on by 21.4% in the second quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the companys stock worth $662,000 after buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Snap-on in the 2nd quarter worth $3,653,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Snap-on by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 42,414 shares of the companys stock valued at $11,087,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. grew its position in shares of Snap-on by 6.3% during the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 6,201 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,621,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Snap-on by 16.5% in the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 566 shares of the companys stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 84.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Snap-on alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes A number of brokerages recently commented on SNA. Tigress Financial reissued a buy rating and set a $336.00 price target on shares of Snap-on in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Barrington Research reissued an outperform rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Snap-on in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $324.00 price target on shares of Snap-on in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Snap-on from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $315.00. Insider Buying and Selling at Snap-on In other news, CEO Nicholas T. Pinchuk sold 24,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.95, for a total value of $6,493,797.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 759,019 shares in the company, valued at $204,138,160.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Snap-on news, CFO Aldo John Pagliari sold 4,473 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.74, for a total value of $1,246,804.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,244 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $27,663,272.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Nicholas T. Pinchuk sold 24,145 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.95, for a total transaction of $6,493,797.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 759,019 shares in the company, valued at $204,138,160.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,804 shares of company stock worth $8,077,390 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.10% of the companys stock. Snap-on Stock Performance NYSE SNA opened at $270.84 on Friday. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $273.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $276.31. Snap-on Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $249.84 and a fifty-two week high of $298.49. The company has a market cap of $14.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 3.05 and a current ratio of 4.06. Snap-on (NYSE:SNA Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $5.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.20 billion. Snap-on had a net margin of 21.90% and a return on equity of 19.90%. The businesss revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Snap-on Incorporated will post 18.95 earnings per share for the current year. Snap-on Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. Snap-ons payout ratio is currently 39.03%. Snap-on declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, August 8th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 3.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the companys leadership believes its shares are undervalued. Snap-on Company Profile (Free Report) Snap-on Incorporated manufactures and markets tools, equipment, diagnostics, and repair information and systems solutions for professional users worldwide. It operates through Commercial & Industrial Group, Snap-on Tools Group, Repair Systems & Information Group, and Financial Services segments. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Snap-on Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Snap-on and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Paralel Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Extra Space Storage Inc. (NYSE:EXR Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,000 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock, valued at approximately $777,000. Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EXR. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Extra Space Storage in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Extra Space Storage in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC bought a new position in Extra Space Storage during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Extra Space Storage by 540.5% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 237 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in Extra Space Storage by 2,760.0% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 286 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. 99.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Extra Space Storage alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades EXR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James raised their price objective on Extra Space Storage from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Extra Space Storage from $159.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a sector underperform rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Extra Space Storage from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Extra Space Storage from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Extra Space Storage from $166.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Extra Space Storage has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $166.58. Insider Buying and Selling In other news, CEO Joseph D. Margolis sold 7,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.58, for a total transaction of $1,144,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 31,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,835,260.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Extra Space Storage news, CEO Joseph D. Margolis sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.58, for a total transaction of $1,144,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,690 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,835,260.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP William N. Springer sold 2,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.33, for a total value of $350,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,089,758.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,323 shares of company stock worth $1,994,709. Insiders own 1.36% of the companys stock. Extra Space Storage Stock Up 0.0 % EXR traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $173.58. 993,178 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,040,437. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $165.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.21. Extra Space Storage Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.19 and a 1 year high of $179.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.75 billion, a PE ratio of 38.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.86. Extra Space Storage Announces Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. Extra Space Storages payout ratio is currently 144.32%. About Extra Space Storage (Free Report) Extra Space Storage Inc, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, is a self-administered and self-managed REIT and a member of the S&P 500. As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned and/or operated 3,714 self-storage stores in 42 states and Washington, DC The Company's stores comprise approximately 2.6 million units and approximately 283.0 million square feet of rentable space operating under the Extra Space, Life Storage and Storage Express brands. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EXR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Extra Space Storage Inc. (NYSE:EXR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Extra Space Storage Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Extra Space Storage and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of Hold from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $77.95. Several brokerages have weighed in on PNW. StockNews.com raised shares of Pinnacle West Capital from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Pinnacle West Capital from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays lowered their price target on Pinnacle West Capital from $81.00 to $78.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Pinnacle West Capital from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $83.50 in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Get Pinnacle West Capital alerts: Check Out Our Latest Report on PNW Insiders Place Their Bets Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pinnacle West Capital In related news, EVP Robert Edgar Smith sold 4,950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.80, for a total value of $424,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,397 shares of the companys stock, valued at $548,862.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link . 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PNW. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 377.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 368 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 70.6% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 481 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Pinnacle West Capital Stock Performance PNW opened at $87.81 on Tuesday. Pinnacle West Capital has a twelve month low of $65.20 and a twelve month high of $89.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.97 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firms 50-day moving average price is $83.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.51. Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.45. Pinnacle West Capital had a return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 12.65%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Pinnacle West Capital will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year. Pinnacle West Capital Announces Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. Pinnacle West Capitals dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.69%. Pinnacle West Capital Company Profile (Get Free Report Pinnacle West Capital Corporation, through its subsidiary, provides retail and wholesale electric services primarily in the state of Arizona. The company engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity using coal, nuclear, gas, oil, and solar generating facilities. Its transmission facilities include overhead lines and underground lines; and distribution facilities consist of overhead lines and underground primary cables. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Pinnacle West Capital Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Pinnacle West Capital and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com downgraded shares of New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Thursday. Several other brokerages have also weighed in on NJR. Argus raised shares of New Jersey Resources to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Get New Jersey Resources alerts: Check Out Our Latest Analysis on New Jersey Resources New Jersey Resources Stock Down 0.8 % Shares of NYSE NJR opened at $46.03 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.60. New Jersey Resources has a 1 year low of $38.92 and a 1 year high of $47.37. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $45.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.61. The firm has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19 and a beta of 0.59. New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $275.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.56 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Insiders Place Their Bets In other New Jersey Resources news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total transaction of $1,198,596.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 168,705 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,601,847.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 3,400 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $153,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,305 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,788,725. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total value of $1,198,596.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 168,705 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $7,601,847.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,351,596 over the last 90 days. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On New Jersey Resources A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 119.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the second quarter worth approximately $94,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. New Jersey Resources Company Profile (Get Free Report) New Jersey Resources Corporation, an energy services holding company, distributes natural gas. The company operates through four segments: Natural Gas Distribution, Clean Energy Ventures, Energy Services, and Storage and Transportation. The Natural Gas Distribution segment offers regulated natural gas utility services to approximately 576,000 customers in Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, and Sussex counties in New Jersey; provides capacity and storage management services; and participates in the off-system sales and capacity release markets. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for New Jersey Resources Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for New Jersey Resources and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. KABUL, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- A total of 122,000 drug users were hospitalized in Afghanistan, according to Mullah Abdul Haq Hamkar, deputy head of the country's counter-narcotics department. Afghan counter-narcotic police have conducted 78,000 operations over the past three years, with 20,000 drug suspects arrested, Hamkar said. According to the official, Afghan counter-narcotics police have also demolished 1,450 drug labs and 37,000 poppy farms across the country during the period. The Afghan caretaker government has banned poppy cultivation, processing of drugs and drug trafficking to eliminate drug menace. Barclays set a C$76.00 target price on Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF Free Report) (NYSE:SLF) in a research report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services providers stock. A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. TD Securities dropped their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$73.00 to C$72.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$78.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$78.00 to C$81.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$73.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Evercore decreased their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$75.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of C$76.09. Get Sun Life Financial alerts: Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Sun Life Financial Sun Life Financial Stock Performance SLF opened at C$74.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.77, a quick ratio of 84,866.00 and a current ratio of 65.29. Sun Life Financial has a 52-week low of C$61.84 and a 52-week high of C$75.23. The firm has a market cap of C$42.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.93. The businesss fifty day moving average is C$69.54 and its 200-day moving average is C$70.27. Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF Get Free Report) (NYSE:SLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The financial services provider reported C$1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$1.58 by C$0.13. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 9.90% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The business had revenue of C$8.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$9.18 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Sun Life Financial will post 6.642596 EPS for the current fiscal year. Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 28th. Sun Life Financials payout ratio is 61.36%. Insider Transactions at Sun Life Financial In related news, Director Stephanie Coyles bought 500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$70.00 per share, for a total transaction of C$35,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 500 shares of the companys stock, valued at C$35,000. In other news, Director Stephanie Coyles purchased 500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$70.00 per share, with a total value of C$35,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 500 shares in the company, valued at C$35,000. Also, Senior Officer Daniel Fishbein sold 15,999 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$71.40, for a total value of C$1,142,323.80. Insiders own 0.03% of the companys stock. About Sun Life Financial (Get Free Report) Sun Life Financial Inc, a financial services company, provides savings, retirement, and pension products worldwide. The company operates in five segments: Asset Management, Canada, U.S., Asia, and Corporate. It offers various insurance products, such as term and permanent life; personal health, which includes prescription drugs, dental, and vision care; critical illness; long-term care; and disability, as well as reinsurance. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Sun Life Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sun Life Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $43.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $31.00. A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Sweetgreen from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America upped their target price on Sweetgreen from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. William Blair reiterated an outperform rating on shares of Sweetgreen in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Sweetgreen from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a neutral rating and set a $39.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of Sweetgreen in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sweetgreen currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $38.20. Get Sweetgreen alerts: Read Our Latest Analysis on SG Sweetgreen Trading Down 2.0 % Shares of NYSE SG opened at $27.87 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.97 and a beta of 2.32. Sweetgreen has a one year low of $8.64 and a one year high of $38.53. Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.11) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $184.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.79 million. Sweetgreen had a negative net margin of 14.33% and a negative return on equity of 19.34%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.20) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sweetgreen will post -0.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Insider Transactions at Sweetgreen In other news, CTO Wouleta Ayele sold 2,831 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.31, for a total transaction of $102,793.61. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 144,649 shares in the company, valued at $5,252,205.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CTO Wouleta Ayele sold 2,831 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.31, for a total value of $102,793.61. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 144,649 shares in the company, valued at $5,252,205.19. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mitch Reback sold 9,156 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.61, for a total value of $335,201.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 379,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,881,816.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 371,116 shares of company stock worth $13,248,867. Insiders own 21.52% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sweetgreen Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SG. Evolutionary Tree Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Sweetgreen by 0.7% in the second quarter. Evolutionary Tree Capital Management LLC now owns 65,756 shares of the companys stock worth $1,982,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Sweetgreen by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 41,398 shares of the companys stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Sweetgreen by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,762 shares of the companys stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 1,337 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Sweetgreen by 0.9% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 176,600 shares of the companys stock worth $4,461,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sweetgreen by 9.9% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,584 shares of the companys stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 1,585 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.75% of the companys stock. Sweetgreen Company Profile (Get Free Report) Sweetgreen, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates fast food restaurants serving healthy foods at scale in the United States. The company also accepts orders through its online and mobile ordering platforms, as well as sells gift cards that do not have an expiration date and can be redeemed. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Sweetgreen Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sweetgreen and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. tru Independence LLC cut its position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK Free Report) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 183,875 shares of the industrial products companys stock after selling 5,075 shares during the period. tru Independence LLC owned 0.06% of Graphic Packaging worth $4,819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPK. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 39.1% during the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 11,624 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 3,270 shares in the last quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 1,136,735 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $29,794,000 after purchasing an additional 13,625 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 119.8% during the second quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 20,275 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $531,000 after buying an additional 11,050 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 2.3% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 86,028 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $2,255,000 after buying an additional 1,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 4.2% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 775,490 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $20,326,000 after buying an additional 30,920 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Graphic Packaging alerts: Insider Buying and Selling In other Graphic Packaging news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $1,372,697.53. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,909,576 shares of the companys stock, valued at $53,296,266.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $2,422,790.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,123,202 shares in the company, valued at $59,555,816.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $1,372,697.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,909,576 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $53,296,266.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GPK shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered their price target on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Graphic Packaging from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $31.15. Read Our Latest Analysis on Graphic Packaging Graphic Packaging Stock Performance NYSE GPK opened at $29.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a market capitalization of $8.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 0.83. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 52-week low of $20.07 and a 52-week high of $30.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.70. Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 30.74%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. Graphic Packagings quarterly revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.72 EPS for the current year. Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Graphic Packagings payout ratio is 18.10%. Graphic Packaging Profile (Free Report) Graphic Packaging Holding Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, produces, and sells consumer packaging products to brands in food, beverage, foodservice, household, and other consumer products. It operates through three segments: Paperboard Manufacturing, Americas Paperboard Packaging, and Europe Paperboard Packaging. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GPK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Graphic Packaging Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Graphic Packaging and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO Free Report) had its target price lifted by Scotiabank from $23.00 to $33.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the real estate investment trusts stock. Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on VNO. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Vornado Realty Trust from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Compass Point upped their target price on shares of Vornado Realty Trust from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Vornado Realty Trust from $21.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Vornado Realty Trust from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Vornado Realty Trust from $26.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $30.23. Get Vornado Realty Trust alerts: Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on VNO Vornado Realty Trust Trading Down 0.6 % Shares of VNO stock opened at $33.43 on Wednesday. Vornado Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $18.36 and a 1 year high of $35.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 5.21 and a quick ratio of 5.21. The company has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 222.87 and a beta of 1.65. Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $450.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $439.28 million. Vornado Realty Trust had a return on equity of 3.21% and a net margin of 4.51%. The companys quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vornado Realty Trust will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year. Insider Activity In other news, Director Russell B. Wight, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total transaction of $56,380.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,528.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 8.14% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vornado Realty Trust Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Vornado Realty Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $489,922,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Vornado Realty Trust by 2,410.2% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 973,035 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $27,488,000 after acquiring an additional 934,271 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Vornado Realty Trust by 2,229.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 855,572 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $22,502,000 after acquiring an additional 818,838 shares in the last quarter. Natixis bought a new position in Vornado Realty Trust in the 1st quarter worth about $21,564,000. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its stake in Vornado Realty Trust by 45.0% in the 2nd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 1,973,190 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $51,875,000 after acquiring an additional 612,765 shares in the last quarter. 90.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. About Vornado Realty Trust (Get Free Report) Vornado is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) with a portfolio of premier New York City office and retail assets and the developer of the new PENN DISTRICT. While concentrated in New York, Vornado also owns the premier assets in both Chicago and San Francisco. Vornado is a real estate industry leader in sustainability, with over 27 million square feet of LEED-certified buildings and over 23 million square feet at LEED Gold or Platinum. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Vornado Realty Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Vornado Realty Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Citigroup reissued their buy rating on shares of WPP (LON:WPP Free Report) in a report published on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on WPP. Shore Capital reiterated a buy rating on shares of WPP in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on WPP from GBX 990 ($13.02) to GBX 950 ($12.49) and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, WPP presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of GBX 910 ($11.97). Get WPP alerts: View Our Latest Stock Report on WPP WPP Price Performance WPP Cuts Dividend LON WPP opened at GBX 739.20 ($9.72) on Thursday. The company has a market cap of 7.98 billion, a PE ratio of 3,890.53, a PEG ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 1.13. WPP has a 1 year low of GBX 656 ($8.63) and a 1 year high of GBX 856.80 ($11.27). The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 190.55. The stocks 50-day moving average price is GBX 723.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 752.25. The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a GBX 15 ($0.20) dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. WPPs dividend payout ratio is 20,526.32%. About WPP (Get Free Report) WPP plc, a creative transformation company, provides communications, experience, commerce, and technology services in North America, the United Kingdom, Western Continental Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Central and Eastern Europe. The company operates through three segments: Global Integrated Agencies, Public Relations, and Specialist Agencies. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for WPP Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for WPP and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Ycg LLC lifted its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG Free Report) by 0.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 114,420 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for 1.5% of Ycg LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Ycg LLCs holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $18,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PG. Alera Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% during the first quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,007 shares of the companys stock worth $812,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the companys stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 2,261 shares of the companys stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. LCM Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the first quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 5,701 shares of the companys stock worth $925,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Home Federal Bank of Tennessee increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.3% during the second quarter. Home Federal Bank of Tennessee now owns 23,318 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,846,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Procter & Gamble alerts: Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.1 % Shares of PG stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $175.59. 5,785,684 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,591,211. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $414.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $141.45 and a fifty-two week high of $177.04. The stocks 50 day moving average is $168.26 and its 200-day moving average is $164.69. Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement Procter & Gamble ( NYSE:PG Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.69 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.46%. Procter & Gambles revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. Analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Procter & Gambles dividend payout ratio is presently 65.69%. Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, CFO Andre Schulten sold 13,041 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $2,216,970.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,208 shares in the company, valued at $6,325,360. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 3,373 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $573,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 21,513 shares in the company, valued at $3,657,210. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andre Schulten sold 13,041 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $2,216,970.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,208 shares in the company, valued at $6,325,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 375,553 shares of company stock valued at $63,829,141. Company insiders own 0.17% of the companys stock. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research firms recently commented on PG. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research upgraded Procter & Gamble to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Procter & Gamble from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Dbs Bank downgraded Procter & Gamble from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a buy rating and a $189.00 target price for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $175.79. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on PG Procter & Gamble Profile (Free Report) The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Procter & Gamble Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Procter & Gamble and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Follow us on: AAP has finalised seat-sharing with Congress for Haryana polls, to contest 5 seats: sources OTHERS OTHERS Follow us on: My Account or or Hello, Login All Did Shailesh Lodha earned approx. Rs 51. crore from TMKOC? Here's the real story: deets inside You are already a Moneycontrol Pro user. OK OTHERS OTHERS Follow us on: My Account or or Hello, Login All NIIF gets CCI's clearance to acquire additional stake in Ather Energy Follow us on: Will raise issue of GST on research grants in council meet: Delhi finance minister OTHERS OTHERS Follow us on: My Account or or Hello, Login All Kolkata doctor's rape and murder incident: Supreme Court to resume hearing on September 9 Follow us on: Anti-Naxal ops: CRPF moves in over 4,000 troops in Chhattisgarh for decisive action Follow us on: CM Stalin meets BNY Mellon officials in US, invites them to invest in Tamil Nadu OTHERS OTHERS Follow us on: My Account or or Hello, Login All Jaishankar arrives in Riyadh to attend first India-Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers' meet Follow us on: Jharkhand: 2 killed, 11 injured as autorickshaw plunges into gorge after being hit by truck Cambodian and Chinese officials cut the ribbon to inaugurate a joint Cambodia-China photo exhibition tour in Siem Reap province, Cambodia on Sept. 8, 2024. A launching ceremony for the "Beautiful Cambodia, Beautiful China" photo exhibition tour was held here in northwest Cambodia's cultural province on Sunday, captivating scores of visitors. A total of 66 exquisite photos, 33 each from Cambodia and China, featuring natural scenery, historical heritage, cultural splendor, artistic diversity, urban development, and modern lifestyles are on display at the event. (Photo by Sao Khuth/Xinhua) SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- A launching ceremony for the "Beautiful Cambodia, Beautiful China" photo exhibition tour was held here in northwest Cambodia's cultural province on Sunday, captivating scores of visitors. A total of 66 exquisite photos, 33 each from Cambodia and China, featuring natural scenery, historical heritage, cultural splendor, artistic diversity, urban development, and modern lifestyles are on display at the event. Under the theme of New Era for Cambodia-China Community with a Shared Future, the photo exhibition tour will be held from September to December 2024 in multiple cities in Cambodia and China. Organized by the China International Communications Group (CICG) Center for Europe and Asia and ASEAN Top News, in collaboration with the CICG, the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia and the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism, the event was designed to celebrate the 66th anniversary of the Cambodia-China diplomatic relations and the 2024 Cambodia-China People-to-People Exchange Year. Cambodian Minister of Tourism Sok Soken said the exhibition will further deepen cultural ties and bonds of friendship between the people of the two countries, injecting fresh vitality into building a Cambodia-China community with a shared future in the new era. "Through this photo exhibition tour, we will be able to promote the culture, traditions and tourism potential of our two countries," he said at the launching event. "It will also contribute further to boosting relations, tourism cooperation and cultural exchange between Cambodia and China." Soken said the event would also contribute to the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China and Cambodia are best friends who have always helped each other in all circumstances, he said, adding that the people of both countries have many similarities and long-standing connections in history, especially in terms of tradition, customs and culture. The minister said that through the transcripts of Chinese envoy Zhou Daguan, who visited Cambodia during the Angkor period in the late 13th century, many historians have learned that the two countries have a deep interactive relationship in history and diplomacy. He added that the relationship between Cambodia and China has been closely linked since ancient times and has been nurtured by generations of leaders until the present day. Tourism is one of the four main pillars supporting Cambodia's economic growth, contributing nearly 13 percent to the Southeast Asian country's gross domestic product and creating numerous direct and indirect jobs for locals. Soken said that during the first seven months of 2024, Cambodia received 3.75 million international tourists, an increase of 23.2 percent. Of the number, approximately 460,000 were Chinese tourists, representing a rise of 45.7 percent. "In this regard, the future of Cambodia's tourism industry is inseparable from the inflows of Chinese tourists and investors," he said, adding that Cambodia has a good and sustainable business environment for Chinese investors. The minister said that the growth of Chinese tourists is an important opportunity not only to boost tourism development but also to create investment opportunities in other sectors. "Cambodia and many countries around the world have regarded China as a strategic partner and the most important source of market for their economic growth and national development," he said. Siem Reap Provincial Deputy Governor Dy Rado said he was pleased to see the photo exhibition tour launch in Siem Reap province, which is Cambodia's tourist hub and home to the UNESCO-listed Angkor Archaeological Park. "This photo exhibition tour has provided an opportunity for us to showcase the natural beauty, economic development, cultural heritage, tourism resources, and urban images of both Cambodia and China," he said at the event, adding that the event would further contribute to the development of Cambodia's tourism industry. The deputy governor highlighted the close relationship between Cambodia and China, which was elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation in 2010 and then dubbed the "iron-clad" friendship. "Cambodia has always supported China's foreign policy, especially the one-China principle and the BRI," he said. A man visits a joint Cambodia-China photo exhibition in Siem Reap province, Cambodia on Sept. 8, 2024. A launching ceremony for the "Beautiful Cambodia, Beautiful China" photo exhibition tour was held here in northwest Cambodia's cultural province on Sunday, captivating scores of visitors. A total of 66 exquisite photos, 33 each from Cambodia and China, featuring natural scenery, historical heritage, cultural splendor, artistic diversity, urban development, and modern lifestyles are on display at the event. (Photo by Sao Khuth/Xinhua) Follow us on: J&K Assembly Elections: Rajnath Singh says India open to talks if Pakistan stops J&K terrorism, urges PoK residents to join India OTHERS OTHERS Follow us on: My Account or or Hello, Login All Kolkata doctor rape-murder: Governor urges CM to act on public demand for police commissioner's removal Follow us on: Manipur violence: Death toll rises to seven, CM Biren Singh meets Governor as tensions flare up OTHERS OTHERS Follow us on: My Account or or Hello, Login All NSA Ajit Doval to visit Moscow for peace talks on Russia-Ukraine conflict: Report Follow us on: Punjab doctors to go on strike from Monday, OPD services to be suspended Follow us on: Quad Summit moves to Biden's hometown in Delaware; India to host next year OTHERS OTHERS Follow us on: My Account or or Hello, Login All SEBI has lot to explain: Cong after Mauritius FPIs 'challenge' CANBERRA, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Australia's ability to respond to an outbreak of a deadly strain of avian influenza will be tested on Monday in a major national exercise, the federal government said on Sunday. Australia is the only continent that has not recorded a case of the H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). According to the federal government, representatives from biosecurity agencies, environmental authorities and industry groups will meet on Monday to test Australia's response to the H5N1 strain. A global outbreak of H5N1 has caused the deaths of millions of birds as well as thousands of sea lions and elephant seals in South America. Experts have warned that it will inevitably reach Australia with the spring migration of birds to the country. Under Exercise Volare, Australian authorities will examine the response to detections of H5N1 HPAI in wildlife populations, with a focus on wild birds and marine mammals. "We are very concerned about the impact this disease could have on our native wildlife, vulnerable threatened species and broader environment and on our agricultural systems, including on production and trade," Julie Collins, minister for agriculture, fisheries and forestry, said in a statement on Sunday. "While we can't stop the natural migration patterns of wild birds that may be sick, we can prepare ourselves if that does occur by ensuring we are working together in this national effort to protect Australia," she said. This will be the third meeting under the exercise following activities in August that focused on the responsibilities of federal, state and territory governments in the event of an outbreak. The federal government in July committed 6.9 million Australian dollars (4.6 million U.S. dollars) in funding to improve Australia's capability to detect and respond to avian influenza in wildlife. Australians have been advised to avoid contact with sick or dead wild birds and report any wildlife deaths to authorities to help prevent the potential spread of H5N1. Follow us on: US eyes stronger partnership with India to tackle global challenges, says top official September 08, 2024 / 20:55 IST There's no doubt about it - India is definitely a leader at the United Nations. India has been an avid and committed advocate of multilateralism, which is very much valued by the United Nations... We know of course that India has an ambition to become a permanent member of the Security Council. Members will decide when they arrive at that point as to how to reform the Council and which members would be best placed to represent the current constellation of actors and the current distribution of power in the system. But for a democracy of 1.4 billion people, I'm sure no one overlooks the fact that India has a bright future in making a continued strong contribution to world affairs and in the realm of international affairs. So, I imagine that pattern will continue to be demonstrated, says United Nations General Assembly President Dennis Francis Follow us on: Bangladesh to take necessary steps to extradite deposed PM Hasina from India OTHERS OTHERS Follow us on: My Account or or Hello, Login All BBC accused of over 1,500 editorial breaches in Israel-Hamas war coverage, report unveils systemic bias OTHERS OTHERS Follow us on: My Account or or Hello, Login All Gunman crosses from Jordan, 3 kills 3 Israeli guards at West Bank border, says Israeli army Planning to visit Greece soon? These new taxes on tourists could spoil your holiday mood Follow us on: Russia's RT will continue to work in the West, editor says TOKYO, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- China Festival 2024 kicked off in Yoyogi Park in downtown Tokyo on Saturday, with some 150 booths set up on site to showcase the vitality of China's booming economy. The two-day event, co-sponsored by the Chinese embassy in Japan and the Executive Committee of China Festival 2024, features food tasting, tourism promotion, and cultural displays such as erhu performances, acrobatic shows and popular animation. Visitors can also experience the new energy vehicles, smartphones and other "intelligent manufacturing in China." Japanese Former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said in his speech at the opening ceremony that this year's China Festival has Shandong, Hunan, Qinghai and other Chinese provinces participating in the exhibition, fully demonstrating the charm of Chinese local culture. Fukuda, also the top advisor of the Executive Committee of China Festival 2023, said China is developing rapidly and expressed hopes that more Japanese people will have the opportunity to visit China and experience the current China for themselves. He looks forward to both sides jointly promoting people-to-people friendship through enhanced personnel exchanges. Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao said that this year's event is unprecedented in scale, aiming to fully display the excellent traditional Chinese culture and the achievements of Chinese modernization, so that everyone can understand contemporary China through close experience. We hope that the China Festival will serve as a bridge to encourage more Japanese people to visit China and experience the real and vivid China, Wu added. Tokyo resident Junko Toya has taken her daughter on about 20 trips to China. At this year's event, she tasted steamed dumplings and experienced Chinese ink painting. "I haven't been to China for a long time, and I missed China very much this time when I participated in the China Festival. My child said that she tasted the Chinese flavors in her childhood memories again," she said. OTHERS OTHERS Follow us on: My Account or or Hello, Login All US believes Iran has transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day SANAA, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-British coalition launched late Saturday three air strikes on the eastern Ibb governorate in southern Yemen, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported Sunday. The airstrikes, which targeted the Maytham area east of the Ibb governorate, came about two hours after Yemen's Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said they had shot down a U.S. MQ-9 drone over the northeastern Marib province. The drone was "carrying out hostile acts" when it was intercepted, marking the eighth of its kind shot down by the armed group "in victory for the oppressed Palestinian people and in response to the American-British aggression against Yemen," Sarea added. The U.S. side has yet to confirm either the airstrikes or the drone incident. Meanwhile, the U.S. Central Command said Friday on X that its forces had destroyed two Houthi anti-ship cruise missiles, a Houthi ground control station, and an uncrewed Houthi boat in the Red Sea in the past 24 hours. Since November last year, the Houthis have targeted Israeli-linked ships to show solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. In response, the U.S.-British naval coalition has conducted regular air raids and missile strikes against Houthi targets to deter the group since January. Reporter Andrew Roberto was raised his whole life on Saipan. He graduated from Saipan Southern High School, holds a degree from Northern Marianas College, and a BA in English from the University of Guam. He once worked for KUAM, UNO Magazine, and the Guam Daily Post. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios recently spoke at the inaugural White House Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander or NHPI Convening that brought together key NHPI leaders, private sector leaders, federal and state elected officials, federal appointees and staff. His remarks at the White House NHPI Convening were part of his visit to the nations capital that included separate meetings with Kurt M. Campbell, U.S. deputy secretary of State, senior officials at the U.S. Department of Interior, and other federal partners. He also met with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, a cabinet-level administration official who leads the countrys trade discussions with other nations. In photo with Governor Palacios are Department of the Interior Deb Haaland, left, and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell, right. Actors from the Shandong Opera, Dance, and Drama Theatre perform the "Sword Dance" in Belgrade, Serbia, on Sept. 8, 2024. An artistic performance themed "Hospitable Shandong, Eternal Friendship on the Silk Road" was staged Sunday at the National Theatre in Belgrade. (Photo by Nemanja Cabric/Xinhua) BELGRADE, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- An artistic performance themed "Hospitable Shandong, Eternal Friendship on the Silk Road" was staged Sunday at the National Theatre in Belgrade. Co-organized by the Department of Culture and Tourism of east China's Shandong Province, the Chinese Cultural Center in Belgrade and the National Theatre in Belgrade, the event captivated a diverse audience, including Serbian Culture Minister Nikola Selakovic, other government officials, representatives from the Chinese Embassy in Serbia, and a high-level delegation from Shandong Province. The evening began with a musical performance titled "Hospitable Shandong," presented by the Shandong Opera, Dance, and Drama Theatre. The program offered a unique blend of traditional Chinese and Serbian performances, featuring recitations, music, dance, and acrobatics. The "Ancient Rhythm and Glory" opened with a collaboration between Chinese performers and Serbian children in a presentation of "Confucius Said," highlighting the enduring wisdom of Confucius and linking ancient philosophy to modern values. A striking drum performance, "Rhythm of Drums," captivated the audience with a fusion of Chinese percussion and dynamic physical energy. The martial arts piece "Sword Dance" offered a compelling fusion of strength and elegance, symbolizing the balance between external and internal harmony in Chinese civilization. A traditional Chinese Pipa Solo, "Dragon Boat," evoked the festive spirit of the Dragon Boat Festival. Acrobatic performance "Happy Kitchen," performed by the Liaocheng Acrobatic Troupe, where everyday kitchen items were creatively transformed into an energetic, humorous performance that celebrated the joy of daily life in China. The performance "Together Toward the Future" emphasized the spirit of collaboration. The grand finale, "Serbian Thread -- Dances from Central Serbia," brought Chinese and Serbian dancers together, symbolizing cultural unity that transcends borders. It also underscored the deepening ties between China and Serbia, emphasizing the importance of cultural exchange in fostering international friendships. Children recite the enduring wisdom of Confucius in a performance "Confucius said" of the Shandong Opera, Dance, and Drama Theatre in Belgrade, Serbia, on Sept. 8, 2024. An artistic performance themed "Hospitable Shandong, Eternal Friendship on the Silk Road" was staged Sunday at the National Theatre in Belgrade. (Photo by Nemanja Cabric/Xinhua) Chinhoyi was left reeling in shock after a horrifying incident where a man was brutally assaulted, robbed of his clothes and money, and left utterly exposed in the dead of night. The victim, whose identity has not been released, was left struggling to cover his modesty with his hands after a group of four men ambushed him, leaving him naked and humiliated. The National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ) confirmed the arrest and sentencing of the four men, identified as Kelton Muleya (23), Takudzwa Chiwara (22), Edmore Mutandwa (33), and Usher Tagarira (22). They were arraigned before the Chinhoyi Magistrates Court facing robbery charges. The incident occurred on the 27th of July 2024, at around 1:50 am, as the victim was walking home from a night club in Mutorashanga. The four men had been following him from the club, where he had been drinking. The NPAZ statement details the chilling attack: Along the way, the accused persons grabbed the complainant and assaulted him with open hands and fists. The first accused person tripped the complainant, searched him and took US$30 from his pocket. They stripped the complainant naked before they disappeared into the darkness. The complainant was assisted by a passerby who accompanied him to file a police report. The accused persons were later arrested and they led to the recovery of the complainants money and clothes. The victim, left utterly vulnerable and exposed, was forced to use his hands to shield his anaconda and its two eggs as he stumbled through the darkness, seeking help. The sheer audacity and brutality of the attack have left Zimbabweans talking on social media. The four men were each given a 12-month prison sentence, but six months of the sentence were suspended, meaning they will only serve six months behind bars. While the sentencing brings a sense of justice for the victim, the incident serves as a stark reminder of the dangers lurking in the shadows, even in seemingly safe areas. Breaking News via Email Related Zimbabwe Latest News Mike Adams and Texas Rep. Cloud discuss the implications of RFK Jr. supporting Donald Trump The Health Ranger Mike Adams and U.S. Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX) discussed the implications of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsing former President Donald Trump during the congressman's recent appearance on the "Health Ranger Report." According to Adams, Kennedy's endorsement of the former president is a "big historic move." The nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy isn't the only one backing Trump, however. Even former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, now an independent, has backed the real estate mogul. The Health Ranger pointed out that Trump, Kennedy and Gabbard are all Democrats who have now left their former party. Cloud agreed, noting that it is good to see them coming over the the side of the Republican Party. He continued that the conversation isn't just about the nuanced policy differences and disagreements over peripheral issues, but also the current left-leaning core values of the Democratic Party. "Whether or not people have freedom, whether or not your own intelligence agency should be spying on you and the like and the craziness we've seen coming from our federal agencies right now we've got to get back to these core values," said Cloud, who represents Texas' 27th district in the U.S. Congress. "We don't want a censorship state. We don't want a command-control economy from the government. We don't want our law enforcement federalized and politicized. We want freedom." The lawmaker told Adams that Trump understands the issues and the core American values that Kennedy and Gabbard also agree on. He added that the three are having honest discussions over what is different and working toward what they agree on. This is a far cry from what Americans are seeing from Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee. According to Cloud, Americans want a government that agrees and works on different kinds of things instead of parties that disagree with each other. Adams: Kennedy makes the Trump ticket much stronger Meanwhile, the founder of Natural News and Brighteon.com expressed belief that Kennedy made the Trump ticket much stronger in areas were the real estate mogul was weak, including food and pharmaceutical industries. "RFK, Jr. is a champion in those areas. So, he adds strength to the Trump ticket," said Adams. However, the Health Ranger pointed out that he disagrees with Kennedy on the issue of energy due to the environmental lawyer's opposition to coal and fossil fuels. This stance, he added, means Kennedy won't be appointed as energy secretary in the Trump administration if ever. Adams also pointed a stark contrast between the GOP and the Democratic Party. The website of the Harris-Walz campaign has no policy statements and is about celebrities and pop culture. While Trump wants to get America working, Harris wants to have America twerking. Moreover, he added that the Democratic presidential nominee could be another person who isn't Kamala Harris and it won't matter. This is because for most Democrat voters, it is just a proxy for the anti-Trump and anti-America hatred that is happening in the country. Cloud concurred with his remarks, adding that the Democratic Party's platform centers on name-calling against Trump. Follow Trump.news for more stories about the former president's campaign. Watch the full conversation between Texas Rep. Michael Cloud and the Health Ranger Mike Adams below. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: RFK Jr.: Democrats have no platform; they are only united by HATRED of Donald Trump. RFK Jr. reveals other Democrats will join him in actively campaigning for Donald Trump. RFK Jr. suspends presidential campaign, will join forces with Trump to save millions of children. Sources include: Brighteon.com Cloud.House.gov Amazons Alexa AI refuses to give reasons why voters should pick Trump, but heaps praise on Kamala Amazon's artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Alexa apparently refuses to give reasons why American voters should pick former President Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris on Election Day. According to Modernity News, a video that went viral on X revealed this double standard. The voice-enabled assistant reportedly declined to explain why Trump should get the vote in November. In contrast, it gave "a laundry list of woke suggestions" as to why the American electorate should pick the Democrat. "I cannot provide content that promotes any political views," Alexa said when asked about reasons to vote for the Republican nominee. But when asked about reasons to vote the Democrat, the AI provided "many reasons" and highlighted two of these. "The most significant, maybe, that she is a female African-American from a disadvantaged background who worked her way up to become a U.S. senator and vice president. Additionally, she has a significant political background as the daughter of immigrants making her a role model for many people." Several users took to X to mock Alexa's reasons why voters should choose Harris when they head to the polling places. User @BearsfordJohn noted how the former U.S. senator for California has "no policy, no beliefs, just identity" as her campaign platform for the highest position in the land. User @PinnaclePete pointed out that Harris is far from "disadvantaged" as her father, Donald Harris, is a tenured professor at McGill University. Modernity News previously reported that Alexa is also denying the Trump assassination attempt. The July 13 incident saw Thomas Matthew Crooks shooting at the former president, with law enforcement quickly neutralizing the 20-year-old shooter. While Trump himself only suffered from a grazed ear, retired fire chief Corey Comperatore died while shielding his family from Crooks' bullets. (Related: The Trump assassination attempt exposes the establishments deceitfulness.) Alexa previously claimed 2020 elections were STOLEN Last October, Alexa went under the spotlight for claiming that incumbent U.S. President Joe Biden stole the 2020 elections from Trump. At the time, the voice-activated assistant spouted an idea that the mainstream media had sought to downplay. Jake Welch of the National Pulse reported on the development, citing an article from the Washington Post (WaPo), which is also owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. According to the piece, Alexa cited video-sharing site Rumble and the Substack platform to back up its claims. Alexa reportedly remarked that the 2020 elections were "stolen by a massive amount of election fraud." It also noted that the presidential election that year was "notorious for many incidents of irregularities and indications pointing to electoral fraud taking place in major metro centers." Amazon went on full damage control when news of the AI's "election denialism" broke out. The tech giant immediately announced that it uses so-called "credible sources" like Reuters and RealClearPolitics for Alexa's answers. It also promised to address the problem by altering Alexa's programming so that it refuses to answer election-related questions. "These responses were errors that were delivered a small number of times, and quickly fixed when brought to our attention," Amazon spokeswoman Lauren Raemhild said in a statement. "We continually audit and improve the systems we have in place for detecting and blocking inaccurate content." "The [WaPo] report is likely to bolster concerns about technology's role in the spread of misinformation, something officials have been increasingly worried about ahead of the 2024 election," Business Insider noted. "Social media platforms and generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology have been accused of proliferating misinformation. The rise of sophisticated generative AI has been seen as a potential threat to democracy because of its potential to create convincing deep fakes and spread false information at scale." Head over to JeffBezosWatch.com for similar stories. Watch this clip of Amazon's Alexa giving biased political answers. This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Amazon shuts down man's "smart" home after automated doorbell allegedly committed an act of "racism." Amazon Alexa a "DEMON device" that gathers information that can be used to blackmail you for life. Amazon illegally harvested kids data via Alexa-powered 'smart' speakers. Amazon selling hidden SPY CAMERAS disguised as home accessories. Amazon's Alexa says 2020 elections were STOLEN. Sources include: Modernity.news TheNationalPulse.com BusinessInsider.com Brighteon.com Armed Venezuelan gangs terrorizing Americas top oil field in Texas Violent gangs from Venezuela have made their way into Texas where they are now targeting critical energy infrastructure in America's top oil field. According to reports, a Texas-based oil and gas company issued a memo to its employees notifying them that both local law enforcement and the FBI are aware of migrant gangs from both Venezuela and Cuba that are committing thefts and other crimes in the Permian Basin. "Industry peers and law enforcement in West Texas (WTX) are aware of a recent increase in organized criminal activity inclusive of violent crimes, gang activity and oil field thefts in and around WTX operational areas," the memo states. "These individuals and groups are armed, violent in nature and will not hesitate to use force." The memo goes on to explain that the crimes being committed include theft of: Oil Diesel fuel Copper wire and catalyst elements "Recent incidents have also included two assaults by water haulers who were attempting to steal oil from WTX oilfield sites," the memo continues. "After the thieves were observed by witnesses who drove up to investigate, the thieves attempted to use their vehicles to run the witnesses off the road." "In another incident, a thief, acting as a spotter and following a water hauler who had stolen oil, also attempted to run a witness off the road. There have been numerous reports of second vehicles acting as spotters for water haulers committing oil thefts." EXCLUSIVE: Texas-based oil company issued a memo to employees warning them about security concerns from violent migrant gangs. The gangs are allegedly attacking oil workers and attempting to steal oil, fuel, and copper from oil fields in Texas. pic.twitter.com/LeTDz2USya Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 5, 2024 (Related: Is Venezuela's recent controversial election a harbinger of things to come for America as the 2024 U.S. presidential election approaches?) Illegals control America It should be noted that Texas is not a sanctuary state, nor are the areas in and around the Permian Basin where illegal migrants are running amok stealing things. Even so, these criminal gangs have taken aim at domestic energy production in the Lone Star State in their latest escapades. What we are learning from this ongoing crisis, which also saw alien migrants terrorize Aurora, Colo., a suburb of Denver, is that illegal aliens are everywhere. It almost does not matter who wins the upcoming election because for all intents and purposes, illegal aliens now control the nation. It will not matter who wins the election. The flood of illegals have a purpose in the overall plan that has been unfolding. Chaos as far and wide as possible. Massive spread across the nation!https://t.co/qFhElt4NtW Phillip Davis (@Phillip96207244) September 2, 2024 To get an idea of how things are being run in America's sanctuary cities and states, check out the following video showing discourse between a citizen and a cop about an illegal alien who committed a double homicide but was then set free due to sanctuary status. "We do not report illegals, undocumented immigrants," the police officer says plainly. HOLY FVCK! A cop tells a citizen who is reporting a crime committed by an immigrant: "I've arrested a double homicide suspect in this city before, I let him walk out the door because we're a sanctuary city. We do not report illegals, undocumented immigrants." CITIZEN: "So pic.twitter.com/bclVNcQPSl I Meme Therefore I Am ?? (@ImMeme0) September 3, 2024 Imagine how much worse things will be if Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are installed into the White House. If you think open borders are a problem now, just wait until there are illegal aliens roaming the streets of Everywhere, USA bringing terror and destruction with them wherever they go. The breakdown of society is accelerating as illegal migrants flood the nation, bringing with them terror and destruction. Learn more at InvasionUSA.news. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com NaturalNews.com ELECTION RIGGING: Pennsylvania court rules election officials cannot reject mail-in ballots with incorrect or missing dates on envelopes A Pennsylvania court has ruled that election officials cannot reject mail-in ballots with incorrect or missing dates as long as they were submitted before the filing deadline. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recently filed a lawsuit against Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt, the Philadelphia County Board of Elections and the Allegheny County Board of Elections to challenge Act 77 of 2019, which mandated that voters with mail-in ballots have to properly date the envelopes containing their votes. The ACLU argued that such provisions are unconstitutional. (Related: Big win for election integrity in PA as court confirms improper absentee ballots won't be counted.) In line with this, the panel of the Commonwealth Court, a state appeals court, ruled on Aug. 30 that Act 77 of 2019 violates the Pennsylvania Constitution. The ruling comes after evidence showed that more than 10,000 mail-in ballots were not counted in the 2022 midterm election and 4,000 were rejected in April during the state's primary elections due to the proper dating requirements. "Simply put, the refusal to count undated or incorrectly dated but timely received mail ballots submitted by otherwise eligible voters because of meaningless and inconsequential paperwork errors violates the fundamental right to vote recognized in and guaranteed by the free and equal elections clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution," Commonwealth Court Judge Ellen Ceisler wrote for the 4-1 majority. The majority declined to rule against other provisions but determined that the date requirement is unconstitutional. However, the appeals court clarified that officials still have the authority to ensure mail-in ballots meet other requirements, such as submission deadlines. The ruling applies to Philadelphia and Allegheny counties. The Pennsylvania Department of State has not yet indicated how this ruling will affect its guidance to counties for future elections. Ruling receives mixed reactions Gov. Josh Shapiro praised the decision, stating that a minor error like forgetting or misdating a ballot envelope should not result in a voter being disenfranchised. The Pennsylvania State Department also stated that "multiple court cases have now confirmed that the dating of a mail-in ballot envelope, when election officials can already confirm it was sent and received within the legal voting window, provides no purpose to election administration." However, Commonwealth Court Judge Patricia McCullough, the lone dissenting voice, argued that the date requirement was the least burdensome of all ballot-casting requirements and that its removal could set a concerning precedent for election law. "It seems to me that the majority was swayed by the raw numbers and avoided applying the true test for evaluating a Free and Equal Elections Clause claim," she wrote. "Today the majority says that requiring the date on the voter declaration on a mail-in or absentee ballot envelope is subject to strict judicial scrutiny and cannot be enforced because doing so unconstitutionally denies the voting franchise altogether. I must wonder whether walking into a polling place, signing your name, licking an envelope, or going to the mailbox can now withstand the majority's newly minted standard." The Pennsylvania Republican Party and the Republican National Committee, which intervened in the case, expressed their intention to appeal. Follow VoteFraud.news for more news about election fraud using mail-in ballots. Watch this video explaining how mail-in ballots are a win for Democrats. This video is from the UAF Network channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: ELECTION INTERFERENCE: RFK Jr. forced to remain on the ballot in key battleground state of Michigan despite requesting withdrawal from the race. Texas PURGES one million ineligible voters from voter rolls, including non-citizens and dead people. Supreme Court partially upholds Arizona law requiring documentary proof of citizenship for state-level voter registration. Colorado County Clerk: Shocking "feature" on Dominion ImageCast Central tabulators allows mail-in ballot results to display BEFORE election day. Questions persist about falsification of 100,000 mail-in ballots in Michigan as Gov. Whitmer changes election laws to make fraud harder to expose. Sources include: BigLeaguePolitics.Substack.com ThEpochTimes.com Brighteon.com House panel subpoenas Tim Walz over $250M COVID fraud was he aware of it at the time? The House Education and the Workforce Committee is probing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz , Kamala Harris' running mate, for fraudulent use of Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) relief funds. The House panel subpoenaed Walz in demand of documents related to the Minnesota Department of Education's (MDE) management or rather mismanagement of money intended to fund federal child nutrition programs (FCNP). At issue is the spending habits of Feeding Our Future (FOF), a Muslim-run Minnesota nonprofit organization accused of thieving $250 million intended for hunger relief efforts during the "pandemic." Commenting on what has been uncovered so far, the Department of Justice (DOJ) described the scheme as a type of exploitation whereby children in need of food were deprived of it so thieves could siphon the cash into their own bank accounts and all under Tim Walz's watch. "As the chief executive and the highest ranking official in the state of Minnesota, you are responsible for the MDE and its administration of FCNPs," wrote Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) in a strongly worded letter to Walz. "Statements in the press by you and your representatives indicate that you and other executive officers were involved, or had knowledge of, MDE's administration of the FCNP and responsibilities and actions regarding the massive fraud." ? Tim Walz's admin. subpoenaed by @virginiafoxx related to the "largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the nation." How much did the governor know about the criminal activity that stole $250 million in taxpayer funds intended to feed children in need? More??https://t.co/rTJ9NbwKd8 pic.twitter.com/Ebrpe4dZMV House Committee on Education & the Workforce (@EdWorkforceCmte) September 4, 2024 (Related: During the "pandemic," Tim Walz bribed Minnesotans to use their own children as lab rats for the experimental COVID injection program known as Operation Warp Speed.) Will Tim Walz be held accountable? The Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) released a report of its own criticizing the MDE for its lack of oversight over FOF. The OLA called the MDE's oversight "inadequate" and rife with opportunities for fraud. Government officials are also subpoenaing MDE Commissioner Willie Jett, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Inspector General Phyllis Fong as part of the investigation. These three have until September 18 to comply with the subpoenas. Many are skeptical that the GOP will actually follow through in holding Walz and other corrupt government officials accountable for their crimes in all this. As usual, there is a strongly worded letter followed by not much else, though we will give them the benefit of the doubt as this investigation is still ongoing. "So much for his administration being the administration of the free lunch for all that he publicized," someone named "Nonna" (@Nonna3311461081) commented on X about Walz's empty promises. Another wrote that in 2022 when this was all taking place, the Minnesota Department of Education's hands were tied by a court order for it to resume food program payments despite concerns raised by the state. "The FBI told the state to continue reimbursements while they investigated," this same person added, claiming that "this is a partisan fishing expedition" and not much else. Others could not help but notice that similar things are happening in Fulton County, Ga., with Fani Willis, who we have been reporting on for voter fraud ever since the 2020 election. "And don't forget to investigate all those Congress people who took PPP loans," suggested another about how a full-scale investigation into all of government, both left and right, is needed to root out the criminal traitors. A Harris-Walz presidency will turn America into an unrecognizable nightmare even worse than it currently is. Learn more at Tyranny.news. Sources for this article include: TheNationalPulse.com (1) NaturalNews.com TheNationalPulse.com (2) Putin endorses Kamala over Trump: She laughs so expressively and infectiously that it means that everything is fine with her Russian President Vladimir Putin made an appearance at the recent Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok during which he endorsed Kamala Harris for U.S. president in 2024 rather than Donald Trump. Putin was heard telling the audience that he really admires Kamala's "infectious laugh," and the fact that Joe Biden decided to drop out of the race and allow her to replace him as the Democrat candidate. Before Biden called it quits following a disastrous June debate with Trump, Putin supported "the big guy" for a second term as America's president. Now that Biden is gone, Putin wants Kamala to take the reins in 2025 and beyond. When asked if he plans to call and congratulate whoever ends up getting installed into the White House, Putin revealed that Western leaders in general have barely spoken to him over the past couple years so probably not. Putin also clarified that despite him personally rooting for Kamala this fall, it is not up to Russia to select a "favorite" candidate for the U.S. presidential election. (Related: According to Sen. Ted Cruz [R-Tex.], Kamala and Biden are the "final leg of a global human trafficking network.") Putin can't get enough of Kamala's cackling Putin emphasized again during his speech that he loves how Kamala "laughs so infectiously." This, Putin says, is evidence that "everything is going well for her." Putin hopes that all of those fake smiles and nonstop laughing mean that Kamala will refrain from imposing as many sanctions on Russia as Biden and Trump would. All he cares about is protecting Russia by rooting for the candidate who he feels is most likely to go easy on his country. "In the end, the choice is up to the American people and we will treat their eventual decision with respect," Putin said. Rebekah Koffler, author of "Putin's Playbook," claims that despite Putin's rhetoric, "the Russians don't really endorse anyone in the traditional sense." "When it comes to preference, Putin and his regime prefer Kamala to deal with as a future U.S. president," Koffler is quoted as saying to Fox News Digital. "Putin believes that he can manipulate Harris easily, unlike Trump, whom the Russians profiled as unpredictable and difficult to read." "By issuing these statements, the Russians are just messing with us, specifically with the Harris Team. It's a classic influence operation to unbalance your adversary by mocking, teasing, and pleasing them, or rather appearing to please." The interesting thing about Putin's public statements in favor of Kamala is that, according to the U.S. intelligence community, Russia has always been secretly allied with Trump, hence all the Russian collusion chatter during Trump's first term. Both in 2016 and 2020, Putin's actions showed that he favored Trump over the other candidates, according to the U.S. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) who, following an investigation, said: "... that Russian President Putin authorized, and a range of Russian government organizations conducted, influence operations aimed at denigrating President Biden's candidacy and the Democratic Party, supporting former President Trump, undermining public confidence in the electoral process, and exacerbating sociopolitical divisions in the U.S." One would think that Putin prefers another Trump presidency simply because Trump has repeatedly stated that he does not support any further U.S. aid going to Ukraine. "I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other," Trump said after choosing Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate. If Trump wins, there is a pretty good chance that he will pull U.S. troops out of Europe and leave Putin to finish his special military operation in Ukraine. The latest news about the 2024 presidential election can be found at Rigged.news. Sources for this article include: FoxNews.com NaturalNews.com Elon Musks Starlink forced to BLOCK ACCESS to X platform in Brazil as rogue court wages war against free speech Elon Musk's Starlink has announced it will block access to his X platform in Brazil , following pressure from the high court of the Portuguese-speaking country. The satellite internet company under Musk's SpaceX made the announcement on Sept. 2, adding that it would comply with an order from the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF). According to YourNews, the move "comes as part of an escalating conflict between Musk and Brazilian authorities over the spread of misinformation on X." "We immediately initiated legal proceedings in the [STF] explaining the gross illegality of this order and asking [it] to unfreeze our assets," Starlink wrote on X. "Regardless of the illegal treatment of Starlink in freezing our assets, we are complying with the order to block access to X in Brazil." Starlink initially resisted the order, stating that it wouldn't restrict access to X unless Brasilia unfroze its assets, which were ordered frozen by STF Justice Alexandre de Moraes. But on Sept. 2, a panel from the high court upheld the decision to limit access to X. It gave internet service providers and mobile apps until Sept. 4 to enforce the block. YourNews pointed out that the STF led by de Moraes has been at odds with Musk's companies over their handling of "misinformation," particularly regarding politically sensitive issues. "This development places Starlink in a difficult position, especially given Musk's reputation as a 'free speech absolutist.' Blocking access to X in Brazil appears contradictory to his publicly stated values, yet the legal and financial pressures from the Brazilian government have left little room for maneuver," it added. Starlink's license to operate in Brazil could be revoked Meanwhile, Breitbart News pointed out that Starlink has seen rapid growth in Brazil, particularly in rural areas and the Amazon rainforest where traditional internet infrastructure is limited, since it entered the country in 2022. It continued: "Starlink has provided fast internet connections to remote communities including indigenous tribes for the first time, significantly impacting their way of life." But this connectivity provided by Starlink now hangs in the balance after the STF's recent actions. Aside from the ban on X, the high court imposed substantial fines on Musk's companies for failing to remove accounts flagged by Brasilia. These fines have accumulated to $3 million as per the New York Times, further straining relations between the South African-born technocrat and authorities in Brazil. Musk's companies aren't the only ones at risk of penalties, as users who attempt to access X through a virtual private network could face hefty daily fines. (Related: VPNs from local iOS App Store in Brazil DISAPPEAR amid spat between government and X platform over censorship issues.) The feud between the STF and X has raised questions about the future of Starlink's operations in Brazil, according to Breitbart News. Carlos Baigori, the chairman of the Brazilian National Telecommunications Agency (ANATEL), has previously warned that the agency could revoke Starlink's license to operate in Brazil. ANATEL's possible revocation of the satellite internet firm's license could, in theory, prevent the company from offering connections to its Brazilian customers. But if Starlink continues to provide internet service after the revocation, ANATEL could step in and seize the company's equipment at its 23 ground stations in the country. These equipment help improve the quality of its internet connections, Breitbart News pointed out. "This legal clash highlights the broader tensions between global tech companies and national governments over the regulation of online content," YourNews ultimately remarked. "For Musk, who owns both Starlink and X, the situation in Brazil underscores the complexities of balancing corporate interests with national laws, especially in countries with stringent regulations on 'misinformation.'" Check out ElonMuskWatch.com for similar stories. Watch Alex Jones of InfoWars explain how the Biden administration is using Brazil to target Elon Musk and free speech below. This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Brazil's supreme court orders SHUTDOWN of Elon Musk's X to silence speech they can't control. X employees in Brazil threatened with arrest over censorship beef with government, warns Elon Musk. 'Avengers' star Mark Ruffalo sides with Brazilian dictator censoring X/Twitter, blasts 'weird tech bro' Musk. NO ONE can censor you at Brighteon.io, unlike Elon Musk's X which will ALWAYS be doomed under censorship pressure. Brazil to axe X from telecommunications network after citing Elon Musk for obstruction of justice for his refusal to engage in government-demanded censorship. Sources include: YourNews.com Breitbart.com Brighteon.com New poll: Donald Trump takes narrow lead over Kamala Harris in Michigan A recent WDIV/Detroit News survey shows that former President Donald Trump has taken a narrow lead over Vice President Kamala Harris in Michigan The survey, conducted from Aug. 26 to Aug. 29 among 600 likely voters, reveals that 44.7 percent of likely voters in Michigan currently support Trump, while 43.5 percent back Harris. The poll also indicates that 4.7 percent of voters support independent former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2.3 percent support another third-party candidate and 4.8 percent of voters remain undecided. (Related: POLL: American voters trust Donald Trump more than Kamala Harris on firearms issues.) The survey also assessed voter perceptions of the candidates. Based on the results, 42.3 percent of voters view Trump favorably, while 51.3 percent view him unfavorably. Harris has a slightly higher favorability rating at 43.3 percent, with 49.7 percent viewing her unfavorably. The data also indicates that voters believe Trump is better able to handle certain jobs of the presidency than Harris, such as handling the economy (51.5 percent to 38.9 percent), foreign affairs (48.7 percent to 44.3 percent) and immigration (55.5 percent to 36.6 percent). However, voters believe Harris is better in strengthening American democracy (47.1 percent to Trump's 42.7 percent), more trustworthy (45.4 percent to 42.2 percent), more honest (45.3 percent to 35.7 percent) and smarter (47.4 percent to 42.8 percent). Several other polls reveal that Trump leads Harris in all key battleground states These results have been reflected in several other polls. An AARP poll, conducted from Aug. 7 to Aug. 8 among 600 likely voters, showed Trump ahead with 45 percent support against 43 percent of Harris. Kennedy only had six percent support, while Green Party candidate Jill Stein and independent candidate Cornel West each received one percent. The poll carries a margin of error of plus or minus four percent and surveyed a political composition of 33 percent Republicans, 32 percent Democrats and 35 percent independents. Similarly, a Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted from Aug. 21 to Aug. 28, found Trump leading Harris in seven key battleground states, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Nevada. In these states, the poll showed Trump holding a 45 percent to 43 percent lead over Harris. A Democracy Institute/Daily Express US survey, conducted earlier in August, also showed that Trump held an edge over Harris in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. A recent Peak Insights poll also showed Trump led Harris by two points in Arizona, another pivotal swing state in the Sun Belt region. Additional polling from InsiderAdvantage and the Trafalgar Group in August also revealed that Trump holds a two-point advantage in Pennsylvania, a three-point lead in Nevada and a four-point edge in North Carolina. These polls were conducted before and after Kennedy suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump. This indicates that Harris may be losing her post-nomination momentum, with concerns growing over her ability to connect with voters on key issues. Michigan, alongside Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina, is expected to be a decisive battleground in the presidential election. Should Trump win one or more of these critical states, Harris' path to securing the necessary 270 electoral votes narrows significantly. This, in turn, could have major implications for her campaign strategy moving forward. Visit Trump.news for similar stories. Watch Steve Price explaining that Vice President Kamala Harris has done "nothing" throughout her term. This video is from the TrendingNews channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Kamala Harris LOSES SUPPORT in latest post-DNC poll. Colorado, Michigan and Wisconsin refusing to remove RFK Jr. from ballot, all to hurt Trump. Trump warns Zuckerberg and anyone who illegally interferes in election will be jailed for life. Orwellian Michigan secretary of state threatens local election officials: Certify Kamala's "win" or "we will come for you." Hundreds of former aides to RINOs Bush, Romney and McCain endorse Kamala Harris over Trump, proving Trump is truly the anti-establishment candidate. Sources include: Breitbart.com 1 ClickOnDetroit.com Breitbart.com 2 Breitbart.com 3 Brighteon.com New Delhi: National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval is scheduled to visit Moscow from September 10 to 11. During this visit, he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss peace efforts aimed at resolving the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to sources. In addition to his discussions with President Putin, Doval will participate in the BRICS-NSA meeting. He is expected to hold bilateral meetings with his Russian and Chinese counterparts to follow up on discussions from the July summit in Moscow. BRICS, an informal group of 10 nations, includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Egypt, and Ethiopia. The previous BRICS-NSA meeting took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2023, where Doval also represented India. During a recent phone call with President Putin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi informed him of Doval's upcoming visit to Moscow to discuss peace initiatives following his trip to Ukraine. The Prime Minister did not specify the exact timing of Doval's visit. In August, Prime Minister Modi visited Ukraine, where he emphasized that "dialogue and diplomacy" were the only solutions to end the war. He offered to assist personally as a friend in mediating peace with Russia, asserting that "India was never neutral in this war; we are on the side of peace." This visit followed Modi's controversial trip to Russia, where a hug with President Putin elicited sharp reactions from the West and from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who described the meeting as a "huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts." MP Chief Minister Mohan Yadav Outlines Development Plans for Indore and Other Key Cities Tensions Rise in Lohardaga as Ganesh Pooja Committee Members Attacked SP MP Awadhesh Prasad's Night Visit to Rape Victim's Family Sparks Local Outrage Two Nice Jewish Boys podcast hosts caught FANTASIZING about killing every person in Gaza disturbing discussion between the two hosts of the "Two Nice Jewish Boys" podcast has surfaced that unveils the guttural hatred that some Jewish people harbor towards the people of Gaza. As the hosts were discussing the ongoing war, one of them started babbling about how he would annihilate the entirety of the Gaza Strip in an instant if given the chance. "If you gave me a button to just erase Gaza, every single living being in Gaza would no longer be living tomorrow I would press it in a second," the one says to the other before continuing, "I think most Israelis ..." "If that's the choice, yeah," the other interjected before the first could finish speaking his thought. "Yeah. No, even if it's not, like, right now, I would press it right now," the first continued. "Yeah, same with the territories [West Bank]," the second then responded. The conversation then continued as follows: "Give me that button. I'd press it right now." "There you go." "And I think most Israelis would." "Yeah, most Jewish Israelis." "They wouldn't post ... they wouldn't talk about it like I am. They wouldn't post ... they wouldn't say, 'I pressed it,' but they would press it, right? Like, if they were in a closet alone, they wouldn't even hesitate. If someone came to them and said, 'no one will know. You press this, all the Palestinians are gone,' you'd be, like, '******* a, is there another one?'" This podcast is called 'Two Nice Jewish Boys'. pic.twitter.com/JAflXB1yAR Censored Men (@CensoredMen) September 4, 2024 (Related: Did you know that prophecy teacher Amir Tsarfati believes that Israel has a God-given mandate to murder the people of Gaza so it can take the land as its own?) Open support for genocide Those trying to defend Israel's behavior often claim that not everyone in Israel thinks this way. There is some truth in that as demonstrated by the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who are protesting this week against the actions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The other side of the coin is that ordinary Israelis such as these two seen above have no qualms about talking and laughing about mass genocide as the solution to their country's problems. Right now, their sights are set on Gaza and the West Bank. Eventually, those who think like this will expand their military aggression to other countries if they have not already done so. "It's not just Palestine," someone wrote on X to illustrate this point. "They would love to do this to every White nation on Earth, too." "They're doing it to Gaza because they can do it, but if they ever became capable of doing it to America and Europe, they absolutely would. They hate everyone who is not them." In many ways, America and Europe are already under attack, just in a different way. Look around you and compare life today to life back when it was the best you can remember it and ask yourself: is our society moving in the right direction or the wrong one? And more importantly, who is behind this engineered takedown and why? "Gotta be the most racist thing I've ever heard someone say in my life," wrote another on X about the above discourse. "At least he is honest," said another. "I can respect that position more than liberal Zionists who fake empathy for Palestinians yet deep down want exactly the same." None of this is a surprise to God, who warned us in His Word about this ongoing conflict and its culmination at the end of days. Learn more at Prophecy.news. Sources for this article include: X.com NaturalNews.com Ukrainian government COLLAPSING as panicked Zelensky purges officials If things are going so well for Ukraine like the Western media continues to report, then why is Volodymyr Zelensky purging senior officials within his regime like there is a bounty on his head? According to reports, Zelensky canned Rostislav Shurma, the deputy head of his office, and accepted resignation letters from three ministers this week. Ukraine's deputy prime minister also called it quits in a sudden departure. Zelensky issued a decree on the Ukrainian government's website that Shurma is no longer employed by the regime, but no reason was specified for his sudden dismissal. Ruslan Stefanchuk, the speaker of Ukraine's parliament, further revealed that the following politicians all resigned this week: Vice Prime Minister for European Integration Olga Stefanishina Minister for Strategic Industries Aleksandr Kamyshin Minister of Justice Denis Maliuski Minister of Environmental Protection Ruslan Strilets Zelensky is also said to be considering firing Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba and numerous other high-level officials, this according to numerous anonymous sources familiar with the matter. (Related: Meanwhile, the United States and NATO are forging on with their nuclear extortion plot against Russia what could go wrong?) Ukraine is losing Ever since the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine, Zelensky's government has been a revolving door. Senior officials come and go at Zelensky's whim, it would seem, usually having to do with Ukraine's setbacks and failures in holding back Russia. Valery Zaluzhny, the former commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, was axed by Zelensky earlier this year following a failed counteroffensive that resulted in about 160,000 Ukrainian military men losing their lives. Last fall, Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov was fired for his alleged involvement in major corruption scandals that may have played a role in Ukraine losing said counteroffensive. In his most recent round of firings, it appears as though Zelensky targeted key senior officials described as "reformists," suggesting they were trying to do something other than what Zelensky wanted them to do. One media source described these now-fired reformists as appearing "especially close to Washington." Every time Zelensky fires people, the Ukrainian military seems to suffer another harsh loss on the battlefield. Take the most recent cross-border offensive into Russia's Kursk Region. That effort turned into a massive failure after Ukraine lost more than 9,300 troops and nearly 750 armored vehicles. Ukraine is now throwing everything it has left at the Kursk offensive in the hopes that something will stick. Ukraine's most battle-hardened troops have all been redirected there as Russian forces gain major ground in the Donbass region where they hope to regain an important logistics hub called Pokrovsk. It sounds from various media sources as if just about everyone underneath Zelensky blames him for Ukraine's continued failure to win the war against Russia. Soldiers, lawmakers, and military analysts alike are all pointing fingers at Zelensky as the biggest loser in the room when it comes to keeping Russia out of Donbass. "A sure sign of victory is more and more leaders being purged," one commenter sarcastically wrote. "Clearly the war is going in Ukraine's favor. Why, at this rate, not only will the West be down to the last Ukrainian, but Zelensky will also run out of Ukrainians to fire." Another expressed sadness over the massive loss of Ukrainian life under Zelensky the "tin pot dictator and thug." "The reality is that Russia was just offered a golden retreat while gentile Ukrainians, on the other hand, are left with a destroyed, indebted country and half a million dead." Another called Zelensky an "unhinged nutcase" who has sent Ukraine down a dark path of no return. "It was always going to end badly," this person added. "The only thing left to do is make sure that he's gone for good." The latest news about West versus East and the fight for global domination can be found at WWIII.news. Sources for this article include: TheAustralian.com.au NaturalNews.com TRUE DEMOCRACY: Will state-level law enforcement help prevent another election steal this November if Kommie Kamalas BIG CHEAT is more than obvious? Local and state law enforcement officials have roles in protecting citizens rights including the prevention of election meddling. If most of the polls were legitimate that we see published in the news, we would probably see Kamala Harris on winning 10 to 20% of the vote for POTUS, especially since she couldnt even secure 2% when she ran for the candidacy of this office just 5 years ago. In fact, Harris was the first to drop out of the race of 20 candidates on the Democrat side. A couple of the major factors were her lack of knowledge and her lack of likeability. Its almost impossible that all the sudden she is tied with Trump in the polls. That brings us to the likely BIG STEAL thats about to (attempt) to take place, and the reactions by those responsible for defending the integrity of the entire election process. State Attorney Generals, County Prosecutors and Sheriffs are all responsible for defending citizens rights to a fair, secure, clean election process State Attorney Generals - The Attorney General's Office has general charge, supervision and direction of the legal business of the State, acting as legal advisors and representatives of the major agencies, officials, various boards, commissions and institutions of State Government. County Prosecutors - The prosecutor serves the public interest and should act with balanced judgment and integrity to increase public safety by pursuing appropriate criminal charges of appropriate severity. Sheriffs - The sheriff serves as the chief civilian law enforcement officer of their jurisdiction and enforces court orders and mandates. The sheriff can also serve warrants and legal papers. Real polling for POTUS reveals that Kamala Harris may only have 10 to 15% of the votes, and if this is the case, a steal of this magnitude would be absolutely obvious, detectable, provable and worthy of mass reconciliation, or wait for it retaliation. If the steal is this obvious, will anybody step in, or will American patriots be forced to step up? Let us not forget the Colorado clerk Tina Peters, who was prosecuted by the corrupt Left for trying to preserve election records from the 2020 election after corrupt county reps wouldnt allow her to have technology experts present at the software update. Her defense lawyer in court said Peters was trying to preserve records to find out whether anyone from China or Canada had accessed the machine while ballots were still being counted. The Left called it a machine breach and prosecuted her for it, then labeled her an election denier and an obviously tainted jury found her guilty. Where were all the State AGs, County Prosecutors and Sheriffs to defend the election process 4 years ago? Did George Soros pay them all off to stand down? If the Dirty Dems steal the election, will we see a massive Bundy Ranch style standoff across America to protect the Republic from a total Communist takeover? Remember eight years ago, when the feds were trying to sell off tens of thousands of acres of National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon to the Chinese, and the Bundy family and their friends decided to rightfully take up arms and defend the American land their family had been legally ranching on for decades? There was a month-long standoff while the feds illegally herded and slaughtered the Bundys cattle, but then backed down after realizing they would LOSE badly any kinetic engagement. If the 2024 POTUS election is an OBVIOUS STEAL by the Left, will the State AGs, County Prosecutors and Sheriffs step up and defend Americas rights to a fair and secure election, or will Americans across the nation need to step up and take care of business? Did you know there are about 70 million semi-automatic handguns and rifles owned by Americans right now? One third of all Americans own at least one firearm. The only way the corrupt Communists running our country right now could weaken this defense of our nation would be to start WWIII and draft as many gun owners in America as possible, then have them all taken out overseas (and of course blame Russia and/or China). Tune your apocalypse dial to Preparedness.news for updates on real news about surviving and thriving through the Democrat-led government aggression that comes at us every day now. Sources for this article include: NaturalNews.com ZeroHedge.com TheGuardian.com Ownership has its privileges -- at least with many stocks. More than 5,000 stocks that trade on U.S. exchanges return a portion of their profits to shareholders as dividends. Not all of them are great picks to buy right now, but some are. Three Fool.com contributors were asked to recommend some no-brainer dividend stocks to buy in September. They selected healthcare companies AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), Merck (NYSE: MRK), and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE). Here's why. Dividend royalty, with solid growth prospects Keith Speights (AbbVie): You can count the number of Dividend Kings that operate in the healthcare sector on one hand and have a thumb left over. AbbVie is one of the four. The big pharmaceutical company has increased its dividend annually for 52 consecutive years. Although some Dividend Kings offer paltry dividend yields, that's not the case with AbbVie. The drugmaker's forward dividend yield is 3.2%. This yield is lower than it's been in the past for a good reason: AbbVie's share price has jumped over 20% this year. This strong share price performance reflects AbbVie's solid growth prospects. Sure, sales for Humira continue to sink due to biosimilar competition. However, AbbVie has prepared well for the loss of patent exclusivity of its top-selling drug. The two successors to Humira, Rinvoq and Skyrizi, are on pace to together surpass Humira's peak annual sales within the next few years. AbbVie's 2020 acquisition of Allergan added key growth drivers, including migraine therapies Qulipta and Ubrelvy and antipsychotic medication Vraylar to its lineup. In addition, AbbVie's pipeline features over 90 programs in clinical development. The list includes over 50 programs that are in mid- or late-stage testing. AbbVie expects to deliver high-single-digit growth through the end of the decade. With this level of growth, combined with its steadily increasing dividend, the stock should reward investors with attractive total returns for a long time to come. Look beyond the fast-approaching patent cliff Prosper Junior Bakiny (Merck): Though it stands as one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world with a vast portfolio of medicines -- not to mention one of the leading animal health businesses -- Merck's name is strongly associated with its cancer medicine, Keytruda. The company's crown jewel is the best-selling drug in the world, a title it officially took last year. However, Keytruda will be off-patent in 2028. Some investors worry this patent cliff will threaten Merck's business and dividend. Story continues And what a business it is. Merck's revenue and earnings continue to grow at a good clip. In the second quarter, Merck's top line increased 7% year over year -- a decent performance for a pharma giant -- to $16.1 billion. Its earnings per share of $2.14 was much better than the $2.35 net loss per share reported in the year-ago period. Last year's net loss was related to acquisition costs at the time. Merck's dividend has increased by 75% in the past decade; it offers a forward yield of 2.64%. Fortunately, Merck should survive Keytruda's loss of patent exclusivity. It is developing a subcutaneous version of the medicine that looks destined to be a blockbuster and take over many of Keytruda's indications. Research company Evaluate Pharma estimates that this new version of Keytruda will generate as much as $8 billion in revenue by 2030. The company has several other products that are performing well and a rich pipeline of medicines, some of which should earn approval in the next few years. Merck offers products people need regardless of economic conditions, has an impressive track record, and can develop brand-new medicines through innovations. The company is an excellent income stock to buy and hold. Pfizer is a high-yielding stock with a lot of upsides David Jagielski (Pfizer): One dividend stock I wouldn't hesitate to buy right now is Pfizer. At around 6%, it is paying investors a high yield that's more than four times the S&P 500 average of 1.3%. The company has also increased its payout steadily since 2010. While those increases haven't been large, Pfizer's dividend has still climbed 17% in five years. Investors may be concerned about the dividend due to the challenges that lay ahead for Pfizer. The company looks to transition to new growth opportunities as it faces the loss of patent protection on multiple key drugs. COVID-related revenue has also been diminishing. But thanks to the company's pursuit of acquisitions, including its $43 billion purchase of oncology company Seagen last year, Pfizer may be in better shape than investors fear. It has been investing in the launch of new products and expects that by the end of the decade, it may not only offset the decline in revenue due to patent losses, but the net effect should see it adding to its top line. Pfizer projects it will lose $18 billion in revenue by the end of the decade due to generics and rising competition, but it aims to add $25 billion by then through acquisitions and new products. There hasn't been much confidence in Pfizer's stock from investors (it's down more than 20% in the past 12 months), but if you're willing to be patient with the company as it navigates what's sure to be a challenging period in the years ahead, the payoff could be significant. Not only could you lock in a great yield right now, but as the pharmaceutical company comes out with new products, the stock price may start to rally. Should you invest $1,000 in AbbVie right now? Before you buy stock in AbbVie, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and AbbVie wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $630,099!* Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of September 3, 2024 David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Keith Speights has positions in AbbVie and Pfizer. Prosper Junior Bakiny has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Merck and Pfizer. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 3 No-Brainer Dividend Stocks to Buy in September was originally published by The Motley Fool Assam to maintain double vigilance to check B'deshi infiltration: Himanta Biswa Sarma A ssam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that the state government will remain double vigilant to deal with the infiltration from the neighbouring nation of Bangladesh, adding that most of the infiltrators are currently being pushed back within hours of crossing over to Indian territory. Speaking at a press conference, the Assam Chief Minister said: "There is no chance that people cross illegally the international border from Bangladesh and get themselves enrolled in the voter's list in Assam... we have caught many people who illegally entered Indian territory and they were pushed back within a few hours. Most of the infiltrators were arrested in the morning at around 5 a.m. and before 9 a.m. in the morning, they were pushed back to the neighbouring country. In two or three hours, they can not register themselves in the voter's list." The Chief Minister also stressed that he sees no harm in remaining double vigilant on this matter. "We have decided to take a slew of measures for the detection of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh because there might have been possibilities that a few infiltrators could not be arrested by the security personnel," Sarma said. Earlier on Saturday, taking to X, Sarma wrote: "We are intensifying efforts to remove illegal immigrants from Assam. The state government is initiating a series of coordinated actions that include enhanced surveillance, closer coordination with central agencies, additional deployment of forces among others." According to the BJP leader, the detection of illegal immigrants entering Assam through its international borders has long been a critical responsibility of the Assam Police Border Organisation. However, recent reports indicate an increase in the number of illegal immigrants being detected, necessitating intensified efforts across the state. Sarma shared data which showed from January this year to date, a total of 54 illegal immigrants have been detected -- 48 in Karimganj district, 4 in Bongaigaon district, and one each in Dima Hasao and Dhubri district. "Of these, 45 individuals were successfully pushed back into their country of origin, while nine were arrested in Karimganj. Additionally, there have been reports of suspected non-Indian nationals and foreign-origin individuals in certain areas of the State, particularly in Upper Assam and North Assam districts. The detection of such individuals is critical, given the potential threat to national security," the Assam Chief Minister said. Assam to maintain double vigilance to check B'deshi infiltration: Himanta Biswa Sarma Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Italy's PM, Zelensky discuss aid, reconstruction I talian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met on the sidelines of an economic forum in Italy, discussing Ukraine's latest aid needs and reconstruction. Italy "reiterated that support for Ukraine is a top priority on the Italian G7 Presidency's agenda and reaffirmed the ongoing commitment to Ukraine's legitimate defence and to a just and lasting peace," Meloni's office said on Saturday in a statement. The two leaders paid "particular attention to the issue of reconstruction, also ahead of the next Ukraine Recovery Conference, which will be held in Italy in 2025," it added. Meloni and Zelensky held talks during the ongoing annual European House-Ambrosetti forum, an international meeting held in Italy's northern Cernobbio city, Xinhua news agency reported. In a post on social media platform X, Zelensky confirmed one of the key topics discussed was "Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction, particularly focusing on the restoration of our energy system". Speaking in a panel at the forum, Meloni also pointed out the risks of destabilisation for the geo-political and economic global space, and said she believed global actors such as China and India "will be able to play a role in resolving the conflict". Rome has sent weapons to Kyiv, but has said these should be used only on Ukrainian territory, not to attack Russia itself. In her address to the forum on Saturday, Meloni said the position of EU and NATO member Italy on Ukraine was "extremely serious, determined and clear". She addressed members of the Italian public who are "scared, legitimately worried about the war", but urged them not to "fall into the trap of Russian propaganda" in believing Ukraine's fate was sealed. Helping Ukraine fight back against its vastly more powerful neighbour had created the "stalemate" conditions in which peace could be discussed, she added. Meloni also warned that allowing Ukraine to fall to Russian aggression "will not bring peace, it will bring chaos" and economic consequences "more serious that what it costs today to support Ukraine". In Germany on Friday, where he also met Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Zelensky urged Kyiv's supporters to provide more weapons and follow through on previous commitments, saying: "The number of air-defence systems that have not been delivered is significant." And after Ukraine's surprise push into Russia's Kursk region last month, Zelensky again called for restrictions to be lifted on the use of long-range Western weapons. At Cernobbio, he assured Italy that the weapons would only be used to hit military targets. In their talks on Saturday, Meloni said she had also discussed with Zelensky a planned meeting in Italy next year on reconstructing Ukraine. And she "reiterated the centrality of support for Ukraine in the agenda of the Italian G7 presidency", according to Meloni's office. "I thank Giorgia and the Italian people for their support and joint efforts in restoring a just peace," the Ukrainian leader wrote on X after the talks, posting a video of the pair hugging. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban -- who upset his EU counterparts and Zelensky by meeting Putin in Moscow in July -- also addressed the Cernobbio forum on Friday. The Ukrainian President rejected Orban's calls for a ceasefire, saying that Putin had never respected earlier accords. Zelensky's visits to Italy and Germany came just days after one of the deadliest strikes of the war and as Russian forces make battlefield gains. Nearly 55 people were killed and 300 wounded in a Russian missile strike on Tuesday on the city of Poltava. Meanwhile Moscow's forces advance in the Donbas, with Putin on Thursday declaring that capturing the eastern area was his "primary objective" in the conflict. Italy's PM, Zelensky discuss aid, reconstruction Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Nicole Kidman announces her mother's demise at Venice Film Fest H ollywood star Nicole Kidman couldn't receive her award for Best Actress for a at the Venice Film Festival in person because of the death of her "beautiful, brave" mother. The actress won the award for her role of a CEO, who has an affair with a young intern, played by Harris Dickinson, in director Halina Reijn's 'Babygirl', reports 'Mirror.co.uk'. Speaking to the audience at the festival on Saturday night through a note read out by Reijn, Kidman said her "heart is broken". It read, "Today I arrived in Venice to find out shortly after, that my beautiful, brave mother Janelle Ann Kidman has just passed. I am in shock and I have to go to my family, but this award is for her, she shaped me, she guided me, and she made me. I am beyond grateful that I get to say her name to all of you through Halina, the collision of life and art is heart-breaking, and my heart is broken. We love you all". As per 'Mirror.co.uk', the actress had paid tribute to her late mother earlier this year when she became the first Australian to be honoured with the esteemed American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award. At the time, she addressed the fact her mother could not see her be honoured due to ill health. She said in April, "My mama is not here, but she sent me a card and I was weeping". The Australian actress continued, "So this is for her, she's been there through all of it since I was a little girl crying on the bed, going, 'mama, they didn't want me, I'm not pretty enough, I'm too tall, I'm covered in freckles, I'm this, I'm that', And she's always cheered me on, so this is for her". The 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival concluded on Saturday. Filmmaker Pedro Almodovar's English-language debut 'The Room Next Door' bagged the festival's most prestigious prize, the Golden Lion, which is awarded for best film. The movie, which stars Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton, received a nearly 20-minute standing ovation when it premiered at the festival. Venice's last day also saw the world premiere of 'Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 2', and Vincent Lindon winning best actor for his performance as a single father whose son is radicalised by the far right in French drama 'The Quiet Son'. The Luigi De Laurentiis award for a debut film was won by Sarah Friedland's Familiar Touch, about an octogenarian's transition to life in assisted living as she grapples with her age, memory and relationship to her caregivers. Nicole Kidman announces her mother's demise at Venice Film Fest Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! EAM Jaishankar in Saudi Arabia for first India-GCC foreign ministers' meet E xternal Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday to participate in the First India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Foreign Ministers' Meeting. The EAM received a warm welcome from Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister for Protocol Affairs Abdulmajeed Al Smari in Riyadh. After his arrival, EAM Jaishankar took to the social media platform X and said, "Arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to take part in the First India - Gulf Cooperation Council Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Thank Abdulmajeed Al Smari, Deputy Minister for Protocol Affairs for the warm reception." During his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia (September 8-9), EAM Jaishankar is expected to hold bilateral meetings with Foreign Ministers from GCC member countries. "India and the GCC enjoy a deep and multifaceted relationship, in areas including political, trade & investment, energy cooperation, cultural and people-to-people ties. The GCC region has emerged as a major trading partner for India and is home to a large Indian expatriate community, numbering around 8.9 million. The Foreign Ministers meeting will be an opportunity to review and deepen institutional cooperation between India and the GCC across various sectors," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement on Saturday. After concluding his Riyadh visit, Jaishankar will travel to Berlin for a two-day visit starting September 10 which will be his third bilateral visit to Germany. Both India and Germany share a robust Strategic Partnership and Germany is one of India's prominent trading partners and among the largest Foreign Direct Investors. On September 12, the External Affairs Minister will travel to Geneva, home to a large number of UN bodies and international organisations, for an official visit. EAM Jaishankar in Saudi Arabia for first India-GCC foreign ministers' meet Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Assam CM hails India-Singapore partnership for urban planning, development A ssam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday praised the growing partnership between India and Singapore, emphasising its potential to improve urban planning and management in Assam. Taking to his X handle, the Assam CM stated, "India-Singapore partnership heralds a new developmental dawn. During Hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji's recent visit to Singapore, the joint statement, issued by the Hon'ble Prime Minister of Singapore HE Lawrence Wong, highlighted the MoU between the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) and the Government of Assam in urban planning and management." He added, "This MoU will facilitate better urban planning and management of Guwahati, incorporating Singapore's best practices. It is truly a partnership of the future." PM Modi visited Singapore from September 4-5 at the invitation of the Singapore Prime Minister. During the visit, multiple Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between the two nations, covering a broad spectrum of areas. Both leaders highlighted the importance of the proposed MoU on the Nursing Talent Skills Corporation between the Government of Assam and Singapore-India Partnership Office and MOH Holdings Pte Ltd, urging an early conclusion. The leaders also welcomed the signing of the MoU between SCE and the Assam government to enhance urban planning and management in Guwahati. Both Prime Ministers emphasised India's vast investment opportunities for Singaporean investors and acknowledged ongoing collaborations between SCE and various Indian states on smart city projects and urban infrastructure, including housing initiatives. These collaborations include workshops on sustainability and urban water management conducted with India's Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. The two leaders recognised that business and commercial links are key to the broader India-Singapore partnership. Both counterparts also expressed the desire to conclude the Third Review of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) soon to keep it relevant for the future economies of both nations. Assam CM hails India-Singapore partnership for urban planning, development Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Ajit Doval to visit Moscow as PM Modi tries to broker peace between Russia & Ukraine N ational Security Advisor Ajit Doval will travel to Moscow this week to hold discussions aimed at resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict, sources have said. This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Russia (in July) and Ukraine (in August) where he held meetings with the Presidents of the two countries -- Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. Shortly after his trip to Ukraine and meeting with President Zelensky, Prime Minister Modi spoke to President Putin over the phone on August 27. A Russian Embassy statement then said that PM Modi informed President Putin about his visit to Kyiv and stressed India's commitment to bring about a settlement by political and diplomatic means. Sources said that it was during this phone call that the leaders decided that NSA Doval would travel to Moscow for peace talks. "President Putin shared his principled assessment of the destructive policies of the Kyiv authorities and their Western patrons, and went on to highlight Russia's approaches to resolving this conflict," the Russian Embassy said about the phone call. The Prime Minister's Office said the two leaders exchanged views on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. "The PM shared insights from his recent visit to Ukraine. He underlined the importance of dialogue and diplomacy as well as sincere and practical engagement between all stakeholders to achieve an abiding and peaceful resolution of the conflict," a PMO release said. The Prime Minister reiterated India's firm commitment to support an "early, abiding and peaceful resolution of the conflict" on his official handle on X. Ajit Doval's visit, however, is part of the BRICS NSA meeting this week ahead of the annual Summit in Kazan. The meeting will see top security officials of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa besides new members Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia. Doval is also expected to hold bilateral talks with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. The travel to Moscow this week is also said to be a bid to reach a peaceful resolution between the warring neighbours Russia and Ukraine. Other world leaders, too, are of the view that India can play a key role in finding a resolution to the Ukraine conflict. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that countries like India and China can play a role in resolving the conflict in Ukraine. Her remarks, made at the Ambrosetti Forum in northern Italy's Cernobbio city on Saturday -- where she also held a meeting with the visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky -- came less than 48 hours after Russian President Putin also highlighted India's efforts in solving the ongoing crisis in the region. On Thursday, while addressing the 9th Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Putin mentioned India's role in providing a "helping hand" in resolving the issue. "We respect our friends and partners who I think are sincerely interested in addressing and resolving all the issues associated with the conflict (with Ukraine). China, Brazil, India... I am in contact with my partners and I have no doubt that the leaders of these countries, and we have the relations of trust and confidence with one another, will be interested in providing a helping hand," said Putin. Ajit Doval to visit Moscow as PM Modi tries to broker peace between Russia & Ukraine Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! You are here: China Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged beefed-up disaster relief efforts after Super Typhoon Yagi struck the country's southern region. Yagi, the 11th typhoon of this year, made landfalls in the provinces of Hainan and Guangdong on Friday, leaving three people dead and 95 others injured. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, demanded efforts to ensure the safety of people's lives and their property. He called for mobilizing rescue efforts, handling well the relocation and resettlement of affected people, preventing secondary disasters, and making every effort to minimize casualties. Xi also urged swift repair of damaged infrastructure, including transportation, electricity and communication systems, and demanded active post-disaster reconstruction to restore normal order of life and work as soon as possible. Li Qiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Chinese premier, called for efforts to closely monitor the typhoon movement and fully implement various preventive measures against disaster. The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has dispatched working groups to Hainan and Guangdong to guide the rescue efforts. The typhoon has affected over 1.2 million people in Hainan, Guangdong and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and caused widespread power and communication outages for many users, as well as the collapse of some houses. Currently, power and communication have been partially restored. It can be hard to find good dividend yield stocks when the broader market is hovering near all-time highs, and the S&P 500's yield is a scant 1.2%. But don't give up -- just look harder. If you do, you'll find gems like Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE: BNS), with a yield of 6.2%; W.P. Carey (NYSE: WPC), which yields 5.8%; and EPR Properties (NYSE: EPR), with a huge 7.2% dividend yield. Here's a quick look at each of these attractive high-yielders. 1. Bank of Nova Scotia just upped its game Bank of Nova Scotia, usually just called Scotiabank, took an unusual growth approach, focusing on expanding in South America at a time when its Canadian banking peers were expanding in the United States. That didn't work out as well as hoped, with Scotiabank falling behind competitors on key metrics (like earnings growth) largely because of its exposure to the emerging economies of South America. Its Canadian operation remains large and fairly well positioned. Still, investors aren't pleased, and the stock is deeply depressed, offering a well-above-average yield of 6.2%. For reference, the average bank yields around 2.5%. Bank of Nova Scotia isn't ignoring the problem. It has laid out a plan to exit less desirable markets (Colombia) while focusing on more desirable ones (Mexico). It is also going to expand its position in the United States, with a goal of creating a North American banking giant (with a business spanning from Canada to Mexico). And it is already executing on that plan, recently announcing a deal to buy nearly 15% of KeyCorp. The investment is expected to be accretive to earnings very quickly, and it opens up interesting possibilities for the future, though there is no guarantee that a merger is in the cards. To be fair, this is still a bit of a turnaround story, but if you think in decades, Scotiabank is worth a closer look for dividend investors. Notably, the bank has paid a dividend every year for over 150 years! 2. W.P. Carey hit the reset button, and it's already back to dividend growth To get the bad news out of the way right up front, W.P. Carey was on the verge of hitting 25 years with its dividend increase streak and it... cut its dividend. But here's the interesting thing: The dividend started to be increased again the very next quarter. So what's really going on with this real estate investment trust (REIT) that has an attractive 5.8% yield? Don't think of it as a dividend cut; think of it as a business reset. When it comes to REITs, W.P. Carey is one of the most diversified companies you'll find, with assets across warehouse, industrial, retail, and a large "other" category. It also has properties in Europe, adding in geographic diversification, too. Story continues What's now missing is the office exposure that it has reduced to nearly zero. The dividend cut came as W.P. Carey decided it had to move quicker on the office reduction front because of the headwinds that property niche faced. In roughly a year, office exposure fell from 16% to, well, almost zero (the final office sale should happen by the end of 2024). The dividend cut reflects the swift office exit. Other than that, nothing material has changed about the way W.P. Carey operates. If you have dismissed this high-yield REIT because of the dividend cut, you might want to give it a second chance. 3. EPR Properties is on solid ground again So far, all of these high-yield financial stocks have some warts. But EPR Properties, a REIT that is focused on owning experiential assets, probably has the biggest ones on it. From a long-term perspective, this is an attractive niche. But in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic was raging, it was a terrible focus. EPR Properties ended up cutting its dividend to ensure that it survived the pressures its tenants were facing. The world has since learned to live with COVID, and EPR Properties is back on solid ground. Notably, EPR's dividend has started growing again. And perhaps more important, the second-quarter adjusted funds from operations (FFO) payout ratio was a very strong 70% or so. Also interesting here is the fact that the company's rental coverage is now higher than it was just before the pandemic in 2019. There are still some lingering issues to deal with, including reducing the REIT's exposure to movie theaters (a too-high 37% of rents). But EPR is really operating from a position of strength at this point, a fact for which it seems Wall Street isn't ready to give it credit. There are always trade-offs Perhaps you've noticed the theme here. Scotiabank, W.P. Carey, and EPR Properties have high yields and businesses with a few warts. Investing is about balancing risk and reward, and when it comes to high yields, you often have to be willing to accept some warts. The key thing here, however, is that each of these high-yield stocks is financially strong and has a good business. Yes, they are working through near-term headwinds, but it seems likely they'll succeed in the effort while continuing to reward income investors very well. Should you invest $1,000 in W.P. Carey right now? Before you buy stock in W.P. Carey, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and W.P. Carey wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $630,099!* Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of September 3, 2024 Reuben Gregg Brewer has positions in Bank Of Nova Scotia and W.P. Carey. The Motley Fool recommends Bank Of Nova Scotia and EPR Properties. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 3 Top High-Yield Financial Stocks to Buy in September was originally published by The Motley Fool Flood fury causes massive damage in Telangana A week after devastating floods in parts of Telangana, people are grappling to come to terms even as the actual extent of damages is still unknown though the state government has put the initial estimate at Rs 5,438 crore. Picking up threads of a tattered life, people in the worst-affected Khammam, Mahabubabad and adjoining districts are looking towards the state and Central governments to extend a helping hand to make a fresh beginning. After losing houses, all household goods, crops, cattle and other sources of income, all sections of people are facing the daunting task of rebuilding life after the disaster. From farmers to business persons and from housewives to students every section has suffered immensely as heavy rain and floods left a trail of destruction. People, whose houses were inundated in Khammam town and villages in the affected districts, are finding it nearly impossible to salvage their belongings. The affected families say from utensils to clothes and electrical items to electronic products, everything was destroyed by floods and mud which entered houses with flood water. The affected families have lost their key documents, including ration cards, Aadhaar cards and educational certificates. Farmers have not only lost standing crops but sand, silt and debris piled up in farmlands rendering the soil unfit for cultivation. The biggest challenge before them is how to make their fields cultivable once again. With the death of hundreds of cattle, dairy farmers have lost their livelihood while fishermen suffered huge losses as fish got washed away with the breaches in dozens of lakes, tanks and other water bodies. The floods triggered on September 1 by unprecedented rainfall of up to 40 centimetres led to the death of 26 people in the united Khammam, Warangal and Mahabubnagar districts. Thousands of people were affected. While the loss of human lives was not big in terms of numbers, the losses to property and infrastructure are colossal. Crops have been damaged in about five lakhs of acres, canals and ponds breached, bridges, roads and railway tracks were washed away and electric sub-stations and electric poles were damaged, The state government has pegged the losses at Rs 5,438 crore as per the initial estimate. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy told Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan after the latter's visit to the flood-hit areas that the departments are busy collecting the details of the actual damages at the field level. The roads under the Roads and Buildings Department have suffered damages to the tune of Rs 2,362 crore. The damage to electrical installations is estimated at Rs 175 crore. The crop loss on 4.15 lakh acres is estimated at Rs 415 crore. Irrigation tanks suffered damages to the tune of Rs 629 crore. Panchayati Raj & Rural Development, including rural water supply, suffered losses of Rs 170 crore. The losses to the Municipal Administration department are estimated at Rs 1,150 crore. The state government has sought Rs 2,000 crore from the Centre as immediate assistance, including for temporary repairs of breached lakes, damaged roads, dams and bridges. It also urged the Centre to relax the guidelines pertaining to the release of the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for states. The Chief Minister requested the Centre to enhance the unit rate for permanent restoration works. The state would require at least Rs 60 crore for the repair and restoration of tanks and lakes, but the applicable rates at present would not permit the release of even Rs 4 crore. Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) is also visiting affected areas to make an on-the-spot assessment of the damage caused by the floods. The state government has already started distributing Rs 10,000 as an immediate relief to every flood-affected family. In Khammam district alone, 22,000 families were affected. At least 15 residential areas along the Munneru Rivulet in Khammam district were flooded, causing huge damage to houses. After a visit to flood-hit areas, the Chief Minister promised a compensation of Rs 10,000 per acre for the damage to crops. The state government stated that ex-gratia for families of flood victims has been enhanced to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 4 lakh earlier. The compensation for cattle loss has also been enhanced to Rs 50,000 from Rs 30,000. For sheep and goats, it is increased from Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000. As many as 26,592 cattle died in heavy rain and floods. The Animal Husbandry Department has estimated the loss to be nearly Rs 2 crore. The Chief Minister had announced Rs 5 crore assistance each to Khammam, Mahabubabad, Suryapet and Bhadradri Kothagudem for immediate relief measures. Minister for Irrigation N. Uttam Kumar Reddy announced that partially damaged houses would be given Rs 10,000 each and for those whose houses were completely damaged new houses would be sanctioned under the Indiramma housing scheme. Flood fury causes massive damage in Telangana Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Pa. Ranjith: For me, everything is political F ilmmaker Pa. Ranjith, whose 'Thangalaan' has been getting a good response across languages, has said that he views art through a political lens. The filmmaker is known for his strong voice against caste based oppression, a recurrent theme in his artworks. Even in 'Thangalaan' there's an element of caste, while it touches upon Buddhism as well. The director spoke with IANS, and shared that the social structure of India which is deeply entrenched in politics gives no choice to the artistes except to be political. He told IANS, "For me, everything is political. In India, the whole system is based on politics. We need to understand that we follow indifference given the caste system, and the class system. We are a country which follows customs and rituals under a hierarchy". He also runs an organisation, Neelam Cultural Centre, which has collaborated with the music label Madras Records to form a 19-piece band called The Casteless Collective that includes 4 rappers, 7 instrumentalists and 8 gaana musicians, a popular folk music style in Tamil Nadu. The name of the band was inspired by a phrase, "Jaathi bedha matra Tamilargal", used by Tamil anti-caste activist and writer C Iyothee Thassa Panditha. He further mentioned that we as Indians are very much separated about our thoughts, religious things and caste. In that sense, every single entity is washed by the sands of time. "Each tree in a village has a story behind itself, it has seen oppression, it has seen the rise of people. These are the things that interest me as an artiste. Through my art, I want to raise awareness. I don't want to be a preacher, but I want the audience to look at my work and then use their brain to arrive at a conclusion or get inspired to set things right in society", he added. The Hindi version of 'Thangalaan', produced by Studio Green is currently playing in theatres. Pa. Ranjith: For me, everything is political Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! WHO chief vows to mobilise international efforts to support Sudan's health system V isiting World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus vowed to mobilise international efforts to support Sudan's health system, according to a statement by the Sudanese Health Ministry. Sudan needs more support from partners in the health field, the WHO chief said following talks with Sudan's Health Minister Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim in Port Sudan in eastern Sudan, Xinhua news agency reported. Ibrahim said Tedros' visit will strengthen the relations between Sudan and the WHO, which "has made great efforts in providing technical and material support," according to the statement. Also on Saturday, Deputy Chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council Malik Agar received Tedros in Port Sudan, during which he briefed the WHO chief on the health and humanitarian conditions in the country, according to a statement issued by the council. Media outlets reported that Tedros arrived in Sudan earlier on Saturday for a visit, during which he is set to meet senior Sudanese officials and UN representatives, and inspect health facilities and shelters for internally displaced people. The Sudanese Health Ministry said Saturday that recent heavy rains hitting parts of Sudan have killed 205 people, while the country has registered 5,081 cholera cases, including 176 deaths. Since April 15, 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in a deadly conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, resulting in the loss of at least 16,650 lives. An estimated 10.7 million people are now internally displaced in Sudan, with approximately 2.2 million others seeking refuge in neighboring countries, according to the latest UN data. WHO chief vows to mobilise international efforts to support Sudan's health system Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Tamil actor Vijay's party TVK gets EC recognition, to contest Assembly polls T amil superstar Vijay said that his party Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has received recognition from the Election Commission of India (ECI). The actor announced that his party was now battle-ready and would contest the 2026 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. It may be recalled that Vijay had announced his party in February 2024 and then said that TVK would not contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and that the party's aim was to contest the 2026 Assembly elections from the state of Tamil Nadu. Vijay had then said that his fan club Vijay Makkal Iyakkam has been working for the welfare of the people for many years but that it cannot bring full-fledged social, economic and political reforms on its own and for that political power was required. He had extensively quoted from poet Thiruvalluvar's Thirukkural and said, 'Enni Thuniga Karmam' (Acting after due consideration). The actor-turned-politician had then said that the process to formally register the party had been initiated. The popular actor noted that the party leader, functionaries, and the rules of the party were chosen and approved at a TVK meeting in Chennai in January. In August, Vijay released his party flag which has red on top and bottom with yellow in the middle. A flower resembling Vaagai surrounded by 28 stars at the centre with two trumpeting tuskers facing each other on either side is depicted in the flag. It may be noted that the ancient Tamil kings used to wear Vagai flower garlands to symbolise their victory. According to TVK party functionaries, a group of senior leaders of the party led by its general secretary, N. Anand alias 'Bussy' Anand who is a former MLA in Puducherry had approached the Election Commission of India. The party had in May published legal notices and had invited stakeholders to express objections if any to the party's registration. Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi of Velmurugan had raised objection to the abbreviation of the TVK but now Vijay has announced that all hurdles have been cleared and that the party has received formal ECI recognition. In the last local body polls of 2021, members of the actor's fan club All India Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam (AITVMI) won 115 seats of the 169 seats they contested. Interestingly Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan's party Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) and actor-director Seeman's, Naam Thamizhar Katchi (NTK) drew a blank in the local body polls. Tamil actor Vijay's party TVK gets EC recognition, to contest Assembly polls Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Stalin appeals to Tamil diaspora to visit mother state once a year C hief Minister M.K. Stalin, who is on a visit to the United States to garner investments in the state, has called upon the non-resident Tamil families to visit Tamil Nadu -- the mother state -- once a year. Addressing a meeting of the Tamil diaspora in Chicago, Stalin called upon the non-resident Tamils to visit the state once a year with their children and to show them the sky, the museum which was a symbol of Tamil history and culture and take the children to Sivagalai, Korkai and Parunai and Keeladi. He also asked the Tamil diaspora to tell their children that one of their family members was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and that his name was Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin. He called upon the Tamil people living in Chicago not to have any divisions within them, urging them to live with Tamil pride and dignity. Stalin said, "You reached these higher positions due to your talent. Tamils are not frogs in the well." He stated that the Tamils were highly talented and that they had performed extremely well in the international arena due to their talent. Stalin said that the Dravidian Model of the government of Tamil Nadu was a protection cover for the Tamil people living across the world. The Chief Minister added that the state government was intervening in the issues faced by the Tamil people living abroad through the Department of Non-Resident Tamils. He also said that wherever the Tamils were affected, the state government was creating the feeling that, "Tamil Nadu is the mother of us." He also said that the government of Tamil Nadu was not a government of the DMK but of the Tamil race. Stalin said that only Tamil has the strength to unify all and trounce caste and religious differences. Citing the Keeladi archaeological excavations, the Chief Minister said that Tamil society was a developed society even 4000 years ago and added that the history of the Indian subcontinent will be written hereafter from the Tamil landscape. During his US trip which commenced on August 27, Stalin has addressed the Tamil diaspora in San Francisco and Chicago. Stalin appeals to Tamil diaspora to visit mother state once a year Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Crucial India-Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Riyadh on Monday E xternal Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar will on Monday attend the First IndiaGulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Saudi Arabia's Riyadh that will take place on the sidelines of the 161st Ministerial Council meeting scheduled to be chaired by Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, President of the current session of the Ministerial Council. The ministerial meeting, which will be held at the headquarters of the GCC General Secretariat, will be attended by the foreign ministers of the GCC countries. Besides India, the GCC Cooperation Council will also hold strategic dialogue with Russia and Brazil which will see participation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira. Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi, the Secretary General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, emphasised that the GCC Ministerial Council will discuss several reports regarding the implementation of decisions made by the Supreme Council of the GCC during the 44th Summit held in Doha in December 2023. The Council will also review memoranda and reports submitted by the ministerial and technical committees and the General Secretariat, as well as topics related to dialogues and strategic relations between the GCC countries and various nations and global blocs. Discussions on latest regional and international developments affecting the region will also be discussed. "The joint meetings with the Russian, Indian, and Brazilian delegations reflect the GCC countries' commitment to exploring and opening new horizons for cooperation. These meetings aim to strengthen strategic relations with countries and organisations worldwide. Several topics will be discussed in various fields that serve the common interests of both sides and yield benefits for their peoples," said a statement issued by the Secretary General's office on Sunday. Earlier, EAM Jaishankar, who arrived in Riyadh early Sunday on the first leg of his three-nation tour, was welcomed by Abdulmajeed Al Smari, Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister for Protocol Affairs. He will be holding a series of bilateral meetings with the Foreign Ministers from GCC member countries. "India and the GCC enjoy a deep and multifaceted relationship, in areas including political, trade & investment, energy cooperation, cultural and people-to-people ties. The GCC region has emerged as a major trading partner for India and is home to a large Indian expatriate community, numbering around 8.9 million. The Foreign Ministers meeting will be an opportunity to review and deepen institutional cooperation between India and the GCC across various sectors," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement on Saturday. After concluding his engagements in Riyadh, Jaishankar will travel to Berlin on a two-day visit starting September 10 which will be his third bilateral visit to Germany. "Both India and Germany share a robust Strategic Partnership and Germany is one of India's prominent trading partners and among the largest Foreign Direct Investors. During the visit, EAM will meet the German Federal Foreign Minister as well as the leadership and other Ministers from the German government with an objective to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations between India and Germany," the MEA stated. The External Affairs Minister will thereafter travel to Geneva, home to a large number of UN bodies and international organisations, on the last leg of his tour. "During his Switzerland visit, Jaishankar will meet with heads and representatives of international organisations with whom India is actively engaged. The EAM will also meet the Swiss Foreign Minister to review the close partnership between the two countries and explore avenues to enhance the bilateral relationship further," the MEA detailed. Crucial India-Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Riyadh on Monday Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi arrives, to meet PM Modi on Monday T he Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, arrived in New Delhi on his first official visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal received the visiting dignitary at the airport and accorded a ceremonial welcome. This is Zayed Al Nahyan's first visit to India as the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and he is accompanied by several Ministers from the UAE government and a business delegation. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 9 and hold discussions on a wide range of areas of bilateral cooperation. He is also scheduled to call on President Droupadi Murmu and will visit Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. On September 10, the visiting Crown Prince will visit Mumbai to participate in a business forum, in which business leaders from both countries will participate. "India and UAE share historically close and friendly ties. In recent years, the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and UAE has deepened in a wide range of areas including political, trade, investment, connectivity, energy, technology, education, and culture. The Crown Prince's visit will further reinforce strong India-UAE bilateral relations and open avenues for partnership in new and emerging areas," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated, earlier this week. In January, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited India and explored ways to further build upon the strategic partnership between the two countries during his discussions with PM Modi. He also attended the 10th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit. In July 2023, PM Modi visited the UAE - his fifth visit to the country since 2015 when he became the first Prime Minister of India to visit the UAE in 34 years. The India-UAE relationship was formally elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the visit of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to India in 2017. According to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), India-UAE trade rose to USD 85 billion in 2022, making the UAE India's third-largest trading partner for the year 2022-23 and India's second-largest export destination. India is the UAE's second largest trading partner. Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi arrives, to meet PM Modi on Monday Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Hand over unified command to state govt: Manipur CM urges Centre M anipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh for the second consecutive day on Sunday met Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya at the Raj Bhavan and submitted a memorandum urging the Centre to provide adequate powers and responsibilities to the elected state government as per the constitution by handing over 'Unified Command' to deal with the prevailing situation. A top official of the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said that the Governor would forward the memorandum, submitted by the Chief Minister, to the Central government for taking the necessary course of action. Currently, Chief Security Advisor to the Manipur government Kuldeep Singh, who is the former Director General of CRPF, is the chief of the Unified Command of all the Central Para Military and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), deployed in the state. Working under the advice of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Kuldeep Singh was appointed by the Centre soon after the ethnic violence broke out in Manipur in May last year. The CMO official told IANS on condition of anonymity that the memorandum, submitted to the Governor by the Chief Minister also demanded the abrogation of the Suspension of Operation agreement signed with various factions of the Kuki militant outfits in 2008, protection of the territorial integrity of the state, completion of fencing along 398 km border with Myanmar at the earliest and conduct National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state with base year of 1961 and detect all illegal migrants and deport them. During the meeting with the Governor, the Chief Minister was accompanied by state Assembly Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata Singh, a few Ministers and MLAs. The Chief Minister also met the Governor on Saturday after a meeting with the MLAs of BJP and other coalition partners at the CM secretariat. An official said that in the meeting with the legislators, the Chief Minister discussed the current law and order situation in the state, especially after the stepped-up violent incidents. The Chief Minister's meeting with the Governor twice -- on Saturday and Sunday -- and submission of the memorandum assumed significance after the escalated violence in the trouble-torn state and killing at least nine people, including women and elderly persons in different districts in between September 1 and 7. Meanwhile, hundreds of women carrying torches organised rallies on Sunday evening in Imphal to protest the rising violence in the state during the past week. At a point in time, the participants of the rallies became agitated and then the security forces dispersed the mob by firing several rounds of tear gas shells. Amid the rising violence, influential BJP MLA Rajkumar Imo Singh, who is the son-in-law of Chief Minister Biren Singh, last week requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah to withdraw 60,000 central forces from the state claiming "they are not yielding peace". Imo Singh wrote to the Home Minister stating that the presence of around 60,000 central forces in Manipur "is not yielding peace, thus it's better to remove such forces who are mostly present as mute spectators". "If the presence of central forces cannot stop the violence, it is better to remove them and allow the state forces to take charge and bring peace in Manipur," the MLA had said in the letter. Congress Lok Sabha MP from Manipur Angomcha Bimol Akoijam on Saturday asked the Central government to take responsibility for the deaths and destruction that occurred in the state which has been in the grip of ethnic unrest for the past 16 months now. Akoijam, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Inner Manipur seat where he defeated BJP's Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh earlier this year, said that despite 60,000 security personnel deployed in the state since the ethnic violence broke out in May last year, the situation has not improved. The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an apex body of the Meitei community, on Friday called a "public emergency" and urged the people to remain indoors, claiming "the government failed to provide security to the common people". COCOMI coordinator Thokchom Somorendro, announcing the "public emergency" had said that all schools, colleges and educational institutions must be shut indefinitely till the "situation improves". Director General of Police, Manipur, Rajiv Singh earlier said that the state police are in touch with the Director General National Security Guard (NSG) and other experts to seek their support about the recent attacks on civilians by the militants using drones and sophisticated weapons. The Manipur Police chief said that the bombings using drones are a new development in Manipur and the Manipur Police has already through social media said that it has been escalated and the police are taking it very seriously. "I have personally spoken to everybody in Delhi. I have also spoken to DG NSG and his team. Other experts are coming in, and we have formed a high-level committee to look into the drone attack and related other issues," the DGP had said. Hand over unified command to state govt: Manipur CM urges Centre Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Beauty Stocks To Buy According to Short Sellers. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) stands against the other beauty stocks. The US beauty market, which is seeing major shifts in distribution and customer interaction, continues to be a key area of interest for stakeholders. Beautymatter CEO Kelly Kovack underlined that consumer-driven channels have replaced traditional distribution strategies, compelling companies to engage with customers wherever and whenever they're most comfortable. According to a report, the US beauty market is expected to grow to $114 billion by 2027. On the other hand, the prestige channel saw its third straight year of double-digit growth in 2023, rising by 14% to $31.7 billion, outpacing the mainstream market across make-up, skincare, hair, and fragrance, according to the February 2024 CEW conducted annual "Global Trend Report" virtual event. Luxury brands represent the fastest-growing segment, with sales surpassing $16 billion, although being smaller at 11% of the market. Bigelow Trading's Daina Nadler emphasized the value of multichannel distribution plans that are customized to a wide range of consumer buying preferences. According to John Cafarelli, CEO of Beautymatter, 87% of US beauty lovers prefer in-store shopping, and 80% of them frequent stores that specialize in beauty products. In-store shopping continues to be popular. In order to increase traffic and loyalty, Space NK's Noah Rosenblatt and H-E-B's Jeanne Tamayo stressed the significance of creating compelling retail spaces and solid brand-consumer relationships. In contrast, although offline retail in China is declining by 4%, e-commerce and social commerce, particularly Douyin, are growing at 9% and 57%, respectively, according to Nielsen IQ. China is a resilient beauty market, and despite all of the difficulties following the pandemic, it remains the world's second-largest beauty market, posing numerous challenges for international suppliers notes Vice President of Nielsen IQ Gautam Seth. He also points out that local companies are more successful because they employ local ingredients and have a strong cultural connection. Industry giants like Jina Lee of Urang and Kim Da Jeong of Lotte Department Store have stressed the importance of consumer knowledge about ingredients and product efficacy. The emphasis on diversity is also influencing the global beauty market, although many individuals continue to feel underrepresented in health and beauty advertisements as per Circana. Expectations from consumers about varied representation in terms of gender, color, age, ability, body size, and sexual orientation are at an all-time high. A general market and a multicultural market will not differ by 2044 due to the majority-minority population in the United States. According to a study by SeeMe Index and Circana, brands that are certified inclusive grow 1.5 times faster than brands that are not. Additionally, the likelihood of seeing individuals over 55 in these brands' advertisements who equally represent straight and homosexual partnerships is 2.5 times higher than that of less inclusive brands, which are 12 times more likely to just feature straight relationships. Looking ahead, the global beauty market is expected to generate retail sales of over $580 billion by 2027, with an annual growth rate of 6% per report. One area gaining attention and stimulating beauty business is the growing consumer interest in wellness within beauty. According to a survey on wellness trends in 2024, 82% of US consumers, 87% of Chinese consumers, and 73% of British consumers now rank wellness as a top or important priority in their daily lives. The Goop, one of the Most Successful Celebrity Beauty Companies in the World, philosophy is that "beauty is wellness and wellness is beauty. Beauty firms are entering this space. A massive beauty brand and the Stanford Institute on Longevity have teamed up to develop a new age-reversal technology-powered product. Methodology: We sifted through holdings of beauty ETFs and online rankings to form an initial list of 20 beauty stocks. Then we selected the 10 stocks that had the lowest percentage of their shares shorted. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of the lowest percentage of their shares shorted. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here) 5 High Quality Foundations for All Skin Types A close-up of a makeup artist carefully applying Makeup Products to an clients face. Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) % of shares shorted: 1.48% Leading the way in the global prestige beauty market, Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) offers top-selling brands like Aveda, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, M.A.C., La Mer, Jo Malone London, and Origins. The company participates in the skin care (51% of Q2 2024 sales), makeup (29%), fragrance (16%), and hair care (4%) categories. Boasting operations in over 150 countries, the beauty behemoth's revenue is split as follows: 30% comes from the Americas, 39% from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (including retail travel), and 31% from Asia-Pacific. Department shops, travel retailers, specialized multibrand beauty stores, brand-specific freestanding stores, online sales, salons and spas, and perfumeries are some of the channels by which the company distributes its products. EL, a top supplier of high-end beauty products, has maintained its preferred vendor status on both physical and digital platforms and strengthened its competitive position with market-leading brands in skin care, cosmetics, and fragrances. These characteristics, along with scale-based cost advantages, should promise a sustained competitive advantage that allows the company to generate excess returns for over two decades. Estee Lauder completed the 2024 fiscal year with mixed results while exceeding estimates for adjusted earnings and revenue. Despite a spike in sales of skincare products, the company faced declining demand in China and North America and declared that CEO Fabrizio Freda will resign at the conclusion of the 2025 fiscal year. Even though the recent reductions in Chinese and travel retail sales, D.A. Davidson analyst Linda Bolton Weiser kept a Buy rating on Estee Lauder with a $130 price target, noting a potential rebound from inventory concerns as well as positive long-term prospects. Weiser's target, which is based on a 40-times multiple of the projected $3.25 EPS for 2025, shows confidence in the company's future performance. The company has hedge fund sentiments of 47 in Q2 2024. Ken Griffin's Citadel Investment Group is the largest shareholder in the company, with 3,037,570 shares worth $323.20 million. Overall EL ranks 5th on our list of the best beauty stocks to buy according to short sellers. While we acknowledge the potential of EL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than EL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley and Jim Cramer Says NVIDIA Has Become A Wasteland. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. 54th GST Council Meeting Agenda: The GST Council on Monday is expected to deliberate on a host of issues, including taxation of insurance premiums, GoMs suggestions on rate rationalisation, and a status report on online gaming, sources said. Sources said the fitment committee, comprising Centre and state tax officials, will present a report on GST levied on life, health and reinsurance premiums and the revenue implications. The GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state ministers, will decide on whether to reduce the tax burden on health insurance from the current 18% or exempt certain categories of individuals, like senior citizens. The deliberations will also happen about the goods and services tax (GST) cut on life insurance premiums. Reduction of GST rates on Life and medical insurance Shivashish Karnani, Head of GST at Dewan P.N Chopra & Co., said, Despite being the worlds most populous country, India ranks among the lowest in terms of life and medical insurance coverage per capita. Also, the percentage of the Indian population with insurance coverage is substantially lower than that of many developed nations like the United Kingdom and the United States. The current GST rate on life and medical insurance premiums is 18% which further accelerates the affordability issue. Consequently, one of the key expectations from the 54th GST Council meeting is a reduction in tax rates or, ideally, the complete exemption of GST on life and health insurance premiums, Karnani highlighted. Karnani pointed out that while a complete exemption of GST on insurance premiums might lead to challenges for the insurance industry due to potential ITC reversals under Rules 42 and 43 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, the industry is hopeful that the 54th GST Council meeting will result in a significant reduction of the GST rate from 18% to a lower rate such as 5% or even 0.1%. This reduction would alleviate the tax burden on both insurers and policyholders, he added. In 2023-24, the Centre and states collected Rs 8,262.94 crore through GST on health insurance premiums, while Rs 1,484.36 crore was collected on account of GST on health reinsurance premiums. The issue of taxation on insurance premiums figured in Parliament discussions with opposition members demanding that health and life insurance premiums be exempt from GST. Even Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari wrote to Sitharaman on the issue. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her reply to the discussion on the Finance Bill had said 75% of the GST collected goes to states and opposition members should ask their state finance ministers to bring the proposal to the GST Council. West Bengal Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya had raised the issue in the meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on rate rationalisation last month and the matter was referred to the fitment committee for further data analysis. The GoM had opined against any tinkering with the four-tier GST slab of 5, 12, 18, and 28% for the time being. The panel, however, had asked the fitment committee to look into any scope for rationalisation of rates of goods and services. Regarding online gaming, Centre and state tax officers will present a status report before the GST Council. The report would include GST revenue collection from the online gaming sector before and after October 1, 2023. From October 1, 2023, entry-level bets placed on online gaming platforms and casinos were subject to 28% GST. Prior to that, many online gaming companies were not paying 28% GST, arguing that there were differential tax rates for games of skill and games of chance. The GST Council in its meeting in August 2023 had clarified that online gaming platforms were required to pay 28% tax and subsequently, Central GST law was amended to make the taxation provision clear. Offshore gaming platforms were also mandated to register with GST authorities and pay taxes, failing which the government would block those sites. The council had then decided that the taxation on the online gaming sector would be reviewed after six months of its implementation. Sources said the Council would deliberate on the status of taxation on the sector and any change in tax rates is unlikely. Besides, the Council is likely to be apprised about the ongoing drive against fake registration, the success of the drive and action taken against such entities. The total amount of suspected GST evasion would also be presented before the Council. The drive, from August 16, 2024, to October 15, 2024, is aimed at detecting suspicious/fake GSTINs and conducting requisite verification and further remedial action to weed out these fake billers. In the first drive between May 16, 2023 to July 15, 2023, against fake registration, 21,791 entities (11,392 pertaining to state tax jurisdiction and 10,399 pertaining to CBIC jurisdiction) having GST registration were discovered to be non-existent. An amount of Rs 24,010 crore (state Rs 8,805 crore + Centre Rs 15,205 crore) of suspected tax evasion was detected during the special drive. Also, the Council would approve notifications, including that of the amnesty scheme, announced in the last council meeting. The various amendments to GST law decided by the council in its previous meeting on June 22 were passed by Parliament last month vide Finance Act, 2024. The council in the June meeting took a host of taxpayer-friendly measures, including waiver of interest and penalty for demand notices issued in the first three years of GST 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 if the full tax demanded is paid by March 31, 2025. To reduce litigation, a monetary limit for tax officers, to file appeals before the GST Appellate Tribunal, the High Court and the Supreme Court was fixed at Rs 20 lakh, Rs 1 crore and Rs 2 crore, respectively, by the Council. It also recommended a reduction of the quantum of pre-deposit required to be paid by taxpayers for filing appeals under goods and services tax (GST). (With agency inputs) International Literacy Day, marked annually on September 8, is a UNESCO initiative that emphasises the importance of literacy as a fundamental human right and a matter of dignity. Since 1967, the day has served as a reminder of the global need to promote literacy and work towards building more literate and sustainable societies. It raises awareness about the essential role of literacy in empowering individuals and fostering societal development. International Literacy Day 2024: Theme The theme for International Literacy Day (ILD) 2024 is Promoting multilingual education: Literacy for mutual understanding and peace. According to UNESCO, this approach will harness the transformative potential of literacy to encourage mutual understanding, peace and social cohesion. International Literacy Day 2024: Quotes The roots of education are bitter, but the fruits are sweet. Aristotle Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school. Albert Einstein Upon the subject of education I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people may be engaged in. Abraham Lincoln Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence. Robert Frost They cannot stop me. I will get my education if it is in the home, school, or any place. Malala Yousafzai International Literacy Day 2024: Wishes Education is the door that opens, discovers, revives, and invents, a whole new world for you. Wishing you a happy International Literacy Day. The foundation of every society is its education, and so a key to a better society begins with literacy. Happy International Literacy Day! On this International Literacy Day, lets spread the importance of education among each and every human in the world. Let education drive you to your passion and motivate you for a better tomorrow. Happy International Literacy Day! The only way to bring about positive change is by educating everyone, irrespective of their caste and class. This International Literacy Day, take a pledge to do your bit. International Literacy Day 2024: How To Celebrate ILD2024 will be celebrated in-person and online at the local, regional, national and global levels. The global celebration will be held by UNESCO on September 9 and 10 in Yaounde, Cameroon. It will include a global conference and the award ceremony of the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes. Other than this, one can participate in discussions on the ongoing literacy issues. These discussions not only provide a chance to listen and learn about the challenges our world faces but also encourage critical thinking about potential solutions. In addition to that, students can also contribute to the betterment of society by donating books to public libraries, adoption centres, donation centres or any other places where individuals from diverse backgrounds can access these books. International Literacy Day 2024: History Literacy Day originated at the World Conference of Ministers of Education held in Tehran in 1965. However, it was in 1966 that UNESCO officially declared September 8 as International Literacy Day. At the time, the world was grappling with major challenges such as poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and inadequate healthcare. In 2015, the observance of this day became part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) program, highlighting the vital role of literacy in global development. International Literacy Day 2024: Significance As per UNESCO, literacy is the best cure, and it is the key to ensuring that every individual has the right to education. Each year, UNESCO highlights different aspects of literacy in a changing world through varied themes. This year, the organization focuses on addressing literacy challenges in multilingual contexts to promote lasting peace. It also explores solutions for improving policies, lifelong learning systems, governance, and practices. Furthermore, literacy is a key pillar of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly in Sustainable Development Goal 4. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Jammu on September 14 as part of his campaign efforts ahead of the upcoming 2024 Assembly Elections in Jammu and Kashmir. His visit is expected to attract a large turnout, with the Prime Minister addressing several key issues concerning the region. The visit comes at a critical time as the BJP ramps up its efforts to secure a strong foothold in the region for the upcoming elections. The Prime Ministers visit will be the third high-profile visit after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah to the region of Jammu and Kashmir ahead of Assembly polls. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is visiting Jammu on Sunday to address election rallies in Ramban and Banihal constituencies. Meanwhile, Home Minister Amit Shah was in the union territory on Friday and Saturday during which he released the BJPs manifesto for the elections. BJP Released Manifesto Amit Shah on Friday during his two-day visit to the UT released BJPs manifesto and made 25 promises to the people of the region. Among the 25 promises made by the party, the first included wiping out terrorism and separatism in the state, followed by prioritising and enhancing womens financial security and self-reliance. The saffron party promises to promote and develop the economy in Jammu-Kashmir and support existing businesses and small traders. Among several other promises, the BJP has assured to triple the old age, widow and disability pensions from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000, guaranteeing a life of dignity for the vulnerable groups. They have also ensured affordable healthcare for all by increasing the coverage of Ayushman Bharat Sehat Scheme by an additional Rs 2 lakhs from Rs 5 lakhs. Ahead of releasing the partys Sankalp Patra, Shah said, Article 370 is part of history and will never come back. The people of the country and the state respect the abrogation of Article 370. J&K Polls in 3 Phases The Assembly polls will be held in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1. This is the first election in the erstwhile state after its special status under Article 370 of the Constitution was revoked and it was bifurcated into two Union territories. CV Ananda Bose, the West Bengal governor, on Sunday directed Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to replace the police chief and summon an emergency cabinet meeting. The governor believes the state government is unable to handle the current law and order situation in the state. West Bengal and its capital, Kolkata, along with other major cities has been tense following protests demanding justice and accountability for the trainee doctor who was allegedly raped and murdered last month at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The protests demanding the culprits be nabbed has also rocked other states and state capitals. CV Ananda Bose has criticised the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in the state for its handling of the case. He is on record that the government cannot evade responsibility and remain silent on the disturbing developments in the state, he said. The governor stated that the state must operate according to the Constitution and rule of law. The ostrich-like attitude will not pay, and the state must address the public demand to remove the Police Commissioner of Kolkata, the governor said. People should feel that they can expect justice from the government. Now, the feeling is not there, he said at an event earlier this week. Meanwhile, people from all walks of life former students of several educational institutions, clay modellers, rickshaw pullers and junior doctors separately hit the streets of Kolkata on Sunday in continued protest over the rape and murder of a medic in a state-run hospital a month ago. Demanding the arrest of all culprits in the case, the mother of the post-graduate trainee whose body was found in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9 said she had one child and now all the protesting medics are her children. In south Kolkata, around 4,000 former students of over 40 schools, a large number of them women, walked a distance of 2 km demanding justice for the victim. (with inputs from PTI) Olympic wrestler Bajrang Punia, who joined the Congress, has received a threat message over WhatsApp warning him with dire consequences, police said on Sunday. Punia has filed a complaint at Bahalgarh police station in Sonipat. A police official said they received a complaint from Punia after which they launched an investigation. When asked that some reports say that in the threat message Punia was asked to quit Congress or be prepared to face dire consequences, Bahalgarh police station SHO Madan Singh said over the phone, The matter is under investigation Olympians Punia and Vinesh Phogat entered the political arena on Friday by joining the Congress. The party later fielded Phogat from Julana seat for the Haryana Assembly polls while Punia was appointed as working chairman of All India Kisan Congress. Punia won bronze in the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Polling for 90 seats in Haryana will be held on October 5 and the votes counted on October 8. A young man, who recently returned after travelling to a country witnessing an Mpox (monkeypox) outbreak, was identified as a suspect case, a first in India. The individual is symptomatic but stable and his samples have been taken to confirm the presence of the virus. Authorities have also launched contact tracing and are managing the case in line with established protocols. Using contact tracing, authorities are trying to identify potential sources and assess the impact within the country. This case aligns with the earlier risk assessment by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). The officials said there is no cause of alarm and added that the country is well-prepared to handle isolated travel-related cases. They said that robust measures are in place to manage and mitigate any potential risk. What Is Mpox? How Does It Spread? Mpox is caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact. Sometimes deadly, it causes fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions. The World Health Organization declared an international emergency on August 14, concerned by the surge in cases of the new Clade 1b strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that spread to nearby countries. A vaccination campaign against mpox in Congo will begin on October 2. The 2022 epidemic was caused by Clade 2 which is still circulating in many countries, including in the West. But the epidemic in the DRC is caused by the Clade 1 strain, and the situation is becoming more complicated with the appearance of a new version of this subgroup, variant 1b. The danger and level of contagion of the variant are difficult to assess. The WHO said cases due to Clade 1b have increased rapidly but relatively few deaths have been reported. Formerly called monkeypox, the virus was discovered in 1958 in Denmark in monkeys kept for research. It was first discovered in humans in 1970 in Zaire, the previous name of DRC. In a tragic incident, a Ganesh mandal worker was killed and another was severely injured after a speeding BMW car allegedly hit them during Ganeshotsav preparations in Mumbais Mulund on Saturday morning. Two workers Pritam Thorat and Prasad Patil, of the Mulund Cha Raja Ganesh Mandal were putting up banners near the Aakruti Tower in Gavanpada area when a speeding BMW hit and ran over them, news agency ANI reported. Two workers of Mulund Cha Raja Ganpati Mandal were hit by a speeding car, one died, and one is in critical condition. The incident happened at 4 am. Police have registered a case, the police said in a statement. According to witnesses, the speeding BMW coming from Campus Hotel towards the Mulund East-West bridge and rammed into both of the volunteers. The driver did not stop to check on the victims and fled from the spot. One of the workers, Thorat succumbed to his injuries, while Prasad was severely injured and is currently receiving treatment at a nearby hospital. The Navghar Police registered a case against an unidentified person and launched an investigation into the matter. The police have arrested the accused identified as Shakti Alagh, a resident of Mulund (West). According to Indian Express, Alagh told the police that he was helping with festive preparations at a local Ganesh Mandal till 10 pm on Friday, before going home. The police official told the national daily that the accused could not fall asleep and decided to take his recently bought second-hand BMW for a test drive. It was while out on a drive that the incident took place. Fearing he would be beaten up, he fled from the spot and parked his car in his building. He took a bike and fled from there to Navi Mumbai. Eventually, we arrested him from Kharghar, the official added. Earlier, an 80-year-old woman was hit by a crane at Chembur Wests Chedda Nagar junction on Thursday. The driver fled the scene after the accident, leaving bystanders to call the police. Ganeshotsav 2024 At least 42,000 women performed aarti at the famous Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganesh Temple in Pune, Maharashtra, on Sunday, as the ten-day Ganesh Chaturthi festival, which began on September 7, continues. Devotees also thronged in large numbers to the Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesh Mandal in central Mumbai to take darshan of the deity. Many mandals have brought their Ganpati idols with grand processions over the last two or three days. The ten-day festival commenced on Ganesh Chaturthi on September 7 and would end on September 17 on the occasion of Ananta Chaturdashi. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said India is ready to start dialogue with Pakistan if it stops terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, while addressing a rally in pollbound Jammu and Kashmirs Ramban district, said that India remains ready to start dialogue with Pakistan if it stops sponsoring terror in the Valley. #WATCH | Banihal, J&K: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh says, We will not accept terrorist activities under any circumstances. Some people talk about negotiating with Pakistan. I say Pakistan should do one thing, stop resorting to terrorism. Who would not want better relations pic.twitter.com/v63TtZGldC ANI (@ANI) September 8, 2024 Pakistan (should) do one thing that is stop taking (the) support of terrorism. Who would not like to improve relations with neighbouring countries? Because I know the reality that you can change a friend but not your neighbour. We want improved relations with Pakistan but first of all they should stop terrorism, Singh told a well-attended gathering here. Singh was campaigning for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Mohd Saleem Bhat. The defence minister said Article 370 of the Constitution that granted special status to J-K was revoked to end the misery of the people and make the region prosperous. He said when Pakistan stops sponsoring terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, India will start dialogue with them. He also said that many Kashmiri Muslims lost their lives due to terrorism in the valley. Among those who fell to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, 85 percent were Muslims. Terror incidents used to be a routine affair in Kashmir. Were Hindus being killed in the terror acts? I have been a home minister and I know the highest number of Muslims lost their lives in the incidents of terror, Singh said. Rajnath Invites PoK Residents To Join India Rajnath Singh also said that residents of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) are Indias own and said that Pakistan treats them as foreigners. I want to tell PoK residents that Pakistan considers you foreigners, but the people in India do not consider you so. We consider you our own and so come and join us, he said. Support the BJP to form the next government in J-K so that we can facilitate massive development in the region. There will be so much development that the people in PoK on seeing this should say that we do not want to live with Pakistan and instead will go to India, the defence minister said, while addressing an election rally in the Ramban assembly constituency in support of BJP candidate Rakesh Singh Thakur. He asserted there is a sea change in the overall security situation in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. He said that recently an affidavit was filed by Pakistans additional solicitor general in the neighbouring country stating that PoK is a foreign land. The parents of the junior doctor who was allegedly raped and murdered last month in Kolkatas RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on Sunday accused the police of removing the evidence. Police have tried to remove evidence from the very first Police never cooperated. If they would have helped us then we could have justice, the father of the trainee doctor said. The murder and rape of the junior doctor inside a seminar hall of the state-run hospital sparked nationwide protests. The medics body with severe injury marks was found inside the seminar hall of the hospitals chest department on August 9. A civic volunteer was arrested by the Kolkata Police in connection with the case the following day. My daughter has wanted to become a doctor since early childhood. When she was calling out for me in her final moments, we could not help, the mother of the trainee doctor said. We have confidence in the CBI and hope to receive justice tomorrow, the trainee doctor said. The parents of the doctor have highlighted on several occasions that they believe that there is something bigger at play and have expressed their dissatisfaction over how the state police handled the case. They last month also expressed their disapproval over how chief minister Mamata Banerjee handled the case. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday the case related to the murder and alleged rape of a junior doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. According to the cause list uploaded on the apex courts website, a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra is slated to hear on September 9 the case, which was initiated by the top court on its own. We recently compiled a list of the 10 Worst ARK Stocks To Buy According To Short Sellers. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE:ACHR) stands against the other ARK stocks. Investing comes in all sizes and flavors. For the risk averse investors that are looking for steady payouts or long term stability, value and dividend paying stocks are the way to go. For others, that are looking for serious returns, growth stocks are preferred at the cost of higher risk. One hedge fund that takes a pure play aggressive growth stock investment approach is Cathie Wood's ARK Investment. Ark is known for investing in stocks that it believes are or will prove to be disruptive. This strategy has seen the firm's returns somewhat tailored to the broader economic and stock market environment. For instance, during the coronavirus pandemic when interest rates were at historic lows and internet stocks were booming, Ark Investment returned 20% in 2020. This led to Wood giving an interview with Bloomberg where she stressed that her firm kept a multi year investment horizon in mind when buying stocks. She also shared that Ark's investment approach was thematic in nature, and as opposed to big tech stocks that had reaped most of their returns already, the hedge fund was focusing on sectors that it believed held the most promising futures. Some of the sectors that were on her mind were DNA companies, robotics, blockchain, energy storage, and everyone's favorite, artificial intelligence. While we'll get to the other end of Wood's returns being tailored to the economy or the broader stock market, artificial intelligence brings another controversial decision that her firm has made to our mind. This was when her firm decided to completely exit Wall Street's favorite artificial intelligence stock, which ranks 14th on our list of Morgan Stanleys Highest Conviction Stocks: Top 20 Stocks To Buy and is a multi trillion dollar firm known for its AI GPUs. What do Wood and this stock have in common? Well, her fund cut its stake in the firm by 63% in Q4 2022. Back then, the shares were trading at a post split valuation of $14.61 or at $146 pre split. By June 2024, the stock had soared to $1,131 (pre split) meaning that Ark had missed out on a whopping $854 million in gains. Commenting on her decision later on, she shared that "we also redeployed a, a good chunk of" the proceeds from the stock sales, "certainly at the later stage of our selling" into the fast growth stock that's ranked 6th in our list of the 10 Best Fast Growth Stocks To Buy Now. This stock "last year was actually up more" than the GPU company, said Wood, adding that if the GPU stock is "to continue working, we must see this pull through into more of the tech stack. Otherwise, we have some productivity tools and, uh, assistants, that are working at the periphery of organizations but are not getting at, uh, what Dario, the CEO of Anthropic, calls the central part of organizations." Story continues As to buying the shares again, Wood hasn't ruled out buying it back again, she will only make such a decision "if there were a significant price correction around, around, let's say around an inventory" correction. The investor then shared examples of historic inventory corrections especially when the cryptocurrency market underwent this correction and a glut led to the stock dropping by "two thirds in one quarter." Cycling back, the stock market's recent performance has also made an impact on Wood's portfolio. Looking at the performance of her top ten stock picks during Q4 2020 and analyzing their gains or losses by the close of Q1 2024, only four stocks remained in her portfolio. By the close of H1 2024, these stocks were all in the red. The worst performer amongst them had lost 86% since the start of 2021, while the others' losses ranged between 73% to 39%. If you're hoping that the stocks that were eliminated might have fared better, you'd be wrong. Not only are all six in the red, but several have lost more than 80% while one has been delisted from the NASDAQ exchange. This performance would seem to imply that Wood has lost her stock picking mojo. However, this clearly isn't the case. With the second quarter of 2024 hedge fund filings out, we can see which Cathie Wood stocks have done well and which have faltered. Analyzing the year to date performance of the top ten Cathie Wood stocks shows that six are in the green. This is noticeably better than how her fourth quarter of 2020 stocks have fared since then. These stocks' performance ranges between 2.21% to 81.42%, with the top three performers up by 46.91%, 64.19%, and 81.42%, respectively. In the same order, these firms belong to software, financial markets, and data analysis industries and they rank 8th, 6th, and 9th in Cathie Wood's Q2 2024 investment portfolio. Before we head to our list of the worst Ark stocks to buy when considering short seller sentiment, it's also important to understand the rationale behind the fund's picking strategy. In its annual research report, the fund is still bullish on disruptive innovation. It believes that returns generated by firms that are part of this trend could exceed 40% on an annualized basis during the next seven years for a final market cap of $220 trillion. Ark also believes that AI training costs could drop by 75% per year by 2030, and the market for generalizable, or humanoid, robots could cross $24 trillion in annual revenue. Morgan Stanley seems to agree, and you can read more by checking out $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley. Our Methodology To make our list of the worst Ark stocks to buy according to short sellers, we ranked 120 stocks out of the 180 present in Ark Invest's Q2 2024 SEC filings by the percentage of shares outstanding that were sold short and selected the stocks with the highest percentage. For these stocks, we also mentioned the number of hedge fund investors. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletters strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here). A technician assembling an electric aircraft, highlighting the company's manufacturing capabilities. Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE:ACHR) Short Interest as % of Shares Outstanding: 18.41% Number of Hedge Fund Investors In Q2 2024: 21 Ark Invest's Q2 2024 Stake: $89.6 million Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE:ACHR) is one of the few companies in the world that is developing electric vertical take off and landing aircraft, or EVTOLs. This makes it a high risk, high reward firm as potential successes in the business can unlock a sizeable market while failures, which are likely due to regulatory requirements and technological complexity, can be more costly. This makes it unsurprising that 18.4% of Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE:ACHR)'s outstanding shares have been sold short. The firm's key product is its Midnight aircraft, and right now, the airplane is working towards the crucial type certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Key strengths for Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE:ACHR) are its industry partnerships, which include big ticket names such as Stellantis and Boeing as well as a $6 billion backlog which includes orders for Midnight. Therefore, Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE:ACHR) has to ensure it remains well funded to produce its aircraft once they are certified by the FAA. Any weakness on these fronts could translate into significant headwinds. Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE:ACHR)'s management shared details for its air carrier network planning during the Q2 2024 earnings call: "Its not enough to just build our order book. We also need to lay the foundation for where these aircraft will fly. Earlier this quarter, we showcased a detailed plan for our air taxi network in the San Francisco Bay Area. This network predominantly leveraged relationships weve built with existing aviation infrastructure operators across Silicon Valley, Napa, and the East Bay, including our partners Signature Aviation and Atlantic Aviation. In addition, we revealed our plans with Kilroy Realty for the [indiscernible] vertiport in the heart of South San Francisco, near some of San Franciscos largest tech companies, including Genentech and Stripe. We also announced plans to develop operational concepts for a joint air taxi network with Southwest Airlines, Californias largest air carrier by passenger and flight volume, operating at 14 airports across the state. By combining Southwest California airport hubs and frequent interstate flights with Archers planned network, the goal is to offer Southwest passengers even faster door-to-door journeys. Routes like Santa Monica to Napa could take less than three hours, nearly half of what they can take today. Today, we unveiled our plans for our air taxi network in Los Angeles. LA commuters spend over 100 hours every year stuck in traffic, and thats not counting the drives they decide to skip because they didnt want to spend the time in traffic. This planned network includes takeoff and landing locations at Los Angeles International Airport, USC, Orange County, Santa Monica, Hollywood Burbank, Long Beach, and Van Nuys, alongside our partners Signature and Atlantic Aviation, as well as United and Southwest Airlines." Overall ACHR ranks 6th on our list of the worst ARK stocks to buy according to short sellers. While we acknowledge the potential of ACHR as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ACHR but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley and Jim Cramer Says NVIDIA Has Become A Wasteland. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is investigating the rape and murder of a doctor and alleged financial irregularities at Kolkatas RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, told a special court that the ex-principal of the college, Dr Sandip Ghosh, corrupted the process for the recruitment of medical house staff at the hospital and made appointments without following the norms. The central agency further accused him of granting the hospitals contracts to his close one, violating the rules. The CBI made the abovementioned submissions before the special court in Alipore on September 3. News18 accessed the remand copy of CBI which has made certain revelations. The preliminary scrutiny has made the agency add Section 120 B, 420, 467,409 in the FIR. It also mentioned that raids were carried out on August 25 and various documents were recovered which hints nexus of Sandip Ghosh with co-accused. Sandip Ghosh Corrupted Appointments: CBI CBI claimed that Sandip Ghosh knew Biplab Singh and Suman Hazra (Main vendors) of RG Kar from the time he was posted as HOD of Murshidabad college. Ghosh helped Biplab to get the tender. In fact, after Murshidabad wherever Ghosh was appointed, Biplab used to get tenders at his college. Suman, another vendor known to Biplab Singh, was also a part of this nexus. It was also mentioned that the investigation revealed that Biplab Singh, owner of Ma Tara traders, owned several companies in his name and his family members names and used to participate in tenders under various names. The CBI also told the court that the way Sandip Ghosh used to award tender to Biplab Singh was not transparent. The CBI also mentioned SK Afsar Ali, the personal assistant of Sandip Ghosh and alleged that he used to handle various activities of Ghosh. His wife Nargis Khanum got the contract of a cafe in RG Kar, named as Eshan Cafe which was inside the campus. Sandip Ghosh used to appoint house staff without adopting any transparent method. In 2022 and 2023, signatures of committee members were absent in the appointment of house staff. During the investigation, it came to light that Dr Ghosh was involved in the siphoning of funds by managing tenders. It was also revealed that he used to divert academic funds to his close aide contractors. Sandip Ghosh Under Radar After Sandip Ghosh took over as the RG Kar principal, he was transferred to a medical college in Murshidabad in September 2023. He returned to RG Kar Medical College within a month and continued until the August 9 incident of rape and murder. He then resigned on August 12 following the outrage over the trainee doctors rape and murder. Notably, the ex-principal of the RG Kar College came under the radar of the agency after he was immediately posted at the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital following his resignation. However, a day after his appointment, the Calcutta High Court on the next day stepped in and made him go on leave. He was later suspended after CBI arrested him. Grandparents Day is a heartwarming occasion dedicated to celebrating the invaluable contributions grandparents make in our lives. Observed annually on September 8 across various parts of the world, its a day to express gratitude for their unwavering love, timeless wisdom, and the many ways they nurture and guide us through life. This special day encourages families to come together and honour the bonds shared with their grandparents, recognising their vital role in shaping future generations. Grandparents Day History Grandparents Day was first officially recognised in the United States in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter, following a proposal from Marian McQuade, a housewife from West Virginia. McQuade aimed to honour the contributions of grandparents and strengthen family connections by emphasising their role in passing down knowledge, wisdom and traditions to younger generations. She also hoped that recognising grandparents would help bridge generational gaps and promote learning from elders. Grandparents Day Significance Grandparents Day is celebrated annually to honour and appreciate the essential role grandparents play within families. The day emphasises the importance of strengthening intergenerational bonds and recognising grandparents as custodians of family history, culture and values. Their wisdom and experience are invaluable in passing down knowledge, fostering connections and preserving traditions across generations. Grandparents Day Wishes Happy Grandparents Day! Your love, wisdom, and guidance have shaped my life in so many ways. Thank you for always being there with open arms and a heart full of love. Wishing you a wonderful Grandparents Day! Your stories, laughter, and endless love mean the world to me. Im so grateful for all the beautiful moments weve shared. On this special day, we celebrate you and all the wonderful moments weve shared. Happy Grandparents Day! To my incredible grandparents, your love has been a guiding light in my life. Wishing you a day full of happiness and love. May this Grandparents Day bring you all the joy and love youve given to us. Youre simply the best! Grandparents Day Messages To the most amazing grandparents, thank you for filling my life with laughter, love, and unforgettable memories. Wishing you a day as special as you are to me. Grandparents are a familys greatest blessing, and Im lucky to have the best! Thank you for always being there for me. I hope today is filled with love, smiles, and happiness. You are the heart of our family and the glue that keeps us all together. Thank you for your endless love, wisdom, and strength. Happy Grandparents Day! Every story, hug, and word of encouragement from you has shaped me into who I am today. I love you more than words can say. Happy Grandparents Day! Grandparents like you are rare and precious. Thank you for all the life lessons, warm hugs, and beautiful memories. I hope you know how loved and appreciated you are today and always. Grandparents Day Quotes Grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation. Lois Wyse Grandparents, like heroes, are as necessary to a childs growth as vitamins. Joyce Allston Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children. Alex Haley The simplest toy, one which even the youngest child can operate, is called a grandparent.Sam Levenson Grandparents are there to help the child get into mischief they havent thought of yet.Gene Perret Grandparents Day: How To Celebrate Allu Arjun and his family celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi and welcomed Bappa home. The actors wife Sneha shared photos from the celebration on social media. It has gone viral and fans are reacting to it. Allu Arjun is currently grabbing headlines for his next release Pushpa 2. The film also stars Rashmika Mandanna. Taking to her social handle, Sneha Reddy shared photos in which Allu Arjun is seen joining the celebration with his children. His daughter is also super excited to welcome Bappa. May Lord Ganesha fill your home with joy, peace and prosperity.Happy Ganesh Chaturthi! read the caption here. Fans also reacted. One of the fans wrote, Just look at these cuties you already have my heart. Another wrote, Cutest picture vadhina. Take a look here: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Allu Sneha Reddy (@allusnehareddy) Allu Arjun recently made a special appearance at the pre-release event of Maruthi Nagar Subramanyam, where he addressed ongoing rumours about the much-anticipated Pushpa 2: The Rule. The Telugu superstar put an end to speculation that the films release might be postponed to 2025, confidently confirming that Pushpa 2 is set to hit theatres on December 6, 2024. Addressing his fans, famously known as the Allu Army, Arjun acknowledged the nervousness he feels when discussing his films before their release. However, he assured them that Pushpa 2 is shaping up to be a massive success. He encouraged his fans to walk into theatres with Pushpa Rajs signature shoulder slap, infused with his own confidence, promising that the sequel would not disappoint. After confirming the release on stage, the actor declared, Assalu Thaggedhe Le, which is a Telugu phrase that roughly translates to I wont back down at all in English and Main kabhi nahi jhukega in Hindi. This phrase gained popularity after it was used by Allu Arjuns character in the movie Pushpa: The Rise. Pushpa 2: The Rule has been one of the most anticipated films in Indian cinema, especially after the blockbuster success of the first installment. The film was originally slated for an August 15, 2024 release, but production delays led to its new December release date. Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh have welcomed their first child, a beautiful baby girl. The ecstatic couple is yet take to social media to share the big news with their fans, expressing their overwhelming happiness and gratitude for this new chapter in their lives. Both Deepika and Ranveer, who have been vocal about their excitement for parenthood, are over the moon with the arrival of their little one. As per reports, Deepika Padukone delivered the baby girl on Sunday. Before the big moment, the duo was spotted arriving at a Mumbai hospital in their luxury car, where paparazzi were quick to trace them ahead of the delivery. Fans had been buzzing with anticipation ever since, eagerly awaiting the announcement of the couples bundle of joy. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Viral Bhayani (@viralbhayani) Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh are yet to decide on a name for their baby girl. Meanwhile, the proud parents-to-be also visited Shri Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai last week to seek blessings ahead of the birth, gearing up for this life-changing moment. As news spreads, friends, family, and fans have poured in their warm wishes and congratulations for Deepika and Ranveer as they step into this exciting new role as parents. The Bollywood power couples joy is palpable, and their fans couldnt be happier for them! Last week, pregnant Deepika Padukone took to Instagram to put an end to ongoing speculation and criticism about her pregnancy. She shared a breathtaking maternity shoot that captivated fans. Despite facing trolling and shaming for months, with accusations of a fake baby bump and claims of its changing shape, Deepika put an end to all the rumours with a stunning series of photos. In the photos, she posed with her husband, actor Ranveer Singh, who gently cradled her baby bump. Deepika Padukones maternity shoot is a stunning celebration of a special chapter in her life. The most intimate of the series featured Deepika in yet another black dress, posing with husband Ranveer Singh, as he gently cradles her baby bump. Deepika Padukone will be taking a maternity break and will be next seen in Singham Again. Before Kangana Ranauts film Emergency faced release delays due to controversy, it was approved for a UA certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) with the condition of three edits and providing factual sources for some historical quotes. These included statements by US President Richard Nixon about Indian women and Winston Churchills comment on Indians breeding like rabbits, as reported by The Sunday Express. A UA rating means the film is suitable for viewing with parental guidance. The film was submitted for certification on July 8, and by August 8, weeks before Sikh groups called for a ban, the CBFC had listed 10 changes needed for approval. The committee asked the filmmakers to remove or change certain scenes, like one showing a soldier hitting an infants head and another of three women being beheaded during an attack on Bangladeshi refugees. They also requested that an expletive shouted by a crowd after a leaders death be replaced and that a familys surname in a line be changed. The CBFC also requested sources for all research, statistics, and details about Bangladeshi refugees, court rulings, and permission to use archival footage from Operation Bluestar. Last Friday, Ranaut took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to announce that the release of Emergency has been owing delayed pending CBFC certification. With a heavy heart, I announce that my directorial Emergency has been postponed. We are still waiting for the certification from the censor board. The new release date will be announced soon. Thanks for your understanding and patience, Kangana had posted on X. Kangana Ranaut is not just playing the lead in Emergency but is also directing it. Besides Kangana, the film also stars Anupam Kher, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry and Shreyas Talpade among others. While Shreyas Talpade will be seen playing the role of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Anupam Kher will be seen as Jayaprakash Narayan. Late actor Satish Kaushik will also be seen as Former Deputy Prime Minister of India, Jagjivan Ram. However, the film has been facing boycotts and ban calls. Several Sikh organisations have accused the film of presenting the community in the wrong light. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and the Akhal Takht have also demanded an immediate ban on the film, claiming it tries to character assassinate Sikhs by creating a narrative against them. Politics is winning over culture. Its a peeve. It is a strange peeve to have. It comes up essentially during a year marked by a bitterly fought and long election when the sense of Hindu unity, which 10 years ago might have seemed too distant a phenomenon in Indias cultural prism was within reach by January, but eluded its sole conscious purpose by May. It is the year of politics telling culture that a temple built after five centuries is not enough to unite. It is the year when Hindus in another country outside India have discovered deceitful dimensions of a culture they were served by politics and were complying with for survival. It is also the year when politics is hollering at Indic culture, compelling it to buy and believe the idea that it has to break the cast of Hindu identity and see itself in and as caste. The good has failed to unite. The bad has failed to unite. But, unite we must. If this doesnt unite Hindus, then what will it is a question that unfolds and ripples itself on social media narrative like a Mexican wave at a stadium every time the sport of politics shuffles up green and red cards. The answer to this question: combining the utsavs and the finest devotional music dedicated to Ganesha, in the twin abode of Carnatic music, the kritis of Swami Tayagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri, as well as Hindustani music. The answer is: Guru Adi Shankaracharyas Pancharatnam stotra. The mutating power of a mass movement based on Ganeshotsavs pan-India propagation through Indian classical music has remained an idea as distant to politics as unity has to the Hindu cause. It must arrive, and arrive before it is too late. Great classical compositions identifiable with Ganesha devotion For more than seven decades after Independence, politics has failed to build over the existing movement called Ganeshotsav a bastion of the kritis, swarjatis and bhajans of the greatest composers preserved in the ragas. These have the power to flip both. They have become identifiable with Ganesha and devotion to Hindu deity. They can bend latitudes and leap across longitudes. They can elevate the masses. They can raise the quality of acceptance in the broad acceptance of music by Indian masses. They can rejuvenate Ganesh pandals. They can unite like none other. Simply because they are the timeless matter that cements each brick of each and every temple and temple life, and because Ganeshas is the only mass utsav emerging from politics. Ragas such as Gowla, Begada, Kedar, Bageshri, Hamsadhwani, Kankangi, Shankarabharanam among others have provided the different hues to the performance of the compositions. They drape the monumental absolutes in creation in devotion to Ganesha. With unifying and unity as goals, Ganesha Pancharatnam stotra composed by Adi Shankaracharya and its musicality should have travelled across Bharat on the timeless vehicle of the Ganeshotsav at least in the last 10 years. Tyagarajas Sri Gananatham and raga Kankangi residing in it, need a pilgrimage led by artistes Ranjani and Gayatri for the masses across this sacred land. Pandit Venkatesh Kumars rendition of Gajamukhane Siddhidayakane should have travelled from the geography he belongs, to the musical geography celebrated in his art and cover miles beyond toward the Northeast. Each of these compositions is a creative miracle made possible in Ganesha-bhakti. Pandit Kishan Maharaj composing the Ganesh Paran and a sculpture of Ganesha is a creative miracle. Pandit Birju Maharaj offering the Ganesh Paran as an ahavahan an invocation in a ritualistic beginning to his performance is miracle. Keeping the classics away from the masses is by design and construct, intellectual snobbery. Activist-musicians who bleat music has no barriers themselves would mind the finest devotional music coming from temples. Building national integration in a tribute to the creative purpose of devotee artistes isnt a thing meant for 1980s Doordarshan or the responsibility of Ganpati pandals in Maharashtra. It is a landmark event waiting happen during Ganeshotsav and galvanise a sense of temple-life and utsav-based unity. Somehow, politics is unable to grasp the issue. The reason perhaps is that politics, in its toxic demeanour, responses and riders, is eroding the very basis on which culture prospers, resists attacks on itself, and proclaims the synthesis of those who sincerely preserve and propagate it. Another possible answer is that the idea of unity, too, is largely political in countenance. While there are aspects of culture that will help the idea of political unity, politics itself is failing at sculpting unity through culture. More importantly, today, the byproducts of politics are failing to think creation unlike the times of and unlike Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Politicians today are seemingly failing at creating potent cultural patronage around Ganeshotsav. The importance of dhol tasha pathaks On Ganesh Chaturthi, a brilliant, reassuring and relieving news this year is about Shikhandi Maharashtras first dhol tasha pathak with transgender members, making its debut in Pune. Members of the transgender community from Shikhandi told the media that the propelling factor behind the pathak was to elevate their own communitys pride by doing something meaningful. Reports state that the pathak will perform at some prominent pandals in Pune. This development is in complete alignment with the vision of Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, who told this author in 2017: We, the Hindus, are a society where members of the third gender have the status of demigod. Today, I feel that we need to go back to our roots. Tripathi describes kinnaras as mangala mukhi (bearing mouths, words and presence auspicious). This is exciting news for the following reasons. First, a tradition started in 1893 for dharma and rashtra has seen inclusion building up in the mass celebration of Ganesha and Ganeshotsav on real terms and, on Indic terms. Second, the transgender community has literally created this opportunity on its own with some help from another pathak. This is a double victory for the Hindu cause and the celebration of Ganesha and is bound to encourage kinnaras in other cities. Third, dhol tasha pathaks, since the rejuvenation of the Kedarnath temple (in Rudraprayag), the building of the Mahakal Mahalok (in Ujjain) and the building of the Ram Mandir (in Ayodhya), have helped spread the laya-nuances and the music preserved in the dhol tasha pathaks of Maharashtra, in other states. Dhol tasha pathaks from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have become synonymous with Ganeshotsav. So, any addition or expansion to their music-repertoire is an offering to Ganesha and a win for musical expression associated with the utsav. Fourth, unity, unity and unity whether in caste diversity or in gender participation. Fifth, auspices, utsavs and devotee-strength play a massive role in demolishing the colonial and colonial remnants in culture and politics. Transgenders creating their own inclusion in participation through tradition and traditional music, is an inflection point. Last but not the least, many instruments featured in dhol tasha pathaks are representations of musical instruments, laya and taal as associated with Shiva and Ganesha. Transgenders using those to mark Ganeshotsav is a new chapter in cultural assertion. It is solid social accomplishment in music. Dhol tasha pathaks may not be counted as the finest and the most subliminal expressions of devotional music, but their political continuity, mass propagation and cultural patronage have contributed to the creation and protection of the finest expressions. Underestimated are the blessings of cultural assertion that are focused on Ganesha and his many names. In Indian music traditions, the inner being of the devotee-artiste presents music as a ritualistic offering. Each offering counts. Each offering secures the dominance of divine love as the soul of Indian music. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is aiming for the celebration of a developed India in 2047. However, there is a landmark anniversary in 2043. India will celebrate 150 years of the Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. In 1893, Lokmanya as the people of the leader was rightly titled ignited a mass celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi that would mutate as a cultural movement in itself over the next century and beyond. Barely 36 years after the Revolt of 1857 the first war of Indian Independence the launching of the mass celebration of Ganeshotsav was done with the sole purpose of uniting and mobilising Hindus against British rule. The bleeding of Hindu symbolism, devotional fervour, the ritualistic and performative, into the political was done to suffuse the struggle for freedom with the strength of numbers and emotion. As a political leader, Lokmanya was not only able to recognise the strength in mass celebrations offered to Ganesha, but could also use the potency of the devotees response to a political cause in a cultural outpouring of pride and resistance. While leaders who won us freedom from the colonial shackles cannot be retrieved from the pages of history, their vision can be used as inspiration or simply replicated for a geographical expansion of the mass utsav of Ganesha. The difference: back in 1893, Lokmanyas idea was rooted in bringing the celebration of Ganesha from homes to the public and streets and, this time, it would be from home-base Maharashtra and parts of Madhya Pradesh, to other states. The devotee-artiste in Indian music, and devotional music for Ganeshotsav The greatest medium and means to a redux would be Hindustani and Carnatic music and renditions to Ganesha. Many hesitate to acknowledge a facet of Indian music or do not want to identify for political reasons. It is: the greatest composers and luminous maestros who have performed those precious compositions, are themselves ardent devotees. Their first response to the deity through their art is that of darshan the glance and glimpse of the sacred. Their art itself is worship and becomes an act in worship. Every aspect of performance is poured out in trickles and flowing volumes to the deitys feet. Kathak maestro Pandit Deepak Maharaj told this writer: Pandit Birju Maharaj made us aware that any offering made to Ganesha in Kathak would be in a simple offering, in the form of worship, invocation, and would not be ostentatious. It had to be in harmony with the chhavi of Ganesha, his demeanour, his stance. He is not Krishna. In her singing of Vinayagar Agaval, where descriptions of Ganeshas divinity meet sacred poetry, MS Subbulakshmi delivers a contemplative yet serene exploration of poet-saint Avvaiyars devotional poetry dedicated to the deity. As her voice beads in each word in the song for Ganesha in absorbed introspection, the listener gets to experience a twinning of purpose, which is, the entwining of the vocalists own tribute to the work as well as her sacred offering to Ganesha. The oceanic expanse of the charanam in Muthuswami Dikshitars immersive offering to Ganesha Shri Mahaganapati Ravatu wont have reached us without Subbulakshmis willing surrender to the swaras Ri (Re), Pa and Sa. There is duality in the offering of the singularity inherent in devotion. It comes to the devotee-artiste once in a century. Devotion creates its own destiny in art. Well-known composers from Karanataka, Professor H Yoganarasimham and Subbulakshmi, were destined to live in the same century. His composition Ekadantam Upasmahe would be known for the ages for the endearing quality it celebrates in the Pallavi. In the Pallavi, Yoganarasimhams philosophical juxtaposition of the words Ekadantam (as Ganesha is described), Ankedantam (Ganesha as the giver of many aspects) and Parvatisutam (Parvatis son) reveals the measured spontaneity when composing for Ganesha. Today, Hamsadhvani is a widely performed raga but if one was to pick one composition where it takes its complete form in a non-pompous, pristine, simple, avatar, it has to be Subbulakshmis singing of Ramalinga Swamys composition Kalai Nirai Ganapati. The raga sees its tender character sprawling across the refrain of Charanam Sharanam. The worship-verve in the composition flows out like a gentle spring over the whetted edges of technique in singing of the phrase Charanam Sharanam. The transition from the ritualistic element in her singing of Ganesh Pancharatnam, Vinayakar Avagal and Sri Managanapti to the ceremonious ebullience and roundedness felt in her offering of Vathapi Ganapatim and Mudhakaratha Mokadakam, give a close view of human dimensions that musicians encounter in their own understanding of the relatable, the worldly, the transcendent, the conscious and beyond conscious. To Pandit Jasraj belonged the creation of a raga-dominated oeuvre in the celebrating of Ganesha. His was the unrestrained language of grandeur the bhavya and divya. If he was assigned the task of celebrating the Ganesh Sahasranama, the names would rush towards him, wanting to be draped and addressed in a raga by him. But, that alone was not his strength. Pandit Jasraj the master of moulding ragas into a familial bond with the subject. A case in point is a composition set to Raag Kedar where Ganesha is addressed as Suta Mahesh the son of Shiva. The magnificent calibre of this captivating composition resides in the choice of a raga. It is popularly picked for celebrating Shiva. Ganesha as the recipient of devotion through a raga assigned (in the performative aspect) to his father, firms up the familial bond between the father and son. Here, Kedar gets transposed not as musical allegiance between father and son but appears almost like it has been passed over as inheritance. The heady sweetness in Pandit Jasrajs singing of the antara (stanza) in Ganeshas praise is overwhelming and overbearing at times in this composition if left to him alone. The refrain of Charanam Sharanam is that of the composer and the vocalist who is presenting that composition in the moments that make that the glance from the devotee to the deity and from the deity to the devotee go on to sculpt the musical offering and gradually the body of work of the artiste. In Ganesha Sahasranama, Ganesha himself is naad. Ganesha himself is laya. The transcendental terrains between naad, Brahma, srishti, sitithi and laya are a subject of deep musical explorations that are impossible to achieve even in the paint and brush of expression. Yet, musicians and vocalists from Carnatic and Hindustani tradition have charted through those creative spaces successfully. The practice of art through this guiding factor defines Carnatic music. This aspect inherent to Carnatic music has preserved the intrinsic beauty of the essence of devotee-composers darshan. The laborious journey of the greatest vocalists in preserving the devotional gives the magnificently distinct identity to Indian music as being naturally, proudly and essentially devotional. The artistes process to achieve the expression, form and technique to be able to offer her best in the art, itself is considered pilgrimage. Just as each pilgrimage poses its own challenges, gusty rivers, and mighty heights and depths to ponder and navigate through, the devotee-artistes journey through the ragas offered to the devas, brings its own quests. The devotee artistes performative ethos relies on considering art as a blessing and gift from Saraswati and Matangi. Devotion or lack of it will define journeys in music. The most vital is the journey to unity resting on the utsav for Gajakarna (the one with the ears of an elephant). It would be the only and the finest tribute to the creative purpose of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and the devotee musicians. (Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views) Rejecting reports that he was travelling to the United States of America to meet some top leaders there, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday clarified that it was purely a personal visit with the family. The DCM has also released to the media a letter that he wrote to AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, regarding his visit to the USA. I am travelling to the USA (from today) along with my family till September 15. The media reports that I am meeting former US President Barack Obama and US Vice-President Kamala Harris (who is also contesting upcoming Presidential polls there) are incorrect. It is a personal visit, he clarified in a press statement. As I have already informed (you), I will be proceeding to Washington on 8th September 2024 evening on a private visit and I will be back on 16th September 2024. This is for your kind information, Shivakumar said in the letter to Kharge. Regarding my upcoming visit to the United States of America, I would like to dispel the ongoing rumours- my visit is purely for personal reasons and is no way related to any political motive, nor is it due to any political invitation.I request everyone to kindly refrain from DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) September 8, 2024 Earlier in the day, Shivakumar speaking to reporters here said he will be abroad for a week on a personal visit. To a question about the agenda of his trip to the US and whether he will be meeting any big personalities there, he said, It is a personal family trip.(meeting) no one, Im going on a personal basis. Shivakumar also met Chief Minister Siddramaiah at his residence earlier in the day, official sources said. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wont be able to read Sharad Pawars mind even after 100 births and targeted Union minister Amit Shah, prompting a counter by BJPs Ashish Shelar. While Raut made jibes at Shah over his visit to Mumbais Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesh idol, Shelar demanded an apology from Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray alleging that the ex-chief minister had stopped public celebrations during the Ganesh festival citing COVID-19. Rauts remarks against Fadnavis came days after the deputy CM claimed that NCP (SP) Sharad Pawar had shortlisted three to four names for the CMs post ahead of the state elections, but Thackeray was not one of them. Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners Congerss, Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) have said that they would contest the Maharashtra polls, likely to be held in October or November, as one unit. Talking to reporters here, Raut said, In 2019, did Fadnavis know what Sharad Pawar was thinking and planning? Even if he is born 100 times, Fadnavis will fail to fathom what goes on in Sharad Pawars head. If there is any courage left with the ruling dispensation in the state, they should give a call for the election. Sharad Pawar was instrumental in the creation of MVA to keep the BJP, then the single-largest party, out of power after the 2019 state polls. Raut alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah orchestrated the splits in parties in Maharashtra and even within families leading these parties. The allegation has come in the wake of Deputy CM Ajit Pawars recent statement that society frowns upon people who break their families. Ajit Pawar made the statement during a rally in Gadchiroli, where he tried to discourage party leader and state minister Dharmarao Baba Aatrams daughter Bhagyashri from crossing over to the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP). Raut said, Who broke political parties and families (in Maharashtra)? Modi and Shah engineered splits in political parties and even in families. They (CM Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar) fell prey to it. They should admit they were threatened, pressured, or lured to defect from their parties. Be it the undivided Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray or Sharad Pawars NCP, both parties gave ample opportunities to Shinde and Ajit Pawar for many years, but they chose to defect, claimed the Rajya Sabha MP. He criticised Shah over Manipur, accusing him of neglecting the northeastern state, and his Mumbai visit. Despite the fresh attacks in Manipur and the continued suffering of women, the union home minister is here in Mumbai. He (Shah) should go to Manipur, Jammu and Kashmir. What business does he have in Mumbai? He should show courage to visit Manipur, the Sena (UBT) leader said. At least seven persons have been killed and more than 15 injured in incidents of violence in Manipur in the last five days. Referring to Shahs visit to Lalbaugcha Raja, Raut said, We need to take care as they might relocate Lalbaughcha Raja to Gujarat as they did with the major industrial projects, institutions and organisations Is it their plan to weaken Maharashtra and support those who plunder the state? This is not the work of the home minister but he does it. BJPs Mumbai chief and MLA Ashish Shelar responded to Rauts jibes. Shelar said Thackeray as the then CM broke the age-old tradition of public celebration of Ganesh festival during the COVID-19 outbreak. You were the one to separate Ganesha devotees from their beloved Bappa. Hence, Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut must apologise to Lalbaugcha Raja and all Ganesh devotees, he said. Asking Raut to stop publicly exhibiting his ignorance, the BJP leader said he had crossed all limits of decency by criticising Shah, who has been visiting Mumbai to seek the blessings of Lalbaughcha Raja even when he was not a Union minister. Shah was not even the BJP president when he would travel to Mumbai to seek Bappas darshan, said Shelar, calling Rauts relocation of Lalbaucha Raja comment ridiculous. Raut seems to have forgotten that during the tenure of Uddhav Thackeray as the chief minister, the over 125-year-old tradition of Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav was broken, he said. Devotees were not allowed to take the darshan of Lalbaugcha Raja, said the BJP leader. Today, you might have forgotten that it was Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and your Sena that had plotted to stop Ganesh mandals from celebrating this festival forever. People of Maharashtra are still angry and have not forgotten it, he said. Shelar also slammed Raut over his comments against Fadnavis. It is you who is interested in knowing what is going on in ones head It is not our habit. The works done by Devendraji as an activist, a volunteer and a leader are immense, and they will lead Maharashtra on the path to progress in the years to come, said Shelar. Nobody in the BJP is interested in knowing what is going on in someones head, he said It is your habit to peep into others homes to know whats cooking there, Shelar added. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday slammed the National Conference (NC) and accused the party of sympathising with the terrorists. Singh further questioned Omar Abdullah over his remarks on Kashmiri separatist Afzal Gurus execution and questioned him if Afzal Guru should have been garlanded. Referring to Omar Abdullahs recent comment on Afzal Guru, Singh, while addressing a public rally in Ramban district, questioned, The National Conference has shown sympathy towards terrorists. I recently heard what Omar Abdullah said, that Afzal Guru should not have been hanged. I want to ask him, should Afzal Guru have been garlanded instead? The Union minister further added that once BJP forms government in Jammu and Kashmir, it will carry out development works in the region. In addition to this, Singh asked the residents of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to come and join India, stating, We consider you as our own unlike Pakistan which treats you as foreigners. I want to tell PoK residents that Pakistan is considering you foreigner but the people in India do no consider you as such. We consider you as our own and so come and join us, he added. The Defence Minister also came down heavily on the National Conference-Congress alliance over its poll promise of restoring Article 370. Omar Abdullahs No Purpose Served Remark Sparks Row Sparking a massive row, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in his recent remarks stated that the execution of Kashmiri separatist Afzal Guru, convicted in the 2001 Parliament attack, did not serve any purpose. He further clarified that the Jammu and Kashmir government had no involvement in the process, but Abdullahs remarks soon attracted sharp criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). I dont believe that any purpose was served by executing him (Afzal Guru), Abdullah said in an interview with news agency ANI. He added that if state approval had been required, it would not have been granted. The unfortunate thing was that the J&K government had nothing to do with Afzal Gurus execution. Otherwise, you would have had to do it with the permission of the state government, which I can tell you in no uncertain terms would not have been forthcoming. We wouldnt have done it. J&K Polls In 3 Phases The Assembly polls will be held in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1, with results on October 8. This is the first election in the erstwhile state after its special status under Article 370 of the Constitution was revoked and it was bifurcated into two Union territories. Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Jawhar Sircar on Sunday resigned from both the Rajya Sabha and active politics, citing his protest against the Mamata Banerjee-led Bengal governments handling of the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder case. In a letter addressed to the Trinamool Congress supremo, Sircar voiced his concerns over the ruling TMC governments lack of decisive action against corruption. I must inform you that I have decided to resign from parliament and also from politics altogether, Sircars letter to Banerjee read. Sircar, in his letter, highlighted that after publicly urging the TMC to address corruption scandals prevailing in the party, he faced resistance from senior leaders. He further referred to the ongoing public outrage over the RG Kar case and said, I have not seen such angst and total no-confidence against the government. I am quitting as MP primarily because of WB governments faulty handling of the most spontaneous public movement following the terrible rape-murder case at RG Kar Hospital.Quitting politics to be with the people in their struggle for justice.My commitment to values unchanged pic.twitter.com/V98R06ziny Jawhar Sircar (@jawharsircar) September 8, 2024 Jawhars decision came days after the Trinamool Congress leadership sent a stern message to him over his remarks regarding the corruption in the party, asking him to step down honourably if he thinks he is not compatible with the party. Sircar Writes Letter To Mamata Banerjee Demanding justice for the trainee doctor, who was raped and murdered in Kollkatas RG Kar Medical Hospital and College, Sircar in his letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, The present spontaneous outpouring of public anger is against this unchecked overbearing attitude of the favoured few and the corrupt. In all my years, I have not seen such angst and total no-confidence against the government, even when it says something correct or factual. I have suffered patiently for a month since the terrible incident at RG Kar Hospital and was hoping for your direct intervention with the agitating junior doctors, in the old style of Mamata Banerjee. It has not happened and whatever punitive steps the government is taking now are too little and quite late, the letter read. I think normalcy may have been restored in this state much earlier, if the caucus of the corrupt doctors was smashed and those guilty of taking improper administrative actions punished immediately after the scandalous incident happened, Sircar mentioned in his letter. He further urged the Chief Minister to take strong action in connection to the rape and murder case and said, Please do something to save the state. I shall go to Delhi soon and offer my resignation to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and will also disassociate myself totally from politics. BJP Hits Back Soon after TMCs Jawhar Sircar announced his resignation from the Rajya Sabha and politic, the Bharatiya Janata Party was quick to slam the Mamata Banerjee government in Bengal over its handling of the RG Kar rape and murder case. BJP also attacked Banerjee for the rampant corruption in the TMC-run West Bengal government. Jawhar Sircar, the obnoxious foul-mouthed TMC Rajya Sabha MP quits, citing rampant corruption in the TMC-run West Bengal Govt and mis-handling of the rape and murder case at the RG Kar Medical College & Hospital, BJP IT Cell Head Amit Malviya wrote on X. Jawahar Sircar, the obnoxious foul mouthed TMC Rajya Sabha MP quits, citing rampant corruption in the TMC run West Bengal Govt and mis-handling of the rape and murder case at the RG Kar Medical College & Hospital.Time for Mamata Banerjee to take cue and step down. She, along Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) September 8, 2024 He further demanded that Mamata Banerjee should step down from the position of Bengal Chief Minister, accusing her of allegedly destroying the evidence in the trainee doctors rape and murder case. Time for Mamata Banerjee to take cue and step down. She, along with Commissioner of Kolkata Police, have completely destroyed all evidence relating to the rape and murder of the young doctor, he added. Kirkland Signature albacore tuna cans - Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Costco is beloved the world over for its delightful food court (including the $1.50 hot dog and soda combo), many membership perks, and high-quality house brand, Kirkland Signature. If you eat a lot of tuna, their Albacore solid white in particular is a great deal, as it's sold in 7-oz eight-packs for just $18.99 (most tuna cans are only five ounces). Yet those who know about house brands know that stores like Costco aren't out there catching their own tuna or making their own almond butter; they have a network of partner brands who manufacture the goods for them. So who is behind Costco's Kirkland Signature tuna? Costco's tuna is actually manufactured by one of the biggest name brands in the canned fish industry: Bumble Bee Tuna. And while Costco sells its tuna for what amounts to $2.37 per can, a single 7-oz can of Bumble Bee Tuna sells on Amazon for $2.79, over 40 cents more, for what is exactly the same product. Read more: The Surprising Way Costco Slices Up Its Pizza To Uniform Perfection How Costco Netted Bumble Bee a pile of tuna fish - Makhh/Shutterstock In the early 2000s, Costco wasn't happy with what it perceived as low-quality tuna, so the company opted to shop around and find a tuna company that would work with it to make "tuna like it used to be," per CNN Money. That meant chunkier, meatier fish, and it opted to go with Bumble Bee. A year later, in 2002, after much research and testing, the tuna was on Costco's shelves, and they were projected to sell $30 million in 2003. While Costco's Kirkland Signature brand tuna, produced by Bumble Bee, is slightly more expensive per ounce than other name brands sold in supermarkets, looking at the tuna contained within the cans side-by-side confirms that Costco made the right decision by upping its quality. It's much more chunky, much less flaky, and according to some, beats out other brands in taste, too. Costco's Recent Tuna Controversy a variety of blue fishing nets - Firyal Ramzy/Shutterstock Costco, no stranger to legal headaches, was named in a 2023 lawsuit as mislabeling its tuna as dolphin-safe. The case, brought by plaintiff Melinda Wright, alleges that the chain's claims to dolphin-safe practices is false, as Bumble Bee -- the supplier of Kirkland Signature Albacore white tuna -- uses fishing techniques that tends to net other sea creatures in its snare, including, to most people's outrage, dolphins. In January, while Costco's attorneys claimed that the dolphin-safe logo was merely suggestive of the company's fishing practices and sought to have the case thrown out, a San Francisco federal judge disagreed and stated that the company did indeed give customers reasonable grounds on which to assume that the fish was ethically caught. This is significant, because, as the judge also pointed out, most customers prefer to buy tuna that purports to be dolphin-safe. Story continues Indeed, Costco ranked 11th out of 16 on the 2022 Greenpeace USA Tuna Retailer Scorecard, with a score of 27% (out of 100); only Aldi scored above an F grade, with 62%. And in a separate lawsuit brought against Bumble Bee Seafood in March 2023, the fish company, which was acquired by a Taiwanese conglomerate in 2020, agreed to keep the phrase "fair and safe supply chain" off its website for a decade, per Intrafish. For more food and drink goodness, join The Takeout's newsletter. Get taste tests, food & drink news, deals from your favorite chains, recipes, cooking tips, and more! Read the original article on The Takeout. Bengaluru Ola auto driver, who hurled abuses at a woman, slapped her and tried to snatch her phone after she cancelled a ride with him, was arrested by Magadi Road police on Thursday. The driver, R Muthuraj, faces charges under Sections 74 and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and will spend four days in jail before he can apply for bail. Not only that, the 46-year-old is also expected to pay at least Rs 30,000 in legal fees, as per a report by The Economic Times. Read| Bengaluru Police Arrest Ola Auto Driver Who Slapped, Abused Woman For Cancelling Ride A senior police officer stated that the drivers actions were unacceptable and that the court was taking the matter seriously. This was a rogue act. The accused verbally abused and physically assaulted a young woman in broad daylight, all because she cancelled a ride. Such behaviour is unacceptable, and we decided to bring him before the court to demonstrate the gravity of the offence. His transfer to judicial custody shows the court is taking the matter seriously, the outlet quoted a senior police officer as saying. The outlet further quoted an investigating officer who explained that the driver associated with the ride-hailing app Ola will spend four days in jail: Hell have to wait until Monday to apply for bail, and even if its granted, the paperwork wont be completed until Tuesday or Wednesday. As per reports, the driver admitted getting furious but was unable to justify his actions. In addition to facing jail time and legal expenses, the drivers driving license and permit will be suspended. Where does it all start? It all started when a Bengaluru woman and her friend booked separate rides for the same destination. One of them cancelled her ride as the other auto arrived first. The woman explained that they booked two autos to make sure that her friend didnt miss her class, noting that in Bangaluru, autos often cancel rides or demand extra money. The auto driver, who was a minute away from the location, became furious about the cancellation and followed the woman. Despite explaining the situation, he started shouting and hurling abuses, the woman recalled. Also Read| Does Your Father Pay For Gas? Bengaluru Auto Driver Slaps Woman For Cancelling Ola Ride, Video Goes Viral He even tried snatching her phone to prevent her from recording the confrontation, forcing her to go to the police station with him. He later slapped her, and a video of the incident went viral. What unfolds in the viral video? The now-viral video opens to show the woman repeatedly asking, Aap chilla kyu rahe ho [Why are you shouting]? as the angry auto driver argues, Galti se kaise hota hai cancel [How do you cancel by mistake]? He also questions her about who will cover the fuel costs, stating, Does your father pay for gas? As the video goes on, the woman warns the driver that she will report him to the police. Undeterred, the driver urges her to accompany him to the police station, repeatedly insisting they go together. When the woman suggests heading to a different police station and mentions she already has his phone and auto details, the driver slaps her. Also Read| Bengaluru Again: Uber Auto Driver Snatches Phone, Grabs Womans Hand Over Online Payment He slapped me in front of my auto driver, who did nothing, and bystanders who remained passive. Despite this, he continued his threats, saying hed beat me with his slippers too, the woman recounted. She also voiced her frustration with Ola, stating, Thankfully, my driver managed to get us away, but Olas response has been disappointing. After reporting the incident via the app, we received only an automated reply. Attempts to reach their support line failed, leaving us frustrated and helpless. Ive never felt this unsafe in Bangalore. Ola must take immediate and strict action, she further said. Watch the viral videos here: Yesterday I faced severe harassment and was physically assaulted by your auto driver in Bangalore after a simple ride cancellation. Despite reporting, your customer support has been unresponsive. Immediate action is needed! @Olacabs @ola_supports @BlrCityPolice pic.twitter.com/iTkXFKDMS7 Niti (@nihihiti) September 4, 2024 After the post gained traction on social media, DCP West Bengaluru said, The auto driver has been apprehended by Magadi Road Police. Action is being initiated for the offence committed as per law. A suspect linked to a three-hour shooting spree in a Northern California community has pleaded not guilty to charges. Vicente Joseph Arroyo, 39, faces accusations of animal abuse and related offenses after the incident resulted in the death of 81 animals. Arroyo appeared in court for a preliminary hearing on Thursday following his arrest by Monterey County Sheriffs deputies. According to a press release from the sheriffs office, authorities were alerted to multiple gunshots fired around 3:29 a.m. on Tuesday. In response, they instructed residents within a five-mile radius to shelter in place. Various calibres of weapons could be heard being fired in an area that was extremely dark and covered in thick vegetation," the release said. This made it difficult for deputies to immediately locate the person or persons responsible for firing the weapons," it added. Following Arroyos arrest, police confiscated several firearms from the scene, including three long rifles, shotguns, various handguns, and an illegal assault rifle. The sheriffs office also released images of the scene, which showed a substantial cache of ammunition and at least one bulletproof vest. Arroyo was accused of shooting 33 parakeets and cockatiels, nine chickens, seven ducks, five bunnies, and 14 goats, according to court documents. As reported by KSBW-TV, Arroyo is also accused of killing two miniature horses, Princessa and Estrella, and a pony named Lucky. In a conversation with the Associated Press, Monterey County Sheriff Commander Andres Rosas said that many of the animal owners affected by the incident are hesitant to reveal their identities or speak to the press. I went out there, and it was a pretty traumatic scene. These were peoples pets," he said. Rosas said that some of the animals were alive for hours after the shooting but ultimately had to be euthanised due to the severity of their injuries. Rosas disclosed that Arroyo lived in a camper located in a vineyard next to the property where the shooting occurred. At this time, authorities have not identified any known motive for the attack. In an interview with the KSBW TV station, Rosas said that there was no information suggesting that the suspect was searching for someone in particular, but it seemed that the animals were the intended targets. His attorney, William Pernik, stated that after speaking with Arroyo and his family, he believed that his client may have some mental issues, so he requested that the judge order a mental competency test for his client. India is stepping up its efforts to find a path to peace amid the Russia-Ukraine war, as National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval is set to visit Moscow next week, where he will attend the BRICS NSA meeting and hold crucial talks on ending the conflict Dovals visit, slated for September 10-11, marks the beginning of Indias efforts to mediate a peaceful resolution to the deadly conflict that has raged for over two-and-a-half years. According to top government sources, the European Union has expressed a desire for India to play a prominent role in the peace process. BRICS NSA-level talks During the BRICS NSA-level talks, Doval will represent India and is also expected to meet with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. Russia has recently expressed its desire for India to play an important role in ending the war, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed his desire to President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in July. Despite Indias deep strategic interests in Russia, particularly in terms of buying oil and weapons, the government is not keen on being a direct mediator. But PM Modis Italian counterpart PM Giorgia Meloni and Putin have both urged him to work towards a peaceful resolution. Not an era for war According to government sources, Doval is going to Moscow with a special message, signifying Indias growing role as a mediator in ending the war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. PM Modi has been at the forefront of peace efforts, visiting both Ukraine and Russia over the past couple of months and reiterating his message that this is not an era for war. During his August visit to Kyiv, PM Modi met with President Volodymyr Zelensky and reaffirmed Indias commitment to peace. He also held a telephonic conversation with President Putin on August 27, during which the two leaders discussed Indias role in bringing about lasting peace in Ukraine. The Russia-Ukraine negotiations that took place in Istanbul in the early weeks of the war failed to make any headway, and the situation on the ground remains bleak, with both sides escalating their rhetoric and opening new fronts. As India takes on a key role in the peace process, the world will be watching closely to see if Dovals talks in Moscow can pave the way for a lasting peace. At least seven people have been shot along a highway in the US state of Kentucky, police said Saturday (local time), as authorities in the southern state hunt for a Person of Interest. All the victims are in stable condition and authorities are searching for one shooter, according to the Laurel County Sheriffs Office. The office had earlier reported that Interstate 75 was closed in both directions due to the active shooter situation. The Suspect has not been caught at this time we are urging people to stay inside, Trooper Scottie Pennington of Kentucky State Police said in a post on Facebook. Suspect Identified The shooting took place in London, Kentucky, which is about 80 miles south of the city of Lexington. The London Police Department has identified 32-year-old Joseph A. Couch as a person of interest in an ongoing investigation, CNN reported. Couch is described as a White man, approximately 5 feet 10 inches tall, and weighing around 154 pounds. State authorities have urged anyone with information on Couchs whereabouts to contact the 911 call center. The sheriffs office also announced that a Person of Interest has been identified in connection with the shooting, saying he should be considered armed and dangerous and people should not approach him. @ATFLouisville agents are responding and assisting @kystatepolice and local authorities with a critical incident near Interstate 75 in Laurel County. pic.twitter.com/Xz6lHhI5au ATF Louisville (@ATFLouisville) September 7, 2024 Kentucky Guv monitoring the situation The rural county, where the shooting took place, is some 145 kilometers south of the city of Lexington along I-75, a major north-south artery cutting across the eastern half of the United States. A heavy presence of police and fire personnel was on the scene and working diligently to address the situation, the Mount Vernon Fire Department said in a statement. It advised motorists to avoid I-75 and US 25. I am receiving initial reports from the Kentucky State Police and our Office of Homeland Security together we are actively monitoring the situation and offering support in any way possible, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a post on the social platform X. Please pray for everyone involved. We will provide more details once they are available, Beshear said. (With agency inputs) Party workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rallied on the outskirts of Islamabad on Sunday demanding the immediate release of the party chief Imran Khan. They held a huge jalsa demanding the release of the former prime minister of Pakistan, who remains jailed on graft charges. The police lobbed tear gas shells at the crowd to disperse them. The Islamabad administration summoned paramilitary forces to control the situation and stop the clashes. Sources speaking to CNN-News18 said that 20 people, which included both PTI workers and policemen, including Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Islamabad, were injured in the clashes. Imran was expected to be released from prison after a district and sessions court accepted appeals against his conviction in the Iddat case. However, shortly after, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested him in a new Toshakhana case. His sentences in the earlier Toshakhana cases were already suspended, and he had been acquitted by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in the cipher case. Sources speaking to CNN-News18 said that the crackdown happened post 7pm Sunday evening. There has been a massive response to the call for Imran Khans release. The paranoid Generals have tried to intervene, intimidate and block the flow of human traffic but these are junoonis. No one can stop them and it is a critical stage for the world to weigh in, a source close to Imran Khan said. PTI leaders Hammad Azhar and Ali Muhammad Khan along with other leaders of the party addressed the crowd demanding the release of Imran Khan before the clashes occurred. Police reported that the local administration had set a specific timeframe for the rally. However, when the rally exceeded the allotted time, police attempted to disperse the supporters. The rally, originally set for July and later August, was postponed twice after authorities revoked permission, citing security concerns and fears of unrest. For several months, the PTI had sought approval for a public meeting in the capital, but the administration repeatedly denied it. In March, the party approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) after receiving no response from the district administration. In July, the PTI announced a protest, but it was postponed after the district administration refused to grant permission. The protest was rescheduled for August 22, but the NOC was cancelled at the last minute, with a new date set for September 8. Pakistans Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday slammed the previous Imran Khan government for its security failures, saying that missteps linked to the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan have contributed to the surge in terrorism in Balochistan. During a press conference at the countrys High Commission in London, Dar referred to a three-star general who went to Kabul to have a cup of tea in 2021. The deputy PM, who is also Pakistans foreign minister, referred to former ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameeds visit to Kabul weeks after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. A Cup Of Tea In Kabul Dar claimed that the militants released at that time to support the Talibans offensive against the US-backed Ashraf Ghani government are now masterminding terrorism in Balochistan. The minister was quoted by Dawn newspaper as saying, The country is paying a price for that cup of tea. His rebuke came as at least 50 people, including 14 Pakistani security personnel, were killed in terror attacks across the province in the last couple of weeks. Balochistan is home to a long-running violent insurgency, which has steadily increased in the past three years since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021. The province faces a double threat by the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Baloch militants. Baloch insurgent groups have previously carried out several attacks targeting the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. Last months terror attacks in the restive province once again brought the issue of militancy to the forefront. Not possible Without PMs approval When asked if Lt Gen Hameed had permission from then-PM Imran Khan for the Kabul visit, Dar said, I find it difficult to accept that he could have gone without the permission of the prime minister. We are working with the security establishment on issues today, these things are not possible without the prime ministers approval. This rebuke came days after court martial proceedings against retired Lt Gen Faiz Hameed were initiated following a detailed probe. The leaders of the Quad grouping are set to gather for a key summit in US President Joe Bidens hometown on September 21, instead of hosting the event in India, the current rotating chair. The upcoming summit, in Wilmington, Delaware, will be the last for both Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, as they are expected to step down from their positions soon. According to Japanese newspaper Nikkei Aisa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will also be in attendance, as they are scheduled to visit the US for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). UNGA High-Level Summit During the UNGA later this month, Modi is expected to address the high-level Summit of the Future. According to the Japanese newspaper, the decision to hold the summit in Wilmington, rather than on the sidelines of the UN in New York, was made after consultations among Quad partners. This move enables Biden to host the gathering in his final year as president, while India will have the opportunity to host Quad leaders in 2025. The Quad, which began in 2004 as an ad hoc grouping for disaster response, was revived in 2017 under former US President Donald Trump. However, it was under Bidens administration that the first leader-level summits were held, both virtually in March 2021 and in person at the White House in September of that year. The upcoming summit in Wilmington will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Quads formation. It will also provide an opportunity for the leaders to engage in the comprehensive agenda of the Quad partnership, which includes COVID-19 response, critical and emerging technologies, and supply chain cooperation. Despite the Quads growing importance in the Indo-Pacific region, the upcoming summit comes amid an intense US presidential election campaign. By Allison Lampert, David Shepardson (Reuters) -Boeing said on Sunday it has reached a tentative agreement with a union representing more than 32,000 workers in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, in a deal that could help avert a possible crippling strike as early as Sept. 13. If approved, the proposed four-year contract, which includes a general wage increase of 25% and commitment to build the next commercial airplane in the Seattle area, is an important win for new Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, who took over last month with a mandate to turn around quality at the planemaker, an issue that a deal with labor could help. The first full labor deal in 16 years would also include better retirement benefits and giving the union greater input in the safety and quality of the production system. The union called it the best contract it had ever negotiated and described union workers as committed to building quality planes. Boeing is wrestling with a quality crisis and faces scrutiny from regulators and customers, after a door plug on a near-new MAX blew off an Alaska Air jetliner while in mid-air in January. The deal would need to be approved on Thursday by Boeing factory workers near Seattle and Portland, Oregon, represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). Boeing workers could reject the deal if it gets less than majority support. A strike is possible if two-thirds support a work stoppage in a second vote. If ratified by union members on Thursday, the deal would commit Boeing to building the replacement to the workhorse 737 at its Pacific Northwest facilities if the project is started during the life of the contract. However, it is not clear when the planemaker would announce its next jet. Boeing and rival Airbus are in the early stages of drawing up strategies for replacements of their best-selling single-aisle models expected to enter service in the late 2030s. Boeings decision to commit early to its main Northwest planemaking hub for new models contrasts with previous efforts to compete in different locations, which have irked the IAM. "This would go along with our other flagship models, meaning job security for generations to come," said Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stephanie Pope in a message to employees. Ortberg, who is under pressure to change Boeing's culture to improve quality, also needs to address labor relations and the company's future, said aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia. Ortberg is a former Rockwell Collins executive who moved to Seattle to head the company. Story continues "Changing the culture starts with a different attitude towards labor and towards the future with new product development," Aboulafia said on Sunday. Boeing simultaneously faces significant financial pressures as it continues to lose money. In July it posted a second-quarter net loss of $1.44 billion. Last week, Wells Fargo said Boeing's annual free cash flow target of $10 billion may be delayed by about two years to 2027-28 and the company may have to raise $30 billion before developing a new aircraft. Wells Fargo analyst Matthew Akers said Boeing carries about $45 billion net debt. An accepted deal would secure labor peace for Boeing at a time when the planemaker is burning cash and trying to raise production of its strongest-selling 737 MAX to a target rate of 38 aircraft per month by the year's end. The union fell short of its early goal of achieving a 40% raise but still hailed the agreement. "Although there was no way to achieve success on every single item, we can honestly say that this proposal is the best contract we've negotiated in our history," the IAM union local representing the Boeing workers said in a statement. The deal comes as workers are capitalizing on tight labor markets to make gains. The United Auto Workers union won a similar 25% general wage pay hike over four-and-a-half years with the Detroit Three last autumn. The talks had been watched by members of U.S. President Joe Biden's administration, with Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su last week urging the sides in an interview with Reuters to get a "fair contract." Su had spoken with both Ortberg, a source familiar with the matter said, and union local head Jon Holden. The Boeing workers, who produce Boeing's widebody 777 and 767 in addition to the MAX, had voted in favor of a strike mandate in July. (Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal, David Shepardson in Washington and Surbhi Misra, Utkarsh Shetti and Anshuman Tripathy in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Henderson, Chizu Nomiyama and Matthew Lewis) Does where you live determine how you eat? New study uncovers America's emotional eating patterns Work looks more likely to continue at Boeing's Everett, Washington plant after union leaders reached a prelminiary deal with the company on a new contract that would avert a strike (Jennifer Buchanan) Boeing has agreed on a preliminary new contract with union leaders that includes a hefty wage hike that would avert a strike in the Seattle region, the two sides announced Sunday. The agreement, which must be ratified by workers, includes a 25 percent wage increase over the four-year life of the contract, according to Boeing and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 751, which represents more than 33,000 workers. Other key elements include lower health care costs for workers, reduced mandatory overtime, 12 weeks of paid parental leave and a commitment to build Boeing's next new airplane in the Puget Sound region of Washington state if the contract is ratified this week, according to a Boeing fact sheet. The preliminary agreement comes just weeks after the arrival of new Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, who has been tasked with turning around the iconic plane-maker after its reputation was tainted by a series of air safety problems and other setbacks. While Ortberg had pledged to "reset" relations with the union, the IAM as recently as Friday had described the two sides as "far apart" on key points. In a message to rank-and-file members, IAM district president Jon Holden said the union's "strength, solidarity and unity" had produced "the best contract we ever had." He urged members to review the proposal carefully, saying, "We believe this proposal will benefit all our members and our future." If workers ratify the contract, Boeing would follow in the steps of the United Parcel Service, which narrowly averted a strike in July 2023 after reaching agreement with the Teamsters union. In contrast, Detroit automakers General Motors, Ford and Stellantis experienced a six-week partial strike last fall before reaching a deal with the United Auto Workers that included a 25 percent wage hike. - Commitment to Seattle region - Boeing commercial airplane president Stephanie Pope described the wage bump as the "largest-ever general wage increase," in a video message to employees, Boeing said. "Just as important, this contract deepens our commitment to the Pacific Northwest," said Pope, adding that the new-airplane pledge means "job security for generations to come." Boeing has been under heavy scrutiny. In January, a fuselage panel blew out of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX plane mid-flight, necessitating an emergency landing. That revived questions about safety and quality control after the company had seemingly made progress following deadly MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. Story continues The aerospace giant in March announced a management shakeup that included the exit of Dave Calhoun as CEO. Ortberg took the helm on August 8. But workers have complained of retaliation after raising safety concerns. These issues were spotlighted in a Senate hearing in April and at a National Transportation Safety Board hearing in August into the Alaska Airlines incident, with IAM representatives describing company safety and training programs as insufficient. Analysts have broadly praised the hiring of Ortberg, a Boeing outsider with extensive engineering and aerospace experience at electronics supplier Rockwell Collins. But Ortberg faces significant challenges at Boeing, which slowed commercial airplane production following the Alaska Airlines incident and announced an acquisition of supplier Spirit AeroSystems as part of an effort to improve quality control. On September 3, Wells Fargo downgraded Boeing and lowered its stock price target in a note that described the company's near-term profitability prospects as challenged. Wells Fargo highlighted the need for Boeing to launch a new aircraft in the 2027 timeframe to compete with Airbus, dampening its medium-term outlook for free cash flow, even after the company pivots from its recent problems and boosts airplane production. jmb/bbk The Caspian Sea is shrinking, with what Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev describes as "catastrophic" consequences. Reuters reports that he brought up the receding sea during a recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where he said the two agreed to analyze the predicament. The Caspian Sea is the largest inland sea (spanning about the size of Norway), and is surrounded by five countries (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Iran, and Turkmenistan). Water levels have falling steadily since the 1990s, and according to Le Monde , the sea is shrinking about 10 inches per year. Its depth has receded an estimated six and a half feet since 2000. "From the window of the room in which we were negotiating, I showed (Putin) the rocks that were under water just two years ago," Aliyev said. "Today they have already emerged a meter above the surface." The Guardian reports that entire bays have disappeared, particularly on the northern coast, and it examines the "natural and human-made" reasons the sea is shrinking. Higher temperatures, a lack of rain, and increased evaporation linked to climate change are seen as big factors. Meanwhile, industry, dams, reservoirs, and extraction from the Volga and Ural river tributaries, which replenish the sea, have worsened the problem. Pollution and the loss of water is disruptive to the fishing industry there, as well as the animal population, including the rare Caspian seal, whose numbers have plummeted from 11 million a century ago to between 110,000 to 170,000 today. (The UN chief, meanwhile, is worried about steadily rising ocean levels.) The United States believes Iran has transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for use in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and has told its allies as much, according to sources familiar with the matter. The sources did not detail the quantity or timing of the transfers. The White House wouldn't confirm the report but expressed concern over Iran's increased support for Russia. The National Security Council's Sean Savett stated that any transfer would represent a "dramatic escalation" and increase the risk to Ukrainian civilians. Iran denied the claim, saying, "Iran considers the provision of military assistance to the parties engaged in the conflictwhich leads to increased human casualties, destruction of infrastructure, and a distancing from ceasefire negotiationsto be inhumane." During comments made in London, CIA Director William Burns on Saturday flagged the growing defense collaboration between Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. The US continues to declassify intelligence to expose that defense dynamic. North Korea has reportedly sent ammunition and missiles to Russia, and Iran has provided attack drones and drone manufacturing support. While China avoids direct weapon supply, it has increased sales of critical technologies that aid Russian weapon production. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP) His vice president has crossed party lines to emphatically endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president, but George Bush's office said Saturday that he'll sit this one out. When NBC News asked if the Republican former president will be making a public endorsement in the race, the answer came back a no. "President Bush retired from presidential politics years ago," the office said. Bush told People in 2021 that he didn't vote for Donald Trump last time, either, saying he wrote in the name of Condoleezza Rice, who was secretary of state during his presidency. Other campaign developments took place in: Wisconsin: Donald Trump spoke at a rally on Saturday afternoon for an hour and 40 minutes, saying the nation is being led by "stupid people," per the New York Times. In an apparent dig at Harris and President Biden, he called for changing the 25th Amendment to the Constitution and said a vice president who "lies or engages in a conspiracy to cover up the incapacity of the president" should be removed from office. He's accused Harris and White House aides of covering up the state of Biden's mental fitness, per CNN. A former top official in US nuclear weapons research at Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos national laboratories has died of injuries after an automobile crash in New Mexico, authorities said. Charles McMillan, an experimental physicist, spent nearly 23 years in various positions at Livermore in California and about 18 years at Los Alamos, where he was director for six years before retiring in 2017. He died at a hospital after a two-vehicle crash Friday on a stretch of road known as Main Hill, not far from the laboratory, police and the current lab director said, per the AP . He was 69. Michael Drake, president of the University of California system, issued a statement calling McMillan "an extraordinary leader, scientist and human being who made far-reaching contributions to science and technology in service to national security and the greater good." The Livermore laboratory, east of San Francisco, was established as a university offshoot in 1952 and is now operated by the federal government. It maintains a close relationship with campuses and Drake's office. McMillan joined Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2006 after his friend and mentor, Michael Anastasio, became director. McMillan served as the principal associate director for weapons programs before becoming director in 2011. He oversaw the lab during expansion and safety incidents, including a 2014 radiation leak at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southern New Mexico attributed to a waste drum that was improperly packaged at the lab. The National Nuclear Security Administration found in 2015 that the lab violated health and safety rules and docked it more than $10 million in performance awards. Mason pointed to McMillan's work to develop a vaccine for HIV and new modeling to better understand climate change. Democratic US Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico credited McMillan with "invaluable contributions to our state, to science, and to our national security" and cited his work on supercomputing and artificial intelligence. Nella Domenici, Heinrich's Republican challenger for US Senate, called McMillan's death "a great loss to the scientific community and his family." (More Los Alamos stories.) Boeing and a major union reached a tentative agreement on a new contract Sunday that would provide 25% raises over four years and avert a factory strike. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers represents 33,000 workers who could have struck this week at factories in the Seattle area and in Oregon, CNBC reports. They're scheduled to vote Thursday on the deal, under which Boeing agrees that its next plane will be built in Washington state. "This contract deepens our commitment to the Pacific Northwest," said Boeing executive Stephanie Pope, adding that the agreement on the new plane means "job security for generations to come." A ratified contract agreement would give new CEO Kelly Ortberg a success after a string of problems at Boeing, per the Washington Post. "The company finds itself in a tough position due to many self-inflicted missteps. It is IAM members who will bring this company back on track," the union said in a statement. The deal, which was negotiated over six months, also reduces workers' health care costs and raises the amount company will contribute to their retirement plans. Boeing said the pay raise is its biggest ever, and the union called the contract the best it's ever negotiated. Ratification before the current contract expires Thursday will mean a $3,000 bonus for each union member. More time off is included, and Pope said the agreement delivers "improvements for a better work-life balance." Former CEO Dave Calhoun told investors this summer that the goal was to avoid a strike and that he realized, given Boeing's problems, that the union had leverage in the negotiations, per CNN. "We know wage asks will be big," he said. "We're not afraid to treat our employees well in this process." (More Boeing stories.) Pope Francis traveled to the remote jungles of Papua New Guinea on Sunday to celebrate the Catholic Church on the peripheries, bringing with him a ton of medicine, musical instruments, and a message of love for the people who live there. Francis flew aboard a Royal Australian Air Force C-130 transport plane from Port Moresby to Vanimo, on the northwest coast of the South Pacific nation. There, Francis met with the local Catholic community and the missionaries from his native Argentina who have been ministering to them, the AP reports. For an Argentine pope who marveled in 2013 at having been chosen from the "end of the Earth" to lead the church, it was a voyage to another end of the Earth on the longest, farthest trip of Francis' pontificate. He has previously traveled to the edge of the Arctic (to apologize to the Inuit people for church abuses), and into the Peruvian Amazon (to draw attention to its plight), and to the plains of Ur, Iraq (to boost Christian-Muslim ties). But even by his standards, Sunday's trip to remote Vanimo was extraordinary. A crowd of an estimated 20,000 people gathered on the field in front of the Vanimo cathedral singing and dancing when Francis arrived, and he promptly put on a feathered headdress that had been presented to him. In remarks from a stage, Francis praised church workers who go out to try to spread the faith. But he urged the residents of Vanimo to work at home at being good to one another. He urged them to be like an orchestra, so that all members of the community come together harmoniously to overcome rivalries. Doing so, he said, would help to "drive out fear, superstition and magic from people's hearts, to put an end to destructive behaviors such as violence, infidelity, exploitation, alcohol and drug abuse, evils which imprison and take away the happiness of so many of our brothers and sisters." It was a reference to the tribal violence over land and other disputes that have long characterized the country's culture but have grown more lethal in recent years. story continues below Francis was elected pope largely on the strength of a speech he gave to fellow cardinals in 2013 about the need for the church to go out to the "peripheries" where people need God most. Vanimo, population 11,000, is near Papua New Guinea's border with Indonesia, where the jungle meets the sea, and is for the most part only reachable by plane or boat. The 2.5 million Catholics in Papua New Guinea practice their faith along with traditional Indigenous beliefs, including animism and sorcery. Papua New Guinea was the second leg of the pope's tour of Southeast Asia and Oceania. After first stopping in Indonesia, Francis heads on Monday to East Timor and then goes to Singapore later in the week. (More Pope Francis stories.) We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Key Insights The projected fair value for Colonial Motor is NZ$6.78 based on Dividend Discount Model With NZ$7.00 share price, Colonial Motor appears to be trading close to its estimated fair value Peers of Colonial Motor are currently trading on average at a 43% discount Does the September share price for The Colonial Motor Company Limited (NZSE:CMO) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model is the tool we will apply to do this. There's really not all that much to it, even though it might appear quite complex. We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model. Check out our latest analysis for Colonial Motor What's The Estimated Valuation? We have to calculate the value of Colonial Motor slightly differently to other stocks because it is a specialty retail company. In this approach dividends per share (DPS) are used, as free cash flow is difficult to estimate and often not reported by analysts. Unless a company pays out the majority of its FCF as a dividend, this method will typically underestimate the value of the stock. We use the Gordon Growth Model, which assumes dividend will grow into perpetuity at a rate that can be sustained. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a company's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In this case we used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.8%). The expected dividend per share is then discounted to today's value at a cost of equity of 8.0%. Relative to the current share price of NZ$7.0, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out. Value Per Share = Expected Dividend Per Share / (Discount Rate - Perpetual Growth Rate) = NZ$0.3 / (8.0% 2.8%) = NZ$6.8 dcf The Assumptions Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Colonial Motor as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.0%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.253. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business. Story continues SWOT Analysis for Colonial Motor Strength Debt is well covered by . Weakness Earnings declined over the past year. Interest payments on debt are not well covered. Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Specialty Retail market. Current share price is above our estimate of fair value. Opportunity CMO's financial characteristics indicate limited near-term opportunities for shareholders. Lack of analyst coverage makes it difficult to determine CMO's earnings prospects. Threat Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow. Dividends are not covered by earnings. Next Steps: Whilst important, the DCF calculation is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. For Colonial Motor, there are three essential elements you should consider: Risks: As an example, we've found 4 warning signs for Colonial Motor (3 shouldn't be ignored!) that you need to consider before investing here. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered! Other Top Analyst Picks: Interested to see what the analysts are thinking? Take a look at our interactive list of analysts' top stock picks to find out what they feel might have an attractive future outlook! PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every New Zealander stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com Email: editor@newsofbahrain.com Bahrain has launched its National Summary Data Page (NSDP), a unified platform for publishing financial, economic, and demographic data, aimed at enhancing transparency and the integration of statistical information. The page facilitates the exchange of statistical and descriptive data. His Excellency Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, the Minister of Finance and National Economy, highlighted Bahrains commitment to strengthening its international status under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. He emphasised the role of comprehensive data in improving governance, attracting investment, and supporting the governments efforts under the backing of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister. The Finance Minister also stressed the importance of ongoing cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to apply the highest international standards, commending the collaborative efforts between Team Bahrain and the IMF that contributed to the launch of the NSDP. The NSDP is available through Bahrains Open Data Portal, providing data exchange through Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (SDMX) and supporting Bahrains efforts to meet the IMFs Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). The High Criminal Court in Bahrain has commenced the trial of two Asian women, aged 25 and 28, accused of endangering the lives of two children, aged 4 and 7, relying on prostitution for their livelihood, and residing illegally in the country. The case unfolded when the first witness received a message from his wife about a problem with one of the children residing in the same apartment. Upon arriving at the apartment, he discovered that the 4-year-old child had been burned by hot water. Therefore, he informed the police. Meanwhile, his wife testified that she heard one of the children crying and asked the first defendant about the reason. "I am sharing the same apartment with the first defendant. I heard the child crying, and she said that he had turned on the hot water and burned himself. I asked her to contact the second defendant (the mother of the child), who arrived and took the child to the hospital," the second witness said. However, the first defendant stated that she didn't mean to harm the children. "I placed the children in the bathtub, turning on the water at a moderate temperature, and leaving to prepare clothes for approximately 20 minutes. Upon hearing the child's screams, I discovered he had turned on the hot water. I removed him from the tub, applied gel to his body, and dressed him. Due to the child's crying and pain, I contacted his mother, who took him to the hospital," she told prosecutors. The forensic doctor appointed by the Public Prosecution, after examining the child, noted that the distribution of burns on his body indicated no physical limitations preventing him from moving to avoid the pain caused by the hot water. The doctor also stated that the child's unstable health condition made it difficult to determine the extent of permanent disability. The Public Prosecution has charged the two defendants with intentionally harming the 4-year-old and 7-year-old victims by immersing them in hot water in the bathtub. This resulted in injuries documented in a forensic medical report, leading to permanent disability for the 4-year-old victim. The prosecution alleges that the intent to harm was present in the case of the 4-year-old victim. The prosecution further alleges that the 25-year-old defendant partially relied on income from prostitution. The second defendant, the mother of the two children, is accused of neglecting and failing to fulfil her duties in protecting their safety. She is also charged with solely relying on income from prostitution. Both defendants are accused of failing to renew their legal residency permits issued by the General Directorate of Nationality, Passports, and Residence, which allows them to reside in Bahrain. The trial is ongoing, with the court expected to determine the fate of the two defendants based on the evidence presented. Image used for representational purpose only TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com Email: editor@newsofbahrain.com KPMG in Bahrain is pleased to announce an expanded alliance with ServiceNow, the AI platform for business transformation, aimed at transforming business operations across the Kingdom of Bahrain and the wider region. As a new region for the KPMG and ServiceNow Global alliance, the companies will leverage KPMG professionals industry expertise and market knowledge along with ServiceNows advanced technology platform to help organizations in Bahrain streamline their processes, enhance efficiency, and unlock new growth opportunities. As businesses face increasing demands for agile service delivery, enhanced employee experiences, and improved operational transparency, the KPMG and ServiceNow alliance helps deliver cutting-edge digital solutions to meet these challenges head-on. Through this collaboration, KPMG in Bahrain will offer clients a comprehensive suite of digital tools designed to modernize workflows, optimize costs, and enable the flexibility needed to thrive in todays rapidly evolving business environment. Jamal Fakhro, Managing Partner of KPMG in Bahrain, commented on the alliance, saying, "We are thrilled to collaborate with ServiceNow, a global leader in digital transformation. This alliance reinforces our commitment to expand our capabilities to support clients in their digital journeys in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Together with ServiceNow, we are committed to delivering innovative digital solutions that drive meaningful impact and sustainable growth for businesses and leaders across the region." Manav Prakash, Partner, Advisory Services, KPMG in Bahrain, added, "This alliance enables us to bring leading digital solutions to our clients, helping them navigate the complexities of the digital age with confidence. By integrating ServiceNow's advanced technology with KPMG professionals advisory expertise, we are uniquely positioned to help businesses enhance their operational efficiency, improve employee experiences, and ultimately achieve their strategic objectives. This alliance augments our service offerings about Technology and Digital transformation." Jeyapriya Partiban, Partner, Head of Advisory Services at KPMG in Bahrain, emphasized the benefits of the alliance, stating, "Our clients are increasingly seeking ways to automate and optimize their business processes. Our collaboration with ServiceNow expands our service offerings in terms of tailored solutions that not only meet clients current needs but also prepare them for future challenges. This alliance underscores our commitment to helping businesses in the Kingdom of Bahrain achieve digital excellence." Andrew Keeling, Global Alliance Director, ServiceNow, KPMG International, highlighted the significance of the expanded alliance, "We are excited to extend our global KPMG and ServiceNow alliance to the Kingdom of Bahrain and the broader Middle East, a region with tremendous potential for digital transformation. Together, we help empower organizations to unlock new levels of productivity, efficiency, and innovation. Our combined efforts will provide businesses in Bahrain with access to best-inclass digital tools and strategies needed to succeed in today's competitive landscape." The alliance between KPMG in Bahrain and ServiceNow will focus on several key areas, including Finance, Supply Chain & Procurement, HR and People processes, and Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). By integrating AI, low-code capabilities, and intelligent automation into these functions, the alliance aims to streamline complex processes, enhance decision-making, and deliver greater strategic value to clients. Karine Picard, GVP COO, ServiceNow EMEA expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration, saying, "We are delighted to work with KPMG in Bahrain to bring our digital workflow solutions to the region. This alliance will enable us to extend our reach and deliver impactful digital transformation services that help businesses achieve greater agility and resilience in an ever-changing market. As organizations worldwide continue to embrace digital transformation, the need for reliable, scalable, and secure digital infrastructure has never been more critical. Our alliance with KPMG in Bahrain will provide businesses with the tools they need to thrive in the digital era, ensuring they can adapt to changing market dynamics and capitalize on new opportunities." By combining KPMG professionals' consulting expertise with ServiceNow's AI powerful platform, this alliance aims to empower business leaders to reimagine their operations, helping to drive long-term success and sustainable growth. KPMG in Bahrain is proud to be at the forefront of this digital revolution, helping clients unlock their full potential through innovative, tech-enabled solutions. Image source: Getty Images It finally happened. After a long stretch without a membership fee hike, Costco raised the cost of its memberships on Sept. 1. Now, instead of paying $60 a year for a basic Costco membership, you'll pay $65. And instead of paying $120 for an Executive membership, you'll pay $130. These increases aren't so substantial if you break them down on a monthly basis. In the case of a Gold Star membership, you're looking at an extra $0.42 per month. For the Executive membership, you'll need to pony up an extra $0.83 on a monthly basis. But still, you may not be a fan of paying more for any service or product right about now, Costco included. So should you cancel your Executive membership now that its cost has risen? It depends on how often you use it. Make sure you're getting your money's worth The fact that Costco just hiked up its fees gives you an opportunity to assess your membership and decide whether it's worth keeping. But here's a general rule you should follow. If you were getting great value out of your Costco membership before the fee hike, then it pays to stick with Costco. If you were barely using your membership prior to September, you were probably wasting your money. And in that case, there's no sense in spending more. Let's imagine you have an Executive Costco membership that you use once a month for a big stock-up. If your monthly haul costs you $200 and saves you $30 each time compared to buying those same items at a supermarket or big-box store, then you're saving yourself $360 in the course of a year. In that case, it pays to retain access to Costco, because you are saving money. But a Gold Star membership makes more sense. It doesn't pay to keep an Executive membership if you typically spend less than $3,250 per year, which is what it now costs to break even on the $65 upgrade fee (the difference between $65 and $130). So if you typically spend $2,400 a year like in our example above, you may want to downgrade to the basic membership to avoid wasting money. It doesn't hurt to take a chance The decision to stick with a Costco Executive membership at a higher cost versus cancel may not be so clear cut. It may be that you used your membership just enough last year to make it worthwhile, but you're not sure that will be the case this year due to a change like a child going off to college or moving to an area without a nearby Costco store. In that case, sticking with the higher-priced membership won't hurt you. If you find that you're not using your membership enough to justify the higher cost, you can cancel for a refund at any time. Story continues You can also downgrade to a basic membership at any time. And Costco will even pay you the difference between the cash back you racked up and the $65 extra you paid. In other words, if you only earned $40 in cash back, Costco will give you $25 when you downgrade. That said, remember that Costco offers a world of benefits beyond discounted groceries and paper towels. You can save on everything from travel to eyewear to gift cards when you shop at Costco. So before you let the higher fee spook you, think about all of the cash back you have the potential to earn. Top credit card to use at Costco (and everywhere else!) We love versatile credit cards that offer huge rewards everywhere, including Costco! This card is a standout among America's favorite credit cards because it offers perhaps the easiest $200 cash bonus you could ever earn and an unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases, even when you shop at Costco. Add on the competitive 0% interest period and it's no wonder we awarded this card Best No Annual Fee Credit Card. Click here to read our full review for free and apply before the $200 welcome bonus offer ends! We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Maurie Backman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale and JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Should You Cancel Your Costco Executive Membership Now That It Costs More? was originally published by The Motley Fool Cellphones in schools? Lock them up! Thats the motto of two Jersey City public schools that are piloting programs to remove the distractible devices from the classroom amid a growing national trend to limit screen time and boost student engagement. Now, the district superintendent hopes to expand the policies districtwide. Superintendent Norma Fernandez said the district has been testing ways to remove cellphones during classes and will discuss implementing the program districtwide during a policy meeting with the school board this month. We are trying to pilot these things to see how we can help students be aware and be better consumers of social media, Fernandez said. This is something I will work with the board to explore. President Barack Obama Community School 34 and Academy 1 are already using two different methods in taking the cellphones out of the kids hands during the 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. school day. School 34, a pre-K through eighth grade school located on Kennedy Boulevard, requires that students lock their cellphones in magnetic pouches, known as Yondr pouches, when they enter the school. The students carry their phones throughout the day in the pouches that can only be unlocked with a magnetic key. At Academy 1, a middle school, students swap their phones for Chromebooks. The phones are then locked in the same cart as the Chromebooks during the school day and then swapped back at the end of the day. We were encouraging more social interaction, especially since coming off the COVID-19 pandemic, School 34 Principal Janeen Maniscalco said about beginning the program in 2023. We had better buy in than we anticipated of course, (students) had grunts, groans and moans but they were pretty much in line. It doesnt matter if its the pouch or the uniform, if you stay consistent and you put your expectations on the children and they respect you and you respect them, they will comply. Yondr, the company that makes the pouches, has sold the pouches to thousands of schools in 27 countries, according to their website. The company claims most schools have seen improvements in academic performance, student behavior and student engagement. Acting Principal Monica Patel said at Academy 1, located on Bergen Avenue, a swap for the cellphone for the Chromebook takes place during homeroom. Each Chromebook is numbered with the cellphone taking its place in a locked cart on wheels. She said the method provided a lot more structure and gave teachers time to teach and focus on instruction. Definitely, a lot less infractions with technology, Patel said since implementing the program last year. Teachers liked it because they didnt have to have the continuous struggle of saying the same thing: Dont use your phone! The State Department of Education provides guidelines for schools developing cellphone policies informing schools to carefully consider the benefits and drawbacks. The inappropriate use of cellphones may disrupt classes and detract from academic concentration, The DOE said in guidelines released in August. School districts should also consider that there may be specific instances where incorporating student cellphone use into an instructional activity, such as accessing digital learning resources, may enhance learning and increase engagement. By grounding decisions in research and engaging the school community through the establishment and implementation of cellphone use policies, school and district leaders can foster safe environments that are conducive to learning and student well-being. School Board President DeJon Morris supports the idea of expanding the pilot program as we have had so many different complaints from last school year about cyberbullying and cellphones not being used appropriately in school. (Cellphones) are merely a distraction, Morris said. I feel like the scholar would get the best course of education absent phones I think it is something we should take advantage of while we have the opportunity. Not only are they a distraction, the phones and the addictive social media platforms have been tied to poor sleep, cyberbullying and unhealthy body esteem in young people. U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued an advisory last year on the effects of social media on youth mental health. And last month he issued an advisory on parental stress, specifically naming monitoring childrens phone use as a cause. Hes also called for placing tobacco-style warning labels on social media to alert users that the platforms can harm childrens mental health. Fernandez has met with parents who are concerned about not being able to reach their children in an emergency, such as a mass shooting incident. Parents are a little anxious about it at times, Fernandez said about removing cellphones from school. As a parent, you worry something happens, I need to speak to my child and know they will be okay. Last weeks fatal school shooting in a Georgia high school has reignited a debate about whether kids should have cellphones in case of emergencies. Morris, who has two kids with cellphones, said he trusts the schools to keep his kids safe. Maniscalco, Patel and Morris said parents can call the schools to connect with their kids if needed. He said that his children have phones to ensure they get home safely. I have confidence in the school and the security they have, Morris said. It is just an excuse to be able to monitor what your kid is doing in school and not doing in school. The investigation into the shooting of a Rumson burglary suspect was continuing over the weekend as court documents and corrections department records indicated the suspect had been released from state prison in June. The investigation remains active and ongoing, Christopher Swendeman, a spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutors office, said in an email Sunday. Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced the shooting on Friday, saying a 27-year-old Newark man suffered a gunshot wound in a shooting by a Fair Haven Police officer in an encounter with two suspects in a moving vehicle. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: Porsche / Volvo / Hyundai It's easy to lose count of the number of times a global car giant has waxed lyrical about its plans to strip its line-up of the combustion engine. Nissans president and CEO, Makoto Uchida, said his company would only sell EVs in Europe by 2030 at the launch of its fittingly-titled Concept 20-30 model last year, while Kia said it planned to sell 1.6 million pure-electric vehicles by that date. I personally attended both of the aforementioned launch events and numerous chats Ive had with high-ranking executives over the past few years have all seemingly led to the conclusion that the days are numbered for the diesel and petrol engine. But what a difference a year makes. Not only have some of the worlds most influential political parties flip-flopped and backtracked on imposed deadlines for banning sales of all new internal combustion engine passenger cars, but global automakers have been similarly noncommittal. Stellantis, which owns Chrysler, Citroen, Dodge, Peugeot, Jeep and many more widely recognized automotive brands, said it was investing more than 50 billion in electrification over the next decade to meet EV sales targets, but those too have been tempered. Chrysler Halcyon Concept Carlos Tavares, Stellantis CEO, went so far as to warn of an impending "bloodbath" as companies raced to the bottom in an attempt to compete with cheaper Chinese rivals. As a result, there has been a change in the discourse, with a renewed focus on hybrid vehicles those that are powered by both battery packs and electric motors as well as a small internal combustion engine. Hyundai, for example, experienced a record-setting August in the US, with the Ioniq 5 driving sales. But hybrid versions of that model really drove the growth, with sales climbing 81 per cent, while retail EV sales were up 27 per cent. Waning demand for pure EVs, fierce competition from cut-price Chinese models, a lack of government incentive for electric vehicle purchasing and the continuing threat of misinformation, range anxiety and general EV apprehension appears to be stunting the growth of the market. Due to this, a glut of major automotive players have decided to stem the flow of financial losses (investing in EV design and manufacturing isnt cheap) by pumping the brakes on ambitious EV targets. Heres what they promised and their new plans going forward Ford Ford F150 Lightning 2024 Hoped to produce two million EVs a year by 2026, has since ditched plans for a seven-seat SUV and delayed next-generation pick-up until 2027 Story continues North American automotive powerhouse, Ford, had ambitious EV plans and targets just a couple of years ago, stating (like so many others) that its European sales would be all-electric by 2030. But a slowdown in demand for its Mustang Mach-E and Ford F-150 Lightning pick-up in the US has meant the company has been forced to pull a U-turn. "An affordable electric vehicle starts with an affordable battery," Ford CEO Jim Farley said in the statement. But it appears the company is struggling to make the margins it needs to qualify EVs as a sales success, thanks in part to licensing much of its battery technology from China. The move, which is replicated across the wider automotive industry, means that China is in control of pricing and, perhaps unsurprisingly, is offering that technology cheaper to domestic manufacturers, which is part of the reason why it can be so competitive on sticker price. For the time being, Ford is decreasing its overall investment in pure EVs, diverting some of those funds to meeting a renewed demand for hybrid vehicles. The company says it will update on its plans in 2025, but has otherwise pinned hopes on a new, more affordable EV platform that it hopes to unveil in 2027. Hyundai Motor Hyundai Motional Robotaxi Sticking to target of two million EV sales by 2030, but will double the number of hybrid models in its line-up by 2028 Hyundai Motor Group, which includes Kia and Genesis, is ranked the worlds number three in terms of overall vehicle sales, sitting behind Japanese giant Toyota and the Volkswagen Group. A major global player, it too had ambitious EV targets. Rewind a year to sister company Kias inaugural EV Day and there want a single mention of hybrid vehicles, but Hyundai has now acknowledged a slowing of demand for pure EVs. During a recent investors day, it said that it will focus its attention on a number of "extended-range EVs" or battery-electric vehicles that use a combustion engine as a generator to charge the battery packs. There will also be a number of new Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles as the line-up effectively doubles in the coming years, with Hyundai Motor President and CEO Jaehoon Chang stating that the speed of conversion to electric vehicles has been slowing and that hybrids are becoming a basic option rather than an alternative to internal combustion engines. Volvo Volvo EX90 Planned to become a 100 per cent EV brand by 2030, will now introduce an increasing number of hybrids Swedish brand Volvo was among the first to set out its pure electric stall, stating way back in 2021 that it would be 100 per cent electric by the year 2030. Alas, it is another manufacturer to reel-back those ambitious plans and sprinkle in a growing number of hybrid vehicle mentions in its most recent statements. Its latest pure EV offering, the excellent EX90, faced years of delays thanks to software problems and an underestimation of the difficulties involved in making a suite of Lidar, ultrasonic sensors, cameras and Nvidias next generation System-on-a-Chip all talk to each other. But the company is on track to offer a pure electric version of every car in its current line-up, aside from the V90 and V60 estate models that it recently reintroduced. The brand, which is owned by Geely and considers Polestar as a close sibling, says its long-term goal remains to become a pure EV brand, but it will continue to sell combustion engine cars into the 2030s. This week, Volvo took the wraps off its very handsome mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid XC90 model that, thanks to a lack of whopping Lidar on the front of it, arguably looks better than its all-electric EX90 counterpart. Theres no prizes for guessing which one will sell more. Porsche Porsche Taycan Turbo GT Was aiming for 80 per cent of sales to be all-electric by 2030, will now continue to develop and push combustion engine technology Just last month, Porsche admitted that its transition to electric cars was taking longer than we thought five years ago, according to a statement, claiming that it could only still deliver on its promises should customer demand exist and the wider "development of electro-mobility". Instead, the company will continue with its 'double strategy', which essentially means pushing on with the development of the internal combustion engine in line with increasing levels of electrification. This means that some Porsche model lines, which were tipped to become pure EV, will now see petrol and hybrid versions live on long beyond their proposed retirement dates. However, the move isnt just a Porsche issue, as fellow German giant Mercedes-Benz also scrapped its 2030 pure EV targets in favor of combustion engine and hybrid models, which it says it will continue to sell into the next decade. You might also like I think I have deduced the problem that will haunt Kamala Harris through this weeks debate and during whatever remains of her political career: She went to law school. Perhaps she should have studied science instead. Thats what got her into this mess concerning fracking. If shed been brushing up on the science behind fossil-fuel extraction, she would have realized that the movement to ban fracking was just a slogan on a hand-lettered sign, not a serious scientific proposal. At the moment America is the worlds leading source of fossil fuels. Two-thirds of Americas natural gas comes from wells that are fracked. So does about 43 percent of our oil. Shut down fracking and prices at the pump would soar. Yet in 2019, Harris was among the most prominent advocates of a fracking ban. Theres no question I support a ban on fracking, she said at the time. But now she is saying that she abandoned her opposition to fracking in 2020, when she ran successfully for vice president with Joe Biden. Or did she? During her recent interview with CNNs Dana Bash, Harris was asked if she still wants to ban fracking. Harris replied, No, and I made that clear on the debate stage in 2020 that I would not ban fracking, she said. As vice president, I did not ban fracking. As president, I will not ban fracking. That got the fact-checkers checking. CNNs Daniel Dale said, The fact-check bottom line is that she did not actually make clear at a 2020 debate that she had changed her previous support for a fracking ban. Or in other words, Harris did what lawyers do: She equivocated. Then theres the question of the Green New Deal, which sets a goal of eliminating all fossil fuels by 2050. When she was in the Senate, Harris was one of the most fervent supporters of the Green New Deal. In a 2019 op-ed on the Medium site, she wrote, The Green New Deal is a bold plan to drastically shift our country to 100 percent clean and renewable energy. Does she still support it? When Bash asked that question, Harris replied, The most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspectives and decisions is my values have not changed. You mentioned the Green New Deal. I have always believed, and I have worked on it, that the climate crisis is real, that it is an urgent matter to which we should apply metrics that include holding ourselves to deadlines around time. So does she support the Green New Deal? Dont miss the best in editorials, opinion columns and commentary from NJ.com writers. Add your email here: Or not? This is a classic example of why the term word salad has become attached to the vice presidents rhetoric. If you separate this salads ingredients out, the onions are saying No, while the arugula is saying Yes. As for the tomatoes, theyre undecided. Harris has been pilloried for that tactic. But its clear that she learned a thing or two during her time at Berkeleys Boalt Hall law school. She can duck a question with the best of them. But the skills needed to address the science of climate change are found in scientists, not politicians. One such scientist is New Jerseys William Happer. Happer, who is an emeritus professor of physics at Princeton, is a cofounder of a group of physicists called the CO2 Coalition. The group argues that the Green New Deal cant survive a cost-benefit analysis. In its policy statement, the group writes Physics Proves that Policies by the United States and Other Countries to Reduce CO2 Emissions to Net Zero by the Year 2050 and Eliminate Fossil Fuels Will Have A Trivial Effect on Temperature and Weather, But Disastrous Effects for the Average Citizen and Countries Worldwide. Happer is often termed an outlier by the alarmists. But hes one of the few scientists to submit the question to a cost-benefit analysis. When I got Happer on the phone the other day, I asked him how he thought the advocates of the Green New Deal would get their goals enacted. They would have to do it at the point of a gun, Happer replied. Like in Cambodia. He meant that literally, citing the many examples of countries that enacted sweeping programs to enforce their leaders ideologies. Cambodia was the victim of ideologues, Happer said. Whenever you have ideologues imposing their views of humanity, those views are bad. Thats the case with those pushing the idea that we need to eliminate carbon, Happer said. Its impossible to decarbonize humanity when we humans are made of carbon and we emit two pounds of carbon dioxide per day, he said. All of their things will be disastrous if they go through. I doubt they will go through, regardless of who wins the election. Its one thing to tell people that theyll be driving electric cars in the distant future, but its quite another to say how you will accomplish that. The Green New Deal may call for elimination of fossil-fueled cars, but Harris wont. Though thats an integral part of the Green New Deal, the Harris campaign put out a statement last month indicating she does not support an electric vehicle mandate. This marks the first real test of the popularity of the left wings Green New Deal. And its no deal. BELOW: Watch this video of another Princeton physicist, the late Freeman Dyson, to get a realistic view of the climate change issue. More: Recent Paul Mulshine columns. Paul Mulshine may be reached at pmulshine@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @Mulshine. Find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook and on Twitter. When Chinese President Xi Jinping opened the China-Africa summit on Thursday, he called on the continent to join China in leading the modernisation of the Global South, which he said has suffered "injustice" at the hands of the West. At this week's Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in Beijing, attended by more than 50 African leaders, China once again pushed for its own development initiatives as an alternative to Western ones. In a joint action plan, China called for strengthened cooperation on supply chains and green technology as it continues to navigate tech and trade restrictions put in place by the US, European Union and allies. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. Observers said Africa's strategic importance to China is growing, but Beijing is also carefully weighing the opportunities and risks as it deepens engagement on the volatile continent. Tang Xiaoyang, a Tsinghua University professor specialising in African studies, said the continent offered great political and economic support for China amid Western "containment". "If the developed countries in the world want to decouple [from China], then we, as the fastest-growing regions in the Global South, can strengthen our relations with each other," said Tang, who is also a China Forum expert, adding that this could serve as a model for future cooperation mechanisms. As tensions grow with the West, China has thrown its support behind mechanisms led by developing countries, such as FOCAC and Brics. Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) arrives with Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye for the FOCAC summit opening ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday. Photo: AP alt=Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) arrives with Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye for the FOCAC summit opening ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday. Photo: AP> Africa is home to the world's youngest population, offering a growing market for Chinese goods and potential for Chinese companies that want to set up overseas manufacturing facilities. The continent also has an abundance of critical minerals used in semiconductor and battery manufacturing, giving it strategic importance as Beijing spars with Washington and Brussels over chip-related trade restrictions and electric vehicle (EV) tariffs. Story continues However, Tang noted that Africa's strategic and economic importance to China is "far more than just minerals and resources". "China hopes that Africa can develop and industrialise, so that it can provide China with better supporting facilities in the industrial chain, and then provide an investment market and become a strong trading partner," he said. "This can provide an all-round economic benefit, which is also our medium- and long-term strategy." China is the continent's biggest trading partner, and most African nations have joined the Belt and Road Initiative - Beijing's flagship global development scheme, which has seen over US$700 billion in deals signed since its inception in 2013. These projects include construction or upgrades to more than 100,000km (62,137 miles) of roads and railways and hundreds of ports, Chinese government data showed. But the belt and road's expansion on the continent has often been dogged by accusations - denied by Beijing - that it is a "debt-trap", as African nations have struggled to repay loans from China to fund these projects. Most of the continent's debt is to multilateral and private lenders, but China is its biggest bilateral creditor. Beijing lent over US$125 billion to Africa from 2013 to 2023, according to data from Boston University's Global Development Policy Centre. Beijing has started to help with loan restructuring for some African nations, including a landmark deal with Zambia last year. Under the action plan announced at the FOCAC summit, China will cancel intergovernmental interest-free loans due by the end of 2024 for least developed countries (LDCs) in Africa that have diplomatic relations with Beijing. According to the Boston University data, China's lending to Africa shrunk during the Covid-19 pandemic as Beijing's overseas investment dropped to cope with the economic hangover. Xi's speech at the FOCAC summit also mentioned "small and beautiful" belt and road projects, a phrase previously used to describe less costly initiatives aimed at improving livelihood, prompting questions over whether China is shifting from big-spending infrastructure projects to more financially sustainable ones. Following several years of decline, construction of and investment in belt and road projects in Africa rebounded in 2023. This was particularly true in metals and mining, though infrastructure investments and projects saw a drop of over 30 per cent, according to data from Fudan University's Green Finance and Development Centre. Tang said the "debt-trap" accusations and political and financial instability in Africa had disrupted China's economic cooperation with the continent. "Political pressures sometimes affect some normal market judgments. For example, if you accuse China of creating a debt crisis or a debt trap, China may also be cautious in financing some apparently normal infrastructure projects that are urgently needed in Africa," he said. "Financing in Africa has also become very difficult and expensive because of the current economic cycle. In the past few years, the inflow of capital into the African economy has been relatively small," Tang said. "China is also very cautious and will no longer make large-scale lending. So the original large-scale infrastructure construction may also be shrinking, relatively speaking." Seifudein Adem, a visiting professor at Japan's Doshisha University specialising in China-Africa relations, said China is trying to minimise the "risks" in its economic engagement with Africa. "Unfortunately, there will be political instability in many places in Africa for a long time to come," he said. "A degree of risk is always there in doing business anywhere. In some places, like Africa, the risk is of course higher. But China will be better off by continuing its economic engagement with Africa than by totally becoming risk-averse and disengaging." Cobus van Staden, a senior researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs and managing director of the China-Global South Project, said Africa is also strategically important for China's military. China opened its first overseas military base in Djibouti in 2017 and is reportedly looking to install a second one in West Africa, prompting concerns from Western powers who fear it could strengthen Beijing's foothold on the continent. Beijing has deployed thousands of peacekeeping personnel to the continent. They have taken part in missions in South Sudan and Mali, with over a dozen Chinese soldiers killed over the years. Hundreds of Chinese peacekeepers have recently left the Democratic Republic of the Congo as armed conflict has escalated in the country. Van Staden said China's relative lack of overseas security experience and domestic backlash over the deaths of Chinese soldiers killed in peacekeeping missions had created barriers for China's security engagement on the continent. "I think China feels more comfortable in security cooperation via overarching bodies like the [African Union], and isn't interested in replacing other security providers like the US." Adem, however, said China could seek to increase its military presence in Africa, and it would probably be welcomed. "The global geopolitical climate is conducive for this. Therefore, it will not be surprising if China begins to forge quasi-military alliances with select African countries sooner rather than later," he said. In his summit speech, Xi offered 1 billion yuan (US$140.5 million) in military aid to Africa as well as training for 6,000 military personnel and 1,000 police officers. He also said China was willing to conduct more joint military drills and patrols. Beijing will support African nations in solving internal conflicts in their own way, but will help to mediate if requested, according to the action plan. Van Staden said China's involvement in mediation has been "relatively limited". "China's non-interference policy limits more direct involvement ... China has done some mediation, but it was somewhat piecemeal. I'm not sure that China is interested in expanding its role in African mediation at present." He Wenping, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of West-Asian and African Studies, said China has been committed to peacemaking through diplomacy including installing a special envoy for the Horn of Africa and holding peace conferences, as well as post-conflict reconstruction. "China is still very willing to continue to be a link for peace," she said. "And without economic development, peace will also be fragile." This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. VALPARAISO This weekend in Valparaiso, the streets were literally flowing with popcorn. An incredible 750 pounds of kernels, in fact, were popped for the floats that comprised the Popcorn Parade at the 45th annual Popcorn Festival in Valparaiso. The spirit of Orville Redenbacher lives on, not just in a bronzed impersonator of the popcorn legend, but in the crowded streets, hundreds of vendors and multiple music stages that comprised the event. Its so cool to have something this big in my hometown, says Alivia Goetz, a senior Washington Township High School who is leading the free popcorn bag-filling operation in the center of the festival. We do a lot of laughing. Popcorn is the perfect thing to snack on. Its all a bit overwhelming if youve never been before, and while the theme of popcorn was ever-present, it was a bit of a scavenger hunt to find the most popcorn-tastic snacks at the festival. Below are the highlights: Popcorn Cupcakes at Designer Desserts Nearly all the restaurants and cafes along Lincolnway stay open for Popcorn Fest and offer celebratory specials. But Designer Desserts was unique in its ability to incorporate actual popcorn into their weekend special: Caramel-corn and Chicago-style popcorn cupcakes. Pastry shop owner Adam Wiltfang acknowledged it was initially a challenge to come up with a popcorn themed flavor. But the specialty cupcake is now sought out by out-of-towners, Wiltfang boasted, who hit up the dessert shop at the festival just for popcorn treats. I didnt try the Chicago style, which was adorned with kettle corn and cheddar, but the caramel corn version, available through Sunday, does justice to the spirit of popcorn. Theres cream-of-corn in the cake batter, and the frosting is made with caramel corn and butter. Next year, Wiltfang said he hopes bring back their popcorn cookie; catering four weddings limited the dessert shop to just 200 popcorn cupcakes this time around. The Popcorn Baron Theres a Burger King and a Fried Chicken Colonel but none can boast the incredible mix of sweet, savory and spicy options of the Popcorn Baron. The Baron sells over 65 varieties of popcorn, so I was shocked to find out that this was their first Popcorn Festival. Owner Keith Perry actually started the concept for friends in the (online) fighting game community. Somewhere along the way, Perry said, figured out if I can turn it into a powder, I can make it into a popcorn flavor and his popcorn business exploded like a kernel popping in the microwave. Popcorn Baron is where you go to craft a meal made out of popcorn. The savory items alone include flavors like Blackened Cheddar, Loaded Baked Potato, and Korean Barbecue. The latter, Perry said, is the hardest to make, with seven different ingredients and layers. But the complex profiles are no mere gimmick. I have a very accurate palate, Perry said. I want you to taste it and forget youre eating popcorn. I can confirm that the Korean Barbecue flavor tasted exactly as advertised, and that goes, for better or worse, everything else on their menu. For better includes Red Velvet Cheesecake. Their spiciest item, the White Devil, proved to be more of a challenge. Made with cheddar and ghost pepper, even the mini portion will make you cry. Do not snack lightly on that one. Perry wasnt sure what his next event would be, but noted Popcorn Baron is fully permitted now to vend in NWI and is actively looking for events. Do Goodies and The Kalamazoo Kettle Corn Do Goodies, whose workforce is majority disabled individuals, has a popcorn store right in Valparaiso. Advertising they offered popping with a purpose, the company has some really nice chocolate-drizzled options, as well as a PB&J flavor that is made with real peanut butter and jelly. The Kalamazoo Kettle Corn vendors also had some nice chocolate and sweet popcorn, though their specialty is actually coconut and Himalayan sea salt, with a dash of pink. For those who wish to snack on something popcorn adjacent, the Kalamazoo vendors also sell specialty pretzels, the best of which, of those I tried, was the pizza pretzel variety. GALLERY: The Times Photos of the Week The First Unitarian Church of Hobart dates back to 1874, when Hobart was still a fledgling town of four brickyards and about 500 residents. A group of worshipers who had been meeting in a home decided to convene in a school house and establish a congregation. They started renting Stocker Hall near Third and Main streets while looking to build their own building. The First Unitarian Church of Hobart is now celebrating its 150th anniversary. The church at 497 Main Street in downtown Hobart is the oldest Unitarian church in Indiana and the oldest church in Hobart still occupied by the original congregation. Church Board President Sandi Watters attributes its longevity to persistence; Minister Tom Bozeman to spiritual fortitude. As the only Unitarian Universalist Church in Northwest Indiana, it draws congregants from across the Calumet Region. The 2,500-square-foot Italianate- and Gothic-style church was built in 1876, was dedicated by Rev. Robert Collyer of the Unity Church Chicago and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The parishioners hired a contractor from Valparaiso for the low bid of $1,400, but the cost of the sanctuary ultimately climbed to $2,600, including furnishings. "They acquired this land for $1 in 1874 and began building in 1875," Watters said. It's been led by a number of ministers over the years. "We haven't had that many full-time long-serving ministers," Watters said. "We had a lot who came from the Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago who came by train. Some were student ministers who stayed here for a short period of time." Over the first half century, the First Unitarian Church was embroiled in a legal dispute with John Earle, the brother of city founder George Earle. He tried to repossess the parcel that was bought for $1 in 1874 when he was trying to sell five-acre tracts for development, claiming the deed was void because there wasn't a settled minister and the church didn't have regular services. The dispute went to court in 1913, a settlement was reached and the church ended up staying put. "We almost lost the building," Watters said. "We needed to testify in court but it was settled in our favor." The church building is mostly in good shape, but needs some work like reconditioning the wood around the windows, Buildings and Grounds Chair Tracy Ferrell said. "The plaster on the walls is starting to show its age and needs to be updated," he said. "And paint, of course, always paint." The First Unitarian Church of Hobart recently renovated the roof and steeple. "It was a long arduous slog to get through the Hobart Historic Commission. They were very adamant about putting stuff together in link kind and making sure it was done properly," he said. "The physicality of the building, being as old as it is, is probably the biggest issue. That's what any old building will have." The church recently celebrated the 150-year milestone with a gathering at the sanctuary, a party and a dinner. "There's pride," Bozeman said. "There's some reverence for the history and the lineage they're part of. There's this interesting thing in Unitarian Universalism where we try to balance being rooted in our heritage while also evolving and finding new paths forward. There's this ongoing tension there that we try to negotiate. We honor the traditions that make it possible, but also recognize the world is a changing place and there are different needs that come up." The church is open to many different spiritual paths. "There are Christian Unitarian Universalists. There are Buddhist Unitarian Universalists. There are Pagan Unitarian Universalists. There are Jewish Unitarian Universalists," he said. "It's about us walking the same path together instead of having to believe the same thing." In 1926, the church could no longer afford the building, but it was rescued by Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago, which used the church as a training grounds until it was in a position to emerge from the conservatorship. Many former student ministers from the church went on to minister at churches all over the country, including Community Church in New York City, which at the time was the largest Unitarian congregation in the United States. "There's lots of folks who are ministers around the country who have preached here," Bozeman said. The First Unitarian Church returned to a stronger financial position after minister Nelson Moore settled there in 1948 and stayed until 1974, when he retired. Bozeman has been at the church for two years and it hopes to make him permanent. "The way that we do it in Unitarian Universalism is there's a settlement process," he said. "I interviewed from Washington state. One of the things that most impressed me about the church was the depth of their engagement. There's a curriculum they've been doing with conversations about racism. It was clear the depth of engagement and heart and thought people brought to it wasn't something to check off a box. There was care and attention they were giving to it. That's a rarity in a lot of congregations." The church hosts the Empty Circle Zen group that meets every Tuesday evening and Saturday morning, The Science Cafe Quarterly and twice-yearly rummage sales, which are a service to the community. It's active in a number of community causes like a soup kitchen. It's now working on mobile mental health units in Gary. "Whenever we can find an exciting, interesting project we can join up with and be a part of, that's great," Bozeman said. It's also active in political causes like Black Lives Matter and welcomes LGBT members. "We have a congregation of people that care about things outside of their particular lives and particular place in the church," Watters said. "They want to see things get better and improve for other people." The church believes in progress, Bozeman said. "We usually don't think of heaven and hell of being things that come after we die, but rather of heaven and hell being things we encounter every day," Bozeman said. "We channel our energy into creating heaven on earth and reducing the amount of hell on earth to whatever extent we can do that together. The Universalist heritage of ours is about everybody going to heaven and there's a line about if everybody's going to heaven we might as well learn to get along now." GARY Friends Angela Rico and Stella Smith were exuberant after crossing the finish line at Leon's Heroes Obstacle Race. The two Illinois women ran the 5K obstacle course on Sunday with husbands, Eric Rico and Matt Smith. All four flashed well-earned victory smiles while hoisting and waving large American flags. "Both our husbands ran it last year and this year they conned us into doing it with them," Angela Rico joked. All four said they would likely run the obstacle race next year because they enjoyed the training, camaraderie and patriotism at the event. "It's better in a group," Stella Smith said. The race, including canine and 10K events, was held under a brilliant blue sky with cool temperatures at the Indiana Dunes National Park, West Beach, in Gary. There were approximately 200 racers who competed in the event. The message of Leon's Heroes Obstacle Race was to never forget the events of 9/11. That message wasn't lost on Kris Ragan of Hobart who had parked his truck near the Indiana Dunes entrance, had noticed all the American flags flying and decided to enter at the last minute. Ragan said he was happy to have entered the 5K and complete it after spotting friend, Carl Kurek. "It's hard and challenging and it's important to honor our military and law enforcement. It's for a good cause," Ragan said. Leon Wolek, the founder of Leon's Triathlon, partnered for the fourth year in a row with the National Park Service to hold the event also known as America's Race. The two-day event, which started on Saturday, also included canine races and an opening event on both days. The two-day event marked the 23rd anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001. The attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks carried out by al-Quaeda against the United States in 2001. The Sept. 11 terrorist hijacked four commercial airliners scheduled to travel from the East Coast to California. "As we mark the 23rd anniversary of Sept. 11, we pause to remember and honor the lives lost and the bravery shown on that tragic day...Join us in commemorating this day, paying tribute to the heroes," Wolek said. Leon's Heroes Obstacle Race honors the old-school work ethic and patriotism that built America set against the background of Lake Michigan, Wolek said. "It's a patriotic event that just happens to have a sporting element," Wolek said Both the 5K and 10K races featured obstacles representing numerous American conflicts. These obstacles included a race start that took runners up a steep, flag-lined sand hill and continued with a climb up stairs while carrying heavy hoses around their shoulders. There was also a water obstacle portion of the race representing the U.S. military landing on the shores of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Wolek, a native of New Chicago, said his first triathlon was held in 1983 near the Izaak Walton off Interstate 65 in Hobart. The event was later moved to the Wolf Lake Memorial Park location in Hammond. This year's event was held there on June 2, four days before D-Day, in honor of the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. The sister race, an obstacle-course race paying tribute to 9/11, was held this past weekend. GALLERY: The Times Photos of the Week This photo taken on Sept. 7, 2024 shows a view of Puqian Township in Wenchang City, south China's Hainan Province. Super Typhoon Yagi, the 11th typhoon of the year, made landfall on Friday at 4:20 p.m. in Wengtian Township, Wenchang City, south China's Hainan Province. [Photo by Zhang Liyun/Xinhua] As of 3 p.m. Saturday, Super Typhoon Yagi has killed four people and injured 95 others in south China's Hainan Province, local authorities said at a press conference on Saturday evening. More than 526,000 people across Hainan have been affected by the typhoon, according to the provincial emergency management department. Yagi, the 11th typhoon of the year, made landfall twice on Friday, first striking Hainan Province and later Guangdong Province. Most areas in Hainan have been affected to varying degrees, resulting in losses to infrastructure, industries and agriculture, and impacting the production and lives of residents, according to the press conference. So far, losses in highway facilities, water transportation, road transportation, civil aviation and ongoing transport projects across Hainan have climbed to a total of 728 million yuan (about 102.6 million U.S. dollars). Among these losses, 26 national and provincial trunk roads and 103 other highways, totaling more than 400 kilometers, have been damaged. Waterway passenger stations and equipment have suffered severe damage, while airports and key, ongoing related construction projects have also incurred losses. As of 5 p.m. Saturday, the provincial capital of Haikou has evacuated some 105,500 residents due to the typhoon, and over 400 houses have collapsed and more than 32,000 houses have been damaged. Over 167,800 trees in the city have been uprooted and 56,742 hectares of crops have been affected, resulting in direct economic losses of more than 26.3 billion yuan. Notably, 17 townships of Wenchang, the city where the typhoon made its first landfall, suffered a direct hit, which has resulted in very severe disaster losses, said Wei Bo, deputy mayor of Wenchang. Preliminary statistics show that more than 25,000 houses in the city were damaged and nearly one-third of the city's roads were impassable due to fallen trees. Meanwhile, 65 percent of the city's 10KV power lines experienced power outages and 792 communication base stations were damaged with a power outage rate of 82.3 percent. Out of Wenchang's 11 water plants, eight stopped water supply due to power outages. In Wenchang alone, the area of the affected crops reached about 270,000 mu (about 18,000 hectares), with about 160,000 mu completely destroyed. The area of forest damage in the city reached about 48,100 hectares, accounting for 46 percent of its total forest coverage. So far, the city's total economic loss caused by Yagi has notched up 32.7 billion yuan, according to Wei. In order to rapidly restore the order after the disaster, by 6 p.m. Saturday, a total of 61,000 sanitation workers and 6,300 vehicles had been deployed across Hainan. A total of 14,000 tonnes of garbage brought by the typhoon had been cleared and some 142,000 fallen trees across the province had been dealt with. Currently, the operation of the province's eight waste-to-energy incineration power plants and 294 waste transfer stations remain stable, with ample capacity in the garbage storage facilities, ensuring that the increased volume of garbage due to the typhoon can be promptly disposed of. In Guangdong Province, Yagi had forced the relocation of 729,954 people by noon on Saturday, according to the provincial flood, drought and typhoon control authorities. Yagi has also wreaked havoc in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, forcing the evacuation of about 60,000 residents. As of 11 a.m. on Saturday, over 107,000 households remained without power. On Saturday morning, China's National Meteorological Center renewed its red alert -- its highest alert level -- for Yagi. Yasushi Kaifu has never been to China, and the 15-year-old Tokyo resident does not plan on visiting any time soon. Few of Kaifu's high school friends have ever travelled to China either, and as reports of tensions in the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait mount, so too do their negative views and unease about Japan's big neighbour. "Because I live in Japan, I would be worried if there was a big war once a conflict broke out in the Taiwan Strait," he said. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. Keitoku Ikegami, 24, a graduate student at International Christian University in Tokyo, has been to China, but said visiting now would not be an easy decision. "As a Japanese person, considering political tensions between the two countries, I will be quite hesitant on whether I should really go to China," he said. The crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan. Photo: Kyodo alt=The crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan. Photo: Kyodo> When he was 10, Ikegami went on a family trip to the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan. His most recent visit to the country was last year, when bilateral tensions spiked again after China imposed a ban on all imports of Japanese seafood following Tokyo's controversial discharge of water from its damaged Fukushima nuclear plant. Ties had already been strained since 2020, first amid Japanese concerns over Beijing's transparency regarding the extent of the Covid-19 pandemic and then its introduction of a national security law in Hong Kong, where Japanese businesses have a significant presence. "My impression of China is that the food is very delicious and roads are broad, but the society is under tighter control than I expected, and there are so many surveillance cameras on the streets and in the subway stations," Ikegami said. He added that he would prefer travelling to neighbouring South Korea, which shared similar political systems and democratic values. While Beijing and Tokyo have been at odds on many issues, leaders and politicians from either side - including Chinese President Xi Jinping and outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida - have pledged to build strong bonds between their young people. Yang Wanming, president of the semi-official Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, told People's Daily in a recent interview that the organisation was planning to invite 1,500 Japanese youths to China. Story continues "The goodwill of the youth of the two countries towards each other is an important base of public opinion and the improvement of public opinion is fundamental work for the development of Sino-Japanese relations," Yang was quoted as saying by the Communist Party mouthpiece. "We will always attach great importance to the work of youth exchanges, and endeavour to nurture the power of knowledge and friendship with China for the new era." But the political chill, coupled with Japan's increasing alignment with the United States, record low public opinion of China, and Beijing's controversial anti-espionage law will hamper efforts to rebuild youth ties, according to observers. Relations between China and Japan, the world's second and third largest economies, respectively, are contentious and complicated. Once a victim of brutal Japanese aggression from the 1930s to the end of World War II, China established diplomatic ties with Japan in 1972. Six years later, both countries reaffirmed they would "settle all disputes by peaceful means" in a peace treaty following a historic visit by late Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping. Territorial disputes in regions like the East China Sea have cast a shadow over China's relationships with its neighbours. Photo: Reuters/Kyodo alt=Territorial disputes in regions like the East China Sea have cast a shadow over China's relationships with its neighbours. Photo: Reuters/Kyodo> Japanese were among the first foreign investors to come to China, and more than 31,000 Japanese companies now operate in the country. The two countries are also each other's major export destinations. Still, bitterness runs deep - from wartime history to territorial disputes in the East China Sea, and frequent confrontations between coastguard ships and military jets. China has yet to resume its 15-day visa waiver policy for Japanese travellers. The number of Japanese visiting China in the first 11 months of last year was just one-third of that during the same period in 2019, according to the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China. "This is very worrying, as the exchange of young people has been dealt a blow because of political tensions in recent years and Covid-19 pandemic restrictions," said a Chinese expert with a government think tank who declined to be named. "Cultivating bonds between young people is like planting trees for your heirs, and it will have an impact on generations to come," the expert said. "I think leaders of the two countries need to take the initiative, because, like it or not, you can either forge ahead or fall behind when it comes to China-Japan relations." Youth exchanges have long been seen as a barometer of the health of ties between China and Japan. The first group of Japanese students arrived in China soon after the two countries signed an agreement on exchanges in 1979. According to Chinese state media, some 480 Japanese students studied in Chinese universities between 1979 and 1982, while 960 students from China, sponsored by scholarships and loans from the Japanese government, enrolled in Japanese universities. The peak came in the early 1980s, when Hu Yaobang, then general secretary of the party, visited Tokyo and extended an invitation to 3,000 Japanese young people to visit China. In September 1984, a total of 12 flights carried 3,000 Japanese youths to China, according to China Youth Daily, and Hu Jintao, then head of the Communist Youth League of China, met them at the airport in Shanghai. In 1985, Hu, who became party general secretary in 2002 and president of China the following year, led a delegation of 100 Chinese youths on a reciprocal trip to Japan. "At that time, political ties were warm and it was largely the Chinese top leaders that spearheaded the exchanges between the young people," the Chinese expert said. "And many of the young people at that time later became politicians and businessmen and helped improve ties with China." Even when political ties were strained and general public perception of China was negative, it appeared that Japanese youth held the most positive views of China. In the most recent poll, conducted by the Japanese government last September and October, a record low of 12.7 per cent of the Japanese public said they considered China to be "friendly", a dramatic drop from a peak of 78.6 per cent in 1980. But the same poll last year showed about 20 per cent of people aged between 18 and 39 felt China was "friendly" - much higher than the percentages for those over 40. Shin Kawashima, a professor at the University of Tokyo who specialises in modern Chinese diplomatic history, said improving youth exchanges was more important than ever. "The negative public sentiment is a major challenge and cannot be overcome overnight, so seeking to strengthen exchanges between young people is becoming more meaningful now because they have better views of each other compared with other age groups," Kawashima said. Measures need to be taken before young Japanese lose interest in China, observers say, but the task will not be easy. In Japan, where the population is ageing faster than in almost any other country, it will be a growing challenge to promote interest for exchanges among the younger generations. "In the 1980s, young Japanese were invited to eat delicious Chinese food and watch performances in the Great Hall of the People [in Beijing] under a typical 'friendship' atmosphere, but do you think young people nowadays would like that?" Kawashima said. Meanwhile, China's controversial anti-espionage law and the detention of Japanese businesspeople and academics have sent chills across Japan, including scholars who used to be active in taking Japanese students to China for study programmes. "Before that, many Japanese professors worked very hard to promote youth exchanges, however now it is not just the young students but also scholars whose interest in coming to China is waning," the Chinese expert said. Kawashima agreed that there were grave security concerns. "Japanese people do not really know where the red line is, so many of them just give up going to China, and this also brings a negative impact on people-to-people exchanges." A first step would be to encourage young Japanese to see China for themselves to shift negative perceptions of China, according to Kawashima. Kaifu, the 15-year-old from Tokyo, said he and his friends were fascinated with mahjong video games, which were inspired by the 19th century Chinese tile-based game, and someday he would like to experience "the differences in daily life between Chinese and Japanese". When he was 17, Takumi Inoue, now a 22-year-old undergraduate at Waseda University in Tokyo, decided that he wanted to go to China. At the time, China's alleged suppression of ethnic minorities in its western Xinjiang region had drawn international criticism and media attention, but this had also raised Inoue's interest in China's ethnic policy. "Japan also has a history of suppression of the Ryukyuan people in Okinawa and the Ainu people in northern Japan," he said. In 2022, when China was still under a strict zero-Covid policy, Inoue flew to Beijing, where he endured a month-long quarantine before joining Peking University's double-degree programme. "I think it's easy to attack China's authoritarian system, and right-wing politicians in Japan have often criticised the zero-Covid policy, but I believe that unless I really experience it, I cannot just criticise it." Spending time in China did give him a new perspective on the country, he said. "I used to believe that Chinese people hate us, and in fact, while I was called riben guizi [Japanese devil] twice in China, many people were very friendly after knowing I was Japanese," he said. Shotaro Abe, a 20-year-0ld from Kamakura, the political centre of medieval Japan, said he held "very negative views on the authoritarian government in China, especially after the Tiananmen crackdown and its policy in Xinjiang". But Abe, whose dream is to become the mayor of his hometown, recently applied for a two-week exchange programme to China, hoping to "really experience China because honestly I don't really know the country". "I also want to talk to my peers in China, about everything from politics to music, for example, why China has so many young and famous pianists like Lang Lang and Yuja Wang." This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. The mother of the 14-year-old boy charged with fatally shooting four people at his Georgia high school this week told relatives that she had called the school on the morning of the attack, warning of an extreme emergency, her sister said on Saturday. Officials said the suspect, Colt Gray, opened fire on Wednesday morning on the campus of Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., killing two students and two teachers and injuring nine others. The authorities said reports of a shooting came in at about 10:20 a.m. But the suspects mother, Marcee Gray, had apparently called the school at 9:50 a.m., her sister, Annie Brown, said. It was unclear what in particular led the mother to call the school that morning. The emergence of the possible alert from the suspects mother intensifies the scrutiny now applied to his family, school officials and law enforcement officials about missed opportunities to heed warning signs and intervene before the attack. Ms. Gray told Ms. Brown in a text message after the shooting that she had notified a counselor at the school, Ms. Brown said. The phone call to the school was first reported on Saturday by The Washington Post, which cited Ms. Brown, text messages and a call log from the familys shared phone plan that documented a 10-minute phone call from the mothers number to the school. A man wanted in what authorities said was a planned shooting on a Kentucky interstate that left five people seriously wounded and 12 vehicles riddled with gunfire remains at large in a remote wooded area. The man, Joseph A. Couch, 32, was reclassified from a person of interest to a suspect on Sunday afternoon after the police recovered a vehicle that was registered in his name, a weapon near the vehicle and interviewed people who authorities said made statements that identified him as the suspect. Mr. Couch, a Kentucky native, served four years in the National Guard in the engineer battalion. He was arrested, but dismissed, on a terroristic threatening charge earlier this year. The manhunt began around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, but authorities called it off after running out of daylight. On Sunday, ground searchers lost daylight again searching for Mr. Couch, but the police said they have formed a perimeter around the area and will be patrolling throughout Sunday night. The search area is a large wooded area near where the shooting took place on Interstate 75 at Exit 49, about eight miles north of London, Ky. Laurel County Sheriffs Captain Richard Dalrymple told reporters on Sunday night that the suspect had shot from a ledge on a cliff side and down onto the highway. He was using a gun and 1,000 rounds of ammunition he had legally purchased on Saturday morning, according to investigators. Before Isaiah Collier went into the studio to record his new album, the saxophonist and composer sent his fellow musicians a playlist of sorts. Instead of songs, it contained news clips chronicling racially motivated violence targeting Black men and women including the 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery and the 2023 shooting of the Kansas City, Mo., teenager Ralph Yarl as well as the protests that followed. Collier wanted the LP to be an observation log of the past four years, and he was reminding the members of his band, the Chosen Few, exactly where the music had sprung from. Its one thing to hear people who write their inspirations, Collier, 26, explained on a recent video call from his hometown, Chicago. Its another thing for you to be in real time, and knowing that this is really coming from an actual tangible and concrete place. To make that context clear for listeners, Collier wove broadcast news excerpts into the finished album, The World Is on Fire, out Oct. 18. The aesthetic choice plays out powerfully on tracks like one named after Arbery, which opens with a CBS report blended with a somber chord progression from the pianist Julian Davis Reid. Later in the piece, police sirens wail in the background as Colliers alto solo reaches a torrential climax, backed by the drummer Michael Shekwoaga Odes seismic rolls and cymbal crashes. U.S. ELECTION The presidential election is less than 60 days away. This is what were watching. Trump avoids sentencing before Election Day The judge who presided over Donald Trumps criminal trial in Manhattan postponed Trumps sentencing until after Election Day, guaranteeing that the American people will vote without knowing whether Trump, the first former president convicted as a felon, will spend time behind bars. The delay raised a question: Is he above the law? Despite his legal troubles, Trump has enjoyed remarkably resilient support. A national poll of likely voters conducted by The New York Times and Siena College found Trump narrowly leading Vice President Kamala Harris, 48 percent to 47 percent. The results are in line with polls in the pivotal battleground states, where Harris is tied with Trump or holds slim leads, according to New York Times polling averages. Your questions: Were asking readers what theyd like to know about the election and taking those questions to our reporters. Today, we gave one to Edward Wong, who covers U.S. foreign policy and the State Department. Europe is watching. How come the candidates dont talk about the global view on America and the necessity to reconnect to allies? Yasha Young, Berlin Edward: The two candidates have very different views on Americas traditional security alliances. If Donald Trump were to be president again, he might not bolster Americas traditional alliances; he could very well weaken them instead. Vice President Kamala Harris has not talked much about foreign policy since becoming the Democratic candidate this summer. But most analysts think she will carry on President Bidens efforts to strengthen traditional U.S. alliances. Most American voters do not see foreign policy as a decisive issue or a priority in U.S. elections, unless American troops are directly involved in a disastrous war, so candidates generally do not spend much time talking about U.S. alliances or global affairs. However, we might see journalists ask both Harris and Trump questions about their foreign policy views in the televised debate on Tuesday. Boeing reached a tentative deal on Sunday for a new contract with unions representing more than 33,000 workers, a significant step toward avoiding a strike that threatened to shut down production when the existing agreement expires later this week. The proposal, which has yet to be voted on by the workers, would be the first full agreement between the company and the unions in 16 years and would deliver raises of 25 percent over the four-year life of the contract. That falls short of the 40 percent the unions had sought, but includes other victories, including improvements to health care and retirement benefits, and a promise to build the companys next commercial airplane in the Seattle and Portland regions. If approved, the deal would resolve one of the most pressing items on the agenda of Boeings new chief executive, Kelly Ortberg, who started a month ago. Mr. Ortberg, the former head of aerospace supplier Rockwell Collins, inherited a company in crisis after a panel blew off a 737 Max jet in January. Though no one was seriously injured, that episode reignited concerns from five years ago about the quality and safety of Boeing planes after two fatal crashes involving Max planes. It also shed light on Boeings shortcomings on quality control. The leadership of the unions District 751 and the much smaller District W24 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers urged their members to approve the deal. Tens of millions of Americans will tune in live on Tuesday to see how Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump handle their first head-to-head encounter on the debate stage. That mass audience will also scrutinize the performance of ABC News. As the sponsor and host of a general-election debate, ABC is in charge of nearly every aspect of the presentation, from the camera angles that viewers see at home to the ability of the moderators, David Muir and Linsey Davis, to keep the proceedings on track. TV networks prefer to recede into the background on a debate night. But ABC has already found itself at the center of crisscrossing accusations from both campaigns. Ms. Harriss aides have complained that some ground rules disadvantage the vice president. Mr. Trump, meanwhile, has assailed the network in increasingly belligerent ways, deeming ABC the worst and the nastiest. Leaders at ABC News, who were gathering at the debate site in Philadelphia on Saturday, say they have shrugged off the noise, noting that both campaigns ultimately agreed to participate. Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. Sometimes the most rewarding stories to tell are the ones you dont set out to find. Thats how I felt about my recent article on lonely seniors in Shanghai looking for love. As the Shanghai bureau chief for The New York Times, I often write about how many young people in China are skipping marriage a trend that has sent parents and the government into a panic. It is still uncommon for unmarried people to have children in China, which means fewer grandchildren for the anxious and aging, and a demographic crisis for the government. I wanted to hear from wannabe grandparents who visit Peoples Park in Shanghai every weekend. Like Central Park in New York, the leafy public space is a hub of social activity. It is also home to Chinas best known marriage market, a place where parents come with resumes of their unmarried adult children, hoping to find them a match. The parents broadcast the personal details of their kids height and weight. They boast of attributes such as high I.Q. levels and test scores. Occasionally, they let slip a gripe, such as how their kid doesnt call home enough. One year ago, Donald J. Trump faced 91 felony counts across four criminal cases, enough for an ordinary defendant to brace for years behind bars. But today, Mr. Trump still walks free and is running for president. One of his cases was thrown out. The U.S. Supreme Court derailed another. A third is delayed indefinitely. And on Friday, in his only criminal case that actually made it to trial and scratched his legal Teflon, he pulled off one of his most surprising wins yet. At Mr. Trumps request, and without objection from prosecutors, the judge who presided over his criminal trial in Manhattan postponed his sentencing until after the election, in which Mr. Trump will square off against Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidency. The judge, Juan M. Merchan, had previously planned to impose the punishment on Sept. 18, during the heart of the campaign. The decision from a judge who until now had propelled the case relentlessly forward is a surprising validation of the former presidents legal strategy to use his wealth and political status and an assist from the Supreme Court to drag out the case and diminish its impact on his campaign. The delay all but guarantees that, on Election Day, Mr. Trump will remain a felon, but also a free man. Within our marriage, my wife and I have a clash of cultures, which means we talk to our kids quite differently about the state of the world and its future. We play somewhat typecast roles. Im the upbeat dad from America; shes the no-nonsense mom from Poland. Weve created two different schools of child-rearing; its pretty much Disney versus the Iron Curtain. My wife, Kasia, handles hardship better than I do. In general, she is very at ease when discussing the morbid, the poignant and the tragic. You might say this is her native habitat. Kasia grew up on the other side of the Iron Curtain, in Warsaw. There was no coddling there. When she was in first grade, her teacher took her on a field trip to the site of a recent plane crash, where she stared at the charred sneakers of dead passengers. The lesson seemed to be: Bad things happen, and there is no point in pretending otherwise. Oh, yeah, and build better planes. That plane, by the way, was headed to Warsaw from where else? the United States. The symbolism went deep. When our boys were toddlers, and they asked us about death, I hemmed and hawed, while Kasia explained: I will die, your father will die, and someday you will die. As you can guess, tears were shed, but death was thus accurately explained. I spent the Labor Day weekend in Chicago, Americas greatest summer city. Sunday afternoon, in particular, was glorious. The temperatures were moderate, the skies were clear, and the tourist sections of the city were teeming with happy Pearl Jam fans whod just attended Saturdays concert at Wrigley Field. My wife and I took our grandchildren to Navy Pier to visit the Chicago Childrens Museum, and as we walked back toward Michigan Avenue, we saw the same sight we see every time we visit Chicago an impressive skyscraper with Trump emblazoned in immense letters across the buildings facade. I was reminded once again that Donald Trump is a singular figure in American politics. There is no one like him, and that means that no one can replace him. While its always perilous to make predictions about American politics or anything else heres one that Im almost certain is correct: If Trump loses in 2024, MAGA will fade. He is the irreplaceable key to its success. Last month I wrote a column that generated intense blowback on the right because I argued that, as a pro-life conservative, I am voting for Kamala Harris. That was controversial enough, but what really seemed to make people angry was one of my stated motivations: that I am voting for Harris to try to save conservatism from MAGA. Defeating Trump, I said, would give conservative Americans a chance to build something decent from the ruins of a party that was once a force for genuine good in American life. The MAGA response was, in essence: Youre fooling yourself. Trump or no Trump, we own the party now. BEIJING (Reuters) - China is "dissatisfied" with the Dutch goverment's decision to expand export controls on ASML chipmaking equipment, the Chinese commerce ministry said in a statement on Sunday. The Dutch government on Friday said it would expand export licensing requirements for ASML's 1970i and 1980i DUV (Deep Ultraviolet) immersion lithography tools, aligning its rules with export restrictions on these machines unilaterally imposed by the United States last year. Beijing has repeatedly criticized Washington's strategy of pressuring allies like the Netherlands and Japan to join export controls targeting Chinese access to cutting-edge chips and chipmaking equipment. "In recent years, in order to maintain its global hegemony, the United States has continued to ... coerce certain countries to tighten export control measures for semiconductors and (related) equipment ... China is resolutely opposed to this," China's commerce ministry said in response to the Dutch government's announcement on Friday. The ministry added that the Dutch side should not abuse export controls, avoid measures that damage Sino-Dutch cooperation in semiconductors, and safeguard the "common interests of Chinese and Dutch enterprises." U.S. lobbying has effectively stopped ASML, the world's biggest vendor of chipmaking equipment, from exporting its most advanced lithography systems to China. Dutch Trade Minister Reinette Klever said on Friday the decision was made "for our safety". (Reporting by Eduardo Baptista; Editing by Sonali Paul) At 21, I was a full-time college student. I also sold drugs and carried guns. In the early-morning hours of April 7, 2007, I was shot on a Bronx street, along with two other people. I survived. One person didnt. The third, who was badly injured, gave testimony at trial that suggested I shot everyone, including myself. Based on that, I was convicted of all charges. I maintain my innocence, but I am not here to convince you of that. Innocent-man narratives often discount the need for reforms to help all people, including guilty people. I want to tell you instead about the person I have become over the past 17 years in prison and the people I have met here. At Sullivan Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in the Catskill Mountains in New York, Im incarcerated with men who have earned college degrees while incarcerated and who fill their days with volunteer work. Despite bettering our lives or aging out of criminal behavior we have no opportunity to demonstrate our rehabilitation outside of parole hearings that may come decades in the future. Lawmakers across the country have proposed so-called Second Look laws. The First Step Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2018, gave federal judges the discretion to reduce the sentences of people convicted of federal crimes when theres compelling evidence to do so. The conventions are over. The first debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris looms. But for many observers, theres a highly anticipated event in this election season thats yet to happen and could occur at any moment: an endorsement from Taylor Swift. Just one day after President Biden announced in July that he was abandoning his re-election bid, the Yale historian Timothy Snyder speculated publicly about the possibility of Ms. Swift endorsing Ms. Harris. The Will Taylor Swift Endorse Kamala Harris? headlines soon proliferated. During the Democratic National Convention in August, a rumor surfaced about a supposed mystery guest on the final night who many excited observers speculated would be Ms. Swift. (In the end, there was no surprise guest.) The countdown clock restarted: When might we expect Ms. Swifts official endorsement? A better question might be: Why should we care? We already know that celebrity endorsements have limited power to sway races. In 2004, John Kerry had endorsements from celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and Larry David, and in 2020, Bernie Sanders had Ariana Grandes and Killer Mikes support. Those candidates lost. Ms. Swift, who endorsed Mr. Biden late in the 2020 race, failed to meaningfully move the needle in 2018, when she backed Phil Bredesen, a Democrat and a former governor of Tennessee, over Marsha Blackburn in a Senate race that Ms. Blackburn won. If celebrities had the amount of persuasive power that some Americans apparently wish they had, a substantial percentage of the population would be steadfast vegan Scientologists by now. The fantasy that a superstar like Ms. Swift might come around on a white horse to sway the electorate is a seductive one, but its worth asking what we hope this superstar will save us from. Its not that Ms. Swifts fans hope shell save them from Donald Trump. Its more that, as an electorate, we continue to hold out hope that celebrities, through their sheer persuasive charisma, will save us from the hard work of politics itself. When, not long after the designer Virgil Ablohs unexpected death, New Guards Group, the company that manufactured Off-White, Mr. Ablohs fashion label, approached Ibrahim Kamara about taking over the house, no one was more surprised than he. Mr. Kamara was not, after all, a designer. He had never considered being a designer. He was a stylist and the editor of Dazed magazine who had dreamed of being a musician when he was a child growing up in Sierra Leone and Gambia, and whose work explored the bleeding edge of gender, politics and self-expression. Sure, he had gone to Central Saint Martins. (He and his family had emigrated to London when he was 16.) Sure, he had been working with Mr. Abloh at Off-White and Louis Vuitton mens wear, but for only two years. There were plenty of people who did not think Mr. Abloh could be replaced at all, that he was too singular a cultural figure. But then, Mr. Kamara said recently, he thought V he called Mr. Abloh V invented a whole new expression of what fashion can be for a generation of kids, and its important that it continue. So he said yes. For him, he said, Off-White is a concept, and concepts can evolve.. The opposition candidate in Venezuelas disputed July presidential election left the country on Saturday, the authorities said, as a standoff deepened at the Argentine diplomatic residence in Caracas where six Venezuelan opposition leaders have been sheltering since March. President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela has faced widespread domestic and international condemnation for proclaiming that he won that election, as well as for a violent crackdown on demonstrators protesting that declaration. The United States has said that the opposition candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, won. On Saturday, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez of Venezuela said on social media that Mr. Gonzalez had left for Spain after voluntarily seeking refuge at the Spanish Embassy in Caracas. Spains foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, said that Mr. Gonzalez was traveling on a Spanish Air Force plane at his own request. The government of Spain is committed to the political rights and physical integrity of all Venezuelans, he wrote on X. The women came from different villages, converging outside the local Rural Affairs Bureau shortly after 10 a.m. One had taken the morning off from her job selling rice rolls. Another was a tour operator. Yet another was a recent retiree. The group, nine in all, double-checked their paperwork, then strode in. In a dimly lit office, they cornered three officials and demanded to know why they had been excluded from government payouts, worth tens of thousands of dollars, that were supposed to go to each villager. I had these rights at birth. Why did I suddenly lose them? one woman asked. That was the question uniting these women in Guangdong Province, in southern China. They were joining a growing number of rural women, all across the country, who are finding each other to confront a longstanding custom of denying them land rights all because of whom they had married. In much of rural China, if a woman marries someone from outside her village, she becomes a married-out woman. To the village, she is no longer a member, even if she continues to live there. The Appointed Son of God, as his followers call him, favors satiny white suits. The young women who surround him in photos are often clothed in the same virginal hue. Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, the 74-year-old founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name, is a charismatic doomsday evangelist who claims millions of followers in about 200 countries. His sermons have drawn the faithful in Ukraine, Hong Kong, Brazil and New York. He served as spiritual adviser to Rodrigo Duterte, the powerful former president of the Philippines. And now Mr. Quiboloy, who is also known as The Owner of the Universe, is in custody after a manhunt in the southern Philippines that enlisted thousands of security forces. On Sunday evening, Benjamin Abalos Jr., the interior secretary of the Philippines, announced that the fugitive preacher had been caught. The pastors lawyer said that Mr. Quiboloy had voluntarily surrendered. The police said that security forces had negotiated the surrender from the pastors compound. Mr. Quiboloy is on the F.B.I.s most-wanted list. He faces charges in the United States and at home of masterminding a human trafficking and child sex abuse ring. He has been accused of rape, including of minors. Through his lawyers, Mr. Quiboloy has denied all the charges. Just hours before X went dark in Brazil, Adrienni Rodrigues, a music producer, rushed onto the social network to share the biggest news of her career: the launch of her first album. She had spent nearly three years making the record with a team of other artists. Now, Ms. Rodrigues feared she would be cut off from her 4,000 followers before she could urge them to tune in. I had just enough time to post about it, said Ms. Rodrigues, 30, a beat maker and D.J. known by her stage name, Gau Beats. An hour or two later, X was already down and I couldnt see anything anymore. Ms. Rodrigues had come to rely on X as she built her career. It was where she connected with artists, found gigs and promoted her work. So she was crestfallen when, with just hours of warning, Brazils Supreme Court blocked the platform last weekend after its owner, Elon Musk, refused to comply with court orders to suspend certain accounts. About 150 years ago, Swedish researchers dug up dozens of human skulls and remains from graveyards across Finland and took them to Sweden to study their racial characteristics as part of an effort that they said was to understand how the Nordic region had been populated. On Sunday, 42 of those skulls were returned and reinterred in Palkane, a small community in Finland about 80 miles northwest of Helsinki, the capital, where residents hailed their homecoming as the righting of a historical wrong. They are our own people, even if they lived hundreds of years ago, Pauliina Pikka, a local official, said in an interview before the ceremony. They deserve, now, to come back here. They deserve to get rest. The skulls were taken in the summer of 1873 by three researchers working for the Karolinska Institute, a medical university in Sweden, who dug up graves in four communities in Finland. They returned to Sweden with human remains from the exhumations and measured and studied them. For decades until 2015, human remains taken by researchers were housed in various Swedish institutions before being returned to Karolinska. People in Tajikistan were expecting a government crackdown after Tajik men were arrested and charged with a terrorist attack on a Moscow concert hall in March. But it still seemed excessive to Nilufar, a 27-year-old education professional, when she saw local authorities with scissors outside a K.F.C. in Dushanbe, Tajikistans capital, trimming beards that were deemed too long. Excessive, but not so surprising. In the span of a month, Nilufar herself had been stopped three times by the authorities for wearing a hijab in public. Nowadays, as soon as you go outside, you can actually feel how the raids have intensified, Nilufar said in a recent interview in Dushanbe, providing only her first name because of fear of retribution. A gunman killed three Israelis at a sensitive border crossing between Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Sunday, according to the Israeli military. The attack comes amid a surge of violence in the West Bank since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack on Israel prompted the war in Gaza, and at a delicate moment for the relationship between Israel and neighboring Jordan. The gunman arrived at the Israeli-controlled part of the Allenby Bridge crossing from Jordan in a truck on Sunday and opened fire on Israeli security forces, the military said in a statement. The military did not identify the gunman, who was killed at the scene. The three victims were forklift operators who worked at the crossing, according to the Israel Airports Authority. Jordans Interior Ministry said an initial investigation identified the gunman as Maher al-Jazi, a Jordanian citizen from the southern part of the desert kingdom. The early findings determined the gunman acted alone, the ministry said. Key Insights The considerable ownership by individual investors in Cicor Technologies indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy 50% of the business is held by the top 13 shareholders Institutional ownership in Cicor Technologies is 21% A look at the shareholders of Cicor Technologies Ltd. (VTX:CICN) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 48% stake, individual investors possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company. Meanwhile, private equity firms make up 27% of the companys shareholders. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Cicor Technologies. See our latest analysis for Cicor Technologies What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Cicor Technologies? Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices. We can see that Cicor Technologies does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Cicor Technologies' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Cicor Technologies. OEP Capital Advisors, L.P. is currently the largest shareholder, with 27% of shares outstanding. Entrepreneur Partners AG, Asset Management Arm is the second largest shareholder owning 4.3% of common stock, and LLB Swiss Investment AG holds about 4.0% of the company stock. A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 13 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority. Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future. Story continues Insider Ownership Of Cicor Technologies The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves. Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group. Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Cicor Technologies Ltd.. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. It seems the board members have no more than CHF810k worth of shares in the CHF160m company. Many tend to prefer to see a board with bigger shareholdings. A good next step might be to take a look at this free summary of insider buying and selling. General Public Ownership With a 48% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Cicor Technologies. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies. Private Equity Ownership With an ownership of 27%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. Some might like this, because private equity are sometimes activists who hold management accountable. But other times, private equity is selling out, having taking the company public. Private Company Ownership It seems that Private Companies own 3.5%, of the Cicor Technologies stock. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research. Next Steps: While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Cicor Technologies . But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. A new Deputy Principal has been appointed to a secondary school in Offaly Colaiste Naomh Cormac has announced the appointment of their new Deputy Principal, Mr. Mark Lyons. An Offaly native, Mark hails from Belmont in the west of the county. Mark holds an Arts degree from Maynooth University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Education from the University of Limerick. He has also earned a Postgraduate Diploma and a Master's degree in Education Leadership and Management from Maynooth University. Additionally, he has experience working with Oide, a support service which provides professional development and support to teachers and schools. Most recently Mark has been a teacher of Maths and Business in Ard Scoil Chiarain Naofa, Clara, where he had been actively involved in various extra-curricular activities. His experience in school leadership and management is extensive, having been appointed as Assistant Principal and Acting Deputy Principal in Clara. Expressing his enthusiasm for the new role, Mark said, I am delighted to have been appointed Deputy Principal of CNC Kilcormac and look forward to working closely with the Principal , the dedicated staff, enthusiastic students, and the entire school community. I recognise the vital role CNC Kilcormac plays in the local community and aim to strengthen and build upon the strong relationships between the school and its surroundings. I am also eager to advance the educational pathways and opportunities for CNC Kilcormac students and am excited about contributing to the school's future. The Principal, Victoria Guinan, the staff and the whole school community are delighted to welcome Mark to Colaiste Naomh Cormac and look forward to Marks contribution to the continued success of the school. We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Beauty Stocks To Buy According to Short Sellers. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) stands against the other beauty stocks. The US beauty market, which is seeing major shifts in distribution and customer interaction, continues to be a key area of interest for stakeholders. Beautymatter CEO Kelly Kovack underlined that consumer-driven channels have replaced traditional distribution strategies, compelling companies to engage with customers wherever and whenever they're most comfortable. According to a report, the US beauty market is expected to grow to $114 billion by 2027. On the other hand, the prestige channel saw its third straight year of double-digit growth in 2023, rising by 14% to $31.7 billion, outpacing the mainstream market across make-up, skincare, hair, and fragrance, according to the February 2024 CEW conducted annual "Global Trend Report" virtual event. Luxury brands represent the fastest-growing segment, with sales surpassing $16 billion, although being smaller at 11% of the market. Bigelow Trading's Daina Nadler emphasized the value of multichannel distribution plans that are customized to a wide range of consumer buying preferences. According to John Cafarelli, CEO of Beautymatter, 87% of US beauty lovers prefer in-store shopping, and 80% of them frequent stores that specialize in beauty products. In-store shopping continues to be popular. In order to increase traffic and loyalty, Space NK's Noah Rosenblatt and H-E-B's Jeanne Tamayo stressed the significance of creating compelling retail spaces and solid brand-consumer relationships. In contrast, although offline retail in China is declining by 4%, e-commerce and social commerce, particularly Douyin, are growing at 9% and 57%, respectively, according to Nielsen IQ. China is a resilient beauty market, and despite all of the difficulties following the pandemic, it remains the world's second-largest beauty market, posing numerous challenges for international suppliers notes Vice President of Nielsen IQ Gautam Seth. He also points out that local companies are more successful because they employ local ingredients and have a strong cultural connection. Industry giants like Jina Lee of Urang and Kim Da Jeong of Lotte Department Store have stressed the importance of consumer knowledge about ingredients and product efficacy. The emphasis on diversity is also influencing the global beauty market, although many individuals continue to feel underrepresented in health and beauty advertisements as per Circana. Expectations from consumers about varied representation in terms of gender, color, age, ability, body size, and sexual orientation are at an all-time high. A general market and a multicultural market will not differ by 2044 due to the majority-minority population in the United States. According to a study by SeeMe Index and Circana, brands that are certified inclusive grow 1.5 times faster than brands that are not. Additionally, the likelihood of seeing individuals over 55 in these brands' advertisements who equally represent straight and homosexual partnerships is 2.5 times higher than that of less inclusive brands, which are 12 times more likely to just feature straight relationships. Looking ahead, the global beauty market is expected to generate retail sales of over $580 billion by 2027, with an annual growth rate of 6% per report. One area gaining attention and stimulating beauty business is the growing consumer interest in wellness within beauty. According to a survey on wellness trends in 2024, 82% of US consumers, 87% of Chinese consumers, and 73% of British consumers now rank wellness as a top or important priority in their daily lives. The Goop, one of the Most Successful Celebrity Beauty Companies in the World, philosophy is that "beauty is wellness and wellness is beauty. Beauty firms are entering this space. A massive beauty brand and the Stanford Institute on Longevity have teamed up to develop a new age-reversal technology-powered product. Methodology: We sifted through holdings of beauty ETFs and online rankings to form an initial list of 20 beauty stocks. Then we selected the 10 stocks that had the lowest percentage of their shares shorted. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of the lowest percentage of their shares shorted. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here) An array of toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouthwashes on a bright background, highlighting the company's oral care products. Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) % of shares shorted: 1.00% Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) was established in 1806, and since then, it has developed into a major force in the home and personal care industries. Apart from its trademarked oral care range, which contributes over 40% of its overall revenue, the company also produces shampoos, shower gels, deodorants, and homecare items that are distributed to more than 200 nations. About 70% of its entire revenue comes from sales abroad, of which 45% comes from developing countries. Although there are many worries about customers' financial stability and eventually their willingness to pay for the essentials in the firm's portfolio, the company is carefully handling the unpredictable landscape astutely. Colgate's strategy, led by CEO Noel Wallace, has focused on increasing spending on R&D and marketing (on its core mix, in adjacent categories, and across the digital space) and adapting faster to changing consumer preferences, bringing products to market in as little as six to twelve months in certain cases, compared to the 18 to 36 months it took in the past. Colgate has recorded 22 consecutive quarters at or above its long-term organic sales growth objective of 3%-5%, demonstrating the wisdom of this strategy. These outcomes are credited to increased brand spending and a renewed emphasis on consumer-valued innovation, even when it comes at a higher cost. Over the last four years, the firm has spent an average of over 12% of sales on marketing, which is 120 basis points more than what was allocated in 201719. ClearBridge Investments mentioned Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) in its Q2 2024 investor letter. Here is what the firm said: Colgate-Palmolive, added to the portfolio in 2023, started outperforming materially toward the tail end of last year as growth, margin and market share momentum began to turn favorably, and that momentum has continued year to date as the stock has nicely outperformed the large cap staples group. The fundamental upside has been driven by a combination of healthy organic growth (with positive volumes), good gross margin progression, and strong re-investment spending supporting market share gains and future growth. The company has hedge fund sentiments of 52 in Q2 2024. Jean-Marie Eveillard's First Eagle Investment Management is the largest shareholder in the company, with 9,025,827 shares worth $875.87 million. Overall CL ranks 3rd on our list of the best beauty stocks to buy according to short sellers. While we acknowledge the potential of CL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley and Jim Cramer Says NVIDIA Has Become A Wasteland. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. The average bank has a dividend yield of around 2.5%, using the SPDR S&P Bank ETF (NYSEMKT: KBE) as an industry proxy. What if you could own a bank with a yield of 6.1%? What if it was conservatively run, had a strong core business, and was a reliable dividend payer? You would probably jump at the chance to own a high-yield bank like that. No problem -- you can buy Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE: BNS). Here's why now is a great time to take the leap. Why is Bank of Nova Scotia's yield so high? Bank of Nova Scotia, more commonly known as Scotiabank, has lagged relative to other banks. A big part of the reason for this is that it went in a different strategic direction from its Canadian bank peers. Most of the major Canadian banks chose to expand southward into the U.S. market. Scotiabank skipped over the U.S. and started to build a business in Central and South America. Image source: Getty Images. The logic is solid, given that the U.S. is a highly competitive market that is also fully developed. The markets where Scotiabank went were developing and less competitive, suggesting the potential for more long-term growth. While that might have been true, and perhaps still is true, these less developed markets weren't as profitable as hoped. Scotiabank has lagged its peers on key metrics like earnings growth, return on equity, and return on risk-adjusted assets. Thus, despite being one of the largest banks in Canada (with an entrenched industry position thanks to strict Canadian banking regulations), Scotiabank is offering a dividend yield of 6.1%, more than twice the yield of the average bank. The bank has paid a dividend every year since 1833, has a generally conservative ethos (another function of being a Canadian bank), and has an investment grade rated balance sheet. Indeed, the risk here seems rather modest for the high-yield reward. What is Scotiabank doing about its laggard performance? Of course, the problem for investors is that Scotiabank hasn't been performing particularly well relative to peers. But management isn't ignoring the problem. In fact, it has taken the issue head on and is working in a new direction. It's exiting weaker markets (such as Colombia) and putting more effort into expanding in better markets (such as Mexico). The company is also following its peers by building a greater presence in the United States. That last part is important to Scotiabank's approach, because it wants to create a dominant North American bank that reaches from Mexico to Canada and through the United States. In this way, it can serve a regional trading block with a geographically integrated product. This is where Scotiabank just made a big splash. Instead of trying to build a business from the ground up, it has agreed to buy just shy of 15% of KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY). The move will take place across two transactions, and it's expected to be immediately accretive to Scotiabank's earnings. Plus, it provides a lifeline to KeyCorp, which needed to shore up its own finances. This is basically a win/win. However, the real benefit is likely to be longer-term in nature. Right now Scotiabank's investment is just that, an investment in another bank. However, it hopes that it can find ways to work with KeyCorp to offer products and services together. Notably, KeyCorp is more consumer-oriented while Scotiabank is more business-focused, so the two banks won't be stepping on each other's toes. Any partnership would be additive to each bank's business. There's a five-year standstill clause in the agreement, so KeyCorp can't do much more than this, for now. However, it's hard not to envision Scotiabank at least considering a buyout of KeyCorp at some point in the future -- a move that would instantly give it a large presence in the U.S. market. The future is going to look very different for Scotiabank Investors should never read too much into an investment like the one Scotiabank has just made. But it is a clear statement that management intends to shift gears in a dramatic and rapid fashion as it seeks to narrow the performance gap with peers. It's going to be a multi-year effort, for sure. But with such a forceful push out of the gate from a financially strong high-yield bank, investors who think in decades and not days might want to dig in now. That fat dividend yield may not last as long as you think if Scotiabank's business starts to turn around amid an aggressive push to improve performance. Should you invest $1,000 in Bank Of Nova Scotia right now? Before you buy stock in Bank Of Nova Scotia, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and Bank Of Nova Scotia wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $630,099!* Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of September 3, 2024 Reuben Gregg Brewer has positions in Bank Of Nova Scotia. The Motley Fool recommends Bank Of Nova Scotia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Did This High-Yield Stock Just Change the Playing Field? was originally published by The Motley Fool Thalatha Athukorala pledges support to Ranil Wickremesinghe Posted by Editor on September 8, 2024 - 4:28 pm Former Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Thalatha Athukorala, who recently resigned from Parliament, has announced her support for President Ranil Wickremesinghe in the upcoming Presidential Election. She attended a rally in Welimada today (September 8), where she pledged her allegiance to him. Athukorala, who gave a passionate speech in Parliament last month criticizing the SJB leader for leaving the UNP, resigned from Parliament on August 21, 2024. She first entered Parliament in 2004 and was re-elected in 2010, 2015, and 2020. In the 2020 general election, she won her seat as an SJB member with 45,105 votes from the Ratnapura District. Wait ... what? That's not true. That's not even close to true. The next time a kid comes home from school with different genitalia courtesy of government medical "generosity" at taxpayer expense, with or without express written parental consent, will be the first time. But Trump said it, and some people no doubt believe it -- because Trump said it. Trump, the demagogue, is a midwife, always attempting to deliver the next big moral panic ("widespread feeling of fear that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society"). The members of every audience he addresses, directly or indirectly, are the prospective mothers. Their credulity is the birth canal. Fear is the bouncing baby [insert random gender identity here]. Fear is also the single most effective tool in a politician's arsenal. Fearful people are more likely to support politicians who pose as their savior -- even if their fears are completely unfounded, and even if those politicians were the ones who scared them in the first place. Where you find fear, you're likely to find lies as well. Why? Because lying to you is easier for a politician than discovering you've been lied to is for you. Most people want to believe what they're told, especially by those who claim to support and defend their interests. Many of those people, once lied to, close their minds to the possibility that they HAVE been lied to, no matter the actual evidence. And both groups, are, in different measure, more likely to support the politician who lied to them ... because they're afraid, and believe that politician can and will "save" them. No, Donald Trump isn't the only demagogue out there. In fact, he's not the only demagogue in this particular presidential race. Or, probably, in whatever room he happens to occupy at the moment. He is, however, the best EXAMPLE of a demagogue currently on offer because his fear-inspiring lies are so over the top, so hare-brained, and so easily disproven that they don't require reams of fine print analysis to rebut. Only the naive and credulous believe them for even a moment, and only the MOST naive and credulous believe them for more than a few minutes. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The elusive ceasefire deal in Gaza is not held up on a condition. The sticking point to end an 11-month-long war, which has killed over 40,000 in Gaza, is held up by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alone. Aaron David Miller is an American Middle East analyst, author, and negotiator. Miller worked for the US Department of State for 24 years and as an advisor on Arab-Israeli negotiations. Miller said on CNN on September 4, that the ceasefire deal between Netanyahu and Hamas will not happen, because the sticking point is not the Philadelphi Corridor, it is about Netanyahu's seat in office. Netanyahu is under an enormous amount of pressure both domestically and globally to stop the Israeli genocide in Gaza. Yet, he seems impervious to the intense pressure, even from the US, which is his source of weapons and cash to continue the war on Gaza. Millions of protesters calling for the freedom of Palestine are in the streets around the world, and world leaders call for a ceasefire. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis are in the streets demanding that Netanyahu sign a ceasefire deal to release their hostages. Israeli opposition leaders and Israeli peace activists are demanding a ceasefire and a change in the government. The International Court of Justice ruled that the occupation of Palestine was against international law. Hamas, the Palestinian resistance, is holding to their condition for the Israeli military to pull out completely of Gaza to accept the ceasefire between the two sides. But, Netanyahu is sticking to his demand of keeping troops inside Gaza on the Egyptian border, referred to as the Philadelphi Corridor. Hamas has kept Netanyahu from achieving his military goals in Gaza. No senior Hamas leaders have been killed in Gaza, and the military wing of Hamas is still strong and fighting. Hamas started a fight on October 7 that galvanized the international community on the side of the Palestinians. The two-state solution is cited by the US and the UN as the only solution to the conflict. The only country against the two-state solution is Israel. Netanyahu asked AIPAC to put pressure on US President Joe Biden to drop out of the race. Biden was demanding Netanyahu make a ceasefire deal, to release Israeli hostages as well as stop the bloodshed in Gaza. Biden's decision to drop out of the race for re-election came just days after Netanyahu reneged on a ceasefire promise to Biden. Netanyahu refused to comply with Biden because Netanyahu's freedom depends on staying in office. If he goes against his right-wing religious extremist allies, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, they will drop his government like a hot potato. If Netanyahu is out of office and has no immunity, he will serve jail time for the corruption charges he was found guilty of. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). " A picture is worth a thousand words." Often this sentiment is true. One picture can tell it all. Take the famous 1968 photo by Pulitzer Prize winner Eddie Adams. He's there in the moment when a South Vietnamese brigadier general summarily executes a North Vietnamese captain. The brigadier general's gun is pointed at the North Vietnamese's head. The camera captures the moment of impact. We witness the action and see, too, the expression of that action on the distorted face of the captain. Reality of War - Dead Iraqi soldiers (Image by 4WardEverUK from flickr) Details DMCA So much has gone wrong to come to this moment, in which we, the viewer, if we are thinking, question taking the side of the perpetrator" I might have been drafted in 1971-- had I been male. I was thinking of this quote and that image when I heard that The New Yorker had published 10 photos of the massacre at Haditha. I did a search to locate this issue of the magazine. In 2005, I would have been back from teaching in Ethiopia for almost two years. It was still a chaotic time for me. I just left Tuscaloosa, Alabama where I taught at an HBC. Isolated and alone, it was my first time living in the American South. I had written for community newspapers but hadn't written op-eds yet. Focused on scholarly publications with a social justice bent, I, nonetheless, heard about the massacre at Haditha, and I put a halt to writing long enough to absorb the impact of that violence. " The Haditha Massacre: Photos that the Military Didn't Want the World to See." November 19, 2005. I read the statement underneath the article's headline. "When the U. S. Marines killed twenty-four people in an Iraqi town, they also recorded the aftermath of their actions. For years, the military tried to keep these photos from the public." I remembered images of dead bodies filling the broadcast news during the Vietnam War era, only interrupted by folks in my generation protesting that war. I became a news junkie and followed as much as possible on what was happening in Vietnam. One of my uncles was a draftee in the Korean War and another served 23-years in the Air Force. I was witness to the impact war had on returning Vets. It wasn't hard for me to understand that misguided beliefs instigate wars. No child is born hating another child! The protest of young activists around the world focuses on the genocide committed in Gaza. These young college students don't hate children they have never met! And yet the media and university campuses try to portray these young people as anti-democratic. Anti-American. The call for a ceasefire, for an end to the brutality, to the use of bombs exterminating whole families, to the devastation of agricultural industries as well as the Palestinian cultural inheritance, falls on deaf ears. Ignorance is bliss, so war in Gaza continues. I've never been one to turn away from the truth, no matter how it's presented to me. So I wanted to see the photos. While I was searching for the article, I was still listening the news. "' We will kill some of these folks who need to be killed.'" The voice is that of a young American Marine, and he is saying how glad he was to have been there! Among those doing the killing! He, a Corporal Lucas McDonnell, a young man in 2005. Someone's son! I locate the photos. They reflex back to me someone's rage and hatred. Bodies of children. Babies. Mothers. Bloodied. Mostly all, shot in the head. The last humans these men, women, and children saw were pointing military-style weapons-- at them! Because they needed to be killed ! How does an American come to believe herself innocent ? Children aren't combat soldiers! They aren't threatening the lives of grown men. Are they? Perhaps, however, they do. Perhaps they threaten those men who don't recognize in themselves a connection to these people. A three-year-old girl was the youngest victim, according to The Middle East Monitor (MEM), August 29, 2024. A seventy-six-year-old man, the oldest. Twenty-two others are killed that day. And somehow, these men, women, and children, civilians, needed to be killed? These photos of the massacre at Haditha come after a long, 4-year battle waged by In the Dark's podcast reporting team. It was the longest "war-crime investigation" in US history. The team had to file a lawsuit against "the U. S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Central Command," writes Commondreams's Brett Wilkins. The fictional Ruth Zardo in Anyone familiar with Louise Penny's novels and her fictional poet, Ruth Zardo, knows she has a saying, in which she asks, how does someone see fit to inflict so much abuse on others unless the individual experienced a similar abuse. "'Who hurt you, once, so far beyond repair that you would meet each overture with curling lip?'" Some soldier used a red marker to desecrate the body of 5-year-old Zainab Younis Salim. The number "11" is written on her exposed back. She was just 5. And she did what? What did she do? She wasn't a citizen in the invading country. Resisting US invasion, a group of terrorists set off a roadside bomb, according to Wilkins, and that "killed Miguel Terrazas, a popular lance corporal, and wounded two other Marines." But the young 5-year-old wasn't among the terrorists! However, later, when Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich orders his men to kill, he tells them not to ask any questions. Just shoot and kill! So it's Corp. McDonnell's words that ring so loudly for me. After all these years, here we are and there's a man bidding to reside as dictator of the US. And he, too, wants to kill. His henchmen, believers in his goodwill, and a photo op for others, will be told not to ask questions. Just kill! Sorrow is blissful. "' Believe it or not, sooner or later, we will kill some of these folks, who need to be killed. And that's the beautiful thing about this world, it that there's always someone who needs to be killed. And we're the folks to do it.'" In Gaza right now, the UN estimates that there are some 19,000 orphaned children. There are 1 million displaced children, according to UNICEF. Who is responsible? Just the combatants? Innocence is a myth! Time and time again, eventually, the truth will out. We shouldn't capitulate. Shrug our shoulders and say, that's the way it is! We have the intelligence and are capable of showing compassion. We should ask ourselves, as Americans, what in us has been so abused that we, in turn, become blind to the humanity of others? When do we say, enough is enough to so many ugly words that produce so many ugly photos? When do we say enough is enough to the damaged human beings believing that others need killing? None of this has to be this has to be this way. And we Americans in 2024 should know that by now! (Image by Martha Rosenberg) Details DMCA Crowding, lack of hygiene and cruelty in laying hens produce salmonella As early as 1977, neighbors who lived near egg baron Austin "Jack" DeCoster's huge egg operation in Turner, Maine, began complaining about the lesser mealworm beetles that infested their homes. But soon he earned his crown as "salmonella king." By 1982, one person had died, thirty-six were sickened in New Hampshire and four hundred were sickened in Massachusetts from eggs traced to DeCoster-owned farms. Five years later, in 1987, nine people had died, and five hundred were sickened in New York from eggs traced to DeCoster-owned farms. The salmonella scourge was so bad, the state of New York banned the sale of DeCoster eggs the following year. Producing lethal, salmonella-infected eggs was was not DeCoster's only offense--he was also linked to crimes against workers, animals and the environment. By 1996, DeCoster had racked up 20 health and safety violations-- including polluting groundwater with100,000 rotting carcasses of birds he let perish in a fire, improper asbestos removal and worker abuses like housing egg workers in cockroach-infested firetrap trailers and hiring children as young as nine. "The conditions in this migrant farm site are as dangerous and oppressive as any sweatshop we have seen," said former Labor Secretary Robert Reich when he visited DeCoster's Turner facility in 1996. "I thought I was going to faint and I was only there a few minutes," said Cesar Britos, an attorney representing egg workers, when he tried to enter an egg barn. But despite a decades-long rap sheet, DeCoster expanded his egg empire into Iowa, Ohio, and Maryland with the help of Boston public-relations guru George Regan; he even added hogs to the mix. And despite a state-of-Iowa ban against DeCoster starting or expanding his farms-- he was a "habitual violator" of environmental laws, said the attorney general-- he opened new farms with colleagues' help, according to the Associated Press. So, it came as no surprise when a 2009 undercover investigation at the DeCoster-owned Quality Egg of New England and Maine Contract Farming in Turner yielded disturbing cruelty findings. Video showed birds with oozing beaks, too weak to use their limbs and unable to hold up their heads, kept alive for one more egg-laying cycle. Conditions at Quality Egg were so appalling that state agriculture officials secured a search warrant and raided the facilities with the help of state police. For eight hours, law enforcement and agriculture officials collected dead and living hens and other evidence from the seven-hundred-foot-long barns reeking of ammonia. The barns didn't sicken only hens-even law-enforcement officials got sick. Four department workers were treated for burned lungs. It was the exact place that former Labor Secretary Robert Reich had condemned as a sweatshop thirteen years earlier. The heat was not over for DeCoster or his suppliers. Two months later, the whole country would recognize his name because he was at the center of the biggest egg recall in US history. Half a billion salmonella-contaminated eggs were recalled in August of 2010-- 380 million from the DeCoster-owned Wright County Egg in Iowa, and 170 million from the DeCoster-linked Hillandale Farms, also in Iowa. And two months later, 288,000 more eggs were recalled from the Jackson, Mississippi-based Cal- Maine, an operation connected to DeCoster-linked Ohio Fresh Eggs. The maze of egg producers, distributors, feed producers and hatcheries implicated in the salmonella recalls all led back to DeCoster. DeCoster and his son Peter were ordered by a United States District Court judge in the Northern District of Iowa to spend three months in federal prison for selling the tainted eggs. But, the judge allowed DeCoster to serve his sentence in New Hampshire, close to his Maine residence. Thanks, Dude. According to the Humane Society of the United States, cage free laying hens are less susceptible to salmonella. According to other sources, egg alternative products are better for consumers, workers, animals and the environment. Meanwhile, this month's deadly recall continues".. This is an excerpt from Big Food, Big Pharma, Big Lies click here (Article changed on Sep 08, 2024 at 3:10 PM EDT) (Article changed on Sep 08, 2024 at 3:47 PM EDT) Duluth, Minnesota (OpEdNews) September 8, 2024: My favorite scholar is the American Jesuit Renaissance specialist and cultural historian and pioneering media ecology theorist Walter J. Ong (1912-2003; Ph.D. in English, Harvard University, 1955) of Saint Louis University. I have taken various hints from Ong's work in my essay "Secondary Orality and Consciousness Today" in the carefully organized anthology Media, Consciousness, and Culture: Explorations of Walter Ong's Thought, edited by Bruce E. Gronbeck, Thomas J. Farrell, and Paul A. Soukup (1991, pp. 194-209). In it, I take certain hints from Ong and discuss the brilliant Jungian Erich Neumann (1905-1960) who published a marvelous synthesis of Jung's wide-ranging work in his big book The Origins and History of Consciousness, translated by R. F. C. Hull, with a "Foreword" by Jung (1954). I first heard of Neumann's book from Dr. Raymond Benoit in a graduate course in English that I took from him at Saint Louis University. Subsequently, I read Neumann's book. I have re-read Neumann's book several times over the years. In it, Neumann describes eight stages of psychological growth. In broad terms, I see the ten-year war in The Iliad as aligned with stages four, five, and six of ego development that Neumann describes. I see Odysseus's ten-year journey back home as aligned with stage seven in the eight stages of ego development that Neumann describes. Now, for Ong, the term secondary orality refers to the orality accentuated by the communications media that accentuate sound (e.g., television, telephone, radio, tape-recorders, and the like). The resonances of secondary orality register on the human psyche and resonate with memories and pattern of primary orality at the level of the collective unconscious in the human psyche. In terms of Neumann's eight stages of consciousness, primary orality represents the historical manifestation of what Neumann refers to as stages one through three of the development of ego-consciousness. In effect, Neumann writes about these early stages in his other big book The Great Mother: An Analysis of the Archetype, translated by Ralph Manheim (1955). In Ong's book Rhetoric, Romance, and Technology: Studies in the Interaction of Expression and Culture (1971, pp. 10-11), he makes the following statement about Erich Neumann's Jungian account of the eight stages of consciousness: "The stages of psychic development as treated by Neumann are successively (1) the infantile undifferentiated self-contained whole symbolized by the uroboros (tail-eater), the serpent with it tail in its mouth, as well as be other circular or global mythological figures [including Nietzsche's imagery about the eternal return?], (2) the Great Mother (the impersonal womb from which each human infant, male or female, comes, the impersonal femininity which may swallow him [or her] up again), (3) the separation of the world parents (the principle of opposites, differentiation, possibility of change, (4) the birth of the hero (rise of masculinity and of the personalized ego) with its sequels in (5) the slaying of the mother (fight with the dragon: victory over primal creative but consuming femininity, chthonic forces), and (6) the slaying of the father (symbol of thwarting obstruction of individual achievement, [thwarting] what is new), (7) the freeing of the captive (liberation of the ego from endogamous [i.e., "married" within one's psyche] kinship libido and the emergence of the higher femininity, with woman now as person, anima-sister, related positively to ego consciousness), and finally (8) the transformation (new unity in self-conscious individualization, higher masculinity, expressed primordially in the Osiris myth but today entering new phases with heightened individualism [such as Nietzsche's overman] - or, more properly, personalism - of modern man [sic])." Ong also sums up Neumann's Jungian account of the eight stages of consciousness in his (Ong's) book Fighting for Life: Contest, Sexuality, and Consciousness (1981, pp. 18-19; but also see the "Index" for further references to Neumann [page 228]), the published version of Ong's 1979 Messenger Lectures at Cornell University. Now, in my recent OEN article "Emily Wilson on The Iliad" (dated August 23, 2024), I discuss both Emily Wilson's 2023 translation of The Iliad and her 2018 translation of The Odyssey -- in connection with the thought of Walter J. Ong: Click Here In Neumann's terminology, I align what Ong refers to as secondary orality with what Neumann describes as stage seven in the eight stages of ego development. Consequently, I would also align Odysseus's ten-year journey in The Odyssey with Neumann's stage seven in the development of ego consciousness. In The Odyssey, the goddess Athena, the goddess of war, is, in effect, Odysseus's guardian angel. However, there are other goddesses that Odysseus encounters in his ten-year journey back home - and not all of them are benign. I see Athena and the other goddesses in The Odyssey as representing the collective unconscious in our psyches. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). (Image by Scott Schmerelson/Dan Chang) Details DMCA Los Angeles School Board elections, backed by spending from outside billionaires and unions, are the costliest in the country. Expenditures in these races can easily outstrip those that decide seats on the City Council. With the November election still two months away, candidates have already spent $2,727,962.81 trying to secure the Western San Fernando Valley's Board District 3 seat. (Image by Los Angeles Ethics Department) Details DMCA Unfortunately for voters, they get very little actual information from all the money that is spent trying to secure their votes. Their text feeds are clogged with unsolicited messages while their phones ring incessantly with push "polls" designed to implant negative information about the opponent. Letter Carriers earn their wages delivering stacks of flyers loaded with baseless attacks, vague promises, and questionable biographical information. At least the California Charter School Association (CCSA) has refrained (so far) from engaging in anti-semitic attacks during this year's campaign. In an attempt to provide the electorate with the information they need to make a decision, the Education Committee of the Northridge East Neighborhood Council (NENC) will host a Candidate Forum on Saturday, September 14, 2024, at 9:00 AM. The event will be held over Zoom and can be accessed by using this link. Incumbent Scott Schmerelson and his challenger, Dan Chang, have confirmed that they will appear. Results from the March primary (Image by Los Angeles County Clerk) Details DMCA While pre-registration is not required, attendees are asked to RSVP at https://bit.ly/BD3_RSVP. This form also provides an opportunity to suggest questions. Questions should be submitted before 8:00 PM on Thursday, September 12. Those not asked during the forum will be forwarded to the candidates so that they have the option to provide an answer. The Candidate Forum is part of the NENC's regularly scheduled monthly meeting which takes place on the second Saturday at 9:00 AM. Topics that have been discussed include the delivery of Special Education services, school safety, PROP-39 over-allocation fees, and inclusion and diversity. The committee also provides advice to the Governing Board for Neighborhood Purpose Grants related to education. You can sign up to receive agendas for the meetings at https://nenc-la.org/. (Image by Northridge East Neighborhood Council) Details DMCA Scott Mark Schmerelson Ballot Designation: Teacher/Counselor/Boardmember Email: scott4lausd2024|AT|gmail.comEmail address Website: www.scottforlausd.org Responses to questions about District issues: PROP-39, Governance, Student Safety. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). A guest essay by Will Falk For 11,000 years, The Great Salt Lake and its wetlands have provided habitat for hundreds of species. Today, nearly 350 bird species-- totaling more than 10 million migratory birds-- depend on this ecosystem for food like brine flies and brine shrimp. In the mid-1800s, agriculture began reducing the Great Sale Lake's water levels. Today, 74% of this water loss comes from irrigating for alfalfa and other crops, mineral extraction (nine percent), and lawns and decorative plants (another nine percent). Reduced mountain runoff and increased evaporation from climate change account for the remaining recorded water loss. (Utah houses dozens of data centers, and at least one covers 1.5 million square feet. Data centers guzzle water to keep their computers cool-- and yet data about their water consumption in Utah is not readily available.) The Lake has lost 60% of its surface area and 73% of its water. It measures nineteen feet below healthy water levels. As its surface area shrinks, toxic dust (previously trapped on the lakebed) is exposed, causing significant air pollution. As water flows into the Lake dwindle, salinity increases, harming brine fly and brine shrimp populations. Since 2020, drying of the Lake has increased. Annually, the Lake averages a deficit of 1.2 million acre-feet of water. Simply put, we take more from the Lake than is replenished. Researchers predict that if this rate of loss continues, The Great Salt Lake will disappear in five years. Utah's legislative efforts to sustain the Lake Utah's State Legislature has ostensibly passed laws to address the Great Salt Lake's accelerating water loss. 2022 House Bill (HB) 410 created a $40 million trust "to implement projects"that retain or enhance water flows to sustain the Great Salt Lake; to improve water quality and quantity; and to engage agricultural producers, local landowners, local planning authorities and others to support the Great Salt Lake." HB 242 requires secondary water providers to install meters by 2030. Neither law forces cuts in consumption-- while researchers assert that to reverse its decline, "the Lake needs an additional million acre-feet (of water) per year." Indeed, saving the Great Salt Lake requires water consumers to cut their consumption immediately and drastically. Utah's water laws, based on the "Doctrine of Prior Appropriation," fall 90% short. Legally, the first person who uses the water "beneficially" holds the right to use it over subsequent users. The law also states that a water rights holder loses her rights when she fails to put the water to "beneficial use." Historically, "beneficial use" has meant diversion and irrigation. Typically, conserving water is considered wasteful, and leads to forfeiture of water rights. In 2022, Utah passed HB 33, "Instream Water Flow Amendments." This law expanded the definition of "beneficial use" to include leasing water rights to organizations that return water to the Lake; but HB33 does not mandate conservation. It is highly unlikely that enough water rights holders will allow water to flow back to the lake so that its good health is restored. For 150+ years, water rights holders have adhered to a "use-it-or-lose it" mindset. To survive, the region's agricultural businesses will continue to prioritize profits"and consume water. Utah law also treats the Great Salt Lake as property, not a living ecosystem with inherent rights to exist and evolve naturally. Property-owners hold rights to consume and destroy their property. Property itself possesses no rights. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). This is The Takeaway from today's Morning Brief, which you can sign up to receive in your inbox every morning along with: The chart of the day What we're watching What we're reading Economic data releases and earnings Each week is full of surprises when you are involved in media. I guess that's part of the adrenaline-inducing rush of being in the game, so to speak. To that end, I was personally surprised by two things this week. One, not everyone 30 years old and under has heard of Compaq. As a brief refresher, they made large desktop computers that once connected to a phone jack that connected to the wall that connected to this thing called the World Wide Web (or internet...). Once all plugged in, you turned on the Compaq (the most popular model was the Compaq Presario) via a switch in the back, logged into something called an AOL (America Online) account, listened to loud techy noises come from the computer, and poof, you were magically connected to friends you just saw in school and complete strangers in faraway lands. You then got to posting sad songs on your MySpace account because, chances are, you just broke up with your high school sweetheart for the ninth time in a week (or was that just me...). Hewlett Packard, now split into PC maker HP Inc. (HPQ) and AI server play Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), bought its rival Compaq for about $19 billion in a 2002 deal. (Also check out my recent chat with the CEO of HP and another chat with the CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise.) HP went on to discontinue the Compaq brand in 2013. That part of the history lesson done. Compaq Computers Corp. then President Rod Canion poses with some of the products that put the company on the fast track, in Houston, Texas, July 27, 1988. (AP Photo/Gayland Wampler) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) The next surprise for me this week is that not everyone under the age of 30 years old remembers the iconic "Dude, you are getting a Dell" TV commercials. These commercials dominated the airwaves when I was in college, and I would argue they put Dell on the map with consumers that barely knew how to use a computer. I have no idea why the commercials left an impression, but they did. All in all, these reminded me that I was now moving closer to being a grey-beard at work. I have no actual beard; it just means you are this elder statesman. Weird to be in that place, but you can't outrun Father Time even my bionic self. I envy the youth. Having laid that all out, I actually have a surprise for YOU! That is, did you really know that Dell has totally transformed itself? Just read the company's annual report here and keep scrolling below. Dell was founded in 1984 by then-University of Texas student Michael Dell. It made PCs, a lot of them. Story continues Through the years, the company has morphed into part PC maker, part tech player integral to the fabric of the world's tech infrastructure. Think servers, storage, and other components for entire countries and companies that I won't bore you listing. The company is well beyond integrating its behemoth 2016 acquisition of EMC. I got to spend 25 minutes with Michael Dell this week in NYC at the Citi TMT conference (video above) and was really blown away by what the company is working on. Was I surprised, full-stop? No, because I still read all of the company's earnings reports and earnings call transcripts. But I was a little surprised to hear how deep the transformation runs at Dell. On Friday, S&P Global announced that Dell will join the S&P 500, replacing Etsy, on Sept. 23. The move boosted its shares in extended trading, as the company will soon be in index funds that track the S&P 500. Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies, is speaking at the ''New Strategies for a New Era'' keynote at the Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona, Spain, on Feb. 27, 2024. (Joan Cros/NurPhoto via Getty Images) (NurPhoto via Getty Images) It's embarking on its latest transformation for the age of AI. Dell said it secured $3.1 billion of AI server sales in the second quarter, almost double the $1.7 billion netted in the preceding quarter. Sales in the company's Infrastructure Solutions Group surged 38% to $11.65 billion. AI sales are captured in this segment. Dell's Client Solutions Group which includes sales of PCs and laptops did see sales drop 4% to $12.41 billion. Consumer sales declined 22% to $1.86 billion, while the commercial business was flat at $10.6 billion. Dell tells me the AI PC uptake has been pushed out a bit, but he has 200 million-plus Dell computers (aka the installed base). They will need the AI-powered replacements, and that cash will soon start rolling in. "What organizations are seeing is this is a historic opportunity to make their businesses way more productive and efficient [with AI], while, at the same time, kind of reimagining them given all this capability," Dell told me. Another surprise at least to me is how cheap the company is being valued at by the market. Shares of Dell trade on a 13.5x forward PE multiple, according to Yahoo Finance data, well below the S&P 500's 22.5x. I am not saying the company should be valued on par with Nvidia (NVDA) or even a Salesforce (CRM). But assign Dell a reasonable 15x PE multiple on a reasonable $9.40 a share profit estimate for fiscal 2026 (which would represent about 20% earnings growth), and you have a $141 stock. Dell's stock currently trades at $107. Head-scratching for a company clearly playing a key role in the AI future. Maybe it's a function of its PC exposure. Before I venture off to begin shopping for an AI PC, I'd like to note I will be live on Yahoo Finance Monday and Tuesday from the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference at the Palace hotel in San Francisco. This is one of my favorite conferences to cover each year, and we have a ton of big ticker-moving interviews lined up. So tune in, as your wealth could depend on it. I am sure Dell will come up somewhere in the chats too, dude. Three times each week, I field insight-filled conversations with the biggest names in business and markets on Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid podcast. Find more episodes on our video hub. Watch on your preferred streaming service. Or listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. In the Opening Bid episode below, State Street head of equity research Marija Veitmane reveals how she picks tech stocks with success for clients. This embedded content is not available in your region. Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn. Tips on deals, mergers, activist situations, or anything else? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com. Click here for the latest technology news that will impact the stock market Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance An often asked question, by writers who are contemplating a blank page. But cheer up. If you are over sixty you are blessed with a subject that you might see as a basket for all the eggs you want to put in it, assuming that a writer worth his or her salt is at least as productive as a hen that manages to lay an egg a day. What is this subject, this egg? Old age. Or, to be more gentle, elderhood. If you have lived 60 years, even if you are struggling with health issues and depression, or just slogging through the valley of deferred dreams, you can write about what it is like to be in the last third of life. (Just do it!) I assure you that, if you can focus on that, whether it is your routines or your feelings, feelings about anything (friendship, family, eating, shopping, trying to sleep, a dream you had, taking a walk, going to work, or sitting outside or deciding what you want to wear, or canoeing or going to the park or sitting on the sidewalk outside a favorite cafe . . . or climbing a mountain or climbing a stairway!) What I am saying is, anything you write about, if you are writing about it through the filter of aging (or being in the last third of life or the last quarter or the last fifth) is all yours!. It is your unique story to tell. You know what they say: "You got this!" Unique? But "it's not interesting" you might say. F-k that. It is interesting, because it is your experience. It is interesting - intrinsically interesting, because not everyone lives to the age of 60, or 70, or 80. You are a survivor of life. And, if you are any kind of writer at all, I suggest that you try to see it that way, and start your chronicle. Not to belabor the point, but when you read some things that are out there, you see how people either don't reveal their age, or they might mention it in passing or allude to it almost apologetically, but your age, if you are honest, is actually the best thing you have going for you if you are looking for something to write about. It is a credential that hangs around your neck like this heart that I bought when I was in Peru that hangs from my neck, that I never take off. That's all I want to say about this. Good luck. Boeing and its largest union said Sunday they reached agreement on a new contract that, if ratified, will avoid a strike that threatened to shut down aircraft production by the end of the coming week. Boeing said 33,000 workers represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers would get pay raises of 25% over the four-year contract, with average wages rising 33% due to seniority step increases. That is less than the 40% the union had demanded during negotiations. Oregons unemployment rate remains low by historical standards and the state continues adding jobs including 8,500 new jobs in July, according to the latest figures. And yet state economists are more downbeat about the job picture than they have been in years. UPDATE: I-5 northbound has been reopened. According to TripCheck.com, the delay is less than 20 minutes. All lanes of northbound Interstate 5 are closed due to a rollover crash late Saturday evening. A man helped kill at least 118 eagles to sell their feathers and body parts on the black market as part of a long-running wildlife trafficking ring in the western U.S. that authorities allege killed thousands of birds, court filings show. Travis John Branson is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court on Sept. 18 for his role in the trafficking ring that operated on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana and elsewhere. Prosecutors say the Cusick, Washington man made between $180,000 and $360,000 from 2009 to 2021 selling bald and golden eagle parts illegally. It was not uncommon for Branson to take upwards of nine eagles at a time, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorneys Office in Montana wrote in a Tuesday court filing. Not only did Branson kill eagles, but he hacked them into pieces to sell for future profits. Eagle wings, tails, feathers and other parts are highly sought after by Native Americans who use them in ceremonies. Prosecutors asked Judge Dana Christensen to sentence Branson to significant imprisonment and restitution totaling $777,250. That includes $5,000 for every dead eagle and $1,750 for each of 107 hawks that investigators said he and his co-conspirators killed. Bransons attorney disputed the prosecutors claims and said they overstated the number of birds killed. The prosecutions allegation that as many as 3,600 birds died came from a co-defendant, Simon Paul, who remains at large. Bransons attorney suggested in court filings that the stated death toll has fueled public outcry over the case. It is notable that Mr. Paul himself went from a 3,600 to 1,000 bird estimate, Federal Defender Andrew Nelson wrote in a Tuesday filing, referring to a statement Paul made to authorities in a March 13, 2021, traffic stop. Nelson also said restitution for the hawks was not warranted since those killings were not included in last years grand jury indictment. He said Branson had no prior criminal history and asked for a sentence of probation. Branson and Paul grew up in the Flathead Reservation area. Since their indictment, Paul has been hiding in Canada to evade justice, according to Nelson. Pauls defense attorney did not immediately respond to a telephone message seeking comment. Investigators documented the minimum number of eagles and hawks killed through Bransons text messages, prosecutors said. Two years of his messages were not recovered, leading prosecutors to say the full scope of Bransons killings is not captured. Government officials have not revealed any other species of birds killed. Bald and golden eagles are sacred to many Native Americans. U.S. law prohibits anyone without a permit from killing, wounding or disturbing eagles, or taking their nests or eggs. Illegal shootings are a leading cause of golden eagle deaths, according to a recent government study. Members of federally recognized tribes can get feathers and other bird parts legally through from the National Eagle Repository in Colorado and non-government repositories in Oklahoma and Phoenix. Theres a yearslong backlog of requests at the national repository. Branson pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy, wildlife trafficking and two counts of trafficking federally protected bald and golden eagles. He faced a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the most serious charge, conspiracy. Under a plea deal, prosecutors said they would seek to dismiss additional trafficking charges. Federal guidelines call for a sentence of roughly three to four years in prison for Branson, they said. By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press Oregon is facing an urgent care crisis. Caregivers, particularly women of color, are overworked, underpaid and stretched thin. The lack of accessible and affordable child and elder care only exacerbates challenges, leaving many families on the brink of financial ruin. COVID-19 exposed the flaws in Oregons care infrastructure. Essential workers, praised as heroes, were soon forgotten and left without vital support. The burden of care continues to fall disproportionately on women, particularly in rural areas, further jeopardizing financial security and long-term well-being. All things wacky and weird gathered Saturday at Oaks Park for the first Portland Weird Fest. The nonprofit Weird Portland United is best known for their iconic characters (like the Unipiper) and quirky meetups. The festival is the collectives first event of the kind. To kick off the day, Christine Lassiter, the president of Portland Weird United who is also known as Aurelia Stardancer, Portlands favorite centaur, shared that Mayor Ted Wheeler declared Sept. 7, 2024, Keep Portland Weird Day. Vendors opened shop around 12 p.m. to sell their unique creations. Artists sold eyeball themed jewelry and earrings made from bicycle inner tubes. There were two tarot readers. And if you were feeling up to it, you could even hold a self-declared exotic pet sitters personal snake. Live music and clowns also scattered the festival grounds. Not only did the beloved Weird Portland United characters dress up, but so did attendees. In capes and masks, people were free to be their most authentic selves. CALIFORNIA There is a lot going on in California business news this week, including the battle between a restauranteur and the landlord who wants her out, home insurance prices spiking and alarming new credit card skimmers popping up at Golden State gas stations. This week, A chef who appeared on Netflix's "You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment,"was violently attacked in San Francisco by a man walking his dog. Financial experts say that despite California no longer having the country's highest unemployment rate, the state's economy is still sluggish after the COVID-19 pandemic. Check out this week's top headlines for California business news on Patch: Quote Of The Week Most people, when the lease expires, they pack up and leave. - Building owner sues to evict 20-year-old California restaurant The Bottom Line Freebie of the Week With a days-long brutal heatwave cooking wide swaths of California, free air conditioners hit the spot. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is giving away free air conditioners for qualifying seniors Monday at the Lincoln Park Senior Center from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Elsewhere around the state, there are resources and giveaways for low-income residents, people with disabilities, and seniors for help with their cooling and heating needs. The programs help weatherize homes, and, in some cases, repair or replace home cooling systems.Click here to find out more about the California Weatherization Assistance Program. Bonus! In celebration of Teddy Bear Day on Monday, Build-A-Bear Workshop is rolling prices way back and offering bears for just $9. More Restaurant News Bay Area Establishment Named Restaurant Of The Year By Food And Wine Magazine Each year, the editors of Food and Wine magazine select the best new restaurant in America. City Center Hosting Restaurant Week, September Sips Story continues Guests can enjoy great deals from some of the region's best restaurants and wineries. Winston's CUP To Operate Napa Cafe, Work Experience Program The nonprofit will operate a retail food and beverage cafe supplemented by a program for those experiencing barriers to employment. Chefs Conjure Up New 'So-Co Med' Menu For Healdsburg's Spoonbar "It felt natural to combine our love of bold Mediterranean flavors with the incredible bounty & creative spirit of Sonoma County, our home." More Business News SkinSpirit Spa Opens In Bay Area SkinSpirit, one of the nation's leading providers of Botox, fillers, and luxury skin care, opened its second East Bay location in Danville. Pachanga & Art, After Dark Coming Up At Healdsburg Plaza This year's event highlights the work of local art grant recipients and celebrates Latin Heritage Month. Pixar Brings Themed Mini Golf Pop-Up To SoCal Beloved childhood characters will take people through the interactive Pixar Putt pop-up coming to Long Beach this month. Murrieta Tire and Auto Looks To Open New Shop On Madison Avenue The new location is slated to include a mezzanine, six service bays, and a 27-stall parking lot on a .68-acre lot that is currently vacant. Palm Springs Man Scammed Federal Government Out Of $3 Million: USAO William Mandel Musgrow, 48, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court. Home Improvement Chain To Close All CA Locations LL Flooring, formerly Lumber Liquidators, announced the closures of 200 stores across California and the nation. [NORECIRC] Evicted Business Owner Won't Pay + TV Chef Attacked + CA Business News originally appeared on the Long Beach Patch An Apostates Guide to Witchcraft: Finding Freedom Through Magic by Moss Matthey Published by Llewellyn September 2024 240 pages Trade paperback: $18.99, Kindle: $14.49 A regular theme on this blog is escaping abusive and controlling religions. Its not just something Im interested in its one of the most important accomplishments of my life. When youre told from birth that the fate of your eternal soul depends on believing certain things and then on acting in a certain way to prove to everyone you really do believe them its hard to just walk away. Its necessary, but its very, very hard. I couldnt have done it alone. Many of my helpers were authors. First, there were the science writers who explained the evidence for evolution and for the age of the Earth. If the fundamentalists were wrong about how to read Genesis, what else were they wrong about? Plenty, as it turns out. There were the historians, whose work on the origins and development of Christianity showed me that what I had been taught was hardly orthodox and definitely not apostolic. Joseph Campbell was hugely important to me. I discovered The Power of Myth a few weeks after my Pagan epiphany, and while I have since come to understand that Campbells humanistic universalizing is an unhelpful oversimplification, his concept of God as a force presented a stark contrast to the jealous and vengeful God of Christian fundamentalism. My earliest Pagan teachers were all authors: Laurie Cabot, Scott Cunningham, Philip Carr-Gomm, and Ronald Hutton were the most influential on my journey out of fundamentalism and into the Pagan polytheism I practice and love. The most meaningful comments I get on my own books are when someone tells me how they helped them start or continue the process of recovery from toxic religion. Moss Matthey survivor and author And that brings us to the latest in this line of authors who are helping people escape and recover. Moss Matthey grew up in the Jehovahs Witnesses. Moss calls them a cult, and while thats a loaded word thats often used by Christians to mean any religion thats not sufficiently like mine they certainly match the common definition: insular and controlling. Theyre among the most anti-LGBTQ denominations in Christianity Moss is gay, and started realizing that about the time he hit puberty. An Apostates Guide to Witchcraft is not an autobiography, although there are plenty of personal stories in it. Rather, its a condensation of what Moss learned on his journey out of the fear and shame of the Jehovahs Witnesses and into the freedom and joy of Witchcraft. And that makes it relevant to anyone whos trying to get away from childhood indoctrination and find the magic in life. A broad and inclusive Witchcraft Want to start an argument? Publish a definition of Witchcraft. Doesnt matter how you define it, someone will come along and say Im a Witch and I dont believe/think/do this, so youre wrong. I do my best to stay out of those arguments. While I have a definition of Witchcraft, if someone who doesnt meet that definition finds meaning and power in the title, thats a good thing. Moss states the absolute truth when he says there are many conflicting ideas about what it means to be a Witch in the modern world, even among Witches themselves. Moss begins by rebutting some of the common charges against Witchcraft (including the charge that its just fantasy), and then describes four common threads running through most modern Witchcraft traditions and practitioners: spirituality, community, empowerment, and connection. This isnt exactly a definition, but it is a useful description of Witchcraft as its actually practiced today. And that makes it a good place to start the book. His definition of magic is similarly broad: causing change by spiritual means. This isnt a Magic 101 book, but it does have enough introductory material that someone whos unfamiliar with modern magic and Witchcraft will understand what hes talking about and what he isnt. The call of the land, the call of magic I really liked the section Cult Experiences through a Magical Lens. Here Moss reinterprets religious experiences he had as a Jehovahs Witness through the worldview of Witchcraft. Ive found this to be incredibly helpful in my own journey. The experiences we have are always real they dont suddenly become unreal because we change religions. But how we understand those experiences must change to match our new foundational assumptions about the world and the way it works. I love this story: Perhaps the most magical thing I notice looking back were the nudges I kept getting to leave the cult It wasnt just my German upbringing either. As a child, my family moved to Wales, and I went to a Welsh language school and was raised in the culture. I was the product of two magical worlds, all the while trapped in a cult. But the magic would not leave me lost forever. This is similar to my own experience of finding the divine in Nature while I was still locked in fundamentalism. I couldnt understand that then I just knew I felt protected and at home in the woods. Now I understand that there was something someone calling to me. I just had work to do before I could hear that call. Culture, Community, Spirits, and Nature As important as leaving an abusive religious environment is, just getting away is only the first step. So while the first part of the book is about building yourself up to leave, the middle of the book is a guide to building a solid practice in Witchcraft. It shows how to fill the void created when you left something harmful with something positive and helpful. While Christianity is in an overall decline, the contemporary West remains culturally Christian. You will find elements of Christian myth and practice in even the most non-theistic spaces. Fortunately, Witchcraft also has a culture, both ancient and modern. We need not leave holes where the religion we left can seep back in. The growth of Witchcraft since the 1990s has largely been in solitary practitioners. Still, there is power in community and online community is also community. Gods, ancestors, the spirits of the land and the spirits of places, the Fair Folk all of these are persons with whom we can form and maintain respectful, reciprocal relationships. Nature is not fallen Nature is good and we are a part of Nature. This is the core of a healthy, robust, Pagan, Witchcraft practice. Claiming apostacy Ive never used apostate or apostacy to describe my Paganism. I didnt leave Christianity so much as I embraced Paganism. But for Moss, claiming the title of apostate has great meaning and power. In his own words: To the wider world, an apostate is simply someone who has renounced their faith However, the cult had other ideas. To them, an apostate was the ultimate traitor, a deranged and dangerous individual To achieve this level of sin you had to do the unthinkable speak out against the organization. It is a word to demean and discredit whistleblowers, to attack them and avoid taking any kind of responsibility. One reason this book exists is because I am so dangerous millions of people are forbidden from speaking to me. Merely reading this book could cause them to be kicked out of the faith and shunned. In any religious, spiritual, or magical transformation, there is power in crossing a line. For Moss, the very title of this book is a magical act. Who should read this book? An Apostates Guide to Witchcraft is intended first for those who are trying to leave an abusive and controlling religious environment. It will also be helpful for those who have managed to escape such an environment but have yet to find something good to replace the bad they left behind. Moss left the Jehovahs Witnesses, but its equally relevant for those whove been abused and oppressed by Protestant fundamentalists; ultraconservative Catholics, Mormons, Jews, and Muslims; and extreme forms of atheism. But also, it will be very helpful to those who feel a call to Witchcraft and/or Paganism, but who are reluctant to explore it due to the fear of cultural prejudice in any form. Moss asked me to write an endorsement blurb for this book I was honored to do so. Heres what I said: Its not enough to walk away from a bad religion. True healing requires finding something good and helpful to replace the void left behind. In this book, Moss Matthey describes his escape from a fundamentalist cult to a path of nature, spirits, and magic to witchcraft. The empowerment, acceptance, and joy Moss found are available to anyone who will follow the steps in this straightforward and easily accessible guide. Reviewers disclaimer Llewellyn sent me a PDF of The Apostates Guide to Witchcraft so I could write a promotional blurb for it, and then sent me a review copy once it was available. Moss is a friend and a fellow survivor of religious abuse I hope his book sells well. But if I couldnt honestly give it a good review, Id conveniently forget to review it. This is my honest opinion of this book. One more thing Be sure to follow Moss on Instagram or on TikTok. His very short videos on modern Witchcraft are quite good, and also hilarious. U.S. Ambassador Virginia E. Palmer has delivered to the Ghana Armed Forces a 60-bed mobile field hospital for critical casualty care donated by the United States. Valued at over GH78 million or $5 million U.S. dollars, the mobile field hospital includes an intensive care unit, two surgical operating rooms, x-ray, laboratory, morgue, emergency room, and two generator sets. The field hospital can be transported and assembled even in remote locations and houses up to 60 patients for full medical and operational needs in any condition. These state of the art, fully equipped, portable medical facilities can be rapidly deployed to the scene of a disaster or where residents do not have access to routine health care. Speaking during the ceremony near Tamale, Ghana, Ambassador Palmer remarked, This handover is further evidence of the close U.S.-Ghana security partnership, which ensures the Ghana Armed Forces have the full panoply of skills and equipment not just for defending the borders but also for critical military and civilian casualty care. We are implementing programs in Ghana that will support local communities as they seek to provide economic opportunities to vulnerable populations, strengthen our military-to-military relationship, and bolster the capacity of the Ghanaian security services to ensure that Ghana remains resilient in the face of an increasing threat from violent extremist organizations, Ambassador Palmer added. This mobile hospital combines humanitarian with military assistance, providing essential services and protection to Ghanas civilian population, as well as the Ghana Armed Forces. In 2021 and 2022, the United States supplied Ghana with a 30-bed field hospital equipped with negative pressure isolation facilities and a five-bed ICU/supply facility and a U.N. Level 1 urgent care facility valued at over GH28 million or $1.8 million Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video At the China-Ghana Business Forum in Shenzhen, China, on September 7, 2024, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo made a compelling case for increased Chinese investment in Ghana. Addressing a gathering of Chinese business leaders, the President emphasized the longstanding relationship between Ghana and China, as well as the significant investment opportunities available in sectors ranging from manufacturing to agriculture and green energy. Opening his speech with a Chinese proverb, "If you want to walk far, walk with someone," President Akufo-Addo symbolized Ghanas desire to walk hand-in-hand with China on the path to long-term economic progress. He stressed Ghana's determination to learn from China's success and deepen ties with its business community for mutual prosperity. He highlighted the robust trade relations between Ghana and China, noting that China has been Ghanas largest trading partner since 2015, with bilateral trade reaching $9.23 billion in 2023. He commended Chinese companies for their investments in key sectors such as construction, energy, agriculture, and ICT, attributing Chinas growing presence in Ghana to the nation's stability, security, and favourable investment environment. Reflecting on global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the President underscored how these events exposed structural weaknesses across Africa. He called on the business community to partner with Ghana to create resilient, climate-conscious, and diversified economies capable of withstanding future global shocks. According to him, international cooperation will be essential in building economies that thrive despite global disruptions. President Akufo-Addo also highlighted Ghana's progress under his administration, noting the government's efforts to foster a business-friendly environment since 2017. He pointed out that Ghanas economy grew rapidly between 2017 and 2020, with an average annual GDP growth rate of 7%. Despite setbacks from the pandemic and geopolitical challenges, the President expressed optimism about Ghanas return to strong economic growth. He further elaborated on the governments Ghana CARES Obaatampa Programme, a comprehensive economic revitalisation plan aimed at addressing the challenges caused by the pandemic. The programme seeks significant private sector investment in key areas such as agriculture, agro-processing, housing, and healthcare. He invited Chinese businesses to participate, emphasising the importance of partnerships in rebuilding the economy. President Akufo-Addo also showcased various government initiatives aimed at boosting industrialisation and economic development, including the "Planting for Food and Jobs" initiative, the development of Ghana's automotive sector, and efforts to build integrated bauxite and iron industries. These projects are part of Ghanas broader strategy to transition from an exporter of raw materials to a value-added, industrialised economy. He spoke about Ghanas unique position as host of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat in Accra, which offers immense opportunities for businesses to access African markets. The President highlighted Ghanas potential to become a strategic hub for regional trade and investment, describing the country as a gateway to the continent. In conclusion, President Akufo-Addo reiterated that Ghana is an ideal destination for Chinese investment, offering a stable regulatory environment, favourable fiscal policies, and abundant natural resources. He urged Chinese investors to seize the moment, stressing that Ghana's doors are open and its markets are ready for meaningful partnerships. With a renewed commitment to fostering strong ties between Ghana and China, the President expressed optimism about the future, noting that deeper collaboration would create shared prosperity for both nations. Source: graphiconline Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Three suspects have been arrested by the police in connection with the alleged murder of a Chinese, at Watereso in the Amansie South District of the Ashanti Region. The suspects believed to be illegal gold miners (galamseyers), were identified as Abdullah Mohammed, 45, Kwadwo Mensah 32, and Robert Agyei, 29. They were supposed to be workers of the Chinese, Yao Xian, 52, a miner. According to a police source, Xian was shot in the chest by some unknown assailants while riding a motorcycle at 11:00 AM at Manso Watreso. The source said the Chinese clad in a club, t-shirt over black trousers, was found in a nearby bush on the Watreso Motor road with a deep hole in the chest suspected to have been sustained from a gunshot. It said searches were conducted in the respective rooms of the suspects and one pump action gun (ASAR 2883 2014) with seven rounds of live AA ammunition was found in Robert Agyeis room. According to the source, Agyei told the police that the gun had not been fired before, but inspection and examination of the gun proved otherwise. The source said that some of the suspects were on the run, but they did not take away any valuables from the Chinese. Source: The Ghanaian Times Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has called for the depoliticisation of the fight against illegal mining popularly known as galamsey. I am saddened by what is happening. It is very sad. As a country, we have to know when to do partisan politics and when to act in the national interest, he said on the floor of Parliament in Accra on Tuesday. Mr Afenyo-Markin was responding to concerns of his colleagues on recent reports of illegal mining when he presented the business statement to the House for the two-day extraordinary session which ended on Wednesday. The concerns of the MPs stem from the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL)s attribution of water crisis in the Central Region to galamsey which has left the Pra River heavily polluted. About 60 per cent of the catchment capacity is silted as a result of galamsey, compromising the quality of raw water. We are currently recording an average turbidity of 14,000 NTU instead of 2000 NTU designed for adequate treatment, the GWCL said in a statement on August 30. Warning that the country was headed for national water crisis in the nearest future, the Majority Leader said the politicisation of the fight against the menace which has seen water bodies polluted, fertile lands degraded and forests depleted, would only exacerbate the current situation. It may not even be up to three years for Ghana to start importing water, Mr Afenyo-Markin, a former Board Chairman of the GWCL, warned. A national approach, he said, was needed to nib the situation in the bud and avoid the unpleasant situation of importing water or relying on sea water for drinking and other domestic chores. I am happy that today we are talking about it on the floor of parliament and we must not have it on partisan lines. When the effects of galamsey is having its toll, it will not identify who is NDC or NPP. I will want to urge all of us to pursue this matter (with a national approach). We (should not continue) to play politics with this. Mr Afenyo-Markin said the political class must show leadership and lead the nation in finding lasting solutions than being divided to take undue political advantage of the situation. We appear as politicians when its national issues, we pretend we dont know. Let us get more serious as a political class and ensure our relevance. This is a serious matter. As a House, we should all take this up seriously because whatever it is, it will be a cost on the national purse, he said. Should the menace continue and the country is hit with the dreaded reality of a water shortage, he said the country would be left with no choice than to fall on desalination of sea water for consumption; a cost the state cant bear. He wondered how that would be sustainable as the country is unable to fund the operations of the Teshie desalination water project which serves less than half a million people. It is a serious matter, Mr Speaker. Are we now going to process seawater to drink? It is very expensive and will cost the nation, he stated. Source: Ghanaian Times Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Bernard Mornah, a flagbearer hopeful of the People's National Convention (PNC), has refuted the claim that he was disqualified from contesting. Mr. Mornah has reportedly been disqualified based on media reports on Thursday, following an investigation by the National Disciplinary Committee, which found him guilty of misconduct and violating the party's constitution. However, during an interview with Peacefmonline.com, Mr. Mornah stated that he had not been disqualified. He emphasized that the Disciplinary Committee does not have the authority to disqualify him. "The National Executive Committee (NEC) has not discussed any disciplinary issue...the Disciplinary Committee after an investigation only has to make recommendations and conclusions and refer the matter to the NEC. The Disciplinary Committee cannot disqualify" he stated. He further accused his opponent, David Apasera, of being behind the reports of his disqualification. Meanwhile, Bernard Mornah is confident of winning the upcoming National Delegates Congress of the party scheduled for tomorrow, September 7, 2024. "I am optimistic that I will be the victor tomorrow and I'll be the next President of the Republic of Ghana..." he intimated. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A former MasterCard vice president of product shared her tips for avoiding account takeovers after almost falling victim to one. Peter Dazeley/Getty Images A former Mastercard executive almost lost $100,000 to an account takeover scam. Scammers accessed her real-estate agent's email and impersonated a title company. Account takeover fraud surged 354% in 2023, causing $13 billion in losses, researchers say. It can happen to anyone, it seems. Even those who work in the finance industry. A former Mastercard executive told Business Insider she nearly lost $100,000 to an account takeover scam last year. Catherine Woneis, former vice president of CipherTrace, a service owned by MasterCard that helps secure crypto transactions, says she almost lost most of her life savings after scammers accessed her real-estate agent's email. Account takeover fraud is when scammers gain access to your social media, email, banking, or other personal accounts. Criminals usually gain access to accounts with stolen credentials that they purchase through the dark web or social engineering tactics that trick you into sharing your password, Woneis said. They then use these accounts to siphon away your hard-earned cash. The number of known account takeover scams grew by 354% year over year in 2023, resulting in $13 billion in losses, according to AI fraud detection service Sift Science. In Woneis's case, Scammers accessed her real-estate agent's email using "credential stuffing," a tactic that uses AI bots to try every possible username and password until they fall on the correct answer. The fraudsters used information found in emails about Woneis's transactions to impersonate the title company for her home. The fake title company then emailed Woneis, asking for an "accelerated" payment. "This is a very typical thing that criminals use in frauds: They try to implement some time piece," Woneis said. Woneis said she checked to see if the email address was real and noticed it was appended with another address, but she assumed it was part of the company's automated email system. "They sent me wire instructions that perfectly mimicked the wire instructions from the title company. They had an example of what that looked like," Woneis said. "It was the exact same typography, the exact same letterhead, and everything else." The only differences from the real wire instructions were a fake phone number and email, along with incorrect bank information. Woneis said she thankfully called the phone number she originally received from the title company, who informed her the bank account information was incorrect on the form. "Had I been in a rush and called the phone number on the form, that would have been them, and they would have pretended to be the real estate company saying, 'Yes this is authentic, and it's come from us,'" she said. "We could have potentially been caught in wire fraud." Story continues Woneis said she would have lost about $100,000 if the transaction went through. Woneis now works for a cybersecurity company called Fingerprint, which she says is developing tools to combat the rise of account takeovers. Some of the keys to fighting this kind of fraud are algorithms that can determine where a website visitor is located (if they're using a VPN) and systems to identify when bots are trying to access a website through brute force, Woneis said. If you think any of your accounts may be compromised, Woneis says to quickly change all of your usernames and passwords, set up two-factor authentication for any sensitive accounts, and report any fraud to the FTC fraud reporting website. Read the original article on Business Insider The running mate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, has urged electorates not to be deceived by government projects springing up overnight across the country. She says it has become the habit of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government to initiate projects during elections in an attempt to deceive and arm-twist electorates for votes, and then abandon them later. Addressing market women at the New Takoradi Market as part of her three-day campaign tour of the Western Region, she noted that the NPP government is also noted for digging holes with no purpose and the Takoradi township is no exception. She said after cutting sod in the year 2020 to construct and redevelop the New Takoradi Market, the project has stalled. "It didn't take the NDC many years to build the Kejetia market, the Kotokoraba market and a host of others across the country. But look at the Takoradi market, it is four years now and there is nothing to show", she said. Prof. Opoku-Agyemang further noted that the railway project started by the Mahama administration in Takoradi has also been abandoned. She said the NDC has been faithful to the people of the Western Region, especially Takoradi, by promoting development across all sectors in the region, adding it is time for Takoradi voters to change their voting pattern by voting for the NDC. Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said the incoming Mahama administration has a lot to offer Ghanaians in terms of job creation through the 24-Hour Economy, the Big Push and National Apprenticeship programme. She therefore urged the electorates to vote for the NDC in the upcoming December 7 general elections. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Director of Communications of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Richard Ahiagbah has urged Ghanaians to elect the flagbearer of the NPP, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to help Ghana keep pace with the rest of the world in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. He explains that the Fourth Industrial Revolution is the new frontier in human evolution. It involves advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), Web3, blockchain, 3D printing, genetic engineering, quantum computing, and more, he said. The 2024 election, he added, requires us to choose a leader who can help Ghana keep pace with the rest of the world. If you are a young, middle-class, independent, and objective voter, you must carefully weigh your choice of who to vote for on December 7th because our collective advance, or the lack thereof, depends on the vote you cast. After carefully examining the visions, capacities, experiences, and leadership traits including work ethic and records of the two leading candidates, I respectfully recommend Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as the one to lead Ghana to the next level, Mr Ahiagbah wrote on his X platform. He added So, lets vote for Bawumia because he will make Ghana competitive and ensure we keep pace with the rest of the world. Bawumia means business. Earlier, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia responded to claims by his critics that he has abandoned matters of the economy, saying that the digitalization agenda will improve the Ghanaian economy. He stated that economic transformation cannot be achieved unless the country takes advantage of the digital infrastructure accompanying the new age to solve societal problems. Dr. Bawumia who was speaking at a media engagement at the Movenpick Hotel in Accra insisted digitilization and the economy were not exclusive of each other. He argued that there was a clear relationship between the two. I wrote a book on monetary policy and financial reform and I made a point in the book, this was in 2010, this was 14 years ago before I became vice president, made the point that Africa needs to go digital because the global economy is going digital. And if countries stay behind, theyll miss out on the fourth Industrial Revolution as we missed out on the other revolutions. And theres a good reason, because digitalization allows us to formalize our economy. Informal economies are very difficult to manage, the Vice-President underscored. He noted that the key to the fourth digital revolution is digital identity which he says he has been championing during his time as vice-president. The incumbent vice-president has been criticized for staying away from commenting on the economy, an activity he relished when he was running for office with now President Akufo-Addo in 2016. This is where the world is going. And I am just at the forefront in terms of policy of moving this in this country, he said to journalists. And that is why some people dont understand. The fourth Industrial Revolution is the new frontier in human evolution. It involves advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), Web3, blockchain, 3D printing, genetic engineering, quantum computing, and more. The 2024 election requires pic.twitter.com/VfoGb7adAu Richard Ahiagbah (@RAahiagbah) September 6, 2024 Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The African Electoral Institute (AEI) is calling for an "unedited" broadcast of IPAC meetings to facilitate transparency with regard to the integrity and robustness of the 2024 voter register. In a statement, AEI said: "Unedited broadcasts of such important meetings will enable the electorate to witness discussions and decisions firsthand, hence promoting openness and inclusivity." The unedited broadcast, AEI argued, "Will ensure the EC and IPAC are accountable for their actions and commitments to the electorate." Further, the civil society group noted that: "Unedited broadcast will enhance the EC's credibility by showcasing its commitment to transparency per its core values" of transparency, fairness and integrity. "This will ultimately reduce speculation, rumours, and misinformation about the voter register," the group pointed out. In view of the above reasons, AEI says it "supports the unedited broadcast of IPAC meetings to promote trust, transparency, accountability and ultimately strengthen Ghana's democratic processes, political stability, and a peaceful credible election for national cohesion." It says such a move is important because the 7th December 2024 general election in Ghana is "critical" for the country's democratic growth, economic development, and regional stability. It noted that Ghana has a reputation for "peaceful transfer of power, and this election will further consolidate Ghana's democratic credentials and political stability." "A credible and robust voter register is the foundation of a fair, transparent, and inclusive electoral process, ensuring the integrity of democracy." Source: class fm Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh has descended heavily on the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), accusing them of failing woefully to develop the crucial education sector when they were in political office. He pointed out that the education sector, which is the future of the country, did not experience any meaningful transformation when the NDC stayed in power, so he urged to the electorates to reject the NDC on December 7. Dr. Prempeh, who is the Vice Presidential Candidate of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), warned that the massive gains that have been achieved in the education sector under the NPP, would be eroded if the NDC wins power. The future of the country is education and the record of NDC in education is poor, Dr. Prempeh, also known as Napo reminded Ghanaians, sternly warning that the NDC posed a serious threat to the education sector. Speaking at the Fosu Nursing Training College as part of his campaign tour in the Central Region on Friday, Napo urged the electorates to renew the NPPs mandate in the interest of the country and the children, who are the future leaders. NDC Sins Against Education Sector Reminding the citizenry of the infamous decisions that the NDC made in government to hurt the education sector, he said It is the NDC who cancelled the teacher and nursing trainee allowance, with its disastrous effects on affected students. Virtually highlighting all the unpardonable things that the NDC did against the education sector, Napo also said the infamous I wont give you chalk episode happened at their time, adding that failure rates in schools also soared under the NDC. The NPP Vice Presidential Candidate, who is a former Minister of Education, lamented that over 40,000 school children could not get their results as a result of non-payment of school fees when NDC was in power. Napo said time would not permit him to talk about other insensitive things that the NDC did in political office in eight years to jeopardize the education sector, warning that the NDC should not be allowed to get close to power again. NPPs Positive Records In Education Sector He reminded the people that the education sector has been rapidly and properly transformed since the President Nana Akufo-Addo-Bawumia NPP government took over political power through better policies and planning. Napo, who supervised the smooth and successful implementation of the famous free Senior High School (SHS) policy as minister of education, said the free SHS alone increased enrollment and benefitted every student. The free SHS social intervention policy, he explained, doesnt discriminate against anyone, saying that every school-going Ghanaian child has been benefiting from the policy irrespective of their political, tribal or social backgrounds. Napo also said there has been an increase in the enrollment of nursing and teacher trainees despite the payment of their allowance, saying that the future of the country is education and the NPP are the better managers of that crucial sector so they should retain power. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video On the evening of September 1st 2024, the prestigious TECNO Ghana Menswear Week 2024 unfolded at the World Trade Centre in Accra, bringing together top fashion designers from across West Africa. Sponsored by TECNO CAMON 30 Series, the event was a celebration of sartorial elegance, innovation, and cultural heritage, attracting over 250 fashion enthusiasts who were treated to a spectacular showcase of African creativity. Designers from Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Benin, and Togo presented collections that seamlessly blended tradition with modernity. From avant-garde pieces to casual yet sophisticated ensembles, the runway was alive with vibrant colors, intricate designs, and bold statements. This diverse display of menswear showcased not just fashion but the essence of African culture and identity. As the headline sponsor, TECNO Ghana used the event to highlight the synergy between fashion and technology, with its latest TECNO CAMON 30 series taking center stage. With its sleek design and cutting-edge features, the TECNO CAMON 30 perfectly complements the world of high fashion. The CAMON 30 Series, known for its professional-grade photography and distinctive aesthetics, was positioned as an essential accessory for todays style-conscious, tech-savvy individual. Midway through the showcase, TECNO captivated the audience with a special segment, the TECNO Show. Designers crafted bespoke suits inspired by color schemes from the CAMON 30 series, including the rich Sahara Dune Brown and the bold Iceland Basaltic Dark. Models strutted down the runway with CAMON 30 smartphones in hand, demonstrating how these stylish devices can seamlessly integrate into daily life. The fusion of fashion-forward design and advanced mobile technology created an unforgettable visual experience that reinforced the CAMON 30s position as the ultimate lifestyle companion. Beyond the runway, TECNO provided an interactive experience for the guests. In the reception area, a dedicated display table showcased the CAMON 30 series alongside TECNOs AloT products, inviting attendees to experience the brands latest innovations firsthand. Guests marveled at the TECNO CAMON 30s superior light sensitivity and portrait photography capabilities, which have set new standards for mobile photography. TECNO Ghana also ensured that the evening was memorable with thoughtfully curated gifts for attendees, further enhancing the brands connection with its audience and, ensuring that every guest had a first-hand experience of the CAMON 30s exceptional features. The collaboration between TECNO CAMON 30 and the vibrant African fashion scene resonated with the audience. By aligning the CAMON 30 series with the bold and diverse styles of African fashion, TECNO Ghana has positioned itself at the intersection of technology and self-expression. This unique collaboration at TECNO Ghana Menswear Week is an affirmation to the brand's commitment to fostering creativity and individuality, not only in Ghana but across West Africa and the world. TECNOs fusion of the CAMON 30 Series cutting-edge technology with African fashion created a dynamic and engaging experience, showcasing the CAMON 30 series as more than just a smartphonebut a statement of style and innovation. Through its continued support of the fashion industry, TECNO is not only elevating its brand but also contributing to the rise of African fashion. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Lagos State Police Command has apprehended Dr. Idara Bassey, who was wanted in connection with the death of a 36-year-old woman during a buttock enlargement procedure at a clinic in the Lekki Phase 1 area. Last week on Tuesday, the nurse who administered an injection to the late Abiolareportedly on Dr. Basseys orderswas arrested after the Maroko Police Division received a report at around 11:40 am from Abiola's driver. SP Benjamin Hundeyin, spokesperson for the command, confirmed to Punch on September 3 that Dr. Bassey is currently being investigated by the State Criminal Investigation Department in Panti. Bassey had previously fled following Abiola's death during a buttock enlargement procedure at her clinic on August 26, 2024. Abiola had left her home in Diamond Estate, Sangotedo, in the Ibeju Lekki area, instructing her driver to take her to the clinic for the procedure. After the nurse administered the injection, allegedly following Bassey's instructions, the driver reported to the police that Abiola lost consciousness and began gasping for breath. Regarding potential charges against Bassey and the grounds for them, Hundeyin stated that answers would be provided after the investigation. Source: Lindaikejisblog Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video By Bruce Schreiner and Leah Willingham, The Associated Press LONDON, Ky. Authorities searched a rugged and hilly area of southeastern Kentucky on Sunday for a man who they believe may be linked to the shooting of nine vehicles and wounding of five people on a busy highway. Although they said they could not yet name him a suspect in Saturdays shootings along Interstate 75, authorities said they consider 32-year-old Joseph A. Couch a person of interest and were searching for him in a remote area north of London, a community of about 8,000 people roughly 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Lexington. Were going to go in and were going to find this guy, Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, a spokesperson for the Laurel County Sheriffs Office, told reporters Sunday. Authorities consider Couch, who is white, to be armed and dangerous, and they cautioned members of the public who might spot him not to approach him. Acciardo said law enforcement got a lucky break that led them to zero in on Couch as a person of interest, but that he couldnt elaborate. Acciardo said authorities were notified at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday about gunshots along the highway near exit 49. An individual who was off that exit fired multiple rounds into the northbound and southbound lanes, striking nine vehicles and wounding five people, he said. The shooter was not in a vehicle at the time. When our first two units got to the scene there, they said it was a madhouse: people on the sides of the road, emergency flashers going, bullet holes, windows shot out, nine vehicles shot. Can you imagine that? Just chaotic, Acciardo said during a news conference. The wounded were hospitalized in stable condition early Sunday. Some had very serious injuries, including one person who was shot in the face, Acciardo said. Rodney Goodlett, Pastor of the Faith Assembly Church, gives his reaction to the shooting along I-75 in London, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)AP Residents of Laurel County were on edge as authorities searched on foot Sunday in a remote wooded area near the highway that has only one business and a few houses nearby. London Laurel Rescue squad sent a drone to assist. State lawmakers from Laurel County urged residents in the area to stay home during the search. We had numerous calls throughout the county and were still getting them this morning, Acciardo said, of calls from concerned community members. This is a remote area. If he was going to target some place that he wanted to do something like this, it was the perfect spot. Rodney Goodlett, pastor of Faith Assembly of God in London, was helping direct traffic as parishioners gathered for a service Sunday morning. He said he expected the search to hold down attendance. Theres definitely people that probably wont be here today just nervous with the suspect still at large, he said. Goodlett said the congregation was going to pray for the community, the wounded and the first responders, some of whom attend Faith Assembly, where around 275 parishioners pray each week. This is tragic, obviously, that somebody would randomly do violent acts, he said. You hear media things taking place all around our country, but then when it hits home, its a little bit of a wake-up call. Authorities believe there was only one shooter, and Acciardo said they do not think the shooting was sparked by road rage. Authorities released a photo of Couch and warned residents to be on the lookout, but Acciardo cautioned that they have not determined that this is the individual that fired the weapon. We do have the area contained right now. Its a very fluid investigation. Our people are still on the scene. Our special response team is there. We are trying to find a shooter there, he said. Acciardo said the search s dangerous for first responders and is painstaking because of thick foliage There are a lot of woods, a lot of cuts in the rock, he said. He could be hiding behind a tree and us walk right up on him. Were just hoping for a good resolution, Acciardo said. In an video update on Facebook late Saturday night, London Mayor Randall Weddle tried to calm fears. He urged residents to call 911 if they hear or see anything suspicious near their homes. This image released by Kentuckys London Police Department shows Joseph A. Couch, a person of interest in the Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, shootings on Interstate 75 near London, Ky. (London Police Department via AP)AP Were asking folks please do not go outside your home shooting because we might have first responders in that area. Its important to know you are safe. We have multiple agencies in this community, in the city of London and in Laurel County, Weddle said. Weddle said searchers know the general area where this individual is, but he would not release specific details. I am receiving initial reports from the Kentucky State Police and our Office of Homeland Security together we are actively monitoring the situation and offering support in any way possible, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a post on X. Please pray for everyone involved. Story by Carter Walker of Votebeat This article is made possible through Spotlight PAs collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. Sign up for Votebeats free newsletters here. HARRISBURG A judge got it wrong when he decided that Butler County did not have to count provisional ballots from voters whose mail ballots were rejected because of an error, Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled Thursday. Lawyers for voting rights groups that brought the case said the ruling would set a statewide standard. Meanwhile, a broader case on whether mail ballots can be rejected because voters failed to properly date their return envelopes is moving forward after an appeal, setting the stage for a state Supreme Court decision. The fast-moving cases underscore the political importance of Pennsylvanias votes in the run-up to the November election. Decisions in these cases involving long-running disputes over the states voting rules are likely to influence how the election is conducted and whose votes get counted which could determine the outcome itself. Polling data shows the presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump is very close, and the election in Pennsylvania could be decided by a thin margin. The Butler County case involves two voters whose mail ballots for the April primary were rejected for being returned without a secrecy envelope. They cast provisional ballots, but the county refused to count them on the grounds that the two had already cast ballots by mail. Provisional ballots are used at polling places by voters whose eligibility is in question but who still want to vote. Those ballots are counted only after the voters eligibility is confirmed, including a check to make sure no mail ballot from that same voter has already been counted. The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the Public Interest Law Center sued on behalf of the voters, arguing that the county had misinterpreted a section of the states Election Code in considering the rejected mailed ballots as cast. Butler County Court of Common Pleas Judge S. Michael Yeager ruled that the organizations argument was simply not persuasive. In Thursdays ruling, a three-judge panel of the Commonwealth Court ruled 2-1 that Yeager erred in his ruling. We hold that the Election Code, properly construed, does not prohibit counting the voters provisional ballots, Commonwealth Court Judge Matthew Wolf wrote. Marian Schneider, senior voting rights policy counsel at the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said the decision provides statewide clarity on the issue. Were going to keep working to be sure that voters ballots are counted without unnecessary barriers leading to them being disqualified, she said. Butler County Commissioner Kimberly Geyer said the county would appeal to the state Supreme Court. Within only 20 calendar days since the original ruling by the Court of Common Pleas, this case has been swiftly heard and overruled in Commonwealth Court, she said. To say that this specific case is on the legal fast track is an understatement. Pa. Supreme Court to decide case on ballot dating requirement The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has already accepted an appeal of a Commonwealth Court ruling last week involving many of the same organizations that found that counties should not reject ballots that dont have a correct date on the return envelope. All parties had submitted their written arguments as of Wednesday. The accelerated timeline comes courtesy of a new temporary order from the state Supreme Court aimed at speeding election disputes this year. The Pennsylvania GOP and the Republican National Committee, which filed the appeal, argued to the state Supreme Court that the lower court misinterpreted existing case law and that the ACLU and Public Interest Law Center failed to include all counties as parties to the case. The original suit targeted the Pennsylvania Department of State, Allegheny County, and Philadelphia. In their filing, the Republican groups said that letting the lower court ruling stand that is, effectively waiving the date requirement as a condition for counting a ballot threatens to unleash chaos, uncertainty, and an erosion of public confidence in the imminent 2024 general election. Thousands of ballots are rejected each election for dating issues. During the April primary, counties rejected roughly 8,500 ballots, or 1.22% of those returned, for lacking a signature, date, or being returned without a secrecy envelope, according to an analysis of Pennsylvania Department of State data. More than 4,400 of those were rejected for dating issues. The court may decide the case based on the written filings alone, without any oral argument. As of Thursday afternoon, no date for a hearing had been scheduled. Carter Walker is a reporter for Votebeat in partnership with Spotlight PA. Contact Carter at cwalker@votebeat.org. BEFORE YOU GO If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is reminding travelers that a safety improvement project consisting of the installation of center barrier to permanently eliminate left turns on Route 22/322 just west of the Clarks Ferry bridge in Reed Township, Dauphin County, will begin tonight. Weather permitting, work will begin Sunday, Sept. 8, and take about two weeks to complete. Work will be performed Sunday through Thursday nights from 9 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. There will be left lane restrictions in both directions of Route 22/322 during work hours. Work may be performed Friday and Saturday nights if inclement weather or unforeseen circumstances impact the work schedule, a press release said. Weather permitting, work will begin Sunday, Sept. 8, and take about two weeks to complete.PennDOT Center barrier consisting of raised curbing and delineators will be installed from the existing concrete barrier separating the eastbound and westbound lanes of Route 22/322 just east of the Route 11/15 interchange and extend east to the center concrete curbing at the intersection with Route 849. This work will improve safety by closing the center turn lane and eliminating left turns through the corridor west of the Clarks Ferry Bridge. Left turns from westbound Route 22/322 to Route 849 will still be permitted. A left turn restriction from Route 849 to Route 22/322 will remain in place. To access businesses on the opposite side of the highway, travelers heading west on Route 22/322 should exit at Route 11/15 south (Camp Hill), then take Route 11/15 south to Route 22/322 east (Harrisburg). Travelers heading east on Route 22/322 should exit at Route 147 and return west on Route 22/322. This project also includes new signing and pavement markings. New Enterprise Stone and Lime Company, Inc., of New Enterprise, PA, is the contractor on this project. Motorists can check conditions on major roadways by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras. 511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following local alerts on X. Subscribe to PennDOT news and traffic alerts in Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York counties at PennDOT District 8. By Art Levinowitz Just last month, the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) announced that more than 400 school districts have passed a charter school reform resolution calling for changes to the 24-year-old charter school law. President Macron finds himself in a very weak position for the last years of his presidency - Oliver Bunic/Bloomberg Barely a day goes by without some new scare story about how taxes are due to rise or some benefit is due to be cut. In fact, in our neighbour across the Channel, things appear to be just as bad, if not worse. The new French prime minister, Michel Barnier, our old Brexit adversary, has picked up a poisoned chalice. Several times in my career I have asked the question: Why is France doing so well? This has usually brought forth a torrent of protests from people saying that France is doing very badly. Did I actually mean what I said? I did. For all the negative comments in this country about the French economy, for most of the post-war period, it has done pretty well. Its per capita GDP has at times been notably higher than ours. This is despite the frequently bizarre policies pursued by its governments. That has been the force of my question. If we had pursued the sort of policies they have, we would surely have been bust decades ago. So how did they manage to thrive? I have never come to a thoroughly satisfactory answer to my question. There are a few candidates. For a start, France is what you could describe as a naturally rich country. It is a large territory, diverse in type and climate. It has a very strong agricultural base, a vibrant tourist sector and a strong position in a number of key industries. The new French prime minister, Michel Barnier, has picked up a poisoned chalice - LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images The second factor, I have ventured, is that it has an extremely talented class of business executives and effective senior civil servants. Some people have tried to suggest that French success is due to an innate closet protectionism. They are not wrong to suggest that this exists. But in the Anglo-Saxon economic tradition at least, such protectionism brings no benefits. On the contrary, it is impoverishing. My third suggested answer is a bit of a cop-out but nevertheless I think it is cogent. For a naturally rich country like France, imbued with talented business leaders and civil servants, and with many pressures bottled up as a result of its innate protectionism, it takes a long time for things to go badly wrong. But eventually they do. It seems to me that France is on course now for things to go badly wrong. Weak public finances are a major problem. The outgoing finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, recently said that this year the government deficit could hit 5.6pc of GDP, well in excess of the governments goal of 5.1pc. President Macron had pledged to bring the deficit below the EU target of 3pc of GDP by 2027. Achieving anything like this is going to require some combination of much higher taxes and severe spending cuts. Story continues Doubtless this sounds familiar, but the French fiscal situation is more serious than ours. At 111pc of GDP, government debt is higher than our 101pc. This has not always been true. In marked contrast to the UK, where public debt was very high in the early post-war years as the result of massive borrowing in the Second World War, French public debt was averaging about 20pc of GDP right up to 1980, when it was the lowest in the G7. Beginning in the late 1970s, however, the annual budget deficit started to climb, driven by large increases in government spending. In 1960, this was running at about a third of GDP. By 2023 it had reached 58pc. At the root of Frances high public expenditure is a very generous regime of state benefits and a high public sector wage bill. Frances expenditure on public sector pensions alone amounts to 14.5pc of GDP, about twice the OECD average. Several governments have tried to tackle the gathering public debt crisis but they have failed. There simply isnt the political support for austerity in France, and there is a long tradition of public protest to which governments typically surrender. President Macron wanted to be a radical reformer and he did succeed to some degree, notably in pushing up the retirement age. But he is now in a very weak position for the last years of his presidency. Meanwhile, on both the Left and the Right of him are people who want to rescind his pension reforms and whose answer to Frances economic problems is yet more public spending. In these circumstances, it is unlikely that France is going to be able to make a major adjustment in fiscal policy before the next presidential election in 2027. And unless a strong presidential candidate emerges from the centre it seems likely that whoever wins that election will want to carry on with high state spending and borrowing. Marine Le Pen's inclinations on economics would be better described as 'far Left' than 'far Right' - REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier Most British people dont understand French politics. They routinely describe the RN party and its leader, Marine Le Pen, as far Right. There is a lazy assumption that she is a sort of Thatcherite, advocating a small state and low taxes. At least until recently, that would ordinarily be associated with the Right wing in the UK and the US, but in France this is not the case. Marine Le Pen is an interventionist and believes in a large state. If the term far Right has meaning in relation to her policies on immigration and national identity, her inclinations on economics would be better described as far Left. The euro has been a key factor enabling France to carry on its slow progress towards a fiscal crisis. In the old days, a run on the franc would have precipitated a bout of fiscal tightening. Now that cannot happen. French bond yields have risen in relation to their German equivalents, but not by much. France is still perceived as a core member of the euro zone, bracketed with Germany. But in the absence of a major fiscal retrenchment, this market insouciance cannot continue. Fiscally, France has more in common with Italy and Greece. There may be trouble ahead. Roger Bootle is senior independent adviser to Capital Economics. roger.bootle@capitaleconomics.com Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Song Leads as Nasreddine Makes Back-to-Back EPT Main Event Final Tables Mike Patrick Live Reporter Copy link The plan at the start of Day 6 of the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona Main Event was to play down to the final six players, and for a while it looked like that might not happen until a flurry of dramatic eliminations in the final level of the night got the field down to that magic number. When they return on Sunday, it will again be Stephen Song holding the chip lead as hell bring 15,150,000 into play. Just behind Song is the incredible story of PokerStars qualifier Marius-Catalin Pertea of Romania, who initially got into the tournament via a $55 online satellite before firing a second bullet, brings 14,575,000 chips to the final table. EPT Barcelona Main Event Final Table Seating Draw Table Seat Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds FT 1 FT 2 Andrew Hulme United Kingdom 5,525,000 22 FT 3 David Coleman United States 10,425,000 42 FT 4 Stephen Song United States 15,150,000 61 FT 5 Marius-Catalin Pertea Romania 14,575,000 58 FT 6 FT 7 Rania Nasreddine United States 8,300,000 33 FT 8 Boris Kuzmanovic Croatia 5,275,000 21 American David Coleman is the only other player with over ten million chips, sitting third with 10,425,000. Rania Nasreddine became the ninth player to make back-to-back EPT Main Event Final Tables as the 2024 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event third-place finisher will come back Sunday in fourth place with 8,300,000. The lawyer from Tulsa, Oklahoma, didn't mince words when asked if she thought a return trip to an EPT final table so soon was possible. Zero chance. Like no, zero chance. (I called) my Mom, I was like Hey Mom, Im on Day 5 and shes like ok, and Im like Mom, you dont understand, these are very hard tournaments with amazing players from around the world. You hope to cash, thats the goal, can I cash another one? The idea of running deep in two of these in the course of multiple years okay, great dream. But back-to-back? Insane. The Days Action The opening level of the day saw the demise of the two remaining Dutch players as the shortest stack entering the day, Govert Metaal was first to go, followed soon after by countryman Jelle Moene in 15th. The second level saw three more eliminations with Jose Barbosa in 14th, before Daniel Myers in 13th after losing a big hand to Alexandre Fournier. Myers attempted to make the greatest comeback in PokerStars history, spinning 20% of a big blind up to three big blinds before he finally succumbed to an unfortunate river card. Before the level was done, Sriharsha Doddapaneni was then ousted from the feature table in 12th place. The following level saw the final two eliminations needed to get the field to the unofficial final table of nine as Yurii Zabrodotskyi was eliminated just minutes after the break at the hands of Boris Kuzmanovic who became the first player to hit the ten million chip mark. Shortly after that, Harry Lodge was the unfortunate player to bubble the unofficial final table, doing so in horrible fashion as a 94% favorite on the flop. Once play resumed, the eliminations slowed, with all nine remaining players making it through the new level to dinner break, but not before Song regained the chip lead thanks in part to a pair of wins over Kuzmanovic. Following dinner, with a 50,000+ pay jump in view and stacks between Songs 51 big blinds at the top and Andrew Hulmes 15 at the bottom, play continued to be snug with players not wanting to bust, and no one did. In fact, for a second straight level there wasn't a single all in and call. That finally changed immediately in Level 33 as on the first hand back from break, Pertea scored a huge double through Kovalski to take the lead, leaving Kovalski with crumbs. Kovalskis quest for a second official EPT Barcelona final table in three years ended shortly after, as he was eliminated in ninth place by Nasreddine. That elimination unkinked the knot in the hose as the PokerStars TV commentators had said would happen, with Nasreddine providing the next elimination shortly after, as she felted Jianwei Lin in eighth place by going runner-runner to make Broadway in a very dramatic hand. Alexandre Fournier was the days final bustout at the hands of Coleman, ending the day with 31:01 remaining in Level 33. The final six players will now return at 12:30 p.m. CEST on Sunday to play down to a winner, who will claim the 1,512,000 first prize along with the coveted PokerStars EPT Barcelona Main Event trophy. For now, they each have 306,900 locked up. Remaining Final Table Payouts Place Winner Country Prize (EUR) 1 1,512,000 2 944,000 3 674,150 4 518,600 5 398,950 6 306,900 7 Alexandre Fournier Canada 236,100 8 Jianwei Lin China 181,600 9 Fabiano Kovalski Brazil 139,750 PokerNews will have all the coverage from right there on the tournament floor on a 30-minute delay to coincide with the PokerStars TV stream. Keep your browsers locked right here as we wrap up this incredible EPT 20th anniversary series from Casino Barcelona. Share this article On the last day of the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona, the conclusion of the 10,200 No-Limit Hold'em event played out in the Pau Cassals room at Casino Barcelona, where Erik Bauer put on a short-stack masterclass to emerge victorious and take home the 151,400 top prize. Bauer navigated through a field of 48 entries to take home the lion's share of the 465,600 prize pool, and overcame Canada's Dongwoo Ko in a short but gripping heads-up duel that spanned two levels. Final Table Results Place Player Country Prize 1 Erik Bauer Slovakia 151,400 2 Dongwoo Ko Canada 100,100 3 James Collopy United States 67,500 4 Samuel Ju Germany 51,200 5 Aram Zobian United States 39,600 6 Jeremie Zouari France 31,400 7 Zachary Habayeb Canada 24,400 Winner's Reaction "I feel very nice, I always wanted one of those spades, so it's nice to have one," were Bauer's first words after he caught up with PokerNews. "I started [the final table] with average so it started pretty well, then I lost a really big one with ace-king against jack-ten which either I would have the chip lead or be the short stack. Then I got lucky in a three-way all in, then I got very lucky with ace-ten against ace-king, and then I just ran very hot. I felt like I played heads up very well," PokerNews informed Bauer then he had broken into the top ten on Slovakia's all-time money list after jumping from 22nd to ninth with this victory. "To be honest, that's always been a goal for me to get into the top ten so that's really nice for me. I didn't even know I was in the top ten." Final Day's Action After playing through ten levels on Day 1, the sixteen survivors were joined by twelve more late registrants, bringing the total number of entries up to 48. Those that fell short of making the money include PokerStars Team Pro Maria Konnikova, who was eliminated by Vladas Tamasauskas in the second level of the day. Ren Lin, Sam Greenwood, Stoyan Madanzhiev, and Krasimir Yankov were also eliminated before the money and the unfortunate title of bubble boy went to Eduard Barsegyan. The Russian player got his chips in good with ace-king against the ace-queen of Ko, but a queen on the flop meant he was the last player to leave empty-handed. Once the bubble had burst, Zachary Habayeb lost a flip with ace-queen against the pocket jacks of Aram Zobian, which left him out in seventh. After an intense battle between the short stacks, it was Jeremie Zouari who finally succumbed in sixth when he got in his last big blind but couldnt manage to spin up a stack. Aram Zobian Somebody that did spin up a stack is Bauer, who went from the table short stack with three big blinds all the way up to chip leader in the space of a few moments, albeit with a little help from the dealer. Fortune certainly wasnt on Zobians side today as his pocket kings were taken down by Bauers ace-jack, which left him very short-stacked. Shortly after, he shoved pocket fours and ran into the pocket aces of James Collopy, which ended his run in fifth. Samuel Ju was short-stacked for the majority of the final table but managed to ladder up a few spots before he ran ace-jack into the eventual champion's pocket queens, which left him out in fourth, just shy of the podium places. Samuel Ju Play wasn't three-handed for long as Collopy flipped for his tournament life against Ko, and came off second best after the Canadian player rivered a full house. The stacks were almost identical going into heads-up play and it was Bauer who took an early lead and reached a three-to-one chip advantage before Ko Correctly called with ace-high to even out the stacks again. Dongwoo Ko Bauer didn't let that deter him as he continued to chip away at his opponent. In the last hand of the night, he got the chips in good with top pair and managed to fade the open-ended straight draw of Ko. That wraps up PokerNews coverage of the 10,200 No-Limit Hold'em event, but be sure to stay tuned to coverage of the remaining tournaments that are being played out at EPT Barcelona. The plan at the start of Day 6 of the 2024 EPT Barcelona Main Event was to play down to the final six players, and for a while it looked like that might not happen until a flurry of dramatic eliminations in the final level of the night got the field down to that magic number. When they return on Sunday, it will again be Stephen Song holding the chip lead as hell bring 15,150,000 into play. Just behind him is the incredible story of PokerStars qualifier Marius-Catalin Pertea of Romania, who initially got into the tournament via a $55 online satellite before firing a second bullet, brings 14,575,000 chips to the final table. Marius-Catalin Pertea American David Coleman is the only other player with over ten million chips, sitting third with 10,425,000. Rania Nasreddines amazing quest for back-to-back EPT final tables has been successful as the Monte Carlo third-place finisher will come back Sunday in fourth place with 8,300,000. When asked if she thought a return trip to an EPT final table so soon was possible, she didnt mince words. Zero chance. Like no, zero chance. (I called) my Mom, I was like Hey Mom, Im on Day 5 and shes like ok, and Im like Mom, you dont understand, these are very hard tournaments with amazing players from around the world. You hope to cash, thats the goal, can I cash another one? The idea of running deep in two of these in the course of multiple years okay, great dream. But back-to-back? Insane. Rania Nasreddine EPT Barcelona Final Table Seat Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 2 Andrew Hulme United Kingdom 5,525,000 22 3 David Coleman United States 10,425,000 42 4 Stephen Song United States 15,150,000 61 5 Marius-Catalin Pertea Romania 14,575,000 58 6 7 Rania Nasreddine United States 8,300,000 33 8 Boris Kuzmanovic Croatia 5,275,000 21 The Days Action The opening level of the day saw the demise of the two remaining Dutch players as the shortest stack entering the day, Govert Metaal was first to go, followed soon after by countryman Jelle Moene in 15th. The second level saw three more eliminations with Jose Barbosa in 14th, before Daniel Myers in 13th after losing a big hand to Alexandre Fournier. Myers attempted to make the greatest comeback in PokerStars history, spinning 20% of a big blind up to three big blinds before he finally succumbed to an unfortunate river card. Daniel Myers Before the level was done, Sriharsha Doddapaneni was then ousted from the feature table in 12th place. The following level saw the final two eliminations needed to get the field to the unofficial final table of nine as Yurii Zabrodotskyi was eliminated just minutes after the break at the hands of Boris Kuzmanovic who became the first player to hit the ten million chip mark. Shortly after that, Harry Lodge was the unfortunate player to bubble the unofficial final table, doing so in horrible fashion as a 94% favorite on the flop. Harry Lodge Once play resumed, the eliminations slowed, with all nine remaining players making it through the new level to dinner break, but not before Song regained the chip lead thanks in part to a pair of wins over Kuzmanovic. Following dinner, with a 50,000+ pay jump in view and stacks between Songs 51 big blinds at the top and Andrew Hulmes 15 at the bottom, play continued to be snug with players not wanting to bust, and no one did. In fact, there wasn't a single all-in and call for a second straight level. That finally changed immediately in Level 33 as on the first hand back from break, Pertea scored a huge double through Kovalski to take the lead, leaving Kovalski with crumbs. Kovalskis quest for a second official EPT Barcelona final table in three years ended shortly after, as Nasreddine eliminated him in ninth place. Fabiano Kovalski That elimination unkinked the knot in the hose as the PokerStars TV commentators had said would happen, with Nasreddine providing the next elimination shortly after, as she felted Jianwei Lin in eighth place by going runner-runner to make Broadway in a very dramatic hand. Jianwei Lin Alexandre Fournier was the days final bustout at the hands of Coleman, ending the day with 31:01 remaining in Level 33. And Now to Crown a Champion The final six players will now return at 12:30 p.m. local time on Sunday to play down to a winner. The winner will claim the 1,512,000 first prize along with the coveted PokerStars EPT Barcelona Main Event trophy. For now, they each have 306,900 locked up. Remaining Final Table Payouts Place Player Country Prize (EUR) 1 1,512,000 2 944,000 3 674,150 4 518,600 5 398,950 6 306,900 7 Alexandre Fournier Canada 236,100 8 Jianwei Lin China 181,600 9 Fabiano Kovalski Brazil 139,750 EPT Main Event Trophy PokerNews will have all the coverage from right there on the tournament floor on a 30-minute delay to coincide with the PokerStars TV stream. Please lock your browsers as we wrap up this incredible EPT 20th anniversary series from Casino Barcelona. The final flight of the $600 RunGood Poker Series Main Event has come to a conclusion as the final flight drew out 249 to bring the overall tally to 671. A total of 83 players will be guaranteed a piece of the $342,210 prize pool, and one person will receive the ring as well as a free seat to the Thunder Valley Invitational and a significant amount of NAPT Golden Player of the Series Points. $890 will be the minimum cash, while $62,522 will be awarded to first place. The biggest stack at nights end was Daniel Lowery, who acquired 486,000 chips. Lowery is not only one of the most decorated players on Rungood but also one of the most decorated tournament grinders of all time, with $3,527,226 in lifetime earnings, 9 RGPS titles, and 15 WSOPC rings. A win here would not only break the tie he holds with Brian Winter for all-time RGPS titles, but it would also move him a spot up on the all-time RGPS money list. With his massive stack and tournament experience, he will be a force to be reckoned with tomorrow. Day 1c Top Ten Chip Counts Place Player Chip Count 1 Daniel Lowery 486,000 2 Chase Turner 434,000 3 Houston White 417,000 4 Aubrey Fratesi 385,000 5 Kyle Cartwright 376,000 6 Joshua Miller 363,000 7 Kevin Gray 356,000 8 Brandon Terry 343,000 9 Jess Roberts 334,000 10 Jay Grey 329,000 Rounding out the top three podium at nights end were RGPS Tunica Main Event Final tablist Chase Turner (434,000) and Houston White (417,000). Both have ample experience running deep in Main Events in Tunica, and they are each looking to take down this massive tournament. Others that were able to snag up bags included many friendly faces like WSOP bracelet winner Kyle Cartwright (376,000), Kevin Gray (356,000), Jess Roberts (334,000), Sanh Vuong (268,000), Mackenzie Williams (143,000), and Brodie Harris (89,000). Harris and Roberts are both coming off of runner-up finishes in ring events this week and will be looking to cap off their already stellar weeks with a chance for a ring here. Jess Roberts and Brodie Harris are both coming off of runner-up finishes from earlier in the week and will be looking to use that momentum into the Main Event. Fortune was not kind to any of the players in the top 5 for the NAPT Golden Player of the Series race, as they didn't find any bags to collect the massive points that would be awarded to the top spots in the tournament. Michael Johns, Preston McEwen, Kevin Visentin, Joshua Turner, and Charles Clubb are all going to have to acquire points in other ways, but Yekaterina Lukina (131,000) is the player highest up the leaderboard who can potentially overtake depending on how the points finish out. Others who failed to bag included Mark Davis, Donovan Dean, and Greg Raymer. They must look to another RGPS Main Event to claim a title. Play ended with 5:45 left in Level 14, with blinds at 3,000/6,000 and a 6,000 big blind ante in the first flight. This will be the level that players return to tomorrow, Sunday, September 8th. Stay tuned to PokerNews for all updates regarding the RunGood Poker Series Main Event. We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Beauty Stocks To Buy According to Short Sellers. In this article, we are going to take a look at where International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) stands against the other beauty stocks. The US beauty market, which is seeing major shifts in distribution and customer interaction, continues to be a key area of interest for stakeholders. Beautymatter CEO Kelly Kovack underlined that consumer-driven channels have replaced traditional distribution strategies, compelling companies to engage with customers wherever and whenever they're most comfortable. According to a report, the US beauty market is expected to grow to $114 billion by 2027. On the other hand, the prestige channel saw its third straight year of double-digit growth in 2023, rising by 14% to $31.7 billion, outpacing the mainstream market across make-up, skincare, hair, and fragrance, according to the February 2024 CEW conducted annual "Global Trend Report" virtual event. Luxury brands represent the fastest-growing segment, with sales surpassing $16 billion, although being smaller at 11% of the market. Bigelow Trading's Daina Nadler emphasized the value of multichannel distribution plans that are customized to a wide range of consumer buying preferences. According to John Cafarelli, CEO of Beautymatter, 87% of US beauty lovers prefer in-store shopping, and 80% of them frequent stores that specialize in beauty products. In-store shopping continues to be popular. In order to increase traffic and loyalty, Space NK's Noah Rosenblatt and H-E-B's Jeanne Tamayo stressed the significance of creating compelling retail spaces and solid brand-consumer relationships. In contrast, although offline retail in China is declining by 4%, e-commerce and social commerce, particularly Douyin, are growing at 9% and 57%, respectively, according to Nielsen IQ. China is a resilient beauty market, and despite all of the difficulties following the pandemic, it remains the world's second-largest beauty market, posing numerous challenges for international suppliers notes Vice President of Nielsen IQ Gautam Seth. He also points out that local companies are more successful because they employ local ingredients and have a strong cultural connection. Industry giants like Jina Lee of Urang and Kim Da Jeong of Lotte Department Store have stressed the importance of consumer knowledge about ingredients and product efficacy. The emphasis on diversity is also influencing the global beauty market, although many individuals continue to feel underrepresented in health and beauty advertisements as per Circana. Expectations from consumers about varied representation in terms of gender, color, age, ability, body size, and sexual orientation are at an all-time high. A general market and a multicultural market will not differ by 2044 due to the majority-minority population in the United States. According to a study by SeeMe Index and Circana, brands that are certified inclusive grow 1.5 times faster than brands that are not. Additionally, the likelihood of seeing individuals over 55 in these brands' advertisements who equally represent straight and homosexual partnerships is 2.5 times higher than that of less inclusive brands, which are 12 times more likely to just feature straight relationships. Looking ahead, the global beauty market is expected to generate retail sales of over $580 billion by 2027, with an annual growth rate of 6% per report. One area gaining attention and stimulating beauty business is the growing consumer interest in wellness within beauty. According to a survey on wellness trends in 2024, 82% of US consumers, 87% of Chinese consumers, and 73% of British consumers now rank wellness as a top or important priority in their daily lives. The Goop, one of the Most Successful Celebrity Beauty Companies in the World, philosophy is that "beauty is wellness and wellness is beauty. Beauty firms are entering this space. A massive beauty brand and the Stanford Institute on Longevity have teamed up to develop a new age-reversal technology-powered product. Methodology: We sifted through holdings of beauty ETFs and online rankings to form an initial list of 20 beauty stocks. Then we selected the 10 stocks that had the lowest percentage of their shares shorted. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of the lowest percentage of their shares shorted. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here) The Largest Food Company in the World by Market Cap A lab technician analyzing natural food protection ingredients to ensure quality products. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) % of shares shorted: 1.12% International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) is the world's biggest manufacturer of specialized ingredients, with an impressive array of products that lead their respective markets across various industries. It offers a wide range of flavors and fragrances. The company's portfolio has shifted in recent years, with the acquisition of DuPont's nutrition and biosciences businesses in 2021 and Frutarom in 2018. However, shareholder value suffered as a result of IIFF's overpayment for the acquisitions of Frutarom and DuPont Nutrition Sciences. On the bright side, a remarkable recovery in the company's flavors, fragrances, and health and biosciences division propelled International Flavors & Fragrances to record second-quarter 2024 adjusted EBITDA growth of 15% YoY. This improvement was driven by high single-digit volume growth, on which the company is focused. Raising its full-year outlook, International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) now projects sales between $11.1 billion and $11.3 billion, up from the prior range of $10.8 billion to $11.1 billion. It also anticipates an increase in adjusted operating EBITDA from the previous range of $1.9 billion to $2.1 billion, to $2.1 billion to $2.17 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) is in a strong growth phase and should continue to produce greater value for shareholders, according to the updated outlook. The company's stockholders made up 46 of the 912 hedge funds listed in Insider Monkey's Q2 2024 database. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)s biggest hedge fund investor is Israel Englanders Millennium Management, which owns $411.32 million worth of 4,320,107 shares. Overall IFF ranks 4th on our list of the best beauty stocks to buy according to short sellers. While we acknowledge the potential of IFF as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than IFF but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley and Jim Cramer Says NVIDIA Has Become A Wasteland. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Vice President Kamala Harris has opened up leads over Trump on mental fitness, having mainstream positions, and voter excitement in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. According to the latest CBS News/YouGov Poll: Now it is the Democrat, Harris, whos seen by more as having the cognitive and mental health to serve, and Trump comparatively less so. (This was very different in our national polling when Mr. Biden was still running.). . Harris may benefit from her positions being seen as more mainstream than extreme. Most voters describe Trumps positions as extreme. Harris bests Trump in excitement among partisans. Democrats are more excited about what theyve seen from her campaign recently than Republicans are about what theyve seen from Trumps. On mental fitness, Harris leads Trump by 15-20 points in the three battleground states. Harris leads Trump by 7-11 points on excitement, and she leads Trump 54%-44% on being more mainstream, and Trump leads 56%-44% on being viewed as more extreme. The idea that Harris is the more mainstream candidate could hurt Trump in a place like Pennsylvania, where the undecided voters tend to be very moderate. Pennsylvania is still a place where the moderate Republican and Democratic voters both exist. Trump is trying to define Harris as extreme because if those Pennsylvania moderates dont break for the ex-president, he is going to need a superior turnout of his rural white base to have any chance of winning the state. The polls overall show Harris leading in Michigan and Wisconsin and tied in Pennsylvania. Democrats need to run like they are behind because this election is close, and any one of a number of factors over the next two months could be enough to tip the scales toward either of the two candidates. To comment on this story, join us on Reddit. Trump has pretended to be Ronald Reagan for years, but that myth was wrecked on Sunday by Liz Cheney. Transcript via ABCs This Week: CHENEY: But when it comes to fundamental alliances, when it comes to the importance of NATO, for example, and how important it is for the United States to lead in the world, weve seen a sea change. We now have a Republican Party that is embracing isolationism, that is embracing Putin. That, you know, weve seen just in the last week, the Republican vice presidential nominee willing to appear, willing to be interviewed by Tucker Carlson who is platforming pro-Nazis, is himself pushing pro-Nazi propaganda. That is not the party of Ronald Reagan, and I believe strongly that if youre talking about a national security set of issues and you care about Americas leadership role in the world, a vote for Vice President Harris is the right vote to make this time around. KARL: Its an extraordinary reordering of the whole political system on when it comes to national security. Who would Ronald Reagan be supporting in this race? Who do you think? CHENEY: There there is absolutely no chance that Ronald Reagan would be supporting Donald Trump . Donald Trump doesnt stand for any of the things that Ronald Reagan did. And its another place where I would urge my Republican colleagues, both in the Congress but across the country, to really look at Donald Trumps policies, to really look at the danger that he presents, to look at at, you know, what he was willing to do to stay in power. Its its a firm rejection not just of traditional Republican policies but of the constitutional order on which this country depends. Video: There is absolutely no chance that Ronald Reagan would be supporting Donald Trump. Former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney encourages her fellow Republicans to really look at Donald Trumps policies, to really look at the danger that he presents. https://t.co/dnNCJRQCIm pic.twitter.com/qI5dF2CBzX This Week (@ThisWeekABC) September 8, 2024 Liz Cheneys message for Republicans who think that they are voting for a Reagan like candidate when they cast their vote for Trump is that Donald Trump is the opposite of Ronald Reagan. Cheneys support will pay dividends for Kamala Harris in places like Michigan and Pennsylvania, where Trumps Ronald Reagan cosplay could draw in some voters. It wont be a lot of voters, but Cheney is already providing a big assist to Kamala Harriss presidential campaign. To comment on this story, join us on Reddit. Aiken, SC (29801) Today Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 63F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 63F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. We recently compiled a list of the 10 Stocks Jim Cramer Thinks You Should Check Out. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) stands against the other stocks Jim Cramer thinks you should check out. Jim Cramer draws an engaging parallel between fantasy football and stock investing as the NFL season begins. Cramer uses this occasion to introduce his concept of "Fantasy Stock Football." He likens selecting stocks for an investment portfolio to drafting players for a fantasy football team, emphasizing how both require strategic thinking and role balancing. "While you're enjoying the game, I want to get you into the NFL spirit with some Fantasy Stock Football." Unveiling Jim Cramer's "Fantasy Stock Football" Strategy Cramer enjoys blending real-world sports with market insights to offer a unique perspective on investing. He notes that, like fantasy football teams, investment portfolios consist of various stocks that play different roles, contributing to overall performance. Reflecting on the previous year, he highlights that the 11 stocks he recommended have risen an average of 38%, outperforming the S&P 500s 23% gain. This comparison underscores his belief in the strategic approach to both fantasy football and stock selection. "Now look, I love comparing real teams and real players to my favorite stocks. These are two great tastes that taste great together. More importantly, it gives me another angle to help youIve got to teach you about the market in any way I can. Picking stocks for your portfolio has a lot in common with drafting players for your fantasy football team. Fifty-five million people do it. Different positions play different roles for your fantasy team, just like different stocks fill different roles in your portfolio. By the way, if you look at the 11 stocks I highlighted when we did this a year ago, theyre now up an average of 38%, compared to the S&P 500, which is up 23% during the same period." Cramer's Warning Against Overreacting to Market Fluctuations Jim Cramer highlights some key mistakes investors are making and emphasizes the importance of a strategic approach to investing. He points out that many investors are making errors by overreacting to market fluctuations and trying to time their moves poorly. According to Cramer, sometimes the best strategy is to do nothing and avoid making rash decisions. "People keep making a ton of mistakes when they should really just be sitting on their hands. Sometimes the best thing you can do is absolutely nothing. Instead, they're acting out every possible fantasy nightmare when it comes to the market. Not only is it tedious and foolhardy, but its also very expensive for anyone who's running with this non-strategy. You can see the averages, which started out like a house on fire today, only to fizzle out by the end." Story continues Jim Cramer: Trust Powells Strategy Amid Economic Data Volatility Cramer criticizes the persistent doubts about Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He believes Powell has managed the transition from tightening to easing policies well, despite earlier criticism for slow rate hikes. The ongoing panic over economic datawhether strong or weakshows a lack of faith in Powells ability to adjust rates appropriately. Cramer asserts that the Fed will act as needed, whether that means a 25 or 50 basis point cut, and advises investors to trust Powells strategy rather than being swayed by market noise. "Theres a belief that the Federal Reserve under Jerome Powell will somehow screw up the transition as they shift from tightening to stop inflation to easing to combat recession. At this point in Powells tenure, I find it insane that he never seems to get the benefit of the doubt. Well, yes, he started raising rates a little too late in 2022, but its hard to blame him for that. Powell didnt want to hit the brakes on the economy when we were still dealing with a healthcare emergency, which is why he didnt tighten in 2021. Who would have thought that COVID would run its course so quickly? Who could have imagined that the Biden administration would be able to pass generous spending packages right when we stopped needing them, sparking an inflationary run? Since then, though Jerome Powell has done pretty much everything right. Once rolling, he raised rates with vigor because our country had some of the worst inflation in recent history. The rate hikes, one after another, did manage to tamp down inflation. Everything that could be controlled by the Fed is now going the right way. Prices have come down all over the place, though many are still elevated compared to 2019 levels. But I dont think anyone surveying the situation could honestly contend that Powell is going in the wrong direction... Whats most important, though, is that if you have faith in Jerome Powell, as I do, you know he'll give us a 25 basis point cut if thats whats needed. And if the economy suddenly gets weaker, then a 50 basis point cut would be on the table. Why is that so hard to understand? People keep freaking out about things that simply wont be a problem, given that we have a competent central bank. Theyve done this during the run-up to every Fed easing cycle I can recall. You always get these tense momentslike right nowfilled with wild swings, full of sound and fury, and of course, yes, signifying nothing." Jim Cramer Defends AI, Calls Early Criticisms Misguided Cramer addresses skepticism around artificial intelligence (AI), arguing that it is premature to dismiss its potential. While current AI developments may not seem revolutionary, he believes that significant advancements, such as breakthroughs in cancer diagnosis, indicate that AIs impact will grow over time. "Weve gone from a world where artificial intelligence (AI) was supposed to solve everything to a world where AI is treated as just a robust sham, except for when ServiceNow gets one more contract, of course. At its apex, AI was supposed to make organizations much more efficient, improve gross margins magically, and create inventions vastly better than the status quo. Sadly, we dont see much of anything tangible, other than competing chatbotsrivaling inquiry systems that can generate information in sentence form, including hallucinations. Were told the whole things a canard, and this reality has slapped true believers like me in the face." Jim Cramer believes that dismissing AI as a failure is premature. He argues that people are underestimating its potential, as we are still early in discovering its practical applications. According to Cramer, recent advances in accelerated computing and generative AI have already led to significant breakthroughs, such as improvements in cancer diagnosis. While the excitement around AI in healthcare may suggest we're on the brink of a major revolution, Cramer points out that we're actually witnessing a gradual but important evolution in the technology's capabilities. "Now look, I think thats just plain wrong. Its way too early to view AI as a waste. People know nothing. Were only a couple of years into finding use cases, for heavens sake. We just got word that accelerated computing and generative AI have led to a breakthrough in cancer diagnosis, which could be very important. Thats a huge thing. But the hype of what this technology could mean for healthcare seems to illustrate that we arent seeing a revolution yetwere just seeing a faster evolution." Our Methodology The article reviews a recent episode of Jim Cramer's Mad Money, where he discussed and recommended various stocks. It highlights ten companies that Cramer featured and explores their perception among hedge funds. The companies are ranked from the least owned to the most owned by hedge funds. At Insider Monkey we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletters strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here). A wide angle shot of a team of bankers and financial advisors evaluating an investment portfolio on a touchscreen monitor. Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 59 Jim Cramer notes that while he appreciates the digital banking sector, he is cautious about investing in a stock that, despite being modestly profitable, has already surged by 72%. He advises waiting for Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) to stabilize before buying, especially given the current market uncertainty. Cramer suggests that it's better not to rush into a purchase at this time. "When I see this, I think of digital banking, which I like. But despite being modestly profitable, the stocks been rewarded with a 72% increase. Id rather wait for this stock to cool off. We have an uncertain market, so lets not jump to the conclusion that we need to buy it right now." Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) is a strong investment opportunity due to its impressive growth and market position in Latin America's digital financial sector. Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) has amassed over 85 million users by Q2 2024, demonstrating its success in reaching a market that is often underserved by traditional banks. In its Q2 2024 earnings report, Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) reported an EPS of $0.12, surpassing analyst expectations, although its revenue slightly missed forecasts at $2.85 billion. Despite this minor shortfall, Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU)s revenue grew by 52% year-over-year, indicating robust growth driven by its operational efficiency and improved profit margins. Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU)'s expansion into credit and insurance services diversifies its revenue streams and aligns with the increasing demand for fintech solutions in the region. Analysts predict that EPS will rise to $0.40 in 2024 and $0.62 in 2025, suggesting that Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) is on track for continued growth and long-term success. Baron FinTech Fund stated the following regarding Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter: Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) is a digital bank with operations in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. Shares appreciated during the quarter after the company reported strong balance sheet growth and improving margins. New product launches and expansion in newer countries are yielding favorable results. Nu also benefited from inclusion in the MSCI Brazil Index, which prompted buying from passively managed funds. We continue to own the stock because Nu is disrupting the financial services industry in Latin America with its digital distribution and intense focus on user experience. The company has grown to serve over 90 million customers in less than 10 years, largely through word-of-mouth referrals. We believe the companys superior product offering will drive continued share gains in large and growing markets." Overall NU ranks 3rd on our list of the stocks Jim Cramer thinks you should check out. While we acknowledge the potential of NU as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that under the radar AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than NU but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley and Jim Cramer Says NVIDIA Has Become A Wasteland. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. PR-Inside.com: 2024-09-08 12:03:11 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 591 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 8, 2024 / Leading securities law firm Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP announces that a lawsuit has been filed against Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ABR) and certain of the Company's senior executives.If you invested in ABR, you are encouraged to obtain additional information by visiting https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/arbor-realty-trust-inc Investors have until September 30, 2024 to ask the Court to be appointed to lead the case. The complaint asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on behalf of investors in ABR securities. The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York and is captioned Lois Martin v. Arbor Realty Trust, Inc., et al., No. 24-cv-05347.What is the Lawsuit About?ABR is a nationwide real estate investment trust ("REIT") and direct lender, providing loan origination and servicing for commercial real estate assets. The complaint alleges that during the relevant period, ABR misrepresented the health of the Company's loan book. In truth, ABR used fake holding companies to help conceal that its loan book was distressed, and the underlying collateral was overstated.On March 14, 2023, NINGI Research published a report which claimed, among other things, that "Arbor has been hiding a toxic real estate portfolio of mobile homes with a complex web of real and fake holding companies for more than a decade." This news caused the price of ABR stock to decline by $0.87 per share, or almost 7%, to close at $12.12 per share on March 14, 2023.Then, on December 5, 2023, Viceroy Research published an in-depth study of ABR's Jacksonville, Florida properties. Viceroy found that the Company's entire loan book is distressed and the underlying collateral is vastly overstated. This news caused the price of ABR stock to decline by $0.19 per share, or over 1%, to close at $13.67 per share on December 5, 2023.Finally, on July 12, 2024, Bloomberg reported that ABR was "being probed by federal prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New York." According to the news report, "[t]he investigators are inquiring about lending practices and the company's claims about the performance of their loan book." This news caused the price of ABR stock to decline by $2.64 per share, or almost 17%, to close at $12.89 per share on July 12, 2024.Click here if you suffered losses: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/arbor-realty-trust-inc What Can You Do?If you invested in ABR, you have rights and are encouraged to submit your information to speak with an attorney.All representation is on a contingency fee basis, there is no cost to you. Shareholders are not responsible for any court costs or expenses of litigation. The Firm will seek court approval for any potential fees and expenses. Submit your information by visiting:Or contact:Ross Shikowitz ross@ bfalaw.com 212-789-3619Why Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP?Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP is a leading international law firm representing plaintiffs in securities class actions and shareholder litigation. It was named among the Top 5 plaintiff law firms by ISS SCAS in 2023 and its attorneys have been named Titans of the Plaintiffs' Bar by Law360 and SuperLawyers by Thompson Reuters. Among its recent notable successes, BFA recovered over $900 million in value from Tesla, Inc.'s Board of Directors (pending court approval), as well as $420 million from Teva Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd.For more information about BFA and its attorneys, please visit https://www.bfalaw.com Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.SOURCE: Bleichmar, Fonti, & Auld LLP PR-Inside.com: 2024-09-08 12:14:01 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 522 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 8, 2024 / Leading securities law firmBleichmar Fonti & Auld LLPannounces an investigation into Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) for potential violations of the federal securities laws.If you invested in Franklin Resources, you are encouraged to obtain additional information by visiting https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/franklin-resources-inc Why Did Franklin Resources's Stock Drop?Franklin Resources is a $1.7 trillion asset management company better known as Franklin Templeton. One of its key divisions is Western Asset Management ("WAM"), which is a fixed income manager.On July 26, 2024, Franklin Resources revealed that "following the launch of an internal investigation focusing on certain past trade allocations of treasury derivatives in select" WAM accounts, "WAM received notification of parallel investigations by the SEC and U.S. Department of Justice." Then, on August 21, 2024, Franklin Resources disclosed that WAM co-Chief Investment Officer Ken Leech had been placed on leave "effective immediately" after he "received a Wells Notice from the Staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission." The company further stated that, "[i]n light of Mr. Leech's leave of absence, the Company has determined that closing its Macro Opportunities strategy (approximately $2.0 billion in AUM as of 7/31/2024) is in clients' best interests." On the same day, Bloomberg reported that federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York are investigating whether Leech allocated winning trades to favored accounts, as part of a criminal probe into a practice known as " cherry-picking." The news caused a precipitous decline in the price of Franklin Resources stock. On July 26, 2024, the price of the company's stock fell 2.4%, from a closing price of $23.64 per share on July 25, 2024, to $23.08 per share on July 26, 2024. Then, on August 21, 2024, the price of Franklin Resources stock fell 12.5%, from a closing price of $22.62 per share on August 20, 2024, to $19.78 per share on August 21, 2024.Click here for more information: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/franklin-resources-inc What Can You Do?If you invested in Franklin Resources, Inc. you may have legal options and are encouraged to submit your information to the firm. All representation is on a contingency fee basis, there is no cost to you. Shareholders are not responsible for any court costs or expenses of litigation. The firm will seek court approval for any potential fees and expenses.Submit your information by visiting:Or contact:Ross Shikowitz ross@ bfalaw.com 212-789-3619Why Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP?Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP is a leading international law firm representing plaintiffs in securities class actions and shareholder litigation. It was named among the Top 5 plaintiff law firms by ISS SCAS in 2023 and its attorneys have been named Titans of the Plaintiffs' Bar by Law360 and SuperLawyers by Thompson Reuters. Among its recent notable successes, BFA recovered over $900 million in value from Tesla, Inc.'s Board of Directors (pending court approval), as well as $420 million from Teva Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd.For more information about BFA and its attorneys, please visit https://www.bfalaw.com Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.SOURCE: Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP Oil firm, Oando PLC, issued the statement below on 2 September 2024 to correct what it called misinformation about its hundred percent divestment from its downstream business. The company said the process began in June 2016 and concluded in 2019, long before the coming of the President Bola Tinubus administration. READ THE FULL STATEMENT BELOW. Demands Immediate Cessation of Libelous Content on Media Platforms 02 September, 2024 Over recent weeks, various print and digital platforms have been used to circulate baseless and damaging claims about Oando PLC and its Group Chief Executive, Mr. Adewale Tinubu, specifically alleging that NNPC Limited has fraudulently transferred ownership of all petrol stations to our Group Chief Executive, Mr Adewale Tinubu. These statements are entirely without foundation and have been made with reckless disregard for the truth. The misinformation being spread has caused significant reputational harm to both the company and its leadership and their continued circulation is both legally and ethically unacceptable. Basic research of publicly available information would confirm that on the 30th of June 2016, Oando partially divested of the majority interest in its downstream business, when it sold 60% of its shares in Oando Marketing Limited to a consortia consisting of International Trading Company, Vitol Group (Vitol) and Helios InvestmentPartners (Helios), an International Private Equity firm. The resulting entity was called OVH Energy BV reflecting the names of the three partners (Oando, Vitol and Helios). Please reference the Press Release issued at the time of the initial divestment (Oando concludes recapitalization and partial divestment of equity stake in its downstream operations to a consortium of Helios and Vitol Oando PLC) Oando concludes recapitalization and partial divestment of equity stake in its downstream operations to a consortium of Helios and Vitol Oando PLC. Recognising the goodwill in the Oando name, a Brand Licence Agreement was also entered into on the 30th of June 2016 between Oando PLC and OVH Energy BV for the use of the Oando logo/brand for a 10-year period. The brand licence agreement was subsequently terminated on the 24th of March 2023 and OVH Energy was given a term of 18 months to completely debrand and remove the Oando Brand from its products and assets. This term expires in September 2024. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Oandos strategic intent at the time of the partial divestment was to completely exit its downstream and midstream business to enable it focus on its Upstream business by expanding its portfolio of upstream assets. On the 5th of October, 2017, Oando divested of an additional 35% of its shareholding in OVH Energy by the issuance of 210,000 additional class A shares to HV Investments BV (Helios/Vitol). On the 29th of November 2019, Oando completely exited from the OVH partnership when it transferred its remaining 5% shareholding in OVH Energy BV to Vitol and Helios. Oando has a long-standing commitment to transparency and integrity, and it will not tolerate the dissemination of falsehoods that undermine its reputation or that of its executives. We view the actions of these online digital and media platforms as a serious breach of ethical standards and a blatant violation of legal principles surrounding defamation. The Company will pursue all available legal avenues to ensure that these defamatory statements are retracted and that those responsible are held accountable. Oando PLC demands the immediate removal of all libelous content from the offending platforms. Failure to comply will result in legal action, including claims for damages and other remedies provided by law. The company reaffirms its dedication to its mission and its stakeholders, and it will continue to act with integrity in all its endeavours. For further information, please contact: Ayotola Jagun Company Secretary The Wings Office Complex 17a Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. Tel: +234 (1) 270400, Ext 6159 ajagun@oandoplc.com For: Oando PLC Ayotola Jagun (Ms.) Chief Compliance Officer and Company Secretary Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print In a move compliant with Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) regulations, leading fintech companies Opay and Moniepoint have announced the implementation of a N50 fee on electronic money transfers exceeding N10,000. The new charge, set to take effect on 9 September, applies to both personal and business accounts. Opay and Moniepoint, two of Nigerias prominent fintech companies, communicated the change to their customers through a message titled FGN Electronic Money Transfer levy, which began circulating on Saturday. Please be informed that starting September 9th, 2024, a one-time fee of N50 will be applied to electronic transfers of N10,000 and above paid into your personal or business account in compliance with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) regulations. It is important to note that OPay does not benefit from this charge in any way as it is directed entirely to the Federal Government, it said. The N50 fee is a one-time charge that will be applied to each eligible transfer in line with the governments directive. This development follows the enforcement of the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), a tax introduced by the Nigerian government under the Finance Act 2020. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The EMTL mandates a fixed levy of N50 on electronic receipts or transfers of funds, facilitating the collection of revenue to support the countrys fiscal needs. The tax is levied on transactions processed through any money transfer or payment system and applies to amounts of N10,000 or more. The levy is part of broader efforts by the government to diversify its revenue sources amid growing need to finance public services and infrastructure projects. In recent times, Nigerians and business owners have increasingly turned to neobanks due to their reliability and efficiency. These platforms are favoured for their lower-than-average transaction decline rates and the ability to instantly reverse transactions in the event of failed payments. A key attraction has been their low transaction fees, which have provided much-needed relief, particularly during the recent cash crunch. Many businesses opened accounts with these fintech companies, assured of receiving immediate transaction alerts, which became crucial for maintaining cash flow and ensuring smooth operations in a challenging economic environment. Recently, Moniepoint was listed as Africas fastest-growing fintech company by the Financial Times. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print FBN Holdings offloaded its full stake in FBN Quest Limited, its merchant banking and asset management arm, to a consortium comprising three companies. The development marked the exit of the group from the merchant banking business. FBN Quests services include corporate and investment banking, investment management, wealth advisory, and fixed-income securities trading. The sale is in alignment with the companys strategy to optimise its portfolio within the group, FBN Holdings said in a regulatory filing published by the Nigerian Exchange. Following a competitive bid Process, EverQuest acquisition LLP (comprising Custodian Investments PLC, Aion Investments and Evercorp Industries) was selected as the preferred bidder, it added. The share sale deal requires the approvals of regulators before it can be closed. FBN Quest reported a net profit of N13 billion for the financial year 2023, contributing 4.2 per cent to the bottom line of the group. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Its total assets as of the end of last year stood at N361 billion according to the audited earnings report of FBN Holdings for 2023, up from N302 billion a year earlier. FBN Quest Merchant Bank, formerly FBN Merchant Bank Limited, was incorporated as a limited liability company in February 1995. It was originally known as Kakawa Discount House Limited. It received a license to operate the business of a discount house and started operations in November 1995. FBN Holdings acquired the entire equity of the company and transformed it into a merchant bank after getting approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria for merchant banking operations in 2015. In 2020, South Africas Sanlam Group purchased FBN Holdings 65 per cent interest in FBN Insurance Limited, giving the acquirer a 100 per cent ownership of the entity and its subsidiary, FBN General Insurance Limited. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities for an agreement to release around 100 hostages held by Palestinian Islamist Hamas on Saturday. We must not sacrifice any more lives; we must not sacrifice them [the remaining hostages], said a relative of a hostage who died last week, at the Tel Aviv rally. Carmel Gat, another woman and four men were shot at close range last week, according to Israels Health Ministry, after Israeli soldiers found their bodies last Sunday in a tunnel in Gaza. The six would be here with us today if [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said yes to a deal, Gats relative called out to the crowd, sorrow and anger in her voice. On 7 October last year, militants from Hamas and other extremist Palestinian organisations invaded southern Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking some 250 others as hostages into Gaza, an unprecedented massacre that triggered the Gaza war. According to Israel, Hamas is still holding 101 people, although it is unclear how many of them are still alive. Indirect negotiations for their release, mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar, have been stalled for months. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Negotiators seek to bring about a deal that also ends the war, and includes the withdrawal of the Israeli military from the Gaza Strip and the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Critics accuse Mr Netanyahu of obstructing the conclusion of an agreement by making excessive demands such as to permanently station the Israeli military at strategic points in the Gaza Strip. Mr Netanyahu heads a coalition with far-right parties who oppose any concessions to Hamas and threaten otherwise to withdraw which would lead to a collapse of the government alliance. There were further demonstrations in Jerusalem, Haifa, Beersheba, Nahariya, and Caesarea, according to media reports. (dpa/NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Betsy Obaseki, wife of Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State Governor, on Saturday encouraged childless women to view themselves as fruitful, full of potential and proud mothers of children who would arrive in Gods time. Mrs Obaseki, accompanied by Ifeyinwa Ighodalo, wife of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, shared these comforting words on Saturday during a Zoom meeting with Edo women in the diaspora. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that her comment was in response to a viral video featuring former Governor Adams Oshiomholes remarks about her being childless. Mrs Obaseki, while addressing more than 200 women, who joined the meeting from various countries, reminded them that everyone was created by God for a purpose. My words of comfort to you, like myself, who have conceived and experienced miscarriages, painful stillbirths and evacuations of babies, who died in our wombs and, as a result, have no children to show for the pain we have endured, is that you are not barren. I dare to call you fruitful. You and I are potential and proud mothers of children that will come in Gods time. Enjoy the life God has given you. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Take your mind off your challenge, and before you know it, children will start coming, she said. Mrs Obaseki said her contributions to society had gone beyond the biological aspect of motherhood. Being fruitful is not limited to childbearing. It is about impacting lives and creating positive change in society. There is no point in feeling bad. Women can fulfill Gods purpose in many ways beyond motherhood, she added. Mrs Obaseki also shared a message of encouragement for women who, like herself, had faced the pain of miscarriages and stillbirths, urging them not to feel discouraged or be defined by their losses. On her part, Mrs Ifeyinwa Ighodalo thanked the women for attending the meeting and promised to continue all of Betsy Obasekis programmes for women and the girl child in Edo, if her husband was elected. In her welcome address, the founder of the group, Adesuwa Obasohan, promised to support Asue Ighodalos candidacy, just as the group supported Governor Obaseki.(NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print We recently compiled a list of the 10 Stocks Jim Cramer Cant Stop Talking About. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Martin Marietta Materials Inc. (NYSE:MLM) stands against the other stocks Jim Cramer can't stop talking about. In a recent episode of Mad Money, Jim Cramer advises that worrying about what others are concerned about or getting excited about what everyone anticipates is generally futile for investors. When most investors expect something to happen, its often already factored into stock prices. You want to know the single most useless thing you can do in this business? Oh, thats easy. The most useless thing you can do as an investor is to worry about what everyone else is worrying about. The flip side of this is also true: theres no point in getting excited about something that everybody else is eagerly anticipating. Why? Because when the vast majority of investors agree that somethings going to happen, that thing is already priced into the stock market. The stock market reacts quickly to the consensus of hedge fund and mutual fund managers, so by the time the majority agrees on an economic trend, its already reflected in stock values. Cramer points out that while the real economy moves at a steady pacethrough borrowing, manufacturing, transporting, and sellingstocks adjust almost instantly to new information. This rapid adjustment means that, once big institutional investors align on a particular economic outlook, it is already embedded in the market. While the real economy moves at its own steady pacefor example, you have to borrow money to build out equipment, then use that equipment to manufacture goods, transport them to retail outlets, and wait for customers to buy themthe stock market has no such limitations. Stocks dont quite travel at the speed of thought, but they come pretty close. So, the moment a preponderance of hedge fund and mutual fund managers decide that the economy is slowing, speeding up, or flatlining, stocks start trading like thats already the case. Usually, it takes some time to build that kind of consensus, which is why you rarely see these moves happening instantaneously. But once the big institutional portfolio managers are on the same page about something, you can be pretty darn confident that its baked into the averages. The Efficient Markets Hypothesis Jim Cramer points out that understanding some basic economics can be quite useful for managing investments, even though economists often use complex models that dont always align with real-world data. Economists can be too focused on their theories and may ignore conflicting data, but basic economic principles can still offer valuable insights. One key concept Cramer highlights is the Efficient Markets Hypothesis. This theory suggests that stock prices at any given moment already include all available information. When new data comes out, stock prices quickly adjust to reflect this updated reality. Index fund advocates use this theory to argue that its nearly impossible for stock pickers to outperform the market, as all known information is already factored into stock prices. This is some basic economics 101 stuff. Now, I dont have a ton of use for economists as professionals on this showthey tend to take a totally ivory-tower approach to their discipline, meaning they have all sorts of models for how the economy is supposed to work (often very boring models, by the way). But they rarely let empirical facts get in the way of a good theory. If the data conflicts with the model, economists have a bad habit of throwing away the data, not the model. However, as long as you keep that caveat in mind, some basic economics is incredibly useful when youre trying to manage your own money. For example, lets take something a little bit difficult, but were going to get through this together: whats known as the Efficient Markets Hypothesis. This theory says that, at any given moment, stock prices already reflect all the relevant information thats out there. When some new piece of data emerges, stocks immediately adjust to reflect the new reality. You often hear index fund purists citing this theory to explain why its impossible for stock pickers to get any kind of edge. According to them, whatever you know about a company should already be baked into its share price. As far as theyre concerned, markets are so efficient that investing in individual stocks is basically the same as gambling. Jim Cramer explains that if all possible information about a stock is already reflected in its price, then doing detailed research may not give you an edge. In this view, the only factors that can move a stocks price are new, unexpected pieces of information. If such information were known to anyone, it would already be factored into the stock price. If everything you could possibly know is already priced into the stock, that means your homework is meaningless, and the only thing that can push a stock higher or lower is some random new piece of information nobody knows about. It has to be something totally unknown because, if anyone did know, they would have already acted on it, and thus it would be baked into the share price. Essentially, they believe that only completely new, unknown information can influence stock prices, which makes individual stock investing seem like a gamble. Cramer acknowledges that while economists and their theories might seem detached from practical investing, understanding concepts like market efficiency can help investors navigate the complexities of stock investing. This means that, under the extreme version of the Efficient Markets Hypothesis, the only things that can move stocks are unknown unknowns, to use the parlance of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. And if youre merely betting on unknown unknowns, you might as well just be playing rouletteits more fun. Thats why index fund advocates adore the Efficient Markets Hypothesis. This theory tells them that its impossible for individual investors to consistently beat the averages. So if you want equity exposure, the only smart way to do it is by putting your money into a nice, low-cost index fund that mirrors the S&P 500. Our Methodology This article looks at a recent episode of Jim Cramers Mad Money, where he discussed several stocks. Weve selected ten notable companies from his mentions. The article also explores how hedge funds perceive these stocks and ranks them according to their level of hedge fund ownership, from the least owned to the most owned. At Insider Monkey we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletters strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here). A large construction project with cranes and forklifts in action, demonstrating the company's building materials business. Martin Marietta Materials Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 45 Jim Cramer suggests that Martin Marietta Materials Inc. (NYSE:MLM) is a solid investment because it focuses on essential building materials for new housing developments. However, Cramer notes that the real gains for Martin Marietta Materials Inc. (NYSE:MLM) will come later after homebuilders fully commit to new construction projects. This means Martin Marietta Materials Inc. (NYSE:MLM)s performance might improve significantly once the construction of new homes picks up speed. The more tangible plays are going to be Martin Marietta Materials, which represent the basics of building out new housing developments. But those really start winning later on, once the homebuilders fully embrace new construction. Martin Marietta Materials Inc. (NYSE:MLM) is an appealing investment because of its leading role in the construction materials industry, its ability to benefit from infrastructure investments, and its strong financial performance. As a major supplier of aggregates, cement, and ready-mixed concrete, Martin Marietta Materials Inc. (NYSE:MLM) is well-positioned to take advantage of the ongoing demand for infrastructure development across the United States. In Q2 2024, Martin Marietta Materials Inc. (NYSE:MLM) reported a 10% increase in revenues year-over-year, reaching $1.82 billion. This growth was driven by strong demand in both public and private construction sectors, bolstered by federal and state infrastructure funding, price increases, and effective cost management. Martin Marietta Materials Inc. (NYSE:MLM) is also expanding its operations through strategic acquisitions, which enhance its geographic reach and production capacity. With a strong balance sheet and a disciplined approach to capital allocation, Martin Marietta Materials Inc. (NYSE:MLM) is well-equipped to pursue growth opportunities and return value to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. Given the U.S. governments ongoing investment in infrastructure, including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Martin Marietta Materials Inc. (NYSE:MLM) stands to benefit significantly from increased spending on transportation and public works, reinforcing its potential as a worthwhile investment. Overall MLM ranks 6th on our list of the stocks Jim Cramer can't stop talking about. While we acknowledge the potential of MLM as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that under the radar AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MLM but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley and Jim Cramer Says NVIDIA Has Become A Wasteland. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Details have emerged regarding why Ajuri Ngelale, the spokesperson of President Bola Tinubu, stepped down from his position on Saturday. While Mr Ngelale said he was stepping aside to deal with medical matters affecting his family, PREMIUM TIMES can report that he left the position after he became suspicious that he could be humiliated out of office. The presidency has been shopping for an experienced and competent media professional to replace Mr Ngelale in the past weeks. Administration insiders say the journalist has so far failed to demonstrate sufficient capacity to effectively deliver on the job. Mr Ngelale held two key positions simultaneously special adviser to the president on media and publicity and special presidential envoy on climate action/ chairman, Presidential Steering Committee on Project Evergreen. However, sources said, the presidency recently directed Mr Ngelale to focus on his climate action role while another individual is appointed to serve as media adviser and spokesperson to the president. But when Mr Ngelale expressed a preference to retain the media adviser position while stepping down from the Climate change role, the presidency declined. Those familiar with the matter said he was told he could remain on the presidents media team but that he would still have to be bossed by a new appointee to the position. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later This exchange and subsequent events that happened in the presidential villa rattled Mr Ngelale. For weeks, he was blocked from meeting Mr Tinubu and was also not included in the presidents delegation to China, our sources said. President Tinubu, who came to power last year, appointed Mr Ngelale as his spokesperson in August 2023, urging him to bring his wealth of experience to the assignment. Government sources told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Ngelale was appointed on the recommendation of Seyi Tinubu, the presidents son. But not long after the appointment, sources said it became clear to the president, his son and some members of his cabinet that Mr Ngelale lacked the requisite experience, contacts and networks needed for the job. Before becoming Mr Tinubus media adviser, Mr Ngelale was one of the spokespersons for the presidential campaign council of the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2023 general elections. He started his journalism career in 2011 as a broadcaster with the Africa Independent Television and later with Channels TV. His total media experience is below eight years. Mr Ngelale previously served as senior special assistant on public affairs in the office of former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. Sources in the presidency said when Mr Ngelale saw that he could no longer access the president, he decided to withdraw from the job. He was basically isolated even by those who brought him to take the position, one of our sources said. President Tinubu and his team expected better performance from Mr Ngelale, presidency insiders told PREMIUM TIMES. Except for his occasional TV appearances, Mr Ngelale was unreachable even to journalists, an official said. He hardly responds to messages or return calls. Another official said the spokesperson had little contact with local and international media and commanded little respect from media owners, editors, and leading journalists in Nigeria. It is a misnomer and a miscalculation for the President to have appointed such a junior journalist to such a senior position. It is no surprise that he could not deliver as expected, the official said. Last year, the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) queried Mr Ngelales qualifications and competence as the presidents spokesperson. The NIPR said Mr Ngelale was not fit to hold that exalted position because he lacked the basic knowledge and requisite training on public relations. In a statement on Saturday night, President Tinubu accepted Mr Ngelales exit plan and sympathises with the circumstances that have led to this seemingly difficult decision. Mr Tinubu extended his heartfelt prayers and best wishes to Mr Ngelale and his family during this challenging moment. Mr Ngelale said his decision to depart was agonising even though it was taken after significant consultations with family over the past several days. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has destroyed over 100,000kg of cannabis spread across 51 hectares of farmland in Ekiti. This is contained in a statement by the Director, Media and Advocacy NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday in Abuja. Mr Babafemi said that NDLEA operatives supported by men of the Nigerian Army on Tuesday, 3 September, and Wednesday, 4 September, stormed three camps inside the Ise-Ekiti forest reserve in the Ise/Orun Local Government Area of the state. He named the affected areas: Aba Saalaja with 23 hectares, Aba Paanu with 12 hectares, and Aba Arogunmatidi with 16 hectares, all within the Ise-Ekiti forest reserve. He also said two suspects were arrested on Friday, on the Toro-Jos Road, Kaduna, with 305kg cannabis (Indian hemp) concealed in a false compartment of a J5 boxer bus marked YLA 682 XM. Mr Babafemi said that another suspect was arrested in possession of 18 kilogrammes of the same substance in Makarfi town. Two other suspects others: were arrested on the Zaria- Kaduna highway in possession of 1300 tablets of Tramadol, all same day, he said. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Also, in Jigawa State, a 30-year-old man was nabbed with 32.6kg of cannabis (Indian hemp) on Thursday, 5 September, at Koran Shehu. Mr Babafemi said that operatives in Kogi State, on Wednesday, intercepted 77,300 pills of Tramadol, Diazepam, and Exol-5 with 1,230 bottles of Codeine in a commercial bus driven by Attai Okolo, 68, along Aloma Ejule road, Ofu LGA, Kogi State. Another was nabbed on the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja Expressway on Tuesday, 3 September, with 42.400kg cannabis (Indian hemp) coming from Lagos en route to Kano. NDLEA operatives in Borno arrested a 40-year-old man at Ramat area of Maiduguri on Thursday, Sept. 5 with 13,100 pills of Tramadol. Also, operatives in Kano on 4 September, nabbed a man with 25.8kg cannabis and 3,000 pills of Diazepam along Kano Daura road, he said. The NDLEA spokesman said that no fewer than 87,790 pills of Tramadol were recovered from Musa Adamu, 30, when he was arrested in Zing, Taraba State. Babafemi said that a raid on the home of a drug kingpin, Mayowa Abayomi Awe (a.k.a Bishop), in Ilesa, Osun state, on Wednesday, Sept. 4, led to the seizure of 43grammes of crack cocaine and 23grams of Methamphetamine, 17.126kg cannabis and a locally made pistol. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has signed major agreements with two Chinese firms to fast-track solar power installations and rural water supply. The deals, part of the federal governments broader infrastructure push, were formalised during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit in Beijing. Mr Wike, who was part of President Bola Tinubus delegation to China, signed the Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and China Geo-Engineering Corporation Overseas Construction (CGCOC). Both firms are expected to complete the projects ahead of Abujas 50th-anniversary celebrations next year. We are on a fast track to deliver clean water and solar energy to Abujas residents. CCECC will be responsible for solar street lighting in key areas of the city, while CGCOC will handle the rural water projects, Mr Wike said after the signing ceremony. Lighting up Abuja with solar power Mr Wike said the solar lighting project is about more than aesthetics; it is also about making Abuja a safer and more liveable city. He explained that the initiative is crucial for improving security, boosting commerce, and enhancing the citys overall quality of life. The minister said CCECC will handle the entire Maitama, Asokoro, Wuse, Central Business District, and Airport Road down to Bill Clinton Drive, while CGCOC will oversee the installation of solar street lights in Mabushi, Katampe, and Garki. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Weve all seen the benefits of well-lit streets in other global cities. It creates a sense of security and encourages economic activity in urban centres, Mr Wike added. Accelerating rural water projects Beyond the capitals city centre, Mr Wike stressed the importance of ensuring that rural areas are included in the development agenda. He said that as part of the broader plan, the CGCOC would oversee the completion of the long-delayed Greater Abuja Water Works project, which is already 75 per cent complete. We expect the water project to be finished by December. This is something that should have been done years ago, and now we are pushing for it to finally be delivered, Mr Wike added. He said in addition to the Greater Abuja Water Works, an MoU was signed with CGCOC to extend clean water supply to Gwagwalada, Kwali, and Kuje, some of the most underserved areas in the FCT. According to the minister, President Tinubu desires to extend essential services to every part of the FCT. President Tinubu has been very clearbasic services must reach every corner of the FCT, including satellite towns, Mr Wike stated. These communities have waited long enough for clean water, and we are confident CGCOC will deliver. Chinese firms officials speak After signing the agreements, CCECC President Chen Sichang and CGCOC Chairman Lan Meizhong assured Mr Wike of their commitment to delivering quality work on schedule. Both executives appreciated Nigerias trust in their companies to execute the critical projects. We are honoured to be part of Abujas transformation and will ensure that our work meets the highest standards, Mr Meizhong said. Officials of the FCTA who witnessed the signing ceremony included Mr Wike, Permanent Secretary of the FCT Treasury, Adamu Wanki; Executive Director of the Rural Water and Sanitation Agency (RUWASA), Mohammed Hassan; and Director of Procurement for the FCT, Musa Idris. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Notore Chemical Industries Limited has appointed a new company secretary to take the place of Otivbo Saleh, who recently resigned her appointment, the fertiliser manufacturer disclosed in a notification to the Nigerian Exchange Limited. Mrs Saleh, who also held the role of the chief legal officer of the company, exited the position after nearly seventeen years of service, the high point of which was her role of being part of the leadership that transformed the firm into a public company limited by shares from a private company in May 2014. Notore has named Matthias Ogwuche, the senior legal officer overseeing the companys secretariat and its compliance with regulatory and statutory requirements, to fill the position. Mr Ogwuches appointment took effect on 20 August, his predecessor having departed her role a day earlier. He is charged with organising committees, boards and annual general meetings of the company. He is a consummate professional who is intrigued by the use of organisational and writing skills to complete tasks ahead of deadlines, the Onne-based company said in the document. He is exceptionally hardworking and has over the years exhibited unparalleled professionalism in his chosen area of practice that involves drafting and reviewing of legal agreements, proficient analysis of legal risks and the preferring of advice that mitigates these risks, Notore stated. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later In August 2018 when the company reached the milestone of listing on the Nigerian Exchange, Mr Ogwuche was a key figure in listing its shares on the main board of the bourse, the elite listing segment of the exchange. When Notore received $37 million from the Africa Export-Import Bank in December 2019 to execute turnaround maintenance of its fertiliser factory, he oversaw the due diligence and compliance aspects of the deal. He played a similar role in the recently concluded N105 billion private placement of the company. Nine out of its 14 years of experience as a solicitor and legal adviser have been spent at the companys Legal and Governance Service unit. Mr Ogwuche obtained a certificate on Company Secretary Practice and Optimum Productivity from the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in Nigeria in 2017 and a Corporate Governance Certificate of Attendance from the Nigerian Exchange Limited in 2019. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Like the Edo State Government, the Kano State Government has postponed, indefinitely, the resumption date of both Primary and Post Primary Schools for the commencement of the 2024/2025 academic session. However, unlike Edo, which mentioned the recent petrol price increase as the reason for its decision, the Kano government said its decision was for urgent reasons. It did not disclose the urgent reasons. PREMIUM TIMES reports that like most parts of the country, primary and secondary schools in both states have been on holiday for over a month and were scheduled to resume on Monday, 9 September. Both states did not announce a new resumption date but said it would be announced later. Kanos postponement was announced in a statement issued on Saturday in Kano by Balarabe Kiru, the director of Public Enlightenment, Ministry of Education. According to him, the Commissioner for Education, Umar Doguwa, said the decision was compelled by some undisclosed urgent reasons Kiru quoted Doguwa as saying that a new date would soon be announced by the ministry. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later I wish to inform pupils, students and parents that the announcement earlier made for school resumption on 8th and 9th Sept 2024 is now being postponed. This is due to some urgent reasons that will help in improving the provision of a conducive learning atmosphere for our children. Another date for the resumption will be announced in due course, the director said. Mr Kiru appealed to the people concerned, especially the students, parents and guardians, to bear with any inconveniences that may be caused by the postponement. READ ALSO: Polytechnic students association meets with JAMB over NYSC mobilisation Edos postponement In its statement on Saturday, the Edo State Government said the increase in the price of petrol and the challenges faced by parents and guardians has caused tension in the state. The government directed all schools in the state to remain closed. The government urges parents, guardians and caregivers to monitor the activities of their children and wards closely, given the current situation and the rising tension caused by the fuel hike, the permanent secretary in the education ministry, Ojo Akin-Longe, wrote. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The national leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, says he will win the 2027 presidential election. Mr Kwankwaso, the partys presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, who came fourth in the election, made the outburst on Saturday when he inaugurated the NNPP Secretariat, along IBB Way, Katsina. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that he was in Katsina for a condolence visit to the Yaradua family over the death of their matriarch, Hajiya Dada. According to him, the party is ready to take over the presidency, states and other positions across the country come 2027. He explained that the party was heading towards success in the 2027 general election. The Kwankwasiya leader said, I wish to remind you that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is already dead, because we were in the party, since they have gone out of the line, we decided to check out. He called on Nigerians, especially women and youth not to allow themselves to be deceived with spaghetti or money during the next elections. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Mr Kwankwaso also called on the partys leaders to redouble their commitment to the partys success in the state and the country as a whole. He commended them and other state stakeholders for renovating the state secretariat, saying that it is part of preparations for success. The NNPP leader also pledged to support a little boy, Abubakar Ibrahim of the Yammawa area of the state, who suffers from severe acute malnutrition Also speaking, the NNPP state chairman, Armayau Abdulkadir, said the party was doing everything possible to enlighten the electorate on the partys new logo. According to him, the new logo symbolises education for all, which is the most concerned area of the Kwankwasiyya leader. He said, There is the need for the party to embark on grassroots sensitisation to inform the members on the importance of the new logo. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print In the wake of the fuel subsidy removal by President Bola Tinubu, the monthly disbursement to the three tiers of government by the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) increased significantly. Based on the statutory sharing formula, the federal government receives 52.68 per cent of the total sum, while the states and local government areas (LGAs) receive 26.72 per cent and 20.6 per cent respectively. The monthly allocation, particularly to states and local governments, is meant to fast track execution of viable economic and social infrastructure development projects at the grassroots. The allocation, which is readily available monthly, is expected to cushion the impact of the economic crunch and promote people-oriented programmes to improve the overall well-being of the people. With the jettisoning of fuel subsidies which had cost the nations treasury over 10 billion dollar annually, more funds are made available by FAAC to the states. However, a survey conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi, Jigawa, and Gombe states reveals that citizens have yet to feel the impacts of the increased allocation, especially in mitigating the effects of fuel subsidy removal. The 2023 States Annual Report of FAAC, obtained by NAN, reveals that, from January 2023 to May 2023, pre-subsidy removal, the 36 states received a total net allocation of N1.19 trillion. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The reports, obtained from Nigeria Governors Forum Repository, shows that from June to December of the same year, when President Tinubu removed fuel subsidy, the FAAC disbursement to the 36 states doubled. Specifically, the net allocation received by the 36 states from June 2023 to December 2023 rose from N1.19 trillion to N2.31 trillion, an increase of about N1.12 trillion. Similarly, between January 2024 and June 2024, FAAC disbursed a total sum of N2.16 trillion to the 36 states. It is worthy of note that the funds captured above, excluded the 20.6 per cent federal allocation to the 774 LGAs, which was also paid to the states via joint account of the two tiers. Some residents of the three states, who spoke to NAN in separate interviews in Bauchi, Dutse and Gombe decried poor management of the funds by the respective state government. They said the increased funds were yet to translate into meaningful results in mitigating the impacts of the fuel subsidy removal and alleviating their sufferings. Rambi Ayala, chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Gombe State, said the citizens were passing through untold hardship in spite of the increased federal revenue allocation to the state running into billions of Naira. He said although FAAC allocation to Gombe had doubled since the new administration came into power, there were no enhanced social services across the state. NAN reports that Gombe State, which received the least among the 37 states, got a gross allocation of N78.72 billion from FAAC for the year 2023. Deduction from the statutory was N17.28 billion bringing its net allocation for the year to N61.43 billion. From the N61.43 billion net allocation to the state for the year, the pre-subsidy removal months of January to May 2023 accounted for N20.46 billion. With subsidy removal, the net allocation to the state from June to December of the same year doubled to N40.97 billion, an increase of N20.51 billion. On year-on-year comparison, from January to June 2023, the net FAAC allocation to Gombe was N25.6 billion which rose to N42.8 billion within the same period in 2024, an increase of N17.2 billion. Mr Ayala alleged lack of transparency and prudent management of the funds by the government, stressing that people are being impoverished even in the midst of plenty. A lot needs to be done in the state. For example, in my own area, Billiri LGA, I havent seen any significant projects since the ending of fuel subsidy. The general hospital in Billiri is in terrible condition, with critical facilities in disrepair, and people have no idea how the funds are being used. Also, we are in the farming season, yet, there arent enough inputs and equipment being provided to improve production and livelihood of farming communities, he said. Mr Ayala also alleged that palliatives meant for all Nigerians are often used to reward party loyalists. In Gombe state, there is no clear formula for distributing the palliatives, to include the opposition. This is particularly troubling because hunger doesnt discriminate based on party or religion, he said. Rabiu Babayo, a commercial motorcyclist, accused the state government of insensitivity and lack of commitment to addressing the challenges of the people. Mr Babayo said the government increased taxes on trades and services without recourse to the impacts on the people and businesses. Also, Ibrahim Yusuf, chairman of the Gombe Network for Civil Societies (GONET), said the state government has not initiated programmes and projects that would directly impact the people and ameliorate their sufferings. What we want the government to focus on is human capital development and empowerment that will yield quick results, he said. The situation is not different in Jigawa, where citizens alleged that the state government initiated white elephant projects to the detriment of the citizens. They alleged that the billions of Naira accruing to the state monthly from FAAC are not being used for people-oriented projects and programmes. NAN reports that Jigawa States gross allocation from the Federation Account for the year 2023 amounted to N95.03 billion. The deduction from statutory allocation was N3.39 billion, bringing its net allocation for the year to N91.64 billion. From the N91.64 net allocation to the state for the year, the pre-subsidy removal months of January to May 2023 accounted for N32.86 billion. With the removal of the subsidy, the net federal allocation to Jigawa from June 2023 to December 2023 rose to N58.68 billion, an increase of N25.72 billion. From January 2024 to June 2024, Jigawa received a total net allocation of N60.14 billion, an increase of N20.11 billion when compared to N40.03 billion received within the same period in 2023. Yau Garba, a resident of Dutse, said the citizens expected the increased allocation to be deployed to agricultural projects, the mainstay of the states economy. He said the government also failed to prioritise road and other infrastructure development for sustainable social and economic development of the state. In the last one-year, Gov. Umar Namadi has travelled to many countries on the claim of understudying modern agricultural transformation methods. His administration, however, has not justified the benefits of his adventures, he said. A farmer in Kiyawa, Mohammed Aliyu, said feeder roads leading to farm settlements in the states are in deplorable condition. The fertilisers and seedlings distributed by the state government did not get to farmers, the direct beneficiaries. The tractors brought to rural farmers are old and our people cannot afford to pay for the services. Is this the agricultural transformation? It is important for the government to embark on projects that will have direct impacts on the lives of the people, he said. The resentment is not different in Bauchi, where Sabo Mohammed, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said the government was economical with the truth about the actual amount accruing to it from the federation account. He stressed the need for the state government to keep people informed on the amount received from the federation account on a monthly basis. According to him, such disclosure would ensure transparency, accountability and probity in the management of the funds towards achieving good governance. NAN reports that Bauchi States gross allocation from the Federation Account for the Year 2023 amounted to N98.422 billion. Deduction from statutory was N23.99 billion, bringing its net allocation for the year to N74.42 billion. From January to May of the same year, which was during the subsidy regime, the net allocation to Bauchi state was N25.26 billion. With the subsidy removed, the net allocation to Bauchi State from FAAC between June and December 2023 rose to N49.16 billion, an increase of N24.10 billion. Also, from January 2024 to June 2024, Bauchi State received a total net allocation of N46.80 billion, an increase of N15.08 billion when compared to N31.72 billion received within the same period in 2023. Mr Mohammed queried what the state government was doing with the increased accrual from the federation account courtesy of subsidy removal. In Bauchi State, there seems to be dis-connect on engagement between the government and its citizens. We were told that the ongoing roads and flyover projects in the state were being financed with N100 billion World Bank loan. We were also told that the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Projects (RAAMP) that will fast track the construction of 115km access roads were also being funded by the World Bank and French Development Agency with a total cost of N23.3 billion. What then has the state done with the humongous allocations received from the federal government? he queried. It would be recalled that the Bauchi State Government announced that the state secured a N100 billion loan for infrastructure development. The states Commissioner for Information and Communication, Usman Garba, had said that the N100 billion loan was earmarked for the construction and rehabilitation of 200 kilometres of roads across the state. The commissioner had also said that two flyovers at the busiest areas of Wunti and Central Market in Bauchi metropolis were part of the projects. The APC chieftain, however, said that the state government must come out clean to explain to the citizens what they were using the huge allocation from FAAC for. However, in defence of the allegations, Ibrahim Galadima, the Commissioner for Works and Transportation, said the state is investing heavily in infrastructure and other laudable projects and programmes that affect the lives of citizens. According to him, Governor Bala Mohammed approved the rehabilitation of 29km Adamami-Disina-Jamaare road at N6.8 billion and the Bayara township road at a cost of N737 million. He said the upgrading of the Emirs palaces in Bauchi, Jamaare, Ningi and Dass was undertaken at the cost of N2.2 billion. Equally, he said the Bauchi government planned to spend N25 billion on upgrading the Special Hospital in Bauchi to enhance access to quality healthcare service delivery in the state. Mr Galadima said the construction of the Sharia Court of Appeal in the Bauchi metropolis would gulp N606 million. This is the first time in the history of the Bauchi state that the rural areas are receiving an unprecedented attention in road construction to the tune of over N23 billion, he said. On his part, Ismail Uba-Misili, director-general of Press Affairs at the Government House, Gombe, said the administration of Governor Inuwa Yahaya has been utilising funds accruing from the federal allocations to deliver good governance and lessen the burden of economic hardship on the people. He said that funds received from the federation account were being channelled to services that have a direct bearing on the lives of the residents of the state. The governors aide said the state government expanded various programmes to ease the burden on the citizens and drive inclusive development. The projects and programmes being implemented by Gombe state government are not only helping to alleviate current economic pressure but also laying the groundwork for sustainable development and long-term prosperity in the state. We have also rolled out palliative measures, including the distribution of food and non-food items to the most vulnerable segments of the population. This effort is targeted at providing immediate relief to the hardest hit by the economic challenges, he said. Mr Uba-Misili added: Understanding the critical role of agriculture in the states economy, the government made subsidised fertiliser available to farmers at a 50 per cent discount. This initiative not only supports food security but also helps farmers to reduce production costs, thus boosting agricultural productivity and profitability, he said. He listed other interventions to include payment of wage award to civil servants, gratuity arrears to pensioners, bursary awards, youths and women empowerment, and support to people with special needs. When contacted for the states position, the Jigawa State Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Babangida Umar, declined comment. Auwalu Sankara, the states Commissioner for Special Duties, who is also in charge of the distribution of palliatives, also declined to talk to the media. Mr Sankara neither answered calls placed to him by our correspondent nor responded to sms messages, on how the 20 trucks of rice palliative from the federal government were distributed to the people. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Nigerias domestic air cargo industry is suffering due to lack of cargo aircraft for dedicated transport of cargoes within the country. The General Sales Agents (GSAs) are only making use of belly aircraft to move cargoes, as they seek a more coordinated air cargo development strategy. According to the Chief Executive Officer of Ehi Multi systems Nig. Ltd., Lucky Omokhodion, dependence of GSAs on passenger aircraft has limited the growth of air cargo business in Nigeria. He said that investing in cargo aircraft was capital intensive, but was a worthy cause. We do not have cargo flights, we only have passenger flights, and it is through the passenger flights that we take all cargoes across the nation. It became worrisome, recently; because Dana is not flying, Arik had issues. These really brought the business to zero. Thankfully, Arik is back. Those are our major carriers. What an investor will be considering is how to transport goods at an acceptable rate but the quantity should match what he will be spending on fuelling and other things. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later If a cargo aircraft takes goods to Abuja, for instance, it should be loaded with cargoes back. The investor will be losing if it flies back empty or half-empty, he said. Mr Omokhodion said that air cargo operators had lost customers because of unavailability of cargo aircraft. Some customers have taken alternative means to transport their cargoes, he said. According to him, fresh fruits and vegetables, among other perishable goods, from some states to another, have spoilt as a result of cancelled or delayed flights. The Chief Operating Officer of Ibom Air, George Uriesi, had called for a more coordinated and strategic approach to fully harness the countrys potential in the sector. The Executive Director, Operations, Skyway Aviation Handling Company, Herbert Odika, listed some challenges facing Nigerias air cargo industry. He said that the challenges included fluctuation in aviation fuel price, regulatory bottlenecks, inadequate storage facilities and lack of advanced technology. For smooth cargo export, Mr Odika recommended export regulations, encouragement of airlines and handling companies, and regular training of employees of handling companies and security personnel. He said that successful air cargo operation would require government agencies to work with the handlers while the handlers should regularly train and re-train their staff and be innovative. Airlines and handlers should give a satisfactory customer experience. Also, good warehousing and storage facilities should be put in place, Odika said. The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Red Star Express, Auwalu Babura, said that improved air cargo operation would positively affect Nigerias Gross Domestic Product. According to Mr Babura, Nigeria needs $5 billion to fix infrastructure in 24 airports. The Chairman of Nigeria Aviation Awards, Fortune Idu, said that the International Air Transport Association had identified a correlation between improved air cargo connectivity and higher total trade value. READ ALSO: Antaser Nigeria denies wrongdoing in cargo tracking contract award One per cent increase in cargo connectivity is associated with 6.3 per cent increase in total exports and imports. Mr Idu urged establishment of a framework for air cargo logistics that would examine the responsibilities of airports and various associates in the air cargo distribution link, as well as their operational readiness. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Many Electricity Consumers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, have decried the migration of their electricity tariff billing to Band A without the 20 hours power supply they are entitled to under the band. The consumers, who reside in Kubwa, Lugbe and environs,spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday. According to them, they are shocked to see themselves in Band A without any notice from the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) . NAN reports that Band A customers are guaranteed at least 20 hours of electricity supply daily and are expected to pay N209.5 Kilowatts (KWh) per hour. The consumers also complained that they do not have power supply for up to 10 hours in a day. Erica Ekama, a civil servant, who resides in Kubwa said that she was shocked when she recharged her meter and was given 22.2 units for N5,000. Mrs Ekama said that the area she lived in Kubwa do not get power supply for 10 hours a day. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later She said it was even more annoying that in the same Kubwa, some consumers were still buying at the old tariff rate. She said, Why should I be paying for Band A services when I hardly get power supply for 10 hours a day. Why are some consumers in the same Kubwa still buying at the old rate, I dont understand AEDC anymore. The company should look into this issue seriously because it is not right to be collecting money for services not rendered, she said. Mathew Ojei, who also resides in Kubwa, said that he also experienced the same thing as he recharged N2,000 but was given just 8.2 units. Mr Ojei said that he was not on Band A and if AEDC was putting consumers in that area on Band A, they should give them the services required. I am not on Band A, why am I paying so much for electricity when I dont enjoy up to 20 hours a day power supply, he said. Osas Iwinosa told NAN that she recharged N5,000 and was given 22.2 units. Mrs Iwinosa said when she saw the units and inquired from her neighbours in the same compound if they were now on Band A, and that the neighbours said they were still buying the old rate. My problem is that how can there be five flats in a compound and only one flat is buying tariff of Band A and others are still on the old tariff. I cannot understand the way the movement of consumers to Band A is taking place, so AEDC should please look into the issue and make amend, she said. Also, a consumer residing at Lugbe, Omolara Taiwo, also complained of the same movement to Band A. According to Mrs Taiwo, she did not understand why some people are on Band C and others in the same compound are forced into Band A. She said that AEDC should look into the issue, adding that it was not fair on those paying higher tariffs than others and having the same number of hours of power supply. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print A 55-year-old man, Sulain Potiskum, has drowned in a river in Hadejia Local Government Area of Jigawa State Badaruddeen Tijjani, the spokesperson for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Jigawa Statr Command, confirmed the incident in a statement on Sunday in Dutse, the state capital. Mr Tijjani said the incident occurred on Saturday at about 9:45 a.m., when the deceased attempted to take his bath along the river bank. One Sulaiman Potiskum aged 55, lost his life in a river located at Gada, Bakin Kogi area of Hadejia. The tragic incident occurred when the deceased attempted to take his bath along the river bank, but was overwhelmed by the wave, he said. Mr Tijjani said the Corps search team and local divers rescued the man, adding that he was later confirmed dead by a medical personnel at the Hadejia General Hospital. He said the remains of the deceased had since been handed over to his family for burial. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The spokesperson advised resident of the state to desist from swimming or fishing in rivers with rising volume of water ocassioned by heavy rainfall. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print We recently compiled a list of the 10 Stocks Jim Cramer Cant Stop Talking About. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) stands against the other stocks Jim Cramer can't stop talking about. In a recent episode of Mad Money, Jim Cramer advises that worrying about what others are concerned about or getting excited about what everyone anticipates is generally futile for investors. When most investors expect something to happen, its often already factored into stock prices. You want to know the single most useless thing you can do in this business? Oh, thats easy. The most useless thing you can do as an investor is to worry about what everyone else is worrying about. The flip side of this is also true: theres no point in getting excited about something that everybody else is eagerly anticipating. Why? Because when the vast majority of investors agree that somethings going to happen, that thing is already priced into the stock market. The stock market reacts quickly to the consensus of hedge fund and mutual fund managers, so by the time the majority agrees on an economic trend, its already reflected in stock values. Cramer points out that while the real economy moves at a steady pacethrough borrowing, manufacturing, transporting, and sellingstocks adjust almost instantly to new information. This rapid adjustment means that, once big institutional investors align on a particular economic outlook, it is already embedded in the market. While the real economy moves at its own steady pacefor example, you have to borrow money to build out equipment, then use that equipment to manufacture goods, transport them to retail outlets, and wait for customers to buy themthe stock market has no such limitations. Stocks dont quite travel at the speed of thought, but they come pretty close. So, the moment a preponderance of hedge fund and mutual fund managers decide that the economy is slowing, speeding up, or flatlining, stocks start trading like thats already the case. Usually, it takes some time to build that kind of consensus, which is why you rarely see these moves happening instantaneously. But once the big institutional portfolio managers are on the same page about something, you can be pretty darn confident that its baked into the averages. The Efficient Markets Hypothesis Jim Cramer points out that understanding some basic economics can be quite useful for managing investments, even though economists often use complex models that dont always align with real-world data. Economists can be too focused on their theories and may ignore conflicting data, but basic economic principles can still offer valuable insights. One key concept Cramer highlights is the Efficient Markets Hypothesis. This theory suggests that stock prices at any given moment already include all available information. When new data comes out, stock prices quickly adjust to reflect this updated reality. Index fund advocates use this theory to argue that its nearly impossible for stock pickers to outperform the market, as all known information is already factored into stock prices. This is some basic economics 101 stuff. Now, I dont have a ton of use for economists as professionals on this showthey tend to take a totally ivory-tower approach to their discipline, meaning they have all sorts of models for how the economy is supposed to work (often very boring models, by the way). But they rarely let empirical facts get in the way of a good theory. If the data conflicts with the model, economists have a bad habit of throwing away the data, not the model. However, as long as you keep that caveat in mind, some basic economics is incredibly useful when youre trying to manage your own money. For example, lets take something a little bit difficult, but were going to get through this together: whats known as the Efficient Markets Hypothesis. This theory says that, at any given moment, stock prices already reflect all the relevant information thats out there. When some new piece of data emerges, stocks immediately adjust to reflect the new reality. You often hear index fund purists citing this theory to explain why its impossible for stock pickers to get any kind of edge. According to them, whatever you know about a company should already be baked into its share price. As far as theyre concerned, markets are so efficient that investing in individual stocks is basically the same as gambling. Jim Cramer explains that if all possible information about a stock is already reflected in its price, then doing detailed research may not give you an edge. In this view, the only factors that can move a stocks price are new, unexpected pieces of information. If such information were known to anyone, it would already be factored into the stock price. If everything you could possibly know is already priced into the stock, that means your homework is meaningless, and the only thing that can push a stock higher or lower is some random new piece of information nobody knows about. It has to be something totally unknown because, if anyone did know, they would have already acted on it, and thus it would be baked into the share price. Essentially, they believe that only completely new, unknown information can influence stock prices, which makes individual stock investing seem like a gamble. Cramer acknowledges that while economists and their theories might seem detached from practical investing, understanding concepts like market efficiency can help investors navigate the complexities of stock investing. This means that, under the extreme version of the Efficient Markets Hypothesis, the only things that can move stocks are unknown unknowns, to use the parlance of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. And if youre merely betting on unknown unknowns, you might as well just be playing rouletteits more fun. Thats why index fund advocates adore the Efficient Markets Hypothesis. This theory tells them that its impossible for individual investors to consistently beat the averages. So if you want equity exposure, the only smart way to do it is by putting your money into a nice, low-cost index fund that mirrors the S&P 500. Our Methodology This article looks at a recent episode of Jim Cramers Mad Money, where he discussed several stocks. Weve selected ten notable companies from his mentions. The article also explores how hedge funds perceive these stocks and ranks them according to their level of hedge fund ownership, from the least owned to the most owned. At Insider Monkey we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletters strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here). A close-up of a vibrant paint color being sprayed onto a wooden surface. Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 76 Jim Cramer highlights that some stocks, including Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW), have experienced significant gains. While Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW), a paint company, is frequently recommended, Cramer suggests it might be time for a pullback. In other words, after a strong performance, it could be wise to be cautious about holding onto Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) too long without expecting a temporary dip. Now, some stocks have had such mammoth runs that you dont want to have your money languish. Sherwin-Williams, for example, the paint company, is recommended almost every day, but this one is due for a pullback. As a leading global supplier with a vast distribution network and well-known brands, Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) serves a broad customer base across residential, commercial, and industrial markets. Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW)s Q2 2024 earnings highlight its success, with net sales rising 6% year-over-year to $6.24 billion. This increase is driven by robust demand in both its Professional and DIY segments and the companys effective pricing strategies that manage cost increases without hurting sales volumes. Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW)s growth strategy includes expanding its retail presence and enhancing its e-commerce capabilities. Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) is opening new stores and upgrading existing ones, especially in high-growth areas, and is also growing its international market presence. Its investment in innovative and sustainable products meets the rising consumer demand for eco-friendly options, boosting its competitive edge. Overall SHW ranks 2nd on our list of the stocks Jim Cramer can't stop talking about. While we acknowledge the potential of SHW as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that under the radar AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than SHW but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley and Jim Cramer Says NVIDIA Has Become A Wasteland. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. The federal government says it has distributed over 1.3 million bottles of Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) across 12 states, with an additional three million bottles scheduled for delivery by the end of September. The acting Director of Information and Public Relations, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Ado Bako, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja. According to him, the supplements are to address the nutrition needs of pregnant women and significantly reduce the prevalence of micronutrient deficiency. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that MMS for pregnant women is a daily dose of 15 essential vitamins and minerals, including iron and folic acid, which ensures that they receive more of the essential nutrients that contribute to healthier pregnancies and provide better birth outcomes. It is aimed at reducing the rate of maternal and infant mortality in Nigeria. NAN also reports that the Federal Government adopted the use of MMS based on the 2020 World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation on antenatal care for positive pregnancy experience. Mr Bako said that the MMS initiative aligns with WHO recommendations and the second pillar of the ministrys four-point agenda to improve health outcomes. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later He added that this was particularly in light of the Global Nutritional Report 2022, which revealed that the country was a long way from reducing anaemia among women of reproductive age. In Nigeria, Iron Deficiency Anaemia (IDA) remains the most common micronutrient deficiency, affecting 60 per cent of pregnant women, according to the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2018. These deficiencies not only put women at higher risk of severe health complications during pregnancy but also increase the likelihood of low birth weight, stillbirth and developmental delays in children. MMS offers a comprehensive solution to these challenges. The daily supplement containing 15 essential vitamins and minerals designed to be taken throughout pregnancy, has emerged as a cost-effective solution in global maternal health interventions. This is with a proven ability to reduce the risk of low birth weight by 21 per cent, stillbirth by nine per cent, and Small for Gestational Age (SGA) cases by 10 per cent. Mr Bako said that the introduction of MMS was part of the federal governments broader strategy to enhance maternal and child health services. READ ALSO: Nigerian govt partners Bill Gates to tackle new polio strain He recalled that in 2021, MMS was incorporated into the National Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Micronutrient Deficiencies, demonstrating the governments commitment to improving nutrition as an integral component of antenatal care. Mr Bako said that the federal government estimated demand of 421 million MMS tablets for 2024 to meet the needs of pregnant women. While recent support and donations from various international partners like UNICEF and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have been beneficial to this initiative, it is imperative to note that the doses received are merely a top-up to the doses already allocated for the rollout. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print No doubt, photographs evoke metaphors, imageries and diverse interpretations. Imagery was evoked in my mind as I read President Bola Tinubus remarks during his recent adventure to China. He spoke while addressing Nigerians living in that country. Nigeria is going through reforms, and we are taking very bold and unprecedented decisions. For example, you might have been hearing from home in the last few days about fuel prices. But, can we help it? the president said cavalierly like a cruel surgeon about to dissect a patient to whom he had neither empathy nor any iota of feeling. We had thought the president was not aware of our interminable queues at petrol stations since he was in far away China. We thought he didnt know that Nigeria was literally comatose as Nigerians burnt precious man hours on petrol queues. But, with that statement, we now know that our president is aware that Nigerians are dying as a result of his so-called reforms. Nigerians situation today is such that, even if one was as cold-bloodedly unfeeling as to be able to chew the meatless, ugly head of a tortoise, they would empathise with them. Tinubus coldblooded statement on his reforms is not dissimilar from the image provoked by the award-winning photographer, Kevin Carter. Aged 33, Carters highly-rated photo appeared in the New York Times of 26 March, 1993. It was the photo of a famine-stricken Sudanese boy. Initially thought to be a girl, his name was later found out to be Kong Nyong. The boy had collapsed of intense hunger and lay on his face in the hot desert sun of Sudan. He had an empty food bowl hidden beside his face like an Almajiri. A beaded necklace of his Sudanese nationality jutted out of his feeble neck. He was said to be on his way to Ayod, the United Nations ration centre in Sudan, which was about a half-kilometre away. As he walked languidly down the coarse road of the desert, all of a sudden, Kongs hungry strength failed him. Less than a meter from the collapsed boy was the unnerving figure of a vulture eyeing the gaunt boy and awaiting his eventual death, so that it could commence his devouring. Carter, on a United Nations photography assignment, according to him, took diverse photographs of the interesting scene of the collapsed boy and hurriedly left the scene. The photo went mega viral. Although, entitled The Struggling Girl, it won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography in 1994, Carter committed suicide four months after, on 27 July, 1994. He poisoned himself with carbon monoxide. Carter had been reportedly taunted by the world and haunted by what people perceived as his inhuman treatment of the dying boy. A caller on a radio programme, who asked what Carter did to help Kong after taking the interesting picture of the young boy, was shocked at his curt reply of, I had a plane to catch. Carter had earlier confessed to his friend that, I see all this, and all I can think of is Megan, his young daughter. The radio callers stinging retort was the clincher. It led to an emotional turmoil that eventually led to Carters breakdown and suicide. The radio caller had told him pointedly: On that field were two vultures you and the cadaver-eating bird! Nigeria is at the juncture where three footpaths meet. It is a critical intersection that troubles the stranger newly come to town. Speaking directly to the dilemma of a stranger at a loss on which of the three intersections to follow, Yoruba aptly named the juncture Ikorita meta tii daamu alejo. There seems to be no need for pretext any longer. Efunsetan is Professor Akinwumi Isholas dramatisation of the exploits of Efunsetan Aniwura, the powerful matriarch and pre-eminent slave merchant of Ibadan in the 19th century. At that intersection when she finds out that her slave had been impregnated by a fellow slave, Efunsetan burst out into a scornful laughter. I paraphrase her hysterics: The wild wind has blown and the naked rump of the hen is free to be beheld by all! It is same for Nigerians. The duo of those who aided and abetted the current runners of Nigeria into office, and those who didnt, have come to same intersection. Bishop Mathew Hassan-Kukah drew the grim picture succinctly, in a recent beautifully arresting imagery. A girl was asked, which party are you, APC, LP or PDP?, she said: I am hungry. In literature, at the final part of a play, film, or narrative, when a natural resolution and the final strands of a plot are tied together, with knotty matters straightened, a denouement is said to have been achieved. Here, Yoruba conjure the allegory of the dead (Eni ku) and the lost (pelu eni to sonu) who have finally met each other. Today in Nigeria, hunger and pain have united us all. Our brains seem to have reset. If you watch viral videos of regrets and recounts about the Tinubu misadventure that litter the social media today, you will agree that the dead and the lost have indeed found their mutual level. At this critical stage, ownership of the clothing regalia found on the Egungun masquerade can no longer be denied. It belongs to the Egungun. No one can deny that the last fifteen fatal months of the Nigerian life have been an experience in weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. Moving forward is as challenging as back-pedalling. Nigeria is in dire straits. The Nigerian birds have refused to chirp as is their wont. Our rats now mutter foreign tongues. The government in power will seem to have exhausted all the talismanic magic wands in its pouch. Lies (iro) have failed liars and falsehood (eke) has broken the spines of its spinners. In 1925 Abeokuta, the Alake, paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba Sir Ladapo Ademola, was trapped inside a puddle of falsehood until a denouement came. The Oba arrived his own Ikorita Meta without bargaining for it, trapped in a puddle of lies and mischief. Writer, radio broadcaster and educationist, Isaac Oluwole Delano, collated the kings dilemma in a 1955-published book he entitled Aiye Daiye Oyinbo (This world has morphed into the Whitemans). The story gained such huge traction in the Abeokuta area that it was nicknamed the Faripo Incident. Faripo was a notorious convicted criminal. One morning, as warders conducted their rounds, findings revealed that Faripo had escaped from the Egba Native Administration Prison. There was pandemonium. Blame game began. The story whooshed from one home to the other with baffling speed of lightning, until it encircled the land. In no long a time, grapevine fingered Oba Ademola as one behind Faripos disappearance. Permutations were based on alleged past financial malfeasances of Oba Ademola as a prince in Lagos. In 1890, very hardworking Prince Ademola was head printer of Horatius Jacksons Weekly Record newspaper and played a leading role between Lagos and his hometown Abeokuta in negotiating the passage of railway through Egbaland. The year 1920 was specifically fingered as the year Prince Ademola engaged in the less-than-straight financial transactions. Thus, the disappearance of Faripo was put to the pre-monarchy association between the convicted criminal and the king. According to the rumour, while in prison, Faripo had threatened to spill the beans. The above was a perfect foundation for the allegation that Oba Ademola secured the services of fellow prisoners to murder Faripo in prison and carefully put away his corpse. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Faripos disappearance caused immense tension in Abeokuta and environ. Even the Resident and District Officer were not immune from the spinning lie. The two officers then ordered police investigation. In the process, a corpse, assumed to be Faripos, was exhumed. Even Faripos mother identified the remains as her sons. At this time, the lie had taken a full weight of truth. Oba Ademola, the major suspect, was about to be investigated. Then, all of a sudden, Faripo was reported found in Oyo town. A few days later, Faripo himself appeared in Abeokuta. Then the police cornered all who made false statements regarding the alleged murder. Oba Adedapo survived his traducers, made up of liars and merchants of falsehood. A lot of talks have been generated over the sincerity or otherwise of this government in the last fifteen months. Without making a mountain out of a molehill of the issue, the truth is, governments, all over the world, tell lies. If you listen to the narratives from former President Donald Trump, he accuses the Joe Biden administration of lying to the people. It is also vice versa from Biden. Governments have so many reasons to engage in falsehoods. These falsehoods can sometimes be helpful. They range from ones in defence of national security to national integrity. However, when falsehood becomes a defining governmental character, then something is awesomely wrong. Since its establishment, the NNPC has been an opaque corporation. A 1995 Working paper with the title NNPC and Nigerias Oil Patronage Ecosystem had this unflattering word about the corporation: Any attempt to analyze NNPC must first confront the question of what it really is. Despite its formal organisation as a vertically-integrated oil company, NNPC is neither a real commercial entity nor a meaningful oil operator. It lacks control over the revenue it generates and thus is unable to set its own strategy. It relies on other firms to perform essentially all of the most complex functions that are hallmarks of operating oil companies. Yet unlike some NOCs it also fails to fit the profile of a government agency: Its portfolio of activities is too diverse, incoherent, and beyond the reach of government control for it to function as a government policymaking instrument. Irregularities in financial operations and non-conformity with statutory laws have been the NNPCs abiding operational philosophy. Governments upon governments have capitalised on the opacity of its operations to fleece the people. It begins with the fact that Nigerians dont know the amount of crude oil their country processes in a day, nor the amount of fuel they consume. You could hide an elephant inside the purse of the NNPC and remove foreign currencies of similar size. Perhaps, the most phenomenally distressing has been this regime of fuel subsidy. It has since made emergency billionaires of laggards and is continuous till today. Nigeria has been fleeced of trillions of Naira all in the name of regulating the prices of this precious commodity. Those who invested hope in this government believed, upon being sworn in, that it would dissemble the ancient incubus of corruption that has festered untamed in the NNPC. Only God knows where they got that illogic. Can Beelzeebub fight Beelzeebub since a house divided against itself falleth? They didnt have to wait too long for the quashing of their hope. Some have even said that the foundation upon which this government is built is falsehood. Take for instance the subsidy regime pronounced by the president on May 29, 2023. Mountainous lies were told to give that lie a life. Government had begun making huge savings from subsidy, we were told. Economists however told us that it was incongruous that government wouldnt be paying subsidy when the Naira to a dollars incestuous relationship is this abiding. At a time, the exchange rate went as high as N1,900, with government purchasing processed petrol in dollar. Recently, that adulterous relationship went burst and, as Efunsetan cried, The wild wind (then blew) and the naked rump of the hen is free to be beheld by all! As it is often said, tonnes of lies are needed to defend a single strand of falsehood. It is same here. NNPC has gone into a binge of falsehoods ever since. When Reuters alleged that the corporation owed its oil suppliers to the tune of $6.8 billion, NNPC promptly and vehemently denied the claim. To shore up that lie, in August, NNPC announced via what it claimed was its audited financial statements for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023, that its revenue from crude oil sales in 2023 had jumped up to N14.07 trillion, an increase of 298.7 percent. This was against the N3.52 trillion earned in 2022. Shortly after, in admitting that it was indeed owing oil suppliers the sum of $6 billion, NNPC painted a scenario of national insolvency. In its relationship with the Dangote Refinery, NNPC has extended its serial falsehoods. This it does in its communication with Nigerians on what actually is the subsisting deal between the two. The most laughable scenario we are left to grapple with is that of a private refinery and national oil giant, the NNPC, exchanging liability of responsibility to fix fuel price as cavalierly as beer mugs are exchanged in shebeens. Trillions of Naira have been spent to make the four Nigerian refinery corpses walk, to no avail. It is either the Tinubu presidency infected NNPC with its lie virus or NNPC cleverly learnt the lying body language of Aso Rock. Or, both. The buck of this falsehood regime however stops at the table of the president. He is perceived as either abetting the lies or doesnt see anything wrong with it. The trust deficit between Nigerians and their president is as a thick fog. The people believe he has exported the Eko for show opacity to the federal. A government that wanted to disconnect from the rank corruption in NNPC wont have the president as minister of petroleum. Its first hammer, according to projections, would land heavily on Mele Kyari and his oil-sucking bug directors. There was no hammer and no head for it to land on. The president compounded the equation by appointing his old warhorse ally as chair of board, a man whose recency of knowledge of the oil industry is as fossilized as prehistoric remains. Rumour also circulates that every liter of petrol bought in Nigeria is a goat tethered for sacrifice by the grove of Bourdillon. The corruption broth is finally cooked. Now, Nigeria is on her knees, totally castrated by a binge of falsehoods and Nigerian rulers illicit thirst to make money at the expense of Nigeria and Nigerians. Roiling angers are the mask worn by Nigerians as they walk long hours on the street to their destinations. Nigerians are dying in droves and fat cats are still talking about policies. You could feel the thickness of hopelessness hanging in the Nigerian sky. Yet, the president talks unfeelingly like a compassionless surgeon who just had a job to do yank some goddamn flesh off the navel. I have analyzed President Tinubus China speech severally in less than 24 hours. He talked about a reform that is painful but which would yield results. Results to who, and for whom? To skeletons or cadavers in the mortuary? The president seems to have snatched the trophy of heartlessness from Ibrahim Babangida and his MAMSER, SAP excruciating policies. We should have known that Tinubu learnt the art from the Prince of Niger. Deploying the image of Kevin Carter and his award-winning photography, dying Nigerians are Kong Nyong, battered by hunger and long hours at fuel stations. Hungry vultures are biding their time to feast on our carcasses. Our president has a reform to carry out. And, like Kevin, has a flight to catch. Festus Adedayo is an Ibadan-based journalist. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Africa Food Systems Summit, an annual Summit which took place in Kigali, capital of Rwanda, from 2 6 September, 2024, was attended by Governor Umar Namadi of Jigawa State and his delegation. Hamisu Muhammad Gumel, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Jigawa State presents perspectives on Jigawa States participation in the Summit. The summit focused on innovation, acceleration and scaling in a digital and climate-vulnerable world. It aimed to assess progress and reinforce commitments to transform Africas food systems. The Food Summit is the worlds largest annual summit on agriculture and food systems on the continent of Africa. This year, the summit spotlighted the continental agenda on food systems and showcased innovative approaches, solutions, proven business models, best practices, and the latest technologies that could transform agriculture and food systems to ensure food and nutrition security in Africa while creating jobs and opportunities for youth and women. The five-person delegation fromled by the Governor consists of government officials spearheading the governments efforts in driving the agricultural sector to mechanization to boost food security and renewable energy, which is in goal 7 of the Sustainable Development Goals, calling for affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all by 2030. The crux of the summit was among the two components in the administrations 12-point agenda documented as a blueprint for the states development. Jigawas slim delegation, with the officials in attendance, anticipated the potential benefits to be garnered from such a summit, which would resonate in the state. It could have been a missed opportunity for Nigeria if Governor Namadi had not attended the summit, as the state is a focal point of reference driving the nations food security. Jigawa, under Governor Namadi, has invested in wheat, hibiscus, sesame, and gum Arabic production and is pivotal in Nigerias journey towards food security and economic prosperity. Last November, the state hosted the National Wheat Development Programme. The federal government cultivated 100,000 hectares of wheat this dry season as part of President Bola Tinubus Renewed Hope Agenda. At the high-level panel discussion on ECOWAS policy frameworks, Mr Namadi participated in a high-level panel discussion on the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) Policy Framework, focusing on governance and sustainable solutions within the agriculture sector. The discussion examined the impact of ECOWAS policies on governance and sustainable agricultural practices. Panelists included Dr Henry Musa Kpaka, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sierra Leone; Mr Dominique Dedegbe, Head of the Technical Unit for Monitoring & Supporting Food Security, Ministry of Agriculture, Benin; George Boahen Oduro, Technical Advisor to the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Ghana; and Mr Abdoulaye Traore, Director of Small and Medium-Sized Agro-Industries, Ministry of Agriculture, Cote dIvoire. Mrs Binta Toure Ndoye, a board member, moderated the panel. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later At the summit, Governor Namadi met with the African Development Bank (AfDB) team, led by Dr Martin Fregene, Director of Agriculture and Agro-Industry. The discussion focused on digitalising the agricultural value chain in Jigawa State to enhance the availability of agricultural inputs for smallholder farmers. The AfDB is committed to supporting Jigawa State in developing strategies to leverage ICT and emerging technologies to boost agricultural productivity, reduce costs and waste, improve market access, and modernize the agricultural sector. Key performance indicators (KPIs) for the plan include enrolling two million farmers in digital databases (such as National Identity Number System, Jigawa Agric Information System, Bank Account Number). Mapping and clustering up to three million hectares of farmlands using Geographic Information System (GIS) Issuing Certificates of Occupancy (Digital Farm Passport and Print Certificates) Connecting farmers with essential service providers through a digital marketplace platform. On Day 3 of the Food Security Summit, Governor Namadi participated in key discussions on transforming food systems. At a Ministerial Roundtable, he shared insights on his states innovative policies to enhance food security and agricultural sustainability. The discussions focused on leveraging energy, addressing digital and climate challenges, and fostering collaboration among government, development partners, and the private sector. Governor Namadi also attended a joint meeting with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and ECOWAS representatives, focusing on agricultural mechanization, digitalization, and funding solutions for smallholder farmers. He ended the day at a dinner, where the Sierra Leone Agricultural Transformation Agenda was unveiled, offering closing remarks alongside Governor Umo Eno of Cross River State. Mr Namadi at the event interacted with Nigerias former President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, where they discussed national and global development issues. He also met Joseph Nsengimana, from the Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning Director at MasterCard Foundation. The Jigawa team explored ways of expanding partnerships for education transformation, agricultural innovation, youth empowerment, and the development of SMEs in Jigawa state. Our focus was on initiatives that will enhance food security, drive digital transformation, uplift education standards, and address the issue of out-of-school children, Governor Umar Namadi said. On the last day, Mr Namadi led the Jigawa State delegation to visit RwandaEQUIP, a programme aimed at transforming Rwandas education system. Jay Kimmelman, CEO of NewGlobe, presented findings on learning poverty in Jigawa from a July 2024 study, with plans to implement a similar program in Jigawa State. Governor Namadi then held a bilateral meeting with the President and Chairman of AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa), advocating for Jigawa to be selected as an AGRA state. AGRA leadership expressed strong interest in Jigawas agricultural transformation, pledging their support for Governor Namadis commitment to improving smallholder productivity and modernizing agriculture. He also met Catherine L Nakalembe, a professor and Director of NASAs Harvest Programme, to discuss solutions for flooding and drought challenges in Jigawa. She committed to providing technical assistance, including satellite and remote sensing technology, to help with climate-related agricultural issues. The governor then attended the closing ceremony of the Africa Food Systems Forum 2024 with global leaders like UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed and the Prime Minister of Rwanda. The summit emphasized collaboration and innovation in tackling global food security challenges. Governor Namadi rounded up his mission by meeting Ms. Safi Boly, Executive Director of the African Agricultural Transformation Initiative (AATI), to plan the establishment of an Agric Transformation Office in Jigawa, modeled on similar initiatives in Tanzania and Sierra Leone, with the goal of positioning agriculture as a key driver of economic growth and poverty reduction. At the summit, everywhere he went, the workaholic governor impressed and received accolades from high-level dignitaries, keeping in mind the initiatives the governor initiated for Jigawa State. These are the exact words of praise from one of the African Development Bank (AfDB) representatives at the summit in Kigali: What is going on here? I took this picture with him and his team at the ongoing Africa Food Systems Forum Summit, Kigali, Republic of Rwanda, 3 September, 2024. He is here with his team, selling his vision for his states Agricultural Transformation Agenda and advocating for financial and technical support from global development institutions and philanthropies. He informed the audience that Jigawa State could only grow its economy and improve its social development indicators through agriculture. Furthermore, he told us that to arrest youth unemployment and restlessness in Nigeria, we generally need to incentivize and encourage them (youth) to take agriculture as a business. This is what leadership and governance are all about. Governor Umar enjoys my total respect and honour, said Sule Ochai, a professor. Hamisu Muhammad Gumel, the author of this article is the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Jigawa State. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Kano chapter of the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) has sworn in its newly elected executives to steer the affairs of the association for two years. The new executives are Bahijja Kabara of the Ministry of Information as chairperson, Halima Angulu of Pyramid FM as vice chairperson and Maryam Muhammad of Radio Kano as secretary. Others are Aisha Yalleman of Freedom Radio as assistant secretary, Hauwa Mustapha of VON as financial secretary, Rabi Bature of ARTV as treasurer and Binta Kabir-Usman of the Ministry of Information as auditor. In her acceptance speech, Ms Kabara emphasized her commitment to upholding professionalism within the media, particularly among women journalists. She outlined her key priorities, which include training and retraining, promoting gender equity in media representation, and forging partnerships with the government to improve the welfare of women and children. READ ALSO: Two journalists die same day in Akwa Ibom The oath of office was administered by Adama Muhammad from the Kano State Ministry of Justice, marking the formal handover of responsibilities to the newly elected leaders. (NAN) Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later MNT/BEKl/BRM Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) have traded words over the jumbo appointments of aides by Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, about two months to the states governorship election. On Friday, the governor appointed 28 senior special assistants and 316 special assistants. Announcing the appointments, his spokesperson, Ebenezer Adeniyan, said the action will enhance governance and service delivery to the people of the state. Observers interpreted the appointments as part of the political manoeuvring ahead of the 16 November governorship election. The PDP described them as a drain on taxpayers funds. In a statement on Sunday, Leye Igbabo, PDP spokesperson, noted that the governor made the appointments at a difficult time when other governments were cutting the cost of governance. These last-minute appointments are conceived to hoodwink the appointees who have become disillusioned with a colourless and directionless state ship. It is intended to chain them to a sinking boat. They are, indeed the last kicks of a dying horse. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Our party counsels that the earlier the governor comes to terms with the reality of his imminent defeat in the forthcoming gubernatorial election, the better for his psychological and emotional stability after the election because the masses have now become wiser, knowing fully well, the consequences of going for the highest bidder in any elections. Their bitter experiences in the hands of APC and the hard lessons learnt from the deceit and propaganda employed in taking over the government will surely be displayed against the governor at the November 16 gubernatorial election. The NNPP governorship candidate, Olugbenga Edema, also criticised Governor Aiyedatiwa over the appointments. Mr Edema described the appointments as insensitive and misguided, particularly given the current economic challenges in Nigeria and the state The PDP governorship candidate, Agboola Ajayi, on his part, described the appointments as ridiculous. Mr Ajayi said the development showed that the governor is not suitable for the seat he currently occupies. However, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has defended the appointments as a strategic move to drive development and progress in Ondo State. Steve Otaloro, APCs director of publicity, said on Sunday that they were made in fulfilment of the governors promise to engage more people in running his government to add value to governance and strengthen democracy. READ ALSO: APC kicks as Obaseki suspends schools resumption indefinitely in Edo These appointments are not superfluous, as claimed by the PDP, but rather a strategic move to harness the expertise and skills of Ondo State indigenes to drive development and progress, Mr Otaloro said. Furthermore, we want to remind the PDP that governance is not a solo affair, but a collective responsibility that requires the input of diverse stakeholders. Governor Aiyedatiwas appointments are a testament to his commitment to inclusive governance and his desire to tap into the vast human resources available in Ondo State. End Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print AdvisorVault Introduces their 17a-4 Managed 365 Service. A unique option specifically for small FINRA firms needing to meet compliance on the Microsoft Cloud. NEW YORK, Sept. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The AdvisorVault's 17a-4 Managed 365 Service includes full migration to Microsoft 365, a FINRA approved cybersecurity add on with a plug-in archiving data off the Microsoft cloud meeting the long-term electronic records retention & supervisory demands of rule 17a-4 with the D3P service and attestation letters - bundled in one product. "FINRA firms have been approaching us lately, even ones already on Microsoft 365 worried about 17a-4 compliance," said Allan Lonz, President of AdvisorVault. 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To learn more how AdvisorVault can help your firm get 17a-4 compliant on Microsoft 365 contact us today: Allan Lonz - President 1-866-732-1407 [email protected] www.advisorvault.com Photo(s): https://www.prlog.org/13037381 Press release distributed by PRLog SOURCE AdvisorVault CenterPoint has been monitoring tropical developments and preparing this weekend Company is in the process of securing work sites, preparing crews and equipment, and securing additional frontline resources from mutual assistance companies Company's new and improved outage tracker is live with greater functionality Customers in the Greater Houston area, including those who depend on electricity for life-sustaining equipment, are encouraged to begin their planning and preparations as soon as possible HOUSTON, Sept. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CenterPoint Energy has been closely monitoring weather forecasts and preparing for potential impacts from a Gulf of Mexico tropical system (Invest 91L), which has the potential to make landfall on the Texas coast in the coming days. Greater clarity on the weather situation is expected from the National Hurricane Center tomorrow. In preparation for potential severe weather across the Texas coast and Greater Houston area, CenterPoint is in the process of securing work sites, preparing crews and equipment, and securing additional frontline resources from mutual assistance companies. The company is also reminding customers to develop an emergency plan and assemble a storm preparedness kit that includes essential items such as nonperishable food, water, flashlights, batteries, a first aid kit, any necessary medications, a battery-powered radio, and a portable charger for mobile devices. "We have a plan to address this potential storm, and we are executing our plan," said Darin Carroll, Senior Vice President, Electric Business. "Although the exact path and intensity of this potential storm are still unclear, we want to assure our customers that we are preparing for impact. We encourage everyone across the Greater Houston area and the larger Gulf Coast region to get their plans in place now for their families, loved ones, homes and businesses." Carroll added, "Following Hurricane Beryl's devastating impact on the Greater Houston area, we heard the calls for change and to do better, and we have taken the feedback seriously. We are determined to re-earn the trust of the customers and communities we are privileged to serve. While no two storms and their impact are ever alike, we believe our actions since Beryl will help improve our response should this tropical disturbance impact our service territory." Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative Across Greater Houston, CenterPoint is taking action now to improve resiliency and help reduce the risk of outages this hurricane season. As part of the first phase of its Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative, throughout August CenterPoint crews and contractors installed more than 1,100 stronger and more resilient fiberglass poles, trimmed vegetation along more than 2,000 miles of power lines, and installed more than 300 automation devices in neighborhoods all over Houston. The company's next step is taking the boldest series of resiliency actions in its nearly 160-year history, including additional system hardening, strategic undergrounding, self-healing grid technology, and further enhancements to its outage tracker. Call to Action: Power Alert Service Customers should remember that a storm is a powerful force of nature that can cause significant damage and widespread, lengthy electricity outages. Conditions can also change unexpectedly and for the worse. Customers are encouraged to enroll in Power Alert Service to receive outage details, estimated restoration times, as available or determined, and customer-specific restoration updates in the event of severe weather. With the option to receive updates via phone call, text or email, Power Alert Service helps keep customers informed of restoration progress during an outage event. Customers can also find additional resources at CenterPointEnergy.com/StormCenter. New and Improved Outage Tracker with Greater Web Resiliency Within 24 hours of a tropical storm or hurricane exiting our service area, CenterPoint will communicate an estimated time for restoration for the entire system and will update the estimated times of restoration at least daily thereafter. The new and improved Outage Tracker will be used to update individual customers on their expected restoration date as soon as possible after restoration expectations are determined. To learn more about Outage Tracker's new features and functionality, watch the demonstration video. For an in-depth, step-by-step guide to using the Outage Tracker, click here. Customers with Critical Needs Because CenterPoint Energy cannot guarantee an uninterrupted, regular or continuous power supply during a severe weather event, customers who depend on electricity for life-sustaining equipment are encouraged to make alternate arrangements for on-site backup capabilities or other alternatives in the event of loss of electric service. During pre-storm preparations and post-storm recovery efforts, CenterPoint urges customers to stay informed of weather conditions and warnings or advisories issued by local authorities by paying close attention to announcements from local news outlets for important information regarding ongoing conditions and recovery efforts. The company also recommends that customers follow these important natural gas and electric safety tips: Important Safety Reminders Electric If you experience an electric outage, do not open freezers and refrigerators any more than necessary, as opening these appliances will allow food to thaw more quickly. Only use a portable generator in a well-ventilated outdoor area and never run it inside your residence or in a garage to avoid carbon monoxide fumes, which can be deadly. Never connect a portable electric generator directly to your building's electrical system during a power outage; electricity could back feed into the power lines and potentially endanger utility workers, emergency responders or members of the public. Have your weatherhead, which connects the overhead power line to your home or business, checked for damage. Any weatherhead problems will need to be repaired by a licensed electrician prior to service being restored. Stay away from low-hanging, downed power lines or lines that could be submerged in standing water. Treat downed power lines and damaged electric utility equipment as if they are energized. Report any low-hanging or downed power lines and damaged electric utility equipment to CenterPoint Energy by calling 713-207-2222. Water poses a potential electric safety threat because it's a good conductor. Always be careful not to touch water, or anything in contact with it, near a downed power line. Any amount of water, including a puddle, can become energized. If you see a downed power line near water, retreat to a safe distance, then call CenterPoint Energy immediately at 713-207-2222 to report it. Flood water can be hazardous. Always use extreme care when stepping into flooded areas. Submerged outlets or electrical cords can energize water, even from a distance. Boats or other vehicles being used in high water can expose you to danger from power lines at their normal height. Be aware and stay away. If water has risen above the electrical outlets, contact a licensed electrician before turning on the main circuit breaker. Natural Gas If you smell natural gas which has a distinctive, strong odor, often compared to rotten eggs or sulfur leave the area immediately on foot, and tell others to leave, too. Do not turn the lights on or off, smoke, strike a match, use a phone or operate anything that might cause a spark, including a flashlight or a generator. Once safely away from the area, call 911 and CenterPoint Energy, and we will send a trained service technician immediately. Do not turn off your natural gas at the meter; your natural gas meter should be left on to maintain proper pressure in the natural gas piping within the house and to prevent water from entering the lines should flooding occur. Natural gas can be turned off at each appliance. Later, to restore natural gas service to an appliance, you may follow the written instructions located on the appliance for re-lighting. If you are unable to locate the instructions or don't feel comfortable re-lighting, call a qualified plumber or technician. While conducting exterior clean-up and/or repairs, call 811 to locate utility lines prior to digging on your property. If your home is flooded, call a licensed plumber or a natural gas appliance technician to inspect your appliances prior to requesting a service reconnection. Be cautious around line workers and give them plenty of room to safely assess damage and make repairs. As this storm moves toward CenterPoint Energy's electric and natural gas service territories, additional updates will be provided as needed. For additional information on hurricane preparedness, visit CenterPointEnergy.com/StormCenter and follow @CenterPoint for updates during inclement weather events. The following resources are also available on CenterPoint Energy's dedicated storm page: How you can prepare for a storm How CenterPoint prepares for a storm How CenterPoint restores service following a storm About CenterPoint Energy, Inc. As the only investor-owned electric and gas utility based in Texas, CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) is an energy delivery company with electric transmission and distribution, power generation and natural gas distribution operations that serve more than 7 million metered customers in Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio and Texas. With approximately 9,000 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years. For more information, visit CenterPointEnergy.com. For more information, contact Communications [email protected] SOURCE CenterPoint Energy DUSSELDORF, Germany, Sept. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- EcoFlow , a leader in portable power and renewable energy solutions, hosted the first EcoFlow Power Day on September 5 at the historic Industrial Museum Schoneweide in Berlin. The event, coinciding with IFA's 100th anniversary, marked the first stop of EcoFlow's worldwide brand initiative, offered a preview of EcoFlow's upcoming products and technologies to users, partners, media, and influencers. Harald Kohler, Product Development Manager at EcoFlow, emphasized the significance of the event: "Today is a crucial moment for EcoFlow. By hosting the first EcoFlow Power Day at this historic location, we're not only presenting our latest innovations but also bridging the gap between the past and future of energy. Our new product line is a major step in meeting the changing needs of our customers. We're excited to show how our commitment to simplicity, flexibility, and reliability is shaping the future of mobile and private energy solutions." Strengthening Commitment to the European Market with New Plans for Germany Since entering the German market in 2020, EcoFlow has celebrated great success across Europe. With a steadily growing portfolio of solutions for portable power stations, balcony power plants, and solar systems for private households, the company has already convinced over one million* users in Europe. Recent collaborations, including partnerships with Tibber and Shelly, underscore this success. EcoFlow has been awarded several prestigious prizes such as the Deutschland Favorit Award and the German Innovation Award. EcoFlow is pleased to further expand its presence in the German market through a new partnership with electricity provider Rabot Energy . Rabot Energy offers its customers the opportunity to significantly reduce their electricity costs through dynamic real-time stock market electricity prices. EcoFlow customers now have the choice between dynamic electricity tariffs from Rabot Energy or our first partner Tibber. Building on this success, EcoFlow will continue to expand its relationships with local users and markets in Germany and Europe. As part of this strategy, EcoFlow plans to open its first German EcoFlow Store. Additionally, the first EcoFlow House has been built in Germany an innovative space where customers can directly experience EcoFlow's energy solutions. These initiatives demonstrate the company's commitment to playing a central role in Europe's sustainable energy landscape. Partners Praise Innovation as Company Teases New Products for IFA 2024 Launch Merlin Lauenburg, Managing Director for Germany at Tibber, stated: "The combination of smart energy systems and dynamic tariffs allows consumers to save costs and is an important building block of the energy transition. As a Tibber partner, EcoFlow plays an important role in helping users use electricity intelligently and cost-efficiently. We look forward to further expanding our partnership with EcoFlow to jointly shape the future of electricity use." Jan Rabe, CEO of Rabot Energy, added: "We are excited to work with EcoFlow, an emerging global market leader for sustainable energy solutions, to offer our dynamic electricity tariffs directly through their Home Energy Management System (HEMS). This seamless integration allows customers to optimize their energy consumption, reduce costs, and maximize the share of renewable energy. Together, we are proud to support the energy transition and bring smarter, more environmentally friendly solutions to households across Germany." The product innovations presented at the EcoFlow Power Day were showcased to visitors at IFA 2024 at the EcoFlow booth (Hall 2, Stand 116). The company announced that more EcoFlow Power Days will follow worldwide in the future, where interested parties can experience the latest developments and announcements. For more information about EcoFlow and its products, please visit the website at www.ecoflow.com . About EcoFlow EcoFlow is a leading eco-friendly energy solutions company with the vision to power a new world. Since its founding in 2017, EcoFlow aims to become a reliable and trusted energy companion for individuals and families across the world, providing accessible and renewable power solutions at home, outdoors, and in mobile spaces. Today, with operational headquarters located in the USA, Germany, and Japan, EcoFlow has empowered more than 3 million users in over 100 markets worldwide. About Tibber As a green electricity provider, Tibber helps its customers to save electricity and make a contribution to the energy transition at the same time. To do this, Tibber buys electricity on the electricity exchange and passes it on to users - plus fees and charges - without a profit margin. With this new business model, Tibber earns nothing from the kilowatt hour consumed. Instead, the Tibber app not only offers transparency, but also the right tools with which Tibber's customers can reduce their own consumption. Tibber was founded in 2016 by Daniel Linden and Edgeir Vardal Aksnes and currently operates in Germany, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands. Read more at www.tibber.com . About Rabot Rabot Energy, founded in Germany in 2021, offers dynamic electricity tariffs with 100% green electricity. Through AI-based optimization and passing on wholesale prices, customers can reduce their electricity costs by up to 40%. The app enables intelligent control of smart home devices. Rabot Energy supports households and businesses in the energy transition and increases the share of green electricity in energy consumption. With over 50,000 customers and more than 100 employees at locations in Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich, Rabot Energy is driving the sustainable energy future forward. More information at www.rabot-charge.de . *The data is derived from internal reports. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2499225/image_5016319_37870927.jpg SAR satellites and data enable Greece to monitor their areas of interest and improve their natural catastrophe detection and maritime awareness capabilities. HELSINKI, Sept. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ICEYE, the global leader in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite operations for Earth Observation, persistent monitoring, and natural catastrophe solutions, has today announced signing the contract for the Greek National Satellite Space Project Axis 1.2 (radar program) for the Greek Space Agency and Greek Ministry of Digital Governance, together with the European Space Agency. Top row from left: Martin Langer, CEO & CTO of OroraTech; Konstantinos Kyranakis, Deputy Minister of Digital Governance; Dimitris Papastergiou, Minister of Digital Governance; Konstantinos Karantzalos, General Secretary of Telecommunications and Post; Bottom row from left: Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and Co-founder of ICEYE; Dominique Gillieron, Head of Earth Observation Projects Department, ESA. Axis 1.2 covers the Greek SAR Space Segment and includes both radar imagery and the development of a Greek Observation System with two ICEYE SAR satellites, and their launches. In addition to sovereign satellites, Greece will also have access to ICEYE's existing SAR satellite constellation, the largest in the world, and can start monitoring its areas of interest already while building its space capabilities. Since 2018, ICEYE has launched 38 satellites for its own constellation and for the use of its customers internationally. Delivery of the ICEYE SAR imagery to the Government of Greece is expected to commence immediately, providing quick access to monitor the relevant areas of interest. Following that, the satellites are scheduled for a rapid delivery enabled by ICEYE's fast production capabilities and booked launch schedule for many years to come. ICEYE is establishing a stronger presence in Greece to accelerate the growth of the Greek space sector, and the satellites will be assembled in a new ICEYE facility to be opened in Greece. "ICEYE is proud to contribute to the building of the space program for the Government of Greece. ICEYE's SAR satellites and data will enable Greece to monitor their areas of interest and improve its national observability for Safety and Security, including flooding and wildfires, and maritime awareness capabilities. The project also showcases ICEYE's unique ability to provide a seamless continuum of SAR capabilities spanning satellite delivery and data services. We very much look forward to collaborating with the Greek space industry and to accelerating its growth", said Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and Co-founder of ICEYE. Minister of Digital Governance, Dimitris Papastergiou said: "We are excited to partner with ICEYE on this critical project, which will enhance Greece's capabilities in disaster management and national security. The SAR satellites developed by ICEYE will provide us with unprecedented insights, enabling faster response times and more effective management of natural disasters such as floods. This collaboration demonstrates our commitment to leveraging cutting-edge space technologies for the safety and well-being of our citizens." Deputy Minister of Digital Governance, Konstantinos Kyranakis said: "This agreement marks a significant step forward in Greece's space program. By harnessing the power of SAR satellite data, we will greatly improve our ability to monitor and protect key areas of interest, both on land and at sea, under any light and weather conditions. We are confident that this partnership, not only will strengthen our disaster response capabilities but will also drive innovation within the Greek space sector." Secretary General of Telecommunications and Posts, Prof. Konstantinos Karantzalos said: We have designed and now implementing an ambitious satellite programme that will significantly enhance our upstream and downstream capabilities. With this contract today between ESA and the consortium lead by ICEYE we emphasise on 24/7 dual-use remote sensing monitoring applications including object detection and surveillance based on very high resolution radar." "The assignment of the development of the Greek SAR Constellation to ICEYE is a proof of the Agency's continuous commitment in supporting National initiatives from the ESA Member States, and demonstrates ESA's unique ability to maximise the cross-benefit of all such initiatives by providing a unified framework for observations exchange among and for the benefit of Member States. Having included ICEYE's X-Band SAR observation capability in the Greek National Satellite Space Project is yet another powerful example of space technologies providing immediate and critical benefits here on Earth," said the Director of Earth Observation Programmes at the European Space Agency Simonetta Cheli. Carried out under an ESA Contract in the frame of the Greek National Satellite Space Project. Views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union/European Commission/European Space Agency/Greek Ministry of Digital Governance. Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and European Union/European Commission/European Space Agency/Greek Ministry of Digital Governance, cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. About ICEYE ICEYE delivers unparalleled persistent monitoring capabilities to detect and respond to changes in any location on Earth, faster and more accurately than ever before. Owning the world's largest synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellation, ICEYE provides objective, near real-time insights, ensuring that customers have unmatched access to actionable data, day or night, even in challenging environmental conditions. As a trusted partner to governments and commercial industries, ICEYE delivers intelligence in sectors such as insurance, natural catastrophe response and recovery, security, maritime monitoring, and finance, enabling decision-making that contributes to community resilience and sustainable development. ICEYE operates internationally with offices in Finland, Poland, Spain, the UK, and the US. We have more than 700 employees, inspired by the shared vision of improving life on Earth by becoming the global source of truth in Earth Observation. Media contact: [email protected] Visit www.iceye.com and follow ICEYE on LinkedIn and X for the latest updates and insights. SOURCE ICEYE The stock of Altria (NYSE: MO) has risen more than 20% over the past year as investor sentiment around cigarette makers has improved across the board. The big story for all the major companies in the space has been the growth of cigarette alternatives, like vaping products and pouches. For Altria, after a failed investment in Juul, the hot story is its purchase of NJOY. But don't get too excited -- here's why. Altria fails and fails again Before getting into NJOY, it is worth looking a little further back. The ongoing decline in cigarette demand is not new, so Altria has known for years that it needs to find a replacement product if it hopes to grow over the long term. Bridging the gap between cigarettes and some hoped-for alternative have been price increases, which have largely countered the volume declines. Image source: Getty Images. To put a number on the decline rate, second-quarter 2024 cigarette volume fell 13% year over year for Altria. That's a huge and worrying figure and one that shouldn't be overlooked. A consumer staples company with that kind of volume decline would normally be viewed quite negatively. Altria hasn't ignored the volume decline, but it hasn't distinguished itself in dealing with it, either. It bought into vape maker Juul and a marijuana grower. Both investments fell flat and resulted in billions of dollars in write-offs. Altria also spun off its foreign operations as Philip Morris International, a company that is now entering the U.S. market with noncombustible products like pouches. Essentially, Altria created a competitor. These are all material strategic missteps. Altria buys NJOY and investors rejoice Altria's latest attempt to find a new product was its purchase of NJOY, another vape maker. To be fair, NJOY was further along in the development of its product than Juul. That suggests that the potential for NJOY is better defined. And so far, Altria is doing a pretty good job with its new product. Management has been happy to tell you about it. In the second quarter, the company's earnings release was filled with NJOY information. In fact, it was the first major topic discussed, and for good reason. NJOY consumables shipment volume rose 14.7% sequentially, device shipment volume increased 80% sequentially, and retail share in the United States increased 1.3 points sequentially to 5.5%. To give credit where it's due, Altria is executing well with NJOY. And in a way that it failed to do with its previous efforts at expansion. Still, there's a problem here that investors shouldn't overlook. NJOY currently falls into Altria's "all other" segment. It isn't actually broken out, so it is hard to get a true read on what's going on beyond the information management is releasing. That's a problem since NJOY is supposed to help save the company from its declining cigarette business. Story continues But the bigger issue here is that the "all other" category had revenue of just $22 million in the second quarter. Revenue in the smokeable products division was $10.4 billion. Even the company's oral products group dwarfs "all other" with revenue of $1.3 billion. There are two important takeaways here. First, NJOY is working off a very small base, so the growth numbers look huge. Second, NJOY is still just a rounding error for Altria given the relative size of the rest of its business, particularly cigarettes. This good news has to be put into perspective It is great that Altria is having material success with its investment in NJOY. But even with the rapid growth of that business, it is still just a very small part of overall operations. It will be a long time before NJOY can offset the declines in the cigarette business, if that's even possible, let alone help the company expand. Altria remains a company with a deeply troubled business and is only appropriate for the most aggressive investors. That remains true despite the recent stock price increase and the hefty 7.5% dividend yield. Long-term dividend investors should be particularly careful with Altria given the ongoing and rapid declines in its most important business. Before buying it, ask yourself if you would buy a company like Coca-Cola if demand for that company's namesake product had fallen 13% year over year, with more declines on the horizon and a string of declines in the rearview mirror. The most likely answer is no. Should you invest $1,000 in Altria Group right now? Before you buy stock in Altria Group, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and Altria Group wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $630,099!* Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of September 3, 2024 Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Philip Morris International. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. NJOY Is Thriving, but Altria Needs More Than Vaping Before Investors Buy the Stock was originally published by The Motley Fool If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Kyiv, Sep 8 : At least five people were killed in an attack by Russia in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, officials said. Three people were killed and four injured in the town of Kostyantynivka, Donetsk region governor Vadym Filashkin said on Saturday, while two men in their 50s were reported killed in shelling near the town of Toretsk about 20 km (12 miles) to the southeast. Filashkin said in a post on the Telegram social media channel that three men aged between 24 and 69 were killed and a multi-storey block, administrative building and shop were damaged in the attack on Kostyantynivka. Three others were lightly wounded and received medical treatment, he said. Suspilne public broadcaster quoted Anastasiia Medvedeva, a spokesperson for Donetsk prosecutor's office, as saying the fourth injured person was a 57-year-old woman who suffered a shrapnel wound and a head injury. In separate shelling, Suspilne quoted Medvedeva as saying a man aged 52 and a man aged 53 were killed just outside Toretsk, a focus of recent Russian offences also in Donetsk region. Kostyantynivka, which before the war was an industrial town of around 70,000 people, has seen many of its residents leave as the frontline has moved closer through the 30-month Russian invasion. It has been hit regularly by missiles, bombs and artillery. In August, authorities announced a compulsory evacuation of families with children from the city due to the danger posed by Russia's advances. In Ukraine, the Air force reported on Saturday that air defences were scrambled across the country to defend against a massive overnight drone attack by Russia. The air force said 67 long-range drones were shot down. On Friday evening, one person was reported killed in the southeastern city of Pavlohrad in the Dnipropetrovsk region as the result of missile strikes, and that 64 people were injured in the region. Russian forces were also continuing to push toward the strategic city of Pokrovsk in Ukraine's Donetsk region, where RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service captured footage from near the front line that showed the village of Novohrodivka ablaze. The Russian Defence Ministry on Saturday said that its forces had seized the village of Kalynove, which lies just 25 km southeast of Pokrovsk, a key supply and logistics hub for Ukraine's frontline troops. Washington, Sep 8 : Multiple people were shot along a highway near the southeastern Kentucky city of London in what was described as an "active shooter situation", authorities said. A search is underway for the gunman, media reports said. The incident took place opn Saturday evening, News 9 reported. "The below individual, Joseph A Couch, is a Person of Interest in the shooting that occurred at the Exit 49/KY-909 area. If you have any information regarding the whereabouts or location of this individual, please contact the London-Laurel County 911 Centre by calling 911 or 606-878-7000. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO APPROACH. Joseph A Couch is a 32-year-old white male approximately 5'10 weighing approximately 154lbs," the police said. The Laurel County Sheriff's Office reported that "numerous people were shot" and Interstate 75 was closed about nine miles north of London, News 9 reported. The Sheriff's office said it was searching for a person of interest in the shooting described as 32-year-old Joseph A. Couch. He was described as a White man, about 5-foot-10 and weighing 154 pounds. A photo of Couch was also released. Trooper Scottie Pennington, a Kentucky State Police spokesperson, urged residents in the area to stay inside. Louisville ATF agents wrote on social media they are responding and assisting state and local police with a "critical incident" near Interstate 75. No further details were immediately provided. The number of victims and their conditions was still unclear. "Kentucky, we are aware of a shooting on I-75 in Laurel County," Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear wrote in a social media post. "Law enforcement has shut the interstate down in both directions at exit 49. Please avoid the area. We will provide more details once they are available." Kentucky state Trooper Scottie Pennington wrote on Facebook, "The suspect has not been caught at this time and we are urging people to stay inside." Agents, from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have been called in to assist the Kentucky State Police and local law enforcement, the agency posted on X, calling it a "critical incident". London is a small city of about 8,000 residents near the Daniel Boone National Forest, about 90 miles south of Lexington. This shooting comes just days after a mass shooting at a Winder, Georgia high school, that saw two teachers and two students killed and nine others wounded. Beirut, Sep 8 : Hezbollah has said that it had attacked several settlements and sites in northern Israel with Katyusha rockets and artillery shells in response to Israel's attacks in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese armed group said on Saturday in three separate statements that it had shelled the Israeli military base on Mount Neria with volleys of Katyusha rockets, attacked Israeli soldiers around the Manot settlement with rockets, and intercepted an Israeli drone with a surface-to-air missile in Lebanon's Bekaa region, Xinhua news agency reported. It also added that it had attacked "the main intelligence headquarters at the Mishar base, as well as the sites of Misgav Am, Al-Alam, Samaqa, and Hadab Yaroun, with artillery shells and Katyusha rockets". Lebanese military sources told Xinhua news agency that the Lebanese army had monitored the launch of about 40 surface-to-surface missiles from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel on Saturday. Some of these missiles were intercepted by Israel, while many exploded in the airspace over southeastern Lebanon. Three personnel of the Lebanese Civil Defence were killed and two others wounded on Saturday in an Israeli drone strike on southern Lebanon, according to the sources. The sources also said that Israeli warplanes and drones carried out six raids on Saturday on four border towns and villages in southern Lebanon, and Israeli artillery shelled nine villages and towns in the eastern and central sectors with 35 shells, causing several fires and material damage. Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on October 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by Hezbollah toward Israel in support of Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon. Jerusalem, Sep 8 : Two battalion commanders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement were killed in a recent Israeli airstrike in the central Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement. The IDF said on Saturday that Israeli aircraft on Thursday carried out a "precise strike" on a command and control centre in the city of Deir al-Balah used by Hamas and PIJ militants, Xinhua news agency reported. The attack killed "a number of" militants, including Abdallah Khatib, commander of the PIJ's Southern Deir al-Balah Battalion, who commanded the battalion's operations in the October 7 attacks in southern Israel, according to the statement. The IDF also reported that Hatem Abu Aljidian, commander of the PIJ's Eastern Deir al-Balah Battalion who was involved in planning attacks against Israeli forces during the conflict, was also killed in the strike. Abu Aljidian also advanced numerous attacks against troops amid the ongoing fighting. To mitigate harm to civilians in the strike, the IDF said it carried out "many steps," including using precision munitions, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence. "This is another example of the systematic use by the terror organizations in the Gaza Strip of the population and civilian infrastructure, including the humanitarian zone, to carry out terror acts against the state and IDF troops," the military added. As for the Saturday strikes on the schools, according to the military, Hamas was using the Amr Ibn al-Aas School in Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood to plan and carry out attacks against troops and Israel. Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage. The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 40,939, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Saturday. Aden : , Sep 8 (IANS) Yemen's Houthi group has said their air defences have successfully shot down an American MQ-9 drone over the northeastern province of Marib. The downing of the drone, the eighth of its kind shot down by the armed group, was carried out "in victory for the oppressed Palestinian people and in response to the American-British aggression against Yemen," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said on Saturday in a statement as reported by Xinhua news agency. The drone was "carrying out hostile acts" when it was intercepted, Sarea added. However, a source within Yemen's pro-government armed forces said "there was no evidence to support the Houthis' assertion of downing a US drone". The unnamed source said that "such claims are often made by the Houthis as a tactic to boost their fighters' morale in combat". So far, there has been no confirmation from the US side regarding the Houthi claim. The MQ-9, also known as the Reaper, is an unmanned aerial vehicle primarily used by US military and intelligence organisations for both surveillance and combat operations. The Houthi rebels offered no pictures or video to support the claim as they have in the past, though such material can appear in propaganda footage days later. However, the Houthis have repeatedly downed General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper drones in the years since they seized Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in 2014. Those attacks have exponentially increased since the start of the Israel-Hamas war and the Houthis launched their campaign targeting shipping in the Red Sea corridor. Saree offered no details on how the rebels down the aircraft. However, Iran has armed the rebels with a surface-to-air missile known as the 358 for years. Iran denies arming the rebels, though Tehran-manufactured weaponry has been found on the battlefield and in seaborne shipments heading to Yemen despite a United Nations arms embargo. The Houthis "continue to perform their jihadist duties in victory for the oppressed Palestinian people and in defense of dear Yemen," Saree said. Reapers, which cost around $30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet (15,240 metres) and have an endurance of up to 24 hours before needing to land. The aircraft have been flown by both the US military and the CIA over Yemen for years. After the claim, the Houthis' al-Masirah satellite news channel reported multiple US-led airstrikes near the city of Ibb. The US military did not immediately acknowledge the strikes, but the Americans have been striking Houthi targets intensely since January. The Houthis have targeted more than 80 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that has also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a US-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have included Western military vessels as well. The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK to force an end to Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran. Those attacks include the barrage that struck the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion in the Red Sea. Salvagers last week abandoned an initial effort to tow away the burning oil tanker, leaving the Sounion stranded and its one million barrels of oil at risk of spilling. New Delhi, Sep 8 : Even as pre-poll alliance talks for the Haryana Assembly election between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party are going on, AAP MLA Somnath Bharti on Sunday raised a red flag against it and said the party should contest all 90 Assembly seats in the state 'on its own'. New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS) Even as pre-poll alliance talks for the Haryana Assembly election between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party are going on, AAP MLA Somnath Bharti on Sunday raised a red flag against it and said the party should contest all 90 Assembly seats in the state aon its own'. Somnath Bharti in a long post on X highlighted the alliance experience between the two during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections alleging non-cooperation from the Congress party. "Before AAP-Congress alliance is inked in Haryana, @AamAadmiParty must evaluate the effectiveness of similar alliance formed in Delhi during Loksabha Election. While my national Convenor @ArvindKejriwalji did roadshows for all the three Congress Candidates, senior leaders and cabinet ministers of AAP campaigned for all three Congress candidates but AAP candidates especially myself were not supported at all especially by Congress Delhi and local leaders." Delhi Congress Chief Sardar Arvinder Singh Lovely with many Congress leaders left Congress and joined BJP amid the election campaign for the Lok Sabha polls, he mentioned. The three-term MLA from the Malviya Nagar Assembly seat accused Congress leader Ajay Maken of not evening meeting the local leaders of the AAP party and said that the grand old party chief Mallikarjun Khrage and leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra did not campaign for the AAP candidates. "Senior Congress leader Sri @ajaymaken refused to even meet, local leaders like Sri Jitender Kochchar (in Malviya Nagar) worked against this alliance and sought votes for BJPas MP candidate allegedly for money. No event of Sri @RahulGandhi or Ms @priyankagandhi or Sri @kharge was organised in our parliamentary constituencies to consolidate Congress votes in our favour," Bharti wrote in the post. He said that the supporters of AAP are majorly not in favour of such a "misfit and selfish alliance" and AAP should contest all seats in Haryana, Punjab and Delhi on its own. "@BJP4Haryana is on its deathbed, Congress facing massive in-fights and Haryana being home state of Kejriwal ji, @AamAadmiParty should contest on all 90 seats on its own strength to give first non-BJP and non-Congress Honest Govt in Haryana. And we must not forget that the imaginary sharab Ghotala which gave BJP a reason to arrest our leaders for months n years was hatched and severely pursued by Sri Maken. When it comes to defeat AAP, BJP and Congress both work together openly or discreetly, " said Bharti in the post The voting will be held on October 5 in Haryana and the counting will take place on October 8. --IANS dpb/' Kolkata, Sep 8 : The West Bengal Health Department through a notification has sought detailed information about all resident doctors from the medical colleges and hospitals in the state. The information sought by the state health department on Saturday includes the registration numbers, Aadhaar and PAN numbers, mobile numbers and details of their academic records. The posts of resident medical officers and senior residents are non-practicing posts which means they are not allowed to do private practice beyond hospital duty. Although no reason has been spelt out by the state health department for seeking such details, the development has created ripples among the members of the medical fraternity amid the continuing protest over the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor of state-run R.G Kar Medical College & Hospital within the hospital premises last month. The notification is considered significant by the representatives of the medical fraternity also in the backdrop of the suspension of two resident medical officers and one senior resident doctor attached to two state-run medical colleges and hospitals. The three were known to be close confidants of Sandip Ghosh, the former and controversial principal of the West Bengal Medical Council. Ghosh is currently in the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) because of his alleged links with the financial irregularities case in R.G. Kar. There are piling complaints against the two suspended resident medical officers and one senior resident for harassing and threatening the junior doctors by using their political clouts as a shield. The three suspended doctors are Avik De, the erstwhile resident medical officer (RMO) of the radiodiagnosis department of Burdwan Medical College; Dr Birupaksha Biswas, the former senior resident doctor attached to the pathology department of the same hospital, and resident medical officer of Midnapore Medical College & Hospital Mustafizur Rahaman Mallick. A crucial hearing on the ghastly rape and murder is scheduled at the Supreme Court on Monday when CBI is supposed to submit its progress report on the investigation in the matter. The North West Company Inc. (TSE:NWC) has announced that it will be increasing its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 15th of October to CA$0.40. This takes the dividend yield to 3.2%, which shareholders will be pleased with. See our latest analysis for North West North West's Projected Earnings Seem Likely To Cover Future Distributions Impressive dividend yields are good, but this doesn't matter much if the payments can't be sustained. The last dividend was quite easily covered by North West's earnings. This indicates that a lot of the earnings are being reinvested into the business, with the aim of fueling growth. Looking forward, earnings per share could rise by 7.6% over the next year if the trend from the last few years continues. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 54% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward. North West Has A Solid Track Record Even over a long history of paying dividends, the company's distributions have been remarkably stable. Since 2014, the dividend has gone from CA$1.12 total annually to CA$1.60. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 3.6% over that duration. While the consistency in the dividend payments is impressive, we think the relatively slow rate of growth is less attractive. The Dividend Has Growth Potential The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. North West has impressed us by growing EPS at 7.6% per year over the past five years. Earnings are on the uptrend, and it is only paying a small portion of those earnings to shareholders. North West Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock Overall, a dividend increase is always good, and we think that North West is a strong income stock thanks to its track record and growing earnings. The company is easily earning enough to cover its dividend payments and it is great to see that these earnings are being translated into cash flow. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity. Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. Are management backing themselves to deliver performance? Check their shareholdings in North West in our latest insider ownership analysis. Is North West not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Los Angeles, Sept 8 : Hollywood actress Winona Ryder had a pretty emotional moment getting back to the 'Beetlejuice' world. The actress shared that she "welled up with emotion" as she arrived on the sets of the recently released movie 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice', reports 'Female First UK'. In the movie, the actress reprises her role of Lydia Deetz. For her, it was particularly "special" to see Michael Keaton back in character as the titular ghost. She told Britain's 'OK!' magazine, "I was welling up with emotion. To work with Michael again, someone who, like Tim, was so protective and encouraging to me at such a young age, was so special. It was so moving for me to be back in costume and in that environment. It felt so free, like it was an independent film and we could try anything". As per 'Female First UK', the actress gave her nod to the sequel before there was even a script. She explained, "Like anything with Tim, it has to be right. It was never going to be a sequel just for the sake of it". However, when she did get a script, the actress was shocked to find her character had a daughter of her own. She said, "I have to admit it was an aspect of the character that surprised me at first. Because of who she is from the first film, I think you kind of imagine her staying a loner and maybe not having a kid as part of whatever life she does on to lead. But as soon as Tim explained his vision for the sequel and Lydia's part in it as a mother herself now, I was excited". Despite her years of success since starring in 'Beetlejuice', Winona admitted her memories of shooting her breakout film has always been particularly "special" to her. New Delhi, Sep 8 : Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday praised the growing partnership between India and Singapore, emphasising its potential to improve urban planning and management in Assam. Taking to his X handle, the Assam CM stated, "India-Singapore partnership heralds a new developmental dawn. During Hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji's recent visit to Singapore, the joint statement, issued by the Hon'ble Prime Minister of Singapore HE Lawrence Wong, highlighted the MoU between the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) and the Government of Assam in urban planning and management." He added, "This MoU will facilitate better urban planning and management of Guwahati, incorporating Singapore's best practices. It is truly a partnership of the future." PM Modi visited Singapore from September 4-5 at the invitation of the Singapore Prime Minister. During the visit, multiple Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between the two nations, covering a broad spectrum of areas. Both leaders highlighted the importance of the proposed MoU on the Nursing Talent Skills Corporation between the Government of Assam and Singapore-India Partnership Office and MOH Holdings Pte Ltd, urging an early conclusion. The leaders also welcomed the signing of the MoU between SCE and the Assam government to enhance urban planning and management in Guwahati. Both Prime Ministers emphasised India's vast investment opportunities for Singaporean investors and acknowledged ongoing collaborations between SCE and various Indian states on smart city projects and urban infrastructure, including housing initiatives. These collaborations include workshops on sustainability and urban water management conducted with India's Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. The two leaders recognised that business and commercial links are key to the broader India-Singapore partnership. Both counterparts also expressed the desire to conclude the Third Review of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) soon to keep it relevant for the future economies of both nations. New Delhi, Sep 8 : National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will travel to Moscow this week to hold discussions aimed at resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict, sources have said. This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Russia (in July) and Ukraine (in August) where he held meetings with the Presidents of the two countries -- Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. Shortly after his trip to Ukraine and meeting with President Zelensky, Prime Minister Modi spoke to President Putin over the phone on August 27. A Russian Embassy statement then said that PM Modi informed President Putin about his visit to Kyiv and stressed India's commitment to bring about a settlement by political and diplomatic means. Sources said that it was during this phone call that the leaders decided that NSA Doval would travel to Moscow for peace talks. "President Putin shared his principled assessment of the destructive policies of the Kyiv authorities and their Western patrons, and went on to highlight Russia's approaches to resolving this conflict," the Russian Embassy said about the phone call. The Prime Minister's Office said the two leaders exchanged views on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. "The PM shared insights from his recent visit to Ukraine. He underlined the importance of dialogue and diplomacy as well as sincere and practical engagement between all stakeholders to achieve an abiding and peaceful resolution of the conflict," a PMO release said. The Prime Minister reiterated India's firm commitment to support an "early, abiding and peaceful resolution of the conflict" on his official handle on X. Ajit Doval's visit, however, is part of the BRICS NSA meeting this week ahead of the annual Summit in Kazan. The meeting will see top security officials of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa besides new members Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia. Doval is also expected to hold bilateral talks with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. The travel to Moscow this week is also said to be a bid to reach a peaceful resolution between the warring neighbours Russia and Ukraine. Other world leaders, too, are of the view that India can play a key role in finding a resolution to the Ukraine conflict. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that countries like India and China can play a role in resolving the conflict in Ukraine. Her remarks, made at the Ambrosetti Forum in northern Italy's Cernobbio city on Saturday -- where she also held a meeting with the visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky -- came less than 48 hours after Russian President Putin also highlighted India's efforts in solving the ongoing crisis in the region. On Thursday, while addressing the 9th Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Putin mentioned India's role in providing a "helping hand" in resolving the issue. "We respect our friends and partners who I think are sincerely interested in addressing and resolving all the issues associated with the conflict (with Ukraine). China, Brazil, India... I am in contact with my partners and I have no doubt that the leaders of these countries, and we have the relations of trust and confidence with one another, will be interested in providing a helping hand," said Putin. New Delhi, Sep 8 : Spiritual guru-turned-politician Acharya Pramod Krishnam, on Sunday, made a comment regarding the Sanjauli mosque issue, which has sparked a political debate in Himachal Pradesh. With regard to this mosque in Shimla, the expelled Congressman took to X and shared his opinion, taking a potshot at "mohobbat ke dukaandaar" (shopkeepers of love). His post is transcribed as: "In Himachal, 'Congress' ministers are talking of demolishing the 'mosque' in Shimla, but if there was a BJP government there today, all the warriors of 'secularism' would have thrown the country into the fire of riots. Now, since Congress is ruling there, all the 'shopkeepers' of 'love', from @RahulGandhi to @yadavakhilesh, are silent." On August 30, a businessman was attacked in its surroundings. Subsequently, people demanded the demolition of the mosque. On September 5, protestors gathered in large numbers outside the mosque, claiming that it had been built illegally. Protestors included BJP workers and members of Right wing groups. The Sanjauli mosque and its four floors have reportedly been built illegally. However, the Himachal Pradesh Waqf Board, on Saturday, submitted in a Shimla court that this mosque is on its land, but it has no idea "who constructed the additional four floors." Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had said that all residents of the state have the same rights and that he respects all religions. "Peaceful protests are permitted but nobody will be allowed to take the law into his hands," he said. Further, MLA Anirudh Singh said that the mosque was built on government land and the matter had been sub judice for the past 14 years. This incident is also viewed as a security concern as the construction of such a property is said to be done by outsiders and not a resident of the Himalayan state. Hyderabad, Sep 8 : A week after devastating floods in parts of Telangana, people are grappling to come to terms even as the actual extent of damages is still unknown though the state government has put the initial estimate at Rs 5,438 crore. Picking up threads of a tattered life, people in the worst-affected Khammam, Mahabubabad and adjoining districts are looking towards the state and Central governments to extend a helping hand to make a fresh beginning. After losing houses, all household goods, crops, cattle and other sources of income, all sections of people are facing the daunting task of rebuilding life after the disaster. From farmers to business persons and from housewives to students every section has suffered immensely as heavy rain and floods left a trail of destruction. People, whose houses were inundated in Khammam town and villages in the affected districts, are finding it nearly impossible to salvage their belongings. The affected families say from utensils to clothes and electrical items to electronic products, everything was destroyed by floods and mud which entered houses with flood water. The affected families have lost their key documents, including ration cards, Aadhaar cards and educational certificates. Farmers have not only lost standing crops but sand, silt and debris piled up in farmlands rendering the soil unfit for cultivation. The biggest challenge before them is how to make their fields cultivable once again. With the death of hundreds of cattle, dairy farmers have lost their livelihood while fishermen suffered huge losses as fish got washed away with the breaches in dozens of lakes, tanks and other water bodies. The floods triggered on September 1 by unprecedented rainfall of up to 40 centimetres led to the death of 26 people in the united Khammam, Warangal and Mahabubnagar districts. Thousands of people were affected. While the loss of human lives was not big in terms of numbers, the losses to property and infrastructure are colossal. Crops have been damaged in about five lakhs of acres, canals and ponds breached, bridges, roads and railway tracks were washed away and electric sub-stations and electric poles were damaged, The state government has pegged the losses at Rs 5,438 crore as per the initial estimate. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy told Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan after the latteras visit to the flood-hit areas that the departments are busy collecting the details of the actual damages at the field level. The roads under the Roads and Buildings Department have suffered damages to the tune of Rs 2,362 crore. The damage to electrical installations is estimated at Rs 175 crore. The crop loss on 4.15 lakh acres is estimated at Rs 415 crore. Irrigation tanks suffered damages to the tune of Rs 629 crore. Panchayati Raj & Rural Development, including rural water supply, suffered losses of Rs 170 crore. The losses to the Municipal Administration department are estimated at Rs 1,150 crore. The state government has sought Rs 2,000 crore from the Centre as immediate assistance, including for temporary repairs of breached lakes, damaged roads, dams and bridges. It also urged the Centre to relax the guidelines pertaining to the release of the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for states. The Chief Minister requested the Centre to enhance the unit rate for permanent restoration works. The state would require at least Rs 60 crore for the repair and restoration of tanks and lakes, but the applicable rates at present would not permit the release of even Rs 4 crore. Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) is also visiting affected areas to make an on-the-spot assessment of the damage caused by the floods. The state government has already started distributing Rs 10,000 as an immediate relief to every flood-affected family. In Khammam district alone, 22,000 families were affected. At least 15 residential areas along the Munneru Rivulet in Khammam district were flooded, causing huge damage to houses. After a visit to flood-hit areas, the Chief Minister promised a compensation of Rs 10,000 per acre for the damage to crops. The state government stated that ex-gratia for families of flood victims has been enhanced to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 4 lakh earlier. The compensation for cattle loss has also been enhanced to Rs 50,000 from Rs 30,000. For sheep and goats, it is increased from Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000. As many as 26,592 cattle died in heavy rain and floods. The Animal Husbandry Department has estimated the loss to be nearly Rs 2 crore. The Chief Minister had announced Rs 5 crore assistance each to Khammam, Mahabubabad, Suryapet and Bhadradri Kothagudem for immediate relief measures. Minister for Irrigation N. Uttam Kumar Reddy announced that partially damaged houses would be given Rs 10,000 each and for those whose houses were completely damaged new houses would be sanctioned under the Indiramma housing scheme. New Delhi, Sep 8 : Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) MLA Abbas Ansari has petitioned the Supreme Court against slapping of the stringent Gangster Act by the Uttar Pradesh Police. As per the causelist published on the website of the apex court, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan will take up the matter for hearing on September 9. The same Bench will also resume hearing the plea filed by Abbas Ansari, the elder son of late gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, seeking bail in connection with the unlawful jail visit case. Ansari, when lodged at Chitrakoot jail, was caught meeting his wife Nikhat illegally in the jail in connivance with jail officials. Last week, the top court decided to defer bail hearing after an adjournment was sought on behalf of the Uttar Pradesh government. "Additional Solicitor General (ASG) K.M. Natraj is in some personal difficulty. He is not in Delhi. The counter-affidavit has already been filed. He will address the court and the matter may be kept on coming Monday (September 9)," submitted a counsel appearing on behalf of the state government. The same day, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared on behalf of Abbas Ansari, apprehended that his client may be booked afresh under the Gangsters Act to frustrate the possibility of his release on bail. "All matters I am on bail. There are only two matters left. This (unlawful jail visit) matter and one pending before Justice M.M. Sundresh (seeking bail in a money laundering case). If I get bail in both cases, I will be arrested under the Gangsters Act. This will happen," he argued. The senior counsel, on Friday, requested CJI DY Chandrachud to urgently list Abbas Ansarias writ petition filed against the Gangster Act, along with the bail plea in the unlawful visit case. At this, CJI Chandrachud assured Sibal that he would look into the email and pass the necessary order for listing. Earlier in May, the Allahabad High Court had declined to grant bail to Abbas Ansari, considering his "profile and the background and family antecedents". A bench of Justice Jaspreet Singh said: "The applicant is a Member of Legislative Assembly. He is a person who holds a responsible position and is a representative of the public. His conduct has to be of a higher standard, than other common persons of the society. The members of the Legislative Assembly are also the lawmakers and in juxtaposition, it is not appropriate that a lawmaker may be seen as a lawbreaker." In February last year, Nikhat Bano visited her husband inside Chitrakoot jail and was found in possession of two mobile phones and Rs 21,000 cash along with 12 Saudi Riyals, during a raid conducted by the district administration. She, among others, was arrested for "illegally meeting" her husband in jail, in contravention of prison rules. Abbas Ansari was subsequently transferred to Kasganj jail by the Uttar Pradesh government. In the case, the state police had also arrested prison officials who allegedly facilitated meetings between the husband and wife in exchange for cash. Mumbai, Sep 8 : Actress Mallika Sherawat said that she loves peaceful and quiet weekends but is really missing the Ganpati festivities back home in Mumbai. The actress, who is currently living in Los Angeles, shared a reel giving a house tour. She also shared some glimpses of herself dressed in a leopard print outfit. "I love peaceful quiet weekends , this weekend especially has been a time to relax, reflect & recharge, although I'm really missing the Ganpati festivities back home in Mumbai," the actress mentioned. Mallika then revealed what she likes about the festival. "There's something so special about the energy, the music & the devotion that fills the air 'Ganpati Bappa Maurya'," she wrote. Mallika often shares her day-to-day life on social media. She also keeps posting throwback pictures from the sets of the films she has worked on and shares anecdotes. A major fitness enthusiast, Mallika also gives a peek into her workouts to her fans and followers on the platform. Talking about the actress, Mallika stepped into cinema in 2002 with the film "Jeena Sirf Merre Liye", where she was credited as Reema Lamba. Her journey to stardom began in 2000, when she got the title of a sex symbol courtesy her performance in the Emraan Hashmi-starrer "Murder," a 2004 romantic thriller. The actress was then seen in the West with movies such as "Hisss" and "Politics of Love". Her credits also include movies including "Khwahish", "Bachke Rehna Re Baba", "Pyaar Ke Side Effects", "Aap Ka Suroor - The Real Love Story", "Welcome" and "Kis Kis Ki Kismat" among many others. Most recently, Mallika was seen in the comedy drama "RK/RKay", which is directed by Rajat Kapoor. The film also stars names such as Ranvir Shorey, Manu Rishi Chadha, and Kubbra Sait. Kolkata, Sep 8 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials investigating the rape and murder of the woman doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital here, are now focusing on what prompted severe lapses in carrying out the initial probe before it took over the case on the Calcutta High Court's order. Sources said that the central agency officials believe that their probe process could have been much smoother had these lapses been avoided during the initial investigation before the CBI took charge. The first lapse, according to sources, was the lackadaisical videography of the process of post-mortem of the victim's body and the mentioning of the wounds on the body in the report. The forensic experts helping the CBI team in the investigation had pointed out that the language used in the post-mortem report had been quite amateurish which "conceals" more rather than revealing the relevant details, sources added. The second aspect, sources added, is that the CBI officials feel that a second post-mortem of the body of the victim could have been extremely handy in the investigation process since more details could have surfaced from that. On this aspect, the investigating officials are trying to figure out from the victim's family members and her close associates the circumstances under which the body was cremated in haste. Sources said that this aspect of investigation has become extremely crucial in the backdrop of the claims by the victim's parents that their plea for the preservation of their daughter's body was totally ignored by the administrative officials. The CBI officials, by questioning the victim's family members and close associates, are trying to get details of those administrative and political persons who assembled at their residence before the cremation and at the crematorium. A crucial hearing on the ghastly rape and murder is scheduled at the Supreme Court on Monday when CBI is likely to submit its progress report on the investigation of the case. Khartoum, Sep 8 : Visiting World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus vowed to mobilise international efforts to support Sudan's health system, according to a statement by the Sudanese Health Ministry. Sudan needs more support from partners in the health field, the WHO chief said following talks with Sudan's Health Minister Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim in Port Sudan in eastern Sudan, Xinhua news agency reported. Ibrahim said Tedros' visit will strengthen the relations between Sudan and the WHO, which "has made great efforts in providing technical and material support," according to the statement. Also on Saturday, Deputy Chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council Malik Agar received Tedros in Port Sudan, during which he briefed the WHO chief on the health and humanitarian conditions in the country, according to a statement issued by the council. Media outlets reported that Tedros arrived in Sudan earlier on Saturday for a visit, during which he is set to meet senior Sudanese officials and UN representatives, and inspect health facilities and shelters for internally displaced people. The Sudanese Health Ministry said Saturday that recent heavy rains hitting parts of Sudan have killed 205 people, while the country has registered 5,081 cholera cases, including 176 deaths. Since April 15, 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in a deadly conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, resulting in the loss of at least 16,650 lives. An estimated 10.7 million people are now internally displaced in Sudan, with approximately 2.2 million others seeking refuge in neighboring countries, according to the latest UN data. New Delhi, Sep 8 : Former Congress Rajya Sabha MP Rajmani Patel, on Sunday, criticised Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's decision on the issuance of Aadhaar cards and warned that such a move could foster hostility within community. The Assam Chief Minister's announcement, made as part of a broader effort by the state government to address the issue of unchecked immigration, has sparked a political debate. Opposition leaders have accused the government of implementing divisive policies. Patel expressed his concern: "The Chief Minister's decision seems to be driven by ill intent. We have a Constitution which governs how our democracy functions. Citizenship laws are clearly defined in the Constitution." "And if, after that, some situation arises that there is a need to amend the law, the Parliament takes it into account. Attempting to amend laws beyond the government's jurisdiction could lead to social unrest. Such sensitive matters must be addressed by both Centre and Parliament through proper deliberation," the senior Congress leader further said. On Saturday, the Assam Chief Minister announced the government's decision to not issue Aadhaar cards to people who did not apply to be a part of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in 2014. Sarma cited the example of districts like Dhubri, Barpeta, and Morigaon, where the number of Aadhaar cards issued surpasses the projected population figures. As a result, the Assam government decided to introduce a standard operating protocol requiring NRC application numbers for the issuance of Aadhaar card, he added. The Assam CM further said that the Central government has given the right to state governments to decide whether an individual should receive an Aadhaar card or not. We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Beauty Stocks To Buy According to Short Sellers. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) stands against the other beauty stocks. The US beauty market, which is seeing major shifts in distribution and customer interaction, continues to be a key area of interest for stakeholders. Beautymatter CEO Kelly Kovack underlined that consumer-driven channels have replaced traditional distribution strategies, compelling companies to engage with customers wherever and whenever they're most comfortable. According to a report, the US beauty market is expected to grow to $114 billion by 2027. On the other hand, the prestige channel saw its third straight year of double-digit growth in 2023, rising by 14% to $31.7 billion, outpacing the mainstream market across make-up, skincare, hair, and fragrance, according to the February 2024 CEW conducted annual "Global Trend Report" virtual event. Luxury brands represent the fastest-growing segment, with sales surpassing $16 billion, although being smaller at 11% of the market. Bigelow Trading's Daina Nadler emphasized the value of multichannel distribution plans that are customized to a wide range of consumer buying preferences. According to John Cafarelli, CEO of Beautymatter, 87% of US beauty lovers prefer in-store shopping, and 80% of them frequent stores that specialize in beauty products. In-store shopping continues to be popular. In order to increase traffic and loyalty, Space NK's Noah Rosenblatt and H-E-B's Jeanne Tamayo stressed the significance of creating compelling retail spaces and solid brand-consumer relationships. In contrast, although offline retail in China is declining by 4%, e-commerce and social commerce, particularly Douyin, are growing at 9% and 57%, respectively, according to Nielsen IQ. China is a resilient beauty market, and despite all of the difficulties following the pandemic, it remains the world's second-largest beauty market, posing numerous challenges for international suppliers notes Vice President of Nielsen IQ Gautam Seth. He also points out that local companies are more successful because they employ local ingredients and have a strong cultural connection. Industry giants like Jina Lee of Urang and Kim Da Jeong of Lotte Department Store have stressed the importance of consumer knowledge about ingredients and product efficacy. The emphasis on diversity is also influencing the global beauty market, although many individuals continue to feel underrepresented in health and beauty advertisements as per Circana. Expectations from consumers about varied representation in terms of gender, color, age, ability, body size, and sexual orientation are at an all-time high. A general market and a multicultural market will not differ by 2044 due to the majority-minority population in the United States. According to a study by SeeMe Index and Circana, brands that are certified inclusive grow 1.5 times faster than brands that are not. Additionally, the likelihood of seeing individuals over 55 in these brands' advertisements who equally represent straight and homosexual partnerships is 2.5 times higher than that of less inclusive brands, which are 12 times more likely to just feature straight relationships. Looking ahead, the global beauty market is expected to generate retail sales of over $580 billion by 2027, with an annual growth rate of 6% per report. One area gaining attention and stimulating beauty business is the growing consumer interest in wellness within beauty. According to a survey on wellness trends in 2024, 82% of US consumers, 87% of Chinese consumers, and 73% of British consumers now rank wellness as a top or important priority in their daily lives. The Goop, one of the Most Successful Celebrity Beauty Companies in the World, philosophy is that "beauty is wellness and wellness is beauty. Beauty firms are entering this space. A massive beauty brand and the Stanford Institute on Longevity have teamed up to develop a new age-reversal technology-powered product. Methodology: We sifted through holdings of beauty ETFs and online rankings to form an initial list of 20 beauty stocks. Then we selected the 10 stocks that had the lowest percentage of their shares shorted. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of the lowest percentage of their shares shorted. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here) A happy couple viewing the products of this household and personal product company in a mass merchandiser store. Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) % of shares shorted: 0.93% One of the leading beauty stocks is Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), which has also grown to be one of the biggest producers of consumer goods worldwide, with yearly sales exceeding $84 billion. Its portfolio of top brands includes more than 20 that bring in more than $1 billion in sales annually worldwide, including Pampers diapers, Charmin toilet paper, Tide laundry detergent, and Pantene shampoo. Over half of the company's consolidated sales come from sales outside of its home market (U.S.). The Cincinnati-based companys beauty division, which comprises major skin and personal care brands like Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, SK-II, and Native, and hair care brands like Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice, accounted for 18% of the company's net sales in 2024, excluding the corporate segment. Although PG's fiscal 2024 results and 2025 guidance were in line with expectations, PG's shares fell 5%-6% as a result of weak sales growth and muted price hikes in the last two quarters. However, this does not indicate that the company's ability to compete is failing. P&G also adopted a more holistic approach to brand investing, which takes into account a product's performance, packaging, brand messaging, execution in stores and online, and the value it provides to consumers and retail partners. This was done after the company started to rightsize its category and geographic reach by shedding about 100 brands about ten years ago. Furthermore, the firm's strategic goals, which include investing in marketing and product innovation to promote its range of everyday essentials, ensure that its brands continue to influence consumers and merchants, thereby maintaining its position as one of the Best Beauty Stocks To Buy According to Short Sellers. It is one of the Stocks Jim Cramer Cant Stop Talking About." When Jim Cramer talks about The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), he makes the case that it would be a good investment because of its decent management, appealing dividend, and possible advantages from cheaper fuel and plastic costs. He does, however, issue a warning that stock market fluctuations are not always rational. Procter & Gamble is in an excellent spot to satisfy rising consumer demand and provide value to shareholders because of its commitment to innovation, sustainability, and healthy cash flow. Overall PG ranks 2nd on our list of the best beauty stocks to buy according to short sellers. While we acknowledge the potential of PG as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PG but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley and Jim Cramer Says NVIDIA Has Become A Wasteland. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Darwin, Sep 8 : Indian Navy's state-of-the-art Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft P8I has touched down in Darwin as the 16th edition of Australia's premier multinational maritime warfare activity 'Exercise Kakadu 2024' kicked off on Sunday. Warships, helicopters, maritime patrol aircraft and personnel from over 30 nations are participating in the exercise hosted by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). "Svaagat India! The Indian Navy's P-8I Poseidon has touched down in Darwin for Exercise Kakadu 2024. This year's exercise will feature maritime patrol aircraft from five nations, warships from over 10 and more than 3,000 armed forces personnel," the RAN posted on X Sunday afternoon while welcoming the Indian contingent. The last edition of the exercise, held in 2022, also saw the participation of a P8I Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft of the Indian Navy along with INS Satpura - the frontline warship of the Eastern Fleet. "Kakadu is the largest and most significant international exercise hosted by the Royal Australian Navy, it deepens relationships and interoperability between participating armed forces. Australia is a maritime nation that, like our neighbours, derives prosperity from access to the sea - assured by a strong Navy and strong partnerships," Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, Australia's Chief of Navy, said on Sunday. The theme for this year's exercise is 'Regional Cooperation through Trusted and Proven Partnerships'. "Kakadu provides an excellent opportunity for officers, sailors and aviators to practice their skills in a range of tactical maritime activities. This year the focus is on interoperability with greater integration of our international partners in all aspects of the exercise," Hammond added. According to the Australian Defence Ministry, building on the success of 2022, this year's exercise will feature a multinational Exercise Control element housed at RAAF Base Darwin to coordinate air, sea and subsurface activities across the full spectrum or maritime warfare from mission planning and constabulary operations up to high end anti-submarine warfare and air defence exercises. "Thereas no economic security without maritime security. Each of the countries participating in Kakadu is united in this perspective and our shared commitment to keeping our nations safe, secure, and strong," said Vice Admiral Hammond. Besides the at-sea exercise programme, the harbour phase will consist of briefings, a Fleet Commanders and Senior Leaders' conference, ceremonies, and cultural, social and sporting events. Mumbai, Sep 8 : Actress Pooja Hegde, who recently wrapped up her upcoming movie 'Deva', visited the GSB Seva Mandal Ganpati in the Wadala area of Mumbai on Sunday. Mumbai, Sep 8 (IANS) Actress Pooja Hegde, who recently wrapped up her upcoming movie aDevaa, visited the GSB Seva Mandal Ganpati in the Wadala area of Mumbai on Sunday. The actress was accompanied by her brother, father and her sister-in-law as they sought blessings from Lord Ganesha during the Ganeshotsav celebrations in the maximum city. The actress visits the GSB Seva Mandal Ganpati pandal every year. On Sunday, when she was asked by the paparazzi if this was her 2nd time at the pandal, the actress responded by saying that she visits GSB Seva Mandal Ganpati every year. For her visit to the pandal, the actress was dressed in a beautiful blue coloured Anarkali suit with golden embroidery on the dupatta. She accessorised her look with a watch, and earrings. Earlier, this year, Pooja moved into her new house in the Bandra area of Mumbai. The sea-facing property is worth Rs. 45 crore and has 4000 square feet of living space. The actress previously resided in another property within the city. Meanwhile, on the work front, she recently wrapped up aDevaa in which she stars alongside Shahid Kapoor and Pavail Gulati. Both Shahid and Pavail will be seen essaying the roles of copes in the movie. The film is directed by acclaimed Malayalam filmmaker Rosshan Andrrews and produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur, and promises an action-packed roller-coaster ride full of thrill and drama. The action spectacle wrapped up with a high-energy song sequence, which was shot over four days in Mumbai. In the picture from the wrap up party, Shahid and Pooja were seen cutting the cake along with the choreographer duo Boscoa"Caesar. Produced by Zee Studios and Roy Kapur Films, aDevaa is set to be released on February 14, 2025. The actress also has films like aSankia and aSuriya 44a in the pipeline. Kolkata, Sep 8 : Just hours after Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Jawhar Sircar announced to quit the party over the R. G. Kar issue, BJP's central observer for West Bengal Amit Malviya on Saturday said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal should follow suit. Kolkata, Sep 8 (IANS) Just hours after Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Jawhar Sircar announced to quit the party over the R. G. Kar issue, BJP's central observer for West Bengal Amit Malviya on Saturday said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal should follow suit. Soon after Sircaras communication to the Chief Minister announcing his decision to resign from Rajya Sabha as well as to quit politics surfaced, Malviya issued a statement on social media paltform X concerning the matter. "Time for Mamata Banerjee to take cue and step down. She, along with Commissioner of Kolkata Police, have completely destroyed all evidence relating to the rape and murder of the young doctor," Malviya, BJP's IT cell chief, said. He also claimed that unless the Chief Minister and the Commissioner of Police step down, free and fair investigation into the case will never be possible. Malviya also demanded that the call records of the Chief Minister and the City Police Commissioner - 72 hours after the body of the junior doctor was found - should be put in the public domain and their conversation should be investigated. "Mamata Banerjee and Vineet Goyal must be subjected to a polygraph test, to unearth the truth. The movement for justice will continue," his message read. The body of the junior doctor was recovered from the seminar hall within the hospital complex on the morning of August 9. Initially, the Kolkata Police handled the investigation and also arrested a civic volunteer Sanjay Roy. However, later the case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation. Earlier in the day while announcing to quit from the Trinamool Congress, Sircar said in a letter to Chief Minister: "I personally feel that the current protests on this issue have been totally apolitical and spontaneous in nature. So it would be unfair to resist this movement by giving it a political tag. The movement is not just demanding justice for the victim but also against the state government and ruling dispensation." A crucial hearing on the matter is scheduled at the Supreme Court on Monday when CBI is supposed to submit its progress report in investigation in the matter to the apex court. Islamabad, Sep 8 : Linking the current violence in Balochistan province and other restive areas to security decisions taken by the previous Imran Khan government, Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar accused it of bringing terror back to the country. He also questioned then ISI chief, Lt Gen Faiz Hamid's trip to Kabul in September 2021, where the country's top spymaster was caught on camera sipping tea and telling reporters that "everything will be fine." "The country is paying a heavy price for that cup of tea in Afghanistan," Dar said at a press conference at the Pakistan High Commission in London, without explicitly naming Hamid, Pakistani media reports said. He blamed the former ISI chief for releasing terrorists and allowing them back into the country. "What happened after that? Over 100 hardened criminals were released, they have now become commanders. They are the masterminds behind terror attacks today in Pakistan. Nearly 40,000 of those who had fled during Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad and Zerb-e-Azb were allowed back to Pakistan. Todayas terror is linked to that," he said, blaming the decision for the current violence in Balochistan. To a question whether the ISI chief went to Kabul at that time with the permission of then-Prime Minister Imran Khan, Dar said: "I find it difficult to accept that he could have gone without the permission of the Prime Minister. We are working with the security establishment on issues today, these things are not possible without the Prime Ministeras approval." However, Dar, who also has charge of Foreign Affairs, was quick to praise the current military leadership, especially army chief, Gen Asim Munir and ISI chief Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum. "They deserve the highest accolades for being high-class professionals. They are completely apolitical and they want to see Pakistan on the right track. The army chiefas agenda is Pakistan. This is a very good omen for Pakistan. There is a clear agenda for Pakistan and it is reflected through his words and actions. There is cohesion of this agenda as far as the government and the military leadership are concerned. They are not interested in any politics." Dar's criticism of the previous PTI regime extended beyond security concerns to the economic challenges Pakistan faces. He accused the previous government of poor governance, which he claimed had led to the decline of Pakistan's global economic ranking. "By 2017, Pakistan had become the 24th largest economy in the world. However, due to the mismanagement of the post-2018 government, our rank fell to 47th by 2022," Dar lamented. He stressed that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif, had worked hard to tackle the country's biggest challenges, including extremism, electricity shortages, and economic instability. Dar also denied that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif had taken a back seat, saying he was fully active. "He is fully active, leading the party. He has got Shehbaz Sharif as the PM to lead the team. The federal and Punjab governments are acting upon his advice. He says we will pay any price, politically, to fix the country. We are working under his guidance," he added. On the diplomatic front, Dar expressed optimism about the future of UK-Pakistan relations, which he described as having moved past a "cold shoulder" phase. During his visit to London, Dar engaged in discussions with British officials, including Foreign Secretary David Lammy, on a range of issues, including trade, Kashmir, Gaza, and the rising tide of Islamophobia in Europe. The Deputy Prime Minister also addressed the challenges facing Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and the efforts to resume flights to and from the UK, which were suspended following an irresponsible statement by a minister from the previous government. He revealed that the government is working on privatising PIA and outsourcing Islamabad International Airport, with the process expected to be completed by next month. In response to questions about Imran Khan's potential trial in a military court, Dar insisted that the former Prime Minister's case would proceed according to the law, particularly concerning the attacks on military installations during the May 9 riots. He dismissed any notion of backdoor negotiations with Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, stating that the government's "hands are tied" following the violent incidents. Seoul, Sep 8 : North Korea sent more trash balloons toward South Korea on Sunday, the South's military said, in what marked the fifth straight day of such launches. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the North resumed its balloon campaign at around 9 a.m., just hours after it floated some 200 balloons late Saturday, Yonhap news agency reported. "Considering the safety of our people as the top priority, the military will resolutely and calmly respond by the manual," the JCS said. In response to the balloon launches, the South's military has been blasting daily anti-North Korean propaganda broadcasts through loudspeakers on the border since July 21. It has refrained from directly shooting down the balloons, citing safety concerns. The JCS said North Korea launched approximately 120 balloons over three hours starting at 9 a.m. Around 40 bundles were confirmed to have landed in areas of Seoul and northern Gyeonggi Province. The contents of the balloons were identified as paper, plastic and bottles, with no harmful substances detected, according to military assessments. Since late May, the North has launched thousands of balloons carrying trash in retaliation against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent across the border by North Korean defectors and activists in South Korea. Sunday's launch marked the 17th round of balloon launches since late May. Guwahati, Sep 8 : After the five-month monsoon break, the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) in Assam would reopen for tourists on October 1 focusing on enhanced visitor experience and safety, officials said on Sunday. Announcing the park reopening schedule, an official announcement said that in view of present road conditions and due to inclement weather, the Park is partially opened only for Jeep Safari in three ranges -- Kaziranga Range Kohora, Western Range, Bagori and Burapahar Range. Like previous years, the recent floods in Assam have claimed the lives of over 200 wild animals, including 10 rhinos at the KNPTR despite the authorities taking multi-pronged measures to save the lives of animals. According to the KNPTR authorities, flood intensity this year was the highest in the last 10 years in terms of area inundation and depth of the flood water. KNPTR Director Sonali Ghosh said that Kaziranga has witnessed all-time high floods this year with HFL (Highest Flood Level) recorded at 87.47 metres on July 1 at Nimatighat. Forest and wildlife officials have also rescued over 150 wild animals. The wildlife casualty this year includes 167 hog deer, 10 rhinos, two swamp deer, and two sambars. Fourteen wild animals including 10 hog deer died during treatment. With the onset of monsoon, the world famous park is closed every year in May at the onset of monsoon. India's seventh (fourth in natural) UNESCO world heritage site, the KNP & TR spread across several districts of Assam, including Golaghat, Nagaon, Sonitpur, Biswanath. The famed national park is not just a home of more than 2,613 one-horned Indian rhinos, but also Royal Bengal tigers, Asian elephants, wild buffalos and many more animal species while it is also habitat to thousands of birds of over 125 species. Chennai, Sep 8 : Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, who is on a visit to the United States to garner investments in the state, has called upon the non-resident Tamil families to visit Tamil Nadu -- the mother state -- once a year. Addressing a meeting of the Tamil diaspora in Chicago, Stalin called upon the non-resident Tamils to visit the state once a year with their children and to show them the sky, the museum which was a symbol of Tamil history and culture and take the children to Sivagalai, Korkai and Parunai and Keeladi. He also asked the Tamil diaspora to tell their children that one of their family members was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and that his name was Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin. He called upon the Tamil people living in Chicago not to have any divisions within them, urging them to live with Tamil pride and dignity. Stalin said, "You reached these higher positions due to your talent. Tamils are not frogs in the well." He stated that the Tamils were highly talented and that they had performed extremely well in the international arena due to their talent. Stalin said that the Dravidian Model of the government of Tamil Nadu was a protection cover for the Tamil people living across the world. The Chief Minister added that the state government was intervening in the issues faced by the Tamil people living abroad through the Department of Non-Resident Tamils. He also said that wherever the Tamils were affected, the state government was creating the feeling that, "Tamil Nadu is the mother of us." He also said that the government of Tamil Nadu was not a government of the DMK but of the Tamil race. Stalin said that only Tamil has the strength to unify all and trounce caste and religious differences. Citing the Keeladi archaeological excavations, the Chief Minister said that Tamil society was a developed society even 4000 years ago and added that the history of the Indian subcontinent will be written hereafter from the Tamil landscape. During his US trip which commenced on August 27, Stalin has addressed the Tamil diaspora in San Francisco and Chicago. Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 8 : The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has called for a ban on shooting for films in government hospitals of the state. Commission member V. K. Beena Kumari on Sunday issued an order recommending the state government avoid film shootings in government hospitals with 24-hour facilities including casualty management. This is in light of the inconvenience caused to patients of Government Taluk Hospital, Angamaly, in connection with the shooting of a Fahad Faasil-starrer 'Painkili' at its emergency wing on July 4. The State Human Rights panel had asked the District Medical Officer, Ernakulam, and the hospital superintendent to explain why permission was granted for the film's shooting at the emergency wing. It was alleged that the lights at the wing were dimmed as part of the shooting. Around 50 persons, including actors, were present. It was learnt that the shooting was held even while doctors were treating patients. The commission had noted that space was limited in the emergency department. In a statement, Beena Kumari said: "A person who had come to the hospital with a critically ill patient could not enter the emergency department. No one was allowed through the main gate. The crew instructed patients and bystanders to keep quiet during filming. The shooting has been ongoing for two days." The State Human Rights Commission had then warned the superintendent of the hospital not to repeat such incidents. It also asked the Director of the health department to give necessary instructions to the superintendents of hospitals in the state in this regard. The district health department had submitted a report before the Director of Health Services on the incident, pointing out that the functioning of the emergency wing was not affected due to the shooting. The production team had also denied the allegations while claiming that the work was done as per rules. Kerala Health Minister, Veena George also sought an explanation from the Director of Health Services regarding the incident. New Delhi, Sep 8 : The Supreme Court is slated to continue hearing on Monday the matter where it has taken suo moto cognisance of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata last month. A 3-judge bench, headed by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud will consider the status report of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), apart from the Centre's application seeking direction to the West Bengal government to extend full cooperation to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) deputed at the R.G. Kar Medical College. In the alternative, the Centre has prayed to the apex court to initiate contempt proceedings against the erring officials of the West Bengal government for "wilful non-compliance" with the order passed by the apex court. The Bench, also comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, could not assemble on September 5 due to the non-availability of CJI Chandrachud. In a hearing held on August 22, the Supreme Court asked the CBI to continue the investigation, apart from taking on record the status report filed by the CBI as well by the Kolkata Police in relation to the vandalisation of the hospital premises on the night of August 14. Further, it asked the National Task Force (NTF), set up by the government on its direction, to give a hearing to diverse medical associations while formulating effective recommendations relating to the safety, working conditions and well-being of doctors and medical professionals. Hearing the matter on August 20, the CJI-led bench termed the incident "horrific", which raises the "systemic issue of safety of doctors across the country". "We are deeply concerned with the fact that there is an absence of safe conditions of work for young doctors across the country, particularly, public hospitals," it said. In a related matter, the top court had on Friday refused to entertain a plea filed by Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, challenging the CBI probe into the alleged financial irregularities at the state-run institute during his tenure. The CJI Chandrachud-led Bench said that as an accused, Ghosh had no locus to intervene in PIL proceedings when the Calcutta High Court is monitoring the investigation and has entrusted the probe to the CBI. It said that only "prima facie" observations were made by the Calcutta HC, where the issue of biomedical waste was a "trigger". "We cannot order CBI to investigate only this and nothing else, which could be likely an offence," it said, clarifying that it would not stultify the CBI probe. Riyadh, Sep 8 : External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar will on Monday attend the First India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Saudi Arabia's Riyadh that will take place on the sidelines of the 161st Ministerial Council meeting scheduled to be chaired by Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, President of the current session of the Ministerial Council. Riyadh, Sep 8 (IANS) External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar will on Monday attend the First Indiaa"Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Saudi Arabia's Riyadh that will take place on the sidelines of the 161st Ministerial Council meeting scheduled to be chaired by Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, President of the current session of the Ministerial Council. The ministerial meeting, which will be held at the headquarters of the GCC General Secretariat, will be attended by the foreign ministers of the GCC countries. Besides India, the GCC Cooperation Council will also hold strategic dialogue with Russia and Brazil which will see participation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira. Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi, the Secretary General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, emphasised that the GCC Ministerial Council will discuss several reports regarding the implementation of decisions made by the Supreme Council of the GCC during the 44th Summit held in Doha in December 2023. The Council will also review memoranda and reports submitted by the ministerial and technical committees and the General Secretariat, as well as topics related to dialogues and strategic relations between the GCC countries and various nations and global blocs. Discussions on latest regional and international developments affecting the region will also be discussed. "The joint meetings with the Russian, Indian, and Brazilian delegations reflect the GCC countries' commitment to exploring and opening new horizons for cooperation. These meetings aim to strengthen strategic relations with countries and organisations worldwide. Several topics will be discussed in various fields that serve the common interests of both sides and yield benefits for their peoples," said a statement issued by the Secretary General's office on Sunday. Earlier, EAM Jaishankar, who arrived in Riyadh early Sunday on the first leg of his three-nation tour, was welcomed by Abdulmajeed Al Smari, Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister for Protocol Affairs. He will be holding a series of bilateral meetings with the Foreign Ministers from GCC member countries. "India and the GCC enjoy a deep and multifaceted relationship, in areas including political, trade & investment, energy cooperation, cultural and peoplea"to-people ties. The GCC region has emerged as a major trading partner for India and is home to a large Indian expatriate community, numbering around 8.9 million. The Foreign Ministers meeting will be an opportunity to review and deepen institutional cooperation between India and the GCC across various sectors," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement on Saturday. After concluding his engagements in Riyadh, Jaishankar will travel to Berlin on a two-day visit starting September 10 which will be his third bilateral visit to Germany. "Both India and Germany share a robust Strategic Partnership and Germany is one of Indiaas prominent trading partners and among the largest Foreign Direct Investors. During the visit, EAM will meet the German Federal Foreign Minister as well as the leadership and other Ministers from the German government with an objective to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations between India and Germany," the MEA stated. The External Affairs Minister will thereafter travel to Geneva, home to a large number of UN bodies and international organisations, on the last leg of his tour. "During his Switzerland visit, Jaishankar will meet with heads and representatives of international organisations with whom India is actively engaged. The EAM will also meet the Swiss Foreign Minister to review the close partnership between the two countries and explore avenues to enhance the bilateral relationship further," the MEA detailed. Even if it's not a huge purchase, we think it was good to see that Siu Hong Wong, the Co-Founder of Noel Gifts International Ltd (SGX:543) recently shelled out S$90k to buy stock, at S$0.35 per share. Although the purchase is not a big one, by either a percentage standpoint or absolute value, it can be seen as a good sign. See our latest analysis for Noel Gifts International Noel Gifts International Insider Transactions Over The Last Year In fact, the recent purchase by Siu Hong Wong was the biggest purchase of Noel Gifts International shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is S$0.36. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. The good news for Noel Gifts International share holders is that an insider was buying at near the current price. Siu Hong Wong was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months. Siu Hong Wong purchased 1.11m shares over the year. The average price per share was S$0.26. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction! There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying. Insider Ownership Of Noel Gifts International I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Noel Gifts International insiders own 70% of the company, currently worth about S$26m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders. So What Does This Data Suggest About Noel Gifts International Insiders? It is good to see the recent insider purchase. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. But on the other hand, the company made a loss during the last year, which makes us a little cautious. Along with the high insider ownership, this analysis suggests that insiders are quite bullish about Noel Gifts International. Looks promising! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Noel Gifts International. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Noel Gifts International you should be aware of, and 2 of these are concerning. Story continues Of course Noel Gifts International may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies. For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. New Delhi, Sep 8 : Congress Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain on Sunday criticised the Assam government for its recent decision regarding the issuance of Aadhaar cards, accusing the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government of "divisive politics." "The Assam government only focuses on issues and rules that divide society. They ignore the state's development, including basic necessities like roads and bridges," Hussain stated. Accusing the Assam Chief Minister of "anti-Muslim" rhetoric, the Congress MP said, "Himanta Biswa Sarma never speaks about the work that his government has done for the public. His politics is just focusing on anti-Muslim agenda, and that is the only reason his high command is tolerating him." Addressing the ongoing discussions between Congress and AAP regarding a potential alliance in Haryana, Hussain commented on the contrasting stances within AAP, saying, "We don't react to the statements made by individuals." While AAP MLA Somnath Bharti had labelled Congress as "selfish," AAP MP Raghav Chadha had expressed a positive outlook on the alliance. Hussain downplayed these differences, emphasising that "what matters is the decision of the high commands of both parties." "We are having discussions regarding Haryana with the AAP. What discussions are taking place and the number of seats cannot be disclosed until the finalisation," he further said. Regarding the Haryana Assembly elections, Hussain reiterated Congress' tradition of collective leadership. "We never declare the chief ministerial candidate before elections. We believe in collective leadership and not in just one face. We always contest elections based on our collective leadership," the Rajya Sabha MP said. "A Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting is held post-elections to determine the Chief Minister, and the final decision lies with the high command," he explained. Hussain also refrained from commenting on TMC MP Jawhar Sircar's resignation, stating it was an internal party matter. "I do not have any information about the internal matters of the TMC or the issues within their party. The person in question is a former bureaucrat and a former colleague of mine in the Rajya Sabha. I am not aware of the reasons for his resignation, so it would not be appropriate for me to comment on it," he said. "But I would like to say that any state government should maintain the law and order situation and should fast-track justice," the Congress leader concluded. New Delhi, Sep 8 : The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, arrived in New Delhi on his first official visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal received the visiting dignitary at the airport and accorded a ceremonial welcome. This is Zayed Al Nahyan's first visit to India as the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and he is accompanied by several Ministers from the UAE government and a business delegation. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 9 and hold discussions on a wide range of areas of bilateral cooperation. He is also scheduled to call on President Droupadi Murmu and will visit Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. On September 10, the visiting Crown Prince will visit Mumbai to participate in a business forum, in which business leaders from both countries will participate. "India and UAE share historically close and friendly ties. In recent years, the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and UAE has deepened in a wide range of areas including political, trade, investment, connectivity, energy, technology, education, and culture. The Crown Prince's visit will further reinforce strong India-UAE bilateral relations and open avenues for partnership in new and emerging areas," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated, earlier this week. In January, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited India and explored ways to further build upon the strategic partnership between the two countries during his discussions with PM Modi. He also attended the 10th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit. In July 2023, PM Modi visited the UAE - his fifth visit to the country since 2015 when he became the first Prime Minister of India to visit the UAE in 34 years. The India-UAE relationship was formally elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the visit of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to India in 2017. According to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), India-UAE trade rose to USD 85 billion in 2022, making the UAE India's third-largest trading partner for the year 2022-23 and India's second-largest export destination. India is the UAE's second largest trading partner. Dhaka, Sep 8 : The Central Bank of Bangladesh has lifted a limit on cash withdrawals from banks from Sunday. Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Md Mezbaul Haque announced on Saturday, saying the restriction on cash withdrawals will no longer be in effect as of Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported. He said bank account holders can now withdraw any amount from their accounts without limitations. The restriction had been implemented for several weeks because of the volatile situation following a student-led mass movement which led to Sheikh Hasina's resignation from the post of Prime Minister on August 5. On August 7, the Central Bank asked banks to limit daily cash withdrawals to 100,000 taka per account. Since then, it had been gradually relaxing the cap. Last week, cash withdrawal was limited to 500,000 taka a day per account. Islamabad, Sep 8 : The horrific rape and murder of a trainee doctor in the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata has ignited a furore over the working conditions and safety of women medical personnel in India, but the same harrowing issues - leering and groping colleagues, staff, and patients, stalking, inappropriate comments, lack of respect for their capabilities, and a marked lack of dedicated amenities - afflict their Pakistani counterparts also. An online survey conducted on Dawn.com and its Dawn Images supplement, on their Instagram pages, found that 47 per cent of 988 female medical professionals reported feeling unsafe in both government and private hospitals. Of 932 respondents, 47.2 per cent said they had experienced harassment while on duty, and 67 per cent of 637 respondents said their hospital lacked a safe space to rest. The sample size of the survey isnat large enough to draw any major conclusions, but it does support what many women medical professionals reported about what itas like to work at hospitals in Pakistan, Dawn Images said in a report. That may go to explain why of 104,974 women medical graduates residing in Pakistan, 21,146, or around 20, are no longer part of the labour force, as per a report by Pakistan's leading research institution, it said. Threats to woman doctors and nurses do not come from patients and visitors, but are sometimes internal, from within the hospital itself. A recent study conducted at a Karachi-based hospital found that nearly 70 per cent of female surgeons in Pakistan had experienced harassment in the workplace. Women doctors and nurses from all four provinces, both in rural areas and in urban centres, shared their stories of harassment, ranging from catcalls, comments about their bodies, inappropriate jokes, and being touched. One woman doctor revealed how in the middle of the night she received a message from an unknown number "complimenting my looks". More messages followed, detailing her exact location and describing what she was wearing. The messages became more frequent and she soon discovered they were sent by the head male nurse at the hospital. She did not file a complaint against him as she was told that he was favoured by the management. Another doctor at a semi-private Lahore hospital reported that a resident doctor would make inappropriate comments to her. She initially ignored him, but soon it escalated into deliberate bumps and brushes, and creating situations in which they were alone. In addition to these challenges, women in the medical field are subjected to invasions of privacy, with some even being filmed while on duty. A female nurse said: "Iave been inappropriately touched by patients and disrespected by doctors. At first, I assumed the touches by patients were accidental, but a senior later told me otherwise." "The most shocking moment was when I found inappropriate videos of myself on a 14-year-old boyas phone." Lack of separate, secure amenities is another problem. A female resident doctor at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) in Karachi revealed how the facility had a common restroom shared between male and female doctors. "There is no separate room for women doctors to rest - only a single space shared by both genders. Male doctors and nurses often enter the room unannounced. Anyone resting in the room could be caught off guard," she said, One day, when a male colleague was about to enter the room unannounced, she asked him to knock before coming in. Offended by the request, he created a scene, accusing her of doubting his intentions. The situation escalated into an argument, drawing a crowd before consultants and the administration intervened. Apart from restrooms, there is a more concerning issue of shared washrooms. A general surgeon from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said that while they had a designated bathroom for women, male attendants often used it. Beyond inadequate facilities, female doctors in Pakistan also face rampant gender discrimination. One Islamabad-based doctor revealed that even when she examined a patient and expressed a diagnosis, families wouldnat accept her conclusions until a male doctor confirmed them. "My gender takes precedence over my capabilities as a doctor. Itas just a cultural thing," she said with a sigh. aIt doesnat matter if youare a doctor there to serve people, if youare wearing a burqa, a lab coat, socks with shoes, and a mask on your face; if you have a womanas body, you will be leered at, touched, and made to feel uncomfortable," a doctor who served in a Karachi hospital, told Dawn Images. Tel Aviv, Sep 8 : A few hours after a terrorist shot and killed three Israelis at the border crossing between West Bank and Jordan on Sunday, Israel' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his country is surrounded by a murderous ideology that is led by "Iran's axis of evil". "This is a difficult day. An abhorrent terrorist murdered three of our citizens in cold blood at the Allenby Bridge. On behalf of the Government and myself, I send condolences to the families of those who were murdered," said Netanyahu as he chaired a government meeting. "We are surrounded by a murderous ideology led by Iran's axis of evil. In recent days, abhorrent terrorists murdered six of our hostages and three Israel Police officers in cold blood. The murderers do not differentiate between us. They want to murder us all, right and left, secular and religious, Jews and non-Jews, until the last one," he added. According to the Israeli defence authorities, a terrorist approached the area of the Allenby Bridge from Jordan in a truck, exited the truck, and opened fire at the Israeli security forces operating at the bridge. "The terrorist was eliminated by the security forces, three Israeli civilians were pronounced dead as a result of the attack. IDF soldiers were dispatched to the scene and are currently operating to rule out the suspicion of the truck being rigged with explosives, further details to follow," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) posted on X. Hailing the efforts of security agencies and their heroism, Netanyahu said that it is the strength of the State of Israel and the power of the IDF which, unlike the past, is preventing further destruction even as massive efforts are underway to divide and sow discord among the people of the country. "Last weekend, the German newspaper Bild published an official Hamas document that revealed its action plan: To sow discord among us, to use psychological warfare on the hostages' families, to apply internal and external political pressure on the Government of Israel, to tear us apart from within, and to continue the war until further notice, until Israel is defeated," the Israeli PM commented. "The great majority of Israel's citizens are not falling into this Hamas trap. They know that we are fully committed to achieving the objectives of the war: To eliminate Hamas, to return all of our hostages, to ensure that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to Israel and to return our residents in the north and south securely to their homes," he added. Imphal, Sep 8 : Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh for the second consecutive day on Sunday met Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya at the Raj Bhavan and briefed him about the prevailing situation in the state, officials said. A Raj Bhavan official said that the Chief Minister submitted a 'memorandum' to the Governor but neither the official nor Singh disclosed anything about the content of the memorandum. However, a highly placed source close to the Chief Minister's Office said that Singh in the memorandum proposed some steps to deal with the ongoing ethnic hostilities in the state. "The Governor would forward the memorandum, submitted by the Chief Minister, to the Central government for taking the necessary course of action," the source told IANS on the condition of anonymity. During the meeting with the Governor, the Chief Minister was accompanied by state Assembly Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata Singh, a few Ministers and MLAs. The Chief Minister also met the Governor on Saturday after a meeting with the MLAs of BJP and other coalition partners at the CM secretariat. An official said that in the meeting with the legislators, the Chief Minister discussed the current law and order situation in the state especially after the stepped-up violent incidents. The Chief Minister's meeting with the Governor twice -- on Saturday and Sunday -- and submission of memorandum assumed significance after the escalated violence in the trouble-torn state and killing at least nine people, including woman and elderly persons in different districts in between September 1 and 7. Amid the rising violence, influential BJP MLA Rajkumar Imo Singh, who is the son-in-law of Chief Minister Biren Singh, last week requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah to withdraw 60,000 central forces from the state claiming "they are not yielding peace". Imo Singh wrote to the Home Minister stating that the presence of around 60,000 central forces in Manipur "is not yielding peace, thus it's better to remove such forces who are mostly present as mute spectators". "If the presence of central forces cannot stop the violence, it is better to remove them and allow the state forces to take charge and bring peace in Manipur," the MLA had said in the letter. Congress Lok Sabha MP from Manipur Angomcha Bimol Akoijam on Saturday asked the Central government to take responsibility for the deaths and destruction occurred in the state which has been in the grip of an ethnic unrest for the past 16 months now. Akoijam, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Inner Manipur seat where he defeated BJP's Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh earlier this year, said that despite 60,000 security personnel deployed in the state since the ethnic violence broke out in May last year, the situation has not improved. The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an apex body of the Meitei community, on Friday called a "public emergency" and urged the people to remain indoors, claiming "the government failed to provide security to the common people". COCOMI coordinator Thokchom Somorendro, announcing the "public emergency" had said that all schools, colleges and educational institutions must be shut indefinitely till the "situation improves". Director General of Police, Manipur, Rajiv Singh earlier said that the state police are in touch with the Director General National Security Guard (NSG) and other experts to seek their support about the recent attacks on civilians by the militants using drones and sophisticated weapons. The Manipur Police chief said that the bombing using drones are new development in Manipur and Manipur Police has already through social media said that it has been escalated and the police are taking it very seriously. "I have personally spoken to everybody in Delhi. I have also spoken to DG NSG and his team. Other experts are coming in, and we have formed a high-level committee to look into the drone attack and related other issues," the DGP had said. Lucknow, Sep 8 : In a major move to position Uttar Pradesh as a key player in semiconductor manufacturing, the Yogi Adityanath-led government is set to host Semicon India 2024 at the India Expo Mart in Greater Noida from September 11 to 13. This event, which will be organised in collaboration with SEMI, Messe Muenchen India, and the Electronic Industries Association of India-ELCINA, aims to elevate India's semiconductor sector and establish the country as a significant global contender. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will officially inaugurate the event on September 11, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also in attendance. The semiconductor industry in India is rapidly growing, with forecasts suggesting the regional chip market could exceed $55 billion by 2026. To harness this potential, the Uttar Pradesh government is actively seeking investments from semiconductor firms. Semicon India 2024 will feature a comprehensive exhibition running from September 11 to 13, highlighting cutting-edge advancements in semiconductor technology. Manufacturers from around the world will showcase their innovations, providing a glimpse into the industry's future. The second day of Semicon India 2024 will delve into critical areas such as cross-regional partnerships, flexible hybrid electronics, supply chain management, and sustainable industry practices. On the final day, September 13, attendees can look forward to a presentation by Micron on package manufacturing, a semiconductor fabrication boot camp hosted by ISA, and an overview of the semiconductor industry's progress by IESA. This year's Semicon India Exhibition and Conference will be held alongside Electronica India and Productronica India, the largest electronics fairs in Southeast Asia. This landmark event will unite a wide range of domestic and international companies, providing a prime opportunity to explore India's burgeoning semiconductor sector and discover new business prospects. Semicon India 2024 will offer a dynamic range of exhibitions, programmes, and networking opportunities, allowing participants to interact with local leaders and government officials and gain insights into Indiaas semiconductor industry. The India Semiconductor Mission, backed by major firms like AMD, Applied Materials, and Micron Technology, aims to bolster domestic chip production. In alignment with this national initiative, the Yogi Adityanath government is actively promoting Uttar Pradesh as a semiconductor manufacturing hub. The newly introduced UP Semiconductor Policy provides substantial incentives, including a 50 per cent additional capital subsidy, 75 per cent land rebate, 100 per cent exemption from electricity duty for 10 years, and a 5 per cent interest subsidy (up to Rs 7 crore). Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has urged investors to explore Uttar Pradeshas potential, as the state strives to become a $1 trillion economy. Over the past seven years, Uttar Pradesh has evolved into a significant electronics manufacturing hub, with over 200 companies and a dominant 65 per cent share of India's mobile production. The state is now focusing on expanding its role in the fabless semiconductor sector, leveraging its extensive rail network and growing airport infrastructure, including the forthcoming Noida International Airport. These advancements enhance Uttar Pradeshas attractiveness for high-tech industries and global chip design and R&D companies. Lucknow, Sep 8 : UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday visited Lokbandhu Shri Rajnarayan Combined Hospital on Sunday to know the condition of those who were injured after a building collapsed at Transport Nagar in the Sarojini Nagar area of Lucknow. Returning from a tour of Gorakhpur, the CM went directly from the airport to the hospital, according to official information. At the hospital, the Chief Minister met with each patient individually, inquired about their condition, and reassured them not to panic. He also interacted with the patients' families, offering them comfort and support. CM Adityanath instructed the hospital administration to ensure proper medical care for all the injured. He emphasised that no patient should face any difficulties and that all necessary measures should be taken for their recovery. The Chief Minister also assured the families of the injured persons that the government is always there to support them during this challenging time. He was accompanied by Mayor Sushma Kharkwal, MLA Rajeshwar Singh, Sanjay Prasad, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, DGP Prashant Kumar, Divisional Commissioner Roshan Jacob, Municipal Commissioner Indrajeet Singh, and other officials. On his account on X, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath wrote that he visited the injured from the unfortunate building collapse at Lokbandhu Shri Rajnarayan Hospital in Lucknow on Sunday to inquire about their well-being and gather information from the doctors regarding their treatment. He stated that under the guidance of skilled doctors, all necessary treatment is being given top priority. During this challenging time, the Uttar Pradesh government stands with the victims and their families with full readiness and sensitivity. He prayed to Lord Ram for the swift recovery of the injured. According to reports, the death toll from the building collapse in Lucknow's Transport Nagar area has risen to eight, with rescue teams recovering three additional bodies from the debris early Sunday. The three-story Harmilap building fell around 5 pm on Saturday due to intense rainfall that caused severe waterlogging in the area. Rescue operations have successfully saved 28 individuals, who have been transported to the Lok Bandhu Hospital for treatment. Lucknow, Sep 8 : The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday established a three-member committee to probe the tragic building collapse in Lucknow, which resulted in eight fatalities and left 28 others injured. The incident took place on Saturday evening in the Transport Nagar area when a three-story building unexpectedly collapsed, leaving many residents trapped under the rubble. The state government is now determined to uncover all the details surrounding the accident. According to a press statement, the committee formed on the direction of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be headed by Sanjiv Gupta, a secretary in the Home Department, who has been made the panel's chairman. Balkar Singh, Secretary of the Housing and Urban Planning Department, and Vijay Kanaujia, Chief Engineer, Central Region, Public Works Department, Lucknow, are the two other members of the committee. "The inquiry committee is expected to investigate the cause of the incident and submit its report to the government as soon as possible," the statement read. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Adityanath on Sunday visited Lokbandhu Shri Rajnarayan Combined Hospital to know the condition of those who were injured after a building collapsed at Transport Nagar in the Sarojini Nagar area of Lucknow. Returning from a tour of Gorakhpur, the CM went directly from the airport to the hospital, according to official information. At the hospital, the Chief Minister met with each patient individually, inquired about their condition, and reassured them not to panic. He also interacted with the patients' families, offering them comfort and support. CM Adityanath instructed the hospital administration to ensure proper medical care for all the injured. He emphasised that no patient should face any difficulties and that all necessary measures should be taken for their recovery. The Chief Minister also assured the families of the injured persons that the government is always there to support them during this challenging time. Brussels, Sep 8 : Josep Borrell, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, on Sunday expressed his disappointment over Venezuelan presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez seeking exile in Spain. "Today is a sad day for democracy in Venezuela. Faced with repression, political persecution, and direct threats to his safety and freedom, after being given hospitality at the residence of the Netherlands in Caracas until September 5th, political leader and presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has had to request political asylum and accept the protection offered by Spain," said Borrell in a statement issued by the European External Action Service (EEAS). Citing publicly available copies of the electoral records (actas), the EU High Representative stated that Gonzalez appears to be the winner of the July 28 Venezuelan presidential elections "by a large majority". "In a democracy, no political leader should be forced to seek asylum in another country. The EU insists that the Venezuelan authorities end repression, arbitrary arrests and harassment against members of the opposition and civil society, as well as release all political prisoners. The EU will continue to support the Venezuelan people in their democratic aspirations," mentioned Borrell. After losing the July 28 presidential elections, Gonzalez and another opposition presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado, refused to recognise Nicolas Maduro's win and claimed the result was fraught with irregularities. Maduro received 5,150,092 valid votes in the elections, representing 51.2 per cent of the votes, according to Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) which detailed that Gonzalez received 4,445,978 votes, or 44.2 per cent of the total votes. Earlier this week, a Venezuelan court had issued an arrest warrant for the country's former opposition presidential candidate for ignoring three summons to appear before prosecutors investigating him. Gonzalez requested political asylum in Spain and several reports indicated that he will arrive in the country on a Spanish Air Force plane late Sunday. We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Magic Formula Stocks For The Rest Of 2024. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) stands against the other magic formula stocks. One of the best known investment strategies on Wall Street, and one that's also followed by investing greats the like of Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway and Seth Klarman of Baupost Group is value investing. Another fund manager who has delivered fantastic returns through a value based approach is Joel Greenblatt. Greenblatt currently runs the hedge fund Gotham Asset Management, a fund that he set up in 2008 after moving forward from his previous fund called Gotham Capital. Greenblatt is among the fund managers that have consistently delivered double digit percentage returns during their career on Wall Street. His previous firm, Gotham Capital, had an amazing run between 1985 and 1994. During this time period, the firm delivered a net return of 34%. This was particularly impressive, as 1985 was the year in which Gotham Capital was founded. On an annualized basis, the fund's returns were even stronger, since during the same period, Greenblatt's fund delivered 50% in returns. The hallmark of a value investing strategy, as you'll understand if you study Warren Buffett's investment strategy in detail, is patience. This also applies to Greenblatt, who typically waits for at least a couple of years after making an investment to reap the returns. But while patience might be a virtue, on Wall Street, it's the returns that matter. On this front, Greenblatt hasn't disappointed, as his fund's blazing run in the 1980s wasn't its only one. After setting up Gotham Asset Management in 2008, the value investor managed multiple funds. Two of these were the Gotham Absolute Return (AR) fund and the Gotham Neutral fund. Among these, the AR fund was set up in 2012, and between then and 2018, its returns sat at 58.6%. However, while these returns are impressive, this period was filled with ups and downs for the investment vehicle. For instance, 2013 was one of the best years for this fund as it posted 29.82% in returns. These gains were trimmed down to 9.31% in 2014. While these weren't as strong as the previous year's performance, they were nevertheless in the green. This is important since the next year wasn't great by any account, since in 2015, the AR fund ended up with -10.25%. 2016 was somewhat turbulent for American stock markets since the Brexit vote in the UK, slowing Chinese GDP growth, and a commodities slump led to US and global stocks dipping between the end of 2015 and the first half of 2016. Between June 2015 and late February 2016, the blue chip Dow index had lost roughly 9% and the broader NASDAQ had bled a much higher 11%. Story continues The next year would see Greenblatt bounce back. In 2016, the fund delivered 7.97% in returns and accelerated its performance later on through posting 10.03% in gains. During these same years, i.e., in 2014, the Gotham Neutral fund's annualized returns had sat at 6.83%. Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in late 2019, the stock market has been operating in a changed environment. The pandemic's immediate aftermath saw major stock indexes crash by 30%+, which then led to the Federal Reserve reducing rates to near zero levels. The subsequent low cost of capital, the boom in demand for consumer technology products, and the rise in retail investing then saw markets soar. During this time period, i.e., the bottom in March 2020 and the peak of December 2021, Greenblatt's AR fund was up by 55% while the flagship S&P index gained 103%. This might make you think that perhaps the investor, who calls his investment approach a 'Magic Formula' had lost its magic. But you'd be wrong. The magic of the Magic Formula was visible during the next phase of the stock market. This was marked by the Federal Reserve's rapid interest rate tightening cycle that came in response to soaring inflation. Between December 2021 and October 2023, inflation continued to rise, as the interest rates took their sweet time to make a mark. This meant that the flagship S&P was down by 13.6% from 2021 close to the end of October 2023. However, during the same period, the AR fund had gained 3.41%. A short strategy had helped Greenblatt, it seems, as the AR fund advertises itself as being 50% to 60% net long. Gotham's pure play long fund, which is 100% long, led the S&P in losses during this time period as it had lost 15.52% during the same period and a stronger 27% from its peak in November start. However, the magic was visible between the March bottom and the November 2021 peak as during this period the 100% long fund had gained 97% to nearly match the flagship index. Before we head to our list of the best Magic Formula Stocks, it's also important to take a brief look at what this investment technique entails. Greenblatt's strategy is based on two metrics, the return on capital employed (ROCE) and the earnings yield. In a simple implementation, stocks are ranked according to these metrics, and the top stocks are bought and held for the long term. A specialty implementation is what Gotham calls its Gotham Yield. According to the fund, this is a proprietary technique that assesses a firm's "pre-tax cash flow, return on capital, and enterprise value." Our Methodology To make our list of the best magic formula stocks to buy, we ranked the stocks present in Gotham Asset Management's Q2 2024 SEC filings by their dollar value and picked out the most valuable holdings. For these stocks, we also mentioned the number of hedge fund investors. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletters strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here). A software engineer at work, surrounded by a wall of computer monitors connected to a 'Data Cloud' platform. Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) Number of Hedge Fund Investors In Q2 2024: 69 Gotham Asset Management's Q2 2024 Stake: $59.8 million Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) is a cloud computing company headquartered in Montana. Its stock is down 38.6% year to date, with the selloff kicking off in February after its CEO resigned and the midpoint of first quarter revenue guidance came out at $747.7 million to significantly undershoot analyst estimates of $759 million. The lower guidance leading to an 18% share price drop is a classic for a SaaS stock as their hypothesis is built on the ability to grow consistently and control costs. Then, in its Q2 results, Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) Q3 guidance came at a midpoint of $852.5 million which surpassed analyst estimates of $851 million by a hairline. Naturally, investors weren't impressed and the stock tumbled by an additional 14.7%. Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) hasn't been controlling costs either, with roughly 96% of its revenue being spent on marketing, administrative costs, and research and development. While these can set it up well for future growth, it creates a lot of risk in the stock that investors appear to be avoiding. Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW)'s CEO kept an upbeat tone during the Q2 2025 earnings call when he shared his three personal areas of focus: "As I said last quarter, I have three key areas on personally focused on, listening to and learning from our customers, fueling innovation and product delivery, driving execution and alignment within our go to market team. And in Q2, we delivered on all fronts, which you can see in our results. Product revenue for the quarter was $829 million, up 30% year over year. Remaining performance obligations totaled $5.2 billion with year over year growth accelerating to 48%. Given the strong quarter, we are increasing our product revenue outlook for the year. Companies like Capital One, NBCU, Petco, Pfizer, Snapchat and Western Union are all relying on Snowflake to help them fuel their businesses. Im really encouraged by the strength of our core business under rapid progress we have made on the AI front. Im very optimistic about where we are going and the opportunities we have in front of us to deliver for our customers. In fact, the more Im with our customers, the more I appreciate just how critical they are to their business and how much theyre counting on us to be their trusted advisor in their AI data journey. Nothing brings to life how strong and trusted relationship is then when you go through challenges together." Overall SNOW ranks 6th on our list of the best magic formula stocks to buy. While we acknowledge the potential of SNOW as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than SNOW but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley and Jim Cramer Says NVIDIA Has Become A Wasteland. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Guwahati, Sep 8 : The All Assam Students' Union (AASU) on Sunday said that the Assam Accord must be fully implemented, adding there were expectations that the state government would take up a proactive role in the matter. The influential student body's latest remarks came after Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that 52 out of 67 recommendations that were given by the high-level committee led by retired Justice Biplab Kumar Sarma regarding clause 6 implementation of the Assam Accord will be in place before April 15, 2025. Samujjal Bhattacharya, the chief advisor of AASU, said on Sunday: "We want the Assam Accord to be fully implemented. AASU was one of the signatories of the accord in 1985, and so we will keep a close vigil for its proper implementation." He stated that some of the recommendations of the clause 6 panel led by Justice (Retired) Biplab Kumar Sarma can be fulfilled by the state government and the rest fall under the jurisdiction of the central government. "The high-level committee was set up by the Central government. Now, the Assam government must put pressure on the Centre to immediately implement the recommendations of the Sarma committee. Moreover, both the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah earlier promised to the people of the state to fulfill clause 6 of the Assam Accord," Bhattacharya said. Notably, the clause 6 panel led by Justice Biplab Kumar Sarma suggested that, as a stopgap measure, the post-1971 stream of proclaimed foreigners should be placed in locations outside Assam until their expulsion is finished. Additionally, the panel also gave the definition of "Assamese". The committee mentioned that a number of constitutional and parliamentary reforms will be required in order to fully implement its recommendations. It was stated that the current Article 371-B of the Constitution will need to be changed. The Assam Accord, signed following a six-year foreigners' agitation (1979a"1985), stipulates that all foreigners entering the state after March 24, 1971, will be deported regardless of their religious affiliation. Clause 6 of the Assam Accord states that appropriate constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards will be provided to protect the cultural, social and linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people. Seoul, Sep 8 : A major doctors' lobby group demanded on Sunday the government cancel its plan to raise the medical school admissions quota for 2025 and 2026 and discuss the possible quota adjustment for 2027 or afterward. Officials of the Korean Medical Association (KMA) made the call after the government last week said it is willing to revise the plan for 2026 if the medical community presents a "reasonable" option, reports Yonhap news agency. The Yoon Suk Yeol administration has vowed to increase the medical school admissions quota by 2,000 seats per year over the next five years or so to address a shortage of doctors and finalized in June a quota hike of some 1,500 students for next year. In protest, a majority of trainee doctors have left their workplaces since February, causing serious disruptions to the national health care system. "The government must nullify the plan to increase medical school seats for 2025 and 2026 and discuss the possible adjustment for 2027 or afterwards," a KMA official said. "It is a precondition for our joining of a joint consultative body with the government and parties, but I don't think we need to deliver the stance again to them as we've made it clear that a drastic increase is absurd," the official added. The government and the ruling People Power Party have also proposed the establishment of a joint consultative body involving rival parties and the medical community to seek a breakthrough. KMA chief Lim Hyun-taek said in an online post Saturday that the government and rival parties need to come up with "a reasonable, unified proposal" to resolve the current medical crisis. But the government has said it is not possible to revisit the quota hike plan for next year as procedures for college entrance are already under way. In response to the KMA demand, a senior official at the presidential office said the issue of increasing medical school admissions for next year has already been decided, making it practically impossible to discuss. The official, however, added the government is open to discussing potential increases from 2026 onward without being bound by specific numbers. "While changes cannot be made for 2025, starting from 2026, if the medical community presents reasonable grounds, we can discuss the matter without any restrictions on numbers," the official said. Moscow, Sep 8 : German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has spoken in favour of Russia's participation in a new summit to resolve the crisis with Ukraine, the Russian media reported on Sunday. Scholz also reportedly told a German public-service television broadcaster in an interview that time has come to discuss and achieve peace. "In my view, the moment has now come to discuss how we can move from this military situation to peace faster than seems realistic at the moment," Russian news agency TASS reported Scholz as saying in an interview with ZDF television. It mentioned that the Chancellor claimed that a new conference would be held "in any case" to resolve the crisis which began in February 2022. "The President [of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky] and I are of the opinion that Russia should be represented there," Scholz told the German public-service television broadcaster. On Saturday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that countries like India and China can play a role in resolving the conflict in Ukraine. Meloni's remarks were made at the Ambrosetti Forum in northern Italy's Cernobbio city where she also held a meeting with the visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "It is obvious that if the rules of international law are broken we will get a multiplication of chaos and crisis, but it is also obvious that with the multiplication of crisis, we will have a natural fragmentation of the geo-economic space, that is, in the long run, economic globalization and questioning of the rules of international law will not walk together. This is what I also said to my Chinese counterparts, we must choose, because the two things do not go together, it is also the reason why I think that in the end nations, like China and India, can play a role and must play a role in resolving the conflict in Ukraine," said Meloni. Earlier in the week, Russian President Vladimir Putin, while addressing the 9th Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, mentioned India's role in providing a "helping hand" in resolving the issue. "We respect our friends and partners who I think are sincerely interested in addressing and resolving all the issues associated with the conflict (with Ukraine). China, Brazil, India... I am in contact with my partners and I have no doubt that the leaders of these countries, and we have the relations of trust and confidence with one another, will be really interested in providing a helping hand," said Putin. Patna, Sep 8 : Actor turned politician and TMC MP Shatrughan Sinha has condemned the RG Kar Medical College incident in Kolkata, calling it a despicable event that no one would support. However, he decried the politicisation of the incident. Sinha stated: "The incident in Kolkata was very disgusting. No one will support such acts. But politicising the incident is wrong. I stand with Mamata Banerjee on this issue. The Aparajita Bill introduced by Mamata Banerjee is historic and very significant. It is not appropriate to hold a Chief Minister responsible in this matter. The law and investigative agencies are doing their job." He added, "I hope that similar powerful bills are introduced in other states as well. I will also appeal to the central government to provide full support and blessings to this proposal." Regarding the question of whether West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should resign, Sinha said: "That is not the case. If this is the standard, then Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other Chief Ministers would also have to resign. Whether it's the Manipur issue, Hathras case, Unnao incident, or Kathua issue, there have been several shameful events. We have never demanded the Prime Minister's resignation over these matters. I don't understand why people are politicising this issue." Sinha was speaking after inaugurating a mobile clinic van in Patna. The event was organised by an organisation, where he flagged off the van. He praised the efforts like the mobile van, saying it is quite useful, especially for those who cannot visit hospitals in time. The mobile clinic will be very helpful in reaching nearby hospitals. Sinha's remarks are particularly noteworthy given that they come at a time when several voices within the Trinamool have been critical of Mamata Banerjee's governance style in the state. Bhubaneswar, Sept 8 : Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi launched the CM-KISAN scheme during a special programme at the Gangadhar Meher University campus in Sambalpur on Sunday. The eligible farmers will receive a total of Rs 4000 in two instalments of Rs 2000 each on Nuakhai and Akshaya Tritiya every year. More than 45.97 lakh small, marginal, and landless cultivators on Sunday received the first instalment of Rs 2000 each through the Direct Benefit Transfer mode under the scheme. A total of Rs 925.40 crore has been transferred into the accounts of farmers across the state. The Chief Minister launched the scheme in the presence of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Revenue and Disaster Management Department Minister Suresh Pujari, Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra and other officials. Deputy CM KV Singh Deo and Pravati Parida joined the launching programme through virtual mode from Balangir and Puri. "On the auspicious occasion of Nuakhai, the process begins for sowing of the rabi crops, so we decided to launch the CM-KISAN Yojana from today and provide financial assistance. The farmers can arrange essential agricultural items including fertilisers, pesticides, and machinery using financial assistance," he said. He also said that a farmer will get annually a total of Rs 10,000 including Rs 6000 under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) yojana and Rs 4000 under the CM-KISAN scheme. The Chief Minister also inaugurated a CM-KISAN portal for seamless and hassle-free implementation of both PM-KISAN and CM-KISAN schemes. This apart, he reiterated his government's promise to offer a Minimum Support Price of Rs 3100 per quintal of rice to the farmers. He also informed about sending a proposal to the union government for setting up another All-India Institute of Medical Sciences institute in the state at Sambalpur. Meanwhile, the opposition BJD accused the ruling BJP of continuing the schemes introduced by the previous BJD government by changing the names of the schemes. Lucknow, Sep 8 : Noida Kings' disastrous season in the 2024 UP T20 ended with another defeat as Kashi Rudras sealed off their fifth win of the competition. In the final group game of the tournament for both teams, the Rudras eased to a whopping 79-run victory over Noida at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. Lucknow, Sep 8 (IANS) Noida Kingsa disastrous season in the 2024 UP T20 ended with another defeat as Kashi Rudras sealed off their fifth win of the competition. In the final group game of the tournament for both teams, the Rudras eased to a whopping 79-run victory over Noida at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. Needing to defend 169 to seal a much-needed win to qualify for the playoffs, Kashi bowled Noida out for 88 thanks to a brilliant concerted bowling performance. Earlier, Kashi Rudras did not make the greatest of starts to their batting innings, losing their first three wickets by the end of the fourth over. The way they batted in that initial phase it looked like there was a touch of over-aggression even when the ball wasnat coming on to the bat. Shiva Singh was the first to depart and Almas Shaukat followed suit in the very next over trying to hit it on the up. And when a short of length ball from Shuaib was pulled straight to the deep square-leg fielder, Kashi had lost their third with just 25 on the board. A six off the first ball of the 12th and that too against the nifty bowling of Prashant Veer turned the scoring momentum back in Kashias favour. 13 came from that over before Karan Sharma went for another 10 in the very next. Yashovardhan Singh and Shivam Mavi ensured Karanas effort wouldnat go waste with their hitting. 46 came off the final 23 balls even after Karan was dismissed by Boby Yadav for 69. While Boby bagged three wickets, all of which came in the death overs, he went for 40 in his four-over spell. Noida were pegged back early in their chase with Atal Bihari Rai getting a ball to seam away from the middle stump, removing Rahul Rajas off stump. Sunil Kumar sent the other opener, Vishal Pandey back in the very next over and while the Kings did not lose another wicket during the Powerplay. In fact, there was a three-over period between the fifth and seventh over in which there were four dots in each of them and that led to Prince Yadav eking out the third Noida wicket. One wicket brought a second in the very next over a" Shivam Saraswat became the fourth to depart a" and while a 30-run stand followed, the required rate had ballooned up to over 12 an over by then. Aditya Sharmaas wicket in the 13th over was the beginning of Noidaas capitulation who were bowled out for 88 soon after, with one batter short because of an injury. Brief scores: Kashi Rudras 167/6 in 20 overs (Karan Sharma 69, Prince Yadav 36; Boby Yadav 3-40, Shuaib 2-19) beat Noida Kings 88 all out in 18 overs (Prashant Veer 21, Shivam Saraswat 20; Sunil Kumar 3-21, Atal Bihari Rai 2-10) by 79 runs. Visakhapatnam, Sep 8 : Heavy rains in parts of north coastal Andhra on Sunday triggered a flood alert even as Vijayawada and other areas affected by last week's floods in the south coastal region are yet to fully recover. Visakhapatnam, Sep 8 (IANS) Heavy rains in parts of north coastal Andhra on Sunday triggered a flood alert even as Vijayawada and other areas affected by last weekas floods in the south coastal region are yet to fully recover. North coastal districts on Sunday received heavy rainfall under the impact of a low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal, inundating low-lying areas and throwing normal life out of gear. Rivulets, tanks, and lakes were overflowing in some areas, cutting off road connectivity to remote villages. As the Meteorological Department has forecast heavy rains on Monday, authorities in north coastal districts have declared a holiday for educational institutions on Monday. The Collectors of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli, Vizianagaram, and Alluri Sitharama Raju districts have declared holidays to educational institutions. Heavy rains lashed Visakhapatnam city and several parts of the district. A landslide in the Gopalapatnam area in the port city sent panic among people. Municipal authorities alerted people living in houses on hillocks. Authorities closed the road to Lambasingi village in Alluri Sitharama Raju district in view of the possibility of landslides due to heavy rain. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has alerted district administrations. Naidu, who is still camping in flood-hit Vijayawada to monitor relief works, held a teleconference with the district Collectors and other officials. The district Collectors provided details of rainfall, the situation and the preventive measures taken in in their respective districts. Naidu suggested to Collectors to remain alert by estimating the likely rainfall. Some districts are likely to receive heavy rains on Sunday night and Monday. As Eluru reservoir is likely to receive huge rains, Naidu asked officials to continuously monitor the water level in the project. He told officials to effectively manage the project by balancing the inflow and outflow. Naidu also wanted officials to ensure that there are no breaches to canals, lakes and drains. The Chief Minister said in areas which are likely to receive heavy to very heavy rains, arrangements should be made for drinking water, food and medical camps. He asked officials to prevent the loss of lives by continuously alerting people. He said property loss could also be minimised with preventive measures. Naidu said the officials may use drones to estimate crop loss, supply food to the affected people, and monitor the flood situation. People in low-lying areas should be convinced to move to relief camps and all facilities should be provided in the relief camps, he said. Based on the severity of the situation, the Collectors may approach the Central Control Team for help. He said people should be sent alert messages about heavy rains and floods, and also asked officials to impose certain restrictions so that people do not endanger their lives while crossing rivulets and streams. He said preventive measures should also be taken to ensure that those going for Ganesh immersion do not get drowned or washed away. In Eluru district, 2,000 people from low-lying areas have been shifted to relief camps. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan reviewed the flood situation in Eluru district. He asked officials to alert people in low-lying areas and said funds would be made available for the measures to be taken at the district level to help flood-affected people. Pawan Kalyan held a review meeting with Kakinada district Collector and other officials on preventive measures and the situation in inundated villages in view of the increase in water flow at Eluru reservoir and the flood threat due to heavy rains. Eluru reservoir has a capacity of 24 TMC while the current storage has reached 21 TMC. Pawan Kalyan asked officials of the Irrigation, Revenue, Police, Agriculture, Panchayat Raj, Electricity, and Medical and Health Departments to remain alert. Bengaluru, Sep 8 : Deputy Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Sunday dismissed reports which suggested that he would meet US Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama during his visit to the USA, adding that the trip was "totally personal". "I am travelling to the US along with my family till September 15. Reports hinting that I would be meeting former US President Barack Obama and US Vice President Kamala Harris are incorrect. It is a personal visit," Shivakumar said in a press statement. The senior Congress leader said that he was visiting the US along with his family. Several rumours, speculation and reports recently mentioned that Shivakumar is scheduled to have interactive sessions with Harris as well as Obama. The Deputy Karnataka CM, meanwhile, also released a letter that he had written to the Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, regarding his visit to the US. "As I have already informed, I will be proceeding to Washington on September 8 evening on a private visit and I will be back on September 16," the letter read. Earlier, talking about the US visit, Shivakumar told the media: "This is a private programme which I am attending with my family." There were reports and speculation that during his US trip, Shivakumar would meet Vice President Kamala Harris and former US President Barack Obama. The reports also claimed that the meetings are expected to take place in New York, with a private one-on-one discussion with Kamala Harris. A similar one-on-one meeting with Barack Obama was also planned, reports claimed. Sources suggested that the invitation reportedly came directly from Kamala Harris and other Democratic Party leaders. However, Shivakumar has rejected the reports as rumours. Kamala Harris was sworn in as the Vice President of the US on January 20, 2021. Bengaluru, Sep 8 : Deputy Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Sunday dismissed reports which suggested that he would meet Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama during his visit to the US, adding that the trip was "totally personal". "I am travelling to the US along with my family till September 15. Reports hinting that I would be meeting former US President Barack Obama and US Vice President Kamala Harris are incorrect. It is a personal visit," Shivakumar said in a press statement. The senior Congress leader said that he was visiting the US along with his family. Several rumours, speculation and reports recently mentioned that Shivakumar is scheduled to have interactive sessions with Harris as well as Obama. The Deputy CM, meanwhile, also released a letter that he had written to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, regarding his visit to the US. "As I have already informed, I will be proceeding to Washington on September 8 evening on a private visit and I will be back on September 16," the letter read. Earlier, talking about the US visit, Shivakumar told the media: "This is a private programme which I am attending with my family." There were reports and speculation that during his US trip, Shivakumar would meet Vice President Harris and former US President Obama. The reports also claimed that the meetings are expected to take place in New York, with a private one-on-one discussion with Harris. A similar one-on-one meeting with Obama was also planned, reports claimed. Sources suggested that the invitation reportedly came directly from Kamala Harris and other Democratic Party leaders. However, Shivakumar has rejected the reports as rumours. Harris was catapulted to the race for the White House after President Joe Biden announced his sudden withdrawal from the race, just months before the election, after questions about his health and endorsed her as his successor. Mumbai, Sep 8 : NCP SP Chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday assured the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) that the opposition will not allow the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 to be passed in the Parliament. "We will not allow it to be passed in the Parliament in any circumstances. He said that NCP Member of Parliament, Suresh Mhatre Alias Balya Mama, is a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee and we have instructed him to fully represent the sentiments of Muslims in the committee," Pawar assured the AIMPLB delegation. Earlier, a delegation of AIMPLB led by the Board's General Secretary Ml Fazlur Raheem Mujaddidi, met Sharad Pawar at his residence and presented a memorandum regarding the proposed Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024. The delegation demanded the rejection of the Waqf Amendment Bill, stating that it was against the Constitution. The Board's General Secretary briefed Pawar that a false narrative has been consistently spread that any land or property claimed by the Waqf Board automatically becomes its property. The reality, however, is that thousands of acres of Waqf land are under illegal occupation by others including the Central and state governments, and efforts have been ongoing for years to reclaim them. However, there is a fear that if this controversial bill is passed, all those lands will be taken away from the Waqf Board's possession. He further stated that under the existing Waqf Act (1995), there is a multi-tiered judicial system to settle such disputes. After the Waqf Tribunal, there is the option of approaching the High Courts and Supreme Court. However, with the current amendment, all judicial matters will be transferred to the district collector. No collector in the country will have the courage to make a decision against the government. The delegation also strongly objected to the inclusion of non-Muslim members in the Waqf Board and the Central Waqf Council, and the proposal to remove the requirement of a Muslim for the post of CEO. Highlighting other shortcomings of the bill, the General Secretary said: "We believe that this bill has been introduced to encroach on Waqf properties which is absolutely unacceptable to us. Instead of any amendment in the bill Muslims reject it in totality." The delegation demanded Pawar that his party and the India Alliance must put enough pressure on the government to withdraw the Bill. This Stock Turned $1,000 Into $13,267 Over The Past 20 Years. Here's Why It's Not Too Late to Buy Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. 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Biren Singh for the second consecutive day on Sunday met Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya at the Raj Bhavan and submitted a memorandum urging the Centre to provide adequate powers and responsibilities to the elected state government as per the constitution by handing over 'Unified Command' to deal with the prevailing situation. Imphal, Sep 8 (IANS) Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh for the second consecutive day on Sunday met Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya at the Raj Bhavan and submitted a memorandum urging the Centre to provide adequate powers and responsibilities to the elected state government as per the constitution by handing over aUnified Commanda to deal with the prevailing situation. A top official of the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said that the Governor would forward the memorandum, submitted by the Chief Minister, to the Central government for taking the necessary course of action. Currently, Chief Security Advisor to the Manipur government Kuldeep Singh, who is the former Director General of CRPF, is the chief of the Unified Command of all the Central Para Military and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), deployed in the state. Working under the advice of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Kuldeep Singh was appointed by the Centre soon after the ethnic violence broke out in Manipur in May last year. The CMO official told IANS on condition of anonymity that the memorandum, submitted to the Governor by the Chief Minister also demanded the abrogation of the Suspension of Operation agreement signed with various factions of the Kuki militant outfits in 2008, protection of the territorial integrity of the state, completion of fencing along 398 km border with Myanmar at the earliest and conduct National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state with base year of 1961 and detect all illegal migrants and deport them. During the meeting with the Governor, the Chief Minister was accompanied by state Assembly Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata Singh, a few Ministers and MLAs. The Chief Minister also met the Governor on Saturday after a meeting with the MLAs of BJP and other coalition partners at the CM secretariat. An official said that in the meeting with the legislators, the Chief Minister discussed the current law and order situation in the state, especially after the stepped-up violent incidents. The Chief Minister's meeting with the Governor twice -- on Saturday and Sunday -- and submission of the memorandum assumed significance after the escalated violence in the trouble-torn state and killing at least nine people, including women and elderly persons in different districts in between September 1 and 7. Meanwhile, hundreds of women carrying torches organised rallies on Sunday evening in Imphal to protest the rising violence in the state during the past week. At a point in time, the participants of the rallies became agitated and then the security forces dispersed the mob by firing several rounds of tear gas shells. Amid the rising violence, influential BJP MLA Rajkumar Imo Singh, who is the son-in-law of Chief Minister Biren Singh, last week requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah to withdraw 60,000 central forces from the state claiming "they are not yielding peace". Imo Singh wrote to the Home Minister stating that the presence of around 60,000 central forces in Manipur "is not yielding peace, thus it's better to remove such forces who are mostly present as mute spectators". "If the presence of central forces cannot stop the violence, it is better to remove them and allow the state forces to take charge and bring peace in Manipur," the MLA had said in the letter. Congress Lok Sabha MP from Manipur Angomcha Bimol Akoijam on Saturday asked the Central government to take responsibility for the deaths and destruction that occurred in the state which has been in the grip of ethnic unrest for the past 16 months now. Akoijam, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Inner Manipur seat where he defeated BJP's Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh earlier this year, said that despite 60,000 security personnel deployed in the state since the ethnic violence broke out in May last year, the situation has not improved. The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an apex body of the Meitei community, on Friday called a "public emergency" and urged the people to remain indoors, claiming "the government failed to provide security to the common people". COCOMI coordinator Thokchom Somorendro, announcing the "public emergency" had said that all schools, colleges and educational institutions must be shut indefinitely till the "situation improves". Director General of Police, Manipur, Rajiv Singh earlier said that the state police are in touch with the Director General National Security Guard (NSG) and other experts to seek their support about the recent attacks on civilians by the militants using drones and sophisticated weapons. The Manipur Police chief said that the bombings using drones are a new development in Manipur and the Manipur Police has already through social media said that it has been escalated and the police are taking it very seriously. "I have personally spoken to everybody in Delhi. I have also spoken to DG NSG and his team. Other experts are coming in, and we have formed a high-level committee to look into the drone attack and related other issues," the DGP had said. Kolkata, Sep 8 : A night before the crucial hearing on Monday at the Supreme Court, thousands of protesters gathered West Bengal to protest against the rape and murder of the junior doctor at R.G Kar Medical College & Hospital. The call was for another "Reclaim the Night" where especially the people from the cultural world were invited to hit the streets under the theme of 'Shashoker Ghum Bhangate Notun Ganer Bhor' (New song of dawn to wake the rulers out of slumber), quite similar to the call of 'Meyera Raat Dakhol Koro' (women reclaim the night) on the midnight of Independence Day this year. Fiving a spontaneous reply to that call, thousands of apolitical protesters had started hitting the streets since late Sunday. On one hand, there is a 14-kilometre- long human chain stretching from Sodepur in North 24 Parganas district to Shyambazar five-point crossing in north Kolkata, which is pretty close to RG Kar. On the other hand, protest rallies from different corners of the state have started, mainly led by women and accompanied by men and even people from third-gender and LGBTQ communities demanding justice for victims. The medium of protest are various forms of performing arts including painting and street plays. The only difference is the earlier slogan of "We want Justice" has now changed to "We demand Justice". On Sunday, the aunt of the victim junior doctor, while participating in a protest rally of junior doctors, claimed that it is high time that the slogan "We want Justice" should be changed to "We demand Justice". Her call seemed to have an immedicable effect on the mood of the protesters again reclaiming the night on Sunday, the second edition of the "Reclaim the Night" call on the midnight of August 14. At midnight on Independence Day eve, when thousands of people hit the streets across the state to protest the rape-murder incident, the focus turned towards R.G. Kar where a large mob vandalised the Emergency Department of the hospital. The state government and the Kolkata Police came under massive criticism following the incident. While some claimed that the attack was orchestrated to divert attention from the 'Reclaim the Night' campaign, some claimed it was an attempt to destroy evidence at the scene of the crime within the hospital premises. Washington, Sep 8 : US Vice-President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump go into their first debate on Tuesday tied in a national poll of likely voters by The New York Times and Siena College published on Sunday. Trump leads Harris (48 per cent against 47 per cent) in the poll, which has an error margin of 3 per cent. The race remains largely unchanged, the New York Times reported from July, when Harris took over the Democratic ticket from President Joe Biden, citing a poll it had published then. Trump "may have had a rough month following the presidentas departure and amid the burst of excitement that the vice-president brought to the Democratic ticket", the report said, adding, "the poll suggests his support remains remarkably resilient". The race is similarly tied in the seven battleground states surveyed by the New York Times with Harris either ahead of Trump or tied -- Wisconsin (50 per cent - 47 per cent), Michigan (49 per cent - 47 per cent), Pennsylvania (49 per cent - 48 per cent), Nevada (48 per cent - 48 per cent), Arizona (48 per cent - 48 per cent), Georgia (48per cent - 48 per cent) and North Carolina (48 per cent - 48 per cent). The vice-president leads the former president 48.1 per cent to 46.7 per cent in the average of national polls computed by RealClearPolitics and 47.3 per cent to 44.2 per cent in the weighted average of national poll by FiveThirtyEight. Harris and Trump hold their first presidential debate on Tuesday in Philadelphia. There are no other debates on the schedule so far so this may be the first and only debate this cycle. With early polling starting in many states this month and less than 60 days left until the close of casting of votes either by mail or in person on November 5, neither candidate has the luxury of time to reverse a setback. That will be especially so for Harris who faces her most significant test yet of this race on Tuesday. Harris understands the stakes and has gone off the campaign trail largely and has been in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania since Thursday preparing for the debate. Gurugram, Sep 8 : A 23-year-old call girl was found murdered over a money dispute and a man was arrested for the crime in a guest house located in Jharsa village of Gurugram, police said on Sunday. Police said, the deceased, Laxmi a native of Uttar Pradesh, who worked as a field massage therapist was murdered on Saturday at a Mohit guest house in Jharsa village. The accused was identified as 40-year-old Anil Pahal, a resident of Jyoti Park Gurugram and worked as a custom broker in Delhi. According to the police, they received information that a woman was murdered at a guest house in Jharsa village Upon information, the police team reached the spot and took custody of the body, kept it in the mortuary for an autopsy and informed the deceased's kin. The deceased's elder sister told the police on Sunday that the guest house caretaker informed her that Anil Pahal had booked a room on Friday. On Saturday she called her sister via broker and raped her and when she resisted, he strangulation to her death. Based on her complaint a case of murder was registered against the culprit at the Sadar police station here in Gurugram. During the investigation, a crime branch team nabbed the accused Anil from the Ashok Vihar area of Gurugram on Sunday. "During interrogation, the accused told the police that on September 6 he had booked a room at a Mohit guest house in Jharsa and on the next day he called the victim via a broker. He paid her Rs 5,000 after this the girl demanded Rs 2,500 more which led to a verbal spat and in a fit of rage he killed the victim and fled the spot along with the deceased's mobile phone," Sandeep Kumar, spokesperson of the Gurugram Police said. Chennai, Sep 9 : AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami demanded the Tamil Nadu government to constitute a committee to address the challenges faced by students in hostels run by Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department. The former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, who is currently Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly, claimed in a statement on Sunday that the students of Adi Dravidar and Tribal communities living in the hostels run by the Welfare Department are "facing acute difficulties". He said that there were media reports that highlighted the "unauthorised entry of outsiders during night hours into the campus and use of alcohol". The LoP also raised the issue of "shortage of food" for students in these hostels and called upon the government to immediately resolve the issue. The AIADMK leader alleged that attacks on Scheduled Castes (SCs) have been on the rise since the DMK government assumed office in May 2021. Palaniswami said that he had highlighted the issues faced by the Adi Dravidar and Tribal communities including the presence of faecal matter in overhead drinking water tank in Pudukkottai district. He also said that he had taken up the issue of SC families "not getting" access to drinking water supply in Tenkasi district. The LoP further said that he had taken up the issue of the murder of an SC state president of a national party and also the deaths of SC people by drinking illicit liquor in Kallakurichi. But, the DMK government is "not keen in resolving the issues faced by the Scheduled Caste and tribal communities", he added. Meanwhile, the DMK-led state government claims that it is spending nearly Rs 1000 crore for improving amenities like roads, street lights and drinking water supply at Adi Dravidar habitations in urban and rural areas. The state government has allocated Rs 2992.57 crore to the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department during 2024-25. The Nene Valley Railway has announced that Jubilee No. 45596 Bahamas is to spend Christmas on loan from the Bahamas Locomotive Society. Arriving in late November, 45596 will haul The North Pole Adventure trains as well as The Jolly Fisherman on the 4th of January 2025. Driver Experience trains will run on the 3rd and 4th January as well, making an ideal Christmas present. 45596 is usually found on the mainline or at its base at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway but has spent this year visiting heritage lines due to the ongoing Central Door Locking issue with West Coast Railways. Ever since Kamala Harris took the Democratic nomination away from Joe Biden, the Democratic messaging shifted gears from protecting democracy to promoting freedom. This was especially true as Democrats unveiled an ad titled Freedom at the Democratic National Convention coupled with one of Harris go-to stump speeches where she proudly proclaims, We chose freedom. As an immigrant, these promises of freedom and a brighter future resonate deeply. They echo the dreams of millions who have come to this country seeking the American dreama place where freedom and opportunity are available to all. Yet, Harris's promise of freedom is hollow and devoid from reality. For over two decades in public office, Harris has shown a disturbing pattern of undermining the very freedoms she now claims to champion. Her career has been marked by actions and policies that prioritize state control over individual liberty. Harriss journey began as San Francisco's District Attorney, where she used her prosecutorial power to defend a flawed justice system. Rather than advocating for the rights of the innocent, she shielded corrupt prosecutors and kept innocent people behind bars . Her tenure was not just about enforcing the law; it was about wielding power in ways that directly contradict her now supposed commitment to opportunity and freedom. Her hypocrisy is further exposed by her handling of marijuana convictions. As District Attorney, Harris aggressively pursued marijuana cases, yet later, laughed about her own drug use. This is not even about drug use - it is about the double standard she uses. If she was an honest politician, she would admit that she deserves to be prosecuted for breaking the same law that she once used to put thousands of people behind bars. This glaring inconsistency reflects a broader pattern, and her actions speak louder than words. If Kamala Harris believes in freedom, she believes it only for herself. From the moment she entered the political sphere, Kamala Harris abused her power at the expense of the freedom of innocent Americans. But things did not improve once Kamala Harris was elected Attorney General of California in 2010. During her tenure as Attorney General, Kamala Harris supported and defended the aggressive use of civil asset forfeiture. This controversial practice allows law enforcement agencies to seize propertysuch as cars, homes, and cashoften without any formal charges being filed. In 2023, a report showed that the FBI had seized over $86 million from innocent Americans who were not even suspected of committing a crime. In other words, Kamala Harris supported a policy that is routinely abused against innocent Americans. That is not a pro-freedom policy, it is an abuse of power and one that Kamala Harris is proud to support. During her time in the Senate, Harris was momentarily restrained from undermining individual rights, primarily due to her limited power as a minority member and her absenteeismshe missed over 45% of votes . However, her assault on freedom quickly resumed when she assumed the role of vice president. The Biden-Harris administrations attempts to suppress dissent and control information were evident with the establishment of a Disinformation Board , echoing Orwells Ministry of Truth. Though public backlash led to its dismantling, the effort to manipulate and control information persisted behind the scenes. In fact, a recent report showed that the Biden-Harris administration directed 7 federal agencies to channel millions in grants to private organizations to censor their political opponents . Harriss campaign may project an image of freedom, but her record tells a different story. Her policies have consistently undermined the freedom of countless Americans. While she may claim to choose freedom, actions speak louder than words. Gabriel Nadales is the National Director of Our America. Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale Buy real estate. Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale in US and Canada. Search Real Estate We recently compiled a list of the 10 Worst ARK Stocks To Buy According To Short Sellers. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Teladoc Health, Inc. (NYSE:TDOC) stands against the other ARK stocks. Investing comes in all sizes and flavors. For the risk averse investors that are looking for steady payouts or long term stability, value and dividend paying stocks are the way to go. For others, that are looking for serious returns, growth stocks are preferred at the cost of higher risk. One hedge fund that takes a pure play aggressive growth stock investment approach is Cathie Wood's ARK Investment. Ark is known for investing in stocks that it believes are or will prove to be disruptive. This strategy has seen the firm's returns somewhat tailored to the broader economic and stock market environment. For instance, during the coronavirus pandemic when interest rates were at historic lows and internet stocks were booming, Ark Investment returned 20% in 2020. This led to Wood giving an interview with Bloomberg where she stressed that her firm kept a multi year investment horizon in mind when buying stocks. She also shared that Ark's investment approach was thematic in nature, and as opposed to big tech stocks that had reaped most of their returns already, the hedge fund was focusing on sectors that it believed held the most promising futures. Some of the sectors that were on her mind were DNA companies, robotics, blockchain, energy storage, and everyone's favorite, artificial intelligence. While we'll get to the other end of Wood's returns being tailored to the economy or the broader stock market, artificial intelligence brings another controversial decision that her firm has made to our mind. This was when her firm decided to completely exit Wall Street's favorite artificial intelligence stock, which ranks 14th on our list of Morgan Stanleys Highest Conviction Stocks: Top 20 Stocks To Buy and is a multi trillion dollar firm known for its AI GPUs. What do Wood and this stock have in common? Well, her fund cut its stake in the firm by 63% in Q4 2022. Back then, the shares were trading at a post split valuation of $14.61 or at $146 pre split. By June 2024, the stock had soared to $1,131 (pre split) meaning that Ark had missed out on a whopping $854 million in gains. Commenting on her decision later on, she shared that "we also redeployed a, a good chunk of" the proceeds from the stock sales, "certainly at the later stage of our selling" into the fast growth stock that's ranked 6th in our list of the 10 Best Fast Growth Stocks To Buy Now. This stock "last year was actually up more" than the GPU company, said Wood, adding that if the GPU stock is "to continue working, we must see this pull through into more of the tech stack. Otherwise, we have some productivity tools and, uh, assistants, that are working at the periphery of organizations but are not getting at, uh, what Dario, the CEO of Anthropic, calls the central part of organizations." Story continues As to buying the shares again, Wood hasn't ruled out buying it back again, she will only make such a decision "if there were a significant price correction around, around, let's say around an inventory" correction. The investor then shared examples of historic inventory corrections especially when the cryptocurrency market underwent this correction and a glut led to the stock dropping by "two thirds in one quarter." Cycling back, the stock market's recent performance has also made an impact on Wood's portfolio. Looking at the performance of her top ten stock picks during Q4 2020 and analyzing their gains or losses by the close of Q1 2024, only four stocks remained in her portfolio. By the close of H1 2024, these stocks were all in the red. The worst performer amongst them had lost 86% since the start of 2021, while the others' losses ranged between 73% to 39%. If you're hoping that the stocks that were eliminated might have fared better, you'd be wrong. Not only are all six in the red, but several have lost more than 80% while one has been delisted from the NASDAQ exchange. This performance would seem to imply that Wood has lost her stock picking mojo. However, this clearly isn't the case. With the second quarter of 2024 hedge fund filings out, we can see which Cathie Wood stocks have done well and which have faltered. Analyzing the year to date performance of the top ten Cathie Wood stocks shows that six are in the green. This is noticeably better than how her fourth quarter of 2020 stocks have fared since then. These stocks' performance ranges between 2.21% to 81.42%, with the top three performers up by 46.91%, 64.19%, and 81.42%, respectively. In the same order, these firms belong to software, financial markets, and data analysis industries and they rank 8th, 6th, and 9th in Cathie Wood's Q2 2024 investment portfolio. Before we head to our list of the worst Ark stocks to buy when considering short seller sentiment, it's also important to understand the rationale behind the fund's picking strategy. In its annual research report, the fund is still bullish on disruptive innovation. It believes that returns generated by firms that are part of this trend could exceed 40% on an annualized basis during the next seven years for a final market cap of $220 trillion. Ark also believes that AI training costs could drop by 75% per year by 2030, and the market for generalizable, or humanoid, robots could cross $24 trillion in annual revenue. Morgan Stanley seems to agree, and you can read more by checking out $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley. Our Methodology To make our list of the worst Ark stocks to buy according to short sellers, we ranked 120 stocks out of the 180 present in Ark Invest's Q2 2024 SEC filings by the percentage of shares outstanding that were sold short and selected the stocks with the highest percentage. For these stocks, we also mentioned the number of hedge fund investors. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletters strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here). 10 Best Remote Jobs That Pay at Least $100 an Hour A doctor wearing a face mask and lab coat providing remote medical advice via video chat. Teladoc Health, Inc. (NYSE:TDOC) Short Interest as % of Shares Outstanding: 17.06% Number of Hedge Fund Investors In Q2 2024: 35 Ark Invest's Q2 2024 Stake: $73.1 million Teladoc Health, Inc. (NYSE:TDOC) is a digital healthcare services provider that enables patients virtual access to healthcare professionals. It was one of the top performing stocks during the coronavirus pandemic, as lock down mandates coupled with a global healthcare crisis left the market wide open for the company. At 2021's close, Teladoc Health, Inc. (NYSE:TDOC)'s revenue sat at a whopping $2 billion. However, while it was able to grow its market share during the pandemic, growth has slowed since then as Teladoc Health, Inc. (NYSE:TDOC) expected 2024's revenue to sit at $2.6 billion at the end of its Q1. This marks flat growth over 2023, which in itself marked a small 8% growth over 2022's figures. Despite long term tailwinds that could see Teladoc Health, Inc. (NYSE:TDOC) benefit from a growth in America's elderly population, the firm is continuing to face uncertainty. This was apparent during the Q2 earnings call, where the firm refused to provide guidance for its full year. The key drivers of Teladoc Health, Inc. (NYSE:TDOC)'s hypothesis are its ability to expand its member network, rely on technology to ensure patients are matched with the right physicians, expand the kinds of care offered on its platform, and expand its presence globally. Teladoc Health, Inc. (NYSE:TDOC)'s management shared some positives during the Q2 2024 earnings call: "We are continuing to see strength in the number of recruitables that we have, right. The recruitables momentum continues. And I would say, that is testament to our product offerings. The fact that we are seeing strength in selling Chronic Care bundles increasingly. If you think about our overall Chronic Care bookings, more than half of it was Chronic Care bundles. The reason I mention this is, if you think about your question around, how are we doing in converting those recruitables into Chronic Care enrollees, we dont give the actual number in terms of enrollment, but it continues to be strong and increase relative to what you quoted as the enrollment numbers in the Livongo days. And the reason for that is, if you think about our ability increasingly to sell Chronic Care bundles to clients, what happens when you do that is, you will see enrollees essentially enroll into multiple conditions, use multiple off our programs rather than say one diabetes program, etc., and all of that helps from an enrollment perspective." Overall TDOC ranks 8th on our list of the worst ARK stocks to buy according to short sellers. While we acknowledge the potential of TDOC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than TDOC but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley and Jim Cramer Says NVIDIA Has Become A Wasteland. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. We recently compiled a list of the 10 Unrivaled Stocks of the Next 10 Years. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) stands against the other unrivaled stocks of the next 10 years. Growing a business is not an easy task. Several factors come into the picture when you talk about growth. In 2019, McKinsey reported that ~50% of the companies that enjoyed healthy and stable shareholder returns but didnt see top-line growth were either acquired or delisted. Growth is getting tougher amidst new market dynamics such as higher consumer expectations, competitive intensity, and digital disruption. Growth can only be rewarded to businesses that spot opportunities at hyper-granular levels and then seize them quickly. Pricing Power Remains Critical, Says Legendary Investor Warren Buffett, the billionaire CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., mentioned that he tends to rate businesses based on their ability to increase prices. He pays so much attention to the pricing power that he sometimes doesnt even consider the people who are managing the business. Buffett has had a successful career of stock picking and takeovers. The veteran investor has bought companies in the business of railroads and electricity producers, whose pricing power comes from a dearth of competitive options available to their clients. Buffett has also built stakes in several consumer discretionary companies relying on the appeal of their brands to bring in customers. Forecasts for 2024 Wall Street analysts expect that S&P 500 companies are expected to report steady earnings growth in 2024. They anticipate a ~5.4% earnings growth in 3Q 2024 and over ~15% earnings growth in 4Q 2024. The S&P 500s forward price-to-earnings ratio sits at ~22.40x as of August 30. The 10-year average forward price-to-earnings ratio came at ~17.9x, suggesting that the stock valuations might be slightly stretched. Moving forward, the US presidential election remains the most significant potential market catalyst for 2H 2024. Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth Management believes that inflation numbers might surprise to the upside towards the end of 2024 and into 2025. This is because year over year comparables might become more difficult and the effects of increased Chinese shipping rates start reflecting in the inflation data points. Equity Market Outlook Amidst Uncertain Macro-Economic Environment A higher-for-longer backdrop favoured larger and higher-quality companies that are less cyclical and rate-sensitive. Such companies were supported by mania in Artificial Intelligence/Large Language Models (AI/LLM) stocks. JPMorgan believes that, in the US equities, momentum crowding and stock market concentration reached multi-decade extremes. Market volatility in the US remains low, with VIX averaging only ~14 for the year to July 2024. This was mainly because of fundamental and technical factors, such as rising markets, risk complacency, and lower realized correlation, among others. In Europe and other areas, the broader equities were supported by improved economic activity and the expectation of multiple Fed cuts at the start of 2024. However, the growth-policy trade-off might worsen in 2H 2024. JPMorgan believes that there is a risk of disappointment. The large bank expects that the Fed might stay higher-for-longer, US activity momentum might decelerate and there can be a softening of pricing and top-line growth. Collectively, this might hurt earnings delivery in 2H 2024. Therefore, investing in stocks with wide economic moats and companies having significant market share should help offset the losses in the remainder of 2024. Our methodology To list 10 unrivaled stocks of the next 10 years, we sifted through wide moat ETFs and checked online rankings. Next, we narrowed our list by filtering out the companies that have held a near-monopoly status for years or decades. Finally, we ranked the stocks in ascending order of the number of hedge funds that hold them, as of 2Q 2024 At Insider Monkey, we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletters strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here). A close-up of a modern payments terminal with a pile of credit cards on the side. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) Number of hedge fund holders: 163 Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) operates a retail electronic payments network. It provides global commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses, and government entities. Undoubtedly, the company is the leader in the payments industry, and its strong network effect and pricing power make up the wide economic moat. Millions and billions of Visa cards are being used around the world which are accepted at over 130 million merchant locations. If customers using Visa continue to increase, it will look more attractive to merchants as a result of a potentially big market. As and when merchants taking Visa cards increase, more and more customers will plan to use them. Next, the company should continue to benefit from its large scale. As a result of this competitive advantage, Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) generates unmatched profits. In 3Q 2024, its GAAP net income sat at $4.9 billion or $2.40 per share, reflecting an increase of 17% and 20%, respectively on the YoY basis. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) controls more than ~60% of the US market for credit and debit cards. The companys network has become more valuable due to the increase in places and ways in which it can be used. It primarily grows by tapping a greater share of global payment volume. Bank of America reissued a Neutral rating on the shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), giving the stock a $297.00 price target on 10th July. As of the end of the second quarter of 2024, 163 hedge funds out of the 912 funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V). Aoris Investment Management, a specialist international equity manager, released its Q2 2024 investor letter and mentioned Visa Inc. (NYSE:V). Here is what the fund said: Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) operates the worlds largest payments network, which facilitates the movement of money between merchants, financial institutions, consumers, businesses, and governments. The company is best known for enabling consumers to make debit and credit card payments. In the year to September 2023, 4.3 billion Visa cardholders made 213 billion transactions on its network, to a total value of US$12.1 trillion. Compared to cash and cheques, which are still widely used around the world, Visas network is a more convenient, secure, and ubiquitous way for consumers to pay. Visa has invested to reduce friction and fraud in the payments experience, to the benefit of both merchants and consumers (Click here to read the full text) Overall V ranks 3rd on our list of the unrivaled stocks of the next 10 years. While we acknowledge the potential of V as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some deeply undervalued AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for a deeply undervalued AI stock that is more promising than V but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley and Jim Cramer Says NVIDIA Has Become A Wasteland Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. The IPO filing-to-approval lapsing ratio this year is the best in three years, underscoring the improvement in the IPO market's buoyancy. The current market buoyancy has sizeably boosted the success rate of companies launching initial public offerings (IPOs). In a remarkable shift, only 10 companies have failed to launch their maiden offerings after securing regulatory approvals. In comparison, 39 companies let their approvals lapse last calendar year, and 30 did so in 2022. The IPO filing-to-approval lapsing ratio this year is the best in three years, underscoring the improvement in the IPO market's buoyancy. Market players attribute the higher success ratio to favourable valuations in the secondary market. Potential new listings take cues from already listed peers, which, in many cases, are trading at record-high price-to-earnings multiples. "We hardly see any company letting their Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) approval lapse as market conditions are good and valuation expectations are being met," said Deepak Kaushik, group head of equity capital markets at SBI Capital Markets. "In our case, we haven't seen a single mandate lapse. When a company wants to go public, they have a certain expectation regarding valuation, and you need demand at that valuation," he added. Notably, the issuances are not restricted to a single sector or theme, as companies from manufacturing to services find acceptance. "When the economy is buoyant and domestic consumption is rising, the multiples you demand may not seem excessive when viewed from the prism of profit growth. "I'd say the current valuations are not very high and are close to meeting the issuers' expectations," Kaushik said. So far this year, the National Stock Exchange Nifty has gained 15 per cent, the Nifty Smallcap 100 has risen 27.7 per cent, and the Nifty Midcap 100 has increased by 28.2 per cent. In the first eight months of the previous year, the Nifty rose 6.4 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 and the Midcap 100 each rose by 22 per cent. Some companies that let their approvals lapse in the past are now taking another shot at IPOs amid improved sentiment. "Some issues this year have been refilings. Many are filing for the second or third time," observed Pranjal Srivastava, partner (investment banking) at Centrum Capital. Jana Small Finance Bank, Aadhar Housing Finance, and Popular Vehicles & Services are some firms that refiled their offer documents and completed their IPOs. Others, like Go Digit General Insurance and BrainBees Solutions, had to refile for regulatory compliance. The draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) is a preliminary document filed before an IPO and contains necessary details such as the number of shares being offered, financial results, and risk factors. After vetting the DRHP, Sebi provides its final observations, a crucial step in the IPO process. A company must launch its IPO within 12 months from the date of the final observations. The companies that let their approvals lapse this year include IndiaFirst Life Insurance, Healthvista India, EbixCash, and FirstMeridian Business Services, among others. So far this year, 45 companies have raised Rs 48,371 crore through IPOs. In recent weeks, IPO filings have also gathered pace. Bankers are optimistic about the chances of most of these issues. "One would be surprised if there are many expiries, going forward. In terms of valuation, you are getting quite close to what you have in mind," Kaushik said. "There could be a 10 per cent difference, which one has to take in stride," Kaushik added. "We haven't seen much discrepancy between the valuation expectation and demand in our launched issues." Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com Since it was formed 58 years ago, Haryana has had Jat chief ministers for 33 of those. IMAGE: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Narendra D Modi and other BJP leaders at the party's central election committee meeting for the Haryana assembly elections, August 29, 2024. Photograph: Rahul Singh/ANI Photo As candidate selection for the Haryana assembly elections gathers pace -- the state goes to the polls on October 1 and nominations close on September 12 -- some trends are interesting. To be a candidate you need to fill in a form. The Congress charges Rs 20,000 for every form it sells for an assembly constituency. However, scheduled caste candidates pay Rs 5,000. So far, the Congress has received 2,556 completed applications, so it has presumably sold more forms. The party estimates it has earned around Rs 3.5 crore (Rs 35 million) from form sales alone. The highest number of people wanting to become Congress candidates is from the Nilokheri (reserved for scheduled castes) seat: 88 have applied so far for this seat. The fewest are in the Garhi Sampla Kiloi constituency: Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is the only contender till today. It is not enough to fill in the form and wait for the call. Candidates also have to clear an interview with small groups of central party leaders. Around 100 candidates are being interviewed every day. Union minister and former Haryana chief minister M L Khattar observed, after a candidate selection meeting, that for every seat, there were 25 to 30 aspirants for nomination by the Bharatiya Janata Party. State BJP President M L Badoli says around 3,000 names were considered by the party and panels of prospective candidates had been formed for each seat. It is not clear which of the two numbers is the accurate one. There is no information available about the number of forms sold by the party. As for the suitability of candidates, the BJP has done internal surveys and is going by the opinion of party leaders in each district. And then there's caste. There's always caste. On the face of it, non-Jat caste groups got a voice when the BJP came to power in the state in 2014 and Mr Khattar was made chief minister. His family was from Pakistan and came to India during Partition. He devised a bold policy of defeating Jat domination by creating a rainbow coalition, especially of those castes that saw themselves as victims of Jats, like the scheduled castes and other backward classes. IMAGE: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in conversation with Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi during the party's central election committee meeting to discuss the Haryana elections, September 6, 2024. Photographs: ANI Photo Although the Jat population of Haryana is estimated to be anything between 22 and 27 per cent, the caste's access to land and capital has been the route to political power. Since it was formed 58 years ago, Haryana has had Jat chief ministers for 33 of those. Even in 2019, the support of the Jannayak Janta Party, led by Jat leader Dushyant Chautala, saved the day for the BJP. So, 10 years of BJP rule and the seeming loss of caste prestige have led to a sense of powerlessness. A manifestation of this frustration was the riots in 2016, which began as a call for Jat reservation and their demand to be treated on a par with OBCs but turned into an attack on symbols of State power like railway facilities and government offices. But this is not the only problem. The BJP is also facing anti-incumbency, which is showing up in different ways. Mr Khattar acquired a reputation for being a strict disciplinarian, cracking down hard on institutional corruption at every level. As part of this drive, the Haryana government's adoption of e-tendering of panchayat level works in 2023, for instance, met with pushback from many, including his colleague and later successor, Nayab Singh Saini. The policy made it mandatory for a sarpanch to use only the Haryana engineering works portal to tender for projects above Rs 200,000. Protesting sarpanches said the e-tendering system slowed development works in villages while the government asserted the system was aimed at bringing more transparency and accountability in works. When he took over, Mr Saini modified this system. The limit for works that can be done bypassing e-tendering has now been raised to Rs 21 lakh (Rs 2 million). E-tendering hits at the root of the patronage system. Jats are predicting a dire future for Dushyant Chautala. Chander Pal, a Jat from Bhiwani who runs a dairy in UP, says if Chautala had asked the khaps (community groups) in 2019 that he was going over to the BJP because he had no option, the community might have endorsed the decision, however reluctantly. But he crossed over "to the other side" (meaning strengthened non-Jats) taking the Jats for granted. He asserts it will take many years for Mr Chautala to regain credibility. Jats and non-Jats alike say many of the initiatives taken by the BJP government are good. But slights and hurt remain: Like the handling of farmer issues and the prestige of Haryana's girl wrestlers. August 31 saw the observance of 200 days of farmers' congregations at Delhi-Haryana's Shambhu border. Some messages from here will inevitably be transmitted to the queues of those who will vote on October 1. Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com Amid uncertainty over an alliance with the Congress for the assembly polls in Haryana, the Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday said it was a "strong, third alternative" in the state and those who underestimate it will have to regret. IMAGE: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during a meeting, at Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi's residence in New Delhi on February 18, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Saturday met with Congress leaders to take forward the Haryana alliance talks. After the meeting, AICC general secretary in-charge for Haryana Deepak Babaria said, "Nothing has been finalised as of now, it will be done by tomorrow or the day after." AAP national secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak said at a press conference earlier in the day that the party was ready to contest all 90 seats in the Haryana elections with full force. "We are fully prepared and waiting for the party's order. As soon as we get the 'go', we will announce everything. We are prepared to fight the elections with full force on all seats and those who underestimate us will themselves regret it in the future," Pathak said. Alliance talks between the AAP and the Congress have hit an impasse over seat sharing. The AAP has demanded 10 seats while the Congress is offering five to seven, insiders have said. Meanwhile, AAP's Haryana unit vice president Anurag Dhandha asserted that his party has emerged as a "strong, third alternative" and no government after the assembly polls will be possible in the state without AAP. "AAP's clear goal is to remove the BJP from Haryana politics. But if anyone considers us weak, then it will be their biggest political error," he told PTI on being asked about the status of the alliance talks. Haryana goes to the polls on October 5. The last date to file nominations is September 12. Earlier in the day, AAP chief national spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said talks were underway and expressed hopes that there would be "some conclusion". "Talks are ongoing, so it is too early to comment," she said when asked about the number of seats AAP would contest if it struck an alliance with the Congress. The AAP is already in campaign mode in Haryana and has organised several rallies, including by party chief Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita. "We are ready to contest all 90 seats," Kakkar said. AAP sources on Friday claimed that the talks over an alliance were on the verge of a "collapse". They had also claimed that the party was planning to contest 50 seats and might announce its first list of candidates on Sunday. INDIA bloc constituents AAP and the Congress contested the Lok Sabha polls in alliance in Haryana, Gujarat and Delhi. In Haryana, AAP contested the Kurukshetra seat, where its state unit chief Sushil Gupta lost to the BJP's Navin Jindal. India and China can play a role in finding a solution to the dragging conflict in Ukraine, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday after holding talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. IMAGE: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni takes a selfie with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the COP28 Summit in Dubai. Photograph: @GiorgiaMeloni/X The Italian prime minister's comments at northern Italy's Cernobbio city came two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin named India, Brazil and China as possible intermediaries that could play a role in resolving the conflict. "China and India have a role to play in resolving the conflict," Meloni was quoted as saying in Italian media. "What must not happen is to think that the conflict can be resolved by abandoning Ukraine to its fate," she said. "The decision to support Kyiv is in line with Italy's national interest and will never change," Meloni said, reaffirming her government's full support for Ukraine. On Thursday, Putin, speaking at a panel discussion at the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok, said that he was in touch with India, Brazil and China on the Ukraine conflict. "First of all, it is Chinese People's Republic, Brazil and India -- I am in contact with my partners and I have no doubt that the leaders of these countries -- and we have relations of trust and confidence with one another -- will be really interested and provide a helping hand," he said. His remarks came in response to a question on possible countries that can act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kyiv last month during which he conveyed to Zelenskyy that both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the ongoing war and that India was ready to play an "active role" to restore peace in the region. The prime minister said India was on the side of peace since the beginning of the conflict and he would even like to contribute personally for a peaceful resolution of the crisis. Modi's nearly nine-hour visit to Ukraine on August 23, the first by an Indian prime minister since its independence in 1991, came six weeks after he held summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is travelling to Russia this week against the backdrop of calls for India's possible role in finding a solution to the Ukraine conflict following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visits to Moscow and Kyiv. IMAGE: National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. Photograph: ANI Photo Doval is visiting Russia primarily to attend a conclave of national security advisors of the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) grouping that is taking place amid a renewed push for peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv to end the conflict. NSA Doval is travelling to Russia for the BRICS meet, official sources said. He is also expected to hold talks with his Russian counterpart and is likely to discuss ways to bring peace to the region. Doval's visit to Russia comes two-and-half weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high-profile trip to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. On Saturday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, following her talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said India and China can play a role in finding a solution to the dragging conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a panel discussion at the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok on Thursday, named India, Brazil and China as possible intermediaries that could play a role in resolving the conflict "First of all, it is the Chinese People's Republic, Brazil and India -- I am in contact with my partners and I have no doubt that the leaders of these countries, and we have relations of trust and confidence with one another, will be really interested and provide a helping hand," he said. His remarks came in response to a question on possible countries that can act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine. In his talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Modi had said both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the ongoing war and that India was ready to play an "active role" in restoring peace in the region. The prime minister said India was on the side of peace since the beginning of the conflict and he would even like to contribute personally to a peaceful resolution of the crisis. Modi's nearly nine-hour visit to Ukraine on August 23, the first by an Indian prime minister since its independence in 1991, came six weeks after he held summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. India has been maintaining that the conflict in Ukraine must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday arrived in the United States on a three-day visit during which he will hold "meaningful discussions and insightful conversations" to further strengthen the bond between India and America. IMAGE: KCongress leader Rahul Gandhi gets a warm welcome in Dallas, Texas, US. Photographs: Rahul Gandhi on Facebook "I am truly delighted by the warm welcome I've received in Dallas, Texas, USA, from the Indian Diaspora and members of the Indian Overseas Congress," Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said in a Facebook post. "I eagerly look forward to engaging in meaningful discussions and insightful conversations that will further strengthen the bond between our two nations during this visit," he said, sharing some photographs of his arrival. In a post on X, the Congress party said that Gandhi received a "warm and enthusiastic" welcome at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Indian Overseas Congress chairperson Sam Pitroda said last week that the Opposition leader is not coming to the US in his official capacity but will have a chance to interact with a variety of people on Capitol Hill at an "individual level". "He (Gandhi) will have interactions with the press at the national press club, he will meet with the think tank people and will also have interaction at Georgetown University which is equally important in Washington DC," Pitroda said of Gandhi's first visit to the US since assuming the mantle of the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. During his visit from September 8-10, the Congress leader would hold numerous interactions in Washington DC and Dallas, including at the University of Georgetown and the University of Texas. We recently compiled a list of the 10 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) stands against the other hidden AI stocks. Collaborative Partnerships in AI Research and development in artificial intelligence began in academia and dominated the sector until the early 2000s. Later, this pattern switched up and industry took over AI with higher investment, research, and cheaper inputs. Investments in AI by businesses are also almost always followed by commercial applications, making it a more profitable activity than academia. While these commercial relationships flourish, many companies focus on taking collaborative approaches to partnerships, revolutionizing the AI industry. By partnering with tech giants, such companies are accelerating AI adoption, driving vertical growth through specialized models, and increasing demand for powerful computing resources. This strategic approach is shaping the future of AI. This was recently discussed in another article, 7 Most Popular AI Penny Stocks Under $5. Here's an excerpt from it: OpenAIs approach to fostering collaborative partnerships instead of competing directly with tech giants makes it an exceptional model. Macquaries Fred Havemeyer (lead software equity research analyst) praised GPT 4 for its emotional intelligence. The growing demand for AI chips, exemplified by OpenAIs use of over 1.7 trillion parameters in its GPT 4 model, will further help NVIDIA and other AI chip manufacturers grow. On August 20, Bloomberg reported that OpenAI is releasing a feature that will allow businesses to use their company data to customize GPT 4 so that it can be trained on additional information for niche tasks. This is an example of letting companies fine-tune the AI model to act as a customer-service chatbot for their subject areas. According to DeepL CEO, Jarek Kutylowski, specialised AI models are essential for companies to grow vertically. Ever since it was founded in 2015, this research company has promoted open research and collaboration within the AI community. By sharing its findings and models, OpenAI encourages other researchers and organizations to build upon its work. This has accelerated advancements in AI and fostered a more inclusive environment. OpenAI partnered with Microsoft so that the tech giant's investment ($1 billion in 2019) could facilitate deep integration of OpenAI's models into its products. Azure offers these models as compliance-ready solutions, crucial for industries requiring high data security. Story continues This was also followed by Brazil's partnership with the tech giant to use OpenAI to reduce judicial costs. By automating tasks, the Brazilian judiciary is expediting case processing and improving efficiency, saving costs in public sectors. In a recent discussion on CNBC, Barton Crockett from Rosenblatt Securities and Amit Daryanani from Evercore ISI both agreed that AI is crucial for Apple's future success. Crockett emphasized that AI offers a unique opportunity to reinvigorate The company's device ecosystem and that consumers are increasingly valuing AI capabilities in their tech devices, and it seems to be falling behind in this regard. He suggested that partnerships with AI companies like OpenAI could help it bridge this gap and enhance its offerings. According to reports from Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI is reportedly seeking significant new funding, potentially valuing the company at over $100 billion. The investment round, led by Thrive Capital, highlights the intensifying competition among tech giants for a dominant position in the AI industry. In August 2024, WebProNews reported that OpenAI's user base doubled to over 200 million in a year and its annual revenue exceeded $2 billion. Over 90% of Fortune 500 companies now use OpenAI products. However, maintaining lead requires addressing practical, safety, and user-friendliness concerns. OpenAI's plans, including its new search engine, SearchGPT, aim to address these challenges and solidify its position. CEO Sam Altman believes SearchGPT can significantly improve search capabilities. These instances leave us thinking about whether it's collaboration or competition that can help AI progress fastest. As the Managing Partner at Boldsquare, Dylan Jones points out, strategic partnerships can significantly impact a company's valuation. Tech giants' moves indicate a calculated effort to maintain their AI leadership, even if it means blurring the lines between collaboration and competition. In a discussion at CNBCs 'Squawk Box', CoreWeave co-founder and CEO, Mike Intrator, said that the demand for AI infrastructure is relentless and has been in a state of severe disequilibrium for the past 2.5 years. He believes that the demand for Nvidia chips is skyrocketing, while the rest of the industry is trying to keep up with it, including CoreWeave. According to Intrator, CoreWeave and its clients anticipate significant growth in AI infrastructure demand. Due to limited industry capacity, clients are struggling to train and serve AI models. CoreWeave, with its ability to provide large-scale AI infrastructure, is well-positioned to meet this growing demand. However, startups often suffer at the cost of these partnerships, failing to compete with tech giants. Still, many companies are emerging and progressing at a good pace. In this context, we are here with a list of the 10 hidden AI stocks to buy now. Methodology To compile our list, we reviewed media reports and watched Wall Street analysts' interviews to determine under-the-radar and hidden AI stocks. We compiled a list of 20 potential stocks and selected the 10 most popular among elite hedge funds that are expected to be key beneficiaries of the secular trends in artificial intelligence. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of the number of hedge funds that have stakes in them, as of Q2 2024. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletters strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here). Best Clean Energy Stocks To Buy According to Billionaires Solar panel workers installing a new farm for clean energy generation. Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 92 Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) is a prominent independent power producer company that uses 400+ AI models to optimize operations, improve customer service, analyze energy usage data, predict demand, and optimize grid management. It operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company and delivers essential energy resources to households, businesses, and communities. The surge in AI data center demand has promoted this company's growth. It is also the largest independent power producer (IPP) in Texas, well-positioned to serve the state's growing data center market. In March, the company acquired Energy Harbor for $3.43 billion, a nuclear power and retail energy business. This deal added around 4,000 MW of nuclear capacity and 1 million retail customers to the company portfolio, making it the owner of the second-largest competitive nuclear fleet in the US. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved Vistra Corp.'s (NYSE:VST) request to extend the operation of its Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant through 2053, an additional 20 years beyond the original license, continuing reliable generation of zero-carbon electricity from this 2,400-MW facility. In the US, which houses a significant share of these data centers, electricity use is forecasted to increase from 200 TWh in 2022 to 260 TWh by 2026. This is a 6% surge in the nations total power consumption. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), data centers that used 460 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in 2022 are expected to see their energy needs double to over 1,000 TWh by 2026. The total energy share of data centers is expected to increase by 3%-10% in the coming years. Its AI-powered Heat Rate Optimizer (HRO) is deployed across 67 power-generation units and has achieved an average 1% improvement in efficiency, resulting in annual cost savings of over $23 million. This technology helped reduce carbon emissions, contributing to the goal of achieving a 60% reduction by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050. In the second quarter of 2024, the company saw an overall 20.57% year-over-year improvement in revenue. The company is well-positioned to capitalize on the growing power demand. 92 hedge funds are long in the company as of June 30, and the largest stake is valued at $587,931,842 by Lone Pine Capital. Legacy Ridge Capital stated the following regarding Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in its Q2 2024 investor letter: One of the sectors we know well which had been out of favor for several years has quickly come into favor: Independent Power Producers (IPPs). Weve written consistently about NRG and Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) since the 2019 letter, have owned each, or both, since 2018, and invested a meaningful amount of our assets in VST specifically the past few years. Nate and I intend on spending more time in the year-end letter on our updated views on the IPPs and our learnings from the on-going investment, but we were a bit surprised how quickly the narrative around these companies changed. Our Blue Sky 2030 estimates of intrinsic value converged with the share price 6-years before we thought probable. In the 2019 letter, with respect to VST, we wrote: Over the next decade management should have close to $15 Billion to deploy to share repurchases. If you assume they have to pay an average price for the stock thats higher than the current one, and they can only repurchase 60% of shares outstanding instead of the 100% the math implies, FCF per share in 2030 would be $14. Thats a $70 stock at todays valuation, but a $140 stock at a more reasonable FCF yield of 10%. And The IPPs are un-investable for most money managers, so there we are. When they become investable well probably be long gone. Were not exactly long gone, but sentiment has certainly surpassed investable. After 5+ years of VST trading between $17 $26 a shareand $26 exactly a year agoit hit a high of $107 in May on the heels of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) narrative and the implications for electricity demand. While we agree with the prevailing consensus view that more Data Centers will be built, Data Centers require base load energy, and that the US will probably be short base load energy, predicting the rate of any technological advancement is not our area of expertise, and we feel the margin of safety has dissipated. Therefore, what had been our largest position entering 2023 and 2024, and has been our greatest contributor to performance, is now one of the smaller positions in the fund. Overall VST ranks 3rd on our list of the hidden AI stocks to buy. While we acknowledge the potential of VST as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold great promise for delivering high returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than VST but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley and Jim Cramer Says NVIDIA Has Become A Wasteland. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. A government school principal was arrested in Kota after he allegedly deleted Ganesh Chaturthi greetings posted on the school WhatsApp group, which triggered protests by people of the village, officials said on Sunday. IMAGE: This August 2020 image shows a Muslim man offering prayers to Lord Ganesha on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi in Bikaner. The image is used only for representational purposes and is not connected to this incident in any manner. Photograph: ANI Photo Villagers held demonstrations outside the school, demanding the removal of Shafi Mohammed Ansari, principal of government senior higher secondary school at Laturi village, they said. The principal allegedly removed posts that had a picture of Lord Ganesh from a school WhatsApp group. Parents and teachers are part of the group, Deputy Superintendent of Police Narendra Nadar said. Station House Officer at Bapawar Police Station Uttam Singh said Ansari was arrested for disturbing communal harmony. He was granted bail and released later in the evening, the officer said. The situation in the village remained normal and peaceful, the SHO said. According to police, a man posted a Ganesh Chaturthi greetings message on the WhatsApp group, which the principal deleted. The group is named School Management Development Committee or SMDC, the SHO said. Around two hours later, a school teacher also uploaded a Ganesh Chaturthi greeting in the same group and Ansari allegedly deleted the post again, police said. After this, some villagers gathered outside the school, held demonstrations against the principal and demanded his removal. Police rushed to the spot on getting information about the incident, the SHO said. Police arrested the school principal for alleged breach of communal harmony and initiated proceedings under Section 127 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) against him, he said. He added that Ansari was granted bail and later released on the same day. The Uttarakhand government on Sunday ordered an inquiry into the matter of underworld don Prakash Pandey alias PP being given the title of Mahant in Almora jail. According to a government release, Special Secretary (Home) Riddhim Agarwal has nominated Additional Inspector General, Prison Administration, Yashwant Chauhan as the investigating officer in the case and asked him to report within a week. Pandey, involved in several cases of murder, robbery and ransom, was given 'diksha' by two sadhus inside the jail on September 5. As part of the ritual, the gangster was made to wear a 'rudraksha' rosary and 'kanthi' amid mantra chanting. The sadhus, who claimed to be from the Panch Dashnam Juna Akhara, also gave Pandey a new name, Prakashanand Giri, after the ceremony. The sadhus were accompanied to the jail by another person who acted as a mediator in the entire process. Meanwhile, the Juna Akhara has constituted its own inquiry committee to probe the matter. The matter was discussed in the national executive meeting of the Juna Akhara held in Nagina, Uttar Pradesh on Saturday. The meeting concluded with akhara's international patron Mahant Hari Giri constituting a seven-member committee headed by the body's national president Mahant Prem Giri to investigate the matter. Later, in Haridwar, Mahant Hari Giri said that the committee will investigate every aspect of the episode, including any kind of monetary transaction. He said the committee will present its report to the national executive in three months, on which necessary action will be taken after discussion in the central executive. The mediator Krishna Kandpal, and the seers, after the diksha ritual had held a press conference in Almora where he gave the reason why the gangster was given the title. "When I met PP bhai, I was impressed by his patriotic spirit. He had entered Pakistan once to kill Dawood (Ibrahim). He had even entered Vietnam to kill someone else but was arrested as there was a red-corner notice issued against him. He expressed his desire to tread the spiritual path. I talked to the seers and they agreed to offer him diksha," Kandpal had then told reporters. "It was a subtle diksha programme. A larger and more elaborate one will be done at Prayagraj Kumbh in 2025," he had said. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Areas of patchy fog early. Partly cloudy. High near 65F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear. Low near 40F. Winds light and variable. SHAFTSBURY The Shaftsbury Select Board is planning to hold a forum on the emerald ash borer (EAB) in the spring. Board Chair Naomi Miller brought up the idea at the board's Aug. 5 meeting. "What I was envisioning when I suggested that we do this was that we perhaps have some experts come and talk about what towns are doing, not individual citizens, but towns are doing with this enormous impending monstrosity of a dilemma that that's potentially going to be economically beyond our imagining," she said. The intent was to "get people to begin to think about it out loud together as a community. Not so much that we have experts come in and teach us about the ash borer, etc, but that we have people who are expert in thinking about what towns can do and how," Miller said. "What are the various possibilities for long term management to this so that we're just thinking about it ahead of time before it comes crashing down on us, literally and figuratively. Board Vice Chair Martha Cornwell suggested having it recorded and posted by one of the local public access cable channels. "It seems like towns have very wide variety of the ways that they're going about it, from its just a personal landowners responsibility all the way up to very expensive kind of tree infusions, for lack of a better word for it, she said. Maybe we want to do it with a couple of other towns, Miller said. Wait till the spring, give ourselves time to organize it. Originally from Asia, the emerald ash borer was first discovered in the Detroit area in 2002. It is believed to have entered the country on wooden packing materials," according to the Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food and Markets. This beetle feeds on all species of ash trees. Infested trees die within three to five years. As a non-native insect, EAB lacks natural predators to keep it in check. EAB was initially detected in the state in 2018 and has spread and established itself in most of Vermont. The insect is responsible for the death and decline of tens of millions of ash trees in North America. The beetle is bright, metallic green, measures about one-half inch long and has a flattened back. Trees infested with EAB may show signs and symptoms including bark splitting and D-shaped exit holes on the bark surface According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, "EAB is difficult to detect early when pest populations are small because damage to the trees is hidden under the bark and tree decline is gradual. The beetle is well-suited to our climate, is a good flyer, and spreads naturally. People contribute to the long-distance spread of the beetle when they move EAB-infested ash firewood, logs or nursery stock." During a recent visit to a forest site in North Pownal, new Bennington County Forester Tessa McGann, gave an overview of the problem and the response to it. "It is slowly spreading. We make these maps that show, what's the 10 mile radius and 20 mile radius for danger zones, and it's definitely becoming [widespread throughout] the entire state, and in this corner of Vermont," she said. "And its definitely active in Bennington County. And in the coming years, we can definitely expect it will be all over Vermont. We will see ash trees die all over Vermont. That is unavoidable." There are several different species of ash trees in Vermont. There are white and black ash, which is also called brown ash, and also green ash. And we are seeing there's different levels of resistance to the disease. It's very, very, very little resistance, but still with white ash, we see a little bit more," she said. For that reason, in places where the trees do not pose a safety hazard or where the landowner does not need to cut down the tree to sell before it dies, the recommendation is to leave ash trees standing as much as possible. We do have a hope that there will be some amount that are resistant to the beetle, and if they survive, they can help repopulate the forest," McGann said. "A big mistake we made with chestnut trees 100 years ago is that we cut them all down, and then every once in a while we found one that was resistant, but we didnt leave enough out there to naturally repopulate. So were really trying to avoid that. People can use insecticide on select ash trees, but this is expensive and only lasts a couple of years, she said. The state has begun releasing wasps that are the natural predator to the EAB in hopes of eventually creating a natural balance once the EAB population runs out of food and its population crashes, she said. We need ash trees to be on the landscape for that point to be a part of that balance. So right now, people are doing treatments to try to regenerate ash, to encourage seedlings to get established and start growing, because when they're really, really young, the beetle is not going to kill them," McGann said. "It's not going to waste its time on them. So, there's hope, I guess is what I'm saying. The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation offers an online Vermont Forest Invasive Pest Status Map. It tracks the presence (by town) of several invasive species, including the EAB on a town-by-town basis. It shows a prevalence of towns with the invasive in the northwest part of the state and in the south. In fact, every town along the Massachusetts border, from Pownal in the west to Vernon in the east has an infestation. According to the map, Shaftsbury and Bennington have had an infestation since 2020, Stamford since 2018, Rupert since 2021, Pownal since 2022. Manchester and Dorset first reported infestations this year. The map shows no infestation in Arlington, but this does not correspond to observations on the ground. In response to questions for this article, Arlington Town Manager Nick Zaiac said that "Arlington does indeed have a spreading infestation, and there is evidence of ash borer townwide, but mostly in the central and eastern areas so far. The first documented evidence came from the southeast corner of town. It is not limited to any particular type of landowner." The town's Select Board has discussed ash trees at the town rec park but the issue there isn't particularly bad, he said. "We have one small grant for cutting ash trees in the Buck Hill Road area which will take place next spring," Zaiac said. "The state has reported that there will not be substantial funding for ash removal into the future, so we save a few thousand every year in a Hazardous Tree Fund to be prepared for when they start to die in substantial numbers. "Ash borer takes a few years to kill trees, so we havent seen reports that it alone has killed anything so far," he said "Ash in the area are also dealing with a fungal 'ash blight' that weakens the trees separately. Our plan is to watch the trees and have them cut as they endanger the traveling public." Bennington officials are aware of the issue. With the help of Town Communications Director Jonah Spivak, two responded by email. Director of Buildings and Grounds Paul Dansereau replied that his department is not involved in any ash borer mitigation actions other than in following State of Vermont published guidelines. RJ Joly, Director of Department of Public Works, said he attended the first class on this topic about seven years ago. "We really somehow have not had a problem as the Town." "We have a few in the right of way but they are over power lines, and we cant remove them if we wanted to," he said. When wood lots were logged, the department tried to harvest mature ash trees before the bug killed them, he added. Israel stepped up its massive air strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs in its drive to wipe out Hezbollah's capabilities and leadership, even as the world awaits with trepidation the October 7 anniversary of the bloody attack on Israel by Hamas -- which, like Hezbollah, is a U.S.-designated terror group with ties to Iran. Meanwhile, Tehran said it had lifted all flight restrictions after earlier announcing it was closing Iranian airports as of 9 p.m. on October 6 until 6 a.m. on October 7, citing "operational restrictions," at a time when Israel is weighing options for its response to Iran's recent massive missile strike on its territory. State media said the restrictions were lifted after ensuring favorable and safe conditions. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on October 6 threatened Iran that it might eventually find itself looking like Beirut or Gaza -- which has also been battered over the past year -- if Tehran attempts to further harm Israel. "The Iranians did not touch the air force's capabilities. No aircraft were damaged, no squadron was taken out of order," Gallant said in reference to the Iranian missile strike, which caused few injuries and slight damage to two air force bases. "Whoever thinks that a mere attempt to harm us will deter us from taking action should take a look at [Israels operations] in Gaza and Beirut, where Israel is battling fighters of Hamas, which has been deemed a terrorist organization by the United States and EU. Israel earlier said conducted a series of targeted strikes on weapons storage facilities and infrastructure sites that belong to Iran-backed Hezbollah. Hezbollah has been designated by the United States as a terror group, while the European Union has blacklisted its armed wing but not its political unit, which holds seats in the Lebanese parliament. Lebanon's official National News Agency said Hezbollah's stronghold in the area was hit by more than 30 strikes. A petrol station and a medical supplies warehouse were hit by the air raids. Video footage showed huge flames and plumes of smoke billowing into the night sky, as residents fled their homes in panic with explosions echoing in the background. Many observers said the attacks were the strongest yet of Israel's recent air strikes. "Last night was the most violence of all the previous nights," Hanan Abdullah, a resident of the Burj al-Barajneh area in Beirut's southern suburbs, told Reuters. "Buildings were shaking around us and at first I thought it was an earthquake. There were dozens of strikes -- we couldn't count them all -- and the sounds were deafening," Israel has bombed Beirut suburbs for days, killing Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and possibly his potential successor, Hashem Safieddine. Security sources have said Safieddine had been out of contact since October 4, after an Israeli air strike near Beiruts international airport that was reported to have targeted him. Hezbollah has not commented on Safieddine. Israel says Nasrallah was killed in a strike on the group's central command headquarters in Beirut on September 27. Two senior Iranian security officials told Reuters on October 6 that Ismail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force -- the overseas arm of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) -- also had not been heard from in recent days since traveling to Lebanon. Senior Hezbollah member Mahmoud Qmati, when asked about Qaani's whereabouts, told Reuters: "I have no information. We are also searching for the truth of this matter. Statements on October 6 out of the United States -- Tel Aviv's most important ally -- indicated some frustrations with the scope of Israel's military action. "Military pressure can at times enable diplomacy. Of course, military pressure can also lead to miscalculation. It can lead to unintended consequences," a U.S. State Department spokesperson said in statement. The spokesperson said Washington supported Israeli actions in going after extremist elements but added that U.S. leaders but did not approve of the targeting of civilian infrastructure. "Every civilian casualty is one too many," the spokesperson said. Israel said on October 5 that its forces had killed 440 Hezbollah fighters in ground operations in southern Lebanon and destroyed 2,000 Hezbollah targets. Nine Israeli soldiers had been killed in southern Lebanon so far, the authorities said. According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, nearly 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon in the latest conflict, most of them since September 23. Israel says the attacks on Hezbollah are aimed at enabling the safe return of tens of thousands of citizens to homes in northern Israel, bombarded by the group since last October. The Israeli forces were on high alert ahead of the first anniversary of an attack on October 7 last year, which sparked the war and was carried out by Hamas. According to Israel tallies, some 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage in the unprecedented Hamas attack on southern Israel. Israeli police on October 6 said several people had been injured in a suspected shooting attack in Beersheba, a city in southern Israel. One attacker was killed, the ambulance service said. Separately, health officials in Hamas-run Gaza reported on October 6 that at least 41,870 Palestinians have been killed in the territory in the yearlong war between Israel and Palestinian militants. Palestinian officials said that an Israeli strike on a mosque in Gaza early on October 6 killed at least 19 people who were sheltering after being displaced from their homes near the town of Deir al-Bala. The Israeli military said the strike was targeting militants. The reports could not immediately be confirmed, but the Associated Press said one of its journalists counted the bodies at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital morgue. AP also reported that hospital records showed that the fatalities from the mosque strike were all men. Israel said its forces on October 6 surrounded the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza in response to indications that Hamas was rebuilding its operational capabilities in the area. Israel is also considering a retaliatory strike on Iran, which fired at least 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1. Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad visited Kharg island on October 6, amid concerns that Israel could target Iran's largest oil terminal there. "The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC] Navy plays an important role in the security of oil and gas facilities," Paknejad was quoted as saying at the facility, from which around 90 percent of Iranian oil exports are shipped. In Syria, state media and local rights monitors said an Israeli air strike targeted three cars in the city of Homs, although details remained sketchy. Israeli forces have for years been striking Iran-linked targets in Syria and have intensified such actions since the October 7 attacks. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP Israel on October 7 marked the somber anniversary of the Hamas attack on the Jewish state that killed more than 1,200 people and took some 250 hostages as the Israeli military continued its massive air strikes on Beirut and its incursion in southern Lebanon that aims to destroy the Iran-allied Hezbollah militant group. Israeli President Isaac Herzog led a national moment of silence at 6:29 a.m., the time the attack started, at Kibbutz Reim, the site of the Nova music festival where hundreds of mostly young revelers were killed by gunmen from Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by both the United States and the European Union. In Washington, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris condemned Hamas on the anniversary, while also stating again the U.S. administration's commitment to reaching cease-fire agreements to end fighting in both Gaza and Lebanon. "On this solemn anniversary, let us bear witness to the unspeakable brutality of the October 7 attacks but also to the beauty of the lives that were stolen that day," Biden said in a statement. The Israeli military said that during the ceremony led by Herzog, four projectiles were launched from Gaza toward the same Israeli communities targeted at the start of last year's attack. The military said the ceremony was not disrupted. In Jerusalem, relatives of the some 100 hostages still in Hamas captivity, many of whom are believed dead, gathered outside the residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and stood in silence as a siren wailed in a gesture of protest against what relatives say is the failure of the government to secure their loved ones' release. Following the October 7 attack, Israel launched a military assault on Gaza that has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas. The Israeli military said on October 7 that over the past year, it has bombed more than 40,000 targets in Gaza, found 4,700 tunnel shafts and destroyed 1,000 rocket launcher sites. The conflict in Gaza is still raging while Israel is now fighting on a second front in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah. Early on October 7, Hezbollah, designated a terrorist organization by the United States, fired rockets into the north Israeli cities of Haifa and Tiberias, causing damage and some minor injuries, Israeli police said. The European Union has blacklisted Hezbollah's armed wing but not its political unit, which holds seats in the Lebanese parliament. Amid the military activity at the individual level, the private lives of civilians throughout the region have been disrupted. In the ancient city of Beersheba in southern Israel, Irena Stein, who left Albania in 1991 to resettle in the country, told RFE/RL's Kosovo Service that life in recent times had been filled with "sadness and pain." "We had several months of rockets. Then, the number of rockets decreased, and we continued with daily life, like someone who goes on with their life after the seven days of mourning with a great pain in the heart," said Stein, who is in her late 60s. "There's this feeling like something might happen, that we should be cautious. But I believe you can't live with fear, so we've continued our lives, always praying to God that nothing happens to us." She said that in Beersheba -- where human activity can be traced to the fourth millennium BC -- things have been calm since rockets were last heard on September 29. But she lamented that throughout Israel, "We suffer from this situation, and the Palestinian people suffer from it, too." "The Lebanese people also suffer...everyone suffers. But as they say, peace must be decided at the highest level." Meanwhile, in a Lebanese mountain village southeast of Beirut, local resident Hadi Zahwe told reporters an Israeli strike on October 6 was "terrifying." "There were children killed, there were children's body parts. This enemy is targeting civilian women and children," he said. Netanyahu has insisted that Israeli forces are targeting terrorist strongholds and that civilian fatalities have been extremely low in the recent military actions. Israel in recent weeks has been bombing Beirut's southern suburbs and has staged a ground incursion into south Lebanon in its drive to wipe out Hezbollah's capabilities and leadership. The Israeli campaign on Hezbollah prompted the group's patron, Iran, to respond by attacking the Jewish state with a large wave of rockets that were largely shot down by Israeli air defenses without causing substantial damage, but the attack renewed fears of a a larger regional conflict. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on October 6 threatened Iran that it might eventually find itself looking like Beirut or Gaza -- which has also been battered over the past year -- if Tehran attempts to further harm Israel. "The Iranians did not touch the air force's capabilities. No aircraft were damaged, no squadron was taken out of order," Gallant said in reference to the Iranian missile strike, which caused few injuries and slight damage to two air force bases. "Whoever thinks that a mere attempt to harm us will deter us from taking action should take a look at [Israels operations] in Gaza and Beirut." Israel earlier said it conducted a series of "targeted strikes" on "weapons storage facilities" and infrastructure sites that belong to Iran-backed Hezbollah. Lebanon's official National News Agency said Hezbollah's stronghold in the area was hit by more than 30 strikes. A petrol station and a medical supplies warehouse were hit by the air raids. Video footage showed huge flames and plumes of smoke billowing into the night sky as residents fled their homes in panic with explosions echoing in the background. Many observers said the attacks were the strongest yet of Israel's recent air strikes. Beiruts Skyline Lit Up Amid New Israeli Airstrikes No media source currently available 0:00 0:00:59 0:00 Israel has bombed Beirut's suburbs for days, killing Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and possibly his potential successor, Hashem Safieddine. Security sources have said Safieddine had been out of contact since October 4 after an Israeli air strike near Beirut's international airport that was reported to have targeted him. Hezbollah has not commented on Safieddine. Israel says Nasrallah was killed in a strike on the group's central command headquarters in Beirut on September 27. Two senior Iranian security officials told Reuters on October 6 that Ismail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force -- the overseas arm of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) -- also had not been heard from in recent days since traveling to Lebanon. Statements on October 6 out of the United States -- Tel Aviv's most important ally -- indicated some frustrations with the scope of Israel's military action. "Military pressure can at times enable diplomacy. Of course, military pressure can also lead to miscalculation. It can lead to unintended consequences," a U.S. State Department spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesperson said Washington supported Israeli actions in going after extremist elements but added that U.S. leaders but did not approve of the targeting of civilian infrastructure. Israel says the attacks on Hezbollah are aimed at enabling the safe return of tens of thousands of citizens to homes in northern Israel, bombarded by the group since last October. With reporting by RFE/RL's Kosovo Service and AP Thousands of people joined the Pride parade in Belgrade on September 7, demanding legislation on same-sex unions and gender identity. Some mentioned persisting prejudice and stereotypes in Serbian society. The police cordoned off a group of demonstrators opposing the LGBT event. Among participants from abroad was a Russian woman who told RFE/RL: "You cannot imagine the same Pride...in Russia right now." Oliver Blume, CEO of Porsche AG and Volkswagen AG, speaks at the General Meeting of Volkswagen AG - Annual General Meeting 2023. Britta Pedersen/dpa The chief executive of Germany's Volkswagen Group has described the situation at the company's core VW brand as "alarming," days after plans for spending cuts and potential plant closures in its home market caused outrage among employees. Writing in the Sunday edition of the Bild newspaper, Oliver Blume said radical changes were needed to ensure the survival of the carmaker. Fewer vehicles are being purchased in Europe, Blume said, while new competitors from Asia are entering the market. "The pie has gotten smaller and we have more guests at the table," he added. The European auto industry is facing unprecedented challenges, Blume argued. "And the economic environment has worsened again, especially for the VW brand." Despite the downturn, Volkswagen will not abandon its home country, Blume promised. "We are firmly committed to Germany as a location, because Volkswagen has shaped entire generations. We have employees whose grandfathers also worked at Volkswagen. I want their grandchildren to be able to work here, too." Volkswagen has never closed a plant in Germany, and has not shut down a factory anywhere in the world since 1988. However, disappointing sales have led management to consider wide-ranging reforms, to the fury of the company's employees. Some 25,000 workers gathered at Volkswagen's headquarters in the northern city of Wolfsburg this week to hear management defend the planned cuts. By Rebecca Black, PA Alliance Party deputy leader Stephen Farry has announced his resignation. It comes after Mr Farry missed out on re-election to the North Down seat he previously held to unionist Alex Easton at the Westminster election earlier this year. Mr Farry has been deputy leader of Alliance since 2016. He announced his resignation from the role to delegates at the Alliance Party Council meeting on Saturday. The Party Executive meeting on September 12th will set the timescale for election of the partys new deputy leader. Any serving MLA or MP can be nominated for the role. Mr Farry will remain until his replacement takes up the role. He said it had been a privilege. I have been privileged to have had so many opportunities in politics and to make a difference through being a Councillor, MLA, Minister and most recently as an MP, he said. Over that time, I hope I have made a significant contribution on many issues, and helped to make this place a more inclusive and prosperous society. I announced my resignation at Party Council as I wanted to take the opportunity to personally thank the party membership for putting their trust in me as deputy leader from 2016 onwards, and for their ongoing support for me during my 30 years in elected politics. Having helped the party to weather some difficult times in the past, I have been delighted to see the party flourishing electorally in recent years, and I remain committed to the vision, values and policies of Alliance and assisting colleagues in their ongoing work. Mr Farry added: Since the general election in July, I have had many positive conversations regarding how I can make a significant contribution to society. I am currently considering several opportunities in this regard. Public service remains very important to me, and I will strive to make a difference through a variety of mechanisms to address the significant challenges facing society, both domestically and internationally. Olivia Kelleher A celebration of life for murdered Irish chef Shaun Brady is due to take place tomorrow in Kansas City, Missouri. Shaun, who was due to turn 45 next month, was shot dead in Kansas City on August 28th last. The married father of two was targeted outside of his restaurant in the Brookside area of the city after he intervened in the robbery of a vehicle from a car park. Two juveniles, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have been charged in connection with his murder. Such was his popularity that a large amount of flowers and cards have been dropped off to Bradys KC, the restaurant that Shaun co-owned. Bradys KC, at the request of the Brady family, delivered all of the flowers to the Shawnee Missionary Unitarian Church in the city. Cards and other gifts have been handed over to Mr Bradys mother in law to hold on to until the right time comes to pass them on to her daughter Kate and the couples young children Seamus and Mary. A remembrance ceremony for the talented chef who was born in Limerick, but grew up in Nenagh, Co Tipperary, will take place tomorrow from 5pm to 8pm (local time) at Drexel Hall in Kansas City. Meanwhile, the family of Mr Brady have thanked the people of Ireland and the US for all their support and messages during this harrowing time". In a notice on Rip.ie the loved ones of Shaun of Lenexa, Kansas City and formerly of Summerhill in Nenagh say that he was taken tragically from them on August 28th. The doting father is survived by his wife and children. He is also mourned by his mother Mary and his siblings Vivian, Sandra and Damien. The notice reads that Shaun is sadly missed by his heartbroken family, mother, sisters and brother, nieces and nephews, extended family relatives and friends. Over $169,000 has been raised via a Go Fund me page to help support the young family of the deceased. Bradys KC restaurant said in a recent statement that their hearts are broken following his death. There are no words to express our sadness, anger and frustration. Our community is with Shaun's family - forever.We cannot express how much we appreciate the outpouring of support, offers to help, and your love. "Together we are united. Together we will grieve. Together we will heal. "We ask that you show compassion and aid in our healing by respecting the privacy of Shaun's family. Shaun was well known and respected in Kansas City both for his culinary skills and his generosity of spirit. He frequently appeared on local television doing cookery demonstrations and played a huge part in the Kansas City Irish Fest. Mary Kate Gliedt, Executive Director of the Kansas City Irish Centre, previously said that they were heartbroken at the news of the death of their stalwart supporter and true friend Shaun. His restaurant Bradys was an extension of himself warm, open and welcoming to everyone. "His excellent creations in the kitchen were no match for his innate hospitality and generosity. Donations can still be made to the Shaun Brady Go Fund Me at https://gofund.me/b22217f6 James Cox Number 32 Beechwood Avenue Upper in Ranelagh has been memorialised as the childhood home of iconic Irish actress Maureen OHara. A Dublin City Council commemorative plaque was unveiled by Lord Mayor James Geoghegan earlier today. Speaking at the unveiling, Mayor James Geoghegan said: Its extraordinary that it has taken this long to commemorate one of Ranelaghs most famous residents in Maureen OHara. Personally, it is a great honour for me as a Lord Mayor of Dublin who grew up a stones throw from Beechwood Avenue to unveil her commemorative plaque here this morning. Many people who live in the area remember well when Maureen formally opened the Ranelagh Arts Festival in 2010, which was a very special event, he added. While Ireland seems to be having a bit of moment in Hollywood right now, Maureen OHara was completely unique at that time for an Irish person to have had the success that she had on the silver screen. Dr Ruth Barton, professor in film studies at Trinity College Dublin spoke about OHaras importance as a pioneering woman in cinema and her lasting legacy in the world of film. Born Maureen FitzSimons in 1920, OHara went on to become one of the most beloved actresses of her generation, starring in timeless classics like The Quiet Man, Miracle on 34th Street, and How Green Was My Valley. At today's unveiling are Lord Mayor James Geoghegan with Rita Purcell and Padraig Collins, owners of 32 Beechwood Avenue Upper. Photo: Fennell Photography The film would go on to win an Academy Award for best picture and would result in a longstanding professional relationship between OHara and Ford that would last 20 years and include five feature length films. Known for her fiery red hair, her fierce independence, and her captivating performances, OHara left an indelible mark on both Irish and international cinema. The commemorative plaque unveiling at OHaras former home in Ranelagh, where she spent her early years before making her mark on Hollywood, is part of Dublin City Councils ongoing initiative to celebrate and honour notable Dubliners who have contributed to the citys rich cultural and historical heritage. The decision to erect the plaque was made by the Dublin City Council Commemorations and Naming Committee. Councillor Dermot Lacey, Chairperson of the South East Area committee proposed that the plaque be erected. A life-size memorial statue of the much-loved Fr Raymond Browne will be unveiled in Four Mile House later today, Sunday. A much loved and highly regarded priest, the late Fr. Browne was an active participant in community affairs throughout his life. Fr. Browne, who passed away in November 2020 at the age of 92, spent a total of 34 years in the parish of Kilbride, 29 as parish priest and five as Pastor-Emeritus (or grandfather) of the parish. A special Mass, celebrated by the Bishop of Elphin Kevin Doran, will take place in St. Brigids Church, Fourmilehouse at 12 noon today before the unveiling ceremony. This will be a a fitting tribute to a great man and the incredible support for this project shown by the community is a reflection on how much people loved him, said Tim Donnelly, chairperson of the Fr Raymond Browne Memorial Committee. The memorial committee commissioned Feelystone to make the lifesize marble statue of the popular priest, which will be located within the vicinity of St. Brigids Church in Fourmilehouse. The statue will be unveiled by Mary O'Connor from Fourmilehouse and Kathleen Tully from Derrane who were very close friends of the priest. Bishop Doran will bless the statue along with new public seating, which will be installed close to Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Derrane in memory of Fr. Browne. This will be a day of great celebration of his life. We are looking forward to the Bishops visit, to the many priests who will be in attendance, and to the community turning out from our parish, surrounding parishes and beyond. Fr. Browne would be very happy that the event is on September 8th, the feast day of Our Lady, as he had great devotion to her. This statue will be a lasting monument to a remarkable man, said Mr Donnelly. Following the formal ceremony, refreshments will be served in the local community centre. Earlier this year, a community fundraising drive was launched to raise funds for the statue. Fr. Browne was born on September 1st, 1928 in Sligo, and served most of his 65 years in County Roscommon. In April 1986, he became parish priest of Kilbride, spending a total of 34 years there, 29 as parish priest and five as Pastor-Emeritus (or grandfather) of the parish. While he was, theoretically, in retirement for the last five years of his life, Fr Ray didnt know the meaning of the word, and continued to exercise an active pastoral ministry and, like many priests, adapted to the use of modern technology during the Covid-19 pandemic. Before he came to Kilbride, his ministry took him to Drumboylan for 14 years and Roscommon Town for 14 years. Following his ordination, he spent four years in Nigeria. While there, he compiled a catechism which is still being taught in the African country. After completing his secondary education at Summerhill College, Ray went to St. Patricks College, Maynooth in 1947 and, on completion of his formation, was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Elphin in 1954. Like many newly ordained priests at the time, due to the very large numbers of ordinations for Irish dioceses, Fr Browne spent his first years as a guest priest overseas. In his case, it was in Calabar, Nigeria, which must have seemed very far away in the 1950s. He worked in three teacher-training colleges in Uria, Ediene and Anua. On returning to Ireland in 1958, he was appointed curate at Drumboylan in the parish of Ardcarne, where he remained for 14 years. From there, he worked as a curate for the Sacred Heart Parish, Roscommon Town, where he served for another 14 years. His next move was just a short distance four miles to Fourmilehouse, in April 1986, when he became parish priest of Kilbride, spending almost 35 years there until his death in 2020. Though small in stature, Fr Browne had a big heart and this was demonstrated time and time again in his commitment to community development, both in his own parish and far beyond. His interests extended from housing for the elderly to the care of people with disabilities. He was national chairman of Muintir na Tire from 1963-1967. He was awarded an Honorary Masters in Community Development from NUIG in 2009. He always took a particular interest in encouraging the active engagement of young people in the life of the parish. He was a regular participant in the diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes, and at the age of 90, during one of the hottest summers for many years, he led a pilgrimage from Kilbride to Fatima. He died following a short illness on November 25th 2020, and following his Funeral Mass celebrated by Bishop Doran, he was laid to rest in the grounds of St Brigids Church, Four Mile House. During Fr Brownes Funeral Mass, Bishop Doran said that through his 65 years of priestly ministry he had touched the lives of a great many people, often possibly without even knowing it. He was a preacher and a sacramental minister, but he had a deep life-long commitment to building community. In my own experience of him, Fr Ray had a habit of gliding gently into the middle of a gathering, but you always knew he was there. He was a small man, but a big presence, said Bishop Doran. *The committee is still accepting donations for the project. There are several ways to donate: online via idonate.ie/fundraiser/FrRaymondBrowneMemorial, or donations can be handed into the local shop or church, or to any committee member. Major e-commerce platforms like Flipkart and Amazon have been selling scooters and motorcycles with attractive bank offers and discounts Recently, Hero MotoCorp has been offering its portfolio on major e-commerce platforms like Flipkart. Being one of the most widely popular platforms, Flipkarts portal is expected to boost sales and make vehicular purchases more seamless. One major benefit of vehicle purchases on Flipkart is that there are discounts on Hero bikes and scooters of up to Rs 21K. Hat tip to automotive enthusiast Ankit Sharma for sharing this update. Hero Bikes And Scooters Flipkart Discount Being a leading 2W manufacturer in India, Hero MotoCorp needs no introduction. It is a sales behemoth in India and has been at the top of its game for a very long time. The companys advancements in e-commerce portals are commendable and has been maintaining a presence on Flipkart. In most cases, automobiles are not considered an investment. Rather, theyre termed as depreciating assets. But what if you can save up to Rs 21K on your new Hero scooter and motorcycle? Tempting, isnt it? The best part about this offer is that it is legit and has been out there for some time. Depending on the motorcycle or scooter, one can save up to Rs 21K on their purchase of Hero vehicle on Flipkart. This is enabled by profound discounts from Flipkart, coupled with bank offers on select credit and debit cards. More often than not, Flipkart Axis Bank cards usually get more discounts than others. On Flipkart, Hero MotoCorp and a few other brands like Bajaj and Ola, have listed their vehicles. Hero has a major part of its portfolio on sale through Flipkart, unlike other brands. Among the Hero products, the price difference between online and offline ranged between Rs 3,014 and Rs 21,015. Which one has the highest discount? While budget commuters and ICE scooters had an effective discount of under Rs 7,500, the benefits increased with Heros premium portfolio and Vida electric scooters. Hero Xtreme 125R has discounts of up to Rs 8,550. Xpulse 200T has the lowest discount among the premium lineup at Rs 7,012. Other notable motorcycles with discounts were Hero Xtreme 160R 4V with Rs 10,016 discount, Xpulse 200 4V with Rs 13,661 off, Karizma XMR 210 with Rs 15,170 discount and we have the Mavrick 440 with Rs 19,450 off. Interestingly, Hero Vida V1 Pro has the highest discount of Rs 21,045, which is very tempting. The preconceived notion of buying a vehicle traditionally in a showroom after PDI is still strong among buyers. That could be a reason why many buyers dont prefer online platforms for vehicular purchases. This trend could catch in the future and Bajaj recently took a greater stride by launching an Amazon exclusive variant of Chetak scooter. 1 of 21 Note Prices mentioned in the post are indicated prices on Flipkarts landing page for motorcycles and scooters. Actual prices vary depending on variants and colours and offers and discounts of the time. By Adwitiya Srivastava (Reuters) -Westpac Banking Corp has appointed its business and wealth division head Anthony Miller as its new chief executive and managing director, effective from Dec. 16, Australia's third-largest lender said on Monday. Miller will succeed Peter King, who is retiring on Dec. 15 after a 30-year career at Westpac including five years as CEO. Before joining Westpac in 2020, Miller had served as the CEO of Deutsche Bank's Australia and New Zealand operations and co-head of investment bank APAC. He has also worked with Goldman Sachs for 16 years. "We would not expect the new leadership to change the direction or outlook for Westpac. King took control at a difficult time for the bank, and he leaves it in pretty good shape having returned the bank to loan and earnings growth and resolved a number of risk issues," said Nathan Zaia, a senior equities analyst at Morningstar. "For Miller, the big challenge will be successfully executing on the technology simplification which is currently underway." A former chief financial officer of Westpac, King was appointed as acting CEO in December 2019. He then transitioned to a permanent role in April 2020 and helmed the company through the COVID-19 pandemic. Westpac's stock price has doubled during his time as CEO, as of Friday's close. Shares of Westpac fell as much as 2.2% as of 1230 GMT, in tandem with a sell-off in the broader market. "Peter has provided much needed stability to the bank while transforming risk management. He simplified the companys portfolio of businesses and returned it to growth in key divisions," Westpac Chair Steven Gregg said in a statement. With the appointment, Westpac has become the second major Australian bank this year to execute a CEO succession. National Australia Bank picked Andrew Irvine in February to succeed Ross McEwan as its CEO. (Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft and Subhranshu Sahu) In the past 10 years, Bitcoin's (CRYPTO: BTC) price skyrocketed from $478 to $58,400 today, translating to a monster 122-fold gain. In fact, this leading cryptocurrency has outperformed every other asset class in eight of 11 full calendar years since 2013. That's a phenomenal track record. Investors look in the rearview mirror to help guide their decisions about what the future might hold. With that being said, where will Bitcoin be in 10 years? Bitcoin's past Bitcoin has seriously grown up in the past decade. It started out as a hobby for cypherpunks interested in this so-called "cool internet money." Back then, it was difficult to even buy and store Bitcoin, and the wild price swings make today's volatility look like a walk in the park. But the development over the years has been noteworthy. Bitcoin has progressed thanks to an expanding financial services infrastructure that has boosted its adoption, with things like digital and hardware wallets, brokerages, and innovative payment methodologies. Plus, regulators haven't gotten in the way of the crypto industry's expansion. As of about a year ago, an estimated 82 million people owned Bitcoin. It's legal tender in El Salvador. And major corporations own it on their balance sheets. Bitcoin's future The number of people who would argue that Bitcoin isn't a legitimate financial asset anymore is certainly declining. That's especially true now that there are spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the market sponsored by some of the most reputable asset managers. It has never been easier to gain exposure to the crypto's price for your own portfolio. Bitcoin is also being viewed more favorably from a political standpoint. Donald Trump was the keynote speaker at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville in July. He drew attention for saying that he wanted the U.S. to have a strategic reserve of the digital asset. Having a former president and current presidential candidate in the world's biggest economy voicing his support of Bitcoin shows just how powerful the digital asset's supporters have become. It's not difficult to believe that there will be growing interest in Bitcoin. The crypto's fixed supply cap is an extremely compelling characteristic. After all, when demand for a scarce asset rises, so should the price. This is what has happened historically. And Bitcoin stands out when viewed next to the gargantuan public debt levels across the world. Here in the U.S., for example, the government ran a $1.7 trillion fiscal deficit last year, which inevitably leads to ballooning debt, a higher money supply, and a deflating currency value. As more people simply learn about why Bitcoin is superior to this unfavorable setup, they might want to own it. Story continues Bitcoin's ultimate valuation Investing in shares of businesses that sell products and services and generate revenue and profits is easier to wrap one's head around. That's because there are valuation techniques investors can use when trying to figure out what a stock could be worth in the future. With Bitcoin, it's not as straightforward. The crypto doesn't produce sales or free cash flow. Consequently, it's definitely more of an art to attempt any sort of valuation exercise. Gold, which is a popular store of value, is often viewed side by side with Bitcoin. The precious metal has been perceived as a safe haven asset for a very long time. However, it lacks in certain areas. Bitcoin is easier to store and transport, more verifiable, and scarcer. Therefore, maybe an accurate price target for Bitcoin should be gold's current market cap of $17 trillion. Based on Bitcoin's current market cap of $1.2 trillion, there is 1,300% upside. Comparing Bitcoin's price and properties to gold makes a lot of sense, but it's anyone's guess how much time it will take to get to that market cap. Perhaps a more reasonable outlook is to simply assume that Bitcoin's returns will start to come down. If it rises at a 15% annualized rate, its price should increase fourfold between now and 2034. That seems totally realistic to me, and maybe even a bit conservative. Should you invest $1,000 in Bitcoin right now? Before you buy stock in Bitcoin, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and Bitcoin wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $630,099!* Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of September 3, 2024 Neil Patel and his clients have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Where Will Bitcoin Be in 10 Years? was originally published by The Motley Fool Politics Spotlight Everything you need to know about the San Francisco mayoral race After facing unprecedented challenges brought on by a once-in-a-century pandemic, San Francisco Mayor London Breed believes she has earned four more years to lead The City through a period of renewal and growth. A field of formidable opponents argues Breed has failed to meet The Citys problems head on, and that its time for a change. The mayoral race pits Breed against several well-resourced and prominent opponents from across San Franciscos political spectrum Daniel Lurie, an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune and founder of antipoverty nonprofit Tipping Point, two-term Supervisor Ahsha Safai, Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, and former interim Mayor Mark Farrell. The race poses a central question to voters: Who is to blame for The Citys well-documented social and economic struggles, and who can take credit for its recent progress? Polls have consistently shown that San Franciscans are concerned about the direction of The City and its leadership, though the picture is improving. If defeated, Breed would be the first incumbent mayor to lose a bid for reelection since Willie Brown defeated Mayor Frank Jordan in 1995. The candidates have jockeyed to outline their solutions for The Citys most glaring issues, including widespread concerns about public safety, a fentanyl-overdose crisis, the stubbornly high cost of housing, and a sluggish post-pandemic economic recovery. Though its a busy election season across the country, San Franciscos mayoral election has drawn substantial interest and a wave of money. Candidate spending has already soared into the millions of dollars, with much more expected to be spent in the waning weeks of the campaign. All of the major candidates are Democrats. Speaking in the broadest terms, three of the candidates Lurie, Farrell and Breed are generally considered to be moderate, meaning that they are to the political right of those labeled progressives, such as Peskin. Safai resists such labels and is typically considered somewhere in the middle. Given the ideological overlap in the race, the candidates have attempted to distinguish themselves at the margins of policy and by their records, which are varied. Given the cluster of candidates in the moderate camp, many have speculated that any combination of the candidates could form an alliance and encourage voters to support multiple candidates in The Citys ranked-choice voting system. That could mean one or more of the moderate candidates band together and urge their supporters to rank their choices accordingly. However, an alliance across the ideological spectrum is not out of the question. As of this writing, no alliances between candidates have been publicly revealed, though some influential political groups are urging their followers to back a group of candidates. London Breed Despite The Citys and her own many critics, Breed contends San Francisco is on the upswing. Pointing to declining crime rates and her fledgling efforts to revitalize downtown, Breed argues she has earned another term in office while her opponents will only drag The City backwards. She touts her leadership through the pandemic, during which The City saw a death rate from COVID-19 that was below that of its peers. Craig Lee/The Examiner Mayor London Breed endorsed by Chinatown community leaders for reelection, at Hons Wun-Tun House restaurant in San Francisco on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. Breed has also positioned herself as a leader on housing policy, promising to continue to shed burdensome regulations and implement The Citys Housing Element, a plan that calls for the construction of more than 80,000 homes by 2031. Things are changing in this city, and I have been on the defense leading this city through some of the most challenging times, making the hard decisions, Breed said after winning a key endorsement from the San Francisco Democratic Party. Now that things are starting to look good, and now that people are loving their neighborhoods and things are starting to feel good, I want to live in that moment as your mayor, in the offense, to take us to the next level. Daniel Lurie Lurie has highlighted his philanthropic endeavors and his work as the leader of Tipping Point, a nonprofit he founded with the aim of addressing poverty in the Bay Area. At every chance, Lurie highlights his complete lack of experience in city government, unlike each of his main opponents. Pointing to his work for Tipping Point which he argues was substantially more efficient at providing services than city government Lurie has presented himself as an antidote for a bureaucracy plagued by lethargy and corruption. Craig Lee/The Examiner Daniel Lurie campaigns for mayor at the Clement Street Farmers Market in San Francisco on Sunday, March 24, 2024. Lurie has also unveiled a flurry of detailed policy proposals to fix city government, such as tying the pay of city contractors to their performance on the job. I am going to be solutions-oriented, Lurie told The Examiner after launching his campaign last year. Im going to bring people together and work with everybody to make sure that we fix the problems that our city is facing. Mark Farrell Though he served as interim mayor for less than a year, Farrell has trumpeted his stint atop city government as a time period in which government was more effective, such as in clearing homeless encampments. Prior to serving as interim mayor, Farrell spent two terms on the Board of Supervisors representing a district including the Marina, Cow Hollow and Pacific Heights. Craig Lee/The Examiner Mark Farrell at the mayoral debate at the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco on Wednesday, June 12, 2024. Farrell has run a campaign largely centered on addressing voters concerns about public safety. He has lambasted Breed for her response to crime and street conditions and San Francisco and inability to rectify The Citys police officer shortage. This mayor has turned her back to the police department multiple times, Farrell told The Examiner earlier this year. If elected, Farrell has pledged to fire San Francisco police Chief Bill Scott and ask for National Guard personnel to be deployed to San Francisco streets to disrupt drug dealing. Aaron Peskin Peskin has represented a district that includes North Beach, Telegraph Hill and Chinatown for four nonconsecutive terms. The only candidate in the race considered a progressive, Peskin has built his campaign in opposition to the wealth influencing San Francisco politics and policy. Craig Lee/The Examiner Aaron Peskin at the mayoral debate at the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco on Wednesday, June 12, 2024. He has pledged to maintain the character of neighborhoods while paving the way for more affordable housing a claim disputed by the yes-in-my-backyard advocates for more housing construction and development who are known as YIMBYs. This handful of billionaires pouring millions of dollars of dark money into ugly smear campaigns threatens to destroy much of what makes this a unique, vibrant, and magical city, Peskin said at his first campaign rally. Ahsha Safai Safai was the first major candidate to step into the race and challenge Breed, announcing his candidacy last year. He has pitched himself to voters as a leader who can bridge San Franciscos political divides. Safai, who has represented neighborhoods including the Outer Mission and Excelsior on the Board of Supervisors for two terms, has been sharply critical of Breeds leadership style. Craig Lee/The Examiner Supervisor Ahsha Safai speaking at the Mayoral Forum at the First Unitarian Church in San Francisco on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Members of the Board of Supervisors, we can tweak around the edges, and we can have an impact, Safai told The Examiner last year. But truly, what has to happen in a good, functioning city is for the mayor to bring the board together to find common issues to work on. If elected, Safai has promised to end street homelessness in his first term and promote community policing. Where the contenders stand In general, voter polls have indicated that its a highly competitive race with no clear frontrunner. As of this writing, Breed and Farrell have been neck-and-neck atop the board, with Lurie and Peskin trailing both but not by an insurmountable margin. Predicting the results is functionally impossible due not only to the nature of San Francisco politics, but also to the ranked-choice voting system, which can create a pathway for a middling candidate to rise to the top. Another complicating factor in making election predictions is that this is the first mayoral race since the passage of 2022s Proposition H, which aligned elections of major city officials with presidential elections. The switch is expected to bring higher voter turnout in the mayoral race, meaning there could be voters casting ballots who are normally tuned out of local politics. Mayoral money pours in The substantial interest in San Francisco politics and tightly contested nature of the race have spurred a spending blitz. By the time the first major campaign-finance reporting period ended June 30, the candidates were well on their way to sailing past the amount spent on the last closely contested mayoral election that of 2018, when Breed prevailed in a special election to fill the vacancy left by former Mayor Ed Lee, who died in 2017. Lurie has declined to participate in The Citys public-financing program which would force him to abide by spending limits and has contributed heavily to his own campaign. As of Sept. 5, Lurie has placed $3.5 million of his own money into the race, while members of his familyhave contributed heavily to an independent committee that also supports his candidacy. The self-funding is the most transparent way in which Luries wealth has affected the race, but Lurie contends that accepting public financing would be a waste of taxpayers money that would be better spent protecting and educating our community. The Citys public-financing program has boosted the contributions to other candidates, who have also spent millions of dollars. Multiple independent expenditure committees, which are legally prohibited from coordinating directly with candidates, have formed to boost the candidates of their choice. Chief among them is one formed by Luries supporters, boosted primarily by a $1 million donation from his mother, Mimi Haas. Craig Lee/The Examiner Left-right: Mark Farrell, Ahsha Safai, Daniel Lurie, Mayor London Breed and Aaron Peskin on stage for the mayoral debate at UC Law San Francisco on Monday, June 17, 2024. Ethics at the forefront Ethical considerations have played a central role in the race. Farrells opponents have hammered his use of a separate ballot-measure committee which he formed to support a charter reform effort proposed by political group TogetherSF to accept large donations from well-heeled donors and use them to share expenses with his mayoral campaign. The ballot-measure committee is not bound by contribution limits, but his mayoral campaign is. Critics of the practice have likened it to money laundering, while Farrells campaign has repeatedly denied such claims and promised its attorneys have signed off on the setup. Breeds opponents, meanwhile, have attempted to tie her to the corruption scandals that have swept through City Hall during her tenure. Key endorsements Major endorsements have been split across the field. Peskin has strong support from organized labor, including SEIU 1021, the largest union in The City. However, the San Francisco Labor Council, an umbrella organization that includes more than 150 unions, has been unable to reach a consensus needed to make an endorsement. The Citys influential public-safety unions have split, with the firefighters and sheriffs backing Farrell as their lone choice and the police union endorsing Breed. The latter endorsement was not without controversy, as some within the police union were reportedly dissatisfied with the choice and the process by which it was made. Apart from organized labor, powerful political groups have emerged on the scene to boost moderate candidates. TogetherSF, an organization financially backed by billionaire investor Michael Moritz, has endorsed Farrell first, then Breed and Lurie in any order. GrowSF, a group with deep ties to the tech industry, has also endorsed all three moderate candidates and urged its followers to do the same in any order. Editors note: This story was changed on Sept. 9, 2024, to correct information about TogetherSF Actions mayoral endorsement and the year in which Mayor Willie Brown was first elected mayor. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of Melrose Industries on Friday at 'equalweight' with a 500.0p price target, noting that a strong aftermarket narrative supported its belief that profit and loss would come in 6-10% above consensus by 2027. "We believe cash flow is set to rise materially but timing is uncertain," it said, as it noted detailed estimates by segment suggest strong structural growth. "Melrose benefits from strong momentum in Aftermarket while it has early exposure to the civil volume ramp-up as it delivers products 6-9 months ahead of aircraft completion," it said. "We estimate Melrose can capture a 10% global market share by 2030 in Repairs, fuelled by 1,500 aircraft not being retired recently. However, Morgan Stanley added that a look at the RRSP business model suggests cash visibility was limited. Analysts at Canaccord Genuity raised their target price on exploration and production firm Zephyr Energy from 14.0p to 16.0p on Friday following the publication of the group's hotly-anticipated 36-2R production test results. Zephyr's eagerly awaited second production test of the State 36-2R well in its Utah-based Paradox acreage achieved a peak production rate of over 2,100 barrels of oil equivalent per day, consisting of roughly 1,590 boepd of gas, and approximately 510 boepd of condensate/light volatile oil at peak production, with these condensate yields increasing towards the end of the test. "This a very strong result landing towards the top end of Zephyr's expectations and implies an attractive commercial profile using non-hydraulic stimulation methods, presenting a lower risk/cost method for future development in the Paradox acreage," said Canaccord Genuity. Canaccord Genuity, which has a 'speculative buy' rating on the stock, noted that Zephyr has now initiated the process of finding a financial partner to accelerate the Paradox project's development roll-out. "Management believes that the wealth of data from drilling the State 16-2, 36-2, and 36-2R wells, alongside 3D seismic, core samples, stimulation data and recent production test results provides a strong offering for potential partners to gain comfort in the potential of the Paradox acreage," said the Canadian bank. Canaccord added that success at Paradox could also potentially be a catalyst for attracting a partner at Zephyr's neighbouring Salt Wash helium play. Analysts at Berenberg lowered their target price on bookmaker Entain from 1,140.0p to 1,020.0p on Friday, stating that the group was not yet "out of the woods". Bernberg noted that Entain's shares have fallen 37% year-to-date, but said it believes the company has still not been given credit for its prospects both in the US and outside. "While we can understand market scepticism given persistent earnings downgrades and market share losses, the raising of ex-US EBITDA guidance with the H1 results is the first positive step for Entain, although it is not yet out of the woods," said Berenberg. The German bank highlighted that since Entain's upgrade on 8 August, its shares have rallied 20%, and said it would expect in-line Q3 results to be enough to continue the shares' upward trend. "In the US, we believe the launch of Angstrom will support an improving product and tech offering. Although we do not expect immediate results, any evidence that BetMGM has improved in the US would provide scope for a rerating," added Berenberg, which reiterated its 'buy' rating on the stock. NEW YORK, N.Y. Embrace your inner spy by uncovering hidden talents, cracking codes, and conducting top-secret operations at New York Citys #1-rated museum and experience, Spyscapes. Located at 928 8th Avenue, New York, individuals can acquire the mindset of a spy and master some high-level skills in seven technologically advanced galleries and interactive encounters. Spyscape offers two unique immersive experiences with Spygames and Spy HQ. Spygames The Spygames experience is for teams of two to five players, ages 6+. Teams must jump, dodge, throw, and climb through immersive challenges as they face lasers, illuminated pressure-sensitive floors, and more. Each game is typically less than three minutes long, but there are various games, and additional time can be bought. Players must wear sneakers or flat-soled shoes for safety as Spygames is physically active. Ticket prices start at $25 and can be purchased here. Spy HQ Spy HQ will uncover the players hidden powers by providing a 40-page profile of their skills and attributes developed by MI6 psychologists. Players will compete in interactive spy challenges, which include lie detection, code-breaking, surveillance, and laser dodging. Players will see rare original spy artifacts, such as the infamous German Enigma machine, and fictional gadgets, like James Bonds DB5. At the end, they will receive a personalized debrief, a detailed profile of their hidden powers, and a review of their activities. The Spy HQ experience typically takes one to two hours to complete. Players must wear sneakers or flat-soled shoes for safety, as Spy HQ is physically active. Tickets are $42 for ages 6-12, $49 for adults, and free for children five and under with an adult ticket. Click here for more information. Tickets bought for the Spy HQ experience and museum do not include access to Spygames. Individuals can gain access to both experiences by purchasing all access tickets for $59. After completing challenges, players can visit the spy bookstore and giftshop to find gifts and gadgets selected by real spies and hackers. Think you have what it takes to be a spy? Head over to @spyscape and find out! You can explore Spy HQ, see authentic spy objects, and learn more about extraordinary gadgets and stories. Get your tickets here:https://t.co/wbVZrrLWND : @SPYSCAPE pic.twitter.com/bkkkMoVh8f OYO Times Square (@OYOTimesSquare) August 30, 2024 Spyscape is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Various ticket packages are offered, with VIP passes and party packages available for purchase. For more information, click here. The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently arrested a man accused of plotting a terrorist attack against the New York City Jewish community, according to United States Attorneys Office, Southern District of New York. According to authorities, Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, attempted to enter the United States to carry out a mass shooting at a Jewish center in New York City. The FBI says that Khan had planned a mass shooting at a Jewish center in Brooklyn, on Oct. 7, 2024. According to the criminal complaint filed against Khan, in November 2023, he began posting on social media and communicating with others on an encrypted messaging application about his support for ISIS. Khan, a Pakistani national residing in Canada, began talking to two undercover law enforcement officers about his plans to carry out a terrorist attack, by attempting to recruit offline ISIS supporters to carry out his plan, the complaint alleged. The plan Khan allegedly came up with was to use AR-style assault rifles target Israeli Jewish chabads, according to the complaint. During subsequent conversations, with undercover officers, the defendant instructed them to obtain AR-style assault rifles, ammunition, and other materials to carry out the attacks, while also identifying the specific locations where the attacks would take place, the complaint alleged. Khan also reportedly provided details to the undercover officers about how he would cross the border from Canada into the U.S. to conduct the attacks. During these conversations with the UCs, Khan said that October 7th and October 11th are the best days for targeting the jews, citing potential protests over the one-year anniversary of the brutal terrorist attacks in Israel by Hamas and the Yom Kippur holiday as his reasoning. During one communication, with undercover agents Khan stated that if he were to succeed with his plans, the terrorist plot would be the largest since September 11, 2001. Khan is charged with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The annual reenactment of the 1776 failed peace conference was held at the Conference House Saturday afternoon in Tottenville. The event, which commemorates the historic meeting that took place on Sept. 11, showcases when British Lord Admiral Richard Howe and American founding fathers Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Edward Rutledge met to end the conflict between colonists and Great Britain during the American Revolution. Historically, the American delegates declined Howes offer to end the conflict if America returned under British rule. The Conference House Association, with support from the Department of Cultural Affairs, puts on the well-attended reenactment. The Conference House Association is proud to sponsor and invite diverse community groups to attend the annual 1776 Peace Conference Celebration, said Evelyn M. Lacagnino and Gerard A. Lacagnino, the Board of Directors and Co-Chairs for the association. The work of preserving the Conference House is achieved by the Association with the support of The NYC Dept. of Cultural Affairs, The Historic House Trust of NYC, and the NYC Department of Parks. Richmond County Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) attended the reenactment to showcase their significant role in preserving the Conference House.Photo courtesy of Hanane Saturdays event was attended by many residents for the reenactment. Among them was the Richmond County Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) attended the reenactment. The Richmond County Chapter Regent, Elaine Dean, stated that this annual reenactment is not only a great way of preserving our past, its a good way to continue educating our future generations. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Voter identification debates rage around the country, but in New York, most voters do not need any form of ID when casting their ballots. According to the New York City Board of Elections (BOE), registered voters do not need to show ID to vote, except if they did not provide identification when they registered. Even those people can still vote by affidavit ballot, but not by using poll site scanners, according to the city BOE. New Yorkers last day to register to vote will be Oct. 26, according to the state BOE. That will be the last day to register in person, and the last day for an application to be received by one of the states BOEs. While most registered voters do not need identification, first-time registrants need to provide identification either on or with their voter registration application, according to the city BOE. Acceptable identification can be as simple as entering the last four digits of a drivers license number, non-driver ID number, or Social Security number. Other acceptable forms of identification can include copies of a current and valid photo ID, a current utility bill, a bank statement, a government check or paycheck, or a government document that shows name and address. Early voting for the general election will run from Oct. 26 which is also the last day to register to vote, and will run until Nov. 3, according to the state BOE. Election day will be Tuesday, Nov. 5, and Staten Islanders will have the chance to vote on a variety of offices, including president and Congress, along with six ballot questions. This woman bought 8 properties including 1 for $1,800 in a once-bankrupt city turned investor's paradise Chase C. Hunter became a real estate investor after a Google search and a $3,800 initial investment. At the time, while living in Houston, she searched for places she could buy cheap property and found ample opportunities in Detroit, with homes selling for as little as $1,000. I closed on my first two properties the same day in June of 2021, she told Realtor.com in an article published Aug. 24. The day I closed was my very first time in Detroit. Don't miss Commercial real estate has beaten the stock market for 25 years but only the super rich could buy in. Here's how even ordinary investors can become the landlord of Walmart, Whole Foods or Kroger Car insurance premiums in America are through the roof and only getting worse. But 5 minutes could have you paying as little as $29/month These 5 magic money moves will boost you up America's net worth ladder in 2024 and you can complete each step within minutes. Here's how Both properties came with significant issues. She paid $2,000 for one and $1,800 for the other, renovated them, found renters and began her career as a landlord. She has since repeated this process for eight homes. Hunter's journey was a successful one, thanks to a lot of effort and a little luck, but it wasn't an easy one. Rental properties can require a lot of hands-on labor While Hunter paid very little for the two homes she purchased, that was far from the end of the story. As explained in the article, she had to invest $85,000 in renovations for the house she bought for $2,000 to ready it for renters. On the second house, purchased for $1,800, she spent $130,000 to convert it into her office because of unexpected water line problems. Hunter also moved to Detroit permanently and became a real estate agent last year to further her business efforts. She takes a risk by funding the cost of the renovations on business credit cards. She spends time carefully researching neighborhoods to find good properties, is cautious in choosing contractors, and invests in top-notch security due to Detroit's high crime rate. She also spends more upfront now to buy her properties, but far less to renovate them. She looks for houses that she can turn around quickly and spends around $5,000 to $10,000 to fix them up. At this point, I focus on things I can turn over pretty quickly, such as cosmetic rehabs, she said. I look for homes in the $80,000 range, because you spend less on repairs. Read more: Car insurance rates have spiked in the US to a stunning $2,150/year but you can be smarter than that. Here's how you can save yourself as much as $820 annually in minutes (it's 100% free) Story continues While her business has been a success so far thanks to this hard work, she also benefited from a major turnaround in Detroit's real estate market. The median sales price was just $58,900 in 2009, according to Realtor.com, and the city became the largest municipality in U.S. history to file for bankruptcy in 2013, which didn't help matters. Investors like Hunter swept in and took advantage of low prices on properties, helping to usher in a revitalization that has helped push the median sales price up to $250,000 as of May 2024, per Realtor.com. With a meteoric rise in home values, investors will obviously have an easier time making a profit than in markets that are more stable and not prone to such big price increases in such a short time. Barely a decade after it declared bankruptcy, The Wall Street Journal stated Detroit is emerging as Americas most unlikely real-estate boomtown. Passive methods of making money on real estate Not everyone wants to sink thousands of dollars into rehabbing homes or deal with the hassles that can come with finding contractors, managing a renovation, finding tenants and collecting rent. For those who want to invest in real estate without turning it into a full-time job, there are plenty of safe and easy alternatives. Some options include: Investing in a real estate investment trust (REITs) , which are publicly traded trusts that own many properties and pay out profits from the rent in dividends to investors. Investing in crowd-funding platforms that allow you to select projects like rental properties or land parcels and pool your money with others to own a small stake. Purchasing exchange traded funds that give you exposure to the real estate market, either by doing things like pooling money to buy interests in many REITs or investing in businesses operating in the real estate industry Each of these options allows you to get the benefits of exposure to real estate without personally having to try to collect rent, contract with handymen or do the many other tasks necessary to own property of your own. What to read next This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. It is inconsistent to seek the benefits of the public judicial system and its associated constitutional protections while simultaneously attempting to shield the proceedings from public scrutiny and constitutional protections of the press right to access, the documents state. Loading This approach is self-contradictory and undermines the principles of open justice and transparency that are fundamental to the American legal system. Falconi founded the campaign group Our Nevada Judges, which is aimed at improving transparency over the states legal system. Nevada is a popular location for family trusts because of favourable laws and privacy protections. Falconi scored a major victory in February, when the Supreme Court of Nevada ruled there was a constitutional right for family court proceedings to be open to the public. He is using this victory as a precedent for his petition in the Murdoch trial. But the Murdochs lawyers have pushed back against the move, arguing that there is a compelling interest in keeping the case out of the public eye to protect confidential information. Edmund Gorman, the probate commissioner for Washoe County, has sided with the family, arguing that filming the case would harm their right to privacy and could put their safety and wellbeing at risk. Logan Roy, the main character in Succession, the hit show about the inheritance struggles of a US media dynasty that was partly based on Rupert Murdoch and his family. Gorman wrote: Certain parties and witnesses in this case are nationally prominent figures who have received significant media attention in the past. Electronic coverage of the hearings in this case could expose these persons whereabouts, travel plans, and other information that could be exploited by malicious actors. The final decision on whether to allow cameras at the trial will rest with Washoe County Judge David Hardy. Media analyst Alex DeGroote says it is unsurprising that the Murdochs are resisting the petition. You dont wash your dirty linen in public, he said. There is so much at stake in terms of voting rights and control. Lachlan has taken pole position to take over the reins of the media empire. Credit: Bloomberg Still, efforts by the Murdochs to rely on privacy arguments will raise eyebrows given the chequered history of the familys own media empire. The media empire has spent more than 1 billion ($2 billion) on damages and legal fees relating to historical phone hacking claims at the now-defunct News of the World. In April, Hugh Grant settled his case against the publisher of The Sun for an enormous sum of money. The Notting Hill actor insisted he did not want to accept a settlement over his accusations that journalists used private detectives to tap his phone and burgle his house, but that a trial would have proved too expensive. Hugh Grant was paid an enormous settlement. Credit: AP News Group Newspapers denies the claims and said the settlement was reached without admission of liability. Rupert Murdochs attempt to overhaul the family trust, dubbed Project Harmony, will have significant implications for the future of the media empire, which includes the Sun and Times newspapers, as well as Fox News in the US. In recent years, Lachlan emerged in pole position to take over the reins after adopting the roles of chief executive and chairman of TV group Fox Corporation in 2019 and chairman of News Corp last year. The 52-year-old is viewed as the most conservative of Murdochs children and, as such, is most closely aligned with his fathers views. James and Elisabeth, who were both previously regarded as potential candidates to take over the family business, are more liberal than their father and have both publicly criticised the nonagenarians newspapers and TV channels. Lawyers for Murdoch argue that handing sole control to Lachlan will be good for all the siblings, as it reduces the risk of divided control that could undermine the business and damage their inheritance. Loading But the move has been widely regarded as an effort by the tycoon to ensure there is no softening of the right-wing politics that has come to define his media empire. While the family trust is classed as irrevocable, it is believed to contain a provision allowing for changes to be made in good faith if they have the sole purpose of benefiting all the beneficiaries. The two-week trial will be tasked with determining if Murdoch is in fact acting in good faith. A spokesman for the Murdoch family has been contacted for comment. The Telegraph, London Supermodel Elle Macpherson has rejected specialists concerns that her breast cancer could return, claiming that fear is something that can really make you ill. Experts have warned that the 60-year-olds decision to reject chemotherapy and instead undergo a holistic treatment following her 2017 breast cancer diagnosis has increased the risk of it coming back. Elle Macpherson during her 60 Minutes interview. Credit: Nine Macpherson told Channel Nines 60 Minutes on Sunday that it wasnt an easy decision to reject medical advice after she was diagnosed with HER2-positive oestrogen-receptive intraductal carcinoma breast cancer. After two lumpectomies surgery that removes cancer from the breast doctors in the US advised her to undergo treatment that included a mastectomy with radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and a breast reconstruction. By this time of year, most people who regularly see a psychologist will have exhausted their allocation of 10 Medicare-funded sessions. This, combined with statistics showing that one in five Australians experience mental illness, has prompted calls from some within the sector for additional funding and an increase in the number of government-subsided sessions available to Australians. But as a psychologist working in private practice, let me tell you that more psychology sessions is not the answer to our national mental health crisis. Australians are currently entitled to 10 Medicare-rebated private psychology sessions each year. Some experts say this is not enough. Credit: Istock Ive dedicated my professional life to psychology and therapy, and continue to spend a fair bit of my personal life engaged in it, too. Beyond the superficial position of potential financial gain, I know that carte blanche funding for private services is not the best way to allocate mental health funds. This is namely because the people who need services the most are those most likely to find themselves effectively shut out of the current system through unaffordability (most private psychologists charge a gap fee) or ineligibility (Better Access does not include family therapy or couples counselling). This is especially true for adolescents and young adults, who are disproportionately represented in mental illness statistics, but are the least likely to engage in private therapy. Low-income and unemployed adults are similarly impacted. Adding additional sessions for people already in treatment would also impact a psychologists capacity to accept new referrals. It would do nothing but potentially drive up the already too-long wait times. The Federal Court judge who presided over former federal political staffer Bruce Lehrmanns defamation case says court secrecy is increasing, despite laws to promote transparency in the legal system, and that attempts should be made to Marie Kondo-fy piecemeal laws that allow suppression orders to be made. Justice Michael Lee said it was now commonplace to see even experienced practitioners seeking suppression orders on an impermissibly broad basis. Justice Michael Lee says suppression orders should only be made when they are necessary for the administration of justice. Credit: Dion Georgopoulos Extensive suppression and non-publication orders were often proposed by consent with the other side, without the benefit of detailed submissions or analysis though it was when both sides agreed that information should be kept from the public that the court should be most vigilant. He said his observations were supported by data compiled by News Corp, which suggested the total number of suppression orders made in Australia rose from 859 in 2017 to 1113 in 2023, but that was probably an underestimate given that the media were only routinely notified of such orders in Victoria and South Australia. A team of expert teachers led by star mathematician Eddie Woo will be cut back next year under a radical restructure within the NSW Education Department that has blindsided public school teachers and principals. Last week the Herald revealed the departments proposal to axe 245 non-school based teaching roles, while also scrapping the Best in Class program, in which top teachers are deployed to schools to help lift student results. The NSW Education Departments Maths Growth Team has trained 1376 classroom teachers in 263 schools since 2020. Credit: Janie Barrett The Maths Growth Team, highly skilled teachers who mentor others in how to teach the subject well, will be reduced from 14 trainers to 11. The changes mean the specialist team will have half the number of trainers next year than was planned when the program was established under the former state government. Turning his back on the ill-fated Broadside, Pete set out on the hippy trail through Asia to Europe, a journey so many of his generation were taking. He was joined on the way by Julie Reiter, who had been his girlfriend in Melbourne, and was to become his life partner. They arrived in London early in 1970, when it was still swinging, and mixed with celebrated expatriates such as Germaine Greer and Robert Hughes, as well as international figures such as Annie Leibovitz. Steedman later described the fluid scene of counter-cultural artists, activists, rock musicians, and entrepreneurs as an alternative elite. With his editorial reputation and web offset experience, Pete joined the London version of Oz, whose editors were about to endure an extended obscenity trial. He went on to become managing editor of Ink, an ephemeral offshoot of Oz, and subsequently business manager of Time Out, then a modest alternative guide to London. Through the latter, he also became involved in community action, successfully opposing the redevelopment of Piccadilly Circus and other districts of London. However, he said he was beginning to see the cracks in the counterculture and with Julie pregnant, the couple returned to Melbourne in 1972. Still keen to do new things, Steedman had a stint in book publishing before shifting to Darwin, where he co-ordinated public communications after Cyclone Tracy in 1974. Once back in Melbourne, he at last gained a university degree, by virtue of special entrance to La Trobe Universitys graduate media and communication program. Thus qualified, he took on something of an intermittent academic career from around this time, lecturing at the then Swinburne and Caulfield institutes of technology. Following the defeat of the Whitlam government in 1975, Steedman became the editor of the Labor Star, the ALPs monthly newsletter, an unpaid position he held for many years. He extended his connections with the ALP by becoming research officer for Senator John Button, and then an official in the Municipal Employees Union. In 1982, he won preselection for the federal seat of Casey and was elected but lost the seat at the next election due to an unfavourable redistribution. Part-time employment has long been a feature of Australias labour market, providing employees with scope to balance paid employment with other commitments, such as caregiving, education, second jobs, or other pursuits. This has opened up labour force participation to a broader group of workers, especially for women who make up three-quarters of the part-time workforce. The rise in working from home has benefited some types of workers more than others. Credit: iStock Part-time work has also enabled employers to balance fluctuations in demand and manage labour costs. But the part-time work option also brings a number of disadvantages to those for whom a part-time arrangement is forced by circumstances or the nature of the job role, and even to those who work part-time out of preference. One of the quiet achievements of the Turnbull and Morrison governments was the reform of the family courts. Family law is always a vexed issue. Because about one in every three marriages ends in divorce, it is the area of the legal system with which Australians are most likely to have experience either directly, or through a close relative or friend. While there is nothing that governments can do to eliminate the emotional trauma of family breakdown, they can at least ensure the legal system that deals with it doesnt make it worse. At the very least, they can ensure the courts are designed to mitigate two of the greatest sources of distress: cost and delay. This was the purpose of a series of structural reforms begun by Malcolm Turnbulls government, and carried to completion under Scott Morrisons. George Brandis, then attorney-general, with (left) John Pascoe and (right) William Alstergren in Canberra on October 12, 2017. Credit: Andrew Meares The key to the reforms was the restructure of the court system. Previously, two different courts the Family Court and the Federal Circuit Court had dealt with family law matters. Obviously, having two different courts administering the same laws led to overlap, jurisdictional confusion and delay. As Chief Justice William Alstergren said in his keynote speech at the No To Violence conference last week: Four or five years ago, the courts were not in the position they are now to properly meet the needs of Australian families. [T]he courts were exercising almost identical jurisdiction, but with different rules of court, different case management processes and procedures, conflicting court forms and websites, and sometimes different names for the same basic parts of court administration. Australians will gain more protection from financial scams under new laws that will impose fines of up to $50 million on banks, mobile networks and social media companies that fail to act on fraudulent schemes that fleece their customers. The reforms will force the companies to submit to an expanded federal authority that can compel them to refund customers who lose money, amid growing anger at scams that cost households at least $2.7 billion a year, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Scam texts cost Australians at least $2.6 billion a year. Credit: Istock But the new regime will not follow controversial changes in Britain that put the greatest requirements on banks to pay the refunds, seeking instead to share the responsibility with tech platforms such as Facebook if they spread the scams. In the first step of its kind against the tech giants, the government will force social media companies to answer to the same authority, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, that oversees the banks and can order refunds for customers who fall victim to fraud. Brian Too says he never wanted to leave Penrith, revealing jokes and banter with his current and former Panthers teammates during the State of Origin series was the catalyst for speculation over his future. Too is contracted to the Panthers until the end of 2027, but there were rumours he was keen to follow Jarome Luai to the Tigers at seasons end. It prompted club officials to meet with the star wingers management to put the innuendo to bed. Many of Toos closest friends including his entire bridal party of Luai, Stephen Crichton, Spencer Leniu and Sunia Turuva have either already departed or will leave the foot of the mountains at the end of the season. Too, Crichton and Leniu spent almost two months together in Blues camp in the middle of the season. Speaking for the first time about the conjecture, Too said jest between buddies was taken out of context. London: The chiefs of the CIA and the British Secret Intelligence Service, appearing together publicly for the first time in the history of their agencies, said in London on Saturday [Sunday AEST] that Ukraines surprise offensive in the Kursk region had exposed vulnerabilities in Russias military and was an audacious effort to try and change the game in the war. The Kursk offensive is a significant tactical achievement, said CIA director William Burns. He said it had put a dent in the narrative propagated by Russian President Vladimir Putin that his country would grind down Ukraine and exploit divisions in the Western alliance to dictate the terms of a settlement. Richard Moore, chief of the British service, also known as MI6, said it was typically bold and audacious on the part of the Ukrainians to try and change the game. I think they have, to a degree, changed the narrative. MI6 chief Richard Moore, left, and CIA director William Burns, in London on September 7, 2024 Credit: Pool/Em Fitzgerald For two of the worlds most powerful spy chiefs, it was a deeply unaccustomed setting: seated next to each other on a sofa, chatting about the most sensitive intelligence issues their agencies face, before an audience gathered by the Financial Times at an annual festival, which features a champagne-tasting tent and panels on subjects such as How can we justify eating steak? It was a far different atmosphere than when the last pope visited. St John Paul II came in 1989, when Timor was still an occupied part of Indonesia and fighting for its freedom. As many as 200,000 people were killed during the 24 years of Indonesian rule. Francis will confront that legacy, and another one more close to home involving Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, the Timorese bishop who, along with Gusmao and Ramos-Horta is regarded as a hero for his efforts to win independence. Pope Francis in Dili, East Timor, on Monday. Credit: AP Belo won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 with Ramos-Horta for campaigning for a fair and peaceful solution to the conflict. The Norwegian Nobel Committee, in its citation, praised Belos courage in refusing to be intimidated by Indonesian forces. The committee noted that while trying to get the United Nations to arrange a plebiscite for Timor-Leste, he smuggled out two witnesses to a bloody 1991 massacre so they could testify to the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva. In 2022, the Vatican acknowledged that it had secretly sanctioned Belo in 2020 for sexually abusing young boys. The sanctions included limitations on his movements and exercise of ministry and prohibited him from having voluntary contact with minors or contact with Timor Leste itself. The sanctions were reinforced in 2021. Loading Despite the sanctions, which were confirmed at the time by the Vatican spokesman and reaffirmed last week ahead of Francis trip, many people in Timor-Leste have stood by Belo, either dismissing, denying or diminishing the victims claims. Some even hoped Belo, who lives in Portugal, would be on hand to welcome Francis. On Sunday Francis travelled to the remote jungles of Papua New Guinea to celebrate the Catholic Church on the peripheries, bringing a tonne of medicine, musical instruments and a message of love for the people who live there. In his remarks, the pontiff also spoke out against arming the region. Travelling 1000 kilometres in a C-130 cargo aircraft provided by the Royal Australian Air Force, Francis arrived with a small entourage in Vanimo, a township of some 12,000 people in the northwestern corner of PNGs main island, with no running water and scarce electricity. Pope Francis arrives at the Holy Trinity Humanistic School in Baro, near Vanimo, Papua New Guinea. Credit: AP Christianity reaches into some of the most remote parts of PNG & Australia. Were honoured & proud to be able to support PNG on this momentous occasion, John Feakes, Australias High Commissioner to PNG, wrote on X. The pope brought hundreds of kilograms of items to help support the local population, said Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, including medicines and clothing, as well as toys and musical instruments for school children. For an Argentine pope who marvelled in 2013 at having been chosen from the end of the Earth to lead the church, it was a voyage to another end of the Earth on the longest, farthest trip of Francis pontificate. Francis has previously travelled to the edge of the Arctic (to apologise to the Inuit people for church abuses), the Peruvian Amazon (to draw attention to its plight), and to the plains of Ur, Iraq (to boost Christian-Muslim ties). But even by his standards, Sundays trip to remote Vanimo was extraordinary. People in traditional headdress use their phones as Pope Francis holds a holly mass at Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Credit: AP A crowd of an estimated 20,000 people gathered on the field in front of the Vanimo cathedral, singing and dancing when Francis arrived. He promptly put on a feathered headdress that was presented to him. In remarks from a raised stage, Francis praised the church workers who go out to try to spread the faith. But he encouraged the residents of Vanimo to work on being good to one another at home, urging them to be like an orchestra, so that all members of the community come together harmoniously to overcome rivalries. Doing so, he said, would help to drive out fear, superstition and magic from peoples hearts, to put an end to destructive behaviours such as violence, infidelity, exploitation, alcohol and drug abuse, evils which imprison and take away the happiness of so many of our brothers and sisters. PHILIPSBURG:--- Defense Caribbean Region, during the forthcoming two weeks, will hold a hurricane emergency relief exercise on Saint Marten and Saba. During this exercise, with the name Windward Express, soldiers will train together with local security partners to increase their preparedness and strengthen cooperation, with the aim of ensuring that the military can be deployed quickly and effectively after the passage of a hurricane. Several units from Defense will participate in Windward Express, including Marines from the Detachment Saint Marten, Marines from Marine Squadron Carib Aruba, and soldiers from Curacao. Also, the Marine Ship HLNMS Pelikaan, boat groups with their FRISC boats, and other supporting units are part of the hurricane emergency relief exercise. After arriving at Saint Marten, the units perform exercises on a rotational basis on both Saint Marten and Saba. These activities help the military become familiar with the specific conditions on the islands and collaborate with local partners, such as government organizations, non-governmental organizations, and companies that play a crucial role in emergency response. By performing a practice exercise called Windward Express on the Windward Islands, the military is optimally prepared to provide emergency aid, support civil authorities, and maintain public order immediately after the storm's passage in the event of an actual hurricane threat. PHILIPSBURG: --- Nathalie Tackling, head of the Voting Bureau, has accepted the offer granted by the board of the Soualiga Action Movement (SAM) to be the next Minister of Justice. SAM leader Franklin Meyers confirmed to SMN News on Sunday that Tackling has accepted the offer his political party presented to her. Meyers made the announcement to the SAM board and the candidates who postulated themselves on the SAM slate for the August 19th snap elections. Background information on Nathalie Tackling is taken from her LinkedIn profile below. Nathalie Tackling is a St. Maarten native with an extensive background in corporate and legislative law and is well-versed in Dutch, European, and US law. She obtained an LL.M. in Trade & Corporate Law from the University of Maastricht (Netherlands) and an LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law from the George Washington University School of Law (Washington, DC). Her coursework and final thesis focused on biotechnology patents and how to fit human genes and DNA into the existing framework of intellectual property. Upon her return to St. Maarten, Nathalie started her career as a civil law litigator at a local firm. The following year, she joined the Corporate & Banking Unit of VanEps Kunneman VanDoorne, contributing her expertise to key cases on the Dutch Caribbean islands. Since leaving the firm in 2016, Nathalie has worked as a Legal Advisor at the Raad van Advies (Council of Advice), one of the High Councils of State on St. Maarten. Her work there centered on providing professional feedback to the local government and Parliament on draft legislation, including drafting legislative advices and providing legal assistance on constitutional matters. In addition to her work at the Council of Advice, one of Nathalies proud moments has been establishing the Saba Legal Aid Desk, which provides free legal advice to Saban residents, the first of its sort in the Dutch Caribbean. As of April 2019, Nathalie has officially founded Tackling Law and hopes to contribute her public and private sector experience to the community through a firm structured to provide service that optimizes the social and economic environment in the best interest of its clients. Nathalie believes that it is her responsibility to keep her clients informed of legal and cultural realities and to work with them to identify effective and efficient steps to achieve success. Chad's president arrives in Hungary for state visit Budapest, Sept 7 (AFP) Sep 07, 2024 Chad's president Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno arrived in Hungary for an official visit on Saturday evening, the government said, after attending a China-Africa forum in Beijing earlier this week. Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs posted photos on X of Deby Itno arriving at Budapest airport. During his state visit, he is expected to meet Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who invited him. Press reports suggest the leaders are due to discuss a security agreement. Relations between Hungary and Chad have developed rapidly over the past year, Budapest opening a humanitarian and development centre and a diplomatic mission in the capital N'Djamena. The two countries have also signed cooperation deals on agriculture and education. And in autumn 2023, Budapest said it wanted to deploy an independent military mission of 200 soldiers to Chad to train local forces and fight terrorism. Questioned about its mission, Hungary, which remains close to the Kremlin, has denied it "represents Russian or any other foreign interests in the Sahel". Russia has a strong presence in countries bordering Chad, such as the Central African Republic and Libya, including fighters from the Wagner mercenary force. Landlocked Chad is the last Sahel country to host French soldiers after Paris had had to pull out of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in recent years. Sources in June told AFP that Paris was planning to cut back its presence there from 1,000 military personnel to around 300. ros-kym/jj X Iran's president to visit Iraq on first foreign trip Tehran, Sept 8 (AFP) Sep 08, 2024 Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian will visit neighbouring Iraq on Wednesday, state media reported Sunday, in what will be his first trip abroad since he took office in July. Pezeshkian will head a high-ranking Iranians delegation to Baghdad to meet senior Iraqi officials. The visit comes at the invitation of Iraq's premier, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the official IRNA news agency quoted Iran's ambassador to Baghdad Mohammad Kazem Al-Sadegh as saying. The two countries will sign memoranda of understanding on cooperation and security, Sadegh said, without elaborating. He said the agreements were to have been signed during a planned visit to Iraq by Iran's late president, Ebrahim Raisi. But Raisi was killed in May along with the then foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, when their helicopter crashed on a fog-shrouded mountainside in northern Iran. Since taking office, Pezeshkian has vowed to "prioritise" strengthening ties with the Islamic republic's neighbours. Relations between Iran and Iraq, both Shiite-majority countries, have grown closer over the past two decades. Tehran is one of Iraq's leading trade partners, and wields considerable political influence in Baghdad where its Iraqi allies dominate parliament and the current government. In March 2023 the two countries signed a security agreement covering their common border, months after Tehran struck Kurdish opposition groups in Iraq's north. They have since agreed to disarm Iranian Kurdish rebel groups and remove them from border areas. Tehran accuses the groups of importing arms from Iraq and of fomenting 2022 protests that erupted after the death in custody of Iranian-Kurd woman Mahsa Amini. In January, Iran launched a deadly strike in northern Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, saying it had targeted a site used by "spies of the Zionist regime (Mossad)". On Saturday, an exiled Iranian Kurdish group said one of its activists, Behzad Khosrawi, had been arrested in Iraq's northern city of Sulaimaniyah and handed over to "Iranian intelligence". Local Asayesh security forces said Khosrawi was arrested "because he did not have residency" in the Kurdish region, and denied he had any connection to "political activism". Latvia reports Russian drone crash on NATO territory Riga, Sept 8 (AFP) Sep 08, 2024 Latvia's president on Sunday said a Russian military drone had crashed on its territory, adding that airspace breaches had increased along NATO's eastern borders. The Baltic state, which was once ruled by the Soviet Union but is now an EU and NATO member, has had tense relations with Moscow following independence, and ties have further deteriorated since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. A "Russian military drone... crashed in the eastern part of Latvia yesterday. There is an ongoing investigation," Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said on X. "We are in close contact with our allies. The number of such incidents is increasing along the eastern flank of NATO and we must address them collectively," he added. Latvia's defence ministry said in a statement that the drone had flown into the country's airspace from Belarus and crashed in the municipality of Rezekne. "This situation is a confirmation that we need to continue the work we have started to strengthen Latvia's eastern border, including the development of air defence capabilities and electronic warfare capabilities to limit the activities of UAVs of different applications," said Defence Minister Andris Spruds. Fellow NATO member Romania also on Sunday said a Russian attack drone targeting civilian infrastructure in neighbouring Ukraine overnight had entered its airspace. Bucharest strongly condemned the "renewed violation" brought on by Moscow's "illegal attacks". Since launching its invasion, Russia has repeatedly carried out night attacks on cities across Ukraine, frequently targeting ports in the southern Odesa region after exiting a grain export deal. Poland has also recorded at least two cases of its airspace being violated by Russian missiles or drones attacking Ukraine, most recently in December. Warsaw late last month declared that a flying object had intruded into its airspace but later backtracked on the claim. In an interview with the Financial Times published last week, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Warsaw should have the right to shoot down Russian missiles targeting Ukraine before they enter Polish airspace, despite NATO opposition. bur-amj/ju/giv Gunman kills 3 Israelis at West Bank crossing as Gaza war rages Allenby Bridge, Palestinian Territories, Sept 8 (AFP) Sep 08, 2024 A truck driver shot dead three Israeli guards at a border crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan Sunday before being "eliminated", Israel's military said, as it pounded Gaza with new strikes. The rare attack at the Allenby Bridge crossing comes amid soaring violence in the West Bank with major Israeli raids and attacks by Palestinians, and against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas Gaza war, now in its 12th month. The military said "a terrorist" reached the crossing area, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, in a truck "from Jordan". The driver "exited the truck and opened fire at Israeli security forces operating at the bridge", a military statement said. "Three Israeli civilians were pronounced dead as a result of the attack," it said, clarifying to AFP that they were "security guards" and not in the army or police. The attacker was shot dead, the military added, without providing his identity. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the assailant as a "despicable terrorist" inspired by "a murderous ideology" which he said was fuelled by Iran. Hamas praised the attack but did not claim responsibility for it, adding it "affirms the Arab peoples' rejection of the (Israeli) occupation, its crimes, and its ambitions in Palestine and Jordan". Jordan's interior ministry said authorities were "investigating the incident". The crossing, in the Jordan Valley, is the only international gateway for Palestinians from the West Bank that does not require entering Israel, which has occupied the territory since 1967. - Bloodshed rises in West Bank - Violence in the West Bank has surged alongside the war in Gaza which began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7. Israel's military on August 28 launched simultaneous raids across several cities and refugee camps in the northern West Bank, killing at least 36 Palestinians, according to the Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry. The military said it killed 35 militants. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed at least 14 of the fatalities. Since October 7, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 662 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry. At least 23 Israelis, including members of the security forces, have been killed in Palestinian attacks during the same period, Israeli officials say. The Hamas attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians including some hostages killed in captivity, official Israeli figures show. Militants seized 251 hostages during the attack, 97 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory offensive in Gaza has so far killed at least 40,972 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. The UN human rights office says most of the dead are women and children. On Sunday, Israel pounded Gaza with air strikes and shelling as prospects remained dim for a ceasefire. Gaza's civil defence agency said nearly a dozen people were killed in Israeli air strikes on Sunday, including five in Jabalia refugee camp. The Israeli military said it had struck around "25 Hamas targets" across Gaza over the past day. - No respite for Gazans - There has been no respite for the 2.4 million Palestinians living in Gaza, almost all of whom have been displaced at least once. "Moving from one area to another is distressing because there is no safe place in Gaza," said Raeed Hamad, 51, a cancer patient from the southern city of Khan Yunis. "We are displaced under heavy bombardments... I have lost weight and I'm exhausted." Defence Minister Yoav Gallant toured the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza on Sunday, where he vowed again to eliminate Hamas. But he said the military was focusing on the northern front also, where Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israel forces traded fire on Sunday. "While you are fighting here in Gaza, we are preparing for anything that may happen in the north," Gallant told soldiers, according to a statement issued by his office. "The shift of the centre of gravity can happen quickly and can also involve you in a short period of time." Hamas is demanding a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza as part of a ceasefire deal, but Israel insists troops must remain along the Gaza-Egypt border. The United States, Qatar and Egypt have all been mediating in efforts to forge a ceasefire. Israeli protesters numbering in the tens of thousands have mounted pressure on the government, demanding a deal that would mean the release of hostages. Late Saturday, mass protests were again held in Tel Aviv and some other cities. Organisers said more than 500,000 people took part. Anger and grief spiked across Israel after the military recovered bodies of six hostages from a Gaza tunnel last month. "We must demand that no one forgets the hostages, no one ignores them, no one leaves them to die," said Andrey Kozlov, one of the scores of hostages freed during the one-week truce in November. "Their time is running out. We see it, we feel it. Bring them back home now." International pressure to end the war has also intensified after Friday's fatal shooting in the West Bank of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was demonstrating against Israeli settlements in the territory. Her family, Turkey and the UN rights office all said Israeli forces killed her. Israel's military said the incident is under review. Latvia reports Russian drone crash on NATO territory Riga, Sept 8 (AFP) Sep 08, 2024 Latvia's president on Sunday said a Russian military drone had crashed on its territory, adding that airspace breaches had increased along NATO's eastern borders. The Baltic state, once ruled by the Soviet Union but now an EU and NATO member, has had tense relations with Moscow following independence, and ties have further deteriorated since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. A "Russian military drone... crashed in the eastern part of Latvia yesterday. There is an ongoing investigation," Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said on X, formerly Twitter. "We are in close contact with our allies. The number of such incidents is increasing along the eastern flank of NATO and we must address them collectively," he added. Latvia's defence ministry said in a statement that the drone had flown into the country's airspace from Belarus and crashed in the municipality of Rezekne. "This situation is a confirmation that we need to continue the work we have started to strengthen Latvia's eastern border, including the development of air defence capabilities and electronic warfare capabilities to limit the activities of UAVs of different applications," said Defence Minister Andris Spruds. Fellow NATO member Romania also on Sunday said a Russian attack drone targeting civilian infrastructure in neighbouring Ukraine overnight had entered its airspace. Bucharest strongly condemned the "renewed violation" brought on by Moscow's "illegal attacks". Since launching its invasion, Russia has repeatedly carried out night attacks on cities across Ukraine, frequently targeting ports in the southern Odesa region after exiting a grain export deal. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga on Sunday condemned the breaches of Romanian and Latvian airspace, calling them "a stark reminder that Russia's aggressive actions extend beyond Ukraine". He added on X that Ukraine needed concrete action from allies. "A brave collective decision to use partner air defence to intercept Russian missiles and drones over Ukraine. Stronger and faster military aid for Ukrainian warriors. Lifting restrictions on Ukraine's use of weapons. Act now," he said. Poland has also recorded at least two cases of its airspace being violated by Russian missiles or drones attacking Ukraine, most recently in December. Warsaw late last month declared that a flying object had intruded into its airspace but later backtracked on the claim. In an interview with the Financial Times published last week, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Warsaw should have the right to shoot down Russian missiles targeting Ukraine before they enter Polish airspace, despite NATO opposition. bur-amj/imm * FIRST NAME * LAST NAME * EMAIL Your email address * PASSWORD Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number Show * YEAR OF BIRTH You must be at least 18 years old to create an account 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970 1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1960 1959 1958 1957 1956 1955 1954 1953 1952 1951 1950 1949 1948 1947 1946 1945 1944 1943 1942 1941 1940 1939 1938 1937 1936 1935 1934 1933 1932 1931 1930 1929 1928 1927 1926 1925 1924 1923 1922 1921 1920 1919 1918 1917 1916 1915 1914 1913 1912 1911 1910 1909 1908 1907 1906 * Required fields I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from Evening Standard. 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Sloan Foundation to advance open scholarship and develop open-source software. PROJECTS KAI broke ground on the $8.5 million Urban League Plaza shopping center at 9946 W. Florissant Ave., Dellwood, Missouri. The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis spearheaded the 13,500 square foot project in conjunction with St. Louis Promise Zone, a program that partners with local leaders to revitalize communities. RECOGNITION The public television show Viewpoint with Dennis Quaid, produced an educational segment featuring St. Louis based Showroom Pricing. The program highlighted the technology companys advanced QR code software solutions for the retail industry and aired on the Fox Business Network. Tom Cronin and Bob Loevy are news columnists who write about Colorado and national politics. Tony Messenger Metro columnist Follow Tony Messenger Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today ST. LOUIS Marie Kenyons phone kept ringing this summer. One by one, Kenyon, the chairperson of the immigration task force for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, would hear from representatives of one nonprofit or another who had run into an immigrant family with the same issue: They were homeless, or soon to be. They came from Afghanistan, Syria and various South American countries. Most were refugees who came to America under the auspices of one of the federal asylum programs. In some cases, they answered the call of the International Institutes various resettlement programs, and then, after coming to St. Louis, realized they didnt qualify, or still needed help after their federal aid ran out. In other cases, they heard from relatives who were making a new life here; then they got evicted, sometimes because there were too many family members living in an apartment. Whatever their reason for being in St. Louis, a city that has been working overtime to recruit immigrants to prop up its declining population, they are here, and they are people in need. We just asked everybody we know who works with the immigrant community, lets just start these conversations, Kenyon said. The result was what she calls an uncommon cooperation among various agencies to come up with a solution to help families that were falling through the cracks of the citys various safety nets. On Monday, some of those families will have a roof over their heads. The ad-hoc Family Refuge Coalition is opening a floor with 17 rooms for immigrant families in the homeless shelter run by Peter & Paul Community Services in the former Little Sisters of the Poor building in north St. Louis. These are families, living outside, who have no place to go, says Anthony DAgostino, the chief executive officer of Peter & Paul. The nonprofit bought the building earlier this summer with help from donors and the city of St. Louis, and it is large enough to handle the need. The Incarnate Word Foundation has agreed to pay for a pilot project for two months, to provide the families with interpreters and case management, to help them find more permanent housing and employment. For Jessica Bueler, the founder and executive director of Welcome Neighbor STL, this is an opportunity for St. Louis to recognize that sometimes immigrants who come to the community need a little extra help before they can become the economic drivers that start businesses and help the city grow. Thats how she got started serving the immigrant community eight years ago. Bueler read about some immigrants from Syria who were living in poor housing conditions and needed support after coming to St. Louis to escape trauma in their home country. Somebody should do something about this, Bueler remembers thinking at the time. It turned out to be me. Bueler and DAgostino were among the leaders of dozens of agencies that serve immigrant populations who were pulled together by Kenyon and started to come up with a plan to help families in need. Some were living in a car. They needed diapers for their children. They struggled with the language barrier. They needed help with asylum paperwork. There are nonprofits in St. Louis that can help with each of those things, but getting them together, in a way that can quickly help families living out of a car, can be a herculean task. But come together they have, and starting Monday, several refugee families in St. Louis will benefit from their cooperation. Of course, getting them from cars and the street, and hotels, into shelter and offering them case management is just a short-term answer. The next challenge is a bigger one. How does St. Louis leverage its ongoing need for immigrants, with the reality that the national immigration system is broken, and best efforts and intentions sometimes lead to success stories like Hassib Ahmadi, the former Afghan interpreter who came here in 2017 and has started his own construction business and other times lead to families who need a helping hand along the way? Bueler, for instance, wants to see the city adopt new housing codes like some cities have, that allow extended families to live together. But thats a heavy lift for another day. For Kenyon, the success here is a model that she thinks is sometimes missing in St. Louis various agencies and nonprofits working toward the same goal, without battling over who gets the credit, to solve a problem that needs solving. Its unprecedented, Kenyon says. This would be amazing if this is how we tackle problems going forward. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni agreed to work toward a conference in Italy in 2025 focused on the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, even as a cease-fire with Russia remains elusive. (Alberto Pizzoli, AFP, Getty Images via TNS) (Tribune News Service) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Italian leader Giorgia Meloni agreed to work toward a conference in Italy next year focused on the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, even as a cease-fire with Russia remains elusive. We talked about cooperation and preparation for a conference in 2025, Zelenskyy said in Cernobbio, Italy, after meeting Meloni at the annual Ambrosetti Forum on the shores of Lake Como. Yesterday, I also met with the CEOs of several Italian companies, he added in an an interview with the Italian broadcast RAI. Zelenskyy urged Italy to provide Ukraine with long-range weapons and air defense, taking up the key theme from his speech to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in southwest Germany on Friday. Ukraine has repeatedly urged Western allies to allow its troops to strike inside Russia with long-range weapons to destroy military jets used to attack with missiles and glide bombs even as the U.S. Defense Department said such deep strikes would have little strategic value. Moscow has stepped up aerial assaults recently, unleashing in the past week the largest barrage since its full-scale invasion started in February 2022. More than 100 missiles were launched against energy infrastructure across Ukraine, and more than 60 people were killed and hundreds wounded. There are many things we are working with Ukraine, including the post-war reconstruction conference in 2025 and hospitals, said Meloni. The only thing we cannot do is abandon Ukraine to its own destiny. Kyiv, which made an incursion into Russias Kursk region in early August, has successfully used long-range missiles such as ATACMS, Storm Shadow and SCALP to destroy military equipment and personnel in Crimea, which Russia has illegally occupied since 2014. Rome has signed a security agreement with Kyiv and agreed to send aerial defenses to the country through NATO. But pressure from Melonis government ally Matteo Salvini has seeped into other parts of the coalition. Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto openly criticized the ground offensive in Kursk, calling it an escalation that would push a cease-fire further and further away. Zelenskyys latest trip to Germany and Italy follows his pledge of a plan to force Russia to end the war. The Ukrainian president said hell present a blueprint to U.S. President Joe Biden and G-7 partners later this month, but has offered no details. Kyiv is also working to build support among the countries of the Global South for a second summit on peace, which would this time involve Russia, unlike the first iteration held in Switzerland in June. The support of countries like India and China is key for the initiative to succeed Zelenskyy last month proposed holding a summit in India aimed at ending the war and Meloni on Saturday emphasized that both countries can play a critical role. Still, the Italian premiers recent attempt to enlist Chinese President Xi Jinping to side with the West in brokering peace talks didnt succeed, according to people with knowledge of the interaction. Meloni traveled to China in July, touting Beijing as a potential key player in finding a resolution to the conflict. A spokesperson for the Italian government declined to comment, and Chinas foreign ministry declined to answer specific questions, saying only the two leaders exchanged in-depth views on bilateral issues of common concern. In a readout of Saturdays meeting, Zelenskyys office said the pair also discussed steps to implement the G7 decision to channel $50 billion to Ukraine from frozen Russian assets. (Daryna Krasnolutska and Kateryna Chursina contributed to this report.) 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. CIA Director William Burns testifies before a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on March 9, 2023. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press via TNS) (Tribune News Service) Iran would signal a dramatic escalation of support for Russia by providing ballistic missiles to aid its war in Ukraine, Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns said. Burns and his U.K. counterpart, Richard Moore, warned during a joint appearance in London that military cooperation between the two countries is deepening. Bloomberg reported Friday that Iran sent ballistic missiles to Russia, defying months of warnings by U.S. and European officials. At a Financial Times event in London on Saturday, Burns declined to confirm that the transfer had taken place. Should Iran ship ballistic missiles of any kinds, close-range or other kinds, it would be a dramatic escalation of that defense partnership, he said. If they were used on the battlefield in Ukraine, it will become very obvious, said Moore, head of the U.K.s MI6 foreign intelligence service. This stuff lands, it explodes, it kills civilians, it destroys their energy infrastructure. This is what Iran is choosing to do, its choosing to help Russia do these types of things, Moore said. Burns said the defense relationship between Moscow and Tehran is a two-way street. Russia has the ability to do a number of things that help perfect Irans ballistic missiles that make them more dangerous for use against our friends and partners across the Middle East, he said. Burns said U.S. President Joe Bidens administration would continue to send weapons to Ukraine, but added that the risk of escalation with Russia shouldnt be taken lightly. He said there was a moment in the fall of 2022 when there was a genuine risk of the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons, but that the U.S. and its allies shouldnt be intimidated by what he called Moscows saber-rattling. Burns said he visited his Russian counterpart, Sergey Naryshkin, at the end of 2022 to make very clear the consequences of that kind of escalation. Burns and Moore both criticized what they said was a campaign of sabotage by Russias intelligence services in Western countries, paying local criminals to carry out acts of arson and criminal damage in Europe. The fact theyre relying on criminal elements shows theyre a bit desperate, Moore said. I think Russian intelligence services have gone a bit feral, frankly. The two intelligence chiefs also expressed hope for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas. Burns reaffirmed U.S. plans for a proposal to end to hostilities in Gaza and the return of Israel hostages. Resolving the conflict could lead to normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which would be the ultimate counter to Iranian ambitions, he said. 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Family members gather to mourn around the body of 13-year-old Bana Laboum in the West Bank village of Qaryut on Saturday. Laboum's father and the Palestinian Health Ministry said she was shot and killed by Israeli forces on Friday. The military acknowledged opening fire and said the incident was under review. (Heidi Levine/The Washington Post) BEITA, West Bank Palestinian authorities Saturday began gathering testimony from witnesses to the shooting death of a U.S. citizen the day before in the West Bank, residents, officials and a volunteer activist said. Aysenur Eygi, 26, was killed Friday at a protest in Beita, where witnesses said she was shot in the head by Israeli forces who had opened fire. The White House said it was deeply disturbed by her death and that U.S. officials had contacted Israel to request an investigation. On Saturday, a representative of the Palestinian attorney general took affidavits from Beita residents, medics and international activists who were present when she was killed, according to Hisham Dweikat, a member of the Palestinian National Council who lives in the town, and Rob Sadler, a rights activist from Britain who attended the protest. Later, Dweikat, who was also there when Eygi was shot, said he was contacted by someone from the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem who asked him for every detail of what happened. Israeli forces also returned to the scene, near the West Bank city of Nablus, to take photos and measurements and ask at least one resident, Mahmoud Abdullah, 43, for any video footage or cameras. In a statement Friday, the Israel Defense Forces acknowledged firing on an individual in the area where the protest took place, but only said it was looking into reports that a foreign national was killed. It did not respond to a request for comment Saturday on the status of its review. Eygi, who recently graduated from the University of Washington, was a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement, a pro-Palestinian activist group, and was attending a communal prayer with Beita residents protesting the expansion of a nearby Jewish settlement, her colleagues said. Israeli soldiers began firing tear gas at the crowd and Eygi and fellow volunteers retreated to a nearby olive grove, where they stayed and waited for calm, even as they observed troops taking positions on surrounding rooftops. It was then when the shots rang out and Eygi, bleeding from the head, dropped to the ground, said Sadler and Israeli political activist, Jonathan Pollack, who said he rushed to her aid. I saw her about 10 seconds before she was shot, Sadler said in an interview Saturday. She smiled at me and she gave me a thumbs up. Beita resident Ali Mohali said the Israeli military often takes over his rooftop during demonstrations and that soldiers were at his house Friday. He said he heard a gunshot that shook his home - one he believes may have killed Eygi. The Washington Post could not independently verify his claim. Eygis family said in a statement that she felt compelled to travel to the West Bank to stand in solidarity with Palestinian civilians. She felt a deep responsibility to serve others and lived a life of caring for those in need with action, the family said. She was a fiercely passionate human rights activist her whole life - a steadfast and staunch advocate of justice. They said they wanted U.S. officials to conduct an independent investigation, saying an Israeli investigation is not adequate. The United Nations on Friday also called for a full investigation into the circumstances leading to Eygis death. People should be held accountable, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the U.N. secretary general. Also on Saturday, mourners gathered in the West Bank town of Qaryut, about 20 miles south of Beita, for the funeral of 13-year-old Bana Laboum, who was also shot and killed the day before after Israeli forces arrived in her village. Her father, 47-year-old Amjad Bakar, knelt beside his daughters freshly filled grave. Bakar and the Palestinian Health Ministry said the Israeli military shot Laboum on Friday through the window of her home, after showing up amid a confrontation between Palestinian residents and Jewish settlers. In a statement Friday, the IDF said it had opened fire and received a report regarding a Palestinian girl who was killed by shots in the area. An initial inquiry indicates that the Israeli security forces that were dispatched to the scene operated to disperse the riot in the area, including firing shots into the air, the statement said, adding that the incident is under review. Heres what else to know - At least eight people were killed and 15 injured after Israeli warplanes struck a school in northern Gaza early Saturday, according to the state-run Palestinian news agency Wafa. The Halima al-Sadia School had been sheltering displaced people, Mahmoud Basal, a spokesman for Gazas civil defense force, told The Post. The IDF acknowledged the attack and said on social media that it had targeted a Hamas command and control center inside the school compound. - Roughly 355,000 children in Gaza have been vaccinated against polio since Sept. 1, according to the World Health Organization. The agency and its partners launched a vaccination campaign this month after Israel and Hamas agreed to brief humanitarian pauses to allow the vaccinations to take place in designated areas of Gaza amid fears of a wider outbreak. - At least 40,939 people have been killed and 94,616 injured in Gaza since the war started, the Gaza Health Ministry said Saturday. The agency does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamass Oct. 7 attack, including more than 300 soldiers, and it says 340 soldiers have been killed since the start of its military operations in Gaza. George reported from Beirut, Suliman from London, El Chamaa from Beirut and Jeong from Seoul. Kareem Fahim in Beirut, Hajar Harb in London, and Alon Rom and Lior Soroka in Tel Aviv contributed. Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, speaks during a press conference to announce state action for Utah public lands at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, on Aug. 20, 2024. Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Air Force Base in Texas as seen on May 24, 2022. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes) Two teenagers were arrested in connection with shootings outside the entrance to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas in August, the San Antonio Police Department announced last week. The shootings occurred Aug. 17, when suspects opened fire twice on an entrance to the base, exchanging gunfire with U.S. Air Force security guards. No military personnel were injured. Joseph Jimenez, 19, and Ricardo Samaniego, 18, were arrested and charged with deadly conduct with a firearm, according to the SAPD. More state and federal charges could be pending. The arrests came after an investigation involving the Bexar County Sheriffs Office, the FBI and the ATF. According to investigators, the suspects used a stolen vehicle to shoot at homes near JBSA-Lackland. Jimenez was connected to the shootout at Lackland after a shooting that took place later day, according to Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar. At about 10 p.m. on Aug. 17, deputies were called to the scene of an accidental shooting. Several suspects were playing with a gun when it went off, hitting Samaniego. A shell casing from that shooting was linked to a shell casing from the JBSA shooting. Search warrants were executed on Aug. 28. Lackland is home to more than 24,000 active duty members and 10,000 Department of Defense civilians, according to the base website. It includes the 37th Training Wing; 149th Fighter Wing; 59th Medical Wing; the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency; 24th Air Force Wing, 67th Network Warfare Wing; the Cryptologic Systems Group; the National Security Agency; and 70 associated units. Contributing: The Associated Press American flags wave outside the 177th Fighter Wing in Egg Harbor Township, N.J. (Hunter Hires/U.S. Air National Guard) Wreaths Across America invites citizens to wave their American flags Tuesday between 9 and 10 a.m. EST in a national event remembering the citizens who died on 9/11. With a mission to Remember, Honor, and Teach, WAA is committed to never forgetting Americans past and present who have sacrificed for the country. WAAs national flag-waving event is an effort to encourage communities across the country to honor first responders and military members who responded to the terrorist attacks, and the lives that were lost in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The flag-waving tradition was started by three women in Freeport, Maine, known as the Freeport Flag Ladies, who waved their American flags together each Tuesday morning in Freeport since 9/11. For 18 years, they conveyed messages of support, unity and pride shared emotions which were felt across the country after the attacks. In honor of the women who put their tradition to rest in September 2019, WAA and its founder, Morrill Worcester, built a Freeport Flag Ladies monument in Jonesboro, Maine. WAA volunteers continue the Freeport ladies 9/11 tradition of remembrance by raising the American flag from the monument each Tuesday morning. We continue this tradition, waving our American flags in honor of all those whose lives were lost and to remember the unity and pride felt during that time, which is needed as much now as ever, said Karen Worcester, WAA executive director. In addition to the flag-waving event, WAA will broadcast live interviews and stories from veterans, volunteers, Gold Star families and first responders on Wreaths Across America Radio and their official Facebook page for all to tune in. WAA encourages those participating to share pictures and videos on social media using the hashtag #FlagsAcrosstheCountry and to say where people are waving their flags from. Donegal man Martin McDermott, who has 115 convictions, is accused of assault and criminal damage A Garda killer who is serving time for driving at a separate officer is now facing a trial in Northern Ireland. Donegal man Martin McDermott, who has 115 convictions, is accused of assault and criminal damage in an incident in which it is alleged McDermott (39) tried to drag a man from a car. A bottle was thrown through the rear window of a car and an iron bar used in the alleged attack, it was heard during an extradition hearing this week. It is not McDermotts first time through the extradition process, having been sought by authorities to get him back from north of the border. He was previously convicted of the manslaughter of Garda Gary McLoughlin after he crashed into a patrol car near Buncrana, Co. Donegal, in 2009. McDermott is serving almost five years imposed in 2022 after being convicted of forcing a garda to jump aside as he drove through a checkpoint in Co. Donegal. He was pursued by gardai before eventually crashing, but then assaulted the officer, kicking him in the chest after being found hiding in undergrowth. The father-of-three admitted charges of endangerment, assault, drink-driving and driving without a licence. It was heard in court that McDermott became addicted to drugs while in Castlerea Prison, and later fled to Dublin on his release to escape pressure from the media. He said he now suffers from a medical condition as a result of a cyst on his brain. During his sentence hearing in that case, McDermott told of his regret over the death of Garda Gary McLoughlin in 2009. McDermott read out a letter of apology and said he wanted to put his past behind him. An appeal court judge later said McDermotts decision to drop his case against the severity of the four years and nine-month sentence was sensible. This was very serious offending, with someone with extraordinary prior offending for something of a very similar nature; almost carbon copyso hes being very sensible. While inside prison, McDermott picked up another six-month sentence for an unprovoked assault on a man in Derry in August 2021. Officers were called to the scene in the city and it took four police officers using CS spray to eventually subdue him. He is currently due to be released from prison in Ireland some time next year. McDermott first hit the headlines following the death of Gda McLoughlin, who was hit by a car driven by McDermott. He got a seven-year sentence for manslaughter as a result of the officers death. McDermott had led gardai on a 30km pursuit before smashing into Gda McLoughlin and his colleague Gda Bernard McLaughlin near Buncrana. He pleaded not guilty to manslaughter but admitted to dangerous driving causing death. Within the first year of his seven-year sentence, McDermott absconded from an open prison and was later arrested in Derry and returned to custody. He ended up serving just four years of that sentence. A ruling on whether McDermotts latest extradition will be allowed will be made in the near future. Hopkins, who raised the alarm on the night Nicole was attacked after witnessing her beloved dogs turn on her on the propertys CCTV system, was charged with a total of two offences. The property where Nicole was attacked by her dogs The property where Nicole was attacked by her dogs Attack victim Nicole Morey with one of the dogs in her care Ian and Nicole were together before her death The former partner of tragic XL bully victim Nicole Morey has been charged with drug dealing. Ian Hopkins (32), whose address was listed as Cloughadoolarty South, Federmore in Limerick the same property where tragic Nicole was fatally attacked last May was to appear before Limerick District Court this week on a number of charges. Hopkins, who raised the alarm on the night Nicole was attacked after witnessing her beloved dogs turn on her on the propertys CCTV system, was charged with a total of two offences. Ian Hopkins was charged with two offences It is alleged, on December 30, 2021 at an apartment at 33 Henry Street Limerick, he was discovered in possession of 6,550, knowing that the said property was the proceeds of criminal conduct. It is further alleged that on the same date at the same address he had in his possession cannabis for the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying it to another in contravention of the Misuse of Drugs Act. Ian and Nicole were together before her death The case was called before Limerick District Court on Tuesday where Inspector Liam Wallace said a book of evidence was due to be served in the matter. However, he told Judge Patricia Harney it was not yet ready. Hopkins solicitor informed the court that his client, who was not present in court, is currently on remand in custody. Judge Harney agreed to adjourn the matter to September 17. The property where Nicole was attacked by her dogs Its understood Mr Hopkins was the person who initially raised the alarm on the night of June 4. Although he wasnt at home, he spotted Nicole being attacked by the dogs on footage sent to his phone from the propertys CCTV system after she returned to the property following celebrations to mark her 23rd birthday. After calling 999, its understood he also sent footage to members of Nicoles family in an effort to speed up the response to the unfolding tragedy. Attack victim Nicole Morey with one of the dogs in her care When the Regional Armed Support Unit arrived at the scene, they shot dead an XL bully. Three other dogs, a second XL bully and two Staffordshire bull terriers, were taken from the property, with all three later being destroyed by authorities. Tragically, paramedics were unable to save Nicole such was the seriousness of her injuries. All four dogs who were in the property that night are included on a restricted dog breeding list and are all banned in the UK, however no such ban exists in the Republic of Ireland. In the wake of Nicoles death, Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, announced a ban on XL bully dogs. Under the ban, from October 1 this year, new regulations will prohibit the importing, breeding, selling and re-homing of XL bullies. Also, from February 1, 2025, it will be illegal to own an XL bully without a Certificate of Exemption. Commenting on the ban, Minister Humphreys stated: I am bringing in regulations to ban the breeding, sale, rehoming and import of XL bully dogs from 1st October 2024. These new regulations will ensure that, from October, nobody in the State can take ownership of these dangerous dogs and that it will be illegal to breed, sell, import, rehome, exchange, gift or abandon XL bully dogs. Nicole Morey Secondly, I will be bringing in a system of certification for existing owners of XL bully dogs. Over the period 1st October 2024 to 1st February 2025 all existing XL bully owners will have to apply for a Certificate of Exemption. Certificates of Exemption will be issued subject to strict criteria, including a requirement for licensing, microchipping and neutering. After February 1, 2025, any owner not compliant with the new regulations will have their dog seized and euthanised. Similar measures have been recently announced in both the UK and Northern Ireland. Minister Humphreys continued: My officials are working across Government, including with local authorities, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, An Garda Siochana, and Revenue Commissioners, to ensure effective enforcement of these regulations. The timelines I have set out will ensure that existing owners have time to obtain Certificates of Exemption, and that the systems are in place to enforce the regulations once enacted. The property where Nicole was attacked by her dogs I know a lot of people will not agree with this decision. Im a dog owner myself and I know people love their dogs, the Minister said. We must be mindful however that no dogs life is worth more than human life. Ultimately that is what guided me in making this decision. The XL bully was responsible for the horrific attack on Alejandro Mizsan in Wexford last year and it was also the breed which killed a young woman in Limerick recently. If we do not take action now the number of these dogs in the country will grow and my fear is that these attacks will become more frequent, she added. It is my strong view that Ireland should not be out of step with neighbouring jurisdictions in Northern Ireland and the UK on this matter. The rural property at Kealdaerra, Bodyke, Co Clare was bought for 223,000 in 2012 by a trusted associate of Edward Eds McCarthy The property has more than 18 acres and 20 stables The property has more than 18 acres and 20 stables Property seized this week by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) had been used by Limerick mob boss Edward Eds McCarthys gang to launder drugs cash 12 years ago. The rural property at Kealdaerra, Bodyke, Co. Clare, including a house, 20 stables and 18.5 acres of land, was bought for 223,000 in 2012 by a trusted associate of McCarthy and used for sulky horse training. William McInerney had claimed in garda interviews the money came from various business deals and sales, but didnt challenge the original CAB case. The cottage and lands, which also included a sulky racing track, were declared the proceeds of crime in 2016 and last April a new order was sought to take possession. McInerney had challenged the move by CAB but Judge Alex Owens granted the order with a stay until last Monday when Bureau officers moved in. The house, along with the property also seized this week in Portlaoise from ex-escort and alleged burglary gang driver Mary Cash, will be put up for sale in the coming months. The property has more than 18 acres and 20 stables In the original case against McInerney, he was described by CAB as a member of the McCarthy mob with close ties and associations with hierarchy of the gang. He was known as a trainer and jockey by other members of the gang and trained horses for sulky racing at the property. It was stated by CAB that sulky races are very often illegally organised events utilised by criminal elements to launder criminal funds through gambling and horse sales. McInerney had convictions for assault, theft, possession of drugs and passing counterfeit currency. CAB stated this week that during the investigation a complex money laundering scheme utilising various bank accounts and mediums in Ireland and Spain was identified and dismantled. This included a bank account and a property investment company registered in Lanzarote through which cash was chanelled to buy the Co. Clare property. Various individuals were given cash to get bank drafts that were then used to fund the purchase. It was stated in the 2016 that McInerneys explanations to gardai were not credible and clearly contradictory. The case highlights how gardai have been targeting the assets of Limericks drugs gangs over the last two decades. In 2013, CAB seized an Audi Q7 car, more than 26,000 in cash and a gold Rolex watch valued at 7,850 from McCarthy during a raid on his Moyross home. His wife, Linda Mullane, was also served with a demand to return social welfare payments of more than 70,000, the Sunday World previously reported. His uncle, Eddie Ryan, was the first person murdered in Limericks feud in 2000 when he was shot dead by crime boss, Kieran Keane. McCarthy later left the city for the UK where he forged links with Kinahan Cartel UK boss Thomas Bomber Kavanagh. The property has more than 18 acres and 20 stables The Sunday World recently revealed how McCarthy is now believed to be a target of the UKs National Crime Agency (NCA). The agency suspect McCarthy to be behind shipments of cocaine and other drugs as well as possession of guns and money-laundering, according to Sunday World sources. There are also plans to extradite the Limerick mobster to face trial in the UK and police authorities are awaiting the green light from the Crown Prosecution Service. The NCA were behind the case against Bomber Kavanagh which saw him get a 21-year sentence for importing cocaine into the UK. Eds McCarthy had also been cited in the case against Bawn Motors which had been described as firm set up solely to launder drugs cash. The used-car firm put millions of euro through its books before it was shut down by Gardai and over 100 vehicles seized in 2019 which have since been sold off. McCarthys rival Limerick faction boss Christy Keane was also linked to the men controlling the same car firm. The whistleblower who cannot be identified alleged they were targeted by prison authorities following the drug seizure and subjected to an attempted demotion Dissident republican prisoners smuggled drugs into the maximum security Portlaoise Prison intended for jailed associates of the Kinahan crime cartel, a whistleblower has alleged. A wrap containing heroin and benzodiazepines was concealed on the underside of a kitchen trolley that had collected food waste from the republican wing of the prison, known as the E wing. The drugs were intended for Kinahan cartel associates who were working in the kitchen. However, the consignment was intercepted by a senior prison officer who had increased security checks in the kitchen following intelligence about drug smuggling. The senior prison officer, who has since retired, detailed the massive drugs seizure inside the States most secure jail in a protected disclosure to the Irish Prison Service and also to the Department of Justice. The whistle blower claimed the value of the drugs was 30,000, however gardai said they were worth almost 5,000. In April 2022, while removing a food trolley from the dissident E wing and before it could be intercepted by Kinahan cartel associates, I discovered 30,000 of heroin and other drugs, the protected disclosure alleged. As the prison officer discreetly removed the package from the trolley, the Kinahan associates were hovering around the area looking for their drugs, the disclosure claimed. The whistleblower has alleged that as the key witness responsible for the drug seizure, they were never asked to provide a statement to the prison authorities or to An Garda Siochana about the find. They have further alleged that the day after the seizure, a 10-inch knife was stolen from the prison kitchen. They alleged this security breach was a set up, to deflect attention from the drug seizure. The whistleblower alleged the drugs were later examined by the operational support group in Portlaoise prison who valued the seizure at 30,000. The incident was alleged to have taken place on the afternoon of April 6, 2022. Gardai said the total value of the drugs seized was 4,900 and not 30,000. This matter was fully investigated by An Garda Siochana and no prosecution was directed, the force said in a statement. The whistleblower alleged they were targeted by prison authorities following the drug seizure and subjected to an attempted demotion The Irish Prison Service did not confirm or deny the incident, saying it does not comment on operational matters. According to prison service figures, there were 29 drug seizures in Portlaoise in 2022. The whistleblower who cannot be identified alleged they were targeted by prison authorities following the drug seizure and subjected to an attempted demotion. They sought a transfer to another prison and they were allegedly forced to retire on medical grounds. Their disclosures are being examined by the Irish Prison Service. The retired senior officer is one of a number of former members of the Irish Prison Service to allege bullying, and intimidation over decade-long careers working in Irish jails. Details about the alleged drug seizure have come to light as the prison service faces increased scrutiny over continued drug trafficking into prisons. One prisoner in Mountjoy died in July after taking the synthetic drug, Nitazene. Last month, 11 inmates at Portlaoise Prison were rushed to hospital after overdosing on the same drug. The drugs were believed to have been smuggled into the C wing of Portlaoise by a major gangland figure. Gardai are investigating the source of the drugs and how they were smuggled into the jails. The head of the Irish Prison Officers Association told a conference in April that drones are delivering drugs and contraband to prisoners. However, new technology purchased by the prison service to block these drone deliveries, using interceptor drones, has failed. Prisoners, visitors or staff can ring a free confidential phone line with information on trafficking into prisons The Irish Prison Service declined to respond to questions. Asked whether the drugs seizure was referred to An Garda Siochana, and whether prosecutions or sanctions followed, a statement from the Irish Prison Service said it does not comment on operational or security matters. The statement said it is committed to investing in new technology to keep contraband out of prisons. Random searches and intelligence-led cell searches have increased. Canine units are focusing on searching deliveries into prisons, it continued. The Operational Support Group work closely with their colleagues in An Garda Siochana on a regular basis and the sharing of intelligence has led to targeted searches resulting in the seizure of contraband, the statement said. Prisoners, visitors or staff can ring a free confidential phone line with information on trafficking into prisons. They were part of an 11-strong gang that carried out Stg3m worth of frauds targeting elderly and vulnerable people in a crime spree ten years ago. A Rathkeale Rovers couple who are part of an organised crime gang deported from the United States two weeks ago are now in prison in Ireland. Oliver Boswell (36) and Kathleen McCarthy (35) are being sought for extradition to the UK where they were convicted of rogue trading offences in 2017. They were part of an 11-strong gang that carried out Stg3m worth of frauds targeting elderly and vulnerable people in a crime spree ten years ago. The couple, who have links to Rathkeale, Co Limerick, disappeared before their trial but were arrested in the US after a routine traffic stop in July this year. They appeared in the High Court this week where McCarthys application for bail before a full hearing on September 25 was refused. Her husband, Oliver Boswell, consented to being sent back to the UK where he had previously pleaded guilty to the charges against him. It was also heard the couples four children, aged between eight and 15, are still in the US where they are being cared for by McCarthys sister. Detective Sergeant Adrian Murray from the National Extradition Unit gave evidence that Ms McCarthy is wanted for sentence on 19 offences in which Stg220,000 went through her bank account. He said she was one of 11 defendants in the case along with her husband Oliver Boswell, and had failed to appear in court on two occasions. She has remained at large since then until her husbands arrest following a traffic violation in the US. The garda witness said he believed her to be a flight risk if given bail. Following their deportation from the US, they were arrested at Dublin Airport based on a request from the UK authorities. McCarthys lawyer said if granted bail she would live at her parents house in Rathkeale, Co Limerick and 2,500 was available as a cash bond. It was also heard the convictions could attract a maximum sentence of 14 years. Boswell had also been due to make an application for bail, but the court was told that he instead consented to being surrendered to the UK. He was called to evidence that he understood why there was a warrant for his extradition and that he agreed to being handed over. The Sunday World previously reported Kathleen McCarthy received more than Stg220,000 from 14 victims across the UK between December 2013 and December 2014. Boswell pleaded guilty to four money laundering offences in January 2017, getting 24,000 from four victims between January 2014 and June 2014. Sentencing was postponed until after the trial where Kathleen McCarthy was convicted, but she failed to attend and is wanted by the court. Their days on the run came to an end on July 17 when police in Ulster County, New York stopped a Ford pick-up truck which had been reported stolen from Enterprise Rent-a-Car. McCarthy was arrested and charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, according to reports The US Department of Homeland Security contacted the sheriffs office after being made aware of McCarthys arrest and that her husband was wanted in the UK as well. Sheriffs deputies and detectives helped locate Boswell and identified other gang members in Ulster County. Officers from Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) at New York Citys Newburgh office arrested the pair on July 18. According to a statement, the two Irish non-citizens are alleged to be linked to an international fraud network known as the Travelling Conmen Fraud Group. Boswell had lawfully entered the US on February 15, 2023, while McCarthy arrived later that year on August 11, but both had violated the terms of admission. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have also targeted other members of the network who paid people-smugglers huge sums of cash to get into the US. The couple were previously described as leaders of the gang when UK police launched an appeal for information on the pair after their convictions. An officer from the UKs South East Regional Organised Crime Unit, said at the time: This is organised criminality targeting the most vulnerable in our society. It was added the unit will pursue these individuals using all resources and partner agencies available to ensure prosecution and sentencing. Upon conviction we will also conduct confiscation proceeding under the Proceeds of Crime Act to ensure compensation for the victims. Sheehan who ran into a coffee shop seeking safety after he was set upon by two men on Grand Parade in the city shortly after 5pm sustained slash wounds to his forehead, arm and back. Sheehan being taken to hospital by ambulance Deep knife wounds on the forehead and body of Gavin Sheehan These blood-soaked images show how volatile criminal Gavin Sheehan came within inches of death during a horror daylight knife attack in Cork on Friday evening. The attack on the 33-year-old is the second time he has been targeted within the last three weeks as he feuds with rival criminals from the citys northside. Sheehan who ran into a coffee shop seeking safety after he was set upon by two men on Grand Parade in the city shortly after 5pm sustained slash wounds to his forehead, arm and back. Incredibly, and despite the gruesome nature of his injuries, Sheehan posted on social media a short time later saying: Were good. Gardai investigating the attack arrested a man in his 20s yesterday morning. He was last night being held under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act at a garda station in Cork. Sources said Fridays attack came without warning and Sheehan sustained at least three savage blows from the knife before he managed to flee. One of the blows left a deep gash on his forehead just above his left eye while he also sustained a deep laceration on his left side of his back and a deep cut to his left arm. How the Sunday World has covered Sheehans ongoing feud Images of his injuries and video of Sheehan walking into the back of an ambulance after he was bandaged up in the coffee shop by paramedics went viral on social media in the wake of the attack. This was a shocking attack and shows the depths the criminals involved in this feud will stoop to, a source told the Sunday World. This happened at 5pm in the evening on one of Corks busiest streets when the ordinary decent people of Cork were going about their business only to be confronted by scenes you wouldnt expect to see in a warzone. In the wake of the latest attack, chairperson of Cork citys Joint Policing Committee Cllr Damian Boylan said a response was needed from the authorities. We need more of a Garda presence. I will be addressing this with the Minister for Justice. I will also be raising this issue with Superintendent Tom Myers. Gardai need to make themselves more visible. After receiving treatment at the scene, Sheehan was brought to Cork University Hospital. His injuries were described by gardai to be serious but non-life-threatening. Following the attack on his home two weeks ago, Sheehan, who has 73 previous convictions, including four for assault causing harm; three for assault; and seven for robbery, took to social media to declare war on his rivals. I wasnt even at home, he wrote. Somebody broke a window. Its a shame tbh [to be honest] because I was genuinely looking to stay outta boder [sic] but now its war. Sheehan being taken to hospital by ambulance Sheehan also said he had been targeted as part of the feud days before the attack on his house. Everyone of them came up the other day. I was on my own and [they] ran away and starting put sh*t up saying they done dis and that [sic]. Them dirty clowns never done jack in their lives bar break windows and run. He then challenged to fight two of the men at the same time to end the dispute and labelled them a pair of fools. I gave him a slap the other day he rang the gards [sic]. Hes like a crack head of a thing, Ill put him over my knee and spank that clown he be calling me daddy by the end of the week. [sic] Sheehan was sentenced to 11 years in 2017 for shooting innocent woman Ciara Sheehan in May 2016. He had denied four charges relating to possessing and firing the gun and most significantly, seriously injuring the young woman. Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard Sheehan had assaulted a young man, Dylan Cunningham, in a chip shop in Blackpool earlier that evening and, later that night, windows were broken at Sheehans family home at Laurel Ridge. Later, at about 1.30am, Ciara Sheehan, Dylan Cunninghams girlfriend, was at the Cunningham family home at Hollywood Estate, Blarney Road, when she heard a loud bang and realised she had been shot. She fell to the ground with a gunshot wound to the neck. She underwent emergency surgery and had a bullet removed from her neck, where it had lodged in a muscle but which avoided rupturing any major blood vessels During his sentence hearing, lawyers for Sheehan claimed he had for a period of two years been a garda informer, tipping them off about drug dealers, gun dealers and criminals in general. Sheehan was released from prison last month after serving eight years of his sentence. Gardai have appealed for anyone with information or road users with video footage of Fridays attack to come forward. Blood pours from wounds on Gavin Sheehans body In a statement, gardai said: Shortly after 5pm, gardai and emergency services responded to an incident at the junction of Grand Parade and Oliver Plunkett Street. A male in his late 30s was found at the scene with serious injuries. He received medical treatment at the scene and was then transported to Cork University Hospital. Injuries are... serious but not life-threatening. A technical and forensic examination of the scene has been completed, and investigations are ongoing. Gardai are appealing for witnesses to this assault to come forward. They are also appealing to road users and pedestrians who may have camera footage (including dash cams) from the Grand Parade/Oliver Plunkett Street area between 4:30pm and 5:30pm to make this footage available to gardai. Anyone with information is asked to contact Anglesea Street Garda Station at 021 452 2000, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111, or any garda station. The Defence Forces yesterday announced the death in service of Corporal Terry Smyth, 32, with great sadness Army corporal Terry Smyth will be laid to rest tomorrow following his sudden death over the weekend. The Defence Forces yesterday announced the death in service of Corporal Terry Smyth (32) with great sadness. Cpl Smyth was found in an unresponsive state by his colleagues at the Curragh Training Centre in Co Kildare on Friday night. From Co Kildare, he joined Oglaigh na hEireann in 2011 as a recruit in 5 Infantry Battalion. Cpl Smyth had 13 years of service with the Defence Forces and served in a number of appointments with the 7 Infantry Battalion, 1 Mechanised Infantry Company, the Military College, Defence Forces Physical Education School and the Ordnance Corps to name a few. He also served on peacekeeping missions overseas in Lebanon and Syria. In a statement, the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Lieutenant General Sean Clancy, said: Today, Oglaigh na hEireann have lost a fine colleague and a better friend. All of us in Oglaigh na hEireann extend our deepest sympathies to the family and the friends of Corporal Terry Smyth and to all those who were lucky enough to have known him, in whatever capacity that it was. He will be sorely missed but never forgotten. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis.. Cpl Smyth is survived by his loving partner Stacey, daughter Regan, son Fallon, parents Terry and Audrey, brothers Eoin and Connor, sister-in-law Grainne, Connor's partner Lynda, Stacey's parents Ann and Jim and the Pender family, nieces, nephews, extended family, neighbours, friends and Army colleagues. A notice on RIP.ie reads: Reposing at his residence from 2pm on Sunday concluding with rosary at 7pm. Removal by Glennons Funeral Directors on Monday morning to arrive at St. Brigid's Church, The Curragh for Requiem Mass at 10am. Cremation afterwards in Mount Jerome Crematorium at 1pm. The service will be available online via a live stream link. Tributes are being paid to the 32-year-old online, with many remembering Cpl Smyth as a lovely young man. One friend wrote: You can only be described as an out and out gentleman, always a hello hows things and a quick chat. Youve left a lasting effect on the people who came in contact with you and anyone youve met will always remember you. The squad you looked after in Suncroft AFC will remember you fondly as someone who pushed them to be the best they could. Sincere condolences to Stacey, your two children, Audrey and Terry Snr Owen and Conor all your extended family and fellow members of the Defence Forces Rest in heaven Terry. Another said: He was one of a kind, the biggest smile, the happiest hello and he would never pass you by without a beep and a wave, or a stop to say hello. We will hold onto the many memories we have of Terry. Terry may you Rest In Peace our friend and watch over your beautiful family. You will be greatly missed. And another pal added: Audrey Terry & all the Smyth family. Stacey Reagan Fallon & all the Pender family. Our deepest condolences on the loss of one of the Curragh's finest. Terry had the biggest smile that would light up a room. He never passed you without having chat & asking how you were doing. A lovely gentle kind soul who will be greatly missed by everyone who had the pleasure to know him. Rest in peace Terry & watch over all your beautiful family. The lavish ceremony was held in Altea, Spain on Saturday. Rugby star Simon Zebo and his wife Elvira Fernandez tied the knot for a second time over the weekend after their first wedding in 2022. The lavish ceremony was held in Altea, Spain on Saturday. The couple have been together since they were teenagers and have four kids together. Their children Jacob (9), Sofia (8), Noah (5), and Isabella (2) were all in attendance for their parents' nuptials. Elvira looked stunning in a strapless lace wedding gown with a detailed sheer train while her husband opted for a cream linen suit and a crisp white shirt for the occasion. The pair first said I do at an intimate ceremony at the five-star Sheen Falls Lodge in Kenmare, Co Kerry back in 2022, with just 22 guests in attendance due to Covid restrictions. Simon told RSVP Magazine that they celebrated with music, dancing and laughs as well as some rapping. "The day went brilliantly. We didnt have the weather but we had an amazing photographer and videographer to capture the day," he said. "Its a very cosy hotel so the winter weather kind of added to the day in a sense, it was magical out there surrounded by the water. We were up rapping and laughing, singing and dancing all night. It was just a fantastic night with all the closest people to us, we had a blast". Speaking about their big day which took place on Saturday, July 30, Simon added: "We had a jam session there after some Guinness and it was amazing. My rapping skills went down a treat and a great night was had," he told RSVP. Simon and Elvira first met in Cork when he was 16 and she was a 15-year-old Spanish student studying in Ireland. Munster legend Simon announced their engagement in 2019 after a romantic proposal in front of the Eiffel Tower. Last night was special. My childhood sweetheart said yes. From the bushes in Blackrock as 15/16 yr olds to the bright lights of Paris as parents of three beautiful children. Love you forever Eva, my queen, the 34-year-old wrote on social media at the time. Jon Caldara is president of the Independence Institute in Denver and hosts The Devils Advocate with Jon Caldara on Colorado Public Television Channel 12. His column appears Sundays in Colorado Politics. I dont care if you are in costume, I dont care if you are in character it is not OK and it is not funny to have demanded those things from me in person at my booth The Boys star Valorie Curry has asked fans to respect boundaries after being made feel uncomfortable by inappropriate requests at her weekend Comic Con appearance in Northern Ireland. The popular Amazon Prime series is now in its fourth season and centres around the titular Boys as they face a series of villainous superheroes. Curry was cast as Firecracker in the latest season of The Boys, a right-wing antagonist who tries to gain the confidence of primary antagonist Homelander (Antony Starr) by promising him sexual favours. According to Curry in her Instagram story, two people at the event repeatedly made an inappropriate request to the Californian actress during her appearance at the weekends convention held in Lisburn. She said the fans seemingly hassled her about some of her more controversial scenes. In a video posted to Instagram on Saturday evening, she said: "I just got back from the first day of Comic Con in Northern Ireland. By and large everyone was fantastic. But we do need to talk about boundaries and what is appropriate in terms of behaviour. I know people saw a character I played do some pretty extreme things on The Boys. I dont care if you are in costume, I dont care if you are in character it is not OK and it is not funny to have demanded those things from me in person at my booth. Frankly, to the person who did that repeatedly today, I made it pretty clear it wasnt ok and that only seemed to make this person and their friend angry. "I didn't think this needed to be explained, but I was deeply uncomfortable it was quite clear I was uncomfortable. Curry was appearing at Comic Con Northern Ireland, on both days of the event, on September 7 and 8. The event, which boasts many celebrity guests and sees fans don the outfits of their favourite characters, was held in the Eikon Centre in Lisburn. Many guest stars including Doctor Who stars Jodie Whittaker and Billie Piper, and Lord of the Rings and Star Wars actor Andy Serkis were there to give autographs and take pictures with fans. Curry said that she has only started appearing at conventions by herself and everyone for the most part has been so lovely and so kind and respectful. Although she wants to do more in the future, she said she struggles to see this happening if fans keep making her feel uncomfortable. She said: I really want to be able to do these, honestly, I really love it. I am not going to be able to do this if people are acting this way because it makes me so uncomfortable and honestly you should know much better. Everybody else knows better, I dont know what reaction you were looking for nobody was laughing. Curry thanked all the fans who met her without acting disrespectfully, as she wrapped up the video. She said: That said, thank you to everyone who I have met today, who I have met at past conventions. Everyone who is so respectful and kind and who would never dream of acting this way. If you are thinking about it, if you think it is going to be a bit or a moment it is not and it is honestly just going to make me feel bad. Please think about that before coming up to talk to me. Think about what is appropriate and professional." Comic Con has been contacted for a response. Experts say the lack of accurate data on head lice prevalence in New Zealand has hindered effective research and preventive measures, leaving many children and whanau vulnerable to infestations. Health researchers are calling for the establishment of a real-time register of head lice cases to help reduce growing rates of the disease around New Zealand. Latest Ministry of Health data shows the number of subsidised prescriptions for the treatment of head lice reached 25,848 in 2022, up 27 per cent over the past five years. Some North Island regions have experienced increases of up to 185 per cent over this period. Experts say the lack of accurate data on head lice prevalence in the country has hindered effective research and preventive measures, leaving many children and whanau vulnerable to infestations. Kate Ricketts, founder of ISpyNits, the worlds first treatment designed to address the entire lifecycle of lice, while at the same time tackling the stigma associated with the condition, said the increase in prescriptions is concerning as many of these are likely to be more severe cases. She said while indicative of a growing health issue, the Ministrys prescription data is historical and represents only one cohort of patients, and there is no existing tool for recording cases of the condition - or the targeted dissemination of this information in real-time. International research shows New Zealand is one of the few developed countries in the world, where the nationwide prevalence of head lice (pediculosis capitis) is unknown. Head lice. Photo: The Lice Angel. Ricketts, who holds a postgraduate research Masters degree said her work with researchers at the University of Auckland in developing a new fluorescent powder to identify lice eggs in low light highlighted the lack of local data - which has forced scientists to extrapolate rates based on those of other countries. She said the establishment of a nits tracking tool would be world-leading and could help reduce thousands of unnecessary doctor visits and school absences each year. Currently pediculosis (head lice infestation) is not a notifiable condition and nits do not transmit any infectious diseases; however children often scratch so much that infections occur on the scalp - in some cases these can be severe. If caught in its early stages, head lice can be treated by over-the-counter products. Many of the cases reflected in the Ministrys data are likely to represent our most vulnerable tamariki. These more severe cases may have been referred to a doctor by a social worker or another support organisation. With greater awareness of localised outbreaks and earlier intervention we may be able to reduce the 25,000+ subsidised visits annually to a GP to generate a prescription for a condition that could be addressed in pharmacy or by purchasing a kit at school, she said. Ricketts said the stigma associated with the condition is a significant barrier to treatment and contributes to the number of outbreaks that occur regularly throughout regional New Zealand. The proposed crowdsourced register of head lice, which Ricketts said could be modelled on COVID-19 tracer technology used during the pandemic, would allow parents and caregivers to anonymously log a case of nits online or via a mobile device. Schools and health care providers could then be alerted to outbreaks in their area, helping to raise local awareness and support with treatment advice. Currently, the data on head lice in New Zealand is limited and mainly extrapolated from research conducted in Australia. This lack of local data has hindered academic research and the development of effective strategies to combat the issue. The absence of accurate information also poses challenges in securing funding for necessary education and treatment initiatives, she said. Ricketts said the proposed nits register aims to bridge this data gap and provide valuable insights into the prevalence and severity of head lice infestations. By aggregating anonymous reports, the register would enable researchers, universities, and public health authorities to conduct in-depth analyses and develop targeted interventions. One of the key benefits of the nits register would be its ability to provide real-time data on head lice clusters. By mapping out hotspots on a regional level, parents, schools, and communities can be alerted to potential outbreaks, allowing for prompt preventive measures and treatment. She said the need for a nits register is particularly crucial in regions experiencing significant population growth, such as Auckland and Christchurch. The rise in high-density housing and overcrowded schools has created an environment conducive to the spread of head lice. The register would help identify areas with the highest risk and enable proactive measures to be implemented. The nits register would play a vital role in raising awareness about head lice and dispelling misconceptions. The stigma associated with head lice often leads to underreporting, resulting in an inaccurate representation of the problem. By providing concrete data, the register would help combat the stigma and encourage open discussions about prevention and treatment, she said. The Ministry of Health advises tamariki stay away from school or kura while infected with lice until treatment has begun - which Ricketts said can contribute to increased school and workplace absenteeism and social stigma for some of our most vulnerable. What we know about head lice is that the time lag between infection and diagnosis is often long enough for nits to spread through an entire classroom. While keeping students at home during treatment can be a prudent step in eradication in some cases, the reality is a more comprehensive approach is needed to reduce disruption to their education, she said. Ricketts said she is currently seeking funding for the development of the nits index and is looking to collaborate with organisations and technology providers interested in helping to address growing rates of the condition in New Zealand communities. Graffiti more than tripled in Rotorua in the year to June 30 - costing ratepayers more than $100,000. Rotorua Lakes Council received 629 reports of graffiti in the past financial year which cost $102,332. The bill is expected to be thousands of dollars higher this financial year. Tauranga-based Graffiti Busters director Anthony Nel removes tagging across the Bay of Plenty and Waikato. Graffiti attacks were getting worse due to recent warmer weather and the materials used less likely to be washed away, Nel said. In Tauranga, it was getting out of hand. Even what weve noticed in Rotorua is that it will go quiet for a while and then you get a whole lot of requests come through for graffiti removal and its a new tagger in town. Taggers put their trademark wherever they could, he said, with some even getting onto roof buildings. Nel believed there was a broken window effect in Rotoru in that where there was one type of crime, other crimes followed. Culprits ranged from teenagers to people in their 30s but it could be anyone, to be honest. Some of it was gang-related, and some were kids at bus stops using marker pens. Graffiti Busters director Anthony Nel. Photo / George Novak. Tauranga and Rotorua were completely different with each having vandals marking their patch, he said. His advice to anyone experiencing the vandalism was to remove it or call the council as quickly as possible as there was less chance of it repeatedly returning. Nel said when he first started subcontracting to Rotorua Lakes Council its focus was on all graffiti but now it is the CBD. Problem areas include the outskirts of town, such as Te Ngae Rd, which had become a bit of an eyesore and not ideal for tourism. Rotorua Anglers Association president Ron Cole spoke to Local Democracy Reporting outside of its building on Pererika St. It, and neighbouring buildings, was sprayed in a multitude of colours in varying fonts and scribbles. Cole said there had not been any graffiti issues for a long time, but there was recently a spate. Ive never understood the thought process behind destruction of property. People dont understand the costs to fix it. Cole was grateful to Resene for donating 50 litres of recycled paint for the association to fix up the building. Graffiti Busters contacted the association about the graffiti to offer advice. Cole said the association would paint over any new graffiti. Rotorua Anglers Association president Ron Cole armed to erase the recent graffiti. Photo / Laura Smith. He understood he may need to paint over it a few times before it stopped. A Rotorua Lakes Council spokesman said it promptly addressed graffiti when it was reported. Our public spaces are meant for everyone to enjoy, and vandalism or graffiti ruins this experience for everyone. Its always disappointing to see public buildings, playgrounds and other areas damaged or defaced. Murals were created with local groups and schools in areas targeted, he said, to add local character, foster community pride and help deter graffiti. The council reported graffiti to the police when appropriate and sent contractors to clean it quickly. It cost the council $102,332 through its City Clean contract last financial year. This financial year we have spent $75,998 on graffiti and we estimate it will cost us $110,000. It received 135 reports of graffiti this financial year so far. Last year, it received 629, up from 186 for the full 2021/22 financial year and 79 the previous year. Graffiti can be reported to the council by calling 07 3484 199 or emailing information to info@rotorualc.nz. Tauranga City Council has one dedicated graffiti operator in its City Operations team who responds to reports of vandalism and proactively removes graffiti. City operations manager Greg Steele said crews removed graffiti as they came across it in regular maintenance work. From December 2023 to August 2024, its graffiti removal costs were estimated at $51,492. Between January and July, there were 370 reports of graffiti. There were 787 in 2023 and 893 the year before. We provide a free graffiti removal service for residential and small business property owners who are unable to remove it themselves. To be eligible for the service the graffiti must be visible from the road. Steele said it was a serious crime that required a strong community response. The best way to combat tagging was prompt cleaning. He asked racist or graffiti with bad language be reported immediately to 07 577 7000. We also ask people to call us if they see graffiti on council-owned assets and infrastructure. Graffiti on private businesses should be reported to the affected business for removal. People who see vandalism taking place should call 111 from a safe distance. A police spokesman said it encouraged tagging or graffiti victims to report it to police via its 105 number or at the local station, or to the council. He said they ask for photographs of damage and any video footage. Prevention measures include adequate lighting, CCTV cameras and signage to say it is there. It is recommended large blank areas such as fences or walls have natural coverings across them and items that can be climbed upon are removed. Anyone convicted of intentional damage faces up to seven years imprisonment. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air. Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. Geddes, N.Y. -- Meagan Kestler, 40, of Camillus, went to the energetic Pitbull concert Saturday night with her boyfriends family. They left the Empower FCU Amphitheater like hundreds of others after the show, pulling out into Interstate 690 headed west. Each week, syracuse.com will look back at some of our best stories from the previous week. Here are six stories for the week of Sept. 1, 2024. Subscribe to get the Syracuse.com Exclusives newsletter delivered to your email inbox every Sunday. Whistleblowing or dirty politics? Inside the anonymous 11th-hour accusations against John Mannion A week before the Democratic primary election for Congress in Central New York, anonymous authors posted a letter online detailing what they said was a hostile environment while working for state Sen. John Mannion. Was the letter a political dirty trick, amplified by partisans on social media? Or was it a legitimate attempt to prevent an abusive boss from reaching Congress? Finally! Syracuse family with smart twins escapes FAFSA prison Melissa Menon, center, with her daughters, Myra, left, and Caroline. Friday, July 12, 2024, in Syracuse. (Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com) Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com When Caroline and Myra Menon arrived on campus for move-in day at SUNY Geneseo two weeks ago, their mom was still staring down a bill for $21,740 for the first semester. It took seven months, but the high-achieving Syracuse twins finally got their financial aid approved Tuesday. A Syracuse.com article and editorial last month about the frozen aid finally got the wheels of bureaucracy to turn, their mother said. In reversal, Syracuse University wont demolish old frat house, scales back massive dorm plans Syracuse University has scaled back plans for a new student dormitory after encountering resistance from city officials, neighbors and historic preservationists. Just ahead of a Syracuse Common Council vote this week on whether to protect a vacant mansion SU owns on Comstock Avenue, the university withdrew a demolition application filed in the spring as part of the dorm project. NYS Fair vendors recall chaos, kindness after gunfire reports Crystal Harrison had never seen anything like it. The seven-year veteran of the New York State Fair saw a sea of hundreds of people rush past her around 8:45 p.m. Sunday. The scare was prompted by two back-to-back reports of possible gunfire at the fairgrounds Sunday evening. Syracuse mushroom foraging: His forest finds feed fine diners across CNY Zach Papaleoni recently walked through Whisky Hollow Nature Preserve in Van Buren, scanning the forest floor. He bent down and plucked a small, tan-colored mushroom from the ground and twirled it in his fingers, examining the fungus from every angle. Papaleoni is an expert mushroom forager who supplies wild and cultivated mushrooms to about a dozen CNY restaurants, including The Krebs, The Century Club, Apizza Regionale, Lemon Grass, Rosalies, and Funk n Waffles. Hundreds of you responded to our survey: We need to limit cellphone use by students in school As the new school year begins, at least eight states and 14 of the nations 20 largest school districts are instituting rules to curb students use of cellphones in schools. New York state may soon join them and syracuse.com readers who responded to our call for opinions are overwhelmingly for it. Investigative editor Chris Osher published a story last weekend that elicited more outrage than I have ever seen a story evoke in the Colorado Springs and Denver Gazettes. Osher wrote about a retired Aurora police sergeant who faces criminal charges for sexually assaulting his three daughters, but remains free from custody while his ex-wife went to jail last weekend for objecting to court-ordered reunification therapy meant to repair his relationship with two of their sons. Our staff members documented the moment when Rachel Pickrel-Hawkins turned herself into Larimer County jail on Saturday with tears in her eyes and fury in her heart. More than 5 million people reacted to the story on the social media platform X, and a Gofundme campaign raised $70,000 for her in three days. Some of the reaction from our readers captures a small sense of the outrage: This judge should be disbarred and is the one who needs to go to jail, along with the father, for child abuse. Didnt I just read a week ago that this reunification crap was thoroughly debunked and discredited? Does this judge still believe leeches are a valid medical treatment? "We don't allow kids to have basic human rights." So why is this happening? The judge in this case ordered reunification therapy before criminal rape charges were filed against the father, but the judge cast doubt on and then simply ignored an earlier finding by child-protective staff that they had confirmed sexual abuse by the father on his daughter and injury of his oldest son. This happens every week, said Gina Byrd, a Colorado attorney and former guardian ad litem who has represented scores of children in abuse and neglect cases. Because Colorado law really stresses parental rights over the best interests of the children. And thats because parents vote and lobby and have more power," Byrd said. "Im so tired of bad parents." A year ago, there was some hope. Colorado became the first state in the country to put new restrictions on the use of reunification therapy. The new law barred courts from restricting the custody of a parent who is competent, protective and not abusive solely to improve a relationship with the other parent. It prohibits reunification treatment that would cut off the relationship between a child and a protective parent the child has a bond with. The new law also requires experts who advise the court on custody cases to have much better training in working with victims of domestic violence and child abuse. State lawmakers acted after Osher and Julia Cardi published extensive investigations into Colorados troubled family court system, which has been plagued by accusations of bias, usually from mothers who say they are punished and can have their parenting time restricted during divorces when they seek to protect their children from abusive fathers. Osher and Cardi documented four deaths of children caused by dysfunction in the system and went on to win a prestigious national journalism award for shining a light on the problem. The legislation makes Colorado the first state to pass a law based on the federal Keeping Children Safe From Family Violence Act, also known as Kaydens Law. The federal law, enacted in 2022, is named after a 7-year-old Pennsylvania girl who was murdered by her father during court-ordered custody time. Featured Local Savings Yet the new law has not helped in Hawkins case. A series of laws have been enacted in Colorado to address this crisis, but judges are not following the law, state Rep. Meg Froelich, prime sponsor of the new law, told me. We have done everything in federal Kayden's Law, except we (constitutionally) can't tell the judicial branch what to do through legislation," she added, "and so they continue to use their 'discretion' to make terrible rulings! This judge and many other judges and magistrates have illustrated profound ignorance of the realities of domestic violence, child abuse and child sex abuse. A companion bill created a task force to study training requirements for judges on domestic violence and sexual assault, among other forms of abuse. But it's high time to move past studying the problem and make those training requirements a hard and fast reality before more children die. So what else can be done to protect children in the family court system? I think we need more. I think the law needs to change, Byrd said. We need to have more stress on the best interests of the children, and it needs to apply to every single situation and it needs to be of paramount concern. I think that in Colorado, we try to do the right thing and we give these parents chances, but in some cases its time to give up on them. Byrd stopped working as a guardian ad litem for kids because she was so frustrated with how the courts hamstrung her. I quit. I just quit. I mean it was just heartbreaking, especially when kids are like 10 to 12 years old and they know whats going on. And you have to say, 'Sorry, you dont matter. What matters is your dad who raped your sister wants to see you now. So you have to go.' She puts the onus on the legislature to make better laws. She believes judges are doing their best to follow the law, but they are manacled by what the legislature hands down. I just think the legislature needs to figure this out, and fix it. Froelich sees responsibility for the courts, too, and she and other state lawmakers are petitioning new Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Monica Marquez to usher in an era of family court reform that stops the daily tragedies that continue to unfold. The legislators are urging the chief justice to take immediate action through a Supreme Court directive, judicial disciplinary action or an emergency task force. Meanwhile, like clockwork Saturday morning, Rachel Pickrel-Hawkins turned herself into jail for her second weekend away from her kids, with a fresh round of tears in her eyes and fury in her heart. A 14-year-old boy armed with an assault-style rifle opened fire Wednesday at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, killing two students and two teachers and wounding nine others. The teens father also was arrested and charged with allowing his son to have access to the weapon. In the editorial cartoon gallerys lead image, Michael Ramirez depicts a grieving Uncle Sam asking Why? Subsequent cartoons by Nick Anderson and Bill Bramhall answer the question by showing examples of the nations permissive gun culture. Mike Luckovich draws a flowery Thoughts and Prayers, a familiar refrain after school shootings. Steve Breen riffs on the familiar school crossing road sign. In other news, the only scheduled televised debate between presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris is scheduled for Tuesday on ABC. Ahead of the debate, the candidates are using campaign appearances to defend their records. Dana Summers and Joey Weatherford note Harriss reluctance to sit for interviews or conduct a press conference. Walt Handelsman highlights Trumos shifting views on a Florida abortion law, while Weatherford comments on Harriss role in border policy. Drew Sheneman addresses the furor over the Trump campaigns filming of a political ad at Arlington National Cemetery. Other topics covered in this weeks editorial cartoon roundup include the intrusiveness of tipping culture; the killing by Hamas of six Israeli hostages being held in Gaza; and Labor Day. Cartoons were drawn by Jack Ohman, Nick Anderson, Bill Bramhall, Dana Summers, Drew Sheneman, Walt Handelsman, Phil Hands, Joel Pett and Joey Weatherford of Tribune Content Agency; and Mike Luckovich, Steve Breen and Michael Ramirez of Creators Syndicate. SnaazTee Newbie Join Date: Aug 2024 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1 Thanked: 158 Times India fails to address growing mental health problems | What are you doing to address it?! Image source Quote: A recent nationwide survey shows that more Indians are suffering from a variety of mental health issues. Psychiatrists are scarce and many people, reluctant to seek help, suffer in silence. Quote: The latest survey by India's National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) found that nearly 150 million Indians are in need of mental health care services, but fewer than 30 million are seeking care. "Over 10% of the population has diagnosable mental health or substance use disorder. Mental health is paramount, and getting treatment for mental disorders is not a luxury but a necessity," Pratima Murthy, director of NIMHANS, told DW. Article Source Not enough mental health professionals Quote: In India, mental health disorders often remain hidden, as there is a lack of education and awareness concerning psychological disorders. "Many children and young people experience mental health problems in India. Yet social stigmas and negative attitudes toward mental health prevent young people from seeking the support they need. It is time to break the silence around mental health and illness," Arjan de Wagt, a deputy representative from UNICEF India, told DW. Quote: There are also not enough mental health professionals to treat people who do seek help. This is especially true in rural parts of India. But even this number is low compared with countries such as Germany, where there are more than 13 psychiatrists for every 100,000 patients as of 2015, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). And, despite data showing a rise in mental health issues, India's Health Ministry in 2022 allocated less than 1% of its budget to directly deal with psychological illnesses. Article Source We are noticing a considerable increase in absurd incidents involving people lashing out on others for no reason, or perhaps stirring up a ruckus leave alone the new trend in assaulting airport staff, airlines crew members, road rage incidents, or the number of reported suicides in the last few years. To name a few from recent weeks include: 1. Unruly passenger assaults Air India Express check-in staff in Mumbai. Read more 2.Woman onboard IndiGo's Varanasi-Mumbai flight booked for abusing cabin crew. Read more 3.Harrier vs Fortuner in Thane; Family dispute turns into road rage leaving 5 injured. Read more 4.Former Atlas cycles president Salil Kapoor dies by suicide; a note mentioning financial burden was discovered. Read more Image source So let's cut to the chase, people behave badly for a variety of reasons like: Stress, Identity threat, anger, loneliness, hunger, life experiences, substance abuse etc. On the other hand, according to WHO, most suicides are related to psychiatric disease, with depression, substance use disorders and psychosis being the most relevant risk factors. However, anxiety, personality, eating, and trauma related disorders, as well as organic mental disorders, also contribute. Quote: Psychological autopsies from the middle of the previous century and onwards have revealed that most people who have died by suicide have suffered from mental disorders. Source According to WHO, Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. Quote: Whether it stems from our personal lives, careers or elsewhere, we all experience stress from time to time. Sometimes it can be anxiety inducing and uncomfortable, but did you know theres also a good type of stress thats a pivotal part of our well-being? Stress and mental health are connected in several ways. Stress can also be seen as a by product of the reaction people have to excessive pressure at work or other types of demanding situations. It is dominated by worry, anxiety and hence they cant cope. Stress is the wear and tear which our minds and bodies experience as we attempt to cope with our continually challenging and changing environment. S = P > R (S- Stress, P-Pressure, R- Resource Stress occurs when the pressure is greater than the resource Stress Produces the Following Feelings Worry, Tension, Tiredness, Fatigue, Fear, Elation, Depression, Anxiety, Anger. So what really is good stress/Positive stress and unhealthy stress/Negative stress? Quote: Contrary to common belief, some stress is beneficial toward living a healthy and fulfilling life. Quote: Good stress/Positive stress: Good stress is called eustress, and you may be more familiar with it as a feeling of excitement or eagerness. For example, you may have felt eustress when starting a new job, getting married, traveling, engaging in physical exercise or even riding a rollercoaster. This type of positive stress challenges us and keeps us motivated, providing opportunities to learn, accomplish new things and achieve our goals while also preventing us from becoming bored or even depressed. Positive Stress can also have a positive effect, spur motivation and awareness, providing the stimulation to cope with challenging situations. Stress also provides the sense of urgency and alertness needed for survival when confronting threatening situations. Quote: Unhealthy stress/Negative stress:While there are good types of stress, there are also, of course, negative and harmful forms of stress, otherwise known as chronic stress. Chronic stress happens when we repeatedly feel inescapable stressors, such as being unhappy at home, feeling constantly overwhelmed at work or dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. And while eustress is critical to fulfillment, even too much of it can lead to chronic stress if a person finds themselves overloaded with little to no restorative downtime. Negative Stress contributes to various conditions, such as headaches, digestive problems, skin complaints, insomnia and ulcers. Excessive, prolonged, unmanaged and unrelieved stress can have a harmful effect on mental, physical and spiritual health. Information source Quote: Types of stress EXTERNAL STRESS FACTORS Physical Environment Noise, bright lights, heat, confined spaces, Social Interaction Rudeness, bullying, bossiness, aggression by others Professional Rules, regulations, deadlines, red tape issues, bad boss, competitive pressure Major Life Events Birth, death, loss of Job, Promotion, change in marital status Daily Hassles commuting, technical break downs INTERNAL STRESS FACTORS Lifestyle Excessive caffeine, lack of sleep, overloaded schedules Negative Self TalkPessimistic thinking, self criticism, over analysis Mind Traps Unrealistic expectations, taking things too personally, all or Nothingthinking,exaggeration, rigid thinking, Personality Traitsperfectionists, workaholics, MyWay thinking Quote: Furthermore, stress is Individualistic. Everyone is different, with unique perceptions of, and reactions to events. There is no single level of stress that is optimal for all people. Some are more sensitive and others more mature owing to experiences in childhood, conditioning, inherent values etc. However sometimes we also realise that the stress we experience is often selfgenerated. How we perceive life, whether an event makes us feel threatened or stimulated, encouraged or discouraged, happy or sad; depends to a large extent on how we perceive ourselves. Self- generated stress is a paradox, because so many people blame external causes when they are upset by the result of what they themselves have done. Quote: Stress response is controlled by the Endocrine System. Demands on the physical or mental systems of the body result in hormone secretion (Adrenaline, Testosterone). Endocrine system responses with: Increased pupil dilation, perspiration, increased heartrate and blood pressure, rapid breathing and muscle tenseness. Quote: Physical symptoms - Sleep pattern changes, Fatigue, Digestion changes, Headaches, aches and pains, infection, dizziness, fainting, sweating & trembling, tingling hands & feet, breathlessness, palpitations, missed heartbeats etc. Mental symptoms - Lack of concentration, memory lapses, difficulty in making decisions, confusion, disorientation, panic attacks etc. Behavioural symptoms - Appetite changes; eating too much or too little leading to anorexia, bulimia, restlessness, fidgeting, nail biting, hypochondria. Emotional Symptoms - Symptoms Bouts of depression, impatience ,fits of rage, tearfulness, deterioration of personal hygiene etc. Quote: Stress is not the same as illhealth, but has been related to such illnesses as; Cardiovasculardisease, Immune system disease, Asthma, Diabetes etc. Stress can harm by way of Digestive disorders, ulcers, skin complaints psoriasis, headaches and migraines, premenstrual syndrome, Depression etc. Quote: Most standard medical textbooks attribute anywhere from 50 to 80 percent of all disease to stress-related origins. Source A few things that have worked for me over the years and keeps my mental health in check are: 1Cognitive Reframing 2.Lifestyle Shift: Incorporating active lifestyle, mindfulness, eating healthy and clean along with some cheat meals, ensuring 7-8 hours of sleep, regular self reminders to no be too hard on myself, and overall following a path moderation are few of the many things that I have been able to put to practise over the years. 3.Positive distraction/ Cognitive restructuring: Physically and mentally removing myself from the situation temporarily helps me in shifting my attention away from the situation at that point of time. Distraction techniques work by interrupting the process of attentional narrowing(as we become more stressed out, our attention tends to narrow and focus on what we perceive as threatening) so that we stop thinking about what is bothering us for a while and instead think about something else. As the saying goes, "Out of sight, Out of mind." Well, above mentioned are some of my coping ways that help me thrive in here, I am now looking forward to hearing what are your top 3 magic techniques that help you keep your mental health in check! We are noticing a considerable increase in absurd incidents involving people lashing out on others for no reason, or perhaps stirring up a ruckus leave alone the new trend in assaulting airport staff, airlines crew members, road rage incidents, or the number of reported suicides in the last few years.To name a few from recent weeks include:1. Unruly passenger assaults Air India Express check-in staff in Mumbai.2.Woman onboard IndiGo's Varanasi-Mumbai flight booked for abusing cabin crew.3.Harrier vs Fortuner in Thane; Family dispute turns into road rage leaving 5 injured.4.Former Atlas cycles president Salil Kapoor dies by suicide; a note mentioning financial burden was discovered.So let's cut to the chase, people behave badly for a variety of reasons like:Stress, Identity threat, anger, loneliness, hunger, life experiences, substance abuse etc.On the other hand, according to WHO, most suicides are related to psychiatric disease, with depression, substance use disorders and psychosis being the most relevant risk factors. However, anxiety, personality, eating, and trauma related disorders, as well as organic mental disorders, also contribute.According to WHO, Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community.andare connected in several ways.Stress can also be seen as a by product of the reaction people have to excessive pressure at work or other types of demanding situations. It is dominated by worry, anxiety and hence they cant cope.Stress is the wear and tear which our minds and bodies experience as we attempt to cope with our continually challenging and changing environment.(S- Stress, P-Pressure, R- ResourceStress Produces the Following FeelingsWorry, Tension, Tiredness, Fatigue, Fear, Elation, Depression, Anxiety, Anger.Source: Reading material from one of my course books.A few things that have worked for me over the years and keeps my mental health in check are:2.: Incorporating active lifestyle, mindfulness, eating healthy and clean along with some cheat meals, ensuring 7-8 hours of sleep, regular self reminders to no be too hard on myself, and overall following a path moderation are few of the many things that I have been able to put to practise over the years.3.: Physically and mentally removing myself from the situation temporarily helps me in shifting my attention away from the situation at that point of time. Distraction techniques work by interrupting the process of attentional narrowing(as we become more stressed out, our attention tends to narrow and focus on what we perceive as threatening) so that we stop thinking about what is bothering us for a while and instead think about something else. As the saying goes, "Out of sight, Out of mind."Well, above mentioned are some of my coping ways that help me thrive in here, I am now looking forward to hearing what are yourtechniques that help you keep your mental health in check! The big picture: It's no secret that the internet is rife with illegal and harmful content, much of it fueled by extremists and terrorist groups. But there is one online corner that has been a breeding ground for such elements, the messaging app Telegram. Noxious content is easily spread on the platform with its hands-off approach to content moderation and an unwillingness to participate with law enforcement in pursuit of criminal activity. Last month, the enigmatic founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov was arrested in France. The 39-year-old Russian-born entrepreneur faces charges of failing to cooperate with law enforcement and complicity in crimes committed on the platform, including distribution of child sexual abuse material, drug trafficking, and fraud. This arrest comes amid growing concerns about Telegram's role as a hub for criminal activity, extremism, and disinformation. A recent investigation by the New York Times has uncovered the extent to which the platform has become a breeding ground for illegal and harmful content. Telegram's unique features, such as channels and supergroups, have made it an attractive platform for both legitimate users and those with nefarious intentions. At the same time, the app's determination to stay true to the principles of privacy and free speech has led to the creation of a haven for criminal enterprises, terrorist organizations, and extremist groups. The New York Times found 1,500 channels operated by white supremacists who coordinate activities among almost one million people worldwide. Weapons are marketed by at least two dozen channels, while illegal drugs can be purchased on 22 channels offering delivery to more than 22 countries. Hamas has a significant presence on the platform with 40 channels, whose average viewership increased tenfold after the October 7 attacks, reaching more than 400 million views in October. Telegram is "the most popular place for ill-intentioned, violent actors to congregate," Rebecca Weiner, the deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism at the New York Police Department, told the New York Times. "If you're a bad guy, that's where you will land." Activity on some of these channels has led to real-world violence. For instance, the recent riots in Britain and arson at migrant housing centers in Ireland are thought to have originated from hateful speech on the app. Durov has long maintained a staunch belief in minimal government interference with online communication. This philosophy has translated into a hands-off approach to content moderation, with Telegram employing only a small team of moderators just a few hundred compared to the thousands used by its tech peers. The company has also frustrated authorities around the world with its reluctance to cooperate with law enforcement. One of the reasons France charged Durov with complicity in trafficking child sexual imagery was due to "an almost total lack of response" to requests for assistance, according to the chief prosecutor. So far, the only leverage authorities can use is the threat of asking Apple or Google to remove Telegram from their app stores. The tech giants have successfully convinced the platform to remove and restrict harmful material, according to analysts, government officials, and tech executives. "The largest pressure on Telegram is not coming from governments; it's coming from Apple and Google," Durov told Tucker Carlson in an interview earlier this year. As Telegram approaches one billion users, patience with the platform is wearing thin in many democratic countries. The European Union is exploring new oversight measures under the Digital Services Act, which could force Telegram to more aggressively police its content. However, the arrest of Durov could well be the turning point for Telegram. Amid increasing pressure on the platform, Durov pledged to make significant improvements to content moderation in his first comments to his 12 million-plus followers after his arrest. Happy Apple Farm owner Tony Ferrera will tell you that to be a farmer in Colorado, you need to be an optimistic person. Luckily, his glass is always half full. Open Friday through Sunday, Happy Apple Farm is one of the largest apple orchards in Penrose and has blessed southern Colorado with you-pick family fun for 40 years. Offering a variety of canned goods, pumpkins, pears and 13 varieties of apples, Ferrera said he's witnessed three generations of locals enjoying the family orchard since it opened in 1984. "My dad was a retired Air Force colonel, a fighter pilot in Vietnam, and he decided he wanted to have an apple orchard. He planted the trees in certain blocks and each year he'd plant more and more and more," Ferrera said. "I took over about 30 years ago." Cars lined the driveway leading up to the farm Saturday morning as families weaved in and out of the farm country store, toting bags filled the brim with apples. Kids waddled beside their parents struggling to carry their picks from the pumpkin patch. Ferrera told The Gazette that this season is the best the farm's had in the past 15 years, with the apple trees battling the Colorado conditions and losing to diverse weather more often than not. "Last year, I didn't have an apple on a tree. We lost them to a late freeze. That's farming. I bet in 10 years I've had three good crops, and going back 20 years, I've had seven good crops out of 20. and that's brutal." In 2018, Ferrera said he lost about 1,000 of his apple trees when a severe frost gripped about a quarter of the orchard. The farm has gone from hosting 4,000 apple trees at its peak to roughly 2,000 today. "You see all these stumps and all of these bad trees? In 2018, it was 78 degrees in early November, it was beautiful weather. Two days later, it hit 22 below zero. It froze the sap in the trees and when that sap froze, it expanded it and killed it," Fererra said. This year, the you-pick apple season was off to a running start beginning on Aug. 17, a welcome rebound from the 2023 season that passed without a single apple fruiting. Although the apple business isn't always lucrative, what's kept the farm afloat over the years has been the generational love from the community. "How we survive is the customers. A lot of them have been coming for so many years, and they support us through thick and thin," Ferrera said. Gabriel Roberts could be seen leaving the farm store, ready to embark on his apple-picking journey when he was stopped by Fererra at the door. "Hey, I remember you!" Ferrera said with a contagious grin. Featured Local Savings "Long time, no see," Roberts replied. Now 23 years old, Roberts has been coming to Happy Apple Farms for the past 16 years to enjoy the nostalgia and memories from his annual autumn visits to the orchard. "My father used to take me here as a kid, and I love coming back," Roberts said. "That's what makes everything worth it, seeing the familiar faces every year," Ferrera said as he patted Roberts on the back on his way out of the store. Meanwhile, in the farm deli, Nicole Frances and Kelly Casper could be seen breaking hearts with the news that the coveted apple cider doughnuts were sold out for the day. "We'll have more tomorrow," Frances said with a smile as a family left the counter, each with a plate of apple pie instead. Making between 16 and 18 dozen doughnuts every day the farm is open, she explained they typically sell out by 10:30 in the morning. "They sell out so fast, we will never be able to make enough," Frances said. Working in the farm store alongside her daughters for the past 12 years, Frances said her time in the deli doesn't feel like work, as she already has a full-time job during the week. "Working here is more for the fun. Tony makes everything worthwhile," Frances said. "It's Tony, and the repeat families, hearing their traditions. We have parents bringing their kids because they came here as kids," Frances said. "My grandmother used to take me here as a little girl," Casper added. While the farm is scheduled to be open through the last weekend of October, Ferrera said apples probably will only be available for a few more weeks. "With these crowds, it's not long before they will all be picked," Ferrera said. The farm charges no admission fee, and no reservation is required. As an animal lover, Ferrera said all pets are welcome, too. "One year, I was sitting at the store at the registrar, and a guy walked in with a parrot on his shoulder. Another time, I'm down in the pumpkin patch and there's a pig eating pumpkin she brought her pet pig!" Ferrera said. From pigs to parrots, everyone is welcome at Happy Apple Farm. Typhoon Yagi weakens, toll rises to 14 in Vietnam Ha Long, Vietnam, Sept 8 (AFP) Sep 08, 2024 The death toll from Typhoon Yagi in Vietnam rose to 14 on Sunday, and the storm was downgraded to a tropical depression, after it ripped roofs off buildings, sank boats and triggered landslides. The typhoon left a trail of destruction and two dozen people dead across southern China and the Philippines before it ravaged Vietnam. A family of four was killed in a landslide in the mountainous Hoa Binh province of northern Vietnam early Sunday morning, according to state media. The landslide happened around midnight, after several hours of heavy rain brought by Yagi, when a hillside gave way and collapsed onto a house, VNExpress said, citing local authorities. Since Friday, 10 others have been killed in storm-related incidents, some crushed by falling trees or drifting boats, the defence ministry's disaster management agency said Sunday. - 'No boat could stand' - While Vietnam's weather agency downgraded the storm on Sunday, several areas of the port city of Hai Phong were under half a metre (1.6 feet) of flood waters, and electricity was out, with power lines and electric poles damaged, according to AFP journalists. At Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site about 70 kilometres up the coast from the city, fishermen were in shock as they examined the damage Sunday morning. The disaster management authority said 30 vessels sank at boat lock areas in coastal Quang Ninh province along Ha Long Bay after being pounded by strong wind and waves. The typhoon also damaged nearly 3,300 houses, and more than 120,000 hectares of crops in the north of the country, the authority said. Rooftops of buildings were blown off and motorbikes were left toppled over in piles of building debris, AFP journalists observed. Pham Van Thanh, 51, a crew member of a tourist boat, said all the vessel's crew remained on board since Friday to prevent it from sinking. "The wind was pushing from our back, with so much pressure that no boat could stand," Thanh told AFP. "Then the first one sank. Then one after another," he said. - Blown off roofs - Bui Xuan Tinh said he lost both his home and business to the "destructive" typhoon, and would need to spend tens of thousands of dollars to repair his three wooden tourist boats after they sank in a lock on Tuan Chau island. "I have been in this sea (and) ship business for decades and have never witnessed such a thing like yesterday," Tinh told AFP. "Then I received a phone call from my kids at home saying our rooftop was blown off," he said. "I did not feel anything. What came to my mind was only 'Oh God, oh God'." Before making landfall in Vietnam on Saturday, Yagi tore through southern China and the Philippines, killing at least 24 people and injuring dozens of others. Typhoons in the region are now forming closer to the coast, intensifying more rapidly, and staying over land for longer due to climate change, according to a study published in July. Eleven dead, nine missing in Morocco flooding Ouarzazate, Morocco, Sept 8 (AFP) Sep 08, 2024 Moroccan authorities on Sunday told AFP that 11 people died and nine were missing in flooding caused by an "exceptional" climate phenomenon in southern areas. Interior ministry spokesman Rachid Khalfi said authorities recorded an initial "toll of 11 deaths" after "heavy thunderstorms" that hit "17 prefectures and provinces in the kingdom". Among the victims, seven died in the province of Tata, some 740 kilometres south of Rabat, and two in Errachidia, almost 500 kilometres east of Marrakesh, according to Khalfi. He said one of the victims had foreign citizenship, without providing further details. Khalfi also said "the volume of precipitation recorded in two days is equivalent to that which these regions normally experience during an entire year". The floods also caused the collapse of 40 homes and damaged 93 roads, and "affected electricity, drinking water and telephone networks", he added. Usually arid areas in southern Morocco and Algeria have been drenched in floods caused by massive rainfall since Friday, officials told AFP Sunday. Areas in southern Morocco have been affected "by an extremely unstable tropical air mass", the spokesman for the Moroccan General Directorate of Meteorology, Lhoussaine Youabd, told AFP. This "led to the formation of unstable and violent clouds" that caused massive rainfall, he said, describing the phenomenon as "exceptional". As a result, the Ouarzazate region received 47 millimetres of water in three hours, and Tagounite, near the Algerian border, some 170 millimetres, according to the Moroccan weather service. "We haven't seen such rain for about 10 years," Omar Gana, an Ouarzazate local, told AFP. The heavy rains hit regions of Morocco that have been suffering from drought for at least six years. In a previous toll, Algerian civil defence said one person died in Illizi, some 1,900 kilometres south of Algiers, and one was missing in flooding in the south. Later in the day, it gave a total of two people missing, in El Bayadh and Tamanrasset. It also said it had rescued several families trapped by flooded rivers in the south. Videos posted on social media showed that some areas in the Sahara desert were drenched. In Morocco's Ouarzazate, entire streets were flooded. Morocco has been experiencing severe water stress after six consecutive years of drought, shrinking dam levels to less than 28 percent of capacity by the end of August. hic-isb-bur-fka/bou/imm Hurry, hurry, hurry! Step right up to the greatest show on Earth by way of Louisiana. Well, sort of. This "greatest show" actually started in Burleson County, Texas, then anchored itself in central Louisiana while garnering international fame. Not national international. Which is something that perplexed author Bill Sumrall when he happened upon an old newspaper advertisement for an Alexandria-based circus while researching a subject that had nothing to do with the traveling show. But that's what usually happens during research one rabbit hole leads to another. And Sumrall knew he had to find out more about the M.L. Clark and Son's Circus, which was based in his hometown. "Was there really a circus in Alexandria?" he asked. A suburb spruiked by its developers 10 years ago as the future Glen Waverley of the west has instead left thousands of new residents stranded with no schools, no shops and no public transport. The outer western suburb of Mount Atkinson suffered a fresh setback last week when the owners of Westfield confirmed they had abandoned plans to build a major shopping centre there, seven years after buying into the precinct. Melton city council candidate Phillip Zada stands in the Mount Atkinson town centre, which until last week was the place for a future Westfield shopping centre. Credit: Photograph by Chris Hopkins A giant Westfield billboard still stands at the entrance to the Mount Atkinson town centre, overlooking the estates busiest road: Walk to the Future Westfield Town Centre, it proclaims, a mother and son smiling joyously at passing traffic as they wheel a laden trolley through a supermarket. But behind the billboard, a thistle-infested paddock sprawls across the area set aside for the town centre eight years ago. Australians will be asked about their gender identity in the next census, after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for the second time reversed his governments position on including new LGBT questions in the national survey. Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Sunday morning revealed the 2026 census would count transgender Australians for the first time, saying the government had listened to the LGBT community after a backlash followed Albaneses original decision to scrap new census questions. Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced the change on Sunday. Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald The new sexual orientation and gender census topic will ask about both sexuality and gender identity, after equality advocates warned that excluding LGBT people from national data worsened policy outcomes for minority groups. The questions will be optional and only asked of people 16 and over. However, there will be no new questions that count intersex Australians, who have innate sex characteristics that dont fit medical and social norms for female or male bodies. The US is pushing for the AUKUS partnership to launch some world-leading new military technology projects before Joe Bidens presidency ends, amid signs of growing impatience with the initiative. The US National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, revealed in an interview at the White House that he wanted to see two or three signature projects launched and under way by the time the administration finishes on January 20. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden during last years state visit to the US. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen While he expressed satisfaction with progress on so-called pillar one of AUKUS, the submarine program, his timeline for pillar twos cutting-edge tech scheme puts new pressure on the three countries military and scientific agencies to deliver in the next five months. It is three years ago this month that the leaders of the US, UK and Australia announced the joint technology initiative. In the meantime, China has extended its advantage in critical technologies, according to a report last week by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. Communing with nature and the areas abundant marine life and corals is good for us human beings, says Dressler, a long-time resident of the Maldives. It stirs something inside of us. Something which you cannot see or understand. This in a part of the world in which no filter is ever needed to make the water appear any more cerulean, any sunset more pink. Local flavours of this centuries-old trading route feature in the resorts restaurants, including Charcoal for seafood and steak. One of the most special experiences, however, is snorkelling with manta rays in Hanifaru Bay on the eastern side of the atoll, which guests access by fibreglass dhoni. And with a new moon and changing currents, the presence of nutrient-rich plankton is at its greatest in the bay. Word from rangers is that the number of manta rays moving into the area is rising. Dressler is hopeful for potential sightings for guests set for the next trip, but its never a certainty it is always up to nature, she says. As well as 25 dive sites (and counting), the furthest 25 minutes by dive boat, a manta ray cleaning station, Fares Manta Point, is just 10 minutes from the resort. Beach villas, some with pools, are steps to the ocean, with loungers set up daily by the water. That evening were on the lookout for spinner dolphins at sunset with the all-Maldivian crew its a country requirement that captains of boats are nationals who remain silent in concentration (aside from the occasional low-sounding dolphin whistle) until they spot a pod. The dolphins porpoise alongside us before peeling off to the more important meal time of shrimp and squid. Our day ends with a cocktail back at the resorts sunset-facing pool, the DJs ambient beats floating across the water. Unlike an increasing number of artificial islands that continue to pop up to support the builds of new resorts, Fares is naturally occurring. A former coconut plantation, theres a palm tree that provides shade in my beach backyard numbered C194, denoting its government-protected status. The childrens-only 20-seat Petit restaurant at Avani Kids. On a diminutive space just 650 by 195 metres, the resort also manages a few firsts including the 20-seat childrens-only Petit Restaurant at Avani Kids, with a fun water play area. Next door, for the oft-overlooked teens who have outgrown the kids clubs, theres a space with game stations, foosball and traditional board games including carrom. Food and drink choices traverse the globe but local flavours of this centuries-old trading route, with African, Indian and Sri Lankan influences, are just as strong. Smugglers Shack, home to the largest collection of rum in the Maldives. Start your day at Ocean Terrace with pancakes or Sri Lankan hoppers; poolside under an exposed dhoni-shaped ceiling at open-air Skipjack there are poke bowls with fresh local tuna and Pinsa Parma from the pizza oven; at signature restaurant Charcoal, its Tajima wagyu alongside local snapper. And at Smugglers Shack, home to the largest rum collection in the Maldives, private dinners on the sand in front are a resort speciality. Across the 176 rooms are multiple configurations and styles from a seaview studio to a four-bedroom beach pavilion with interconnecting rooms, one of which is fully accessible. Prime overwater villa territory extends beyond the typical one-bedroom space for honeymooners to two and three bedroom residences where glass-bottomed spaces bath, dining area and loo included and lap pools are lined with shimmering mother-of-pearl tiles. The four-bedroom beach pavilion includes a fully accessible suite. From here guests can jump off the edge of one of two blue holes for their own aquatic adventure. Our two-bedroom beach villa, which sleeps three, has (in addition to an internal bathroom) the ultimate holiday indulgence, an outside shower and bath. While full immersion in Maldivian culture is not entirely possible at a five-star resort, Fares offers glimpses into this nation of 1100-plus islands. One waiter from nearby Kendhoo laughs that he no longer has days off to himself since moving to this resort and closer to home, pinpointing his island on the Baa Atoll embroidered on the chic resort uniforms. My family now wants to see me every week, he says. Loading Beyond the runsheet of fantasy island activities wakeboards, jet-skis and game fishing you can take a traditional wooden dhoni out and fish using handlines (and if you wish, have staff prepare your catch for dinner the next night). Just a few days ago at breakfast it was hard to look away as a fellow guest hugged Ocean Terrace staff goodbye. There were tears. Boarding the speedboat, my farewell face best resembles that sad Napoleon wrasse. Five more tiny island must-dos Lounge around Before takeoff to Fares allow some time in the hotels spacious private lounge within the slick Noovilu Terminal to watch the busy seaplane highway. Gaming Up your carrom game with expert tips from staff, many of whom have played the South Asian board game since childhood. Rub-down While the latest treatments including IV therapy are offered at AvaniSpa a traditional massage and herbal tea in the relaxation area is hard to beat. Local content Keep it local with a traditional Maldivian breakfast of mas huni at Ocean Terrace fresh tuna, coconut, red onion and lime served with roti. All the moves Dance lovers can join Royal Ballet-trained Karis Scarlette for a retreat, open to adults and children. November 12-23. The details Loading Fly Singapore Airlines flies four times daily from Sydney and five times daily from Melbourne to Singapore. Singapore to Male flights operate twice daily. Its a 40-minute seaplane flight from Male to the resort. See singaporeair.com Stay Premium ocean view rooms from $US400 ($580) a night including breakfast; two-bedroom beach villa from $US1000 a night. See avanihotels.com/en/fares-maldives For her part, Harris has given Chinese officials little fresh content to scrutinise as they scour for any shades of difference that might exist between her and Biden. She has had little to say on China-related issues on the campaign trail beyond a line in her acceptance speech for the Democratic Partys presidential nomination last month, where she vowed to ensure that America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century. In her only major TV interview since being anointed Bidens replacement, China did not feature at all on CNNs list of questions. Friendlier times: Donald Trump and Melania Trump with Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan at Mar-a-Lago in 2017. Credit: AP Trump, by comparison, has repeatedly tapped a vein of working-class resentment toward China. He mentioned China 14 times in his Republican nomination acceptance speech in July, where he blamed the worlds second-largest economy for destroying American auto jobs and revived his China virus epithet about the COVID pandemic. On the policy front, he has said he would impose tariffs of 60 per cent or higher on all Chinese imports if he wins a second term. But he has also expressed admiration for Xi, calling him a brilliant man and a fierce person because he controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist. Loading Both candidates should have the opportunity to expand on their views when they face off in their first presidential debate on Tuesday (US time) in Philadelphia. While Beijing may see little upside to the long-term direction of the US-China relationship regardless of the election result, it is expected that a Harris administration would manage relations differently to a Trump administration. Wu said that while the Chinese leadership would be actively preparing for either outcome, his impression was that there is more concern over Trump due to the former presidents unpredictability and the extremely hawkish stance on China held by some of his key allies in the Republican Party. Harris will be tough on China, to be sure, on the economic front, technology front, military front, and diplomatic front but she will be more predictable than Donald Trump, he said. As Trump departed the presidential office in 2021, China imposed sanctions on 28 of his top officials, including outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, accusing them of prejudice and hatred against China. It is expected that if they returned with Trump to the White House, they would be very personal and irrational in dealing with China, Wu said. Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, a Washington-based think tank, said there was also a widely held expectation among analysts in both China and the US that the Harris administration would pick up where Biden left off. That continuity translates to a lot of competition, but at the same time, a lot of effort to manage that competition so that the relationship will not derail into a confrontation or military conflict, Sun said. That effort is very well received in China, so that in the end, the result may not be better, but the Chinese perception is quite different. Loading In a move that surprised Chinese officials hoping for a recalibration after Trumps departure from office in 2021, Biden maintained and even increased Trump-era tariffs on Chinese imports, including imposing a 100 per cent tariff on electric vehicles, and expanded the list of Chinese companies on a US export blacklist in a bid to cut off Chinas access to high-end AI chips and technology. Biden also sanctioned Chinese companies aiding Russias war efforts and stepped up Americas regional alliances with countries such as Australia, Japan and the Philippines to counter Chinas growing influence in the Indo-Pacific. But these measures have also been accompanied by more normalised diplomatic engagement, including regular meetings between high-level officials on both sides and the resumption of military-to-military communications in 2023. Wang Yiwei, director of Renmin Universitys Institute of International Affairs in Beijing and a former Chinese diplomat, said Harris was still a largely unknown quantity on China-issues, and noted that she had never been to China. She did meet with Xi on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Bangkok in 2022. We dont know yet anything that she thinks [about China], but her personality is more soft [than Trumps] and we expect more continuity of the Biden policy, he said. Trumps isolationist approach to foreign policy has fuelled criticism from his rivals, who say he would weaken the US alliance system abroad, paving the way for China to strengthen its global influence and superpower status. On Taiwan, for example, Trump has not matched Bidens position that the US would defend the self-governed island in the face of Chinese aggression, and has instead complained that Taiwan doesnt give us anything, should pay us for defence and had stolen Americas chip industry. This stands in stark contrast to the strong support for Taiwan among Republican hawks, including Trumps running mate J.D. Vance, who has said: The thing that we need to prevent more than anything is a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Loading Some Chinese scholars are quick to dismiss the theory that Beijing is hoping Trump returns. If Trump wins, yes, perhaps the US will face some domestic problems. But it doesnt mean that China will benefit from that, said Dr Sun Chenghao, a fellow at Tsinghua University. Instead, he said it could further destabilise the US-China relationship because Trump could look to unite domestic opinion by channelling antipathy towards China. Overall, the poll may bring Democratic exuberance back to earth after a buoyant party convention in Chicago last month and rapid gains in support for Harris after Bidens poor showing in the polls. Harris held on to some of the gains she had made with key groups with whom Biden had been slipping such as women, young voters, and Latino voters but fell short of traditional Democratic strength. She continues to struggle to build a solid lead with Latino voters, a crucial demographic. Trump speaks during a campaign event in Wisconsin on Saturday. Credit: AP If November is about change, Harris will need to make the case that she can deliver it. More than 60 per cent of likely voters said the next president should represent a major change from Biden, but only 25 per cent said the vice president represented that change, while 53 per cent said Trump did. I dont see how Kamala Harris instead of Trump would bring change, said Steven Osborne, a 43-year-old plumber and Trump supporter in Branson, Missouri. I mean, shes Joe Bidens vice president. How can she be seen as different? Another warning sign for Democrats: 47 per cent of likely voters viewed Harris as too liberal, compared with 32 per cent who saw Trump as too conservative. Loading On the plus side for Harris, the Democrats hammering away at Project 2025 as a blueprint for another Trump presidency has sunk in. Trump has tried hard to distance himself from the document, drafted by the conservative Heritage Foundation with input from his allies, which lays out plans for a second Trump presidency. Among the many recommendations in the 900-page document, Project 2025 proposes to criminalise pornography, disband the Commerce and Education departments, reject the idea of abortion as healthcare, and shred climate protections. Three-fourths of likely voters said they had heard about Project 2025, and of those, 63 per cent said they opposed it. Its a horrible affront to American democracy, said John Fisher, 71, a retiree in the pivotal swing area of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia, and a registered Republican who is supporting Harris. Its a disgrace. Loading Trumps distancing aside, 71 per cent of those who have heard of Project 2025 said they believed that the former president would try to enact some or most of the policies that it espouses. Working in Trumps favour is the fact that voters remain largely pessimistic about the direction of the country. Just 30 per cent of likely voters said the country was on the right track, largely unchanged since July. But among voters who thought the country was headed in the wrong direction, 71 per cent were optimistic that things would get back on the right track, an improvement since 2022, when voters were more pessimistic about the nations direction. Democrats have a slight edge when it comes to enthusiasm for voting: 91 per cent of Democrats said they were enthusiastic, compared with 85 per cent of Republicans. Oh, heavens, when it was Biden and Trump, it was the first time in my entire life I was like, I dont know if I can vote this year, said Carol Ploeger, 68, of Provo, Utah, who added that she would be voting for a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time in her life. I feel like shes got new blood, shes younger, she knows what the American people need because she came from humble beginnings. Harris with running mate Tim Walz in Coraopolis, Pennyslvania last month. Credit: AP Trump holds a 13-percentage-point advantage on the issue that remains most important to voters: the economy. Harris holds a 15-percentage-point advantage on another leading issue: abortion. Harris faces a challenge with voters who hold her responsible for the Biden administrations handling of some issues. About half of voters, largely Republicans, said Harris bore at least some blame for rising prices and problems during the withdrawal from Afghanistan. And nearly two-thirds of voters, from across the political spectrum, said she bore at least some blame for problems at the Mexican border. Matthew Tucker, a 31-year-old vaccine scientist in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said he intended to vote for Harris and he did not vote in 2020. But he said he felt that Harris bore responsibility for the problems at the border. Its not like Id lay it all on her, he said, but Im not sure that I heard enough about her trying to deal with that. And I would like to hear more from Democrats or Republicans on more creative solutions to that problem, rather than just putting up walls. On abortion, Trump, who appointed three of the Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v Wade, has muddied the waters a bit. It is Harris strongest issue, with 54 per cent of voters trusting her to handle it, compared with 39 per cent who trust Trump. Yet, 16 per cent of Democrats and nearly half of independents said they did not think the former president would try to pass a law restricting abortion access nationwide. At the same time, attacks on Trumps character and fitness for office may not be working. Voters were only slightly more likely to view the former president who was impeached twice and convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a sex scandal that threatened his 2016 presidential campaign as a riskier choice for the country than Harris. Fifty-four per cent viewed Trump as a risky choice, compared with 52 per cent who said the same about Harris. The survey found that 70 per cent of voters said Trump had said something they found offensive. Nearly half of Trump voters said that they had been offended by him at some point but that they would still vote for him. Arriving just two months before the presidential election, Save America would seem well-positioned to serve as a visual campaign biography. But rather than argue for returning Trump to the White House, the books captions written in Trumps enthusiastic style of capitalisation, like a fascist Emily Dickinson suggest that he never really left. Indeed, this is a volume too pure to be sullied by campaign details. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are barely mentioned. I spotted JD Vance only once and without identification or comment. Hannibal Lecter gets more ink. Part retrospection, part revenge, part fantasy, Save America was released last week by Winning Team, a right-wing publishing house founded by Sergio Gor and Donald Trump Jr to promote books by Trump and other literary luminaries such as Kari Lake and Marjorie Taylor Greene. But Save America is, indeed, a singular production literally a steal at $US99 (plus $US11 for shipping). Many of the hundreds of photos were drawn from the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library, a federally funded oxymoron. Reflecting on the glory of his new photobook, Donald Trump writes, No other book compares to Save America, which is an extraordinary claim from a man who just a few months ago was hawking copies of the Bible. Oh yes, there are passing mentions of a strong military; the need to stop illegal immigration, which is WRONG; the importance of domestic manufacturing; and a fanciful reference to Americas oil and gas lasting into the future for HUNDREDS OF YEARS. But the overwhelming visual evidence of the book implies that what will really save America is Donald Trump in a blue suit. Loading Over more than 350 lavish pages, Trump presents a breathless gallery of himself during and after his reign as the 45th president. There are many, many smiling images of Trump; there are Dirty Harry images of Trump; there are photos of Trump surrounded by adoring fans, conferring with heads of state and gazing over fields of worshipful supporters; and there are innumerable shots of Trump making a fist. Although the accrual of these images is offered as a chronology of success, their numbing redundancy serves as a kind of repudiation of time: Trump as the beginning and the end, the first and the last, alpha male and omega male. He claims that Save America is a MUST HAVE on U.S. History, but the tone is so onanist that the book should really be left alone to enjoy itself in private. Unfortunately, the potential historical value of these stock photos is thwarted by Trumps stingy commentary. For some reason, the man who wont stop nattering on at campaign events becomes downright laconic in these pages. Even images of the assassination attempt showing him smeared with blood, raising his fist inspire nothing more than a few pat sentences. Trumps reticence is matched by the book designers, who inexplicably decided to strip away any identifying information and context from these photos. (Theres no table of contents, no index every expense was spared.) And so, we gaze upon Trump at a factory, at a rally, in a hangar, on a field, in a meeting. WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2024 -- NASA and Boeing safely returned the uncrewed Starliner spacecraft following its landing at 10:01 p.m. MDT Sept. 6 at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, concluding a three-month flight test to the International Space Station. Continue Reading NASA and Boeing welcomed Starliner back to Earth following the uncrewed spacecraft's successful landing at 10:01 p.m. MDT Sept. 6, 2024, at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. Credit: NASA. "I am extremely proud of the work our collective team put into this entire flight test, and we are pleased to see Starliner's safe return," said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Even though it was necessary to return the spacecraft uncrewed, NASA and Boeing learned an incredible amount about Starliner in the most extreme environment possible. NASA looks forward to our continued work with the Boeing team to proceed toward certification of Starliner for crew rotation missions to the space station." The flight on June 5 was the first time astronauts launched aboard the Starliner. It was the third orbital flight of the spacecraft, and its second return from the orbiting laboratory. Starliner now will ship to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for inspection and processing. NASA's Commercial Crew Program requires a spacecraft to fly a crewed test flight to prove the system is ready for regular flights to and from the orbiting laboratory. Following Starliner's return, the agency will review all mission-related data. "We are excited to have Starliner home safely. This was an important test flight for NASA in setting us up for future missions on the Starliner system," said Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. "There was a lot of valuable learning that will enable our long-term success. I want to commend the entire team for their hard work and dedication over the past three months." NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched on June 5 aboard Starliner for the agency's Boeing Crewed Flight Test from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. On June 6, as Starliner approached the space station, NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft's reaction control thrusters. Following weeks of in-space and ground testing, technical interchange meetings, and agency reviews, NASA made the decision to prioritize safety and return Starliner without its crew. Wilmore and Williams will continue their work aboard station as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew, returning in February 2025 with the agency's SpaceX Crew-9 mission. The crew flight test is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The goal of NASA's Commercial Crew Program is safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station and low Earth orbit. This already is providing additional research time and has increased the opportunity for discovery aboard humanity's microgravity testbed, including helping NASA prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars. Learn more about NASA's Commercial Crew program at: https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew SOURCE NASA Nutson's Weekly Automotive News Wrap-up September 1-7, 2024 Auto Central September 8, 2024; Every Sunday Larry Nutson, The Chicago Car Guy and Auto Channel Executive Producer, with able assistance from senior Detroit editor Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau, compile The Auto Channel's "take" on this past week's automotive news, condensed into easy to digest news Nuggets. LEARN MORE: Complete versions of today's news nuggets, along with hundreds of thousands of pages of relevant news, information and opinions, are stored in a million-page library published and indexed on The Auto Channel during the past 25 years. Complete information can be found by copying a headline and inserting it into any Site Search Box. Here are Larry's top story picks from this past week's important to you, relevant, semi-secret, or snappy automotive news, opinions and insider back stories presented as expertly crafted easy-to-understand automotive news nuggets. Nutson's Auto News Wrap-up Week Of September 1-7, At last! The infrastructure decade is finally here, so said US DoT Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Public money is flowing for the installation of federally funded EV chargers through programs like the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program and the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program. A gradual ramp up is planned with these programs with first chargers having opened earlier in 2024. The installation rate is planned to peak in 2027/28 for NEVI and CFI, on the way to 500k public chargers by 2030. Clean vehicle program data says half of EV charging occurs at home with workplace charging currently just 10%. The infrastructure decade is finally here, so said US DoT Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Public money is flowing for the installation of federally funded EV chargers through programs like the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program and the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program. A gradual ramp up is planned with these programs with first chargers having opened earlier in 2024. The installation rate is planned to peak in 2027/28 for NEVI and CFI, on the way to 500k public chargers by 2030. Clean vehicle program data says half of EV charging occurs at home with workplace charging currently just 10%. Stick with what you know. Auto industry brand loyalty rates trended upward in the first half of 2024 following several years of flat or declining values, according to a new S&P Global Mobility analysis of new vehicle registration data through the first half of the year. The increase in loyalty is a positive sign for the industry after several years of lower loyalty levels due to inventory shortages and post-pandemic recovery. Among individual brands, Tesla continues its run as the leader in brand loyalty with a rate of 67.8% for the first half of 2024. General Motors leads all multi-brand manufacturers in manufacturer loyalty for the first half of 2024, at 67.7%. See more details HERE Auto industry brand loyalty rates trended upward in the first half of 2024 following several years of flat or declining values, according to a new S&P Global Mobility analysis of new vehicle registration data through the first half of the year. The increase in loyalty is a positive sign for the industry after several years of lower loyalty levels due to inventory shortages and post-pandemic recovery. Among individual brands, Tesla continues its run as the leader in brand loyalty with a rate of 67.8% for the first half of 2024. General Motors leads all multi-brand manufacturers in manufacturer loyalty for the first half of 2024, at 67.7%. See more details HERE US DoE factoid of the week. The Average Commuter Experienced 54 hours of delay due to traffic congestion in 2022. Following a temporary drop in congestion due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the amount of travel delay commuters experienced in 2022 tied with the previous peak years of 2018 and 2019, with 54 hours of delay per year. Delay due to congestion not only wastes time and fuel, but it also leads to increased engine wear, maintenance costs, and emissions, especially for conventional gasoline vehicles without electrification or stop/start technologies that can help mitigate fuel losses in congested areas. The Average Commuter Experienced 54 hours of delay due to traffic congestion in 2022. Following a temporary drop in congestion due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the amount of travel delay commuters experienced in 2022 tied with the previous peak years of 2018 and 2019, with 54 hours of delay per year. Delay due to congestion not only wastes time and fuel, but it also leads to increased engine wear, maintenance costs, and emissions, especially for conventional gasoline vehicles without electrification or stop/start technologies that can help mitigate fuel losses in congested areas. Scout's honor. After two years of dreaming big and pushing boundaries, Scout has announced they are ready to show the world the next generation of Scout vehicles. On October 24, 2024 44 years after the last Scout II rolled off the line theyll officially reveal their new Scout SUV and truck concepts. HERE After two years of dreaming big and pushing boundaries, Scout has announced they are ready to show the world the next generation of Scout vehicles. On October 24, 2024 44 years after the last Scout II rolled off the line theyll officially reveal their new Scout SUV and truck concepts. HERE August auto sales. In spite of the holiday weekend August sales results indicate consumers are waiting to make big purchases. August's seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of sales was just 15.1 million vehicles, the lowest pace since January. Hybrids and crossovers drove August U.S. sales, projected to rise 7 to 8 percent last month, with average transaction prices falling as inventory rises and incentives increase. EV sales volume continues to increase but at a slower rate. In spite of the holiday weekend August sales results indicate consumers are waiting to make big purchases. August's seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of sales was just 15.1 million vehicles, the lowest pace since January. Hybrids and crossovers drove August U.S. sales, projected to rise 7 to 8 percent last month, with average transaction prices falling as inventory rises and incentives increase. EV sales volume continues to increase but at a slower rate. Ford recall. Ford Motor Co. will recall 90,736 vehicles because engine intake valves in the vehicles may break while driving, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. The recall is of certain 2021-2022 Bronco, F-150, Edge, Explorer, Lincoln Nautilus, and Lincoln Aviator vehicles equipped with either a 2.7L or 3.0L Nano EcoBoost engine, the NHTSA said. As part of the remedy, dealers will perform an engine cycle test and replace the engine as necessary, free of charge, the regulator said. Ford Motor Co. will recall 90,736 vehicles because engine intake valves in the vehicles may break while driving, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. The recall is of certain 2021-2022 Bronco, F-150, Edge, Explorer, Lincoln Nautilus, and Lincoln Aviator vehicles equipped with either a 2.7L or 3.0L Nano EcoBoost engine, the NHTSA said. As part of the remedy, dealers will perform an engine cycle test and replace the engine as necessary, free of charge, the regulator said. Toyota recall. Toyota is recalling 43,395 of its 2023-2024 Sequoia Hybrid large SUVs in North America because of a tow hitch cover that could come loose from the rear bumper, posing a potential road hazard and increasing the risk of a crash. Toyota is recalling 43,395 of its 2023-2024 Sequoia Hybrid large SUVs in North America because of a tow hitch cover that could come loose from the rear bumper, posing a potential road hazard and increasing the risk of a crash. Not for sale. Frank Rhodes Jr., a great-grandson of Walter P. Chrysler, sent a 17-page letter to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares in which Rhodes said he would like to buy Chrysler and Dodge to improve them. The letter, expressing a number of grievances to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, was dated Aug. 26 Stellantis, the company that makes Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Fiat vehicles, said that none of those brands is for sale. Read more HERE Frank Rhodes Jr., a great-grandson of Walter P. Chrysler, sent a 17-page letter to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares in which Rhodes said he would like to buy Chrysler and Dodge to improve them. The letter, expressing a number of grievances to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, was dated Aug. 26 Stellantis, the company that makes Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Fiat vehicles, said that none of those brands is for sale. Read more HERE GM class action law suit. Reuters reports General Motors was ordered by a federal appeals court to face a class action claiming it violated laws of 26 U.S. states by knowingly selling several hundred thousand cars, trucks and SUVs with faulty transmissions. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a lower court judge had discretion to let drivers sue in groups over Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC vehicles equipped with 8L45 or 8L90 eight-speed automatic transmissions, and sold in the 2015 through 2019 model years. Drivers said the vehicles shudder and shake in higher gears, and hesitate and lurch in lower gears, even after repair attempts. They also accused GM of telling dealers to provide assurance that harsh shifts were "normal." The GM litigation covers about 800,000 vehicles, including 514,000 in the certified classes. Vehicles include the Cadillac CTS, CT6 and Escalade; Chevrolet Camaro, Colorado, Corvette and Silverado; and GMC Canyon, Sierra and Yukon, among others. Reuters reports General Motors was ordered by a federal appeals court to face a class action claiming it violated laws of 26 U.S. states by knowingly selling several hundred thousand cars, trucks and SUVs with faulty transmissions. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a lower court judge had discretion to let drivers sue in groups over Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC vehicles equipped with 8L45 or 8L90 eight-speed automatic transmissions, and sold in the 2015 through 2019 model years. Drivers said the vehicles shudder and shake in higher gears, and hesitate and lurch in lower gears, even after repair attempts. They also accused GM of telling dealers to provide assurance that harsh shifts were "normal." The GM litigation covers about 800,000 vehicles, including 514,000 in the certified classes. Vehicles include the Cadillac CTS, CT6 and Escalade; Chevrolet Camaro, Colorado, Corvette and Silverado; and GMC Canyon, Sierra and Yukon, among others. UK Concours. In the UK, the Concours of Elegance 2024 welcomed thousands to Hampton Court Palace for Europe's leading concours d'elegance event. The 13th edition assembled the rarest and most significant cars, drawn from leading private collections all over the world. Best in Show for 2024 was awarded to 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Convertible by Inskip. Other winners included 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS New York Teardrop, 1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato and 2023 Aston Martin DBR-22.60 of the world's rarest cars joined main concours, with over 500 cars in total on display over the weekend. MORE HERE Stay safe. Be Well. Kind regards, Larry Nutson, the Chicago Car Guy 2024 Mercedes-AMG GLA35 Letter From Europe Review Letter From EuropeBy Andrew FranklEuropean Bureau ChiefThe Auto Channel The 2024 Mercedes-AMG GLA35 was the first car Ive had a chance to drive in California since my just completed European Grand Tour which involved the Ferrari Roma Spider, the highly desirable Lamborghini Urus and the magnificent BMW M2 which took me to and fro the Hungarian Grand Prix. After all this I didnt quite know what to expect from the baby Merc. Well, not exactly a baby but smaller than the big brothers I have been driving before my summertime trip. Lots of things were welcome. First of all the 302 horsepower engine which took me from 0-60 mph in 4.7 seconds, a pretty reasonable figure. Getting to over 100 miles per hour in just 13.4 seconds was even more impressive aided by the 8 speed duel-clutch transmission. Must admit that the fuel consumption was a disappointment at 22 mpg but I did not get a chance to do a long run which would have improved it considerably. AMG implies firm ride and handling so the 35A is by definition a far car from a softly softly sedan. You hang on to the AMG steering wheel at all times unless you are on a very smooth recently relaid stretch of tarmac. The warning signals are excellent, saved me from a big prang outside Ross Publishing s offices. The dashboard was a very familiar sight having driven the rest of the range. The map is excellent as is the typeface. The sound system team is fine but you have to have delicate fingers to get the volume absolutely right. With the massive new badge the 35AMG looks expensive and it is. The tires are nearly as good as Michelin's, the Continental Sport Contact 6 is a first class product. Prices, as I have mentioned are a bit on the high side peaking at 72 thousand dollars starting at around 57. Having said that the 35AMG seems to hold its price well, most, Ive seen advertised were in the high 50s region. Now comes the question readers have been asking from me for the last 30 years since Ive been The Auto Channels European Bureau Chief, would I buy one, would I like to own one? The answer has to be yes, but if I were in the market, waiting for a virtually brand new one with just a few thousand miles would be my choice. At 50 thousand a great buy, at 72 it isnt worth the money but dont forget at 72 it comes with the kitchen sink and most of those extra's you probably wont need. Next month I will report on our second Best of the Bay extravaganza . I was one of the pioneers at the first B o B and part two will be even more fascinating. It will be held in Santa Cruz and just like last time I will be one of the judges. Which brings me to the final point. In all these years The Chief Executive of The Auto Channel, Bob Gordon did not delete a single word, did not censor a single story. Which explain why I am so happy working for him after all these years., Bob Gordon note: And Andrew after almost 30 years of collaboration Marc and I are so happy with your insightful, audience desirous and meaningful understanding of just what our viewers appreciate and benefit from... thanks...KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.. A GENERATION IN ANGER Urgent need to find soothing solutions By Reema Mewar : Four juveniles attacked the elderly and highly respected social worker, and ended up killing the person. And the boy who delivered the fatal blow was just 17 years old. And even in that tender age, he had had history of similar violence. At 15, he had killed another person as well. As she narrates this horrifying tale of young aggression, Nagpurs Joint Commissioner of Police Aswathi Dorje stresses the importance of conscious effort to involve young generation that displays bouts of extreme anger in effective and sobering, softening communication. Neha Bhave Salankar, consulting psychiatrist; and Seema Survey, Police Inspector In-Charge of Bharosa Cell of Nagpur Police, agree, and underline the importance of understanding the core causes of why the youngsters explode in anger and how to handle this burgeoning sociological issue that has had countless numbers of families, social workers, counsellors, thinkers and educators seriously concerned for long. When The Hitavada' opened this subject to the three women, the subsequent discussion brought to fore various triggers that push young emotion of anger to extreme and how that gets turned into aggression with occasional terrible consequences. Of course, it would be wrong to generalise that all youngsters are angry people ready to explode. Yet, the realisation is dawning upon the larger society that the numbers of trigger-happy youngsters ever willing to explode in extreme aggression is on the rise in the past some time due to several factors that include various digital domains that appear to have no regulation of content and where the main business is somehow to titillate or instigate the human mind. In that blaze of on-screen emotional explosion, countless numbers of young persons are known to fall prey. It is this phenomenon that leads to serious questions that call for serious effort to find answers. Neha Bhave Salankar says that anger is an emotion, and there is nothing wrong with feeling angry. The problem arises when this anger takes the form of physical or verbal abuse, whether it is directed towards others or oneself. Speaking to The Hitavada about the influence of gore, violence, bloodshed, foul language, and other things that are readily available in video games and OTT platforms in promoting aggression, Salankar said, In children, a phenomenon called modelling can be observed, meaning they tend to imitate what they see. Social media and TV have a significant impact on young minds. When they see violence glorified on the screen, they tend to imitate this behaviour. If they are exposed to more explicit content, violence, and abusive language, there is a high chance they will start imitating them. According to Aswathi Dorje, the way a family communicates heavily influences how a child manages his/her emotions. Children mirror the style of communication they see elders at home displaying, so if parents communicate with kindness and patience from early on, the child will mirror these attitudes, thus curbing aggressive tendencies. Speaking about bullying in schools, she remarked that children may sometimes get a thrill from making others feel powerless, and this exhilaration is what leads them to commit broader social evils like violence, vandalism, assault, and other crimes. Aggression becomes a part of their personality. Substance abuse in children barely outside their teen years is also a concerning trend being observed more and more frequently. Dorje added that children who bullied their peers in school required special attention from parents, teachers, and counsellors at an early age, or they might grow up and become anti-social elements. Another case that Dorje mentioned involved a child who was quite gifted academically and had a bright future ahead of him. However, this changed when he became consumed by a violent online game. As he became more involved in this game, the lines between reality and fiction began to blur, and he eventually stopped distinguishing between the two. There are many such concerning cases that have come to light in recent times, which shows that the impact of digital media on young minds is severely underestimated. With the internet becoming more widespread and accessible each passing day, it is very difficult for a parent to regulate the content that a child can access. Asked about the measures parents could take to identify and address these problems, Dorje suggested, The simple answer to this problem is communication. If parents communicate well with their children and are actively involved in their lives, the children will also trust their parents and not get into trouble secretively. Aggression is not a behaviour that fades away over time in everyone. As an individual gets older, this tendency can intensify, sometimes to the point where they may endanger the lives of others. Seema Surve, Police Inspector and In-charge of Bharosa Cell, said that the perpetrators in the domestic violence cases they come across are mostly around the age group of 26-45 years old, and a majority of people come from backgrounds where either the father physically or verbally abused the family members, or had a problem with substance abuse. These experiences trickle into ones psyche and mould their perception and attitude. It is important to understand that aggression and violence are learned behaviours that can be prevented and corrected with right guidance. The spectre of hostility and aggression in children looms large over the society. It is a complex issue, rooted in media exposure, family dynamics, and individual temperament. While these behaviours can be influenced by external forces, they are not inevitable. The well-being of youth is paramount. It is time society addressed the challenges the youth faces with empathy, understanding, and a commitment to creating a more compassionate and peaceful world. n A Glimpse Into Factual Success Mantras Of Business By Rajeev Aggarwal : Management - Saga Of Revival Of An Organisation & Its Subsequent Demise Part I On May 21, 2024 a resolution was passed during an Extraordinary General Meeting where the shareholders approved the voluntary liquidation and dissolution of a Company. For me it was a moment of heavy disappointment, several emotions ran through my mind and I went into a stage of deep reflection. I felt thus as I was the one who was key in the companys revival in 2002, after taking on the job as General Manager of the distressed company in mid-2000, and subsequently moved out of the company in Dec 2004. And now, I was reading about the company that I had once revived is no longer existing. I had chosen to leave the company in Dec 2004 as my family chose to migrate to Canada and settle in Calgary. At that stage, it was considered as one of the top performing organisations in the country, with a stellar reputation, solid order book, and a very promising share price. Within a couple of years of my departure news started trickling that the company had started to falter, and it went through a series of change of leaderships, control was later taken over by the banks, and ultimately, the company bit the dust and the afore-stated resolution was passed during the EGM. It is very sad to see an organisation, once revived to be so healthy and prosperous, now going extinct. In this article I will strive to state, more like a case study, of the vital events that happened that could have been major contributors to the sinusoidal life cycle of this company, where it hit a low in 1999/2000, saw a sharp upswing, breaking through the zero X-axis in 2002, hitting an all-time high in profitability in 2004/ 2005, and the gradual decline thereafter to ultimately declare insolvency in 2024. In the country of its existence, declaration of insolvency of a public listed company is considered as a very sensitive event. Its not a pure commercial decision like the invocation of an equivalent of Chapter 11 of the USA Code that allows time to the company to reorganise its finances and continue to do business should it choose to. In the case I refer to, the Board took the resolution to drive the final nail in the coffin of the company. The company is now officially non-existent, and now the website does not show up. The funds of the investors are lost, and am certain, that the family that was behind the set-up of the company must also be bearing the social brunt of this closure. Lets back up to early 2000, when I was working in Dubai as the regional head of projects, and was responsible for execution of major construction projects in the Middle East, all in the Oil and Gas sector. It seems that I had developed a strong reputation in the region, as being a person who could lead projects out of the pits and put them back on track, and also develop stronger teams with systems and processes to support its profitability. I was quite unaware of this, as I was just doing my job. One fine day I was approached by a known contact, who said that a top position was open in the neighbouring country, and I should look at the option. Cutting to the chase, I was soon sitting across the Group Executive Director who laid out the details and how I could come in as the General Manager and lead the publicly traded company. The term General Manager derives various connotations in the readers mind, and to clarify, in that country the GM was the top boss who was the CEO equivalent in other countries. I was told that the Group is financially sound, and they want to make a change to replace the existing GM of this Strategic Business Unit which was the largest unit of the group. The SBU had recently gone public thus formed as an independent company, a couple of years prior to 2000. The incumbent GM was not of the competency to take it forward. The owners had good growth plans in mind and wanted me to take over the reins, with full independence and authority. I had been very candid about these two elements as I did not want to be driven but wanted to be a driver of the organisation. The gentleman (Group ED) was very convincing in nature, and he was clever enough to show me the grand opportunity, but underplayed the mess the company was in. I stepped on board in mid-2000 and was extremely well received, the owners, two brothers who were citizens of the country, and the Group ED, an expatriate, made me feel very welcome. I should clarify that I was advised that there would be a transition period when the incumbent GM would gradually transfer the functions to me, but I had insisted that this would not be acceptable to me. The transition would have to be immediate, and the incumbent would not have any role to play after I would step in. It maybe stemmed from the fear in their minds if I would be able to lead the company. My predecessor was the one who had initiated this business stream for the owners a decade and some years ago, and now the stage had come that they realised the need for professionals to manage it. When the countries in Middle East started seeing the wealth of oil coming into their economies, development of projects and infrastructure, including housing, witnessed a major boom in demand. The local citizens saw good business opportunities and as they themselves lacked the knowledge of developing projects, they detailed their trusted expatriate employees to become entrepreneurs under their sponsorships and employment, and titled them as General Manager. Cash award for absconding accused of attempt to murder Staff Reporter BHILAI, DISTRICT police announced cash awards of Rs 10,000 for information about six absconding accused of attempt to murder crime, reported from Bhilai-3 on July 19 evening. In this connection the final decision would be taken by SP, Durg office regarding the justified awardees, the police said adding that the identity of informers would be confidential. SP, Durg office announced the cash award of Rs 10,000 for the informer, giving worthwhile information that could lead to arrest of the absconding accused Probir Sharma (37), a resident of Umda, Bhilai-3; Mukesh Mishra alias Shivam (37), a resident of T T Nagar, Raipur; Dhiraj Kumar alias Dhiru (35), a resident of Umda Road Bhilai-3; Rohit Pandey alias Ranjeet (27), a resident of Mangawa Rewa, Madhya Pradesh and Rohan Upadhyay alias Chhotu (20), a resident of Mangawa, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh who were involved in attempt to murder crime and out of police radar since the crime came to light. The police have issued the photos of the two accused Probir Sharma and Mukesh Mishra, allegedly involved in the heinous offence. Anyone knowing specific details regarding these accused involved in the crime could pass the information over mobile phone numbers of ASP (City), Sukhnandan Rathore, 9827896500; CSP Chhaoni Police Subdivision, Harish Patil 9479192007; Dy SP (Crime) Hem Prakash Naik 7000616900 and SHO, Purani Bhilai Police Station, Mahesh Kumar Dhruv, 9479192025. At about 4:15 pm on July 19, 2024, Professor Vinod Sharma, a resident of Green Valley Colony, Junwani, Durg and Professor at Dr Khubachand College, Bhilai-3, was on his way home in his car with his driver Hemant when he stopped at a betel kiosk near Police Welfare Petrol Pump, Bhilai-3. While at the kiosk, the six armed accused arrived on motorbikes and allegedly assaulted Professor Sharma with lathis. In the attack Sharma was critically injured. The victim has been undergoing treatment at a medical center in Delhi and his condition is stated to be still critical. Flower prices remain steady during Ganesh Utsav Business Reporter : WITH the start of GaneshUtsav the Netaji flower market witnessed hectic business activity and excitement among the consumers on Saturday. The demand fornatural flowersand specially pooja flowers has grown tremendously due to GaneshChaturthi festivalhere. Still prices in the market have remained stable from the past month. Wholesalers attribute this to supplies matching the daily averagedemand for flowers. The supplies have been favourable thathas keptprices under control, said Jaywant Rannaware, President of Mahatma Fule Pushpa Utpadak Sangh, Netaji Market and Director of Utpadak Thok WaChillarVikrikarSanghwhile speaking to The Hitavada. Hefurthersaid that theprices of flowers has increased by 10 per cent, as compared to the previous year. Suppliers from neighboring areas within a radius of 200 kilometers are flooding the market with a diverse range of flowers. The arrival of flowers hasdoubledin thelast fewdays, withapproximately25-26pickup trucks filled with flowers entering the citys wholesale market ona daily basis. If there aremore than 50pickup trucks coming to the market then the pricesarelikely tocrashas there wouldbe excesssuppliesin the market in a single day. Currently, the supplies are adequate to meet the growth in demand which is beneficial for the farmersandconsumers, as farmers get adequate remuneration and prices dont go beyound thereachofcommon man, he pointed out. The flower prices in the wholesale market: Marigold (Zendu) is being quoted in a range of Rs 80 per kg to Rs 150 per kg. Similarly, Shevanti is being quoted at Rs 200 kg to Rs 300 per kg. The Tuberose (Nishigandha)is being quoted at Rs 100 kg to Rs 300 kg. Also, Desi Rose, Divine (Shirdi) Rose and are being quoted at Rs 100 to Rs 200 per kg and Dutch Rose at Rs 100 to Rs 300 per bundle (20 pieces). In the cut flower category, Gerbera is being quoted at Rs 50 to Rs 80 per bundle (10 pieces), Carnation at Rs 250 to Rs 300 per bundle (20 pieces), Orchid at Rs 300 per bundle to Rs 450 bundle (20 pieces), Chrysanthemums at Rs 200 to Rs 250 per bundle (10 pieces) and Lillium at Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200 per bundle (10 pieces) at the wholesale market. Fresh violence erupts in Manipur Militants shoot sleeping man dead, 4 killed in exchange of fire, 3 militant bunkers destroyed A team of Mobile Forensic Unit, Manipur collects evidence after what appeared to be a rocket attack in the Moirang area of Bishnupur on Friday. (ANI) IMPHAL/KOLKATA : FIVE people were killed in fresh violence in Manipurs Jiribam district on Saturday, police said. Security forces, on the other hand, destroyed three bunkers of militants in Churachandpur district on Friday after the insurgents launched rocket attacks in adjoining Bishnupur that killed one person and injured six others. On Saturday, one person was shot dead in his sleep while four others were killed in subsequent exchange of fire between people of two warring communities in Jiribam district, a police officer said. Militants entered the house of the person who lived alone at an isolated location around 5 km from the district administration headquarters and shot him dead in his sleep, the officer said. After the killing, a heavy exchange of fire took place between people of the warring communities in the hills around 7 km from the district administration headquarters, leading to the deaths of four armed persons, including three hills-based militants, the officer said. Earlier this week, fresh arson took place in Jiribam district after suspected village volunteers burnt down an abandoned three-room house of a retired police officer at Jakuradhor in Borobekra police station area. Tribal body Indigenous Tribes Advocacy Committee (Pherzawl and Jiribam) denied any involvement in the incident. The district witnessed fresh violence despite representatives of the Meitei and Hmar communities reaching an agreement to restore normalcy and prevent incidents of arson and firing in a meeting held at a CRPF facility in adjoining Assams Cachar on August 1. It was, however, denounced by several Hmar tribal bodies based outside Jiribam district saying, they did not have any knowledge about it. Meanwhile, security forces conducted operations in Mualsang and Laika Mualsau villages in Churachandpur district on Friday and destroyed three bunkers of militants. Police teams and additional security forces conducted a combing operation in the adjoining hill ranges. Two bunkers at Mualsang village and one bunker at Laika Mualsau village of Churachandpur were destroyed, it said. Police teams including the Bishnupur SP rushed to the area and were fired upon by suspected militants but the law enforcers retaliated and repelled the attack. NDS seizes 798 PoP idols in 11 days Staff Reporter : Despite blanket ban on manufacture, sale and use of Plaster of Paris (PoP) idols in Maharashtra, such idols were widely available in city markets. The Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court ordered complete ban on PoP idols and directed authorities to implement the ban throughout the State. Whereas, the Nuisance Detection Squad (NDS) of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) is seizing PoP idols and imposing fines on sellers for flouting the directives. According to NMC, under its drive to curb sale of PoP idols, its NDS seized a total of 798 PoP idols from 91 shops across city in last 11 days. The civic team collected fine of Rs 9,10,000 from the shop-owners for not adhering to the order. Municipal Commissioner and Administrator Dr Abhijit Chaudhari in a review meeting with artisans and Ganesh Mandals recently, issued a strict warning against sale and use of PoP idols in city. Despite the warning, the city markets are flooded with banned PoP idols exposing stubbornness of manufacturers, sellers and even citizens who are ill-aware about the ban. Manoj Bind, an artisan from Chitar Oli informed The Hitavada that PoP idols are available in the markets even after restrictions. The mass manufacturing of such idols by companies is affecting sale of idols made of clay. PoP idols of deities are available in the market and people are unable to differenciate between PoP and clay idol. Citizens purchase banned idols as they still finding place at various shops. The artisans like me in Chitar Oli area are struggling to get buyers. Our business is getting hampered this year also due to availability of PoP idols in the markets, said Bind. On August 27, NMC launched the drive against sale of PoP in city. Till September 7, the NDS searched a total 830 shops in city in which 91 shops had PoP idols. Every shop in the market who had PoP idols were fined with Rs 10,000 each but it is not enough to curb the sale and use of PoP idols during festival season. The administration has to impose complete ban on manufacturing and transporting of such idols from outside the city which is still going on without any proper checking. RG Kar financial scam Vendor floated multiple entities to bag contracts Women from all strata take part in a protest march from NRS Hospital to Raj Bhawan over Kolkatas RG Kar Medical College rape-murder case, in Kolkata on Saturday. (ANI) KOLKATA : VENDOR Biplab Sinha, who was arrested in connection with the financial irregularities in the RG Kar Medical College & Hospital, had floated multiple business entities to bag contracts for supply of medical and non-medical material and for maintenance-related work orders in the hospital, sources aware of the developments said. Sinha is already in the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which is conducting a parallel probe along with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the case. The ED, which has started an investigation in the money laundering angle in the case after filing an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), has tracked paper-trails of three such entities, all floated and owned by Sinha, which were regular participants in the bids for tenders floated by RG Kar authorities. Sources said that as per the paper trail, these companies were very effectively used while placing tender bids, where they quoted three different bid-prices, from low to high, to ensure that the entity quoting the lowest bid price was awarded the tender. These three entities, according to sources, are Maa Tara Traders, Baba Loknath Enterprises and Tiyasha Enterprises. While the first was the main entity which bagged these contracts quoting the lowest bid-price, the other two were basically on-paper entities meant for quoting higher bid-prices. The CBI has already claimed at a special court in Kolkata that both Sinha and the other arrested vendor Suman Hazra, were close confidants of the former principal of RG Kar, Sandip Ghosh, who is also in CBI custody now. On Friday, ED officials conducted raid and search operations at different locations in connection with the case, including the residence of Sinha, from where the investigating officials secured important documents relating to these three business entities owned by him. ED officials are also probing the angle of disproportionate assets amassed by Sandip Ghosh. Meanwhile, the CBI officials probing the case of financial irregularities are carefully examining certain documents that point towards a major swindle. The accessed documents pertain to medical equipment which were never purchased but billed to the hospital authorities over a period of time. Sources aware of the development said that the Central agency also got specific clues that all these forged bills were in the names of entities either owned by Biplab Sinha or Suman Hazra, both being regular suppliers of various items to RG. Kar and both being close to the former and controversial Principal of the medical college, Sandip Ghosh. Both Sinha and Hazra are currently in CBI custody along with Ghosh. Sources said that the investigating officials have also come across instances where existing costly medical accessories were repaired but shown as newly purchased and in that process, the fund allotted to the hospital from the State Government was misused. As the investigating officials are going deeper in their probe, a clear picture of a major racket involving health department officials, RG Kar staff and vendors behind this orchestrated forgery is emerging where Ghosh played the main role. WB Medical Council issues show cause notice to Ghosh: THE West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) on Saturday issued a show cause notice to the former principal of RG Kar Medical College & Hospital, Sandip Ghosh. Sources said that if Ghosh does not give any reply to the show case notice within the next 72 hours, his registration might be cancelled. Earlier, the State Health Department, too, announced the suspension of Ghosh from the state medical services on grounds of the on-going criminal proceedings against him. The controversial doctor is currently in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody for his alleged links with financial irregularities in RG Kar Hospital. Earlier, on August 28, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) announced the suspension of Ghosh from the association. SACKED Puja Khedkar discharged from IAS NEW DELHI : THE Central Government has discharged Puja Khedkar from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) with immediate effect, over a month after the Union Public Service Commission cancelled her selection, official sources said on Saturday. Khedkar, who was from the 2023 batch, has been accused of cheating and wrongly availing Other Backward Classes (OBC) and disability quota benefits to ensure her selection in the Government service. She has denied all allegations. The Central Government, vide order dated September 6, 2024, discharged Khedkar from the Indian Administrative Service under Rule 12 of IAS (Probation) Rules, 1954, with immediate effect, the sources said. The rules allow the Central Government to discharge a probationer from service if he fails to pass the re-examination... or if the Central Government is satisfied that the probationer was ineligible for recruitment to the Service or is unsuitable for being a member of the Service, among others. Khedkar, who was provisionally allotted the Indian Administrative Service (Maharashtra cadre), was accused of misusing power and privileges during her training in Pune. A criminal case was registered against her in July by Delhi Police for misrepresenting and falsifying facts following a thorough investigation by the UPSC into allegations of misconduct. Khedkar allegedly manipulated her identity to appear for the civil services examination multiple times, exceeding the permissible attempts, the Commission had found. On July 31, the UPSC cancelled her candidature secured via the civil services examination 2022 and debarred her from future exams. Khedkar on Thursday told the Delhi High Court that she was willing to get herself medically examined at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), after the city police claimed that one of her disability certificates may be forged and fabricated. She made the submission while the court was dealing with her anticipatory bail plea in the criminal case. The Delhi Polices probe in the case, registered on the UPSCs complaint, is continuing. SEEKING RESET IN THE first high-level trip from India after the change of guard in Maldives, External Affairs Minister Mr. S Jaishankar has opened a door for reset of strained relations with the archipelago. Under President Mr. Mohammad Muizzu, Maldives had gone ahead with all anti-India decisions in clear allegiance to China. Immediately after assuming office, Mr. Muizzu had adopted a hard stance against the presence of Indian military personnel in his country. The military officials were subsequently replaced by civilians even as India waited for the next step by Maldives. Now, with the start of a defence dialogue between New Delhi and Male, a big barrier seems to have broken between Indo-Maldives bilateral relations. Maldives is a key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). India enjoyed cordial defence and security relations with the country under the previous Government in Male. With the change in guard, the relationship took a big hit as the pro-China Maldives President reversed the good progress in bilateral relations with India. Despite the setback, New Delhi continued to practice its Neighbourhood First policy which it has employed successfully with many other neighbours having problems with India. Mr. Muizzu was invited as guest during the oath-taking ceremony of Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi in his third term at the Centre. India also opened up its coffers for emergency aid to Male to overcome a financial crisis. The visit of Mr. Jaishankar to hold a productive defence dialogue with a focus on the situation in the Indian Ocean and ways to expedite implementation of defence projects underlines the silent benefits of the Neighbourhood First policy which has aimed at spreading goodwill among key neighbours. India is already implementing several civil and cultural projects in Maldives which helped in keeping the door open for further talks. A dialogue on defence projects should now be considered as big progress in resetting the relations. It indicates a change in stance of the current dispensation in Male as bilateral defence cooperation covers a wide range including maritime surveillance and sharing of security inputs between the two countries. A subtle message has thus been delivered to China that India would continue to be a crucial player in the IOR despite Beijings strategy of weaning away its maritime neighbours through economic heft. That Mr. Muizzu had publicly thanked India for backing Maldives during the recent financial problems shows that Male has decided to cater to its needs on its own terms. Holding talks on defence cooperation also emphasises that Maldives has decided to protect its sovereign interests by seeking a weapons deal with India. India has emerged as a defence exporter in the ASEAN region by providing BrahMos missiles to Philippines and smaller arms export to many other maritime neighbours. Maldives, too, looks interested in investing in Indian weapons of better quality and lower price tags instead of depending only on China. With deliberations on participation in forthcoming bilateral military exercises, Male has also shown willingness to revive the defence cooperation for its own benefits. Partnering with India in defence sector and exchange of technological expertise holds immense benefits for Maldives and the fresh round of defence dialogue looks to have cleared ground for further cooperation. VIDARBHAS POWER WOES: IV By Niraj Chinchkhede : 40+ mid-sized steel units shut down in 20 yrs in Vid Vidarbha region is a hub of steel manufacturing... Sorry, it WAS! Once a thriving hub of steel manufacturing, Vidarbha is now witnessing an alarming decline in the sector because of various unfavourable factors. High volatility in raw material prices in international markets and intense competition from neighbouring States have taken a toll on the sector. However, the primary culprit is exorbitant power tariff in Maharashtra, which has forced over 40 mid-sized steel units to shut down in the last two decades. Till 2005-06, there were about 65 units in the steel sector in Vidarbha region. These manufactured structural steel, TMT bars and steel pipes. There were 30,000 to 35,000 employees working in these plants located in various industrial areas of the region including Butibori MIDC, Hingna MIDC, and Kalmeshwar MIDC areas. Units such as B S Metal in Butibori, FACOR Ltd in Hingna MIDC area, Associate Steel in Kalmeshwar MIDC area, B S Ispat in Warora, Chandrapur; Rajuri Steel in Chandrapur, Nandkishore Steel in Butibori, Kamboj Ispat in Butibori, Karamtara Engineering in Butibori, and Sidhbali Ispat in Chandrapur lost economic viability and were shut down. These manufacturers used to cater to the consumers in Western Maharashtra, South India and other regions in the periphery of 500 km. Some manufacturers told The Hitavada that till 2005-06 power tariff in Maharashtra was at par with that in the neighbouring States. However, things started changing gradually when the State-run power distribution company -- Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) -- hiked the cost of power. The following 10-12 years saw the situation deteriorating, leading to closure of over 40 units one after the other, leaving more than 20,000 employees jobless. Approximately 500 employees work in one mid-sized steel manufacturing unit. Surprisingly, there appears to be no one to take cognisance of these many people losing their jobs. They have been reduced only to numbers, statistical detail! But, thousands of people losing their jobs has socio-economic and cultural implications. For, when one man loses a job, the socio-economic of his family of four/five members gets dented seriously. The psycho-social dimension of impact on a familys status is often ignored in the grander scheme of things. The breadwinner losing a job has adverse impact on education of children, overall nutrition and healthcare of the family, aspirations, and even development of ability to rise above the challenges. Also, the psychological impact builds irritation within the family, disturbing its peace. In some cases, those who lose the jobs migrate elsewhere for another job in another sector for the sake of livelihood. For Nagpur, this means loss of a person skilled in steel sector. The loss of a skilled person is a cultural loss of a place, society. But, the compartmentalised approach does not enable the society and policy-makers to think of such ramifications of the higher power tariff leading to shutting down of units to loss of employment to socio-economic and psychosocial impacts. One of the regional manufacturers explained that steel manufacturing was a power-intensive sector, which consumed about 1,100 units of power to make one tonne of steel products. Today, the mid-sized steel manufacturers in Maharashtra have to pay an average Rs 12 per unit for power supply. But, their counterparts in Chhattisgarh pay only Rs 9 per unit for the same, said a manufacturer on the condition of anonymity. This disparity has enabled Chhattisgarh-based manufacturers to dominate the market, selling steel at lower prices and making it challenging for local manufacturers to compete. Despite numerous pleas to Maharashtra Government for subsidised power rates, the sector continues to suffer as no one has taken cognisance so far. The consequences are far-reaching with entrepreneurs, traders, and employees facing an uncertain future, said another manufacturer in Nagpur. Local manufacturers argue that the Governments failure to address their concerns has allowed Chhattisgarh-manufactured steel to occupy a dominating position in the market. With lower production costs, Chhattisgarh-based manufacturers can sell steel at a lower price and Vidarbha-based manufacturers are unable to compete because of higher power tariff here. This has led to a surge in steel imports from Chhattisgarh, further exacerbating the crisis. When an industry closes down or migrates, it leaves the area in an economic crisis, which is not documented by any Government. Industry experts warn that if the Government fails to intervene, the entire sector may collapse, resulting in widespread unemployment and economic devastation. The need for subsidised power rates and a level playing field is urgent, they emphasise. Commenting on the matter, Rajesh Sarda, President of Steel & Hardware Chamber of Vidarbha, said, As the situation continues to deteriorate, the Government must take immediate action to save Vidarbhas steel industry. The regions entrepreneurs, traders, and employees are counting on it. The prices in international markets are volatile, meaning they may vary. However, for the steel units in the industrially backward Vidarbha region, high power tariff has been a constant thorn in the flesh. Irrespective of the political party in power, the Governments of the day have been making promises of Vidarbhas industrial development. But, much of their effort has been visible only in the form of events, without much of a follow-up to see the plans and Memorandums of Understanding signed in such events turn into reality. In fact, there has been no study taken up to get to the real reasons for closure or migration of industries out of Vidarbha. If such a study has been done, it has not been made available for the general public to have an informed opinion about the problems. One suspects that this has been done deliberately. Because, if people have an informed opinion about the problems, they will make informed suggestions to find solutions, which, probably, no Government wants to take upon itself. For rhetoric is more convenient than rigorous effort to find a solution. But, this is not the situation only in the steel sector. The crisis is brewing even in the hospitality sector. Though the boom in travel and tourism has led to opening of many hotels, higher power tariff in Maharashtra is preventing hotels in forest-rich Vidarbha region from encashing the full benefits. (To be continued) Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH Free Report) by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 68,705 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock after purchasing an additional 8,204 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLCs holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $34,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Saxony Capital Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the second quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock valued at $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock worth $1,737,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Veracity Capital LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.5% in the first quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 1,335 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock valued at $660,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the companys stock. Get UnitedHealth Group alerts: Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In UNH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, HSBC upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $614.17. View Our Latest Research Report on UNH UnitedHealth Group Price Performance Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $597.64 on Friday. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $558.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $515.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $551.87 billion, a PE ratio of 36.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $607.94. UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.14 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current fiscal year. UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. UnitedHealth Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.34%. UnitedHealth Group Profile (Free Report) UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UNH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for UnitedHealth Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for UnitedHealth Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. American Aires Inc. (OTCMKTS:AAIRF Get Free Report)s share price traded up 2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $0.31 and last traded at $0.30. 126,499 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 122,444 shares. The stock had previously closed at $0.29. American Aires Stock Up 2.0 % The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $0.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $0.56. About American Aires (Get Free Report) American Aires Inc, a nanotechnology company, engages in the research, development, and implementation of innovative technology solutions that restructure and transform electromagnetic field haze into biologically-compatible form in Canada. Its products include the Lifetune One, which reduce the effects of electromagnetic radiation emitted by data-transmitting electronics, such as cell phones, wireless earpieces, wireless headsets, laptops, monitors, baby monitors, Wi-Fi routers, and others; and the Lifetune Flex, a versatile and resilient solution for customizable protection. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for American Aires Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for American Aires and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (TSE:IVN Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of Buy by the nine analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$24.00. A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on IVN. Citigroup raised their price objective on Ivanhoe Mines from C$15.00 to C$24.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Ivanhoe Mines from C$21.00 to C$24.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Ivanhoe Mines from C$23.00 to C$21.00 in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Ivanhoe Mines from C$24.00 to C$25.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, TD Securities increased their price target on Ivanhoe Mines from C$23.00 to C$25.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Get Ivanhoe Mines alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on IVN Ivanhoe Mines Trading Down 3.4 % Shares of TSE IVN opened at C$15.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of C$21.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.81 and a beta of 1.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of C$17.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$17.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.24, a quick ratio of 20.86 and a current ratio of 1.17. Ivanhoe Mines has a 52-week low of C$9.89 and a 52-week high of C$21.32. Ivanhoe Mines (TSE:IVN Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported C$0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of C$0.07 by C$0.01. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ivanhoe Mines will post 1.034134 EPS for the current year. Insider Transactions at Ivanhoe Mines In other Ivanhoe Mines news, Senior Officer Mary Vincelli sold 3,600 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$17.96, for a total value of C$64,639.80. In other Ivanhoe Mines news, Director Delphine Traore purchased 5,704 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$17.40 per share, with a total value of C$99,249.60. Also, Senior Officer Mary Vincelli sold 3,600 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$17.96, for a total value of C$64,639.80. Insiders have sold 12,064,614 shares of company stock valued at $210,024,706 in the last 90 days. 45.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. About Ivanhoe Mines (Get Free Report Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. engages in the mining, development, and exploration of minerals and precious metals primarily in Africa. It explores for platinum, palladium, nickel, copper, gold, rhodium, zinc, silver, germanium, and lead deposits. The company's projects include the Platreef project located in the Northern Limb of South Africa's Bushveld Complex; the Kipushi project located in Haut-Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo; and the Kamoa-Kakula project located within the Central African Copperbelt. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Ivanhoe Mines Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ivanhoe Mines and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR Free Report) in a research report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $367.00 price target on the insurance providers stock. Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Progressive from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $252.24. Get Progressive alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on PGR Progressive Stock Performance Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $248.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.35. Progressive has a one year low of $134.34 and a one year high of $254.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $225.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Progressive (NYSE:PGR Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. The businesss revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Progressive will post 12.2 EPS for the current year. Progressive Announces Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressives dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.09%. Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive In other Progressive news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total transaction of $135,271.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $828,485.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total value of $135,271.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,981 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $828,485.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total transaction of $10,937,914.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,475,967. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 147,354 shares of company stock valued at $33,502,680. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Institutional Trading of Progressive Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 21.3% in the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of Progressive by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in Progressive by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 509 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $873,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, City State Bank lifted its stake in Progressive by 8.2% in the second quarter. City State Bank now owns 661 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the companys stock. Progressive Company Profile (Get Free Report) The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Progressive Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Progressive and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK Free Report) by 12.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,308 shares of the transportation companys stock after acquiring an additional 4,860 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLCs holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $1,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Natixis Advisors L.P. bought a new position in Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $707,000. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in Alaska Air Group by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 56,442 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $2,205,000 after purchasing an additional 10,857 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Alaska Air Group by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 10,482 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,438 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Alaska Air Group by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,209 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the companys stock. Get Alaska Air Group alerts: Alaska Air Group Price Performance Shares of NYSE ALK opened at $37.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.75 and a 1-year high of $46.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.75. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Alaska Air Group ( NYSE:ALK Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.00 EPS. Research analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. A number of analysts have commented on ALK shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $55.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $54.00. Check Out Our Latest Report on Alaska Air Group Alaska Air Group Profile (Free Report) Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates airlines. It operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing jet aircraft for passengers and cargo in the United States, and in parts of Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, and the Bahamas; and for passengers across a shorter distance network within the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ALK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Alaska Air Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Alaska Air Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of ESS Tech, Inc. (NYSE:GWH Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of Moderate Buy from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1.74. GWH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on ESS Tech from $1.25 to $1.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Roth Mkm began coverage on shares of ESS Tech in a report on Friday, July 12th. They set a buy rating and a $1.50 price target on the stock. Roth Capital raised shares of ESS Tech to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of ESS Tech from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of ESS Tech from $1.15 to $0.90 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Get ESS Tech alerts: Check Out Our Latest Report on ESS Tech ESS Tech Stock Performance Shares of ESS Tech stock opened at $5.80 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1.94 and a 200-day moving average of $1.17. The company has a market cap of $68.38 million, a PE ratio of -12.89 and a beta of 1.48. ESS Tech has a 1-year low of $5.60 and a 1-year high of $31.65. ESS Tech (NYSE:GWH Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported ($1.80) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($1.65) by ($0.15). ESS Tech had a negative net margin of 982.87% and a negative return on equity of 77.52%. The business had revenue of $0.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 million. Research analysts forecast that ESS Tech will post -6.74 earnings per share for the current year. Hedge Funds Weigh In On ESS Tech Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in ESS Tech by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,263,849 shares of the companys stock worth $2,361,000 after purchasing an additional 212,070 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ESS Tech in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. CWM LLC bought a new position in shares of ESS Tech during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Green Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of ESS Tech by 11.7% in the first quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 219,440 shares of the companys stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 23,022 shares during the period. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new stake in ESS Tech in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.77% of the companys stock. About ESS Tech (Get Free Report ESS Tech, Inc, an energy storage company, designs and produces iron flow batteries for commercial and utility-scale energy storage applications worldwide. It offers energy storage products, which include Energy Warehouse, a behind-the-meter solution; and Energy Center, a front-of-the-meter solution. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Wilsonville, Oregon. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for ESS Tech Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ESS Tech and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust (TSE:MRG.UN Get Free Report) insider Sime Armoyan bought 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$112.00 per share, for a total transaction of C$67,200.00. Sime Armoyan also recently made the following trade(s): Get Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust alerts: On Tuesday, August 13th, Sime Armoyan purchased 800 shares of Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$109.96 per share, for a total transaction of C$87,970.96. On Friday, August 2nd, Sime Armoyan acquired 200 shares of Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$111.00 per share, with a total value of C$22,200.00. On Tuesday, July 9th, Sime Armoyan purchased 400 shares of Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$110.38 per share, for a total transaction of C$44,152.00. On Friday, July 5th, Sime Armoyan acquired 400 shares of Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$110.50 per share, with a total value of C$44,200.00. On Thursday, June 20th, Sime Armoyan bought 100 shares of Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust stock. The shares were bought at an average price of C$110.50 per share, with a total value of C$11,050.00. On Monday, June 17th, Sime Armoyan purchased 11,100 shares of Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$110.00 per share, for a total transaction of C$1,221,000.00. On Friday, June 14th, Sime Armoyan bought 2,900 shares of Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust stock. The stock was bought at an average price of C$110.75 per share, with a total value of C$321,175.00. On Tuesday, June 11th, Sime Armoyan acquired 4,600 shares of Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$110.98 per share, with a total value of C$510,525.02. Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust Trading Down 1.2 % Shares of TSE:MRG.UN traded down C$0.22 on Friday, hitting C$18.26. The company had a trading volume of 25,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,807. Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust has a 1 year low of C$13.08 and a 1 year high of C$18.72. The firm has a market capitalization of C$678.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 1.20. The firms 50-day simple moving average is C$16.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$16.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 95.54. Analysts Set New Price Targets Separately, TD Securities increased their price objective on Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust from C$22.00 to C$23.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday. View Our Latest Report on MRG.UN About Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust (Get Free Report) The REIT is an unincorporated, open-ended real estate investment trust established under and governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario. The Units of the REIT trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MRG.UN. With a strategic focus on the acquisition of high-quality multi-suite residential properties in Canada and the United States, the REIT maximizes long-term Unit value through active asset and property management. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com lowered shares of Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday. Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SIG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Signet Jewelers from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a market perform rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup restated a buy rating and issued a $119.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a report on Friday, June 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $116.20. Get Signet Jewelers alerts: Check Out Our Latest Analysis on SIG Signet Jewelers Stock Performance Shares of SIG opened at $76.95 on Wednesday. Signet Jewelers has a one year low of $65.12 and a one year high of $112.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.26, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $82.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.99. Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 13th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.29. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 32.51% and a net margin of 10.91%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Signet Jewelers will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current year. Signet Jewelers Dividend Announcement The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Signet Jewelerss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.43%. Insider Activity In other news, insider Joan M. Hilson sold 8,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.81, for a total value of $734,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 189,231 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $17,373,298.11. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Rebecca Wooters sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.34, for a total transaction of $271,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 90,494 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,175,227.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joan M. Hilson sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.81, for a total value of $734,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 189,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,373,298.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,439 shares of company stock valued at $4,809,869 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.26% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Signet Jewelers Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SIG. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in Signet Jewelers by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 75,514 shares of the companys stock worth $8,099,000 after acquiring an additional 23,926 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Signet Jewelers during the 4th quarter worth about $342,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in Signet Jewelers in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,075,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Signet Jewelers by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 65,723 shares of the companys stock valued at $7,049,000 after purchasing an additional 14,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Signet Jewelers in the 4th quarter valued at about $343,000. About Signet Jewelers (Get Free Report) Signet Jewelers Limited operates as a diamond jewelry retailer. It operates through three segments: North America, International, and Other. The North America segment operates jewelry stores in jewelry stores in malls, mall-based kiosks, and off-mall locations in the United States and Canada primarily under the Kay Jewelers, Kay Jewelers Outlet, Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry, Jared Vault, Zales Outlet, Zales Jewelers, Diamonds Direct, James Allen, Banter by Piercing Pagoda, and Peoples Jewellers names, as well as operates online through its digital banners, James Allen and Blue Nile. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Signet Jewelers Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Signet Jewelers and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 144,943 shares of the medical technology companys stock, valued at approximately $49,317,000. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Umpqua Bank grew its stake in Stryker by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 5,330 shares of the medical technology companys stock valued at $1,814,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Stryker by 6.1% in the second quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 831 shares of the medical technology companys stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY grew its stake in Stryker by 2.1% during the second quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 4,950 shares of the medical technology companys stock valued at $1,684,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC increased its holdings in Stryker by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 185,198 shares of the medical technology companys stock worth $63,014,000 after acquiring an additional 3,392 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Stryker by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 951 shares of the medical technology companys stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.09% of the companys stock. Get Stryker alerts: Insider Activity at Stryker In other Stryker news, insider Viju Menon sold 600 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.00, for a total value of $213,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,069 shares in the company, valued at $3,219,495. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Viju Menon sold 600 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.00, for a total value of $213,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,219,495. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Glenn S. Boehnlein sold 20,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.00, for a total value of $6,660,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,852 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $949,716. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 210,600 shares of company stock worth $68,330,400 in the last three months. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders. Stryker Stock Performance Stryker stock opened at $358.92 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $339.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $341.94. Stryker Co. has a twelve month low of $249.98 and a twelve month high of $364.36. The company has a market capitalization of $136.73 billion, a PE ratio of 40.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Stryker (NYSE:SYK Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The medical technology company reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.40 billion. Stryker had a return on equity of 22.89% and a net margin of 16.12%. Strykers quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.54 EPS. Research analysts expect that Stryker Co. will post 12 EPS for the current year. Stryker Dividend Announcement The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Strykers payout ratio is 36.53%. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of research analysts have recently commented on SYK shares. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Stryker from $364.00 to $345.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Stryker from $360.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on Stryker from $351.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Stryker in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a neutral rating and a $372.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Stryker from $374.00 to $402.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $377.11. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Stryker Stryker Profile (Free Report) Stryker Corporation operates as a medical technology company. The company operates through two segments, MedSurg and Neurotechnology, and Orthopaedics and Spine. The Orthopaedics and Spine segment provides implants for use in total joint replacements, such as hip, knee and shoulder, and trauma and extremities surgeries. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SYK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Stryker Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Stryker and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:TBUX Free Report) by 18,173.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,845,152 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 8,796,748 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF accounts for approximately 1.9% of Strategic Financial Concepts LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC owned about 282.59% of T. Rowe Price Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF worth $437,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in T. Rowe Price Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF by 433.7% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 231,283 shares of the companys stock valued at $11,432,000 after acquiring an additional 187,949 shares during the last quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC now owns 91,785 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,549,000 after purchasing an additional 923 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of T. Rowe Price Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,471,000. Milestone Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 23,324 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,153,000 after buying an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC bought a new stake in T. Rowe Price Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $599,000. Get T. Rowe Price Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF alerts: T. Rowe Price Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF Price Performance Shares of NYSEARCA TBUX opened at $49.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.94 million, a P/E ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.01. T. Rowe Price Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF has a one year low of $48.80 and a one year high of $50.28. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $49.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.50. T. Rowe Price Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF Profile The T. Rowe Price Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF (TBUX) is an exchange-traded fund. The ETF currently has 53.48m in AUM and 293 holdings. TBUX is an actively-managed fund that invests in a diversified portfolio of investment-grade fixed income securities, targeting an effective duration of 1.5 years or less. See Also Receive News & Ratings for T. Rowe Price Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for T. Rowe Price Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. TELUS (TSE:T Free Report) (NYSE:TU) had its target price boosted by BMO Capital Markets from C$24.00 to C$25.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities reduced their price target on TELUS from C$26.00 to C$25.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Cormark decreased their price target on shares of TELUS from C$27.00 to C$26.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of TELUS from C$24.25 to C$24.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. CIBC reduced their price objective on shares of TELUS from C$25.00 to C$24.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, National Bankshares lowered their target price on TELUS from C$25.00 to C$23.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of C$24.58. Get TELUS alerts: Get Our Latest Research Report on TELUS TELUS Price Performance Shares of TELUS stock opened at C$22.86 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 171.58. The stock has a market capitalization of C$33.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.71. TELUS has a twelve month low of C$20.04 and a twelve month high of C$25.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$21.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$22.13. TELUS (TSE:T Get Free Report) (NYSE:TU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported C$0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of C$0.24 by C$0.01. The company had revenue of C$4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of C$5.04 billion. TELUS had a return on equity of 4.67% and a net margin of 3.91%. Analysts forecast that TELUS will post 0.9691551 EPS for the current year. TELUS Dividend Announcement The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.389 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. TELUSs payout ratio is 294.34%. Insider Activity at TELUS In other TELUS news, Director Marc Parent purchased 10,530 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$22.52 per share, with a total value of C$237,135.60. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders. TELUS Company Profile (Get Free Report) TELUS Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of telecommunications and information technology products and services in Canada. It operates through Technology Solutions and Digitally-Led Customer Experiences segments. The Technology Solutions segment offers a range of telecommunications products and services; network services; healthcare services; mobile technologies equipment; data services, such as internet protocol; television; hosting, managed information technology, and cloud-based services; software, data management, and data analytics-driven smart food-chain and consumer goods technologies; home and business security; healthcare software and technology solutions; and voice and other telecommunications services, as well as mobile and fixed voice and data telecommunications services and products. Read More Receive News & Ratings for TELUS Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for TELUS and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE Free Report) had its target price boosted by UBS Group from $17.00 to $19.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the technology companys stock. A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on HPE. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an equal weight rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $26.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, June 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $21.09. Get Hewlett Packard Enterprise alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Hewlett Packard Enterprise Hewlett Packard Enterprise Price Performance Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock opened at $17.53 on Thursday. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 52 week low of $14.47 and a 52 week high of $22.82. The companys 50 day moving average price is $19.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $22.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.19. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The technology company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 8.49%. The firm had revenue of $7.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Hewlett Packard Enterprise will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 19th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. Hewlett Packard Enterprises dividend payout ratio is 37.96%. Insider Activity at Hewlett Packard Enterprise In related news, SVP Kirt P. Karros sold 30,686 shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.49, for a total value of $628,756.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Neil B. Macdonald sold 36,671 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total transaction of $752,122.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 111,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,277,717.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kirt P. Karros sold 30,686 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.49, for a total transaction of $628,756.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 90,141 shares of company stock worth $1,874,608. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the companys stock. Institutional Inflows and Outflows A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Investment Counsel Inc grew its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 41,269 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 4.8% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the technology companys stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 0.5% in the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 111,617 shares of the technology companys stock worth $2,363,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. grew its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 1.7% in the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 35,349 shares of the technology companys stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 0.5% in the second quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 119,347 shares of the technology companys stock worth $2,527,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. 80.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About Hewlett Packard Enterprise (Get Free Report) Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company provides solutions that allow customers to capture, analyze, and act upon data seamlessly in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Japan. It operates in six segments: Compute, HPC & AI, Storage, Intelligent Edge, Financial Services, and Corporate Investments and Other. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Hewlett Packard Enterprise Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hewlett Packard Enterprise and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM Free Report) in a report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $73.00 target price on the financial services providers stock. Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They set an overweight rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $62.90. Get Unum Group alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on UNM Unum Group Trading Down 2.0 % UNM opened at $54.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a PE ratio of 8.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.77. The firms fifty day moving average price is $53.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $41.75 and a 12-month high of $58.17. Unum Group (NYSE:UNM Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.23 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year. Unum Group Increases Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. This is a positive change from Unum Groups previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Unum Groups dividend payout ratio is currently 24.96%. Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the companys leadership believes its stock is undervalued. Insider Activity at Unum Group In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total transaction of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unum Group Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Unum Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,130,000. Boone Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Boone Capital Management LLC now owns 961,661 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $43,486,000 after acquiring an additional 94,096 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 950,914 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $43,000,000 after acquiring an additional 33,454 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 973,480 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $44,021,000 after acquiring an additional 292,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Unum Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $590,489,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About Unum Group (Get Free Report) Unum Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial protection benefit solutions primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and internationally. It operates through Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, and Closed Block segment. The company offers group long-term and short-term disability, group life, and accidental death and dismemberment products; supplemental and voluntary products, such as individual disability, voluntary benefits, and dental and vision products; and accident, sickness, disability, life, and cancer and critical illness products. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Unum Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Unum Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Valence8 US LP increased its position in iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (NYSEARCA:EWU Free Report) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 216,934 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 2,980 shares during the period. iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF makes up about 3.9% of Valence8 US LPs investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Valence8 US LP owned approximately 0.28% of iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF worth $7,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 89,124 shares of the companys stock worth $2,946,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF by 130.8% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,618 shares of the companys stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 3,184 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC raised its position in shares of iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 158,999 shares of the companys stock worth $5,255,000 after buying an additional 14,636 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF in the 1st quarter worth $263,000. Finally, &PARTNERS purchased a new position in shares of iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF in the 2nd quarter worth $1,097,000. Get iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF alerts: iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF Trading Down 1.1 % Shares of EWU opened at $36.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.86 and a beta of 0.68. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $36.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.12. iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $37.68. About iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF The iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (EWU) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI United Kingdom index. The fund tracks a market cap-weighted index of British companies. It covers the top 85% of British companies by market cap. EWU was launched on Mar 12, 1996 and is managed by BlackRock. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wolfe Research restated their peer perform rating on shares of Stellantis (NYSE:STLA Free Report) in a research report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Stellantis in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a market perform rating and a $23.50 target price on the stock. Nomura raised shares of Stellantis from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Nomura Securities raised Stellantis from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays upgraded Stellantis to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a $16.44 price target (down previously from $27.30) on shares of Stellantis in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Stellantis currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $27.34. Get Stellantis alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on STLA Stellantis Stock Down 2.1 % Insider Activity at Stellantis Shares of STLA opened at $15.50 on Thursday. Stellantis has a twelve month low of $15.11 and a twelve month high of $29.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $17.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.07. In other news, major shareholder N.V. Stellantis bought 2,982,089 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3.35 per share, with a total value of $9,989,998.15. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 59,734,962 shares in the company, valued at $200,112,122.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stellantis Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Stellantis in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stellantis in the first quarter worth about $38,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stellantis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Stellantis by 424.4% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 2,145 shares of the companys stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736 shares during the period. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Stellantis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.48% of the companys stock. About Stellantis (Get Free Report) Stellantis N.V. engages in the design, engineering, manufacturing, distribution, and sale of automobiles and light commercial vehicles, engines, transmission systems, metallurgical products, mobility services, and production systems worldwide. It provides luxury and premium vehicles; sport utility vehicles; American and European brand vehicles; and parts and services, as well as retail and dealer financing, leasing, and rental services. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Stellantis Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Stellantis and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Flash The China-U.S. commercial and trade working group held its second vice-ministerial meeting in Tianjin on Saturday to engage in professional, rational and pragmatic discussions on policy issues and business matters. The meeting was co-chaired by China International Trade Representative and Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen and the U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Marisa Lago, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC). China is willing to make joint efforts with the United States to strengthen communication, expand cooperation, address differences and create a favorable policy environment for business cooperation between the two countries, Wang said. The country will further deepen reforms, expand opening up and pursue high-quality development, Wang noted, highlighting that a modernized China with a large population presents an opportunity, not a threat for the United States. During the meeting, the Chinese side expressed concerns regarding the U.S. Section 301 tariffs, the Section 301 investigation into China's shipbuilding and other sectors, the overstretching of the concept of national security, sanctions on Chinese companies, restrictions on bilateral investments, the U.S. trade remedies against China, and unfair treatment of Chinese firms in the United States, among other issues. The Chinese side emphasized that clarifying the boundaries of national security in economic and trade matters would help stabilize business cooperation expectations. It opposes using claims of "overcapacity" as a pretext for imposing trade and investment restrictions, according to the MOC. Both sides have agreed to provide necessary support for trade and investment promotion activities hosted by both countries, maintain communications in areas such as cross-border data flows, inspection and quarantine, healthcare and women's health, medical devices as well as clean energy, and continue to facilitate cooperation between Chinese and U.S. businesses by establishing more project offices. They also aim to strengthen collaboration within frameworks such as the Group of 20 and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the MOC said, adding that the commerce departments of both countries are willing to maintain dialogue with businesses and listen to their feedback. Recipe for making civil war a reality in Manipur | Brigadier L Ibotombi Singh In the epic Mahabharat, the great Bhisma and his team of learned leaders remained mute spectators when Draupadi was disrobed by Dushasana, on the orders of Duryodhana, publicly in front of the entire court of Hastinapur, for this Bhishma suffered a painful death on the bed of arrows for his Karma, as against, Jatayu, a bird, which fought against abduction of Sita by Ravana and died in the arms of lord Sri Ram after narrating the incident of Sita's abduction. It is for the readers to interpret who is the modern Bhisma and Duryodhana after analysing the ongoing crisis in Manipur. After about three months of lull between the Kuki-Zo terrorists and Meitei villagers there was a massive attack on September 1, including use of third dimension in the form of drones armed with time fused grenades and mortar bombs in Koutruk, a small hamlet at the foothills of West Manipur Hills Ranges under Imphal West district. The attack came just a few days after Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh promised to fully restore peace in the State in six months with the Centre's help, and also ruled out stepping down, saying he has neither committed a crime nor spawned a scandal. The terrorists action led to the killing of a young woman and injuries to nine others which include an eight-year old daughter of the deceased lady and two police personnel. The terrorists also set fire to many houses, 35 vehicles including ten two-wheelers. This was followed by another drone attack in Senjam Chirang, approximately 3 kms away north of Koutruk on September 2 resulting in injuries to three individuals. The terrorists, thereafter, shifted their attack towards South and West Manipur, wherein an elderly man was killed and six others were injured including a 13-year-old girl, after Kuki-Zo terrorists fired long range improvised rockets on a residential area of Moirang in Bishnupur district on Septmber 6 during day time. This is the second rocket that was fired in the district. The rocket fell at a spot around two km from the INA headquarters, as per the police report and the rocket was fired from an elevated position in the nearby hill areas toward the low-lying residential locality of Tronglaobi, located around 45 kms from the State capital Imphal. The same night, multiple drones were sighted at Naranseina, Nambol Kamong in Bishnupur district and Pukhao, Dolaithabi, Shantipur in Imphal East district creating panic in the areas, which led to residents in the outskirts to switch off the lights. This was further followed by four militants and a civilian being killed in a fresh wave of violence in Manipurs Jiribam district on September 7 morning. The civilian was killed inside his house, and this led to a gunfight during which four terrorists were killed, as per official information. While ethnic clashes have roiled Manipur for the last one and a half years, the situation has been extremely tense in the last seven days. What prompted the Kuki-Zo terrorists in escalating the ongoing conflict since May 3, 2023, is apparently to sensitise the international media and achieve their end results of continuance of narco-terrorism and disintegrate Indias sovereignty and integrity. The motive behind the carnage in Manipur by Kuki-Zo terrorists were outlined in stark detail (https://www. the sangaiexpress.com/Encyc/ 2023/6/12/Laiphrak-pam-ongbee-Nirmala-Laishram Manipur-has-been- burning-for-the-past- one-month- or-so-The-magi.html), combined with failure of the Central Government to rein in Kuki-Zo terrorists (https://www. the sangai express. com/Encyc/2023/6/3/Nirmala-Laishram Manipur- has-been-witnessing-violent-clashes- between- two- warring-tribes-of-Chin-Ku.html). What is worrying is the escalation of terrorism by Kuki-Zo terrorists which include 25 Kuki terrorists armed groups under Suspension of Operations (SoO) by terrorising innocent Meitei villagers on the outskirts of Imphal in Manipur almost on daily basis. In November 2023, Imphal airport was shut after an unidentified object was detected overhead. Indian Air Force planes launched a search mission could not locate the object. But the object in question certainly did not come from outer space and certainly was the handwork of terrorists waging a war against the Government. With recent use of third dimension for acts of terrorism by Kuki-Zo terrorists, it is a warning sign and wake up call to the double engine Govt. This time the target was a village on the outskirts of Imphal West district, tomorrow it can be the heart of Government authority like residences of State Governor, Chief Minister, the Bir Tikendrajit International Airport, busy market place Khwairam-band Keithel, schools, colleges and so on, the likely target is endless. With the tentacles of Zo-Kuki terrorists networks spread all over the world, they may even procure a low yield tactical nuclear or biological or chemical weapons from rogue States like North Korea or Pakistan for use as a last resort for achieving their ultimate aim. Equally of concern is the cyber network handlers of Zo-Kuki terrorists indulging in distortions of facts and planting false propaganda portraying Meitei community as the villain indulging in genocide in the eyes of the world through various print and electronic medias. It is unfortunate that some of the mainland media handlers and independent writers/bloggers including veterans, apparently on the payroll of Kukis are writing for the causes of Zo-Kuki community, when on ground their armed terrorists have committed atrocities against the Meitei community on daily basis. The immediate action required is to ban operations of all the drones in Manipur, except those used by the security forces on need basis, along with its violations, in possession or usage of drones, making it a non-bailable offences. Equally of concern is uncheck illegal flow of all types of weapons and warlike stores from Myanmar in view of majority of Western Myanmar now under the control of ethnic Myan-marese rebels like Kachin Independent Army, Arakan Army, Karen Independence Army, Peoples Democratic Front etc. The ruling military junta has lost control over majority of Western Myanmar and the rebels are resorting to selling of captured weapons to rebel and terrorist groups operating in in Indias North East States. In April this year, huge cache of heavy caliber weapons which include ten 82 mm mortars, four 106 mm anti tank recoilless guns, ten pistols, and an impressive haul of 199 Radio Sets and Satellite Phones were recovered by combined force of Assam Rifles and State Police from Mon district of Nagaland. As per the report these weapons were to be transported to Manipur for use by Kuki-Zo terrorists. This is supported by the fact that earlier the Kuki terrorists were restricted to use of short range area and flat trajectory weapons; but with the recent use of armed drones with long range rockets, missiles and high trajectory mortars, it clearly establishes that huge consignment of weapons has come into Manipur through porous Indo-Myanmar border. Why would China not exploit the ongoing situation in Manipur. It may be recalled that when the US had troops in Afghanistan, China provided advisors to the Taliban as well as arms including shoulder-fired MANPADS. It is also being opined that the Manipur situation is aggravated by Americas National Endowment for Democracy. There is no doubt merit in this, with veteran US Marines operating in Myanmar and especially after the US is said to have had a hand in the coup in Bangladesh recently. (When freedom of personal liberty and life of the public of Manipur, the soul of Fundamental Rights under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, is violated by the Kuki-Zo terrorists on daily basis, the elected leaders of Manipur have failed in their duty to protect them, a mandate given by the people during State Assembly elections. Therefore, the pendulum swings in favour of giving up the chair and must fight for the freedom and personal liberty of the public. This can be achieved by tendering resignation by the Chief Minister with his entire team of MLAs and initiate actions to float a strong regional party to protect the integrity of the State and her people) Another point of concern is the current leadership and elected leaders who are ruling the state, who, despite ongoing conflict going on since May 03rd, 2023 have not initiated any tangible actions so as to resolve it, except remaining mute spectators. In the epic Mahabharat, the great Bhisma and his team of learned leaders remained mute spectators when Draupadi was disrobed by Dushasana, on the orders of Duryodhana, publicly in front of the entire court of Hastinapur, for this Bhishma suffered a painful death on the bed of arrows for his Karma. As against, Jatayu, a bird, fought against abduction of Sita by Ravana and died in the arms of lord Sri Ram after narrating the incident of Sita's abduction. It is for the readers to interpret who is the modern Bhisma and Duryodhana after analysis the ongoing crisis in Manipur. When freedom of personal liberty and life of the public of Manipur, the soul of Fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, is violated by the Kuki-Zo terrorists on daily basis, the elected leaders of Manipur have failed in their duties to protect them, a mandate given by the people during State Assembly elections. Therefore, the pendulum swings in favour of giving up the chair and must fight for the freedom and personal liberty of the public. This can be achieved by tendering resignations by the Chief Minister with his entire team of MLAs and initiate actions to float a strong regional party to protect the integrity and people of the state. As on date, much more than 50 percent of the public have lost confidence in leadership of Shri N Biren Singh. History is replete with many examples, one glaring example is Anthony Eden resigning as Prime Minister of UK owning moral responsibility after the Suez crisis in 1956. Analysing these situations, Manipur appears to be on the verge of a civil war, where a mere fact-finding commission may not suffice which has been adequately covered earlier (https://www.thesangaiexpress.com/Encyc/2024/2/20/Lai-phrakpam-Ibotombi-Singh The-situation-in-Manipur-is- that- the- warring- people-have-free-access-to-the-latest.html). Heavy clashes leading to civil war between the Kuki-Zo terrorists and the village volunteers/defence forces appear certain in the coming days. Now is the time to act and not talk for the double engine Govt as a last measure like creation of Unified Command under GOC 3 Corps, creation of Strategic Command which include commander of Unified Command as a member under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister, immediate revoking of SoO with Kuki-Zo terrorists, disarmament of terrorists and warring communities; and lastly time bound effective sealing of Indo-Myanmar border has been adequately analysed and recommended under Manipur Cauldron : Effective Unified Command and a Strong Political Will is the only means towards Conflict Resolution (https://www. the sangai express.com/Encyc/2024/7/8/Laiphrakpam-Ibotombi-Singh- While- examining- the-role-of-security-forces-under-the-Unified- Co- mmand-and-the-Pol.html). It is time to break the silence of the Prime Minister and his team of leaders towards children of Lesser God of Manipur, before it is too late (https://www. thesangai express.com/Encyc/2023/6/25/Laiphrak-pam-ongbi-Nirmala-Laishram During-the-last-State- Assembly-elections-of- Mani- pur-in-2022-the.html). Delhi can no longer delay tough action against Kuki militants | Jaideep Mazumdar (Swarajya) The bombings by Kuki militants have further complicated an already-volatile situation in Manipur. Meiteis believeand that perception seems to be truethat the Union Government is mollycoddling Kuki militants. The volatile situation in Manipur is taking a turn for the worse, thanks to the indecisiveness of the Union Government, which has inexplicably stepped back from taking decisive action against Kuki militants. Kuki militants, their ranks and armouries reinforced by battle-hardened cadres from conflict-torn Myanmar, have escalated their attacks on Meiteis through the use of sophisticated arms and tactics. After attacking Meitei villages and even India Reserve Battalion (IRB) defences in Imphal West district, Kuki militants have used improvised long-range launchers to fire rockets at the residence of Manipurs first Chief Minister, Mairenbam Koireng, at Moirang in Bishnupur district Friday afternoon (6 September). The bombing left an elderly person dead and several injured. The residence of the former CM is just about 2 kilometres (km) away from the historic Indian National Army (INA) War Museum in Moirang. Kuki militants also fired rockets from elevated posts in the hills of Churachandpur district at Tronglaobi, a Meitei village about 45 km from State capital Imphal. Top State police officials told Swarajya over the phone from Imphal that the use of high, fast-flying drones to drop bombs and grenades on targets had added a new and dangerous dimension to the ethnic conflict in the State. It is very obvious that the Kuki militants have got these drones and the expertise in flying them from Myanmar or even other countries. Drones are being used extensively by ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) in Myanmar against the armed forces of that country, an Inspector General (IGP) of Manipur police told Swarajya. The police are also alarmed over the use of improvised long-range launchers to fire rockets at distant targets. The bombs that landed at the former CMs residence are believed to have been fired from over 5 km away. Kuki militants who fired those rockets from long-range launchers obviously got training from somewhere. They also got training in making those launchers and bombs. That level of expertise is quite sophisticated since it involves calculating the trajectory of the fired explosive, wind speed, and other factors. They have been receiving training over the past few months, and we suspect it is from Kuki-Chin outfits in Myanmar, said the police officer. The bombings by Kuki militants have further complicated the situation in the State. Meiteis believe and that perception seems to be true that the Union Government is mollycoddling Kuki militants. It is widely perceived that Assam Rifles had provided training and shelter to Kuki militant outfits to use them against Naga and Meitei militants. That is why Meiteis have been demanding the removal of Assam Rifles from the Kuki-dominated areas in the hill districts. This demand was partially met when two Assam Rifles battalions were pulled out and redeployed outside the State and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) posted in their place in early-August. But that has not changed the situation on the ground, and the perception that the Central forces, including the army, are not taking strong action against Kuki militants has only strengthened in recent weeks. Despite plenty of evidence that Kuki militants possess sophisticated weapons and have received arms and training from their sister outfits in Myanmar, Central security forces have not launched a crackdown on them. Manipur police, on the other hand, is being restrained from launching operations against Kuki militants in the hills who are carrying out attacks on Meiteis. The fierce anger among Meiteis against the refusal of the Central forces to act against Kuki militants has led the apex body of the Meiteisthe Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI)to de- clare a public emergency across five districts of Im-phal Valley that is inhabited predominantly by Meiteis. The COCOMI also issued a statement Friday, stating that the Government cannot be further trusted to protect the lives of people, and the public must decide its own way to protect themselves. Hours after this statement, angry mobs attempted to loot the armoury of the Second Manipur Rifles battalion. Police had to fire tear gas shells and live rounds to thwart the attempted loot. There is widespread anger among Meiteis, and this will inevitably result in more violence. The anger is against the Central security forces and the Union Government for inaction against Kuki militant outfits, said a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician who is also a Cabinet Minister. Security experts say it is only a matter of time before the Union Governments mollycoddling of Kuki militants backfires. Very soon, the Kuki militants will start targeting the State police and then the Central security forces. And given the fact that they have built up an impressive armoury with sophisticated weapons (many of Chinese make) and have received training in guerilla warfare as well as the use of the sophisticated arms from the battle-hardened Kuki-Chin outfits in Myanmar, they will be difficult to suppress, said a retired army Colonel, a Meitei, who has settled down in Imphal. Army sources acknowledge this reality but plead helplessness in the face of clear-cut directives from New Delhi to go all out against the Kuki militants. It is a dangerous situation, and the longer we put off a full-scale offensive against the (Kuki) militants, the stronger they will become, said an army officer posted at the armys 57 Mountain Division headquarters at Leimakhong, about 30 km west of Imphal city. The growing boldness of the Kuki militants, who are backed by Kuki civil society organisations, and the inaction of Central security forces, who refuse to take action against them, is pushing Manipur to the brink once again. The COCOMIs call to Meiteis to arrange for their own protection due to the failure of the security forces to protect them has added another dangerous dimension. This is being interpreted as a call to Meitei civilians to arm themselves. The situation is turning more volatile. Kuki militants are getting bolder and brazen and have gained the strength now to attack any village or installation at their will and to cleanse the hills of all Meiteis. Meiteis, on the other hand, are justifiably angry, and we will definitely witness a resurgence of the (Imphal) Valley-based militant outfits, said the retired army officer. If these predictions come true, Manipur will go over the brink. This can only have very grave security implications for India. Making CM the fall guy Delhis brand of politics | September 1, September 2, September 6, September 7 and the offensives from the Kuki militants continue unabated and it was against this backdrop that Chief Minister N Biren convened one meeting after the other of the MLAs belonging to the ruling bloc and rounded this up with a memorandum to Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya. Weaponised drones, rocket propelled explosives, intense offensives from the Kuki militants and retaliation from the village defenders or volunteers and clearly Manipur is today in the storm of a war. From Koutruk, Senjam Chirang to Moirang in Bishnupur district to Jiribam and more than obvious that the Kuki militants are well placed, armed to the teeth with sophisticated weapons including weaponised drones to strike out as and when they please and yet Delhi continues to molly coddle the Kuki militants. Obviously with the Centre not giving the go ahead signal to the security forces to act against the Kuki militants, it is the other side, the Meiteis who are at the receiving end and the very fact that Chief Minister N Biren felt it compelled to approach the Governor to take steps to rein in the marauding Kuki militants is more than enough indication that Delhi has closed its doors on the face of the Chief Minister. Let the Chief Minister continue with the official designation as the first among equals in Manipur, but shorn of all the powers and authority, is the stand of Delhi. No wonder the DGP and the Security Advisor slept over the missives from the Chief Ministers office to be on the alert, citing the build up of militants at Jiribam and this was as early as January this year. The Chief Minister is co-operating is the line maintained by Union Home Minister on the floor of Parliament some time back and this is where one is constrained to question what Amit Shah exactly meant in using the term co-operating ? Top this off with the fact that no one exactly knows whether Article 355 has been enforced here or not, but the fact remains that Delhi has shorn off all the powers and authority of the Chief Minister but at the same time without actually proclaiming it publicly. A case of exercising power without responsibility and in the process the finger of accusation being increasingly pointed at the Chief Minister. Let the Chief Minister do all the dirty work by continuing with him, but dont give him the power and authority to act as the Chief Minister, is the politics that has been adopted by Delhi, the Union Home Ministry in particular. This is something which has not blown over the consciousness of the keen observers here in Manipur and this is where one is constrained to question why the Chief Minister should accept such an arrangement. What is the logic in submitting a memorandum to the Governor, when the points mentioned in the representation are issues which only Delhi can address. Wouldnt it have made much better sense to send the memorandum directly to Delhi or is it a case of the people who matter refusing to open their doors to anyone from Manipur ? What is the status of the SoO pact with the Kuki militants ? While Delhi has not officially spelt out its stand, this did not stop the Chief Minister from asserting that though the pact has not been extended, it is still effective. An announcement made on the floor of the Assembly during the Monsoon session and this has only confused the people. As repeatedly said, a driving license or a passport, would be deemed expired, if not renewed before it passes the validity date and this is where one is left wondering whether the Chief Minister was tutored to toe a line scripted by Delhi. It is this politics that has not gone down well with the people at all and it should be clear that from the day violence erupted in all its ugliness on May 3, 2023, the role of Delhi has been best exemplified by the conduct of the Central security forces, particularly the Assam Rifles. When armoured vehicles of the Assam Rifles blocked the gate of a police station some time last year, it was akin to asking the police to remain quiet in their stations while letting the Kuki militants have a free run. When its armoured vehicle is parked right in the middle of the road, blocking the passage of the State police, then this also amounts to telling the cops to stay put and not interfere when Kuki militants go on the rampage. This is where one can see the hands of Delhi written all over in black and white and this is a call which the State Government should have raised a long, long time back. The office of the Chief Minister should not be allowed to be demeaned in such a crude manner. In a move following former urban development minister and CPM leader Asok Bhattacharyas efforts, BJP MLA Anandamay Barman of Matigara-Naxalbari has initiated a proposal to establish a new municipality in the Shibmandir area. This would cover two gram panchayats, encompassing key installations like North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, and the University of North Bengal. In a formal letter addressed to urban development minister Firhad Hakim, MLA Barman urged the state government to set up two new municipalities within his constituency. Advertisement According to him, rapid urban development in the Shibmandir area, and the adjoining Bagdogra region, necessitates the establishment of urban civic bodies. Barman argued that the existing gram panchayats lack the infrastructure to provide adequate services to these peri-urban zones. The concept of establishing a municipality in Shibmandir is not new. Asok Bhattacharya, during his tenure as urban development minister, had almost finalised plans for a municipality in Atharokhai (known locally as Shibmandir). However, the proposal was stalled due to the lack of approval from the Governor before 2011. During the Left Fronts election campaign, there was a push to expand the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) to include Bagdogra, but it never came to fruition. Since the Trinamul Congress came to power, local demand for an urban body has increased. Residents argue that the gram panchayats are ill-equipped to handle the rapid growth of areas like Matigara, which houses key infrastructure such as the City Centre Mall, a university, and a medical college. Sources indicate that the state government is considering extending the boundaries of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation to include vital installations such as Uttarkanya and North Bengal Medical College. Mayor Goutam Deb confirmed that a survey is currently underway to assess the feasibility of the expansion. In response to the growing demand, MLA Anandamay Barman has proposed the creation of two separate municipalities, one for Shibmandir and another for Bagdogra. The Bagdogra municipality would cover the Naxalbari block, including Upper Bagdogra, Lower Bagdogra, and Gossainpur Gram Panchayats, an area spanning approximately 50 square kilometres with a population of around 3,00,000. The Shibmandir municipality would encompass Matigara-I, Matigara-II, Atharokhai, and parts of Champasari gram panchayats, covering roughly 100 square kilometres with a population of nearly 5,00,000. In his letter to the urban development minister, Barman emphasised that rapid urbanisation has rendered the panchayats incapable of extending essential civic amenities to these areas. Key infrastructure, including Bagdogra Airport, North Bengal University, and North Bengal Medical College, as well as shopping malls, multiplexes, and residential complexes, are located in these regions. Barman highlighted the importance of creating municipalities to manage these growing urban needs, which include the development of roads and infrastructure linked to the national highway (NH-31) and Asian highway (AH-2), as well as railway connectivity. Barman also pointed out that while Maynaguri Municipality was constituted in 2011, the Shibmandir proposal has seen no progress. He had raised the issue in the state Assembly last year but was informed that no proposal had been received by the urban development department. As an alternative, Barman suggested the possibility of merging these areas with the Greater Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC), allowing residents to benefit from municipal services within the jurisdiction of Siliguri Metropolitan Police. The assistant sub-inspector of police and the CIDs bomb squad constable along with two others, arrested in the sensational Rs 1 crore highway robbery case were sent to jail custody for five days by the court today as the police didnt forward remand prayer for them. Two others, Mrityunjoy Sarkar, an already dismissed policeman and Subhas Sharma, a migrant youth lodged in Ashis Market area in Durgapur Steel Township were granted remand for five days. The Commissioner, Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate meanwhile issued a suspension order for Asim Chakraborty, the ASI of Durgapur PS booked in the robbery case as he had already stayed more than 24 hours in police lockup. Asim, the CIDs constable along with four others were arrested by the police during consecutive raids since Thursday late evening after receiving a complaint of road robbery near DVC Mor here on the NH-19. A Delhi-based railway contractor Mukesh Chawla complained that his car was intercepted by two police vehicles near DVC Mor on the highway and the cops accompanied by some youths had looted Rs 1.01 cr in cash from his possession on Thursday evening. He claimed that hes on his way to Kolkata from his liaison associates place at Sitarampur in Asansol to make some payments. Advertisement Senior police officials said, Primary investigations suggest Mrityunjoy had a key role in the robbery. The police however couldnt recover a single penny from the arrested persons in last 48 hours. The police also are yet to ascertain why Chawla, the victim railway contractor first had forwarded the sum in phases through RTGS and NEFT to some companies in Nadia and Asansol and then was carrying the amount in cash from Sitarampur to Kolkata by road? Also, the police are yet to establish the arrested ASIs definite presence on the PO (place of occurrence), though its evident from his cell phone records that hed received three calls from the PO. The police have found a definite dereliction of duty on his part. As the police didnt seek remand for him, its assumed that his possible involvement in the crime might be lighter. The police suspect the role of Chawlas liaison partner in the robbery and the deputy commissioner of police, Abhishek Gupta said today, Weve almost detected the direct involvement of the dismissed policeman. He had a close rapport with the victims liaison partner and he acted as a bridge link with the on-duty cops. Weve raided four more locations in search of some other persons involved in the robbery, but none else could be traced as yet. The Indian startup ecosystem raised more than $348 million in funding this week, as the growth momentum for the industry continued for a second consecutive week. The Indian startups collectively secured $348 million across 19 deals this week, compared to $466 million raised by 16 startups in the previous week. The week was led by ride-sharing platform Rapido which raised $200 million in its Series E funding, taking its valuation to over $1.1 billion. The funding round was led by WestBridge Capital. The company said it will use funds to expanding its operations across India and scaling its technology platform to enhance service delivery. Advertisement Rapido plans to grow its operations across all categories, including bike-taxis, three-wheelers, and taxi-cabs. Leading digital platform for trade finance Drip Capital secured $113 million in new funding. This includes $23 million in equity from Japanese institutional investors, GMO Payment Gateway and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), and $90 million in debt financing, led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and East West Bank. Lending platform Moneyview also reportedly raised approximately $30 million in debt through private placements. In August, startups raised about $1.6 billion across 112 deals, that included 27 growth-stage deals worth $1.32 billion and 71 early-stage deals worth $267 million. This year, the ecosystem witnessed a surge in large funding rounds (over $100 million). There have been 13 funding rounds valued at over $100 million. Startups like Zepto, Rapido, Lenskart, Flipkart, Meesho and PharmEasy have raised funding in these rounds. Quick e-commerce company Zepto raised two rounds of funding of one billion dollars ($340 million + $665 million) in 2024. The company had last raised $340 million in funding at a valuation of $5 billion. An eyewear major, Lenskart has also raised funding of $200 million so far in 2024. The valuation of the company is around $5 billion. In a surprising twist to his career, renowned chef Ranveer Brar is making waves as an actor with his upcoming film, The Buckingham Murders. Scheduled for release on September 13, this thriller directed by Hansal Mehta is set to showcase Brar in a brand-new light, far from his culinary roots. In a recent interview, Brar shared his thoughts on transitioning from the kitchen to the silver screen, revealing both his excitement and apprehension about this new chapter in his career. He plays the role of Daljeet Kohli in the film, which also stars the illustrious Kareena Kapoor Khan. Brars acting debut was in the series Modern Love Mumbai, where he initially grappled with the fear of being pigeonholed into villainous roles. However, this experience proved to be a turning point, helping him overcome his doubts about acting. Reflecting on his journey, Brar mentioned, When I arrived in Mumbai, I always felt it was meant to be. My first role was comforting because it resonated with my profession as a chef. Advertisement View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ranveer Brar (@ranveer.brar) Now, Brar is diving into a role that starkly contrasts his real-life persona. This role is nothing like being a chef. I was drawn to the challenge of portraying a character so different from myself, he explained. He also commended director Hansal Mehta for his unique approach to filmmaking, which he found both demanding and enlightening. Brar described working with Mehta as a transformative experience. Hansal sirs direction is about depth and precision. He has an extraordinary ability to understand you as a person and as a character, Brar said. He recounted how Mehta asked for stillness in his performance, advising him to maintain a sense of calm both while delivering lines and during moments of silence. Brar also spoke highly of his co-star, Kareena Kapoor Khan, calling the experience of working with her outstanding. He expressed awe at her prowess and ability to adapt seamlessly on set. Kareena is the queen of the industry, he said. Her presence on set is almost surreal. She has this remarkable ability to transform as soon as the camera is on. Despite her star power, Brar found Kareena to be down-to-earth and supportive. She has an incredible knack for making her co-stars feel comfortable while bringing her exceptional skill to every scene, he noted. The Buckingham Murders features Kareena Kapoor Khan in a gripping role as a grieving detective on a mission to apprehend a child murderer. The films trailer has already generated buzz, showcasing Kareenas intense and compelling performance. As the release date approaches, Ranveer Brar is filled with anticipation. This has been an exhilarating journey, and Im excited for audiences to experience the film, he concluded. Nicole Kidman was notably absent from the Venice Film Festival this year due to a personal tragedy. The acclaimed actress, who had just arrived in Italy for the festival, had to leave abruptly following the death of her mother, Janelle Ann Kidman. Kidman was scheduled to be honored with the Best Actress award for her role in the film Babygirl. However, in a poignant turn of events, she was unable to attend the ceremony. Instead, Halina Reijn, the director of Babygirl, accepted the award on Kidmans behalf. Reijn, visibly emotional, took to the stage to convey her shock and sadness, saying, Im in shock, and I have to go to my family, but this award is for her. I am beyond grateful that I get to say her name to all of you. The collision of life and art is heartbreaking, and my heart is broken. The festival also saw other prominent figures extend their condolences. Brady Corbet, who won the Silver Lion for Best Director, expressed his sympathy towards Kidman, acknowledging the difficult circumstances she was facing. Advertisement Nicole Kidman had previously spoken about her mothers declining health earlier this year. In an interview on NPRs Fresh Air podcast, Kidman shared the challenges she faced in balancing her career with her responsibilities as a caregiver. She recounted a particularly meaningful visit to an art gallery with her mother, despite the difficulties posed by the Omicron COVID-19 variant. Kidman described the visit to the Matisse exhibit as a comforting experience for both her and her mother, highlighting the deep bond they shared over the arts. In a 2020 interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Nicole Kidman reflected on her mothers influence on her life and career. She credited her mother with providing the inspiration and support needed to pursue her acting career, stating, Shes given me the fire to pursue the career I have because Ive always wanted to please her. But she also carved her own path and wanted her daughters to have the same opportunity to carve their own paths. Legendary Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes, a transformative figure in the world of music, has passed away at the age of 83. Mendes, known for his influential contributions as a pianist, composer, and arranger, died peacefully in Los Angeles on Thursday. The news was confirmed by his family, who chose to keep the cause of death private but mentioned that Mendes had been battling long-term COVID. In a heartfelt statement, Mendes family described his final moments, noting that he was surrounded by his loved ones, including his wife of 54 years, Gracinha Leporace Mendes, and their children. Mendes recent health issues had been a concern, though he managed to perform in November 2023, enchanting audiences in Paris, London, and Barcelona with his vibrant performances. Herb Alpert, a close friend and collaborator, took to social media to honor Mendes, praising him as both a true friend and an extremely gifted musician. Alpert highlighted Mendes role in bringing Brazilian music to the global stage with both grace and enthusiasm. Advertisement Mendes career began to gain traction as a member of Antonio Carlos Jobims band, but it was his own group, Brasil 66, that catapulted him into the international spotlight. His innovative blend of samba, jazz, and pop produced timeless hits like Mas Que Nada, Fool on the Hill, and Goin Out of My Head. These tracks helped introduce Brazilian sounds to a broader audience, setting the stage for future global music trends. Beyond his hits, Mendes made significant contributions to various projects, including producing Sarah Vaughans celebrated album Brazilian Romance and working on the soundtrack for the animated film Rio in 2011. His influence extended well beyond music, shaping both Brazilian and global culture with his distinctive sound. Born on February 11, 1941, in Niteroi, Brazil, Mendes was initially trained as a classical pianist by his father. However, his deep passion for jazz and bossa nova led him to become a pivotal figure in these genres. His early collaborations with icons like Joao Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim solidified his place in music history. Throughout his career, Sergio Mendes demonstrated an impressive ability to adapt to contemporary trends while staying true to his musical roots. His later albums, such as 2014s Magic and 2020s In the Key of Joy, showcased his continued creativity and ability to merge traditional Brazilian rhythms with modern influences. Sergio Mendes legacy remains a testament to his innovative spirit and enduring impact on the world of music. Malayalam actor Vinayakan was arrested at Hyderabads Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on Saturday evening following an incident of disorderly conduct. The actor, who was arriving on an Indigo flight from Kochi and was preparing to head to Goa, was reportedly inebriated and caused a commotion at the airport gate. According to Inspector K. Balaraju of the RGI Airport police station, the disruption occurred around 6 PM. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which oversees airport security, noted that Vinayakans behavior was inappropriate and unruly, leading them to detain him and hand him over to the local police. Inspector Balaraju confirmed that Vinayakan has been charged under the City Police Act for his conduct. The actors behavior was described as creating a significant disturbance at the airport. Advertisement Vinayakan, known for his impressive acting career, has received considerable acclaim, including a National Film Award for Best Actor for his role in the critically acclaimed film Maheshinte Prathikaaram. His recent projects include prominent roles in films like Rajinikanths Jailer, Kammatti Paadam, and Oruthee. Beginning his career as a dancer, Vinayakan first gained recognition with his dance troupe Black Mercury, specializing in fire dance. His acting career took off with his debut in director Thampi Kannanthanams Maanthrikam, and he continued to gain fame with notable performances in movies such as Stop Violence, Vellithira, Chathikkatha Chanthu, Chotta Mumbai, and Thottappan. He has also made appearances in a few Bollywood films. One of his most celebrated roles was as Ganga in Rajeev Ravis 2016 film Kammatipaadam. His portrayal earned him several awards, including the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor, the North American Film Award for Outstanding Performance, and the Cinema Paradiso Club Cine Award for Best Actor. This film also marked his debut as a music director. Looking ahead, Vinayakan is set to appear in Gautham Vasudev Menons Dhruva Natchathiram: Chapter One Yuddha Kaandam, among other projects. Senior AAP leader Somnath Bharti has expressed strong reservations against his partys alliance with the Congress in Haryana for the October 5 Assembly elections, highlighting the Lok Sabha elections 2024 experience when the two parties fought together in Delhi but failed to win a single seat. Before the AAP-Congress alliance is inked in Haryana, Aam Aadmi Party must evaluate the effectiveness of a similar alliance formed in Delhi during the Lok Sabha elections, Bharti stated. He recounted how, despite AAPs efforts to support Congress candidates, the same level of backing was not reciprocated. Advertisement My national convenor Arvind Kejriwal did roadshows for all three Congress candidates, and senior AAP leaders and cabinet ministers campaigned for them. However, AAP candidates, especially myself, were not supported at all, particularly by Congress Delhi and local leaders, Bharti said. Bharti also claimed that senior Congress leader Ajay Maken refused to meet AAP leaders during the Lok Sabha polls and accused some Congress leaders of supporting BJP candidates for money. Local leaders like Jitender Kochchar in Malviya Nagar worked against this alliance and sought votes for BJPs MP candidate, allegedly for money, he added. He also pointed out the Congress votebank could not be consolidated as Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and, Mallikarjun Kharge didnt campaign in constituencies of AAP candidates. No event of Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, or Mallikarjun Kharge was organized in our parliamentary constituencies to consolidate Congress votes in our favor, he said. Terming the alliance with the Congress misfit and selfish, Bharti further underscored the sentiment among AAP supporters regarding their tie-up with the Congress. Supporters of AAP are majorly not in favour of such a misfit and selfish alliance, and AAP should contest on all seats in Haryana, Punjab, and Delhi on its own, Bharti asserted. He emphasised that Haryana, being the home state of Arvind Kejriwal, presents a strong opportunity for AAP and suggested the party must contest all the 90 assembly seats. BJP in Haryana is on its deathbed, Congress is facing massive in-fights, and AAP should contest on all 90 seats on its own strength to give the first non-BJP, non-Congress honest government in Haryana, he added. His remarks came a day after AAP national spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said that alliance talks with the Congress in Haryana are ongoing and a decision is expected within a couple of days. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is leaving for Moscow this week amid speculations that India could play a role in resolving the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Mr. Doval is visiting Russia primarily to attend a conclave of NSAs of BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) countries that is taking place at a time when serious efforts are on to bring the prolonged conflict to an end. Mr. Dovals visit to Russia comes close on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modis trip to Ukraine. The PM had in July visited Russia and called for an early resolution of the conflict through peaceful talks. Advertisement Several Western nations believe India could play a role in ending the conflict, given its friendship with both Russia and Ukraine. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, following her talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday, said India and China can play a role in finding a solution to the conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a panel discussion at the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok on Thursday, named India, Brazil and China as possible intermediaries that could play a role in resolving the conflict. Shortly after his trip to Ukraine and meeting with President Zelensky, PM Modi spoke to President Putin over the phone on August 27. A Russian Embassy statement then said that he informed President Putin about his visit to Kyiv and stressed Indias commitment to bringing about a settlement by political and diplomatic means. Sources said that it was during this phone call that the leaders decided that NSA Doval would travel to Moscow to further discuss the prospects for peace in Europe. Coming down heavily on former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah for his remarks on the 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, the BJP accused him of promoting a separatist agenda. Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad questioned Abdullahs stance on the matter, asking, Who was Afzal Guru? Was he involved in terrorist activities, or not? Were innocent people killed or not? Prasad was also critical of Congress for its silence on the matter. I want to tell Congress that Kashmir has changed. The Tricolour flutters at Lal Chowk, and there is development in J&K. The public knows they were looted in the name of terrorism. Advertisement Echoing similar sentiments, Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao said, This statement of Omar Abdullah reflects his separatist mentality. His manifesto also points towards this. Unfortunately, Omar Abdullah is talking about a separatist mentality. He called on Congress to clarify its position, questioning whether the party agreed with Abdullahs statements. Referring to the Afzal Gurus hanging, Abdullah said it served no purpose and that the Jammu & Kashmir government wont have given permission if asked. The unfortunate thing was that the Jammu & Kashmir government had nothing to do with Afzal Gurus execution. Otherwise, you would have had to do it with the permission of the state government, which I can tell you in no uncertain terms would not have been forthcoming. We wouldnt have done it. I dont believe that any purpose was served by executing him, Abdullah said on Friday. Despite the BJP high commands request to exercise restraint while issuing statements about the wrestlers due to the upcoming Haryana assembly election, former BJP MP and ex-president of the Indian Wrestling Federation Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh continued his tirade against the wrestlers, who had now joined the Congress. Speaking to the media at his residence in Vishnoharpur on Sunday, Singh again targeted international wrestlers. Countering Bajrang Punias statement that Singh has a bad mentality, he remarked that Punia himself has a bad mentality and has put his wife at stake. Singh also raised questions about the agitation at Jantar Mantar, noting that while former Haryana CM Bhupendra Hooda and MP Deependra Hooda were leading the protest, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also joined them. Advertisement Five thousand years ago, Draupadi was put at stake and the country has not forgiven that event even today. However, the country will not forgive those who have put our sisters and daughters at stake, like the Hooda family. They will remain the culprits of this incident, he said. While claiming his innocence of all charges made by the wrestlers against him, the former IWF president asserted that he was not present during the three incidents in which he is accused. In one incident, I was in Serbia, and in the other two, I was in Lucknow on the day of the events. This is a matter for the court, but when everything comes out, they will not be able to answer, he said. Taking aim at Congress, he said, Congress is sitting in my horoscope. Even when my house was demolished in 1974, there was a Congress government. When the first FIR was filed against me, there was a Congress government. Congress is sitting in my horoscope. He did not comment on the Haryana elections but cornered Congress on many issues. Meanwhile, sources in the BJP said that they have cautioned the former MP not to make any controversial statements at this moment due to the Haryana elections. The alleged meeting of Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) M R Ajith Kumar with RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale in Thrissur in May last year has put the CPI-M in Kerala in a tight spot. The CPI-M is embroiled in a fresh following the allegation as it links the Left party with rightwing RSS/BJP. Coming as it does close on the heels of CPI-Ms action against senior party leader E P Jayarajan for meeting with BJP leader Prakash Javadekar, the controversy over the ADGP-Hosabale meeting put the party in a precarious situation. The Opposition UDF mounted an attack on the CPI-M, alleging a deal between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the RSS. Advertisement The Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, V D Satheesan, has alleged that Ajith Kumar had met Hosabale at the behest of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Satheesan said on Sunday that the chief minister sent emissaries to meet RSS/BJP leaders to placate them and do whatever they want to ward off the investigation by Central probe agencies into the cases against him, his family members, and other party leaders. Satheesan said the CPI-M and the BJP are working in cooperation by scratching each others backs. In exchange for protecting CPI-M leaders from the scrutiny of Central probe agencies, the BJP state president K Surendran was exempted from the Kodakara money heist case, he alleged. The Congress leader said as the concealed deal has come into the public domain both the BJP and the CPI-M are cut a sorry figure. Despite serious allegations against ADGP Ajith Kumar, who is in charge of law and order, including the meeting with the RSS leaders, the chief minister remained silent. Even after the ADGP admitted that he had met the RSS leader Hosabale, the government has not taken any action against him. In this situation, there is deep dissatisfaction within the party and within the Left Front. While MLA P V Anwar is targeting ADGP M R Ajithkumar, the issue has come in handy to the Opposition which is now using the allegations against the ADGP against the chief minister and the government. Satheesan and senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged that the ADGP was the bridge between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the RSS leadership and thats why the chief minister has been maintaining a silence in the matter. Satheesan alleged that the CPI-M conspired to sabotage the Thrissur pooram to facilitate a BJP win in the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat. P V Anvar, who also waded into the row, alleged that the ADGP has links with the BJP and was present in Thrissur when alleged police intervention undermined the Thrissur Pooram festival. He also alleged that the ADGPs meeting with the RSS leader was meant to bail out VD Satheesan, who has been facing an ED probe in a case of alleged FCRA violations in connection with mobilising funds for Punarjani a rehabilitation project. When the issue related to former DGP TP Senkumar came up, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had mocked the Opposition. Then, Pinarayi Vijayan defended the issue saying Sen Kumar is in the RSS camp. When Governor Arif Mohammed Khan met the RSS chief, the state secretary of the CPI-M himself raised criticism against it. The CPI, the second largest constituent in the Left Front, expressed its concern over ADGP Ajith Kumars meeting with RSS leader Dattatreya Hosabala. Partys Kerala secretary Binoy Viswam said the meeting is suspicious. He said the ADGP should not hold discussions with the RSS leader at the Left governments expense and he urged an investigation on the matter. No official should hold such discussions at the expense of the LDF. What knowledge was the ADGP sharing with a representative of RSS? The details of the meeting should be made public. There is no ideological exchange between the RSS and the LDF. The ADGP should not hold discussions with the RSS leader at the Left governments expense. This matter requires an investigation, said Binoy Viswam. CPI-M state secretary M V Govindan said the ADGPs meeting with the RSS leader had nothing to do with state government. M V Govindan said to whom ADGP MR Ajith Kumar is meeting is not a matter of concern for his party. There is no need to link it with CPI-M. The meeting between the ADGP and the RSS leader was made controversial by the media, he said. Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader PK Kunhalikutty sought Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayans response on the issue. Kunhalilkutty said in Kozhikode that such developments were unheard of in Kerala politics. This is something that affects the people of the state, and they have a right to know the details. CM Vijayans silence does not suit him, he said. A 20-year old man was arrested while a hunt is on for the remaining three, after four people opened fire outside a club in Shahdara, Police said on Sunday. One accused Shahrukh, resident of Ghaziabad, was apprehended while the two others were identified. Efforts are being made to nab the remaining culprits. According to the police, they received a telephone call from a man named Umar that there was firing outside a club in the Jhilmil industrial area on September 6. Advertisement Based on the call, a team was rushed to the spot and it collected two bullets and eight empty shells from the spot. Two bullet marks on the door of the club were also taken into account during investigation. The complainant Umar, who also works as a bouncer in the club, narrated to the cops that on the intervening night of September 5 -6, four people came and pointed pistols towards him while he was standing on the gate of the club. He further said that somehow he managed to escape and the bullets hit the gate of the club. The accused fled from the spot after firing. A case was registered under Arms act and an investigation has been initiated. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday described the new National Education Policy (NEP) as a game changer for the country, urging states that have not adopted it to reconsider their stance. He noted that the policy gives due importance to all languages and called upon everyone to resolve to make at least one person literate. When we make someone literate, we liberate him or her, we help that person discover himself or herself, we make him or her feel dignity, we cut down dependence, we generate independence and interdependence. It enables a person to help himself or herself. It is a supreme facet of handholding, Dhankhar said. Advertisement Addressing the International Literacy Day celebrations as Chief Guest at Vigyan Bhawan here, the Vice President underlined, The joy and happiness you provide by educating a person, whether a man, a woman, a child, or a girl, is beyond measure. You cant imagine the happiness it will bring you. It will spread in a positive manner. It will be the greatest affirmative action you can take in Human Resource Development. In his address, Dhankhar called upon everyone to promote literacy, stating, Its time for us to be in mission mode with commitment and passion to ensure 100 per cent literacy at the earliest. I am sure this is achievable sooner than we think. Let each one make one literate; this will be a spinal contribution to Viksit Bharat. Education is something that no thief can take away from you. No government can snatch it from you. Neither relatives nor friends can take it away from you. There can be no reduction in it. It will grow and continue to grow as long as you keep sharing it, he asserted. The Vice President also expressed confidence that if literacy is pursued passionately, India can reclaim its ancient status as a centre of learning, like Nalanda and Takshashila. Appealing to the states that are yet to adopt the new National Education Policy to rethink and revisit their stance, he emphasised that this policy is a game changer for the nation. The National Education Policy empowers our youth to fully tap their talent and energy, giving due importance to all languages, he remarked. Highlighting the special significance of the mother tongue, Dhankhar said it is the language in which we dream. Emphasising Indias unparalleled linguistic diversity, he remarked, There is no country in the world like India. We are a unique nation in terms of the richness of language, with several languages in existence. Reflecting on his experiences as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, he shared, I provide members the opportunity to speak in 22 languages. When I hear them speak in their language, I listen to the translation, but their body language itself tells me what they are saying. He also highlighted the profound significance of the Rishi Tradition in Indian culture and urged everyone to resolve to make at least one person literate within six months, so that by the end of the year, we can achieve the goal of educating two individuals. Lauding Indias transformative progress over the last decade, Dhankhar emphasised how achievements like electrifying every household, once unimaginable, are now a reality, with future goals focused on self-sufficiency through solar power. He reflected on rural development, highlighting the significant strides like toilets in every household and the impact of widespread digital connectivity. The Vice President noted how 4G access in remote villages has revolutionised service delivery, making everyday tasks easier, and eliminating the need for long queues for essential services. Cautioning against those who taint, tarnish, and demean our institutions, Dhankhar urged to show the path to those misguided souls who fail to acknowledge the impressive growth of Bharat and do not recognise the ground reality. Former Union Minister Smriti Irani and Lok Sabha MP Bansuri Swaraj took part in the BJPs nationwide membership drive in the national capital on Sunday. Speaking to the media, Irani said, I am elated at the huge response the membership drive is eliciting nationally towards the BJP leadership. The former Union Minister also visited the slums of Sunder Nagri in Delhi. Advertisement Today, poor women from the slums of Sunder Nagri in Delhi took part in the BJP membership drive and pleaded for assistance, claiming that Aam Aadmi Party members had demolished their houses despite assurances of rehabilitation. People are joining the BJP to help such individuals. Assisting those in need is a fundamental aspect of BJP workers, Irani told the media. Meanwhile, Swaraj, who took part in the BJPs membership drive at Scindia Camp in Sarojini Nagar, appealed to people to join the party if they want a strong, developed and empowered India. If you want a strong, developed, and empowered India, then become a member of the worlds most popular party, the BJP, and contribute to advancing PM Modis public welfare policies, Bansuri said while speaking to a news agency. Earlier, Union Minister Harsh Malhotra led the BJP membership drive at Jhuggi Bastis in IP Extension and Patparganj. He said, BJP is the largest party in the world. It is a party with internal democracy. While there are over 1,200 parties in India, only BJP renews its members membership every six years. BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal, who was also part of the membership drive, said, I started a membership drive in slums and informed people about various schemes designed to improve their living standards. BJP is committed to enhancing the living conditions of slum dwellers, which is why we have launched the Jhuggi Jhopdi Chalo Abhiyan, or BJP membership drive, in Delhi today. The BJP on Thursday completed registering one crore members in three days under its membership drive this year. Tamil superstar Vijay officially announced the formation of his new political party, Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), on Sunday, becoming the latest actor to join the Tamil Nadu political scene after legends like MGR, J Jayalalithaa, and Kamal Haasan. In a statment, Vijay confirmed that the Election Commission of India has officially registered Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam as a political party and granted permission to participate in electoral politics as a registered party. The actor expressed his deep commitment to the people of Tamil Nadu, emphasising that the partys core mission was to bring about positive changes in society through policies rooted in fairness, justice, and transparency. Advertisement He also outlined the partys goal of combating corruption and ensuring that the rights and dignity of every Tamil individual are upheld. Our party will serve as a beacon of hope for the Tamil people. We will strive to bring about positive changes through policies that prioritise the welfare of the people and uphold justice. Our foundation is built on the principles of fairness, and we are committed to eradicating corruption and bringing transparency to governance, the actor-politician stated. Highlighted the importance of the upcoming elections, he said that TVK will contest with the aim of forming a government that genuinely represents the aspirations of the Tamil people. The upcoming elections will be a significant moment for us. We will contest the elections with the aim of forming a government that truly represents the aspirations of the Tamil people. Our mission is clear: to ensure that the dreams of every Tamil individual are realized, he said in the statement. He urged his supporters to rally behind the party and work together to achieve their collective goals. Indias move to extend the ban on sugar exports signals a strategic shift towards bolstering domestic supply chains and reinforcing its commitment to ethanol production. This decision comes at a critical juncture for global markets, where reduced output from Brazil due to drought has already tightened supplies. Indias role as the worlds second-largest sugar producer positions it as a key player in the global sugar trade, and its absence from export markets is expected to ripple through international prices, particularly in major hubs like New York and London. At the heart of this policy is Indias ambition to reduce carbon emissions through enhanced ethanol blending in gasoline. The target of increasing the ethanol mix to 20 per cent by 2025-26 from the current 13-14 per cent reflects a broader push to transition towards cleaner energy sources. Ethanol, derived from sugarcane, plays a dual role in this strategy: it reduces reliance on fossil fuels and provides a stable demand for the sugarcane crop, especially when global sugar prices fluctuate. This policy, while environmentally commendable, is not without its challenges. Sugarcane is a water-intensive crop, and Indias recent weather patterns ~ marked by erratic monsoons ~ have already impacted production. States like Maharashtra and Karnataka, which are key sugar producers, are facing lower yields due to uneven rainfall. This decline in production is expected to continue into the next season, with output likely to fall further. In this context, diverting a larger share of sugarcane towards ethanol production could strain domestic sugar supplies, potentially leading to price hikes within India. The governments decision to raise ethanol procurement prices by over 5 per cent starting in November further underscores the prioritisation of ethanol over sugar exports. This move is likely to incentivize mills to focus more on ethanol production, which aligns with national goals but could exacerbate the already tight sugar supply situation domestically. However, this also provides an opportunity for Indian mills to capitalise on the growing demand for ethanol, both within and potentially outside the country, as global markets increasingly look for alternative fuels. Advertisement From a global perspective, Indias extended absence from the sugar export market could have significant consequences. The world is already grappling with supply shortages, and with Brazils production expected to drop, the reliance on Indian sugar exports will be more pronounced. Without Indias contribution, global sugar prices are poised to climb even higher, affecting consumers and businesses worldwide. Indias decision to extend the sugar export ban is a calculated move aimed at achieving long-term sustainability goals through increased ethanol production. While this policy supports Indias energy transition and environmental objectives, it also places pressure on both domestic and global sugar markets. The challenge for India will be to strike a balance between meeting its ethanol targets and ensuring sufficient sugar supplies for both domestic consumption and global trade. How the country navigates this delicate balance in the coming years will be crucial for its agricultural and energy sectors. Bangladeshs transformation into a global fashion powerhouse has been a remarkable success story, but recent turmoil has exposed deep vulnerabilities in its economy. The countrys rapid rise from poverty to a lower-middle-income status has largely been fuelled by its garment industry, which clocks exports of billions of dollars each year. However, the current instability underscores that this economic success is precariously built on shaky foundations. The recent political upheaval, which led to the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and severe violence, has significantly disrupted the garment sector. Factory closures, interruptions in production, and a withdrawal of major brands highlight the fragility of an industry that has become the backbone of Bangladeshs export economy. The potential 10-20 per cent drop in exports signals a worrying trend for a sector that already faces numerous challenges. Bangladeshs economic reliance on fashion has long been a double-edged sword. While the sector has created millions of jobs, it has also perpetuated low wages and poor working conditions. Factory workers, who often earn below the national minimum wage, are now demanding fairer pay and improved conditions, reflecting broader frustrations with the countrys labour market. Additionally, the educated youth, struggling with high unemployment and insufficient job opportunities, are amplifying calls for economic reform and job creation. The challenges facing Bangladesh are compounded by a range of structural issues. The garment industrys economic impact is undermined by rising operational costs and shrinking foreign currency reserves, exacerbated by a history of financial mismanagement and corruption. Excessive spending on grand infrastructure projects and cronyism within financial institutions have drained resources and weakened economic stability. The new central bank governors acknowledgment of the need for reforms and additional financial support highlights the severity of these issues. Diversifying the economy is crucial for Bangladeshs future resilience. The failure of past initiatives to create high-value jobs outside the garment sector underscores the need for a more strategic approach to economic development. Investing in human capital, reducing corruption, and fostering a more conducive environment for private and foreign investment are essential steps toward creating a more balanced and sustainable economy. The interim leadership faces a formidable challenge in steering Bangladesh through this crisis. The need for comprehensive reforms to address systemic issues, enhance institutional integrity, and promote economic diversification is urgent. Advertisement As the country navigates its current difficulties, including declining global demand and strained regional relationships, the path to recovery will require not only immediate stabilisation efforts but also long-term strategic planning. Bangladeshs experience serves as a potent reminder of the risks associated with over-reliance on a single economic sector. While the garment industry has driven impressive growth, it is clear that a more diversified and resilient economic strategy is essential for sustaining progress and addressing the complex challenges of the future. The outpouring of public angst, protests, and frustrations against the horrific rape and murder case in Kolkata is sadly following a trend that has been seen repeatedly, but one without a course-correction for posterity. Political classes across the board jump in and sully the narrative to gain a political finger-pointing opportunity and poison the mood against one another, but the underlying situation remains as grim as ever. Over time demonstrators convene under various partisan flags to suggest the laxity or complicity of the other in order to indulge in political one-upmanship. Usually the side with the situational monopoly-on-truth triumphs in the blame game, and then the issue is milked towards building partisanship. Even worse follows, as gradually the issue is forgotten as some other headline grips public attention and consumes public passion ~ till some other tragedy repeats itself. Why arent lessons learnt? Why isnt the system improved to ensure safety and security for all? Why do some institutions/bodies attempt covering up instead of acknowledging concerns and failures? Why isnt anybody held accountable, ever? It is disconcerting to note that the answers to such basic questions are rarely answered in all honestly, and it is especially strange as such incidents have the entirety of society, government and even the opposition parties supposedly on the same side ~ yet, beyond platitudes and multiple protests, the fundamental situation remains as is. Perhaps the closest that any stakeholder has come to zeroing down to the epicenter of failure fault lines in this case was when the Supreme Court noted that the incident had, shocked the conscience of the nation and explicitly criticised authorities for their handling of the investigation. While the term authorities is still very generic and not sharply defined, it can be construed from the case that the authorities in this specific case were the hospital authorities, the law-and-order agencies, and the overarching authority culture of downplaying instances (even of such severity) to maintain the charade of normalcy and performance. Advertisement To be fair, it is the same cover up sensibility and spirit that afflicts the various other authorities, be it in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala or Manipur. So, the moot question is, what can be done to disallow cover-ups and bring the guilty to justice? For starters, the various agencies need to be independent and act without fear or favour and there ought to be a culture of accountability and responsibility. The political classes, be it at the Centre or in the States, should not be allowed to politicize a criminal case. Whataboutery surrounding the case to score political brownie points must be completely disallowed. The media must be emboldened to question the stakeholders, be it the authorities, political classes, or even individuals to ensure that the truth, rather than conjecture triumphs. For too long, every time such an incident happens, there is a media-trial bordering on a meaningless circus, and the positions that the various media houses take is already predefined. Facts get muddled because vested interests go on an overdrive and hijack the incident towards partisan ends ~ it happened during the Nirbhaya case, it happened with the Sushant Singh Rajput case, it happened with the Manipur riots etc. The problem can be finally funneled down to the diminishment or compromise of the various institutions of checks-and-balances that have sadly succumbed to acute partisanship or pressures from partisan stakeholders. Period. Contextualising the dark and infamous period of Emergency, LK Advani had rightly blamed the media, You were asked only to bend, but you crawled. Not only had the media pandered to selective news but many had justified and contextualised the same in order to remain on the right side of the powers that be. The media had forsaken its vital duty of questioning without fear or favour. That is what the absence of truly independent institutions can do towards covering-up a wrong. It could be argued that instead of just focusing on the issues pertaining to this specific case, the media today is seemingly busy taking partisan sides and not asking questions shorn of political considerations. Similarly, the issue of law enforcement agencies or more specifically the policing services being the proverbial caged parrots is an old hat that is often raked up, but never addressed. There are heaps of police reform reports gathering dust in the corridors of power, which effectively suggest the detachment of police services from political oversight and influence yet these remain ignored. This simple disengagement can add immeasurably to professionalism, speed and unbiased conduct of issue-resolutions, but the political classes of all persuasions have knowingly caged law enforcement agencies, hence the sloppy and unreliable operations of these agencies. The parallel example of the other uniformed services i.e. the Indian Armed Forces, which are thankfully afforded relative independence and non-interference of the political classes, speaks for itself.The other important lever or deterrent of such heinous crimes is the virtual absence of fear from legal conviction. According to the National Judicial Data Grid there are more than 50 million cases pending in the courts ~ to expect speedy trials and conviction is a pipedream. Delays are endemic with about 77 per cent of prisoners awaiting trial, compared to a global rate of just one in three. Adding to the already heady mix of issues is the trust deficit and taints of corruption especially in the lower judiciary. Lastly the perception of the judicial system collapsing into executive courts i.e., favouring the executives actions, has gained perception. Why dont the powers-that-be invest in and expand the judicial personnel to expedite cases or take strict action on the issues in the lower judiciary or disallow political imperatives hereon (disallow postretirement carrots or the proverbial stick), baffles many. If only the police, press, and judiciary, had been operating efficiently and without any external angularities ~ the rot could be contained. The bane of such institutional compromise, control and disallowance is that it protects the political class from hard questioning and accountability. They get away by deflecting, dog whistling and politicizing issues and the obsequious cadres are happy to score meaningless partisan points. The protests that are underway need to take up the issue of policing reforms, judicial reforms, true freedom of press and insist on a culture of questioning ~ that is the only way authorities like the hospital management in this case or the local police would not have been unable to cover up. It truly isnt about one party or the other, but about us as a people who have failed to call out the bluff of politicians, who are the most important reason why such incidents happen with impunity and without resolution. (The writer is Lt Gen PVSM, AVSM (Retd), and former Lt Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Puducherry) Developments in Canadian politics highlight a critical juncture for Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus Liberal government, as the withdrawal of support from the New Democratic Party (NDP) signals a shift in the balance of power. This move by NDP leader Jagmeet Singh not only raises the likelihood of an early election but also underscores the fragility of minority governments, especially in a climate of growing voter dissatisfaction. For Mr Trudeau, who has been in power since 2015, the loss of NDP backing is a significant blow. The NDP had previously been a reliable partner, allowing the Liberals to govern with relative stability despite lacking a majority. However, with Mr Singh pulling the plug on the 2022 agreement, Mr Trudeau now faces the daunting task of navigating the remainder of his term without the certainty of parliamentary support. This situation is exacerbated by recent polls, which indicate that the Liberals are trailing far behind the Conservatives, suggesting that an early election could result in a dramatic shift in Canadian politics. The Conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre, have capitalised on increasing voter fatigue with Mr Trudeau, focusing on issues like rising living costs and the housing shortage. The Liberal governments handling of these problems has drawn widespread criticism, and voters appear eager for change. The recent loss of a traditionally safe Liberal seat to the Conservatives in a special election is a clear indicator of the publics growing discontent. Mr Trudeaus challenges are further compounded by internal strife within his party. The departure of Mr Jeremy Broadhurst, a key figure in the Liberal election machinery, is a telling sign of the uncertainty within the ranks. While Mr Broadhurst cited personal reasons for his resignation, reports suggest that his decision was influenced by doubts about the partys chances of winning the next election. This loss of confidence among senior party members only adds to the sense of instability surrounding the Liberal leadership. For Mr Singh and the NDP, the decision to withdraw support for the Liberals is a calculated risk. While the party has successfully pushed for increased social spending, Mr Singh faces criticism from within and outside his party for his perceived closeness to Mr Trudeau. Advertisement This puts him in a precarious position ~ if he backs Mr Trudeau in a confidence vote, he risks further alienating his base; if he triggers an election, he faces a tough battle with limited public support. The Conservatives, meanwhile, are poised to exploit this political uncertainty. Their strategy will likely involve forcing as many confidence votes as possible, putting both the Liberals and the NDP in a difficult position. For Mr Singh, every decision will be scrutinised, and every vote will have far-reaching consequences for his partys future. Regardless of the outcome, the next few months will be pivotal in shaping Canadas political landscape. The BRICS Employment Working Group (EWG) Meeting under Russian Presidency was held in Sochi, Russia. This was the second and final EWG meet. The Indian delegation led by Dr Mahendra Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment participated in the deliberations of draft Labour and Employment Ministers Meeting declaration. The declaration will be adopted during Labour and Employment Ministers meeting scheduled to be held on 9-10 September 2024, Ministry of Labour & Employment said on Sunday. Advertisement The EWG meeting focused on finalizing the Ministerial Declaration. The deliberations at the Employment Working Group Meeting began with delegates carrying forward outcomes from the previous meetings. The priority areas for the discussions were strategies for life-long learning, vocational guidance, modernisation of employment services, ensuring safe and healthy working conditions, and social support mechanism, the informaton shared by the ministry said. Apart from representatives of member states i.e Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the representatives of new member states, i.e., UAE, Egypt, Iran and representatives of International Labour Organization (ILO) and International Social Security Association (ISSA) also made suggestions on the priority issues. Indian delegation emphasized the need for re-skilling and up-skilling of the workforce to meet the demands of changing world of work. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in New Delhi this evening on a three-day visit to India. He was received at the airport by Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal and senior India and UAE officials at the airport. A new milestone in a historic relationship. His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in Delhi on his first official visit to India. Warmly received by @CimGOI @piyushgoyal and accorded a ceremonial welcome, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted on X. Advertisement This is his first visit to India as the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. He is accompanied by several UAE ministers and a business delegation. He will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow and hold discussions on a wide range of areas of bilateral cooperation. The Crown Prince is also scheduled to call on President Droupadi Murmu and visit Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. On Tuesday, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will visit Mumbai to participate in a Business Forum, in which business leaders from both countries will participate. In recent years, the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and the UAE has deepened in a wide range of areas including political, trade, investment, connectivity, energy, technology, education and culture. The visit of the Crown Prince will further reinforce strong India-UAE bilateral relations and open avenues for partnership in new and emerging areas, the MEA said. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani has urged countries and international institutions to prevent the recurrence of Israels war crimes in the West Bank. Kanaani made the remarks on Saturday in a post on social media platform X in response to the Israeli militarys withdrawal from the northern West Bank cities of Jenin and Tulkarm, as well as their refugee camps, after days of military operations as reported by Xinhua news agency. The footage of insane destruction of all the urban and services infrastructure of the Gaza Strip and now those of some northern parts of the West Bank, in particular in Jenin and Tulkarm, indicates that the Israeli regime is pursuing the strategy of scorched earth, he said. Advertisement The international community is morally, humanly and legally duty-bound to prevent the recurrence of such war crimes, he added. Since last week, Israel has conducted a large-scale raid across the northern West Bank, saying that the operation aims to prevent future attacks against Israel. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported on Thursday that Israeli military operations across the West Bank had resulted in 39 Palestinian deaths and 145 injuries since August 28. Iran is closely monitoring threats and activities by Israel, a top Iranian military commander said on August 31, according to the state media. Iranian Air Defence Force Commander Alireza Sabahifard made the remarks in an address at the Friday prayers in the Iranian capital, Tehran, while commenting on the preparedness of his force, quoting official state media IRNA. He said that the Air Force has enhanced its capabilities in response to the enemies aerospace threats, adding that we are fully aware of other threats and are closely monitoring Israel. Sabahifard emphasised that his force is at the highest level of self-sufficiency, combat readiness, and power. He added that Iran is fully self-reliant in designing and producing control systems, radars, sensors, drones, electronic warfare systems, cybersecurity systems, and advanced hybrid warfare systems. He noted that his force could detect any kind of stealth aircraft from thousands of miles away. Tension between Iran and Israel heightened following the assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31. Iran has blamed Israel for the attack and vowed a strong response. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in the attack but has vowed to respond to any military attack. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in Riyadh early Sunday to attend the first IndiaGulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Foreign Ministers Meeting, which will be held on Monday. Arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to participate in the First India Gulf Cooperation Council Foreign Ministers Meeting. Thank Abdulmajeed Al Smari, Deputy Minister for Protocol Affairs for the warm reception, the minister wrote on X soon after his arrival. The India-GCC meeting will be held on the margins of the 161st GCC Ministerial Council meeting scheduled to be chaired by Qatars Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, President of the current session of the Ministerial Council. Advertisement Besides India, the GCC Cooperation Council will also hold strategic dialogue with Russia and Brazil which will see the participation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira. Mr Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi, the Secretary General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, emphasised that the GCC Ministerial Council will discuss several reports regarding the implementation of decisions made by the Supreme Council of the GCC during the 44th Summit held in Doha in December 2023. The joint meetings with the Russian, Indian, and Brazilian delegations reflect the GCC countries commitment to exploring and opening new horizons for cooperation. These meetings aim to strengthen strategic relations with countries and organisations worldwide. Several topics will be discussed in various fields that serve the common interests of both sides and yield benefits for their peoples, said a statement issued by the GCC Secretary Generals office. During his visit to Riyadh, Mr Jaishankar will also hold bilateral meetings with the foreign ministers from GCC member countries. India and the GCC enjoy a deep and multifaceted relationship, in areas including political, trade & investment, energy cooperation, cultural and people-to-people ties. The GCC region has emerged as a major trading partner for India and is home to a large Indian expatriate community, numbering around 8.9 million. The Foreign Ministers meeting will be an opportunity to review and deepen institutional cooperation between India and the GCC across various sectors, the Ministry of External Affairs said. After concluding his engagements in Riyadh, the minister will travel to Berlin in Germany and then to Geneva in Switzerland. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi arrived in Dallas, Texas, on Sunday on a three-day visit to the US. The Congress leader was received by Sam Pitroda, Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, and members of the Indian Diaspora, at the Dallas airport. In a Facebook post, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha said, I am truly delighted by the warm welcome Ive received in Dallas, Texas, USA, from the Indian Diaspora and members of the Indian Overseas Congress. Advertisement I eagerly look forward to engaging in meaningful discussions and insightful conversations that will further strengthen the bond between our two nations during this visit, he added. During his US visit, Rahul Gandhi will hold meetings and interactions in Washington, DC, and Dallas, including at the University of Texas. The Congress leader will be in Dallas, Texas, on September 8 and in Washington, DC, on September 9-10. During his maiden visit to the US after assuming the charge as the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, he will attend several programmes including interaction with the Indian Diaspora. Earlier, announcing Rahul Gandhis visit on August 31, Sam Pitroda said this is Rahul Gandhis first visit to the US after becoming the leader of the Opposition in the lower house of Parliament. Since Rahul Gandhi has become the leader of the opposition, I, as chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, with a presence in 32 countries, have been bombarded with requests from Indian diaspora diplomats, academicians, businessmen, leaders, international media, and many others for interactions with Rahul Gandhi, Pitroda said in a video. He further said that the Congress leader is coming to the US for a very brief visit from September 8-10. He will be in Dallas on September 8 and will be in Washington DC on September 9 and 10th. In Dallas, well have interactions with University of Texas students, academicians, and community people. Well have a very large community gathering, well meet some technocrats and then well have dinner with the leaders from the Dallas area, Pitroda said. The Indian Overseas Congress chief further said that Rahul Gandhi will travel to Washington, DC, where there is a plan to hold similar interactions with a variety of people, including think tanks, national press club and others. There are a lot of events planned with a variety of people because we find that people also have a lot of interest in the states we run with a Congress government. We look forward to a very successful visit and look forward to welcoming Rahul Gandhi to the US, he added. Families of fishermen and local people protested on Sunday at Jegathapattinam in Tamil Nadus Pudukottai district over the Sri Lankan Navy arresting 14 fishermen and seizing their mechanised boats. The fishermen were arrested on Saturday night. K.R. Manikantan, fisherman leader of Jagathapattinam while speaking to IANS, said, On a daily basis our brethren are getting arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy and people are now worried about entering seas for fishing and to carry out their routine means of livelihood. Both the state and Central governments are turning a blind eye to the grave situation being faced by us. Advertisement The fishermens leader further said, Three mechanised boats were impounded by the Sri Lankan Navy. Even if the fishermen are released after some days of judicial custody in Sri Lanka, our boats will not be released. The boats are then attached by the Lankan government. This is making life miserable for the fishermen fraternity of Tamil Nadu. He said that the fishermen and family members would block the roads and disrupt traffic as a protest against the arrest of the 14 fishermen. The fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and fishing near Neduntheevu in the Palk Strait. Their three boats were also impounded. The arrested fishermen along with 49 others had gone into the sea from Jegathapattinam around 7 a.m. on Saturday. The arrested fishermen are, Pradeep, Ranjith, Prabakaran and Ajith who were on a boat owned by Mahadevan; Vishwa, Anandaraj, Anandababu, Kubendran and Sekar who were on a boat owned by Senthilkumar; and Manikandan, Muthukumar, Sellathambi, Selvam and Suresh who were on a boat owned by Manikandan. The Tamil Nadu coastal police officers said that the arrested fishermen were taken to Kankesanthurai naval base in Sri Lanka. It may be recalled that around 84 fishermen from Tamil Nadu are in the custody of Sri Lankan authorities. The arrests have led to protests erupting in coastal districts of Tamil Nadu like Ramanathapuram, Nagapattinam and Pudukottai. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has claimed that while earlier we were distanced from everybody, under him we are now friends with everybody. Since Modi has been in charge of foreign policy for 10 years, let us compare his 10 years with Jawaharlal Nehrus first 10 years. Nehru set out on uncharted territory. The world was divided into two warring camps and every other country had joined one or the other. We were the first colony to emerge from imperial bondage. Hence, while we look(ed) upon the world with clear and friendly eyes, our foreign policy had to be as independent as our newly won domestic independence. Moreover, it had to be based on the values that had informed our unique freedom struggle: fierce opposition to all forms of domination but through non-violence. An early manifestation of independent thought and action was our voting against the partition of Palestine despite being neither Arab nor Muslim, for partition solves nothing, it only aggravates hatred and bitterness. Both camps initially looked on our independent stand with suspicion but shortly came to realise that without an honest peace-broker nothing could be resolved. And India became that peace-broker, whether by chairing the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission in 1953 that led to armistice in the Korean peninsula or by being trusted by all belligerents to conclude the Geneva Accords in 1954 without even being a formal participant in the talks. Nehrus envoy, V.K. Krishna Menon, managed it simply by making himself available for mediation and ironing out misunderstandings between the contending parties. It led to Nehrus India helming all three International Commissions of Control and Supervision in Indochina. Nehru, thus, emerged as the worlds much-needed man of peace and the world turned to India to lead UN peace-keeping forces in Gaza after the Suez war of 1956, in Cyprus, and in Congo. Illustration: Deni Lal So convinced were the sceptics in both camps about Indias indispensability in a divided world that when Nehru went to the US in 1949, he was received with great warmth and honour. And when he visited China in 1954 and the Soviet Union in 1955, millions lined the streets to greet him. Indias profile in the world had, and has, never been greater. Meanwhile, Nehrus India took the lead in vigorously advocating and diligently promoting global decolonisation. Virtually every emerging nation of Asia, Africa and Latin America, even Yugoslavia in Europe, followed the Nehruvian lead in proclaiming non-alignment as the core of their foreign policy. Where we started out all alone, two-thirds of the UN member-states followed in our wake. And Modi claims we were distanced from everybody? What is Modis ten-year record in foreign policy? He has wrecked our relationships in the neighbourhood, putting the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in deep freeze, aggravating hostility with Pakistan, overplaying the Sheikh Hasina card in Bangladesh, and alienating Nepal by grossly, but unsuccessfully, interfering in their internal affairs, especially during their delicate process of Constitution-making. He ended 35 years of peace and tranquillity with China by whispering one thing in Xi Jinpings ear and quite another in the US presidents. Palestinians just dont trust us anymore and Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom Modi expressed total solidarity, faces charges of genocide in Gaza. On the war in Ukraine, Modi has reduced foreign policy to a bearhug with Vladimir Putin without mentioning the U word and another bearhug to Volodymyr Zelensky without mentioning the R word. Because we now lack the courage to make our stand clear, Zelensky slams India the minute Modi flies out of Kyiv. Foreign policy does not mean being everything to everybody. It means having the courage to stand up for the choice you have made. Modi lacks that courage and thinks he can make up for it by engineering overseas Indians to rally to his personality cult. Aiyar is a former Union minister and social commentator. Many years ago a Delhi school bus fell into the Yamuna. Children trapped in it couldn't be rescued because the windows had been barred. Following public outrage, the city fathers ordered that school bus windows shouldn't be barred. A few years later, a child was killed when he leaned out of the window of his school bus and his head hit a pole. Again, the city fathers listened to public opinion, and ordered school buses to have their windows barred. Lawmaking in India, like these two orders, has become whimsical, reactive to public outcry, and self-defeating. Mamata Banerjees new law, that proposes death to rapist-murderers, is no different. Following a public outcry over the rape-murder of a doctor in a college, she drafted a law that would hang the rapist if his victim dies or slips into coma. The bill was passed with opposition supportall guilt washed, consciences cleaned, catharsis achieved. Would it make any difference? Not to the dead doctor nor to any living woman. First, the doctors assailant cant be tried under the new law; no law can be used for punishing a crime committed before it was made. Next, the bill has to pass several musters. If a state law contradicts a Central law, it must receive the president's assent. Mamatas law awards death to rapists who cause death; the Centres new codes, named in Sanskrit, let them live. A life-and-death difference, literally. Illustration: Deni Lal Droupadi Murmu has already two death-for-rape bills pending before her, one made by Andhra Pradesh in 2019 after the rape-murder of a vet, the other by Maharashtra in 2021 calling for death to those who violate women and kids. Mamatas law would be the third. Two things may hold the president back. One, she may agree with Benjamin Disraeli that what we call public opinion is generally public sentiment. Two, she may think that laws made in haste and anger will be regretted in leisure. Yet lets assume, for arguments sake, that the president assents. Would it make West Bengal, or any state that makes such a law, safer for women? Fat chance. We have been making laws at the drop of every hat, or the cry of every woman. The outcry over the acquittal of Mathuras custody-rapists led to three sections being added in 1983 to the criminal code, and one to the evidence law, which sanctified the victims word in court over any consent claimed by the accused. Yet a court acquitted Bhanwari Devis defiler saying an upper-caste man could not have defiled himself by raping a lower-caste woman. The Nirbhaya shock led to a series of amendments to the criminal and penal codes. When one of the devils escaped the gallows by claiming to be younger than 18, they changed the law to bring rapists under 17 to be covered by the rape law. What if the next villain is under 16? The next two, at Unnao and Kathua, led to amendments in the criminal law, the penal law, the evidence law, and in the law that protects kids from sex. Then last year, the Narendra Modi regime overhauled all the criminal, penal and evidence codes in one go. Now comes Mamatas law. Ladies and gentlemen in legislatures! Laws dont make the land safer; lawmen do. What we need are not more or better laws, but more and better policing. The Kolkata rapist would have fled the place if he had heard a sentry shouting hey, whos there? in that ghostly hour, or a beat cop knocking his baton on a window of that deserted seminar hall. And the young doc would have been with us to tell a survivors tale. prasannan@theweek.in Patrons visit while looking for books during the April grand reopening of the Penrose Library in downtown Colorado Springs. Crude and heavy rockets, weighing upto 24 kilograms, laden with 8-10 kg explosives in its warhead, and stabilised with four fins for aerodynamic stability, are suspected to have been used to attack civilian areas in Manipur, sending alarm bells ringing as the conflict began to spread in the southern axis of the strife-torn state that witnessed moments of peace in the last few months. While drone sightings have been reported from the eastern districts of Manipur, the new trend of rocket attacks is creating a fear psychosis as police and central agencies find themselves ill-equipped to counter the aerial threat immediately. First time in India Rocket Bomb targeted to Civil People's by Kukizo Militants in Manipur, Moirang. Its very Serious threat to the Indian Union by Kukizo Militants who are handling Foreign hands.@PMOIndia @HMOIndia @the_hindu @TimesNow @AamAadmiParty pic.twitter.com/rDL6daWxmK Asker Ali Mk (@AskerAliMk1) September 6, 2024 As many as four rocketstwo big and two smallhave been fired from hilltops into Bishnupur-Churachandpur border since Friday morning, security sources said. The first blast took place on Friday morning when a rocket fell on a building but did not result in loss of life as the building was empty. By afternoon, another rocket caused a massive explosion in the same area resulting in the death of one civilian due to splinter injuries in Tronglaobi village in Bishnupur district. By evening, two more rockets were fired. By then, the central armed police forces and the Army was alerted to possible escalation in unrest by mobs of protestors, if the aerial threats continued, security officials said. One Meitei civilian died & five other Meitei civilians injured in the missile attacks of KukiZo terrorists at Moirang Bishnupur District Manipur The missiles were probably launched from far away to reach the Meitei settlements from kukiZo dominated areas For God's Sake stop pic.twitter.com/TGB3e9I6ZU BiMoL L (@Bimol27lyz) September 6, 2024 Rocket attacks in civilian areas are unprecedented in the country and Manipur has not witnessed this trend since the ethic clashes began on May 3 last year. Forensic teams have fanned out to collect evidence and analyse the explosive material, rocket propellents, pipes, and other materials used to make the crude rockets. Sources said locally procured material may have been used to make the rockets, but the capability to create these explosive-laden weapons is difficult to develop locally. Initial forensic analysis shows that almost eight feet long galvanised iron pipes, with six-inch diameters, were used to develop the rockets which had two compartments. The four fins to stabilise it were fitted perfectly to allow the projectile to travel 4-5 kilometers. READ MORE: Manipur: 5 killed in fresh violence in Jiribam; 3 bunkers of militants destroyed in Churachandpur The explosives fitted in the warhead of the projectile appeared to be a mix of nitrogenous fertiliser material as propellant, but further investigation is underway to see what other explosives were used to carry out the blasts. The rockets that were fired created deep craters and the impact of the explosion is worrisome as it appears to have a military training imprint. The security agencies are brainstorming on how to respond to the crude rocket attacks, as none of the counter-insurgency theatres in the country have witnessed similar attacks. The Maoists used some indigenously made rocket-propelled grenades during heightened days of left-wing extremism but there is no parallel to crude rockets being fired on houses and civilians. The only other time, top security experts said, that crude rockets were seen is in the conflicts in far-off West Asia. READ MORE: Manipur conflict takes an uneasy turn with drone attacks; focus back on porous India-Myanmar border Back home, security sources said insurgents in the northeast do not seem to have the capacity to develop such rockets. It remains a matter of investigation whether they have borrowed a leaf out of other conflicts virtually or training modules have been supplied to them from inimical forces to create unrest in the state. While security officials warn against any rumours being spread till the investigation is complete, they admit that the sudden spurt in violence and use of new kinds of weaponry is worrisome and requires a deeper probe to put an end to the rocket attacks on the people of Manipur. A day after India and the Maldives held the fifth round of defence talks which decided to expedite the implementation of the ongoing defence projects, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Saturday had extensive talks with Maldives' Chief of Defence Force Major General Ibrahim Hilmy. The talks between the two top military officials were focused on resetting the military ties that came under strain after President Mohamed Muizzu assumed office in November. READ MORE: India, Maldives hold defence dialogue focusing on Indian Ocean According to media reports, the talks were aimed at furthering bilateral defence cooperation, especially on steps to boost regional security and enhance bilateral training opportunities. Cooperation in the maritime security domain is understood to have dominated the discussions as Maldives is a key player in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The ties between India and the Maldives came under severe strain since Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, took charge of the top office around 10 months back. Major General Ibrahim Hilmy, Chief of Defence Force of Maldives National Defence Force, alongwith a delegation of Commandants of Marine Corps, Services Corps and Coast Guard called on General Anil Chauhan, #CDS_India. Discussions held on furthering #DefenceCooperation between pic.twitter.com/TTdG0sVynW HQ IDS (@HQ_IDS_India) September 7, 2024 On Friday, the defence ministry had said the fifth round of defence dialogue provided both sides with an opportunity to discuss matters related to bilateral defence cooperation. "This, inter alia, included expediting the implementation of various ongoing defence cooperation projects," it said. "The two sides also deliberated on a few other areas of common interest such as high-level exchanges and capability development projects," the ministry said. With PTI inputs On Friday, in a rare public admission by a serving Pakistani army chief, General Asim Munir spoke about the Kargil war of 1999 as one of the major wars his country fought with India. Speaking during the Defence and Martyrs Day event at Rawalpindi, he highlighted the crucial role the Pakistan army played in defending the country and mentioned various conflicts with India, including the Kargil war. ALSO READ: OPINION: Wisdom lies in following the military ethic "Indeed Pakistani nation is a courageous and bold nation, which understands best the importance of independence and how to protect it at any price. Whether the Pak-India wars of 1948, 1965, 1971 and Kargil or Siachen conflict, thousands of martyrs gave sacrifices for the security and honour of the country," Munir was quoted as saying. In the wake of these remarks, G.L. Batra, father of Kargil war hero Captain Vikram Batra said it has now become clear that the Pakistan Army tortured Indian soldiers during the conflict. "When they are saying that there was the involvement of the Pakistan Army in this, so it is clear that whatever torture was done on those soldiers was done by the Pakistan Army," news agency ANI quoted him as saying. "When the Pakistan Army chief has accepted the fact that the entire Kargil war was initiated by the Pakistan Army, then if something can be done to give peace to the hearts of those old parents, it should be done," G.L. Batra further said. Pakistan had initially claimed that private freedom fighters were involved in the Kargil conflict. However, as the scale of fighting went up, it became clear that the Pakistan army was involved in it. The conflict lasted for 60 days and ended on July 26, 1999, after the Indian Army reclaimed command posts occupied by infiltrators on the Indian side of the LoC. Malayalam actor Vinayakan, known for his antagonist role Varman in Rajinikanth starrer Jailer, was arrested by Hyderabad police on Saturday allegedly for misbehaving with Hyderabad Airport staff. According to police, the popular actor was travelling to Goa via Hyderabad and was in an inebriated state. The actor, who was flying from Kochi to Goa via Hyderabad, allegedly argued and spoke rudely with the gate staff of IndiGo airlines on Saturday, police said. The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport police station took custody of Vinayakan from CISF, and he was booked under City Police Act. Yesterday at 6pm, a CISF inspector filed a complaint stating that an IndiGo flight arrived from Kochi to Hyderabad, and a passenger, Vinayak, who was scheduled to travel to Goa on that flight, was in a drunken state and misbehaved with the gate staff, K. Balaraju, Airport police inspector told ANI. The CISF handed him over to the RGI Airport Police and we have registered a case under the City Police Act, he added. The actor was later released on bail. Vinayakan alleged he was assaulted by CISF personnel. m. I do not know why I'm being taken into custody. I have done no wrong. The CCTV visuals can be checked for evidence, Vinayakan told Manorama News. Videos have also emerged showing the actor sitting on the airport floor shirtless. The Bharatiya Janata Party has asked former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh not to make any controversial comments on top wrestlers who joined the Congress ahead of the Haryana Assembly elections, a report said on Sunday. Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, who were at the forefront of the protests against Brij Bhushan who is facing sexual harassment allegations by some of the top athletes, joined the grand old party on Friday. Referring to this, Brij Bhushan, a senior BJP leader, said on Saturday that the wrestlers were used by the Congress as "pawns" in a "conspiracy" to take control of the Wrestling Federation of India and attack the BJP. However, the saffron party does not want to see any new narrative linked to the wrestlers' protest, the NDTV quoted sources as saying. The wrestlers protest had garnered huge support in Haryana, a state that sends a large number of sportspersons to national teams. READ: 'Pain of not getting medal...': Vinesh Phogat claps back after Brij Bhushan's 'cheating' jibe The Congress has fielded Phogat from Julana constituency in the assembly polls scheduled next month. Punia, meanwhile, has been made working chairman of the All India Kisan Congress. Brij Bhushan, in his latest comments, alleged that former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was behind the plot against him as he had defeated his son Deepender Singh Hooda in the 2012 WFI elections. "They (Punia and Phogat) were faces... they were mohrey (pawns). They were used like pawns by (former Haryana chief minister) Bhupinder Hooda, the Congress, and the Congress family," he told news agency PTI. VIDEO | Haryana Elections: "Whatever I have won in wrestling, it was because of people. Hopefully, I will be successful in this as well. I will talk about the wrestlers' protest at Jantar Mantar later, BJP had allowed us to sit there. Brij Bhushan is not the country, people are pic.twitter.com/5YDaGwStfT Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 8, 2024 Hitting back at the former WFI chief, Phogat said Brij Bhushan had never existed for her and that she has the support of the people of the country. READ: Had said Congress was behind wrestlers protest; daughters of Haryana embarrassed, says Brij Bhushan Singh Brij Bhushan, a six-time MP from Uttar Pradesh's Kaiserganj constituency, had to step down from the position of WFI chief following the protests, and he is also facing criminal charges in the court. Amid Congress-AAP alliance talks, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha said both parties are trying to join hands by keeping aside their individual aspirations. Though both parties are yet to reach a consensus on the alliance, Chadha indicated that the talks are progressing 'positively'. Earlier PTI quoted sources as saying on Sunday that Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has reached a seat-sharing deal for the upcoming Haryana elections and the latter has agreed to contest on five seats. ALSO READ | 'Haryana has become the least safe state under BJP': Ex-CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda However, there is no official confirmation of any seat-sharing deal. #WATCH | On the possible alliance between AAP and Congress in the Haryana Assembly elections, AAP MP Raghav Chadha says "I do not want to make any statement on personal statements or individual seats. I can only tell you that both the parties have a desire, a wish and hope for an pic.twitter.com/3LkBfzLdRq ANI (@ANI) September 8, 2024 Chadha also said that AAP will not proceed with the alliance "if there is no win-win situation". "The talks are happening in a positive atmosphere. Both parties are working towards contesting the elections together, prioritising unity and the demands of the people of Haryana while setting aside individual party and candidate aspirations," he said. Haryana will go to polls on October 5 and the last date to file nominations is September 12. ALSO READ | Why wrestlers joining Congress ahead of Haryana Assembly polls is politically important Reportedly, AAP was demanding 10 seats, while Congress was ready to give only seven. Also, there is dissent within the Congress party in joining hands with AAP to contest the elections. "We will take a decision well before the last day of nomination. If there is no win-win situation, we will leave it. The talks are going on, good discussions are happening," Chadha added. Meanwhile, Congress has released the first list of the candidates to contest in the Haryana polls. The newly joined Congress member, wrestler Vinesh Phogat will be contesting from Julana, while former Haryana CM Bhupinder Hooda will be contesting from his Garhi Sampla-Kiloi seat. Earlier, Congress and AAP entered a seat-sharing agreement for Lok Sabha polls in Delhi, Haryana, and Gujarat. In Haryana, AAP state president Sushil Gupta was the lone party candidate in the Lok Sabha polls in the state. He lost to BJP's Naveen Jindal. Gupta recently asserted that the AAP is ready to strongly contest all the 90 assembly seats in Haryana on its own "with an alliance with the people of the state". Trinamool Congress MP Jawhar Sircar wrote to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday, expressing his desire to resign his MP post over the state governments lacklustre handling of the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The retired IAS officer said he has decided to resign his Rajya Sabha MP post and leave politics. I have suffered patiently for a month since the terrible incident at RG Kar Hospital, and was hoping for your direct intervention with the agitating junior doctors, in the old style of Mamata Banerjee. It has not happened and whatever punitive steps that government is taking now are too little and quite late. Sircar said the current outpour of anger against the West Bengal government cannot be dismissed just as political and said the movement is as much for Abhaya as it is against the state government and the party. Sircar added the current protests calls for immediate course correction else communal forces will capture the state. Sircar also blamed Mamata Banerjee for inaction against corrupt officials and ministers and added it also led to current public outrage against the Trinamool Congress government. "I think normalcy may have been restored in this state much earlier, if the caucus of the corrupt doctors was smashed and those guilty of taking improper administrative actions punished immediately after the scandalous incident happened," he added. A postgraduate trainee woman doctor was allegedly raped and murdered in the seminar hall of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, following which Sanjay Roy, a Kolkata Police civic volunteer was arrested. The gruesome crime resulted in nationwide protests by doctors and citizens. The case, initially probed by Kolkata police was transferred to the CBI after the High Court found lapses in the latters probe. The Supreme Court also took suo motu cognisance of the case and formed a National Task Force to formulate an action plan for the safety of doctors. For the first time since 1987, the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) demonstrated its strength by organising a large rally in the Bugam area of Kulgam district, South Kashmir, on Sunday. The JeI was banned in February by the Centre following the suicide bombing of a CRPF convoy at Lehtpora in Pampore, outside Srinagar. JeI-backed candidates promised to advocate for the region's concerns and address the issue of political prisoners if elected. JeI, the largest socio-religious organisation in Kashmir, has fielded former members as independents in Kulgam and Pulwama, both in South Kashmir, and is supporting two independent candidates. Kulgam is the stronghold of CPI(M) leader M.Y. Tarigami, who has won from the constituency four times. This time, he faces JeI-backed independent Sayed Ahmed Reshi. Hundreds of JeI supporters and others attended the rally. The entry of JeI into the electoral fray has increased competition among political parties. Jamaat-e-Islami held massive rally in South Kashmirs Kulgam Reports Younus Rashid pic.twitter.com/wS6RJ8bgO2 Rising Kashmir (@RisingKashmir) September 8, 2024 After the abrogation of Article 370, JeI faced intense pressure from the central agencies. Many of its members are in jail, and its properties have been seized. The JeI had entered into talks with the Centre about participating in elections in exchange for lifting the ban on the organisation, but the Centre refused. Earlier this year, in February, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) extended the ban on JeI-Jammu and Kashmir for another five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) of 1967. The group was first designated as an "unlawful association" by the MHA on February 28, 2019. JeI leaders and supporters voted in the Lok Sabha polls and also encouraged others to exercise their democratic rights. We are here to address the void left by the regional political parties, Reshi said at the rally. He stated that the large gathering was proof of their strength. He added that they had never supported violence, and all of them were educated, peaceful, and committed to strengthening democracy. Regarding the return of Kashmiri Pandits, he said the government must take serious steps. We want to send them a message that we will become their protectors. Even if we have only two rooms, we will offer one to them, he said. Our supporters are conscientious people who cant be bought and will vote for us in large numbers, he added. When we emerge victorious, the first thing we will do is bow before Allah. He emphasised that no one within the JeI was unhappy with the decision to contest the elections. This is a decision taken by the Shura (consultative body), he explained. Even if someone is unhappy with the decision, the discipline and order within the JeI ensures that no one goes against the Shuras decision. He urged people to join the revolution and not vote for those running a mafia. Another candidate, Aijaz Mir, expressed his commitment to serving the people of Kashmir. If elected, I will serve without compromise, he said. We will not support corruption. We will work transparently and will speak for Kashmir and Kashmiris. He vowed to represent the peoples aspirations in the Assembly. JeIs Pulwama candidate, Talat Majid, said that if he discusses JeI, it should be understood that it is with JeIs trust. I have said before that I want to do politics from the platform of JeI, he said. After Jammu and Kashmir lost its autonomy and statehood, former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti vowed not to contest assembly elections until statehood was restored. However, with the Election Commission announcing a three-phase election schedule, Omar Abdullah said he felt pressured to run, and added that if he didn't, his ageing father might have to step in. Omar first filed his nomination from Ganderbal, followed by Budgam. Observers suggest that running from two constituencies indicates Omars effort to reduce the risk of defeat, especially after losing in Baramulla to Engineer Rashid, the jailed leader of the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP). Ganderbal has historically been a National Conference (NC) stronghold. Omars grandfather, Sheikh Abdullah, was elected from Ganderbal in 1977 after the 1975 Indira-Sheikh Accord. Farooq Abdullah, Omars father, won the seat in 1983 and 1987. Omar, however, lost to the PDPs Qazi Afzal in Ganderbal in 2002 but won the 2008 assembly election from the same constituency. This marks Omars third contest from Ganderbal, where his opponents include the PDPs Bashir Ahmed Mir, AIPs Sheikh Ashiq, and Sarjan Barkati, the face of the 2016 separatist agitation currently in jail on charges of terror funding. Barkati originally sought to run from Zainapora in Shopian, but his nomination papers were rejected, though they were later accepted for Ganderbal and Beerwah in Budgam district, raising concerns of a conspiracy within the NC against the party. For Gods sake, explain why people from jail are contesting elections against me, Omar told supporters in Ganderbal. First, it happened in Baramulla. I thought the man was from there, had contested elections before, and was contesting again...But when the assembly elections were announced, news came that a jailed person whose nomination was rejected in Zainapora, Shopian, would fight from Ganderbal," he said. Omar said he decided to prove that his jailed opponents were part of a larger conspiracy. After consulting his colleagues, he opted to file a nomination for a second seat but didnt reveal whether it would be Beerwah or Budgam. They thought I would choose Beerwah, he said. This man contesting against me from jail also filed his papers in Beerwah, unaware that I had chosen Budgam. He concluded by claiming that those in jail were being fielded against him as part of a conspiracy by Delhi. Observers say the NC vice president is showing signs of unease about facing Barkati after his defeat in Baramulla to Engineer Rashid. Omars anxiety was clear when, after filing his nomination from Ganderbal, he addressed supporters emotionally, removing his cap, holding it out to the crowd, and pleading, Give me a chance. My honour is in your hands." Omar abdullah is begging for votes in his hometown but Rohit from Jammu(where NC is dead) thinks he is the leader of Masses. Irony pic.twitter.com/1BN1P6PXhe pic.twitter.com/1Iw8r8WyHQ Salaria (@YoDograBoiiii) September 4, 2024 Omar had contested from two constituencies in 2014Sonawar and Beerwah. He lost in Sonawar to Ashraf Mir of the PDP but secured a win in Beerwah. This time, he has chosen to run from Budgam instead of Beerwah. In Budgam, Shia and Sunni Muslims comprise 40 per cent and 60 per cent of the electorate, respectively. The influential Agha family holds significant sway among Shia voters. Syed Agha Roohullah, NCs Srinagar MP, belongs to this family, while his cousin, Syed Agha Hassan Muntasir is the PDP candidate in Budgam, likely splitting the Shia vote between Omar and Muntasir. Omars decision to run in Budgam has further alienated some Shia voters loyal to Agha Mehmood, an NC leader who had expected to run from the constituency. Mehmood expressed his displeasure, stating that while he may back Omar, his supporters would not. In 2014, Roohullah won the Budgam seat for NC with 30,300 votes, while his closest rival from the PDP garnered over 27,000 votes. This time, the race could be just as tight, with Omar needing substantial Sunni support along with a portion of the Shia vote to ensure victory. The former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital Sandip Ghosh was running a criminal nexus for wrongful gains, the Central Bureau of Investigation probing financial irregularities at the hospital charged. The central agency recently arrested Sandip Ghosh, his security guard and two vendors in connection with a financial irregularities case. The CBI charged various contracts were granted to the vendors only because of their proximity with the former principal. "These two vendors were known to Ghosh since he was with the Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital. We have found that they granted the contracts of RG Kar MCH only because of their proximity with Ghosh," a CBI officer told PTI. Ghosh served at Murshidabad Hospital from 2016 to 2018. The central agencys probe revealed Ghosh favoured organisation where his security guards wife worked to award cafe contract. CBI said the vendors, who closely worked with Ghosh, were brought to Kolkata from Murshidabad by the former principal for wrongful gains. "Both these vendors were in Murshidabad and Ghosh brought them to Kolkata when he was made the principal of the RG Kar hospital. They were favoured for supply of materials to the hospital," the CBI officer said. Charges of financial irregularities at RG Kar MCH came to fore following the death of a 31-year-old trainee doctor at the hospital earlier this month. The Enforcement Directorate, which is also probing financial irregularities at the hospital recently arrested Ghoshs key aide Prashun Chatterjee. The 31-year-old junior doctor was raped and murdered while on duty and her body was discovered at the seminar hall on the third floor of the hospital on August 9. Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer was arrested the following day. Meanwhile, the West Bengal Medical Council is considering cancelling Ghoshs medical license and has issued a show-cause notice to him. Dr Ghosh has been served with a show-cause notice. We have given him three days to reply," a Council official told PTI. The notice has been issued over his arrest by CBI in financial irregularities case. The Council has also advised three key close aides of Ghosh Dr Avik Dey, a former resident medical officer of Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, Dr Birupaksha Biswas, a former senior doctor of the same institution and Dr Mustafizur Rahaman Mallick, a junior medic of Midnapore Medical College and Hospital to refrain from activities of the body. Reportedly, Council has received complaints against the three doctors and they are accused of threatening other medics at several state-run hospitals. Motivational speaker Mahavishnu, who stoked controversy with his remarks on rebirth and for his brazen argument on 'sin and punya' with a differently-abled government school teacher at a school in Chennai was remanded to judicial custody on Saturday. Mahavishnu, who went to Australia after the event was arrested by Chennai police on arrival at the International Airport on Saturday. Mahavishnu was arrested following a complaint from a member representing an association working for the welfare of differently-abled persons. He was later produced before a court which remanded him to judicial custody, a police officer said adding provisions of relevant laws have been invoked against him. Maha Vishnu was the founder of Paramporul Foundation and he used to give lectures and conduct training programmes on yoga practices and meditation. A few days ago, a visually-impaired teacher, Shankar, strongly objected to remarks made by Mahavishnu based on Karma and rebirth in a school programme meant for motivating students at a government school in Chennai. Mahavishnu argued with the teacher over the issue and a video clip of his arguments, some of which appeared inappropriate and harsh, went viral on social media. School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi had strongly condemned the incident and said legal action would be taken against the speaker. Anbil Mahesh also advised teachers and school administration to be mindful of persons being invited for talks at school. Reacting to the arrest, Anbil Mahesh said 'law will do its duty' and added that the association for the differently-abled has alleged insult to them. The minister had already thrown his weight behind the school teacher who opposed Mahavishnus speech. BJP Tamil Nadu vice president Narayanan Tirupathi questioned the arrest and termed it 'hasty'. He tweeted, That is 'Dravida Model'. Unnecessarily the govt has created a tiger out of a cat." Three armed men opened fire at a club in Delhi late Thursday night in a bid to threaten and extort money from the owner. The incident took place at the Kaanch Club in North East Delhi's Seemapuri. No injuries were reported. The CCTV footage of the club recorded the incident and helped the police to identify the culprits. A group of armed men opened fire outside a nightclub in #Delhis #Seemapuri on September 5 to intimidate the club owner and extort money. The incident was recorded on CCTV. The footage shows the four men arriving at #KaanchClub, fully armed. Three of them stormed into the pic.twitter.com/zwiQfgvQ6G Hate Detector (@HateDetectors) September 8, 2024 One of the accused, identified as Shahrukh, was arrested by the police, while a search was underway to nab the others. According to the police, all the accused were identified and the investigation is underway. In the CCTV video, three men can be seen walking towards the club- with two of them carrying guns- threatening the bouncers outside the club. The guns were pointed at the bouncers and they were asked to kneel down. "I'll shoot you in the head if you get up," said a man pointing the gun at them. While one pointed the gun at the bouncers, two men entered the club looking for the owner. Apparently after not finding the owner, the men fired a few rounds at the club and fled the scene. Three Israelis were shot and killed on Sunday at the border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, Israeli officials said, in what appeared to be an attack linked to the 11-month-old war in Gaza. The military said the gunman approached the Allenby Bridge Crossing from the Jordanian side in a truck and opened fire at Israeli security forces, who killed him in a shootout. Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said the three killed were all men in their 50s. A spokesperson with the Israel Airports Authority, which oversees borders, said the attacker was Jordanian. Jordan is investigating the shooting, its state-run Petra News Agency reported. The Western-allied Arab country made peace with Israel in 1994 but is deeply critical of its policies toward the Palestinians. Jordan has a large Palestinian population and has seen mass protests against Israel over the war in Gaza. The Allenby crossing over the Jordan River, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, is mainly used by Palestinians and international tourists, as well as for cargo shipments. The crossing has seen few security incidents over the years, but in 2014 Israeli security guards shot and killed a Jordanian judge who they said had attacked them. Authorities in Israel and Jordan said the crossing was closed until further notice. Israel later announced the closure of both of its land crossings with Jordan, near Beit Shean in the north and Eilat in the south. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack and linked it to Israel's larger conflict with Iran and allied militant groups, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Israeli-occupied West Bank has seen a surge of violence since Hamas' October 7 attack out of Gaza triggered the war there. Israel has launched near-daily military arrest raids into dense Palestinian residential areas, and there has been a rise in Israeli settler violence and Palestinian attacks on Israelis. Also on Sunday, loved ones mourned Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, an American-Turkish woman who was shot dead on Friday in the West Bank. She had been demonstrating against Israeli settlements there. The White House has said it was deeply disturbed and called on Israel to investigate, while her family seeks an independent investigation. In Gaza, meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike early Sunday killed five people, including two women, two children and a senior official in the Civil Defence first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government. The Civil Defence said the strike targeted the home of its deputy director for northern Gaza, Mohammed Morsi, in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The army says it tries to avoid harming civilians and only targets militants. Another Israeli strike hit the Eid family home in the Nuseirat refugee camp and killed at least two girls, according to an Associated Press journalist who counted the bodies and witnesses. First responders were looking for others under the rubble. Gaza's Health Ministry says over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began. It does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count. The war has caused vast destruction and displaced around 90 per cent of Gaza's population of 2.3 million, often multiple times. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in their October 7 attack. They abducted another 250 and are still holding around 100 after releasing most of the rest in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel during a weeklong cease-fire last November. Around a third of the remaining hostages inside Gaza are believed to be dead. The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to broker a cease-fire and the return of the hostages, but the negotiations have repeatedly bogged down. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem territories the Palestinians want for a future state in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel withdrew soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005 but maintained control over its airspace, coastline and most of its land crossings. Along with Egypt, it imposed a blockade on Gaza after Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Controversy and drama overshadowed the 2024 Miss Universe Fiji event, with many questioning the judging process and sparking a heated debate about the fairness and transparency of the competition. It all initially started when Manshika Prasad, a 24-year-old MBA student, was crowned Miss Fiji 2024. She had received four out of the seven votes from the panel of judges making her the winner of the beauty pageant. But little did she know that it would be snatched away so soon. Just two days after Miss Universe Fiji (MUF) issued a press statement saying the decision has been revised and the real Miss Fiji is runner-up Nadine Roberts, a 30-year-old from Sydney. Some of the judges on the panel were surprised by the turn of events. Now, why was the decision revised? MUF alleged that "correct procedures" were not followed during the judging process and Prasad was chosen in a rigged voting which favoured "Fiji Indian" contestant to win as it had financial benefits for the organisers. Manshika Prasad crowned @MissUniverse Fiji 2024 at an event hosted at opulent Pearl Resort & Spa. This win marks a spectacular return to the global stage for #Fiji, ending a 43-year hiatus. @RajSuri @DrAmitSarwal @DivDamodar @bimanprasad @Pallavi_Aus @rishi_suri pic.twitter.com/iFfyvGfZxf The Australia Today (@TheAusToday) September 1, 2024 Adding more suspense to the drama, Prasad issued a statement saying there was "so much the public did not know about." "A controversial decision by judges on the night incorrectly awarded the wrong winner at the Gala Top Ten finalists Event held at the Pearl Resort last night, that has led to heartbreak and tears for two contestants, read the MUF statement. Meanwhile, Roberts in her statement said that everyone is impacted by the recent events and also thanked the authorities for taking swift action. One of the seven judges on the panel told BBC, "Everything had been running so smoothly," during the competition. Some of the judges sensed there was something wrong when the official confirmation of Prasads victory. The absence of one of the judges Riri Febriani, who was representing Lux Projects, while Prasad took a boat trip with the judges after the crowning was also noted. Lux Projects is the company that bought the licence to hold Miss Universe in Fiji. Later it turned out that Lux Projects was not happy with the outcome of the vote. Its press release on Sunday said the licensee itself should also get a vote - one which the contracted organiser, Grant Dwyer, had failed to count. With the licensee getting the "determining vote" as it led to a 4-4 tie, Roberts was made the winner. But it wasnt over yet; the rest of the panel got more suspicious. It was alleged that Lux Projects has a connection with an Australian businessman called Jamie McIntyre, who is reportedly married to Roberts since 2022. McIntyre was accused of being involved in the judging controversy. However, his representatives refuted the allegations and said its all a conspiracy theory. However, in the end, Prasad got what she rightfully deserved and was officially named Miss Fiji. She will be representing Fiji at Miss Universe to be held in November in Mexico. What an incredible journey this has been, she posted on social media. Washington, Sep 8 (PTI) The US is keen on working with India to address some of the key global problems, including in areas like healthcare, clean energy and climate change, a top Biden administration official has said. The remarks by Nisha Desai Biswal, Deputy CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), came ahead of her visit to India this week. It's not about what India needs help with, as much as how the US and India are working together to address problems, Biswal told PTI in an interview. We have always said if you dont solve it in India, you can't solve it for the world, Biswal said before leaving for India, her first to the country in four years and first as the Deputy CEO of the DFC, which is a development finance institution and agency of the US. Her four-day trip to India will start on Tuesday. She said there are several areas -- like climate change and the issues of addressing global warming and controlling greenhouse gas emissions, supporting a clean energy transition and tackling health challenges - where the two nations can work together as they did during the Covid pandemic. India was a vital partner in not only containing the pandemic when it spread within India but also played a key role in helping and supplying vaccines to control the pandemic globally, she said. So, I think the way we think about it is, what are the problems that we want to try to solve together, Biswal said in response to a question. Biswal said during her India trip she is eager to explore how DFC can support the goals and objectives of the US-India Strategic Partnership. She said that the DFC has invested enormous amounts in India during the Biden administration. India is our largest country in which DFC is investing. I think we have over USD 3.8 billion in active projects in India. Really USD 2.5 billion of that has come during the Biden administration and in key sectors like infrastructure, in supporting manufacturing, health and vaccine and insulin, in supporting India's economic growth and access to capital. So just a very diverse range of areas that we're working in partnership with India on, Biswal said. DFC, she said, is deploying its financing in India to address climate and clean technology diversification. We want to make sure that as we think about the technologies of tomorrow, we're not reliant on a single country to be the manufacturing hub for all of that, she noted. As we think about friend-shoring, India is on the top of the list where we would like to see that diversification," she said. Biswal, as the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia and then as head of the US India Business Council had played a key role in the India-US relationship. As someone who has been watching and active in the US-India relationship and passionate indeed, a true believer, I have to say I'm just very gratified to see how much deeper the US-India ties are and how broad-based they are, India-born Biswal said. Broad-based in terms of the broad support and recognition in both our countries that we are each other's most important partners, but also broad-based in the areas in which the US and India are working together geographically, sectorally. It's just breathtaking. Its just really, really exciting to see, she said in response to a question. The top Biden administration official said that Indian innovation in research and technology continues to grow by leaps and bounds. You see Indian advancements in the frontiers of whether it's in space exploration, whether it's in breakthroughs in health and pharmaceuticals, across every plane of human endeavour, India has been making tremendous advancements. For the United States, it's fundamental that we can partner with and support all of these advancements within India because they not only benefit India and the Indian people, but they also truly create greater benefit globally, she said. London, Sep 8 (AP) A manhunt was underway early Sunday as police searched for a gunman in a rural area of southeastern Kentucky near Interstate 75, according to authorities who said up to seven people were hurt in the shooting and a vehicle accident that accompanied the violence. The shooting began just after 6:30 pm Saturday and was followed by an intense search for a suspect by multiple law enforcement agencies. The Laurel County Sheriff's Office said in a post on Facebook that it was an active shooter situation and numerous persons were shot near the highway. In a video statement, London Mayor Randall Weddle said he was told seven people were hurt, but not all of those were wounded by gunfire. Some of the victims were injured in an accident when the shooting started, he said. London, a small city of about 8,000, is located about 75 miles (120 km) south of Lexington. There are no deceased at this time. No one was killed from this, thankfully, but we ask that you continue to pray, Weddle said. Hospital officials at Saint Joseph London said in a statement that the facility was treating multiple patients, LEX 18 reported. The hospital added that the people it received had minor injuries. Jay Blanton, a spokesperson for the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital, said two victims were admitted but he did not have any information on their conditions. The sheriff's office also announced that a Person of Interest has been identified in connection with the shooting, saying he should be considered armed and dangerous and people should not approach him. The man's name was given as Joseph A Couch, a 32-year-old white male, and anyone with information about his location was urged to call the county 911 centre. State lawmakers from Laurel County urged residents in the area to stay home as police continued to search for the shooter. Without a doubt, this is an act of senseless violence that does not reflect the values of this community, our Commonwealth, or its people, they said in a statement. A heavy presence of police and fire personnel was on the scene and working diligently to address the situation, the Mount Vernon Fire Department said in a statement. It advised motorists to avoid I-75 and US 25. The interstate was closed 9 miles (14 km) north of London but reopened about three hours later, according to the sheriff's office. In an video update on Facebook late Saturday night, Weddle tried to calm fears as the search continued for the gunman. He urged residents to call 911 if they hear or see anything suspicious near their homes. We're asking folks please do not go outside your home shooting because we might have first responders in that area. It's important to know you are safe. We have multiple agencies in this community, in the city of London and in Laurel County," Weddle said. Weddle said searchers know the general area where this individual is, but he would not release specific details. I am receiving initial reports from the Kentucky State Police and our Office of Homeland Security together we are actively monitoring the situation and offering support in any way possible, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a post on the social platform X. Please pray for everyone involved. (AP) SCY SCY Caracas, Sep 8 (AP) Former Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has fled into exile after being granted asylum in Spain, delivering a major blow to millions who placed their hopes in his upstart campaign to end two decades of single party rule. The surprise departure of the man who Venezuela's opposition and several foreign governments consider the legitimate winner of July's presidential race was announced late Saturday night by Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. She said the government decided to grant Gonzalez safe passage out of the country, just days after ordering his arrest, to help restore the country's political peace and tranquility. Neither Gonzalez nor opposition leader Maria Corina Machado have commented. Meanwhile, Spain's centre-left government said the decision to abandon Venezuela was Gonzalez's alone and he departed on a plane sent by the country's air force. Spain is committed to the political rights and physical integrity of all Venezuelans, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on the X social media platform. Gonzalez, a 75 year old former diplomat, was a last minute stand in when Machado was banned from running. Previously unknown to most Venezuelans, his campaign nonetheless rapidly ignited the hopes of millions of Venezuelans desperate for change after a decade long economic freefall. While President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of the July vote, most Western governments have yet to recognise his victory and are instead demanding that authorities publish a breakdown of votes. Meanwhile, tally sheets collected by opposition volunteers from over two-thirds of the electronic voting machines indicate that Gonzalez won by a more than 2-to-1 margin. The tally sheets have long been considered the ultimate proof of election results in Venezuela. In previous presidential elections, the National Electoral Council published online the results of each of the more than 30,000 voting machines but the Maduro-controlled panel did not release any data this time, blaming an alleged cyberattack mounted by its opponents from North Macedonia. Attorney General Tarek William Saab, a staunch Maduro ally, sought Gonzalez's arrest after he failed to appear three times in connection to a criminal investigation into what it considers an act of electoral sabotage. Saab told reporters the voting records the opposition shared online were forged and an attempt to undermine the National Electoral Council. Experts from the United Nations and the Carter Center, which at the invitation of Maduro's government observed the election, determined the results announced by electoral authorities lacked credibility. In a statement critical of the election, the UN experts stopped short of validating the opposition's claim to victory, but they said the voting records it published online appear to exhibit all of the original security features. (AP) SCY SCY Riyadh, Sep 8 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived here in the Saudi capital on Sunday on a two-day visit to attend the first India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) foreign ministers' meeting. Jaishankar is here on the first leg of his three-nation tour that will also take him to Germany and Switzerland. "Arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to take part in the First India - Gulf Cooperation Council Foreign Ministers Meeting. Thank Abdulmajeed Al Smari, Deputy Minister for Protocol Affairs for the warm reception," Jaishankar said in a post on X. The GCC is an influential grouping comprising the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait. The total volume of India's trade with GCC countries stood at USD 184.46 billion in the financial year 2022-23. In Riyadh, Jaishankar is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with foreign ministers of several GCC member countries. Ahead of the visit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi on Saturday said India and the GCC enjoy a deep and multifaceted relationship, including in areas of trade and investment, energy, cultural and people-to-people ties. "The GCC region has emerged as a major trading partner for India and is home to a large Indian expatriate community, numbering around 8.9 million," it said in a statement. "The Foreign Ministers meeting will be an opportunity to review and deepen institutional cooperation between India and the GCC across various sectors," it said. Jerusalem, Sep 8 (AP) Three people were shot and killed Sunday at the border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, Israeli officials said. The military said the gunman approached the Allenby Bridge Crossing from the Jordanian side in a truck and opened fire at Israeli security forces, who killed the assailant in a shootout. It said the three people killed were Israeli civilians. Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said the three men who were killed were in their 50s. There was no immediate comment from Jordan, which made peace with Israel in 1994 but is fiercely critical of its policies toward the Palestinians. The Allenby crossing is mainly used by Israelis, Palestinians and international tourists. The Israeli-occupied West Bank has seen a surge of violence since Hamas' Oct 7 attack out of Gaza triggered the war there. Israel has launched near-daily military arrest raids into dense Palestinian residential areas, and there has also been a rise in settler violence and Palestinian attacks on Israelis. In Gaza, meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike early Sunday killed five people, including two women, two children and a senior official in the Civil Defence first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government. The Civil Defence said the strike targeted the home of its deputy director for north Gaza, Mohammed Morsi, in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The army says it tries to avoid harming civilians and only targets militants. Gaza's Health Ministry says over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war erupted 11 months ago. It does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count. The war has caused vast destruction and displaced around 90% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million, often multiple times. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct 7 attack on Israel. They abducted another 250, and are still holding around 100 of them after releasing most of the rest in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel during a weeklong cease-fire last November. Around a third of the remaining hostages inside Gaza are believed to be dead. The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to broker a cease-fire and the return of the hostages, but the negotiations have repeatedly bogged down. The Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank says at least 691 Palestinians have been killed there since the start of the war. Most appear to have been militants killed during Israeli military operations, but the toll also includes civilian bystanders and rock-throwing protesters. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem territories the Palestinians want for a future state in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel withdrew soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005 but maintained control over its airspace, coastline and most of its land crossings. Along with Egypt, it imposed a blockade on Gaza after Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. (AP) SCY SCY Caracas, Sep 8 (AP) Former Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has fled into exile after being granted asylum in Spain, delivering a major blow to millions who placed their hopes in his upstart campaign to end two decades of single-party rule. The surprise departure of the man considered by Venezuela's opposition and several foreign governments to be the legitimate winner of July's presidential race was announced late Saturday night by Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. She said the government decided to grant Gonzalez safe passage out of the country, just days after ordering his arrest, to help restore the country's political peace and tranquillity. Neither Gonzalez nor opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has commented. Meanwhile, Spain's centre-left government said the decision to abandon Venezuela was Gonzalez's alone and he departed on a plane sent by the country's air force. Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told Spanish national broadcaster RTVE that his government will grant Gonzalez political asylum as he has requested. Albares spoke while en route to China with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on a state visit. I have been able to speak to (Gonzalez) and once he was aboard the airplane he expressed his gratitude toward the Spanish government and Spain, Albares said. Of course I told him we were pleased that he is well and on his way to Spain, and I reiterated the commitment of our government to the political rights of all Venezuelans. Sanchez said in a speech Friday, before Gonzalez's departure was announced, that the opposition leader was a hero whom Spain is not going to abandon. Albares said that Gonzalez had spent an unspecified number of days at the Spanish Embassy in Caracas before his departure. A Spanish official with knowledge of details on Gonzalez's departure said that his government did not discuss Gonzalez's exit with Maduro's administration. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with ministry protocols. Gonzalez, a 75-year-old former diplomat, was a last minute stand in when Machado was banned from running. Previously unknown to most Venezuelans, his campaign nonetheless rapidly ignited the hopes of millions of Venezuelans desperate for change after a decade-long economic freefall. While President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of the July vote, most Western governments have yet to recognise his victory and are instead demanding that authorities publish a breakdown of votes. Meanwhile, tally sheets collected by opposition volunteers from over two-thirds of the electronic voting machines indicate that Gonzalez won by a more than 2-to-1 margin. The tally sheets have long been considered the ultimate proof of election results in Venezuela. In previous presidential elections, the National Electoral Council published online the results of each of the more than 30,000 voting machines but the Maduro-controlled panel did not release any data this time, blaming an alleged cyberattack mounted by its opponents from North Macedonia. Attorney General Tarek William Saab, a staunch Maduro ally, sought Gonzalez's arrest after he failed to appear three times in connection with a criminal investigation into what it considers an act of electoral sabotage. Saab told reporters the voting records the opposition shared online were forged and an attempt to undermine the National Electoral Council. Experts from the United Nations and the Carter Centre, which at the invitation of Maduro's government observed the election, determined the results announced by electoral authorities lacked credibility. In a statement critical of the election, the UN experts stopped short of validating the opposition's claim to victory, but they said the voting records it published online appear to exhibit all of the original security features. Spain has been a major point of exodus for Venezuelans, particularly of those leading opposition to Maduro's regime. They include Leopoldo Lopez, who fled to Spain to reunite with his family in 2020, and Antonio Ledezma, who left for the European country in 2017. Some 44,000 Venezuelans immigrated to Spain in the first six months of this year. The last government statistics from 2022 said that some 212,000 Venezuelans were then residing in Spain. (AP) GSP Islamabad, Sep 8 (PTI) Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that the evidence against jailed former prime minister Imran Khan points towards a military trial in the cases concerning the violence on May 9 last year, a media report said on Sunday. Speaking to a private news channel on Saturday, Asif said that military trials had taken place before and will continue to do so in future as well, Geo News reported. "Evidence against founder Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party founder (Imran Khan) points towards military trial," Asif said. His remarks come after 71-year-old Khan - fearing a military trial over his alleged involvement in the May 9 riots - filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to stop his potential trial in military courts. However, the IHC registrar's office raised objections over Khan's plea, saying that neither it mentioned any specific first information report (FIR) nor any documentation or order was attached to the petition and how a petition be filed in a high court while the matter of military trials is sub judice in the Supreme Court. It is not the first time that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) expressed such a possibility. Several leaders of the party have accused Khan of orchestrating the May 9, 2023 violence. On September 2, Asif had said that a military trial of Khan was "possible". He had said that during the Khan-led government, military trials of the civilians were held and he remembers cases of 24 civilians who went through the process of facing military court. On May 9 last year, violent protests erupted after the arrest of the PTI founder by paramilitary Rangers from the premises of the Islamabad High Court in connection with an alleged corruption case. His party workers allegedly vandalised a dozen military installations, including the Jinnah House (Lahore Corps Commander House), the Mianwali airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad. A mob also attacked the Army headquarters in Rawalpindi. Khan's party has ruled out the possibility of him being subjected to a military trial. The Supreme Court in December 2023 suspended its October 23, 2023, order wherein it declared civilians' trials in military courts null and void in connection with the May 9 riots. The verdict was announced on intra-court appeals filed by the federal and provincial governments and the defence ministry against the top court's verdict. The December order stated that military court trials would be conditioned on the Supreme Court's final verdict on the intra-court pleas. Speaking on the issue, the defence minister said that he lacked access to the investigation related to the PTI founder as they were confidential. "The army was targeted in cities where demonstrations took place [...] This leads us [to believe] that some people were directing [rioters]," the politician said, recalling the May 9 events. The directions related to protests must've been of the PTI founder, he added. Asif also said that Lt Gen (retd.) Faiz Hameed, who was recently arrested, approached the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz to become army chief. The former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has been arrested over allegations of land grabbing and snatching valuables from the owner of a private housing society. "General (retd) Faiz wanted to become army chief, his name was in the list. He contacted the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) leadership and assured of his loyalty against support for his bid for army chief," Asif claimed, adding that the ex-ISI chief also gave certain guarantees as well. The minister said that following the appointment of Gen Asif Munir as army chief, Faiz's complaints intensified. "The general had an acquaintance with the PTI founder [and] he must be speaking about this following his arrest," the minister said, noting that the former spy chief would attempt to shift the blame on someone else. "He (Faiz) might say that even if he was part of the conspiracy then the objectives (of conspiracy) were of the PTI founder's and not his," Asif said. "Both of them tried to take over the country after losing power. Both failed to create an uprising within the military," he added. Khan was arrested on August 5 last year after his conviction in the first Toshakhana corruption case filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan. Since then, he has been in jail in different cases. Allenby Crossing (West Bank), Sep 8 (AP) Three Israelis were shot and killed on Sunday at the border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, Israeli officials said, in what appeared to be an attack linked to the 11-month-old war in Gaza. The military said the gunman approached the Allenby Bridge Crossing from the Jordanian side in a truck and opened fire at Israeli security forces, who killed him in a shootout. Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said the three killed were all men in their 50s. A spokesperson with the Israel Airports Authority, which oversees borders, said the attacker was Jordanian. Jordan is investigating the shooting, its state-run Petra News Agency reported. The Western-allied Arab country made peace with Israel in 1994 but is deeply critical of its policies toward the Palestinians. Jordan has a large Palestinian population and has seen mass protests against Israel over the war in Gaza. The Allenby crossing over the Jordan River, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, is mainly used by Palestinians and international tourists, as well as for cargo shipments. The crossing has seen few security incidents over the years, but in 2014 Israeli security guards shot and killed a Jordanian judge who they said had attacked them. Authorities in Israel and Jordan said the crossing was closed until further notice. Israel later announced the closure of both of its land crossings with Jordan, near Beit Shean in the north and Eilat in the south. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack and linked it to Israel's larger conflict with Iran and allied militant groups, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Israeli-occupied West Bank has seen a surge of violence since Hamas' October 7 attack out of Gaza triggered the war there. Israel has launched near-daily military arrest raids into dense Palestinian residential areas, and there has been a rise in Israeli settler violence and Palestinian attacks on Israelis. Also on Sunday, loved ones mourned Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, an American-Turkish woman who was shot dead on Friday in the West Bank. She had been demonstrating against Israeli settlements there. The White House has said it was deeply disturbed and called on Israel to investigate, while her family seeks an independent investigation. In Gaza, meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike early Sunday killed five people, including two women, two children and a senior official in the Civil Defence first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government. The Civil Defence said the strike targeted the home of its deputy director for northern Gaza, Mohammed Morsi, in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The army says it tries to avoid harming civilians and only targets militants. Another Israeli strike hit the Eid family home in the Nuseirat refugee camp and killed at least two girls, according to an Associated Press journalist who counted the bodies and witnesses. First responders were looking for others under the rubble. Gaza's Health Ministry says over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began. It does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count. The war has caused vast destruction and displaced around 90 per cent of Gaza's population of 2.3 million, often multiple times. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in their October 7 attack. They abducted another 250 and are still holding around 100 after releasing most of the rest in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel during a weeklong cease-fire last November. Around a third of the remaining hostages inside Gaza are believed to be dead. The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to broker a cease-fire and the return of the hostages, but the negotiations have repeatedly bogged down. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem territories the Palestinians want for a future state in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel withdrew soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005 but maintained control over its airspace, coastline and most of its land crossings. Along with Egypt, it imposed a blockade on Gaza after Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. (AP) PY PY Mosinee (US), Sep 8 (AP) With just days to go before his first and likely only debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump leaned into his familiar grievances about everything from his indictments and efforts to keep him off the ballot as he campaigned in one of the most deeply Republican swaths of battleground Wisconsin. "The Harris-Biden DOJ is trying to throw me in jail they want me in jail for the crime of exposing their corruption," Trump claimed at an outdoor rally at Central Wisconsin Airport, where he spoke behind a wall of bullet-proof glass following his July assassination attempt. There's no evidence that either Biden or Harris have had any influence over decisions by the Justice Department or local jurisdictions to indict Trump. The former president was speaking a day after appearing in court for an appeal of a decision that found him liable for sexual abuse, returning attention to his many indictments and criminal conviction. After his appearance, he delivered a lengthy statement to news cameras in which he brought up a string of past allegations of other acts of sexual misconduct at times in graphic language potentially reminding voters of incidents that were little-known or forgotten. Hours later, a Manhattan judge announced that the sentencing in his hush money case had been postponed until after the November election, granting him a hard-won reprieve. The sentencing had previously been scheduled for September 18, about seven weeks before Election Day. At the rally, Trump again criticised Harris in dark and ominous language, claiming that if the woman he calls "Comrade Kamala Harris gets four more years, we will be living in a full-blown Banana Republic ruled by anarchy." He also railed against the Biden administration's border policies, calling the Democrats' approach "suicidal". Both Harris and Trump have been frequent visitors to Wisconsin this year, a state where four of the past six presidential elections have been decided by less than a percentage point. Several polls of Wisconsin voters conducted after President Joe Biden withdrew showed Harris and Trump in a close race. The crowd in Mosinee was greeted by a big screen video of Trump urging attendees to check their voter registration and make a plan for voting. "If we swamp them, they can't cheat," Trump said, continuing to raise unfounded concerns about voter fraud, which is extremely rare. Democrats consider Wisconsin to be one of the must-win "blue wall" states. Biden, who was in Wisconsin on Thursday, won the state in 2020 by just under 21,000 votes. Trump carried it by a slightly larger margin, nearly 23,000 votes, in 2016. As Trump was campaigning, Harris took a short break from debate prep on Saturday to stop at Penzeys Spices in Pittsburgh's Strip District, where she bought a number of seasoning mixes. One customer saw the Democratic nominee and began openly weeping as Harris hugged her and said, "We're going to be fine. We're all in this together." Harris said she was honoured to have endorsements from two major Republicans: former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, Liz Cheney, the former Wyoming congresswoman. "People are exhausted, about the division and the attempts to kind of divide us as Americans," she said, adding that her main message at the debate would be that the country wants to be united. "It's time to turn the page on the divisiveness," she said. "It's time to bring our country together, to chart a new way forward." Trump held his rally in the central Wisconsin city of Mosinee, with a population of about 4,500 people. It is within Wisconsin's mostly rural 7th Congressional District, a reliably Republican area in a purple state. Trump carried the county where Mosinee is located by 18 percentage points in both 2016 and 2020. Among those in the crowd was Dale Osuldsen, who was celebrating his 68th birthday Saturday at his first ever Trump rally. He hopes a second Trump administration will take on "cancel culture" and bring the country back to its "foundational past. "We've had past administrations say they want to fundamentally change America," Osulden said. "Fundamentally changing America is a bad thing." Democrats have relied on massive turnout in the state's two largest cities, Milwaukee and Madison, to counter Republican strength in rural areas like Mosinee and the Milwaukee suburbs. Trump must win the votes in places like Mosinee to have any chance of cutting into the Democrats' advantage in urban areas. Republicans held their national convention in Milwaukee in July and Trump has made four previous stops to the state, most recently just last week in the western Wisconsin city of La Crosse. Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, last month filled the same Milwaukee arena where Republicans held their national convention for a rally that coincided with the Democratic National Convention just 90 miles away in Chicago. Walz returned Monday to Milwaukee, where he spoke at a Labour Day rally organised by unions. (AP) DIV DIV Caracas (Venezuela), Sep 8 (AP) For millions of Venezuelans and dozens of foreign governments, Edmundo Gonzalez was the undisputed winner of the country's July 28 presidential election. But on Sunday, he joined the swelling ranks of once-prominent government opponents who have fled into exile, leaving his political future uncertain and tightening Nicolas Maduro's grip on power. The former presidential candidate arrived at a military airport outside Madrid after being granted safe passage by Maduro's government so he could take up asylum in Spain. His surprise departure came just days after Maduro's government ordered his arrest. Gonzalez, 75, burst onto Venezuela's political scene less than five months ago. His candidacy was as accidental as it gets after opposition powerhouse Maria Corina Machado was barred from running and a handpicked substitute was also blocked. In April, a coalition of more than 10 parties settled on Gonzalez, who overnight went from being a virtually unknown retired diplomat and grandfather to a household name in whom millions placed their hopes for an end to more than two decades of single-party rule. Accompanied by Machado, he crisscrossed the country in the final weeks of the campaign, energising massive crowds of Venezuelans who blamed Maduro for one of the worst ever economic collapses outside a war zone. Let's imagine for a moment the country that is coming, he told a crowd of cheering supporters at a rally in La Victoria, a once-thriving industrial city. A country in which the president does not insult or see his adversaries as enemies. A country where when you get home from work, you know that your money has value, that when you turn on the switch, there will be electricity, that when you turn on the faucet, there will be water. The yin-yang strategy proved more popular than even many Maduro opponents had imagined. Election was quickly disputed Although the National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner, the opposition's superior ground game allowed it to collect evidence showing that it was actually Gonzalez who prevailed by a more than a 2-to-1 margin. Foreign governments condemned the official results as lacking credibility. Even some leftist allies of Maduro withheld recognition, demanding that authorities release a breakdown of results at all 30,000 voting machines nationwide, as it has in the past. In the weeks since the disputed vote, both opposition figures went into hiding amid a brutal crackdown that led to more than 2,000 arrests and the deaths of at least 24 people at the hands of security forces. Gonzalez stayed out of public view while Machado appeared at sporadic rallies seeking to keep the pressure on Maduro. Machado tried to put a positive spin on Gonzalez's departure late Saturday, assuring Venezuelans he would be back on January 10 for a swearing-in ceremony marking the start of the next presidential term. His life was in danger, and the increasing threats, summons, arrest warrants and even attempts at blackmail and coercion to which he has been subjected, demonstrate that the regime has no scruples, Machado said on X. Let this be very clear to everyone: Edmundo will fight from outside alongside our diaspora." Candidacy came after career as a diplomat Gonzalez began his professional career as an aide to Venezuela's ambassador in the US. He had postings in Belgium and El Salvador and served as Caracas' ambassador to Algeria. His last post was as Venezuela's ambassador to Argentina during the first years of the government of Hugo Chavez, Maduro's predecessor and mentor. More recently, he worked as an international relations consultant, writing about recent political developments in Argentina and authoring a historical work on Venezuela's foreign minister during World War II. His years in El Salvador and Algeria coincided with periods of armed conflicts in both countries. For a time, his whereabouts were tracked by locals in El Salvador, and he would get calls at home meant to intimidate him, with the callers saying they were aware that Gonzalez had just arrived home. Maduro on the campaign trail claimed without evidence that Gonzalez was recruited as a CIA asset during that Cold War, which coincided with heavy US military involvement in Central American country. Gonzalez had just returned to Venezuela's capital, Caracas, from a trip to Spain to visit a daughter and grandchildren when opposition leaders presented him with the idea of becoming a candidate. The subdued tone and poker face he forged as a diplomat cut a sharp contrast with boisterous, ego-driven politicians to which Venezuelans have long been accustomed. Maduro and his allies have taken his conciliatory tones as a sign of weakness. But that kind of language was among his many selling points to Venezuelans fed up with winner-takes-all politics. Enough shouting, enough insults, Gonzalez told supporters. "It's time to reunite." (AP) PY PY Dubai, Sep 8 (AP) Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed early Sunday they shot down another American-made MQ-9 drone flying over the country, marking potentially the latest downing of the multimillion-dollar surveillance aircraft. The US responded with airstrikes over Houthi-controlled territory, the rebels said. The US military did not immediately respond to a request for comment over the Houthi claim. The rebels offered no pictures or video to support the claim as they have in the past, though such material can appear in propaganda footage days later. However, the Houthis have repeatedly downed General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper drones in the years since they seized Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in 2014. Those attacks have exponentially increased since the start of the Israel-Hamas war and the Houthis launched their campaign targeting shipping in the Red Sea corridor. Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree made the claim in a prerecorded video message. He said the Houthis shot down the drone over Yemen's Marib province, a long-contested area home to key oil and gas fields that's been held by allies of a Saudi-led coalition battling the rebels since 2015. Saree offered no details on how the rebels down the aircraft. However, Iran has armed the rebels with a surface-to-air missile known as the 358 for years. Iran denies arming the rebels, though Tehran-manufactured weaponry has been found on the battlefield and in seaborne shipments heading to Yemen despite a United Nations arms embargo. The Houthis "continue to perform their jihadist duties in victory for the oppressed Palestinian people and in defense of dear Yemen", Saree said. Reapers, which cost around USD 30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet (15,240 metres) and have an endurance of up to 24 hours before needing to land. The aircraft have been flown by both the US military and the CIA over Yemen for years. After the claim, the Houthis' al-Masirah satellite news channel reported multiple US-led airstrikes near the city of Ibb. The US military did not immediately acknowledge the strikes, but the Americans have been striking Houthi targets intensely since January. The Houthis have targeted more than 80 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that has also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a US-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have included Western military vessels as well. The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK to force an end to Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran. Those attacks include the barrage that struck the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion in the Red Sea. Salvagers last week abandoned an initial effort to tow away the burning oil tanker, leaving the Sounion stranded and its 1 million barrels of oil at risk of spilling. (AP) DIV DIV Thane, Sep 8 (PTI) The Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) in Maharashtra's Thane district has launched a new 'Central School Control Room' to bolster the safety of students by monitoring CCTV footage across the civic schools, officials said. The move comes after two four-year-old girls were sexually assaulted allegedly by a male attendant in the washroom of a school in Badlapur area of the district last month. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on September 5 inaugurated the MBMC's 'Central School Control Room' via video conferencing. The facility, located at the Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar Auditorium in Mira Bhayander area, is designed to monitor CCTV footage across municipal schools to enhance student safety, a civic release said on Saturday. Municipal Commissioner Sanjay Katkar said the control room, which can monitor nearly 1,000 CCTV cameras, is equipped with advanced technology and a UPS generator backup. It will oversee footage from 200 cameras installed in 36 municipal schools with approximately 10,000 students. The control room promises to address security concerns proactively and provide a secure learning environment for students, parents and school staff. Initially focusing on municipal schools, the initiative plans to include private institutions in the future, the release said. In his address, CM Shinde stressed on the significance of ensuring a secure environment for students, particularly emphasising the need for real-time CCTV surveillance to deter wrongful activities. He urged other municipal corporations to adopt the MBMC's model to enhance educational safety standards across Maharashtra. The chief minister also highlighted the state's commitment to student safety through stricter regulations and the 'Shakti' law, aimed at strengthening measures against crimes targeting women and children, the release said. He encouraged schools to conduct thorough background checks of the staff and install complaint boxes to facilitate reporting of grievances, it added. Kolkata, Sep 8 (PTI) Following are the top stories from the Eastern Region at 5 pm. CAL 21 MN-CM-LD GUV *Manipur CM submits memorandum to governor Imphal: Manipur CM N Biren Singh met Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya on Sunday along with his cabinet colleagues and submitted a memorandum, the Raj Bhavan said in a statement. CAL 20 BH-TRAIN-2ND LD ACCIDENT Coupling of Magadh Express breaks, train splits into two in Bihar's Buxar Patna: The coupling of Magadh Express from New Delhi to Islampur broke, splitting the train into two in Bihar's Buxar district on Sunday, an official said. CAL 19 BH-RSS-INDRESH There should be no lynching, be it of cows or men: RSS functionary Patna: Senior RSS functionary Indresh Kumar on Sunday asserted there should be "no man lynching and no cow lynching", in order to ensure that people from different faiths lived together in peace. CAL 18 WB-ENT-LD DIRECTOR Directors' body suspends Bengali filmmaker Arindam Sil over sexual harassment charge Kolkata: Bengali filmmaker Arindam Sil was suspended by the Directors' Association of Eastern India (DAEI) following a complaint of sexual misconduct by an actress. CAL 17 JH-CHOUHAN-RECRUITMENT TEST Jharkhand excise constable recruitment drive held for "votes": Shivraj Singh Chouhan Ranchi: Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday accused the Hemant Soren-led government of holding the excise constable recruitment drive for "votes", that claimed 12 lives. CAL 16 WB-LD SIRCAR 'Have suffered patiently': TMC MP Jawhar Sircar says he'll resign over RG Kar horror, corruption Kolkata: TMC MP Jawhar Sircar on Sunday wrote to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, the chief of his party, and said he has decided to quit Rajya Sabha and leave politics altogether, describing the steps taken by the state government in handling the rape and murder of the doctor at RG Kar hospital "too little and quite late". * New Delhi, Sep 8 (PTI) The key Hamburg Sustainability Conference that will bring together experts from around the world to discuss "ideas and innovations" to accelerate efforts to achieve the SDGs will take place around the first week of October, a top German official here said. In an interview to PTI, Uwe Gehlen, Head of Development Cooperation, German Embassy in India, also said the conference will be opened by Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The Hamburg Sustainability Conference is scheduled to be held on October 7 and 8, and India will participate in it, both from the public and private sectors. Gehlen took part in a panel discussion 'Financing the Renewable Energy Revolution' at the International Solar Festival here on Friday and spoke about Germany's role in helping India realise its renewable energy goals by 2030. Later interacting with PTI, he spoke about the progress made in the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP) between the two countries and the significance of the upcoming visit of Chancellor Scholz late in October. Gehlen described the relationship between India and Germany in the clean and renewable energy sector as "marvellous". He also shared details about the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, which will take place in Germany ahead of Chancellor Scholz's scheduled visit to India next month. "We got to the conclusion, specifically from the development anchor that we would like to take up efforts to qualify a little bit more beyond the existing format, the discussion about innovation in SDGs," the top German official told PTI on the sidelines of the festival. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. "They recognise that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality and spur economic growth all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests," the SDGs website reads. Gehlen said the SDGs are meant to be fulfilled in 2030 and it's not that the stakeholders are struggling, but it would be "very challenging" road ahead. "So, more activities needed, more networks needed, more good ideas needed, more innovations needed and the idea from the leadership in my ministry together with the chancellory was setting up a format where these discussions could happen, so we developed this format," he said. "And, it will take place now first time, in Hamburg, and will be opened by our Chancellor Olaf Scholz, so, we are very proud about that," Gehlen added. The German official said that an entire range of thematic sessions related to a whole lot of questions "we ask ourselves continuously" have been planned. The key conference will see gathering of "very high-ranking participants" from all over the world, but also a lot of people who are not so famous, but having good ideas, he said. "We need a new era of sustainability, new alliances with business leaders, global policymakers, and society. Halfway from the adoption of the SDGs in 2015 on the path to 2030, the Hamburg Sustainability Conference is establishing a new global platform to speed up the implementation of the SDGs and deliver result-oriented solutions," reads a description on its official website. Asked if India's participation will be from both public and private sectors, Gehlen said, "yes". India-Germany relationship is based on "tremendous amount of trust, friendship and shared responsibility", bringing both countries forward as well making contribution to the world, and the upcoming visit of Chancellor Scholz is in line with it, he said. German Chancellor Scholz and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in May 2022 signed the German-Indian Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP), which gears cooperation between the two countries across different sectors towards the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement. Scholz is set to visit India in October to hold wide-ranging talks with Modi, with a focus on boosting bilateral trade and economic relations. He said the upcoming "visit of our Chancellor with parts of the German Cabinet will push us forward. I am very much looking forward to it". New Delhi, Sep 8 (PTI) The Congress on Sunday hit out at the government over the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation reportedly dissolving the Standing Committee on Statistics, alleging it was done as its members repeatedly asked why the decennial Census due in 2021 has still not been conducted. The Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has "quietly dissolved the 14-member Standing Committee on Statistics (SCoS) headed by eminent economist and former chief statistician of the country Pronab Sen, allegedly after its members questioned the delay in conducting the census", according to a report in The Hindu. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "And for what? Simply for repeatedly asking the Government why the decennial Census last due in 2021 has still not been conducted thereby, among other things, denying at least 10 crore Indians of ration benefits under National Food Security Act, 2013/ PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana." The reason it is being dismantled, according to an email sent to the members by Geeta Singh Rathore, Director General of the Ministry's National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), is that the committee's work overlapped with that of the recently formed Steering Committee for National Sample Surveys, the report shared by Ramesh on X said. New Delhi, Sep 7 (PTI) India and China can play a role in finding a solution to the dragging conflict in Ukraine, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday after holding talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Italian prime minister's comments at northern Italy's Cernobbio city came two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin named India, Brazil and China as possible intermediaries that could play a role in resolving the conflict. "China and India have a role to play in resolving the conflict," Meloni was quoted as saying in Italian media. "What must not happen is to think that the conflict can be resolved by abandoning Ukraine to its fate," she said. "The decision to support Kyiv is in line with Italy's national interest and will never change," Meloni said, reaffirming her government's full support for Ukraine. On Thursday, Putin, speaking at a panel discussion at the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok, said that he was in touch with India, Brazil and China on the Ukraine conflict. "First of all, it is Chinese People's Republic, Brazil and India -- I am in contact with my partners and I have no doubt that the leaders of these countries -- and we have relations of trust and confidence with one another -- will be really interested and provide a helping hand," he said. His remarks came in response to a question on possible countries that can act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kyiv last month during which he conveyed to Zelenskyy that both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the ongoing war and that India was ready to play an "active role" to restore peace in the region. The prime minister said India was on the side of peace since the beginning of the conflict and he would even like to contribute personally for a peaceful resolution of the crisis. Modi's nearly nine-hour visit to Ukraine on August 23, the first by an Indian prime minister since its independence in 1991, came six weeks after he held summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Dehradun, Sep 8 (PTI) The Uttarakhand government on Sunday ordered an inquiry into the matter of underworld don Prakash Pandey alias PP being given the title of Mahant in Almora jail. According to a government release, Special Secretary (Home) Riddhim Agarwal has nominated Additional Inspector General, Prison Administration, Yashwant Chauhan as the investigating officer in the case and asked him to report within a week. Pandey, involved in several cases of murder, robbery and ransom, was given 'diksha' by two sadhus inside the jail on September 5. As part of the ritual, the gangster was made to wear a 'rudraksha' rosary and 'kanthi' amid mantra chanting. The sadhus, who claimed to be from the Panch Dashnam Juna Akhara, also gave Pandey a new name, Prakashanand Giri, after the ceremony. The sadhus were accompanied to the jail by another person who acted as a mediator in the entire process. Meanwhile, the Juna Akhara has constituted its own inquiry committee to probe the matter. The matter was discussed in the national executive meeting of the Juna Akhara held in Nagina, Uttar Pradesh on Saturday. The meeting concluded with akhara's international patron Mahant Hari Giri constituting a seven-member committee headed by the body's national president Mahant Prem Giri to investigate the matter. Later, in Haridwar, Mahant Hari Giri said that the committee will investigate every aspect of the episode, including any kind of monetary transaction. He said the committee will present its report to the national executive in three months, on which necessary action will be taken after discussion in the central executive. The mediator Krishna Kandpal, and the seers, after the diksha ritual had held a press conference in Almora where he gave the reason why the gangster was given the title. "When I met PP bhai, I was impressed by his patriotic spirit. He had entered Pakistan once to kill Dawood (Ibrahim). He had even entered Vietnam to kill someone else but was arrested as there was a red-corner notice issued against him. He expressed his desire to tread the spiritual path. I talked to the seers and they agreed to offer him diksha," Kandpal had then told reporters. "It was a subtle diksha programme. A larger and more elaborate one will be done at Prayagraj Kumbh in 2025," he had said. Hyderabad, Aug 8 (PTI) Telangana BJP president and Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy on Sunday visited flood-hit areas of Khammam district of the state and assured the people that the Narendra Modi government would fully support those affected in every possible way. He said the Centre has told the Telangana government to first use the Rs 1,345 crore available in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to help the flood-hit people. The amount is available with the state as an advance from the Government of India, he said. "Soon after the havoc caused by heavy rains and flood, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. PM Modi asked him (Revanth Reddy) to utilise the advance of Rs 1,345 crore in the SDRF. There should be no politics over flood relief," Kishan Reddy said, after visiting the Munneru flood victims in Khammam district on Sunday. As many as 29 people lost their lives in the recent heavy rains and flooding in Telangana. The state government has urged the Centre to declare the recent spell of heavy rains and flood in the state as a national calamity and to release immediate assistance of Rs 2,000 crore. It has put the losses at Rs 5,438 crore as per preliminary estimates, due to the rains and floods. Kishan Reddy, who visited and assessed the flood-affected areas of Dhamsalapuram and Thirumalapalem in Khammam, said he interacted with people affected by the devastating floods and inquired about the flood relief and rehabilitation efforts. In a post on 'X' he said "Also learned that the victims were not receiving adequate support from the state government." Khammam witnessed unprecedented floods, rendering a lot of people homeless. Both the state and the Central governments would stand with the victims and render all assistance, the Union Minister assured. Kishan Reddy also promised to build a retaining wall along the Munneru stream in the surrounding area to prevent future flooding. He visited the relief camp at Agraharam Colony and interacted with the displaced people. He distributed relief material and blankets to them. Telangana Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, BJP MPs Eatala Rajender, Konda Vishweshwar Reddy and other officials were present. Pilibhit (UP), Sep 8 (PTI) A man has been arrested and a cleric booked for allegedly raping a Dalit woman here by through impersonation, an officer said on Sunday. Puranpur Police Station SHO Rajiv Sharma said, "The victim reported the incident on Saturday, claiming that she was raped multiple occasions by one Firdaus and once by Hafiz Noor Ahmed." Some members of a local right wing Hindu group caught the woman and Firdaus on the way to a hotel and handed them over to police. The woman told police that Firdaus had forced her to go to the hotel with him. Firdaus, who posed as a Hindu Dalit, gained the victim's trust and exploited her, police said quoting the complaint. The victim alleged that Firdaus once took her to one cleric, Hafiz Noor Ahmed, who raped her under the pretence of exorcising a spirit. She also accused Firdaus of recording the incident and threatening to upload the video online. Police arrested Firdaus on Sunday and efforts are on to nab Noor Ahmed, said the SHO. It is with profound sorrow that YWN announces the Petirah of the Skulener Rebbe, Harav Yeshaya Yaakov Portugal ztl, who was niftar on Motzei Shabbos after battling a serious illness for the past several years. He was 68 years old. Born in Bucharest during a time of great turmoil, Rav Yeshaya Yaakov was a living emblem of resilience and strength. He was the eldest son of Harav Yisrael Avraham Portugal ztl, and the grandson of Harav Eliezer Zusia Portugal ztl, both of whom were pillars of the Skulen dynasty. From a young age, Rav Yeshaya Yaakov exhibited a deep hasmada in Torah and avodas Hashem, a path he would follow with unwavering dedication throughout his life. His early years were marked by the challenges of living under Communist rule, where he witnessed his father and grandfather risking their lives to preserve Yiddishkeit in Romania. This early exposure to sheroism undoubtedly shaped the Rebbes own approach to leadership, as he would later inspire and uplift Jews from all walks of life with the same courage and dedication. After relocating to the United States, the Rebbe continued the work of his illustrious father and grandfather, establishing himself in Boro Park, where he became a magnet for those seeking guidance and brachos. Night after night, a steady stream of chasidim and admirers would gather outside his home, waiting for hours for the opportunity to receive the Rebbes brachos and advice. His fatherly compassion and radiant smile were a source of comfort and strength to all who came to him. His leadership extended well beyond Boro Park, as he also played a pivotal role in supporting the Chessed LAvraham network of schools in Eretz Yisrael, continuing the work of his father in spreading Torah and chessed to all corners of the world. The Rebbe was also known for his miraculous recovery from a life-threatening illness several years ago, an event he often spoke about and publicly thanked Hashem for. The Rebbe is survived by his brothers, the Skulener Rebbes of Williamsburg, Monsey, Lakewood and Yerushalayim, who carry on the work of the Skulen dynasty, and by his many chasidim who will continue to walk in the path he set out for them. The Levaya will take place at 12:00PM at the Skulener Beis HaMedrish in Boro Park followed by the Kevura at the Viznitzer Beis Hachaim in Monsey. Baruch Dayan Haemes. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Allan Lichtman, known for accurately predicting the outcome of 9 out of the last 10 U.S. presidential elections, has revealed his forecast for the upcoming race. According to Lichtman, Vice President Kamala Harris is poised to reclaim the White House for the Democrats. In a video first reported by The New York Times, Lichtman explained his prediction, which is based on his signature 13 keys system. These true-false questions assess the strength and performance of the incumbent White House party and focus on factors such as economic conditions, policy success, and charisma of the candidates. Eight of the keys favor Harris, while three align with former President Donald Trump, Lichtman said. Lichtman, a professor at American University in Washington, D.C., cautioned that foreign policy remains a volatile factor. He highlighted the Biden administrations involvement in the Gaza conflict as a potential turning point, but noted that even if two foreign policy keys were to flip, Harris would still have the advantage. Known for his decades of accurate forecasting, Lichtman urged voters to engage in the democratic process, saying, At least thats my prediction for this race, but the outcome is up to you, so get out and vote. Lichtmans only misstep in his predictive model came in the contentious 2000 election, where Republican George W. Bush narrowly defeated Democrat Al Gore. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) With just days to go before his first and likely only debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump leaned into his familiar grievances about everything from his indictments and efforts to keep him off the ballot as he campaigned in one of the most deeply Republican swaths of battleground Wisconsin. The Harris-Biden DOJ is trying to throw me in jail they want me in jail for the crime of exposing their corruption, Trump claimed at an outdoor rally at Central Wisconsin Airport, where he spoke behind a wall of bullet-proof glass following his July assassination attempt. Theres no evidence that either Biden or Harris have had any influence over decisions by the Justice Department or local jurisdictions to indict Trump. The former president was speaking a day after appearing in court for an appeal of a decision that found him liable for sexual abuse, returning attention to his many indictments and criminal conviction. After his appearance, he delivered a lengthy statement to news cameras in which he brought up a string of past allegations of other acts of sexual misconduct at times in graphic language potentially reminding voters of incidents that were little-known or forgotten. Hours later, a Manhattan judge announced that the sentencing in his hush money case had been postponed until after the November election, granting him a hard-won reprieve. The sentencing had previously been scheduled for Sept. 18, about seven weeks before Election Day. At the rally, Trump again criticized Harris in dark and ominous language, claiming that if the woman he calls Comrade Kamala Harris gets four more years, we will be living in a full-blown Banana Republic ruled by anarchy. He also railed against the Biden administrations border policies, calling the Democrats approach suicidal. Both Harris and Trump have been frequent visitors to Wisconsin this year, a state where four of the past six presidential elections have been decided by less than a percentage point. Several polls of Wisconsin voters conducted after President Joe Biden withdrew showed Harris and Trump in a close race. The crowd in Mosinee was greeted by a big screen video of Trump urging attendees to check their voter registration and make a plan for voting. If we swamp them, they cant cheat, Trump said, continuing to raise unfounded concerns about voter fraud, which is extremely rare. Democrats consider Wisconsin to be one of the must-win blue wall states. Biden, who was in Wisconsin on Thursday, won the state in 2020 by just under 21,000 votes. Trump carried it by a slightly larger margin, nearly 23,000 votes, in 2016. As Trump was campaigning, Harris took a short break from debate prep on Saturday to stop at Penzeys Spices in Pittsburghs Strip District, where she bought a number of seasoning mixes. One customer saw the Democratic nominee and began openly weeping as Harris hugged her and said, Were going to be fine. Were all in this together. Harris said she was honored to have endorsements from two major Republicans: former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, Liz Cheney, the former Wyoming congresswoman. People are exhausted, about the division and the attempts to kind of divide us as Americans, she said, adding that her main message at the debate would be that the country wants to be united. Its time to turn the page on the divisiveness, she said. Its time to bring our country together, to chart a new way forward. Trump held his rally in the central Wisconsin city of Mosinee, with a population of about 4,500 people. It is within Wisconsins mostly rural 7th Congressional District, a reliably Republican area in a purple state. Trump carried the county where Mosinee is located by 18 percentage points in both 2016 and 2020. Among those in the crowd was Dale Osuldsen, who was celebrating his 68th birthday Saturday at his first ever Trump rally. He hopes a second Trump administration will take on cancel culture and bring the country back to its foundational past. Weve had past administrations say they want to fundamentally change America, Osulden said. Fundamentally changing America is a bad thing. Democrats have relied on massive turnout in the states two largest cities, Milwaukee and Madison, to counter Republican strength in rural areas like Mosinee and the Milwaukee suburbs. Trump must win the votes in places like Mosinee to have any chance of cutting into the Democrats advantage in urban areas. Republicans held their national convention in Milwaukee in July and Trump has made four previous stops to the state, most recently just last week in the western Wisconsin city of La Crosse. Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, last month filled the same Milwaukee arena where Republicans held their national convention for a rally that coincided with the Democratic National Convention just 90 miles away in Chicago. Walz returned Monday to Milwaukee, where he spoke at a Labor Day rally organized by unions. (AP) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. scored a pair of legal victories Friday in the battleground states of North Carolina and Michigan, and a setback in Wisconsin, in his quest to get his name off of the ballots in some states after he suspended his campaign and endorsed former President Donald Trump. North Carolinas intermediate-level Court of Appeals issued an order granting Kennedys request to halt the mailing of ballots that included his name, upending plans in the state just as officials were about to begin sending out the nations first absentee ballots for the Nov. 5 presidential election. The court a three-judge panel ruling unanimously also told a trial judge to order the State Board of Elections to distribute ballots without Kennedys name on them. No legal explanation was given. In Michigan, its intermediate-level Court of Appeals ruled that Kennedy should be removed from the ballot, reversing a decision made earlier this week by a lower court judge. And in Wisconsin, a Dane County circuit court judge denied Kennedys request for a temporary restraining order to put on hold the state elections commissions decision to keep him on the ballot. A matter of such consequence deserves a full development of the record with appropriate briefing by all sides, Judge Stephen Ehlke wrote. He set a scheduling conference for Wednesday, a week before the deadline for the printing of ballots. In separate statements, a Kennedy attorney praised the North Carolina and Michigan rulings, saying they uphold state elections laws and support ballot integrity by ensuring no one must vote for a candidate no longer running in their state. A favorable outcome for Kennedy could assist Trumps efforts to win North Carolina, Michigan and Wisconsin. North Carolina law required the first absentee ballots to be mailed or transmitted to those already asking for them no later than 60 days before the general election, making Friday the deadline. The process of reprinting and assembling ballot packages likely would take more than two weeks, state attorneys have said. The State Board of Elections formally asked the state Supreme Court late Friday to reverse the Court of Appeals decision. State lawyers asked the justices to act quickly before adjustments to the ballots ordered earlier Friday is complete likely in a few days. Five of the seven Supreme Court justices are registered Republicans. Kennedy, the nominee of the We The People party in North Carolina, had sued last week to get off the states ballots after he suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump. But the Democratic majority on the State Board of Elections rejected the request, saying it was too late in the process of printing ballots and coding tabulation machines. Kennedy then sued. Wake County Superior Court Judge Rebecca Holt on Thursday denied Kennedys effort to keep his name off ballots, prompting his appeal. In the meantime, Holt had told election officials to hold back sending absentee ballots until noon Friday. More than 136,300 people military and overseas workers and in-state civilian residents have requested North Carolina absentee ballots so far, the State Board of Elections said late Friday. In an email, state board Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell told election directors in all 100 counties to preserve current ballots and coding in case rulings revert to keeping Kennedy on the ballot. More than 2.9 million absentee and in-person ballots with Kennedys name on them had been printed. Counties would have to pay for the cost of reprinting ballots. With Fridays deadline not met, North Carolina election officials still are faced with meeting a federal law requiring absentee ballots go to military and overseas voters by Sept. 21. They may try to seek a waiver if new ballots cant be produced in time. Fridays ruling in North Carolina didnt include the names of Court of Appeals judges who considered Kennedys request the court releases the names after 90 days. The court has 15 judges 11 registered Republicans and four Democrats. Names usually have been withheld from such orders to discourage judge shopping, or purposefully seeking out a judge whos likely to rule in your favor, the court has said. Kennedy sued Democratic Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson on Aug. 30 to get off the ballot. He filed suit in Wisconsin on Wednesday. Fridays ruling from Michigan said that while Kennedys request was made close to the deadline to give notice to local election officials, it wasnt so unreasonable as to deny relief to him. Bensons office will appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court, a spokesperson said. (AP) A study funded by the Jim Joseph Foundation reveals growing opposition to Israel among U.S. college students, with many seeking to socially isolate peers who express support for Israel. The 65-page report, titled A Year of Campus Conflict and Growth: An Over-Time Study of the Impact of the Israel-Hamas War on U.S. College Students, was released on Sept. 3 and examines the experiences of Jewish and non-Jewish students on campuses across the country. Conducted by College Pulse, the study includes surveys from the same cohort of students between 2022 and 2024, along with hour-long focus group sessions. The findings are striking: one in five non-Jewish respondents reported they would avoid friendships with individuals who support Israel, while over half of Jewish students acknowledged that openly supporting Israel often comes with social repercussions. This study, conducted over three years, reveals extraordinary detail about the experience of American college students during a historic period of tensions on campus, said co-author Eitan Hersh, a political science professor at Tufts University. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris, voiced his support for anti-Israel protesters in Michigan during an interview on Thursday, arguing that demonstrators are speaking out for all the right reasons. His remarks were made in response to a question from WCMU, a public radio station in Michigan, regarding the Harris-Walz campaigns stance on the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. I think those folks who are speaking out loudly in Michigan are speaking out for all the right reasons. Its a humanitarian crisis. It cant stand the way it is, and we need to find a way that people can live together in this, Walz said, referring to recent protests against Israels military actions in Gaza. What we saw on October 7 was a horrific act of violence against the people of Israel, Walz said, reaffirming that Israel has the right to defend itself and emphasizing that the United States will always stand by that. Notably, Walz did not mention Hamas or the murder of six hostages, including U.S. citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, in his response. Instead, he focused on the need for a ceasefire and a two-state solution, expressing concern over the situation in Gaza. The Palestinian people have every right to life and liberty themselves, he added. Walz also indicated that the U.S. should pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government to move towards a peace agreement. We need the Netanyahu government to start moving in that direction, he said, calling for a ceasefire and hostages release as part of efforts to achieve a sustainable two-state solution. Walzs earlier appearances with a Muslim cleric who has shared antisemitic and pro-Hamas content have drawn scrutiny in recent months, and this interview doesnt help his case in asserting that he is really pro-Israel. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) The IDF stated on Motzei Shabbos that IDF fighter jets carried out an airstrike on Thursday on a terror command center hidden within the humanitarian area in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza that was being used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists. The operation, carried out to remove an immediate threat, was conducted under the direction of the Shin Bet, IDF Military Intelligence Directorate, and the Southern Command. A number of terrorists were eliminated in the strike, including two Islamic Jihad battalion commanders. One was named as Abdallah Khatib, commander of the Islamic Jihads Southern Deir al-Balah Battalion, who led the battalions terror acts during the October 7 massacre in Israel and later carried out terror attacks against Israel, including firing mortars and anti-tank missiles. The second commander was Hatem Abu Aljidian, the Islamic Jihads Eastern Deir al-Balah Battalion commander. He led and carried out terror attacks against IDF soldiers during the ground war in Gaza. (YWNs Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis haShabbos in Israel) Three Israelis were murdered in a shooting attack at the Allenby Bridge crossing on the Israeli-Jordanian border in the Jordan Valley on Sunday morning. The shooting was carried out at the cargo terminal, used to transfer humanitarian aid trucks to Gaza. The victims, Israelis working at the crossing, were critically injured. Paramedics were called to the scene and carried out resuscitation attempts on the victims and two helicopters were deployed to the border area to evacuate the victims to the hospital. However, after a short while, the MDA paramedics were forced to declare the deaths of the victims. The terrorist, a truck driver who entered the crossing from Jordan, was neutralized at the scene. An initial investigation of the attack revealed that the terrorist, a Jordanian truck driver, hid a weapon inside his truck. Immediately after crossing the border, he emerged from his vehicle before it was checked and opened fire at the security forces from close range. Following the attack, the IDF said that there are suspicions that the truck is booby-trapped. Bomb sappers are working at the scene to rule out the possibility. It was later reported that the possibility was ruled out. IDF forces carried out extensive searches in the area to rule out the presence of additional terrorists and set up blockades on nearby roads. The crossing has been closed until further notice. The victims of the attack were named on Sunday afternoon. The first victim was identified as Yochanan Shchori, Hyd, a 61-year-old father of six from Maale Ephraim, a yishuv in the Shomron. The second victim was named as Yuri Birnbaum, Hyd, a 65-year-old father of three from the yishuv of Naama in the Jordan Valley. The third victim was named as Adrian Marcelo Podmesser, Hyd, 57, from the city of Ariel in the Shomron. The video below shows drivers and workers who were at the Allenby crossing during the attack being detained by Israeli security forces on suspicion of being connected to the attack: (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke about the murderous terror attack that occurred on Sunday morning and the ongoing war with Israels enemies at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem later on Sunday. Its a difficult day, Netanyahu began. A despicable terrorist murdered three of our citizens in cold blood at the Allenby Bridge Crossing. I extend, on behalf of the government and myself, condolences to the families of the victims. We are surrounded by a murderous ideology led by Irans axis of evil. In recent days, despicable terrorists murdered six of our hostages and three Israeli police officers in cold blood. The murderers dont distinguish between us; they want to murder us all until the last oneright and left, secular and religious, Jews and non-Jews. When we stand together, our enemies cant defeat us, and thats why their main goal is to divide us and sow discord within us. Last weekend, the German Bild newspaper published an official Hamas document revealing their plan of action: to create division among us, to wage psychological warfare on the families of the hostages, to exert internal and external political pressure on the Israeli government, to tear us apart from within, and to continue the war until further notice, until Israel is defeated. The vast majority of Israeli citizens are not falling for this Hamas trap. They know that we are wholeheartedly committed to achieving the goals of this war to eliminate Hamas, to bring back all our hostages, to ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel, and to safely return our residents from the north and south to their homes. We will stand together, hold on tightly to the sword of Dovid, and bezrat Hashem, we will win. Netanyahu concluded: And one more statement, there are those who ask: Will will always live by the sword? In the Middle East, theres no eternity without the sword. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below. Journalists receive press releases every day, but it is not often that one takes the breath away. Days ago, though, one landed on my desk, headlined Honours List recognition demands for Henley consumer hero. It told of Andrew Cooper, boss of European Consumer Claims (ECC), based in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, and his fight to gain justice for victims of timeshare rip-offs. Andrew Cooper, boss of European Consumer Claims Calling Cooper revered and an altruistic British hero, the release told how 34 years ago, Andrew Cooper worked briefly in the timeshare business itself. He was a salesman for a UK firm in Tenerife during a long-forgotten era when the product worked and had a stellar reputation. Later, timeshare owners found themselves trapped, unable to resell and facing rising annual fees. In 2016 Cooper set up ECC which, despite its official-sounding title, is a private company which earns its profits by launching legal claims against timeshare firms. Now ECC compares its boss to Sir Alan Bates, knighted after fighting for years to get justice for wrongly convicted sub-postmasters. It claims: Industry experts and ECCs clients alike are uniting behind a growing groundswell of demands for Andrew Coopers dedication and selflessness to be recognised in the New Year Honours List. ECC spokesman Mark Jobling explained: If Andrew Cooper hasnt earned a gong, there is no justice in the world. And the press release adds that he deserves a knighthood, or an MBE at the bare minimum. Such awards are awarded by the King. Those put forward are first checked by the Honours Committee, an offshoot of the Cabinet Office that includes reputable experts from outside government circles. So, if Coopers campaign reaches the committee, they will need to know about what he did between 1990, when a 21-year-old salesman in Tenerife, and 2016, when he set up in Henley. And this is where I explain why my breath was taken away. For Cooper himself crops up more than once in my own files on dodgy timeshare dealers. Some 25 years ago Cooper was marketing director at Club Class, which attracted huge numbers of complaints. He went on to be a director of Club Class Concierge and Bridge View Consultants, both part of the group of companies headed by known timeshare shark Peter Utal. They offered victims the chance to get rid of their unwanted timeshare and its big annual bills, but first they had to pay thousands of pounds to join Club Classs holiday scheme. I reported that timeshare owners who accepted Coopers invitations to meetings had been told they were supporting a victims group called International Timeshare Refund Action (ITRA). But instead, they faced a hard sell, scaring them into paying 7,000 or more for Club Class membership. And they still found themselves on the hook for the original timeshare fees they wanted to escape. In 2012, the Advertising Standards Authority banned an ITRA television commercial for failing to reveal that its meetings were a sales pitch for Club Class. Later that year the then Business Secretary Vince Cable won a High Court action to forcibly close down seven companies which made up the Club Class group, including those run by Andrew Cooper. The court action came after lengthy enquiries by the Insolvency Service, whose investigator David Hill said: These companies were set up with the aim of duping consumers. They were a scam, he added, saying that there was nothing investors could gain from paying these companies. Liquidators Grant Thornton took control of all seven companies. It took until 2020 to unscramble their finances, with the liquidators confirming allegations of misleading selling and high-pressure sales tactics. There was no money to meet any claims against the Club Class group, and all the companies were dissolved. I invited ECC to comment. Spokesman Mark Jobling claimed the entire press release had been written by someone he refused to name, and that it was published erroneously. The release disappeared from the internet and was replaced by one which instead attacked the press for failing to give ECC enough favourable publicity. It said nothing about Coopers disreputable past. If Coopers current company genuinely helps timeshare victims, then I applaud it. But giving the man a medal for switching sides would be like rewarding a burglar who retires from breaking into houses and sells burglar alarms instead. Tui's problem with the truth H.T. writes: Tui are liars. My wife and I, with many others, were caught in a horrendous storm on the Greek island of Skiathos while on a Tui package holiday. For 48 hours, our hotel had no electricity, running water or sanitation. No Tui rep made contact to see how we were. Tui has offered a voucher for money off a future holiday, as compensation for their lack of concern. But we have no intention of using Tui again, so we asked for this in cash. They replied that everyone was offered vouchers, with no cash alternative. This is untrue as we know others who were with us received cash. Tony Hetherington replies: Recently, I reported how a couple booked a Tui cruise but ran into trouble with their US visa. They called Tui and were relieved to be told they could change holidays, free of further charges. However, this turned out to be a lie, followed by more lies which Tui dismissed as a customer services error. The couple lost thousands of pounds. Tui offered 400 as an apology. Now you are facing the same sort of disinformation from Tui. I put all this to the company, but Tui refused to comment. Instead, it contacted you directly and paid you and your wife 200 cash. If it had done this before you would never have contacted me and I would not be writing about Tui again. There is a lesson there, if Tui cares to learn it. If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned. A 500million state rescue deal for Tata Steels Port Talbot plant will be confirmed this week. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds will give the Governments backing for an agreement that the Mail on Sunday understands will be similar to the one thrashed out under the Tories. That deal involved switching to electric arc furnaces and shutting blast furnace production costing thousands of jobs. Deal: A 500m state rescue deal for Tata Steels Port Talbot plant will be confirmed this week During the election campaign, Keir Starmer had attacked the deal, throwing it into doubt. Ministers are likely to point to other aspects which they will say represent an improvement on the Tory deal. Reynolds told the BBC last month that job guarantees would be part of talks with Indian-owned Tata and that there was a better deal available. An announcement is expected in the middle of this week, the Mail on Sunday has been told. The Department for Business and Trade would not comment. Some 2,800 jobs could be axed in a switch to less carbon-intensive electric arc furnaces. The first furnace, known as Blast Furnace 5, closed in July after 65 years of operating. Another storm of protest is rising over the controversial takeover of Royal Mail by the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. The delivery firms owner International Distribution Services (IDS) has been slammed for deliberately making it hard for hundreds of thousands of private shareholders to have their say on the 3.6billion deal. Shareholders were sent an offer document on June 26 but the document was 140 pages long and it was unclear how to vote for or against the deal. The information was branded unhelpful by shareholder rights groups. Brewing: Another storm of protest is rising over the controversial takeover of Royal Mail by a Czech billionaire A spokesman for the UK Shareholders Organisation said: As an organisation, we find that the information made available by IDS is unhelpful to the point that one wonders if it is a deliberate ploy by IDS and Royal Mail. ShareSoc, which also represents private shareholders, added that it is concerned that individual investors may have had difficulty in knowing how to accept or oppose the offer. It highlighted the lack of plain language in the 140-page offer document, saying it is too complex and legalistic. A ShareSoc spokesman said: We have been contacted about this by individual investors and stand ready to assist our members, where we can. An IDS spokesman said: The takeover of IDS, as a UK listed company, is subject to the strict requirements of the Takeover Code. The offer document has been prepared in line with the format prescribed by the [code]. We dont understand why the UK Shareholders Association and ShareSoc are querying the materials but are contacting them to understand any specific concerns. 'We appreciate that the formal offer document sent out to shareholders is long, complex and technical and understand that some shareholders may find the information difficult to digest. 'Recognising that, we have gone to great lengths to provide a wide range of additional resources - including videos, timetable and frequently asked questions - to help shareholders understand the details of the offer. These can be accessed online at www.idsoffer.shareview.info or shareholders can contact a dedicated helpline on +44 (0) 333 207 6505.' Takeover: Daniel Kretinsky is on a mission to complete a takeover of Royal Mail owner IDS These concerns have been heightened by the view that Kretinsky, 49, who is nicknamed the Czech Sphinx for his inscrutability, could be gaining control of Royal Mail on the cheap. This follows last weeks announcement from regulator Ofcom that it may relax the Universal Service Obligation (USO) on making changes to the delivery of second-class letters, which would only be delivered every other working day and not on Saturdays. The USO requires Royal Mail to deliver letters six days a week to 32million homes for the fixed price of a stamp. These proposals would save about 300million, suggesting that IDS is worth much more than the 370p-a-share being offered by Kretinsky since he would be the beneficiary of the concession. Also, Kretinsky is refusing to rule out further price rises for stamps. First-class stamps are already going up from 1.35 to 1.65 next month. Under Ofcoms proposals, first-class post and parcels would still be delivered six days a week, but there is no cap on how much Royal Mail could charge for postage. Kretinsky has made a commitment to uphold the USO but only for five years. The IDS board has backed Kretinskys bid, sending shockwaves through the City and Westminster. But investors holding at least 75 per cent of IDS shares must give the takeover the green light. Most IDS shares are owned by large institutional investors and Kretinsky is the biggest shareholder with a 27.5 per cent stake. But many people, including current and former posties, also bought or were given shares when the Coalition government privatised the service in 2013. During the share sale, it was not anticipated that the postal service established in 1516 would be allowed to fall into foreign ownership. Royal Mail staff still own 5.5 per cent of the shares. Some 700,000 people backed the privatisation. The UK Shareholders Association said the information provided to shareholders is not easily accessible, transparent or understandable. The spokesman said: If IDS want well-informed and well-engaged shareholders, they must make the information more digestible. If they dont, then their chosen approach is spot on. If this offer is being conducted according to the rules then wed better change the rules. The deal was called in for investigation by the Government last month over national security concerns. No date has been given for the outcome of this investigation. Flash China is willing to deepen bilateral ties and expand cooperation with Mongolia, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng said in Ulan Bator on Saturday. During his three-day visit from Friday to Sunday, Han met separately with Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene, President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh and Parliament Speaker Dashzegve Amarbayasgalan. When meeting with Oyun-Erdene, Han said China and Mongolia will continue to consolidate political trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and promote mutual understanding among people. Han called for cooperation in energy, connectivity and infrastructure construction, as well as consultation and coordination in international and regional affairs between the two countries. China welcomes Mongolia's designation of 2023-2025 as the "Years to Visit Mongolia," and stands ready to strengthen exchanges with Mongolia's youth, students and media. The Chinese vice president also expressed hope for deepening cooperation among China, Mongolia and Russia, calling for the speeding up of the construction of the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor. For his part, Oyun-Erdene said this year marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Mongolia and China, the 30th anniversary of the revision of the Friendship and Cooperation Treaty between Mongolia and China, and the 10th anniversary of the establishment of their comprehensive strategic partnership, saying that Mongolia is willing to work with China to push forward bilateral relations in a new era in the spirit of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and common development. During his meeting with Khurelsukh, Han stressed that China and Mongolia are good neighbors, good friends and good partners. China has always placed its relations with Mongolia at an important position in its neighborhood diplomacy, Han said, adding that the two sides have firmly supported each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns. He expressed hope that the two sides will take the building of a China-Mongolia community with a shared future as the guide and push forward bilateral ties to a higher level. Khurelsukh said Mongolia attaches great importance to developing the comprehensive strategic partnership with China, firmly adheres to the one-China policy and is willing to work with China to build a Mongolia-China community with a shared future to benefit the people of the two countries and the region. At the meeting with Amarbayasgalan, the Chinese vice president said China appreciates that Mongolia takes developing friendly and cooperative relations with China as a key priority in its foreign policy, supports legislatures and political parties of the two countries in strengthening exchanges and cooperation, and hopes that Mongolia's State Great Hural will continue to play an important role in promoting the steady and long-term development of China-Mongolia relations. Amarbayasgalan said it is Mongolia's strategic choice and consensus to maintain and strengthen friendly and cooperative relations of mutual benefit with China. The Mongolian State Great Hural and all political parties look forward to further expanding exchanges and cooperation with China, learning from each other and helping expand and deepen cooperation. There will be a Friday the 13th, this week. Its traditionally a day when superstitious folks get even more worried than usual. Friday the 13th is a confluence of two superstitions, the fear of Fridays and the fear of the number 13. Most people look forward to Friday, because its the end of the work week for many people. However, Friday has been associated with bad fortune at least as far back as the 14th century, when, in The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote, And on a Friday fell all this mischance. References to Friday being an ominous day became even more popular in the 17th century. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Superstitions, you shouldnt marry, leave for a trip, move into a new house or begin a new project on a Friday. The number 13, meanwhile, has also been associated with trouble for centuries. The theories why that number is so bad include that there were 13 people at the Last Supper; that, in numerology, 12 is considered a number of completeness and 13 is therefore one past it; and that in Norse mythology, the god Loki caused mayhem as an uninvited 13th guest at a gathering. Some buildings even skip from the 12th to the 14th floors in the official naming. So, you combine those two superstitions, and youve got a double whammy. Theres even a name for the fear of Friday the 13th, paraskevidekatriaphobia. It was coined in the 1980s by Donald Dossey, a behavioral scientist from Asheville. The more straightforward fear of the number 13 by itself is called triskaidekaphobia. Dossey, who died in 2016, told SAM back in 2009 that the symptoms of paraskevidekatriaphobia range from a nagging sense of doom all the way to not getting out of bed that day, and joked that once people learn how to pronounce the word, they are cured of it. He also joked that a Friday the 13th falling on a full moon in a month with a blue moon (two full moons in the same month) is super-duper unlucky. The next full moon on a Friday the 13th will be Aug. 13, 2049. From History.com, another reason Friday the 13th may be unlucky. On Oct. 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered hundreds of the Knights Templar arrested. The knights were a powerful and wealthy religious and military order that was formed in the 12th century to defend the Holy Land. The knights were jailed on various charges, and some were executed. Many believe that the real reason that King Philip had the knights arrested was to confiscate their money. Shredding events Holy Family Catholic Church, 4820 Kinnamon Road, Clemmons, will host a shredding event from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 21 in the church parking lot. Suggested donations are $5 per bag and $10 per box. Checks may be made payable to the Knights of Columbus. Paper only, please. No metal other than paper clips and staples, no plastic or CDs. Main Street United Methodist Church, 306 S. Main St., Kernersville, will hold a shred event from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 21. Suggested donation is $5 per box or bag. Boxes will be returned, because they cannot be recycled. Proceeds will benefit missions. If your group is planning a shredding event and you want to be included on the list, you can email the information to asksam@wsjournal.com or mail it to Ask SAM, 418 N. Marshall St., #100, Winston-Salem, NC 27101. Greensboro, High Point, and Guilford County groups are also invited to send in their shredding events. Democrat Kamala Harris will hold a rally in Greensboro Thursday as she looks to gain momentum in North Carolina in the final months of this years presidential campaign. The time and location of the rally have yet to be disclosed. Its shaping up to be a busy week for the vice president as shes set to debate former president Donald Trump at 9 p.m. Tuesday. Aside from Greensboro, Harris also plans to make a visit to Charlotte on Thursday. Guilford County Democratic Party Chair Kathy Kirkpatrick said Sunday she believes its a smart move for Harris to visit Greensboro following her debate with Trump. She thinks the move will help energize Democrats in the area. Guilford County is one of the Democratic strongholds in the state, Kirkpatrick said. We can help cancel out a lot of Republican votes in other counties by our turnout ... I think its absolutely a brilliant strategic move for her to come here to Greensboro. She also said the visit will give Harris the opportunity to address several important issues at the top of voters minds. I anticipate that she will go over some of her economic points shes been making. I think with the (school) shooting in Georgia recently shes going to talk gun control ... definitely abortion rights, Kirkpatrick said. Shes going to talk probably, you know, middle-class tax cuts. The last time Harris visited Greensboro was on July 11, when she held an event at Dudley High School. At the time, President Biden hadnt announce his decision to withdraw from the race and Harris was the presumptive vice-presidential nominee. Harris visit is also timely, as Trump and his Republican running mate, J.D. Vance, held a rally in Asheboro in late August. The visits from both parties nominees in close succession may be an indication that both campaigns view North Carolina as in play. I absolutely think that we can bring this home for her, Kirkpatrick said. Those interested in attending the Harris event in Greensboro can register at the North Carolina Democratic Partys website. RSVP is required for the event but does not guarantee admission. Given the unique challenges and pressures faced by oldest children, it is crucial for parents to be intentional and mindful in their approach to raising these firstborn individuals. By adopting targeted strategies, parents can help mitigate the potential pitfalls of oldest child syndrome and foster a nurturing environment for their child's growth and development. Clearly Defined Expectations and Responsibilities One of the key recommendations from experts is for parents to carefully consider the expectations and responsibilities they place on their oldest child. Ideally, the oldest child should be encouraged to be a positive role model for their siblings, but not burdened with parental-level responsibilities. Advertisement As Brandy Smith suggests, "Ideally, the oldest child would be asked to be a role model as a sibling but not a caretaker in the sense of a parent/guardian." This distinction helps to ensure that the oldest child can focus on their own developmental needs without feeling overwhelmed by the weight of familial obligations. Tailored Parenting Approach Another important consideration for parents is the need to adjust their parenting style to accommodate the unique needs and temperament of their oldest child. A "one-size-fits-all" approach is often ineffective, as each child requires individualized attention and support. Nicholette Leanza emphasizes the importance of this nuanced approach: "You may be pushing them so hard that your child may feel you only love them when they are 'being perfect.' Strive for balance in your parenting and understand that each child is unique and has different needs." By adapting their parenting strategies to the specific needs of the oldest child, parents can help foster a sense of security, self-worth, and healthy boundaries within the family dynamic. Fostering Healthy Sibling Relationships In addition to managing their expectations and parenting approach, parents of oldest children can also play a crucial role in cultivating positive sibling relationships. Encouraging collaboration, mutual respect, and age-appropriate responsibilities can help mitigate the potential for rivalry or resentment between siblings. Leanza suggests that parents should be mindful of the messages they convey to their oldest child regarding their role within the family. "Make sure to adjust your parenting style to fit your child's personality and temperament," she advises. "''One size fits all' doesn't always translate to good parenting." By striking the right balance and creating an environment of support and understanding, parents can help their oldest children navigate the challenges of their birth order while also fostering a sense of belonging and self-worth. We normally don't cover car crashes but this one seems pretty serious and reminds us all that a great deal of danger on local streets (ALLEGEDLY) involves bad decisions regarding substance abuse. Here's what we know right now . . . [Police] determined the 31-year-old was driving a Subaru WRX and rear-ended a Nissan Altima. The impact sent both vehicles off the road. A 72-year-old woman in the Nissan died of her injuries. A 74-year-old man in the Nissan was transported to a hospital, but is expected to survive. Lenexa police said officers arrested the 31-year-old man on suspicion of driving under the influence after he was released from the hospital Saturday night. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Man arrested following fatal crash in Lenexa on Saturday Lenexa Police say a 72-year-old woman is dead after the vehicle she was riding in was struck by a man suspected of driving drunk Saturday afternoon. Lenexa crash kills woman, sends 2 men to hospitals A 72-year-old woman is dead and two men were injured in a car crash in Lenexa. Right now, just for the close readers we're inspired by Angel Lilly to check pop culture, community reporting and top headlines. Check TKC news gathering . . . Tribute After Tragedy Brookside community keeping Shuan Brady's memory and legacy alive Tim Thrun, who lives in Brookside, came up with the idea to honor Brady throughout September and encouraged other Brookside neighbors to get involved by hanging green ribbons on trees outside of th... Neighbors Confront Gunfire Hyde Park family shaken up after shots fired at vehicle following crash A Hyde Park family is alive after suspects in two stolen vehicles fired shots after a getaway car collided with their vehicle. Hipster Minimalism Explored 'Buy Nothing' Helps Neighbors Share More Than Free Stuff Buy Nothing groups focus on sharing, reusing, and building community connections by offering gifts of items and services-no money, no trade, just gratitude. Old-School Ballers Celebrated 'Tradition': Commemorative games honor Mexican-American fast-pitch softball legacy in KCK Kansas City Museum historian Gene T. Chavez founded the Los Sobios Commemorative Games in 2015 to honor the legacy of Mexican-American fast-pitch softball games in Kansas City, Kansas. MSM Voter Rundown Looking ahead to key statewide races in Kansas, Missouri With the Labor Day holiday weekend in the rear-view mirror, campaigns are heating up on both sides of the state line with much at stake. Kansas City Weekend Outreach PEACE PATROL: A local community activist group working to stop violence The group says its hope to to cause a spark Angel Advises Wellness Lily Aldridge Will Try Every Wellness Practice Once-But You Won't Catch Her in an Ice Bath For Marie Claire's Doing Well series, Lily Aldridge walks us through how she takes care of herself from the inside out. Talker Considers End Game Jen Psaki recalls reaction to Biden's debate, 'heartbreaking' summer before 2024 exit: 'I was like, is he OK?' Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said she was "worried" about President Biden "as a person" during the June debate that put a spotlight on his fitness to serve another term. MAGA Talks Election Interference Trump threatens lawyers, donors and election officials with prison for 'unscrupulous behavior' MOSINEE, Wis. - Former President Donald Trump, who makes frequent false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen through rampant fraud, warned Saturday that he would attempt to imprison anyone who engages in "unscrupulous behavior" during the 2024 race results. Republicans Argue Exit Strategy GOP-led House committee accuses Biden administration of misleading the public about Afghanistan withdrawal The House Foreign Affairs Committee details the panel's three-year investigation into the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal in a forthcoming report. Tragic Aftermath Redux Mother of mass shooting suspect called Apalachee High School with warning after getting alarming text, grandfather says | CNN The mother of the teenager suspected of killing four people during a Georgia school shooting called to warn a school counselor prior to the shooting, the suspect's aunt and grandfather said Saturday. Wartime Toll Mounts In Europe Outgunned and outnumbered, Ukraine's military is struggling with low morale and desertion | CNN Russia's grinding war has decimated many Ukrainian units and left some soldiers exhausted and demoralized. Some officers say desertion is becoming a problem. Today's Holy Land Attack Gunman crossing from Jordan kills three Israelis at border It was the first attack of its kind along the border with Jordan since Hamas' Oct. 7 assault. Axis Trade Arms Iran transfers ballistic missiles to Russia, sources say | CNN Politics Iran recently transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia to use in the war against Ukraine, according to two sources familiar with the intelligence, completing a delivery that US and Western officials had warned was in the works for almost a year. El Papa Reaches Out Pope Francis welcomed to remote Papua New Guinea as he seeks 'to break down distances' The pontiff visited the small town of Vanimo after delivering mass to an estimated 35,000 people in the capital of Port Moresby Fanbois Fact Checked NFL Sends a Direct Message to Football Fan Complaining About Taylor Swift 'The way I CACKLED!! ,' one social media user wrote. Savor Family Recipe A simple sauce passed down six generations is headed to your table; Lenexa man says that's his family's great legacy Jack Williams' dream of seeing his great-grandmother's picture in every grocery store across the country is one step closer to reality as the Lenexa entrepreneur's jars of Grandma Morelli's pasta sauce - emblazoned with her photo - hit Kansas City shelves. Grigs Offers Autumn Sneak Peek Sunday's Taste of Fall Summer temperatures return next week Casting Crowns, Ben Fuller - East To West is the song of the day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Sep, 2024) A two-day seminar was concluded by the Friedrich Nauman Foundation for Freedom (FNF-Pakistan) on Sunday with the main objective to capacitate journalists on the use of Right to Information laws for investigative reporting and countering fake news. The Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act, 2013, was passed by the Punjab Assembly in 2013 for promoting transparency in the working of provincial authorities by securing citizens' access to information, a news release said. While addressing the participants, Muhammad Anwar, Head of Programs and Administration of FNF Pakistan, said journalists can promote investigative journalism through the use of RTI. This ultimately strengthens the credibility of their stories, he further added. While sharing the legislative landscape of RTI in Pakistan, Syed Raza Ali, Program Manager of FNF Pakistan, access to information is guaranteed under Article 19A of the Constitution and explained there are five RTI laws in Pakistan. He further described, being the 4th pillar of democracy, journalists are the representatives of the people in terms of using RTI Act for investigating and publicizing information of public interest. Accessing information through RTI Act, especially young journalists, can contribute to ensuring transparency in public, professional, and social spheres. Provincial public bodies are legally bound to provide the requested information within 14 working days under the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013. In case the public bodies fail to provide the requested information, citizens can lodge complaints before the Punjab Information Commission, Ali added. The Punjab Information Commission is an independent appellate authority that has the power to direct, summon, and penalize officials who obstruct the flow of information, he further added. While talking about critical thinking to counter fake news, it is important for every journalist to know how to check facts and report, said Mr Ubaid Ur Rehman, a rights activist. It is a time for news media to tack more closely to professional standards and ethics, to avoid the publishing of unchecked information. Investing in critical thinking is more important than ever, as it helps to limit the risks of disinformation posed by the advent of technologies such as the internet and artificial intelligence, he further added. While addressing participants, Saeed Akhtar Ansari, former information commissioner of the Punjab Information Commission said, journalists should exercise their right of access to information for investigative stories. Uzma Kardar, PMA, while concluding remarks urged journalists to use RTI tool for countering fake news. More than 30 journalists, rights activists and students attended the seminar and commended the efforts of FNF-Pakistan for organizing such a seminar and called on the journalists' organizations to hold similar sessions for young journalists in order to promote investigative reporting. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Sep, 2024) The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony is organizing the 49th Seerat-un-Nabi Conference on the 12th of Rabi-ul-Awwal highlighting the significance of this blessed month in the Islamic Calendar. Through this annual feature, the ministry promotes religious harmony, tolerance, brotherhood, equality, respect for humanity, non-violence, unity, reconciliation, and dialogue in light of the current situation in the country. Exchanging his views with this national news agency, Ministrys Spokesperson Muhammad Umar Butt informed that the conference comprises two main segments: the National Seerat and Naat Book Competition Awards Ceremony and the Seerat-un-Nabi Conference. He said the ministry invited entries in national, regional, and international languages (Arabic and English) for the National Seerat and Naat Book Competition Awards encouraging the participants to submit books and essays on Seerat and Naat within the stipulated timeframe. Umar said the competition for the year 2024 was announced in January, and each selected book and essay was evaluated by a panel of at least three experts, who are PhD-level professors and specialists in their fields. The reports of these experts were then reviewed by an apex committee, which determines the winners, he said adding that a total of 164 books were submitted for this years competition, with 30 individuals selected for awards. Additionally, he said 118 Seerat essays were received, and 33 individuals were awarded. A total of 63 individuals were recognized for their contributions this year, he maintained. Umar said the Seerat-un-Nabi Conference is held annually to promote and disseminate the teachings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). He said renowned religious scholars from Pakistan and the Islamic world participate in this conference, which serves as a platform for dialogue, mutual understanding, and the reduction of differences among scholars. Umar mentioned that the theme selected for this year's conference is "The State's Educational System in the Light of Seerat-un-Nabi (Peace Be Upon Him)." Recognizing the significance of the conference, he said the ministry publishes and distributes the proceedings and high-quality papers presented on this topic to institutions and libraries free of charge. These papers are also uploaded to the ministry's website, he added. Umar said as per schedule, the Seerat-un-Nabi Conference will be held on the 12th of Rabi-ul-Awwal, 1446 AH and the prime minister will be the chief guest at the opening session, while the president will preside over the second session. He said distinguished scholars and religious leaders from across the country will address the conference on the theme. Additionally, he said awards will be distributed to the winners of the National Seerat and Naat competitions. As part of the Seerat-un-Nabi celebrations, Umar said the ministry has also directed all Federal and provincial ministries, departments, and educational institutions to organize events, gatherings, and programmes related to Seerat-un-Nabi throughout the month of Rabi-ul-Awwal. These efforts will guide society on various aspects of the teachings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), he added. (@ChaudhryMAli88) ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Sep, 2024) Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change, Romina Khurshid Alam on Sunday urged the Sindh and Balochistan governments to boost efforts to conserve marine ecosystems. Following the recent declaration of Churna Island as a Marine Protected Area (MPA) by the Balochistan government, Romina Alam called for additional MPAs to be established to achieve the global target of protecting 30% of the ocean area by 2030. Alam also praised the Balochistan government's move for the protection of Churna Island, stating it a "positive step towards protecting marine resources and promoting environmentally sustainable development." Churna Island, known for its extensive coral habitats and biodiversity, is now Pakistan's second MPA. The island is home to over 50 species of corals, 250 species of fish, and numerous invertebrates and vertebrates. She offered full support to the Balochistan government in conserving marine biodiversity and safeguarding the island's fragile ecosystem and diverse wildlife. With over 5,000 MPAs globally, covering more than 8% of the ocean, the Coordinator stressed the importance of adopting ecosystem-based management approaches to minimise human impacts and ensure sustainable use of marine resources. She highlighted the urgency of protecting marine ecosystems and wildlife from climate change and human activities, emphasizing the need for collective action and shared responsibility to address these environmental challenges. Alam noted that this initiative will help regulate anthropogenic activities that harm the marine ecosystems of the country and protect the islands from threats like overfishing, pollution, and climate change impacts. She also highlighted Pakistan's commitment to advancing marine conservation efforts in collaboration with all relevant governmental and non-governmental stakeholders, particularly through mangrove restoration, which has seen a 300% increase since 1992 in the country. (@ChaudhryMAli88) SUKKUR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Sep, 2024) Senior Politician, Advocate Syed Shafqat Ali Shah on Sunday paid homage to the officers and soldiers of the Pakistan Navy for their outstanding defence of the nations maritime borders during the 1965 India-Pakistan war. In his statement on Navy Day, he paid rich tributes to martyrs and Ghazis and war heroes, whose sacrifices and gallant acts instil in us a renewed spirit and resolve. He acknowledge the sacrifices of our Shuhadas and Ghazis and honour their bravado and valiant spirit which lifted the morale of the nation against a sinister enemy during the 1965 War. He said that the sacrifices made by the Pakistani armed forces for the defence of the country in 1965 would not go in vain. He said that September 8, 1965, would remain a golden chapter in Pakistans naval history and continue to inspire its new generation and expressed pride in the Navys dedication to defending the nation. He said that any threat to the country will be met with a decisive response. Advocate Syed Shafqat Ali Shah said that the Pakistan Navy is dedicated to staying ahead of the curve and ensuring the safety and security of our nation. Nairobi, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Sep, 2024) Firefighters were battling a blaze at a girls' school in central Kenya on Saturday, a local official said, just two days after an inferno killed 21 boys at another school. "Around two to three buildings are on fire" at Isiolo Girls High School, Isiolo County communications director Hussein Salesa told AFP. "There are some injuries but we cannot confirm the exact figure at the moment." The Isiolo school lies about 140 kilometres (90 miles) to the northeast of the Hillside Endarasha academy, where flames tore through a dormitory full of sleeping boys on Thursday night. The Kenya Red Cross, which has been involved in helping victims and their families at Endarasha, also said a "fire incident" had been reported at the girls' school. "Response teams activated," it said, without giving further information. MIP Africa an event that matches African film and TV creatives to the people and countries that produce their work, wrapped up last week [Sept. 4] with several signed deals. Industry members and legislators from film meccas worldwide attended the event, part of the larger Fame Week Africa conference for creative professionals. Reporter Vicky Stark has the story from Cape Town, South Africa. University of Southern California law student Elizabeth Howell-Egan isnt allowed on campus because of her role in last springs anti-war protests, but she is keeping up her activism. She and like-minded students are holding online sessions on the Israel-Hamas war and passing out fliers outside the campus, which is now fortified with checkpoints at entrances and security officers who require students to scan IDs. Change is never comfortable. You always have to risk something to create change and to create a future that we want to live in, said Howell-Egan, a member of the schools Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, which is calling on USC to divest from companies profiting off the war. The stakes have gone up this fall for students protesting the war in Gaza, as U.S. colleges roll out new security measures and protest guidelines all intended to avoid disruptions like last springs pro-Palestinian demonstrations and protect students from hate speech. Activism has put their degrees and careers at risk, not to mention tuition payments, but many say they feel a moral responsibility to continue the movement. Tent encampments now forbidden on many campuses so far have not returned. And some of the more involved students from last spring have graduated or are still facing disciplinary measures. Still, activist students are finding other ways to protest, emboldened by the rising death toll in Gaza and massive protests this month in Israel to demand a cease-fire. Tensions over the conflict have been high on American campuses since the war began on Oct. 7, when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in Israel and took 250 hostage. The war in Gaza has killed more than 40,000 people, according to Gaza health officials. As the pro-Palestinian demonstrations took off nationally, Jewish students on many campuses have faced hostility, including antisemitic language and signs. Some colleges have faced U.S. civil rights investigations and settled lawsuits alleging they have not done enough to address antisemitism. A desire to be part of something Temple University senior Alia Amanpour Trapp started the school year on probation after being arrested twice last semester during pro-Palestinian protests. Within days, she was back on the university's radar for another demonstration. As she reflects on the fallout from her activism, she thinks of her grandfather, a political prisoner killed in 1988 massacres orchestrated by Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini. He paid the ultimate price for what he believed in. And so I feel like the least I can do is stand my ground and face it, she said. Trapp, a political science major, devotes much of her time outside classes to Students for Justice in Palestine, which led her to the back-to-school protest on Aug. 29. The group of a few dozen protesters made several stops, including outside the Rosen Center, a hub of Jewish life that is home to Temples Hillel Chapter. Some Jewish students inside said they were shaken by the demonstration. Protesters used megaphones to direct chats toward people inside, Temple President Richard Englert said. The university called it intimidation and opened an investigation. Targeting a group of individuals because of their Jewish identity is not acceptable and intimidation and harassment tactics like those seen today will not be tolerated, Englert said. Trapp said they were not out to intimidate anyone, but to condemn Hillel for what she called its support of Zionism. To the students inside that felt threatened or harmed, Im sorry," she said. Trapp is appealing a Temple panels ruling that she violated the college's conduct code last spring. As she reflects on the discipline, she recalls a Temple billboard she saw on Interstate 95 after her first visit to campus. Because the world wont change itself," the ad beckoned. It reassured her that Temple was the right fit. I so badly wanted to be part of something, you know, meaningful, she said, a community committed to change. A renewed push for divestment At Brown University, some students who were arrested last spring are taking another tack to pressure the Ivy League school to divest its endowment from companies with ties to Israel. Last spring, the university committed to an October vote by its governing board on a divestment proposal, after an advisory committee weighs in on the issue. In exchange, student protesters packed up their tents. Now students including Niyanta Nepal, the student body president who was voted in on a pro-divestment platform, say they intend to apply pressure for a vote in favor of divestment. They are rallying students to attend a series of forums and encouraging incoming students to join the movement. Colleges have long rebuffed calls to divest from Israel, which opponents say veers into antisemitism. Brown already is facing heat for even considering the vote, including a blistering letter from two dozen state attorneys general, all Republicans. Rafi Ash, a member of the Brown University Jews For Ceasefire Now and Brown Divest Coalition, declined to say what activism might look like if the divestment push fails. A Jewish student who was among 20 students arrested during a November sit-in at an administrative building, Ash dismisses critics who see the anti-war protests as antisemitic. The Judaism I was taught promotes peace. It promotes justice. It promotes tikkun olam repairing the world, said Ash, who is on disciplinary probation. This is the most Jewish act I can do, to stand up for justice, for everyone. Barred from campus, but strategizing on protests For Howell-Egan, the crackdown at USC and her suspension only deepened her desire to speak out. Even with this threat of USC imposing sanctions and disciplinary measures, I am at peace with it because I am standing up for something that is important, Howell-Egan said. There are no more universities in Gaza. We are in an incredibly privileged position for this to be our risk. She is not allowed to attend in-person classes because she was suspended in May for joining protests at the private school in Los Angeles. There has been a trend of heavier punishments for students engaging in activism than in the past, including banishment from campus and suspensions that keep students in limbo for months, said Tori Porell, an attorney with the nonprofit Palestine Legal, which has supported student protesters facing disciplinary measures. Howell-Egan sees it as part of a strategy to stifle free speech. In a memo this month, USC President Carol Folt said the campus has seen peaceful protests and marches for years. "However, the spring semester brought incidents that tested our values, disregarded our policies, sparked fears, and required unprecedented safety measures, she said. For now the focus of the USC Divest Coalition, which includes several student organizations, has moved off campus, to incorporate the wider community and take a cautious approach as students get a handle on the universitys new rules, Howell-Egan said. In addition to the community outreach, students have been holding teach-ins. The idea is to raise our skill set and our understanding of where we stand in this moment, and where we are in this fight," Howell-Egan said, "especially as we continue with it. Boeing said on Sunday it had reached a pay agreement with the union representing its Seattle workers, bringing weeks of negotiations to a close and averting a strike threat. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) had been pushing for a 40% raise in their first full negotiation with Boeing in 16 years. The tentative agreement, which upon ratification will be effective for four years, includes a general wage increase of 25% for all employees over the life of the contract. It also includes a commitment to build Boeing's next new airplane in the Puget Sound region if the contract is ratified by 1159 p.m. on Sept. 12, the company said. IAM represents an estimated 30,000 workers building Boeing's 737 MAX planes in Washington state, where the planemaker employs more than 66,000 people also working on its 767 and 777 widebody jets. The unionized workers had voted in favor of a strike mandate in July. The agreement provides some relief to Boeing as it grapples with a production slowdown and regulatory scrutiny after a January incident when a door plug blew off an Alaska Air jetliner while in mid-air. Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro began flooding Sao Paulo's main boulevard for an Independence Day rally Saturday, buoyed by the government's blocking of tech billionaire Elon Musk's X platform, a ban they say is proof of their political persecution. A few thousand demonstrators, clad in the yellow-and-green colors of Brazil's flag, poured onto Avednia Paulista. References to the ban on X and images of Musk abounded. "Thank you for defending our freedom," read one banner praising the tech entrepreneur. Saturday's march is a test of Bolsonaro's capacity to mobilize turnout ahead of the October municipal elections, even though Brazil's electoral court has barred him from running for office until 2030. It's also something of a referendum on X, whose suspension has raised eyebrows even among some of Bolsonaro's opponents all the while stoking the flames of Brazil's deep-seated political polarization. "A country without liberty can't celebrate anything this day," Bolsonaro wrote on his Instagram account September 4, urging Brazilians to stay away from official Independence Day parades and instead join him in Sao Paulo. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered X's nationwide ban on Aug. 30 after months of feuding with Musk over the limits of free speech. The powerful judge has spearheaded efforts to ban far-right users from spreading misinformation on social media, and he ramped up his clampdown after die-hard Bolsonaro supporters ransacked Congress and the presidential palace on January 8, 2023, to overturn Bolsonaro's defeat in the presidential election. The ban is red meat to Bolsonaro's allies, who have accused the judiciary and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government of colluding to silence their movement. "Elon Musk has been a warrior for freedom of speech," staunch Bolsonaro ally and lawmaker Bia Kicis said in an interview. "The right is being oppressed, massacred, because the left doesn't want the right to exist." "Our liberties are in danger; we need to make our voices heard. De Moraes is a tyrant, he should be impeached, and people on the streets is the only thing that will convince politicians to do it," said retiree Amaro Santos as he walked down the thoroughfare Saturday, Musk, a self-proclaimed "free speech absolutist," has also urged Brazilians to turn out in droves for the rally, resharing someone else's post claiming that X's ban had awakened people "to the fact that freedom isn't free and needs to be fought for." He's also created an X account, named for the controversial jurist, to publish sealed court orders directing X to shut down accounts deemed unlawful. But De Moraes' decision to ban X was far from arbitrary, having been upheld by fellow Supreme Court justices. And while expression, online and elsewhere, is more easily censored under Brazil's laws than it is in the U.S., Musk has emerged as both a cause celebre and a mouthpiece for unrestricted free speech. Since 2019, X has shut down 226 accounts of far-right activities accused of undermining Brazil's democracy, including those of lawmakers affiliated with Bolsonaro's party, according to court records. But when it refused to act on some accounts, de Moraes warned last month that its legal representative could be arrested, prompting X to disband its local office. The U.S.-based company refused to name a new representative as required to receive court notices and de Moraes ordered its nationwide suspension until it did so. A Supreme Court panel unanimously upheld de Moraes' decision to block X days later, undermining Musk's efforts to cast him as an authoritarian bent on censoring political speech. The more controversial component of his ruling was the levy of a whopping $9,000 daily fine for regular Brazilians using virtual private networks (VPNs) to access X. "Some of these measures that have been adopted by the Supreme Court appear to be quite onerous and abusive," said Andrei Roman, CEO of Brazil-based pollster Atlas Intel. In the lead-up to Saturday's protest, some right-wing politicians defied de Moraes' ban and brazenly used a VPN to publish posts on X, calling for people to partake in the protests. The march in Sao Paulo is organized in parallel to official events to celebrate Brazil's anniversary of independence from Portugal. Commemorations have been fraught with tension in recent years, as Bolsonaro used them while in office to rally supporters and show political strength. Three years ago, he threatened to plunge the country into a constitutional crisis when he declared he would no longer abide de Moraes' rulings. He has since toned down the attacks a reflection of his own delicate legal situation. Bolsonaro has been indicted twice since his term ended in 2022, most recently for alleged money laundering in connection with undeclared diamonds from Saudi Arabia. De Moraes is overseeing an investigation into the Jan. 8 riot, including whether Bolsonaro had a role in inciting it. China said Sunday it would allow the establishment of wholly foreign-owned hospitals in nine areas of the country including the capital, as Beijing tries to attract more foreign investment to boost its flagging economy. In a document on the official website of China's commerce ministry, it said the new policy was a pilot project designed to implement a pledge the ruling Communist Party's Central Committee led by President Xi Jinping made at its July plenum meeting held roughly every five years. "In order to ... introduce foreign investment to promote the high-quality development of China's medical-related fields, and better meet the medical and health needs of the people, it is planned to carry out pilot work of expanding opening-up in the medical field," according to the document. The project will allow the establishment of such hospitals in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hainan all relatively wealthy cities or provinces in eastern or southern China. The new policy excludes hospitals practicing traditional Chinese medicine and "mergers and acquisitions of public hospitals," the document read, adding that the specific conditions, requirements and procedures for setting up such foreign-owned hospitals would be detailed soon. The policy also allows companies with foreign investors to engage in the development and application of gene and human stem cell technologies for treatment and diagnosis in the pilot free-trade zones of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, and Hainan. This includes registration, marketing and production of products that can be bought nationwide, according to the document. The removal of restrictions on foreign investment in these fields comes as the world's second-largest economy faces growing headwinds with flagging foreign business sentiment, one of the issues threatening growth. The blood, milk and meat of cattle have long been staple foods for Maasai pastoralists in Kenya, perhaps the country's most recognizable community. But climate change is forcing the Maasai to contemplate a very different dish: fish. A recent yearslong drought in Kenya killed millions of livestock. While Maasai elders hope the troubles are temporary and they will be able to resume traditional lives as herders, some are adjusting to a kind of food they had never learned to enjoy. Fish were long viewed as part of the snake family due to their shape, and thus inedible. Their smell had been unpleasant and odd to the Maasai, who call semi-arid areas home. We never used to live near lakes and oceans, so fish was very foreign for us," said Maasai Council of Elders chair Kelena ole Nchoi. We grew up seeing our elders eat cows and goats. Among the Maasai and other pastoralists in Kenya and wider East Africa like the Samburu, Somali and Borana cattle are also a status symbol, a source of wealth and part of key cultural events like marriages as part of dowries. But the prolonged drought in much of East Africa left carcasses of emaciated cattle strewn across vast dry lands. In early 2023, the Kenya National Drought Management Authority said 2.6 million livestock had died, with an estimated value of 226 billion Kenya shillings ($1.75 billion). Meanwhile, increasing urbanization and a growing population have reduced available grazing land, forcing pastoralists to adopt new ways to survive. In Kajiado county near Kenya's capital, Nairobi, the local government is supporting fish farming projects for pastoralists and encouraging them to eat fish, too. Like many other Maasai women, Charity Oltinki previously engaged in beadwork, and her husband was in charge of the family's herd. But the drought killed almost 100 of their cows, and only 50 sheep of their 300-strong flock survived. The lands were left bare, with nothing for the cows to graze on," Oltinki said. So, I decided to set aside a piece of land to rear fish and monitor how they would perform. The county government supplied her with pond liners, tilapia fish fingerlings and some feed. Using her savings from membership in a cooperative society, Oltinki secured a loan and had a well dug to ease the challenge of water scarcity. After six months, the first batch of hundreds of fish was harvested, with the largest selling for up to 300 Kenyan shillings each ($2.30). Another member of the Maasai community in Kajiado, Philipa Leiyan, started farming fish in addition to keeping livestock. When the county government introduced us to this fish farming project, we gladly received it because we considered it as an alternative source of livelihood," Leiyan said. The Kajiado governments initiative started in 2014 and currently works with 600 pastoralists to help diversify their incomes and provide a buffer against the effects of climate change. There was initial reluctance, but the number of participants has grown from about 250 before the drought began in 2022. The program has seen some importance, said Benson Siangot, director of fisheries in Kajiado county, adding that it also addresses issues of food insecurity and malnutrition. The Maasai share their love for cattle with the Samburu, an ethnic group that lives in arid and semi-arid areas of northern Kenya and speaks a dialect of the Maa language that the Maasai speak. The recent drought has forced the Samburu to look beyond cattle, too to camels. In Lekiji village, Abdulahi Mohamud now looks after 20 camels. The 65-year-old father of 15 lost his 30 cattle during the drought and decided to try an animal more suited to long dry spells. Camels are easier to rear as they primarily feed on shrubs and can survive in harsher conditions," he said. When the pasture dries out, all the cattle die. According to Mohamud, a small camel can be bought for 80,000 to 100,000 Kenyan shillings ($600 to $770) while the price of a cow ranges from 20,000 to 40,000 ($154 to $300). He saw the camel's resilience as worth the investment. In a vast grazing area near Mohamud, 26-year-old Musalia Piti looked after his fathers 60 camels. The family lost 50 cattle during the drought and decided to invest in camels that they can sell whenever they need cattle for traditional ceremonies. Cows among the Samburu are used for dowries. You have to do whatever it takes to find cattle for wedding ceremonies, even though our herds may be smaller nowadays," said Lesian Ole Sempere, a 59-year-old Samburu elder. Offering a cow as a gift to a prospective bride's parents encourages them to declare their daughter as your official wife, he said. One by one, the students, lawyers and others filed into a classroom in a central Tokyo university for a lecture by a Chinese journalist on Taiwan and democracy taboo topics that can't be discussed publicly back home in China. "Taiwan's modern-day democracy took struggle and bloodshed, there's no question about that," said Jia Jia, a columnist and guest lecturer at the University of Tokyo who was briefly detained in China eight years ago on suspicion of penning a call for China's top leader to resign. He is one of tens of thousands of intellectuals, investors and other Chinese who have relocated to Japan in recent years, part of a larger exodus of people from China. Their backgrounds vary widely, and they're leaving for all sorts of reasons. Some are very poor, others are very rich. Some leave for economic reasons, as opportunities dry up with the end of China's boom. Some flee for personal reasons, as even limited freedoms are eroded. Chinese migrants are flowing to all corners of the world, from workers seeking to start businesses of their own in Mexico to burned-out students heading to Thailand. Those choosing Japan tend to be well-off or highly educated, drawn to the country's ease of living, rich culture and immigration policies that favor highly skilled professionals, with less of the sharp anti-immigrant backlash sometimes seen in Western countries. Jia initially intended to move to the U.S., not Japan. But after experiencing the coronavirus outbreak in China, he was anxious to leave and his American visa application was stuck in processing. So he chose Japan instead. "In the United States, illegal immigration is particularly controversial. When I went to Japan, I was a little surprised. I found that their immigration policy is actually more relaxed than I thought," Jia told The Associated Press. "I found that Japan is better than the U.S." It's tough to enter the U.S. these days. Tens of thousands of Chinese were arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border over the past year, and Chinese students have been grilled at customs as trade frictions fan suspicions of possible industrial espionage. Some U.S. states passed legislation that restricts Chinese citizens from owning property. "The U.S. is shutting out those Chinese that are friendliest to them, that most share its values," said Li Jinxing, a Christian human rights lawyer who moved to Japan in 2022. Li sees parallels to about a century ago, when Chinese intellectuals such as Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of modern China, moved to Japan to study how the country modernized so quickly. "On one hand, we hope to find inspiration and direction in history," Li said of himself and like-minded Chinese in Japan. "On the other hand, we also want to observe what a democratic country with rule of law is like. We're studying Japan. How does its economy work, its government work?" Over the past decade, Tokyo has softened its once-rigid stance against immigration, driven by low birthrates and an aging population. Foreigners now make up about 2% of its population of 125 million. That's expected to jump to 12% by 2070, according to the Tokyo-based National Institute of Population and Social Security Research. Chinese are the most numerous newcomers, at 822,000 last year among more than 3 million foreigners living in Japan, according to government data. That's up from 762,000 a year ago and 649,000 a decade ago. In 2022, the lockdowns under China's "zero COVID" policies led many of the country's youth or most affluent citizens to hit the exits. There's even a buzzword for that: "runxue," using the English word "run" to evoke "running away" to places seen as safer and more prosperous. For intellectuals like Li and Jia, Japan offers greater freedoms than under Chinese leader Xi Jinping's increasingly repressive rule. But for others, such as wealthy investors and business people, Japan offers something else: property protections. A report by investment migration firm Henley & Partners says nearly 14,000 millionaires left China last year, the most of any country in the world, with Japan a popular destination. A major driver is worries about the security of their wealth in China or Hong Kong, said Q. Edward Wang, a professor of Asian studies at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. "Protection of private property, which is the cornerstone of a capitalist society, that piece is missing in China," Wang said. The weakening yen makes buying property and other local assets in Japan a bargain. And while the Japanese economy has stagnated, China's once-sizzling economy is also in a rut, with the property sector in crisis and stock prices stuck at the level they were in the late 2000s. "If you are just going to Japan to preserve your money," Wang said, "then definitely you will enjoy your time in Japan." Dot.com entrepreneurs are among those leaving China after Communist Party crackdowns on the technology industry, including billionaire Jack Ma, a founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, who took a professorship at Tokyo College, part of the prestigious University of Tokyo. So many wealthy Chinese have bought apartments in Tokyo's luxury high-rises that some areas have been dubbed "Chinatowns," or "Digital Chinatowns" a nod to the many owners' work in high-tech industries. "Life in Japan is good," said Guo Yu, an engineer who retired early after working at ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. Guo doesn't concern himself with politics. He's keen on Japan's powdery snow in the winter and is a "superfan" of its beautiful hot springs. He owns homes in Tokyo, as well as near a ski resort and a hot spring. He owns several cars, including a Porsche, a Mercedes, a Tesla and a Toyota. Guo keeps busy with a new social media startup in Tokyo and a travel agency specializing in "onsen," Japan's hot springs. Most of his employees are Chinese, he said. Like Guo, many Chinese moving to Japan are wealthy and educated. That's for good reason: Japan remains unwelcoming to refugees and many other types of foreigners. The government has been strategic about who it allows to stay, generally focusing on people to fill labor shortages for factories, construction and elder care. "It is crucial that Japan becomes an attractive country for foreign talent so they will choose to work here," Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said earlier this year, announcing efforts to relax Japan's stringent immigration restrictions. That kind of opportunity is exactly what Chinese ballet dancer Du Hai said he has found. Leading a class of a dozen Japanese students in a suburban Tokyo studio one recent weekend, Du demonstrated positions and spins to the women dressed in leotards and toe shoes. Du was drawn to Japan's huge ballet scene, filled with professional troupes and talented dancers, he said, but worried about warnings he got about unfriendly Japanese. That turned out to be false, he said with a laugh. Now, Du is considering getting Japanese citizenship. "Of course, I enjoy living in Japan very much now," he said. French far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Sunday urged President Emmanuel Macron to hold a referendum on key issues such as immigration, suggesting that giving the French a direct vote might help break the political deadlock. Last week Macron appointed the center-right Michel Barnier, a 73-year-old former foreign minister who acted as the European Union's Brexit negotiator, as prime minister, seeking to move forward after June-July snap elections that resulted in a hung parliament. But analysts say the country is set for a period of instability, with Barnier's hold on power seen as fragile and dependent on support from Le Pen's eurosceptic, anti-immigration National Rally (RN) party, which is the largest party in the new National Assembly. A left-wing coalition, which emerged as France's largest political bloc after the elections, although short of an overall majority, is also piling pressure on Barnier. More than 100,000 left-wing demonstrators rallied across France on Saturday to protest against his nomination and denounce Macron's "power grab." Le Pen, who leads RN lawmakers in parliament, has said her party would not be part of the new cabinet. 'Power to decide directly' On Sunday, she urged Macron to conduct a referendum on key issues such as immigration, health care and security to give the people a direct vote. The RN "will unreservedly support any approach aimed at giving people the power to decide directly", Le Pen said, speaking in the northern town of Henin-Beaumont, the far-right's traditional stronghold. "Emmanuel Macron himself, in the chaos he has created, has levers to keep our democracy live," she added. To prevent the RN from having an absolute majority and forming a government, around 200 candidates stood down ahead of the final round of the snap legislative polls in July, sparking the far-right's outrage. Le Pen also indicated she would watch Barnier's every move. "If, in the coming weeks, the French are once again forgotten or mistreated, we will not hesitate to censure the government," she added. Speaking to reporters, Le Pen, 56, also said she expected France to hold new legislative elections "within a year." "This is good because I think that France needs a clear majority," she said. The left-wing coalition has also vowed to topple Barnier with a no-confidence motion. The alliance wanted Lucie Castets, a 37-year-old economist, to become prime minister, but Macron quashed that idea, arguing that she would not survive a confidence vote in the hung parliament. Competent and likeable According to a poll released on Sunday, the French are largely satisfied with the appointment of Barnier as prime minister, but believe he will not last long in his new post. Fifty two percent of people polled said they were satisfied with the appointment of Barnier, according to the Ifop poll for the Journal du Dimanche. By comparison, 53% of respondents approved the nomination of Barnier's predecessor, Gabriel Attal, when he was appointed prime minister in early January, becoming France's youngest-ever premier at 34. According to the poll, a majority of respondents see Barnier, the oldest prime minister in the history of modern France, as competent (62%), open to dialogue (61%) and likeable (60%). However, 74% of respondents polled believe he would not last long in the post. Ifop polled 950 adults online on September 5-6. The margin of error was up to 3.1 points. A Filipino preacher accused of sexual abuse and human trafficking in the Philippines and similar charges in the United States has been captured, officials said Sunday. Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos announced the arrest of Apollo Quiboloy in a brief statement on his Facebook account but did not provide other details. Philippine police chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil confirmed Quiboloys arrest without elaborating. Quiboloy went into hiding after a Philippine court ordered his arrest and several others on suspicion of child and sexual abuse. The Philippine Senate has separately ordered Quiboloys arrest for refusing to appear in committee hearings that were looking into criminal allegations against him. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has urged Quiboloy to surrender and assured him of fair treatment by authorities. The preacher and his lawyer have denied the allegations against him, saying they were fabricated by critics and former members who were removed from the religious group. In 2021, United States federal prosecutors announced the indictment of Quiboloy for allegedly having sex with women and underage girls who faced threats of abuse and eternal damnation unless they catered to the self-proclaimed son of God. Quiboloy and two of his top administrators were among nine people named in a superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury and unsealed in November 2021. It contained a raft of charges, including conspiracy, sex trafficking of children, sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, marriage fraud, money laundering, cash smuggling and visa fraud. The U.S. Embassy in Manila referred requests for comments to Philippine authorities. In August, about 2,000 police backed by riot squads raided a vast religious compound of Quiboloys group, called the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, in southern Davao city. The police brought equipment that could detect people hiding in underground tunnels but did not find him in the 30-hectare (75-acre) compound that includes a cathedral, a stadium, a school, a residential area, a hangar and a taxiway leading to Davao International Airport. In 2019, Quiboloy claimed he stopped a major earthquake from hitting the southern Philippines. He was also a close supporter and spiritual adviser of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is being investigated by the International Criminal Court in connection with the extrajudicial killings by police of thousands of drug suspects. The war in Gaza entered its 12th month on Saturday with at least 16 Palestinians killed in Gaza, a plea for justice from the family of a U.S. citizen killed in the West Bank, and no sign of progress on a cease-fire deal. Israel and Hamas, along with the Islamic Jihad and Fatah, battled Israel across the Gaza Strip Israel with airstrikes and ground forces, Hamas and its allies with anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs. On Saturday, the family of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a woman killed Friday by Israeli soldiers during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in the West Bank, demanded an independent investigation. The White House also called for an investigation. The 26-year-old Eygi, described as an activist, was shot while posing no threat to Israeli forces and during a calm period following earlier clashes, according to witnesses. "Her presence in our lives was taken needlessly, unlawfully, and violently by the Israeli military," Eygi's family said in a statement. "A U.S. citizen, Aysenur was peacefully standing for justice when she was killed by a bullet that video shows came from an Israeli military shooter." The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday its troops "responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them" during the protest. "The IDF is looking into reports that a foreign national was killed as a result of shots fired in the area. The details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review," the military said in a statement. Eygi died as the Israeli military was withdrawing from Jenin and its refugee camps after a 10-day operation in the West Bank. Fighting in Jenin accounted for the deaths of 21 of 39 Palestinians reportedly killed during the operation. This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing. Click to reveal This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing - Click to reveal The body of Turkish-American Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26 lies in a hospital morgue in Nablus in the occupied West Bank on September 7, 2024, a day after she was reportedly "shot in the head" while participating in a demonstration against Israeli settlements in While not confirming the withdrawal, the IDF summarized its "counterterrorism operations in Jenin," saying it had eliminated 14 terrorists, apprehended more than 30 suspects, and dismantled numerous terrorist infrastructure sites, including an underground weapons storage facility and an explosives lab. The governor of Jenin, Kamal Abu al-Rub, called it the most destructive incursion by the IDF to date. Workers continue vaccinating children Despite the fighting, health workers completed the second of three phases of polio vaccinations. They aim to vaccinate 640,000 children amid a health care system destroyed by the war. The drive was prompted by the first polio case in the Palestinian enclave in 25 years. United Nations officials said they have reached more than half of the children needing the drops in the first two stages in the southern and central Gaza Strip. The third phase of vaccinations will be in the north on Sunday. A second round of vaccination will be required four weeks after the first. Fighting rages At least nine Palestinians were killed and about two dozen others were wounded overnight into Saturday by Israeli air raids on the urban refugee camp of Nuseirat. Five people were killed in a house and another four in a residential building, according to The Associated Press. A woman and two children also died in a strike on a house near the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. And in northern Gaza, Israel struck a school that was sheltering displaced people in Jabaliya, killing at least four people and wounding about two dozen others, according to Gaza's Civil Defense authority. Israel's military said it struck a Hamas command post embedded in a former school compound. "The terrorist Wassem Hazem, head of the Hamas terrorist organization in Jenin, was also eliminated," the IDF said in one of the attacks. "Hazem directed shooting and explosive attacks in Jenin and was responsible for advancing terror attacks in Judea and Samaria." This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing. Click to reveal This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing - Click to reveal Mourners, some armed, carry the bodies of Palestinian men who were killed during an Israeli military operation, draped in the Islamic Jihad militant group flags, during their funeral in Jenin, West Bank, Sept. 6, 2024. The conflict began after the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. Since then, Israel's response has killed nearly 700 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Palestinian health officials. The IDF said most of those killed were militants. Most of the West Bank casualties were men, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. In Gaza, Israel's counteroffensive has resulted in nearly 41,000 Palestinian deaths, according to the territory's health ministry, which says most of the dead are women and children. Israel, which has lost 340 soldiers in Gaza, says most of the dead are combatants. Hamas has been designated a terror group by the U.S., U.K., EU, and others. Protests and peace talks Israelis poured into the streets again Saturday in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and other cities to demand that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu make a deal to free the hostages held in Gaza. About 100 remain, though Israel believes a third of them are dead. Netanyahu says Hamas has introduced unacceptable conditions. Senior Hamas official Hossam Badran said on Saturday that the group has not made new demands and remains committed to a July 2 proposal put forward by the United States. The U.S., Egypt and Qatar have been mediating talks for months. CIA Director William Burns, the chief U.S. negotiator, told an event in London that a more detailed proposal would be made in the coming days. Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse. Greece plans to impose a 20-euro ($22) levy on cruise ship visitors to the islands of Santorini and Mykonos during the peak summer season, in a bid to avert overtourism, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Sunday. Greece relies heavily on tourism, the main driver of the country's economy which is still recovering from a decadelong crisis that wiped out a fourth of its output. But some of its most popular destinations, including Santorini, an idyllic island of quaint villages and pristine beaches with 20,000 permanent residents, risk being ruined by mass tourism. Speaking at a news conference a day after outlining his main economic policies for 2025, Mitsotakis clarified that excessive tourism was only a problem in a few destinations. "Greece does not have a structural overtourism problem... Some of its destinations have a significant issue during certain weeks or months of the year, which we need to deal with," he said. "Cruise shipping has burdened Santorini and Mykonos, and this is why we are proceeding with interventions," he added, announcing the levy. Greek tourism revenues stood at about 20 billion euros ($22 billion) in 2023 on the back of nearly 31 million tourist arrivals. In Santorini, protesters have called for curbs on tourism, as in other popular holiday destinations in Europe, including Venice and Barcelona. Part of the revenues from the cruise shipping tax will be returned to local communities to be invested in infrastructure, Mitsotakis said. The government also plans to regulate the number of cruise ships that arrive simultaneously at certain destinations, while rules to protect the environment and tackle water shortages must also be imposed on islands, he said. Greece also wants to increase a tax on short-term rentals and ban new licenses for such rentals in central Athens to increase the housing stock for permanent residents, Mitsotakis said Saturday. The government will provide more details on some of the measures Monday. Three Lebanese paramedics were killed and two others wounded, one critically, in an Israeli attack while they were extinguishing fires in the southern town of Faroun, Lebanon's health ministry said on Saturday. "Israeli forces targeted a team from the Lebanese Civil Defense as they responded to fires sparked by recent Israeli airstrikes," a ministry statement said, specifying that the strike hit a fire truck. The Israeli military said: "Earlier today, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) struck and eliminated terrorists from the Amal terrorist organization that operated within a Hezbollah military structure in the area of Froun in southern Lebanon." Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the attack as a violation of international law and announced an emergency meeting on Monday with Western ambassadors and international organizations to address the ongoing hostilities. "To date, because of Israel's aggression, 25 paramedics from various ambulance teams have been killed, along with two health workers, and 94 paramedics and health workers have been injured," the health ministry statement added. The health ministry also condemned the attack as a "blatant strike" on an official Lebanese state apparatus, marking the second such attack on an emergency team in less than 12 hours. Hezbollah issued a statement, saying it launched a "squadron of missiles" in response to the Faroun attack, targeting an Israeli military headquarters, causing casualties. Around 140 civilians have been killed by Israeli bombardment of Lebanon since October 8, when hostilities broke out between the Israeli military and Hezbollah in parallel with the war in Gaza. The intensity of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel has ratcheted up steadily, displacing tens of thousands of people on either side of the Lebanese Israeli frontier. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, between October 8, 2023, and August 26, at least 133 civilians have been killed. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, the total number of casualties stands at 2,412, including 564 fatalities. Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Sunday to continue its war against Hamas militants in Gaza as the conflict enters its 12th month, saying his country is surrounded by a murderous ideology led by Iran's axis of evil. The Israeli leader, speaking at a weekly meeting of top government officials, condemned the latest Middle East violence, a gunmans attack that killed three Israelis at the Allenby Bridge Crossing between the West Bank and Jordan. Israeli security forces returned fire and killed the assailant. Meanwhile, in Gaza, an Israeli airstrike killed five people, including two women, two children and a senior Civil Defense official. Netanyahu cast Israels fight in Biblical terms, saying, We will wield the sword of David together and with God's help, we will win. Quoting the Bible, Netanyahu asked, 'Shall the sword devour forever?' In the Middle East, he said, without the sword, there is no 'forever.'" Watch related report by Veronica Balderas Iglesias: In recent days, there have been vast street protests of his handling of the 11-month war against Hamas, along with his failure to reach a cease-fire with the militants and for the return of the remaining 100 or so hostages held by the U.S. designated terror group. But Netanyahu told the other Israeli leaders that the great majority of Israel's citizens know that we are fully committed to achieving the objectives of the war: To eliminate Hamas, to return all of our hostages, to ensure that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to Israel and to return our residents in the north and south securely to their homes. In Sundays West Bank attack, the military said the gunman approached the Allenby Bridge Crossing from the Jordanian side in a truck and opened fire at Israeli security forces, who killed the assailant in a shootout. It said the three people killed were Israeli civilians, all men in their 50s. Jordan is investigating the shooting, its state-run Petra News Agency reported. The Western-allied Arab country made peace with Israel in 1994 but is deeply critical of its policies toward the Palestinians. Jordan has a large Palestinian population and has seen mass protests against Israel over the war in Gaza. The Allenby crossing over the Jordan River, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, is mainly used by Israelis, Palestinians and international tourists. Authorities in Israel and Jordan said the crossing was closed until further notice, and Israel later announced the closure of both of its land crossings with Jordan, near Beit Shean in the north and Eilat in the south. The Israeli-occupied West Bank has seen a surge of violence since Hamas' October 7 attack out of Gaza triggered the war there. Israel has launched near-daily military arrest raids into dense Palestinian residential areas, and there has also been a rise in settler violence and Palestinian attacks on Israelis. The Civil Defense in Gaza first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government said Sundays Israeli attack targeted the home of its deputy director for north Gaza, Mohammed Morsi, in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The army says it tries to avoid harming civilians and only targets militants. The war was triggered by the shock October 7 attack on southern Israel last year that killed about 1,200 people and led to the capture of about 250 hostages. Israels retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, although the Israeli military says the death toll includes several thousand militants. The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to broker a cease-fire and the return of the hostages, but the negotiations have repeatedly bogged down. This report included material from The Associated Press. Pope Francis honored the Catholic Church of the peripheries on Sunday as he celebrated Mass in Papua New Guinea before heading to a remote part of the South Pacific nation with a ton of humanitarian aid to deliver to the missionaries and faithful who live there. An estimated 35,000 people filled the stadium in the capital, Port Moresby, for the morning Mass. It began with dancers in grass skirts and feathered headdresses performing to traditional drum beats as priests in green vestments processed up onto the altar. In his homily, Francis told the crowd that they may well feel themselves distant from both their faith and the institutional church, but that God was near to them. "You who live on this large island in the Pacific Ocean may sometimes have thought of yourselves as a far away and distant land, situated at the edge of the world," Francis said. "Yet today the Lord wants to draw near to you, to break down distances, to let you know that you are at the center of his heart and that each one of you is important to him." Francis was himself traveling to a distant land on Sunday, flying into remote Vanimo, on Papua New Guinea's northwest coast, to meet with the small Catholic community there served by missionaries from his native Argentina. Francis was being transported by an Australian military aircraft and was bringing with him one ton of humanitarian aid, including medicine, clothes and toys for children, according to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni. Eight suitcases of medicine and other necessities had been prepared by one of the Argentine missionaries, the Rev. Alejandro Diaz, during a recent trip to Rome and left with the Vatican to bring in on the cargo plane, the ANSA news agency reported. Francis has prioritized the church on the "peripheries," saying it is more important than the center of the institutional church. In keeping with that philosophy, Francis has largely shunned foreign trips to European capitals, preferring instead far-flung communities where Catholics are often a minority. Vanimo, population 11,000, certainly fits the bill. Located near Papua New Guinea's border with Indonesia, the coastal city is perhaps best known as a surfing destination. Francis, history's first Latin American pope, has also had a special affinity for the work of Catholic missionaries. As a young Argentine Jesuit, he had hoped to serve as a missionary in Japan but was prevented from going because of his poor health. Now as pope, he has often held up missionaries as models for the church, especially those who have sacrificed to bring the faith to far-away places. There are about 2.5 million Catholics in Papua New Guinea, according to Vatican statistics, out of a population in the Commonwealth nation believed to be around 10 million. The Catholics practice the faith along with traditional Indigenous beliefs, including animism and sorcery. On Saturday, Francis heard first-hand about how often women are falsely accused of witchcraft, then shunned by their families. In remarks to priests, bishops and nuns, Francis urged the church leaders in Papua New Guinea to be particularly close to these people on the margins who had been wounded by "prejudice and superstition." "I think too of the marginalized and wounded, both morally and physically, by prejudice and superstition sometimes to the point of having to risk their lives," Francis said. He urged the church to be particularly close to such people on the peripheries, with "closeness, compassion and tenderness." Francis heads on Monday to East Timor and then wraps up his visit in Singapore later in the week. The United States and Ecuador circulated a draft resolution Friday asking the United Nations to begin planning for a U.N. peacekeeping operation to replace the Kenya-led mission now in the Caribbean nation helping police to quell gang violence. The proposed Security Council resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, says U.N. peacekeepers are needed "in order to sustain the gains" made by the U.N.-backed multinational mission which has seen almost 400 Kenyan police deploy since June to help the Haitian National Police. The circulation of the short resolution to all 15 council members follows U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Haiti on Thursday where he reaffirmed the U.S. government's commitment to the multinational mission and pushed for long-awaited general elections. America's top diplomat also said a U.N. peacekeeping force was an option to address a funding crisis for the Kenya-led mission, which depends on voluntary contributions. The U.S. and Canada have provided the bulk of funds so far. Peacekeeping operations, by contrast, are funded from a special U.N. budget. The United Nations has been involved in Haiti on and off since 1990. A 2004 rebellion had the country on the brink of collapse, leading to deployment of a U.N. force. It helped stabilize the impoverished nation after successful elections and a devastating 2010 earthquake that killed as many as 300,000 people and ended in October 2017. But U.N. peacekeepers left under a cloud, with troops from Nepal widely blamed for introducing cholera that has killed about 10,000 people in Haiti since 2010 and other troops implicated in sexual abuse, including rape and the targeting of hungry children. Since 2017, the U.N. has had a series of small missions in Haiti. The latest, political mission, BINUH, has a mandate to advance a Haitian-led political process toward elections, the rule of law and human rights. Many Haitians have rejected the proposal of another peacekeeping operation, given the introduction of cholera and sexual abuse cases that occurred when U.N. troops were last in Haiti. Some Haitians also see U.N. peacekeepers as an occupying force. Haiti asked for an international force to combat gangs in 2022, and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed for months for a country to lead the force before the Kenyans came forward and pledged 1,000 police. They are expected to be joined by police from the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad and Jamaica, bringing the multinational force to 2,500 personnel. They would be deployed in phases that would cost roughly $600 million a year. Currently, the U.N. has $85 million in pledges for the mission, out of which $68 million has been received. The gangs have grown in power since the July 7, 2021, assassination of President Jovenel Moise and are now estimated to control up to 80% of the capital. The surge in killings, rapes and kidnappings has led to a violent uprising by civilian vigilante groups. In February, gangs launched coordinated attacks on police stations and the main international airport, which remained closed for nearly three months. They also stormed Haiti's two largest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates. The violence subsided somewhat before the first contingent of Kenyan police arrived in late June, with Blinken noting that economic activity has restarted in some areas of Port-au-Prince, and that joint operations have led to successes including regaining control of Haiti's biggest public hospital. However, gangs continue to attack communities surrounding Port-au-Prince. The draft resolution would determine that "the situation in Haiti continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security and to stability in the region." Extending gratitude to Kenya, it would extend the mandate of the Multinational Security Support mission until Oct. 2, 2025, while the U.N. plans a transition to a peacekeeping operation. Security Council experts held their first meeting on the text of the resolution Friday afternoon and negotiations are expected to continue, a council diplomat said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because discussions were private. No date has been set for a vote. U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric reiterated Friday that any new peacekeeping force requires approval from the Security Council. U.N. member nations must then volunteer troops and needed equipment, and the force then needs to be deployed all of which takes time, he said. More than 16 months of war in Sudan has killed more than 20,000 people, a senior United Nations official said Sunday, a grim figure amid a devastating conflict that has wrecked the northeastern African country. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, gave the tally at a news conference in Sudans Red Sea city of Port Sudan, which serves as the seat of the internationally recognized, military-backed government. He said the death toll could be much higher. Sudan is suffering through a perfect storm of crisis, Tedros said as he wrapped up his two-day visit to Sudan. The scale of the emergency is shocking, as is the insufficient action being taken to curtail the conflict. Sudan was plunged into chaos in April last year when simmering tensions between the military and a powerful paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, exploded into open warfare across the country. The conflict has turned the capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas into battlefields, wrecking civilian infrastructure and an already battered health care system. Without the basics, many hospitals and medical facilities have closed their doors. The conflict has created the worlds largest displacement crisis. More than 13 million people have been forced to flee their homes since fighting began, according to the International Organization for Migration. They include over 2.3 million who have fled to neighboring countries as refugees. The fighting has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to the U.N. and international rights groups. On Friday, U.N.-backed human rights investigators urged the creation of an independent and impartial force to protect civilians, blaming both sides for war crimes including murder, mutilation and torture. Devastating seasonal floods in recent weeks have compounded the misery. Dozens of people have been killed and critical infrastructure has been washed away in 12 of Sudans 18 provinces, according to local authorities. A cholera outbreak is the latest calamity for the country. The disease has killed at least 165 and sickened about 4,200 others in recent weeks, the health ministry said in its latest update Friday. We are calling on the world to wake up and help Sudan out of the nightmare its living through, Tedros said, adding that an immediate cease-fire is urgently required. The best medicine is peace, he added. Thousands of Mexicans, mainly court employees and law students, protested in the capital Sunday against a controversial judicial reform that would see judges elected by popular vote. They gathered in Mexico City as the Senate prepared to debate the initiative pushed by outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and approved by the lower house, called the Chamber of Deputies, in which the ruling party holds sway. The proposed reform, which would see the election of judges of the Supreme Court and other tribunals as well as magistrates, has sparked diplomatic tensions with the United States, prompted protests by opponents, and upset financial markets. "The judiciary will not fall," changed protesters who marched on the Senate, expected to vote on the proposal Wednesday. Striking judicial workers have asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the matter, a request that Lopez Obrador has said had no legal basis. The United States, Mexico's main trading partner, has warned that the reforms would threaten a relationship that relies on investor confidence in the Mexican legal framework. Lopez Obrador, who will be replaced by his ally Claudia Sheinbaum on October 1, argues that the change was warranted because courts serve the interests of the political and economic elite. Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez flew into Spain on Sunday to seek asylum, Madrid said, hours after quitting his country amid a political and diplomatic crisis over July's disputed election. Gonzalez who has challenged President Nicolas Maduro's declaration of victory arrived at the Torrejon de Ardoz military base with his wife, Spain's foreign ministry said in a statement. The exit of the 75-year-old seen by the U.S., the EU and other powers in the region as the winner of the vote came a week after Venezuelan authorities issued an arrest warrant for him, accusing him of conspiracy and other crimes. "Today is a sad day for democracy in Venezuela," European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement. "In a democracy, no political leader should be forced to seek asylum in another country." Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Instagram authorities had given Gonzalez safe passage in a bid to restore "political peace." He left Venezuela after "voluntarily seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy in Caracas several days ago," she wrote. Spain's foreign ministry said there had been no talks between the Spanish and the Venezuelan governments on Gonzalez's exit. Venezuela's opposition say the July 28 election resulted in a resounding victory for Gonzalez, and published vote tallies online that they say show he won. Maduro has dismissed all such assertions and says there was a right-wing plot to sabotage his government. Gonzalez's move to Spain marked another jolting shift in the fortunes of the former diplomat who came out of retirement and took over the candidacy in March, initially as a placeholder after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and then another replacement could not stand. Machado confirmed on X that Gonzalez was now in Spain, adding he had fled to protect his "freedom, his integrity and his life." "The increasing threats, summons, arrest warrants and even the attempts at blackmail and coercion to which he has been subjected show that the regime has no scruples or limits in its obsession to silence him and try to break him," she wrote. Gonzalez would continue to fight for the opposition from Spain, while she would continue to do so within Venezuela, Machado said, and vowed that on 10 January 2025, he would be sworn in as the country's president. Carmen Beatriz, a political communication and public opinion analyst at the University of Navarra told Reuters Gonzalez's role was important, but Machado is the leader of the process. "He can become an articulator of international initiatives and interlocutor from the outside," she said. Spain's foreign ministry said Gonzalez's asylum process would now start - "the resolution of which will be favorable in view of Spain's commitment to the political rights and physical integrity of all Venezuelan men and women, especially political leaders." Gonzalez had sought refuge in the Dutch and then the Spanish embassy in Venezuela after the election, Dutch and Venezuelan officials said. Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said in a letter to his parliament on Sunday that Gonzalez had urgently requested refuge in the Dutch embassy the day after the election. "At the beginning of September, Edmundo Gonzalez indicated that he ... wanted to leave and continue his fight from Spain," Veldkamp added. Spanish officials, including former Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, linked to diplomatic relations in the South American country in the past, were involved in a week of negotiations with Venezuelan authorities for Gonzalez to leave the country, a source with knowledge of the talks told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. Opposition to keep protesting That Maduro allowed Gonzalez's departure despite the arrest warrant he was facing may soften some harsh recent international criticism of him. Machado, though, remains subject of an investigation and has largely been sequestered at an unknown location since the vote, emerging only occasionally to lead rallies. Gonzalez's departure came less than 24 hours after security forces surrounded Argentina's former embassy in Caracas, now being protected by Brazil, where six opposition staffers have been sheltering since warrants were issued for them in March. Attorney General Tarek Saab, who met with Gonzalez's lawyer this week and who has been one of the opposition's most strident accusers, is set to hold a press conference later on Sunday. The opposition is pressing for more street protests and international pressure for its victory to be recognized, but so far those tactics have borne no fruit, with military leaders lining up behind Maduro, and no stepped-up sanctions or other international action since the vote amid waning attendance at anti-government rallies. HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's state-owned railway operator has opened its network up to private players, including a unit of South Africa's Grindrod GNDJ.J, as it seeks to boost freight volumes that had collapsed after decades of underinvestment, an official said. National Railways of Zimbabwe hauled 12 million tons of cargo annually at its 1990s peak, but now manages less than 3 million tons owing to a lack of locomotives and poor maintenance of its rail infrastructure. The collapse also followed a sharp decline in agricultural and mineral output, triggered by the violent seizure of white-owned farms championed by Zimbabwe's former leader Robert Mugabe in 2000. However, mineral output is on the rebound, mainly driven by chrome and lithium demand from China. Chinese companies such as Tsingshan Holdings, Sinosteel, Sinomine 002738.SZ, Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt 603799.SS and Chengxin Lithium 002240.SZ have in recent years established iron ore, steel, chrome and lithium operations in Zimbabwe. They export the minerals to China through Mozambique's ports, and the growing commodity export volumes exceed the NRZ's current capacity. The state-owned group is now looking to restore its capacity with the aid of private companies. "Last year we uplifted 2.8 million tons against available business of 3 million tons," NRZ spokesperson Andrew Kunambura told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday. "So these private companies are coming in with their locomotives and wagons to augment what we have." Grindrod, through its Zimbabwean subsidiary Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway, has deployed three locomotives and 150 wagons since March as part of the arrangement. The South African logistics company is positioning itself for freight rail partnerships in southern Africa as under-funded state-owned operators open up their creaking networks to private investors. The mineral-rich region holds some of the world's biggest deposits of copper and lithium, needed for cleaner energy, and is seeing growth in new mining projects which require expanded rail capacity. Grindrod has restructured its rail business to take advantage of emerging market opportunities in the region, CEO Xolani Mbambo told analysts last week. The company has recently agreed a partnership with the DRC's inland railway company and says it is ready to partner South Africa's Transnet, which also plans to open up its network to private players. (Reporting by Nelson Banya) Bunmahon Community Society Lotto There was no winner of the Bunmahon Community Society Lotto jackpot this week so the jackpot will continue to roll over to next week. The lucky numbers drawn were 6, 18, 21, and 25. Congratulations to Denis Hearne who matched three numbers. Next weeks jackpot is 1,750 and the draw will be held in the Engine House, Bunmahon on Friday night at 9.15pm. Match-3 numbers for your chance to win 80 and lucky dip 40. If you would like to contribute to the local notes in either Kill or Bunmahon, simply email killandbunmahonnotes@gmail.com Kill Lotto There was no winner for this weeks lotto so it rolls over until next week with a jackpot of 2,650. The numbers pulled were 5, 11, 13 and 15. Congrats to Eddie Fitzgerald and Paudie Torpey who were the lucky dip winners. Text Alert The Community Text Alert Service is still ongoing and open to any member of the public to join. Some messages that the group send out include notifications from the Gardai, Met Eireann and others which help to keep the community informed. If you would like to join the text service, please contact Kill Action Group on 086 3772945. Senior Alert Scheme Kill Action Group is a registered provider for the Senior Alert Scheme which provides a personal monitored alarm for those aged 65 and over, living alone or with another person who meets the eligibility criteria and residing within the area. The alarm can be worn as a pendant or on the wrist like a watch and when pressed a call is sent to a 24-hour monitoring centre. The equipment is free however there is a fee for monitoring the alarm. Either a landline, mobile phone or broadband connection is required to install and connect the alarm. To enquire or to avail of the scheme please contact Marie Whelan on 087 2871307. Gealach Gorm Theatre Next up at the theatre will be the play, 'Sugar', on Saturday, September 14, at 8pm. A comedy with a big heart set in Mallow Sugar Factory prior to its closure, the play was written by and will be performed by Michael Patric. In the play Danyl Sweetnam describes his last days as an Irish Sugar employee. As much as he tries to stay on topic, he can't help veering off towards the 'craic' and taking us on a journey of hilarious shenanigans. "You must have the craic. I don't trust any fella who can't have d'aul craic". The show is not suitable for under 16s. Michael trained at Dublin's Gaiety School of Acting and in the interim has worked in Ireland and North America in film, theatre, television, animation and radio. He has also worked extensively in Irish Theatre. Tickets are now on sale online through https://ie.powertik.com/events/sugar or by contacting 086 8569358. Social Dancing Last week, Pat Daly and Art Supple entertained a fantastic crowd at Wednesday night dancing at Kill Commmunity Centre. This week Effie Neill will perform on September 11, from 9pm to 11.30pm, so mark the date in your diary. There will be complementary tea, coffee and sweet treat so come and join in the fun. Last week, Muriel OConnor and Fran Curry entertained all in attendance at the centre. Everyone enjoyed the great atmosphere and danced away the afternoon. Next to take to the stage are Declan Aungier, on September 15. Social dancing begins at 3pm and finishes at 6pm. Support Telephone Line Kill Community Support Group (KCSG), supported By Kill Community Centre, offers a confidential Telephone Support Line which can be accessed through 087 7150608. The mission of the KCSG is to ensure that every member of our community has access to support if they are overwhelmed by any situation, they may find themselves in. The telephone support line is a confidential service open to anyone in the local area. Call 087 7150608 where a team member will answer your call and provide you with support and advice. Olivia Kelleher A man has appeared in court charged with assault outside a cafe in Cork city centre. Aaron Bohane (24), of St Vincents Hostel in Cork city, appeared before Cork District Court charged with assault causing harm to Gavin Sheehan on Oliver Plunkett Street last Friday. He was also charged with producing an article capable of inflicting serious injury. Evidence of arrest, charge and caution was given by Garda Joe Crowley. He told Judge Philip OLeary that he arrested Mr Bohane at 9.40am on Saturday. He said Mr Bohane made no reply when he was subsequently charged with two offences. Defence barrister Elaine Audley said there was no application for bail. However, Mr Bohane is reserving his position in relation to his bail application. Free legal aid was granted as Mr Bohane is unemployed. Judge OLeary remanded Mr Bohane in custody to appear before Cork District Court on Wednesday by video link. No direct evidence was given in relation to the incident. The alleged assault occurred outside a cafe on the junction of Oliver Plunkett Street and Grand Parade shortly after 5pm on Friday. The injured man was transferred to Cork University Hospital for treatment. He has since been discharged from hospital. Two former legends of Waterford hurling recalled a time in the 70s when they donned the colours of Kilkenny to play a game in New York against Wexford. Dave 'Dob' Long and Frankie 'Horse' Whelan recalled the event when they visited Portlaw GAA club recently to view the facilities at the club. The two men were stalwarts of Portlaw and Waterford senior hurling in the 60s and 70s and during their visit to the club they got to view paper cuttings from the their time on the pitch and much of that press coverage from the time featured their names prominantly. One of those involved with Portlaw GAA commented: "At our new clubhouse where they viewed the new gym and club rooms, they also enjoyed viewing some paper cuttings of great matches and county finals they played in the past and reminisced about great hurling battles they competed in together." Dave 'Dob' Long and Frankie 'Horse' Whelan paid a visit to Portlaw GAA club. The two are legends of the club and of Waterford senior hurling. One such match was the 1962 county final, which Portlaw won, and a game in which Dob, as a county minor, played midfield and in a storming display was named man of the match. The two friends spoke of the great men from Portlaw they have the privilege of playing with - many of whom had since passed away. "They remembered the tough training sessions," said one of those in attendance, recalling names synonymous with Portlaw and Waterford hurling. When viewing the new gym equipment Frankie quipped: "Be God, if we'd done this stuff in our day we'd have won a load more county finals on top of all the ones we won already." Dave 'Dob' Long and Frankie 'Horse' Whelan read press cutting from their heyday in the 60s and 70s The two won many county finals and were honoured to represent their county on numerous occasions. They played together in Gaelic Park, in New York, in the early 1970s, along with other Portlaw and Waterford greats such as Jackie Whelan and Martin Hickey. Dave and Frankie spoke about how they were among five Waterford men who donned the black & amber of Kilkenny to play the New York final against Wexford, only to be beaten by a solitary point after two previous drawn games. The two men also recalled their time working on the building of the Word Trade Centre in Manhattan. It was a great occasion for everyone in attendance who got to share in brilliant memories from two of Portlaw's legendary sportsmen. An upcoming Waterford crime caper has been described as The Usual Suspects, if it was set in Lisduggan. 'Deise Dogs', is a heist comedy with a twist, the twist being that its set in Waterford City and the target of the heist is an iconic Waterford landmark. Written and directed by Derek Flynn, it tells the story of three young Waterford lads badly in need of some quick cash, who come up with a hairbrained scheme to knock off one of Waterfords most iconic buildings. Alongside Derek, 'Deise Dogs', stars Kieran Walsh, Jamie Power, and Gary Deasy. Describing the actors' work, a spokesperson said: "Kieran Walsh is a Waterford-based actor who desperately seeks validation through pretending to be other people, at home and abroad, working extensively in theatre, and occasionally in film and TV. From the 'Crucible' and 'Our Town' to 'Macbeth' and 'Twelfth Night', he do be all over the genres. All over 'em. "Jamie Power used to act a lot, now he acts less, but hes delighted to be acting in this. Gary Deasy has appeared in plays by Flying Turtle Productions, Firedoor Theatre, Downes Pub Theatre and Shakespeare Squared." As one half of the local theatre group, Theatre Vamps, Derek Flynn has produced a number of plays over the past two years. One of his most recent 'A Perfect Stranger' was nominated for five Waterford News & Star Green Room awards, winning Best Supporting Actress. Theatre Vamps most recent production, 'Misery', was a hit with audiences and critics alike, selling out numerous nights in both the Theatre Royal, Waterford, and the Coastguard Cultural Centre, in Tramore. 'Deise Dogs' will be performed in Bank Lane, Waterford, on Thursday, November 7. Tickets are available at banklane.ie for 17.50 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size This story is part of the September 8 edition of Sunday Life. See all 14 stories . I am not the queen of any of this stuff, Leeanna Walsman says, a finger tapping her video-call screen on a wintry July morning. Dressed in a leather bikers jacket and sitting cross-legged on the floor of her inner-city Sydney living room, she is framed by an orange couch and leafy potted plants, a small fluffy dog sleeping contentedly on a rug to one side. A respected stage, film and TV actor, Walsman, 44, is not enamoured with talking about herself. It doesnt come naturally to me, she says. I guess its part of the job, but its not the part of the job Im best at, thank god. She draws her hair up into a temporary ponytail and laughs. Theres always this fear that I will just talk all over the world, she says. I dont know how to be concise. With a script, Im fine. Eminently friendly despite her wariness, Walsman has been boning up on magazine stories after discovering old Sunday Life pages lining boards at the ceramics studio she attends. I had a read, she says of the issues cover story. And I saw that it was quite a few pages. She gives a broad smile, only slightly carpeting a look of doom. I mean, how many pages do you have to write about me? Walsman would much rather talk about ceramics, her trekking and motorbike travels, and her three-decade-long love of acting than herself. Performance is my absolute passion, she says. Always has been. Advertisement After falling in love with acting as a child, Walsman made a strong mark in her first two films, the crime drama Blackrock (also the late Heath Ledgers big-screen debut) in 1997, and the coming-of-age feature Looking for Alibrandi in 2000. Stage productions, starting with La Dispute in 2000 and including Saturns Return and The Shape of Things at Sydney Theatre Company, Melancholia at Malthouse Theatre, Othello for Bell Shakespeare and Opening Night at Belvoir, further revealed what Australian theatre director Benedict Andrews described as Walsmans acute emotional intelligence. Ginger & Smart Soloist jacket. Christian Louboutin So Kate shoes. Credit: Jesse-Leigh Elford Its the same for small-screen roles, which include Police Rescue, Wildside, Heartbreak High, Love Is a Four Letter Word and Safe Harbour, for which she was nominated for AACTA and Logie awards. Not to mention her short films, such as Tangles and Knots, which screened at the Berlin Film Festival. Walsmans most recent film, Bosch & Rockit, co-starring Luke Hemsworth, won her a 2022 Film Critics Circle Award as best supporting actress. And she is no stranger to Hollywood blockbusters, having been cast as bounty hunter Zam Wesell in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones (keen fans can still buy an action figure based on her shape-shifting assassin). Today, Walsmans focus is less on blockbusters, awards or, as mentioned earlier, media attention. Uncrossing her legs she looks around. Rubes, she says, whistling gently. Rubes, come here. A fluffy rescue terrier stretches slowly before walking over and into her owners lap. This is Ruby, Walsman says. I love her. Shes my best mate. Ruby gives her owner a nuzzle. Advertisement Taking off her jacket, Walsman leans towards her screens camera. What did you think of it? she asks. Loading Shes talking about Human Error, Nines new crime drama series in which she plays Detective Holly ORourke, a seasoned investigator leading a homicide team in a Melbourne murder case (Nine is also the publisher of this masthead). Made by the creators of Underbelly, Romper Stomper, Wentworth, Offspring and Love My Way, Human Error also features Matt Day as ORourkes husband and Steve Bisley as her father, a retired detective. The series, inspired by actual events and with The Age crime reporter John Silvester as a consultant, bears shades of Scottish author Ian Rankins Rebus books as well as Sally Wainwrights TV drama Scott & Bailey. ORourke is a razor-sharp detective dealing with a labyrinthine investigation, treacherous colleagues, compromised parental responsibilities and an increasingly complex personal life. Carla Zampatti dress. Christian Louboutin Hot Chick shoes. Credit: Jesse-Leigh Elford Hollys a ferocious multitasker, says Walsman. Shes like the queen of being able. Shes just juggling so much. But just because shes a detective, a mother, a wife, all these different fragments, it didnt mean that she had to be so different from me. Advertisement I didnt give her a very different physicality from me and I tried not to fall into a stereotypical display of, Im in power, or As a woman in power, I have to make my voice louder and more ferocious to be heard. It was important that Holly led with compassion and empathy and was very open because, unintentionally, her situation isnt the norm. What you find out about Holly and the choices shes made, she isnt all apologetic or full of shame about them. That I find very exciting. I thought Id have to walk on set and do things that were different to how I usually perform. But actually, I was encouraged to be more myself. LEEANNA WALSMAN Its the first time shes played a lead role in a TV series. Ive been acting for a very long time, which is weird to say because I look in the mirror and I see how old I am, but I dont understand it in my mind. Whenever I get a new job, I always feel like its the first. With this one, I thought Id have to walk on set and do things that were different to how I usually perform. But actually, I was encouraged to be more myself. Walsmans love of acting began when parents Bob and Elaine, who started work at 5am on weekends at Paddys Markets in Sydneys Chinatown, began sending eight-year-old Leeanna to nearby acting and dancing classes. It was a natural fit. I would always be performing, in a way, with my dad, who was a lot more of an extrovert than me, she says. Carla Zampatti suit. Credit: Jesse-Leigh Elford Advertisement During high school, she joined the NSW Public Schools Drama Company. By the time she reached year 11, it was the only reason she wanted to be at school. I ended up dropping out and not doing year 12, she says. But being in that drama company and doing those Saturday classes in Chinatown organically navigated me into the world of acting. Another recent organic evolution is pottery, a lockdown hobby that developed after she joined a local art studio. I remember thinking, Oh God, do I have to have a purpose to do this? Do I have to sell these ceramics to allow myself to have this hobby? And then I thought, No. This is like going to the gym for me. Its got the same effect on my mental health as doing Pilates and yoga and eating well. Me funnelling my energy into something creative is very, very positive. She says the style of her ceramics (she recently had two pieces in a group exhibition in Bondi), constantly changes. Im technically sloppy but through all the mistakes something beautiful always comes out. Its like a true expression of me and whats happening in my mind. Loading Walsman reaches off screen to bring a sooty black-and-cream vase into view, its curves marked with banksia cone-like indentations. Then she shows me another, this one patterned with bright coils of blue, yellow and red. Working with clay, she says, is just like acting: If you fully drop in and are receptive to whats happening around you, something great happens. Conversation then turns to another of Walsmans passions: motorbikes. In 2022, she spent five days riding the frequently hairy 350-kilometre-long Ha Giang Loop in Vietnam. This year she visited again, travelling to the caves of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. Advertisement A trustee company that controls tens of millions of dollars worth of Indigenous mining royalties is being paid more than $1 million a year for unexplained administration costs despite many native titleholders not seeing any money for more than three years. Secrecy surrounding the millions has raised new concerns among Adnyamathanha native titleholders, who have for years questioned where their money has gone and how royalties generated from lucrative uranium mining agreements in and around South Australias Flinders Ranges are distributed. Adnyamathanha native titleholders have questioned where tens of millions of dollars worth of royalties generated from lucrative uranium mining agreements in and around the Flinders Ranges in South Australia have gone. Credit: Heathgate Resources The company, Rangelea Holdings Pty Ltd, has been locked in a legal battle over the royalties since 2021, when payments were suspended after community members raised fears that tens of millions of dollars had been squandered. But since then, Rangelea has received more than $3 million for administration costs, which the company claims include distributing royalties and contributions to a funeral fund, and refused to explain expenses to community members. Some votes can be passed with murmurs of assent, and some with shouts of dismay. But three decades ago this month, women welcomed a historic vote at the Labor National Conference by rushing to the floor and dancing for joy. The vote in Hobart in 1994 changed the party, and the country, by setting an affirmative action target to get more women elected to parliament. Julia Gillard joined her friends that day by busting a move on the conference floor. Julia Gillard in 1994, the year of the Hobart convention. Credit: Ken Irwin Id have to say my dancing is not that elegant, so I was, perhaps, not the most exuberant of the people dancing, the former prime minister says. But I was absolutely delighted that finally, finally, finally, we passed the rule at the national conference. The rule turned into a live experiment in bringing more women into the nations biggest decisions. It required Labor to make sure 35 per cent of its candidates were women and it was fiercely opposed by powerbrokers who thought the quota would slam the door on men. Kyiv: Two NATO members said on Sunday that Russian drones violated their airspace, as one reportedly flew into Romania during nighttime attacks on neighbouring Ukraine while another crashed in eastern Latvia the previous day. A drone entered Romanian territory early Sunday as Moscow struck civilian targets and port infrastructure across the Danube in Ukraine, Romanias Ministry of National Defence reported. The remains of a Shahed-type drone that crashed near the Etulia, Moldova, near the Moldova-Ukraine border in February. Credit: AP Romania scrambled two F-16 fighter jets to monitor the incursion. Residents of the southeastern Romanian counties of Tulcea and Constanta were warned to take cover. From existing data, the possibility of an impact zone on national territory was identified, in an uninhabited area near the village of Periprava, the ministry added. By George Lithgow, PA A former British housing minister has said criminal prosecutions should be brought against Grenfell Tower cladding firms. Companies that are still making vast profits without acknowledging their full responsibility must also be punished financially, Michael Gove suggested. A public inquiry into the devastating 2017 London Grenfell Tower blaze that killed 72 people blamed the disaster on failings by the British government, construction industry and, most of all, the firms involved in fitting the exterior with flammable cladding. The fire ripped through the 23-storey social housing block in one of London's richest areas during the early hours of June 14th, 2017. It was Britain's deadliest blaze in a residential building since the second World War. Writing in the Sunday Times, Mr Gove claimed attempts to punish Kingspan, Arconic and Celotex when he was in government had been blocked by bureaucracies. There was insufficient action from foreign governments on responsible companies based outside the UK, he said, adding that attempts to restrict imports of their products ran up against the commercial purism of Treasury Mandarin Brain. The final report of the Grenfell Inquiry, published last week, said the west London tower block was covered in combustible products because of the systematic dishonesty of firms who made and sold the cladding and insulation. Kingspan had, from 2005 and even after the inquiry began in the wake of the fire, knowingly created a false market in insulation for use on buildings over 18 metres tall (59ft), it said. Celotex then, in an attempt to break into the market created by Kingspan, embarked on a dishonest scheme to mislead its customers and the wider market, inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said. Mr Gove apologised to the relatives and survivors of the tragedy who were let down by successive governments, including governments of which I was a part. Companies which manufactured materials used on the tower have still not shown proper awareness of their guilt, contrition for their crimes or restitution for their wrongs, he added. Because Kingspan is based in Ireland, and Arconics European operations and Celotex are in France, our jurisdiction was limited. But we were determined to go after them, Mr Gove said. The Grenfell Tower fire was the culmination of decades of failure by central government and the construction industry, the final report into the 2017 disaster concluded (Natalie Oxford/PA) The former Conservative Party leadership hopeful pressured Ulster Rugby and Mercedes F1 team, asking them to reconsider their relationship with Co Cavan-based insulation firm Kingspan in 2021. Last year, he warned shareholders in cladding companies that the firms will face severe consequences if no post-Grenfell financial support package is forthcoming. Mr Gove said taking the necessary action against cladding firms will require toughness I know there will be voices opposed to robust action. You cannot purchase prosperity at the price of justice. Those who are the guiltiest must pay, and pay the most, he added. Palestinians look at the body of Turkish-American Aysenur Ezgi Eygi at the hospital morgue in Nablus, West Bank, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. Eygi, 26, died after being shot in the head on Friday, Palestinian doctors said. Witnesses to the shooting said the was fatally shot by Israeli forces in a moment of calm after clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the northern West Bank. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed) Carolina, the daughter of Edmundo Gonzalez, is photographed traveling inside a car as she leaves the Torrejon Air Base in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. Former Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has fled into exile after being granted asylum in Spain, delivering a major blow to millions who placed their hopes in his upstart campaign to end two decades of single-party rule. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas) Nant Mill Fun Day & Duck Race 2024 Join in on Sept 14th! A popular fun day and quacking good duck race will return to Wrexham this month. Organised by the Nant Mill Community Trust and Groundwork North Wales the event on September 14 is set to be a fun-filled family event. Taking place from midday a Nant Mill the Fun Day will include bushcraft and nature activities, a name the teddy competition and much more. Duck racing is set to start from 1.30 pm with ducks priced at 1 (cash only on the day). T here will be several Duck Race heats with the winners from the heats taking to the water for one final race to crown the overall winner. Tim Woodcock Chair of Nant Mill Community Trust said about the event: We are excited to bring you the Nant Mill Duck Race, working alongside Groundwork North Wales and the team behind the Clywedog Valley Partnership. It is always a fantastic fun filled day for everyone involved and we are really looking forward to welcoming you all to Nant Mill. Refreshments will be available on the day thanks to Coedpoeth WI, and the days activities are being supported by Coedpoeth Cubs and Scouts. . This event will be raising funds to support the Nant Mill Community Trust, which is part of the Clywedog Valley Partnership and led by Groundwork North Wales. The Clywedog Valley Partnership is currently working with the local community to develop plans to restore and improve the heritage sites within the Clywedog Valley for visitors and wildlife, improve accessibility, create and refresh information and interpretation across the valley, and design programmes of community engagement and education for the future. The team behind the Clywedog Valley Partnership will be available on the day to answer questions about the plans and are keen for the community to share feedback and ideas on what matters to them about the area (an online survey where you can share what matters to you about the Clywedog Valley is also available here). Parking is limited at Nant Mill so please use public transport where possible. Cash only for all activities. The event has been ,ade possible thanks to development funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players, along with funding from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and support funding from partner organisations. RSV vaccine programme for babies and older adults launched in north Wales A new vaccine programme designed to protect babies and older adults from Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is being rolled out across Wales. The common but potentially severe respiratory infection causes between 400-600 deaths in older adults and over 1,000 hospital admissions in young babies in Wales every year. The new RSV vaccination programme aims to provide protection against the most common childhood respiratory infection for the first time in Wales. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a contagious virus that circulates in autumn and early winter, infecting most children within the first two years of their life and frequently re-infecting older children and adults. While a common virus, Public Health Wales recent Time to Talk Public Health survey of over 1,000 adults in Wales found that nearly 60 per cent said they had not heard of RSV, meaning that the majority of people are not aware of the risk posed to babies and older adults. For most people, RSV infection causes a mild lower respiratory illness with cold-like symptoms, but babies under one year and the elderly are at greatest risk of a more severe infection which could lead to hospitalisation. Health officials say that evidence shows that the vaccine is safe and offers excellent protection, easing pressure on the NHS Wales primary care services during the busy winter months. The programme is for adults turning 75 and for mothers-to-be in pregnancy from 28 weeks to term. All those eligible will receive an invite directly, or be signposted by their midwife during antenatal clinics. The RSV vaccine is now the fourth vaccination offered in pregnancy, along with whooping cough, flu and COVID 19. Offered at different stages of pregnancy, the vaccines offer excellent protection from serious illness for the mum and for the baby. Dr Christopher Johnson, Deputy Director of Health Protection and Head of Vaccine Preventable Disease Programme at Public Health Wales, said: We are excited to see the vaccination programmes for RSV become a reality and know that we are now able to protect the most vulnerable in Wales and across the UK from what can be such a devastating virus. While mild for most, this virus can cause serious illness to the very young and is responsible for around 400-600 deaths in older adults each year. I would actively encourage all those pregnant and those turning 75 to take up the offer of the RSV vaccine when it is given by their healthcare provider. By doing so you will not only be protecting yourself and those you love, but also leading the way to creating a world where RSV infections cause less harm and distress. Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Mark Drakeford said: RSV is very common and can pose a threat to our health, but many people in Wales have never heard of it. Weve worked with the NHS to introduce this potentially life-saving vaccine ahead of the winter months when we traditionally see an increase in infections. This vaccine could help reduce the number of people who are admitted to hospital with serious illnesses caused by RSV and help ease some of the winter pressures experienced by the NHS. I strongly encourage everyone who is eligible to take up the offer of RSV vaccination. Dr Mair Parry, consultant paediatrician at Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor, added: The introduction of this new RSV vaccine is great news, because we know it will help to prevent vulnerable babies and infants from becoming seriously ill because of the RSV virus. Thousands of children across Wales are affected by RSV every winter, with hundreds attending hospital sometimes with really severe symptoms or related infections. RSV is a common virus. But in the most serious cases it can lead to our youngest children developing serious illnesses like bronchiolitis and pneumonia and being admitted to hospital for help with breathing and feeding. Many parents will know the huge stress and worry that comes with poorly children being admitted to hospital. Now it is introduced, this vaccine will help to significantly reduce the chances of young children and older people getting ill and needing to come to hospital. This will help to keep us all well during the winter, and also help to ease the pressure on hospitals at one of our busiest times of the year. Over 120,000 people marched again in London on Saturday against the genocide in Gaza. World Socialist Web Site reporters spoke with Hungarian Holocaust survivor Stephen Kapos, who attended the protest with various members of his family. I am here for several reasons. First of all, to express solidarity with the people of Palestine, and Gaza particularly, who are suffering so much. Secondly, to protest against an ongoing genocide which should be an impossibility in the twenty-first century. Also against the continued supply of armaments given by the current Labour government. The small reduction that was announced, the 8 percent reduction, does not answer the problem, which is: if we go on supplying arms of any amount we are assisting genocideas well as the use of the air base in Cyprus. Also to show that Jews are not in support of the actions of the leaders of Israel; we are protesting against it. There are many left-leaning and left-wing Jews protesting against the genocide and the policies of Israel. Finally, as a Holocaust survivor, I am protesting against the use of the memory of the Holocaust as some kind of cover against the ongoing genocide, which is a kind of latter-day Holocaust. We are saying, Not in our name. Stephen Kapos and his son Peter at the demonstration. It is, said Stephen, completely outrageous that the Netanyahu government, and also the right-wing Jewish leadership in this country are pretending to speak in the name of all Jews. They are neither democratic nor truthful in representing what Jews feel. The Board of Deputies is basically a right-wing, pro-Tory organisation that pretends to speak for some kind of homogeneous unified Jewish community which does not exist. Asked about his attitude towards Zionism, Stephen replied, I usually quote my late cousin; he was a metallurgist, a Jew and a very intelligent man. He said, If there is a people who are often subject to abuse all over the world, the last thing you want to do is collect them together and put them in one place for a target. So I was never, and most people I know have not been, in support of the Zionist project. The Zionist project from the outset was completely flawed because it was not an empty place they were occupying; they were arriving at the homes of another nation, another people and that was a fundamentally irreconcilable problem that they started with. I agree, unfortunately, that the Zionist project has been a racist project from the outset, a settler colonial project which has no place in the twenty-first century, not even the twentieth century, let alone the twenty-first century. Speaking about his personal experience of the Second World War and Stalinism, he explained, I am a child survivor of the Holocaust. I was seven years old at the time when it reached my hometown Budapest. I had to wear a yellow star, I had to be in hiding on false papers to survive the period when the outright fascist youththe so-called Arrow Cross party and their militiastook over and went on a killing spree. That was going on for a number of months until January/February 1945 and the Soviet troops liberated Budapest. That was a couple of years of genuine democracy then there was a Communist takeover and the whole question of antisemitism and history of the Holocaust was swept under the carpet, was not confronted, was not discussed, was not taught about. Stephen also described his experience of the 1956 Hungarian uprising and noted, Western complicity with what happened when a Soviet force led by Soviet Marshall Konev, who smashed the Germans in the Kursk, put down the workers revolt. Shortly afterwards, Stephen walked over illegally to Austria. His son, Peter, spoke to stress the imperialist character of the ongoing war and genocide, noting that it was influence in the region that motivates the continued support of Europe and America and is currently enabling a genocide. He added, Protest is the only thing that can stop it. Because politics has become so completely bankrupt now, completely barren, fascistic actually. Sahr Fasuluku, who works in international development, said he was not surprised by the actions of the Conservative and Labour governments in supporting Israels genocide. Both parties, the two main parties, thats what theyre there for. Theyre not there to serve us. I think the role comes to the people; its their job not to allow this to happen. Sahr Fasuluku at the demonstration. Describing the role of the corporate media in keeping the message sanitised for the public, he added, In the age of the Internet, I think theres no excuse: you can go and find your information. Young people are doing it, older people are doing it. The information is there, despite all the censorship. The marches of the last year had been A huge step. First of all, its about sustaining the noise, keeping it loud, keeping it in peoples conversations. Its about keeping it alive, but also stopping it from being a background fact of life, something you just accept. My concern is what happens when these people over there [the government of Israel] stop being so bloodthirsty and start being decent again and playing the violin and polishing themselves up and looking betterpeople get less outraged. But [the Israeli leaders] are all symptoms; theyre just doing something they were always going to do. On the way forward for Palestine, Sahr said, One state, non-apartheid. Similar situation to South Africa. And getting ordinary Israelis who dont perhaps think of themselves as Zionists to believe that they can actually exist and co-exist with the Palestinian people without dominating them. But it should be more egalitarian than whats happening in South Africa, because the redistribution of wealth and power hasnt happened in the way it should have done. So in a sense it [Apartheid] is carrying on. Asked about the role of the Palestinian Authority and the Arab governments, he responded, What can I say about the Palestinian Authority? Thats my statement. Their [the surrounding Arab governments] role ought to be solidarity, the whole region should be in solidarity. But that goes against what theyve set themselves up as. They are collaborating with America, with the Western power blocs; thats just going to carry on. Their role is meant to be solidarity, but I dont think thats what theyre about. Youre asking the leadership to do things that go against their interests. Ive often said that the leaders between different countries have more in common with each other than they do with their people. And that seems to be the case. Angela, from Harlow, Greater London, was attracted by the heading on the Socialist Equality Party leaflet, Protests and general strike in Israel pose the need to break with Zionism. Angela at the demonstration. The top of the placard reads: "Western democracy is a choice between..." She told our reporter: Both sides, Labour and Conservativesor whether it be America, Democrats or Republicanthey both support Zionism, so essentially there is no democracy. We can have all these protests and spread the message but in terms of the political system its a real struggle to have a party that really represents the people. She added it was the first year I did not vote Labour. Asking Where is the law?, she answered, It is there to protect criminals, essentially. The most terrible atrocities are going on; the media are complicit in essentially supporting genocide because they are not exposing this, which is part of the charter of the BBC to show neutrality. Yet they turned up at Al-Shifa hospital with the IDF because they are reliable sources, not people on the ground in Palestine. Angela continued, Our economy is built on death and the Palestinians are the most obvious example of that and the most graphic. I have always been aware that if we do not heal Palestine then Palestine will become the way of the world, because our governments view us as just collateral, people to be manipulated. There needs to be an antiwar movement because they are escalating war. On both sides in Europe it is being escalated and in the Middle East. We do need to unite, and it is only by uniting you can take on what are a few people really compared to ourselves. Shortly after speaking with the WSWS, Angela was arrested by police, with the only possible pretext being her placard. A statement from the Metropolitan Police after the demonstration noted six people had been arrested, including for claimed Racially aggravated Public Order offences in relation to signs and a gesture. The WSWS has reported on many similar flagrant abuses of freedom of speech at previous protests. Around six months after nearly 50 teachers at Schuyler Community Schools suddenly opted to leave the district causing some teachers and community members to fear for the future of the school the staffing ranks are almost full once again. The school district in Schuyler, a town of more than 6,000 people east of Columbus, started the 2024-25 school year with only two open positions one for a high school Spanish teacher and another for a high school band teacher, according to Superintendent Bret Schroder. Between January and March of this year, 48 certified staff members unexpectedly left the district, some opting to retire early, while a majority resigned. To fill the teaching ranks by the start of this school year, the district advertised in various places, including locally and internationally. Job positions were shared through Teach In Nebraska, which is where most schools advertise job listings in the state, and through another organization that advertises across the country. The school district also hired a company that helps place qualified teachers from the Philippines in schools across America. Through these methods, Schroder said they were able to hire two teachers from North Carolina, a handful from across the state and 13 people from the Philippines. The district is continuing to search for teachers to fill the final two open positions, and Schroder hopes they will officially be fully staffed by the start of second semester. This is the first time in seven years that Schuyler has had a full special education staff. Last school year, Schuyler still had 12 open positions districtwide on the first day of school. In April, as more and more announcements of teachers leaving the district rolled in, community members began to worry what would happen at the start of this school year with so many staff gone. And many began to place blame on the districts leadership. At the time, Schroder said many of the resignations came from teachers who were leaving for personal reasons; however, some community members felt it was primarily because of changes Schroder had made since he took over as superintendent last August, specifically his decision to change the way the dual language program would operate. In late February, Schroder announced the program, which allows elementary students to learn in both English and Spanish, would be changing locations, causing some community outrage. Students in the program were previously bused to a building owned by the district 12 miles away in Richland, but Schroder opted to move the program to empty classrooms in the elementary building instead, which some parents and teachers worried was a step toward diminishing the program. However, Schroder remains optimistic that the program will continue to flourish in its new location, and has heard good feedback from students in the program so far, he said. While he admits last year ended on a rough note, Schroder said hes excited to continue this school year with a nearly full staff and work to focus on retaining the districts many quality teachers. This year, hopefully we're putting those things past us, he said. (Im) very excited that the kids in the dual language program seem to be very happy. That seems to be going well. And now just focusing on what's best for our kids and also on teacher retention. Top Journal Star photos for September 2024 French-speaking Belgium hit a high-water mark at the Cannes Film Festival in May, with 11 Belgian co-productions claiming accolades and acclaim across the Croisette. Alongside Critics Week opener Ghost Trail and the Cannes jury and best actress prize-winner Emilia Perez, eight of those co-productions received support from Belgiums Federation Wallonie-Bruxelles, while just as many shared a proud Francophone voice. At Venice, industry delegates built on that robust show of force, touting home-grown projects like Fabrice Du Welzs police thriller Maldoror and co-productions like Aude Lea Rapins sci-fi drama Planet B and Marie Losiers music doc Peaches Goes Bananas, while young producers took to the Lido to forge new partnerships beyond the traditional mold. More from Variety Were trying to diversify as much as possible, says French-speaking Belgiums Cinema and Audiovisual Center director Jeanne Brunfaut. Though we tend to partner with [other Francophone countries], we want to encourage our producers to look further afield, to see whats happening in Latin America and Scandinavia in order to build lasting partnerships and to broaden their field of action. And so delegates from Francophone Belgium and Luxembourg shared the spotlight at this years Venice Production Bridge for a joint industry focus titled The Center of Attraction. The Belgian contingent placed a particular accent on industry potential, welcoming 10 emerging and established producers among them the outfits behind recent Cannes prizewinners The Damned and Annette, alongside leading figures in animation and documentary films in order to flex a wider range of muscle from Brussels. Home to the European sectors best-known tax shelter among a number of other cumulative and mutually compatible public aids Belgium has become fertile ground for international co-productions, especially those that share an acute social conscience. While local sons Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have lent their name and renown to projects from fellow Palme dOr winners Ken Loach and Cristian Mungiu and have recently supported Michel Hazanavicius The Most Precious of Cargoes through their Les Films du Fleuve banner the countrys Cinema and Audiovisual Center has encouraged such unions with a $1.3 million co-production fund. Eight of this years Cannes-selected co-productions benefited from that support. At the same time, the film board is also looking to bolster an incoming generation, now offering a $166,000 production grant that emerging and untested talents can apply for without a finished script a prerequisite for traditional film commission support. The incubator program has kick-started a number of up-and-coming outfits, helping the Namur-based Roue Libre Prods. bring the gross-out comedy Mother Schmuckers to Sundance while pushing the erstwhile doc-focused Michigan Films to make the leap to dramatic features. The latter move has proven particularly fruitful, leading to successive Cannes prizes for Paloma Sermon-Dais Its Raining in the House in 2023 and Roberto Minervinis The Damned this year, thus establishing Michigan Film as a formidable player on the European scene. Of course, those new horizons extend beyond the festival circuit, with the Brussels-set action thriller Night Call set for domestic release this September ahead of a U.S. bow, through Magnet Releasing, in the months to come. Channeling an impressive degree of Hollywood showmanship, the film lights a rather different spark one that the film board hopes to both kindle at home and promote abroad. This too is Belgian cinema, says Brunfaut. We can excel in the social vein while encouraging comedies and thrillers and genre fare. We need to keep digging and diversifying and demonstrating our expertise. Our animation studios and post-production providers are widely recognized, while our technical skills and artistic points of view can only enrich international productions. Thats our message and thats what builds long-lasting relationships. Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. More from Footwear News Nike, Inc.s Jordan Brand has a buzzy new sneaker that just appeared at New York Fashion Week and its not an Air Jordan. After first surfacing on social media in late August, the brands Jordan Flight Court sneaker made a more formal debut Saturday via Who Decides Wars spring 2025 show. The Who Decides War x Jordan Flight Court collaboration was designed by Who Decides War co-founder Tela DAmore and was revealed on her Instagram account. Fellow co-founder Ev Bravado also shared a look at the sneakers. The Jordan Flight Court features a low-top silhouette with paneling reminiscent of the brands early retro models such as the Air Jordan 5. Its bulkier profile, thick midsole and durable materials have drawn comparisons to skateboarding sneakers, but the brand has yet to reveal specific details about the new shoe. The DAmore-designed Who Decides War x Jordan Flight Court collaboration features unique details including the Who Decides War logo superimposed with the Jumpman logo on the insole and heel, stitching reminiscent of denim repairs (a staple of Who Decides Wars designs) and a velvet-lined inner. Who Decides War co-founder Tela DAmore wears the Who Decides War x Jordan Flight Court. Credit: @teladamore_ The Who Decides War x Jordan Flight Court was previewed in a Black/Varsity Red/Off Noir/Muslin colorway, but it appears there could be more on the way from the collaboration. Newly leaked images shared Sunday on Instagram show the unreleased shoe in a fall-appropriate wheat-colored style which also features the Who Decides War logo and stitch detailing. And the Jordan collaboration wasnt the only Who Decides War footwear that had people talking. Ev Bravado revealed a closer look at the fashion brands in-house HKRS 001 shoe, a boot-like high-top sneaker with mesh paneling and transparent plastic overlays. The chunky hiking-inspired design was teased in brown and green with bright orange accenting. As of publishing, the black colorway of the Who Decides War x Jordan Flight Court is expected to release in womens sizing during the holiday 2024 season. Retailing pricing is $115 and the shoes SKU is HQ2958-006. This story will be updated with any changes. Who Decides War x Jordan Flight Court Black/Varsity Red/Off Noir/Muslin. Credit: @murderbravado Who Decides War x Jordan Flight Court (Insole). Credit: @murderbravado Who Decides War x Jordan Flight Court (Top). Credit: @teladamore_ Who Decides War x Jordan Flight Court (Lateral). Credit: @teladamore_ Who Decides War x Jordan Flight Court (Toe). Credit: @kicksdong Who Decides War x Jordan Flight Court (Heel). Credit: @kicksdong hailey baldwin, style, sneakers, dirt bike Hailey Bieber, Rihanna & More Stars in Air Jordans View Gallery 24 Images Launch Gallery: Young Michael Jordan's Red Carpet Style Over the Years Best of Footwear News Sign up for FN's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Andrej Isakovic/AFP via Getty Images Kate plans return to public life Expect to see more of Princess Kate, although not too soon and at very select moments. The Princess of Wales, presently undergoing treatment for cancer, is planning to be seen out more as the year goes on, the Sunday Times reports. Great to Be Back: Kate Middleton Makes Showstopper Wimbledon Appearance The tentative return to duties follows the ecstatic reception Kate received when she attended Wimbledon for the mens final on July 14, accompanied by daughter Princess Charlotte and sister Pippa Middleton. Kates observationAs anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad daysstill rings true, the Times reports, and it is thought that the princess and her advisers are planning upcoming public appearances on those good days. Princess Charlotte of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales court-side of Centre Court during the men's final on day fourteen of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships. Karwai Tang/WireImage While there is no set date for Kates return, those appearances include potentially joining King Charles and the royal family at the Cenotaph for the National Service of Remembrance on Nov. 10, but it wont include going to Cape Town, South Africa, with husband Prince William for the Earthshot Prize awards earlier that month. Planning is also underway for Kates annual televised Together at Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey in Decemberagain her presence there is very much TBC. The good days and bad days narrative is the guiding principle, the paper says. Kate has spent a restful summer with William and her children at Anmer Hall in Norfolk, the paper says, meeting with close aides regularly. Those close to the princess say there is no expectation for her to rush back to public life. People know and understand it is a long journey to recovery, a friend told the paper. The bond between Kate and Charleswith undergoing treatment for cancer at the same timehas only strengthened since both received their diagnoses, the Times adds. Games on Tossing the caber, tug-o-war, and many bagpipes and drummers: King Charles and Queen Camilla seemed to enjoy the traditional royal outing to the Braemar Gathering Highland Games in Aberdeenshire on Saturday (the reigning monarch has been going since 1848). Charles was pictured weeping with laughter during the event, and had a wonderful afternoon, according to the royal family's X account. King Charles and Queen Camilla attend the Braemar Royal Highland Gathering at Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park, in Braemar, Scotland, Britain Sept. 7, 2024. Russell Cheyne/Reuters This week in royal history Today, Sept. 8, marks the second anniversary of Queen Elizabeths death, and the accession of King Charles to the throne. The BBC reported that Charles is expected to attend church today, spending time in private prayers and reflection. Queen Elizabeth in the Drawing Room at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, Britain September 6, 2022. Jane Barlow/Pool via Reuters On Sunday, the royal familys X account posted a simple tribute to Queen Elizabeth. Remembering Queen Elizabeth II, 1926-2022. pic.twitter.com/u7XK6T8MMG The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 8, 2024 Unanswered questions What will Kate decide to do as her next public engagement? How will the royals mark the second anniversary of Queen Elizabeths death? Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. Warning: This post contains topics of abuse. We've all been in situations where we can't get to our phone or purposefully let it go to voicemail. Here are 13 times the people from Quora received messages they never expected... 1."I am a police officers wife. I do not dwell on what COULD happen to him, but I KNOW. One time, my phone rang, but since it was an unknown number, I let it go to voicemail. I began shaking when I listened to it, and frantic fear tears filled my eyes. The voicemail said, 'Wife of police officer XXXX, there has been an accident. Call back immediately.' An ambulance siren sounded in the background of the voicemail. I could barely hold my phone; I was trembling. When I called back, a man answered and identified me and my husband by name, using a serious, commanding tone. I asked what had happened. There was the longest moment of silence I have ever experienced. The siren sound stopped, and the man said, 'Everything is fine, but it might not be in the future. You need more protection.more insurance in case something bad really DOES happen.' This was a sales pitch?! I wanted to scream, rant, cry with relief, and hurt this caller, but I didnt." Verneita Boonlom, Quora Douglas Sacha / Getty Images 2."Hey guys, it's Heather. I'm running a bit late, but I should be there in a..' There was absolute silence in the room. Message received: Sept. 3 at 11:55 a.m. Not a word was spoken among the three of us listening to the message, and none of us could muster anything useful to say afterward other than a very weak, 'Save that message.' Her car had been T-boned by a large truck, and she had been killed instantly." David Breaux, Quora Reza Estakhrian / Getty Images 3."'Hi, Mom. Dad's dead. Love you. Bye.' That was the message my 14-year-old son left on my machine. His father had overdosed sometime in the night. My son woke up to him dead in his recliner. I was 1,000 miles away in Colorado. I threw some clothes in the truck, and my husband and I took off for Houston. We drove nonstop all night. I didn't know where my son lived because my ex had hidden him from me for 10 years. His death was the beginning of a new life for my son. He grew and blossomed in Colorado. No one missed my abusive, drug-addicted ex." Jeanne Caroline Yates, Quora Hinterhaus Productions / Getty Images 4."It was my alcoholic 71-year-old younger brother. Hed wrestled with alcoholism his whole adult life. Binges. Rehab. Relapses. Rinse and repeat. My wife and I were pretty much the last friends. He called one night and asked if I was there on the voicemail. I didnt pick up because he was obviously drunk, and I didnt feel like dealing with his issues. I had previously cleaned his apartment while he was in rehab, and it had been like a crime scene hazmat operation. I told him that was a once-in-a-lifetime deal, but I didnt want him to lose the place and wind up on the street again. Then, in the middle of the night, I got a call from the hospital. It had rained, and he slipped and fell, hitting his head on the curb. He laid there for hours before some passer-by called the cops. By then the swelling had basically strangled his brain. Would picking up the phone have saved his life? Maybe, maybe not. Ill never know, and no one else will either." Lee The Catherine Falls Commercial / Getty Images 5."My ex-boyfriend left one on my phone one time. He called me a 'dirty effing whore' and loads of other insults. I recognized the background noise and knew where he was. I walked into the bar in question. Pressed play on the voicemail, put the phone on speaker, and let the whole room listen. I didn't get another voicemail ever." Lesly Harris, Quora Finn Hafemann / Getty Images 6."My mother-in-law was in assisted living, and her mind was deteriorating. This poor woman thought she was living at her college dorm and couldnt understand why her parents and brothers no longer visited her. Every time she was told that her parents were deceased, she would grieve their loss all over again, then forget about their deaths the next time she thought she was abandoned at the dorm. After several escape attempts, she was transferred to a nursing home. Shortly after, COVID hit, and the nursing homes went on lockdown. There she sat, staring off into oblivion with no awareness of the family that so loved her. Just days before her death, she had a period of lucidity and left a message on my husbands voicemail saying, 'Dont worry about me; Im not lonely anymore. Im with Dad. Were back together again.' That was the last message we ever heard from her, and she died shortly after." Mary Ann Besser, Quora Richard Bailey / Getty Images 7."'This is your last night, bitch.' This was the last of many messages my stalker left that day. I was living a nightmare of being stalked by a man I went out with for a little while and broke up with. He was obsessed with me and didnt take it well when I ended things. In these few months of being stalked, I already had restraining, no-contact, and no-trespassing orders against him. The police had been to my house many times and knew about the situation. They could not catch him because he had no address or regular job; he would appear and then disappear. He had killed my dog, ruined my car by putting sugar in the gas tank, poured concrete down my drain, slashed the tires of my and my kids' bikes, and many other things. Thankfully, my kids were with their father that evening. A brave friend came home with me. I was afraid this time hed try to burn the house down, kill my cat, or do something just as bad..." "So we got back to my house and, although the house seemed undisturbed inside, when we checked the back porch, there were some mens clothing: a jacket, shirt, underwear, and pants strewn across the floor. I called the police yet again to make another report, and after that, I locked up the porch and tried to get some rest. But, as I was trying to go to sleep, I remembered I had not turned on the porch light, so trying not to wake up my friend, tiptoed though the house to the back porch light switch to turn the porch light on, but first opened the drapes just enough to see what was there when I turned the light on. This surprised a naked man (my stalker) who looked like he was trying to jimmy the porch lock open! I called the police yet again, and they searched the entire neighborhood, stopped every car coming in or leaving, knocked on every neighbors door, and questioned all that answered, and they still could not find him. So they left and we went back to bed. However, not much later, my neighbors across the street found they could not go back to sleep after hearing about the stalker. They were sitting outside on their front porch and called 911 when they observed a (still naked) man sneaking around the side of the house to my back porch door, where he again tried to break in. This time, the police called me to warn me about a man attempting to break in, but he disappeared again when the police showed up, and they still could not find him. A bit later, around 4:00 a.m., the police finally caught him after someone reported a naked man getting into a white van on a street a few blocks away. With that came the end of my stalking nightmare. He went to jail for quite a long time, and I still have a restraining order on him." Alison Hartough, Quora Glasshouse Images / Getty Images 8."My 13-year-old daughter on a normal school day, around 11 a.m., left me this voicemail while I was at work: 'Mama, please answer. I'm using a construction workers phone, and he needs it back soon. I need you to pick me up. I'm a block away from school, and my nose won't stop bleeding. Please, please, please call this number back...'" "Six minutes later, another voicemail was left: 'Mama...please. My phone was stolen, and I don't remember your work number. Please don't be mad. These workers are helping my nosebleed...hang on, this guy wants to say something...Hello ma'am. My name is Jim XX with XXX Construction. Don't worry; she's in good hands. I have three daughters around her age. Your daughter needs to see a doctor they got her pretty good. I don't have the whole story; all I know is that your daughter was attacked and jumped by a few girls at school. Her injuries aren't severe but should be looked at. She left school because the people in the office wouldn't allow her to contact you. Thank you.' Apparently, my daughter stood up for another girl getting picked on. The bullies turned their anger toward my daughter, and the principal only witnessed my daughter's final blows and two girls fleeing. She didn't even follow up and ask my daughter's story." Dawn Fawkes, Quora Pramote Polyamate / Getty Images 9."'Ray, I cant remember which hotel we booked in Prague. But I know you have it under control. What time are you coming to pick me up?' It was my boss, Andre. There had been many calls like this over the 15 years we managed events together. But, this time Andre was close to death after a six-year battle with cancer. In a morphine-enabled temporary state of hallucination, he picked up his phone, called me, and left that message. His funeral was six weeks later. Ten years later, I still have that message on my phone to remind me of whats important in life." Raymond De Vries, Quora Terry Vine / Getty Images 10."I have a message on my phone that I never deleted from my daughter, who was accidentally killed by a bus just before the bus hit her. She just called to say hello. At first, it made me sad and depressed to hear her voice after her death. Some people told me to delete it and move on, but I wanted to remember her voice after her death. In time, it did not make me sad to listen to it. Instead, it made me feel happy. A voice has more realness than a picture. It made me feel like she was still alive." Roosevelt Wallace, Quora Thomas Winz / Getty Images 11.'Hello, this is XYZ funeral home. Your stepfather has a pre-need contract, so well start on the arrangements.' No one had even called me to tell me hed passed yet." Stranger Things, Quora Urbazon / Getty Images 12."A man left a message on my voicemail claiming that I had stolen his wife years ago. He threatened my life in the message. I called him back and tried explaining that I didn't know him or his wife, but he kept calling me a liar and cursing at me. He said he was coming to kill me. I waited outside all day. Nobody ever showed up." Michael Lam, Quora Luis Alvarez / Getty Images 13.And, finally, this short and sad one: "One day, after my mom and I got home, there was a message from Grandma on the machine (this was back in the days of a separate tape machine the phone plugged into). 'I hate these goddamn machines. Your fathers dead.' *click*" Melissa, Quora Tek Image / Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF Has someone ever left you a really frightening voicemail? Tell us in the comments. Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity. HAVANA, Cuba (AP) Socialist Cuba, the birthplace of salsa and other rhythms that have conquered the world, is now surrendering to the invasion of South Korean pop music. Thirteen thousand kilometers of distance separate the Asian nation and the communist-run island, as well as a different language and cultural traditions. However, all of these barriers would seem to vanish in a split second thanks to K-pop's infectious beat and elaborate choreography. Korean popular music, or K-pop, has spread far and wide from its Asian roots as boy bands like BTS and NCT and their female counterpart Blackpink rival Taylor Swift for downloads and album sales globally. But it was slow to catch on in Cuba, where salsa is king and internet speeds were glacial until recently. On Saturday, far from Seoul, dozens of teenagers clad in plaid, prep school skirts, baggy bomber pants and heavy black eyeliner busted their best moves as images of the genre's idols were projected on a large screen of a Havana dance club. K-pop has opened a new world to me," said 24-year-old Fransico Piedra, who when not working with his father as a blacksmith dreams up meticulous dance steps. Known by his artistic name Ken he one day aspires to be a professional K-pop choreographer. "It's a place where I can be myself, and share with friends the joy of laughter, song and dance. Many of the teenagers hope to follow in the footsteps of two Cuban groups Limitless and LTX that before the pandemic traveled to South Korea to partake in the K-POP World Festival, an annual talent competition. K-pop a catch all for musical styles ranging from R&B to rock first penetrated the island when Cubans fell in love with South Korean soap operas about a decade ago. As internet speeds improved, and government controls eased, more young Cubans got online and started streaming videos like teenagers everywhere. While Cuban kids may be mesmerized by K-pop, an older generation of leaders have had frostier ties to South Korea. The two countries only restored diplomatic relations that were severed following the 1959 Cuban revolution this year and have yet to exchange ambassadors. Meanwhile, Cuba remains a staunch ally of North Korea, which views K-pop as a dangerous form of propaganda from a capitalist enemy with whom is has been locked in a military standoff since the 1950s. Matt Innis, elected chairman of the Lancaster County Republican Party last year, has resigned and former conservative radio show host Jack Riggins was elected to replace him. Riggins, who left KLIN last year and then sued his replacement host for defamation, was elected the new chairman on Aug. 20, not long after Innis sudden resignation. Innis, who challenged then-U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse in 2020 and served as the countys chairman from 2011-15, was reelected a year ago. He hung up when asked by a reporter why he resigned. The pro-Trump Innis was part of the far-right takeover of the state GOP two years ago during a tumultuous state GOP convention. He was among six party members who had their credentials revoked so they couldnt serve as delegates at the state GOP convention, and was arrested on suspicion of third-degree assault and second-degree trespassing when he tried to enter. He was never formally charged, and during the convention where delegates voted to oust Chairman Dan Welch, a majority of delegates voted to reinstate him. A week after Innis was elected chairman of the Lancaster County GOP, a district judge signed a protection order against him, barring him from contacting his wife, who had filed for divorce in January. About three months later, the judge dismissed the order. Riggins has faced his own share of controversy. As KLINs drive-time host he aired unverified anonymous allegations of sexual assault against Adam Morfeld, and in his role as interim communications director for the Nebraska GOP he tweeted graphic images to make a point about what he thought were inappropriate books in Nebraska schools. A year later, in April 2023, his last Drive-Time show aired, and he was replaced by Dan Parsons, a public relations and political consultant. Earlier this year, Riggins sued Parsons for defamation alleging tweets Parsons posted falsely claimed Riggins was fired. Parsons tweeted the comments after KLIN terminated his contract. In an email to Lancaster County Republicans, Riggins thanked Innis for his service and said he hopes to heal and reconcile differences in the party and grow the party in the tradition of big tent history and shared conservative values. The county partys goal is to win elections, he said, and in Lancaster County we are getting crushed by the radical left-wing agenda. Lincolns mayor is a Democrat, its City Council and County Board have Democratic majorities. Top Journal Star photos for September 2024 It has not been, its safe to say, an all-timer Venice Competition lineup. Despite that, rumor has it that the 81st editions jury, presided over by Isabelle Huppert and comprising filmmakers James Gray, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland, Kleber Mendonca Filho, Abderrahmane Sissako, Giuseppe Tornatore, Julia von Heinz and actress Zhang Ziyi, took some time to come to their decisions during a prolonged deliberation session yesterday. Speculation was also rife that, insofar as festival juries pay much attention to precedent, due to the string of high-profile US films that have won Venice in recent years (five of the last seven Golden Lions have gone to a US production, or in the case of last years Poor Things, co-production) they might have been discouraged from awarding the top prize to another American, or even American-led movie. More from Variety That story shifted slightly in the days following the premiere of The Brutalist, as the 3h15m-long film, directed by Brady Corbet, starring Adrien Brody and described by Varietys Owen Gleiberman as paced with a pleasing stateliness and overflow[ing] with incident and emotion, quickly took over poll position on critics grids. It was the closest thing to a major-event movie that the festival fielded this year, but in the end did not take the top prize as had been breathlessly predicted. Instead, the Golden Lion went to two-time Academy Award-winner Pedro Almodovars death-with-dignity drama, The Room Next Door, described by Gleiberman as a deceptively plainspoken but artful voyage into the river of emotion that accompanies the impulse to end ones life. It stars Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, both of whom the director thanked during his charming, largely Spanish-language acceptance speech, which he justified by saying at the outset This is my first movie in English but the spirit is Spanish. Of course this Golden Lion is actually Almodovars second (he was awarded an honorary one in 2019), and perhaps should have been more hotly tipped than it was, as The Room Next Door had already picked up the unofficial Callused Palm Award for Longest Standing Ovation, when it clocked a 17-minute-long round of applause at its premiere, and Varietys stopwatch guy had to be given fluids for exhaustion. Almodovar is such an ebullient presence on the world cinema stage that its impossible to begrudge him any success, but perhaps the nights most quietly gratifying win was the festivals second-highest award, the Grand Jury Prize, going to Maura Delperos beautifully restrained Vermiglio. The Variety review calls it a momentous vision of everyday rural existence in the high Italian Alps and Jury president Isabelle Huppert expressed her own fervent admiration, at the post-award press conference, for its slanted take as a war story without any war in it. Its like you have a great offscreen subject matter, but you get to see whats going on only through a small eye, through the latch of a door, she said. Vermiglio was only outdone in breathtaking formalist austerity by Special Jury Prize-winner Dea Kulumbegashvilis extraordinary April, which Varietys Guy Lodge called an uncompromising, intensely felt panorama of female identities, agencies and desires under attack by the patriarchy, certainly, but sometimes by the intangible cruelties of nature itself. There is a small but fervent contingent on the Lido who would have liked to have seen this strikingly visionary work take a higher prize, if for no other reason than it manages the singular trick of remaining eternally surprising despite its apparent slowness. There was a similar rationale, according to Huppert behind the jurys choice of Walter Salles deeply poignant Im Still Here for Best Screenplay. Oftentimes this is an award that goes to a film more as a marker of the jurys inability to agree on what higher prize it should take, than for its script specifically. But here Huppert said of the movie, which is set during the brutally repressive Brazilian military dicatorship, You know the events, but the story never really takes you where you think its going to go, and I think thats really the quality of the screenplay. On behalf of the jury, Huppert also sent her love and commiserations to Nicole Kidman, who was absent from the ceremony where she was awarded the Best Actress award for her fantastically sly and challenging turn described as fearless by Gleiberman in Halina Reijns Babygirl, due a sudden bereavement. Earlier, accepting the award on her behalf, Reijn had read out the following message from the actress: Today, I arrived in Venice to find out shortly after that my brave and beautiful mother Janelle Ann Kidman has just passed. Im in shock and I have to go to my family. But this award is for her. She shaped me, she guided me and she made me. I am beyond grateful that I get to say her name to all of you through Halina. The collision of life and art is heartbreaking. My heart is broken. It was a speech so raw and touching that it clearly affected Brady Corbet who soon after was up to accept his Best Director award for The Brutalist, and who haltingly offered his condolences to Kidman as well. But he soon hit his stride, thanking a very large part of his films very large cast and crew by name, before asserting that The world is often cruel to artists, architects and immigrants alike,and going on to express his solidarity with the community of filmmakers who support each other and tell the Goliath corporations that try and push us around, No, its three and a half hours long and its on 70mm.' He ended his acceptance in impassioned form, insisting We have the vision for a better cinema, a better world for my beautiful daughter and each and every one of your beautiful children, irrespective of their fucking passports. They deserve the world without borders, something boundless, something new. Corbets abstractly political rhetoric was echoed elsewhere by award-winners such as Bogdan Muresanu, the Romanian director of the top prizewinner in the Horizons sidebar, The New Year That Never Came as he highlighted its themes of resistance and revolution without necessarily namechecking any particular current conflict. But other awardees took a more direct stance. Scandar Copti, whose Happy Holidays took the Horizons Best Screenplay Award, stated I stand here deeply honored yet profoundly affected by the difficult times were living through. Over the past 11 months, our shared humanity and moral compass have been tested as we witness the ongoing genocide in Gaza. This painful reality reminds us of the devastating consequences of oppression, which is a theme in our film, adding, to sincere applause None of us are free until all of us are free. But perhaps the most eloquent statement came from the festivals only multiple winner, Sarah Friedland, whose Familiar Touch, praised by Lodge as a film of intense discomfort and acute tenderness won three awards: Horizons Best Director, Horizons Best Actress (for lead Kathleen Chalfant) and the Luigi de Laurentiis Award for Best Debut Feature. Having made her heartfelt thank yous to the people directly involved with her film, Friedland went on to state, gravely and unequivocally and to a warmly supportive response As a Jewish American artist working in a time-based medium, I must note I am accepting this award on the 336th day of Israels genocide in Gaza and 76th year of occupation. I believe it is our responsibility as film workers to use the institutional platforms through which we work to address Israels impunity on the global stage. I stand with the people of Palestine in their struggle for liberation. The 81st Venice Film Festival may not have provided the same level of dazzle as previous years, but in several of the more under-the-radar winners, exemplified perhaps best by Friedland, it lived up to Hupperts optimistic closing-night assertion that Cinema is in great shape. The full list of winners is below: COMPETITION Golden Lion for Best Film: The Room Next Door, Pedro Almodovar Grand Jury Prize: Vermiglio, Maura Delpero Silver Lion for Best Director: Brady Corbet, The Brutalist Special Jury Prize: April, Dea Kulumbegashvili Best Screenplay: Murilo Hauser, Heitor Lorega, Im Still Here Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Nicole Kidman, Babygirl Volpi Cup for Best Actor: Vincent Lindon, The Quiet Son Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor: Paul Kircher, And their Children After Them HORIZONS Best Film: The New Year That Never Came, Bogdan Muresanu Best Director: Sarah Friedland, Familiar Touch Special Jury Prize: One of Those Days When Hemme Dies, Murat Firatoglu Best Actress: Kathleen Chalfant, Familiar Touch Best Actor: Francesco Gheghi, Familia Best Screenplay: Scandar Copti, Happy Holidays Best Short Film: Who Loves the Sun, Arshia Shakiba LION OF THE FUTURE Luigi de Laurentiis Award for Best Debut Feature: Familiar Touch, Sarah Friedland HORIZONS EXTRA Audience Award: The Witness, Nader Saeivar VENICE CLASSICS Best Documentary on Cinema: Chain Reactions, Alexandre O. Philippe Best Restored Film: Ecce Bombo, Nanni Moretti VENICE IMMERSIVE Grand Jury Prize: Ito Meikyu, Boris Labbe Special Jury Prize: Otos Planet, Gwenael Francois Achievement Prize: Impulse: Playing With Reality, Barry Gene Murphy, May Abdalla GIORNATE DEGLI AUTORI (announced earlier) GdA Directors Award: Manas, Marianna Brennand Audience Award: Taxi Monamour, Ciro De Caro Europa Cinemas Label Award: Alpha, Jan-Willem van Ewijk CRITICS WEEK (announced earlier) Grand Prize: Dont Cry, Butterfly, Duong Dieu Linh Special Mention: No Sleep Till, Alexandra Simpson Audience Award: Paul & Paulette Take a Bath Jethro Massey Verona Film Club Award for Most Innovative Film: Dont Cry, Butterfly, Duong Dieu Linh Mario Serandrei Hotel Saturnia Award for Best Technical Contribution: Homegrown, Michael Premo Best Short Film: Things That My Best Friend Lost, Marta Innocenti Best Director (Short Film): Nero Argento, Francesco Manzato Best Technical Contribution (Short Film): At Least I Will Be 8 294 400 Pixel, Marco Talarico Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Apple picking season is underway. Here's where to get your fix in Akron-Canton region. Jon Huffman, owner of Huffman Fruit Farm outside Salem, inspects a Cortland apple grown in one of his orchards. As the leaves get ready to change, those on the hunt for fresh fruit likely won't be far from a tree. Apple season is in full swing, as familiar varieties begin to ripen ahead of fall and more are on their way. Many farmers are reporting that apples are running a tad ahead of schedule in Northeast Ohio, as certain varieties are ripening sooner than expected. Jon Huffman, owner of Huffman Fruit Farm outside Salem, reaches for a Cortland apple grown in one of his orchards. "There's a good crop of apples this year," said John Huffman, one of the owners of Huffman Fruit Farm in southern Mahoning County. "We're picking Jonamac, Mcintosh (and) Cortland already, which is early for them." Huffman has over 20 acres of fruits and vegetables on the farm. He said there are a few apple varieties that are ready to pick now, but different varieties get ready at different times. "Right now, it's Gala and Jonamac," he said. "It's the end of September before a lot of the kinds are ripe enough to taste any good at all." Buckeye Gala apples grow in an orchard at Huffman Fruit Farm outside Salem. In Tuscarawas Township, Isaac Yoder, the owner of Sunny Slope Orchard, is excited to introduce three new apples into his lineup this October: Rosalie, Sweet Zinger and Ludacrisp. "Most of these new apples are crosses of two existing varieties that are well-known," he said. "Sweet Zinger, it tastes like honeyed citrus, so you have sweet and tart, ... (Rosalie) is also a sweet and tart apple but the skin disappears in your mouth. It doesn't even seem like you're eating an apple ... and then to describe Ludacrisp, (it) tastes like Juicy Fruit bubblegum. It's the fullest flavored apple I know of." Yoder said he's been observing an earlier apple season as well. "We had a really warm winter, so things just came out of dormancy way too soon," he said. "The trees started popping out two or three weeks earlier than normal." In addition to the new apples coming in October, Pixie Crunch will come to Sunny Slope Orchard this month. "(Pixie Crunch) is just an awesome apple," he said. "Kids love it. It's a smaller apple. It's very red and very sweet, like caramelly sweet." Yoder said picking dates will last through early November, but the store will be open all winter. Buckeye Galas grow in an orchard at Huffman Fruit Farm in Salem Wednesday, September 4, 2024. Stark County Arrowhead Orchard, 11724 Lisbon St. SE, Paris; 330-862-2733; www.ArrowheadOrchard.com; info@arrowheadorchard.com. Call for more information. Sunny Slope Orchard, 14960 Millersburg Road SW, Tuscarawas Township; 330-833-9415; sunnyslopeapples.com. Pick-your-own dates are ongoing throughout the fall and last until early November. Varieties available to pick will change each week. Visit Sunny Slope Orchard on Facebook for more information. Varian Orchards, 6340 Orchard View Drive SE, Osnaburg Township; 330-705-2607; varianorchards.com. Pick-your-own apples will not be offered, but they are sold 7 days a week from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Varieties include Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, Macintosh and Melrose. Ashland County Scenic Ridge Fruit Farm, 2031 state Route 89, Jeromesville; 419-368-3353; or baumanorchards.com/locations/scenic-ridge. Pick-your-own apples will be available beginning Sept. 14 and will continue every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Oct. 5. Apples offered will be similar to years prior, and will likely include Red Delicious, Yellow Delicious, Marigold, Granny Smith, Jonathan, Fuji and Melrose, but this may vary. Springhill Fruit Farm, 5646 Ganges-Five Points Road, Shiloh; 419-896-2866; springhill-fruit-farm.com. Pick-your-own apples are available from Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. while supplies last. Varieties include Honeycrisp, Pixie crunch, Cortland, Macintosh and Jonathan. Call to confirm pick-your-own availability. Carroll County Manfull Orchards, 8146 Kensington Road, Augusta; 330-895-4861; manfullorchards.com; shop@manfullorchards.com. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Call for more information. Columbiana County Dillon Fruit Farm, Lisbon; 330-424-5169; dillonfruitfarm.com. Pick-your-own apples will be available on Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the month of September. Varieties will change weekly. Call for more information on weekly pick-your-own varieties. Sanors Fruit Farm, 2514 State Route 172, Minerva; 330-894-2375. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Call for updates. Mahoning County Haus Orchard & Cider Mill, 6742 West Calla Road, Canfield; 330-533-5305; hausappleorchards.com; ohcheb55@gmail.com. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Decisions have yet to be made on when pick your own may become available. Visit Haus Cider Mill on Facebook for updates. Huffman Fruit Farm, 13075 Lisbon Road, Salem; 330-533-5700. Pick-your-own apples are available from Monday to Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and are expected to last through Oct. 19, but this is subject to change. Galas and Macintosh are available now, but more are expected to become available in the coming weeks. Call for information on varieties available to pick-your-own or visit Huffman Fruit Farm on Facebook for updates. Stahl's Farm Market, 10780 N. Johnson Road, North Benton; 330-584-2077. Pick-your-own apples will be available at the Stahl's Farm Market Orchard in North Benton every Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. beginning Sept. 7 and ending Oct. 13. Apple varieties will change weekly. Visit Stahls Farm Market on Facebook or call for pick-your-own apples dates and available varieties. Stahl's operates locations in Ravenna and North Benton but uses one Facebook page for both. White House Fruit Farm, 9249 State Route 62, Canfield; 330-533-4161; admin@whitehousefruitfarm.com or www.whitehousefruitfarm.com. Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 11-5 p.m. Sunday. Pick-your-own apples will be available at 8652 Leffingwell Road. They are aiming to begin Sept. 28 or 29 and continuing through mid-October. Hours will likely be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call for updates. Medina County Geig's Orchard, 8468 Wooster Pike, Seville; 330-769-3276; www.geigsorchard.com. Pick-your-own apples will be for two weekends in the fall, the first being Sept. 28 and 29 and the second being Oct. 5 and 6. Saturday pick-your-own availability will be 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and Sunday from 12-5:30 p.m. Varieties may include Golden Delicious, Shizuka, Jonagold, Cortland, Northern Spy, Granny Smith, Melrose, but different apples will be available each weekend. Visit Geigs Orchard on Facebook for updates. Hillside Orchard, 2397 Center Road, Hinckley; 330-225-4748; hillsidefarmfresh.com; info@hillsidefarmfresh.com. Pick-your-own apples will be the first two weekends in October, those being Oct. 5 and 6 and Oct. 12 and 13. On Saturdays, pick-your-own will be from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sundays from 12-5 p.m. Call for information on varieties. Portage County Beckwith Orchards, 1617 Lake Rockwell Road, Kent; 330-673-6433; www.beckwithorchards.com. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Visit https://www.beckwithorchards.com/#varieties for apple types and harvest dates. No pick-your-own, but gift shop sells apples. Monroe's Orchard & Farm Market, 6313 Pioneer Trail, Hiram; 330-569-7464; monroesorchard.com; info@monroesorchard.com. Pick-your-own apples are every Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will likely last until the first week of October, but this is tentative. Visit Monroe's Orchard on Facebook for updates. Stahl's Farm Market, 4560 State Route 14, Ravenna; 330-325-0640. Pick-your-own apples will be available at the North Benton location. Visit Stahls Farm Market on Facebook or call for pick-your-own apples dates and varieties available. Stahl's operates separate facilities, in Ravenna and North Benton, but uses a single Facebook page for both. Richland County Apple Hill Orchards, 1175 Lexington-Ontario Road, Mansfield; 419-884-1500. And at 16908-16970 Upper Fredericktown Amity Road, Fredericktown; 740-694-7688; applehillorchards.info@gmail.com; applehillorchards.com. Mansfield location open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and 10 a.m-6 p.m. Sunday. Fredericktown location open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and noon-5 p.m. weekends. Pick-your-own apples now through early November at either location. Summit County Kuner's Fruit Farm, 5424 S. Arlington Road, Green; 330-896-1391. Open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. No pick-your-own apples, but the market sells them. Tuscarawas County Hillcrest Orchard, 2474 Walnut St., Walnut Creek; 330-893-9906. Pick-your-own apples available 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday until the middle or end of October, tentatively. Call for updates on pick-your-own availability. Wayne County Bauman Orchards Farm Market, 161 Rittman Ave., Rittman; 330-925-6861; office@baumanorchards.com; baumanorchards.com. Open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. Pick-your-own-apples is set to begin Sept. 20. Call for updates regarding availability and variety. Also, The Corner Market, 10370 Akron Road (corner of state Routes 585 and 57) in Rittman, sells apples. Moreland Fruit Farms, 1558 W. Moreland Road, Wooster; 330-264-8735. Open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Call for more information. Rittman Orchards & Farm Market, 13548 Mount Eaton Road N, Doylestown; 330-925-4152; http://rittmanorchards.com, info@rittmanorchards.com. Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Pick-your-own apples are available now, but varieties depend on crowds and weather. Visit their Facebook page or call for updates on availabilities. John Huffman, owner of Huffman Fruit Farm outside Salem, talks about the yield of his apples while standing in an orchard filled with Buckeye Galas. This article originally appeared on The Repository: Here's where to pick apples in the Akron-Canton region this year As the fall Manaslu climbing season begins, lets consider the history of climbs on this Mountain of Spirits. The five-member British West Nepal Expedition, led by the legendary Bill Tilman, made the first reconnaissance of the mountain in 1950. Its main objective, however, was Annapurna. From the Kathmandu Valley, they trekked for six days and then established their base camp at Manang. They then started to explore the region of the Annapurna massif. From the upper section of Dudh Khola, they could see Manaslu from Bumtang. Three months later, Tilman and J.O.M. Roberts hiked to the Larkya La Col, from which they again saw Manaslu, as well as its plateau. They concluded that a direct route to the summit from the north was possible, although they did not try it at the time. First ascent A few years later, a party of Japanese alpinists attempted Manaslu. Other Japanese teams later returned to the mountain until finally, on May 9, 1956, Toshio Imanishi and Gyalzen Norbu made its first ascent. Until the end of 2023, 775 teams have gone to Manaslu, including 568 in autumn, 182 in spring, and 24 in winter. According to The Himalayan Database, no parties went there during the summer monsoon, except the 1950 reconnaissance of Bill Tilman and his partners. There continue to be more fall than spring expeditions to Manaslu, and the gap between them widens every year. The main reason for this is that nowadays, more high-altitude tourists come to Nepal, and in spring, the outfitters focus on bringing them up Everest, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, and Makalu. The total number of ascents depends on whether you count the many climbs that stopped at a foresummit. Although the first Japanese summiters did succeed in reaching the top, many of those who followed did not. Until recently, those foresummits have counted. Thus, until the end of 2023, Manaslu has had 3,317 summiters. Less than one-third of them (about 843) did so without bottled oxygen. While 2,983 people summited in autumn, only 312 have done so in spring, and a mere 22 succeeded in winter. Spring and fall have roughly the same number of fatalities. A total of 90 climbers have died on Manaslu, including 46 in spring, 42 in autumn, and 2 in winter. In recent years, Manaslu has become very popular, even for beginners, as well as for 8,000m peak collectors. The post Backgrounder: Manaslus Climbing History appeared first on Explorersweb. New to Delaware? Here's a road map to the DMV, vehicle registration and deadlines The once-quiet roadways of Delaware are now bustling with activity, thanks to an influx of new residents from across the country. Over the past decade, Delaware has seen its population swell by more than 10%, with the U.S. Census Bureau reporting a jump from 1,019,459 residents in 2022 to 1,031,890 in 2023. This 1.2% increase ranks Delaware sixth in the nation for percentage growth, outpacing many of its larger neighbors. License plates from far-flung states like California and Wisconsin now mingle with local tags. For many of these newcomers, navigating the state's vehicle registration process is their first taste of Delaware bureaucracy. The Delaware Department of Transportation's Division of Motor Vehicles building in Dover. The clock starts ticking as soon as new residents move to the First State, as state law mandates that any address changes be reported to the Division of Motor Vehicles within 30 days. New residents can apply for a Delaware drivers license at one of the DMV offices located in Delaware City, Dover, Georgetown or Wilmington. What to bring to the Delaware DMV Your out-of-state drivers license or a certified copy of your driving record if your license is not available Proof of legal presence, such as a birth certificate or passport Proof of your Social Security number Two documents verifying your Delaware residency (utility Bills, credit card statement, auto or life insurance policies, voter registration cards, bank account records, employment records, rental agreements) Then, within the next 60 days, new Delawareans must complete the multi-step process to transfer their out-of-state vehicle registration. For some, like military personnel and their dependents, there may be exemptions and extensions. But for most, it's a process that requires patience, planning and a bit of cash. Based on Delaware DMV's booklet, "Guidelines for New Residents," here's an overview to help explain the process. Auto insurance requirements in Delaware The journey to a Delaware vehicle registration begins with insurance. Delaware requires that proof of insurance be presented at the time of registration. All insurance providers are required to issue physical cards as proof of insurance in Delaware. The DMV does not accept photocopies, photos or computer printouts of insurance cards. Alternatively, an electronic insurance card through the insurance company's mobile app is acceptable. Faxed copies are only valid if sent directly from the insurance company to the DMV. People patiently waiting inside of the Dover DMV early Tuesday July 9, 2019 in hopes of securing 5-digit license plates that were available on a first-come first-serve basis. The agency conducts random audits to ensure that all registered vehicles maintain insurance coverage. The penalties for non-compliance start at $100 for the initial 30 days without insurance, with subsequent increases of $5 per day, in addition to possible registration suspensions. The card must be carried in the vehicle at all times. The penalty for operating an uninsured vehicle is a fine of not less than $1,500 and/or 30 days in jail and suspension of your driver's license for 6 months. Vehicle inspection requirements in Delaware Next is the inspection process. All vehicles from out-of-state are required to go through one of Delaware's DMV inspection lanes. Some vehicles will undergo a comprehensive inspection while others will only receive a VIN verification. The extent of the inspection varies based on the vehicle's model year and weight, but safety checks are mandatory for all. How to register your car in Delaware The registration process concludes with an in-person visit at a DMV office. If your vehicle comes from a state that issues titles, you must surrender your current title at this time. Additionally, youll need to present proof of liability insurance. Here new residents encounter the final hurdle: fees. The state charges a vehicle document fee of 4.25% of the vehicle's value, with a minimum of $8 though there are some exemptions if youve already paid taxes in another state within the last 90 days. There's also a title fee of $35.00 for vehicles without a lien, and $55.00 if there is a lien. People waiting outside of the Dover DMV early Tuesday July 9, 2019 in hopes of securing 5-digit license plates that were available on a first-come first-serve basis. Exceptions for nonresidents and military If your out-of-state registration has expired, the DMV can issue a five-day temporary tag for $20 to allow you to drive the vehicle to Delaware. Military members and their dependents have specific exemptions and may qualify for a document fee exemption if they provide active duty military orders within 90 days of relocating to Delaware. Nonresidents can also register a vehicle in Delaware if they meet certain conditions, such as providing proof of insurance and registration from their home state and passing a Delaware vehicle inspection. Online services help calculate fees, anticipate wait times DMV service in Delaware City. As Delaware roads fill with a diverse array of license plates, it reflects the state's growing appeal and the challenges that accompany its rapid growth. To keep up with this growth, officials in Delaware are striving to simplify procedures. The DMV website offers detailed checklists and online services to help new residents prepare, such as: A calculator estimating the vehicle title and registration fee Branch wait times for services View live feeds of vehicle inspection lanes and of the DMV waiting area Navigating Delawares vehicle registration process can be a complex task for new residents, but with the right documents and fees in hand, they may find it a small price to pay for becoming part of the First State. For more detailed information, visit the Delaware DMV website. You can contact reporter Anitra Johnson at ajohnson@delawareonline.com. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: A guide to vehicle registration for new Delaware residents It's easy to be lured into Costco to grab one of their popular and famously inexpensive food court hot dogs, or to score a deal on anything from furniture to clothing. But one of the things that makes the retail giant a true destination for shoppers is its low-cost groceries. And while there are some bigger name brands to be found at your nearest location, the store also sells a number of high-quality products under its own label, Kirkland Signature. Greek yogurt is just one of these great finds -- but like many Kirkland products, Costco doesn't actually manufacture this item. Information about the makers of Kirkland-branded products is often kept quiet. However, it has been speculated that Commonwealth Dairy, which sells its own yogurts under the name Green Mountain Creamery, is also the producer of Kirkland Signature yogurt. In 2014, the company announced in a press release that it would be selling its yogurt in San Francisco-area Costco stores, with an eye on more widespread distribution in the future. Then, in his 2017 book titled "Disciplined Growth Strategies," venture capitalist and professor Peter S. Cohan stated that Ehrmann, the company that once owned Commonwealth Dairy, sold its yogurt to multiple retailers, including Costco. Read more: What Are The Different Kinds Of Butter (And How Do I Use Them)? Commonwealth Dairy's Background Kirkland Greek Yogurt - The Image Party/Shutterstock When Commonwealth Dairy announced its connection to Costco in the aforementioned press release, the company was named Ehrmann Commonwealth Dairy, as it was a United States-based subsidiary of the German, family-owned Ehrmann company. In 2019, the business was purchased by Lactalis, the top dairy company in the world, which also owns brands like Parmalat, Stonyfield Organic, Brown Cow, and others. Today, Lactalis still owns the Brattleboro, Vermont-based Commonwealth Dairy. Like the rest of Green Mountain Creamery's lineup, the Kirkland brand is organic and uses rBST-free Grade A milk. And if Costco's version is produced with the same ingredients that are used to make the creamery's other yogurts, the milk is sourced from cows near Green Mountain's Vermont or Arizona locations, or from farms in New York or New Hampshire. The yogurt is also devoid of artificial additives, preservatives, and high fructose corn syrup. When it comes to the taste and texture, Green Mountain Creamery boasts that its yogurt is thick and mild, and consumers have noted the same in online reviews, pointing to its balanced flavor. Similar descriptions have been written by reviewers of the Kirkland yogurt, who note its creaminess and moderate level of tanginess. Want more food knowledge? Sign up to our free newsletter where we're helping thousands of foodies, like you, become culinary masters, one email at a time. Read the original article on Food Republic. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) An 18-year-old is dead and a 20-year-old is in critical condition following a shooting early Sunday morning in South Nashville, officials said. Officers responded to the scene at Bucanas Night Club on Nolensville Pike around 2:30 a.m. after two victims had been shot. Have breaking news come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts A Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) release stated Yasser Paz, 18, and the 20-year-old were with two friends in the nightclub parking lot when a vehicle drove up beside them. Witnesses described the vehicle as a dark Chevrolet Suburban, officials said. The release stated multiple men then got out of the vehicle and began shooting at the victims. Paz and the 20-year-old were transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where Paz died from his injuries and the other victim remains in critical condition. The two additional people with the victims during the incident were not injured. No additional details have been released. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463. Download the News 2 app to stay updated on the go. Sign up for WKRN email alerts to have breaking news sent to your inbox. Find todays top stories on WKRN.com for Nashville, TN and all of Middle Tennessee. This is a developing story. WKRN News 2 will continue to update this article as new information becomes available. 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 WKRN News 2. A driver crashed into a parked car before fleeing the scene in South Los Angeles early Sunday morning, leaving behind a deceased passenger, according to authorities. The crash occurred at about 4 a.m. in the 3900 block of 3rd Avenue of the Leimert Park neighborhood of South L.A. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, a driver smashed into a parked, unoccupied car. The driver then exited the vehicle and fled the scene by foot. A person was later found dead in the passenger seat, police said. Its not clear if the person had died before or after the driver fled. The deceased person was yet to be identified by police as of 8 a.m. Sunday. No additional details were immediately made available. 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 KTLA. A woman is dead after a house fire in Carrick. Allegheny County dispatchers say firefighters were called to a home near the intersection of Minooka Street and Trost Avenue around 10 p.m. Saturday. Pittsburgh Public Safety officials say firefighters found a 72-year-old woman on the first floor of the home. She was taken to a hospital in grave condition with severe burns and smoke inhalation. She later died of her injuries at the hospital. The Allegheny County Medical Examiners Office identifies her as Lynn Patton. Officials say that the Fire Investigation Unit determined the fire began in the Pattons bed on the first-floor living room. The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation, but currently, officials believe it to be accidental. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Woman killed, 2 people hurt in shooting at Lawrence County bar Local school bus driver, police chaplain facing child pornography charges Massive tree falls during severe storms, splitting Beaver County home in half VIDEO: Heres how a local school district is working to address the nationwide teacher shortage DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts 10 most beautiful lakes in Arizona where you can boat, swim, fish Arizona is known for its dry heat and desert landscapes, but it also has a surprising number of lakes where you can swim, boat, fish and camp. Today we present 10 of Arizona's most beautiful lakes for your road-trip inspiration any time of year. Here are a few pro tips before you set off on any lake adventure: Some lakes are in remote areas far from civilization (which is a big perk), shopping and services. Fill up your gas tank; stock up on sunscreen, water and snacks; and let someone know where you're going and when you expect to be back. Each lake has its own rules, requirements and fees. For example, many lakes in Tonto National Forest require you to buy a Tonto Pass. Know before you go. Swimmers, beware: There are no lifeguards on duty. Also, swimming is not allowed at Watson Lake in Prescott. Take a dip: Best Arizona lakes you can swim in, from Lake Havasu to Canyon Lake Apache Lake Apache Lake is the easternmost of the three Salt River lakes below Roosevelt Dam. (The other two are Canyon Lake and Saguaro Lake.) Its crystal-clear water and marina encompassed by desert canyons make this lake memorable. Rent a pontoon boat, stand-up paddleboard or kayak for a fun-filled day on the water. If you want to stay the night, you can choose from motel rooms, the RV park or tent camping. Apache Lake is near the eastern end of State Route 88, also known as the Apache Trail. Because a significant portion of SR 88 is closed, it takes about 2.5 hours to get to Apache Lake from Phoenix via SR 87 and SR 188. Details: 229.5 Mile Marker, Roosevelt. 928-923-6690, apachelake.com. Bartlett Lake Bartlett Lake has over 2,800 acres of navigable surface area in the heart of Tonto National Forest about 57 miles northeast of central Phoenix. What makes it so special? It's gorgeous, has an amazing family atmosphere and is a haven for outdoor enthusiasts. Shoreline camping is available, and so are boat, jet ski, kayak and paddleboard rentals. If you really want to have the best day on the water, rent a party yacht for you and all your close friends. Don't forget to stop by family owned and operated restaurant the Cove with its constantly changing menu. Details: 20808 E. Bartlett Dam Road, east of Cave Creek. bartlettlake.com, 602-316-3378. Canyon Lake Canyon Lake is on the Apache Trail (SR 88) just west of Tortilla Flat and has more than 28 miles of shoreline and over 950 surface acres of water. Whether you are looking to hike through rock formations, explore private coves or want to spot bighorn sheep, deer and javelina, Canyon Lake is a great destination. Canyon Lake Marina has everything from pontoon boats to double-decker boats with slides for rent, plus a campground to park your RV or pitch a tent for a quick getaway. Details: 16802 SR 88, east of Apache Junction. canyonlakemarina.com, 480-288-9233. Lake Havasu What has 400 miles of mountainous coastline, 300 days of sunshine and seemingly endless miles of navigable water? Lake Havasu, that's what. Spend a day on the water with your own boat or rent one from the marina. Book a sunset boat tour for amazing views and memories. And boats aren't the only thing you can rent, with kayaks, stand-up paddleboards and canoes. You can also take a tour of the gorgeous London Bridge, or just cruise by it. Details: Access points throughout Lake Havasu City. golakehavasu.com, 928-453-3444. Lake Mead If being America's first National Recreation Area isn't enough of a bragging right, Lake Mead also boasts 1.5 million acres of mountains, canyons and valleys. Lake Mead straddles the Arizona-Nevada state line, meaning you could extend your trip into Las Vegas easily. Explore the backcountry roads, or go biking, hiking, boating, canoeing, kayaking, fishing and hunting. You can even scuba dive or go horseback riding. Details: There are six main entrances to Lake Mead: Northshore, Lake Mead Boulevard, Lake Mead Parkway, Boulder, Temple Bar and Meadview. nps.gov/lake/index.htm, 702-293-8990. Lake Pleasant With more than 23,000 acres of water and classic desert landscape, Lake Pleasant is one of the most scenic recreation areas in metro Phoenix and has a ton of fun activities to boot. Whatever you may be in search of, Lake Pleasant has what you need, from boating and fishing to scuba diving and swimming to beautiful trails and clear stargazing. There are two marinas: Pleasant Harbor and Scorpion Bay, and Lake Pleasant Regional Park offers guided hikes and other activities throughout the year. Details: Lake Pleasant Regional Park, 41835 N. Castle Hot Springs Road, Morristown. maricopacountyparks.net, 602-506-2930, ext. 2. Lake Powell Lake Powell, which rides the Arizona-Utah state line, has almost 2,000 miles of shoreline, red-rock desert scenery and a lot of fun to be had. Ever wanted to live it up on a houseboat? Rent one at Lake Powell Resorts & Marinas. You can park your RV or pitch your tent at one of three campgrounds. Take a scenic boat tour, explore Rainbow Bridge and end your night with some of Arizona's best stargazing. Details: Lake Powell Resorts & Marinas, 100 Lakeshore Drive, Page. lakepowell.com, 888-896-3829. Roosevelt Lake Roosevelt Lake was named after Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States and namesake of the dam that created the lake. It boasts 128 miles of shoreline and is a magnet for boating, fishing and more. Roosevelt Lake Marina can host everything from fishing boats to sailboats to houseboats, and you can rent a deck boat, pontoon boat or a double-decker boat complete with a slide for the day or longer. Details: 28085 SR 188, Roosevelt. rooseveltlakemarina.com, Saguaro Lake With the Sonoran Desert as its backdrop, Saguaro Lake is rimmed with canyon walls and its shores are decorated with saguaro cactus. It's the perfect place to camp, fish, boat and more. Book a boat ride on the Desert Belle, relax at the boat-in campsites at the eastern end of the lake or fish for everything from rainbow trout to bass, channel catfish and more. Details: Saguaro Lake is about 40 miles northeast of Phoenix via Loop 202 and Bush Highway. fs.usda.gov, 602-225-5200. People jump into the water at Saguaro Lake on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 5, 2022. Watson Lake Just 4 miles from downtown Prescott, Watson Lake is an oasis in the middle of the desert with its bright blue water surrounded by incredible walking trails and the weathered boulders of the Granite Dells. Swimming is not allowed at Watson Lake but you can fish and boat bring your own, or Prescott Outdoors offers canoe, kayak and standup paddleboard rentals seasonally. There are two boat launches, a campground, a playground, picnic ramadas and restrooms. Prescott Ebike offers rentals and guided or DIY bike tours on the Peavine and Iron King trails at the lake. Details: 3101 Watson Lake Park Road, Prescott. prescott-az.gov. Meredith G. White covers entertainment and culture for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. She has the latest news about video games, television and things to do in metro Phoenix. Follow her on X and Instagram @meredithgwhite and on Facebook as Meredith G. White. Email her at meredith.white@arizonarepublic.com. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Top 10 most beautiful lakes in Arizona: Havasu, Powell and more Boston Police arrested a 15-year-old after he was found with a loaded firearm in Dorchester. Officers were attending an event at Pleasant Street and Pearl Street when they observed a disturbance across the street. Officers were approached by an unknown individual who told officers that one of the suspects had a firearm. When police approached the two suspects, they separated from one another and walked in different directions. Officers were able to stop one suspect, and after further investigation, he was released. The second suspect refused to stop. according to police, officers were able to catch up to the suspect, and after resisting were able to put him into handcuffs. Police found an SCCY CPX-1 firearm with one round in the chamber and seven rounds in the magazine in the suspects fanny pack. The 15-year-old male is being charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, carrying a loaded firearm without a license, and a slew of other charges. He is expected to be arraigned in Dorchester District Court. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Ukraine's continued requests to Western allies for more air defenses were answered in part this week, with the announcement that Germany has ordered an additional 17 IRIS-T air defense systems for Kyiv. And the timing couldn't be more critical an ongoing campaign of aerial strikes on Kharkiv, devastating attacks like that on Ukraine's largest children's hospital in July, a strike on Poltava earlier this week that killed at least 55 people, and an attack on Lviv the day after, repeatedly highlight the shortcomings in the country's air defenses. "Russia continues to wage a cowardly war against civilians, which constitutes war crimes." President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X, reacting to the biggest Russian mass attack across Ukraine that killed seven people and injured nearly 50 on Aug. 26, using a total of 236 missiles and drones. Berlin launched an initiative to bolster Ukraine's air defense in April, and has become one of Ukraine's leading suppliers of systems. "This shows that German support for Ukraine is not letting up," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sept. 4 when announcing the latest batch of 17 IRIS-Ts. According to Scholz, Ukraine already has seven which have been used to shoot down more than 250 Russian missiles and drones. But according to experts who spoke to the Kyiv Independent, while welcome, the IRIS-Ts will be unable to protect from something that has become an increasing concern in recent days Iranian ballistic missiles. Read also: Ukraine strikes Russian airfields with homemade weapons in hopes of preventing devastating attacks at home What do we know about the IRIS-T? By 2026, Ukraine should have received 24 IRIS-T systems from Germany 12 of medium-range versions, IRIS-T SLM, and 12 short-range, IRIS-T SLS according to Bloomberg. "The numbers are significant," Fabian Hoffmann, a doctoral research fellow at the University of Oslo who specializes in missile technology, told the Kyiv Independent, adding it will be more than Germany or any other country deploys. "Ukraine will probably be the largest operator of IRIS-T SLM for a while," he added. The short-range system can hit a target at a distance of 12 km (8 miles) and at an altitude of up to 8 km (4 miles), while the medium-range system can reach targets at 40 km (24 miles) and at an altitude of 20 km (13 miles). The IRIS-T launchers, which can carry eight missiles, are portable and can be transported on tracked platforms or trucks made by its German manufacturer, Diehl Defense. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks during the presentation of Germany's first IRIS-T SLM medium range air defence system at the military base camp in Todendorf military base in Panker, Germany on Sep.4, 2024. (Daniel Bockwoldt / AFP via Getty Images) "One of the IRIS-T's advantages is its mobility, which improves survivability," Hoffman said. The missiles which can reach a speed of around Mach 3 (1,020 meters per second) are launched vertically, meaning there are no blind spots directly above the system. They are equipped with a controlled thrust vector system that improves maneuverability, and an infrared guidance system that responds to heat radiated by the target (IRIS-T stands for "infrared imaging system tail/thrust vector-controlled.") The missile is also capable of detecting heat traps, which Russia has equipped some cruise missiles with in order to make them harder to intercept. Hoffmann highlighted the TRML 4D air surveillance radar used for the IRIS-T air defense system, which performs well including in so-called "cluttered environments." "If you scan for something like cruise missiles or drones that fly fairly close to the ground, there will be trees, mountains, many buildings in the way, and you have to filter those out to discriminate the actual threat," Hoffmann said. "The TRML is long-range with a great ability to filter out that clutter and a good ability to track incoming targets and then guide the interceptor to it," he added. However, this radar, like the system itself, is not so effective against some of the weapons used by Russia in its attacks against Ukraine. The IRIS-T SLM air defence system is seen in operation mode during the operative launch of the Bundeswehr's first IRIS-T SLM air defence system at the Todendorf military base in Panker, Germany on Sep.4, 2024. (Gregor Fischer/Getty Images) What air targets can't IRIS-T shoot down? The German-made system is optimized to defend against low-flying subsonic and low radar cross-section targets like cruise missiles, but it is not capable of intercepting a ballistic missile, according to experts. And in most of its mass attacks, Russia has the highest success rate with ballistic missiles, John Hardie, deputy director of the Russia Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the Kyiv Independent, adding that Ukraine so far relies mainly on the U.S.-made Patriot air defense system, to protect itself from such threats. Ballistic missiles such as the Russian Iskander M or Kinzhal approach from a high altitude up to 50 kilometers (31 miles) and 20 kilometers (12 miles) respectively and then descend at high speed, up to 3,200 kilometers per hour. "If you want to take down a ballistic missile, you also need to incorporate some type of terminal guidance, so the interceptor can autonomously or independently course correct over the last couple of meters," Hoffmann said. "Again, that's not given with IRIS-T, which is why they will not really be able to defend against ballistic missiles," he added. Read also: Ukraine says it has a new ballistic missile heres what they do The increased ballistic threat While Russia has regularly fired its own ballistic missiles such as the Iskander and the Kinzhal against Ukrainian cities since the start of the full-scale invasion, recent news reports suggest the use of such weapons could soon increase. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Sept. 6, Iran has sent an unknown number of short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, a move the U.S. has described as a "dramatic escalation" in Tehran's support for Moscow's full-scale war against Ukraine. "These more strategic weapons would basically suck up interceptor missiles, and when it comes to defending against ballistic missiles, you can only use certain systems," Fabian Hinz, a research fellow for defense and military analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told the Kyiv Independent for a previous article. "Ukraine has the Patriot air defense system, but the numbers of interceptors are limited so that could potentially be a challenge if you have large numbers of Iranian missiles." A soldier wears a patch to commemorate his training on the IRIS-T air defense system during the operative launch of the Bundeswehr's first IRIS-T SLM air defense system at the Todendorf military base in Panker, Germany, on Sep.4, 2024. (Gregor Fischer/Getty Images) So despite arriving in significant numbers, the IRIS-T system would not be effective in dealing with an increased threat from Iranian ballistic missiles. But they will still be useful the system can effectively shoot down low-flying targets, such as aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, and drones, which Russia also frequently uses to attack Ukraine. In August alone, Ukraine's Ground Forces shot down five airplanes, two helicopters, 1,539 drones, and 150 missiles, according to Oleksandr Pavliuk, Ukraine's Ground Forces commander. "These systems are important for augmenting Ukrainian air defense, particularly given Ukraine's shortage of interceptors for its Soviet-made systems," Hardie said. However, despite their effectiveness against low-flying targets and increase in supplies from allied countries, the number of IRIS-Ts is still insufficient for Ukraine's needs. "The numbers (of German supply) are rather significant, at least compared to what other countries currently deploy or plan to deploy," Hoffman said. "Unfortunately, that still does not mean it is enough in the Ukrainian context." Read also: What Irans ballistic missiles, in Russias hands, could mean for Ukraine Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. 19-year-old dies following Wilmington shooting on Wednesday. Police release his name A 19-year-old man shot in Wilmington Wednesday night has died from his injuries, according to Wilmington Police. Police have released few details about the shooting of Kwamir Wise. Wise was shot at 10:28 p.m. in the 700 block of East 22nd St. on Sept. 4 and taken to the hospital in critical condition, police said. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Detective Brandon Mosley at (302) 576-3646. You can also provide information to Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333 or delawarecrimestoppers.org. The Wilmington Police Department Victim Services Unit is available to provide support, information and referrals to victims of crime, and can be reached at (302) 576-3622. Additionally, the Youth Response Unit is available for free counseling and services to children and their families exposed to traumatizing events, and can be reached at (302) 576-3183 This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Kwamir Wise dies after being shot in Wilmington on Wednesday In 1924, Chicago was a victory leg stop for the first aviators to circle the globe A century ago next Sunday, Chicagoans necks craned skyward looking for a single-engine Douglas World Cruiser bearing their citys name. It was on the home stretch of its journey as Americas entry in a 1924 international competition to make the first flight around the world. The United States began the journey with four aircraft named for American cities: Seattle, Chicago, Boston and New Orleans. Flyers from Britain, Portugal, France, Argentina and Italy also participated in the competition, taking off at various times through the year. Americas flyers took off from Seattle on April 6, taking a westerly route, and were scheduled to arrive in Chicago on Sept. 13 amid a triumphant home leg of their journey. But that was set back by two days of bad weather in Ohio, their previous stopover. The delay heightened the anticipation for Chicagoans who had followed the flyers journey via reports from Tribune foreign correspondents. The pilots were already familiar names as newspapers spewed out a steady stream of stories. Radiogram Says Heroes of the Air Are Coming, a Tribune headline announced on July 27. But it turned out the aviators couldnt land their plane in their city. As the Tribune noted in an editorial on Sept. 16: When the world flyers came out of the South and roared over the city yesterday, Chicago could offer them no airplane landing place. Illinois Gov. Len Small had suggested the planes land at the foot of Grace Street in Lincoln Park, the Tribune reported. The executive committee of the Army and Navy Club denounced that plan as a political movement to make votes for Small. Small, a Republican, had been indicted shortly after becoming governor for embezzling millions of dollars while the states treasurer. Eight of the jurors who acquitted him got state jobs. Was that the face the city wanted to show the world while an airplane named Chicago was flying across the globe? So the flyers had to touch down on a small airstrip just outside of west suburban Maywood, from there going into the city to be feted at the Drake Hotel. But on the whole, the flyers visit went well. Chicagos guests were hailed as modern-day Magellans in honor of Ferdinand Magellan, a highly skilled 16th century seafarer who led an expedition that circumnavigated the world by sea, although he was killed along the way. Magellan made his mark with a practical deduction from a geometric axiom. The Earth is a very big ball. Therefore if you travel in a straight line you wind up right where you started. As Europes leading seafaring nations, Spain and Portugal had agreed to divide the international trade, giving each exclusive rights to separate areas of the world. By that treaty, Portugal controlled the logical route to the spices of the Indies: sailing east from Europe and around Africa. So the king of Spain was delighted with Magellans creative proposal to sail west and around South America in search of riches from the Indian subcontinent. Five centuries later, that course setting aligned Americas World Fliers, as they were known, with the same winds that filled their heros sails hundreds of years earlier. The flying Magellans also realized that ships are vulnerable and humans are fallible, and prepared accordingly. Other nations entered one or two airplanes in the race. Maj. Gen. Mason Patrick realized that the more Army Air Service aircraft and well-trained crews competed, the better the chance of winning. The pilots had served in World War I, when aviation came of age. They had additional preflight training, including survival skills, should they crash in uninhabited and unmapped terrain. To help them navigate, the Navy stationed warships along the race course. They let smoke bellow out of their funnels just before the expected arrival of the airplanes. To pass on weather reports to the flyers above, the sailors put white panels with black letters on their ships deck: T meant good weather, L for unfavorable conditions, H for dangerous. Radios were then only marginally effective. The destroyers and cutters carried food supplies, spare parts, replacement engines, wheels and pontoons. The airplanes landing gear was designed so the pilots could touch down on water or land. The mechanics swapped out engines and other parts during the competition. The Chicago pilot Lowell Smith took 10 hours to complete one transplant during a tropical downpour in what was then French Indo-China. It is significant of the completeness of the plans for this expedition that each time a new engine has been needed it has been available within a few hundred miles, a Tribune story noted. It also proved wise to start the voyage with four planes. The Seattle encountered dense fog off the coast of Alaska. Frederick Martin steered inland, looking for a body of water to set the planes pontoons on. Suddenly a mountain popped out of the fog. The impact destroyed the airplane. Martin and Alva Harvey, the mechanic, survived but had a limited food supply: four sandwiches, a dozen malted milk tablets, and two thermoses of concentrated nutrient. To expect outside rescue was folly, Harvey recalled. Saying Fairwell Seattle, we regret leaving you here wrecked and battered we walked away. The crew made its way over snow-covered mountains, and at one point came upon a milk carton labeled Port Moller Cannery, an encouraging sign. They tramped 25 miles before being seen by the crew of a small boat, which picked them up and took them to the cannery. That made headlines back home. So did other exploits. On Aug. 24, the USS Richmond spotted the faint light of a downed Italian competitor. The American sped to it and rescued its crew even as their airplane was sinking. The planes from the other countries also crashed during the circumnavigation attempt. The Americans landed in Boston on Sept. 6, and while they still had to continue to Seattle, the U.S. team won. The aviators were incredibly famous. Those who trod the wilderness and cross the seas filled with dangers are never forgotten by posterity, New York Sen. James W. Wadsworth said at their reception in New York City. The residents of every whistle stop, small town and big city en route to Seattle were determined to get at least a glimpse of the flyers. In Washington, they were given a grand parade down Pennsylvania Avenue and dropped flowers on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In Chicago, they were given engraved cigarette boxes filled with gold coins. Omaha picked a queen and five ladies-in-waiting to escort them. In Muskogee, Oklahoma, they got gold medallions. Throngs of people packed celebrations in San Diego and Santa Monica, where the crowds knocked down a fence, the police and the flyers. A woman grabbed Smiths ear. Another cut off a piece of his collar with a pen knife. Somebody else took a souvenir of the seat of my trousers, Smith said. Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Ron Grossman and Marianne Mather at rgrossman@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com 2 dead after multi-car crash in Mustang Ridge MUSTANG RIDGE, Texas (KXAN) Two people died Saturday evening after a crash on State Highway 21 near Mustang Ridge, authorities said. The crash happened around around 7:43 p.m., according to the Mustang Ridge Police Department. Three vehicles were involved in the collision. Mustang Ridge police are investigating a fatal crash that happened on State Highway 21. (Courtesy Mustang Ridge Police Department) Mustang Ridge police are investigating a fatal crash that happened on State Highway 21. (Courtesy Mustang Ridge Police Department) Two people died at the scene, police said. This embedded content is not available in your region. Police said the investigation is ongoing. The cause of the crash was not shared. 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 KXAN Austin. 2 killed, 4 injured in Russian attack on Sumy On the night of Sept. 8, a Russian airstrike hit Sumy, killing two people and injuring four, including two children. The attack also caused damage to houses and vehicles, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported. Emergency services are addressing the aftermath, and the injured are receiving medical treatment. Residents are urged to stay in shelters during the air raids for their safety. On Aug. 20, amid ongoing attacks on the region, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko told reporters that authorities are planning to evacuate a total of 45,000 residents from Sumy Oblast. Approximately 21,000 residents have been evacuated from Sumy Oblast thus far, including 5,000 children, Klymenko added. Russian KAB guided bomb attacks on Sept. 4 injured seven people across the region. Another attack on Sept. 1 on a children's social and psychological rehabilitation center and orphanage in Sumy injured 18 people including six children. Read also: Ukraine warns Iran against providing ballistic missiles to Russia Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) The National Hurricane Center is monitoring three tropical disturbances. Potential Tropical Cyclone Six formed in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico Sunday and is expected to become Tropical Storm Francine by Monday as it moves northwest along the Gulf of Mexico coast. The system is gradually organizing over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico and is expected to strengthen to a hurricane by mid-week, the National Hurricane Center said. As of 8 p.m., the system was located about 320 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande and about 555 miles south of Port Arthur Texas with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph. The storm is forecast to bring life-threatening storm surges and damaging winds to the upper Texas and Louisiana coastlines. The system is not expected to impact Florida. Potential Tropical Cyclone Six does not have a well-defined circulation, so this wave will not be named a depression or tropical storm yet, but it does appear that it will get its act together as it moves toward the north. It will move slowly over the warm waters of the western Gulf, which will enable it to gain strength and become Tropical Storm Francine early this week, Max Defender 8 Meteorologist Eric Stone said. Models are in agreement with movement and landfall somewhere near the Texas/Louisiana border later in the week with remnants moving through the Tennessee Valley and the midwestern states as this will have no impact on our region. Other disturbances in the Eastern and Central Atlantic have a 50% chance of development over the week. The second wave is located roughly several hundred miles southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands but is not expected to move much over the next few days. The NHC said this system could potentially interact with another tropical wave that is forecasted to move off the coast of Africa by early Monday. Sitting off the coast of Mexico is a disturbance with a very high chance of development as it moves northwestward. The NHC predicts a tropical depression could form by the middle of the week, impacting both Texas and Mexico. There are two other waves further west in the Atlantic. One wave is expected to develop into a tropical depression next week with a smaller chance for development for the far eastern wave. Models indicate that the more likely developed wave will move to the west and then take a hard turn to the north before Puerto Rico, so it looks like neither wave will impact the United States, Stone added. Watch Tracking the Tropics on Tuesdays at 12:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. CT. Be prepared with the 2024 Hurricane Guide and stay ahead of tropical development with the Tracking the Tropics newsletter. 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 WFLA. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) Project pawpaw hosted their second annual pawpaw festival today at Merom Bluff Park. They had live music, food trucks, and more pawpaw than ever before. Pawpaw is a little-known tree, native to Indiana, that produces a large, delicious fruit. However, the life span of the fruit is short, so most people have never heard it. Because of this, a festival has been started at Merom Bluff Park, in Merom, Indiana, to educate and allow people to try the fruit, that some call the Indiana Banana. Its the Indiana banana and there wasnt a festival for the Indiana banana, so now there is. I started it last year and its starting to grow. This is the second year and its taking off really good. Isaac Bisby Leader Pawpaw Festival The festival takes place over the course of two days with live music, food vendors, and fresh pawpaw. Bisby says they showcase all the ways that the fruit can be enjoyed. Pawpaw everything. We have pawpaw ice cream, we have pawpaw cheesecake, we have wild pawpaws, we have name variety pawpaws, if you want to try one. You name it, we got it. On Saturday, the festival held a pawpaw contest. People brought their best of the fruit and were judged based on appearance, size, taste, and the number of seeds. The winner was Mark Hildebrand, who has been working on pawpaws for over a decade. Ive been probably finding them in the wild for 30 years. As far as the named cultivars and grafting them, probably 15 years. I joined the Indiana Nut and Fruit Growers Association and theres some people in there that are very knowledgeable and more experienced than I am, and they help you. Mark Hildebrand Pawpaw Contest Winner The festival had guests from a number of states and hopes to make pawpaws bigger every year. 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 MyWabashValley.com. Three victims of Russia's Sept. 3 attack on Poltava died in the hospital, bringing the total death toll to 58, Governor Filip Pronin said on Sept. 8. Russia launched two ballistic missiles against the city on Sept. 3, hitting the Military Communications Institute and a neighboring medical facility. The educational institution building was partially destroyed. Search and rescue operations at the site of the Russian missile attack on the city concluded on Sept. 5. The number of people killed at that time was 55, while other 328 were injured. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with NBC News that the missiles flew only three minutes before hitting the buildings, giving people little time to hide in the shelter. Russian attacks have increasingly targeted educational facilities as the school year began in Ukraine, hitting a number of them in Sumy, Lviv, and Kryvyi Rih overnight on Sept. 4. Poltava is a city of around 300,000, located in Poltava Oblast in central Ukraine. It is situated around 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the border with Russia, and 230 kilometers (143 miles) from the eastern front. The city and surrounding region are regular targets of Russian drone and missile attacks. Read also: As Ukrainian children return to school, Russia launches missiles at educational facilities Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. (KRON) Five California wolf families produced pups this year, which doubled the states wolf population in the past year, a report recently published by the California Department of Fish and Game said. These 30 new pups bring the total number of known wolves in the Golden State to 62, according to the report. Seeing wolves return to the places this magnificent species once called home and have these adorable new pups is as inspiring as it gets, said Amaroq Weiss, senior wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. Man mauled to death by dogs in Oakland, 1 arrested There are seven known California wolf families. Of the seven, the Lassen, Whaleback, Beyem Seyo, Harvey, Antelop, and Yowlumni packs produced pups this year, with Antelope producing the most at 15. These seven wolf families inhabit portions of six counties, including Siskiyou, Lassen, Plumas, Sierra, Nevada and Tulare counties. Weiss believes the increase in production is both a great sign for the state and a testament to the efforts made to conserve the native species. Thats a testament to the visionary power and strong enforcement of the federal and state endangered species acts, he said. Wolves were reestablished in California after an over 80-year absence. The first confirmed wolf in the state since 1924 was in 2011, when a male gray wolf, OR-7, crossed into California from the Oregon border. Im overjoyed that California now has an estimated 62 wolves in the state, Weiss said. Its a great start, but weve got more work to do. California wolves need to keep their strong state and federal protections if theyre going to fully recover and thrive here. Q2-2024-Wolf-Management-Update-April-JuneDownload Since the 1970s, wolves have been protected in California under the federal Endangered Species Act. 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 KRON4. Related video: In August, the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office rescued boaters who were stranded without power. ANNA MARIA ISLAND, Fla. (WFLA) The U.S. Coast Guard brought four boaters safely back to shore after their boat became disabled off the coast of Anna Maria Island. On Saturday afternoon, officials helped retrieve the boaters after they were stranded on a 19-foot boat, roughly 20 miles from the shore. The Coast Guard took the four individuals to Station Cortez. Coast Guard Station Cortez No injuries were reported. The owner of the boat is coordinating a vessel recovery, officials said. 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 WFLA. The stakes for Tuesdays debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are enormous. Nearly a month ago, POLITICO identified five key indicators of the elections trajectory beyond the Harris-Trump horserace. Revisiting those with fresh polling in mind suggests Harris momentum has been arrested, but not reversed: Shes still gaining in popularity, and Democratic voters remain far more energized than when President Joe Biden was at the top of the ticket. And still, the race remains exceedingly and stubbornly close. Though Trump had a 2-point lead in a poll from The New York Times/Siena College released on Sunday, Harris maintains a national lead of between 1 and 3 percentage points on average. Given Republicans current advantage in the Electoral College, Harris current national lead is slightly closer to Hillary Clintons insufficient, 2-point popular-vote victory in 2016 than Bidens 4-point win in 2020. Moreover, the race is also extremely competitive in the battleground states. In three major polling averages RealClearPolitics, FiveThirtyEight and Nate Silvers Silver Bulletin, which each use different methodologies each of the seven states both campaigns are contesting are within 3 points in either direction. Harris largest lead is in Wisconsin (2.7 points in the FiveThirtyEight average), while Trumps biggest advantage is in Arizona (2.1 points in the Silver Bulletin average). Look closer, and its easy to see why Harris has closed the gap why neither candidate has broken away yet going into Tuesdays debate. Kamala Harris favorable rating On June 27: 39 percent (source: RealClearPolitics average)On Aug. 14: 45 percentNow: 48 percent Americans rediscovered Harris after she ascended to the top of the ticket, but that rush of energy appears to have hit its limit for now. On average, about as many voters have a favorable opinion of Harris as view her unfavorably far from overwhelming popularity, but not too bad for a political figure in these polarized times. It also makes her generally more popular than Trump, whose average favorable rating stands at 44 percent. It was notable that The New York Times/Siena College poll showed both with near-identical favorable/unfavorable ratings: 46 percent favorable/51 percent unfavorable for Harris, and 46 percent favorable/52 percent unfavorable for Trump. But most of the other outstanding data suggests a small favorability gap in Harris favor. Theres more risk and upside, too for Harris in Tuesdays debate. While 90 percent of voters in the poll said they pretty much know everything they need to know about Trump, a smaller share, 71 percent, said they know everything they need to know about Harris. That means her numbers could tick up or down depending on her performance, while Trumps are less likely to budge. Third-party vote share July 21: 12.2 points (source: RealClearPolitics average)Aug. 14: 7.1 pointsNow: 3 points (without RFK Jr.) The 2024 election once threatened to approach record levels of third-party voting, but that has fallen off a cliff following the Democratic candidate switch and the subsequent end (or semi-end) of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s campaign. Now some polls like the New York Times/Siena College poll dont even include Kennedy as an option for respondents. (Kennedy ended his campaign and endorsed Trump, but hell remain on the ballot in some states, including potentially a couple battlegrounds.) Of the 10 polls that currently comprise the RealClearPolitics average, only 3 included Kennedy. Between increased satisfaction with the major-party candidates and lesser-known options without the same level of name-ID as the scion of a famous political family, polls show sharply lower interest in third-party candidates. In the New York Times/Siena College poll, Libertarian Chase Oliver earned 2 percent of the vote, and Green Party nominee Jill Stein had 1 percent. Neither Kennedy nor Cornel West was included as an option, and fewer than 1 percent of likely voters volunteered each name. There was a time when Kennedy had a chance to make the stage for this debate. He needed to earn 15 percent in four qualifying polls between Aug, 1 and early September difficult but not impossible based on his standing earlier this year. He earned three qualifying polls for the June Biden-Trump debate, though he failed to meet the ballot-access criteria for that matchup. Voter enthusiasm Democrats who are very enthusiastic: 72 percent (source: New York Times/Siena College poll)Republicans who are very enthusiastic: 69 percent Just as in the state polls last month, Democrats have caught Republicans on the enthusiasm gap after lagging badly behind when Biden was their candidate. Now, the two parties are neck-and-neck on enthusiasm, as are the two candidates: Equal shares of Harris (63 percent) and Trump (63 percent) voters described themselves as very enthusiastic about voting in the November election in the poll from The Times. That also translates into vote intentions. Sixty-three percent of likely Democratic voters said they are almost certain to vote, compared to 61 percent of Republicans. Its a near-identical split among both candidates supporters: 62 percent of Harris voters and 58 percent of Trump voters said they are almost certain to vote. Who is best able to handle the economy? July: Trump 52 percent, Harris 40 percent (source: Wall Street Journal poll)Now: Trump 51 percent, Harris 43 percent The most important issue for voters continues to be an enduring Trump advantage: perceptions about the economy. Democrats largely dont believe the vice president will overtake Trump when it comes to which candidate is seen as most capable on the No. 1 issue, but they hope she can narrow the yawning gap that existed between Trump and Biden before July. In the New York Times/Siena poll, Trump had a 13-point advantage on which candidate respondents trusted to handle the economy, 55 percent to 42 percent. (The Wall Street Journal poll is listed above because it had a trendline; the Times and Siena havent asked that question before.) For Harris, getting that gap to single-digits will be a major goal between now and Election Day. In the 2020 exit poll, Biden (49 percent) and Trump (49 percent) were trusted by equal shares of voters to handle the economy. Direction of the country On June 27: 25 percent right direction, 65 percent wrong track (source: RealClearPolitics average)On Aug. 14: 25 percent right direction, 65 percent wrong trackNow: 27 percent right direction, 63 percent wrong track Americans are still in a sour mood about the direction of the country, and Harris could benefit from a continued improvement. In the New York Times/Siena College poll, a majority of Harris voters, 56 percent, said the country is on the right track. Trump voters are nearly unanimous: 89 percent said the nation is headed in the wrong direction. More than a quarter of Harris voters, 28 percent, still said the nation is going in the wrong direction a sign she isnt dependent on only those who are currently happy with the state of the country. Thats one reason why the vice president is trying to claim a change mantle, despite being part of the current administration. Its not an easy argument to make: In the New York Times/Siena College poll, just 40 percent said she represented major or minor change, compared to 61 percent who said the same of Trump. One signal that Harris intends to continue this theme in Tuesdays debate: The multi-state, post-debate campaign blitz her campaign announced earlier Sunday is titled the New Way Forward Tour. It has been 23 years since the attacks of September 11th, but so many of the stories that emerged in the days that followed are still fresh in the minds of the 60 Minutes correspondents and producers who reported them. 60 Minutes reported at length on the far-reaching aftermath of the homeland attacks, both on the Sunday broadcast and on 60 Minutes II, a weekday edition that ended in 2005. Below are some of the most memorable stories that aired on our broadcasts in the weeks and months after the attacks. An American Town Originally aired September 16, 2001 When 60 Minutes aired on the Sunday after the attacks, people all over the country were still trying to make sense of what had happened five days earlier. The devastation had extended well beyond ground zero; it splintered into hundreds of small towns in the suburbs of New York City, where families were still waiting for word on their missing loved ones. One of those towns was Summit, New Jersey, a small town where about one in seven adults worked in financial services in Manhattan. As 60 Minutes correspondent Ed Bradley reported that first Sunday, the World Trade Center was only 35 minutes away from Summit by rail, and in the parking lot outside the town's train station, cars were still sitting unclaimed by the commuters who had left them there that Tuesday. Summit resident Debbie Rancke was among the waiting. Her husband, Todd, worked as a bond salesman at Sandler O'Neill on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center's south tower, and Debbie did not know what had happened to him. But unlike the cars in the parking lot, she did not sit idle. She and Todd's sisters spent days searching for Todd, canvassing New York City until they were exhausted. The morning after the disaster, there was no one list of all the dead, injured and missing, so Debbie and her sisters-in-law started going to hospitals. The injured were taken to 130 hospitals in the New York area. But Todd Rancke did not appear to be among them. The group found the master list with names of all the injured, but they did not see "Rancke" recorded. The next day, the women went to New York City's armory, where a list of the dead was coming together. Todd's name was not on that list, either. "Just help me find him," Debbie implored Ed Bradley. "He's my whole life." In a follow-up report a year later, Bradley reported that 33 residents of Summit had died on September 11th, nearly as many as the town had lost in the Vietnam War. Todd Rancke was one of them. Searchers had found his remains in April 2002, and along with them, his wallet, remarkably intact. Inside, photographs of his children were still covered in dust. Survivors Originally aired October 7, 2001 Out of almost 500 stories 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft reported for the broadcast, he has said the one that emotionally impacted him most was his October 2001 report about New York financial firm Sandler O'Neill. Headquartered on the 104th floor of the South Tower, Sandler O'Neill lost 66 of its 171 employees in the World Trade Center attacks. But just days later, the firm was determined to keep goingwhile also providing logistical, emotional, and financial support to the families of the staff who died. 60 Minutes documented as then-44-year-old managing partner Jimmy Dunne began to resurrect the company from a temporary office in midtown Manhattan, space that had been donated by Bank of America. Sandler O'Neill had lost its entire communications system, nearly every piece of paper, and more than one third of its people. As they tried to reassure clients that their company was still very much in business, employees were also trying to collect DNA samples to identify their deceased coworkers. They worked through their grief. On spreadsheets normally used to report sales and earnings, a long list of funerals, wakes and memorial services was pinned up at the front of the office. But despite so much loss, they were able to make it back to Wall Street, in part thanks to programmers and software specialists who worked for Dunne's college roommate. The group drove all night from Chicago to pitch in and get most of the firm's computer system up and running before the markets reopened six days after the attacks. "They were intent on destroying this country," the firm's founding partner Tom O'Neill told Steve Kroft. "I don't think we appreciated the depth of their hatred. But I think for every percentage that we might have underestimated them, I think they very much underestimated us." In January 2020, Sandler O'Neill merged with Piper Jaffray Companies to become Piper Sandler Companies. The Children of September Originally aired October 17, 2001 Five weeks after the 9/11 attacks, Scott Pelley sought to know what life was like for the youngest of those left behind. He interviewed children who lost a parent on September 11th and asked how things had changed since that Tuesday morning, the day their mom or dad went to work and never returned home. What Nicole Spinelli remembered from that morning was her father kissing her goodbye. Her father, Frank, worked as a foreign exchange broker at the World Trade Center. He always gave a parting kiss to Nicole, then 18, and her siblings before he left, even if she protested how early the affection came. "But he told me one time, you know, 'Nikki, I kiss you and your brother and sister goodbye in the morning to, you know, let you know that if anything ever happened to me at work, that you would always know that I loved you,'" Spinelli recalled. Mike Shaw was 16 years old when he lost his father, Jeff, an electrician at the World Trade Center. Five weeks after the attacks, Shaw was still calling his father's cellphone nightly to leave him a voicemail. He told his dad what he did at school, what he had for dinner, how much he missed him. It became a ritual that allowed him to feel as though he were still having a daily conversation with his dad. Tyler and Kelsie Williams said goodbye to their dad, US Army Major Dwayne Williams, during a service at Arlington National Cemetery. Dwayne had started a new job at the Pentagon three months before the building was struck in the attack. After their father died, the siblings began writing about him. "I let mom lean on me because now I stand in your shoes," wrote Tyler, then 17 years old. "I don't know how you did it, but you got us through. Now when you look down at me, there's an image of you." Band of Brothers Originally aired November 21, 2001 For decades, a small band of New York City's bravest have routinely traded their firefighting hats and gear in favor of bagpipes and kilts. These full-time firefighters are part-time musicians, performing at many department occasions the happy and the sad, the weddings, the parades, and every once in a while, the funerals. Then came September 11, 2001. In the weeks that followed the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, "every once in a while" became every day and, on some days, every few hours. By that Thanksgiving, the band had played at about 300 memorial events. A November 2001 60 Minutes II report told the story of the band playing at the seemingly endless number of funerals and memorial services to honor their fallen brothers. At the time, the 70 members of the New York City Fire Department Emerald Society Pipes and Drums had become full-time musicians, honoring more colleagues in a matter of weeks than most had in their entire careers. "A lot of people, they lose a family member, or they lose a friend, maybe it might have been a young person, an old person, a grandfather or something like that. It's usually one person, one at a time, you know," said Tim Grant, the band's leader. "Everybody here knows 20, 30 people. When do you ever in your life lose that many people in one day that you know?" The Emerald Society would ultimately play at more than 500 funerals and memorial dedications for victims of September 11th. This dedication made the band increasingly popular among the FDNY members, and according to its website, the band has almost doubled in size in the last two and a half decades. The Miracle of the Pentagon Originally aired November 28, 2001 Even though 125 people were killed in the Pentagon on September 11th, there was something miraculous and somewhat fortunate about that day. Although the commandeered Boeing 757 obliterated the first and part of the building's second floor, the third, fourth and fifth floors remained, suspended in midair for 35 minutes. Hundreds of people had the chance to escape. That is because, in a remarkable stroke of luck, the terrorists had hit the only section of the Pentagon designed to resist a terrorist attack. As Scott Pelley reported for 60 Minutes II in November 2001, a billion-dollar project to renovate the Pentagon had been underway since 1993. The first section was five days away from being finished when the terrorists hit it on September 11th. "We had made several modifications to the building as part of that renovation that we think helped save people's lives," said Lee Evey, who was managing the Pentagon renovation at the time. The Army Corps of Engineers had helped design the building's new protection. The engineers studied past bombing attacks, including at the Marine barracks bombing in Lebanon in 1983, Oklahoma City in 1995, the Khobar Towers barracks in Saudi Arabia in 1996, and the US embassies in East Africa in 1998. "At Oklahoma City, the bulk of the casualties were caused by the collapsing structure, so one of the things we studied was how to put redundant capability in a structure to prevent it from collapsing if it was attacked," explained Lt. Gen. Robert Flowers, who commanded the Corps of Engineers. The Pentagon Renovation Program that began in the 1990s was completed in full in June 2011. Under Ground Zero Originally aired October 31, 2001 Seven weeks after September 11th, smoke still wafted up from the rubble at ground zero. Firefighters were still working to extinguish the subterranean fires at the site, and those working to clean up suspected it would be many more months before the space would be fully cleared. Complicating the cleanup was the fact that debris from the falling towers had crashed through the roof at Six World Trade Center, plunging through six basements below the street. At the end of October 2001, 60 Minutes II took viewers on a rare tour of the site under ground zero. It is an area that, prior to September 11th, had been something of a subterranean city: six floors that held a shopping mall, rail tunnels, and parking garages. After the terrorist attacks, it became a space where the effort to rebuild, both physically and psychologically, faced extraordinary challenges. 60 Minutes cameras filmed the descent underground, as mangled cars hung suspended on hunks of concrete, their tires burned away and their hubcaps melted into puddles of aluminum. As they went further into the darkness below the earth, where the ground was slick with oil and gas from the abandoned cars, the crew was warned the floor could collapse at any time. As the cleanup team found, removing the debris underground was an engineering challenge. When the World Trade Center was built, so too was an enormous retaining wall below ground that was designed to prevent water from the Hudson River from flooding the six-story basement. But beyond the logistics, the cleanup at ground zero was also mentally challenging because, just as it was a graveyard for automobiles, it was also the final resting place for hundreds of people. "In order for me to work here every day, I think I have to segue away from the sacred ground considerations and move towards a construction site," said Ken Holden, then the commissioner of New York's Department of Design and Construction and the city's point man in the cleanup effort. "But I think you can't work here without being cognizant of the fact that there are people, there's suffering here, there's dead bodies here, and there's a need to treat this ground in a manner different than you would in any other construction site." Frozen in Time Originally aired May 1, 2002 In May 2002, 60 Minutes II returned to ground zero. This time, the cleanup and recovery were almost complete. In the days after September 11th, the World Trade Center site was, as correspondent Scott Pelley called it, a "mountain of misery": 1,500,000 tons of wreckage heaped in a pile, with nearly 3,000 people still inside. After almost eight months of nonstop work, digging each day and night, every holiday and weekend, the gaping hole at ground zero covered 16 acres and cut 70 feet deep. With each shovelful, the debris was searched for human remains. It then sailed on barges across the Hudson to a landfill on Staten Island, where the ruins were separated, sorted, and searched again. At the time of 60 Minutes' 2002 report, 135 victims had been identified at the landfill who were not found at the World Trade Center site. In total, only a little more than 1,000 victims were ultimately identified from the rubble. Officer Dan Henry, a Port Authority policeman, was among those helping to recover human remains. He was moved to keep searching for one person in particularhis brother, fireman Joseph Henry. Dan knew that, if Joseph's remains were never found, ground zero would be his final resting place, along with hundreds of other people. "I think there should be a nice-sized park with lots of beautiful trees and flowers and benches," Dan said when asked what he thought New York City should do with the site. "And I think a big wall, big memorial wall with each victim's name on it because you don't have a cemetery to go to. This is going to be the place where we go on his birthday or Christmas, you know, and say hello." This article was originally published in September 2021. 9/11: The FDNY | 60 Minutes Iconic record seller looking to retire and sell store A look at school resource officers in Georgia 64-year-old man dies after being beaten with skateboard outside Weinland Park Kroger A man died Sunday from injuries he suffered Friday after being beaten with a skateboard outside a Weinland Park grocery store. Timothy Davis, 64, died Sunday at an area hospital. Columbus police said 46-year-old Adrian Ashley, whose last known address was listed as being the streets of Columbus, is charged with murder. Around 1:50 p.m. Friday, Columbus police got a call about an assault outside the Kroger store located at 1350 N. High St. When officers arrived, they found Davis with severe head injuries. Columbus police officers secure the scene at a Kroger grocery store at 1350 N. High St. Officers responded to a report of a fight between two men. Court records show Ashley, who was arrested nearby, had beaten Davis with a skateboard during an argument between the two men. Davis was taken to an area hospital where he died at 12:15 p.m. Sunday from his injuries. Ashley was initially charged with felonious assault, but that charge has since been dismissed. He is scheduled to make his first appearance in Franklin County Municipal Court on Tuesday. Columbus police said they believe there were several people at the store who may have recorded the beating as it occurred. Detectives are looking to speak to those people about what they may have seen or caught on video. Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS. bbruner@gannett.com This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus man dies after being beaten with skateboard in outside Kroger Police resumed searching early Sunday for a man considered armed and dangerous after five people were shot along Interstate 75 in Southern Kentucky on Saturday, said Laurel County Sheriffs Office Deputy Gilbert Acciardo. No fatalities have been reported. Acciardo said the circumstances of the shooting were still under investigation. All five shooting victims were stable Saturday night. The shooter shot into a total of nine vehicles on both sides of the busy interstate, Acciardo said. Sunday morning, members of the London-Laurel County Rescue Squad were using a drone to help police search a wooded area near Exit 41 on the interstate in northern Laurel County where the shootings occurred, according to a release. Acciardo said police believe the gunman is still in the woods in that area, meaning he may have spent a chilly night outside. Police continued to block motorists from getting off the interstate at Exit 41 because of the potential danger. The interstate was closed in both directions between Mount Vernon and London for about three hours Saturday evening, but it reopened just before 9:30 p.m. Ky. 909 and U.S. 25 remained closed nine miles north of London in Laurel County as of 11 p.m. Saturday. Victim describes I-75 shooting in Kentucky. This man was out to kill. What we know and dont yet know about the shootings on I-75 in Kentucky The Laurel County Sheriffs Office identified Joseph A. Couch, 32, as a person of interest, saying in a Facebook post that he should be considered armed and dangerous, and the public should not attempt to approach him. If you have any information regarding the whereabouts or location on this individual please contact the London-Laurel County 911 Center by calling 911 or 606-878-7000, the sheriffs office said. The Laurel County Sheriffs Office said Joseph A. Couch, 32, is a person of interest in a shooting that occurred near Interstate 75 in the Exit 49/Ky. 909 area Saturday night. Couch is described as a white man standing about 5-foot-10 and weighing about 154 pounds. London Mayor Randall Weddle said authorities were searching for Couch in an area of northern Laurel County with rugged terrain and a lot of tree lines. While he said there was no immediate danger in the city of London, he asked people to be vigilant. Kentucky State Police Trooper Scottie Pennington said state police were notified at 6:36 p.m. that the interstate must be shut down. No law enforcement officers have been harmed. Three of the shooting victims were taken to CHI St. Joseph London, and two were taken to University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital, Acciardo said. CHI St. Joseph London issued a statement saying it had received multiple patients who were being treated for minor injuries. We are devastated by the events that occurred along Interstate 75 in Laurel County, Kentucky, Saturday night, CHI St. Joseph said in a statement. Were thinking of our friends and neighbors during this difficult time and praying for those who have been impacted. Gov. Andy Beshear said he was receiving updates from state police as well as the Office of Homeland Security. Together we are actively monitoring the situation and offering support in any way possible. Please pray for everyone involved, Beshear said in a post on the social media platform X. Both northbound and southbound lanes of I-75 were closed for hours Saturday between Exit 41 and Exit 59. So, too, was U.S. 25 nine miles north of London, as well as KY 909. Traffic was heavy in the area Saturday night, and motorists heading north on Interstate 75 south of the scene were being routed off the interstate toward Somerset. From there, they could get on the interstate in Mount Vernon. Members of Laurel Countys legislative delegation released a statement asking people to avoid the area. They also asked people who live near the scene to remain in their homes as local law enforcement and the Kentucky State Police work. As we continue to learn more about this attack, we ask for prayers for everyone involved, the victims, their families, and the first responders, the statement said. Without a doubt, this is an act of senseless violence that does not reflect the values of this community, our Commonwealth, or its people. The London Travel Plaza just off I-75 closed for safety reasons as a result of the shooting, and employees went to a windowless room. The business later let people in to use the bathroom and get gas. The manager stood out front with an AR-15 for a time. Nicola Pariseau, 44, of Atlanta, was headed south on I-75 when she got stopped at Mount Vernon because of the shooting. She sat for over an hour and 10 minutes and then detoured across Ky. 461 to near Somerset and then Ky. 80 to London to get back on the interstate. She said it was an inconvenience but she was glad to not be in danger. Im just getting really sick of hearing of all these active shooter situations, she said. She said there had been extra security at her childs school in Atlanta after the shooting in Georgia this week. Herald-Leader staff writer Valarie Honeycutt Spears contributed to this report. I am receiving initial reports from the Kentucky State Police and our Office of Homeland Security together we are actively monitoring the situation and offering support in any way possible. Please pray for everyone involved. ^AB Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) September 7, 2024 ATLANTA - On Sept. 11 and the days surrounding it, various memorial events will be held across the region to honor the victims and heroes of 9/11. From stair climbs to candlelight vigils, hikes, and ceremonies, these gatherings provide an opportunity to remember the lives lost and pay tribute to the bravery of first responders. Heres a list of some notable events happening in the area. Beyond the Call of Duty: 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony When: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 10 Where: Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road SW, South Fulton What: Join the City of South Fulton Police Department and the City of South Fulton Fire and Rescue Department to commemorate and honor a police officer and firefighter for their services to Emergency Response and selflessness within the City of South Fulton. More info 9/11 Memorial Beatdown When: 5 a.m., Sept. 11 Where: Jefferson High School Stadium, 575 Washington Street, Jefferson What: A stair climb to honor the first responders who answered the call in New York City on 9/11/2001. Hosted by F3 Smokies. More info 9/11 Memorial Hike When: 8 a.m., Sept. 11 Where: Stone Mountain Park What: A hike in remembrance of 9/11 at Stone Mountain Park. Participants are encouraged to wear a weighted vest or backpack for an added challenge. There will also be raffle prizes and a gathering after the hike at High Card Brewing. Hosted by the Atlanta FOOLS. More info 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb When: 8 a.m., Sept. 11 Where: Callaway Stadium, LaGrange What: The LaGrange Fire Department is hosting a memorial stair climb at Callaway Stadium. More info Sept. 11 Remembrance Ceremony When: 8 a.m. Sept. 11 Where: Stockbridge City Hall, 4640 N. Henry Blvd., Stockbridge What: The public ceremony is open to all members of the community and press. The City of Stockbridge Government has partnered with local schools, first responders and citizen groups to memorialize the victims who tragically lost their precious lives during the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Stonycreek Township in 2001. This year's remembrance ceremony marks the 23rd anniversary of the tragic day. More info 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony When: 8:15 a.m., Sept. 11 Where: Betty Mauldin Park, Norcross What: The ceremony begins with a moving tribute, followed by traditional bagpipe music. At 8:45 a.m., there will be a solemn ringing of the bell to honor the moment the first tower was struck. More info 9/11 Patriots' Day Ceremony When: 8:40 a.m., Sept. 11 Where: Watson Government Complex, 240 Constitution Boulevard, Dallas What: The Paulding County Sheriff's Office and Fire Department will hold a ceremony at Veterans Park honoring the men and women who gave their lives on 9/11. Special guests include representatives from the New York Police and Fire Departments (Retired New York Shields of Georgia). The ceremony will be led by the Paulding County Sheriffs Office and Fire Department Honor Guards. More info 9/11 Memorial Walk When: 9 a.m., Sept. 11 Where: Drake Field, 155 Willowbend Road, Peachtree City What: A memorial walk to remember those who lost their lives and honor the brave first responders. More info 9/11 Memorial Ceremony When: 11 a.m., Sept. 11 Where: Jason T. Harper Arena at Heritage Park, 95 Lake Dow Road, McDonough What: A solemn ceremony hosted by the Henry County government to pay tribute to the heroes, victims, and families affected by 9/11. More info 9/11: Inside the Pentagon When: 6 p.m., Sept. 11 Where: Scott Candler Library, DeKalb County What: Screening of the PBS documentary "9/11: Inside the Pentagon." More info 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb When: 6-8 p.m., Sept. 11 Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta What: Participate in the Atlanta 9/11 Stair Climb to honor the victims and first responders of 9/11. Registration required 9/11 Candlelight Vigil When: 7-8 p.m., Sept. 11 Where: Veteran's Memorial Park, Newnan What: A candlelight vigil to honor and remember the events of 9/11. Lawn chairs are welcome. Hosted by VFW Auxiliary Post 2667 and American Legion Post 57. More info 9/11 Heroes Run When: 9:11 a.m., Sept. 14 Where: Grant Park What: The 9/11 Heroes Run 5K invites runners, ruckers, and walkers of all ages and fitness levels to honor the heroes of 9/11. Includes a 5K run and ruck. Cost: Starts at $33 Registration required If you would like to submit an event for this list, send an email to wagaweb@fox.com. POTSDAM, N.Y. (WWTI)Canton-Potsdam Hospital has announced that it will host an Active Shooter Drill with multiple police agencies on Sunday, September 8. It will be conducted in the newly constructed wing of the Hospital and will not interfere with any of the patients in the Hospital. Patients and staff at Canton-Potsdam Hospital will not be in harms way during the Drill. During the Drill, the hospital is asking members of the public to refrain from gathering around Hospital grounds to watch any activity that may be taking place. 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 WWTI - InformNNY.com. Parts of a highway in Kentucky are closed due to an active shooter situation, authorities say (Laurel County Sheriffs Office) Numerous people have been shot near I-75 in Kentucky, according to authorities. Just after 6.30pm, the Laurel County Sheriffs Office announced that interstate highway at Exit 49 and US 25 nine miles north of London was closed due to an active shooter situation. The authorities added that numerous persons have been shot near the highway. The Independent has emailed a spokesperson for the sheriffs office for more information. The shooter is still at large, according to police. The Suspect has not been caught at this time we are urging people to stay inside!!We will try our best to get you as much information as it becomes available!! Kentucky State Police Trooper Scottie Pennington wrote on Facebook. The states governor Andy Beshear urged locals to avoid the area in a post on X: Kentucky, we are aware of a shooting on I-75 in Laurel County. Law enforcement has shut the interstate down in both directions at exit 49. Please avoid the area. We will provide more details once they are available. He added: Please pray for everyone involved. Southbound traffic is being diverted off at Exit 59, according to Mount Vernon Fire Department. Expect heavy congestion and delays in the area. Please avoid I-75 and US 25 if possible, and follow directions from law enforcement, fire department personnel and road signs for detours. This is a developing story. Kentucky shooter at large after wounding at least seven along highway Drivers park on the the lanes of the I-75 highway after reports of multiple people shot in Kentucky Drivers park on the the lanes of the I-75 highway after reports of multiple people shot in Kentucky By Rich McKay (Reuters) -Kentucky police were searching rugged terrain near a national forest for a suspect after at least seven people were wounded by gunfire while driving down the rural stretch of an interstate highway, officials said on Saturday evening. The incident began just before 6 p.m. (1000 GMT) about nine miles outside of the town of London, when officers responded to reports of gunshots directed at vehicles traveling on Interstate 75 in Laurel County. The shots came from a wooded area or an overpass, according to local media reports. Mayor Randall Weddle of London, a small city of about 8,000 near the Daniel Boone National Forest, about 90 miles (145 km) south of Lexington, said in a post on Facebook that seven people were injured, including some who were shot. He said there were no known fatalities. Police offered no further details about the number or nature of any casualties. Weddle asked everyone in the area to "keep your doors locked while this guy is on the loose." The shooting comes days after two students and two teachers were killed, and nine others wounded, at a high school in Winder, Georgia high school. A 14-year-old student and his father, suspected of giving his son access to the gun used in the shooting, were charged in the shootings, which took place soon after the school year opened. A stretch of highway near the Kentucky shootings was closed but later reopened even though the suspect was still at large. About three hours after the shooting, the Laurel County Sheriff's Office named a "person of interest" who it said was "armed and dangerous" and cautioned the public not to approach the 32-year-old man. "The suspect has not been caught at this time and we are urging people to stay inside," Trooper Scottie Pennington of the Kentucky State Police wrote on Facebook. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were called to assist the state police and local law enforcement, the federal agency posted on X, calling it a "critical incident." (Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; additional reporting by David G. Morgan; Editing by Frank McGurty and Sonali Paul) Numerous people shot near I-75 in Kentucky; Police identify person of interest UPDATE @ 1:23 a.m.: As of three hours ago, both north and southbound lanes of I-75 in Kentucky have been reopened. The search for the suspect, identified as Joseph Couch continues, according to the London Police Department. UPDATE: The London Police Department has identified Joseph A. Couch, 32, as a person of interest in the shooting. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] TRENDING STORIES: Couch is a white male, approximately 5 feet and 10 inches tall, and weighs approximately 154 pounds. He is considered armed and dangerous. Anyone who may see Couch is advised not to approach him. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of this man contact the London-Laurel County 911 Center. Joseph Couch INITIAL REPORT: Interstate 75 is closed in Kentucky due to an active shooter situation, according to the Laurel County Sheriffs Office. The sheriffs office said numerous people have been shot near I-75 exit 49 in Kentucky. The Brodhead Fire Department posted to social media saying all southbound traffic is being diverted off the interstate at exit 59 and all northbound traffic is being diverted at exit 41. No traffic is currently being allowed on I-75 northbound or southbound between Exit 59 and exit 49, the department said. The department asks drivers to avoid the area and follow directions from law enforcement and fire personnel. This story is developing. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] On the agenda: Salem City Council holds hearing on housing development changes The Salem City Council will hold a public hearing during its regular Monday meeting over proposed changes to the city's housing development codes. The code amendments aim to promote housing development and help the city comply with new state laws. The proposed amendments include: Streamlining the approval process for housing and mixed-use developments by allowing adjustments for mixed-use projects in certain areas like the West Salem Central Business District and allowing adjustments for special use standards for housing. Allowing more housing options like accessory dwelling units with townhouses and the conversion of existing commercial buildings into housing. Updating standards for housing developments to allow for middle housing in smaller lots in multifamily zones and establishing and increasing minimum densities. Following the public hearing, council will hear a first reading of the ordinance bill and vote on whether to advance to a second reading. Other Salem City Council agenda items A vote on a resolution updating the citys Civil Rights Act Title VI plan to uphold antidiscrimination measures consistent with federal law. State law requires the city to update the plan every three years. A budget transfer of $10,000 from the General Fund for community engagement to understand residents' priorities for city services. The engagement is being done as the council works to consider revenue actions such as a property tax to support public safety services. A vote on authorizing the city manager to apply for two Critical Oregon Airport Relief grants to support federally funded capital improvements at the Salem-Willamette Valley Airport. A vote on authorizing the city manager to apply for U.S. Department of Transportation funding for the replacement of culverts on the west fork of Pringle Creek near the McGilchrist projects. The National Culvert Removal, Replacement, and Restoration grant program makes federal funds available to local governments, for the replacement, removal and repair of culverts that would meaningfully improve or restore fish passage for migrating fish. A vote on authorizing the city manager to settle a claim against the city and pay a $142,637 settlement to a couple whose home flooded due to work performed by city crews. A proclamation declaring September National Senior Center Month. A proclamation declaring September Hispanic Heritage Month. A proclamation promoting the Salem Art Fair. How to participate in the Salem City Council meeting The meeting is at 6 p.m. It will be held in person in the City Council Chambers at the Salem Civic Center, 555 Liberty St. SE, and can be watched on Comcast Cable CCTV Channel 21 or on the Salem YouTube channel in English/American Sign Language and Spanish. Those wishing to comment in person can sign up on the rosters at the chamber entrance before the start of the meeting. Written public comments on agenda items can be emailed by 5 p.m. Monday to cityrecorder@cityofsalem.net. Or preregister between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday at cityofsalem.net/Pages/Public-Comment-at-Salem-City-Council-Meeting.aspx to speak during the meeting via Zoom. For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on X at @wmwoodworth This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem council holds hearing on housing development changes TUSCALOOSA COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency reports its troopers were in a vehicle pursuit involving a 15-year-old driver that started in Cherokee County and ended in Tuscaloosa County on Saturday. The ALEA stated the pursuit started around 7:20 a.m. Saturday when a Centre police officer attempted to stop a Nissan Armada. The driver of the Armada did not stop, leading to a police pursuit. The pursuit went south on U.S. 411 before continuing onto I-59. The Armada hit two civilian vehicles in Jefferson County. The pursuit concluded in Tuscaloosa County when the Armada left the road, striking a fence and building while exiting I-59 at mile marker 77. The Armadas driver fled on foot, but an ALEA trooper apprehended them. Pelham school resource officer placed on administrative leave following allegations The ALEA noted no one was injured during the pursuit, and police did not use any force. Several law enforcement agencies responded to the pursuit spanning five counties. The 15-year-old driver of the Armada from New Market, Tennessee, was taken to the Tuscaloosa County Juvenile Detention Center. The teenager is charged with felony eluding. Troopers with the ALEAs Highway Patrol Division are investigating the circumstances surrounding the pursuit. 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 CBS 42. ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian presidential candidate Abdelaali Hassani Cherif's campaign said in a statement on Sunday that it had recorded cases of violations in the country's Saturday presidential election, initial results of which have yet to be announced. The campaign said the violations included putting pressure on some polling station officials to inflate the results, failure to deliver vote-sorting records to the candidates' representatives, and instances of proxy group voting. Algerians voted on Saturday in an election in which military-backed President Abdulmadjid Tebboune is widely expected to win a second term. (Reporting by Lamine Chikhi, Writing by Ahmed Elimam, Editing by Hugh Lawson) Algeria's incumbent President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, 78, has won a second term in office with 94.65 percent of the vote in the country's presidential election (-) (-/ALGERIAN PRESIDENCY FACEBOOK PAGE/AFP) Algeria's incumbent President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has been re-elected with almost 95 percent of the vote, the country's electoral authority ANIE said Sunday. More than 5.3 million people voted for Tebboune, accounting for "94.65 percent of the vote", ANIE head Mohamed Charfi told reporters. Tebboune, 78, was heavily favoured to secure a five-year second term in the race against moderate Islamist Abdelaali Hassani, 57, who took 3.17 percent of the vote, and socialist candidate Youcef Aouchiche, 41, who won 2.16 percent. While Tebboune's re-election was certain, his main focus was boosting voter participation in Saturday's poll after a record abstention rate of over 60 percent in 2019. That year, Tebboune became president after widely boycotted elections and mass pro-democracy protests from 2019 that died out under his tenure as policing ramped up and hundreds were put in jail. More than 24 million Algerians were registered to vote, but ANIE didn't say how many people in total had turned out to cast their ballot on Saturday. French President Emmanuel Macron sent his "warmest congratulations" in a statement late Sunday. Highlighting the "exceptional relationship" between the nations despite frequent tensions, he added: "Dialogue between our two countries is essential." -'Masquerade'- After polling stations closed on Saturday, ANIE announced an "average" turnout rate of 48 percent, calling the figure "provisional". In an unprecedented move, however, all three campaigns -- including Tebboune's -- issued a joint statement late Sunday alleging "irregularities" in ANIE's results, adding they wanted to make the public aware of "vagueness and contradictions in the participation figures". Hassani's campaign had earlier said the turnout figure was "strange" and denounced attempts to "inflate the results". It also said it had recorded "instances of proxy group voting". In a video posted on Facebook, the campaign's head, Ahmed Sadouk, said the election results were a "masquerade", disputing the turnout announced by ANIE. He said "the results undermine the elections and tarnish the image of the country". "The president has been keen to have a significant turnout," Hasni Abidi, an Algeria analyst at the Geneva-based CERMAM Study Center, told AFP. "It's his main issue." Tebboune's win Sunday was "a victory that looks like a warning", Abidi said, pointing to the incumbent's failure to win over young people, who represent half of Algeria's 45-million-strong population. As a result, Abidi added, the re-elected president has been "weakened". All three candidates had courted the youth vote with promises to improve living standards and reduce dependence on hydrocarbons. After voting in Algiers Saturday morning, Tebboune did not mention turnout, unlike Aouchiche who called for an end to the "boycott" and Hassani who said more voters would make the election "credible". - 'Divorced' from politics - "We want this election to result in a real change... a change for the better," said voter Hassane Boudaoud, 52. Two women, Taous Zaiedi, 66, and Leila Belgaremi, 42, said they were voting to "improve the country". Ibrahim Sendjak Eddine, a day labourer, said Algerians "are looking for stability, job opportunities, work and housing". Tebboune had touted economic successes during his first term, including more jobs and higher wages in Africa's largest exporter of natural gas. Although Algeria's economy has grown at an annual rate of about four percent over the past two years, it remains heavily dependent on oil and gas to fund its social programmes. Tebboune had also pledged to create 450,000 jobs if re-elected. The president should now address the major deficit in political and media freedoms, with Algerians having "divorced current politics" after the so-called Hirak protests ended, analyst Abidi said. Amnesty International said earlier this week Algerian authorities were continuing to "stifle civic space by maintaining a severe repression of human rights". Five years after the Hirak protest movement, Algeria has seen "new arbitrary arrests", while authorities maintain "a zero tolerance approach to dissenting opinions", it said. Dozens remain behind bars or are still being prosecuted due to their activism, according to prisoners' rights group CNLD. bur-jj/smw/fox PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) The Peoria County Sheriffs Office said Sunday morning that they have still not located an Ohio man who is accused of stealing a rental car that had a 3-year-old child inside. A Facebook post on the sheriffs office page said Victor Farris has not been located as of this morning. We have followed up on numerous possible sightings throughout Peoria County all weekend but none of them were confirmed to be Farris. We are not aware of any ties that Farris has to the area. Sheriffs identifies man who stole car with boy inside, search continues Farris, 45, allegedly took a Kia SUV from an Enterprise Rent-A-Car facility off Pioneer Parkway on Wednesday morning. A 3-year-old boy was inside and for the next 30 minutes, officers throughout the area looked for him and the child, who was left at a gas station on Airport Road. He was unharmed and has been returned to his family. Then, on Thursday, he was allegedly spotted near the Rock Island Trail between Dunlap and Princeville. When deputies made contact with Farris he fled. Since then, deputies and others have been looking for him, both on foot and in the air with drones and with aircraft. Three days later, he remains at large, the sheriffs office said. The post also addressed Farris arrest in Aug. 31 in Woodford County where he was found sleeping in a car, allegedly stolen from a Hertz rental car facility in Indianapolis. When he was arrested in Woodford County it appears he was just passing through the area. We appreciate the possible sighting calls and please continue to do so just in case he is still in the area. Farris has since been indicted by a Woodford County grand jury on two counts of DUI and one count of possession of a stolen vehicle. He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted. Farris is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 10 to be arraigned on those charges if hes in custody. 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 CIProud.com. By Bruno Kelly HUMAITA, Brazil (Reuters) - Water levels in the rivers that run through the vast Amazon rainforest have been falling, after a record drought followed by less rain, presenting unprecedented challenges for the Ribeirinhos people living there. With rivers becoming more difficult to navigate and water too dirty to consume, many of the traditional rural population who live on river banks have been relying on outside supplies of drinking water. Francisca das Chagas da Silva, a resident, said older people in particular have struggled because they needed to walk much further to get water. "We have to carry it from the riverbanks to our homes," she said. The Ribeirinhos usually get water directly from rivers or have connected systems - but these means of supply fail when water levels drop so dramatically. Now, many residents rely on non-governmental organizations or the state government for drinking water. Joao Ferreira Mendonca, a community leader, said the river bank was about 800 meters (0.5 miles) away from some homes, a long distance for an older person or one with health problems. "Now imagine a person in the hot sun, people with high blood pressure, doing this journey," he said. The Brazilian Geological Service, SGB, has warned in recent days that all rivers in the Amazon basin were expected to drop below their historical levels. Ribeirinhos usually live on river banks in pile dwellings - from where they move with motor boats. Rosicleia Gomes Vieira, another resident, said life in general was becoming much more isolated because the low water levels make navigation more difficult and impossible to carry produce to the city. Other than the rivers, which have long been the main way of transport for residents, there is only a long dirt road that cuts through the dense rainforest. In Brazil, where wildfires have also occurred, the low water levels are also hitting soy and corn shipments in center-west states such as Mato Grosso, Brazil's number one grains growing area. (Reporting by Bruno Kelly in Humaita and Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia; Writing by Stefanie Eschenbacher; editing by Diane Craft) Americans used to unite over tragic events and now are divided by them Tragedy seldom unifies Americans today. Every year, horrific crises induce tremendous suffering. Most are privately tragic, affecting only those directly harmed and their immediate relations. A small number, though, become politically notorious and, therefore, publicly tragic. Natural disasters, school shootings, terrorist attacks and economic crises can become public tragedies. Sexual assaults primarily of women by abusive executives and other men in positions of power recently emerged as a public tragedy, as has police brutality against African Americans, which has sown political unrest across the United States. Even the COVID-19 pandemic, a seemingly natural disaster, quickly transitioned into a public tragedy as deaths mounted and a pervasive sense of mismanagement, distrust and blame galvanized the public on the political left and right. Events like these represent a change in how tragic circumstances are cast and how they are responded to in the United States and beyond. Public tragedies are heartrending events that gain widespread public attention. They involve stylized public expressions of shock, outrage, social blame, claims of victimization, protest and memorialization. My book, After Tragedy Strikes, explores the recent proliferation of public tragedies as a distinctive kind of political crisis that has produced far-reaching positive and negative effects on social and political relations in the 21st century. As a sociologist who studies risk, politics and social movements, I didnt set out to evaluate the authenticity of claims made in public tragedies. Rather, through comparison, my goal was to understand better why some of these events exert tremendous influence, while other, objectively similar, traumas do not. Public tragedies have contributed to the increasing political polarization and the sectarian tone of political rhetoric today. One question I sought to answer in my book is why? In America: Remember, a 2021 art installation of more than 660,000 flags on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., commemorating Americans who died due to COVID-19. Drew Angerer/Getty Images Old way: God, fate, bad luck The short answer is that the publics understanding of tragic events has changed. Well into the 20th century, tragedies were mostly explained differently than now. Explanations often referenced forces such as God, fate, bad luck, blameless accidents or, in line with the U.S. liberal political tradition, individual responsibility. Even when suffering was extreme and known to have been caused or worsened by the actions or omissions of other persons, explanations of what caused it typically took these forms. Take Pennsylvanias Johnstown Flood of 1889, in which more than 2,200 people and much of the city were swept away by a deluge after a dam failed. The wealthy South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club had built the dam to create a private lake. Despite the failure due to poor construction and maintenance, neither the club nor its wealthy members would be held responsible. In the most prominent legal case brought against the club, the final verdict attributed the tragic deaths and destruction to an act of God. Today, this explanation would be indefensible. New way: government, industry, culture After a tragedy, accounts now focus on assigning blame. I found that they also typically center on social blame, in which societal institutions such as the government, industry, civil society and even American culture are held responsible. Social blame attributes harm to social forces, not individuals or God. And because some group or aspect of society is blamed, public tragedies involve political conflict. Another reason public tragedies have become so politically consequential lies in a change in the contemporary American mindset. Polls show that many Americans are experiencing fear and a deep sense of vulnerability to circumstances that feel beyond their control. This mindset inspires sympathy for victims of tragic circumstance, especially when the harms they suffer are portrayed by political elites, the media and social activists as reflecting political failure and an unfair society. Political interests on both the left and right now routinely use claims of victimization to gain support and advantage. George Floyds murder: A public tragedy Take the story of George Floyd, killed in 2020 by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Floyds murder provoked nationwide outrage as video footage of it circulated first on social media and then through sustained news media coverage. The news and social media story of Floyds death emphasized his innocence: As a Black man, he had suffered an unjustified death at the hands of the police. This representation was unusual at the time. Standard coverage of such killings often focused on resistance to arrest, prior indiscretions or the victims criminal record, which implies individual responsibility. Stories regarding Floyds death did not emphasize these elements. Nor did the stories suggest Floyds death was a necessary part of police fighting crime another common feature of news accounts. Nor did stories emphasize that Chauvin was a rogue cop, which would have suggested his killing of Floyd was his responsibility alone. Rather, the initial stories connected Floyds killing to police violence across the country, suggesting it was a common police behavior. Thus, Floyds murder was quickly blamed on policing, gaining enormous public sympathy and notoriety and, with this, political significance. It became a public tragedy, highlighting a set of societal conditions surrounding Floyds death in a way that few police killings of Black men had achieved. The Johnstown Flood disaster in Pennsylvania on May 31, 1889, killed over 2,200 people after the South Fork Dam failed, causing 20 million tons of water to destroy the town. Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images Good people brought low In the past, Americans might have attributed Floyds killing to fate, bad luck, accident or his individual responsibility, which might have weakened public outrage. Yet explanations of this kind are not as believable as they once were. Instead, the heartrending stories characteristic of public tragedies follow a routine storyline I call the trauma script. It is a stylized rendering that taps into American fears and vulnerabilities and prompts emotional response and moral panic. The script centers on innocent victims harmed by unforeseeable, uncontrollable and unwarranted circumstances blamed on the actions or omissions of society. In this telling, public tragedies convey a moral struggle in which good people are brought low by a bad society. This tragic struggle is not internal and personal but external and socially focused. Its a scenario in which bad things happen to good people who have no choice. The public perception of trauma and loss and its underlying causes has, therefore, changed over time. In an earlier era, Americans often justified hardship because it reflected the sacrifice necessary to get ahead. Now, a shift in sentiment reflects a change in view. Americans now focus on unjustified hardship caused by society. This reflects a cultural shift from a progress-centered worldview toward a risk-focused one. Victimhood as a political identity As Americans have become more aware of risks, they increasingly view them as reflecting political choices. Whether the issue is climate change, energy sources, guns, sexual harassment, discrimination, policing, abortion or even free speech, these are now understood as involving decisions regarding risks that will benefit some and victimize others. Politically, these have become zero-sum disputes, leading to political polarization among Americans and social distrust of American institutions. Recent Pew surveys show that two-thirds of Americans believe other Americans have little or no confidence in the government or other citizens. Gallup, too, has shown that American confidence in the government and other major societal institutions has fallen to historic lows. Growing American distrust of their fellow citizens and perception of an unfair government have also intensified political competition. Americans increasingly blame their political rivals for their hardships and show compassion only toward those who share their beliefs. This shift has also cultivated sympathy for claims of societal victimization and elevated victimhood as a political identity. These conditions are the context within which public tragedies, as polarizing not unifying political events, have proliferated. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Thomas D. Beamish, University of California, Davis Read more: Thomas D. Beamish does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. An angel gets her swings; volunteers build play set for child battling cancer VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) Volunteers gathered on Saturday to help surprise a little girl fighting cancer with a new play area. 5-year-old Lilah was diagnosed back in March. The Chartway Promise Foundation and Chartway Credit Union gathered their volunteers and trudged through the rain to help build a new playground in Lilahs backyard. Chartway teamed up with the ROC Solid Foundation to make the surprise possible. Courtesy: Chartway Credit Union Courtesy: Chartway Credit Union Courtesy: Chartway Credit Union Courtesy: Chartway Credit Union Despite her battle with cancer, Lilah was no quitter as she jumped in on the action to help assemble the parts. While angels may get their wings, Lilah finally got her swings. Continue to check WAVY.com for updates. 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 WAVY.com. Another sales tax increase in Gig Harbor? Heres why the City Council is considering it Sales taxes in Gig Harbor might increase again next year. The 0.1% sales tax increase or 1/10 of a penny, which equates to 10 cents more on every $100 purchase under consideration by City Council would bring in about $1 million for street maintenance, which the city says is underfunded. If approved at the councils Sept. 23 meeting, that would bring the total sales tax in Gig Harbor to 9.1% in 2025 after voters passed a different 0.1% sales tax increase in the Aug. 6 primary to fund police and public safety services. It would become effective Jan. 1, 2025 and expire in 10 years. The proposed tax increase doesnt require a public vote, per Washington state law: 0.1% of the total 0.3% sales tax that local governments can impose may be enacted by a majority vote of the governing board, according to the Municipal Research and Services Center. That makes it different from other measures Gig Harbor voters saw on their ballots earlier this year, like the public safety sales tax and a levy lid lift proposal that failed in April. The public can comment at the first reading of the proposed ordinance Sept. 9. What maintenance would the revenue pay for? The proposed tax increase would be applied to the existing Transportation Benefit District established by the city in 2018 and would be used to fund street maintenance. Gig Harbor City Administrator Katrina Knutson told The News Tribune on Friday that the city is supposed to perform pavement maintenance every year but has done so less than half the time over the last decade. When roads are not properly maintained, you start to see things like potholes or uneven surfaces that can lead to unfortunate incidents such as car damage, Knutson said. The city doesnt have a direct source of revenue for street maintenance, according to the citys Aug. 23 Gig-a-Byte newsletter. Delayed road maintenance leads to a decrease in public safety, higher insurance claims/costs, and higher material and labor costs, the newsletter said. The city estimates $2.5 million is needed each year for proper road maintenance. That is based on the number of roads Gig Harbor has and the cost of materials, according to Knutson. Because the city has deferred road maintenance for much of the last 10 years, theres a backlog of high-priority projects it hasnt gotten to. Knutson estimated the cost to complete those projects is $6.5 million, based on road surveys done by the citys engineers. For the citys next two-year budget cycle, the following streets require pavement maintenance and ADA improvements: Harborview Drive, from Pioneer Way to Stinson Avenue 38th Avenue, from city limits to 41st Street Soundview Drive, from Hollycroft Street to Magnolia Lane Point Fosdick Drive, at Briarwood Lane Stinson Avenue, from Pioneer Way to Grandview Street Borgen Boulevard, from Peacock Hill Avenue to Burnham Drive Every two years, there will be additional roads that need to be analyzed, according to Knutson. The city is working on a system to allow the public to see how the pavement is being ranked and scored by the engineers who survey the citys roads and their structural integrity. It should be available sometime next year, she said. Is this tax separate from existing Transportation Benefit District tax? Voters passed a 0.2% sales tax to fund Gig Harbors Transportation Benefit District in 2019, but the use of the revenue is restricted to funding capital improvements. That includes projects like building new roads and realigning roads. It cant go toward sidewalk or Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-related improvements, according to Knutson. The new ordinance would remove that restriction for Transportation Benefit District funds and introduce the additional 0.1% sales tax dedicated solely to road maintenance and operations costs. According to an agenda bill from the Aug. 15 study session, the city is recommending that $750,000 of the $1 million revenue generated from the 0.1% sales tax each year go into an Annual Pavement Maintenance Fund, and that the remaining $250,000 go toward street operations staff and their regular work in support of full street operations (patching, street lights, curbs, gutters, street sweeping, street striping, signage, etc). Currently, the city transfers general fund revenue to its Street Operating Fund, which pays for operation and maintenance costs not covered by the 0.2% Transportation Benefit District tax, according to the agenda bill. Transportation Benefit District funds can collect for a few years before being spent. According to the agenda bill, over $6 million in TBD funds are earmarked for upcoming capital projects. Knutson said that most road projects are in the tens of millions, and the city needs to save up for a few years to spend that amount on large projects. How will this factor into the citys budget? The nearly $1 million in annual revenue from the proposed sales tax increase wont be enough to pay for the citys necessary road maintenance. The city also is considering a business-and-occupation (B&O) tax to help fill that gap as well as pay for other general city services, according to Knutson. The council will make a decision on the B&O tax before the end of the year, she said. The amount of the tax hasnt been set, pending council consideration. Revenue from the B&O tax would go toward the citys general fund, out of which money could be drawn for road maintenance. Knutson said that the city listened to residents who expressed concern about their property taxes increasing and rejected the proposed levy lid lift earlier this year. The city is looking at the Transportation Benefit District as another component of funding to ensure financial sustainability of the city long-term without raising property taxes, she said. The News Tribune previously reported that the city was anticipating a budget deficit to the tune of $2-3 million a year starting in 2026 and was taking preventative measures. The city saved $100,000 a year by eliminating its federal lobbyist and $1.5 million in the 2023-2024 biennium by freezing nine general fund positions. It also deferred several projects and made several internal processes more efficient. The deficit is due to several factors including a drop in revenue from permits and development costs and rising costs to accommodate Gig Harbors growing population, The News Tribune reported. The public safety sales tax passed in August will help address staffing shortages in the Gig Harbor Police Department, Police Chief Kelly Busey previously told The News Tribune. The department had 23 positions filled at the time and wanted to get the number up to 26, but intended to take a broad view of the citys resources after Aug. 6, The News Tribune reported. Busey told The News Tribune on Aug. 22 that the department now has two officers in training and one in the background phase, and plans to add an administrative lieutenant soon. Another School Shooting and an $8 Million Bid to Stop Them This is our biweekly briefing on the latest school safety news, vetted by Mark Keierleber. Subscribe here. Its once again a harrowing week in America, as the nation grapples with yet another mass school shooting the 218th documented campus gunfire incident this year, according to a tally by the folks at the K-12 School Shooting Database. Two students and two teachers were killed in Wednesdays attack at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, the latest victims in a campus firearm death toll thats surged in the last few years. During a campaign stop hours after the attack, Vice President Kamala Harris called the incident a senseless tragedy, on top of so many senseless tragedies. Weve got to stop it. Building leaders for 2050 Six and a half years after David Hogg survived one the nations deadliest campus shootings at his Parkland, Florida, high school, his latest campaign to bolster the countrys gun laws has drawn major support from deep-pocketed donors and Democratic Party bigwigs. Hogg co-founded Leaders We Deserve, a political action committee thats raised more than $8 million in the past year to help elect young Democrats who support gun control, abortion and other progressive causes. My analysis of Federal Election Commission filings and the PACs digital ads offers insight into how Hogg has leveraged the trauma and lessons of surviving Parkland to create a well-connected operation to influence state and national elections across the country in November. Leaders We Deserve has already claimed some electoral wins for candidates in Virginia and deep-red Texas. But the effort, former education secretary and PAC adviser Arne Duncan told me, is much bigger than the upcoming high-stakes presidential election. Its about building the next generation of Democratic lawmakers. Thats what Davids play is about, Duncan said. Its not about, Were going to change the entire world tomorrow, but its, Can we plant a whole bunch of amazing seeds, nurture them, develop them, support them and see what happens. Read the full analysis here More on the Georgia shooting They lost their lives: The victims are two 14-year-old students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, and math teachers Christina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall. | The New York Times The perp: A 14-year-old student accused of carrying out the attack was taken into custody and will be charged with murder as an adult. | Athens Banner-Herald The police response: Minutes after the shooting was reported, two school resource officers and other law enforcement arrived on scene. One of the school-based cops confronted the shooter, who was armed with an AR 15-style rifle, and forced his surrender. | CNN An emergency alert system created by the security vendor Centegix was credited with alerting first responders to the shooting. The system includes a lanyard with a button that teachers can push to report danger. | WABE Police interviewed the alleged gunman and his father more than a year ago, after the FBI received several tips about someone threatening to shoot up a school on the social media platform Discord. The father stated he had hunting guns in the house, but the subject did not have unsupervised access to them, according to the federal agency. The subject denied making the threats online. | Federal Bureau of Investigation/USA Today Just months after an unprecedented parental conviction in Michigan, Georgia prosecutors allege the fathers actions led to the mass school shooting | The 74 The shooter purportedly had a keen interest in past school shootings, most notably the 2018 attack in Parkland. | The New York Times The big picture: This Georgia school shooting was, in many ways, a repeat of past tragedies. The most common scenario is a surprise attack during morning classes committed by a current student who is allowed to be inside the school. | K-12 School Shooting Database Sign-up for the School (in)Security newsletter. Get the most critical news and information about students' rights, safety and well-being delivered straight to your inbox. In other news California lawmakers passed a first-in-the-nation bill that would prohibit schools from serving food with artificial color additives that officials have linked to hyperactivity and other behavioral effects in children. | Chemical & Engineering News A 33-year-old Latvian hacker has been extradited to the U.S. on charges of being a key player in the cybercrime group Karakurt, which has launched wide-scale ransomware attacks on K-12 schools. | The Cyber Express Four states suing the Education Department over new rules to protect LGBTQ+ kids from discrimination have a substantial likelihood that they will prevail on the merits, according to a federal appeals court. | K-12 Dive Meanwhile, the Justice Department and 16 states have weighed in on a lawsuit that charges a Georgia book ban targeting LGBTQ+ literature is unconstitutional. | The Guardian Nearly 4,000 dangerous instruments including almost 300 weapons were seized at New York Citys public schools last year. Dangerous instruments is a weird way to say stuff like box cutters and pepper spray. | New York Post Despite school discipline reform efforts, racial disparities in student suspensions persist. | The Associated Press After six people were killed in a Nashville school shooting last year, Tennessee lawmakers passed zero-tolerance rules mandating a one-year expulsion for students who threaten mass violence at school. As a result, students are being expelled for mildly disruptive behavior, ProPublica reported, even when officials found the threat was not credible. | ProPublica ICYMI @The74 Emotional Support Mika, The 74 editor Nicole Ridgways pup companion, found a comfy spot on the beach to soak in some of summers final rays. STROMSBURG Primitive Chicks is a destination for authentic, original and unique antiques and decor. Located on the north side of town square in Stromsburg, Primitive Chicks shares a location in a beautiful historic building with 4th Street Coffee. Long-time friends and owners Pam Kramer and Dawn Anderson worked with coffee shop owner Shelli Berck of Stromsburg to share the space. Berck "wanted to add retail to the front part of her building and that started our conversation of opening our store, Kramer said. The name and overall theme of the store came easy with a common interest. We wanted to have a catchy name that would capture the store's style and that we would be able to carry through in our marketing, Kramer said. Dawn and I have shared a love of primitive antiques for a long time and both love decorating our homes with them. Primitive antiques fall into a small niche of antiques, which typically include utilitarian items from the late 1700s into the 1800s. "When you think of primitive antiques you think of wood buckets, wood bowls, gathering baskets, pie safes and all things pine wood. We had had some conversations of taking our love for primitives and sharing it with others as a business. If You Go Primitive Chicks' hours are Monday-Friday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and 7 a.m. to noon on Saturday. If neither Pam Kramer and Dawn Anderson are available when you stop by, 4th Street Coffee House will complete your transactions. Finding new inventory has become part of the fun. For Kramer, it has become a part of their family trips. My husband Steve and I enjoy taking antiquing trips out East while we visit family. We have found some really interesting places to pick up early antiques. Dawn and I each have our own inventory that we add to the store which adds a nice variety. New items come from wholesalers that specialize in our store's style, Kramer said. If you see it, and love it, you will find a place for it in your home. Anderson explained on what she looks for to add to their inventory. Anderson travels to Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa and Colorado to find her treasures. She said she looks for authentic pieces and not generic pieces available at any retail store. I really like pieces with history the weirder the better, Anderson said. Anderson continued, One of my most favorite things is a set of drawers that is made out of sardine cans that was missing one drawer. I went to a garage sale here in Stromsburg and looked into a pile of stuff that was 25 cents a piece and here was a sardine can of the same brand. Which I obviously purchased and then added an antique old school knob that matched the others I still have it. Since opening in June 2015, they have expanded to include new decor and floral from various vendors that fits well with the primitive antiques. Other offerings are some handcrafted items including candles, earrings, wood beads and seasonal items. Being on this years Nebraska Passport destination list has been a positive experience for Primitive Chicks. The Passport Program has been an awesome experience. We have had a lot of foot traffic in the store and met lots of neat people, Kramer said. Throughout the year, Primitive Chicks have seasonal open houses in the Spring and Fall and have a special Christmas Reveal event towards the end of October. STATE FAIR PHOTOS: A trip to the Sheep Barn Photos from the Sheep Barn, including youngsters from Friend and Shickley, at the Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island. All smiles Barrett McKay, 6, of Ericson is all smiles as he leaves the sheep show pen at the Nebraska State Fair on Friday, Aug. 30. McKay and Diane Bock Babydoll sheep Barrett McKay, 6, and his babysitter, Diane Bock, both of Ericson, pose after showing babydoll sheep at the Nebraska State Fair on Friday, Aug A trip to the Sheep Barn A trip to the Sheep Barn at the Nebraska State Fair. Showing sheep From left, Jackie Swartzendruber, her daughter Lynley Swartzendruber, 18, Barrett McKay, 6, and Diane Bock show babydoll sheep at the Nebraska 80s sheep Wearing a purple leotard and leg warmers, this sheep is channeling the 80s. Getting gussied up Addison Foutch, 14, of Friend, helps Tina look her best at a grooming station in the Sheep Barn at the Nebraska State Fair on Friday, Aug. 30. Sheep Barn A sheep stands ready to get down from the grooming station. Getting gussied up Tina the sheep enjoys the grooming work by Addison Foutch, 14, of Friend. Sheep Meredith Jindra, 2, of Friend enjoys herself while interacting with a sheep at the Nebraska State Fair on Friday, Aug. 30. Off to the Avenue of Breeds Dallas Henry of Blue Hill, left, and Corey Aorth of Blair get a pair of sheep ready to take to the Avenue of Breeds at the Nebraska State Fair Lilac Lilac was named grand champion babydoll southdown ewe at the Nebraska State Fair. She's owned by Jackie Swartzendruber and daughter Lynley, 18 Getting gussied up Addison Foutch of Friend grooms Tina the sheep. Lilac Jackie Swartzendruber and daughter Lynley, 18, both of Shickley, pose with Lilac, their grand champion babydoll southdown ewe in the Sheep Bar Doggos A pair of pups take a look out of a pen in the Sheep Barn at the Nebraska State Fair. Sheep Meredith Jindra, 2, of Friend pokes some straw through the pen to feed a sheep. Sheep Meredith isn't as thrilled when the sheep isn't at the gate. Lilac Lilac was all smiles after her win. This weekend, communities across Winder are honoring the13 people shot during the Apalachee High School attack in different ways. The memorial around the schools flagpole grew Saturday, and families showed up to drop off flowers and pay respects throughout the day and night. Some chose to visit a second memorial growing near the Winder City Pavilion. Mason Schermerhorns neighbors gathered for a private vigil Saturday evening. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Cristina Irimies friends said they plan to wear traditional Romanian clothing to church Sunday. She was a dance teacher there. She was a proud Romanian, and then a proud Romanian American, said Gabrielle Buth. Buth said when Irimie moved here from Romania in 1996, she was a professional folkloric dancer. She ended up landing a job as an accountant. In 2013, she went to the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega Campus. By 2014, she was a math teacher. She was very smart. God, she was brilliant, " said Buth. RELATED STORIES: Irimie considered her students her children. The night before she died, Buth said Irimie baked a cake and brought it to the classroom the next day with pizza. She wanted to celebrate her birthday with the kids. And she never came home, said Buth. Irimies husband was not ready to talk publicly this weekend. He said, The only thing I want is if someone can bring her back to me, said Buth. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Friends are hoping to raise money to ease his financial burden during the grieving process. Buth said she considered Irimie family, like an aunt. Cristina was a woman with a big heart and a good soul, said Buth. She was a real warrior, but not with a sword, but her soul. IN RELATED NEWS: Nearly 150 ancient tombs were discovered within the grounds of the Guangzhou Zoo in South Chinas Guangdong Province. Experts believe the burial grounds span at least 2,100 years, evidencing a well-planned cemetery system. Two tombs, one from the Jing Dynasty and one from the Southern Dynasty, are particularly of interest for further research thanks to their condition. When one goes to a zoo, the expectation is to see wild and exotic animals from across the globe. And thats true of the Guangzhou Zoo in South Chinas Guangdong Province. However, visitors might also come across millennia-old burial tombs for humansnot exactly the standard wildlife park residents. Since the start of the original 1956 construction on the the Guangzhou Zoo, archaeologists have excavated roughly 500 ancient tombs across over 30 locations on the zoos grounds. But over the course of a few months spanning April to July of this year, they made a sizable addition to the record. Archaeologists discovered an additional 148 tombs across the zoo, according to a report from the Xinhua News Agency. The recently uncovered tombs each date back to a wide range of Chinese history. Some are from the Han Dynasty, which lasted from roughly 206 BC to 220 AD, and some are barely over a century old, coming from the years following the founding of more modern Chinese leadership in the early 1900s. Discovered during a zoo construction project, the 14,000-square-foot area features four Han Dynasty tombs, eight tombs from both the Jin and Southern dynasty, 15 Tang Dynasty tombs, and 121 from the more recent Ming and Qing dynasties. There were two tombs that excited the archaeological team, one from the Jin Dynasty, which stretched from about 265 to 420 AD, and another from the Southern Dynasty, which lasted from 420 to 589 AD. The well-preserved Eastern Jin tomb include a 33-foot-long chamber as part of the tombs impressively large structure. With no major damage to the entirety of the tombexcept for a hole above the main sealing door likely made at one point by a grave robberexperts said it is the largest and most well-preserved tomb from that era ever found in the area. While the Southern Dynasty tomb is smaller, it was still in good enough condition to yield interesting details about the time. Built in a style designed for a married couple, much of the structure is intact, although it shows signs that it was also once raided by robbers. The discovery of these two tombs is of great significance to the study of burial shapes, stages, and funeral customs during the Six Dynasties Period (222-589) in Guangzhou, said Cheng Hao, an official with the institute, according to Xinhua News Agency, as well as to the research on the construction technology during the Jin and Southern dynasties architecture. Researchers also found 48 gravestones, all of which came from the Republic of China era. The archaeological team said that a pattern emerged on the orientation and scale of the tombs, especially the ones in the Ming and Qing burial chambers, suggesting a planned cemetery location that lasted a significant amount of time. Along with the burial sites, the team located an additional 196 artifacts, ranging from pottery to porcelain to bead ornaments and items made of bronze and jade. Some of the cultural relics are uncommon for the region. You Might Also Like The Audi logo can be seen on the rim of a car at the company headquarters before the start of the annual press conference. Sven Hoppe/dpa Employees of an Audi plant in Brussels that is threatened with closure took the keys to around 200 vehicles in an attempt to force management to clarify the future of the site, the Belgian news agency Belga reported on Sunday. Until this happens, no car will leave the factory, the protesting workers said. Audi management said it would not give in to extortion and threatened to press charges if the keys are not returned by midday on Monday, Belga reported, adding that security cameras could be used to identify those responsible. Audi said in July the closure of the Brussels plant could not be ruled out due to the weak demand for the electric Q8 e-tron SUV made there. Around 3,000 employees are employed at the site. Their concerns were heightened last Tuesday when Audi's parent company Volkswagen announced that no other model will be produced in Brussels in the coming years. Employees have responded in recent days with strikes, which has prevented the resumption of production after a summer break. A large protest day is planned for September 16, union organizers said. By Lewis Jackson SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia will include questions on sexual orientation and gender in its census for the first time, after more than a week of controversy over the centre-left Labor government's earlier decision to exclude them. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Sunday the 2026 census would include sexual orientation and gender, although he declined to specify the questions and said the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) would design them later. "We have listened to the LGBTIQ+ community to make sure that we can work with the ABS to deliver this really important change when it comes to the 2026 census," he said. "We say to Australians from the LGBTIQ+ community: you matter, you've been heard, you will be counted." The questions will be optional and only asked of those over 16 years of age. The move reverses an August decision to exclude questions about LGBTIQ+ identity. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said then the government did not want to open up divisive debates. He denied any political motives behind the decision amid media reports that the government was apprehensive about sparking a culture-war-style campaign ahead of an election likely to be called within nine months. The United Kingdom added an optional question on sexual orientation in its 2021 census for the first time. (Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Jacqueline Wong) Segun Osuntokun, a global senior partner at City law firm BCLP, encourages email scheduling to avoid disturbing staff out of hours - Christopher Pledger for the Telegraph A City law firm boss has urged partners to avoid sending non-urgent emails on the weekend amid concerns that junior lawyers are working too much. Segun Osuntokun, global senior partner at City law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP), said that he scheduled emails to avoid disturbing staff out of hours. It comes amid a debate over the culture in the legal industry where junior staff often work nights and weekends after the death of a partner at another firm following an acute mental health crisis. Mr Osuntokun said: I know that if I send an email to a team member on a weekend and Im not expecting them to do anything about it, they wont know that. I know that their weekend is going to be impacted severely. When working during the weekend, Mr Osuntokun said that he almost always delayed the delivery of emails which do not require a response until Monday. The Nigerian-born lawyer makes an exception in cases where colleagues have agreed to communicate during the weekend, for example, in preparation for a court hearing or meeting filing deadlines for time-sensitive deals. Mr Osuntokuns pretty reasonable approach is not a firm-wide policy but rather something many partners have agreed to follow. He said: We talk a lot about how we treat our colleagues as we would our best clients and inherent in that is that you treat people with respect. Mr Osuntokun, previously BCLPs UK managing partner, stressed the importance of considering the welfare of colleagues especially as ongoing pay war for City lawyers risks junior talent feeling pressured to overwork. Some firms offer a starting salary of as much as 180,000. The death of Pinsent Masons partner Vanessa Ford last year also triggered a period of soul searching within the wider industry. Ms Ford had been working 18-hour days before being struck by a train. At her inquest, a coroner found that she had consumed a significant amount of alcohol while undergoing an acute mental health crisis. Mr Osuntokun said: Every major law firm is in the business of making a profit. But for me, its just as much about how you make that profit as about as much profit as you make. It comes as Labour plans to give workers the right to switch off, enshrining their ability to ignore emails and calls outside their working hours. The policy is part of a sweeping overhaul of workers rights championed by Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister. British businesses that repeatedly contact staff out of hours could be taken to an employment tribunal and face thousands of pounds in fines. Mr Osuntokun declined to comment on the plans until further details are released. BCLP, formed from the 2018 merger of Missouris Bryan Cave and Londons Berwin Leighton Paisner, employs nearly 1,300 lawyers across 31 offices worldwide. The law firm pays newly qualified solicitors 105,000 each and awards bonuses only after UK lawyers bill at least 1,700 hours per year. BCLP is preparing to introduce a new management system across its offices globally which will result in fairer work allocation among lawyers and offer greater wellbeing support for staff. The move also addresses so-called affinity bias, where managers unconsciously distribute work to employees with similar backgrounds and interests at a disadvantage to those who dont. Mr Osuntokun, who is black, believes the new system can address the professions racial diversity problem by removing barriers for ethnic minority lawyers hoping to progress to partnership. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Ukraine has disrupted Russia's critical railroad systems near Kursk. Russia's military response depends a railroad system that's in bad shape. Ukraine can solidify its hold in the Kursk region by destroying train bridges. Ukraine's Kursk offensive has done more than seize a Los Angeles-size territory and embarrass Russia. It also appears to be disrupting Russia's railroad system. And if the US accedes to Ukrainian demands to allow deeper strikes into Russia using American-made rockets, Russia's ability to move troops and supplies could be seriously damaged. Much more so than in Western armies, Russia depends on railroads to transport troops and supplies rather than using trucks. Russian units don't have the organic transport capacity to operate far from railheads. The problem today is that assembling forces from around Russia some 30,000 troops, according to Ukrainian estimates to seal off the Ukrainian penetration is overloading rail stations in the Kursk area and creating shortages of locomotives. BelZhD, the union representing Belarusian railway workers, announced that as of August 12, Russian railway authority had asked its Belarusian counterpart not to dispatch trains to stations on the Orel-Kursk lines. This essentially severs rail links between Belarus and Russia. "There is an accumulation of a large number of 'abandoned' trains (according to code 12 - the lack of a locomotive) at the stations of the Smolensk region of the Moscow Railway," the Belarusian union said. "This circumstance also affects the rhythm of sending freight trains from the BZD in the direction of the Moscow Railways and leads to a violation of the schedule of traffic." Having to reroute trains from Kursk has also created problems. The Ukrainian "breakthrough has led to a severe disruption in railway operations, paralyzing key routes across the country," according to an August 19 article by European business news site bne IntelliNews. Exactly how overloaded the Russian rail network may be isn't clear. "We've seen the Belarusian rail workers report about how Russian Railways commandeered rail traffic in southwestern Russia to prioritize military logistics to respond to Kursk," George Barros, a Russia expert for the Washington-based Institute for Study of War, told Business Insider. "We've not been able to independently verify those reports but I have no reason to doubt it." Russia's railroads already were in bad shape before the Kursk operation. Russian bloggers have warned that Western sanctions against exporting ball bearings to Russia has crippled maintenance and created a shortage of locomotives. Russian railroad officials have reportedly been threatened with punishment, while the Russian railway authority admitted in 2023 that lack of locomotive maintenance and spare parts resulted in 42,600 trains being canceled last year. Video of Russian military equipment moving via rail in Belgorod, including MT-LB, UR-77, Strela-10, PTS vehicles, Tor-M2U TLAR, and BMP-2. https://t.co/ZwsdIWSBwg pic.twitter.com/F27er7KrtW Rob Lee (@RALee85) June 17, 2022 Western experts question whether their own armies could move large numbers of troops without Russia's woes from sanctions. "In my own experience, we were constantly short of truck transport when I was a brigade commander in the 101st Airborne Division," retired Gen. Ben Hodges, the former commander of US Army forces in Europe, told Ukrainian media. "The point is that nobody, even the Russians, has enough trucks for large movements on short notice." So far, Kyiv's hopes that Russia would divert troops to Kursk from its offensives in eastern and southern Ukraine have been disappointed. Despite the humiliation of foreign troops occupying Russian soil, Russian forces continue to grind forward in bloody attacks at places such as Pokrovsk, in the Donetsk region. Instead, Russia had hastily deployed a hodgepodge of army conscripts, plus internal security forces from the Rosgvardiya national guard, Interior Ministry and FSB spy service, as part of what the Kremlin calls a "counter-terrorist" operation under the command of the FSB. Either way, those units need to transported from around Russia, and then supplied. Relying on trucks would require an extraordinary number of vehicles, so it seems likely that Russian forces at Kursk will require multiple railheads that depend on a limited number of railroad bridges. "Many such bridge bottlenecks are easy to find," said Barrow, who has identified for four key bridges in the Kursk, Orel and Bryansk regions. Ukraine has used armored vehicles like the Western-made Stryker armored fighting vehicle in its battle for Russia's Kursk region. Oleg Palchyk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images However, other experts say that the Russian railway system has enough depth to handle disruptions (see this map of the rail infrastructure around Kursk). "Ukraine's incursion may force Russia to reassign military logistics routes to the Kharkiv front through neighboring regions," Callum Fraser, a Russia expert at Britain's Royal United Services Institute think tank, told Business Insider. "This will lengthen the time it takes to supply material from the Leningrad and Moscow military districts, but this will unlikely be a significant extension." However, Ukraine has captured data about the Russian railway system, which will make it easier to disrupt operations, Fraser noted. "Russia's digitization of its railway infrastructure, including aspects such as its integrated infrastructure management system, mean that Ukraine has been able to access data of arms shipments from a captured railway station. There may be more weaknesses within this system that Ukraine could exploit." With Ukraine claiming to control 500 square miles of Russian territory around Kursk, it now has what is essentially a forward base inside Russia from which to launch rockets and drones at targets deeper in the Russian interior. In particular, US-made ATACMS guided artillery rockets could hit key facilities such as airfields, supply depots and railroad bridges. The Kursk region has nearly a thousand rivers and streams. Ukrainian aircraft have already destroyed several bridges across the Seym River east of the city of Kursk. However, the Biden administration has balked at giving Ukraine permission to launch long-range ATACMS missiles at targets in Russian beyond the Ukraine-Russia border. Barros believes that Ukraine could seriously disrupt Russian rail traffic and logistics if the US would lift those restrictions. "Russia's rail network in Bryansk, Kursk, Oryol, Belgorod, and Voronezh oblasts have some natural bottlenecks where those rail lines go over bridges to cross rivers," Barros said. "It would be great if, for example, Ukrainian forces could degrade Russian forces' ability to use rail in this sector by using ATACMS to destroy these rail bridges." Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds an MA in political science from Rutgers Univ. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn. Read the original article on Business Insider In the 11 months since the October 7 terrorist atrocities, the BBCs coverage of the war in Gaza has shamed the Corporation. It pointedly refused to call Hamas terrorists. On several occasions, it has had to correct serious inaccuracies in its reporting, although often belatedly and without much obvious contrition. But the sheer scale of its apparent bias as revealed by this newspaper today is still breathtaking. The Asserson Report, a detailed analysis of the BBCs reporting over a period of several months, to which a team of lawyers and data scientists contributed, exposes what appears to be a systematic failure by the BBC to report on the conflict with due impartiality and accuracy. It highlights a catalogue of errors, with the behaviour of BBC Arabic singled out as particularly reprehensible. Will this be enough for the Corporation to finally admit that it has a serious problem with its editorial standards, one that is damaging trust in the broadcaster to report on the news impartially and accurately? Surely, the accusations of bias levelled against the BBC can no longer be deflected, given the wide-ranging nature of the Asserson Report. Such is the loss of faith, many are not optimistic. Danny Cohen, a former BBC executive, is arguing for an independent inquiry into the coverage of the Israel-Hamas war to address what is now an institutional crisis at our national broadcaster. Either way, the current situation cannot be allowed to continue. Israel has been successful in dismantling a sizeable part of Hamass terror network and infrastructure within Gaza, but it has been the victim of a vicious campaign of disinformation and lies in the West that it has struggled to counteract. Nobody expects the BBC to take sides. But the Corporation has a duty to report the news accurately and impartially. It should not be allowing the perception to take hold that it is acting as a useful idiot of the enemies of the West. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. A report has claimed the BBCs coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict to be heavily biased against Israel. The Daily Telegraph newspaper writes that the report, based on four months of analysis of the broadcasters output across television, radio and other platforms, states that the BBC breached its own editorial guidelines of impartiality more than 1,500 times during the height of the Israel-Hamas conflict, and revealed a deeply worrying pattern of bias. More from Deadline Former BBC executive Danny Cohen called for an independent inquiry into the news coverage following the publication of the report, which was compiled by a collection of 20 lawyers and 20 data scientists, using artificial intelligence to analyse nine million words of BBC output. The BBC has questioned the methodology of the compilation of the report, which currently stands alone in its verdict of bias against the Corporation. Deadline has reached out to the BBC for a statement on these aspects. Protests have previously taken place outside the BBCs headquarters in London by people angered by the broadcasters description of Hamas as a resistance movement. In October 2023, the BBCs world affairs editor John Simpson explained it wasnt the BBCs job to tell people who to support and who to condemn. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. A group of illegal homeless seaside campers have been accused of prising materials from Bournemouths famous beach huts and using it as firewood. Timber cladding from more than a dozen huts has been removed by vandals, and Britains oldest beach hut has been broken into. The damage to the brightly painted huts, which are either privately or council owned and rented out, is expected to cost tens of thousands of pounds to repair. Around 10 tents have been pitched at the popular seaside resort for the last three weeks, angering some local business owners that it is blighting the area. It is understood that most of the occupants are homeless and move to the beach during the warmer weather. The group have even collected deckchairs and rubber dinghies that have been left behind by tourists. But, in recent weeks council staff discovered the back and sides of some huts had been stripped of wooden panelling. Nearby beach huts have been found with some of their wooden panelling damaged or missing - BNPS A family renting a nearby beach hut said they had been told by council officials that campers had been taking wood from the huts to use for firewood. There is a lot of damage to the huts that are now badly exposed to the elements. The council had better get on and repair them before the winter weather sets in. God knows how much it will cost the taxpayer to fix, a family member said. The council talks a good game about camping on the beach being banned but it is a different matter when it comes to action. Last year, the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council considered bringing in a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) which would have enabled wardens to hand out on-the-spot fines to overnight beach campers. Councillors decided against the move after receiving legal advice that the act of erecting a tent could not be classed as having a detrimental effect on the resort. Britains oldest public beach hut which is 7ft-by-7ft hut and built in 1909 was broken into and now has a panel boarding up the front door. BCP Council said it is working to capture the culprits who damaged the huts, which can be hired out for 445 for a four-week period during the summer. Illegal campers are suspected of stealing the panelling for firewood - BNPS We are aware of the damage to a number of beach huts at Pier Approach and our maintenance team are assessing their condition, Councillor Richard Herrett, head of BCP Councils leisure operations, said. We do not tolerate damage to council property and are reviewing seafront CCTV footage for evidence that can identify those responsible. He said the council was also attempting to deal with the current encampment of tents on the beach. We are working closely with St Mungos [a homeless charity] and the councils housing and communities team to provide support, he said. The spokesman stressed that PSPOs can apply to anyone displaying intimidating, aggressive or anti-social behaviour, including having open fires on the beach. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council wants to fine those responsible for the damage - BNPS Those caught breaking the PSPO risk being issued with an on-the-spot fixed penalty notice of up to 100, he said. Anyone choosing to sleep overnight on our beaches and break these bylaws risks prosecution and a fine of up to 1,000. Local tourism officials say the tents blight a beach that is ranked one of the best in the UK. Rosie Radwell, chair of the Bournemouth Area Hospitality Association, earlier told the Daily Mail newspaper: This is not what we want for Bournemouth, it does not set the right tone for our reputation. She said some of the illegal campers were people who didnt want to pay to stay at a campsite or hotel. Tents on the beach do not reassure this message to our guests in our hotels. Our guests comment that it doesnt look good, and we know the residents in the area are not happy too. It has in the past brought with it anti-social behaviour, she said. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. RACINE When some people think of fishing, they might picture a bright, sunny day with calm water. But Dick Hoey said he thinks fishing is bad on those days; instead, he likes fishing when its cloudy, the wind picks up and the water is rough. Theres been a couple days where we could barely stand on the boat, but were just catching fish like crazy. Its kind of fun, just fighting the elements, Hoey said. Theres been days where a guys catching a fish and somebodys behind and holding his belt because he cant use his arms for balance. It takes two people to catch one fish. Hoey, who lives outside of St. Louis, Missouri, is one of the many people who travel to Racine for fishing. A recent study by Captain Experiences, an online service that helps people find and book fishing and hunting trips, named Wisconsin the fifth most popular fishing destination, with 448,237 annual fishing licenses issued to nonresidents, generating $12,146,592 in revenue. We are so lucky in Wisconsin. We have an endless playground for fishing, said Wisconsin Department of Tourism Secretary Anne Sayers. Economic impactWisconsins tourism increased in 2023, resulting in a total economic impact of $25 billion and generating $1.6 billion in state and local taxes, according to the 2023 tourism economic impact report by Tourism Economics. With 113 million visits to the state of Wisconsin an increase of 1.8 million visitor spending grew 5% in 2023, and tourism business sales supported 178,085 jobs. Racine County receives some of the states tourism, and in 2023, the county saw a total economic impact of $525 million from tourism, according to Tourism Economics Longwoods International. Though fishing tourism is not directly tracked, outdoor activities from both residents and nonresidents contribute to the states gross domestic product. According to the Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account of the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, outdoor recreation contributed $9.8 billion, or 2.5%, to Wisconsins GDP in 2022. Of this, boating/fishing contributed $710 million. Whether youre into fly fishing and could do that in the Driftless and elsewhere, ice fishing on Lake Winnebago or elsewhere, (or) maybe you want to do charter fishing on Lake Michigan or Lake Superior, Sayers said. We just have all these different ways for both residents and visitors to get out and enjoy fishing. Sayers said that because of this, Wisconsin sells hundreds of thousands of licenses to out-of-state visitors annually who come to Wisconsin just to fish. Whether competing in a tournament or chartering a boat, tourists are coming to Racine to take advantage of its year-round fishing opportunities, both inland and offshore. Variety of experiencesVisit Racine County Executive Director Cari Greving said Racine offers a variety of fishing experiences, from inland fishing on the Root River to offshore fishing on Lake Michigan. Kelly Kruse from Downtown Racine Corp. said Racines location along Lake Michigan, which offers access to a variety of fish species such as Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, rainbow trout, and lake trout, draws people into the city. Events like Salmon-A-Rama, one of the nations premier freshwater fishing tournaments, also draws fishing enthusiasts to the area each year, further enhancing its reputation as a top fishing spot, Kruse said. Indeed, Salmon-A-Rama brings people from all over. According to Jim La Fortune, chair of Salmon Unlimited Wisconsins Salmon-A-Rama, the tournament attracted people from 157 cities in the state of Wisconsin, 48 U.S. states and seven countries in 2023. (Salmon-A-Rama) has been around for 50 years, so people that grew up here and have family and friends that still may be here or have family that has deceased that was originally from here, it draws them back to this area to build memories with their grandkids, great-grandkids, nieces and nephews, said La Fortune, adding that because the tournament has been around for so long, its a staple of a lot of peoples lives. Jessica Weiland, whose family is originally from the Milwaukee area, lives in far north Queensland, Australia, but for the past 11 years, she has returned to Wisconsin for Salmon-A-Rama. Some of these guys were going up against have been fishing the Great Lakes for 40 years, 50 years. It was all very new to us, and over the years, we just learned the skill, she said. We fish the tournament every single day, and we will fish for a good 10 to 12 hours per day. For Weiland, Salmon-A-Rama has always been a family-centric event: Her brother, Matt Weiland, operates the boat with an all-girl team, including Jessica Weiland as first mate, plus her 18-year-old niece Olivia and Matts 21-year-old daughter Alyla. Its exhausting, but we just love it, Jessica Weiland said. We have a great time out there. We just chat and hang out and play games and have naps and have a couple of drinks, and we all do our part and chip in with food. Its just a great family event. Weiland said that compared to other locations shes fished, Lake Michigan is very challenging. You really have to know what youre doing. The weather can be unpredictable, as well. You just have to be really aware of your surroundings, she said. Lake Michigans huge, so its almost like fishing on an ocean. Charter business Fishing charters also are available for visitors to venture out on Lake Michigan, without the competition of Salmon-A-Rama. Josh Keeran, owner of First in Fishing Charters, said he sees a lot of people from Illinois, as well as a good amount from Rochester, Minnesota, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Keeran said he believes part of Racines appeal is convenience, because the city isnt too far away from Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota. Kim Becicka, who is from Shueyville, Iowa, near Cedar Rapids, said she and her husband use First in Fishing Charters. In addition to the quaintness of Racine, Becicka said the short drive contributes to making Racine a good place to fish. You can get there and not be tired, so you can still enjoy the day that you get there to fish, she said. We really like salmon, so being able to have a short trip like this and bring salmon back, fresh salmon, we just love that. Becicka said their trips last two days, and they time it around fishing: They drive to Racine in the morning, fish in the afternoon, and eat in town in the evening. The next morning, they fish again and drive out from there. Weve always caught something, she said. So I think that makes it really nice for us, too. Broader impactFishing tourism also brings business to local shops, hotels and restaurants. Hoey, whos been fishing in Racine for 12 to 15 years using Keerans charter service, is a prime example. Describing the trip to Racine as a mini vacation, Hoey said his group drives for a day, spends two days in the city, and then drives back the next day. A lot of times, were on the water at 5:30 in the morning, so usually by noon, weve caught our limit, he said. We go home, we take a nap, and then we go out for dinner every night. We go out and relax, have a couple beers, and have a nice meal. Its just fun. For Hoey, his family always has one prime rib dinner at CornerHouse and likes to go to Ivanhoe Pub & Eatery. Becicka said they like Reefpoint Brew House. Becicka also said shed like to spend time exploring shops in downtown Racine and other areas. Weiland, who said shes looked at buying a house along Lake Michigan, said she has enjoyed time in Racines downtown area and marina. Ive been to Racine quite a few times, and the downtown area is really being invigorated. Theyve got a lot of really cute shops on the main street and restaurants, she said. Year-round opportunity Though visitors like Hoey, Becicka and Weiland said they enjoy spending time in the city, there are scientific factors contributing to the impact of fishing tourism in Racine. La Fortune, whos originally from Iron County and grew up mainly fishing Lake Superior, said Racine is different because you can fish for a species of fish no matter what the conditions are. It makes Racine one of the most unique areas on all of Lake Michigan. You can always find something to fish for, he said. Most ports you cannot do that. Either the temperature is right or its wrong, or the wind direction is right or its wrong. Racine, you always have the opportunity to go out there and target a species of fish. Laura Schmidt, a fisheries biologist at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, said species spawning cycle generally promotes this year-round opportunity for fishing as some spawn in the Root River, though it varies by species. For instance, some Chinook salmon are in the Root River now. This is a little early for them, but I think because of all of the rain weve had lately, said Schmidt, adding that the salmon will stay there until the beginning of November to mid-November. Brown trout, however, are winter spawners, so Schmidt said they wont be in the river until the end of October or beginning of November. Brown trout will stay in the river through the winter, but in January and February, other fish will move back into the harbors. Depending on ice conditions, I know people will fish the Racine Harbor, for example, (or) ice fish for brown trout and other species, she said. During these times, the Root River and harbor give anglers who cant get out on the lake a chance to fish, Schmidt said, since theyre able to fish from shore. Josh Sopczak, president of Salmon Unlimited Wisconsin, said in the winter the harbor, the Root River up to the dam, and the lake near shore provide great fishing opportunities. Sopczak said that at any point in the year, people can be seen at the river, the lakefront or on boats. Thats one of the natural beauties of the City of Racines fishery, he said. There is opportunity for people at every point of the year. Schmidt also said that the habitat at the Racine harbor, which along with the Root River the Wisconsin DNR stocks, is great. Racine has obviously some great shoreline right along Lake Michigan where you can fish from the piers, and I know that a lot of anglers actually travel to fish the Racine area, especially this summer, Schmidt said. The coho fishing has been really good this summer in particular, and the word certainly gets out to people. Fishermen are not afraid to travel to go where the good bite is. Beachgoers, business owners, exasperated by Daytona Beach ramp project: What we know The closure of one of the county's busiest beach ramps has led to the closure of two businesses and a great deal of exasperation among beach-goers. Here's more on what we know about the $2.9 million project: What does the project entail? The project is intended to refresh the beach approach and make some additions. It will add parking, a new public restroom, new landscaping, bike racks, underground utilities, sidewalks, and lighting. The World's Most Famous Beach sign above the ramp is in storage during construction but don't worry, it will be returned. What's up with businesses at the site? The project has made the area extremely difficult to navigate and reduced foot traffic. Sam Tadros, owner of Sam's Coal Fired Pizza, has shut his doors temporarily. "It's just been horrible," Tadros said on Friday morning, as a construction crew toiled away. Tadros said that before he signed his lease, Volusia County Coastal Division Director Jessica Fentress told him that half of the road would remain open during the project, but Public Works Director Ben Bartlett said that wasn't the county's intent due to safety considerations. "Unfortunately this project needs to be done and it's going to cause a disruption, and we're working hard to minimize this disruption," Bartlett said. Zoltan Kerekes, who owns Daytona Shirt Shop, also closed his doors. Tadros plans to reopen in February, he said. He also plans to launch a Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs restaurant along the same strip. Business owner Sam Tadros stands outside of Sam's Coal Fired Pizza, which is temporarily closed, on Sept. 6, 2024. Fencing blocks people from entering a construction zone at the International Speedway Boulevard beach ramp. When will the project be finished? The project is on track to be finished by April 2025, but the county could open the ramp to vehicles before then, Bartlett said. "Everything's dependent on weather and those kinds of things," he said. Can pedestrians access the beach or the storefronts? People can get to the storefronts from a sidewalk on the north side of the road. Pedestrian access to the beach is closed while crews work on installing sheet piles for a seawall, Bartlett said. Once that portion is done, the county plans to allow pedestrian access again. He said it is unsafe to allow pedestrian access right now. Bartlett said the county is working with business owners, including allowing signs to be placed at the site to direct people to businesses. What does the site look like? A sign on the door of Sam's Coal Fired Pizza on Sept. 6, 2024, tells visitors the shop is closed because of construction at the International Speedway Boulevard ramp. Most of the road was blocked off with fencing on Friday. But people could access the Boardwalk Inn and Suites parking lot on the south corner. Why is Volusia County doing the project now? The county coordinated the project with the Florida Department of Transportation's work on International Speedway Boulevard from A1A west, Bartlett said. That way the overall disruption in the high-profile area is kept to a minimum and the county doesn't have to pull out any new infrastructure that's been put in. How popular is the beach ramp? Volusia County tracks the number of vehicles that use the International Speedway Boulevard ramp each year. The county tracked 18,709 vehicle visits in 2023, according to county spokesman Clayton Jackson. In 2022, the number was 18,199, in 2021 it was a banner year with 26,619 visits and in 2020, it was 14,021. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona Beach ramp project causes business closures: What we know A Berlin man was being held at Northeast Regional Correctional in St. Johnsbury on $1,000 bail Saturday night after being arrested for aggravated assault with a weapon. The Berlin Police Department wrote in an email that David Nelson, 62, is accused of pointing a gun at another person at the Hilltop Inn on Airport Road sometime on Friday. Investigators didnt offer any indication of precisely when on Friday that may have been. The name of the alleged victim has also not been released. Besides his aggravated assault charge, Nelson is also charged with aggravated disorderly conduct, criminal threatening and impersonating an officer. Hes scheduled to appear in court in Barre on Monday. 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 ABC22 & FOX44. Heres how Black, Native families in Sacramento can apply to get $725 monthly for a year Starting on Sept. 30, Sacramento County families who live slightly above or below the federal poverty level can apply for a chance to receive $725 a month in guaranteed income for a year, county leaders announced this week. A research group will randomly select 200 households to get the payments from the Department of Child, Family and Adult Services. Funding comes from a block grant from the California Department of Social Services to support programs aimed at keeping families together. County officials said this program will focus on early intervention with Black, Native American and Alaska Native children as a way to determine whether financial help could reduce their high rate of contact with the child welfare system, numbers that have been tied to historic and systemic oppression of these groups. Child welfare authorities are almost five times as likely to remove Black children from their homes as they do white children, and they are nearly twice as likely to separate Native parents from their children than they do white children. The California Reparations Report, submitted in June 2023, decried the staggering impact on Black families up and down the state. In 2021, African American children were 18% of the children in foster care in California, the largest percentage by race, despite constituting only 5% of the overall population of children in California, the report noted. Given the disparities, it is likely that racial bias impacts African American families at all stages of the process, including during the reporting of abuse or neglect, the investigation of the allegation, the substantiation of the allegation, the decision to the remove the child from the home, and ultimately where to place a child once the child is removed. Guaranteed income, or basic income, programs provide cash payments with no strings attached, helping to ensure people do not have to make choices between basic needs such as paying rent or buying food. Research on such plans shows that recipients use the money for housing, food or utility bills, reducing stress on parents, helping them to maintain their employment and improving the overall well-being of children. County officials did not say when payments would begin for this program, known as the Family First Economic Support Pilot, but they provide greater detail on eligibility and program aims at ffesp.org/faq/. To qualify, applicants must: Live in the 95815, 95821, 95823, 95825, 95828 or 95838 ZIP codes. Be either a parent or legal guardian of a Black, Native American or Alaska Native child between the ages of 0 and 5. Earn an annual household income of less than 200% of the federal poverty line. That amounts to less than $105,440 for a household of eight, $62400 for a family of four or $40,880 for one adult and child. The United Way California Capital Region will be overseeing this guaranteed income program, working with the social policy research firm MEF Associates to evaluate demographics and results of the program. The local United Way has run four smaller guaranteed income pilots in the city and county of Sacramento. Visit ffesp.org to get updates on whats happening with the Family First Economic Support Pilot. UPDATE: ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) Contrary to a post that was made on social media, a Blair County business will not be closing. A post on Johnnys U Pull It Facebook page announcing its closure has been removed. WTAJ has reached out to the owners for comment. ORIGINAL STORY: A Blair County business took to social media to announce they are closed for good. The company, Johnnys U Pull It, has been around for decades. People across the area could go for auto parts and take them from the numerous cars on their property, saving mechanics and DIY fixers hundreds of dollars and a lot of time hunting down older car parts. They took to their Facebook and posted about the closure. Numerous people were quick to react with positive and negative comments. Some said they were saddened to lose Johnnys while others stated that in the past couple of years, it wasnt worth going. The reason behind Johnnys U Pull It deciding to close up shop isnt known at this time. Stay up to date with the latest news in the palm of your hand. Click here to download the WTAJ app for Apple and Android devices. WTAJ has reached out to the owners for comment but has not heard back at this time. 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 WTAJ - www.wtaj.com. Bloodthirsty Venezuelan street gang sparks fear in US amid migrant surge: What to know Bloodthirsty Venezuelan street gang sparks fear in US amid migrant surge: What to know Tren de Aragua, a violent street gang that has emerged from Venezuela, has been tied to a number of crimes across the country and is picking up national attention as a result, amid reports that it has taken over apartment buildings in Colorado. The gang is believed to have originated in Venezuelan prisons and moved north over the last decade. But its reputation within the U.S. has grown this year, in part due to a number of high-profile crimes linked to the gang, with many believed to have arrived by coming across the southern border as part of the sharp increase in migration in recent years. A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) bulletin in March alerted agents to tattoos and other identifiers of the gang. Federal authorities had previously warned that the gang was trying to establish itself in the U.S, and could potentially team up with the violent MS-13 gang. AFTER VIDEO OF ARMED VENEZUELAN GANG SHARED BY LOCAL OFFICIAL GOES VIRAL, COLORADO CITY TAKES ACTION Alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang have overtaken an apartment building in Aurora, Colorado, charging rent in exchange for protection. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital in an interview this year that the gang "has unleashed violence across Central and South America." "Now, were seeing more people coming across the border illegally with ties to Tren de Aragua. Until we get the border crisis under control, more and more bad actors will take advantage of the loopholes in our immigration system," he said. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP In February, New York officials linked the gang to more than 62 robberies in the city, and two suspected members of the gang were arrested in connection with a shocking assault of two NYPD officers. The brother of the suspect in the killing of Georgia student Laken Riley has ties to the gang, and in Texas 10 migrants affiliated with the gang were arrested earlier in May. "Keep your eye on this gang," Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens said at that time. "Their criminal activities represent a serious threat to our communities!" FBI FEARS VENEZUELA MIGRANT GANG MEMBERS COULD POTENTIALLY TEAM UP WITH MS-13 KILLERS The gang has established a significant presence in parts of Colorado. Fox News Digital reported in July that TdA members have been given a "green light" to fire on or attack law enforcement in Denver. More recently, reports have emerged of the gang taking over at least two apartment buildings in Aurora, with surveillance video showing heavily armed men kicking down an apartment door. The Aurora mayor said on Fox News that there are "several buildings actually under the same ownership, out of state ownership, that have fallen to these Venezuelan gangs." These images from a CBP intelligence bulletin, show tattoos and other identifiers for Tren De Aragua. The city, however, has said there is only a "small" presence in Aurora, and that media "have conflated and considerably exaggerated incidents that are isolated to a handful of problem properties alone." A spokesman for Aurora Police recently told The Denver Post that "its still too soon to quantify TdAs presence in Aurora one way or another." In a statement, the city said the police "continue to identify criminals and make arrests" and also noted that residents have cited poor living conditions rather than a takeover in those properties. Meanwhile, ICE confirmed to Fox News last week that four known or suspected gang members arrested by police in Aurora this week connected to a shooting in July are illegal immigrants who were caught and released at the border. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS The Biden administration announced significant action against the gang in July when the Treasury designated Tren de Aragua a "significant transnational criminal organization." That move blocks all property and assets owned by the gang in the U.S. Meanwhile, the State Department offered up to $12 million for information leading to the arrest of three of the gangs leaders. The administration also stressed that it is working to disrupt the gang and has increased vetting. Senior border officials told Fox News this week that the gang is a priority. But pressure is likely only to grow as former President Donald Trump highlighted the issue at a Fox News town hall this week. "Take a look at Aurora, in Colorado, where Venezuelans are taking over the whole town. They're taking over buildings. The whole town," he said. Original article source: Bloodthirsty Venezuelan street gang sparks fear in US amid migrant surge: What to know TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) The body of a 64-year-old veteran who went missing last month was found in a Florida state forest Saturday following an extensive 10-day search, authorities announced. Eduardo Ramirez, 64, was reported missing after his family members grew concerned about him. He was last seen driving a vehicle around 6:15 p.m. on Aug. 27, the Collier County Sheriffs Office said. On Friday, investigators found the vehicle Ramirez was driving in a remote area off Beck Boulevard in East Naples. However, despite the discovery, deputies said there had been no sign of the man, himself. In an update Saturday, the sheriffs office announced the mans body had finally been found after an exhaustive search. Courtesy of the Collier County Sheriffs Office According to CCSO, the 64-year-olds body was discovered by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission just south of the 97-mile marker in the Picayune Strand State Forest. Deputies said the death does not appear to be suspicious, but an investigation is ongoing. We extend our condolences to his family and we thank everyone who participated in the search, the sheriffs office said in a statement. 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 WFLA. (Bloomberg) -- The Bank of England is about to grapple with one of the thorniest decisions since it began unwinding crisis-era stimulus in 2022 as it confronts a year of unusually high bond redemptions. Most Read from Bloomberg Governor Andrew Bailey and his colleagues will decide this month whether to keep the run-off of their portfolio bought up through years of emergency purchases at a steady pace of 100 billion (132 billion), or whether to increase that amount. That would respond to a glut of maturing bonds and stop a drop in gilt disposals. While investors largely expect the UK central bank to stick with a stable level of balance-sheet reduction, economists at Deutsche Bank AG and Citigroup Inc. are among those warning that officials may accelerate it. Former policymaker Michael Saunders sees merits either way, saying the BOE may go for something like 115 billion to avoid a sharp drop in gilt sales. That decision on so-called quantitative tightening will be crucial for investors navigating a backdrop that already features the second-largest UK bond issuance on record. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves will be watching closely to gauge the extent of her available fiscal firepower for the Labour governments first budget in October as she seeks to plug a 22 billion black hole in the public finances. The Monetary Policy Committee will vote on the speed of gilt sales at its decision on Sept. 19 ahead of the next year of QT beginning in October. Bailey and other officials are trying to normalize policy to build up ammunition for future crises and reduce the interest-rate risk it carries. So far, a portfolio of corporate and government debt bought up under quantitative easing to support the economy during the financial crisis and the pandemic has already shrunk from 895 billion down to 688 billion, and is now composed solely of gilts. The BOE has achieved that through a mix of actively selling bonds and stopping reinvestments when they reach their redemption dates. But a sharp increase in gilts maturing in the next year spiking from the usual pace of 50 billion to 87 billion leaves policymakers with a stark choice: either offload far fewer than usual, or boost the overall runoff target to shrink the balance sheet more drastically. By sticking with a 100 billion pace of reduction, its bond sales would need to plummet from 50 billion a year currently to around 13 billion. While thats the outcome predicted by investors in a survey by the central bank, analysts arent so sure. Their predictions range from a faster BOE wind-down to gilt disposals stopping altogether. Sanjay Raja, chief UK economist at Deutsche Bank, is one forecaster anticipating a quicker BOE run-off to prioritize continuity in its bond sales, since thats more important for market impact. He points to officials previous guidance, which in August promised to keep disposals relatively gradual and predictable. We think 40 billion of sales over the 12-month QT program is perfectly reasonable with avoiding any volatility in the market, he said. It makes little sense to alter the sales program drastically only to kick-start it again in a years time. Strategist Jamie Searle at Citigroup expects a target of 120 billion, but warned the BOE could even go as high as around 140 billion. Crucial to that call is officials analysis last month that QT continues to have a minimal impact on both financial markets and the broader economy, a point also noted by Bank of America strategists including Agne Stengeryte. Her team forecasts 100 billion, but says the BOEs relaxed tone on QT impact suggests risks of more. To be sure, some economists are war-gaming the opposite: an even smaller QT target. One reason for that is the prospect that selling too many bonds could overlap with officials attempts to wean markets off their bloated balance sheet. The BOE wants to shift from a system where banks buy assets in exchange for cash-like reserves, toward repo operations lending cash against collateral. Bailey has told markets to prepare for that as he looks to disentangle the central bank from the fiscal impact of QE and QT after huge losses increased political scrutiny. Imogen Bachra, head of economics and markets strategy at NatWest Markets, cites a surge in banks use of the weekly short-term repo facility to as high as 40 billion from as little as 700 million at the start of the year as a motivation for the BOE to end gilt sales altogether. Otherwise, she says the central bank risks rushing toward the transition sought by Bailey at a time when officials also worry that not all their repo facilities are effective and attractive enough. Another consideration is the overall size of the balance sheet. While Sam Hill, head of market insights at Lloyds Bank Commercial Markets, sees the case to raise the pace of wind-down to keep bond sales stable, he cautions that the end of a pandemic-era business-support program will automatically shrink the BOEs assets in the next year. Bailey could do 100 billion of QT and still tell Parliament that 200 billion of balance sheet reduction over one year is solid progress, he said. It doesnt seem obvious that now is the time to go harder. Whatever happens, the BOEs lack of guidance about a change in the target is one reason to expect no change, according to Saunders, a former BOE rate-setter who is now a senior policy adviser at Oxford Economics. They would have nudged market expectations of QT higher with a speech, but they have not done so, he said. The decision will be crucial to Reevess budget, as the Treasury is forced to cough up for multi-billion pound losses from QE and QT. The BOEs plans could help or hinder the chancellor as she tries to contain the countrys rising debt mountain while facing a backlash over cuts to spending on measures such as winter fuel subsidies for pensioners. --With assistance from Rachel Evans. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Bolsonaro Uses Judges Ban on X to Energize Brazils Right Wing (Bloomberg) -- Former President Jair Bolsonaro rallied thousands in Sao Paulo, seeking to reinforce his grip on Brazils right-wing opposition by denouncing the top courts ban on Elon Musks X social network. Most Read from Bloomberg Bolsonaros main target was Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is leading efforts to combat fake news and hate speech in Brazil. The judge ordered the platform formerly known as Twitter shut down after a monthslong clash with the billionaire owner of the platform. I hope the Senate puts the brakes on Alexandre de Moraes, Bolsonaro told the crowd. His son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, said Moraes strives to end freedom of speech in the country and asked for his impeachment. Musk understands that the battle is for freedom of speech and transcends economic issues, he said. On Aug. 30, Moraes ordered internet service providers in Brazil to block users from accessing X after the company refused to appoint a legal representative in the country to deal with requests to take down accounts allegedly involved in spreading political misinformation. X has been contributing to an environment of total impunity and lawlessness in Brazilian social networks, including during the 2024 local elections, Moraes wrote in his ruling, saying the company has repeatedly and deliberately disrespected court orders. Brazil is deeply divided on the judiciarys actions, according to an AtlasIntel poll released Sept. 4. Almost 51% said they disagree with Moraes decision to ban X, compared with 48% who support it. --With assistance from Barbara Nascimento. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Major injury reported in bottle attack at Zara store in Manhattan: officials NEW YORK (PIX11) A person suffered a major injury after reportedly being attacked with a bottle at a Zara store in Manhattan, authorities said. Officers from the fifth precinct responded to a 911 call for an assault on 503 Broadway at 3:07 p.m., police said. More Local News EMS transported the victim to a local hospital to be treated for a major injury, FDNY said. The streets of Soho, where the incident occurred, were filled with people and cars. Citizen video showed two ambulances at the scene with lights flashing. Details leading up to the incident remain unclear, but police say the incident happened inside the store. An investigation remains ongoing, authorities said. Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here. 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 PIX11. DENVER (KDVR) A Boulder city council member was among three people who were attacked before a suspect was arrested Friday. CSP reiterates lane filtering laws after continued questions, complaints The Boulder Police Department said the attack occurred at about 6:23 p.m. near 1120 13th St. This embedded content is not available in your region. Three people, including city council member Tara Winer, were attacked, according to the police department. No one was injured. Motives for the attack are not known at this time and are under investigation, the police department said in a post on X late Saturday. Police said the suspect, identified as 26-year-old Chase Raskin, was arrested and taken to jail for felony menacing and two counts of third-degree assault. 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 FOX31 Denver. LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA A boy tried to kill another teen at a Bensalem hotel. Meanwhile, vehicle break-ins are on the rise in Lower Bucks County. These were some of the stories making news this past week in Lower Bucks County: A Lower Bucks County teenager faces attempted murder charges and numerous offenses for trying to kill another teenager in the parking lot of a Bensalem hotel, authorities said. Court records state that the 17-year-old Bristol boy fired at least five bullets at an unidentified teenager outside the Best Western on the 3400 block of Street Road in Bensalem on May 14. (Read More) Facing a $240 million annual budget deficit, SEPTA Thursday announced a regional rail fare increase and the elimination of some travel discounts. SEPTA said the proposed fare adjustments would go into effect on Dec. 1. With the state budget providing less than one-fourth of what the authority requested and the exhaustion of federal COVID relief funds, SEPTA said the need for a permanent solution grows more urgent by the day. (Read More) With vehicle thefts and crimes rising in the Philadelphia region, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office is alerting Lower Bucks County residents to be aware of the crimes. The Bucks County District Attorney's Office provided residents with information about how vehicle thefts can happen to anyone and anywhere. Authorities said that everyone is impacted by a stolen vehicle since it is often used for more violent crimes and can also increase insurance rates. (Read More) Bucks County Treasurer Kris Ballerini has recovered $800,000 in property owner funds, returning $500,000 to their rightful owners and doling out the remaining $300,000 to towns and schools. After a years-long investigation into funds she discovered after taking office in 2020, Ballerini untangled financial red tape to cut the funds loose. (Read More) The Arby's in Center Point Place in Warminster now has an opening date. The franchise owners of the fast food chain known for its roast beef sandwiches posted on the Warminster Community Group Facebook page that the Street Road location will be opening soon. "Dear friends and neighbors, we are excited to be joining this wonderful neighborhood and community soon and opening soon," the franchise owners said. "We have started hiring now." (Read More) Boy Charged In Shooting, Vehicle Break-Ins Rising: Lower Bucks News originally appeared on the Warminster Patch Bryan Norcross: Texas and Louisiana on alert as Francine looks likely to form in the western Gulf Updated at 10:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 8. 2024 A well-organized disturbance in the extreme southern Gulf of Mexico officially tagged by the National Hurricane Center as Invest 91L will likely combine with last week's big Gulf rain-making low-pressure system. The combo system could be named Tropical Storm Francine by tomorrow. The steering flow rotating around a high-pressure system centered over Florida will drive likely-Francine to the north just offshore of the Mexican and Texas coasts. People in East Texas and Louisiana should be on alert for the possibility of a tropical storm or hurricane late Tuesday or Wednesday. The atmospheric pattern over the western Gulf looks conducive for likely-Francine to develop until the system reaches the northwestern Gulf. As always, the Gulf water is very warm. The track close to the Mexican and Texas coastline and the system's relatively short time over the Gulf should limit development. Also, as likely-Francine approaches East Texas or Louisiana, dry air and increasingly hostile upper winds might come into play. Tropical Storm or Hurricane Watches will likely be issued today for parts of the Texas and Louisiana coasts. The various computer forecasts show many possibilities for the strength of the storm when it reaches the coast, between a fairly low-end tropical storm and a Category 1 hurricane. Stay informed on the latest forecasts. Once the system actually develops, we should have a better idea of what to expect. No matter how strong likely-Francine gets, very heavy rain looks likely. Here is the current forecast from the National Weather Service. Rain falling at multiple inches per hour is possible. The ground in southern Louisiana is already saturated, so there is a serious potential for flooding as the storm moves north and dies out in the mid-South. Midway between the Caribbean and Africa, there are two tropical systems trying to get organized. The odds of development for both of them are in the medium range. The one closest to the Caribbean has been officially tagged Invest 92L by the National Hurricane Center. Whether these systems maintain independence or merge with a third disturbance moving off Africa is an open question. Nothing is happening quickly in the eastern Atlantic. The steering currents have collapsed. Residents of the Caribbean islands should stay informed, but currently, these systems don't appear to be a threat to land. The Atlantic seems to be waking up from its tropical slumber. It's unclear, however, whether this is the start of the expected busy hurricane season or just a blip of activity. Original article source: Bryan Norcross: Texas and Louisiana on alert as Francine looks likely to form in the western Gulf BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) Buffalo Police say theyre investigating a fatal shooting that occurred on Walden Avenue Friday night. According to authorities, Ferry-Fillmore officers responded to the call on Walden just before 9:30 p.m., where a 42-year-old man was found in a backyard after being struck by gunfire. The man was declared deceased at the scene. Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Buffalo Police confidential tip line at 716-847-2255. Latest Local News Kayleigh Hunter-Gasperini joined the News 4 team in 2024 as a Digital Video Producer. She is a graduate of Chatham University. 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 News 4 Buffalo. The bucolic Buckinghamshire village of Granborough, while picturesque, is not much of a landmark. Mentioned in the Domesday Book, it briefly became a point of interest for James Bond fans when the abandoned rail station was referenced in the 2012 film Skyfall. But the farmland around the village has been scoped out as the potential site for not one, but two giant battery installations and a solar farm. The energy companies Statera and Statkraft have applied for permission to build two 500-megawatt sites near a new electricity substation, arguing it can support the move to a decarbonised electricity grid. The plan has provoked heavy local opposition. This might become an industrial area more than the farming land its been for the last thousand years, says Jamie Ingham Clark, of the Claydons Solar Action Group. Battery storage sites should be on brownfield they should not take away our ability to grow food. Campaigners say they are particularly concerned about fire risk from the batteries, after a major fire at a facility in Liverpool four years ago. However, they are fighting an uphill battle. Across the UK, giant battery installations are being proposed as investors seek to capitalise on Labours plan to decarbonise the grid with a wind and solar boom. Supporters of grid batteries mega projects featuring banks of bus-sized blocks able to power thousands of houses at once say they are the missing piece in the puzzle, drawing excess power from wind and solar when the weather allows and releasing it when it is dark, calm and people need to heat and light their homes. A total of 1,862 grid-scale battery storage projects have been built or proposed in Britain, according to RenewableUK, compared to just 215 that are currently operational. If all these projects were built, this would provide 108.87 gigawatts (GW) of power more than double the peak electricity demand of the whole country last winter. This would be up from just 4.6 GW currently, and zero eight years ago, suggesting an unprecedented battery boom is on the horizon. Theres been significant growth in the span of eight years, and thats been made possible by a more decarbonised system. With that comes the requirement for battery storage, says Yonna Vitanova, of RenewableUK. The cost of lithium-ion batteries has dropped dramatically in recent years, making installations significantly cheaper. Prices per unit of energy storage have dropped by more than 80pc in the last decade, thanks to a booming Chinese supply chain. Meanwhile, Labours pledge to make Britain run on clean power by 2030 should push up demand for batteries that can balance out the vagaries of the weather. According to analysts at Modo Energy, battery storage revenues per unit would increase by around 4pc under net zero plans spearheaded by Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband plans to make Britain run on clean power by 2030 - Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images Despite huge drops in costs, grid-scale batteries have had only a marginal impact on Britains electricity system to date. Rather than stepping in to provide power to households, their main function to date has been the background task of balancing the grids frequency, which ensures electricity is safely and efficiently zipped around the grid. The National Grid compensates operators for this. Typically where batteries step in is where a big asset comes offline unexpectedly, says Olly Frankland, of industry group Regen. That could be a big gas firepower station, or an interconnector that trips off for whatever reason, and then that impacts the frequency of the grid and batteries immediately respond to that. However, growing competition and better grid management means that battery sites are now finding it harder to see a return from balancing. Battery farms revenues per megawatt reached record lows in January and February this year, according to Modo Energy, which monitors the battery storage market. Wendel Hortop, an analyst at Modo Energy, says while that has eased prices for the grid, it has raised questions about operators viability. Its been good for consumers, but its not been so good for the operators of those systems, he says. At the moment, the returns are not quite at the level which they need to be, but theres a belief that with more renewables coming on to the grid, theres inherently a greater need for storage, and that will result in essentially those systems earning enough and providing that kind of support for the grid. The investors backing new battery farms are confident this will change, as the decline of gas plants and rise of intermittent sources push up demand. Modo says battery operators revenues last month were the highest for almost two years. But plans to carpet Britain in batteries face a series of hurdles, aside from disgruntled locals. Operators face a wait of more than a decade for projects to be hooked up to the grid, says Andy Willis, the founder of Kona Energy, which is planning a mega battery installation in Scotland that would allow it to pull energy coming in from offshore wind farms. Willis blames a series of speculative projects which are allowed to apply for a grid connection despite not having planning permission or even land to build on. Weve fortunately got a grid connection in place, but lets say we had planning permission, we secured the land and we had funding ready to go: its likely wed get a 2037 or 2038 date for a grid connection, he says. Its kind of perverse. The National Grid is reforming how it arranges grid connections, but Willis says the current situation would make it hard for a government to plan how much battery capacity Britain might have in a few years time. If we had a world where a few of those nuclear plants did have to come offline soon, there is that question of, are we going to have a bit of a supply issue here? he says. Frankland says battery operators have struggled to get crucial parts such as interconnectors amid a global grid battery boom. Suppliers have also griped at a lack of government support lithium-ion batteries were excluded from plans announced under the last government to provide minimum payments for electricity storage. Many of the proposed battery sites across Britain have been met with protests And compared to longer-lasting types of storage such as pumped hydroelectric generation, batteries can also only step in for so long. The majority of battery sites in the UK are approved to store energy for a maximum of two hours, although sites have been rated for up to six hours more recently. Local opposition is unlikely to abate. Proposed sites across Britain have been met with protests, especially since many are near electricity substations that place them in residential areas. None of this has seemed to turn off investors. Even if many of the hundreds of announced projects are unlikely to hook up a single cell, battery storage capacity is due to more than treble to 15.4 GW by the end of 2027, according to Modo meaning capacity will meet the National Grids most optimistic scenario from a year ago. And while the Government has yet to endorse a battery blitz in the same way it has pushed for more wind and solar, storage is likely to be a knock-on winner. Pat McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, last week approved a deal for an 80-megawatt battery project run by a former Chinese diplomat, in a potential sign of Labours openness. That might be an ominous sign for Granboroughs disgruntled homeowners and many groups like them across Britain. Click here to view this content. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Buses disappear in our towns in the evenings I honestly cant remember ever seeing a bus in my area after five oclock, said 17-year-old Pauric. He lives in the village of Clonoe, about a mile southeast of Coalisland in County Tyrone. He believes there are huge gaps in rural transport and hes not alone. Government figures show that only 20% of rural residents in Northern Ireland live within a three-minute walk of the nearest bus stop, compared to 40% of those in urban areas. Meanwhile, the Northern Ireland Travel Survey shows that almost 70% of urban households reported a bus service frequency of at least once an hour, compared to 20% of those who live in rural locations. Kate Clifford says that buses virtually disappear in rural towns and villages after six o'clock [BBC] Katie Clifford is director of the Rural Community Network and says that public transport virtually disappears after six oclock in most rural towns. The inter-connectivity between regional towns just isnt there when it comes to public transport, especially in the evenings," she said. What you end up seeing is an over-reliance on cars in rural areas and that is especially impacting our younger people. Part-time work opportunities 'limited' BBC News NI spoke to a group of 17-year-olds from St Patricks Academy in Dungannon who are currently studying for their A-levels. Annie is from the rural village of Donaghmore, about three miles northwest of Dungannon and is studying accountancy and business studies. We have lots of engineering firms in this area, and not having consistent public transport is bad for business," she said. If their employees dont have access to a car they need to be able to get to and from work, so they really need to look at the public transport infrastructure around here. Grace and Isabella both live in rural villages just outside Dungannon [BBC] Both Isabella and Grace live in rural villages outside Dungannon and say the lack of public transport has been a barrier to part-time employment. I dont have a car, so it has meant that I can only work at my part-time job whenever I can get a lift in and it means getting limited shifts, Isabella said. Grace added: For me it has meant limiting my opportunity for part-time employment to somewhere thats close by or in walking distance, and that really narrows opportunities and I don't think that's fair. Joseph and Sean say having a car is a huge expense [BBC] Joseph from Stewartstown says relying on a car is a huge expense. I drive because there are no buses after school. By the time you manage to afford a car, then fuel, and insurance prices are crazy at the minute, its not very sustainable, he said. Sean is from Cookstown and said: There used to be a train station in Cookstown, but that was a long time ago, and they really do need to bring it back for faster transport. Mid Ulster is one of only two council areas in Northern Ireland that currently has no rail access. A recently published all-Island Strategic Rail Review made wide-ranging recommendations to improve the network but it could take up to 25 years to implement in full. 'A car becomes a necessity' Siobhan Currie conducted the public transport research as part of her studies [BBC] It's not just the frequency of buses causing concern but the duration of many journeys between rural towns. Siobhan Currie lives in County Fermanagh and attended a diploma course in Cookstown earlier this year. It would take her around one hour and 15 minutes to travel by car. As part of the research for her course, she found that when using a public bus route, the same journey would take five hours and that there was no return bus when the class finished. Siobhan Currie would start her five hour journey from Enniskillen bus station [BBC] The journey would involve a couple of stopovers and bus changes, and it just proved to me that public transport between rural towns for things that bit later in the day, just isnt a viable option," Siobhan said. For people in rural parts of Fermanagh and Tyrone, a car isnt a luxury, its a necessity. There have been some improvements made to the Cookstown to Enniskillen bus service. The morning and afternoon services now have journey times between two-and-a-half and three hours. A Translink spokesperson said: Translink recognise there is huge potential for growth in public transport and the new Belfast Grand Central Station provides the potential to enhance services across Northern Ireland with appropriate and sustained levels of funding helping to drive economic development and achieve NI climate goals. Two cafes have restricted the use of laptops at lunchtime in an attempt to stop remote workers hogging tables. Milk and Bean in Newbury has limited customers to using their laptops for an hour on weekdays but has implemented a complete ban on weekends. The Collective, based in Caversham, has banned the devices between 11.30am and 1.30pm on weekdays and completely at weekends. Alex Middleton, The Collectives manager, told the BBC that the policy was about finding a balance which doesnt compromise us losing money. We are a small independent business, so we need to keep those tables busy and turned around, he explained. We cant have people hogging the tables and we dont want to disrespect people that come in with laptops either. The Collective cafe in Caversham - Google Street View Meanwhile, Chris Chaplin, owner of the Milk and Bean, told the broadcaster that laptop use has led to a lower turnover and quite a low spend compared to people that arent on laptops. It also brings the vibe of the place down with people on laptops, he added. Click here to view this content. Working from home has become increasingly popular since the pandemic with many remote workers choosing to make cafes a second office because there is often free Wi-Fi and electricity. Cafes, along with pubs and restaurants, have been hit hard by lockdowns and rising food and energy prices because of the war in Ukraine. The Fringe and Ginge cafe in Canterbury - KMG/SWNS Celebrity chef Tom Kerridge told the Daily Mail in April: If I was a sole operator of one single restaurant, I would be absolutely terrified. Its very, very scary right now. For some owners, customers with laptops are not just a financial burden, but can cause disruption to staff and other customers by taking up space. The Fringe and Ginge in Kent banned laptops earlier this year after one customer asked staff to be quiet during a work call on Zoom. Cafes in Europe, from Berlin to Paris, have also imposed restrictions on laptop usage following an influx of digital nomads on the continent. Some have referred to them as cafe squatters. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. An Inland Empire city has approved a development project within 450 feet of the third oldest known living organism in the world a sprawling, shrub-like oak tree that is more than 13,000 years old. The Palmer's Oak can be seen here as dark green vegetation atop a rocky outcropping. (Aaron Echols / California Native Plant Society) An Inland Empire city has approved a development project 450 feet away from the third oldest known living organism in the world a sprawling, shrub-like oak tree that is more than 13,000 years old. While environmental groups and some city council members argued that scientists are only guessing, at best on the developments potential impact on the tree, the Jurupa Valley City Council ultimately approved the project in a 3-2 vote. Those in favor said they believed the project had taken adequate steps to protect the world's oldest oak tree and that the development was unlikely to damage it. Read more: One of Earth's oldest known plants takes center stage in California development battle An accompanying conservation plan would convey the 30-acre rocky outcrop that hosts the Quercus palmeri , or Palmer's oak, to a Native tribe. The Kizh Nation, Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians, has agreed to care for the land. However, another Native tribe says the tree lives on its homeland instead, and that it has been blocked from participating in negotiations. This is a really hard decision but this is a responsible project that will bring benefits to all, Councilmember Leslie Altamirano said after hours of emotional public testimony. The best part is that we have the opportunity to make precedent here and to give land back to the first peoples. So I want to make sure that, in my lifetime, I was able to do that, she said before voting yes on the project. So tonight, Im going to stand with the Kizh Nation. The room broke out into applause. We understand the Jurupa Oaks significance and have always been committed to its preservation, said Brian Hardy, a representative for the developer, Richland Communities. The plan, which is supported by the Kizh Nation, will provide protection that doesnt exist now or in the previously approved project. Were pleased that the City Council understood that and voted to approve the project, he said in a prepared statement to The Times. The project calls for the construction of almost 1,700 homes, and a light industrial park. A coalition of environmental groups is concerned that the pavement could create a heat island effect that would further stress the tree, which is already living in extreme conditions. They also worry that the development could deplete or contaminate the trees water source, or damage the trees root system. In response, the city ordered additional root and heat studies in June. Environmental consultants concluded that heat effects would be minimal hundreds of feet separated the tree and any parking lots, they said, and the developer planned to take measures to keep the pavement cool. The consultants also said that the roots neither extended to the construction site nor did they reach any groundwater that could be affected by the development. I think weve got a pretty good picture of where the oak gets its water from and an estimation of how deep the roots go, said Michael Tuma, the principal biologist at FirstCarbon Solutions, which has led environmental impact studies for the project. Theres some other arguments that the opposition has come up with that are getting further and further away from reality and whats backed by science. Biologists decided against mapping the trees root system, which would require invasive measures that could damage or kill the tree. Instead, they based their estimate on past studies of similar trees. Read more: California is home to millions of urban trees. What happens when they die? Without conclusive data, the coalition wants the city to preserve more land for the tree by cutting back on the light industrial buildings and business park planned in its vicinty. All of us, the coalition members that are concerned about the tree, we are not opposed to the development project, said Tim Krantz, the conservation director of the Wildlands Conservancy. We are only concerned about the areas immediately adjacent to, and uphill from the oak. A botanist from UC Riverside noticed the tree in the late 1990s. It struck him as a fish out of water: The oak was growing in a spot much hotter and drier than the species typical habitat. He and a colleague hypothesized the tree might have first sprouted during the end of the last ice age, when the climate was much cooler. In a 2009 study, they determined the oak to be roughly 13,000 to 18,000 years old. The tree has survived by producing genetically identical sprouts, or cloning, for millenia. This means the trees original trunk is long gone, but its genome persists. One of the paper's authors compared the tree to the Ship of Theseus a mythical vessel that has been entirely rebuilt with new parts. Nonetheless, the tree has been a fixture of the landscape since mastodons and saber-toothed cats last roamed Southern California. For the Native tribes in the area, the oak played a central and sacred role in seasonal ceremonies and everyday life. In a plan formulated by the developer, the city and the Kizh Nation, the plot of land surrounding the oak will be conveyed to the tribe before construction closest to the tree begins. The tribe will also be given $250,000 to conserve the land. However, the Shiishongna Tongva Nation, Corona Band of Gabrielino Indians, says that the land is their homeland and that theyve been excluded from deliberations with the city. The oak is a sacred ceremonial site for our villages in particular, said Laura Jaime, tribal cultural anthropologist for the Shiishongna Tongva Nation. We follow the Santa Ana river, so this goes back to time immemorial that weve been aware of this sacred ceremonial space. Since the land is now privately owned, theyve been forced to hold ceremonies elsewhere likely since the early 1800s, said Jaime. Read more: Ever see a star explode? You're about to get a chance very soon The city sent out a request for input on the project to a handful of Native tribes in 2015 and 2019. But, due to the strain of the pandemic, the Shiishongna Tongva Nation did not have the resources to participate, Jaime said. Since then, the tribe has reached out via email correspondences to the city, to the various departments, the planning commission, and the city council for that matter, said Jaime. We were subsequently ignored. Environmental groups, working closely with the Shiishongna Tongva Nation, will likely continue this battle in the courts. Since the Kizh Nation identified the tree as a cultural resource, the city was legally required to keep information regarding the tree confidential, including its exact location. This has prevented outside biologists and experts from seeing key environmental studies, including how construction vibrations would impact the tree. Its kind of the classic developer strategy of creating an us versus them situation, said Krantz of the Wildlands Conservancy. In this case, between the two tribes themselves. It's downright devious. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. The Line Fire near Highland, California, expanded to more than 17, 400 acres overnight on September 7, 2024 (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) A California brush fire has expanded to more than 17,400 acres and has forced evacuations of nearby towns. The Line Fire continued to expand on Sunday as firefighters battled the blaze, which is currently burning near Highland, California. The wildfire grew rapidly overnight despite starting days ago. The fire was at zero percent containment as of 9am on Sunday morning according to Cal Fire. The fire prompted Governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency in San Bernardino County, which allows the state to use federal grant money to help combat the blaze. It will also allow the state government to fast-track individuals who need employment help after the fire or need assistance collecting copies of records. FEMA has also agreed to provide the state with a Fire Management Assistance Grant, which will allow California to reclaim 75 percent of the firefighting costs from the federal government. "I thank President Biden for his swift approval of support for the work of our firefighters and first responders battling this fire and protecting local communities," Newsom said in a statement. "It's critical that residents in the impacted areas remain vigilant and prepare to evacuate immediately if called for by local authorities." The blaze triggered a wave of evacuations in nearby communities. All of Running Springs and Arrow Bear Lake residents were advised to evacuate, as were individuals living in some parts of Highland. Fire crews monitor the Line Fire, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Running Springs, California (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) A total of 35,405 structures are currently under threat from the fire. That figure includes homes, commercial buildings, and other "minor structures," according to fire officials. The fire began on Thursday around 6.30pm near Baseline Street and Alpin Street just outside Highland. It surged to 3,832 acres by Friday night and then doubled in size by Saturday. It exploded in size again overnight Saturday. Weather conditions including lightning strikes, strong winds, and high temperatures mixed with the difficult terrain near the fire have stifled firefighters' efforts to bring the blaze under control, according to KTLA. Vegetation is critically dry, and temperatures reached more than 100 degrees Saturday with relative humidity dipping to the mid-teens, CAL FIRE stated on its website. Theres a chance for thunderstorms in the area Sunday [but] there is an Excessive Heat Warning across the region that is expected to last through the weekend. Three firefighters have been injured fighting the fire thus far. 1. Yes. They look better and require less maintenance. Most high-end housing areas have them. 2. Yes. Wood fences can weather and look unsightly, plus masonry walls help to block sound. 3. No. Residents should have a choice of what kind of barriers are put up near their homes. 4. No. Allowing a variety of materials will be better for aesthetics, and costs may be lower. 5. Unsure. Its hard to say. Masonry walls may be sturdier, but mandating them is problematic. Vote View Results State Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil (R-Jackson) was sued by her former chief of staff, who alleged that she sexually harassed him, created a hostile workplace and fired him in retaliation for rejecting her sexual advances. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP) The former chief of staff of a California state senator who recently left the Democratic Party to become a Republican filed a lawsuit against her on Thursday alleging that she sexually harassed him, created a hostile workplace and fired him in retaliation for rejecting her sexual advances. The lawsuit, filed in Sacramento County Superior Court, claims that for much of 2023, state Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil (R-Jackson) "engaged in erratic, controlling, sexually dominating abuse of authority and power" against her chief of staff, Chad Condit. "This was a sex-based quid pro quo relationship of unwelcome advances and sexual behaviors coupled with punishment and flexing of power," according to the lawsuit, which also names the California state Senate as a defendant. Alvarado-Gil's lawyer denied the accusations. "A disgruntled former employee has fabricated an outlandish story, presented without evidence, to get a payday. We expect that the Senator will be fully cleared of any wrongdoing of these bogus, financially motivated claims," attorney Ognian Gavrilov said in a statement provided to The Times by the Senate Republican Caucus. Alvarado-Gil was elected as a Democrat in 2022 in a staunchly red district spanning a rural region northeast of the Central Valley. Her election was seen largely as a fluke of California's top-two primary system, after the crowded field of Republicans divided the GOP vote in June and paved the way for two Democrats to advance to the general election despite having received only a combined 41% of the vote. Alvarado-Gil won that November. She switched political parties in August and joined the Republican caucus in the state Senate after criticizing Democratic leadership. Read more: California lawmaker switches party to join GOP, criticizes Democratic leadership Condit was Alvarado-Gil's campaign manager in 2022, and then joined her state office as chief of staff. The lawsuit alleges that early in her tenure, Alvarado-Gil began "grooming plaintiff and sharing personal and intimate details" of her life, including her dating life, divorces and marital infidelity. Alvarado-Gil openly talked about "her vices," according to the complaint, "which included sex and using the drug, ayahuasca, and taking gummies." According to the complaint, Alvarado-Gil consistently made inappropriate and sexually suggestive comments to Condit, and used her position to exert dominance and power over him. In March 2023, for example, Alvarado-Gil allegedly asked Condit his opinion about "throuples," and whether he and his wife would be open to one. She also allegedly made comments that insinuated he would "be open to a sexual relationship with her" because his father, former U.S. Rep. Gary Condit, famously was accused of having an affair with Washington intern Chandra Levy. Levy disappeared in 2001, and the elder Condit was initially investigated for her disappearance in a scandal that consumed the nation in the months before the 9/11 attacks. He was never formally a suspect, and another man was convicted of her killing in a case that was later dismissed. Her death remains unsolved. The sexually explicit comments eventually turned physical, according to the complaint. At one point during a work trip to Inyo County, Chad Condit alleged, Alvarado-Gil demanded he show his allegiance to her "by having him go down on her." Condit and Alvarado-Gil were driving, according to the lawsuit, and pulled over to use the restroom. After Condit returned to the car, "she had her pants pulled down and said, 'I want you to kiss it and prove your loyalty.'" "After months of creating a dominant-submissive relationship, plaintiff was numbed and acted without thinking and it went from there with Alvarado-Gil establishing her ability to dominate him," the lawsuit states. Condit performed the sexual act on several occasions, the complaint alleges. "During the last occasion where plaintiff performed oral sex as demanded by Alvarado-Gil, Plaintiff suffered a back injury while performing in a car seat with his body having to twist and contort in the confined space of the car," according to the lawsuit. "Plaintiff later went to the doctor and discovered that the injury was more severe, and that plaintiff had suffered three herniated discs in his back and a collapsed hip." Condit later underwent hip surgery for his injuries. Condit did not return a text message or call from The Times, and his attorneys could not be reached for comment. The lawsuit claims that Condit's "personal and professional relationships were forever altered, and his employment record and opportunities in public employment are irreparably damaged and will never be the same." Condit's complaint extends beyond sexual favors, and includes allegations that Alvarado-Gil used him to run errands, shuttle around her daughter and take care of her dog. By late summer 2023, Condit had started distancing himself from Alvarado-Gil's alleged advances, according to the lawsuit, which said that the senator and her deputy chief of staff, a childhood friend of hers, went to the secretary of the Senate "to get plaintiff fired as punishment and retaliation." He was later issued a "bogus disciplinary letter with accusations of inappropriate behavior" that Alvarado-Gil allegedly made against him. The lawsuit also alleges Alvarado-Gil took steps to get closer with Condit's wife and "insert herself into a position of control" over the couple's life, including hiring Condit's wife on her campaign in March 2023 and going to the same beautician. Later that summer, after Condit allegedly started rejecting Alvarado-Gil's advances, the senator went to his house "and falsely told his wife that plaintiff was seeing someone to cause him distress." In December, the lawsuit claims that Alvardo-Gil texted Condit that he had been fired, and that she tried to get him to instead resign by offering to hire his wife. The lawsuit also claims that Secretary of the Senate Erika Contreras "blindly accepted Alvarado-Gil's retaliatory actions against plaintiff and ratified her abuse of him." In a statement, Contreras acknowledged the lawsuit but said the Senate has not been served. "We are in discussion with counsel to assess next steps," Contreras wrote. "The Senate takes all complaints incredibly seriously, but is unable to comment on matters involving pending litigation." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. There is growing pressure to free Lucy Letby, with some doctors, scientists and statisticians questioning the way that evidence was presented to the jury - Chester Standard Wes Streeting has branded calls to free Lucy Letby crass and insensitive. The Health Secretary said that the public should continue to view the former nurse, who is currently serving 15 life sentences, as a murderer amid growing demands for her release. Letby was convicted of killing seven newborns and attempting to murder seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital between 2015 and 2016. But there is growing pressure to free the 35-year-old, with some doctors, scientists and statisticians questioning the way that evidence was presented to the jury. Asked about the row by LBCs Lewis Goodall, Mr Streeting said: It is crass and insensitive to be waging a public campaign in this way. Because we can debate it, you and I, listeners can debate it, we can read the newspapers. Were not the Criminal Case Review Board. We have an independent judiciary in this country, I think we have a fair and successful independent judiciary in this country. Mr Streeting appealed to the public to let the judicial process 'run its course' - Belinda Jiao The Health Secretarys intervention is the first public comment on growing doubts about the safety of Letbys convictions by a member of Sir Keir Starmers Cabinet. It comes as the family of one of the babies who died told those raising concerns about Letbys conviction, shame on you, adding it has made them question humanity. Appealing to the public to let the judicial process run its course, Mr Streeting added: There is no purpose to a media campaign. It is for the courts to decide on the basis of evidence and I would just remind people that we always presume innocence until people have been found guilty. Lucy Letby has been found guilty, on multiple counts, of serious crimes with multiple whole life sentences. And until the courts find a reason to suggest otherwise, we should continue to regard her as a convicted killer serving multiple life sentences, delivering justice for those families going through unimaginable and intolerable grief. Letby supporters demonstrated outside the High Court in London during her appeal hearing in April - ZUMAPRESS.com / Avalon The Thirlwall Inquiry, which was set up to examine how Letby was able to harm babies in her care while working at Countess of Chester Hospital, is due to begin on Tuesday. The probe will also examine the broader conditions in the neonatal unit where Letby worked. David Davis, a veteran Tory MP, last month revealed he hoped to visit Letby in prison as part of an investigation as to whether she may be the victim of a miscarriage of justice. Mr Davis told The Daily T podcast he would hope to visit Letby in HMP Bronzefield in Surrey if he was at least three-quarters persuaded that shes innocent. Experts from universities including Edinburgh, Harvard and Bristol have joined members of the Royal Statistical Society in questioning the way crucial evidence was presented in court. Doubts have also been raised over Letby poisoning liquid nutrition bags fed to the victims with insulin, as there was no direct evidence that the bags had been tampered with. But the parents of twin boys Baby E and Baby F, one of whom was murdered and one of whom was attacked by the nurse, have said calls to free Letby have been fuelled by lies and misinformation. Our family is deeply shocked by the ongoing speculation surrounding what is being referred to as a miscarriage of justice, they told the Sunday Times. The parents added: Once they were all put together the wall of evidence was overwhelming. To take each brick out separately is simply taking evidence out of context. The spread of lies and misinformation is deeply distressing and makes us sick to our cores. We just want some peace to grieve, knowing the person who caused so much agony is where she belongs. Last year, Letby failed to face her victims families when she was given a whole life order for murdering seven babies and trying to kill six more. It led Sir Keir, the then opposition leader, to call on Rishi Sunak to introduce a new law to make offenders appear in court. Mr Justice Goss, the judge in the trial of Letby, told the court he did not have the power to force her to attend her sentencing, saying there was nothing I can do about it. On Tuesday, a public inquiry will begin into Letbys crimes at the Countess of Chester Hospital. It will hear evidence from senior managers at the hospital, medical staff and lawyers representing the victims families. It will not look at questions over her innocence. But the calls for the case to be re-examined have gathered momentum since the verdicts were handed down last August, with particular concern expressed about some of the scientific evidence presented to the jury. One of the key planks of the prosecution case centred around a spreadsheet showing the frequency of child collapses against Letbys shift patterns. But leading statisticians have questioned the legitimacy of such evidence pointing to miscarriages of justice in the Netherlands and Italy involving medics accused of killing patients in their care. In 2010, Dutch nurse Lucia de Berk, who had been convicted of seven murders, partly based on shift pattern evidence, was cleared. And three years ago Italian nurse Daniela Poggiali, who was accused of murdering up to 38 patients was cleared of wrongdoing. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Whatever else Kamala Harris is doing to prep for her debate with Donald Trump on Tuesday, shes already shown that she knows how to handle his provocations: Swat them away like the small, familiar gnats they mostly are. Same old, tired playbook. Next question, please, was all Harris had to say when CNNs Dana Bash asked her on Aug. 29 about Trumps asininity that Harris had chosen to turn Black, and it was all his diss deserved. Trumps whole schtick, including the race-baiting, has gotten tiresome, even for some voters who twice supported him . And thats how Harris should react: Shes tired of his tripe; arent we? All the better for her, the incumbent vice president, to pull off the trick of seeming like a fresh change agent next to Americas crazy uncle, its barstool bigot. One things for certain: The tableau of the two nominees onstage will be a far cry from the fogeys face-off between Trump and President Biden in June. Trump was terrible in that encounter but Biden was worse, addled and looking older than his 81 years. Trump didnt beat Biden, for all his shameless hawking of remnants of the knockout suit he wore that night. Biden beat Biden. Now Harris needs to bring her prosecutorial best to Philadelphia, let the few undecided voters get more familiar with her, show some policy chops and not take his bait. Let Trump beat Trump. Merely ignoring his performative bullying has limits, however. Harris, we can hope, will score points with a well-executed clapback or three, putting Trump on his heels or provoking him into an unhinged tirade, or both. Among the great what-ifs of past presidential debates was Hillary Clintons failure to challenge Trump as he stalked her during their town hall-style showdown in 2016. Read more: Calmes: Is Kamala Harris' rise backlash against Donald Trump's misogyny? As Clinton later wrote in a memoir , No matter where I walked, he followed me closely, staring at me, making faces. My skin crawled. It was one of those moments where you wish you could hit pause and ask everyone watching, Well, what would you do? Do you stay calm, keep smiling and carry on as if he werent repeatedly invading your space? Or do you turn, look him in the eye and say loudly and clearly, Back up, you creep.'" I cant forget watching that scene, wishing like so many women for the latter response for Clinton to spin on her heels and verbally put the creep in his place. For the second time in three presidential bids, Trump, the misogynist in chief, confronts a woman as his rival, and now a woman of color to boot. Any other male candidate would have to take care not to be offensive or patronizing. But not Trump. In-your-face affronts are his M.O., and his voters love it. That and aggrievement. Hes whined for weeks that hes not facing Biden again, muttering nonsense about how Democrats staged a coup. Now he confronts this smart, vibrant woman hes never even met. I smell fear. Read more: With crime a key issue for voters, Harris and Trump both tout law enforcement support When Bash expressed surprise in the CNN interview that the two had never met, Harris merely nodded. That was a missed opportunity. In the debate, she should take any such opening or create one to point out that she and Trump have never crossed paths for good reason: Trump is the first president since the 19th century to skip his successors swearing-in. The sore loser took his marbles to Mar-a-Lago rather than witness the Biden-Harris inauguration at the Capitol, two weeks after his supporters failed insurrection there. In the weeks after Biden dropped out of the race, Trump fulminated and threatened to skip debating the president's replacement. Harris taunted him at her raucous rallies, with that laugh that so gets under his thin skin: As the saying goes, if you got something to say, say it to my face. Read more: The 'defunding' police debate and reimagining public safety: Kamala Harris' record on a fraught American issue A little taunting is good. On Tuesday, she could school Trump on how to pronounce her name . If he trots out his new nickname for her, Comrade Kamala, she could come back with a bemused put-down of the dated Cold Warrior rhetoric, and note the irony of Vladimir Putins pal calling her comrade. Trump will surely repeat his stump-speech attacks on Harris for flip-flopping on long-past liberal positions, such as her 2019 opposition to fracking, which is important in battleground Pennsylvania. After a quick counter say, about how her current stances represent appropriate compromise now that shes been in the government for nearly four years how about slamming Trump for his still pinballing positions on abortion? Read more: Opinion: This could be Kamala Harris' Achilles' heel with crucial undecided voters The policy-phobic Trump is sure to serve up unresponsive word salads to questions on substantive issues, like his two-minute gibberish at the New York Economic Club Thursday to a query about how to make child care affordable. Its worth watching the whole thing to see him inanely conflate the nations tariff revenues (using false claims) with families child care costs. (Were going to be taking in trillions of dollars and as much as child care is talked about as being expensive, its relatively speaking not very expensive compared to the kind of numbers well be taking in.) In short, he has no clue. Trumps falsehoods about his record are so familiar that Harris should be well-prepared with concise fact-checks , as Biden wasnt, especially on issues such as the economy and immigration, where he has an edge. Puncture his pompousness. Get out the fly swatter for the gnats. Cue the laugh. But most of all, show the persuadable voters what a serious presidential candidate looks and sounds like. @jackiekcalmes Get the latest from Jackie Calmes Commentary on politics and more from award-winning opinion columnist. Sign me up. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Guernsey's Civil Protection Agency provided passengers with air mattresses and sleeping bags [Tina Caldeira] Passengers had to spend the night in Guernsey Airport's terminal after a flight between the island and Jersey was cancelled and no accommodation could be found. The Blue Islands flight was due to depart Guernsey at 20:25 BST on Saturday, but was cancelled an hour later due to severe thunderstorms over Jersey, the airline said. It added hotels were full and airport representatives explored other options, but no alternative accommodation was available. A Blue Islands spokesperson said: "Disruption is the last resort, however safety of our passengers, crew and aircraft is always our number one priority. While these circumstances were out of our control we apologise for the inconvenience." With nine of the flights 19 passengers unable to find accommodation, Guernsey Ports said it contacted Guernsey Civil Protection, which arranged for air mattresses and sleeping bags to be brought to the airport. Passengers slept on the upper floor of the airport's landside terminal [Tina Caldeira] Affected passengers were provided with bottled water and refreshments were available overnight from the landside vending machines, Guernsey Ports said. It added that the cafe opened earlier than usual on Sunday morning. Ross Coppolo, chief operating officer, said: I would like to thank our teams and the Civil Protection volunteers for their hard work late on Saturday night. The passengers from the cancelled inter-island flight to Jersey were understandably upset and some were unable to secure accommodation for the night at short notice. We will be working with the operator to help ensure in future that appropriate customer care is provided to passengers in the event of any late cancellations of scheduled services. Follow BBC Guernsey on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. Follow BBC Jersey on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk. More on this story Related internet links ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) Lawmakers are proposing a change to the set of cannabis enforcement laws in Ontario County, expanding jurisdiction to the Ontario County Sheriffs Office. Local Law No. 12 (intro) of 2024 would intend to Establish Enforcement Authority for Prohibited Unlicensed Cannabis Activity, according to the proposal on the Countys website. Essentially, it would allow the Ontario County Sheriffs Office to assist in illegal cannabis operation shutdowns and code enforcement. Marijuana business owners in the county, like Director of Cultivation at Bristol Extracts Jason Parshall, said they hope the law passes. According to Parshall, its much needed for their communities. It would ideally, he said, shrink the number of illicit stores and create a safer marketplace for the public. Most people believe that if you can walk in, hand them money and leave with cannabis, it must be legal, right? Because cannabis is legal. Most people do not even know that theyre shopping at an illegal source, Parshall said. The law may also lessen the load for agencies that are currently responsible for cannabis jurisdiction as well. Business owners within the law said they hope this means illegal businesses will be shut down quicker. With the county being involved, it gives us a broader scope and itll help allow us to eliminate all the illegal products out there that are not safe, Owner of Twisted Cannabis FLX Ian Boni says. The passing of this law could also alleviate worries many people who buy cannabis have about where their product comes from. Weve had people come in here and buy product that say theyve bought it from an illegal store down the street and they got sick, so you dont know what youre buying, and the consumer might not know if thats illegal or not illegal, Boni said. The law is only in the proposal process and has not been officially passed. It will be discussed by the Ontario County Board of Supervisors at their next meeting on Sept. 12 at 6:30 p.m. 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 RochesterFirst. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. A state working group focused on maternal health returns its first list of recommendations. What comes next? Capitol View host Roby Brock talked with a panel to discuss the issue DHS Medicaid director Janet Mann, Department of Health secretary Renee Mallory and Arkansas Surgeon General Dr. Kay Chandler. Roby then talks with Anna Beth Gorman from the Womens Foundation of Arkansas and Tamika Edwards from Southwest Power Pool to discuss an annual gender equity scorecard that has opened for information. What does it hope to measure? What trends have we been seeing in recent years? Capitol View airs on Sundays at 8:30 a.m. 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 KARK. CARLSBAD, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) Police in North County searched for a suspect who was reported to be armed with a knife in Carlsbad Saturday evening to no avail. Carlsbad Police issued a public announcement on X at 6:45 p.m. Saturday that the ABLE police helicopter was making announcements in the Bressi Ranch area of Carlsbad, near El Fuerte Street and Gateway Road, as police searched for a man suspected to have been armed with a knife in the area. In an update just before 8 p.m., the police department said they were unable to locate the suspect after police searched the area for around an hour. Carlsbad Police said witnesses at the scene reported to officers that the suspect may have already left the area before they arrived. According to the police department, the suspect is described as a Hispanic man, 56, heavyset, wearing a white shirt and dark pants. Carlsbad Police are asking anyone who may have seen an altercation in that area on Saturday to contact their non-emergency line at 442-339-2197 to speak with an officer. 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 FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. 70 Kelly's Roast Beef, a small chain dating to the 1950s, opened at 70 Gold Star Blvd. on Tuesday. The restaurant is in a plaza built on the site of a former auto dealership, most recently Volvo Cars. Kellys Roast Beef began as a food shack on Revere Beach in 1951. The Worcester location is the chain's seventh. It is owned and operated by AAM 15 Management, which describes itself as a private equity investment and management company. Bringing Kellys Roast Beef to Worcester is a significant milestone for us, said David Masse, CEO and founder of AAM. A Worcester Polytechnic Institute banner hangs on a post near the Hampton Inn & Suites on Prescott Street Wednesday. 2 City Manager Eric D. Batista said during a recent City Council meeting that the city has spoken with Worcester Polytechnic Institute representatives about its planned purchase of two hotels, while some councilors had harsh words to say about WPI's plans. "I just don't understand how you think you can do something this big that has such an impact on our city," said District 2 City Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson. WPI's intention to buy the Hampton Inn & Suites at 65 Prescott St. and the Courtyard by Marriott at 72 Grove St. has received sharp rebukes from city economic and political leaders. Members of Nashoba Valley Medical Center's staff stand outside the hospital after it was officially closed to patients on Saturday. Staff held up signs acknowledging their decades of service at the hospital. 8/31 An era of health services in Central Massachusetts came to an end on Aug. 31, as Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer closed to patients. The hospital closed its doors to patients at 7 a.m., the end of a dramatic past month that saw a whirlwind of events unfold since the hospital's parent company, Steward Health Care, announced in late July that two of its hospitals, Nashoba Valley Medical Center and Carney Hospital in Dorchester, would be closing at the end of the month. Steward, a Texas-based, for-profit medical company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May. A home for sale at 28 Piper St. in Leominster. 01453 As the housing market in Massachusetts continues to be tough for buyers, one city in Central Massachusetts is looking increasingly attractive, according to a recent report by Realtor.com. The website found that the 01453 ZIP code within Leominster was the seventh hottest single-family market in the country, based on indicators such as views for online real estate listings and days spent on the market. In the Leominster ZIP code, single-family homes in the first half of 2024 spend a median of 21 days on the market before closing, Realtor.com said. The median listing price was $462,000 for a single-family home. Sterling officials issued a cease-and-desist order to the operator of the quarry. 8/22 The Board of Selectmen has rescinded a cease-and-desist order that it had issued in an emergency meeting hours after a fatal collapse at Onyx Corp., a sand and gravel business in Sterling. The collapse occurred Aug. 22. Brian C. Derby, 67, of Townsend and the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe, died from injuries sustained in the quarry accident. Onyx Vice President John Durkin called it a "freak accident," and said it will take six months to a year before the Mine Safety and Health Administration issues its final report. Onyx has 10 full-time employees and 30 independent contractors. This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Central Mass. by the Numbers Charges filed against Washington County man accused of having hundreds of files of child pornography Police have filed a long list of child pornography charges against a Washington County man. Court documents say that cyber investigators received a tip on March 8 from Microsoft about child pornography that had been uploaded. Police say the victim in the photo was between seven to nine years old. Microsoft gave investigators the IP Address of the account that had uploaded the photo. Police used that information to learn that the uploader used Verizon as their internet provider. Authorities issued a subpoena to Verizon, signed by the Pennsylvania Attorney Generals Office, and were able to get information on the user based on the IP address. Police say it belonged to Chris A. McMurdy, 78, of North Strabane Township. They also got the location of his house, telephone numbers, email addresses and various usernames. A search warrant was issued for McMurdys house after police confirmed it belonged to him. When they arrived they interviewed him in his kitchen and seized his phone. Police say over 200 files of child pornography were found on his devices after they were searched. McMurdy faces over 16 felony charges and is expected to appear in court in October. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Woman killed, 2 people hurt in shooting at Lawrence County bar Local school bus driver, police chaplain facing child pornography charges Massive tree falls during severe storms, splitting Beaver County home in half VIDEO: Heres how a local school district is working to address the nationwide teacher shortage DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts A Minneapolis man has been charged with murder after he allegedly shot and killed a man while high on PCP. William Howard Sanders IV, 38, was charged with one count of 2nd-degree murder in Hennepin County court earlier this week. Hes accused of fatally shooting 24-year-old DeJaun Marquise Michael Hall of Minneapolis. In an interview, Sanders admitted to shooting Hall, adding that he had smoked PCP and didnt know what was on his mind at the time. He later claimed he was acting in self defense and that Hall had made threats against him and his family. Sanders also stated he was suspicious of Hall because he was wearing a sweatshirt on a "nice day," according to the criminal complaint. According to the criminal complaint, Minneapolis police responded to a report of a shooting near 1st Avenue South and East 19th Street at around 7 p.m. Tuesday. At the scene, officers found Hall suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He died at the scene despite life-saving efforts. A report from the medical examiner found that he had died from three gunshot wounds. Police later reviewed surveillance footage from the time of the shooting, which showed Hall and a man identified as Sanders get into an argument. Sanders appeared to take a gun out of a fanny pack and follow Hall around a parked car. Sanders then shot him multiple times before walking away from the scene. Sanders was arrested at a hotel on Thursday. During a search of his vehicle, officers found the fanny pack seen in the surveillance footage. Inside of the fanny pack was a handgun. Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) on Sunday urged Republicans who oppose former President Trump but do not publicly back Vice President Harris to take the extra step and endorse the vice president to prevent Trumps reelection. Given the closeness of this election, particularly if youre going to find yourself voting in a swing state, youve got to take the extra step if you really do recognize the threat that Donald Trump poses. Then its not enough to simply say, Im not going to vote for him,' Cheney said on ABC Newss This Week. Cheney, who became one of the most outspoken critics of Trump following the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, threw her support behind Harris last week and said she doesnt think we have the luxury of writing in candidates names. I would also remind them, you know what? Its a secret ballot. So, I would prefer to have as many people as possible publicly making the case, she said. But at the end of the day, you just have to wrestle with your own conscience when youre there in the voting booth. And I would expect that you will see far more Republicans and independents, you know, when the time comes, and theyve got to make that decision, make the right decision. Some Republicans, meanwhile, have maintained they will not vote for Harris and will instead write somebody else in. They include Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah), former Vice President Mike Pence and GOP Maryland Senate candidate and former Gov. Larry Hogan. Cheneys endorsement of Harris joins those made by fellow anti-Trump Republicans such as former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) and former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan in publicly supporting the vice president. A day after Cheney officially announced her support for Harris, her father, former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, also backed the vice president. The former vice president said in a statement that Americans have a duty to defend the Constitution, regardless of political party. In our nations 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump, he wrote. He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He can never be trusted with power again. 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. Chicago Transit Authority slayings, while unprecedented, are unsurprising to homeless, advocates: You shouldnt dread getting on the train CHICAGO Betty Bogg remembered how excited Margaret Miller and her husband were when they landed a place to stay at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Miller, 64, and her husband had been living out of their truck when they first sought help from Connections for the Homeless, where Bogg is the CEO. They were eventually sheltered through the organizations hotel shelter program in 2020, where Bogg said she ran into them on a visit. They were on the sidewalk, and they called me over, she said. They were like, Were here, were here! Bogg and her colleagues were devastated to learn last week that Miller was one of four people shot and killed as they slept on the train early Monday morning in one of the deadliest acts of violence on a CTA train in recent memory. Bogg said she had never heard of a client executed on public transit. But premature deaths among the homeless population that Connections serves are all too familiar. We regularly lose people to violence, to disease, to abuse, (to) all the things that can happen to a person in a particularly vulnerable situation like being unhoused, she said. Bogg and other advocates said the deaths of Miller, Simeon Bihesi, Adrian Collins and a fourth victim, an unidentified man, were a lurid reminder of the risks that homeless people face. While it is not confirmed that all four riders were homeless, people who regularly sleep on trains told the Chicago Tribune they hadnt necessarily been surprised to hear of the deaths, although they tended to worry more about theft when they found themselves sleeping on transit. Bogg remembered Miller as a caretaker who spoke both for herself and her husband, Nicholas Johnson. Johnson used a wheelchair and was a man of few words, she recalled, and Miller really did the talking for them. She would really tell us what they needed, Bogg said. She was solicitous and kind and a good person. Bogg last saw Miller at a 2022 memorial service where she spoke in honor of her husband, who had died earlier that year. She was housed by then, Bogg said, though the organizations staff kept in touch with her. Bogg had last heard Miller was living in Des Plaines. The organizations most recent contact with her was in January. Things seemed OK, Bogg said. Bogg wasnt sure how Miller ended up on the train Monday morning and only heard of her death when the Forest Park Police Department called asking about finding Millers next of kin. Connections staff was trying to help reach a living relative to make funeral arrangements. Social service organizations typically do not identify people they work with, but will sometimes help contact relatives depending on their knowledge of a persons wishes for their medical care. The agency investigating a death is responsible for notifying next of kin about their relatives death, a spokesperson from the Cook County medical examiners office said. If someone is not found within 10 days of a death, the medical examiners office also gets involved. If remains are not claimed after a month at the medical examiners office, the office cremates the body per the Cook County Medical Examiners Ordinance. The county also holds memorial services periodically for the unclaimed deceased, who are buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. The most recent service, held in June, honored 160 dead. There isnt firm data on how many homeless people are victims of violent crime annually, but Bogg said Mondays shooting was an example of a pattern of violence against people without a place to live. Its made worse by the way people treat and view people who are unhoused the disdain or the shame that people heap on someone who is unhoused, Bogg said. On Thursday night, a speaker pumped Journeys Dont Stop Believin into the Forest Park station parking lot as people chatted in line outside a set of mobile showers. Volunteers handed out clothes and other supplies from a set of folding tables. Nearby, Sam Tornincasa rearranged his things in a backpack. Dinner a can of grape seltzer, some pasta, a beef jerky stick and a clementine sat on the concrete ledge next to him. Tornincasa, 33, has been trying to avoid the train of late. I took it basically all winter, and I got robbed so many times, he said. When he was staying on the train, he did his best not to sleep at night. Hed wait for daytime, which he hated. These guys are just trying to go to work, he said. They dont want to deal with someone (like me) thats laying down or sleeping or taking up seats. Katie Rafferty and Richard Smith waited for their showers with a few bags nearby. The couple typically prefers not to spend extended periods on the trains, but have sometimes felt they had no other choice. When it was cold out, we had nowhere else to go, said Rafferty, 33. Wed wake up, our phones were gone, our bags were gone, everything (was) gone. They were waiting for the Blue Line when they first heard about the shooting, they said. We were just hoping it wasnt anyone we knew, Rafferty said. It turned out they hadnt known any of the three victims who were identified. Smith, 41, said the only thing surprising to him about the slayings was that they hadnt happened sooner. They hear more about overdoses than acts of aggression on the trains, he said, though Rafferty in particular said she had also had physical confrontations while on transit. When we heard about the four people being dead, I was like, Oh, really, yeah, Rafferty said. Its so normal. As for why they didnt seek shelter in a more traditional setting, Smith said, the shelters are just bigger trains. The same stuff goes on there, he said. Youve got to be in fear of your things. Smith said he didnt know what could be done to improve safety on the CTA. But, he said, you shouldnt dread getting on the train. You shouldnt feel uncomfortable when youre just trying to get to work, or youre trying to get your kids to school, or whatever it might be, he added. The CTA pays the Department of Family Support Services about $2 million each year on outreach to people staying on the Red and Blue lines, a spokesperson said. Workers from DFSS-funded outreach teams connected 88 people to housing and placed another 220 people in shelter over the period between January 2023 and July 2024. After about 45 minutes, Rafferty got to take a long shower. She emerged in a fresh green T-shirt and joggers, running her fingers through her hair. On the platform, Smith worried for a moment about whether theyd missed the chance to board the waiting train before he brightened. They have to look out the window before they go, he said. Theyll open (the doors). Sure enough, a conductor walked up and opened the doors to one of the cars with a large key. A few commuters looked up as the pair boarded the train and took seats in the back of a car. The doors closed and the train shot back toward Chicago. Rafferty was still combing her hair in the window reflection. _____ A southern cassowary chick, one of the world's largest and deadliest birds, has been successfully hatched for the first time at a bird park in the Cotswolds. Keepers at Birdland in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, have been trying to breed the giant, flightless birds for more than 25 years. The chick is only the fourth to hatch in Europe this year and the first born in the UK since 2021. "When we caught our first glimpse of the tiny chick it was a very special moment indeed," said keeper Alistair Keen. The southern cassowary chick is part of the European Endangered Species Programme [Birdland] Cassowaries have a reputation as one of the worlds most dangerous birds and their size, speed and power combined with their dagger-like, 10cm claws mean we have to take looking after them extremely seriously." The Cassowary, which is related to the emu and native to the tropical forests of New Guinea and northern Australia, is considered so dangerous because of its powerful legs, a sharp claw and aggressive behaviour when threatened. There have been documented cases of people being killed by cassowaries, with one of the most recent in 2019, when Marvin Hajos, 75, died after he was attacked by one of his pet cassowaries. Cassowaries have a reputation as one of the world's "most dangerous" birds, keepers said [Birdland] The proud parents of the new chick, a male from Avifauna in Alphen, Netherlands, and a female from Frankfurt, Germany, have been at Birdland since 2012 and are part of the European Endangered Species Programme. Before 2021, the hatching of Cassowary chicks in the UK was relatively rare. Cassowaries are challenging to breed in captivity due to their specific environmental and behavioural needs. The male incubates the eggs for up to two months and looks after the hatchlings. Once the chicks hatch, the male leads them to his regular feeding grounds, protecting them for up to 16 months. Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. More on this story Related internet links SEOUL (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin sent greetings to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on the occasion of North Korea's founding anniversary, state media KCNA said on Monday. "I am sure that the comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and the DPRK will be strengthened in a planned way thanks to our joint efforts," Putin said, according to KCNA. DPRK is short for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name. Xi called for deeper strategic communication and cooperation with North Korea in his message, KCNA said. Last year, Kim marked the country's founding day on Sept 9 with a parade of paramilitary groups and diplomatic exchanges in which he vowed to deepen ties with China and Russia. (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Ed Davies) (FOX40.COM) A woman was found with a fatal gunshot inside her vehicle on the side of US-50, according to the California Highway Patrol Placerville Area. Around 6:30 a.m., CHP responded to a call of a disabled vehicle on US-50 eastbound, east of Snows Road in the community of Camino. The area is near Apple Hill. There, officers found a Chevrolet truck on the right shoulder of the highway with a woman inside who suffered from a fatal gunshot. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Fire in Roseville forces evacuation orders for several homes CHP officers arrested a 38-year-old man from Sacramento in connection with the homicide. They said the incident is still under investigation and advised anyone with information to call the Placerville CHP office at 530-748-2450. 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 FOX40. CIA chief urges West not to be frightened by Kremlin's nuclear threats William Burns, Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), believes that Western leaders should not fear the Kremlin's threats of nuclear escalation. Source: Burns at a Financial Times event in London on Saturday, 7 September, as reported by European Pravda, citing the Guardian Details: Burns referenced Russia's nuclear threats in the autumn of 2022 as an example of why such statements should not always be taken at face value. "Putins a bully. Hes going to continue to sabre rattle from time to time. We cannot afford to be intimidated by that sabre rattling," the CIA chief stressed. However, Burns emphasised that the risk of escalation should not be underestimated. He also admitted that in 2022, the CIA genuinely believed Russia might use tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine. "There was a moment in the fall [autumn] of 2022 when I think there was a genuine risk of potential use of tactical nuclear weapons," Burns said, referring to Ukraine's offensive in Kherson Oblast and the pushing of Russian forces from the right (west) bank of the Dnipro River. He recalled that in November 2022, US President Joe Biden sent him to Turkiye to deliver a warning to Sergei Naryshkin, Head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, about "the consequences of that kind of escalation". Background: The meeting between Burns and Naryshkin was only disclosed after it occurred. According to media reports, the discussion centred on the US's readiness to deploy non-nuclear weapons against Russian targets, with the potential for "significant consequences." On 7 September, for the first time, the CIA chief spoke at a joint event with Richard Moore, Director of UK intelligence agency MI6, where they discussed the impact of the Ukrainian operation in Russia's Kursk Oblast on Russian elites. Support UP or become our patron! CIA director says he thought there was 'genuine risk' of Russia's use of nuclear weapons in 2022 Bill Burns, the head of the CIA, said at the Financial Times' Weekend festival in London that he believed there was a "genuine risk" Russia would use tactical nuclear weapons in the first months of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Telegraph reported on Sept. 7. "There was a moment in the fall of 2022 when I think there was a genuine risk of a potential use of tactical nuclear weapons," Burns said, referring to the time around Ukrainian counteroffensives in Kharkiv and Kherson oblasts. Following the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the south in late 2022, the U.S. "rigorously prepared" for Russia's use of strategic or tactical nuclear weapons, CNN reported in March, citing its undisclosed sources. After Russian propaganda spread reports that Ukraine allegedly intended to use a so-called "dirty bomb" against Russia, U.S. officials feared the Kremlin would use this pretext as a cover for a possible nuclear attack, according to CNN. U.S. President Joe Biden sent Burns to Turkey in November 2022 to meet with Sergei Naryshkin, the head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. During the talks, Burns conveyed to his Russian counterpart the potential consequences of an escalation involving nuclear weapons. In a statement issued at the time, the White House said: "He is conveying a message on the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons by Russia and the risks of escalation to strategic stability." Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials have reiterated several times since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine that Russia is "prepared" for a nuclear war and could use its nuclear arsenal if necessary. In February, Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, said the world risked a global "apocalypse" if Western nations continued to send arms to Ukraine. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also said on Sep. 1 that Russia will change its nuclear doctrine based on an analysis of recent conflicts and the West's "escalation course." Of Russia's nuclear threats, Burns said at the event: "I don't think we can afford to be intimidated by that saber rattling or bullying, (but) we've got to be mindful of it." According to a March report from the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), Russia currently has a total inventory of 5,580 nuclear warheads (including around 1,200 awaiting dismantlement), the most of any country in the world. Read also: Explaining Russias new nuclear doctrine saber-rattling or real threat? Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The wait is over. There's new additions to the families of rattlesnakes in a Colorado mega-den. The northern Colorado rattlesnake den complex, described as a "mega-den," is one of two monitored by researchers at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. With the arrival of baby rattlesnakes, now is a good time to check out the Project RattleCam livestream feed for the Colorado den, says Emily Taylor, the project leader and a Cal Poly biological sciences professor. "Baby rattlesnakes will be basking with their mothers in this communal birthing area for 1-2 months before snakes enter winter hibernation," Taylor told USA TODAY. One photo shared with USA TODAY showed a rattlesnake named Thea babysitting other baby snakes. "We have seen babysitting many times on the RattleCam," said Max Roberts, one of biological sciences grad students in Cal Poly's Physiological Ecology of Reptiles Laboratory helping oversee the project. A female rattlesnake named Thea in a Colorado rattlesnake mega-den babysits some newborn snake pups. "Note that Thea has a very large, thick body in the photo, so we know that it is pregnant and that the babies snuggling with her are not her own," Roberts told USA TODAY. Video: Watch as time-lapse footage captures solar arrays reflecting auroras, city lights from space More about the baby rattlesnakes on the Colorado RattleCam The first baby rattlers were spotted on Aug. 22 "and we have been seeing more and more babies as females continue to give birth over the last few weeks," Roberts said. "We expect the last of the pregnant females to give birth in early to mid-September, although the snakes will likely stay surface active through early October." It's uncertain how many snakes inhabit the den, Roberts said. "We don't know the total number of pregnant females, (so) we can't say for sure how many babies will be born this year," he said. "On average, each female gives birth to around 8 pups, so that will end up being a lot of baby snakes," Roberts said. "The full number of snakes with babies included is likely not 2,000 and is closer to 1,000 or several hundred." How to view baby rattlesnakes on the RattleCam Go to Cal Poly's Project RattleCam web page and you will find: The Colorado Rattlecam Livestream of a Prairie Rattlesnake rookery runs 24-7 from May to October. The California Rattlesnake Rookery Livestream, which monitors a snake den on the central coast of California, runs 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day from July through October. The site also has links to YouTube feeds so you can chat about the snakes. The story behind the RattleCam The Cal Poly researchers installed the first RattleCam in California in summer 2021, as part of a way to educate people about snakes and to be less fearful of them. The Colorado webcam went live in May 2024. You can meet some of the Colorado snakes on the Project RattleCam site. You can also watch video highlights including night vision clips on the YouTube channel; other highlights are on the Project RattleCam site. Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider. What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Colorado rattlesnake mega den livestream shows newborn baby snakes Sen. Bernie Sanders said Sunday he disagrees with former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Rep. Liz Cheney on many topics, but not on their belief that Donald Trump should never become president again. Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press," the Vermont senator said, "What I think Dick and Liz Cheney are saying is that in this existential moment in American history, it's not just issues. Cheney and I agree on nothing no issues. But what we do believe in is that the United States should retain its democratic foundations." Sanders added: "I applaud the Cheneys for their courage in defending democracy. Obviously, on all the issues we have very different points of view." Last week, the Cheneys both said they would cross party lines to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris as president, rather than Trump. As citizens, we each have a duty to put country above partisanship to defend our Constitution. That is why I will be casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, Dick Cheney said in a statement Friday. Speaking Sunday on ABC's "This Week," former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) referred to Trump as "somebody who was willing to use violence in order to attempt to seize power." Knowing that Sanders was set to appear after him on "Meet the Press," North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum suggested that host Kristen Welker ask Sanders about the endorsements, given that Dick Cheney in particular had long been the target of mockery and scorn from liberals. "Now, overnight, they're embracing him," said Burgum, a Republican who is backing Trump. Welker said she would ask. Trump mocked the Cheneys last week, writing on Truth Social: Dick Cheney is an irrelevant RINO, along with his daughter, who lost by the largest margin in the History of Congressional Races! While officially listed as an independent when it comes to the Senate, Sanders remains perhaps the most progressive voice in that body. Speaking Sunday, Sanders said that while he has some specific policy differences with Harris, he does still consider the Democratic nominee to be progressive as well. Sanders also told Welker that "maybe the most important issue" remains the need to reduce the influence the wealthiest Americans have on the government. "Look, you have one vote. The average American has one vote," he said. "But billionaires could start a super PAC and put hundreds of millions of dollars, tens of millions of dollars into defeating the people they don't like and supporting the people they do like. That is not democracy. That is oligarchy." ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) City leaders, community members, and family all came together to celebrate a local advocate. The Whittier Community Center, in southeast Albuquerque, was renamed the ReynaLuz Juarez Community Center. Juarez wanted to help those in the International District find a sense of community and used Whittier as her home base connecting families to resources. To those who knew her, she was a humble woman who put others first, always. VIDEO: Attempted copper thief does $30K worth of damage to ABQ healthcare facilities She was just always, always looking at how to build community, how to support community, how to bring people together. We didnt always agree about how to do it, but we always tried to figure it out. Because at the end of the day, that was her goal, and the goal of many of us who worked with her, said Enrique, a friend of Reynaluz Juarez. Despite Renyaluzs passing, friends and officials said she still had plans left to complete, and they will carry on her work. 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 KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. In Senator Hunt and Laurie Dolans recent Op-Ed, Washington can provide a variety of public schools that address diverse student needs, they stress the important role of locally elected school boards implementing school programs rather than expanding the number of charter schools in Washington state. While this approach has been successful in certain geographical areas, including the school districts the authors mention, local leaders must continually monitor the equity and access to these programs and their impact on the overall health of a district. Choice programming has proven to be successful in improving graduation rates and overall student performance. However, the way these programs are implemented is just as important. When an entire school is considered a choice program, especially when enrollment is lottery based, or it has its own catchment within a district, they are no different than a charter school except they are funded with state dollars. Choice programming needs to provide equal access for students districtwide while simultaneously leaving enough funds to meet every students needs in the district. As Senator Hunt and Laurie Dolan highlighted, the Olympia School District boasts more than 30 choice programs specifically geared toward students needs. While the initial intention of these programs is to increase inclusivity, the way they are implemented can introduce inadvertent exclusivity. Many of these programs are limited by geography, class size, and lack of awareness by the larger community. The selection processes can be confusing and opaque to the public. By spreading these different learning opportunities across the district and proactively reaching out to families to learn about them, school districts would create more equitable access to programming. This past year, like many districts statewide, the Olympia School District and its board of directors considered closing community schools in response to lower enrollment. After the pandemic, school districts are anxiously monitoring how public education will look in years to come. Districts across the state, including Olympia, are looking to their community schools to balance their budget while keeping all programming intact. Special programming also has a direct impact on a districts budget. This approach leaves less funding to go around, and community schools cannot cultivate an environment that the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention calls the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC). A school community that practices the WSCC framework has holistic services, including physical education, counseling and health services, community involvement, and family engagement. The WSCC framework also follows the National Education Associations model for community schools. A community school is attuned to its neighborhood, adaptable to students needs, and benefits from partnerships with adjacent businesses and organizations. This means every student, no matter which school they go to, should have their needs met exactly where theyre at. It means that a student who is identified as highly capable and/or has an individualized education program should receive services geared toward them at their community school. When every child gets what they need, including disability access and language access supports at their community schools, school districts get incredible outcomes. Students should not have to go to a separate school, outside of their community, to get the education they are entitled to. When choice programming becomes the de facto solution for meeting students needs, its at the cost of every student in the district. Rather than focusing on specialized programming, school districts can look to proven success in vibrant community schools. To be clear, choice programs are an effective way to provide services to our students. They should also, however, be continually reviewed to ensure that all students have equal access to them and community schools do not suffer. Creating equitable programming in all schools means an overall healthier school district. Lets create a system where every student has access to the supports and services they need to thrive. Miriam Hathaway is a parent, freelance writer, school volunteer, and former PTO president. Erika Lari is a parent, graphic designer, Questionable Music trivia champion, and community organizer. Both live in Olympia. Jackie said traffic is often at a "standstill" on her commute to work [BBC] Two of Northern Ireland's busiest roads, the M1 and the A1, converge at Sprucefield near Lisburn. For commuters from Newry, Banbridge, Portadown, Lurgan and beyond this is the major pinch point of the daily grind. A slow-rolling virtual traffic jam of thousands of cars means early starts, patience and a full tank. Jackie Coade is a teacher from Armagh city. She has worked in schools across Northern Ireland and she says the morning commute into Belfast is dreaded by many. I usually leave Armagh about a quarter to seven in the morning if Im working in Belfast, she said. 'Draining and expensive' The M1 and A1 meet at Sprucefield [BBC] But that's not the time that you're up at. You're up at least an hour before that. It's a pretty stressful journey. Most of the time you're at a standstill from Sprucefield. It is extremely draining and expensive. Whilst the cost may vary based upon driving style, type of vehicle, car sharing and parking provision, Jackie said commuting from Armagh requires two tanks of fuel a week. As such, while the concept of travelling to work by public transport seems ideal, it remains impractical for Jackie. I would love to be able to leave my car in Armagh every day and travel to work, she said. But I worked in a school in east Belfast for a while, so even if there had been a train station here in Armagh, your journey doesn't finish once you get to Belfast, you obviously then have to travel to the other side of the city. It was recently recommended that Armagh should be reconnected to the rail network, while the further development of the Glider network should help give commuters greater choice once they arrive in Belfast. 'Brilliant opportunities' William wants to see the railway in Armagh restored [BBC] For William Hutchinson of the Portadown-Armagh Railway Society (PARS) the Cathedral Citys inclusion in the All-Ireland Rail Review is promising but not a quick fix. The rail line here closed on the 1st October 1957 and it was a huge loss for the city, he said. We've lobbied since 2014 to have the railway restored and that has progressed from the long term to the medium term. "Now we would like to get it delivered in the short term. In 10 years time I would like to see a railway just where I'm standing now." He said it is "great that Grand Central Station is opening". "We're glad of the vision to open that huge hub," he said. "It's going to have eight platforms, and we're hoping that there'll be a destination, a listing on that platform for the city of Armagh. It gives great opportunity for the people of Armagh to have that connectivity once again, and that people will have a better opportunity to work in Belfast. "To get there early in the morning and to get home again at night. It also brings brilliant opportunities for tourism to come back to the city. 'Late for work' Warrenpoint recruitment director Matthew Evers [BBC] But proximity to a rail line does not necessarily mean commuters will ditch their cars. Frequency - or infrequency - of services or unsuitable final destinations often mean people keep hitting the road. Among this group is Warrenpoint recruitment director Matthew Evers, who drives to Belfast for work most days rather than getting a bus or train from nearby Newry. He said travelling by car remains the most realistic means of commuting. Driving, first of all, theres ease, he said. To get public transport Id first have to go to Newry and then onwards to Belfast. "I remember doing that on my first day and I was late for work." Matthew said, for him, taking public transport would take "a lot more time just to get to work". "I actually start at 8am and the traffic isnt necessarily that bad at that time," he said. With my job I have to go out and see clients while Im in Belfast so I need the car. If Im at work and I get a call telling me that Ive to see a client in Antrim, could I then get there on public transport in reasonable time? Thered need to be a more regular service that would ensure you arent late. Even Newry train station isnt really in Newry, its on the edge of Newry. "So if you were going on public transport from Warrenpoint youd have to get a connection from Newry bus centre to the train station. But driving to work you can just get straight into your car, straight up the motorway and straight into work. The challenge remains delivering a service to regional towns and cities that offers fast, frequent, flexible and affordable transit. The News Semafor Gulf Disruptive London protests against the global advisory firm APCO have spilled over into the companys internal conversations, as employees in its booming Gulf offices are pressing managers over the American firms dealings with an Israeli defense contractor. APCO senior executives have pledged to share details with their staff, but a Friday afternoon all-hands call with Middle East offices to discuss the matter was canceled. One employee said APCOs response has been both not enough and too slow for staff, many of whom work on behalf of Gulf governments, and are worried about the repercussions to their business or have personal qualms about work in support of Israels Gaza war. The internal friction is playing out with particular intensity in the firms Gulf offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, and Manama and in London, where workers were concerned for their safety after the protest. APCO is a global company with a team from more than 50 nationalities who have a diversity of opinions. When complex geopolitical issues emerge, they often provoke intense feelings and robust discussions within the firm, APCO said in an emailed statement. This open and respectful internal discussion is how we come together and become a stronger company. Know More Washington, DC-headquartered APCO is perhaps best known as a reputation manager in the broadest terms helping clients access new markets, weather crises, and remain competitive. Its clients include Fortune 500 companies and governments, and it has 35 offices across major cities around the world. X Its London offices were the target of pro-Palestinian activists last Tuesday, Turkish state news agency Anadolu Agency reported. They protested the firms lobbying efforts on behalf of one of Israels largest weapons firms, Elbit Systems, which has a $760 million two-year contract to supply ammunition to the Israeli Ministry of Defense. The activists jammed the entrance with bike locks and unfurled a banner that read: Stop lobbying for Genocide. APCO Drop Elbit. Kelseys view As the Gulf continues its decade-old drive for economic diversification from oil, its no secret that consultants fingerprints are all over the work. The daily flights from Dubai to Riyadh arent nicknamed things like the McKinsey Shuttle for nothing. But the conflict in Gaza is putting growing pressure on a relationship between Israel and the Gulf that had warmed after the 2020 Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and countries including Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Both have condemned the war, and Saudi Arabia which is still in normalization talks has called for sanctions on Israeli officials for war crimes. Sympathy for Palestinian suffering runs deep in the region and remains a constant presence on Arab satellite news stations, even if its not always expressed loudly in public. APCOs clients include the UAE Prime Ministers Office and Saudi Arabias Ministry of Economy and Planning. The firm also works behind the scenes on some of the regions highest-profile events: The UN climate conference COP28 and the World Expo in the UAE, as well as annual gabfests like Dubais World Government Summit, which last year brought in Nvidias Jensen Huang, and the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, hosted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. APCO has been in the Arabian Gulf since 2006, when founder Margery Kraus sensed a region on the move and opened an office in Dubai. The team has grown from less than 10 to today making up one-sixth of APCOs workforce, in offices across the Gulf and with clients in Cairo, Amman, Muscat and Beirut. APCO isnt the only American multinational firm working on behalf of foreign governments to navigate treacherous territory and the occasional crisis of conscience. But as the power of the Gulf and its value to APCO has grown, the stakes here are high for the company. Notable Anti-Israeli protests have dinged US brands in the Middle East like McDonalds and KFC, per Bloomberg. The war in Gaza has dampened UAE-Israel trade with fewer deals and no public announcements, according to Reuters. Separate from the conflict, Saudi Arabia has looked to wean itself from consultants in recent months, the Financial Times reports. Ties van der Hoevens ambitions are nothing if not grand. The Dutch engineer wants to transform a huge stretch of inhospitable desert into green, fertile land teeming with wildlife. His sights are set on Egypts Sinai Peninsula, an arid, triangle-shaped expanse that connects Africa with Asia. Thousands of years ago it was bursting with life, he said, but years of farming and other human activity have helped turn it into a barren desert. Van der Hoeven is convinced he can bring it back to life. He has spent years fine tuning an initiative aimed at restoring plant and animal life to roughly 13,500 square miles of the Sinai Peninsula, an area slightly bigger than the state of Maryland. The goal: to suck up planet-heating carbon dioxide, increase rainfall and bring food and jobs to local people. He believes it is the answer to a slew of huge global problems. We are destroying our planet in a way which is scary, he told CNN. The only holistic way out of this situation is with large-scale ecological regeneration So-called desert regreening projects are not new, and this is one of a number around the world seeking to transform arid landscapes. Many aim to halt desertification the creeping degradation of dry lands a phenomenon the United Nations calls a silent, invisible crisis that is destabilizing communities on a global scale. But the concept is also controversial; critics say transforming deserts is unproven, enormously complex and could negatively affect water and weather in ways we cannot predict. The birth of the plan Van der Hoevens background may seem unlikely for someone intent on saving the world. As a hydraulic engineer at Belgian dredging company DEME, he worked on projects including building artificial islands in Dubai. But in 2016, the course of his career changed when he was pulled into a venture to help the Egyptian government restore shrinking fish populations in Lake Bardawil, a saltwater lagoon in northern Sinai, separated from the Mediterranean by a narrow sandbar. It used to be more than 100 feet deep but is now less than 10 feet deep in parts, as well as hot and salty. Within a few weeks, van der Hoeven devised a plan to open up the lagoon by creating tidal inlets and dredging tidal gullies to get more seawater flowing through, making it deeper, cooler, less salty and more full of marine life. Fishermen on Lake Bardawil in north Sinai, Egypt on April 27, 2024. - Ali Moustafa/Getty Images But the more he researched, the bigger he wanted to go. Scanning the terrain in Google Earth, he saw the outline of a network of now dried-up rivers, criss-crossing the Sinai like blood vessels, suggesting this land was once green. He pored over weather models and ecological studies and started to see connections. He could use the sediments dredged from Lake Bardawil to help regreen the surrounding area. They are salty but they hold very many nutrients and minerals, which you need to start restoring the land, he said. He would start with the wetlands around the lake, expanding them to lure the birds and fish. Then, he would go higher into the regions mountains, pumping in the lakes sediments and layering them to create soils where they could grow different varieties of salt-tolerant plants. These would help revitalize the soils, van der Hoeven said, reducing salt levels and making the land able to support a larger array of plants. Van der Hoevens central idea is that adding vegetation to the landscape will mean more evaporation, more clouds forming and more rain falling. It could even change the winds, as greening the region can bring back moisture-laden flows of air, he said. This could completely change the weather patterns. None of this will be quick. Van der Hoeven estimates it will take five to seven years to fully revitalize the lake, then between 20 and 40 for the wider regreening. Its really nature telling us the speed, he said. Restoration on a planetary scale Van der Hoevens idea might sound wildly ambitious, but its been done before. As he was feverishly planning the Sinai project, he came across the film Green Gold, made by cameraman-turned-ecologist John Liu, which documents a huge desert regreening project in the Loess Plateau in northern China. The region, nearly the size of California, had been heavily degraded by years of overuse and overgrazing. With sparse vegetation and covered in thin, ocher-yellow soil, it was very prone to erosion. In an attempt to transform the land, Chinas government and the World Bank launched a large-scale regreening program in the 1990s, planting trees and shrubs and implementing grazing bans. In the decades since, the Loess Plateau has flourished. Parts of the land are now carpeted in green, soil erosion has reduced and less sediment flows into the regions Yellow River, lowering the flood risks. The Loess Plateau in Gansu Province, China in 1993. - Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket/Getty Images Green mountains and the blue-green waters of the Yellow River on the Loess Plateau in Yongjing, Gansu province, China, July 24, 2023. - Costfoto/NurPhoto/Getty Images For van der Hoeven, it was further proof his plan could work. He sought out Liu, who was immediately on board. The idea of regreening what was once a land of milk and honey was extremely exciting, Liu told CNN. The scale reaches a level that helps prove that restoration can be done on a planetary scale. It would add to other huge desert regreening projects also underway. The Great Green Wall in Africa, for example, was launched in 2007 to help combat desertification. Originally intended to be a belt of trees planted for thousands of miles across the continents Sahel region, the initiative has morphed into a a mosaic of green and productive landscapes over 11 countries, said Susan Gardner, director of the ecosystems division at the UN Environment Programme in Nairobi. Restoration efforts are essential for tackling the climate crisis, nature loss and pollution, Gardner told CNN. We dont have a choice. We have to do this; we have to listen to the science and act now. A flashy distraction? But ecosystems are incredibly complex and when it comes to huge, transformative projects like regreening a desert, some experts are concerned about unintended consequences. In a projects quest for a successful finish line, there is a risk that it will opt for fast-growing, non-native species which either dont survive or become invasive, overtaking the surrounding native plants and damaging wildlife, said Alice Hughes, an assistant professor at Hong Kong Universitys School of Biological Sciences. Others are water-thirsty, which can cause conflict with peoples needs. During the early stages of Africas Great Green Wall project, many of the trees died for lack of water, neglect or because they werent suitable for the land. Even in the Loess Plateau, widely credited as an astonishing success, there is evidence the vegetation may be approaching, or even exceeding, what the local water supply can support. A 2020 study of the region found that higher levels of evaporation from trees and plants had little impact in terms of increasing rainfall, and even led to lower water availability for agriculture or other human demands. Changing the ecosystem could also mean potentially changing climate patterns, which may reduce moisture and drive droughts elsewhere, Hughes said. Evaporation may cool one place but simply deposit the heat in other places. Planting vegetation could even end up having a warming effect. Light-colored deserts can reflect more of the suns energy back into space than darker vegetation. Deserts actually cool the planet, said Raymond Pierrehumbert, a physics professor at the University of Oxford. While regreening arid places could bring local cooling effects, Pierrehumbert told CNN, they could end up leaving the rest of the planet worse off. We also need to ask ourselves why we are doing it, Hughes said. These projects can act as flashy distractions, she added. They sound much more exciting than the basic work of protecting existing intact systems, which are still vanishing at astonishing rates. For Liu, however, there is a big difference between natural deserts and those humans helped create. The argument human-caused deserts should not be touched even those that have been around for thousands of years does not seem logical to me, he said. Van der Heoven readily admits the project is complex but believes its vital to try. We should protect nature with all we have, but we should also restore nature with all we have, he said. He is studying exactly which plants will be able to attract wildlife and survive future climate change impacts. He also believes changing the climate in the Sinai Peninsula will have a positive ripple effect for the region. Perhaps one of the biggest obstacles for now is regional instability as the war in Gaza continues. At the end of 2022, the Egyptian government signed an agreement to start researching and planning the restoration of Lake Bardawil. The project was scheduled to kick off this December, but conflict has slowed everything down, van der Hoeven said. Hes still confident it will happen and thinks the current situation creates an even stronger case for regreening as a way to help bring more opportunity and prosperity. What is clear is that climate change and biodiversity loss, two interlinked global crises, are getting worse, and in the scramble to solve them, the idea of regreening arid land is gaining currency. As with many compelling, moonshot ideas to tackle huge, complex problems, there are those who urge caution and warn of the dangerous consequences of rushing in, and there are those who argue the situation is now so urgent, there is no choice but to try them. Van der Hoeven is firmly in the latter camp. Regeneration of the natural world is the only way out of the mess we are currently in, he said. There is no time anymore not to act. We should act and accept that we dont know everything. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Sunday: A very pleasant day of weather is expected with abundant sunshine as high temperatures only reach the lower to middle 80s. A northerly breeze will keep the lower humidity filtering into the region. Looking Ahead: Relatively low humidity compared to typical late-Summer standards will hang around for the first half of this week, keeping us rain-free through at least Wednesday. Skies will remain mostly clear through this period and a gradual warming trend into the middle/upper 80s occurs heading into midweek. Morning low temperatures will be back in the middle 60s by Monday morning, so the shot of cooler air wont last long. Moving into the second half of this week, the remnants of what should soon become our next named tropical system will move inland along the Texas or Louisiana Gulf Coast. As of right now, there is strong model agreement to keep the core of the rain and gusty winds well to our west, but we will be on the warm sector of the storm system. Therefore, an increase in moisture will lead to muggier conditions and welcomed rain chances by Thursday and Friday as the system moves northward. Due to this, cooler high temperatures in the upper 70s and lower 80s can be expected once the rain arrives. We should dry out starting on Saturday, but stay tuned throughout the week to monitor trends in the track of this system and forecast rainfall totals for central Alabama. Tracking the Tropics: An area of low pressure is expected to form in the Gulf of Mexico over the next several days, given a high chance of developing into a tropical cyclone. Current model guidance takes this system into the Texas or Louisiana area by Wednesday before continuing inland moving north. A few more areas of weak development are possible in the open Atlantic this week, but none of these systems are currently a threat to the US. Be sure to follow the CBS 42 Storm Team: Follow Us on Facebook: Chief Meteorologist Dave Nussbaum, Meteorologist Michael Haynes, Meteorologist Alex Puckett, and Meteorologist Jacob Woods. 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 CBS 42. KANSAS CITY, MO. (USF) Sioux Falls fell to (RV) Rockhurst University today, 3-0, to finish opening weekend 1-3. Fifth year senior, Jordan Kuper , earned All-Tournament honors following a solid weekend performance. Kuper landed 42 kills on the weekend along with 17 total blocks for The Coo. MATCH DETAILS Final Score: USF 0, RU 3 (19-25, 20-25, 24-26) Team Records: USF 1-3, RU 2-1 Attendance: 133 MATCH RECAPS Sioux Falls was led by Jordyn Hamm and Abby Haus e today, both landing nine kills while Sadie Voss put down eight. Kuper and Hause put back three blocks against the Hawks while Elise Gillen dished out 18 assists. WEEKEND RECAP Voss led The Coo with 54 kills on the weekend followed by Haus and Kuper each with 42 and Hamm with 32. Kuper paved the way with 17 blocks on the weekend with Haus adding nine and Hamm with eight. Gillen holds the top spot for USF with 47 digs and 118 assists. UP NEXT USF will hit the road once again as they head west to Black Hills State. The Coo will take on Eastern New Mexico and Montana State Billings on Friday, September 13 and South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State on Saturday. 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 KELOLAND.com. Months after the parents of the Michigan school shooter were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for their role in the shooting, prosecutors in Georgia have brought more serious charges against the father of a school shooter who killed four people and injured nine others. The father -- 54-year-old Colin Gray -- was arrested Thursday and charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children for his role in the shooting at Apalachee High School. If convicted he could face up to 180 years in prison. Gray is accused of "knowingly allowing his son, Colt, to possess a weapon," according to Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey. The Crumbleys were the first parents to be charged in a shooting carried out by their child, and Gray is now the second to face similar charges. PHOTO: Colin Gray, 54, the father of Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray, 14, enters the Barrow County courthouse for his first appearance, on Sept. 6, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (Brynn Anderson/AP) Investigators believe the suspected shooter received the AR-style weapon used in the mass shooting as a Christmas present from his father, sources told ABC News. Experts told ABC News that it is still too early to tell, but the facts that have emerged suggest parallels to some of the negligence of Jennifer and James Crumbley, the parents of the Michigan school shooter. In separate trials, the Crumbleys were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and each sentenced to 10 to 15 years for a shooting carried out at Oxford High School by their son. The parents had ignored several warning signs in the days leading up to the shooting, and had just bought their 15-year-old son the weapon he used in the shooting, according to prosecutors. "There do seem to be some similarities in that both the Crumbleys and it would appear Mr. Gray didn't properly secure their firearms, and in fact, may have actually put the firearm in the in the hands of a child who went on to do a horrific, horrific thing at their school," Nick Suplia, the senior vice president of law and policy at Everytown, told ABC News in an interview. "Criminal charges here against Colin Gray -- who purchased a weapon of war for his 14-year-old child months after the FBI knocked at the door with concerns about a potential school shooting -- is unacceptable as a moral matter, as a legal matter, it's a dereliction of responsibility, and he should be held accountable," Suplia said. Gross negligence Another expert agreed the fact patterns between the Michigan shooter and the Georgia shooter are "stunningly similar." "You have a father giving a son who's quite young a firearm and with deadly, tragic consequences [and] there were some warning signs that were missed or not adequately responded to," Daniel Webster, the director of the Center for Gun Policy and Research at John's Hopkins University, told ABC News in an interview. "The set of facts are very similar and, in each case, you have local prosecutors, seeing what -- in hindsight -- certainly seems like stunningly irresponsible parent practices, bringing charges against them," Webster said. PHOTO: In this Dec. 14, 2021, file photo, James Crumbley and Jennifer Crumbley appear in 52nd District Court for a probable cause conference in the case of the Oxford High School mass shooting, in Rochester Hills, Michigan. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images, FILE) In May 2023, federal investigators interviewed the suspect, who was then 13 years old, about alleged online threats to commit a school shooting, after the FBI had received anonymous tips about the threats which had photos of guns, according to the FBI. The teen had denied making any such threats during an interview. The shooter's father told authorities at the time that he had hunting rifles in the house and said his son is "allowed to use them when supervised but does not have unfettered access to them," according to the police report obtained by ABC News. The conviction of the Crumbley parents opened the door and invited a "conversation on what it means to be a responsible parent and gun owner, and I think it answered the question pretty clearly that there are steps that we must take to protect our kids and our community as a moral matter, but also as a legal one. The verdict in that case, I believe, sent the message across the country, but Mr. Gray did not receive that message clearly enough," Suplia said. Suplia said he believes there is "deterrent value" in bringing charges against parents in cases like this. "Prosecutions have an important role in educating the public about their responsibilities under the law, and I hope that cases like this one send that message loud and clear. But it's not sufficient. We need to continue to send the message at all levels of government and society," Suplia said. "I think prosecutors are going to look, in these cases, for egregious conduct, for putting the gun in the child's hand and/or ignoring warning signs that should have been obvious to the reasonable person," Suplia said. PHOTO: People lay flowers at the site of a makeshift memorial at Apalachee High School the day after a fatal shooting left four dead in Winder, Georgia, Sept. 5, 2024. (Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters) Webster said it is possible that officials could bring cases like the one against the Crumbleys when the facts make a strong argument. "People in positions like district attorneys, police chiefs, mayors, they all look at what their peers are doing, they pay attention to what their peers are doing, and if they agree with something their peers are doing, they're not shy about following that lead, or doing something similar," he said. But, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, who helped convict the Crumbley parents in Michigan, said she doesn't believe the case brought against the Crumbleys has set a new precedent for charging parents of shooters. "I always resisted the idea that this sets some precedent because I just firmly and wholeheartedly hoped that we wouldn't have these ... a set of facts that would give rise to such a charge and conviction," McDonald told ABC News Live in an interview. "These are difficult cases to charge and really difficult cases to convict on and it should be. It should be very hard because holding a parent responsible criminally and in a school shooting -- related to one -- should be rare. And in our case, the facts were very rare and so egregious," McDonald said. PHOTO: In this March 22, 2022, file photo, Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald, Jennifer Crumbley, her husband James Crumbley's attorney Mariell Lehman, and James Crumbley appear in 6th Circuit Court for a pretrial hearing in Pontiac, Michigan. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images, FILE) McDonald said the visit made by FBI investigators to the shooter's house could serve as direct evidence that he was on notice of the threat his son could pose. "I'm sure there's a lot of other evidence that has not been released. We don't know at this point if the gun was secure or how it was secure or in what capacity the minor had access to it and what kinds of signs he might have been showing you," McDonald said. "Our case was prosecuted under a gross negligence, involuntary manslaughter standard. Not holding parents accountable for what their son did, but holding them accountable for their own gross negligence which was criminal," McDonald said. Safe storage Three-quarters of school shooters acquired their firearm from the home of a parent or close relative, according to the U.S. Secret Service which examined 40 years of incidents. A Secret Service study of incidents from 2008 to 2017 revealed that in nearly half of the shootings, the firearm was easily accessible or was not stored securely. Gun safety advocates have long advocated for safe storage or child access prevention laws to curb gun violence, which Georgia does not have. Twenty-six states have a form of those laws on the books, which aim to prevent unauthorized access by children, according to Everytown. Some of the strongest versions of these laws impose penalties on parents if a child gains access to a firearm. It has not yet been revealed how the shooter accessed the gun used in the shooting. PHOTO: A memorial is seen at Apalachee High School after the Wednesday school shooting, Sept. 7, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (Mike Stewart/AP) Safe storage of firearms was a key argument made by prosecutors in the Crumbley case, where the parents did not place a lock on the gun, despite having it, and left a gun case on the default passcode. McDonald said she was horrified that this was playing out again, saying it is "so senseless when it's just so easy to secure your firearm." "I'm going back to the idea that it takes less than 10 seconds to install a cable lock on a firearm. All responsible gun owners will tell you that your weapon should be secure," McDonald said. "At the end of the closing argument in James Crumbley trial, I actually installed a cable lock and showed the jury and it took around 10 seconds and I installed it on the murder weapon. This is so senseless and so tragic when we know it is so easy to prevent crime," McDonald said. Could charging parents of shooters be a deterrent for gun violence? originally appeared on abcnews.go.com There is going to be a little less mooing at local county fairs this year after the recent outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza at three Central Valley dairies. Last week, state and federal agriculture officials confirmed that the virus was found for the first time in California. Nationwide, it has been found in 14 states and 196 herds. Although the specific Central Valley dairies were not identified by state officials, the state has imposed a quarantine on the farms to try and stop the virus from spreading. As part of that plan, county fairs are canceling certain exhibits featuring dairy cows. The livestock barns, a popular exhibit at fairs, are typically filled with sheep, goats, pigs and dairy cows. It is one of the most popular attractions at the fair with thousands of people getting the chance to see live animals up close and personal. Scientists and veterinarians are concerned, however, that the virus could hitchhike on a persons clothes or shoes and be transferred from the fairs livestock exhibit to a commercial dairy in the community. At the upcoming Big Fresno Fair that runs from Oct. 2 - Oct. 14, Terri OLeary Collins, livestock superintendent said that as it stands now, there will be no lactating cows on the fair grounds, or in the milk quality contest or milking demonstrations. OLeary said shes been in communication with the California Department of Food and Agriculture, members of the dairy industry, 4-H and FFA advisors about possible modifications to the livestock exhibit and any impact on students. She said fair offiicals are considering two possible options. One plan involves onsite exhibition of dairy cows that are tested in advance and movement limitations set by CDFA to prevent the cows co-mingling. Another possibility is not having dairy cows on site, but allowing students to submit videos of their animals for judging along with an opportunity to sell their animal projects virtually. We will continue to monitor the HPAI situation over the next few weeks as quarantining and sampling continues by local and state health officials at local dairies to determine if HPAI has spread or has achieved containment, Collins said. A final decision will be made on September 24 in alignment with CDFA. We are grateful for the guidance of CDFA and the collaboration with the dairy industry and 4-H and FFA advisors to make the best informed decision for the students, the dairy industry and the public. Although the virus is not fatal to cows, like it is to poultry, it can make cows sick enough to be taken out of the milking rotation and placed away from the other cows for several weeks. In Tulare County, the number one milk producer in the nation, a shortfall of milk could be devastating. Last year, the countys total milk was valued at $2.6 billion. To protect the regions dairy industry, officials with the Tulare County Fair made the decision to cancel the Lactating Cow Shows, and dairy milk cow classes for cows two years or older. The fair begins Sept. 12 and runs through Sept. 15. Also canceled is the Dairy Replacement Heifer Show. However, heifers will be sold through a video auction on Saturday, September 14, 2024, at 11:00 am. Participation in the fairs video auction is optional, and exhibitors may choose to sell privately. The Kings County Fair was held in June and Madera County Fair officials could not be reached. Their fair runs from Sept. 5 through Sept. 8. CHICAGO Chicago police are searching for a missing 12-year-old boy. Police said Deon Hill was last seen by his legal guardian Friday at around 2 p.m. at his home in the 5500 block of West Jackson. He was last seen wearing a grey t-shirt with Disney characters, grey shorts and red sandals. LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland Hill is 505 and weighs 120 pounds. He also has brown eyes and short black hair. Anyone with information is asked to call Area Four Detectives at 312-746-8251. 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 WGN-TV. A box of Portuguese pastries is seen outside the Senate chamber on the last night of the legislative session on June 13, 2024. (Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current) Democratic Sen. Roger Picard opted not to run for election after 16 years in the Rhode Island Senate, and a combined 30 years on Smith Hill. Now, three Democrats are vying for the open seat in Senate District 20, which straddles Cumberland and Woonsocket, in Tuesdays primary. Rhode Island Current reached out to all three candidates with a questionnaire. Candidate Marian Juskuv declined to provide answers. Key Events 3 weeks ago Woonsocket City Councilor Brian Thompson eyes seat in Rhode Island Senate 3 weeks ago Denis Collins thinks R.I. should look to Mass. on bolstering state pension fund 3 weeks ago Woonsocket City Councilor Brian Thompson eyes seat in Rhode Island Senate Name: Brian Thompson Party: Democrat Race: Senate District 20 Age: 43 Job: General foreman Years lived in Rhode Island: 22 Residence: Woonsocket Political bio: Woonsocket City Council since 2022 What are your top three legislative priorities if elected? Working to address the education funding formula to make it more equitable. Making our state more affordable for working families. Addressing environmental issues related to climate change that are harming our communities. Should Rhode Island have an assault weapons ban? Why, or why not? As a father of six children, there isnt a day that goes by that I dont think about their safety especially from the scourge of gun violence. It has become too normal to see news about school shootings in our country and it needs to end. Honestly, I used to think that banning certain guns wouldnt make an impact on the shootings, but it is very clear to me that when you have too many assault weapons on the market, they can easily fall into the wrong hands. We need to make sure that we are in line with our neighbors in Massachusetts and Connecticut. It would be terrible if something bad happens in our neighboring states that can be tracked back to Rhode Island. Should the state offer more to state pensioners beyond the COLA restoration approved in the FY25 budget? If so, what would you propose? Yes. This year saw the first meaningful changes to the pension system in decades, and I supported that very much. We need to work to restore COLAs for those who didnt get the new COLA and expedite the timeline for the pension fund to be funded adequately. The bottom line is people will continue to not choose jobs that rely on the pension system if they cant plan for retirement and it will be all of us who suffer for it. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Last updated: 6:20 pm 3 weeks ago Denis Collins thinks R.I. should look to Mass. on bolstering state pension fund Name: Denis Collins Party: Democrat Race: Senate District 20 Age: 46 Job: U.S. history teacher at Taunton High School Years lived in Rhode Island: 16 Residence: Cumberland Political bio: Cumberland School Committee since 2019 What are your top 3 legislative priorities if elected? Full funding for public education and child care (including making state universities more affordable), tackling the mental health crisis in the state (which is also rooted in crime and addiction), and passing the assault weapons ban. Should Rhode Island have an assault weapons ban? Why, or why not? I do support an assault weapons ban, and I believe I am the only candidate in the Senate District 20 race who does. I agree that mental health is the underlying cause of these mass shootings, but it is also the underlying cause of the opioid epidemic. You do not see any organizations arguing that the solution to the opioid crisis is to put more opiates on the street. High-capacity assault weapons are the weapons of choice in mass shootings. We have a moral obligation as elected officials to protect society, and an assault weapons ban is a step forward in keeping innocent people and school children safe. Thoughts and prayers after the fact have done nothing to stymie the plague of gun violence. Should the state offer more to state pensioners beyond the COLA restoration approved in the FY25 budget? If so, what would you propose? It is terrible that pensioners did not get what they were promised. They did their part, and the politicians let them down. I am currently relying on my own pension when I retire one day, so this issue is personal for me as a teacher. We need to do right by those we made promises to. We fund what we value, but, at the same time, I cannot give a definitive answer on HOW it will be funded without sitting down with all stakeholders and financial personnel. One thing I think the state should consider is what we have done in Massachusetts, which is allow a pathway for those nearing retirement to pay extra into the pension system in their next three years, with the promise that they can retire early. This would provide necessary budget relief for local municipalities by replacing top-step employees with people early in their career. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Last updated: 6:20 pm DENVER (KDVR) A suspect was shot and killed by a Colorado State Patrol trooper after shooting several rounds at their patrol vehicle on U.S. Highway 36 Saturday afternoon. The incident happened around 1:18 p.m. on the highway just west of Federal Boulevard. A trooper was in a marked Ford F-150 patrol vehicle in the eastbound center median between two concrete barriers working on paperwork when a suspect drove a black Chevy pickup truck past, shooting several rounds from a semi-automatic handheld gun at the trooper, CSP Chief Col. Matthew Packard said in a press conference Saturday evening. One of those shots hit the trooper in the lower right arm. CSP said the truck pulled over on the inside shoulder and the suspect got out, shooting additional rounds at the windshield of the patrol vehicle. Download the FOX31 App: Breaking news alerts & Pinpoint Weather Thats when the trooper got out of the patrol vehicle and fired the rifle issued to him, striking the suspect, according to CSP. The suspect, who Packard said is believed to be a Hispanic male, was pronounced dead on the scene. Packard said the trooper, identified as Cpl. Tye Simcox, self-applied a tourniquet until more troopers arrived on the scene. A fellow trooper took Simcox to a Denver Health hospital, and Packard said he is on his way home today because of his training and heroism Our member was targeted today by a man that intended to kill him, and that is shocking and unacceptable but our Colorado state trooper responded appropriately, and swiftly, and courageously and he won today. And by winning, not only did he save his own life but he saved the rest of his community from someone that was clearly intending to do evil, Packard said during the press conference Saturday evening. As of 8:20 p.m., eastbound US 36 remained closed from Federal Boulevard to Sheridan Boulevard due to the incident. Gov. Jared Polis released a statement about the incident on Sunday and thanked Simcox on behalf of the state. Colorado thanks Cpl. Tye Simcox for his courageous and brave actions to protect himself and our community, the statement said. I spoke with Cpl. Simcox yesterday after this alarming incident, we wish him a speedy recovery and thank Tye for his service to our state. 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 FOX31 Denver. The Cumberland Island National Seashore, part of the national park system, seeks public feedback on four proposed land exchanges during a 30-day civic engagement period, open from September 5th, 2024, to October 6th. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< The park aims to relocate private interests within the legislative boundary to areas with less visitor impact. The affected areas include state-owned, privately-owned, and federally-owned properties. A virtual public meeting will occur on Thursday, September 19th, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend and share their thoughts. To join the meeting, visit this link HERE. For telephone access (listen-only mode): call (309) 205-3325, using Webinar ID: 759293#. More details and updates can be found on the projects Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) page HERE. Public comments are welcome and can be submitted online through the PEPC website or mailed to Cumberland Island National Seashore, 101 Wheeler Street, Saint Marys, Georgia 31558, postmarked by October 6th. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. Don Sheppard said he could never forget what he saw during World War Two [Stuart Woodward/BBC] A World War Two veteran who took part in D-Day has died, aged 104. Donald 'Don' Sheppard, from Basildon, landed on Juno Beach on 6 June 1944 as a Royal Engineer. Some 156,000 British, American and Canadian troops launched from the sea and air on to French soil in one of the most successful military operations in history. In June he received a police escort to attend a special service marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day at the Living Memorial at Rettendon, near Chelmsford. The British Normandy Memorial account posted on X: "We are saddened to hear of the death of 104-year-old D-Day veteran Donald Sheppard. "Donald attended the virtual opening of the Memorial in 2021 & features in the Winston Churchill Centre Royal British Legion exhibition. "Thinking of Donald's wife Sandra & family. Rest in Peace Don." Recalling his landing at Juno beach, Mr Sheppard described D-Day to the PA News agency in 2019 as a "waste of life" but recognised the landings as being "so important". He said: "I know we had to defend ourselves... but young guys like me 20, 21, who never lasted five minutes, some of them got killed before they got off the boat. "Tragic, absolutely." When he arrived at the beach at around 16:30, Mr Sheppard said the Germans had "really got the distance and shells were coming over like rain", with battleships also firing over their heads. "We lost quite a few guys," he said. "We (the survivors) were lucky really." After breaking through Nazi lines in the August, he continued through to Belgium, the Netherlands and eventually Germany - including to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Speaking of his experience, Mr Sheppard said: "I shall never forget that for the rest of my life. How one human could do that to another." The only wound he received during the war was a cut to his leg as he took cover in a ditch as German bombs fell. But after medical tests and scans some seven decades later, it was discovered he had a sliver of shrapnel sitting in his lung. Mr Sheppard said the piece of metal had never caused any health problems. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. More on this story Dancing in AZ and around the world, Todd Bailey now keeps community on its toes From the glamour of Monte Carlo to the deserts of Arizona, dance has taken Todd Bailey across the world. The professional dancer and educator has now returned to Arizona and works at the Arizona Historical Society as a special projects coordinator, but his journey has taken twists and turns like a winding canyon road in his home state. Bailey was born in Mesa in 1967 and raised in the Valley. Im a Gen X kid from the 70s, running around these desert streets trying not to burn my feet and all that, Bailey said. His grandparents moved from Mississippi in the 1940s and raised his mom and her three sisters in the Washington-Escobedo neighborhood. Bailey attended school in south Mesa, where he was homecoming king in 1985. Although he grew up in a segregated area of the Valley, he looks back at his childhood fondly. Education was really, really, really a big deal in the family and also the arts. My mother is a gospel singer, they call her 'Joyce the Voice' Bailey, he said. This exposure and love for the arts from a young age set him on the path he is still on today. For Bailey, it's the reason why he became involved in dancing at all. Her musical and arts interests kind of filtered to me and I became a professional dancer, I grew up dancing at Tempe Dance Academy, Bailey said. Dance takes Bailey from Mesa to Monaco After beginning his career in the Valley, he started his journey across the world. He first moved to San Francisco, then went out east to New York City and Atlantic City. He crisscrossed the United States and went from Las Vegas to Los Angeles and eventually worked in Monte Carlo as well. The wealth and glamour of Monte Carlo stuck in Baileys memory who recounted an interesting interaction with Prince Albert, the reining sovereign of Monaco. My favorite gig was rehearsing in New York City and then spending several months in Monte Carlo working in a beautiful theater overlooking the sea on a cliffside, he said. Prince Albert was in the front row often heckling me. He would just be like yelling my name you know. During his time flying from place to place, Bailey felt like he expanded from his comfort zone with every new city he traveled to and every new person he met. That sense of comfort and community stayed with him until this day. Some of the best things about life for me have to do with other people and the people that Ive met along the way, Bailey said. After Boston detour, Baily returns to the Valley After 25 years of dancing and being on the road, Bailey retired from professional dancing and came back to the Valley. Once back here, he worked as a bartender and served at Scottsdale bar AZ/88. He took a break from Phoenix and moved to Boston, where his career as a community dance instructor began. He worked at Citydance Boston, a program established in 1991 run by the Boston Ballet that gives third-grade students from Boston Public Schools a chance to learn different dance styles and choreographies. Kids from that program are now dancing with the Boston Ballet and have been for a while. That was my first taste of outreach programming for kids, Bailey said. But the allure of the Valley and the beautiful sunsets was too much. Bailey eventually moved back. I missed it here and I missed my family, he said. Bailey came back with few plans on what to do with his life and his career, but he knew that he had to be back in Arizona. Todd Bailey, of Mesa, speaks at "Arizona Storytellers: Neighbors" at Tempe Center for the Arts in Tempe, Arizona, on June 25, 2024. Once here, he began teaching at various dance studios and established the Troubadour Cafe, a vaudeville revival that has been hosted at the Phoenix Center for the Arts. He also works with Arts on the Move, a program that is very similar to the one he was part of in Boston. He teaches fifth-grade students ballroom dance as well as other dance styles. I love doing outreach with the kids, they start not wanting to touch each other," he said. "I call it hoodie hands, they pull the hoodie over their head and then they pull their sleeves over their hands since they don't want to touch each other. But that changes by the end of the program, Bailey said. The students host a dance recital to showcase what they learned for their friends and family. Bailey has been doing this service for the last 15 years. Community outreach plays a large part in his life outside of these programs. Arizona Historical Society allows Bailey to branch out He has worked for the Arizona Historical Society for about six years, where he is the special projects coordinator. In this role, he has organized many events and worn many hats. One such program is the society's annual Juneteenth Celebration. The event is hosted at the Arizona Historical Society and is organized in conjunction with the Black Family Genealogy and History Society, and the Arizona State University Library. Jessica Salow, assistant archivist of Black Collections at ASU has known Bailey for the last five years and has worked side by side with him on the Juneteenth Celebration for the last three. For her, Bailey has been a source of inspiration and a connection to the community around her. Working with Todd is an absolute delight, its a pleasure. Every time I am in conversation with him, every time I collaborate with him on a project I learn so much from him and I am very inspired and in awe of who he is, she said. For Bailey, the event is a representation of the stories that his grandmother told him about their westward migration from Mississippi to Arizona. The most beautiful thing, I feel that I get out of doing this work has been the realization that despite they were struggles here, westward migration for African Americans was different for different communities, Bailey said. Overall when I ask our elders about Arizona and how they feel about Arizona, they smile and they say, It really worked out here.' This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Historical Society's Todd Bailey shares his life of dance House Republican leader Gerald Ford (R) acknowledges applause after President Richard Nixon tapped him to be vice president of the United Stated on October 12, 1973. On September 8, 1974, then-President Ford granted former President Nixon, who had resigned a month earlier in the wake of the Watergate scandal, a full pardon for any offenses he may have committed during his years in office. UPI File Photo Sept. 8 (UPI) -- On this date in history: In 1565, the first permanent European settlement in what is now the continental United States was founded on the site of the present St. Augustine, Fla. In 1900, more than 6,000 people were killed when a hurricane and tidal wave struck Galveston, Texas. In 1935, an assassin shot U.S. Sen. Huey P. Long, D-La., at the Capitol in Baton Rouge, La. Long died two days later. His close friend, James O'Conner, Louisiana public service commission, recounted to United Press how the senator collapsed in his arms after the shooting. In 1941, the Siege of Leningrad -- the Russian city now known as St. Petersburg -- began. The Germany army held the blockade for more than two years during World War II, resulting in the deaths of about 1 million civilians and Soviet troops. Japanese forces surrender to U.S. troops in Seoul on September 9, 1945, one day after U.S. forces arrived in southern Korea. File Photo courtesy of the U.S. Navy In 1943, U.S. Gen. Dwight Eisenhower announced that Italy surrendered to the Allied forces after the fall of fascist leader Benito Mussolini. In 1945, U.S. troops arrived in southern Korea after Soviet troops occupied the north. The occupations, initially thought to be temporary, eventually resulted in the Korean War and separate states. The recovered wreckage from USAir Flight 427, which crashed in Pittsburgh on September 8, 1994. File Photo courtesy of the Federal Aviation Administration In 1966, Star Trek premiered on NBC-TV. Leonard Nimoy (R) and William Shatner greet thousands of fans at a Star Trek Convention in the Vancouver Trade and Convention Center on January 26, 1997. File Photo by H. Ruckemann/UPI Residents of Leningrad, Russia, queue up for water from shell holes December 1, 1941. On September 8, 1941, the Siege of Leningrad -- the Russian city now known as St. Petersburg -- began. File Photo by Boris Kudoyarov/RIA Novosti/Wikipedia In 1974, U.S. President Gerald Ford granted former President Richard Nixon, who had resigned a month earlier in the wake of the Watergate scandal, a full pardon for any offenses he may have committed during his years in office. In 1994, a USAir Boeing 737 (Flight 427) suddenly rolled to the left, spiraled out of control and fell 6,000 feet in a crash near Pittsburgh that killed 132 people. A problem with the plane's rudder control system was eventually cited as the probable cause of the disaster. In 2005, more than 1,000 people attended the Washington funeral of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who died of thyroid cancer just before his 81st birthday. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI In 2018, Naomi Osaka became the first Japanese woman to win a Grand Slam in her 6-2, 6-4 defeat of American Serena Williams at the U.S. Open. In 2021, a 12-ton statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was taken down and cut to pieces in Richmond, Va. In 2022, Queen Elizabeth III, the longest-serving monarch in British history, died at her Balmoral estate in Scotland at the age of 96. Her eldest son ascended the throne as King Charles III. In 2023, a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck western Morocco, killing more than 2,900 people and injuring some 5,000. The epicenter of the temblor was near the town of Oukaimedene, but shaking was felt as far away as Casablanca. File Photo by Jalal Morchidi/EPA-EFE (NEXSTAR) The kids are back in school, the leaves are starting to change, and summertime is quickly fading away (summer doesnt technically end until September 22). That means most of the U.S. will soon undergo one of its least favorite pastimes: the end of daylight saving time. The unofficial holiday is denoted by our cellphone clocks falling back an hour in the middle of the night, granting some of us an extra hour of sleep. Despite that positive, it also brings some less-favorable conditions, like earlier sunsets and interrupted sleep schedules. Regardless, unless you live in one of two states, youll soon see the clocks change. When does daylight saving time end in 2024? Weve been on daylight saving time since March 10, enjoying extra sun through the summer. Well remain on daylight saving time until 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 3. Your tech like your phone, smartwatch, and TVs will most likely reset on their own. The same may not be applicable for the clock in your car, on your wall, or on your oven. Who decides when daylight saving time starts and ends? The U.S. Department of Transportation oversees our observance of daylight saving time. The agency cannot, however, change or end the twice-a-year changing of the clocks (more on this in a moment). Daylight saving time: What if we stopped changing the clocks? Daylight saving time lasts 238 days, according to the current rules laid out by Congress. It begins on the second Sunday of March and ends on the first Sunday of November. In both cases, it happens at 2 a.m., according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. What states dont participate? Under the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which put us on the daylight saving time cycle, states can exempt themselves from daylight saving time by observing permanent standard time year-round. They cannot, however, observe permanent daylight saving time all year. Only two states, Hawaii and Arizona (except the Navajo Nation), observe standard time all year. In both cases, the abundance of daylight in the states is to blame. What states wish they didnt observe daylight saving? In recent years, nearly every state has tried to lock its clocks. Most, however, are hoping to stay on daylight saving time all year an option they dont have under the aforementioned Uniform Time Act of 1966. An end to springing forward? Laws to abolish daylight saving time proposed in these states Several states have passed bills that would allow them to observe daylight saving time permanently, if Congress allows. There have also been resolutions, including recent bills in Ohio and Oklahoma, calling on Congress to keep the country on daylight saving time permanently, to no avail. Will the federal government ever lock the clocks? Federal lawmakers have tried multiple times to stop the changing of the clocks. That includes the 2023 version of Sen. Marco Rubios (R-Fla.) Sunshine Protection Act, which Ohio and Oklahoma lawmakers expressed support for in their resolutions. If passed, the bill would put the U.S. on daylight saving time year-round. Rubios bill was introduced in March 2023 and was quickly referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Despite receiving bipartisan support, the bill has remained in committee. These flushable wipes shouldnt be flushed, plumbers say Two other daylight saving time-related bills one introduced by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and the other by Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) related to daylight saving time have also been stalled. Unless any of those bills are able to pass Congress (or you live in Hawaii or Arizona), prepare to gain an hour of sleep on November 3. 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 Queen City News. Dead dolphins found on the shores of Odesa Oblast. Photo: Ivan Rusiev on Facebook A baby white-sided dolphin has been washed up on the coast of the Tuzly Estuaries National Nature Park in Odesa Oblast. A dead bottlenose dolphin was also found near the national park in the village of Hrybivka. Source: Ivan Rusiev, Head of the Tuzly Estuaries Research Department, has suggested that their deaths are linked to the activities of the Russian Navy Details: "The enemy is killing not only people but also dolphins, the most intelligent creatures of the Black Sea," he said. Rusiev noted that dolphins had also washed up on the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria and on the Sea of Azov coast earlier. The cause of their deaths might be related to sonars acoustic radiation devices used to detect underwater objects found on some Russian warships near Novorossiysk and in occupied Crimea. A dead dolphin stranded on the shore. Photo: Ivan Rusiev on Facebook Sonar emits powerful waves that can severely affect animals health. Dolphins exposed to these acoustic signals may experience acoustic trauma, as their navigation and echolocation organs are damaged when they enter the radiation zone of ship navigation devices. "When the navigation and hearing organs are damaged, dolphins cannot use echolocation, meaning they become virtually blind. Having lost their orientation, the animals lose acoustic control over their environment. Blind dolphins experience significant stress and panic as they struggle to orient themselves in their environment. This disorientation leads them to collide with various obstacles, including naval mines and rocks," explained Ivan Rusiev. The affected dolphins cannot hunt for fish, which leads to rapid exhaustion, weakened immunity, and increased susceptibility to infections. This includes vulnerability to morbilliviruses, which can cause respiratory tract infections. "Only the sinking of the Ruscist fleet will give the dolphins a chance to feel better," the scientist added. Background: About 50,000 dolphins perished in the Black Sea over the first eight months of the full-scale war. Support UP or become our patron! The deadline to submit entries for Floridas Hispanic Heritage Month contests is fast approaching, with all submissions due by Friday, September 13th. Hosted by the Florida Department of Education and Volunteer Florida, the contests celebrate the theme Honoring Hispanic Contributions to Floridas Success. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< Students from kindergarten through 12th grade are invited to showcase their creativity. K-3 students can enter the art contest, with four statewide winners receiving a $100 gift card for school supplies and a 1-year pass to Florida State Parks. Students in grades 4-12 can participate in the essay contest, where six winners will be awarded a 2-year Florida College Plan scholarship and a $100 gift card. Additionally, educators can be nominated for the Excellence in Education Award. Four teachers will be honored with a $2,500 prize from Volunteer Florida. For more details and to submit entries, visit floridahispanicheritage.com [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. Eshaan Sarup News 21 SALT LAKE CITY John Fitisemanu distinctly remembers the first time he read the U.S. Supreme Court rulings that deemed him unworthy of United States citizenship merely because of where he was born the territory of American Samoa. How (can someone) leave a statement stating that youre a savage and youre uneducated and youre not qualified to be a U.S. citizen? he says, standing outside the courthouse where he launched a battle to overturn those rulings and compel the government to extend birthright citizenship to all American Samoans. Its a battle he lost. Now, the 59-year-old grandfather, who has lived in the U.S. since he was 14, still cannot vote. His nephew, Jake Fitisemanu, is running to be the first Samoan in the Utah House of Representatives, yet John cant seek office, serve on a jury or sponsor family members for immigration. Youve got to work, pay your taxes and be quiet, he says. Nearly 4 million people live in the five inhabited U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. But their ability to participate in American democracy has always been limited, a constraint legal scholars, civil rights advocates and U.N. officials describe as unethical and unconstitutional. Residents of territories hold presidential primaries and caucuses and appear in roll calls at the Democratic and Republican national conventions, but they cannot vote in general elections. Each territory elects one representative to the U.S. House, and while those representatives can serve on committees, they cannot vote on legislation even bills they propose. The U.S. has millions of people living in the territories who are totally subject to federal power but have no meaningful way to shape the federal policy and policymaking apparatus that influences their day-to-day lives, says Alejandro Ortiz, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Unions racial justice program. For years now, the ACLU and others have urged the Supreme Court to reconsider these rulings, known as the Insular Cases, which determined the Constitution only partly applies to territories. The Department of Justice recently criticized the racist rhetoric and reasoning of the cases, yet they remain on the books. While debate over the rulings persists, the territories continue to weigh how to move forward, whether by winning the right to fully participate in American democracy or by pursuing independence. Puerto Rico has long considered statehood. Separate movements for statehood and independence exist in Guam. And the Virgin Islands is fighting for more autonomy. Yet American Samoans are in an even more restricted position. While those born in other territories are automatically U.S. citizens, American Samoans are not instead holding what the ACLU calls an obscure and discriminatory status of noncitizen nationals. That status means even American Samoans living in the United States, such as Fitisemanu, do so without the rights granted to other Americans at birth. There shouldnt be such a thing as a second-class citizen, he says. We fly the flag on our own island, but yet were not fully fledged citizens of the U.S. Aumua Amata American Samoas delegate to the U.S. House and government officials on the islands oppose birthright citizenship because of potential effects on Samoan culture. But in an apparent compromise, Amata recently introduced a bill to streamline the naturalization process for people like Fitisemanu. Instead of applying blanket citizenship to the locals and undercutting their indigenous rights, my bill attempts to make it possible for individual Samoans to accept full citizenship before relocating to a state and without being subjected to the same bureaucratic hoops as foreigners, Amata said in a news release. The bill has languished in committee since October. And even if it were to reach the House floor, Amata would not be allowed to vote on it. American-ish Samoa The Samoan archipelago which sits about 2,000 miles northeast of New Zealand existed for thousands of years without its inhabitants interacting with Europeans. Samoans shared the same culture, language and decentralized, chief-based form of governance. Then in 1899, after Germany, the United States and Britain narrowly avoided an all-out war for control of the islands, the three imperial powers struck a deal: Germany would cede the Solomon Islands to Britain in exchange for control over the western Samoan islands, and the U.S. would get the islands of eastern Samoa. Fitisemanus father hailed from the western islands, now the Independent State of Samoa, but before Fitisemanu was born, the family moved to the eastern islands, today known as American Samoa. His father was enticed by the opportunity to be paid in American currency and better provide for his family. Fitisemanu grew up flying the American flag, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at school, and seeing friends and family join the U.S. military. It wasnt until he attended high school in Hawaii that he realized he wasnt as American as hed thought. He noticed some job applications required U.S. citizenship, a status he was shocked to learn American Samoans did not have. As a result, he was denied a job in the Hawaii state prison system, a position with state benefits that some of his cousins had held. Other jobs came up, same thing: You can (apply) for this one, but you cant for this one, he says. Fitisemanu moved to the mainland to attend college, then settled down in California and raised two children. After his divorce, he moved to the suburbs of Salt Lake City and stayed after meeting his second wife, Jennifer. But the question of why he wasnt a citizen always lingered. One night, while searching for answers online, he came across a Facebook post by Neil Weare, an attorney born in Guam. Weare is the co-founder of Right to Democracy, a nonprofit devoted to dismantling the Insular Cases and allowing territorial residents to participate in the democratic process. Why arent people marching in the streets? he asks. To be denied basic things like voting rights or citizenship or self-determination, these are core, not just U.S. democratic and constitutional principles, but human rights. After lengthy discussions with Weare, Fitisemanu decided to fight for his rights in the most American way possible: a lawsuit. Along with two other American Samoans living in Utah, he sued the U.S. government, arguing the 14th Amendment grants individuals born in American Samoa birthright citizenship. The plaintiffs also called on the Supreme Court to overturn the Insular Cases. When the District Court of Utah ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in 2019, Fitisemanu rushed to fill out his voter registration form, eager to participate in his first election. Twenty-four hours later, he felt like hed been punched in the gut. The federal government had appealed, putting the lower courts decision on hold. An appeals court later overturned the original ruling, relying on one of the Insular Cases that warns of the nationalization of savage tribes. And the Supreme Court declined to hear the case. The government of American Samoa opposed Fitisemanus case and urged the Supreme Court not to intervene, writing that the petitioners attempt to force birthright citizenship on all American Samoans threatens numerous aspects of Faa Samoa the islanders way of life. American Samoan officials have made this argument for decades. American Samoa was never conquered or purchased by the United States. Instead, a group of matais, or chiefs, entered into what were known as Deeds of Cession with the federal government in 1900 and 1904, on the condition that the U.S. respect their Faa Samoa. In the 20th century, some territories, such as the Philippines, gained their independence, while other territorial residents were made citizens by official acts of Congress. American Samoan leaders rejected those options, arguing the Deeds of Cession protect their cultural autonomy, including a system that prohibits land ownership by anyone who is less than half Samoan. One told Congress: Washington should not force anything down the Samoans throat. Officials today still prefer this arrangement, Amata has said, due to associated benefits in the form of traditional government and indigenous land rights. Ninety percent of land there is held communally, no U.S. citizens may serve in the legislature, and only matais are allowed to serve as senators. American Samoans themselves are divided over whether their classification as U.S. nationals is a special privilege that lets them keep their land and way of life, or a punishment that deprives them of fundamental rights. Charles Alailima, a lawyer based in Pago Pago and co-counsel on Fitisemanus case, believes applying the U.S. Constitution, and citizenship, to American Samoans would not interfere with Faa Samoa. The U.S. Constitution is not made to say, You live this way, Alailima says. You live the way you want, as long as the way you live doesnt interfere with the basic, fundamental principles of our society. In 2012, Alailima worked on another citizenship case with five American Samoans, three living in the territory and two in the U.S. The plaintiffs included a woman who lost her state government job in Seattle due to her lack of citizenship and a Vietnam veteran who faced legal obstacles to bringing his wife from American Samoa to Hawaii when he needed medical treatment. The government of American Samoa maintains there is no movement for citizenship, with Amata at one point calling Fitisemanus case the product of special interest lawyers focused on a national agenda. Nobody wants anything like that Even in Fitisemanus family, views on citizenship are varied. His siblings, he says, were upset about seeing his name in the news. They said, Hey, nobody wants anything like that. They just want to be left alone. The topic recently came up when one of his cousins, an immigrant from Independent Samoa, called to celebrate obtaining U.S. citizenship. Then she asked why Fitisemanu doesnt just apply, too. Its a question Fitisemanu has heard from many relatives who have completed the lengthy, expensive process complete with biometric interviews and a civics test. The price of citizenship, $710 for the online application fee alone, was a major factor at one point. Fitisemanu imagines thats the case for others coming from the islands, where some earn as little as $6 an hour. The median household income in 2019 was just under $30,000. Fitisemanu is now better positioned to pay the fee but said it was never just about the money. As someone born on U.S. soil, he firmly believes he should not have to apply for naturalization. I had to sit down and explain to (my cousin), Yes, I can do that, but theres a system that you need to work with in order for us not to pay, he says. Fitisemanus niece, born in American Samoa, recently joined the Army a common decision in the territory, which boasts the highest rate of military enlistment of any U.S. territory or state. Fitisemanu said his niece was shocked to discover a limit on what rank she could achieve and mistakenly believed service would grant her citizenship. Fitisemanus nephew, Jake, was born in New Zealand but was automatically an American citizen thanks to his Honolulu-born mother. He has family in both Independent Samoa and American Samoa. The 43-year-old is running for a seat in the Utah House, a position no Samoan has held. Jake was in the courtroom during his uncles case to offer support, but he told News21 he does not take a stance on citizenship, adding that its up to the people of American Samoa to decide. In his own way, Jake has spent decades fighting the effects of colonization on Samoans. As co-founder of the Utah Pacific Islanders Health Coalition, hes worked to combat high rates of obesity and diabetes in his community. Our culture, our history, is one of progress and evolution and development, he says, referencing Polynesians long history of navigating uncharted waters. Stepping into spaces that may be new to us here, like politics its just a continuation of that voyage. In the late 1800s, people from the South Pacific were exposed to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through missionaries. Some eventually made their way to Utah and established their own communities, complete with churches featuring sermons preached in their native languages. Today, Utah has a higher proportion of Pacific Islanders than any other state in the lower 48. West Valley City, a suburb of Salt Lake City where Jake lives, is one of the few cities in Utah to be majority-minority, with a sizable Asian, Pacific Islander and Hispanic population. The towns diverse communities, cuisines and cultures were on full display at WestFest, an annual celebration of the citys founding. In both English and Spanish, a speaker invited festivalgoers to sign up for a pie-eating contest. Ruth Fesili, Jakes niece, manned a booth with her friends, selling Polynesian-inspired clothing. Jakes party in the WestFest Parade wore leis to celebrate his Samoan heritage. It has taken time for the local government to reflect that diversity. When Jake beat out a 16-year incumbent, he became the first City Council member of Polynesian descent. Husband and wife Taliilagi and Tusi Poleki embrace during a service at the New Beginnings Samoan Assemblies of God church on Sunday, June 16, 2024. (Photo by Christopher Lomahquahu/News21) This lack of representation has tangible effects. A few years ago, public school districts in Utah banned students from wearing leis at graduation ceremonies. Verona Mauga, a first-generation American who is running for a House seat in a district adjacent to Jakes, launched a grassroots movement, meeting with school board members and attending legislative committee meetings. In the end, legislators passed a law that allows high schoolers to wear religious or cultural items at graduation. My grandmother and my mother taught me how to make leis, and so its sacred. Its something you give someone out of respect and honor, says Mauga, who would be the first Samoan woman in any state legislature in the continental U.S. if elected. While Mauga, whose parents were born in Independent Samoa, also stays out of the citizenship debate, it directly affects some of her supporters. Tusi Poleki, a former coworker of Maugas, never wanted to leave American Samoa, especially after he landed a coveted job with the local government. But his children wanted to experience life on the mainland. His wife, Taliilagi, chose the Salt Lake City area due to the large Samoan Christian community. The Samoan motto is to put God first, Taliilagi says. If we could not find a church that we could attend, we would not be coming. Poleki, church secretary at New Beginnings Samoan Assemblies of God, where services are in both Samoan and English, says he prefers to remain a U.S. national, even if it prevents him from voting for Mauga. Heres the problem: If I become a U.S. citizen, I dont have rights to my land back home, says Poleki, who plans to retire in American Samoa. Fitisemanu has heard this concern from others, but he says land rights and citizenship are two separate issues. Experts agree. In the Yale Law Journal, Christina Ponsa-Kraus argues that citizenship would not threaten American Samoas land system, noting the Northern Mariana Islands have similar land rights that have survived court challenges. The lack of voting rights has not stopped Poleki from being an active member of his community. His church has several programs to help the unhoused population, for example. And that, he says, is more important to him than politics. Im not worried about this U.S. national, U.S. citizen (business) because I want to go back home, and I also want to be buried back home, says Poleki, adding that its common on the islands to lay people to rest on their own land. Faalae Soo, the youth pastor at Polekis church, also sees his national status as good enough. The same thing they have (is) the same thing we have; the only difference is, we cant vote, he says, noting that many U.S. citizens often dont vote, either. The past is not past Fitisemanu displays both the American Samoan flag and the American flag on his desk at home in the Salt Lake suburb of Woods Cross. This is our life, he says, gesturing to his home office. For 16 years, Fitisemanu has worked at a University of Utah medical lab, where he worked his way up to transportation specialist. While he may have lost his fight for birthright citizenship, he doesnt see the experience as a failure. And despite the disagreements, he and his family remain close. As the matai, he served a lead role at his aunts funeral. I believe in standing for (whats) right, he says. And if the federal government doesnt see it my way, I will stand my ground and continue to protest and see where it goes. Weare plans to continue fighting for the rights of territorial citizens and pushing for a repeal of the Insular Cases. He is optimistic that the Justice Departments condemnation of the rulings could lead to action. Id like to see progress faster, but these are pretty significant wins that create a path for the United States to really engage in a more meaningful way around these issues, he says. John and Jake Fitisemanu will keep fighting, too each in his own way. In 2016, Jake served on a presidential initiative for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. While the election of President Donald Trump prompted colleagues to resign, Jake faced a conundrum as the sole Pacific Islander on the commission: Stay so his community still had a seat at the table, or leave to make a statement against the administrations policies? Jake thought back to the independence movement in the western Samoan islands, when some of his ancestors chose to work from inside the colonial government and others engaged in civil disobedience. Pastor Lee Williams of the New Beginnings Samoan Assemblies of God church takes part in a service on Sunday, June 16, 2024. (Photo by Christopher Lomahquahu/News21) Jake frequently finds himself thinking about the past. The Samoan term for past is anamua, with the root, mua, meaning forward. Future is amuli,with the root, muli, meaning behind. Jake says that holds significance when hes weighing a tough decision. It means that we walk into the future facing backward, meaning were still moving and progressing and going into the future, but were turned around to face the past because the past shows us all the knowledge and the wisdom and examples, he says. He eventually resigned from the commission. Its not worth coming to a table when no one from the other side is meeting you at that table, he says. Fitisemanu thinks about the past, too. He wonders whether Samoan chiefs fully understood their early agreements with the U.S. because of language barriers. He questions how something like the Insular Cases could still exist in this day and age, and wonders how many people from his homeland have read the documents. While Fitisemanu still believes he should already be a citizen, he is now considering applying for naturalization. It would be nice to see my U.S. citizenship before I die. https://news21.com/ This report is part of Fractured, an examination of the state of American democracy produced by Carnegie-Knight News21. For more stories, visit https://fractured.news21.com/ DELAWARE, Ohio (WCMH) A K9 officer who had dedicated the past five years to serving the city of Delaware died of cancer on Friday. The Delaware Police Department announced the death of Tyson, a K9 on their force, Friday evening. DPD said Tyson died after a brief battle with cancer. Tyson turned eight on June 13, his fifth birthday with the force since he joined in May of 2019, serving alongside his handler, officer John Laudeman. The Belgian Malinois was born in France and began his training there, but arrived in the U.S. early in 2019 to finish his rigorous training. He was a dual-purpose K9, trained in article searches, narcotics detection, suspect apprehension and handler protection. The city of Delaware, Oakside Animal Clinic and dozens of community members expressed their sympathies online at the loss. (Tyson) will be remembered by many community children for his willingness to play a game of tug o war, DPD said in a statement. Our condolences go out to the Laudeman family in this time of loss. Thank you for your service K9 Tyson well keep watch from here. 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 NBC4 WCMH-TV. Denver weather: Staying in the 90s to wrap up the weekend Denver weather: Staying in the 90s to wrap up the weekend DENVER (KDVR) Weather remains quiet over the next couple of days as the area continues a warm and dry stretch. Some isolated showers are possible in the high country on Sunday, although most areas will remain dry. Weather today: Mostly sunny, isolated mountain showers Sundays forecast will be very similar to Saturdays, starting the day with blue skies and sunshine and increasing clouds in the afternoon. Isolated showers or storms may form in the mountains, but itll otherwise be another dry day in the lower elevations. Temperatures stay above normal in the upper 80s and lower 90s in the Front Range. Weather tonight: Partly cloudy and mild A few clouds move into Denver overnight Sunday as temperatures sink down into the upper 50s and lower 60s. Winds will be out of the northeast anywhere from 5-10 mph and isolated gusts up to 20 mph. Looking ahead: Sunshine and warm temperatures, with minor rain chances The extended forecast remains relatively uneventful. Monday looks set to be the hottest day of the upcoming week with high temperatures in the lower 90s and sunny skies, and we could be seeing a stray shower or two but most will remain dry. Theres not much in the way of rain chances next week, especially in the lower elevations. That said, there is a slightly better opportunity for some isolated showers on Wednesday. Temperatures may dip slightly heading into next weekend. 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 FOX31 Denver. DENVER (KDVR) Quiet weather persists for several days as Denvers weather continues its stretch of sunny, dry conditions, according to Pinpoint Weather, Colorados Most Accurate Forecast. While the unofficial end of summer has passed, the season isnt letting go of the warm temperatures quite yet. Yes, it can definitely snow in Denver in September. Heres how early Weather tonight: Another quiet night Mostly clear to partly cloudy skies remain across Colorado Saturday night, with cloudier conditions possible south of Pueblo where a few isolated showers may be lingering. Temperatures will be above normal in Denver with lows Sunday morning in the upper 50s, and upper 30s to middle 40s in the mountains. Weather tomorrow: More warm sunshine Sundays forecast will be very similar to Saturdays, starting the day with blue skies and sunshine and increasing clouds in the afternoon. Isolated showers or storms may form in the mountains, but itll otherwise be another dry day in the lower elevations. Temperatures stay above normal in the upper 80s in the Front Range. Looking ahead: Sunshine and warm temperatures, with minor rain chances The extended forecast remains relatively uneventful. Monday looks set to be the hottest day of the upcoming week with high temperatures in the lower 90s and sunny skies. Theres not much in the way of rain chances next week, especially in the lower elevations. That said, there is a slightly better opportunity for some isolated showers on Wednesday. Temperatures may dip slightly heading into next weekend. 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 FOX31 Denver. Deseret News archives: Was Sen. Huey Long killed by an assassin, or his own bodyguards? The front page of the Deseret News on Sept. 9, 1935. A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives. On Sept. 8, 1935, Louisiana Sen. Huey P. Long was doing what Huey P. Long did in his heyday running the state when a gunshot rang out, followed by a volley of shots. When the dust settled, the controversial Democratic power boss of the South known as the Kingfish, was mortally wounded, while the man who shot him was dead on the floor of the Louisiana State Capitol building. Long was 42. He had been elected governor at age 35 and became popular for abolishing the states poll tax. He was a political rival of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He distributed free textbooks to students and pushed for a tax on petroleum products to help fund social programs. He made a lot of friends, and a lot of enemies. Long had introduced a bill, House Bill Number One in the Capitol to intentionally redraw Louisianas districts and gerrymander a political opponent from the bench. The judges son-in-law, a physician named Carl Weiss, was present in Baton Rouge that day to speak with Long. After the bill passed, Weiss approached Long to discuss the issue. Per reports, sounds of machine gun fire filled the Capitol. A few minutes later, Long was found stumbling down the stairs with a bullet through his right upper abdomen. Weiss was found dead in the Capitols main hall, with 61 bullet holes counted in his body. Long was taken to the hospital in New Orleans. On Sept. 10, Long died before he could be operated on. Eyewitnesses said Weiss pulled his hand from under his coat and fired at Long. Others theorized that Weiss punched Long, and one of the senators bodyguards accidentally hit Long in the scramble. The front page of the Deseret News on Sept. 10, 1935. Was Weiss guilty and a murderer, or did a bullet fired by a bodyguard ricochet off the marble and accidentally kill Long? Newspapers covered the story for days. Here are some stories from Deseret News archives on the saga: Who killed Huey Long? Experts hope exhumation will help solve mystery Louisiana has Long history of scandal Investigator says doctor may not have killed Huey Long Biographer White tours Louisiana Huey Long country Fates of six assassins Tomb of Long assassin is opened Despite opt-outs by GOP states, debut of kids summer food program seen as a success The Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer Program, known as Summer EBT, popped up in 37 states, the District of Columbia and multiple territories and tribal nations this year and is intended to feed hungry kids. (Stock photo by Inti St. Clair/Getty Photos) A U.S. Department of Agriculture initiative to feed hungry kids during the long summer months is mostly winding down, with advocates calling it a success despite some hiccups and the federal government and many states are already working to bring the permanent program back in 2025. The Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer Program or Summer EBT has popped up in 37 states, the District of Columbia and multiple territories and tribal nations this year. Advocates say that despite the programs fair share of challenges, especially given its first year of implementation, the program emerged as an important resource in the fight against kids summer hunger. Summer EBT, also known as SUN Bucks, provides low-income families with school-aged children a grocery-buying benefit of $120 per child. Children are automatically enrolled in Summer EBT if already enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, known as TANF; or the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, per the USDA. Students might also be automatically enrolled if their school offers the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program and their family qualifies for free or reduced-price school meals, according to the USDA. Most states deadlines to apply for the benefit this summer have already passed, and many have already issued the benefit for the summer months. Allan Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the USDA, said its too early to say just how many children have been served through the program so far this summer, but based on the participating states, territories and tribes, an estimated 21 million children are eligible to receive the benefits. Critical support to families Kelsey Boone, senior child nutrition policy analyst at the Food Research & Action Center, told States Newsroom that like any new program, there are challenges with Summer EBT. The national nonprofit works to reduce poverty-related hunger through research, advocacy and policy solutions. That has included tight implementation timelines, logistical complexities and the need to raise awareness among eligible families, Boone said. Despite those challenges, Boone said the program is definitely worth it and provides critical support to families by ensuring children have access to nutritious foods during the summer months, bridging the gap when school meals are unavailable. Boone said we are still in the midst of implementation, so there arent hard statistics on how the programs are really rolling out at this point. She added that some states have had to return to USDA and ask for higher amounts of benefits, and that is due to the fact that they are streamline certifying, or automatically giving benefits to more students than they expected, and that is a very big positive for the streamlined certification process. Boone noted that some states have been delayed in issuing the benefits, which means some families will not be receiving benefits until September or even October or November. Still, Boone said that despite the importance of receiving the benefits during crucial summer months when school meal programs are not an option, it is also going to be helpful no matter what. Over a dozen states opted out But 13 states all with Republican governors chose not to partake in the program this year, including Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. Multiple tribal nations in Oklahoma are participating despite the state opting out. Rodriguez said the department expects that even more states and tribes will provide SUN Bucks next year. States have until Jan. 1 to submit a notice of intent if they plan to participate in Summer EBT for 2025, according to the USDA. Alabama has already allocated millions of dollars in funding for the program next summer. We recognize that standing up a new program in a very short time period is no easy task, Rodriguez said, adding that potential challenges may include making systems changes, identifying sufficient staff, and securing financial resources to cover program administration, particularly (states) responsibility for covering 50% of the administrative costs associated with operating the program. The USDA is committed to working closely with all states, U.S. territories, and eligible tribes to support our shared goal of ensuring children have access to critical nutrition in the?summer?months through SUN Bucks, Rodriguez added. Justin King, policy director at Propel a financial technology company helping low-income Americans track Electronic Benefit Transfer balances, like Summer EBT, through an app said theres a lot of frustration and disappointment among folks who feel left out because their state has chosen not to participate this year. The company, which has partnered with the Biden administration, serves more than 5 million households each month. King said the big takeaway from looking at Summer EBT is that while there might be inevitable hiccups and challenges, Summer EBT can work, and it does make a difference for the households that it serves. The comments that weve gotten from households whove received the benefit this year are overwhelmingly positive about it making a real difference in their ability to keep their kids healthy and fed in summertime. Detectives ask for help finding at-risk Los Angeles man near Lancaster Metrolink Station Detectives are asking for the publics help finding William Clifford Douglas, 39, of Los Angeles, who was last seen on Sept. 5 at 12:44 p.m. on the 2600 block of Charford St. in Glendora. The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department said Douglas is diabetic, requires daily medical attention, and has a diminished mental capacity. His family is concerned for his well-being. Douglas is described as a white man around 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 320 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing a grey/white t-shirt and blue jeans. Detectives said he has a possible destination of Lancaster Metrolink Station. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, Homicide Bureau Missing Persons Detail at 323-890-5500. To reach out anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477). 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 KTLA. Authorities are investigating the death of a 19-year-old U.S. Air Force Academy cadet from Texas who was found unconscious in her dormitory Wednesday night. Avery Koonce, 19, was a "well-rounded student" and the "epitome of her high school," according Tommy Hooker, the superintendent of Koonce's high school district, about 40 miles northeast of Austin. After she was found, the first responders could not revive Koonce, according to a post by the academy on social media on Thursday. We lost an incredible teammate last night," academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind said in the post. "While only with us for a short time, Avery positively impacted her unit, her intercollegiate team, and her class her loss will be felt across USAFA. Our team is focused on providing support to Averys family, Cadet Squadron 38, the Track and Field team, and the entire Academy family. Koonce, who graduated from Thrall High School, was a member of the Air Force class of 2028 and on the academy's womens track and field team, the post said. Avery Koonce, from Thrall High School, competes in the 100-meter dash on the third day of the 96th annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, Friday March 29, 2024 in Austin at Mike A. Meyers Track and Soccer Stadium. 'We are just kind of devastated' "Avery Koonce kept the spirit of Thrall High School alive and cared about her classmates and her school, and she was a huge contributor," Hooker said. While Koonce was a student at Thrall High, she competed in track and pole vaulting, was a cheerleader and played in the band, according to Hooker. She was also president of the student council and a leader of the National Honor Society. "She is what you would want in a well-rounded student," said Hooker. "Our community is at kind of at a loss with our feelings. We are just kind of devastated." U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Waco, said he nominated Koonce for the Air Force Academy. "I was incredibly saddened to hear about the loss of Cadet Koonce," he said in an email. "She was a thoughtful and articulate young woman, well prepared for success at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Cadet Koonce was a remarkable leader, and her loss is felt by her community in Texas and fellow USAFA Cadets." Koonce wanted to be a pilot "I looked at her, and I said, 'Avery, with grades like this and an aptitude score like this, you sure you don't want to be an astronaut instead?' She goes, 'I'm going to work on that,'" Chip Osborne, a member of the Sessions' panel that picked high school students to send to the service academies, told 11Alive. But Koonce didn't want that. "[She] said, 'I want to be a pilot. I want to fly,'" Sessions told the news outlet. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Communities mourn Air Force Cadet Avery Koonce HONOLULU (KHON2) The wife of an Oahu man was found dead in Oregon overnight just two weeks after they tied the knot on the North Shore. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You After a stressful and long three-day search for 32-year-old Melissa Jubane, a tragic announcement from Beaverton Police at 3 a.m. local time on Saturday. In a social media post, BPD said: On September 4, 2024, at approximately 10:18 AM, the Beaverton Police Department received a welfare check request for 32-year-old Melissa Jubane of Beaverton. Melissa, a nurse at St. Vincent Hospital in SW Portland, had not reported for her morning shift, raising concerns among her coworkers, friends, and family. Beaverton Police officers responded to Melissas residence at 1050 SW 160th Avenue, in Beaverton. Upon arrival, officers were met by staff from the apartment complex and conducted a search of Melissas apartment. Melissa was not present, and her absence without communication was deemed unusual and alarming. Efforts by officers and family members to contact Melissa throughout the day were unsuccessful, as her phone appeared to be turned off. Additionally, searches of Melissas bank and credit card records yielded no new information regarding her location. At 3:12 PM on September 4th, Melissa was entered into national law enforcement databases as a missing person. As a result of an extensive investigation, it was determined that one of Melissas neighbors, 27-year-old Bryce Johnathan Schubert of Beaverton was involved in her disappearance. Subsequently, Schubert was arrested this evening and charged with Melissas murder. Melissa Jubanes remains have been recovered. This is an active investigation. While we acknowledge the significant community interest and concern, we must withhold further details to preserve the integrity of the investigation. Tips related to this case are still welcome. Please call 503.526.2280 to provide information. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the community members who have assisted with the search for Melissa. Our deepest condolences go out to Melissas family, friends and coworkers. Remains of missing Oregon nurse Melissa Jubane found, neighbor arrested: Police Washington-native Jubane had been dating Bryan Llantero from Kalihi for a decade. Relatives told KHON2 the two would fly back and forth to see one another. His mother says Melissa loved Hawaii. They first met at Mokuleia beach, they got engaged on Oahu in 2023, and got married here too on Aug. 24, 2024. They had a beautiful wedding ceremony at Waimea Valley with friends and family on Aug. 25. Imelda Llantero told KHON2 that the newlyweds flew back to the Pacific Northwest on Aug. 31, and landed in the early morning hours of Sept. 1. 30 security cameras being installed in Chinatown The couple spent Labor Day together on Monday, Sept. 2, and then Melissa drove back to the apartment in Beaverton, Oregon. Her mother-in-law said she would stay at the apartment because it was close to her work; while her son Bryan was staying in Bremerton, Washington with Melissas family. She said Melissa did go to work on Sept. 3 but didnt show up for her morning shift on Sept. 4. The last time Bryan heard from Melissa was around 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 4. When she didnt show up for work, police were asked to do a welfare check at her apartment. There was no Melissa, said Imelda Llantero. Her bag, wallet, and keys are missing, and her car is still parked in the parking garage. According to Oregon station KOIN, Beaverton police said efforts by investigators and her family to contact her on her cell phone were unsuccessful since it appeared her phone was turned off. Human remains found in 1995 Florida cold case identified Additionally, searches of Melissas bank and credit card records yielded no new information regarding her location, Beaverton police said in a statement. KOIN 6 News said Providence confirmed Jubanes employment as a cardiac nurse at St. Vincent Medical Center. Beaverton police confirmed on the following morning to KOIN 6 News that officers used a blood hound in their efforts to search the apartment complex property and interviewed most of the people there on Thursday evening. On Sept. 6, community and loved ones started searching for Jubane in the surrounding area. HPD seeks answers about man last seen in 1985, found in Manoa At 3:02 a.m. on Sept. 7, Beaverton police stated Jubanes neighbor Bryce Schubert, 27, had been charged and arrested, and they had recovered her remains. Imelda Llantero said her son is completely destroyed and devastated, and has asked her to fly to Oregon to be by his side. Bryans siblings and father flew there Wednesday night when Melissa was reported missing. A missing person with no memory: How the cold case of Seven Doe was solved I miss her, said Imelda. Im so happy Bryan met her, I told Bryan to always love her. They were happy, very happy. She said Melissa had plans to find a job in Washington state to be closer to her husband in Bremerton. On their days off, the couple would drive either to Oregon or Washington to spend time together. Washington County sheriffs office said Schubert is expected in court on Monday. 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 KHON2. EL CAJON, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) A dispute between a landlord and tenant in El Cajon ended in a house fire Friday, authorities said. According to the El Cajon Police Department, officers responded to a residence in the 300 block of Coker Way during the afternoon hours after a call came in reporting the dispute. During their response, police said the tenant had locked himself in his room and told officers he was going to sleep. Other roommates in the home then stated that they were going to leave the house and sleep somewhere else for the night. Juvenile shot multiple times while sitting in vehicle At that time, the officers determined that no crime had occurred and left the scene. Later Friday night, police were called back to the home, along with a crew from the El Cajon Fire Department, after a call reporting a fire inside the residence. Once on scene, authorities discovered that the tenants room had been lit on fire. The tenant was not at the home when police arrived, but two other roommates were inside the house. The fire was put out and no one was injured during the response, police said. Arson detectives also responded to the scene to assist with the investigation. A short time later, the tenant, identified as 53-year-old Jose Orozco, was located by San Diego Police. Authorities said a plastic bottle filled with gasoline was located in his vehicle. It had a rag coming out of the top. Orozco was then arrested on suspicion of arson and possession of a destructive device. The suspect has as extensive criminal history, including arrests for assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, DUI, auto theft and drug offenses, police said. Anyone with additional information about these crimes is encouraged to contact the El Cajon Police Department at 619-579-3311. 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 FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. An analysis of DNA extracted from skeletons revealed that the inhabitants of a Stone Age burial ground in France were mostly male and of the same lineage, according to a study published Aug. 28 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The excavation site, located in a limestone cave in Southern France, contained 75 mostly adult cadavers belonging to the 5,000-year-old community in Aven de la Boucle. Archaeologists analyzed the genomes of 37 of those individuals, and radiocarbon dated many of the bones found around the site. Scientists determined that 76 percent of the bodies buried there between 3,600 and 2,800 B.C. were male. Experts say this could indicate that social status was passed down from father to son, making women far less likely to be buried at that site. "Considering that all [the] men involved in kinship relations carry that same haplogroup (G2), this allowed us to raise the hypothesis of a patrilineal system," the studys co-author, paleogeneticist Melanie Pruvost, told LiveScience. "In other words, the affiliation to a specific male lineage appears to be a preponderant factor to access the collective grave." However, there were still a few female cadavers exhumed in Aven de la Boucle, leading to a quandary for researchers. "Maybe only a limited number of female individuals were allowed or chose to be included in the collective burial," Pruvost offered. She explained that another possibility could be that "bones belonging to female individuals were preferentially removed from the cavity after decomposition occurred and moved elsewhere. Pruvost continued: "As it is often the case in prehistoric groups, women often left their ancestral community to live with their reproductive partner in what we call a patrilocal residence system. We can for example imagine that some female individuals would preferentially return to be buried within their ancestral community." Archaeologists are still working to understand the specific meaning of the burial site and why it held such importance for the community. Found scattered throughout the burial ground were ceramic artifacts and animals bones were potentially "used to secure either shrouds or clothing. "We can imagine that this place represented something important for the community in relation to its location, its characteristics, or even maybe specific people who were buried there," Pruvost said. "There might be a thousand different reasons for this choice, and it is highly unlikely that archaeology will ever be able to set those reasons apart." Pope Francis, wearing a Papua headdress, attends a meeting with the faithful of the Diocese of Vanimo at the esplanade in front of the Holy Cross Cathedral in Vanimo, Papua New Guinea, on Sunday. Photo by Alessandro Di Meo/EPA-EFE Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Pope Francis visited the small town of Vanimo in Papua New Guinea after delivering mass to more than 35,000 people in the capital of Port Moresby on Sunday. In his message, the pontiff said he wants to "break down distances." Vanimo is on a peninsula in Papua New Guinea's remote northwest coast, close to the border with Indonesia. The pope's arrival coincided with a ton of humanitarian aid and toys that would be delivered by missionaries from his home country of Argentina. The visit to Vanimo comes on the heels of his first stop in Papua New Guinea where he called for better care for Indigenous populations. He began his tour Friday and thanked Papua New Guinea officials for the work they are doing in their country as part of a formal address. "You are doing something beautiful, and it is important that you are not left alone," Francis told the crowd in Vanimo, which the Vatican estimated at 20,000, in a meeting outside the town's one-story, wood-paneled cathedral parish. Pope Francis interacts with young people of Scholas Occurrentes at Grha Pemuda Youth Center in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Wednesday. The pontiff is on a 11-day trip to the Asia-Pacific region, which includes stops in Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore. Photo by Tatan Syuflania/EPA-EFE/pool "You live in a magnificent land, enriched by a great variety of plants and birds," the pope continued. "The beauty of the landscape is matched by the beauty of a community where people love one another." The town of Vanimo came to a standstill as a result of the pontiff's visit, with onlookers lining the streets. Nuns dressed in bright blue and white habits were at the front of the line and greeted Francis when he arrived. Shops and roads were closed for his three-hour visit. Pope Francis is welcomed during his arrival at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday. The pontiff also visited Papua New Guinea and will end his tour with a stop in Singapore. Photo by Bagus Indahono/EPA-EFE The pope used his mass earlier Sunday in Port Moresby to tell the crowd that he wanted to bolster the church's presence and strength on the "peripheries," expressing concerns that residents in outlying areas may feel distant from both their faith and the church, but told them that God was near to them, the Vatican said. "When we look to ourselves, we realize that there is an even more beautiful sight: that which grows in us when we love one another," the Pope said in the Vanimo speech. "Indeed, our mission is precisely to spread the beauty of the Gospel of Christ everywhere through loving God and our brothers and sisters." The New Guinea stop is the second in a four-nation, 11-day tour of southeast Asia. He will go next to East Timor on Monday, and to Singapore on Thursday. His trip started in Indonesia. The U.S. Department of Justice said an illegal immigrant has reached an agreement to plead guilty to charges related to stealing a U.S. citizen's identity to vote in multiple elections and fraudulently obtain an American passport. Angelica Maria Francisco, a 42-year-old undocumented individual who most recently resided in Russellville, Alabama, is facing a nine-count information filed in federal court for false claims of citizenship in connection with voting, false statements in application for a United States passport, use of a United States passport obtained by false statements, and aggravated identity theft. A plea agreement was filed as well, indicating that Francisco has agreed to plead guilty to all nine counts, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama Prim F. Escalona and Resident Agent in Charge Joseph R. Wysowaty of the U.S. State Departments Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Atlanta Resident Office announced on Thursday. Francisco is accused of assuming the identity of a U.S. citizen in or around 2011. Prosecutors say she used the false identity to get an American passport in 2011. She then allegedly used the passport to travel to and from her native Guatemala in 2012, 2015 and 2018. Using the same identity, she allegedly also registered to vote in Alabama in 2016, before voting in the 2016 and 2020 primary and general elections. ALABAMA ELECTION OFFICIAL SAYS BIDEN EXECUTIVE ORDER GIVES ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS 'MECHANISM' TO REGISTER TO VOTE A United States passport with a Department of State logo visible, Lafayette, California, May 23, 2023. In 2021, Francisco allegedly used the same false identity to apply for and receive a renewed passport, which she used to travel to and from Guatemala in 2022. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP The State Department's Diplomatic Security Service investigated the case, with assistance from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the East Metro Area Crime Center, and the Alabama Secretary of States Office. "I have been very clear that a top priority of this Office is ensuring only eligible American citizens are voting in Alabama elections," Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said in a statement. "I want to thank the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Alabama for their diligent efforts investigating and charging this individual. We will continue to assist law enforcement in every way possible as they prosecute individuals who vote illegally in Alabama elections to the fullest extent of the law." Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen testifies during a hearing before the Senate Rules and Administration Committee on March 12, 2024, in Washington, D.C. The committee held a hearing on administration of upcoming elections. REPUBLICANS SAY SCHUMER MUST ACT ON VOTER PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP BILL IF DEMOCRAT 'REALLY CARES ABOUT DEMOCRACY' Allen, a Republican, has made election integrity a top priority this cycle and previously sounded the alarm to Fox News Digital about how state agencies receiving federal funding are required under Executive Order 14019 to send out voter registration information to anyone who comes into contact with those agencies without any verification of citizenship. President Biden signed the order in 2021 as a way of "promoting access to voting," but Republicans argue that its broad interpretation of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993 essentially mobilizes the federal government apparatus to become voter registration agencies. Signs directing voters are seen outside a polling place on March 5, 2024, in Mountain Brook, Alabama, on Super Tuesday. At the Republican National Convention in July, Allen told Fox News Digital that he had also spoken with House Speaker Mike Johnson regarding a piece of legislation called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act , which aims to require states to obtain proof of citizenship in person when registering an individual to vote and require states to remove non-citizens from existing voter rolls. Last month, prominent conservative Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Mike Lee, R-Utah, pushed for the SAVE Act to be attached to a spending bill extension to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the fiscal year. "Punting new government spending into 2025 when we have a new President and attaching the SAVE Act ensures House Republicans avoid a Biden-Harris lame duck omnibus and secures our elections at the same time," Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said in a statement on Friday. "The Senate can either ensure only eligible American citizens are voting in our elections or shut down the government. To me, its a no-brainer." Original article source: DOJ: Illegal immigrant stole US citizen's identity to vote in multiple elections, obtain American passport Donald Trumps Sept. 10 debate against Vice President Kamala Harris could be his biggest opportunity yet to regain ground lost to Harris in fundraising and in the polls, according to his GOP allies. But some are literally praying he just doesnt go off the rails. I thinkI prayhe can be disciplined, Republican strategist Tricia McLaughlin told Politico, voicing concerns about Trump trading personal attacks over focusing on policy. House Speaker Newt Gingrich theorized that could be exactly what Harris wants, and she could try to bait him. Donald Trump Plans to Tower Over Harris in Last-Minute Debate Ask Shell be personal and try to demean him, Gingrich told Politico. I think, I hope, what hell do is be a guy whos been a real presidentwhile she has been kind of a semi-vice presidentand a guy who knows all the world leaders, and a guy who has been through an enormous amount, and just be calm and steady and stick to the real differences. However, if Trump is indeed backed into a corner with personal attacks, all bets could be off said McLaughlin, who served as a senior adviser in Vivek Ramaswamys presidential campaign. McLaughlin added that Trump could feel like its three on one, that could be a problem, referring to the debates moderators, David Muir and Linsey Davis of ABC. Trump publicly slammed ABC as dishonest and referred to star anchor George Stephanopoulos as Liddle George Slopadopolus in a stream of posts on his Truth Social platform. In a New York Times op-ed published on Tuesday, Repubican Sen. Lindsey Graham said the road to the White House runs through a vigorous policy debate, not an exchange of barbs. Following backlash over questioning Harris race in June, Trump has said that he believes that he was entitled to personal attacks and wont change his strategy. An official close to the former president seemed convinced, claiming that Trumps preparation for the debate has been minimal. Speaking on condition of anonymity, they said Trump does gives unscripted hour-plus press conferences, he gives speeches that include a lot of material, extemporaneously. They added, The idea that he has to prepare for a debate is absurd. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. IDAHO SPRINGS, Colo. (KDVR) As the investigation into Paul Peaveys death continues, those who knew him best held a vigil in his honor. Peavey was found dead on his property after being reported missing late last month. Friends and family of Peavey, who was a Doberman breeder, gathered in Idaho Springs on Saturday to both honor and remember him. Dozens came out to Courtney Riley Cooper Park for the vigil. Suspect identified in Doberman breeders death in Clear Creek County This is definitely a tragedy, said Bruce Boynton, a long-time friend of Peaveys. A tragedy that Boynton said has brought the town of Idaho Springs together as they show love for Peavey, who, as his friends say, showed love to everyone else. He knew everybody in town, always had a smile on his face, said Boynton. Boynton said Peavey was talented in everything he did, painting buildings around town and as a Doberman breeder. As a dog trainer, he was probably one of the best, he said. Richard Levine knew Peavey for nearly 30 years, first meeting him in the mid-90s when Peavey operated a hot dog stand outside of his office. He said the amount of people who showed up to honor him shows what he meant to the community. He left a mark here, it doesnt surprise me, Levine said. And if you ever met Paul, the thing you would never forget about him is his laugh. It was huge and thats the part I think Ill miss the most about him is his kindness, and his good humor and his joy. Friends of slain Doberman breeder frustrated by sheriffs investigation Both Levine and Boynton say his infectious joy will be missed. Levine said Peavey was also a family man and a good father to his three kids. As the people of Idaho Springs sang and lit candles, its the tragedy that Boynton said has brought people together just like Peavey always did. Seeing these people here tells me that this town still has a little hope in it, said Boynton. One person is charged with murder in Peaveys death, and Levine hopes justice will be given to both Peavey and his family. 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 FOX31 Denver. A golden eagle flies with a stuffed fox in its claws during the Salbuurun hunting festival in Kyrgyzstan on August 3, 2024 (Vyacheslav OSELEDKO) (Vyacheslav OSELEDKO/AFP/AFP) A golden eagle attacked a toddler in Norway on Sunday, with her mother and a neighbour fighting the bird off repeatedly until a game warden killed it, Norwegian media reported. The 20-month-old girl, who was playing on her family's farm in Trondelag in central Norway when the eagle swooped down on her, required stitches to the back of her head and had scratches from the eagle's talons on her face, her father told public broadcaster NRK. "The eagle came out of nowhere and grabbed our youngest daughter," said the father, whose name was not disclosed. "Her mother jumped up and grabbed hold of the eagle, but had to fight to get it to let go. A neighbour also had to help her and our little girl," he said. Gamekeeper Per Kare Vinterdal, who killed the eagle, told NRK the bird saw the little girl as "prey". He said the mother and neighbour managed to get the eagle off the girl "but it kept coming back" even though "the neighbour chased it away with a stick". po/imm East Timor looks to the pope's visit as a reward after 20 years of fragile stability A school teacher sweeps the floor of a classroom before the start of classes in Dili, East Timor, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati) DILI, East Timor (AP) East Timor is in a festive mood as it prepares for the arrival of Pope Francis on his first trip to the deeply Catholic country, hard on the heels of the 25th anniversary of the referendum on independence from Indonesia. Francis is due to arrive Monday in one of the world's poorest countries of 1.3 million people, also known as Timor-Leste, following visits to Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Banners and billboards have filled the streets of the seaside capital, Dili, to welcome the pontiff. The popes visit is the biggest, the best marketing anyone can aspire to promote the country, to put the country on the tourist map, East Timors President Jose Ramos-Horta said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday. The 74-year-old former independence fighter and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who returned to the presidency in 2022, said the papal visit is a reward for the depth of faith shown by the Timorese, some 98% of whom identify as Catholic, and recognition of the progress toward peace in recent years. The World Bank in its semi-annual report in February praised East Timor as a peaceful, democratic nation. For more than 10 years, free and fair elections have been held despite tensions between the two largest parties that have occasionally erupted into violence. The country's path to statehood has been traumatic. The Timorese first declared their independence from Portugal, the colonial ruler, on Nov. 28, 1975, but that move was crushed nine days later when neighboring Indonesia invaded. As many as 200,000 people were killed during the 24 years of Indonesian rule. On Aug. 30, 1999, Timorese cast their ballots in a United Nations-backed referendum that backed independence from Indonesia with 78.5% of the vote. Indonesias military responded with a scorched-earth campaign that shocked the world. About 1,500 people were killed, more than 300,000 were displaced and over 80% of East Timors infrastructure was destroyed. An international force led by Australia intervened to restore security. After a period of direct U.N. governance, East Timor finally became an independent state on May 20, 2002. The transition to democracy has been rocky, with leaders battling poverty, unemployment and corruption. East Timors economy is heavily dependent on energy resources in the Timor Sea, but according to the U.N. Human Development Index, oil and gas income is falling as reserves are depleted, and the economy is not yet diversified. About 42% of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the U.N. Development Program. Unemployment is high, job opportunities in the formal sector are generally limited and most people are subsistence farmers with no steady income. In the health sector, 47% of children still suffer from stunting and for every 1,000 babies born in East Timor, 49 died before their 5th birthday due to malnutrition, according to the U.N.'s Group for Child Mortality Estimation. Nearly all medicines must be imported and supplies sometimes run out. Patients seek more advanced care overseas. Achieving national independence and managing the country afterward are not easy tasks, Koji Sakane, the director of Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan, said in his February study. In other words, it is not easy for less experienced figures and organizations to provide the people with a stable living environment and gain their trust. Out of necessity, Sakane said, the country was run by leaders and organizations who lacked experience in key areas, including coordination between competing political parties and control of ex-combatants and weapons from the struggle for independence. While poverty levels remain high, East Timor joined the World Trade Organization last month as its 166th member, after 7 1/2 years of negotiations. It also applied for a full membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It currently has observer status, and wealthier members of the regional bloc like Singapore had feared it would be a burden and delay the creation of an ASEAN Economic Community. Both East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and Ramos-Horta highlighted the importance of joining the 10-nation grouping of more than 700 million people to give foreign companies and investors the confidence and security to invest in the country. Last In 2023, ASEAN member states adopted a roadmap for East Timor's full membership. It includes a requirement for East Timor to prepare a special budget to meet its obligations, such as building infrastructure to host ASEAN meetings and accommodate delegates. As an ASEAN member, the island nation would have to attend 1,300 meetings a year, host summits, and contribute $2.5 million per year to the groups budget. I can assure you that it's on the right track, said Milena Maria da Costa Rangel, East Timor's vice foreign minister for ASEAN affairs, adding that the government is involving the private sector and civil society to meet the criteria in the roadmap. Ramos-Horta expects that East Timor will become a full member of ASEAN in 2025, under Malaysia's chairmanship. However, economic analyst Fernando Dias Gusmao, from the Peace University in Dili, was more downbeat, saying the government has moved slowly to implement the roadmap. East Timor continues to face challenges in terms of infrastructure, including the airports, accommodations and IT network necessary to host high-level meetings, Gusmao said. It was a big wish but the steps to make that wish come true are not yet optimal, Gusmao said. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. Ecuador, Indonesia, Uganda: Where can you visit the equator and is it worth a trip? Ecuador, Indonesia, Uganda: Where can you visit the equator and is it worth a trip? Before visiting Ecuador, the eponymous equator wasnt the most eagerly-anticipated moment on my bucket list trip. There were giant tortoises to meet, cloud forests to climb and Indigenous markets to explore. But the Quitsato Sundial, 50 kilometres north of Quito, was a surprise highlight. One that has made me an advocate for equator tourism. Our Earths circle of latitude passes through 11 countries: Indonesia (which has the longest cut), Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Gabon, the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Somalia. With the Midas Touch, it sprinkles a bit of tourist stardust wherever it goes - launching monuments, museums and, of course, lots of selfies. I learnt that the equator can change your perspective if you let it: surely what travel is all about. Related What is there to see at Ecuadors equator? Access to the Quitsato Sundial is through an unassuming solar museum, run by the nonprofit Quitsato organisation for $5 (4.50) per adult. Guides give an insightful and well-pitched talk about the equator and how it came to be established here, after 18th century scientists triangulated it from the Andes mountains. Satellite technology has since confirmed this site near Cayambe city to be the true equator - unlike other tourist attractions with equatorial claims, the Mitad del Mundo monument, and the Intinan Solar Museum. Its also the highest country where you can visit the equator. Opportunities abound for cheesy equatorial photos. - Lottie Limb Theres plenty of time to pace around the main attraction: a 10-metre high orange pole set in the centre of the sundial, within a circular mosaic of pebbles that mark the solstices and equinoxes. On a cloudless day the pole will tell you the time; casting no shadow at all when the sun is directly overhead at noon. When I visited in July, my family and I had the 54-metre wide platform to ourselves, giving us the floor for fun photos. Including an equator classic: a panorama where you pose on one side then run behind the photographer to pose on the other side, placing you in both the northern and southern hemisphere in one fridge-worthy pic. Related The equator could change the way you think about world maps The part that really stayed with me is the Ecuascope room - a floor-to-ceiling exhibit that aligns the equator to the stars, and exposes the arbitrariness of our world map. Despite the north nearly always being shown at the top of the world, there is nothing inherently up about the north. Historically, maps have put different directions on top depending on the prevailing worldview: east, towards sunrise for the ancient Egyptians, for example; south, towards Mecca for early Muslim cultures who were mostly north of it. In 1569, Flemish geographer Gerardus Mercator drew the first map to take into account the curvature of the Earth, to help sailors navigate. He likely placed north up top because Europeans were doing most of the exploring at the time, suggests science writer Caroline Williams. Given how influential Mercators map was, Europe has been in the upper storeys of Earth ever since. An alternative world map from Oriens Geovision. - Lottie Limb The Quitsato solar museum tilts your perspective, inviting you to imagine what it would be like if the equator were rendered as a vertical line, with the east on top. Its integral geoperspective map makes the case that the east is the only cardinal point with a constant reference point: the sun. Why does this matter? Well, as Williams writes, evidence from psychology suggests that our north-up culture might be polluting the way we think of what is valuable in the world. Related Where else can you visit the equator? A trip to the equator isnt guaranteed to be profound. But if youre already visiting one of these countries, its worth taking a small detour to straddle it. Kenyas equator signs There are a couple of places where you can experience the equator in Kenya. Nanyuki Town has a bright yellow sign by the road, with a number of souvenir shops. One ambivalent TripAdvisor review describes it as a must do tourist trap. For a small fee, you can see how the coriolis effect on water (whereby it normally turns clockwise or anticlockwise as it drains) becomes zero at 0 degrees latitude. Ol Pejeta Conservancy - home to the last northern white rhinos on the planet - also has a sign, and is a more peaceful place to absorb the moment. The Equator Monument in Indonesia Known as Equator City, Pontianak is the capital of West Kalimantan province. Two miles north of the centre stands a small, free museum, housing the original monument first built on the site by a Dutch geographer in 1928. A bigger monument was then built around it, turning the Equator Monument into a notable landmark. It gets a mixed response from visitors too. It's unfortunate that the area around the Monument is very poorly developed and maintained, writes one tourist. Go there just the same because of the wonder. Your physical presence in that part of the world is a great feeling, a reward by itself. You may want to time your visit for the spring and autumn solstices, when Pontianak city holds a party. Related Ugandas equatorial photo opportunity There are also a couple of marked equator points to choose from in Uganda, when youre not marvelling at mountain gorillas. The easiest to reach is at Kayabwe, where the line crosses the Kampala-Masaka highway. Here a simple circular monument provides the perfect photo opportunity for a lasting memory. I was surprised at how interesting it was to stop off at the equator, writes one TripAdvisor reviewer. Nearby souvenir shops and restaurants get a generally positive write-up too. Its no exaggeration to say that Nov. 5 may be the most consequential election in a generation. And were not just talking about the presidential race. From the top of the ticket to local ballot measures, California voters this year are grappling with major decisions that will shape their lives and communities for years to come. The Times editorial board will begin publishing its ballot recommendations this week. The board determines the positions of The Times as an institution and operates separately from the newsroom. Board members spend the months leading up to each election interviewing candidates, campaign committees and policy experts, examining facts and claims and doing research to inform our endorsements. The November general election is usually full of controversial propositions, and 2024 is no different. There are five measures put on the ballot by the state Legislature and five more from activists and special interests who used the state's direct democracy process to put their policies directly before voters. The measures pose big questions. Among them: Should we go backward on criminal justice reform? Should it be easier to raise taxes to pay for local infrastructure, such as roads, parks, water treatment facilities and affordable housing? Should California set the highest statewide minimum wage in the country? In Los Angeles County, voters will decide whether to give a second term to Dist. Atty. George Gascon , who was elected in 2020 to undo the excesses of his predecessors who locked up too many people for too long without considering how to help them live crime-free lives. Or they could replace him with Nathan Hochman, who has pledged to return to the tougher-on-crime policies of previous D.A.s. Theyll also decide whether to raise the countys sales tax indefinitely to pay for more affordable housing, rental assistance and programs to help prevent and reduce homelessness, including case management and mental health and substance abuse treatment. It would replace a quarter-cent tax to pay for homelessness services that was passed by voters in 2017 and expires in 2027. Read more: 2024 California propositions voter guide: minimum wage, crime, marriage, healthcare, rent and more The outcome in the D.A.s race and Measure A could affect how the county deals with people living on the margins and it will reflect the publics patience, or impatience, with the difficult work of trying to fix deep-rooted societal problems that developed over decades. Efforts to restore faith and accountability in local government are also on the ballot in November. Proponents of Measure G argue L.A. Countys bureaucracy can be made more effective and transparent by adding an elected county executive position and increasing the Board of Supervisors from five to nine members. Voters have rejected this idea before, but theres been a groundswell of support for structural reforms that might mean a different outcome this year. Indeed, city of L.A. voters will also consider charter amendments that were developed in the wake of the leaked audio scandal of 2022 , when three council members and a top labor official were caught making racially divisive comments about their colleagues and constituents, while plotting how to redraw council district lines to their benefit. The ballot measures would, among other things, create independent redistricting commissions for the city and L.A. Unified, and strengthen the independence of the city Ethics Commission. Of course, it will be impossible to escape the news, campaign ads and commentary surrounding the presidential race. The editorial board hasnt been shy about sharing our opinion of Donald Trump over the years and will continue to do so this election season. We will also make recommendations in some key congressional races in L.A. and Orange County. A half-dozen competitive races in California could help decide whether Democrats gain control of the House of Representatives. We will also have endorsements in a selection of open state Legislative seats in Los Angeles and little-known races such as the Los Angeles Community College District board and L.A. Superior Court judges. (Yes, we elect judges, but only some. Find out why by clicking here.) Endorsements will continue to publish through early October, when voters receive their ballots in the mail. We welcome your thoughts and feedback. If its in the news right now, the L.A. Times Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Gov. Doug Burgum on Sunday tried to dial down reaction to Republican president nominee Donald Trump's Saturday statement on Truth Social that threatened extensive election prosecutions. Trump on Saturday posted on Truth Social: "WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences," then added: "Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country." Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press," the Republican governor of North Dakota played down that statement, characterizing Trump's remarks as "speaking to a concern that Americans have." "I think what President Trump is saying, if we have free and fair elections everybody has to follow the rules. And just putting people on notice," he said. Host Kristen Welker pressed Burgum about the prosecution threats made in the statement, saying the reason for the fears about election integrity might derive from Trump's own statements. In response, Burgum portrayed Trump's statement as merely affirming the need for honest elections. "I think what's appropriate is that we keep working hard as a country to make sure that we've got a belief in our elections and a trust in our elections," he told Welker. Trump, who referred in his statement to "rampant cheating," has continued to argue that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, though he lost dozens of court cases after the election, and persistent efforts by his supporters to prove there was widespread fraud did not yield evidence of it. Vice President Kamala Harris campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said that if Trump were to win, he would "use his unchecked power to prosecute his enemies." Calling the former president "desperate," Marc Elias, a Democratic election lawyer, responded to Trump's Saturday remarks on X: "We wont let Donald Trump intimidate us." Elias added: "Donald Trump is threatening those of us protecting democracy." Tech billionaire Elon Musk did not mince words when declaring his support for the Second Amendment on Sunday. "The right to bear arms is there to protect free speech and stop a tyrannical government from taking your rights away! Thats why the first thing that all tyrants do is disarm the people, just like Chavez did when he was first elected. After that, no more real elections in Venezuela," Musk posted to his X account on Sunday. Musk was responding to an interview clip of Democratic Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock joining NBC News on Sunday, when he was asked whether Vice President Kamala Harris should support a mandatory gun buyback program. Buyback programs are government initiatives to purchase privately owned firearms in order to reduce the number of guns in circulation. Harris supported such mandatory programs during her failed 2020 run for the Oval Office and has since backed away from actively supporting mandatory buyback initiatives. TRUMP SAYS HE'LL ASK ELON MUSK TO LEAD GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY COMMISSION IF HE WINS ELECTION "Should she also be, in your opinion, supporting a mandatory gun buyback program," NBC's Kristen Welker asked Warnock, just days after the tragic Georgia school shooting that killed four people. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP "We're not going to be able to get where we need to go without action in Congress. We've got to pass some laws to deal with this. Now, I was heartened by the fact that two years ago, we finally did a gun safety law -- the Safer Communities Act. And it was the first gun safety law we passed in 30 years, 30 years. And it was modest, but it did save lives, but clearly, in the wake of what happened just the other day in Winder, Georgia, is not enough," Warnock responded. Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of X Holdings Corp., speaks at the Milken Institutes Global Conference at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, on May 6, 2024, in Beverly Hills, California. Musk, who has described himself as a "historically moderate Democrat," endorsed former President Donald Trump for president earlier this year and has previously pledged his support for the Second Amendment. TRUMP-MUSK INTERVIEW: 5 BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS FROM THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION TO THE US BORDER CRISIS Former first lady Melania Trump joins Republican presidential nominee former U.S. President Donald Trump on stage after he officially accepted the Republican presidential nomination on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. "I strongly believe that the right to bear arms is an important safeguard against potential tyranny of government. Historically, maintaining their power over the people is why those in power did not allow public ownership of guns," Musk told CNBC in 2022. His latest statement supporting Americans' rights to bear arms has garnered praise from conservatives and those in the 2A community. TRUMP IMPERSONATES ELON MUSK TALKING ABOUT ROCKETS: IM DOING A NEW STAINLESS STEEL HUB Trump said last week that if he wins the election in November, he will appoint Musk to lead a government efficiency commission. "I will create a government efficiency commission tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government," Trump said in a speech Thursday at the Economic Club of New York. The comment comes after Musk suggested the creation of a government efficiency commission last month during a conversation he hosted with Trump on X. "I look forward to serving America if the opportunity arises. No pay, no title, no recognition is needed," Musk posted on X after Trump said he would follow through on Musk's idea of establishing such a commission if he wins in November. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub . Original article source: Elon Musk pledges support for Second Amendment: 'Tyrants' disarm the people An unprecedented ruling from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in April made protection from the effects of climate change a human right under European law. Brought by a group of elderly women, the case was directed at Switzerland with the court finding the countrys insufficient action to tackle greenhouse gas emissions was a breach of human rights. The landmark judgment was heralded as a breakthrough for climate cases in Europe and around the world. As the first instance of a country being held legally responsible on this issue, it set a precedent that many are hoping will mean success in future climate cases. What was in the ruling and how did Switzerland respond? The ECtHR didnt explicitly tell Switzerland what it had to do next to tackle climate change, just that it had to do more. First, Switzerlands parliament voted to reject the ECtHRs ruling in June. It said it was not ignoring it but that the country already had an effective climate strategy. Related Now, five months on, the Federal government said that it has fulfilled the policy requirements of the ruling. In particular, it pointed to the revised CO2 Act from 15 March which it says has defined measures to achieve its 2030 climate targets. But, the statement from 28 August, also took issue with the courts broad interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), including extending it to cover climate protection. The case law must not lead to an extension of the scope of application of the ECHR, the Federal Council said. The apparent rejection of the landmark judgment has drawn sharp criticism from both environmental groups and human rights organisations. They say the Federal Councils position is unlikely to satisfy the committee tasked with implementing the Courts judgment. What does this mean for Switzerland and the ECHR? Beyond just climate action, the Federal Councils statement has raised concerns about Switzerlands commitment to the European human rights law system. The Swiss Human Rights Institution (SHRI) - Switzerland's independent national human rights institution - has called the governments position worrying. Criticism of how the ECHR was interpreted, it adds, makes the Federal Councils support for the Court ambiguous to say the least. What the SHRI takes issue with specifically is Switzerland acknowledging its membership of the Council of Europe and the system of the ECtHR while rejecting the idea that human rights law can be adapted to cover climate change. It cautions the government against indirectly strengthening the position of those who are calling for Switzerland to distance itself from, or even leave, the ECHR. The human rights organisation also predicts that the Federal Councils current position is unlikely to satisfy the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. This is the body responsible for ensuring that the judgments of the European Court are implemented by the member states. The governments statement rejecting the Klimaseniorinnen judgment threatens to undermine the authority and the core role of the Court in the human rights system which Switzerland claims to support. The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) called the Swiss governments rejection of the climate ruling an embarrassment. The governments statement rejecting the Klimaseniorinnen judgment threatens to undermine the authority and the core role of the Court in the human rights system which Switzerland claims to support, says Sebastien Duyck, campaign manager for human rights and climate change and senior attorney at CIEL. The Swiss government could have used the Courts near-unanimous ruling to strengthen its climate policy in accordance with undisputed science. Instead, it doubled down in the defence of its inadequate responses to climate change, refusing to be held accountable. What does this mean for future climate cases? The landmark judgment is already changing the potential outcomes of both international and domestic climate cases. Regardless of Switzerlands criticisms, it has already become case law upon which future rulings will be based with several cases even held back in anticipation of this ruling. A case has been brought to the ECtHR against Austria by an individual with multiple sclerosis who says his symptoms worsen in higher temperatures. He is arguing that Austria has failed to mitigate the impact of climate change and in particular to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, which cause global average temperatures to rise. Following the Klimasenoirinnen judgement, this case was prioritised with the Court demanding a statement from the Austrian government on various issues. Most of the questions it posed are based on the human rights requirements for climate protection developed by Aprils landmark ruling. New cases are being brought to domestic courts too. In Finland, NGOs are building on this ruling as they take the government to court for a lack of adequate climate action. Tens of thousands of people have got involved in a climate lawsuit which is being taken to Germanys Federal Constitutional Court. And, at an Inter-American Court of Human Rights hearing to establish an expert opinion on human rights and climate change in April, various states also referenced the ECtHR judgement. Keeping within Switzerland's climate budget The KlimaSeniorinnen and Greenpeace are calling for an independent scientific analysis of Switzerlands national carbon budget and how it fits with the global target to keep global warming below 1.5C. The global carbon budget is the maximum carbon dioxide emissions possible before global warming breaches this target. Each countrys own budget needs to ensure they are not emitting more than their fair share. Climate Action Trackers latest data shows that if all countries followed Switzerlands current approach, the world would be heading for 3C of warming. If Switzerland would commission such an independent analysis of the carbon budget, the idea then is that a Swiss climate strategy is based on that carbon budget, lawyer for the KlimaSeniorinnen, Cordelia Bahr, tells Euronews Green. She explains that there are already several calculations which show the countrys climate policy is grossly insufficient and needs to be strengthened. Switzerland's Anne Mahrer, co-president of KlimaSeniorinnen, reacts as Swiss retirees demonstrate outside the European Court of Human Rights, - AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias But these kinds of calculations often depend on what numbers and parameters are chosen so can be subject to value judgements. This is why an independent analysis is needed. The next step would be for Switzerland to implement climate policy based on these calculations. In the end, Swiss climate strategy until 2050 has to make sure to stay within that carbon budget, so it will lead to a significant strengthening of the Swiss climate strategy if [the government] would do so, Bahr says. What happens next in the Swiss climate case? Though there are worries about what this means for Switzerland and the European Convention on Human Rights, theres a long process to go through before such extremes are reached. It isnt unusual for countries to drag their feet. No longer than six months after a judgment is made by the ECtHR, it becomes legally binding. The state concerned must submit a plan of action for implementing the verdict to the Committee of Ministers. For the Klimasenoirinnen case, this is the 9 October by which Switzerland needs to produce a detailed report on its action plan. Following this, there will be an extended back-and-forth between the complainants, civil society, the state and Committee of Ministers members. Related It can be a long and incredibly complicated process before the 46 members of the Committee reach a consensus - especially for unprecedented cases like this one. The Committee only meets four times a year to monitor compliance on rulings like this. Nearly half of all leading judgments handed down by the court in the last decade are still pending full implementation, according to the European Implementation Network. They have taken on average more than six years to resolve. In exceptional circumstances, the Committee can refer cases back to the Court but this has only happened twice in its 65-year history. Though Switzerland could theoretically be expelled or choose to leave the ECHR, legal experts say this is unlikely. What a country or political figures say publicly also may not align completely with what they officially submit to the Committee. And it remains to be seen what official position Switzerland will take when submitting its plan. Ethiopia's Prime Minister has warned that anyone planning on invading his country should "think 10 times" before doing so because, he said, any attack would be repelled. Abiy Ahmed did not direct his comments at any particular nation, but they come at a time of rising tensions with neighbouring Somalia and Egypt. Somalia has described a maritime pact that Mr Abiy's government signed with the self-declared republic of Somaliland in January as an act of "aggression", and has responded by forging closer military ties with Egypt. Somaliland broke away from Somalia more than 30 years ago, but Mogadishu regards it as part of its territory. Egypt has been involved in a long-running dispute of its own with Ethiopia over Addis Ababa's decision to build a large dam on a tributary of the River Nile. It is reportedly planning to send troops to Somalia following the signing of a military pact between the two governments last month. In a televised address marking Ethiopia's Sovereignty Day, Mr Abiy said the east African nation had no intention of creating conflict. However, he said that "those who are afar and nearby" should know that "we usually embarrass and repel those who dare try to invade us". "Anyone intending to invade Ethiopia should think not just once but 10 times because one great thing we Ethiopians know is [how] to defend ourselves," Mr Abiy added. Somalia has been angered by landlocked Ethiopia's decision to reach a deal with Somaliland to give it access to a port. Somaliland has also said that it could lease a section of the coast to Ethiopia's navy, in exchange for Mr Abiy's government becoming the first to recognise it as an independent state. Tensions in the region escalated last month after two Egyptian C-130 military planes arrived in Somalia's capital to mark the strengthening of ties. Egypt reportedly plans to send up to 5,000 soldiers to join a new-look African Union (AU) force in Somalia at the end of the year, with another 5,000 to be deployed separately. An AU force has been in Somalia since 2007 to help the government fight al-Shabab, a jihadist group waging a brutal insurgency in the country. Ethiopian troops are part of the force, but Somalia has announced that they will have to withdraw next year. For its part, Egypt has accused Ethiopia of threatening its supply of water from the River Nile following the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd) in the northern Ethiopia highlands, from where 85% of the Nile's waters flow. The Gerd is Africa's biggest hydroelectric dam project, and Ethiopia sees it as vital to meeting its energy needs. You may also be interested in: [Getty Images/BBC] Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica BBC Africa podcasts Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, devoted his recent blog post to former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and said that he is looking forward to working with his successor, Andrii Sybiha. Source: Borrels blog post titled "Thank you and farewell, Dmytro Kuleba" published on Sunday 8 September, as reported by European Pravda Details: The EU top diplomat emphasised that Kuleba had one of the most challenging positions in the world as a foreign minister in the middle of "the worst war of aggression on European soil since the Second World War". Quote: "He managed this challenge skilfully, in an impressive way, showing remarkable resilience. He always put the Ukrainian people and their cause above anything else," Borrell said. Borrell recalled joint meetings with Kuleba and his trips to Ukraine, noting that his relationship with the former head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry "has grown stronger by the day into a real friendship". He also praised Kuleba's contributions to Ukraine's progress towards EU membership and wished him "all the best for the rest of his career". "In the meantime, I am looking forward to working with Andriy Sybiha, who has been given the difficult task of succeeding him. A seasoned diplomat, he has held multiple roles alongside President Zelenskyy and Minister Kuleba," Borrell said. The EU top diplomat stressed that the European Union will continue to support Kyiv "as long as it takes and with whatever it takes", and also announced a trip to Ukraine before the end of his tenure this autumn. On 5 September, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) appointed Andrii Sybiha as the minister of foreign affairs. The next day, Borrell held the first telephone conversation with the new foreign minister and invited him to the next meeting of the EU Council. Support UP or become our patron! Has Keir Starmers Britain become the softest touch in the West for illegal migrants? In a week when another 12 people drowned in the Channel and ministers squirmed under scrutiny about their still leaderless Border Command, attention turned to the Continent. Rwandas back but its Germany planning to use it, screamed a tabloid headline on Friday. Tory leadership candidates fell over one another to claim German endorsement for their now defunct scheme. Joachim Stamp, Berlins migration commissioner, had indeed floated the idea of processing asylum seekers in Rwanda, using facilities now sitting idle since Labour abandoned the policy as their first act in office. The irony of this turn of events will not be lost on British taxpayers, who paid hundreds of millions of pounds for these facilities in Kigali. And if the Germans are so eager to go ahead, where does that leave all the legal objections and moral outrage of our own liberal establishment? In a further twist, Germanys London ambassador, Miguel Berger, denied the story. Lets be clear, he tweeted, there is no plan of the German Government to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. But this official denial was a classic piece of diplomatic distraction. The ambassador added: The discussion is about processing asylum applications in third countries under international humanitarian law and with the support of the United Nations. So Germany is considering sending asylum seekers to Rwanda. The only difference is that Stamp wants to put the scheme under UN supervision and target migrants entering the EU across its eastern borders a tactic used by Putins Russia to destabilise Europe. In Germany, the politics of migration is even more incendiary than in Britain. Last month a deadly terrorist attack in Solingen, allegedly by a Syrian asylum seeker, helped the Alternative for Germany (AfD) to become the first Right-wing nationalist party to win a state election since 1945. Olaf Scholzs embattled centre-Left government responded by speeding up deportations. True, there has been no popular unrest in Germany to compare with this summers riots in Britain. Over recent years, however, there have been hundreds of arson attacks on refugee hostels in the former East Germany. In some of these incidents, crowds of onlookers have cheered on the arsonists. Many blame Angela Merkels decision to admit more than a million migrants from Syria in 2015 for the rise of the AfD. Friedrich Merz, her successor as leader of the Christian Democrats, has moved his party to the Right to head off the populist challenge. He wants to exclude all asylum seekers from Syria and Afghanistan. Expect more of this if he replaces Scholz as Chancellor after next years federal elections. The migration debate is, of course, highly charged not only in Britain and Germany but also in France. There Michel Barnier, President Macrons choice as Prime Minister, has a reputation as a hardliner on immigration. The direction of travel in France and Germany is therefore clear: on migration, both countries have had enough of the liberal policies that are still championed here by the Labour Government. Across the EU, the idea of outsourcing asylum processing to third countries is gaining ground. Italys Giorgia Meloni has done a deal with Albania, while Denmark also plans to send migrants to Rwanda. Sweden, meanwhile, has reversed decades of porous borders: this year, more migrants will leave than arrive there. Suddenly Starmers Britain with mass immigration, both legal and illegal, still roaring ahead looks like the odd man out among European countries. Nor is this likely to change any time soon. A Labour Government led by a human rights lawyer is not only out of step with Europe, but increasingly out of touch with British public opinion. Crushing the riots was the easy part. Finding a solution for migration will be much harder especially if using third countries such as Rwanda is ruled out. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, opens an informal meeting of the EU Defence Ministers. Francois Lenoir/European Council/dpa The European Union's top diplomat leaves on a multi-day trip to the Middle East on Sunday to campaign for a ceasefire, with stops in Egypt and Lebanon - but not Israel. Josep Borrell plans to meet with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi in Cairo on Monday and also visit the Rafah border crossing to the Gaza Strip, according to the EU Foreign Service office in Brussels. A meeting with mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United States, is "high on the agenda," his office said. On Tuesday, Borrell plans to meet Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdel-Atty and take part in a meeting of the Arab League. On Wednesday and Thursday, Borrell will be in Lebanon where he will meet with Prime Minister Najib Mikati, parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, and Lebanese Armed Forces Commander General Joseph Aoun. He will also meet with Lebanon's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Abdallah Bou Habib. A press conference is expected. Borrell will discuss with his Lebanese counterpart the EU's support for "Lebanon's resilience and stability" and Lebanon's role in the region. A visit to Israel is not planned, according to the statement. Borrell has repeatedly criticized Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip, while also condemning the "horrific terrorist attacks" on October 7, which left around 1,200 people dead in Israel and 250 taken hostage. However, he told Foreign Policy magazine in May that one horror cannot justify another. According to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Health Ministry, nearly 41,000 people in Gaza have been killed in the conflict. Talks on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have made no progress for months. According to a report in the Financial Times, the US military is already preparing for a collapse of the negotiations. The ceasefire is also linked to the hope of avoiding an even greater expansion of the war. The Line Fire was raging at SR-330 above the fire station in San Bernardino County. The highway was closed in both directions. Photo by Cal Fire/Facebook Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Residents of hundreds of homes near the San Bernardino National Forest in southern California were ordered to evacuate Saturday as the Line Fire grew exponentially. Gov. Gavin Newsome declared a state of emergency in St. Bernardino County and announced the state has secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency "to help ensure the availability of vital resources to suppress the fire." Citing "an immediate threat to life," law enforcement issued mandatory evacuation orders in the area. San Bernardino Sheriff's Office listed the communities of Running Springs and Arrow Bear Lake on Saturday. That was one day after parts of Highland, Calif., were also placed under evacuation as the quickly advancing wildfire drew closer to the city of San Bernardino. The fire started Thursday night. Highways 330 and other roads in the area were also closed as officials fought to contain the Line Fine, which exploded to more than 17,459 acres and 0% contained at 7:56 a.m. Sunday. On Saturday night it was 7,122 acres. The Line Fire in San Bernardino County was 0% contained. Photo by U.S. Forest Service -- San Bernardino National Forest/Facebook CalFire, the state forestry and fire protection agency, said 35,405 structures are threatened, including single and multi-family homes, as well as commercial buildings and other minor structures. So far no damages have been reported. Three injuries were reported among fire personnel and civilians. There are currently 628 personnel, 65 engines, two helicopters, three dozers and one water tender are assigned to the fire. "Smoke remains a challenge for aircraft, limiting access to parts of the fire," CalFire said in a situation summary. "Limited resources and logistical support have hampered fire control efforts." CalFire said "hot and dry conditions mixed with thunderstorms are expected to challenge firefighters for the next few days." Southern California is sweltering under an excessive heat warning and record-high temperatures for Sept. 7 were recorded across the region. Dangerously hot conditions with high temperatures of 102 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit were seen across San Bernardino and Riverside counties. The blaze was moving in a north-northeasterly direction. The main concern was on the fire's eastern flank, where containment was thought to be most threatened, while its leading western edge was about 12 miles east of the San Bernardino International Airport. "Resources continue to respond from throughout the state," the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported. "Fire crews continue to make progress during the nighttime hours due to higher humidity and nighttime water-dropping helicopters." Crews are being hampered by the steep terrain and lack of access to some areas of the fires but are being supported by fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. Across the country, federal courts are buckling under an ever-increasing caseload in the absence of long-awaited congressional action that would add judges to match a significant growth in litigation over the last several decades. Its been 34 years since lawmakers last passed a comprehensive bill increasing the number of judges on lower courts. In that period, the American population has grown by 80 million. The number of filings in US district courts increased by more than 30%. In the past year, there were more than 724,000 pending cases being handled by a federal trial bench made up of 677 judgeships (including roughly 40-50 vacancies) a 72% increase in pending cases over the last decade, during which, no new district seats have been created. We really are pressed to get all of the work done that litigants demand of us, and it affects the quality of the justice that they receive, Judge Mary Scriven, a federal judge in Tampa, Florida, told CNN. The staffing shortfall, she and other judges told CNN, is costing litigants time and money, while undermining public confidence in the judiciary. Whether it is addressed any time soon will depend on whether the House can pass in the coming weeks legislation that would create 66 new judgeships 63 of them permanent to the countrys most overburdened court districts. The legislation known as the known as the JUDGES Act or Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved Act was quietly approved by the Senate without any opposition just before the August recess. The bill, which has a House counterpart with bipartisan sponsorship, could face long odds in that chamber where lawmakers will have limited floor time in September, a priority to vote on messaging bills that drive home their political arguments in the weeks before the election and a government shutdown looming theyll need to avert. The legislation isnt seen as a top priority for many, and leadership would need to step in as Speaker Mike Johnson is managing an unruly and narrow majority. Supporters of the JUDGES Act say that the odds of it passing shrink considerably after the election, when it will become clear which party will get to appoint the first round of new judges allotted by the bill. That uncertainty nobody knows for sure whats going to happen in this election, or any other that should help to motivate people to get this passed on the House side, and, then, get it done this month, said Jonathan Hafen, national president of the Federal Bar Association, which has been advocating in favor of the bill. If it is not passed, the situation for the most stretched federal courts will only grow more dire. The semi-retired judges known as senior judges that have helped carry the extra load will age out of being able to contribute. And a burnout factor is affecting the amount of work that newly retired senior judges are willing to take on, leaving active-status judges scrambling to fill the gaps. It just makes the workload relentless, said Judge Timothy Corrigan, the chief judge of the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida, which covers Tampa and the rest of central Florida, and would receive five new judgeships under the bill. Youre issuing opinions, youre having trials, youre doing what youre supposed to be doing, but as soon as you finish one thing, theres five others that need your attention. It never stops. Timothy Corrigan, chief judge of the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida, in Jacksonville, Florida, US, on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. - Agnes Lopez/Bloomberg/Getty Images Litigants will have to wait even longer for their cases to be resolved. For defendants being held in jail before trial, that means more months of detention before a jury ever considers the charges against them. And in civil lawsuits, the parties may feel pressure to settle cases that otherwise would have gone to trial because of the cost of paying for seemingly never-ending litigation. If the bench doesnt have capacity, the bench cant hear those litigants cases in a timely way, said Judge Kimberly Mueller, chief judge of the Eastern District of Californias federal trial court. Not the quality of federal justice Muellers district stretching across 34 counties in Californias Central Valley has just six-active district judges to handle an area that has grown in population from nearly 2.5 million in 1990, when Congress last passed a comprehensive judicial expansion bill, to almost 8.5 million. Courts prioritize the resolution of criminal cases, as required under the Speedy Trial Act. But still, the median time between the filing of a criminal felony case and its resolution is 33 months in Californias Eastern District. Someone can spend many months, if not years, in a local jail in pre-trial detention if theyre detained, waiting to know the outcome of their case, Mueller said. For prosecutors, the delay risks losing witnesses and their memories. Under the JUDGES Act, her district would get four additional judgeships, added one by one in 2025, 2027, 2029 and 2031. The bill was crafted based on the recommendations of the Judicial Conference, the policymaking body of the federal judiciary, which looked both at case load statistics and other circumstances, like the geography of a court district, the availability of magistrate judges that can help with the work, and factors that could make litigation more complex, like a frequent need for language interpreters. We take very great care to make sure that every single judgeship recommendation that we make is reasonable, and its defensible and its based on the actual workload needs, said US Circuit Judge Nancy Moritz, who chairs the Judicial Statistics subcommittee of Judicial Conferences Committee on Judicial Resources. In some court districts, divisions with increasingly busy dockets dont have dedicated judges, meaning there is a scramble to assign out the case load to judges elsewhere in the district. For instance, there is no sitting judge in the Florida Middle Districts Ocala division home to The Villages, a retirement community that has grown dramatically in recent years. Golden-Collum Federal Building & US Courthouse in Ocala, Florida. - Carol M. Highsmith/Library of Congress That community deserves a full-time district judge sitting in the Ocala courthouse handling those cases, allowing the community to come in and watch and so forth, Corrigan said. The fact that were unable to provide that right now is just not the quality of federal justice that you would hope that we would be able to provide. A push for quick passage in the House The bills top Senate supporters Sen. Todd Young, an Indiana Republican who first introduced the legislation in 2020, and Delaware Sen. Chris Coon, its initial Democratic cosponsor are pushing for quick passage in the House this September, given how Novembers election could disincentivize the losing party from supporting it. However, even a co-sponsor of the House version, Rep. Hank Johnson, expressed skepticism of that timeline. Pointing to the government spending legislation the House will be working on next month, the Georgia Democrat told CNN that I think its most likely that itll take place during the lame duck session. The bills supporters are reaching out both to House leadership and the House members whose congressional districts would see judgeships added to their courthouses, a Senate aide involved in the push told CNN. To get the broad support that allowed the legislation to pass both the Senate Judiciary Committee the site of some of the most pitched, party-line battles in that chamber and the Senate floor without any opposition, the bills architects had to stretch out the time period over which judges would be added to the various district courts. The bill allocates new judges over 12 years. Chances are good that both parties will have a turn in the White House at some point over that span of time, and all judicial nominations are still subject to the confirmation process in the Senate, another Senate aide involved in the legislative push told CNN. CNNs Lauren Fox contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com New exhibits on display at the Panama City Center for the Arts PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) If youre looking for something to do during this gloomy weather, the Panama City Center for the Arts has a rainy day escape for you. Three new exhibits are on display. The main gallery features Panama City native Morgan Summers debut solo art exhibition, Homegrown: The Journey So Far. It showcases Summers concept of home and community through different symbols, themes, and creative expression. Aldi expanding stores, replacing two Bay County Winn Dixie supermarkets An Eclectic Collection by Heidi Johnson features a display of colorful sea creatures and wetlands wildlife, and The Journey of Craniosynostosis by Cathy Baker-Ramsay is a collection of works in honor of craniosynostosis month. The exhibit helps raise awareness about the disease that causes the premature fusion of sutures in a babys skull. These exhibits will be on display at the Panama City Center for the Arts from now until September 8. 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 mypanhandle.com. Agriculture throughout the San Joaquin Valley is dominated by big-acreage crops, from sprawling orchards of almonds and pistachios to rows upon rows of grapevines, to broad expanses of corn for livestock feed and tomatoes for processing into sauces and canned foods. But tucked away on much smaller plots of land across the eight-county region sometimes an acre or less are myriad other types of produce that many people might not think about in the region: crops like taro, daikon, watercress and fresh herbs, among others. Taro, for example, might be more familiar to Valley residents who have traveled to Hawaii and experienced poi the starchy, purple-ish/blue-ish paste made from the cooked and mashed tuber or corm of the taro plant and served as a side dish at tourist luaus and traditional family gatherings. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Agricultures Census of Agriculture reported that taro was grown by five farming operations totaling one acre in Fresno County. Merced and San Joaquin counties also produced a small volume of taro two producers in Merced County and one in San Joaquin County but the acreages were not disclosed to avoid releasing data that would identify a particular farmer. In addition to being pounded into poi, taro root can be sliced thin and fried to make crispy chips; ground into flour for use in baked goods; or processed into soups, stews, smoothies or boba drinks. In some cuisines, taro is mashed and deep fried into balls, pressed into dumplings, or cubed and simmered in curries. The broad leaves of the taro plant are also used, sometimes steamed as a wrapping for meat slow-cooked in an underground oven at luaus and other gatherings, or stewed to be served as greens. Either way, both the taro root and the leaves contain calcium oxalate, an toxic, irritating compound that must be destroyed by cooking before taro can be eaten. Taro is used in limited amounts in the U.S. but is popular elsewhere around the world, particularly in Asia, the Pacific islands and the Caribbean islands. A slew of small-scale farmers, including Hmong and other Southeast Asian growers, are producing a variety of Asian vegetables and other specialty crops that, while the acreages are relatively small, still add up to a considerable value. In Fresno County, for example, those lesser-known vegetables include a choy, amaranth, bitter melon (fruit and leaf) , bok choy , chayote (fruit and leaf), curry leaf tree, daikon, doan qua, gai choy, gailon, ginger (root & leaf), lambsquarter, lemon grass, lo bok, malabar, mizuna, methi, moqua, mora, moringa (fruit and leaf), nagaimo, napa cabbage, ong choy, opo, saluyote, sinqua, sour leaf, sugar cane, taro (root and leaf), tatsoi, tong ho, yam (root and leaves), yu choy. Crops identified in the 2022 Census of Agriculture totaling three acres or less by Valley county include: Fresno County Collard greens: Two producers totaling one acre. Watercress: Four producers totaling one acre. Ginger root: Four producers totaling two acres. Potatoes: Six producers totaling two acres. Turnips: Five producers totaling two acres. Turnip greens: Five producers totaling two acres. Chicory: Four producers totaling three acres. Kale: 13 producers totaling three acres. Kern County Cucumbers: Five producers totaling one acre. Fresh-cut herbs: Seven producers totaling one acre. Kings County No crops disclosed of three or fewer acres in the 2022 Census of Agriculture. Madera County Carrots: Four producers totaling one acre. Garlic: Four producers totaling three acres. Merced County Chinese cabbage: Four producers totaling one acre. Mustard greens: Three producers totaling one acre. Kale: Four producers totaling two acres. Eggplant: Seven producers totaling two acres. Snap beans: Four producers totaling two acres. Sweet corn: Three producers totaling three acres. San Joaquin County Lima beans, fresh: Five producers totaling one acre. Cabbage, mustard: Five producers totaling one acre. Daikon: Five producers totaling one acre. Gourds: Five producers totaling one acre. Green onions: Four producers totaling two acres. Cauliflower: Six producers totaling two acres. Green peas: Four producers totaling two acres. Beets: Six producers totaling three acres. Stanislaus County Bell peppers: Nine producers totaling two acres. Tulare County Cauliflower: Five producers totaling one acre. Romaine lettuce: Four producers totaling one acre. Parsley: Four producers totaling one acre. Chili peppers: Six producers totaling one acre. Sweet potatoes: Four producers totaling one acre. Eggplant: Six producers totaling two acres. Fresh-cut herbs: Five producers totaling two acres. Leaf lettuce: Five producers totaling two acres. Squash: 13 producers totaling two acres. Head lettuce: Five producers totaling three acres. Since the start of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow appears to have learned to live with increasingly hostile relations with the West. Thousands of kilometers east of Ukraine, however, relations with one country in the South Caucasus have become increasingly cold, in the aftermath of an entirely different conflict. Relations between Russia and Armenia have been deteriorating for several years but escalated dramatically when Russian "peacekeepers" deployed in the region failed to prevent Azerbaijan's September 2023 offensive into Nagorno-Karabakh, a long-disputed enclave primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, but internationally recognized as Azerbaijan territory. This summer then saw a historic departure from Armenias international Zvartnots Airport, when Russian border guards finally left the building, 32 years after their deployment began. Yerevan had informed Moscow in March 2024 that the presence of their guards to assist with border controls at the airport was no longer needed, and the last Russian guards left the airport on July 31. Russias Foreign Ministry described the move as causing "irreparable damage" to relations between the two countries. A month later, the damage appeared to intensify further. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced during a press conference that Armenia had suspended its participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). "The Republic of Armenia 'has frozen' its participation in the CSTO at all levels, and at this stage, we consider this decision sufficient," Pashinyan said on Aug. 31. What is the CSTO and why does Armenia want to leave? The CSTO was established in 2002 and includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Russia is by far the most powerful member of the alliance, which is similar to NATO in its structure. Since the start of 2024, Armenia made multiple threats to leave the organization. In May, Yerevan refused to finance the CSTO, despite the budget being approved the previous November. Yerevan has argued that the military alliance has failed to address Armenia's collective security concerns. According to Article 4 of the CSTO Treaty, if a member state experiences aggression, then all member states must come to its aid similar to NATO's Article 5 principles. The CSTO did not intervene during Azerbaijan's offensive in September 2023. Around 100,000 people were forced to flee to Armenia as Azerbaijani troops established control over the area, and the self-declared Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was dissolved. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan hold a meeting on the sidelines of the summit of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in Moscow, Russia on May 8, 2024. (Evgenia Novozhenina / POOL / AFP via Getty Images) While the CSTO is a Russia-led organization, formally it has to consider the views of other member states, Olesya Vartanyan, an expert on security issues in the South Caucasus, told the Kyiv Independent. Leaders of some of these countries have openly stated that they do not want to create new problems with Azerbaijan at Armenias expense and appear indifferent to Armenias struggles, Vartanyan said. This includes Belarus, which delivered advanced weapons to Azerbaijan for years, according to a Politico investigation. Who needs Armenians? Nobody. Let them develop their economy and rely on their own resources, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko said on state television in August. According to Vartanyan, the CSTO has adopted a stance identical to what Moscow has been suggesting since the emergence of border issues between Armenia and Azerbaijan that the two countries should first define their un-demarcated border, and then consider who could be violating which territory, Armenias relations with the West This indifference, coupled with verbal statements against the Armenian leadership by some member states, contributed to Yerevans decision to start distancing itself from the CSTO, Vartanyan said. Pashinyan could not name the "exact day" when Armenia would leave the CSTO. He said the government could reconsider the decision to suspend its membership in the future but did not see the need to do so for now. Since coming to power in a 2018 revolution, Pashinyans government has steadily deepened the country's ties with the West, drawing condemnation from Russia. Fearing renewed hostilities with Baku, Yerevans move westward has only intensified since 2023 as it seeks new partnerships. Armenia is now fostering security ties with other countries, such as France, the U.S., and India, and over the past several months, has held several rounds of dialogue with European and American colleagues to discuss and agree on reforms in security, the economy, and other sectors, Vartanyan said. In this pool photograph distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (L) prior to the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council members as part of the Eurasian economic union summit in Saint Petersburg on Dec. 25, 2023. (Pavel Bednyakov /POOL/AFP via Getty Images) In March, Armenia's Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan revealed that the country was considering applying for membership in the European Union, aiming to further strengthen ties with the West. EU ambassadors in July approved the launch of a visa-free dialogue with Armenia to begin talks on a visa-free regime between the two and, for the first time in history, agreed to allocate military aid from the European Peace Facility (EPF) to the country. In January 2024, Armenia also ratified the International Criminal Courts Rome Statue, becoming one of 124 countries obliged to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he steps foot in Armenia. Armenia originally signed the Rome Statute in 1998 but failed to ratify it. While the Kremlin decried the move as an "unfriendly step" and "the wrong decision, Pashinyan said in February that the ratification served as an additional measure to increase Armenia's security. It remains unclear how far these steps will take Armenia, according to Vartanyan. Yerevan may be ready to get closer or even initiate some integration processes, but it is up to the West to send the right signals and begin a tangible process toward closer relations with Armenia. Read also: Putin in Azerbaijan: Depleted by Ukraine, Russia plays a weaker hand in the South Caucasus Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Fact Check: No, Fisher-Price Didn't Release 'My First Dealer Kit' for Kids Claim: An image shared on social media in August 2024 authentically showed a Fisher-Price "My First Dealer Kit" for children. Rating: Rating: Fake In mid-August 2024, multiple social media users shared an image purportedly showing a "My First Dealer Kit" created by toy company Fisher-Price. The package included items resembling a gray hoodie, firearm, cash and marijuana. Though the origin of the image was unclear, several indications such as some words being misspelled and the inconsistency of Fisher-Price's branding suggested it was made using generative artificial intelligence software. For this reason, we rated this claim and the image as "Fake." For example, the box read "Fisher Picce" instead of "Price" and "KT" instead of "KIT." Lettering and logos across the box were also misshapen or filled with nonsensical words and figures, which further suggested the image was created using AI software. (Snopes compilation) Online AI detection program Hive Moderation determined the post was 99.8% "likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content." (Hive Moderation) Mattel, the parent company of Fisher-Price, did not include such a product on its online inventory list as of this writing. We asked Mattel for comment and will update this article if we receive a response. Snopes has previously looked into other fake children's products, such as the "My First Vape" toy, a "Happy Hour Playset," the "My First Hookah" and a Fisher-Price "My First Seance" kit. Sources: Evon, Dan. "Is 'My First Hookah' a Real Toy?" Snopes, 16 Dec. 2021, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/is-my-first-hookah-a-real-toy/. Hive Moderation. https://hivemoderation.com/ai-generated-content-detection. Accessed 3 Sept. 2024. LaCapria, Kim. "Fisher Price Happy Hour Playset." Snopes, 7 Dec. 2016, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/fisher-price-happy-hour-playset/. MacGuill, Dan. "Is the 'My First Vape' Children's Toy Real?" Snopes, 11 Sept. 2017, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/my-first-vape-toy/. "Search: 0 Results Found for '"My First de Fer Kit."'" Mattel Shop, https://shop.mattel.com/search?q=%22my+first+de+fer+kit%22. Accessed 3 Sept. 2024. Threads. https://www.threads.net/@official5starfranchise/post/C-s64o3y2Oo. Accessed 3 Sept. 2024. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qepm290Jubg. Accessed 3 Sept. 2024. TOOELE, Utah (KTVX) The man who allegedly killed his daughter, a Salt Lake County sheriffs deputy, has been charged with murder, a first-degree felony. Hector Martinez-Ayala, 54, previously a person of interest, was charged by Third District Court after his daughter Marbella Martinez, 25, was found dead by police in Tooele on Aug. 1. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Salt Lake County Deputys death being investigated as suspicious Along with the murder charge, Martinez-Ayala has been charged with two counts of obstructing justice, stalking current or former cohabitant, unlawful transaction possession or transfer of a financial transaction card, two counts of unlawful use of a transaction card, and unlawful possession of anothers identification documents. According to charging documents, Martinez-Ayala reportedly sent a text message to his brother saying he may never return. My brother, you know [how] much I love you. I made a big mistake, an unforgivable sin, now Im too scared and I dont know what to do. I think I will never come back, he said. Nexstars KTVX previously reported Martinez was found dead at a Tooele home by police responding to a welfare check. The Salt Lake County Sheriffs Office stated in August that Tooele Police were investigating Martinezs death as suspicious. Charging documents state that the last known video of the 25-year-old came from an indoor camera around 12:30 p.m. Martinez-Ayala came home just after 2 p.m. according to the camera notifications on his phone. The camera notifications stopped afterward and video after that does not exist or was deleted because of the disabling of the cameras. Charging documents say Martinez-Ayala took Martinezs phone and disposed of it on his way to Salt Lake City International Airport. He flew from Salt Lake to San Francisco, then to Houston. After leaving Houston, there are no cell phone records available, investigators said. He allegedly used his twin brothers identification when he landed in another country. Documents said the whereabouts of Martinez-Ayala are not known, however, his last known location was outside of the U.S. 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 Queen City News. With father of suspect charged in Georgia shooting, will more parents be held responsible? Murder charges filed against the father of a 14-year-old boy accused of a Georgia school shooting follow the successful prosecution of two parents in Michigan who were held responsible for a similar tragedy at a school north of Detroit. Is it a sign of a crackdown on parents accused of gross negligence when it comes to kids and guns? Could public outrage lead to more prosecutions or changes in law in other states, too? Its a matter of looking at the relationship between what the child says and does and what the parent knows about what the child says and does, said David Shapiro, a former prosecutor who teaches at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. Colin Gray, 54, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and second-degree murder related to the deaths of two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Winder, outside Atlanta. Nine more people were wounded. Grays son, Colt Gray, is charged with murder. Investigators said he used a semi-automatic AR-15 style rifle in the attack. The charges against Colin Gray are directly connected with the actions of his son and allowing him to possess a weapon, said Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Milestone in Michigan James and Jennifer Crumbley were convicted of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year for the deaths of four students at Oxford High School in 2021. It was the first time that parents were held criminally responsible for a U.S. mass school shooting. Theyre serving 10-year prison terms while appeals are pending. The Crumbleys didnt know what son Ethan Crumbley was planning. But prosecutor Karen McDonald said their sons actions were foreseeable. They were summoned to discuss the 15-year-olds macabre drawings of a gun and blood on a math assignment and a message, The thoughts wont stop. Help me. My life is useless. The Crumbleys declined to take him home but said they would seek counseling. On that same day, Ethan Crumbley removed a gun from his backpack and began shooting, using a weapon that James Crumbley had purchased as a gift just a few days earlier. No one parents or school staff had checked the backpack. The parents actions and inactions were inexorably intertwined with what their son ultimately did at Oxford, the Michigan Court of Appeals said in 2023 when the groundbreaking case was allowed to move forward. The Georgia case Prosecutor Brad Smith declined to publicly disclose details that led him to charge Colin Gray in the Apalachee shooting. But in arrest warrants, authorities said he had provided a gun to his son with knowledge that he was threat to himself and others. Smith acknowledged the Michigan case during a news conference Friday and said his case was a first for Georgia. Im not trying to send a message, he said. Im just trying to use the tools in my arsenal to prosecute people for the crimes they commit. Colin Gray was interviewed last year when authorities were investigating his son about a menacing post on social media. The father said the teen knows the seriousness of weapons and what they can do, and how to use them and not use them, according to a transcript. Nothing more was pursued. McDonald, the prosecutor in Michigan, said the Georgia shooting and the fathers arrest was a real punch in the stomach. I cant believe the facts that stood out as so egregious in our case seem to be so similar, she told The Associated Press. More scrutiny for parents? McDonald said states have laws that carry consequences for gross negligence in various situations. She said its encouraging that police in Georgia immediately investigated how the gun was obtained. I have never felt it was a moment that would open the floodgates to charges against parents or sending a message to people, McDonald said of the Crumbley case. Most people dont need that message. Its heartbreaking to watch it play out. She said it takes only seconds to put a lock on a gun, which she demonstrated for a jury. Shapiro, the former New Jersey prosecutor, said all states likely have laws that can be used to hold parents responsible, though much depends on the facts and a prosecutors views. You dont want to be able to allow parents to overlook those kinds of signs there is something seriously wrong or a serious risk, he said. Michigan has a new law this year that requires adults to keep guns locked up when minors are present. In Newaygo County, a grandfather pleaded no contest in August in the death of a 5-year-old grandson. Another boy had picked up and fired a loaded shotgun. If people simply locked up their firearms, we would not be putting parents behind bars for this reason, said Kris Brown, the president of Brady, a gun violence prevention group. And we would not be digging as many graves. The East Fork of the South Fork of the Salmon River flows through the abandoned Yellow Pine Pit at the Stibnite Mine in Central Idaho. (Clark Corbin/Idaho Capital Sun) The U.S. Forest Service issued a draft record of decision Friday authorizing a gold mining company to resume operations at Stibnite Mine in Central Idahos Payette National Forest, a proposal that would become one of the largest gold, silver and antimony mines in the United States. Fridays draft record of decision begins a 45-day objection period where the public can comment on the draft record of decision and a 45-day resolution period. After that, the U.S. Forest Service can issue a final record of decision, which supporters of the project said could happen before the end of the year. Information about commenting and filing objections is available on the U.S. Forest Service website. The decision involves the Stibnite Gold Mine, which is located outside the tiny town of Yellow Pine in Valley County, about 45 miles from Cascade and 100 miles from Boise. The mine is located just outside the boundary of the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, which wildlife biologists and conservationists say is an important habitat for a variety of wildlife species including salmon, bears, wolves, wolverines, elk, eagles and other animals. Plan would allow for gold, silver and antimony mining on about 3,200 acres The plan the U.S. Forest Service selected will disturb or re-disturb about 3,200 acres of land by creating or expanding three open pit mines, an area for processing ore, a facility to store mine tailings, buttress, an employee housing facility, an access road, a transmission line and a road maintenance facility, according to the draft record of decision. The plan has several phases, including three years of construction, 15 years of mining and ore processing operations, for a total of 17 years of surface and underground exploration. The Stibnite Gold Project would create one of the largest gold, silver and antimony mines in the United States, officials with the U.S. Forest Service said in a press release announcing the draft record of decision. Officials with Perpetua Resources, formerly Midas Gold, are seeking approval to resume mining at Stibnite Gold Mine. In a statement released Thursday, officials with Perpetua Resources said they plan to mine for gold and unlock the United States only reserve of a mineral called antimony, all while cleaning up historic mine waste. Perpetua Resources says antimony can be used to develop liquid metal batteries and ammunition. We believe that the Stibnite Gold Project is a win-win-win, said Jon Cherry, president and CEO of Perpetua Resources in a written statement. Its a win for Idaho, its a win for the environment, and its a win for Americas national security. Our independence from Chinese control over antimony is right here in our backyard, and Perpetua Resources is honored to provide a critical part of the solution to the United States strategic need for antimony, while also delivering an economically robust gold mine that will create new jobs in Idaho. Its time for the Stibnite Gold Project to help secure our future. Conservation organizations, tribes remain concerned about pollution from the mining project But conservationists and members of the Nez Perce Tribe have voiced concerns for years about the proposal. A coalition of organizations including Save the South Fork Salmon, Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, Advocates for the West, American Rivers and Earthworks issued a statement Friday expressing concern that the pollution from the mine could harm threatened fish in the Salmon River watershed. They also warned the mine and mining activities would permanently scar thousands of acres of public lands in the Salmon River Mountains, violate treaties signed with Native American tribes and jeopardize clean water. The Stibnite Gold Project risks irreversible harm to one of the nations most cherished and ecologically important river ecosystems, said Zack Waterman, Northern Rockies conservation director for American Rivers. An overhead view of the abandoned Yellow Pine Pit at the Stibnite Mine, which Perpetua Resources hopes to resume mining in. (Clark Corbin/Idaho Capital Sun) Conservation groups said the plan doubles the size of the disturbed area and allows the Yellow Pine Pit to extend 700 feet below the East Fork of the South Fork of the Salmon River, which would require the river to be rerouted through concrete tunnels while mining takes place. The plan still involves excavating three massive open pits, punching in a road through three roadless areas along the boundary of the Frank Church River of Return Wilderness, and filling Meadow Creek with toxic mine waste, John Robison of the Idaho Conservation League said in a written statement. Area creeks and rivers are polluted due to nearly 100 years worth of mining near Idahos Stibnite Gold Mine Mining began near Stibnite in 1899 with the Thunder Mountain Gold Rush and ramped up through the 1930s and 1940s, when antimony and metals mined at Stibnite contributed to the World War II effort, according to Forest Service records and Perpetua Resources. All mining operations stopped by 1992, according to Forest Service documents. A lot of the mining equipment was abandoned, and much of it remains in the forest today. The East Fork of the South Fork of the Salmon River flows into an abandoned open pit mine, and rivers and creeks in and around the mine site are polluted with arsenic and sediment, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported, following a 2022 tour of the mine site. Perpetua Resources is proposing to resume mining operations and says it will clean up some of the legacy waste as it conducts mining operations. Perpetua also plans to backfill a mine pit, reclaim the area and rebuild sections of the river and restore 450 acres of wetlands. Some of the projects would take place while mining is underway and other projects would take place after mining ends. Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: info@idahocapitalsun.com. Follow Idaho Capital Sun on Facebook and X. Draft-Record-of-Decision The NYPD was served with an evidence preservation letter by federal agents ordering them not to destroy any electronic files as investigators target information linked to alleged influence peddling at Big Apple nightclubs by Police Commissioner Edward Cabans twin brother, The Post has learned. Theyre asking that all the hard disks and servers be preserved because the federal government thinks theres evidence of corruption on those machines, a police source told The Post Saturday. The feds delivered the letter to the departments legal bureau at 1 Police Plaza on Friday. The Post has learned that the NYPD received an evidence preservation letter by federal agents. james.caban.7/facebook The move follows a flurry of subpoenas targeting top members of the Adams administration. James Caban, the commissioners twin and a former cop, allegedly created a nightlife consultancy company and told the clubs to hire the companys employees, claiming Ill be able to make your place safer if you hire my security people, police sources told The Post Saturday. James Caban allegedly also told the clubs he could call precinct commanders, his brother or Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Philip Banks if they had trouble, the source said. So if the city receives several complaints about a Midtown club instead of having cops write summonses or even shut it down it can be handled by the administration or police brass, a source said. The IRS is now involved in the investigation because they believe money actually exchanged hands between James Cabans company or others and the clubs, the source said. In recent days, the feds subpoenaed the phones of various police officers in areas that have a high concentration of restaurants and clubs. The letter states not to destroy any electronic files as investigators target information linked to alleged influence peddling at Big Apple nightclubs by James Caban the twin brother of Police Commissioner Edward Caban. AP They took the phones of Assistant Chief James N. McCarthy, commander of Patrol Borough Manhattan South, which covers all of southern Manhattan, Assistant Chief Kevin Williams Sr., the commanding officer of Patrol Borough Queens South , and Deputy Inspector Robert Gault, commander of the Midtown North Precinct, police sources said. They also took the phones of a lieutenant in the 10th Precinct, which covers Chelsea, and a sergeant in the 5th Precinct, which encompasses Chinatown, Little Italy and the Bowery. The Post reported Saturday that James Caban was being eyed by the feds over his alleged work as a fixer for swanky restaurants and nightclubs, according to police sources. On Wednesday, federal agents raided the home of Police Commissioner Caban, according to sources. James Cabans home was also hit with a search warrant, according to sources. The twin brother of the Police Commissioner allegedly created a nightlife consultancy company and told the clubs to hire the companys employees, claiming, Ill be able to make your place safer if you hire my security people. James Keivom Other top Adams officials who were hit by raids this week include Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks as well as Schools Chancellor David Banks and First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, according to law enforcement sources, who said the feds showed up with search warrants and seized their electronic devices. The feds also subpoenaed the phones of another Adams aide, retired NYPD inspector Timothy Pearson; and Banks brother Terence, a former MTA official who is now engaged in consulting work, sources said. Prosecutors from the Southern District of New York are leading the investigation who are probing Adams top aides along with a separate investigation launched last year into the mayors 2021 campaign donations, sources said. Mayor Adams office hasnt commented on the specifics of the probe and the other officials havent returned calls seeking comment. Some police officials are worried that the probe could have a disastrous effect on department, which has had problems with police officer suicides in the past, a police source said. Theyre worried someones going to eat a gun, the source said. The NYPD said Saturday, The department is aware of an investigation by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York involving members of service. The department is fully cooperating in the investigation. FILE - Apollo Quiboloy appears on his talk show on May 23, 2016, in Davao City, southern Philippines. (AP Photo, File) MANILA, Philippines (AP) A Filipino preacher accused of sexual abuse and human trafficking in the Philippines and similar charges in the United States surrendered Sunday to authorities in his religious complex in the south and flown to Manila where he was put in police detention, officials said. Apollo Quiboloy and four other co-accused surrendered in the vast religious headquarters of their group, called Kingdom of Jesus Christ, in Davao city after the police gave a 24-hour ultimatum for them to give up, police said. Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos earlier said Quiboloy was caught by authorities. Quiboloy and his co-accused were flown on a Philippine air force C-130 plane to the capital Sunday night and locked up in a heavily guarded detention center at the national police headquarters, where their mugshots and fingerprints were taken, police spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said in a news briefing. The Philippine National Police gave an ultimatum for them to surrender, otherwise, we would raid a particular building, where we've been barred from entering, Fajardo said, adding that the warning led to their peaceful surrender. Quiboloy went into hiding earlier this year after a Philippine court ordered his arrest and several others on allegations of suspicion of child and sexual abuse and human trafficking, Fajarto said. The Philippine Senate separately ordered Quiboloys arrest for refusing to appear in public committee hearings that were looking into criminal allegations against him. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had urged Quiboloy to surrender and assured him of fair treatment by authorities. The preacher and his lawyer denied the allegations against him, saying they were fabricated by critics and former members who were removed from the religious group. In 2021, United States federal prosecutors announced the indictment of Quiboloy for allegedly having sex with women and underage girls who faced threats of abuse and eternal damnation unless they catered to the self-proclaimed son of God. Quiboloy and two of his top administrators were among nine people named in a superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury and unsealed in November 2021. It contained a raft of charges, including conspiracy, sex trafficking of children, sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, marriage fraud, money laundering, cash smuggling and visa fraud. The U.S. Embassy in Manila referred requests for comments to Philippine authorities. Last month, about 2,000 police backed by riot squads raided the vast religious compound of Quiboloy in Davao in a chaotic operation as large numbers of his followers turned up to oppose the raid. The police brought equipment that could detect people hiding in underground tunnels but did not find him in the 30-hectare (75-acre) compound that includes a cathedral, a stadium, a school, a residential area, a hangar and a taxiway leading to Davao International Airport. In 2019, Quiboloy claimed he stopped a major earthquake from hitting the southern Philippines. He was also a close supporter and spiritual adviser of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is being investigated by the International Criminal Court in connection with the extrajudicial killings by police of thousands of mostly poor drug suspects. Fitness influencer secretly sublet flat to tourists on Airbnb while on holiday in Dubai Ifende Uzoka, a four-time bodybuilding champion and fitness influencer, boasted trips in Dubai while reportedly sub-letting her one-bedroom London flat A landlord has accused a fitness influencer of secretly subletting her flat to tourists on AirBnB while jetting off on holiday to Dubai. Leanne Newton claimed that her tenant had listed her one-bedroom London flat on short-term rental websites after altering the interior decor and furniture. Ifende Uzoka, a bodybuilding champion and fitness influencer who boasts online of yacht trips in Dubai, was reportedly advertising the Stratford flat for as much as 190 per night on Airbnb and Booking.com. This is the first time in my whole term as a landlord that Ive ever encountered something like this, its gobsmacking, Ms Newton told MailOnline. Ms Uzoka rented the one-bedroom Newham flat in October last year for 1,900 per month, having passed background checks that appeared to verify her bona fides. Yet her landlady complained that the 34-year-old tenant had apparently listed the property as a two-bed holiday home and put up large TVs on internal walls that were not designed for them. The Newham flat was listed on AirBnB and Booking.com for as much as 190 per night Ms Newton, who revealed the dining room has been converted into a second bedroom, said she was even allegedly trying to make a booking for eight guests. She explained her reaction as absolute shock, saying: How could there be another house in London with similar architecture to mine and similar art to mine, but with different furniture? I had heard about these sorts of scams operating, but we thought we were careful about the screening and contracts process, and we have still been bitten. Theyve changed out the furniture. Theyve put panels up on walls. Theyve mounted big screen TVs on walls that are not safe for that to happen in. The landlady said she had alerted Newham Council, Airbnb, Booking.com and the Metropolitan Police to no avail, leaving her with no option but the normal civil eviction process. The landlord claims that the one-bedroom flat was listed as a two-bedroom flat A Newham Council spokesman said: We have located two online reports made in relation to a property in Fairland Road, Stratford, which we only received last week. As this is a very recent report we are yet to review and respond to the landlord directly. If the occupation or tenancy has been breached it is for the landlord to resolve or take the appropriate legal actions to gain possession of the property. A spokesman for Airbnb said: This property is not active on Airbnb. We ask all hosts to ensure that they have permission to list their space and remind them to check and follow local rules before they list and throughout the year. This is made clear in our Terms of Service and on our responsible hosting page. A Booking.com spokesman said the website was investigating, adding: When accommodation providers sign up to list on Booking.com they must agree to our terms and conditions, verifying that they are legally permitted to rent out their accommodation. Police said it was a matter for the council. Ms Uzoka was approached for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Five people killed in 12-hour span on roads in the same South Carolina county, cops say During a 12-hour span Saturday, there were three fatal crashes in Orangeburg County where five people were killed and another person was injured, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol. The first crash The first collision, a two-vehicle wreck, happened on Interstate 26 at about 4:20 a.m., said Master Trooper Gary Miller. A 2011 Ford Crown Victoria was driving east on I-26, according to Miller. At the 159 mile marker the Ford was hit head-on by a 2003 Honda Odyssey van that was driving west in the eastbound lanes of I-26, Miller said. Both drivers died and a passenger in the Ford was taken to an area hospital, according to Miller. Further information on the surviving victims condition was not available. The Orangeburg County Coroners Office has not publicly identified the drivers. No other injuries were reported. Information about why the Honda was driving toward oncoming traffic on I-26 was not available, but the crash continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol. The second crash Less than three hours later, there was another deadly wreck in Orangeburg County. There was a single-vehicle collision at about 6:55 a.m., according to Miller. A 2005 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck was driving south on U.S. 21, Miller said. Near the intersection with Calhoun Street the pickup ran off the right side of the road and flipped over, according to Miller. The driver, who Miller said was the only person in the pickup, died. The coroners office has not publicly identified the pickup driver, and no other injuries were reported. Information about what caused the pickup to veer off the road was not available, and Miller did not say if the crash continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol. The third crash Another deadly wreck happened in Orangeburg County at about 4:20 p.m., according to Miller. This two-vehicle collision happened at the intersection of U.S. 601 and Scenic Drive, Miller said. A 2024 Freightliner tractor trailer was driving north on U.S. 601 and it hit a 2020 Kawasaki ATV that was trying to cross the road, according to Miller. The driver and passenger in the ATV, both juveniles, were killed, Miller said. The coroners office has not publicly identified the occupants of the ATV. The driver was the only person in the tractor trailer and was not hurt, according to Miller. No other injuries were reported, and Miller did not say if the crash continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol. There was no word if any of the people involved in any of the three collisions were wearing seat belts or other protective restraints. Through Sept. 1, at least 582 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2024, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, 1,030 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported. At least 34 people have died in Orangeburg County crashes in 2024, according to DPS data. There were 36 deaths in the county in 2023, DPS reported. Coastal defences have been mentioned before in Guernsey States' infrastructure programme [BBC] Plans for flood defences in Guernsey are an "immediate priority", a deputy has said. Island coastal defences have been mentioned before in Guernsey States' infrastructure programme for several political terms. Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez, president of the committee for the environment & infrastructure, said the defences would "enable much needed housing developments to progress". She said she hoped the States would agree funding for this and an east coast flood defence strategy "more generally" through the 2025 budget. Mrs de Sausmarez said the flood defences at the Bridge on the island were needed. 'Immediate priority' A public hearing is set to take place in December which will hear about plans including flood defences at St Sampson and St Peter Port. The planning brief for this hearing will be published in the coming weeks and will include a report which the States said would refresh proposals for the wider east coast area. Mrs de Sausmarez said: "Flood defences at the bridge are an immediate priority because they enable much needed housing development to progress. "However, looking at the bigger picture we also need to accelerate the east coast flood defence strategy more generally so that work on development plans can start without delay." Deputy Lyndon Trott, president of the policy & resources committee, said protecting "lower lying and coastal land has consistently been recognised as a long-term infrastructure investment requirement by the States and has been agreed in principle for over a decade." He said: "To give the next Assembly the very best chance to maximise synergies and plan funding and resource for the construction projects, the Policy & Resources Committee believes this Assembly should accelerate the flood defence preparatory work." He added the development of a flood defence strategy for both harbours will require "further technical studies and surveys" to ensure a "proportionate response is designed, is affordable and is deliverable". Mr Trott said the policy & resources committee has proposed a Government Work Plan allocation in the 2025 Budget. Follow BBC Guernsey on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk. More on this story Related internet links Florida voters who oppose the state's 6-week abortion ban say they are being visited by police Florida voters who signed a petition to place a pro-choice abortion referendum on the ballot this November say they have been visited by police who are investigating claims of fraud at the behest of Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration, the Tampa Bay Times reported Saturday. Last year, DeSantis, a Republican, signed into a law a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. In response, pro-choice campaigners gathered and submitted nearly one million signatures to place on the ballot Amendment 4, a referendum that would overturn the ban and restore reproductive rights in the state. Now Florida's Department of State is claiming it suspects fraud in the signature-gathering process. In an email to county election officials, the department's Brad McVay requested that they hand over their already-verified petitions so that the signatures can be reexamined, claiming without evidence that those who circulated the petitions "represent known or suspected fraudsters," Tampa Bay television station WTVT reported. Isaac Menasche, a voter who signed a petition to place the abortion referendum on the ballot, told the Times that he too was contacted by people working for the Florida governor's office. According to Menasche, a plainclothes police officer came to his home to question him, apparently seeking to verify that the signature on the petition was indeed his. Im not a person who is going out there protesting for abortion, Menasche told the newspaper. I just felt strongly and I took the opportunity when the person asked me, to say yeah, Ill sign that petition. Another voter, Becky Castellanos, told the Times that she was visited by a state police officer who interrogated her about a family member's petition signature. She said the incident felt intimidating. "It didn't surprise me that they were doing something like this to try to debunk these petitions to get it taken off of the ballot," she told the outlet. In 2022, following false claims of voter fraud in the previous presidential election, DeSantis signed into law a measure creating a state Office of Election Crimes and Security. According to its website, the office claims to "proactively identify and thwart those who seek to violate Florida election laws." Last year, Florida Republicans set aside $1.4 million for the office. Critics charge that the creation of the office was a political stunt, noting that voter fraud is exceedingly rare in the United States. They say the police visits reported by voters like Menasche is further evidence that the DeSantis administration is seeking to intimidate voters under the guise of addressing electoral fraud. "Any effort to undermine the validity of these petitions is political interference aimed at distracting from the real issue: Floridas extreme abortion ban, which has no real exceptions for rape, incest, or health of the woman," Lauren Brenzel, campaign director for Yes on 4, said in a statement obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat. GUNNISON, Utah (ABC4) The former Gunnison chief of police was charged with multiple drug offenses on Thursday. Seth Tyler Hendrickson, 41, was charged in Sanpete County with two counts of possession/use of heroin (class A misdemeanor), possession/use of methamphetamine (class A misdemeanor), possession/use of cocaine (class A misdemeanor), possession/use of marijuana (class B misdemeanor), possession/use of drug paraphernalia (class B misdemeanor), and official misconduct (class B misdemeanor). In May 2024, a K9 officer in the Gunnison Valley Police Department was scheduled to recertify with his K9 and went to the police station to pick up training aid substances to use in the certification, according to a statement of probable cause. However, when the officer looked in his desk drawer to find the box of substances, which included 28 grams each of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana, it wasnt there. READ NEXT RECALL: Salmonella outbreak linked to eggs sold in Upper Midwest, illness reported in Utah The officer searched the office and evidence room but still could not find the box. Instead, in the evidence room, he found a container that he had given to Hendrickson the chief of police at the time in Feb. 2024. Hendrickson had reportedly told the officer that he needed to show a youth group the dangers of drugs and asked where the K9 officers DEA drugs were, according to the affidavit. The officer gave Hendrickson 28 grams of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and marijuana, as well as some mushrooms and paraphernalia. These substances, however, were separate from those received from the DEA in March 2024. Despite multiple requests from the K9 officer, Hendrickson reportedly had not returned the container. Additionally, when the contents of the container were inventoried, officers found that the 28 grams of heroin, and a small amount of psilocybin mushroom stems, were missing. On May 23, 2024, the K9 officer asked Hendrickson if he had taken the box that the officer had received from the DEA. Hendrickson told him that the box was in his car. Officers went to Hendricksons home in Sanpete County, where they retrieved Hendricksons patrol car. They searched the vehicle back at the station and found the box in the back seat. Inside, they found opened evidence-type bags containing drugs, the affidavit states, which were weighed out at 60 grams of cocaine, 45 grams of heroin, 58 grams of marijuana, and 59 grams of methamphetamine. According to the DEA, however, identical amounts of each drug had been sent, and though each bag was open, only the heroin was missing. Inside Hendricksons patrol car, they also found a tan backpack containing a nametag and a prescription belonging to Hendrickson. Inside the bag, they found two syringes without removable needles and brown residue in the syringes later field tested to be positive for heroin. The K9 officer obtained a search warrant for Hendricksons hair and fingernails, which was later served on July 17, 2024. Upon being tested, Hendrickson came up positive for codeine, morphine, hydromorphone, and heroin metabolite. Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. 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 ABC4 Utah. SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO) A former NASA space shuttle astronaut has landed back in his home state of South Dakota. Yankton native Chuck Gemar moved from Wichita, Kansas to Sioux Falls just over a month ago. He looks back on how growing up in the open prairie served as his launching pad to space. Returning to South Dakota has been a longtime goal of Chuck Gemars. I always say I spent the first 17 years of my life trying to figure out how I was going to get out of the state and the next fifty years to try and figure out how I could get back, Gemar said. As a boy, Gemar kept his aspirations of space exploration pretty much to himself. I grew up on the plains of South Dakota. There werent any astronauts from South Dakota and we didnt know any astronauts. Its not like they were down the street. Theres one on every corner in Houston, but thats not the case here, Gemar said. So Gemar became NASAs first South Dakota-born astronaut. He flew three missions aboard the space shuttle during the 1990s. KELOLAND News covered the launch of his first shuttle flight in 1990. Just over 10 minutes ago, Shuttle Atlantis lifted-off. It was a beautiful sight here. The sky lit-up, the ground shook, KELOLAND TV reporter Jessica Armstrong said in 1990. Veteran astronauts struggled to describe to Gemar what a space flight was like back when he was in training. Gemar would have to find out for himself. Sioux Falls street & lane closures The best part of space flight is from that vantage point above the globe looking back at the planet and just watching continent after continent after continent slowly fade in the distance, Gemar said. While Gemar is earthbound back in South Dakota, hell still take off on a flight every once and a while traveling around the world teaching STEM fields to students. In my most immediate future, were going to be doing programs in Malaysia this year, New York City in October. Next year, well be in Saudi Arabia in the month of February, China in January, Gemar said. Gemar is still getting settled into his new home in downtown Sioux Falls. Ultimately, the high point of flying into space couldnt overcome the gravitational pull of his home state. Gemar has been following the developments aboard the International Space Station where two American astronauts scheduled to be in space for only eight days will now have to wait until February to return. Gemar credits NASA for being overly cautious in waiting to bring a new capsule to the space station to ensure their safe return home. The Boeing Starliner capsule that brought the astronauts to the ISS landed in New Mexico Friday night. 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 KELOLAND.com. Former President George W. Bush will not endorse in 2024 election Neither Kamala Harris nor Donald Trump will receive an endorsement from former President George W. Bush in the upcoming presidential election. NBC News reports Bushs office said he would be staying out of this race and not endorsing either side. President Bush retired from presidential politics years ago, the office said. Bushs wife, Laura, is also not expected to endorse a candidate. Dick Cheney, Bushs former vice president, announced on Friday that he would be voting for Kamala Harris. RELATED COVERAGE >>> Former Vice President Dick Cheney says he will vote for Kamala Harris Bush endorsed Mitt Romney in 2012 and Sen. John McCain in 2008. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Woman killed, 2 people hurt in shooting at Lawrence County bar Local school bus driver, police chaplain facing child pornography charges Massive tree falls during severe storms, splitting Beaver County home in half VIDEO: Heres how a local school district is working to address the nationwide teacher shortage DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts Former U.S. President George W. Bush does not plan to make election endorsement WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. President George W. Bush, a Republican, does not plan to make an endorsement or voice how he or his wife Laura will vote in the presidential election in November, a spokesman said on Saturday. "He retired from presidential politics many years ago," said the spokesman, who did not wish to be named. The announcement came a day after Bush's vice president, Dick Cheney, announced he would cross party lines and vote for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris over Republican former President Donald Trump. Cheney, who served as vice president under Bush from 2001 to 2009, said on Friday that "in our nation's 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump." Harris said on Saturday endorsements of her by Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz, a former U.S. Representative, were "courageous" for putting country ahead of political party. Mike Pence, who served as Trump's vice president for four years, has said he will not endorse his former boss but has not backed Harris. (Reporting by Steve Holland in Washington and Nandita Bose in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Editing by Sonali Paul) Grant Shapps, former UK Secretary of State for Defence, has stated that London should lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of UK-supplied Storm Shadow long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia. Source: Shapps in a column for The Sunday Times; European Pravda Details: Shapps stated that in response to recent Russian aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities, including those involving guided bombs, "we must now urgently approve the use of our long-range weapons into Russia". "We know that many attacks are launched from Russia itself. And yet, with the exception of our giving permission to allow UK missiles to strike Crimea, we have remained cautious about allowing our Ukrainian allies to target the source of these attacks," he pointed out. Shapps noted that the lack of authorisation for Ukraine to use Storm Shadows "where they would be most effective" undermines London's credibility as an ally of Kyiv. "Its time to stop asking President Zelenskys brave population to fight with one arm tied behind their backs. Instead the UK must issue a straightforward warning to Putin," he stressed. "If you continue to murder men, women and children with glide bombs launched from Russia, then we will lead the rest of the world to authorise our long-range missiles to take out your launchers, regardless of where they happen to be even inside Russia," Shapps explains. The former defence secretary also urged the UK government to encourage France, the US and a "more reticent" Germany to lift restrictions on long-range weapons for Ukraine "with a simple ultimatum to Putin: stop your inbound attacks on Ukraine, or we will support Ukraines response". Background: In recent weeks, Ukraine has been pressing its allies to lift all restrictions on using Western-supplied long-range weapons for strikes within Russia. Kyiv explained that this would allow Ukrainian forces to target aircraft that launch cruise missiles and guided bombs. In early July, Downing Street said that the UK government's policy on the use of the long-range weapons transferred to Ukraine had not changed. At the same time, UK Prime Minister Starmer stated that it was up to Ukraine to decide how to use the Storm Shadow missiles provided by the UK. Meanwhile, media reports indicate that the UK supports the idea of authorising Ukraine to strike targets in Russia with Storm Shadow missiles. However, the UK is refraining from publicly endorsing this stance to avoid straining relations with the US. Support UP or become our patron! FORT SCOTT, Kan. The Fort Scott community came together to honor those lost on September 11, 2001, by taking on a challenge faced on that day. I was a little, little nervous. But then once we got things going, I had a great group of volunteers helping, said Mike Miles, Fort Scott Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief. The Fort Scott Fire Department kicked off its first-ever memorial stair climb and 5K event as a way to remember those lost on 9/11. It was really exciting to see the numbers coming in and then everybody showing up early to come and get their swag bags and sign up and get their t-shirts and everything, said Miles. Fort Scott Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief, Mike Miles, says for five years the department has done the memorial stair climb. After sharing it on social media and hearing the communitys feedback, they chose to open it to everyone. I know some bigger cities like New York, Wichita, Kansas City, they do their own stair climb. So I thought, well, Ill just try to make it even local and try to get the public involved and turn it into something big, said Miles. More than 200 participants each wore a lanyard with a picture of a fireman lost on 9/11. They then chose between 14 laps on the bleachers or a 5K run or walk. Every lap symbolizes the 110 stories firemen climbed on that day. Its very important. You know, its been 23 years now and its something that everybody should remember because these people gave their lives and its just its something else, said Samantha Smith, 9/11 stair climb participant. Once the journey was completed, each person rang the bell to help keep the memory of that day alive. Samantha Smith, who chose the stair climb, hopes others will remember the bravery shown on that day. I dont know. Ive never been in that position myself. Ive never been that brave. So, yeah, its its really important, said Smith. All proceeds from the event go to scholarships for local students who may wish to pursue firefighting and directly to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Although the goal of 343 participants wasnt reached this year, Miles has high hopes for the future one step at a time. That was our ultimate goal. But theres always next year to get more and more people involved, said Miles. 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 KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. OPELIKA, Ala. (WRBL) A head-on collision on Interstate 85 claimed the life of a Fortson, Georgia physician on Saturday, September 7. Two other individuals involved in the collision were transported by ambulance to the hospital, but their conditions remain unknown at this time. Opelika Police responded to a call at approximately 7:17 p.m. regarding a multi-vehicle crash near Exit 62 northbound. Upon arriving at the scene, officers found two vehicles involved in a head-on collision. One vehicle had caught fire, but officers were able to temporarily extinguish the flames to assist the occupants until Opelika Fire arrived. Dr. Goodchild, 50, was transported via Life Flight to Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital in Columbus, GA, where the coroner tells WRBL he was pronounced dead at 8:49 p.m. from injuries sustained from the crash. The Opelika Police Departments Traffic Homicide Investigation Unit is investigating the incident. Authorities are urging anyone with information about the crash to contact the Opelika Police Department at (334) 705-5200 or the Secret Witness Hotline at (334) 745-8665. Tips can also be submitted through the Opelika Police Mobile App. Callers can remain anonymous. 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 WRBL. Four charged in connection to Jacksonville shooting JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) Four suspects have been charged in connection to a shooting in the area of Liberty Drive and Corbin Street in Jacksonville Friday. Upon arriving, officers found that two people had been shot. Both were taken to the hospital and were listed with conditions of stable. Through an investigation, four people were charged. Niyssim Rogers, of Jacksonville, was charged with: Three counts attempted first degree murder Two counts assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury Two counts assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury Felony conspiracy Rogers was jailed without bond. Diates Arnold, of Jacksonville, was charged with: Three counts attempted first degree murder Two counts assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury Two counts assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury Felony conspiracy Arnold was also jailed without bond. Jimmy Carol Rochelle Jr., of Maple Hill, was charged with: Three counts attempted first degree murder Two counts assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury Two counts assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury Felony conspiracy Rochelle was also jailed without bond. A fourth suspect, a juvenile, was also arrested. The investigation is still active and ongoing and officers with the Jacksonville Police Department ask anyone with information to contact them. 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 WNCT. Four Iowans who died in a plane crash in Indiana on Friday identified by authorities Authorities have identified the four people from Iowa who died when a plane they piloted from Fort Dodge to Anderson, Indiana, crashed in a cornfield on Friday morning. Joseph Scallon, 68, of Iowa Falls; Jesse Ostheimer, 41, of Alden; Braden Hicks, 36, of Manson; and Owen Renaud, 19, of Alden died in the crash, according to the Madison County Coroner's Office in Indiana. Scallon operated an egg-laying facility and crop farm for more than 40 years near Iowa Falls. The single-engine Piper PA-46 crashed near Anderson Municipal Airport-Darlington Field, just west of Chesterfield on Anderson's east side, around 10 a.m. Friday. Investigators said the plane departed from Fort Dodge, Iowa, Friday morning and had been expected to land in Anderson shortly before 10 a.m. Four people were on board the plane. At a news conference Friday afternoon, Darwin Dwiggins with the Madison County Sheriff's Department said the plane left Iowa at 6:48 a.m. and when it was approaching the Anderson airport, it was too high. The pilot was told to "reroute and make another approach." Witnesses then saw the plane flying south of the airport, "flipping over and just nose-diving into the cornfield and bursting into flames." Four people from Iowa died after a small plane crashed in Madison County, Indiana, on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. More: Plane flying from Fort Dodge crashes in Indiana, killing 4 on board, authorities say Authorities at the Fort Dodge Municipal Airport reported "that the aircraft involved in this incident was not based at our airport. However, the flight plan indicates that the aircraft took off from Fort Dodge Regional Airport at 6:48 AM this morning, en route to Anderson, Indiana," according to a post on the Fort Dodge Municipal Airport Facebook page. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com. Jade Jackson is a Public Safety Reporter for the Indianapolis Star. Email her at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar.com and follow her on X, formally known as Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Indiana plane crash coroner identifies four Iowa victims Fugitive preacher wanted by FBI arrested in Philippines after fraught standoff between police and supporters Filipino pastor Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, who is wanted by both the FBI and local law enforcement officers on sexual abuse and human trafficking charges, has been arrested weeks after a standoff with the police. The arrest concludes a fraught showdown between the pastors supporters and police who had surrounded a compound in the countrys south where Quiboloy had holed up. In posts on Facebook, the Philippines Interior Minister Benhur Abolos, confirmed that the preacher, who had been on the run for three years, has been caught. National police arrested Quiboloy, a self-styled appointed son of God and founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ church (KOJC), along with four of his aides in the southern city of Davao after they surrendered, according to state-run Philippine News Agency (PNA). At 1:30 p.m. local time (1:30 a.m. ET), the detainees were issued a 24-hour ultimatum to come out from the churchs sprawling 30-hectare (75 acre) compound. They surrendered four hours later, Philippine News Agency reported. They have since been transported out of Davao by military aircraft and arrived at the national police headquarters in Manila on Sunday night, along with four of his aides, PNA reported. I thank him (Quiboloy) for the realization to face the law. I also thanked the KOJC members and supporters for their cooperation and I hope this is the start of healing, Director of Police Regional Office 11, Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III, PNA reported. Police had been attempting to arrest the preacher and five of his alleged accomplices in a raid that began more than two weeks ago in Davao. Nearly 2,000 officers surrounded the church compound where Quiboloy was believed to be hiding. His followers allegedly threw stones at officers and blocked a highway with burning tyres, Davao police said. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told reporters on Monday it was a relief that Quiboloy had been arrested after a massive police and army operation and added the pastor was entitled to due process. Although he is a very prominent person we will treat him like any other arrested person and will respect his rights. We will go through the process. The process will be transparent. Everyone who is involved will be accountable, he said. Quiboloys lawyer Israelito Torreon said the pastor chose to surrender because he does not want the lawless violence to continue within the KOJC Compound, state broadcaster PTV reported. A 2021 US indictment accused the 74-year-old preacher and his alleged accomplices of running a sex trafficking ring that coerced girls and young women to have sex with him under threats of eternal damnation for nearly 15 years. Quiboloy has denied all the charges against him. He is also accused of conducting a labor trafficking scheme that brought church members to the US using fraudulently obtained visas and forced the members to solicit donations for a bogus charity based in California, according to US prosecutors. Quiboloy founded the Kingdom of Jesus Christ church in 1985 and rose to prominence as televangelism gained popularity in the Philippines, a majority-Catholic country where millions also follow a plethora of Christian sects. The church, which claims to have seven million followers worldwide, runs businesses including a college, resort and media outlets in the Philippines, according to its official website. Quiboloy is a close supporter and spiritual adviser of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, who regularly appeared on a church-linked media network when he was mayor of Davao, a testing ground for Dutertes controversial war on drugs that rights groups say later resulted in thousands of extrajudicial killings. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Fulton County owes over $1 million in court costs after allowing third-party access to voting machines FULTON COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) A three year legal battle is leaving a Pennsylvania county on the hook for legal fees amounting to nearly 15% of its annual budget. A special master appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a report August 30 recommending that Fulton County be ordered to pay a combined $1,035,925.09 in legal fees and litigation costs to the Secretary of State and to Dominion Voting Systems. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now This Week in Pennsylvania The order follows a multi-year lawsuit after the Republican-controlled Fulton County government was accused of allowing outsiders to examine voting machines in the wake of the 2020 presidential election. According to the report filed by Renee Cohn Jubelirer, President Judge of the Commonwealth Court who was appointed as the Special Master, Fulton County did not respond to any submissions made by the Secretary of States Office or Dominion and were considered unopposed. The costs owed are broken down by four parts: $128,272 in legal fees and $21,026.89 in litigation costs to the Secretary of State by Fulton County for costs incurred between Dec. 17, 2021 and April 12, 2022; $472.255.00 in legal fees and $89,698.32 in litigation costs to the Secretary of State jointly by Fulton County and Attorney Thomas Carroll for costs incurred between April 13, 2022, and Jan. 31, 2024; $136,407.16 in legal fees and litigation costs to Dominion by Fulton County for costs incurred between Dec. 17, 2021 and April 12, 2022; $188,265.72 in legal fees and litigation costs to Dominion jointly by Fulton County and Attorney Carroll for costs incurred between April 13, 2022, and Jan. 31, 2024. The report said that the county and its attorney were previously found guilty of dilatory, obdurate, and vexatious conduct, as well as conduct in bad faith. Fulton had claimed in a lawsuit against Dominion that it was looking into whether the machines recorded votes accurately. The order, which applies to Fulton County government, Commissioner Randy Bunch, former Commissioner Stuart Ulsh and their lawyer, Thomas Carroll, will be considered final within 30 days if no objections are filed. Fulton County has a population of 14,556 the fourth smallest in Pennsylvania and an operating budget of $7,483,281 for 2024. 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 ABC27. GA woman sentenced to prison after attacking nurses at military hospital A Georgia woman has been sentenced to federal prison for attacking medical professionals at Fort Stewart. Christie F. Oxendine, 35, of Hinesville, Georgia, was sentenced to 16 months in prison after being found guilty of obstructing and hindering emergency professionals. According to evidence presented at her trial, Oxendine brought her daughter to the Winn Army Community Hospital at Fort Steward for treatment. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Though she had no medical training, she demanded that the medical staff perform specific procedures that were not medically recommended, and potentially dangerous for her child. Oxendine became verbally and physically abusive when staff members tried to continue treatment. She then unhooked her daughter from medical equipment and began forcibly removing her from the hospital. As staff members tried to stop her from exiting, she shoved one pregnant nurse and pushed another into a wall while yelling at them and using profanity. Military police officers later removed her daughter from Oxendines vehicle for continued treatment and Oxendine was banned from the hospital. She was convicted in a two-day trial in April on all counts. A booking photo is unavailable because Oxendine faced federal charges. Booking photos are not taken in the federal system. TRENDING STORIES: [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) A person and their dog were rescued from a house fire in Phelps, according to the Oaks Corners Fire Department. Firefighters said they had received numerous calls for the fire around 5:30 p.m. Friday on Rt. 14. As they made their way over to the burning home, its reported a first responder from Brockport, who happened to be in the area, sprang into action, running into the home to check for anyone inside. Fire officials said the single person inside had no idea the house was on fire. The first responder was able to safely get the person and the dog out of the home. No injuries were reported, and the Red Cross is assisting the family. Courtesy: Oaks Corners Fire Department Firefighters said multiple agencies responded alongside Oaks Corners, including Geneva and Phelps. A cause of the fire is still under investigation. 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 RochesterFirst. Game Commission reminding hunters how they can help those in need (WJET/WFXP) The Pennsylvania Game Commission (PAGC) is reminding deer hunters across the Commonwealth about how they can help their community. The PAGC partners with Hunters Sharing the Harvest which partners with processing plants around PA to accept donations from hunters to be processed and distributed to local food banks and community centers. New York man pleads guilty to charges related to PA bank robbery Hunters Sharing the Harvest helps get donations to more than 5,000 food assistance centers in all 67 counties and has donated more than 2.5 million pounds of venison since starting out in 1991. According to the PAGC, almost two million people struggle with hunger in Pennsylvania and one deer can provide about 200 servings of venison. The Trails at Jakes Rocks dubbed Pennsylvania Trail of the Year A full map of their donation centers along with more information can be found online here. 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 WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com. Former President George W. Bush does not plan to formally endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, his office told multiple outlets on Saturday. Neither Bush nor his wife Laura Bush plans to publicly share who they will vote for, according to NBC News, with his office adding that President Bush retired from presidential politics years ago. Bushs decision not to endorse a candidate in this White House election comes just a day after his then-vice president, Dick Cheney, confirmed he would be voting for Vice President Harris. His daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), shared her fathers decision hours earlier at the Texas Tribune Festival on Friday. Harris welcomed Cheneys support, telling reporters on Saturday she was honored. And them stepping up to make this public statement, I think is courageous, but also for the folks I was just talking with, it really reinforces for them that we love our country and we have more in common than what separates us, she said. Former President Trump fired back at Dick Cheney, calling him an irrelevant RINO or Republican in name only. Dick Cheney is an irrelevant RINO, along with his daughter, who lost by the largest margin in the History of Congressional Races! the ex-president said on TruthSocial late Friday. Liz Cheney, a fierce Trump critic, announced earlier this week that she would also be voting for Harris, arguing that as a conservative, as someone who believes in and cares about the Constitution, I have thought deeply about this, and because of the danger that Donald Trump poses, not only am I not voting for Donald Trump but I will be voting for Kamala Harris. In 2012, Bush backed then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Bush endorsed now-late Sen. John McCain in 2008. The Hill has reached out to Bushs office for comment. 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. Former President George W. Bush has no plans to endorse a presidential candidate this cycle, despite the fact that Dick Cheney, who was his vice president, said that he will vote for Kamala Harris. His office told NBC News, President Bush retired from presidential politics years ago. More from Deadline Bush did not endorse in the 2020 election, but later told People magazine that he wrote in the name of Condoleeza Rice, who served as his secretary of state. In 2016, Bush left the presidential ballot blank, according to his spokesperson. His father, President George H.W. Bush, voted for Hillary Clinton that cycle, according to the the book The Last Republicans. Cheney released a statement on Friday in which he said that there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump. He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He can never be trusted with power again. As citizens, we each have a duty to put country above partisanship to defend our Constitution. That is why I will be casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris. Cheneys daughter, former congresswoman Liz Cheney, said earlier last week that she also will vote for Harris. George W. Bush endorsed John McCain in the 2008 election and Mitt Romney in 2012. He has not attended a Republican convention since 2004, but he did speak from the White House at the 2008 event. Of the living GOP presidential and vice presidential nominees, only Sarah Palin, McCains running mate in 2008, has endorsed Trump. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The shooting inside Apalachee High School lasted about a minute, beginning in a hallway and ending in a classroom, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith told ABC News. Within that minute, Colt Gray, the 14-year-old accused of opening fire at his Georgia high school, shot 13 people, Smith said. Four of the victims died -- two teachers and two students -- but there would have been more deaths had it not been for the quick response and the emergency alert system the county installed a week prior, the sheriff said. PHOTO: Police officers on the scene of a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, Sept. 4, 2024. (Erik S Lesser/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock) Smith said all teachers at the school have an ID made by the safety technology company CENTEGIX, which has a button they can press to alert authorities to an "active situation." There were 26 teachers who pushed their buttons, immediately sending simultaneous notifications to law enforcement, Smith told ABC News. According to Smith, before officers made it inside, two school resource officers had already found the alleged shooter. They were about 70 yards away from him with handguns, Smith said. The shooter had an assault-style rifle. It was a no-win situation, but they still charged at the suspect, Smith said. "They stopped the carnage," Smith said. "At that distance with what he had and what we had, it was a no-win situation...it could have been worse" Lyela Sayarath, an 11th grader, said she was in Algebra class with Gray just minutes before police say the suspect went on a shooting rampage inside. "I've never seen him really talk to anybody," Sayarath told ABC News about the suspect, who transferred to the school last month. "He never really talked, and he was just kind of quiet." On the morning of the shooting, Sayarath said she did not notice anything unusual about Gray's demeanor. That was until both Gray and another student with a similar name left the classroom, separately, and an administrator came in and took the latter's backpack, Sayarath told ABC News. "[An administrator] came in and asked for my friend and then when they found out he was in the restroom, they asked for his bag and then they took his bag. And then a little bit later, he came back in with his bag," Sayarath said, adding that the boy with a similar name is her friend and told her there was some sort of confusion and that the administrator had been looking for Gray, not him. "I mean, he obviously, like, when he came back with his bag, like, we knew at that point they were looking for [Gray] and his bag, so we thought he had something...We just continued class like normal until [an administrator] asked my teacher to check her email over the intercom," Sayarath said. Moments later, Sayarath said, Gray tried to get back into the classroom and Sayarath said her teacher notified administrators. "[A] student was about to let them in. She backed away from the door and didn't let him in... And then...from where I'm sitting, I could see him, like, through the window. And then he just kind of turned to [the] right. And then he fired about 10 or 15 shots." Sayarath said the class started scrambling, many students rushed against the back wall of the room, others helped barricade the door by pushing desks against it, while some students called their parents. Gray's mother, Marcee Gray, called the high school Wednesday morning to warn a counselor of an "extreme emergency" involving her son, his aunt, Annie Polhamus Brown, told ABC News, after it was first reported in the Washington Post. The Washington Post was the first to report on Marcee Gray's alleged phone call with the school and obtained text messages between family members. PHOTO: Law enforcement works at the scene as students wait to be picked up by their parents after a shooting at Apalachee High School on Sept. 4, 2024 in Winder, Ga. (Megan Varner/Getty Images) Colt Gray has been charged with four counts of felony murder for allegedly shooting and killing two teachers and two students at Apalachee High School on Wednesday. Another seven students and two teachers were injured. MORE: Apalachee survivor recounts moment shooting suspect came 'banging frantically' on her classroom door More charges will be filed against the teen in connection to the surviving victims, prosecutors said. PHOTO: Booking photo of Apalachee High School shooting suspect, Colt Gray, released by the Barrow County Sheriff's Office. (Barrow County Sheriff's Office) The teen will be tried as an adult, authorities said. The teen's father, Colin Gray, 54, was arrested Thursday and charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, the GBI said. MORE: What to know about gun laws in Georgia after the Apalachee High School shooting Colin Gray is accused of "knowingly allowing his son, Colt, to possess a weapon," GBI Director Chris Hosey said Thursday. Investigators said they believe that Gray received the AR-style gun used in the shooting from his father, with sources telling ABC News the weapon was a Christmas present. The suspect and his father have not entered pleas. ABC News has reached out to Barrow County Schools for comment. A spokesperson says they are not releasing a statement at this time. The sheriff said he wasnt aware of any calls the suspects mother made to the school warning about an extreme emergency before the shooting. Georgia shooting lasted about a minute after 26 teachers alerted authorities, sheriff says originally appeared on abcnews.go.com The mother of the Apalachee High School shooting suspect told a family member that she called the school to warn of an "extreme emergency" that morning, according to a report. Marcee Gray, the mother of 14-year-old shooting suspect Colt Gray, texted her sister after the Sept. 4 shooting unfolded in Georgia. "I was the one that notified the school counselor at the high school," Marcee Gray wrote to Annie Brown, the teen suspect's aunt, according to a screenshot viewed by the Washington Post. "I told them it was an extreme emergency and for them to go immediately and find [my son] to check on him." Brown told the Post that her sister had learned concerning information about her son and called the school fearing an "impending disaster." The aunt said she did not know specifically what the suspect's mother had learned. The aunt confirmed the reporting to the Associated Press on Saturday in text messages but declined to provide further comment. GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING: SUSPECT'S FORMER NEIGHBORS RECOUNT HARROWING STORIES OF ALLEGED ABUSE, CHAOS Colt Gray sits in the Barrow County courthouse during his first appearance for the Apalachee High School shooting on Sept. 6, 2024, in Winder, Georgia. The Post reported that a call log from the familys shared phone plan indicated a 10-minute call from Marcee Gray to the school that began at 9:50 a.m. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP That's about half an hour before witnesses claimed the teen opened fire, according to the Post. Two students and two teachers died in the shooting. They were identified as 14-year-olds Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, 39-year-old Richard Aspinwall and 53-year-old Cristina Irimie. Another nine people eight students and one teacher, were injured, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Brown told the Post that a counselor relayed to her sister on the call that the teen had been talking about a school shooting that morning. Around the same time as the mother rang the school, an administrator went to Colt Grays math classroom, another student in the class, Lyela Sayarath, told the Post. But Sayarath said there was confusion about Colt Gray and another student with a similar name. Neither Gray nor the student with the similar name were in the classroom, and the administrator left with a backpack belonging to the similarly named student just minutes before the shooting started, Sayarath said. In a prior interview, Brown, who lives in central Florida, told the Post that her nephew "was begging for help from everybody around him" for months and that "the adults around him failed him." APALACHEE HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING SUSPECT MAKES FIRST COURT APPEARANCE Marcee Anne Gray in a 2023 booking photo from the Ben Hill County Sheriff Office. Colt Gray, 14, in a booking photo. Screenshots obtained by the Post also showed that Brown had sent a text saying that her mother, the suspect's grandmother, had met with a school counselor seeking help. A week before the shooting, the grandmother sent a text saying Colt Gray "starts with the therapist tomorrow." Marcee Gray had pleaded guilty to a family violence charge in December and was ordered not to contact her husband, Colin Gray, the Post reported, citing Barrow County Superior Court records. Colin Gray, the alleged shooter's father, was arrested on Thursday on two counts of second degree murder, four counts of involuntary manslaughter and eight counts of cruelty to children for allegedly knowingly allowing his son Colt to have a weapon. The teen is being charged as an adult with four counts of felony murder. Colin Gray told investigators in May 2023 that his son had struggled with his parents' separation and had been bullied at school. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Original article source: Georgia shooting suspect's mother called Apalachee High School warning of 'extreme emergency,' aunt says The mother of the suspect in last weeks Georgia shooting contacted his school to warn of an "extreme emergency" and asked them to check on her son the day of the attack, US media reports. Both the suspect's mother and grandmother were in contact with the school prior to the shooting, according to reports. Colt Gray, 14, is accused of carrying out a shooting at Apalachee High School that left four people dead and nine injured. He faces four counts of first-degree murder. The revelations come after authorities also charged the suspects father, Colin Gray, with second degree murder, manslaughter, and child cruelty. Officials accuse him of allowing his son to possess an AR-15 style rifle. Both father and son appeared in court on Friday but neither entered a plea. The Washington Post obtained text messages sent by the boy's mother, Marcee Gray, to her sister, explaining that she had asked school officials to check on her son the morning of the shooting. I was the one that notified the school counsellor at the high school, Ms Gray wrote. I told them it was an extreme emergency and for them to go immediately and find [my son] to check on him. The suspects aunt, Annie Brown, provided the text messages and call logs to the Post. The suspects mother later confirmed the records to the newspaper. Ms Brown also confirmed the text exchanges to other US media outlets. It is not clear what caused the mother to contact the school, though CNN reported on Sunday that she did so after her son sent her a text saying: "I'm sorry". The phone records show Ms Gray called the school about a half an hour before the shooting began. According to the Post, there appears to have been some confusion when a school administrator went to look for the boy, as another child had a similar name. Separately, Charlie Polhamus, Colt Grays grandfather, told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that the boy's grandmother had spoken with school officials that week. "My wife had gone up there the day before and met with the teachers to get him some, they were having some problems with him not going to school, and this kind of thing," he said. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is handling the case, did not immediately return a request for comment. The Barrow County School System has also not commented to media on the reports. Colt Gray is accused of shooting and killing two 14-year-olds, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, and teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53. In the months leading up to the shooting, he had faced mental health struggles and difficulties at home, Ms Brown told the Washington Post. The FBI also said that police interviewed the boy in May 2023 about anonymous online threats to commit a school shooting. He denied to police he was behind them. Vigils have been held to commemorate the victims and mourners have created a memorial of flowers, candles, and balloons outside Apalachee High School. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visits employees of the Potsdam branch of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) in the Stahnsdorf district as part of his summer trip as an Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) member of the Bundestag. Michael Bahlo/dpa German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has ruled out holding a vote of confidence in parliament ahead of elections next year. In his annual summer interview with German public broadcaster ZDF, which will be broadcast on Sunday evening, Scholz said his coalition government continues to have a majority in the Bundestag, the country's lower house, and still has a job to do. Scholz admitted that Germany's fractured political landscape could make governing the country ever more difficult, at both the state and the federal level. "I fear that whatever happens in the next few years, we will continue to have situations in Germany in which it is very complicated to form governments," the chancellor said. Scholz defended his government's record in office, despite the three parties languishing in polls for next year's parliamentary elections and suffering historic setbacks in recent votes in two eastern states. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has ruled out holding a vote of confidence in parliament ahead of elections next year. In his annual summer interview with German public broadcaster ZDF, which will be broadcast on Sunday evening, Scholz said his coalition government continues to have a majority in the Bundestag, the country's lower house, and still has a job to do. Scholz admitted that Germany's fractured political landscape could make governing the country even more difficult, at both the state and the federal level. "I fear that whatever happens in the next few years, we will continue to have situations in Germany in which it is very complicated to form governments," the chancellor said. Scholz defended his government's record in office, despite the three parties languishing in polls for next year's parliamentary elections and suffering historic setbacks in recent votes in two eastern states. A key topic in the interview was the German government's support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, which is being increasingly questioned in eastern Germany. "I believe that now is the time to discuss how we can bring about peace," Scholz said, arguing that the next peace conference should include Russia. Scholz sidestepped a question on whether he still trusts Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky despite revelations that a Ukrainian national is suspected of sabotaging Germany's Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea. "I have a good relationship with Volodymyr Zelensky," said the chancellor. "At the same time, it is absolutely clear to me that this matter must be resolved," he added. Scholz defends migration reforms Scholz was also quizzed about Germany's immigration policies, which have returned to the forefront of political debates following a deadly attack in the western city of Solingen two weeks ago. The chancellor's coalition government on Saturday introduced a package of measures to speed up deportations and toughen regulations on carrying knives, but opposition parties believe it does not go far enough and have threatened to pull out of a key round of talks on Tuesday. "We already have rejections at the border, we already have border checks, and effective border management is something we would like to expand further," said Scholz. He added: "There will be good proposals [...], all of which will be within the framework of European laws, international treaties and our Basic Law," referring to Germany's constitution. Scholz further denied that the coalition had underestimated the issue of migration. "I have brought about the biggest transformation in the way we have dealt with migration in the last 10 or 20 years," he argued. Were now 58 days away from the election. One of the interesting races on the ballot in November is for Scott County Sheriff. Incumbent Republican Tim Lane is being challenged from within his department by Democrat Thomas Gibbs. We will get to know Thomas Gibbs a little better. He was born in Davenport and raised in Iowa City. Gibbs enlisted in the Air Force after high school where he served more than five years. He then worked for the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington D.C. for about two and a half years. Gibbs came back to Iowa and joined the Scott County Sheriffs Office in 2004 and still wears the badge today. He started the K-9 unit there and rose through the ranks as a sergeant and Chief Deputy under Sheriff Dennis Conard then ran for sheriff and lost when Conard retired. Thomas Gibbs is now a lieutenant. Both Lieutenant Thomas Gibbs and Incumbent Sheriff Tim Lane bring a lot of law enforcement experience to the table. Public safety is always a central issue in every sheriffs race. Scott County is no exception. Lieutenant Thomas Gibbs joins host Jim Niedelman for a conversation about the campaign. I want to move the sheriffs office forward in a positive direction, Gibbs said. Id like to see us become accredited. To hear more, click on the video. Local 4 News, your local election headquarters, is proud to present 4 The Record, a weekly news and public affairs program focused on the issues important to you. Its a program unlike any other here in the Quad Cities. Tune in each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. as Jim Niedelman brings you up to speed on whats happening in the political arena, from Springfield, Des Moines, Washington, D.C. and right here at home. 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 WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) The girlfriend of Brittanee Drexels killer will be in a federal courtroom next week where shes expected to change her plea after rejecting a deal last month on two charges of lying to investigators, a Tuesday filing shows. Angel Vause, 56, turned down a deal on Aug. 28 that would have seen her admit to two counts of making false statements to federal agents during their probe into the 2009 disappearance of Drexel, 17-year-old from Rochester, New York, last seen in Myrtle Beach on spring break. Timeline: Brittanee Drexel disappearance Shes now due to appear before U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Gergel at 10 a.m. on Sept. 9 in Charleston. Vause was indicted in March for lying to the FBI as they investigated Raymond Moody, a Georgetown man now serving a life sentence after confessing to Drexels rape and muder. In July, Vause agreed to plead guilty in U.S. District Court in Charleston to two counts of making false statements to federal agents each carrying a penalty of five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. But on Aug. 15 the planned date of her sentencing both sides agreed to a 10-day continuance after the penalty was upgraded to a maximum of eight years for each count. In light of Ms. Vauses rejection of the plea, were currently preparing for trial and considering all our options Those options include potentially seeking a superseding indictment to include a federal kidnapping charge, First United States Attorney Brook B. Andrews told News13 last week. Mementos, other items taken from Brittanee Drexels Myrtle Beach memorial, city says Court records show that jury selection is slated for Nov. 18, with the trial expected to last through Nov. 22. If convicted of a kidnapping charge, she could face years in prison. Moody confessed in October 2022 to killing Drexel. Five months earlier, Vause told an FBI agent she went home to get keys from a truck while Drexel was being assaulted and killed, but the indictments said she was actually going somewhere else. Authorities also said Vause told the FBI that Drexel had her cellphone the entire time, but it was later proven that Vause had it before tossing it somewhere between Georgetown and Charleston. Prosecutors said Vause played a critical role in forcing Moodys confession because they initially built a case against her before he claimed responsibility. 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 Queen City News. Locals and recue teams rushed to the Isiolo Girls High School after a fire swept through its dormitories [ Isiolo Girls High School/Facebook] At least three students have been injured after a fire broke out at a girls boarding school in central Kenya's Isiolo town on Saturday, the Red Cross says. It comes after the deaths of at least 21 children in a fire at a boarding school in Nyeri, also in central Kenya, at around 23:00 local time (20:00 GMT) on Thursday. A Kenyan police spokesperson said the blaze destroyed dormitories at Isiolo Girls High School, before being contained. The cause of the blaze is unknown, but there have been numerous fires in boarding schools in Kenya in recent years, prompting national concern about safety standards. The Kenya Red Cross said three children had suffered minor injuries, and had received psychological first aid. Police, fire and rescue squads could be seen using flashlights to search for any students and salvageable property in the destroyed dormitories, Reuters news agency reports. Meanwhile, DNA testing will begin on Monday to identify the bodies of children who died in the fire at Hillside Endarasha Academy on Thursday night. Officials say 17 children remain unaccounted for - with some parents and relatives camping at the school to demand answers. President William Ruto has declared three days of mourning, starting on Monday, for the victims of the fire. The cause of the fire is still unclear. Investigators should "assess whether or not the tragedy may have resulted from negligence and/or recklessness", the chief prosecutor said in a statement. Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga said the tragedy "evokes bad memories of other similar school fire incidents" that many times pointed to a failure to comply with safety standards. In 2022, a dormitory in western Kenya burnt down, with several students later arrested on suspicion of arson. In 2017, 10 students died in an arson attack at Moi Girls High School in the capital Nairobi. At least 67 students died in Machakos County, south-east of Nairobi, in the deadliest Kenyan school arson that took place more than 20 years ago. More BBC stories from Kenya: GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. (WSAV) The Glynn County Police Department (GCPD) is currently investigating the circumstances surrounding a shooting that took place just before 2 p.m. on Saturday. The incident happened at a residence on Zellwood Drive, where authorities say one man, 23-year-old Azjhonti Armstrong of Brunswick, was shot in the chest/shoulder area. Armstrong was transported to Shands Jacksonville Medical Center for treatment, where he is in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries. In addition to Armstrong, the GCPD says two other men involved in the shooting have been identified and GCPD investigators are conducting additional investigative steps to gather the facts surrounding the incident. CCSO seeks person who cut tires and airlines at Aline No arrests have been made as of Sunday morning. Investigators believe all three parties involved knew each other, and the shooting was prompted by a disagreement between the parties. Anyone with additional knowledge of this case is asked to contact the Criminal Investigations Division at 912-554-7802, GCPD non-emergency at 912-554-7802, or may report it anonymously via Silent Witness at 912-264-1333. 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 WSAV-TV. For more on CNNs coverage of the US Senate race in Pennsylvania, watch CNNs Inside Politics with Manu Raju on Sunday at 8 a.m. ET and 11 a.m. ET. Sen. Bob Casey is bracing for a GOP onslaught. After a summer where he and his GOP opponent, David McCormick, have engaged in a brutal exchange of attacks in the marquee US Senate race in Pennsylvania, leaving the race in a dead heat, Republicans are preparing to drop more than $100 million across the airwaves in the final two months of the campaign. The staggering sum, which accounts to roughly $40 million more than Casey and his allies are preparing so far, gives McCormick the biggest edge on the airwaves of any Senate candidate in the campaigns home stretch. Up until this point, both sides had spent similar levels on air, with Casey holding the advantage. I think Im the underdog, Casey, a three-term incumbent with a long history in Pennsylvania politics, told CNN after a Philadelphia rally with union workers. Those corporate super PACs that are coming in here, that have already begun to attack me all summer long, those expenditures are going to go up exponentially. While Casey still predicted he would pull off a November victory and contended that he didnt care what they spend, he said: I dont have a personal super PAC funded by Wall Street billionaires. Its going to be a really difficult race to win. Caseys comments underscore the larger Democratic struggle to keep control of the Senate. They need to hold all their seats other than West Virginia, which is almost certain to flip to the GOP in order to simply keep a 50-50 Senate. And that means Democrats cant afford a slip-up in a purple state like Pennsylvania, given they already have to defend seats in red states like Ohio and Montana. To avoid that outcome, Casey has been launching a barrage of attacks going after McCormicks character a tactic Democrats are using in swing states across the country in an effort to court split-ticket voters. But as Casey attacks McCormicks tenure running a major Wall Street hedge fund, and his past residency in Connecticut, the Republican and his allies are seeking to nationalize the race and tie their foe to Vice President Kamala Harris, the border and inflation. The reason the race is closing is that Sen. Casey is just out of touch with Pennsylvania, McCormick said in an interview here in an eastern Pennsylvania town where Trump won 60% of the vote in 2020. Hes been a weak senator. To amplify those attacks, McCormick is benefiting from something other candidates lack: His own super PAC funded by well-heeled donors. Indeed, of the $101 million McCormick and his GOP allies plan to spend on the air, the Keystone Renewal PAC has reserved $66 million in the final two months of the campaign more than the $64 million Casey and his allies are reserving to spend during that same timeframe, according to AdImpact data. That super PAC has been bankrolled by billionaire financiers like Ken Griffin and Paul Singer, who have donated $10 million and $2 million, respectively, according to federal records. And McCormick has another benefit: His own deep pockets. Asked if he would pump his own cash into the campaign in the final months, McCormick noted hes already been a big investor, pointing to public filings that show he spent $4 million so far on his campaign. I expect to continue to be an investor, and I believe in me. So Im investing in me, McCormick said. But this will be the most expensive race in the country. And so Im going to need lots of help. McCormick added: Im running against a three-term incumbent thats been around for a long time. Hes a very big name in Pennsylvania. So I think Im the underdog. The Trump and Harris factor Both candidates have calculated that it makes sense politically to align themselves with the top of their tickets, even if some of their standard bearers positions put them in a difficult political spot. McCormick, who has never held elected office before, lost the 2022 Senate primary to Dr. Mehmet Oz, who Donald Trump backed, in a fiercely contested race where the former president repeatedly berated McCormick. But McCormick has since made amends with Trump, winning the former presidents backing and stumping with Trump at the Republican National Convention and at stops throughout Pennsylvania. Indeed, McCormick was about to take the stage at the July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when Trump told him to wait back another moment. Moments later, a gunman tried to kill the former president. Yeah, McCormick said when asked here if he thinks it could have been him shot at during the rally. I didnt think at the time. Then, I got home at night and talked to all six of my daughters, and they were freaked out. Yet McCormicks alliance with Trump has some limits. Asked if he believed Trumps claims that the 2020 Pennsylvania election was stolen, McCormick said he believed Joe Biden was the winner. One of the things I had said before was that President Biden was our president. He had won the election. I dont believe the election was stolen, McCormick said. So President Trump and I dont agree on everything, but we agree on a lot of things. Asked if he considered himself a MAGA Republican, McCormick said: You know, I consider myself a Dave McCormick Republican. I have time and again, laid out my positions. My positions are very much in line with what President Trump has said on policies. Casey sees it differently. Hes genuflecting to Trump all the time, Casey said of McCormick, pointing out that Trump attacked him as a liberal Wall Street Republican during the 2022 campaign, an issue spotlighted in Democratic attack ads. Yet, Casey has to navigate his own top-of-the-ticket issues namely Harris more progressive positions, including her previous support for banning the fossil-fuel extraction procedure known as fracking, an issue that carries particular resonance in Pennsylvania. Casey is now applauding Harris reversal she now says she wouldnt ban fracking and appeared with her and President Joe Biden on the stump at last weeks Labor Day rally in Pittsburgh. Asked why hes aligning himself with Harris, as other vulnerable Democrats have shied away from her, Casey said: Look, in this state, her campaign already has brought a real lift to the turnout dynamics. A lot of young voters are more engaged now than they were. Shes running a really strong campaign. Ive known her a long time in the Senate. But he wouldnt call himself a Biden-Harris Democrat, nor would he spell out the issues where he diverges from the Democratic nominee. Im not going to try to itemize issues that we might have not total agreement on, he said. Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump shakes hands with Republican U.S. Senate candidate David McCormick during a campaign rally on August 30, 2024 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. - Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images McCormick defends his tenure on Wall Street McCormicks success on Wall Street has become a double-edged sword in the race, as Casey launches an array of attacks on his tenure at Bridgewater Associates particularly its investments in China while he ran the hedge fund. From 2017-2021 the period that McCormick ran Bridgewater the companys investments in China grew by 108%, including investing in a Chinese firm legally producing fentanyl. In the interview, McCormick said that his companys overall investment in China amounted to 3% of the firms global investment strategy, arguing its common for any such company to invest in China. You have 30% of things in your home that are from China, he said, arguing that Caseys record on immigration and border security is a reason for the fentanyl crisis rather than his companys work. Theres no global firm in the world that that doesnt have exposure to China. And tens of millions of Pennsylvanians, tens of millions of Americans have investments across the globe, some of which are in China. But Casey said 3% is a hell of a lot of money. Asked if he sees the race turning on character, more than the issues, Casey said: Well, I think it will turn on what youve done with your life. So Ive been working for the people in Pennsylvania. Hes been making money investing in China and working on Wall Street. McCormick shot back, saying Casey doesnt have a record to run on, noting that the Democrats campaign spent more on attack ads than he has so far in the campaign. Sen. Casey is running scared, McCormick said. An evolution on abortion Democrats have also been eager to spotlight past comments McCormick made in the 2022 primary. Indeed, when he was on the debate stage in 2022, he specified his view on abortion, indicating he opposed the procedure, noting: I believe in the very rare instances there should be exceptions for life of the mother. Since he did not mention two other abortion exceptions for rape and incest that comment has been the centerpiece of a multimillion dollar Democratic ad campaign on the issue. Asked last week why he only singled out life of the mother, and not an exception for rape or incest, McCormick told CNN: I said before the debate, after the debate over and over again that I support all three exceptions. In the debate, I didnt say I was against the other exceptions. I simply said that I was for that exception. But McCormick, who said he still opposes codifying Roe v. Wade, said hes not in favor of national legislation and that the states should decide their policies rather than Congress. Casey also has long harbored anti-abortion views despite being a Democrat and is the son of a two-term governor, Bob Casey Sr., a staunch Catholic who signed one of the most stringent abortion laws in the country in 1989, leading to a landmark Supreme Court decision. The elder Casey was even denied a speaking slot in the 1992 Democratic convention over the issue. And in 2002, when the younger Casey mounted an unsuccessful bid for governor, he made his position clear, saying in a radio interview at the time that his view has always been a pro-life position. My position has always been favoring the one exception for the life of the mother, Casey said 22 years ago. But in the interview last week, Casey suggested that his view has changed in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision, saying that he supports restoring the rights of Roe. Asked if he still considers himself to be pro-life, Casey said: I dont think those terms mean much anymore. I really think that the choice now before the American people is if you support a ban, which means you support the overturning of Roe and all that comes with it, or you support this right, which I do. CNNs David Wright, Morgan Rimmer and Sheden Tesfaldet contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Georgians do not have the authority to demand that the governor convene an administrative hearing to take up accusations against members of state boards, Attorney General Chris Carr wrote in a legal opinion issued Friday. Gov. Brian Kemp asked for the legal opinion late last month after Georgia Democrats called on the Republican governor to remove three GOP members of the State Election Board for approving changes to state election laws they said could disrupt the November elections. The five-member board adopted a series of controversial rules changes last month that, among other things, would empower local election officials to delay or refuse to certify election results. Democrats say that could sow chaos and uncertainty following the Nov. 5 elections and let former President Donald Trump capture Georgias 16 electoral votes, even if Vice President Kamala Harris has won more of the states popular vote.. Kemp asked Carr for his opinion on whether the phrase upon charges being filed in state law means a citizen can present information about a state board member that might constitute formal charges. It is my official opinion that ... the phrase ... does not mean that a citizen can simply submit information to the governor and trigger the hearing process contemplated, Carr wrote. Former Fulton County Election Board Chair Cathy Woolard, a Democrat, filed a formal ethics complaint last month against State Election Board members Janice Johnston, Janelle King, and Rick Jeffares - the three who voted for the rules changes - and called on Kemp to refer the complaint to the State Office of Administrative Hearings. Specifically, Woolard accused the board of violating the states Open Meetings Act by meeting in July without the legally required public notice or a quorum. Board members responded by rescinding two rules changes they had made during that meeting and approving them on a second vote in early August. Max Flugrath, communications director for Fair Fight, a voting rights organization founded by two-time Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, criticized Carrs opinion Friday. The AGs opinion leaves a gaping hole where accountability should lie, Flugrath said. If the grave, substantive, detailed, and formal complaint filed by a former election official is not enough to trigger Gov. Kemps legal duty to hold a hearing on the pro-Trump Election Board members alleged illegal and unethical actions, the only reasonable conclusion is that the General Assembly wrote a worthless law. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) Gov. Kathy Hochul requested a Major Disaster Declaration from President Biden Saturday. Its an effort to help folks in communities impacted by Tropical Storm Debby Aug. 8 through Aug. 10. We dont know whats going to happen: Steuben County farm owners lose everything after damaging floods hit area In our region, Steuben, Ontario and Yates counties were hit the hardest by floods as a result of the storm. Damages, though, were widespread seen in communities across New York State. If Gov. Hochul has her way, federal funding from FEMAS Public Assistance Program would be available for people in Allegany, Broome, Delaware, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Ontario, Steuben, St. Lawrence and Yates Counties. The money would be intended for the removal of debris, repairs and emergency protective measures. Youll not be forgotten: Gov. Kathy Hochul promises support to those impacted by Fridays flooding We must provide relief to areas impacted by the storm, and my administration will take every measure necessary to ensure their speedy and full recovery, Hochul said. In the aftermath of the storm, Hochul made $50 thousand grants available to homeowners in Allegany, Delaware, Franklin, Steuben and St. Lawrence Counties. 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 RochesterFirst. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) While June is gay pride month, organizers in the Creston neighborhood are looking for ways to celebrate Pride all year round. The intersection of Quimby Street and Coit Avenue was foot traffic only Sunday as the Creston neighborhood celebrated its first gay pride parade. En Vivo Church, the Creston Neighborhood Association, and Best in Creston welcomed excited community members with an enthusiastic march around the block to kick off what organizers announced as the worlds smallest Pride parade. A parade held in the Creston neighborhood organizers call the worlds smallest Pride parade. (Sept. 8, 2024) A parade held in the Creston neighborhood organizers call the worlds smallest Pride parade. (Sept. 8, 2024) Organizers chose the month of September for the event to recognize the gay pride outside of the month of June, when many Pride events take place. This started as a joke about using the alleyway for the worlds smallest gay pride parade, and it just expanded from there. This is supposed to be a great community event that celebrates Creston, keeping Creston funky, and making sure that everybody in the neighborhood feels welcome at all times, said Daniel Drent, En Vivo Church event organizer. Organizers said with a good turnout today, they are optimistic about making this event an early September tradition in the Creston neighborhood each year. 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 WOODTV.com. The tax on cruise ship passengers in Santorini, pictured, has been introduced in a bid to avert over-tourism - MATTHEW BIRD/ISTOCK Greece plans to impose a levy of 20 euros on cruise ship visitors to the islands of Santorini and Mykonos during the peak summer season. The tax has been introduced in a bid to avert over-tourism, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the prime minister, said on Sunday. Greece relies heavily on tourism, the main driver of the countrys economy which is still recovering from a decade-long crisis that wiped out a fourth of its output. But some of its most popular destinations, including Santorini, an idyllic island of quaint villages and pristine beaches with 20,000 permanent residents, risk being ruined by mass tourism. Mr Mitsotakis clarified that excessive tourism was only a problem in a few destinations. Greece does not have a structural over-tourism problem ... Some of its destinations have a significant issue during certain weeks or months of the year, which we need to deal with, he said during a press conference after outlining his main economic policies for 2025. Santorini has seen an influx of tourists on the island, with locals expressing their discontentment - ARIS OIKONOMOU/AFP Cruise shipping has burdened Santorini and Mykonos and this is why we are proceeding with interventions, he added, announcing the levy. Greek tourism revenues stood at about 20 billion euros in 2023 on the back of nearly 31 million tourist arrivals. In Santorini, protesters have called for curbs on tourism, as in other popular holiday destinations in Europe, including Venice and Barcelona. Part of the revenues from the cruise shipping tax will be returned to local communities to be invested in infrastructure, Mr Mitsotakis said. The government also plans to regulate the number of cruise ships that arrive simultaneously at certain destinations, while rules to protect the environment and tackle water shortages must also be imposed on islands, he said. Greece also wants to increase a tax on short-term rentals and ban new licenses for such rentals in central Athens to increase the housing stock for permanent residents, Mr Mitsotakis said on Saturday. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) Greece police are investigating after a crash in the town Saturday evening. News 8 crews arrived at the scene on Mill Road at North Avenue around 5:30 p.m. Our photojournalist did see at least one person getting into an ambulance. It appears as though the crash involved two cars. Mill Road was shut down at North Avenue through Bayard Way. Nothing has been confirmed by police at this time. News 8 has reached out to police for more information. This is a developing story, check back later for more details. 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 RochesterFirst. ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece plans to impose a 20-euro levy on cruise ship visitors to the islands of Santorini and Mykonos during the peak summer season, in a bid to avert overtourism, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Sunday. Greece relies heavily on tourism, the main driver of the country's economy which is still recovering from a decade-long crisis that wiped out a fourth of its output. But some of its most popular destinations, including Santorini, an idyllic island of quaint villages and pristine beaches with 20,000 permanent residents, risk being ruined by mass tourism. Speaking at a press conference a day after outlining his main economic policies for 2025, Mitsotakis clarified that excessive tourism was only a problem in a few destinations. "Greece does not have a structural overtourism problem... Some of its destinations have a significant issue during certain weeks or months of the year, which we need to deal with," he said. "Cruise shipping has burdened Santorini and Mykonos and this is why we are proceeding with interventions," he added, announcing the levy. Greek tourism revenues stood at about 20 billion euros in 2023 on the back of nearly 31 million tourist arrivals. In Santorini, protesters have called for curbs on tourism, as in other popular holiday destinations in Europe, including Venice and Barcelona. Part of the revenues from the cruise shipping tax will be returned to local communities to be invested in infrastructure, Mitsotakis said. The government also plans to regulate the number of cruise ships that arrive simultaneously at certain destinations, while rules to protect the environment and tackle water shortages must also be imposed on islands, he said. Greece also wants to increase a tax on short-term rentals and ban new licenses for such rentals in central Athens to increase the housing stock for permanent residents, Mitsotakis said on Saturday. The government will detail some of the measures on Monday. (Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Ros Russell) ATHENS, Greece (AP) Greek opposition leader Stefanos Kasselakis was ousted by his partys central committee Sunday via a motion of no confidence, just a year after his election to the post by party cadres who accused him of being an authoritarian and not fully ideologically aligned with the party. After an often tense and acrimonious two-day session, the central committee of the left-wing Syriza party approved the no-confidence motion 163-120, with three members voting blank. Another eight abstained. It was not a single event that precipitated Kasselakis' ouster but, a buildup of discontent over the past year, which caused many who had viewed him as a charismatic savior to view him as someone bent on turning the party into a personal vehicle. Kasselakis reacted to the result of the vote by saying that he felt liberated. He did not say whether he will join a new leadership contest. Now, the people know how I felt censured ever since I was elected, Kasselakis said. He attacked Syrizas bureaucracy for overturning the decision of the party base and, criticized the secret ballot. He and his supporters preferred an open show of hands. He compared the secret ballots promoters to the hooded collaborators in World War II. Cries of shame! greeted his comparison, which has been taken up by vociferous Kasselakis supporters on social media. Kasselakis, 36, was elected in September 2023 by voters stunned over the magnitude of defeat in two successive elections in May and June 2023 at the hands of a conservative party that had already served a full term. After long-term party leader and former prime minister Alexis Tsipras resigned, party supporters turned to Stefanos Kasselakis an outsider, a political neophyte, and a Miami, Florida resident. He had no connection to the party before he became a candidate for the May election. A four-minute video in which he told his life story shot him to prominence and made him the favorite. From the start, Kasselakis past and style rankled with party cadres. A former Goldman Sachs employee and shipowner and onetime registered Republican, some of his positions, such as advocating stock options for employees, incensed the old-schoolers who accused him of wanting to turn Syriza into an ideologically vague party. They mocked his heavy use of social media and called him Trumpian. But this meant nothing to a party base that idolized Kasselakis and expected him to rejuvenate the party. He easily saw off his loudest detractors, including his main leadership rival. They formed another party, New Left, which has fared poorly. Then, Kasselakis started picking fights with many of those who remained. In last Junes European elections without much at stake domestically and amid record abstention the ruling conservatives vote share plunged, but it was the far right that mostly gained. Syrizas vote share declined further. Electoral failure damaged Kasselakis' aura and his supposed attractiveness to voters. Criticism, and Kasselakis pushback, intensified, leading, almost inevitably, to the no-confidence motion. The central committee will now set a date for an extraordinary party congress, which must happen within three months, where leadership hopefuls will present their candidacies. Then, party members and friends will vote for the leader in one or, if necessary, two rounds. When Kasselakis was elected, about 150,000 showed up for the first round and 136,000 for the second. As with the ruling conservatives and the socialist PASOK party, voting eligibility rules are very loose. One just has to show up, declare themselves a party friend if not already a member and pay a two-euro ($2.20) fee. Israeli police stand guard near the site of a deadly shooting attack where Israeli officials say three people were shot and killed at the Allenby Bridge crossing between the West Bank and Jordan on Sunday. (Mahmoud Illean / Associated Press) In a rare attack at an Israeli-controlled crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, a gunman killed three Israeli workers Sunday before being shot dead, the Israeli military said. The Allenby Bridge crossing point, also known as the King Hussein crossing, is the only one with Jordan that leads into the Israeli-occupied West Bank, near the desert city of Jericho. Other crossings to the north and south connect with Israel proper; all three land crossings were temporarily closed after the attack. Jordan is at peace with Israel, but relations have been tense since the outbreak of the 11-month-old war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Jordan, whose population is largely Palestinian, has heatedly denounced Israels conduct of the war, in which some 41,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, according to Palestinian health officials. Much of the enclave lies in ruins, and most of its 2.3 million people have been displaced, many repeatedly. Israel is also engaged in a lower-intensity conflict on its northern border with the Lebanese group Hezbollah. The two sides engage in near-daily exchanges of fire, and thousands of people have been driven from their homes on both sides of the frontier. Sirens sounded in northern Israel again on Sunday, and the military said dozens of rockets fired from Lebanon were intercepted. Read more: American woman killed at West Bank protest was shot by Israeli soldiers, witnesses say Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling the bridge attack an act of terror, linked it to wider regional conflict. We are surrounded by a murderous ideology led by Irans axis of evil, he said at the start of a government meeting. The Israeli military did not identify the gunman, who arrived by truck at the crossing and opened fire, apparently targeting Israeli security forces, according to the army statement. Israeli news reports cited officials as saying the shooter was a Jordanian national. The slain Israeli men, all in their 50s, were forklift operators, according to Israels airports authority, which oversees the countrys borders. Jordans interior ministry said it was investigating the attack, according to the state-run Petra news agency. Hamas, which has urged militants in neighboring countries to attack Israel, issued a statement praising the shooting, but did not claim any involvement. The crossings closure further isolated Palestinians in the West Bank, for whom it is the primary pathway for overseas travel. It is extremely difficult for West Bank Palestinians to obtain permission to depart or arrive via Israels main international airport, Ben Gurion. The crossing is also heavily used for cargo destined for the West Bank and Gaza. Read more: Israel kills militants in the West Bank as a nervous region watches latest on cease-fire talks The war in Gaza has coincided with a surge of violence in the West Bank, where more than 600 Palestinians have been killed since October by Israeli soldiers or settlers, according to United Nations figures. On Friday, a 26-year-old U.S. citizen, Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, was shot dead while taking part in an anti-settlement protest near the Palestinian city of Nablus. Witnesses said Israeli troops fired live ammunition at peaceful protesters. The military said it was investigating. Israeli forces in August staged one of its biggest incursions in years into the northern West Bank, centered on the city of Jenin, which Israel said was aimed at cracking down on armed militant groups. Israeli troops pulled back late last week, leaving roads, buildings and infrastructure smashed and smoldering. The Israeli military said it killed 14 militants in the course of the operation. Palestinian officials put the death toll at 36, but did not provide a breakdown of fighters and civilians. The war in Gaza erupted last Oct. 7, when Hamas-led attackers broke through the border fence and killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel, targeting an open-air music festival and a string of small farming communities. Some 250 people were taken hostage. Israelis have been staging massive demonstrations demanding a cease-fire accord to free the hostages, fewer than 70 of whom are thought to remain alive inside Gaza. Israeli officials said Sept. 1 that Hamas days earlier had executed six hostages, including a California-born dual Israeli-U.S. national, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was 23. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Who was Gustav Albin Pehrson and why is Richland suddenly interested in honoring him? A walking path that meanders through central Richland has a new name befitting the man who designed the area. The Urban Greenbelt Trail, a horseshoe shaped path that starts and ends at the Columbia River waterfront, is now the G.A. Pehrson Urban Greenbelt Trail. A shaded stretch along the Urban Greenbelt Trail passes by a fountain at the Banner Bank on Jadwin Avenue in Richland. The Richland City Council approved the new name Sept. 3, after fans of the atomic-era architect first pitched the idea to the citys parks and recreation commission. The city will install new signs and take care of vegetation in anticipation of a celebration of the new name next spring. The name change follows Richlands history of honoring its roots by naming city parks, streets and other facilities for notable figures from its history. Most notably, Howard Amon Park takes its name from the pioneer who platted the city and brought water and phone service to the area while Leslie Groves Park honors the the general who led the Manhattan Project. Hanford project Gustav Albin Pehrson, known as G.A. Pehrson, was a Swedish-born architect who worked in Spokane in the Art Deco era, according to his Wikipedia page. In 1943, he was tapped to design the village to serve the Hanford Engineering Works. Richland had relatively few residents at the time and Pehrson was tasked with designing a community for 6,500, expanding to 12,000, according to the city. Richlands Urban Greenbelt Trail, in red and yellow, now honors Spokane-based architect G.A. Pehrson, who was responsible for the design of central Richland in the 1940s. His work informed the citys road network, utilities, homes, school placement, commercial development and more, as echoed in the layout today. For many of us, our homes, the outlines of our streets, the kind of place Richland became after its initial World War II building, is largely due to the work of this Spokane architect, said Nancy Doran, a Richland resident who championed the change. Chris Waite, Richlands parks and public facilities director, said Richland might have suffered the fate of other Army towns built to serve a strategic purpose: Identical homes stamped out along cookie cutter streets if it hadnt been for Pehrsons design instincts. Giant horseshoe At its northern point, the three-mile G.A. Pehrson Urban Greenbelt Trail connects to Richlands waterfront trail behind Porters Real Barbecue, 1092 George Washington Way. Markings for the Urban Greenbelt Trail are painted on the sidewalk near the intersection of Jadwin Avenue and Gillespie Street in Richland. The horseshoe shaped path that starts and ends at the Columbia River waterfront is now called the G.A. Pehrson Urban Greenbelt Trail. It heads west, following an irrigation channel toward Jadwin Avenue, which it parallels briefly before crossing a small oasis outside Banner Bank, 1221 Jadwin Ave., and heading south toward Kadlec Regional Medical Center. The hospital, formerly Richland Hospital, was renamed eight days after the July 1944 death of the first person to die there, Lt. Col. Harry R. Kadlec, a lead engineer at Hanford. At Kadlec, the trail passes a helicopter pad outside the emergency room, then heads south to George Prout Pool. From the pool, it crosses Columbia Playfield below Richland High School, turns east and returns to the Columbia via Gillespie Parkway and Howard Amon Park. BROCKTON Brockton food blogger Mirbentz Jean Francois has launched his first flagship location in Boston, serving delicious culinary creations and fun snacks. It's a fast-paced take-out restaurant that lets you get fresh Haitian food without the long wait. A Brockton man was rescued and flown to a Boston hospital after being trapped for hours in a train car that was carrying coal in Bridgewater. An East Bridgewater man was arrested and charged with operating under the influence of alcohol after crashing his car into a home on Monday evening, while "allegedly filming a video on his phone when the crash occurred," according to police. In a crushing blow to downtown Brockton's halting rebirth, Brockton Beer Company announced Friday it would close. Here is what we know. In case you missed it, here are five of the top stories from the past week throughout the Brockton area. Brockton food blogger launches Haitian take-out spot and convenience store Brocktons very own food blogger has launched his first flagship location in the heart of Boston, serving delicious culinary creations and fun snacks. On 700 Albany St., Boston, Mirbentz Jean Francois redesigned the large space and converted it into a convenience store and take-out restaurant called "Did You Eat Yet." The business model is a fast-paced take-out restaurant that lets you get fresh Haitian food without the long wait. The dishes are already prepared. All you have to do is pick from the buffet and be on your way. Haitian take-out spot in Boston: Brockton's very own food blogger launches Haitian take-out spot and convenience store From left, Elcie Etiene, chef Mirbentz Jean Francois of Brockton and Andreline Desir sell hot, prepared authentic Haitian food at America's Food Basket in Randolph on Tuesday, April 9, 2024.at America's Food Basket in Randolph on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. Brockton worker flown to Boston hospital after being rescued from Bridgewater coal train A Brockton man was rescued and flown to a Boston hospital after being trapped for hours in a train car that was carrying coal in Bridgewater, according to officials. Bridgewater Fire received a call at approximately 9:05 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 3, for a report of an employee of Stiles & Hart Brick Co., located at 127 Cook St., that was stuck in a coal-filled train car, Chief John Schlatz said in a written statement. Upon arrival, firefighters located a 26-year-old Brockton man who was trapped waist-deep in a coal rail car. "The man needed immediate medical assistance, the chief said. Man rescued from Bridgewater coal train: Brockton worker flown to Boston hospital after being rescued from Bridgewater coal train Bridgewater Fire Department responded to a technical rescue incident on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. Norfolk DA investigated Sandra Birchmore and Karen Read cases. What's same and different? News that feds charged former Stoughton cop Matthew Farwell with killing Sandra Birchmore after state and local probes ruled her death a suicide has people buzzing about parallels with a separate case: the death of Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe. Prosecutors say his girlfriend Karen Read hit him with her SUV in front of a fellow Boston cop's house and left him to die. Both cases involve alleged homicides that occurred in the same town, Canton. Both cases involve in very different ways off-duty police officers. And both cases have caused media firestorms and public protests online and in person, with supporters demanding Justice for Sandra Birchmore and Free Karen Read adherents saying she was framed. Norfolk DA investigated both cases: Norfolk DA investigated Sandra Birchmore and Karen Read cases. What's same and different? Is Matthew Farwell still a cop?: Is ex-Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell still a cop anywhere else? A 60 second read Left photo: A "Justice for Sandra Birchmore" sign is on display at a standout in Stoughton Center on Saturday, July 20, 2024. Right photo: Karen Read listens to arguments over whether the judge should drop some of the charges against her during a hearing in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham on Aug. 9, 2024. 'Boots' the cow on loose in East Bridgewater safely corralled by police. What happened? A cow on the loose in East Bridgewater who was "being chased by a woman on a horse," was safely corralled with the help of the East Bridgewater Police on Wednesday morning. East Bridgewater Police Officer Robert Lang was driving through the area of Belmont and Summer streets at about 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 4, "when he saw a woman on a horse chasing after a loose cow," Chief Michael Jenkins said in a written statement Wednesday afternoon. East Bridgewater Deputy Police Chief Mike McLaughlin, Sgt. John Smith and officers Joshua DeJesus, Matthew Monteiro and Patrick O'Brien responded to the scene and assisted in helping to corral the animal, the chief said. 'Boots' the cow on the loose: 'Boots' the cow on loose in East Bridgewater safely corralled by police. What happened? East Bridgewater Police Officer Matthew Monteiro helps corral a cow that was loose in the area of Belmont and Summer streets on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. Brockton Beer Company to close. Here is what we know. In a crushing blow to downtown Brockton's halting rebirth, Brockton Beer Company announced Friday it would close. The locally owned brewery and taproom is among the handful of minority-owned breweries in the state. The 121 Main St. business announced the closure in a press release and social media blast on Friday morning. Brockton Beer Company to close: Brockton Beer Company to close. Here is what we know. Ariel Deane, a bartender at Brockton Beer Company, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Staff writer Kathy Bossa can be reached by email at kbossa@enterprisenews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Enterprise today. This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton-area top stories: Haitian take-out, Brockton Beer Co. closing Haley says she has not been asked to join Trump campaign Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said in a Sunday interview she has not been asked to join the Trump campaign on the trail. You have endorsed Donald Trump. You spoke at the convention, but are you going to campaign for him? CBSs Margaret Brennan asked Haley on Face the Nation. You know, he knows Im on standby, Haley said. Haley heavily critiqued former President Trump during her primary run for the GOP presidential nomination. The former U.N. ambassador then called on her party to unite and elect him in an address to the Republican National Convention in July. You said youre on standby, Brennan asked Haley. In other words, you havent been asked to campaign. Are you advising at all on his debate preparation or speaking to the campaign? Im not, and you know, thats his choice, Haley said. He can, you know, whatever he decides to do with his campaign, he can do that. In her speech to the convention a few months ago, Haley told her fellow Republicans that they should acknowledge that there are some Americans who dont agree with Donald Trump 100 percent of the time. Take it from me. I havent always agreed with President Trump. But we agree more often than we disagree, she later added. In the interview, Haley also said comments about women from Trumps running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance (R), are not helpful. Just as recently as last week, JD Vance said hes disoriented and disturbed that the head of the most powerful teachers union in the country doesnt have a single child, Brennan noted to Haley. He continues to say things that certainly are highlighted as being offensive to women. That is going to hurt, wont it, with female voters? Its not helpful, Haley responded. 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. PITTSBURGH (AP) Vice President Kamala Harris plans a four-day campaign trip through major swing states after the Democrat's debate Tuesday with Republican Donald Trump. Her New Way Forward tour will include a new television spot, rallies, canvassing events and programs designed to target important voting groups, the campaign said Sunday, adding that the tour will culminate at the start of Hispanic Heritage Month on Sept. 15. In a tight race against the former president, the Harris campaign sees itself as having the room to persuade voters before focusing more intently on turnout with the beginning of early voting before the Nov. 5 election. Trump has also stepped up his outreach with rallies and interviews in seemingly friendly forums. The period after the debate in Philadelphia marks the start of the aggressive sprint toward the end of what has been a dramatic race. Our campaign will take the vice presidents message directly to the voters wherever they are - on the airwaves, on the doors, and online," said Michael Tyler, the campaign's communications director. "With so much at stake in this election, we are blitzing the battlegrounds and leaving it all out on the field. Trump, who campaigned Saturday in Wisconsin, posted on social media that when he wins, anyone who he deems as having been involved in unscrupulous behavior tied to the election will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country. After the debate, political leaders on Wednesday are set to commemorate the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Harris kicks off her tour Thursday in North Carolina and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, will be in Michigan. On Friday, Harris will return to Pennsylvania while Walz is in Michigan and Wisconsin. The candidates' spouses will also be part of the tour. Doug Emhoff, Harris' husband, will go to Nevada, Arizona and Florida. Gwen Walz is scheduled to be in Georgia, New Hampshire and Maine. More details are to come. Harris' campaign will start running a new television ad that will speak to her plans for middle-class tax cuts, limiting prescription drug prices and addressing the housing shortage. The ads are part of a broader $370 million media investment and will be tailored state by state for voters in Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Nebraska. Former President Donald Trump addresses his supporters at the 1st Summit Arena at Cambria County War Memorial in Johnston Pennsylvania on August 30. File Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI. Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Presidential hopefuls Kamala Harris and Donald Trump took a break from the campaign trail Sunday, and remain deep in preparations for Tuesday's debate in Philadelphia, the first time the two will face off onstage. Polls show a tightening race with no clear leader and the debate could be critical in turning the contest. Trump held a rally in Wisconsin on Saturday where he lambasted Harris and her vice presidential running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and mentioned Tuesday's scheduled debate, while harkening back to his debate with President Joe Biden in which the president stumbled badly. Trump said during the Wisconsin appearance that the country is run by "stupid people" and that we "found that out at the debate with Joe (Biden)." "We're going to find it out again on Tuesday night. Is anybody going to be watching?" Trump asked the crowd. The former president predicted that pundits would say he lost the debate, even "if I destroy her." Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event in Pittsburgh at IBEW Local Union #5, on Monday. Photo by David Muse/UPI Harris continued her senate preparations while in Pittsburgh while Walz delivered the keynote address at a Human Rights Campaign dinner Saturday night where he took issue with the GOP's stance on gun control and LGBTQ+ issues. Harris is scheduled to be in North Carolina on Thursday and Pennsylvania on Friday. Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Governor Tim Walz delivers remarks during the Human Rights Campaign Annual National Dinner in Washington, DC on Saturday. Presidential contenders Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are off the campaign trail preparing for a debate Tuesday night. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI Trump's campaign website shows no events scheduled. His running mate, Ohio Sen J.D. Vance, plans to be at a fundraiser in Los Angeles on Sunday after speaking at campaign rallies in the Phoenix area last week. Hawkish former Vice President Richard Cheney has taken the unusual step of endorsing Harris, calling Trump a "historic threat to our republic," Cheney is also the father of former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., whom Trump shunned when she would not support him. Liz Cheney said she will vote and Harris and campaign against Trump in key states. Former President George W. Bush won't endorse a candidate in the election because "President Bush retired from presidential politics years ago," his office said Saturday. Former GOP candidate Nikki Haley, who has endorsed Trump, said Sunday on CBS's Face the Nation she hasn't been asked to campaign for Trump and isn't advising him or his campaign, but she remains "on standby." Former U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in combo photograph (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Vice President Kamala Harris are effectively tied heading into the final weeks of the election, according to a national poll conducted by The New York Times and Siena College. Trump is up one percentage point, 48%-47%, over Harris, according to the survey released on Sunday, a difference that is well within the survey's three-point margin of error, meaning a win for either candidate in the Nov. 5 election is well within reach. While the Trump campaign endured a relatively rocky stretch in the weeks after Democratic President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in July, the most recent polling indicates the core of his support base is not going anywhere. The poll notably showed that voters feel they need to learn more about Harris, while their opinions on Trump are largely set. In the survey, 28% of likely voters said they needed more information about the Democratic nominee, while only 9% said the same about Trump. The poll indicates that Tuesday's presidential debate could be a crucial moment. Harris will have the opportunity to give more detail of her planned policies as she spars with Trump over the course of 90 minutes. The race is so close that even a marginal boost for either candidate would be significant. Since Harris replaced Biden atop the Democratic ticket over the summer, she has hit the campaign trail hard, but has limited her unscripted appearances and kept interviews with the news media to a minimum. The key figures from the latest poll are similar to the last comparable New York Times/Siena College survey, released in late July. In that poll, Trump was also up one percentage point, a difference well within the margin of error. Polls in the seven key swing states likely to determine the winner of the election have also consistently shown a razor-thin race. (Reporting by Gram Slattery, editing by Ross Colvin and Chizu Nomiyama) (Bloomberg) -- Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to still-tight battleground states after Tuesdays debate with Donald Trump, as a poll showed the former president ahead nationally and many voters saying they need to know more about Harris. Most Read from Bloomberg Trump led Harris by 48% to 47% in a New York Times-Siena College poll published Sunday. While within the margin of error, the result suggests that Harris month-long rise in the polls may have stalled and Trumps support remains resilient. Most polls since Harris replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket in July have given her an edge over Trump. The simple truth is that when a survey reflects the actual electorate, President Trump is in the lead, the former presidents chief campaign pollster Tony Fabrizio wrote in a memo on Sunday. Brian Fallon, Harris senior adviser for communication, said in a social-media post that Harris has considered herself the underdog since she became in the Democratic nominee. She continues to campaign with that mentality, he added. Theres a lot of work ahead until Election Day, he said. While only about one in 10 in the poll of registered voters said they need to learn more about Trump, about a third 31% said the same about Harris. Harris will travel on Thursday to North Carolina, which Trump won in 2016 and 2020, and to Pennsylvania on Friday. Her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, will head to the Midwestern states of Michigan and Wisconsin, while his wife Gwen travels to Georgia, New Hampshire and Maine. Second gentleman Doug Emhoff is slated to make stops in Nevada, Arizona and Florida. Trump, who lives in Florida, is considered the favorite there but an abortion-rights ballot initiative has some Democrats feeling bullish about their chances in the Southern state, including in a key Senate race. Arizona also has an abortion-rights initiative this year. The Harris campaign will air a new ad in seven swing states along with Nebraska, where Democrats are fighting for a single electoral college vote in the mostly Republican stronghold. The spot focuses on the economy, in particular Harris proposals to ban corporate price-gouging in grocery stores, to cap the cost of prescription drugs and to address the nationwide housing shortage. Its time to turn a page on the divisiveness. Its time to bring our country together, chart a new way forward, Harris told reporters in Pennsylvania on Saturday, when asked about her main message to Trump at the debate. More than 60% in the New York Times poll said the next president should represent major change from Biden. Only 25% said that Harris reflects that change, while 53% associated it with Trump. The Sept. 3-6 poll of 1,695 registered voters has a margin of error of as many as 2.8 percentage points. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. A Harrisburg property management company has been ordered to pay more than $55,000 in damages in a housing discrimination case. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) says 1952 Allegheny Associates LP discriminated against one of its tenants by refusing to transfer the tenant to another building because of their skin color and national origin. The PHRC will always defend those who experience illegal discrimination, said PHRC Executive Director Chad Dion Lassiter. Impacts of discrimination are long-term and final orders like this one provide relief to those who file complaints with the PHRC. I am proud of our team at the PHRC for their work. PHRC says Allegheny Associates didnt respond to the complaint it was served, participate in conciliation or attend a public hearing on the issue of damages. Allegheny Associates has been ordered to pay the tenant more than $45,000 and the Commonwealth $10,000 within 90 days. The company must also: Cease and desist from acting in a discriminatory manner in the terms and conditions of any lease based on a tenants color or national origin. Complete Fair Housing Training within 90 days. Report to the PHRC within 90 days on how it will comply with the order. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Man accused of killing woman, injuring 4 other people while shooting at Lawrence County buildings Pittsburgh Police officer injured while trying to break up fight in South Side 1 person in custody after woman found dead, man shot in Fayette County VIDEO: Pittsburgh Police officer injured while trying to break up fight in South Side DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) Horrified. That is how so many Jews across New York City say theyre feeling after learning about an alleged terror plot against a Jewish center in Brooklyn. More Local News That mass shooting was supposed to take place around the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack against Israel. We are not going to allow terrorists to deter us from standing together with one another, Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, told PIX11 News. Few members of the Lubavitch community in Crown Heights had heard about the foiled terror plot against a Brooklyn Jewish center when it was announced by the Department of Justice late Friday on the eve of the Sabbath because Orthodox Jews do not use phones or the internet on the Sabbath. A Pakistani man, 20-year-old Mohamed Shahzeb Kahn, was arrested 12 miles north of the US-Canada border as he was heading to carry out a mass shooting. According to the 19-page indictment, Kahn was targeting a Brooklyn Jewish Center. The feds did not specify the targets exact location, but many believed it to be the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters on Eastern Parkway. During our investigation, Kahn used encrypted messages in planning his attack on a Jewish center in New York planned for the anniversary of the October 7 attack on Israel, Rob Kissane, JTTF FBI Agent in charge, said on X. Kahn began sharing ISIS propaganda on social media, eventually messaging two undercover law enforcement officers. In his message, according to the complaint, Kahn bragged that New York is perfect to choose because it has the largest Jewish population in America. If we succeeded with our plan, this should be the largest attack on US soil since 9/11. Kahn urged the undercover officers to arm themselves with AR-15-style rifles, ammunition, and other weapons. I couldnt believe that someone 20 years old is consumed with such hatred, Rabbi Potasnik told PIX11 News. I cant understand, after the horror of October 7, how we can go through this, he added. With a beefed-up police presence at synagogues and Jewish centers across the city in the next month, Rabbi Potasnik said Jewish New Yorkers will continue to do what they always do. This is not the first time we have to face security threats, but thankfully, New York City has the greatest police dept. We meet with them and you will find synagogues will be filled to capacity, the rabbi said. 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 PIX11. BIG COUNTRY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) In this weeks episode of Big Country Politics, the Democratic nominee for House District 71, Linda Goolsbee, discussed immigration policy, school vouchers, gun reform, and the upcoming presidential election. Taylor County Republican & Democratic Parties host watch parties for Tuesdays Presidential Debate Goolsbee ran in 2022 against current House Representative Stan Lambert. She learned many things during her campaign, including that there are many Democrats in the area. Even though were a minority here, there are a number of people who are secret Democrats. I like to say theyre sort of prairie dog Democrats. They come up for the election, and then they go back underneath, and they would side up to me, and theyd say, I voted for you, like it was some guilty secret, Goolsbee explained. I think its important that the community realize, for those who are not in agreement with the direction that our republican majority has begun taking, that they are not alone, that there are other people here who are willing to stand with them I figured I was not going to suddenly get a 30% increase and win big in the election, although I do believe in miracles, and that can happen at any time, like this election. The other thing was being able to get my message out because there are so many venues that will not allow political town hall meeting type things. As the presidential election approaches, the gap between the candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris has narrowed. Goolsbee mentioned that Democrats are feeling optimistic during this election. Let her go upstairs. Its surprising and just delightful the way it has happened. Its hard to believe that Will Rogers said he did not belong to an organized political party. He was a Democrat. Thats kind of the way its been in a lot of elections. We have everybody in our tent, and they were bickering among themselves, and theres all this going on, and all of a sudden that stopped and were going, what happened? This is a convention that was a love fest. Everyone was excited, happy, and optimistic, and we realized its been a long time. Well, in this for everybody, its been a long time since weve felt happy, relaxed, and optimistic, and thats what was experienced at the convention, Goolsbee shared. Election 2024 Latest: Trump and Harris zero in on economic policy plans ahead of first debate An argument against Harris is that, since she was Vice President and in the White House, why has she not accomplished some of the things shes currently advocating for? According to Goolsbee, the reason is that vice presidents give advice, rather than make decisions. The Vice President gives advice, does not make decisions. So, there are things from the previous administration that she was all in agreement with. I feel sure there are things that she will be doing differently. As far as immigration is concerned, she was assigned to go to the three countries that were Central American countries that, at that time, were the majority of people coming for asylum and find out what we could do to keep them at their homes where they were and stop that coming to the border. She did that for those three countries and actually made some headway in that, Goolsbee said. We are now in a situation where we have people from all over the world coming to our borders, and its a totally different situation. But she was never a border czar. She was looking at ways to help those three specific countries be able to calm down their need for all of the asylum seekers that came from them. So there will be things that she has experience in, and she is also a person who, if something needs to be done, does it. Goes right for it. Both Lambert and Goolsbee oppose school vouchers. Goolsbee stated she is against them due to the potential impact on public schools if vouchers are implemented. We are all interested in education and the best way to do it. They keep talking about school choice, and before we get into the whole voucher situation, school choice means exactly what it says: the school gets to choose who they let in. The public schools have no choice on who they let into the schools. So when somebody is saying to you, Im for school choice, theyre saying to you, those private schools get to do the cherry picking and take who they want, and then the public schools, with less money, will now deal with whats left over, and itll be really hard, Goolsbee explained. On the other hand, many private schools support vouchers and the concept of money following the children. However, Goolsbee believes this approach could harm public school funding or lead to misuse of the system. Public Schools exist for the sake of the public, not the individual child, because public schools were created so that we would have a citizenry that could manage itself in a democracy. We had the highest reading rate of all people in the world, but our public schools focus on that. So when things for an individual child who wants to go to a specific private school pulls all of the money for that child out, they do not take the part of a teacher and let that part of the teacher go. The public school still has to support that, Goolsbee said. When I was in college and was an education minor, I actually did research because the voucher system was introduced in the 60s. I think it was Michigan, but Im not really sure. But at the time when that was introduced, they did research the following year and found that 85% of the children who were getting state money, vouchers, were already enrolled in those private schools, and so their families just got a nice windfall from the government, and there is no reason to think thats not going to happen again. Big Country Politics: Rep. Stan Lambert discusses hot topics in Texas, including school vouchers & healthcare monopolies On her website, Goolsbee listed five of her top reasons for running: full-funding support for public education, affordable healthcare expansion, womens right to choose, common-sense gun safety, and common-sense immigration reform. For her, gun reform would include universal background checks, red flag laws, and age limits. The lowest level, the simplest way to go that everybody would agree on, actually, well, a majority would agree on, would be universal background checks and red flag laws and the ability to have an age limit for when you can get hold of a gun. Not to criticize all teenage boys, but they tend not to have developed their judgmental part of the brain until theyre 21, so age limits on that would be very important. I think safe storage requirements, where people would have to actually be able to prove that if their son is shooting up the high school, they had it locked away and thought that he would not be able to do it, and they can prove that. Absolutely, I have now reached the point where the AR-15-type guns have to be taken off the street and out of civilian hands, Goolsbee shared. If elected, Goolsbee said she would add to the group of Democrats in legislation who are willing to improve immigration policies. I would be adding to the Democratic base that is in the legislature that would be more willing to do some of these things, Goolsbee said. First, there are two different aspects of this. One of them is legal immigration, and people will often say, Oh, I believe in legal immigration, but that involves having a process that makes sense, and that was part of the federal bill that would have revamped our immigration system. That is very important. Visit Linda Goolsbees website to learn more about her and her values. 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 KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) Its Sunday, September 8. Take a look at our top stories with KELOLAND On The GO. The search for the suspect in a child sex crime investigation has ended with an arrest. Rape suspect in custody The search for the suspect in a child sex crime investigation has ended with an arrest. Sioux Falls street & lane closures A former NASA space shuttle astronaut has landed back in his home state of South Dakota. Former NASA astronaut moves to Sioux Falls In a similar manner to the first half of the weekend, the second half will feature a lot of sunshine for a lot of people today in KELOLAND. Storm Center AM Update: Summer Returns This Week The annual March Into the Light event to celebrate addiction recovery had a good turnout Saturday morning, organizers said in a news release. March Into the Light celebrates addiction recovery Check out our Boredom Busters! Sunday Boredom Busters: September 8th Download the KELOLAND News app to find the latest headlines while on the go. 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 KELOLAND.com. Kamala Harris quickly rallied Democrats around her candidacy after Joe Biden left the race. Support for Harris eclipsed Biden over the course of last month. But a newly released Times/Siena poll is a reminder that the 2024 race remains a toss-up. Vice President Kamala Harris has dazzled Democrats as the party's new presidential nominee. After President Joe Biden stepped aside as the presumptive nominee in July, the party quickly coalesced around her. And any concerns anyone had about her lackluster 2020 presidential campaign were largely put to rest. Her favorability rating has soared among likely voters. She quickly rallied the Democratic base and saw a bump in support among independents, which helped give her polling leads across swing states in recent weeks. And last week the Harris campaign announced it had raised $361 million in August alone nearly three times the $130 million former President Donald Trump brought in that same month. Still, in a reminder of just how volatile American elections can be, a newly released New York Times/Siena College poll found Trump had a one-point edge over Harris among likely voters. The poll might indicate that Harris' momentum has stalled or it could be an outlier. New polls in the coming days will tell more, especially after Tuesday's presidential debate. What is certain is that many of the complexities of the 2024 contest never went away after Biden's exit from the race. Here's why the contest remains a nail-biter at this late stage. A race within the margin of error Despite a series of polls showing Harris with advantages in states like Michigan and Wisconsin, the leads are generally in the single digits and within the margin of error. The latest Times national poll showed Trump with 48% support among likely voters, with Harris at 47% support. The result is unchanged from the Times national survey taken in July. Some important figures stick out in the most recent Times poll. Harris saw majority support among voters under 45. She performed strongest among voters aged 30 to 44, winning this group by nine points (51% to 42%). Meanwhile, Trump led among Gen X and voters aged 65 and older by margins within 10 points. For Harris, turnout among the youngest voters will be key as she seeks to win traditional swing states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and hold Sun Belt battlegrounds like Arizona and Nevada. Harris' appeal with young voters is a major reason she's been able to put North Carolina back into play for Democrats, which was a far cry from even three months ago when Biden struggled there. In the Times survey, Harris also had a 10-point lead (52% to 42%) with suburban voters, a significant show of support that could make a huge difference should she extend that advantage over her GOP rival. Despite Trump's lead in the Times survey, the former president's woes in the suburbs are perhaps one the biggest threats to his campaign, as it would likely dampen his ability to win in a critical state like Pennsylvania should Harris gain more steam closer to the election. Vice President Kamala Harris immediately boosted Democratic prospects across the Sun Belt when she entered the presidential race, but the overall contest remains close. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Voters want to know more about Harris The presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia will be perhaps the most critical opportunity for Harris to reach voters who remain on the fence about who they'll support at the top of the ticket. In the Times survey, 27% of likely voters said they wanted to "learn more" about Harris. Meanwhile, only 9% of likely voters expressed a similar sentiment about Trump. For the voters who indicated they wanted to learn more about Harris, nearly seven in 10 said they wanted to hear more about the vice president's policies and plans. An additional 10% said they wanted to learn "everything" about Harris. So, in effect, Trump boasts a slender lead against a candidate who remains a blank slate to a significant slice of the electorate. The Democratic National Convention in Chicago was a first step for Harris in emerging from the shadows and onto the national stage. But the debate in Philadelphia will give her time to articulate her vision for what remains the biggest issue of the election: the economy. In the latest Times poll, Trump had a 13-point lead (55% to 42%) over Harris on who would be better equipped to handle the economy. Trump, who has relentlessly criticized Democrats over the issue, has made it a centerpiece of his campaign. Harris has begun to cut into Trump's advantage on the issue in recent weeks, which had dogged Biden as a candidate. Other surveys, including a Financial Times-Michigan Ross poll released last month, actually showed Harris with a one-point edge (42% to 41%) over Trump on economic matters among registered voters. That close result is just another reflection of the competitive nature of the race, a dynamic that will likely remain the same until November. Read the original article on Business Insider MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) A big birthday party was held in Rutherford County for one of our nations heroes. On Sept. 4, World War II Navy veteran Bennie Pandorf turned 103 years old. He is believed to be the oldest living World War II veteran in Murfreesboro. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, less than 1% of the 16.4 million Americans who served during World War II are still alive today. Courtesy: VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare Courtesy: VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare More than 50 of Pandorfs family members, friends, caretakers and neighbors showed up to honor him for the grand occasion. Mission BBQ, riders from the Christian Motorcycle Association, Rolling Thunder and the Murfreesboro Police Department caravaned as part of the celebration. The Murfreesboro Fire Department also had a fire truck on site. Courtesy: VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare Courtesy: VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare Courtesy: VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare Courtesy: VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare Courtesy: VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare Courtesy: VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare Courtesy: VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare During World War II, Pandorf served in the Pacific working on the transport ships. He was responsible for taking troops to their duty stations after battles. He served the country well, said Bennie Pandorf Jr., the veterans son. He was in for just under four years. Hes got good stories and saw a lot of interesting things. Hes a hero. Pandorf is currently receiving care from VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare Systems Home-based Primary Care Team where staff members visit veterans in the comfort of their own homes. Everything the VA has done has been great, Pandorf Jr. said. Between the doctor visits and getting him set up at Centennial Adultcare, its been wonderful. Gennifer Mann, a social worker for VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare Systems Home-based Primary Care Team, said its a blessing being able to take care of Pandorf. He is just the sweetest little man, Mann said. If anyone needs to be celebrated, its definitely him, and we were very excited to do that and take care of him. 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 WKRN News 2. Hillbilly Elegy director: Theres no version of me voting for Donald Trump Hillbilly Elegy director: Theres no version of me voting for Donald Trump The director of the 2020 movie based on Ohio Sen. JD Vances (R) book, Hillbilly Elegy, said that he wont be casting a vote for former President Trump despite Vance being his running mate in a video posted Saturday. Theres no version of me voting for Donald Trump to be president again, whoever the vice president was, Ron Howard said in a video from Variety. Howard had previously said in 2022 that he was surprised by some of the positions [Vance has] taken and statements hes made. I always knew he was conservative, but [he] struck me as a very center-right, a kind of a moderate thinker, Howard told The Hollywood Reporter at the time. In the Variety video, Howard stated that he has worried about the rhetoric coming out of the current GOP ticket, which features Trump and Vance. He also urged people to listen to what the candidates are saying, today, versus basing their opinions on their past perceptions of the candidates. Thats whats really relevant, its who they are today, Howard continued. The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign and a Vance spokesperson for comment. 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. A historic church that burned down six years ago welcomed back its members this morning. The newly rebuilt First Baptist Church of Wakefield opened its doors years after a fire destroyed the 150-year-old building. It was a severe mercy, severe in that it was so traumatic, such a blow but yet in gods mercy it has really opened the door for a new start, really a resurrection, said Pastor Doug Dry. The flamesbelieved to have been started by a lightning strike took out the historic building with its iconic 180-foot spire. The congregation was in such disbelief that it took a year of praying and determining whether they would rebuild. We had plans for this church that twice we put out for bid and twice came in a million dollars over our budget, said building team chairperson, Elaine Pappas, Through insurance claims and money raised from the community, the building is debt-free and welcomes everyone. The advantage of this church is its all on one floor. It is the most handicap-accessible building in Wakefield and churches are exempt from that requirement so we made a commitment that we wanted to make sure that everyone would be able to access the church at any ability level, Pappas added. Pastor Doug Dry says this brand-new building is giving this congregation a fresh start. A building thats different than the old in that its a little more contemporary but its one that I really think suits ministry for today. Its light, its open, its airy I love the fact that we can see out and other people can see in. The church celebrated with a grand reopening on Sunday morning and has an open house scheduled for next weekend. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) Holston Distributing Company hosted an event on Saturday to celebrate 90 years of serving the community. The company was started by Frank Rubin in 1934 and is now third-generation owned. It distributes popular brands, such as Anheuser Busch beer, Yingling and Sweetwater. Mike Hubbard, the general manager of Holston Distributing, said Saturdays celebration was primarily for the companys employees. Photo WJHL Really, the backbone is the employees, said Hubbard. And thats what were here today, really just to celebrate the employees and the people that have been here for long periods of time. And because without them, we are nothing here at Holston. Its very humbling: Hundreds participate in 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb Hubbard said the company appreciates all who have supported it over the last 90 years. So, just to see all this come together has been phenomenal for me, he said. I just want to thank everybody for always supporting us, always standing behind us and letting us be a part of different organizations, different events. And, you know, just everybody always supports us. So, its been great. 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 WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) Horry County Schools governing board on Monday will begin talking about its framework for a policy banning the use of all electronic devices by students while classes are in session. The move comes after a state Board of Education vote earlier this month giving local districts until January to comply with the rule or risk losing financial support. During the school day, students are prohibited from accessing their personal electronic devices, unless authorized for classroom use. Students may not wear or access device accessories during the school day, language in the policy says. Students will be required to store devices and accessories in lockers, backpacks or otherwise as directed by district officials during the school day. Districts can also forbid student possession of devices and accessories on school property. The topic is listed on Horry County Schools agenda as a discussion item. Between May 27 and June 7, 9,738 teachers responded to a four-question survey, sent to all educators statewide, about their experiences with student cell phone use in their schools. The responses spanned 4,816 elementary, 2,834 middle, 1,785 high and 303 administrative and support staff. Teachers also had the opportunity to provide open-ended feedback on the topic. Major themes of their responses are described below. Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Virginia and major cities including New York and Los Angeles have all either banned or are planning to bar electronic devices in classrooms, according to S.C. Department of Education data. * * * Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here. 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 WBTW. (Bloomberg) -- House Republicans will extend a two-year investigation into the US withdrawal from Afghanistan beyond a report to be released on Monday and until well after the election in November, according to a lawmaker leading the probe. Most Read from Bloomberg House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said many questions remain as the panel looks into what happened on the ground during the exit in 2021, including the lack of protection for US troops and limited video evidence. We have a lot of unanswered questions regarding the DoD, he said Sunday on CBS Face the Nation, referring to the Department of Defense. A suicide bombing at an entrance to the airport in Kabul killed 13 US service members and about 170 Afghan civilians during the withdrawal. Republicans, including presidential nominee Donald Trump, are seeking to tie Vice President Kamala Harris, Trumps election opponent, to the carnage and the chaotic pullout that happened under President Joe Bidens administration. McCaul plans to release the investigations findings on Monday the eve of the first Trump-Harris presidential debate. On the campaign trail, Trump has said he would demand the resignation of any officials involved with Afghanistan withdrawal decisions if hes elected. McCaul last week subpoenaed Secretary of State Antony Blinken to testify before the panel. The report will be an indictment on the administrations reckless refusal to properly prepare for the withdrawal and its culpability in the deaths of the US troops, McCaul said on Aug. 30. The findings will accuse the Biden administration of misleading the public about the withdrawal, CBS News reported Sunday. ISIS-K, a terror group active mostly in Afghanistan and Pakistan since 2015, claimed responsibility for the attack on Aug. 26, 2021. Harrowing images of Afghan civilians swarming runways and climbing onto planes emerged as thousands tried to evacuate the country. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. WASHINGTON (AP) House Republicans on Sunday issued a scathing report on their investigation into the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, blaming the disastrous end of America's longest war on President Joe Biden's administration and minimizing the role of former President Donald Trump, who had signed the withdrawal deal with the Taliban. The partisan review lays out the final months of military and civilian failures, following Trump's February 2020 withdrawal deal, that allowed America's fundamentalist Taliban enemy to sweep through and conquer all of the country even before the last U.S. officials flew out on Aug. 30, 2021. The chaotic exit left behind many American citizens, Afghan battlefield allies, women activists and others at risk from the Taliban. But House Republicans' report breaks little new ground as the withdrawal has been exhaustively litigated through several independent reviews. Previous investigations and analyses have pointed to a systemic failure spanning the last four presidential administrations and concluded that Biden and Trump share the heaviest blame. Texas Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, who led the investigation as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the GOP review reveals that the Biden administration had the information and opportunity to take necessary steps to plan for the inevitable collapse of the Afghan government, so we could safely evacuate U.S. personnel, American citizens, green card holders, and our brave Afghan allies. At each step of the way, however, the administration picked optics over security, he said in a statement. McCaul earlier in the day denied that the timing of the report's release ahead of the presidential election was political, or that Republicans ignored Trump's mistakes in the U.S. withdrawal. A White House spokesperson, Sharon Yang, said the Republican report was based on cherry-picked facts, inaccurate characterizations, and preexisting biases. Because of the bad deal former President Trump cut with the Taliban to get out of Afghanistan by May of 2021, President Biden inherited an untenable position, either ramp up the U.S. war against a strengthened Taliban, or end it, Yang said in a statement. House Democrats in a statement said the report by their Republican colleagues ignored facts about Trump's role. The more than 18-month investigation by Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee zeroed in on the months leading up to the removal of U.S. troops, saying that Biden and his administration undermined high-ranking officials and ignored warnings as the Taliban seized key cities far faster than most U.S. officials had expected or prepared for. I called their advance the Red Blob,'' retired Col. Seth Krummrich said of the Taliban, telling the committee that at the special operations' central command where he was chief of staff, we tracked the Taliban advance daily, looking like a red blob gobbling up terrain." I don't think we ever thought you know, nobody ever talked about, Well, whats going to happen when the Taliban come over the wall?''' Carol Perez, the State Department's acting undersecretary for management at the time of the withdrawal, said of what House Republicans said was minimal State Department planning before abandoning the embassy in mid-August 2021 when the Taliban swept into Kabul, Afghanistan's capital. The withdrawal ended a nearly two-decade occupation by U.S. and allied forces begun to rout out the al-Qaida militants responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. The Taliban had allowed al-Qaida's leader, Osama bin Laden, to shelter in Afghanistan. Committee staffers noted reports since the U.S. withdrawal of the group rebuilding in Afghanistan, such as a U.N. report of up to eight al-Qaida training camps there. The Taliban overthrew an Afghan government and military that the U.S. had spent nearly 20 years and trillions of dollars building in hopes of keeping the country from again becoming a base for anti-Western extremists. A 2023 report by the U.S. government watchdog for the U.S. in Afghanistan singles out Trumps February 2020 deal with the Taliban agreeing to withdraw all American forces and military contractors by the spring of the next year, and both Trumps and Bidens determination to keep pulling out U.S. forces despite the Taliban breaking key commitments in the withdrawal deal. House Republicans' more than 350-page document is the product of hours of testimony including with former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, U.S. Central Command retired Gen. Frank McKenzie and others who were senior officials at the time seven public hearings and round-tables as well as more than 20,000 pages of State Department documents reviewed by the committees. With Biden no longer running for reelection, Trump and his GOP allies have tried to elevate the withdrawal as a campaign issue against Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now Trump's Democratic opponent in the presidential race. The report by House Republican cites Harris' overall responsibility as an adviser to Biden, but doesn't point to specific counsel or action by Harris that contributed to the many failures. Some highlights of the report: Decision to withdraw Republicans point to testimony and records that claim the Biden administration's reliance on input from military and civilian leaders on the ground in Afghanistan in the months before the withdrawal was severely limited, with most of the decision-making taking place by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan without consultation with key stakeholders. Yang, the White House spokesperson, denied that, saying the administration had sought input from officials in Kabul and others across the U.S. government. The report says Biden proceeded with the withdrawal even though the Taliban was failing to keep some of its agreements under the deal, including breaking its promise to enter talks with the then-U.S.- backed Afghan government. Former State Department spokesperson Ned Price testified to the committee that adherence to the Doha Agreement was immaterial to Biden's decision to withdraw, according to the report. Earlier reviews have said Trump also carried out his early steps of the withdrawal deal, cutting the U.S. troop presence from about 13,000 to an eventual 2,500 despite early Taliban noncompliance with some parts of the deal, and despite the Taliban escalating attacks on Afghan forces. The House report faults a longtime U.S. diplomat for Afghanistan, former Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, not Trump, for Trump administration actions in its negotiations with the Taliban. The new report says that Trump was following recommendations of American military leaders in making sharp cuts in U.S. troop numbers in Afghanistan after the signing. We were still in planning' when Kabul fell The report also goes into the vulnerability of U.S. embassy staff in Kabul as the Biden administration planned its exit. Republicans claim there was a dogmatic insistence by the Biden administration to maintain a large diplomatic footprint despite concerns about the lack of security afforded to personnel once U.S. forces left. McKenzie, who was one of the two U.S. generals who oversaw the evacuation, told lawmakers that the administrations insistence at keeping the embassy open and fully operational was the fatal flaw that created what happened in August," according to the report. The committee report claims that State Department officials went as far as watering down or even completely rewriting reports from heads of diplomatic security and the Department of Defense that had warned of the threats to U.S. personnel as the withdrawal date got closer. We were still in planning" when Kabul fell, Perez, the senior U.S. diplomat, testified to the committee. ___ Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana contributed to this report. Homelessness is more visible than ever. The number of people experiencing homelessness has been on the rise for several years across the country, and close to home. Last year, volunteers counted over 2,000 homeless Kansans and those are just the ones local agencies are aware of. There are likely hundreds more living in cars, surfing on couches or hidden in encampments. With visibility though, comes attention, then momentum, then, hopefully, action. Urban areas like Wichita, Topeka and Kansas City are seeing more encampments pop up in the warmer months, laying bare the slim safeguards available for the homeless. The rural homeless have even less shelter to find refuge in, leaving them to choose either a frontier lifestyle or a trek toward cities for resources. Those resources shelters, food banks, free showers, mobile clinics are a response to the symptoms of homelessness. But to remedy the problem, to prevent it from happening over and over to the same person, often requires a different approach. Housing First: food and shelter are critical needs One intervention that Kansas agencies are depending on right now: Housing First. The Housing First model recognizes housing as a fundamental human right and posits that people experiencing homelessness deserve to be housed as the first step in the journey to being stably housed. The approach is guided by the belief that basic necessities such as food and shelter are critical needs and must be fulfilled before people are able to properly attend to other needs, such as employment or mental health counseling. Traditionally homeless initiatives require some sort of commitment from a person experiencing homelessness such as graduating from a series of programs or getting behavioral health treatment before becoming eligible for housing. Although some critics question the approachs priorities, Housing First does not end with a lease agreement. Housing First emphasizes that getting someone into housing is just the beginning of an often complex journey into stabilization. Eliminating housing prerequisites eases the stress of transitioning from living on the street to living behind four walls, the models proponents argue, allowing for a greater chance of success when an individual is engaging with services that match their needs. For example, in a Housing First program, we wouldnt have a requirement that they are sober, that they are med compliant, that they are engaging in treatment services. Its really about the idea that housing is a human right and that everyone deserves housing regardless of their choices, says Molly Mendenhall, the program director for Destination Home, a joint initiative of the Kansas Statewide Homeless Coalition and the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services. Mendenhall adds that every Housing First program comes with access to mental health, substance use and employment services. We continually offer services even if people decline to engage, she says. We are always there for them. They choose whats best for their need. Thats the ideal. Mendenhall is responsible for a majority of the states training on Housing First and making sure that programs funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development are implementing the model correctly. She works directly with Sam Tsemberis, founder of the Housing First model. His Pathways Housing First Institute has a nearly $800,000 contract with the state to provide training and technical assistance. Tsemberis founded Pathways to Housing in New York in 1992, which was one of the first practical applications of his house-first, treatment-second strategy. His approach has since been followed in 20 countries and across the U.S., including Kansas. The predominant health/homeless service system has been focused on improving the individual before theyre housed. Its like treatment first and then housing, Tsemberis says. Housing First reverses that sequence, because people are not really able to or are interested in treatment when theyre worrying about their survival, which is the condition theyre in when theyre homeless. When someone is experiencing homelessness, it can be difficult to see beyond the next day. Without stable housing, one is forced to be in the present and prioritizing the most essential needs to stay alive: food, water and shelter. Research shows that some people experiencing homelessness turn to drugs or alcohol as a coping mechanism, which further complicates the pathway to stable, sober living. Is it really fair, then, to expect someone surviving the elements to prove their worth for a house? State Rep. Leah Howell, a Derby Republican, thinks that may be the only way to persuade legislators to invest in such a venture. Of course everyone needs a place to put their head at night, Howell says. There is a strong pushback on the idea that we are just going to take taxpayer dollars from people who are working very hard to pay their bills every day and just give a homeless person a house without requirements to become productive members of society. On a late December day last year, Thomas Gloster unrolled his sleeping bag and sacked out in a downtown Wichita parking lot. Gloster, whos from Oakland, California, had been homeless for two years when this photo was taken. Howell, a Republican, was a member of the Special Committee on Homelessness last year, marking the first time the issue had a position of prominence in a legislative session, she says. Many of her colleagues bristled at the idea of Housing First, labeling Californias experience as a colossal failure. The state adopted the approach in 2016 and has yet to see an overall decrease in homelessness. Now its considering allowing housing funds to be used on sobriety-focused programs. But notwithstanding Californias struggles, Housing First is federally approved. The Department of Veterans Affairs found that adopting the model reduced the wait time for housing for homeless veterans from 223 days to 35. Emergency room use also significantly declined. HUD employs Housing First methods for homeless veterans, claiming that the agencys voucher program has helped reduce and ultimately end veteran homelessness. Research from the National League of Cities cites Rockford, Illinois, as a successful case study for Housing First, where the city reached functional zero, meaning that more people are exiting homelessness than entering it, for both veterans and the chronically homeless. Abilene, Texas cut wait times for housing in half for the chronically homeless, also achieving functional zero. Data from Utah shows that after implementing Housing First statewide in 2005, the state has seen a 91% decrease in chronic homelessness by the end of its 10-year plan. Tsemberis says that once the federal government decided that homeless veterans were a national shame, 80,000 housing vouchers were issued, dramatically dropping the number. It shows you that when theres political will, and we believe people are worthy, we can do something and effectively end homelessness, he says. So if we think veterans are worthy of getting out of homelessness and supporting them to have a better life, arent the rest of the people in the country also worthy and deserving of support and a better life? The challenges of Housing First in Kansas Housing First programs began to be implemented in the state around 2021, according to Mendenhall. Lawrence was the first Kansas municipality Tsembaris consulted with. The city has a track record for proactive homelessness interventions, putting the principles of low barriers, supportive housing and self-determination into action. The Lawrence Community Shelter boasts of its Housing First approach on its website, although it did not respond to inquiries from The Journal. As in most of the country, Kansas struggles to keep up with demand for affordable housing a limiting factor for Housing First. Without an available home to fill, how can an individual transition out of homelessness? That is absolutely a struggle that we face here in Kansas, Mendenhall says. She explains that HUD can grant funds for the state to build affordable housing for low-income families, something especially helpful in areas with few developers, such as western Kansas. Tsemberis acknowledges that limited housing inventory restricts the full potential of Housing First. People wait months or years for housing regardless of the model. If we talk about ending homelessness in America, then were talking about having to do really dramatic changes in policy and having the federal government reinvest in building public housing, like they used to before 1980, he says. The decades-long increase in unsheltered homelessness has coincided with a lack of investment in public housing and the real estate markets relentless increase. Another policy change that could reduce homelessness: Medicaid expansion. Kansas is one of 10 states that have not adopted it. Current trends in the number of people living on the street tend to make homeless people more visible and close to areas where people live and work. That, in turn, makes many people anxious and sometimes afraid, even though the homeless tend to be victims of violent crime rather than perpetrators. But changes in attitudes toward the homeless have a tough time gaining traction in the Legislature. Howell was glad to see homelessness rise in prominence, but worries that any momentum will fade by the next regular session. All 165 seats in the Legislature are up for election this year, and a significant level of turnover is expected with 31 open seats. We have a lot of change happening right now, Howell says. New people get elected. That means we start over. She worries, too, that legislators struggle to support initiatives when they dont necessarily see how homelessness affects their part of the state. Homelessness, mental health and substance abuse issues are seen as big city problems, she says. The rural community does not like to feel left out. They also dont like to spend money to fix our problems. I will say there are plenty of legislators that dont think they have those problems. And it is our problem. So thats another hurdle. Eric Arganbright, the director of community engagement at the Kansas Statewide Homeless Coalition, grew up homeless in rural Kansas. Hes eager to tell his story wherever he goes to try to prove to skeptics that homelessness does exist outside of urban areas. Also, one of my favorite statistics that we can throw out is 87% of folks in Kansas who are experiencing homelessness have regular annual income. Thats part of what we point out, he says. Howell says her views could be swayed if data proved that the Housing First approach is viable. But she also thinks guardrails are needed for someone transitioning into permanent housing something that encourages better choices. How do we balance getting them into a house where they are not on the street, where they have a roof over their head and yet, for lack of a better way to say it, forcing them to get help? Wheres that balance? Theres where we have to have a really difficult conversation that Im not sure were really having yet. Tsemberis is all-too familiar with skepticism on Housing First. He says that the question to ask lawmakers is, How are you going to spend taxpayers money on homelessness? Because if you dont house people, and you leave people homeless, youre going to pay for it with taxpayers money. Youre going to pay for it through police interventions, through emergency room use, through jail time or all of these shelters and other kinds of programs serving people who are homeless but not giving them housing. So youre going to pay for it one way or the other. The question is: Why not pay for it in a way that you have a solution to the problem as opposed to a perpetuation of the problem? Stefania Lugli writes for the KLC Journal , with a primary focus on homelessness issues in Wichita and Kansas. The Kansas Leadership Center Journal is a member of the Wichita Journalism Collaborative, a coalition of 11 newsrooms and community groups, including The Wichita Eagle. Thousands of people took to the streets of Tel Aviv, Israel, on Saturday demanding a cease-fire and calling for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Organizers claimed 400,000 demonstrators took part as the country marked 11 months since the Palestinian militants kidnapped hundreds of Israelis on Oct. 7. Photo by Abir Sultan/EPA-EFE Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Massive demonstrations demanding a deal to return the remaining Jewish hostages held by Hamas broke out across Israel late Saturday as protesters flooded into the streets 11 months after the start of the war in Gaza. One of the largest demonstrations was in Tel Aviv, where videos showed what appeared to be many thousands of protesters choking Begin Road as family members of some of the estimated 101 remaining hostages implored Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to strike a cease-fire deal with Hamas to gain their release. Large-scale protests were also seen in Jerusalem, Haifa, Rehovot and elsewhere in the country. Organizers claimed 400,000 people turned out for Saturday's protest in Tel Aviv, which marked the 11-month anniversary of Hamas' Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel during which the hostages were seized. Hebrew-language media reported protesters lit bonfires and blocked Darom Park in Tel Aviv, resulting in the arrest of five protesters who allegedly tried to damage vehicles while blocking traffic and attempted to break through security perimeters. One of the speakers at the Tel Aviv rally was former hostage Andrey Kozlov, who spent 246 days in captivity in Gaza before he was rescued by the Israel Defense Forces in "Operation Arnon." "We cannot allow this disaster to continue. We must demand that our leaders do whatever is necessary and to do the right thing," Kozlov said. The latest demonstration came less than a week after an estimated 700,000 people took to the streets of Israel after six abductees' bodies were recovered in Gaza, including that of Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Many of the protesters accused Netanyahu of purposely blocking a negotiated hostage release deal in order to cling to power. The prime minister, however, has insisted he will not accept any deal that leaves Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip and that Israel's security depends on the Palestinian militant group's "elimination." Former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon spoke at a demonstration Saturday in Herzliya where called for the immediate resignation of Netanyahu's government, according to the Israeli newspaper Maariv. The government, he said, "needs to be replaced as quickly as possible. "We are the majority, that's why they fear elections," he said. "We need to prepare for the transition from protest to opposition to the criminal and dangerous government, which, according to all polls, has lost public legitimacy." The News Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi arrived in Dallas Sunday to kick-off a three-day tour of the US where he will hold meaningful discussions and insightful conversations designed to strengthen ties between the two countries. Gandhi will meet with community leaders, academics, and students at the University of Texas before traveling to Washington, DC. His trip is widely considered an opportunity to reset the conversation on his Indian National Congress party among the powerful Indian-American diaspora community, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist BJP party have largely won over. Meanwhile, US politicians are perhaps just as interested in building ties with Indian leaders, since they could help sway a sizable US voting block; in 2019, former US President Donald Trump even attended rallies for Modi as part of his (unsuccessful) reelection bid. Know More As a member of the powerful Gandhi political dynasty three of his relatives have served as prime minister Rahul Gandhis previous visits to the US have been met with public curiosity and even ridicule, the Asia Sentinel Subtack wrote, with domestic opponents framing his overseas criticism of Modis government as unpatriotic. But since reclaiming the opposition leader role in June, Gandhi is proving to be a far more formidable opponent than expected, the Sentinel wrote. Gandhi and other Indian leaders believe that American influence can ease the path to power, wrote a columnist for The Sunday Guardian, given the diaspora is a big source of political donation. India reports case of mpox in traveller from affected country (Reuters) - India had recorded a suspected case of mpox found in a man who recently travelled from a country suffering an outbreak of the virus, the health ministry said on Sunday. The patient has been isolated in a hospital and is in a table condition, the ministry said. The ministry did not specify which strain of the mpox virus the patient might have, but tests were being conducted to confirm the infection. Mpox can spread through close contact. Usually mild, it is fatal in rare cases. It causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body. "The case is being managed in line with established protocols, and contact tracing is ongoing to identify potential sources and assess the impact within the country," the ministry said. Last month, The Hindu daily newspaper reported that India had been on alert since a new strain of mpox became virulent in Africa. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern after the new variant was identified. India detected 30 cases of an older strain, known as clade 2, between 2022 and March 2024. (Reporting by Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Heavens) India, UAE to review trade deal in talks this week, sources say By Alexander Cornwell and Shivangi Acharya DUBAI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian and Emirati officials are expected to review their trade agreement this week amid concerns raised by Indian industry over a sharp increase in imports of precious metals from the United Arab Emirates, people familiar with the matter said. India and the UAE signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2022 after just 88 days of negotiations. The agreement has become a template for similar trade pacts the UAE has since signed with many other nations. An Indian government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the pact would be reviewed this week when a UAE government delegation led by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed Al Nahyan visits Mumbai and New Delhi. A second source, confirming the review, and the Indian government official downplayed the significance of the discussion and said that reviews took place from time to time. The Indian trade ministry and the UAE ministry of economy did not respond to Reuters requests for comment on the review. Indian officials have said New Delhi was seeking a review of the agreement, including if rules of origin were being met. Sheikh Khaled, the son of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, was unlikely to take part in the trade review, the sources said. The Crown Prince, who is also his country's deputy national security adviser, was due to arrive in India on Sunday, Abu Dhabi's government media office announced on Saturday. The trade review has in part been prompted by complaints among Indian industry of a significant increase in precious metal imports from the UAE, the sources said. India is one of the UAE's largest trading partners and Indian citizens make up the largest community in the Gulf state, outnumbering Emiratis. Many work in sectors that are the backbone of the economy. The trade agreement came into effect in May 2022. (Reporting by Alexander Cornwell in Dubai and Shivangi Acharya in New Delhi; Editing by Andrew Heavens) Indian representative to hold talks with Putin on "peace efforts" to end war in Ukraine Ajit Doval, India's National Security Adviser, will travel to Moscow on 10-11 September to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and discuss "peace efforts" to end the war in Ukraine. Source: India Today citing sources Details: It is noted that Doval will discuss "peace efforts aimed at resolving the Russian-Ukrainian war". During his visit to the Russian Federation, he will also take part in a BRICS meeting on security issues, the sources added. Background: On 23 August, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to Ukraine. This was his first official visit to Ukraine since it regained independence in 1991. During Modi's visit, agreements on collaboration between Ukraine and India in the medical, agrarian, humanitarian, and cultural sectors were reached. Before travelling to Ukraine, Modi visited Poland and spoke with Prime Minister Donald Tusk about ways to end the war. Modi visited Russia in early July, on the same day that Russian forces targeted the Okhmatdyt childrens hospital in Kyiv. During a meeting with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, Modi urged him to end the war in Ukraine, claiming that no solution could be found on the battlefield. Zelenskyy criticised Modi's meeting with Russian ruler Vladimir Putin, calling it a "devastating blow to peace efforts". In response, India summoned the Ukrainian ambassador to discuss the words of the Ukrainian president. Support UP or become our patron! Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett told a crowd Saturday that he's "running from things," according to a video posted by Fox59/CBS4 reporter Max Lewis. In the brief clip, recorded at a Mike Epps concert, Hogsett said: "I want you all look, I ain't on the ballot. I ain't running for nothing. I'm running from things, but I ain't running for nothing, but I want everybody here to make sure you get registered to vote at this election in November." The mayor has been under increasing pressure over charges of sexual harassment at the City-County Building since IndyStar first published allegations against Hogsett's former top deputy in July, and he has started skipping some public appearances. He was making a joke," a senior Hogsett administration official told IndyStar on Sunday. "It was received as a joke. Hes not going anywhere." Lauren Roberts, a former Hogsett campaign staffer who has said the mayor's longtime adviser, Thomas Cook, sexually harassed her, was not amused. Roberts reacted to the clip from the Epps concert in a post Saturday evening on X, formerly Twitter: "Hahahaha Joe youre so funny sexual assault and abuse and harassment and ignoring survivors for years and your failure to stop predators on your staff thats all just hilaaaarious omg." Caroline Ellert, a former employee in the mayors office who said she was sexually harassed and assaulted by Cook, likewise told IndyStar she "didn't find it very funny." Cook has not been charged with a crime. "Its not about the issue," the city official said in defense of Hogsett's comment. "What people have been telling him is, 'People are coming after you.'" Few local leaders offered thoughts on social media over the weekend, and City-County Council President Vop Osili didn't return a request for comment. However, Democratic strategist Elise Shrock spoke to IndyStar: "When people look at the behavior of the mayor and his top advisors I think theyre wondering where the self awareness, personal accountability and baseline empathy are. What conditions make them feel that comfortable and so empowered to behave this way? To make jokes in the face of sexual assault? "... And the void of calls for accountability from many in our party makes for deafening compliance," Shrock said. "I ain't running for nothing...I'm running from things, but I ain't running for nothing" -Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett at an event today as he scales back his public appearances following an ongoing sexual harassment scandal that has plagued his administration. pic.twitter.com/JtRQs175FF Max Lewis (@MaxLewisTV) September 7, 2024 Lewis reported that Hogsett didn't attend a ribbon-cutting Friday for a new shelter. That would have been a day after IndyStar reported that the city's human resources department was investigating seven current or former staff members. The targets include a second top official, Rusty Carr, who left the city before sexual harassment allegations against him became public, and a city administrator who was fired Wednesday over his behavior. City-County Council is developing plans for an investigation into the Hogsett administration's handling of sexual harassment complaints. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Hogsett official says 'I'm running from things' comment was a joke This article was first published by Inside Climate News, and is reprinted with permission. Sarah Hopkins Inside Climate News Where others might see only catastrophe, Don Hankins scans fire-singed landscapes for signs of renewal. Hankins, a renowned Miwok cultural fire practitioner and scholar, has kept an eye on the Park Fires footprint as it sweeps through more than 429,000 acres across four Northern California counties. It started late last month and became one of the largest fires in state history in a matter of days, fueled by dry grasslands. The fire has since risen into the Sierra Nevada foothills, burning through chaparral shrub to reach the mixed conifer belt of the Lassen National Forest. Timber has become its latest energy source. Yet Hankins says he is seeing some signs of a landscape resilient to fire in areas where he and his team of researchers at California State University, Chico have been able to bring back to the land good fire that reduces the potential for destructive wildfires, maintains ecological diversity and holds cultural and spiritual significance for many Indigenous tribes. It is a practice known as cultural burning. The Park Fire is burning in a landscape that I have very intimate knowledge of, Hankins said. That knowledge is rooted in Indigenous land stewardship, a philosophy that he explains in a new essay published by the National Academy of Sciences, in which he argues for a fundamental shift in how we manage land in a time of climate crisis. He identifies prohibitions on Indigenous cultural fires as some of the most destructive ecological policies in history for both Native cultures and the lands they traditionally stewarded. Indigenous communities often recognize colonization as the beginning of the climate crisis, Hankins wrote. Spanish, Mexican, and American governments enacted policies enabling private ownership of land and forbidding Indigenous peoples from setting firesoften with extreme penalties (i.e., death). A complex web of state and federal laws continues to severely limit cultural burning. In an interview, Hankins described his hope of sharing solutions for ecological advancement using Indigenous knowledge, and lifting policy barriers to cultural burning. An example of Indigenous stewardship which we dont necessarily see at scale is the use of fire, he said. We know from settler accounts and even the accounts of elders within our communities that the knowledge [of cultural burning] has been passed down from generation to generation, and that the practices of stewardship helped to minimize the spread of wildfires and to regain biodiversity within the landscape. He sees the promise of Indigenous stewardship borne out in lands where the Park Fire has left its mark. The fire started in a Chico city park and spread northeast through lands preserved for research by the local university, called the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve. Hankins and other Indigenous practitioners have been applying good fire there since 2009. Over two- to five-year intervals, they have burned off invasive, non-native grasses and accumulated debris with cultural fires. Its all based off of seeing what the land needs, Hankins said. He calls the technique reading the landscape, best captured by the Plains Miwok word, Elelte, which refers to the practice of reading in all its sensorial forms: sight, smell, sound, touch, taste, and the sixth sense of spirit or intuition of life force. Hankins says he sees plants regenerating in soils where the Park Fire passed through weeks ago, and that had been maintained through culturally informed fire practices. He sees milkweed patches beginning a cycle of renewal, for examplea plant that, he points out, holds deep cultural significance to Native peoples for its use in textiles, food and medicine. The reserves oak woodlands also appear to have withstood the ravages of wildfire. Indigenous fire practitioner Don Hankins sees beyond the destruction from wildfires. (Photo courtesy of California State University, Chico via Inside Climate News) Hankins acknowledges that these are fine-grained, emerging success stories, emblematic of one of the dilemmas of cultural burning. He, like other Native practitioners, cannot apply fire to the landscape at a significant scale due to the array of policy barriers to Indigenous fire practices. Were talking maybe a 10-acre patch here, a 30-acre patch there, a hundred acres there, he said. You cant work within the landscape scale to really effect the change that needs to take place. If Indigenous fire practitioners had been allowed to steward the lands that the Park Fire has now claimed, Hankins said, they would have worked to eliminate the dominance of the dry, non-native grasses that fed the wildfire and drove it up into the hills. If we were stewarding the landscape at scale and had more native species dominance, there would probably have been greater resistance to that fire movement, he said. Melinda Adams, a citizen of the Ndee San Carlos Apache tribe and professor at the University of Kansas who worked alongside cultural burn practitioners in California, said that the Park Fire is a stark reminder of the work that our community members are doing. As an Indigenous person, I know those homelands belong to many different tribes who are not only losing structures or homes, but also losing important cultural resources, the landscape they call home and the cultural connection to these places, she said. Don is an important person, scholar, researcher and Indigenous practitioner in the return of fire, and a lot of us look to him for leadership with the cultural connections with revitalizing this practice. We also look to him as an indigenous scholar that is informing Western scientists of the importance of cultural fire. Since Hankins began publishing research on Indigenous fire practices more than two decades ago, Western fire ecologists have begun to recognize the overlooked role of Indigenous cultural burning within ecosystems. Studies have found evidence that cultural burns helped to preserve California forests, for example. In a study examining global warmings impact on prescribed firesfires lit with the goal of eliminating excess vegetation that could worsen wildfire and improving forest health and biodiversityresearchers called for the removal of regulatory barriers to Indigenous cultural burning, to help mitigate the wildfire crisis. In a 2022 strategy report titled Confronting the Wildfire Crisis, the U.S. Forest Service called for a paradigm shift in land management that included a four-fold increase in prescribed burns across the American West. Yet Indigenous cultural burning, despite holding many of the same objectives as prescribed fires, remains prohibited across federal lands. A September 2023 Biden administration report on wildfire mitigation called for reassessing federal regulations that hinder Tribal fire programs nationwide. Hankins released a report in March, in answer to the Biden report, analyzing the federal barriers to cultural burning, with recommendations for revision. Timothy Ingalsbee, a wildland fire ecologist who teaches at the University of Oregon, has found inspiration in Hankins work. He co-founded a nonprofit, Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology, with the goal of fostering resilient ecosystems in fire-prone environments, in partnership with Indigenous fire practitioners. Government agencies are still stuck in an old paradigm of asserting management control over the land base, he said. Fire management, since the inception of the Forest Service, has been all about fire exclusion, fire suppression. Indigenous cultural burns, by contrast, seek to return fire to the landscape to maintain abundant ecosystems and cultural resources. That philosophical divide lives alongside the pain of forced assimilation, Indigenous fire practitioners say. The Honorable Ron Goode, chairman of the North Fork Mono Tribe in Northern California, has written about the restorative effects of cultural burning, and has worked to bring cultural fire back to both tribal and privately owned lands in California. All the tribes have knowledge about what their ancestors did, or even that their elders burned when they were young. But today, theyre still too afraid. I have people in my tribe who will come up to me and say, You better stop what youre doing because youre going to get into trouble. And theyre not just talking about CAL FIRE giving me a ticket, he said, in reference to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Theyre talking about the government coming after us or taking it out on our people because of what Im doing, because this is what happened in the past. Hankins remains vigilant to the landscape. His family was evacuated from their home near Chico at the start of the wildfire, and returned when evacuation orders were lifted a week later. It wouldnt take much for the fire to return, he said. He sees signs of climate fatigue in his teenage children, who hold painful memories of their last evacuation, during the 2018 Camp Fire. He feels it in himself sometimes, too, as he surveys their carefully packed boxes of cherished cultural objects and artwork. At what point do you decide to unpack and put things back? We still have a long fire season ahead of us, he said. But our plan is, as a community, to do what weve been doing all along: to do more active fire, and to scale it hopefully within that green footprint in the next couple seasons. Sarah Hopkins is a Fellow at Inside Climate News. She is a masters candidate in science writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she has written about environmental justice communities and intersections between climate change and the law. Prior to MIT, she worked as a writer, editor and communicator for legal organizations, including the ACLU, where she translated complex legal concepts to non-expert audiences and to the media. At ICN, Sarah plans to continue reporting on climate change as an environmental justice issue because it will not affect us all equally. This story is published in partnership with Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for the ICN newsletter here. Algeria's incumbent President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has gained a clear win in the North African country's presidential election and secured a second five-year term in office, preliminary results showed on Sunday. The election was held in the energy-rich country on Saturday pitting Tebboune against Islamist Hassani Sharif Abdel Aali and Youssef Aouchiche from the Socialist Forces Front. Tebboune, who took office in late 2019, gained 94.6% of the votes while Abdel Aali and Aouchiche garnered a bit more than 3% and 2% respectively, the electoral commission head Mohammed Charfi said at a press conference. Around 48.03% of eligible voters cast their ballots, the panel said. At least 24 million were eligible to vote. Turnout was seen as a main challenge in Saturday's election. Voting was extended by one hour to encourage more people to show up. In the 2019 election that Tebboune won, nearly 40% of the eligible voters cast their ballots. Now, the provisional results will be sent to Algeria's Constitutional Court, which is responsible for examining them and hearing potential appeals before releasing the final official result. The process may take up to three weeks. Tebboune, 78, was the clear favourite in the vote as he is supported by parties holding the majority of seats in Algerian parliament. He was elected president in December 2019, eight months after long-time ruler Abdelaziz Bouteflika was forced to resign under pressure following street protests and from the powerful army. Algeria, a former French colony, is a key energy supplier to Europe. The weapons have been identified as Fath-360 missiles Iran has confirmed that it is sending ballistic missiles to Russian forces fighting in Ukraine in exchange for soybeans and wheat. Despite official Iranian denials, an MP admitted to the deal less than 48 hours after US officials warned of the missile shipments and deepening Russia-Iran military ties. We circumvent sanctions through our partnership with Russia. We import soybeans, corn, and other goods from Russia, said Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, an Iranian MP and a member of the countrys Security and Foreign Policy Committee. Iran is under heavy Western sanctions that limit its access to hard currencies, forcing it to barter goods for food and fuel. Analysts have said that the Kremlins invasion of Ukraine in 2022 accelerated a new anti-West axis with Russia and Iran at its core, a concept that Mr Ardestani appeared to confirm. We give missiles to Hezbollah, Hamas, and Hashd al-Shaabi, so why not to Russia? he told Iranian media. Europeans sell arms to Ukraine. Nato has entered Ukraine, so why shouldnt we support our ally by sending missiles and drones to Russia? Fath 360 missiles, like the ones going to Russia, mounted on a truck in 2022 US intelligence officials have also confirmed that Iran has sent 200 ballistic missiles to Russia. These have since been identified as Fath-360 missiles, fired from manoeuvrable trucks and comparable to US-built Himars. Iran has been supplying drones to Russia for two years, but Bill Burns, the CIA director, said on Saturday at an event in London that Iranian missile supplies to Russia would mark a dramatic escalation in Iran-Russia military relations. It is a two-way street, he said. Russia is able to do a number of things to help Irans ballistic missiles, to make them more dangerous to use against our friends and partners across the Middle East. Speaking at the same event as Mr Burns, Sir Richard Moore, the head of MI6, said Iran had chosen to become an active participant in Russias war in Ukraine. Bill Burns and Sir Richard Moore spoke of their concerns at an event in London - Belinda Jiao/Belinda Jiao If stuff comes on the battlefield, it will become very obvious, very quickly, he said. It explodes, it kills Ukrainian civilians, it destroys their infrastructure. When the US sent Ukraine Himars in 2022, they were credited with helping to turn the momentum of the war, striking Russian command centres and logistics hubs behind the frontline and forcing the Russian army to retreat. On paper at least, the largely untested Fath-360, which was only unveiled in 2022, looks to be an even more potent weapon. It has a top speed of Mach 4, compared to a top speed of missiles fired by Himars of Mach 2.5. Fath-360 missiles also carry a payload of 330 pounds, roughly double the Himars missiles. Although they are not considered quite as accurate, analysts said that Fath-360 missiles are less prone to having their guidance system interfered with, a process known as spoofing. Missiles displayed during a rally in Tehran in 2022 - Pacific Press/LightRocket Farzin Nadimi, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that the delivery of Fath-360 missiles to Russia showed Tehrans increasingly important role as an arms supplier to the Kremlin. Delivery of shorter-range missiles like Fath-360 will open the way for eventual delivery of longer-range missiles, he said. Analysts said that the Fath-360 missiles would be particularly devastating across the long Donbas front line, where the Kremlin has continued to concentrate its attacks despite a Ukrainian incursion into Russias southern Kursk region. On Sunday, Russias defence ministry reported that its forces had captured another village just three miles from the outskirts of Pokrovsk, a town that had a pre-war population of 60,000 and sits on important road and rail junctions. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Iranian operatives recently claimed they given Hezbollah militants an EMP weapon. A powerful EMP, as Iran claims, could damage Israel's communications and power grid. "It is reasonable to assume that Iran has looked at these types of weapons," a retired general said. Amid the tit-for-tat shelling and threat-trading across the Israel-Lebanon border, one recently leveled menace stands out that Hezbollah has a weapon capable of knocking out Israel's electrical grid. Reports have circulated among Arab media that Iran has given the Lebanese militant group it arms and trains a category of weapons that could damage much more than military bases, a type of weapon known as an electromagnetic pulse weapon or EMP. It could be real, or a bluff to get nuclear-armed Israel to think twice. Sources in the Quds Force a part of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps allegedly told Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida that "the Lebanese party now possesses bombs and missiles carrying explosive 'electromagnetic' warheads." The source said that "the bombs delivered to the party [Hezbollah] could be launched from fixed launchers, and some of them could be carried by drones to reach any point deep inside Israel." These weapons "could destroy all communications systems, including the electrical infrastructure, and thus halt all electronic systems that Israel relies on to coordinate its radars, aircraft, and forces in general." Nor would Israel's allies be immune should Israel attack Lebanon. The Americans, British and "and everyone who might try to cover up Israel's inability" would be targeted. The story was quickly picked up by Israeli media. Assessing the credibility of the Iranian EMP threat is difficult. If oil is Iran's top export, then its number two export is bluster to the world about supposedly cutting-edge military capabilities, including a "stealth fighter" unveiled in both 2013 and 2017 that was likely neither stealthy nor flyable. One reason for the posturing is to conceal the fact that Iran's conventional military equipment, such as jets, tanks and anti-aircraft missiles, are decrepit Cold War-era systems that would be hopelessly overmatched by US, Israeli and European weapons. However, Iran has spent years investing in the development of nuclear weapons (whether research has stopped as Iran claims, or continues as Israel and some Americans claim, is a matter of contentious debate). It has demonstrated genuine capabilities in developing a variety of ballistic missiles and drones, with Tehran exporting its Shahed-136 attack drone to Russia. All of which suggests that Iran has the means to hit Israel and Europe, but it doesn't tell us whether the EMP warheads themselves exist. Or, what kind of EMP weapons they would be. When electromagnetic pulse weapons are mentioned in the news, or in apocalyptic movies and novels, they tend to be of the nuclear kind, generated either as a byproduct of nuclear weapons aimed at targets such as cities, or deliberately detonating nuclear weapons in space to generate EMP effects. Either way, the result would be the total disruption of the modern lifestyle as the spreading pulse fries circuits in the electrical grid, damages communications and other satellites, and disrupts global cell phone and GPS service. However, there are also non-nuclear EMP weapons (NNEMP), devices that can be carried in a suitcase or a missile's warhead, and that use explosives or high-power microwave emitters to generate a destructive pulse is similar that of a nuclear weapon, "except less energetic and of much shorter radius," explained the US government's EMP Task Force on National and Homeland Security in a 2021 report. "NNEMP weapons can be built relatively inexpensively using commercially available parts and design information available on the internet. EMP simulators that can be carried and operated by one man, and used as an NNEMP weapon, are available commercially." Nuclear EMP pulses can travel hundreds of miles depending on their altitude of detonation, while NNEMP devices only have ranges of about 5 miles. In this 2016 photo, Hezbollah fighters parade with a mock rocket on top of a car. AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari Iran does have a nuclear program, and probably could build a nuclear EMP weapon if it wanted to. The 2015 nuclear deal Iran's nuclear weapons program in return for lifted sanctions. But the Trump administration withdrew from the agreement amid fears that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement failed to address other issues, such as Iranian ballistic missiles and support for terrorism, and that Iran could have still covertly develop nuclear weapons. Since then, Iran has periodically enriched its uranium stockpile, a necessary step in building nuclear weapons. However, an Iranian nuclear device whether intended solely for EMP effects or not could trigger a host of consequences, especially by inducing Israel to make good on its threat to launch a strike against Iranian nuclear facilities (and with American forces joining in, Jerusalem hopes). But a non-nuclear EMP weapon might enable Iran to sidestep any red lines. "I think it is reasonable to assume that Iran has looked at these types of weapons, either through their own proliferation efforts or through their growing linkages and relationships with Russia, China and North Korea," retired Gen. Joseph Votel, former head of US Central Command, told Business Insider. "I do believe they would look at EMP as a weapon that could be employed in 'gray zone' activities below the level of open conflict," said Votel, now a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, a Washington-based think tank. "Especially if it could be employed with more targeted results, like knocking out electronics in a specific geographic area." But this raises another question: would Iran give EMP weapons to Hezbollah, its most important proxy? "Of all members of the so-called Axis of Resistance, Hezbollah would be a likely candidate to receive these types of weapons," Votel said. "But I have not seen any evidence that this is the case. Like most special capabilities, there is a level of training and sophistication that must accompany its deployment." Given the small size of Israel about the size of New Jersey it wouldn't take that many EMP devices to cause serious harm. At the least, a few non-nuclear EMP bombs over Northern Israel would hamper Israeli military and civil communications and facilitate a surprise Hezbollah attack. A large-scale attack, by contrast, could trigger enough outages to dent Israel's half-trillion-dollar annual economy. But this would also run the risk that Israel would treat it as an attack by weapons of mass destruction, similar to a nuclear or chemical weapons strike. Israel is believed to have almost 100 nuclear weapons, and Hezbollah EMP weapons could be viewed as a WMD strike by Iran, which already launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel in an April 2024 attack. It's also possible that Israel would reply in kind with its own EMP strikes that blackout southern Lebanon or even Beirut. The common denominator of Iranian security policy is to use proxies like Hezbollah to expand Iran's influence and undermine its enemies, but without triggering an attack on the Iranian homeland. Giving EMP weapons to Hezbollah would risk the possibility that Israel and other nations would hold Iran responsible. Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds an MA in political science from Rutgers Univ. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn. Read the original article on Business Insider Iranian MP confirms sending ballistic missiles to Russia, though other official deny it Two Iranian Kheibar Shekan Ballistic missiles are seen in downtown Tehran. Stock photo: Getty Images Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, a member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, has admitted that Iranian ballistic missiles have been sent to Russia, which it needs to fire at Ukraine. Source: He said this in an interview with the Iranian newspaper Didban Iran, European Pravda reports, citing Iran International Commenting on Western media reports of ballistic missiles being sent to Russia, Ardestani said that Tehran is forced to barter with Russia "for our needs, including importing soybeans and wheat". Quote: "Part of the barter involves sending missiles, and another part involves sending military drones to Russia," he added. Asked whether sending ballistic missiles to Russia could lead to further sanctions against Iran, the Iranian lawmaker replied: "It can't get any worse than it already is. We give missiles to Hezbollah, Hamas, and Hashd al-Shaab [Shiite militia in Iraq - ed.], so why not to Russia?" "We sell weapons and receive dollars. We circumvent sanctions through our partnership with Russia. We import soybeans, corn, and other goods from Russia. Europeans sell arms to Ukraine. NATO has entered Ukraine, so why shouldnt we support our ally by sending missiles and drones to Russia?" Ardestani said. Despite this statement, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani once again denied reports of ballistic missiles being sent to Russia in a commentary to IRNA on Sunday. He also reiterated that Tehran has allegedly "never been a part of the conflict", opposes the war and "supports a political solution to resolve differences between Russia and Ukraine to bring an end to the conflict". Background: On 5 and 6 September, Western media reported that Iran had already transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia. Some sources spoke of more than 200 missiles. Reuters, the first to report on the upcoming supply of ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia, wrote that it could be the Fath-360, a system that launches ballistic missiles with a 150-kilogramme warhead with a maximum effective range of 120 kilometres. The White House National Security Council said that if Iran transferred or would transfer ballistic missiles to Russia, it would be a "dramatic escalation". Support UP or become our patron! This is a locator map for Syria with its capital, Damascus. (AP Photo) DAMASCUS (AP) A series of Israeli strikes hit multiple areas in central Syria late Sunday, killing at least four people, wounding 13 and sparking fires, state media reported. Syria state news agency SANA reported that Syrian air defenses confronted an aggression that targeted several points in the central region," damaging a highway in Hama province and sparking fires that firefighting teams were battling to control early Monday. At least four dead and 13 wounded people arrived at the Masyaf National Hospital in western Hamas province, SANA said, citing hospital head Faysal Haydar. It was not immediately clear if they were civilians or militants. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, reported that one of the strikes targeted a scientific research center in Maysaf and other sites where Iranian militias and experts are stationed to develop weapons in Syria. Local media also reported strikes around the coastal city of Tartous. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations. The strikes often target Syrian forces or Iranian-backed groups. Israel has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in Syria, particularly since Syria is a key route for Iran to send weapons to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Hezbollah has been clashing with Israeli forces for the past 11 months against the backdrop of Israels war against Hamas an ally of Hezbollah in Gaza. The News Israel shut down its border with Jordan, after at least three Israelis were killed in a shooting at a crossing point in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The Israeli Defense Forces said the gunman approached the Allenby Bridge Crossing from the Jordanian side in a truck and opened fire; he was subsequently shot and killed by Israeli border security personnel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack, linking it to Israels broader conflict with Iranian-backed militant groups, and particularly the war in Gaza. The shooting is the latest violent incident in the West Bank in recent weeks: More than 600 Palestinians have been killed in the territory by Israeli settlers and the IDF since the Oct. 7 attack, The New York Times reported, while the killing of a 26-year-old Turkish-American woman who was taking part in protests against Israeli settlers has sparked international condemnation. Know More The bridge, which is a popular crossing for Jordanians and Palestinians, has been the site of other security incidents over the years, including in 2014 when the Israeli military shot and killed a Jordanian judge whom the IDF said had attacked them. Israel and Jordan established diplomatic relationships in 1994, but the kingdom has criticized Israels treatment of Palestinians. Jordan has a large Palestinian population, and has seen mass protests against the war in Gaza. By Nidal al-Mughrabi CAIRO (Reuters) -An Israeli airstrike on a house in Jabalia on Sunday killed Mohammad Morsi, deputy director of the Gaza Civil Emergency Service in the northern areas of the Gaza Strip, and four of his family, health officials said. The Civil Emergency Service said in a statement that Morsi's death raised to 83 the number of its members killed by Israeli fire since Oct. 7. There was no immediate Israeli comment on Morsi's death. Residents said Israeli forces had also blown up several houses in the Zeitoun suburb of Gaza City 5 km from Jabalia. Medical teams said they were unable to answer desperate calls by some of the residents who had reported being trapped inside their houses, some wounded. "We hear constant bombing in Zeitoun, we know they are blowing up houses there, we don't sleep because of the sounds of explosions, the roaring of tanks sound close and the drones don't stop circling," said one resident of Gaza City, who lives around 1 km away. "The occupation is wiping out Zeitoun, we are afraid about the people trapped in there," he told Reuters via a chat app, refusing to be named. Later on Sunday, the Gaza health ministry said Israeli military strikes across the enclave killed at least 15 people. Residents of central and southern Gaza areas reported interruption in internet and communication services, which the Palestinian Telecommunication Company said was because of "the ongoing (Israeli) aggression." Palestinians say internet and communication outages, the first in months, impact the ability of medical staffers to dispatch ambulances to bombed areas and make it difficult for people to check on their relatives or report attacks. Israel and Hamas continued to blame one another for the failure of mediators, including Qatar, Egypt and the U.S., to broker a ceasefire. The U.S. is preparing to present a new proposal, but the prospects of a breakthrough appear dim as gaps between the sides' positions remain large. Meanwhile on Sunday the United Nations, in collaboration with local health authorities, extended by a day a campaign to vaccinate children in the southern Gaza Strip against polio before it moves on Monday to the north. The campaign aims to vaccinate 640,000 children in Gaza after its first polio case in around 25 years. Limited pauses in the fighting have allowed the campaign to proceed. U.N. officials said they were making progress, having reached more than half of the children needing the drops in the first two stages in the southern and central Gaza Strip. A second round of vaccination will be required four weeks after the first. The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on Oct. 7 when the Hamas group attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent assault on Gaza has killed more than 40,900 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, while also displacing nearly the entire population of 2.3 million, causing a hunger crisis and leading to genocide allegations at the World Court, which Israel denies. The Palestinian health ministry does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants in its casualty reports, but health officials say that most of the fatalities have been civilians. Israel, which has lost 340 soldiers in Gaza, says at least a third of the Palestinian dead are fighters. (Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by Jan Harvey, Alexandra Hudson) JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) Jackson is unique among capital cities, and its volcano is a big reason why. According to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), the volcano sits roughly 2,900 feet below the states capital city. Ground zero is roughly around the Mississippi Coliseum, blocks away from the state capitol, governors mansion and state supreme court. No other capital city or major population center is known to be situated above an extinct volcano. Though residents do not have to realistically worry about lava spewing out on High Street, its impact on residents is still felt today. About the Jackson Volcano The volcano was last thought to be active 75 million years ago. This eruption led to the formation of the Jackson Dome, which encompasses the volcano and surrounding formations across the metro. These formations led to the increased height of certain parts of Jackson, including LeFleurs Bluff and Belhaven. This heightened landscape was instrumental in Jacksons selection as Mississippis current capital city. Thermal energy and gas released from the Jackson Dome were once cultivated for natural gas and sulfur extractions. Many of these gases also helped to create aquifers and other gaseous deposits in the surrounding Jackson Metro area. From Copiah and Madison County to Warren and Rankin County, the Jackson Dome stretches across the metro. The history of Mississippis capitol buildings Volcanoes in Mississippi The Jackson volcano is one of two volcanoes in the state; the other is located in southern Humphreys County. An oil company in 1939 tried to find oil in Midnight, Mississippi, but instead found volcanic rock. The Midnight volcano is situated under the Mississippi Delta. The dense igneous rock below Jackson and Midnight increases the force of gravity slightly. In other words, a person above either volcano would weigh slightly more than they would anywhere in the state. Will the Jackson Volcano ever erupt again? MDEQ experts assert that no affirmative evidence proves that an eruption will -or will not- happen again. However, it would be possible to know if an impending eruption is set to happen. Telltale signs of an incoming eruption include harmonic tremors, rising ground elevations, elevated groundwater temperatures and trees killed by elevated carbon dioxide levels. However, MDEQ experts assert that a volcanic eruption occurring in a Jacksonians lifetime is very unlikely. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News 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 WJTV. The Jacksonville Beach Police Department is searching for a man who is a suspect in a grand theft incident. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< The theft happened on Sept. 5 in the 500 block of 3rd Street South. According to police, the man walked into the Smoke Place Smoke Shop and stole a jar containing 0.5 pounds of CBD Flower. Its valued at $1250. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Police describe him as a Black male, older, tall, skinny and was last seen wearing a Beetlejuice t-shirt and gray Nike shorts. If you have any information, call Detective Conner at 904-422-0687. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. The News Japans first casino is moving ahead in the western city of Osaka, with construction to be finished by 2030, Nikkei reported. The controversial venture is part of the countrys bid to attract more foreign visitors, as revenue from tourism has declined in recent years. Located on a reclaimed island that is expected to hold the World Expo in 2025, the 5.3 million square foot space, a joint venture with a US company, will also boast a hotel, a museum, a shopping mall, and a ferry terminal. Officials expect the resort to attract around 20 million visitors every year and bring in 1 trillion yen (more than $700 million) in annual economic benefits, yet public opinion remains split over whether the casino will drive up crime and exacerbate addiction issues in the country. A 2023 poll showed that almost 40% of surveyed Osaka residents were against the casino. Gambling remains largely illegal in Japan and across East Asia, save for a few exceptions, like Macau. When Joe Biden repeatedly stammered, slurred, babbled and stared off into space during the first 2024 presidential debate, America's 46th president made history in a way he never intended. Because of his abysmal performance, June 27, 2024 will be remembered as the date when a failed debate set in motion a chain of events culminating in a sitting president withdrawing his reelection campaign. The task of understanding why Biden fell apart in that debate will fall to future biographers, presumably those with direct access to Biden and the other principals. Comprehending its long-term ramifications for American politics, by contrast, is a much simpler matter: It demonstrated that presidential debates can single-handedly and massively alter the course of human history. To best understand why debates remain so potent in 2024, one need only look to the first presidential debates ever televised an appropriate parallel, given that Biden's collapse would not have had its massive impact if not for the medium of television. Sixty-four years before America's second Catholic president destroyed his presidential campaign with a bad debate showing, the first Catholic president made history by appearing to be more physically and intellectually vibrant during an opening debate against his sallow and sickly opponent. The 1960 presidential debates series was held between two men who would both eventually be elected president: John F. Kennedy (JFK), that election's ultimate winner and at the time a Massachusetts senator beloved by liberals but maligned by conservatives; and Richard M. Nixon, the incumbent vice president who had a long-established reputation as a smart and vicious debater fiercely loyal to the Republican Party. Indeed, Nixon had famously triumphed in debates at crucial points during his career: Effectively smearing his opponent as a supposed Communist sympathizer during his first congressional campaign in 1946, then holding his own against the world's most powerful Communist, Soviet Premiere Nikita Khrushchev, during a so-called "kitchen debate" in 1959. Unfortunately for Nixon, immediately prior to the first debate (held on Sept. 26, 1960) he suffered from a series of health issues a knee injury, an infection, a fever and the viewing public was subsequently taken aback by his gaunt and clammy appearance. Kennedy drew a favorable contrast against Nixon with his characteristic handsomeness and eloquence. According to former Trump adviser Roger Stone, whose political career started with work for Nixon's 1972 reelection campaign, "Nixon learned that how you looked and acted in the debate was as important as what you said." The aesthetics were not Nixon's only shortcoming on debate night. "It wasnt just about the visuals," Fredrik Logevall, a JFK biographer and the Laurence D. Belfer Professor of International Affairs at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, told Salon. "More important for [Kennedy], he showed a general command of the issues, came across as poised and articulate, and demonstrated to Americans that he was a plausible alternative to the older, more experienced, more well-known Nixon. He introduced himself to a great many voters who knew little about him prior to that night, and he acquitted himself well. Harris has the same opportunity here. And as in 1960, the candidate who will profit most will be the one who presents bettervisually and substantively." He added, "One other thing: Kennedy spoke to the camera and through it to the nation; Nixon spoke more to the room." Nixon himself later admitted that he looked more at Kennedy than the nation because he was behaving as a traditional debater, who advocates for their argument and capitalizes on their opponent's weaknesses through direct confrontation. Indeed, according to Chapman University political historian Luke Nichter (who among other things helped edit versions of Nixon's White House tapes), the debates between Kennedy and Nixon would hardly be defined as proper "debates" when compared to the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858 or the discussions that regularly occur today in the United States Senate or the Oxford Union. Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter Lab Notes. "What we have today is more like a competitive press conference," Nichter said. "Even in 1960, Nixon came ready to debate whereas JFK knew the real audience was the one watching at home. He looked directly into the camera and spoke to them, whereas Nixon was often caught looking at Kennedy which made him appear deferential. Debates of that era focused more on issues, whereas today they seem more about differences over personality and style which is what I expect Harris and Trump will focus on, too." Nixon was astute enough to realize he needed to make these kinds of changes after his sub-par debate performance in 1960. He described the consequences of that first debate for his campaign in his memoir "Six Crises." The tension before the first round had been very great, but now it was greater. I knew that Kennedy had made a better impression first time out. While the immediate press reaction had been to call it a draw, or to give a very slight edge to Kennedy, as the days had gone by it was more and more referred to as a "decisive" Kennedy victory. I was thus increasingly in the position of having to make a decided comeback, or of being placed at an almost hopeless disadvantage for the balance of the campaign. Perhaps benefiting from his newfound underdog status, Nixon was widely perceived as successful in his three remaining debates against Kennedy, although the "loser" stigma left over from his initial bad debate followed him politically (and psychologically) for years thereafter. Logevall told Salon "theres not any doubt that Kennedy profited more from [the debates] than Nixon did," adding that "the debates served Kennedys needs more. Nixon should have refused them. And small wonder that he said no to debating in 1968 and 1972" (during his last two presidential campaigns; there were also no debates during the 1964 election, although Nixon was not a candidate that year). Yet whereas only Nixon had to engage in damage control in the second 1960 presidential debate, both participants in the second 2024 presidential debate former president Donald Trump and Biden's replacement, Vice President Kamala Harris are in a position where they must make a "decided comeback" or else be "placed at an almost hopeless disadvantage for the balance of the campaign." Once again, examining the circumstances of 1960 illuminates the situation in 2024. "I think an important similarity between the 1960 race between Kennedy and Nixon and today's standoff is the razor-thin margin of the contest," Cold War historian Zachary Jacobson, who authored "On Nixon's Madness," told Salon. In the 1960 election, Kennedy and Nixon ultimately came within less than 0.2 percent of each other in the national popular vote (Kennedy had a slight edge). More importantly, slight shifts of a few thousand voters in a handful of swing states would have led to Nixon winning the Electoral College (and thus the presidency) instead of Kennedy. Nixon's campaign manager Len Hall admitted as much to the candidate afterward when he said, "A shift of only fourteen thousand votes, and we would have been the heroes, and they would have been the bums." Virtually all of the reliable pollsters expect the 2024 election to be similarly close and that makes the debates more potentially consequential. Any random moment in a debate can unexpectedly be the one that sticks in voters' minds not only through Election Day, but decades later when regarding an election's overall legacy. "Because so few voters differentiated between who lost and who won, who will lose and who will win, a single debate performance can take on outsized importance," Jacobson explained. "I would further point you in the direction of the centrality of personality politics in both elections in which the overlapping stances that the candidates were taking made their images all the more important. The image of the dapper Kennedy and Nixon the persnickety grump weighed all the more because both were staunch cold warriors and both tacked to relatively moderate proposals on the economy and civil rights." If there is any comfort for hapless or gaffe-prone candidates, it is that early voting has somewhat blunted the impact of truly terrible debate performances that occur later in election season. "Before the month of September ends, many Americans will have already voted," Nichter said. "Until we develop the opportunity to vote early and change our mind later, which is something probably coming in the near future once we figure out how to do so securely, most of the fall campaign will occur after people have made their selection. Early voting has also led to the demise of the October Surprise, a feature of many past elections designed to suddenly change voters minds on the eve of Election Day." The most salient legacy of the 1960 debates not just in 2024, but likely for any year is that they showed American voters do want to be directly engaged in discussing their nation's political future, even if their methods of drawing conclusions may be less intellectual than visceral. "They showed the deep interest in the country for events of this kind," Logevall said. "As network executives understood, technology made it possible to reach tens of millions of Americans at once, and in a format that contained immense inherent drama. A precedent was set, even if it took until 1976 for candidates to again go toe to toe." Logevall also holds out hope that someday the debates will be more like the legendary face-to-face exhibitions that occurred in 1858 between Republican and future president Abraham Lincoln and his Democratic opponent, Senator Stephen Douglas. Even though each candidate did his fair share of partisan grandstanding, those contests involved actual exchanges of ideas directly between the two principals. That debate format, which still prevails in many other contexts, is still not used in American presidential debates. The heavily-moderated approach first used in 1960 remains the status quo. "Its interesting that the networks wanted the candidates to question each other directly, and that the campaigns refused; they insisted that the questions come from a panel of journalists," Logevall said. "Thus was established the format that persists to this day: a joint press appearance more than an actual debate." More articles on psychology and politics: John Fabbricatore, formerly of ICE, on gang concerns John Fabbricatore, formerly of ICE, on gang concerns DENVER (KDVR) On this weeks Colorado Point of View, John Fabbricatore, retired Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office director for the Denver region, addresses the gang presence in Aurora as city and regional leaders stress that theyre taking action. Meanwhile, presidential campaigning continues. Watch the full episode in the video player above. Colorado Point of View airs weekends on Colorados Very Own Channel 2. 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 FOX31 Denver. John Fetterman, one of Joe Bidens loudest defenders during calls from within his own party to step down, still believes that the incumbent president could have beaten Donald Trump a second time. The freshman senator from Pennsylvania elected in 2022, was one of the many Democrats who refused to call for Biden to step aside in the wake of a whispery, wandering performance at a June debate with Trump in Atlanta. But Fetterman, who suffered a stroke and battled his own issues with speech impairments in the final days of his winning 2022 campaign, took things a step further as he suggested that Bidens critics in the Democratic Party were helping Trump win a charge that seemed at odds with polling that showed Biden behind the former president long before the outpouring of Democratic whinging began. In a mid-July interview that ended up taking place just days before Biden dropped out of the 2024 race, Fetterman told Fox News Sunday: That whole abandon Biden thing thats the dumbest shit Ive ever heard...I mean, if you are more inclined to vote for a Democrat or be a Democrat, if youre willing to walk away from Joe Biden youre by defecting helping Trump. On Sunday, he had hardly changed his tune and told CNNs State of the Union that he believed Biden would have defeated Trump a second time, despite what all available polling and the trajectory of the race after the June debate indicated. Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, one of Joe Bidens loudest supporters, endorsed Kamala Harris onstage at the Democratic convention in August (Getty Images) Dana Bash, the shows host, asked Fetterman about those comments specifically and whether theyd been born out by the reality of where the race is now at the beginning of September. No, Fetterman seemed to concede, before adding: But what I said was, I do believe, fundamentally, that Joe Biden would have beaten Trump. And it was going to be very close, and I have always predicted that as well too. And now Harris. And shes had an amazing run so far...its going to be very close. Even his latest answer seemed to acknowledge the reality that Harris remains largely neck-and-neck with Donald Trump in the key battleground states either candidate will need to win in November despite, as Fetterman said, her amazing run of campaigning successes since she took over the Democratic ticket in July. Harriss team pulled in more than $500m in her first month in the race, while achieving a comeback in the polls that has put her in striking distance not only in states like Georgia and Arizona, which sealed Bidens victory in 2020, but states such as North Carolina and Florida which went for the Republican ticket in the last cycle. Her recovery to mathematic contention in such a wide range of states while she has not pulled ahead with a substantial lead seems to suggest that at least a fair portion of Harriss gains can be attributed to regaining lost ground with voters who were leaning Democratic already but were turned off by concerns about Bidens age and mental faculties. Her surging poll numbers in Florida and North Carolina, however, suggest that she may also be winning over voters who opposed Joe Biden or didnt vote at all in 2020. Fetterman, once a darling of the progressive left thanks to a populist attitude and outspoken support for transgender rights, marijuana legalization and support for health care as a human right, has undergone a rapid political evolution since taking office. His outspoken support of Israels military onslaught against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which has led to more than 40,000 Palestinian deaths, is reviled by his once-allies and has led to his mockery on social media by progressives. His evolution was made concrete in an interview with NBC News earlier this year the Bernie Sanders-endorsing, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez-backed lawmaker declared, Im not a progressive to a journalist. Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign stop in New Hampshire as she presses her newfound polling advantage (AP) The shift has reportedly alienated once-close staff and led to an exodus of his communications team. Just last month, he saw a very public rejection of his views on foreign policy by his own currently-employed communications director. "I don't agree with him," Carrie Adams, Fetterman's communications director, told The Free Press of her bosss views in August. I have a sense that his international views are a lot less nuanced than my generation, because when he was growing up, it was might makes right, and for my generation and younger who, of course, are the ones protesting this, they have a much more nuanced view of the region." JonBenet Ramsey's Dad Says Male DNA on Garrote Still Hasn't Been Tested: 'I Don't Know Why' The hit podcast 'True Crime News' is heading to TV on Monday, Sept. 9, with host Ana Garcia kicking off the season with an exclusive interview with John Ramsey ABL Studio/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock JonBenet Ramsey John Ramsey says he doesn't understand why police have never tested DNA from an unidentified male on the garrote used to strangle his daughter, JonBenet Ramsey, who was found murdered in the basement of their Colorado home in 1996. I don't know why they didn't test it in the beginning, Ramsey tells host Ana Garcia on the new seriesTrue Crime News, which is making its television debut on Monday, Sept. 9. To my knowledge it still hasnt been tested, he says. If they're testing it and just not telling me, thats great, but I have no reason to believe that. In True Crime News's new syndicated TV series on Fox-owned stations, Garcia, host of True Crime News: The Podcast, goes in-depth on some of the countrys most infamous true crime stories as well as lesser known, local cases. FOX 32 Chicago Ana Garcia on True Crime News In its debut episode, the Emmy Award-winning journalist talks to Ramsey about his daughter, JonBenet, who was 6 years old when she was found sexually assaulted, beaten and strangled with a garrote the day after Christmas in 1996. The high-profile murder of the tiny beauty pageant queen remains unsolved. Related: Read PEOPLE's Original 1997 Story on the JonBenet Ramsey Murder The case remains riveting, with theories still swirling about who killed her. During their interview, Ramsey tells Garcia that he and his family simply want answers about what happened to his daughter. Were not asking you to clear us or apologize or be nice to us again, he says. Just do the things that you should do that can be done. If you do that and we don't get an answer, we tried. We did everything we could do. Related: JonBenet Ramsey's Murder to Be Investigated by Cold Case Team in New Probe Into Unsolved Killing Ramsey tells Garcia, Weve had unidentified male DNA from January 1997, and this one prosecutor told me Ive never, ever seen a police department try to explain away unidentified male DNA in a sexual assault case. Garcia notes that there are at least seven items that are considered critical evidence that have never been tested. To our knowledge, thats correct, says Ramsey. These items were sent originally in January 1997 to the lab for testing. were returned untested. Were not asking you to clear us or apologize or be nice to us again, Ramsey says. Just do the things that you should do that can be done. If you do that and we don't get an answer, we tried." Each 30-minute episode of True Crime News "offers a compelling and comprehensive look into the world of true crime, according to its release. The new series will air 52 weeks a year and will cover breaking news stories as well. From urgent calls to action for runaway criminals and missing persons to heart-stopping caught on cam moments, the show delivers a daily dose of riveting narratives that keep viewers on the edge of their seats," the release states. The Boulder Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. You can find out when and where to watch True Crime News here. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. KSNF/KODE A Joplin teen accused of hitting and killing a Galena man last year is now charged as an adult in the crime. Rocco Bazzano, 18, was charged in February with leaving the scene of a fatality crash. On Friday, the Cherokee County prosecutor filed the same charge against Bazzano, only as an adult, making it a felony. Last night we told you the prosecutor also filed two felony charges against Bazzanos father, Dr. John Joseph, II, 54. PREVIOUS: Charges filed in deadly 2023 Galena hit-and-run The criminal complaints filed against both men allege both were driving the vehicle that hit and killed Gary LaTurner, 60. Photo of Gary LaTurner. PREVIOUS: Family of Galena man killed in hit-and-run speaks out LaTurner died after being struck by a pickup truck as he was walking along Route 66 just outside of Galena. The original Kansas Highway Patrol report lists Bazzano as the driver of the truck that hit LaTurner. Bazzano is listed as a witness on the criminal complaint filed against his father. Both men are scheduled to be arraigned in Cherokee County Court on October 7. 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 KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. I just went into action: CCL holder shoots intruder trying to climb through daughters window in South Shore CHICAGO A woman said she jumped into action Saturday night to protect her children as a man allegedly tried to break into their home in the citys South Shore neighborhood. According to the Chicago Police Department, officers responded to a report of a person shot around 10:45 p.m. in the 2300 block of East 69th Street. They found a man, initially believed to be the victim of a shooting, with a gunshot wound to his leg. Investigators quickly learned the man had allegedly tried to break into a nearby home and was shot by a woman who is a Concealed Carry License (CCL) holder. Im just super shaken up. Im a single mom. I live here with my children, so thats the last thing I expect, for someone to try and come in on my daughter, the woman, who did not want to be identified, told WGN News. Its just like a nightmare that came true. The woman told WGN News she had come home from celebrating her birthday with her family. Not long after, everything took a turn for the worst as her daughter was in the bathroom. At least 7 shot, 2 killed, in about 5 hours overnight around Chicago, according to police While she was showering, a guy like put his hand through the window and she ran out, Mom, somebodys coming through my room, coming through my window, said the woman. I just went into action and when I actually saw the guy, he was still hanging on her window and he just looked at me and I said, Ive got a gun, Im going to shoot. I just fired a shot. I didnt even know he was hit til the police came. The man, who has not yet been identified publicly by Chicago police, was taken to the University of Chicago Hospital in fair condition. I owned that firearm for multiple years and that was the first time I actually ever used the first and only time I ever used it, said the woman. I didnt want anything to happen to them at all I would rather it happen to me before something happens to them. The woman said she did not know the suspect and the entire incident has left her shaken up. Some neighbors in the area also expressed their concern after learning of what happened. This is something Ive never seen before in my life, said Gideon Charles, whos lived in the neighborhood for about 12 years. This is a shock to me because this is a very quiet neighborhood. You hear about it all the time, but its somewhere else, but when its right in front of you its pretty concerning, said Ron Miller, who has called the neighborhood home for close to 10 years. Its Chicago and were not under siege or anything like that, but it all concerns me. I certainly prefer for us to have a harmonious community. Justice will be served: 2 accused of stealing bronze veteran markers from headstones across La Porte County Miller told WGN News he was watching a friend walk to her car Saturday night when everything happened nearby. I heard the shot, so I checked with her to see if she was okay and she said, Yeah, I saw this guy. He was limping, Miller said. Until the morning, he had no idea anyone had been hit by gunfire, or that it was likely the reason behind the man his friend saw limping. A trail of blood shows the path the suspect took after he was shot, which spans nearly two blocks. We just kind of followed it to see where it might have led, said another resident, Hayley. While she is surprised, Hayley said she isnt too worried for her safety, and shes glad the woman and her family are physically okay. Its gotta feel empowering that shes able to protect herself and her home, so I hope she has some solace in that, said Hayley. It just goes to show you shouldnt be breaking into peoples homes. Neighbors praised the alleged actions of the mom who took steps to protect her children. Good for them, said Miller. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines I, as a card holder myself, have to be very careful as to whats taking place in this neighborhood, said Charles. I can assure you that if I was in the same predicament, I would have done the exact same thing. The victim of the alleged attempted burglary said she is grateful for the actions of the CPD officers who responded, and while the man she said is responsible was found, the entire incident has left her feeling uneasy. She is looking for a new place to call home with her children. The officers were really good last night and helped us through it, said the woman. It was just unnerving and Im jittery still, so. Im just thankful we werent harmed last night, and they got the guy. Chicago police have not announced any arrests in the case. Area One Detectives are investigating. 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 WGN-TV. Justice will be served: 2 accused of stealing bronze veteran markers from headstones across La Porte County Justice will be served: 2 accused of stealing bronze veteran markers from headstones across La Porte County LA PORTE COUNTY, Ind. Felony charges have been filed against two people accused of stealing veterans grave markers from headstones at six different cemeteries around northwest Indiana. La Porte County deputies announced Saturday that 53-year-old Terry Wood and 25-year-old Breanna Puentez have each been charged with one felony count of theft and 15 felony counts of cemetery mischief. The charges were handed down following an extensive investigation into the alleged theft of bronze veteran markers from headstones across La Porte County, which started in August after deputies received a report about the thefts. Read more: Latest news and headlines from northwest Indiana Detective Jake Koch, a military veteran, was later assigned as the lead investigator, according to the La Porte County Sheriffs Office. Following the report, deputies notified the public about the thefts and encouraged citizens to visit the gravesites of deceased veterans. Only a day after announcing the investigation, on Aug. 29, investigators received information that helped them identify a suspect in the case. Throughout the investigation, detectives learned that 15 markers had been reported stolen from veterans headstones at Union Mills, Rolling Prairie, Carmel, Pinola, Greenwood and St. Stans cemeteries in La Porte County. One additional marker had reportedly been damaged during an attempted theft. 53-year-old Terry Wood (left) and 25-year-old Breanna Puentez (right) have each been charged with one felony count of theft and 15 felony counts of cemetery mischief in connection with the theft of bronze veteran markers from headstones across La Porte County. 25-year-old Breanna Puentez has been charged with one felony count of theft and 15 felony counts of cemetery mischief in connection with the theft of bronze veteran markers from headstones across La Porte County. 53-year-old Terry Wood has been charged with one felony count of theft and 15 felony counts of cemetery mischief in connection with the theft of bronze veteran markers from headstones across La Porte County. After the investigations findings were presented to the La Porte County Prosecuting Attorneys Office and La Porte County Circuit Court, probable cause was found for Woods arrest. Woods was then taken into custody at his home in the 400 block of Andrew Avenue in La Porte and deputies said additional evidence was recovered from the property. LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland Puentez was taken into custody later in the day and charged in connection with the thefts. This type of criminal behavior is disgusting, unacceptable, and will not be tolerated in La Porte County! It is the hope of the entire Sheriffs Office that because of the diligent and thorough investigation by Detectives Koch and Banic, justice will be served to both accused subjects, La Porte County Sheriffs Office Captain Derek Allen said. Hopefully, US Veterans, both deceased and living, can find peace and comfort with these arrests, and with that, we salute them for their service. Wood is currently being held on a $15,005 cash-only bond while Puentez is not eligible as she was already out on bond. 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 WGN-TV. Juvenile flown to hospital after shooting in Lowell A juvenile was flown to the hospital Saturday afternoon after a shooting in Lowell, police say. Lowell police officers responded to Common Avenue shortly after 4:00 p.m. and found a juvenile male suffering from a gunshot wound. He was transported by air ambulance to a Boston hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. An initial investigation indicates the shooting was an isolated incident, police say. .Detectives assigned to the Lowell Police Department Criminal Investigations Bureau are investigating. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Kamala Harris to campaign in 2 North Carolina cities this week after presidential debate RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) Vice President Kamala Harris will make campaign stops in North Carolina on Thursday, two days after the first presidential debate between her and former president Donald Trump. This stop is the first of many for Harris and her running mate Tim Walz as part of their tour through battleground states in the days following Tuesdays debate, according to a news release by campaign officials on Sunday. Harris shares plan for the economy in Raleigh speech Harris plans to appear in Charlotte sometime between noon and 6 p.m. and then in Greensboro between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m., according to events publicizing the campaign. After her trip to North Carolina on Thursday, Harris will then travel to Pennsylvania one day later. Meanwhile, Walz is set to make stops in Michigan and Wisconsin on Thursday and Friday. 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 CBS17.com. Speaking to Ezra Klein shortly before Kamala Harris selected him as her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz made the case that the best way to win over Trump supporters isnt with derision or mockery but grace. Those folks at those rallies, you insult them at great peril, Walz said. Your neighbor is flying the [MAGA] flag, you insult them at great peril. Because theyre my relatives. They truly are, and I know them. It was a response that captured the qualities that made Harris pick Walz: his decency, his humanity, and his connection, via his upbringing in the Midwest and his decades spent teaching in Nebraska and Minnesota, to rural communities. So when Walz was asked by a reporter after a recent rally about a group of his relatives who had recently endorsed Trump, he should have had a perfect answer at the ready. Instead, he said nothing. This is the Harris-Walz media strategy in a nutshell: Avoid the press at all costs, even when asked questions that should be layups. The Democratic ticket, or perhaps those who advise them, seem to believe that nothing good can come from talking to the mediathat answering questions only invites negative coverage of pseudo-scandals (like Walz relatives endorsing Trump) instead of the real issues at stake in November. If this sounds familiar, its because President Biden employed the same media strategy in his reelection campaign. That didnt work out so well for himand it may not for Harris, either. Real issues are indeed at stake in this electioneconomic inequality, housing affordability, the climate crisis, Israels war on Gaza, and the migrant crisis, to name a fewbut where Harris stands on them is one of the big mysteries of this campaign; her policy agenda is, at best, a rough sketch of a first draft of an actual agenda. And this mystery only grows because she refuses to speak with the press, having only done one nationally televised interviewa joint sitdown with Walzsince becoming the nominee. Media scrutiny is good in and of itself. Interviews with serious journalists, as the Columbia Journalism Reviews Jon Allsop argued last month, remain the best forum we have for stress-testing candidates positions and holding them to account. That argument might not sway Harriss team, but its also strategically unwise to avoid the media: The longer she goes without speaking one-on-one to the press, the more coverage she gets about her failure to speak to the press. In mid-August, Semafors Benjy Sarlin noted that her failure to do a sitdown was becoming a thing, and that hasnt changed: On Friday, Axios observed that Vice President Harris isnt getting subjected to the media scrutiny typical for a presidential nominee. Her efforts to circumvent the media are reinforcing the exact narrative that Donald Trump and his allies are pushingthat shes not prepared to be president. It is undoubtedly true that the national media is less important than it has been in any presidential election in decades, if not 100 years or more. But that doesnt mean its completely unimportant. Cable news and large newspapers like The New York Times and The Washington Post still have sway and influence. The media environment may be fracturedwhich has led both candidates to embrace online influencers more than actual journalistsbut millions of people who vote pay attention to the very outlets that Harris is avoiding. Indeed, the interviews Harris has done are targeted and bypass large, national outlets: On Friday, she did two radio interviews, one with comedian Rickey Smiley and another with Angel Baby, who hosts a popular Spanish-language show on a Univision subsidiary in Phoenix. The biggest problem with Harriss media strategy isnt that shes avoiding scrutiny, however. Though well founded, much of the hand-wringing from journalists is self-important and solipsistic. (While Harris should do far more interviews, the idea that she should reserve one day a week for sitdowns with the media, which NBCs Chuck Todd floated in late August, is absurd.) Instead, the biggest problem with Harriss media strategy is that its no different from the one employed by Biden during his disastrous reelection campaign. Biden was being shielded from the press in part because he had grown more gaffe-prone and was showing clear signs of aging. But it was also because the people running his campaign were convinced that outlets like the Times were out to get Biden; they believed that any scrutiny of his campaign, presidency, or general well-being was a sign that the media was not only biased but perhaps even rooting for Trump to buoy their bottom line. This was always a ridiculous idea. Yes, The New York Times has its flaws. But read its staff editorialsit is certainly not in the tank for Trump. Instead, the Biden campaign was guided by a premise that is hostile to the very practice of journalism: that the threat Trump poses to the country means that any scrutiny of Biden was unwarranted and unfair. Biden wasnt being hidden from the press because he was old but because his advisers were engaged in a self-destructive feud with the media. That feud has continued now that Harris is the nominee. This is troubling in and of itself. But its also troubling because it suggests that the people running the Biden campaign still have influence in the Harris campaign. They shouldnt. They ran the most inept reelection campaign in recent memory, one that was racing toward a Trump landslide. None of these people have any business being anywhere near an election thats this consequential. Instead, theyre using the same silly ideasthe Times is out to get Harris!to guide their decisions, embracing sycophants, TikTokers, and YouTubers while hiding their intelligent candidate from intelligent reporters at major outlets that are followed by millions of intelligent voters. So who, exactly, is insulting whom here? Harris is more than capable of talking to the press and taking clear stances on issues (even if shes developing a habit of changing her mind, even on issues that almost no one is talking about). She should talk to the press more. She should do it to show that she can run the country, which she can. She should do it to show that she understands policy, which she does. She should do it because it will generate media attention that will almost certainly benefit her campaign. But she should also do it to show that she isnt just running the same campaign that was losing handily to Trump six weeks ago. Because right now, thats exactly what shes doing. How Kamala Harris is preparing to meet the moment was the talk of MSNBC live event in Brooklyn There was one name that dominated nearly every conversation and every panel at the MSNBC Live: Democracy 2024 event in Brooklyn on Saturday: Kamala Harris. The vice presidents unexpected entrance into the presidential race and the renewed sense of unity it has inspired among Democrats came up like a refrain, and it was the topic that instantly sparked the most enthusiasm in the 2,000-person auditorium. On Saturday afternoon, MSNBC anchors, experts and 4,000 dedicated viewers took over the Brooklyn Academy of Music for a first-of-its-kind live experience that featured in-depth panels, conversation and analysis about the incredibly high stakes of the upcoming election. And Harris historic candidacy was the primary subject of those conversations over the course of two sessions. One of the things thats happened in the last five, six weeks is America has figured out how much Harris was underestimated, Claire McCaskill told the crowd to roaring applause. [Harris] really stepped into this moment in a way a lot of people failed to anticipate, Joy Reid said during a discussion later with fellow anchor Alex Wagner. Joy Reid and Alex Wagner. But it wasnt just the element of surprise that has helped Harris re-ignite the Democratic Party. Harris candidacy represents an affirmation that the path Obama opened for the country might actually be its destiny, Wagner argued. Its not just a Democrat might save the country from Donald Trump. Its a Democrat who could meaningfully move the ball forward and finally shatter that last glass ceiling. The audiences enthusiasm for Harris was heightened by a collective anticipation for the biggest test of the vice presidents abbreviated campaign to date: her first faceoff with former President Donald Trump at Tuesdays presidential debate. Is Kamala Harris freaking out? Jen Psaki asked McCaskill and longtime debate moderator Andrea Mitchell in an onstage editorial meeting about how Harris ought to prepare. Shes focused, McCaskill suggested, and then I think shes also [most likely] giving a little thought to how she can bug him. But the question of how much the debate might affect the course of the race was more in dispute. We just had the most consequential debate in American history. A debate the first five minutes of which not only ended [Joe Bidens candidacy] but changed, just a month before the convention, the terms of the general election," Rachel Maddow said before she asked Lawrence ODonnell. Is this next debate likely to also be very consequential?" Its unbelievably difficult to reach these undecided voters with these kinds of activities," ODonnell said. I dont think it has the ability to shift much." The upcoming debate is only one of many unknown factors at play at this stage of the race. Despite poll numbers that Steve Kornacki agreed should make Democrats happy, the overall picture is one of exceedingly close, narrow margins, he explained. Steve Kornacki explains recent polling. Another unknown factor remains the future of the Republican Party after the election. Asked by an audience member whether Harris victory could finally dismantle the MAGA movement, McCaskill drew on her own experience. I won an election by 15 points in 2012 and lost by 6 in 2018 to a guy who was hugging Trump, recalled the former Democratic senator from Missouri. What happened? Well, the mainlining of grievance and Im not sure if that goes away. Theres a number of House and Senate members that think theyre going to be the next Donald Trump, McCaskill continued, pointing to Sens. Josh Hawley and JD Vance as examples. It remains to be seen whether this cult of personality is transferable. Jen Psaki, Andrea Mitchell and Claire McCaskill. Kornacki also shared his view of the harmful costs of Trumps enduring presence in national politics. Do you see us as terminally polarized, terminally red and blue? Katy Tur asked Kornacki. He admitted its a question hes been asked a lot. Pessimistically, I think theres a very tribal impulse in all of us, he said. But I have one optimistic note, that is maybe maybe all of us, collectively, just get sick of it. Wrapping up the day, Maddow and ODonnell took a moment to acknowledge the challenges and opportunities of covering such a historic election at MSNBC. I value the editorial freedom that weve got, Maddow said. That is a blessing and something worth protecting and fighting for. Its the art of what we do and not the science and I love it. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com The poll found that 28 per cent of likely voters said they needed to know more about Kamala Harris, while only 9 per cent said the same for Donald Trump Click here to view this content. Kamala Harris has suffered a fall in the polls for the first time since becoming her partys presidential candidate. A New York Times survey shows Donald Trump edging out Ms Harris 48 per cent to 47 per cent among likely voters nationally. The drop in popularity comes ahead of a critical televised debate with Donald Trump, which is scheduled for Tuesday night. It is the first major poll to show a drop in support, which the New York Times speculates may represent the end of a honeymoon period and a euphoric August for the vice president. The poll reduces Ms Harriss lead in the overall average of polls to 2.5 per cent, and just 0.3 per cent in the key swing state of Pennsylvania. Analysts warned that the new poll was an outlier so far. However, it will likely trigger fears inside the Harris campaign that it could also be a sign of things to come. The honeymoon is officially over, Trump spokesperson Jason Miller triumphantly told Politico after the poll was published. The poll also found that 28 per cent of likely voters said they needed to know more about Ms Harris, while only 9 per cent said the same for Trump - a telling result as Ms Harris is accused of being light on policy. The poll comes as both candidates are preparing for Tuesdays debate. Ms Harris is reportedly hunkered down in a Pittsburgh hotel undergoing intensive preparation on a mock-up stage with an advisor inhabiting Trump in a characteristic blue suit and long tie. Trumps preparations are more improvised, with no stand-in but aides refreshing him on his policy record and posing questions. On Sunday, Pete Buttigieg, US transport secretary, said the main task for Ms Harris is to make sure Americans understand the difference in visions and are reminded that they already agree with her on the issues that matter most to them. He added: Thats going to be challenging. It will take almost super-human focus and discipline to deal with Donald Trump. Its no ordinary proposition. On the other side, Republican senator Tom Cotton told CNN most Americans look at the race as between a president who served in office and brought good times to America and Kamala Harris, a San Francisco liberal, who has brought to America exactly what you see in San Francisco. Cotton dismissed the defection of support to Democrats by George Bushs vice president Dick Cheney as the foment of election politics. What mattered, he added, were the candidates records. Senior US Republicans are urging Trump to stick to a disciplined policy script on Tuesday and warned that he could damage himself if he gets into personal attacks. Ms Harris meets supporters on a campaign stop in Pennsylvania where the poll reduced her lead in the overall average of polls to just 0.3 per cent - MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images Senator Lindsey Graham wrote in a New York Times op-ed last week that every day that the candidates trade insults is a good day for Harris]because its one less day that she has to defend the failures of the Biden-Harris administration. I think I pray he can be disciplined, Republican strategist Tricia McLaughlin told Politico. If Trump feels like hes backed into a corner and feels like its three-on-one, that could be a problem. After extensive wrangling over debate rules, Trump has accused host channel ABC News of being dishonest and the nastiest. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said he assumed Ms Harris would come in very, very aggressive, and she will try to bait him, getting very angry, and shell be personal and try to demean him. He added: I think, I hope, what hell do is be a guy whos been a real president while she has been kind of a semi-vice president and a guy who knows all the world leaders, and a guy who has been through an enormous amount, and just be calm and steady and stick to the real differences. Trump, however, recently disagreed with that approach, saying he is entitled to personal attacks on Ms Harris and joked at a rally that he should fire his advisers who had told him to steer clear of personal insults against his opponent. Trump is now a veteran of six presidential debates, while Harris has only debated once in a vice-presidential debate against Mike Pence in 2020. In a debate during the race to be Democratic candidate in 2019, Harris eviscerated Joe Biden over his support for racial school bussing during a debate on June 27. She was in turn eviscerated by Trump debate team advisor and former Democrat congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard over her record as a California attorney general at a subsequent debate in Aug 2019 Former Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway said the onus would be on Ms Harris in the 90-minute debate. Theres no unplowed ground when it comes to Donald Trump. Its all been said and done. Senior US Republicans are urging Trump to stick to a disciplined policy script for the debate - Alex Brandon Ms Conway warned that if Ms Harris repeated the same shopworn soundbites she would come across as a cable news pundit, not a commander in chief She added: America is still getting to know her, and while thats helped her in the short term, its a risk for her in the long run. The New York Times poll shows that what some Democrat advisors warned would be a sugar high of support for Ms Harris, could be wearing off. The poll also suggests a wide gender gap, with women breaking for Harris by 11 points (53 per cent to 42 per cent), while men favour Trump by 17 points (56 per cent to 39 per cent). Ms Harris also holds an advantage among black and Latino voters and younger voters break for her by 8 points. James Johnson, co-founder of polling firm JL partners, said Ms Harris position had been adversely affected by Robert F. Kennedy Jr deciding to withdraw from the race last month. Mr Johnson said: The honeymoon is over for Harris. Harris peaked a week before the DNC. There was a sense of relief when she took over from Biden and she managed to energise people who werent impressed by him, but since RFK dropped out of the race, shoring up voters for Trump and his position, [Ms Harris flagging in the polls] is a trend thats been happening. There is a desire to see more detail from her. Not seeing her do interviews is a concern for some voters. Mr Johnson said Tuesdays debate between the two candidates will be a pivotal moment in the race. The debates really matter, he said. It all hangs on Tuesday. Click here to view this content. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. The prime minister has told the BBC his new government is "going to have to be unpopular" as he defended his "tough" decision to cut winter fuel payments. Speaking on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg in his first major interview in Downing Street, Sir Keir Starmer said he was determined to deliver change but this meant having to "do the difficult things now". Challenged on his plan to remove winter fuel payments from most pensioners while also awarding above inflation pay rises to some public sector workers, he said he was "fixing the foundations" and those in need would still get assistance. He said: "When we talk about tough decisions, Im talking about... the things the last government ran away from." In the wide-ranging interview in No 10's Cabinet Room, Sir Keir also: expressed concern about the rise of the far right after the recent riots, but denied the UK was a racist country said he was frustrated by the pace of building safety works in the week of the final Grenfell report, promising work would be accelerated but not giving a specific date for completion rejected a suggestion his decision to end some arms sales to Israel had made the UK unpopular with the US said his removal of a portrait of former Tory PM Margaret Thatcher from his study wasn't personal - he just doesn't like people "staring down" at him argued reform was "the only way out of" problems faced by the NHS. On his plan for winter fuel payments, Sir Keir would not be drawn on whether Labour MPs who voted against it this week would be suspended from the parliamentary party, saying it was "a matter for the chief whip". But, he added, "every Labour MP was elected on the same mandate as I was, which was to deliver the change that we need for the country". The payments of between 200 and 300 a year were paid to more than 10 million pensioners, but were axed for all but the poorest by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in July. Among the public sector pay settlements reached in recent weeks were a 22% pay rise over two years for junior doctors and 4.5% for train drivers in 2024/25. No 10 faces a potential rebellion in Parliament on Tuesday when there will be a Commons vote on the decision to scrap the payments. Labour MP Rachael Maskell has said she will abstain to signal her "complete dissent". She told BBC Breakfast that the "economic case" for the cut had been "shredded" adding that the amount saved would be a very small percentage of the Treasury's spending. Sir Keir said the cut was necessary because of the state of the countrys finances, accusing previous governments of avoiding confronting issues like the cost of winter fuel payments. "Im convinced that because theyve run away from difficult decisions, we haven't got the change we need for the country," he said. He said he was "absolutely convinced we will only deliver that change, Im absolutely determined we will, if we do the difficult things now. I know theyre unpopular, I know theyre difficult, of course theyre tough choices." "Popular decisions arent tough, they are easy," he added. Asked about the cut in winter fuel payments, Health Secretary Wes Streeting told Sky News: "I'm not remotely happy about it. "And I'm not remotely happy about having to say to some of my constituents, I'm sorry that I'm going into work this week to vote for something that will take money away from you." However, he added he hoped the public would "take some reassurance that this isn't a government that ducks difficult decisions or pretends you can spend money you don't have". Sir Keirs personal ratings have fallen since he took office, with the decision to axe winter fuel payments, repeated warnings about the state of the economy, and pressure on government spending ahead of the Budget at the end of October. More from the programme As the annual TUC Congress opened in Brighton, TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said he had real concerns about the planned cut in winter fuel payments. He said the government had inherited a toxic economic legacy from the Conservatives, but he still hoped to "see proper support for pensioners in the Budget, "particularly those that are not entitled to pension tax credit but are not well off by any stretch of imagination". "I dont want any pensioner going into winter frightened to turn on the heating," he added. Mr Nowak also said he wanted the prime minister's comment last week that "those with the broadest shoulders" should "do the heaviest lifting" to be "played out in the Budget Elsewhere in his interview, Sir Keir reflected on the recent riots, which broke out in parts of the country following the deaths of three children during an attack in Southport in July. "I don't think we're a racist country, I think we're a country of decent people," he said, adding the people who came out afterwards to clear up and rebuild were "the real face of Britain". Sir Keir also spoke about the NHS in England, saying it had been been "broken" by successive Conservative-led governments - and the state it is now in is "unforgiveable". He said a review of the health service by Lord Darzi, to be published on Thursday finds changes to the NHS were "hopelessly misconceived" and too many children "are being let down". "Its the last government that broke the NHS," Sir Keir said. "Our job now through Lord Darzi is to properly understand how that came about and bring about the reforms." In response to Sir Keir's comments, shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins said after 14 years in opposition, "Labour's instinct is to politicise children's health, rather than provide solutions and reform our NHS". With additional reporting by Jemma Crew [BBC] Sign up for the Off Air with Laura K newsletter to get Laura Kuenssberg's expert insight and insider stories every week, emailed directly to you. (NewsNation) The manhunt for a suspect who allegedly shot five people on a Kentucky interstate Saturday is entering a third day. Authorities believe Joseph Couch, 32, is hiding in a remote, wooded area of southern Kentucky. Police have warned the public to lock their doors, and schools across eight districts have canceled classes on Monday. At least seven people were hurt, and Interstate 75 was closed for about three hours in Laurel County, Kentucky, just north of the town of London, after Couch allegedly started shooting at passing cars Saturday around 6:30 p.m. ET. Law enforcement has yet to release names of the victims, but they are all expected to survive. Trial for ex-officers charged in Tyre Nichols death to begin Manhunt for Joseph Couch The London Police Department posted a picture of Couch, initially naming him a person of interest and later as a suspect in the shooting after authorities said they recovered his SUV on a service road near the crime scene. They later found a semiautomatic weapon nearby that they believe was used in the shooting, said Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, a spokesperson for the local sheriffs office. ***DO NOT ATTEMPT TO APPROACH*** is how the agency warned people about the man they deliberately avoided calling a suspect. The mayor of London, Randall Weddle, in a Facebook video, said that the hunt will be challenging. That is some rugged terrain, a lot of tree lines, he said. But Im confident they will apprehend them. Pictured is Joseph A. Couch, a person of interest in the Sept. 7 shootings near I-75 in Kentucky. Authorities called off their search overnight and plan to restart Monday morning, saying the wooded area of southern Kentucky was dangerous and unforgiving. He also warned people in London, a town of about 8,000, to be vigilant. If youre home, keep your doors locked. Im not asking anybody to panic. Theres no immediate danger here in the city. If youre out and about, just be vigilant. Pastor arrested with guns, drugs in hotel room: Sources Kentucky I-75 shooting Laurel County sheriffs deputies and Kentucky state troopers shut down I-75 on Saturday around 6:40 pm ET after reports of someone shooting at cars from either an overpass or the rugged, forested hills next to the road. I am receiving initial reports from the Kentucky State Police and our Office of Homeland Security together we are actively monitoring the situation and offering support in any way possible, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a post on the social platform X. Please pray for everyone involved. We will provide more details once they are available. Please avoid the area, he added. Police said Couch legally purchased the AR-15 he allegedly used Saturday along with 1,000 rounds of ammo from a gun store just hours before the shooting occurred. Couch served in the National Guard for four years as part of an engineer battalion, police said. A motive has yet to be determined for the shooting. Remains of missing Oregon nurse found, neighbor arrested: Police No deceased at this time: London mayor Weddle said there were seven people injured, but not all from gunshots. According to the Laurel County Sheriffs Office, five of the seven were shot. Three were hospitalized in nearby London and two others were airlifted to University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington. There is no deceased at this time. No one was killed from this, thankfully, Weddle said in a live post on Facebook. All of our first responders are safe, he added. The suspect, or suspects, have not been apprehended at this time, but they are searching for them. Mother of GA shooting suspect warned school: Aunt I-75 closure An 18-mile stretch of I-75, a major interstate that runs from the northern tip of Michigan just south of Miami, was closed for about three hours as police searched for a suspect. It reopened at around 9:25 pm ET. Graphic shows closure on Kentucky I-75 following a shooting on Saturday, Sept. 7. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 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 NewsNation. Suspect in I-75 shooting eludes capture for a second night in rural Kentucky as officials warn the community to stay vigilant Editors Note: Follow CNNs latest coverage of the Kentucky highway shooting and search for the suspect. The man suspected of injuring five people when he opened fire on Interstate 75 over the weekend has eluded capture for a second night, prompting many area schools to close Monday as law enforcement are warning the rural Kentucky community to take safety precautions. The Laurel County Sheriffs Office has identified Joseph A. Couch, 32, as the suspect thought to have fired into 12 cars on the north- and southbound lanes of the interstate on Saturday. Authorities said Sunday night they believe Couch is still in the remote, densely wooded area near where his AR-15, ammunition, car and possibly his phone were found. You need to lock your doors. If you have security cameras, make sure youre constantly watching them, maybe keep your porch lights on, Kentucky State Police spokesperson Scottie Pennington advised the community at a Sunday night news conference. Have your cell phone and make sure your phones are charged up because you never know when you might have to contact somebody or law enforcement. Just hours before the shooting, Couch legally purchased a firearm and about 1,000 rounds of ammunition, sheriffs office officials said. The shooting occurred around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, about nine miles north of the city of London, Kentucky. It appeared to be a random act of violence, Laurel County Sheriffs Office Deputy Gilbert Acciardo said, according to The Associated Press. There were no fatalities, Acciardo said Sunday afternoon, but some of the injuries were very severe: One victim was shot in the face and another across the chest. Some of the victims were critically hurt but are in stable condition, said Acciardo. The Kentucky State Police has taken command of the manhunt, Laurel County Sheriffs Office Capt. Richard Dalrymple said Sunday night. The FBIs Louisville office is also seeking information on Couchs whereabouts. The search was paused Sunday night and will resume Monday morning after 8 a.m., Laurel County Sheriff John Root said. Safety concerns have prompted more than a dozen school districts and local private schools to cancel classes Monday, including districts in Laurel, Jackson and Clay Counties. Authorities describe Couch, of Woodbine, Kentucky, as a White man, roughly 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighing about 154 pounds. On Sunday afternoon, authorities found an AR-15 in a wooded area by the interstate that they believe was used in the shooting Saturday, Acciardo said. Law enforcement hasnt yet determined a motive for the attack, Acciardo added. He was not in a vehicle. No, definitely not road rage, Acciardo told reporters at an earlier news conference. While authorities dont believe the gunman targeted specific people, the attack seemed to be a planned event, Acciardo said Sunday evening. Couch has a minimal criminal history, but nothing of any significance or like the Saturday shooting. We want to get this guy because hes shot at cars, hes shown that hes capable, and that means hes capable again, Acciardo said of the suspect. Manhunt continues through dense woods As authorities continue combing the heavily wooded, hilly area, Acciardo said the suspect couldnt have picked an area that is any more remote and difficult for us to try to locate him. Between 40 and 50 officers from federal, state and local agencies are participating in the search, according to Acciardo. Law enforcement on Saturday discovered a vehicle registered to the suspect on a forest service road off Exit 49, with an empty gun case inside. The vehicle was very near the interstate, but not close enough that the person of interest could have fired from that location, Acciardo said. Authorities suspect he walked closer to the interstate, which is where they recovered the weapon and believe he may still be in possession of other weapons. They also recovered a phone, but the battery was removed. The fact Couch left his rifle behind may indicate he has other weapons, Acciardo said Sunday evening. At this point, we do not believe he has outside assistance, Acciardo said. He later noted its extremely possible the suspect is using telecommunications in some way. He said the length of time the suspect is able to survive in the remote woods depends on his level of preparation which is still unclear to authorities. He added it was possible Couch is no longer alive. Law enforcement has advised residents to remain vigilant, call 911 if they see Couch and not approach him. The search coordinated by the sheriffs office resumed Sunday morning with the help of multiple law enforcement agencies and a drone with infrared heat-sensing technology, police said. Its very tedious and stressful, Acciardo said of the search. Were just going to keep on plugging, because thats what we do. We have to look behind every tree, because what if hes there? he said. Officers are expanding the search parameters as they search, Acciardo said. Authorities plan to shut down the search overnight, but will keep the area contained before resuming in the morning, Acciardo said Sunday evening. We really have to suspend it at dark because of the danger element of our guys being in there and maybe walking right up on this individual, he said. Officers will stay in in strategic positions to observe overnight. Its very possible Couch has left the area, but not probable, said Acciardo, citing information he said was unavailable to the public. The chance of Couch being able to get from the woods to a residence is very remote, he added. The gun violence injected chaos into the Saturday commute just days after a mass shooting left four people dead and nine others hospitalized at a high school in Winder, Georgia and less than a week after a half-dozen people driving on an interstate in the Seattle area were injured by a spree shooter. President Joe Biden was briefed on the Kentucky shooting, the White House said Sunday. The Laurel County Public School system announced it would cancel classes on Monday, citing an abundance of caution. Speaking at the Sunday evening news conference, London Mayor Randall Weddle said he hoped people understand that this travesty, this act of violence, doesnt define us as a community. Im a walking miracle, says shooting victim What started as a family day out ended with a trip to the emergency room for one of the shootings victims, 28-year-old Rebecca Puryear. Puryear, her husband and 4-year-old son had spent the day together in Lexington and were on the way back to their home in Harlan, Kentucky, when they heard gunshots as they approached Exit 49 on I-75. It sounded like a tire had blown, so I asked my husband, and he said it was gunshots, Puryear told CNN on Sunday. The next thing I know, my ears are ringing. I look over and my (passenger-side) window is busted and theres a bullet hole. Puryear continued driving for another mile and a half before pulling over in a safer area. She made sure her husband and son were safe before realizing she had been shot. I looked down and was just pouring blood, Puryear said. I had to try to keep it together because if I freaked out, they wouldve freaked out. They called 911, Puryear said, and Laurel County Sheriffs Deputy Bobby Roberts responded as another ambulance was headed to assist other victims behind her at the scene. I started fainting and going in and out, and he told me to get in his cruiser so he could take me to the hospital. Puryear said a bullet entered through the passenger-side window and struck her right arm, penetrating her chest before exiting through her left arm. She was released from a hospital later Saturday night but will need surgery. Were blessed that Im still alive. Im a walking miracle, Puryear told CNN. It still does not feel real to me, even though Im sitting here with gaping wounds. Driver recounts harrowing ordeal Authorities block traffic on Interstate 75 in Kentucky on Saturday. - Matt Downing One woman who was driving on Interstate 75 with a friend described witnessing the shooting unfold. We were just driving along, and all of a sudden, it was like a rock went through my back window, and it hurt my ear, Christina DiNoto said. It wasnt until roughly an hour and a half later DiNoto and her friend learned about the shooting and noticed what appeared to be paint scrapes on the back of her car. My hands are still shaking, said DiNoto, who added she feels incredibly lucky. This is a developing story and will be updated. CNNs Sarah Dewberry, Sara Smart, Emma Tucker, Jillian Sykes, and Nikki Carvajal contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Residents in southeastern Kentucky were urged to remain vigilant Sunday after a highway gunman injured five people while reportedly camped out and shooting at passing cars. Investigators are still searching for suspect, Joseph A. Couch, 32, who they believe is still armed and dangerous in the remote Kentucky woodlands near the site of the attack. Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, the public information officer for the Laurel County Sheriffs Office, said investigators still have not determined a motive for the terrifying attack. Its so wooded, theres one business, theres not residences, Acciardov said. He couldnt have picked an area that is any more remote and difficult for us to try and locate him. Acciardo said the search through the woodlands was a difficult and tedious task, but remained hopeful that they would locate the suspect before nightfall. We want to get him tonight. We want to get him before it gets dark again. But no promises. The spokesperson also shed some new light on the injuries sustained by the victims. The worst included one person shot in the face, and another shot in the arm, Acciardo said. Another woman was shot across the chest, Acciardo added. We didnt have a fatality, but we certainly had some very serious injuries that will affect these people for the rest of their life, Im sure. Police in Laurel County said officers who responded to a 911 call early Saturday evening on Interstate 75 found vehicles with bullet holes parked on the side of the highway and several injured people. Some of them were injured so badly and bleeding so bad that our deputies actually loaded them up and took them to an area hospital, said Acciardo at a Sunday media briefing. Everything was chaotic. The five victims are expected to recover and were listed in stable condition. The Big Money Behind Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron's Bizarre Psychedelic Drug Crusade Initial reports suggested the shooting began as a result of a road rage incident, the sheriffs office said, but officers determined a shooter camped out near a highway exit and shot at passing cars. A strip of the highway was closed by police after the incident on Saturday but later reopened. Couch, 32, was first named as a person of interestand later the official suspectwith police warning he should be considered armed and dangerous. We got some breaks in the in this case to identify a suspect early on and I really think this is going to be the guy, Acciardo added. Police said they recovered a "small silver colored SUV" registered to Couch off a highway exit and that a rifle case was in the vehicle. They also found a an AR-15 in a wooded area next to the highway that could be the weapon that was used in the incident. A U.S. Forest Service road is located near Exit 49, Acciardo said, which extends up to 11 miles into the wilderness. The suspects vehicle was found at an offshoot of that main service road, the spokesperson added. A Facebook post by the sheriffs office said both ground and drone searches were being conducted. Please remain vigilant and call 911 if you see the individual in question, said Randall Weddle, the mayor of nearby London, KY, in an early morning Facebook post on Sunday. Lets keep the victims, their families, and all of our first responders in our thoughts and prayers. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. Kentucky police have recovered an SUV and an AR-15 rifle in the manhunt for a suspected gunman who, according to authorities, opened fire near Interstate 75, injuring several people and causing a car accident. A small silver colored SUV registered to the suspect 32-year-old Joseph A. Couch was recovered off a U.S. Forest Service Road off exit 49 off I-75 Saturday evening, the Laurel County Sheriffs Office said in a Facebook post. A rifle case was also recovered in the vehicle. On Sunday afternoon, sheriffs deputies recovered a rifle near I-75 and in the vicinity of the SUV recovered the evening prior. The discoveries came amid a manhunt launched after the shooting unfolded Saturday around 6 p.m. near exit 49 along I-75. APALACHEE HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING VICTIM MASON SCHERMERHORN SENT LAST TEXT TO MOM FROM RESTROOM, CHAPLAIN SAYS Police initially responded to reports that a suspect was shooting at drivers from an overpass or a wooded area. Authorities later named Couch as a person of interest in the shooting. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Authorities were searching for Couch in a rugged area with dense tree lines, London Mayor Randall Weddle previously said. Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, a spokesperson for the sheriffs office, said five people were shot and were all in stable condition early Sunday, although some of the victims had "very serious" injuries, including one person who was shot in the face. Two other people were hurt in the vehicle accident, he said. The search was suspended Saturday due to darkness, though officials kept the scene "contained" overnight, the sheriffs office said. The search resumed Sunday and continues. The Laurel County Sheriff's Office has recovered the suspect's vehicle. Later Sunday, the sheriff's office released photos of the suspect's vehicle recovered off exit 49 along I-75. Fox News Digital's Stephen Sorace contributed to this report. Original article source: Kentucky police recover SUV, AR-15 in manhunt for I-75 shooter A manhunt resumed in southeastern Kentucky early Sunday as law enforcement searched for the suspected gunman who authorities say opened fire near Interstate 75, injuring seven people in the shooting and a car accident. Law enforcement agencies are combing the area along the highway on foot and with a drone after the shooting unfolded Saturday around 6 p.m. near exit 49, the Laurel County Sheriffs Office said. Authorities have named Joseph A. Couch, 32, a person of interest in the shooting, and warned the public he is considered armed and dangerous. Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, a spokesperson for the sheriffs office, told reporters that authorities "have not determined that this is the individual that fired the weapon." KENTUCKY POLICE IDENTIFY SUBJECT OF MANHUNT AFTER NUMEROUS PEOPLE SHOT ON HIGHWAY The initial search on Saturday was suspended due to darkness, though officials kept the scene "contained" overnight, the sheriff's office said. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP "We do have the area contained right now. Its a very fluid investigation. Our people are still on the scene. Our special response team is there. We are trying to find a shooter there," Acciardo said. Fox News Digital reached out to the sheriff's office for more details about the multi-day search. Investigators believe there was only one shooter, according to Acciardo, and they do not believe that road rage was a factor leading up to the shooting. Law enforcement agencies resumed the search for Couch on Sunday morning. Police initially responded to reports that a suspect was shooting at drivers from an overpass or a wooded area, multiple media accounts have said. London Mayor Randall Weddle previously said that no deaths have been reported. Acciardo said five people were shot and were all in stable condition early Sunday, although some of the victims had "very serious" injuries, including one person who was shot in the face. Two other people were hurt in the vehicle accident, he said. GEORGIA TEEN SCHOOL SHOOTING SUSPECT LIVED IN A SERIES OF RENTAL HOMES AS EMERGING DETAILS SHED LIGHT ON FAMILY Weddle noted in an address to the public on social media that the search area includes "some rugged terrain and a lot of treeline." Authorities were searching for Couch in a rugged area with dense tree lines, London Mayor Randall Weddle previously said. "I'm not asking anybody to panic, there is no immediate danger here in the city, but again we are asking everybody to be safe," the mayor said, adding that residents should be "vigilant" as police search for Couch. Couch is described as a White man about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing around 154 pounds. London, around 80 miles south of Lexington, Kentucky, has a population of about 7,600. Fox News Digitals Brie Stimson and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Original article source: Kentucky police resume manhunt for gunman in I-75 shooting WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) On Saturday night, a classic game show took over The Forum to help raise money for the Wichita Adult Literacy Council. The non-profit hosted four teams to compete in the 2024 Falls Feud: Password Edition for bragging rights as the best in town. A Montague County animal shelter celebrates 10th anniversary Our very own Natalie McCain, Ariel Reed, and Michael Bohling competed against other local celebrities from the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce, North Texas Area United Way, and the reigning champs, Big Brothers Big Sisters. Natalie and Michael got the first round started for us, and then Natalie and Ariel rounded it out to advance to the finals against BBBS. The last round was a lightning round, with Big Brothers Big Sisters scoring five points and our KFDX crew scoring seven, knocking off the defending champs. Congratulations to those who competed, but the real winner tonight is the Wichita Adult Literacy Council! Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News 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 Texomashomepage.com. WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) The Kansas Humane Society hosted the annual Clear the Shelters event on Saturday. The annual event is in its 10th year. At least 29 animals were adopted during the event. Its been a really good day, were really happy with the number (of adoptions) weve gotten, Kansas Humane Societys Director of Communications Jordan Bani-Younes said. The space created at the humane society by the event is immediately filled with animals from the Wichita Animal Service, Bani-Younes said. All of the animals are microchipped, vaccinated spayed/neutered. Bridge over I-135 north of Wichita to close until November If you missed the event on Saturday, it will also run on Sunday at the Kansas Humane Society, 3313 N. Hillside St., Wichita, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. KHS is offering $25 adoption fees for adult dogs (6 months and older) and kittens (11 months and under). Puppies and high-profile dogs are excluded from the reduced fees. Adult cats will remain as pick-your-price. If you cannot attend the weekend event, you can still help animals by donating to the Kansas Humane Society to provide food, shelter and medical care. Click here to donate. Other Clear The Shelters locations in the KSN viewing area: Wellington Humane Society, 203 W. Hillside Road, started its Clear The Shelters specials on Aug. 10 and continues them until Sept. 30. Puppies are $100, dogs are $75, kittens are $30, and cats are $20. McCook, Nebraska, Humane Society, 100 South Street, is running its special through Sept. 10. All available dogs that are not free are $25 plus tax. KSN is proud to be a sponsor of Clear The Shelters. 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 KSN-TV. OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) A metro family is now seeking help and wanting answers after they say a kid in their neighborhood crashed a go kart into their garage door. Scott Vincent and his wife were out of town for a funeral over the Labor Day weekend. While there, they received a notification from their home security cameras. Vincent says the kid in the video crashed his go kart into his left garage door and broke it. We were very shocked, very confused. Well, angry especially because he didnt come forward to take responsibility, says Vincent. The accident is going to cost Vincent nearly $2,000 dollars to get his garage door replaced. Clear the Shelters highlights horse adoptions on Saturday Vincent says Theyre [garage doors] about two years old, brand new, both of them. He says hes given the kids parents time to come forward. Weve seen the young man walking home from school, weve seen him looking at our garage door when he was doing it, says Vincent. Also adding, He did hit another neighbor that we know of. A neighbor across the street just ran into the back of his car. Vincent filed a police report with the Oklahoma City Police Department but says he hasnt had much luck. He says he even took to Facebook to share the video, in hopes someone would take responsibility for the damage. We realize watching the video that the young man, it was an accident. He didnt intentionally drive up our driveway and go through our garage door. We really just want him and his parents to come forward and and acknowledge the responsibility, says Vincent. 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 KFOR.com Oklahoma City. As a kid she fought with her mom for a safe Downriver. Now she's leading develpment there. Jazmine Danci has had an understanding of community organizations and local government since she was 4 years old. While her dad put in long hours at American Axle's headquarters in Detroit, instilling a deep sense of work ethic in his daughter, Danci's stay-at-home mom spent her free time involved in a community group that was hard at work fighting the installation of an injection well that would have been used to dispose of hazardous wastes into the ground in their home city of Romulus. Jazmine Danci, a 2024 Shining Light Award winner of the Dave Bing Young Leader Award at Bishop Park in Wyandotte on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. Danci is a award winner for her work at the Downriver Community Conference, a group that aims boost economic development across Downriver communities. Danci, 36, spent her childhood and teen years boots-on-the-ground with her mom, going to city council meetings, public hearings, EPA hearings and protests even going door-to-door to get neighbors to sign petitions. After years of fighting, well opponents lost the battle but Danci carried the lessons she learned with her into adulthood. Danci's civic involvement led to a lifelong commitment to her community, juggling competing needs and millions of dollars in funds to rebuild and redevelop local municipalities, making her the 2024 Dave Bing Young Leader Award honoree. The award is part of the annual Shining Light Awards, presented by the Detroit Free Press and the Metropolitan Affairs Coalition, to recognize individuals who have a regional impact in metro Detroit. Getting her start in government Thinking she wanted to devote her life to the environmental sustainability effort, Danci got her bachelor's degree in environmental policy at Bowling Green State University in Ohio and her master's degree in natural resources and sustainability from the University of Michigan. After college, she interned for the city of Romulus, where she started working in communications and community outreach for Romulus' Downtown Development Authority. Tim Keyes, the previous director of economic development for Romulus, said it didn't take long to recognize Danci's intelligence and drive. "When she was given a task, not only did she complete the task, but she surprised us on how well she did it," he said. "When she's doing a job, that's what her focus is on: To do it, do it right and actually do it beyond what is hoped for." Over nine years, Danci worked her way up to the position of director of marketing and community outreach for the city of Romulus in 2019. In 2020, when she was pregnant with her daughter, she decided to take an extended maternity leave for what became more than two years. During those two years, she worked part-time for the Greater Romulus Chamber of Commerce. In late 2022, Keyes called Danci, asking whether she was ready to come back to work for the city, with an opportunity to utilize her talents in a new role. BUY TICKETS TO THE CEREMONY: Jazmine Danci will be honored during a luncheon on Oct. 15 at Ford Field Back on the job The Downriver Community Conference, a quasi-governmental agency that works with 20 communities in the Downriver area as far north as Dearborn Heights, as far south as Rockwood and as far west as Romulus in developing their human, social and economic assets, had just received a $1.6 million grant from the University of Michigan Economic Growth Institute to create an economic development office and department that would focus on revitalizing that region's Detroit Riverfront and it was in need of a leader. Keyes recommended Danci for the job. "Her excitement for the job, her intelligence, her leadership skills are second to none," said Jim Perry, Downriver Community Conference's executive director After the closure of two DTE Energy coal-fired power plants in River Rouge and Trenton in 2021 and 2022 respectively, the region lost the tax dollars it had received from DTE, Danci said. Many of the Downriver Community Conference's projects, from fixing up the Jefferson Avenue corridor with greenways, bike lanes, lighting and signage to redeveloping brownfield land across the region, were on Downriver cities' to-do list, but could never be completed due to a lack of funds, Danci said. Other projects were simply too large-scale for a single city to tackle alone, like repairing 12 miles of roadway that crosses through multiple cities, she said. As the group's economic development administrator, Danci works to acquire the millions of dollars needed for new programs, infrastructure and development. "She speaks very comfortably with all of the stakeholders in the community, from residents all the way up to our legislators and our federal representatives," said Carmen Wells Quigg, senior project manager at the Economic Growth Institute who works closely with Danci. "There's nothing that I don't think Jazmine couldn't manage." Danci said she is excited the most about "being able to actually shine a light on Downriver because I'd say Downriver has felt in the shadow of Detroit forever." "Here we are right outside the border and it's like we feel forgotten," she said. "So, to be able to work together and come together as a region and be able to leverage that and bring in more funds and more resources, that's been the (best)." Setting an example Outside of work, she tries trying to give back as president of her local Rotary Club. She and those who know her said she takes every chance she gets to express pride in her city and share the Downriver story and stay true to her environmental roots. A vegan, Danci's favorite day of the year is Earth Day she dresses up like Mother Earth in a green gown and garland to give presentations to libraries and local school programs and she even brings her own Pyrex containers to restaurants for leftovers. But above all, she hopes to inspire her daughter, Joelle. Now that her daughter is approaching 4 years old, the same age she was when her mother got her started in community work, she has been thinking a lot about how her daughter might continue her mission. Joelle will matter-of-factly tell Danci that she has a meeting to go to or that she's on a business call, and she proudly takes the stage at her mother's feet as she reads announcements to the Rotary Club. "My mom was such a strong role model for me. ... You know that quote, 'Be who you needed when you were younger?' I really am trying to embrace that now that I have a daughter," said Danci. "I guess we'll see what she wants to do and I'll love to encourage her in whatever she does, but it'll be cool, too, for her to know that these governments and these people are out there for the community's benefit." Contact Kylie Martin: kmartin@freepress.com. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Downriver development leader Jazmine Danci to get Shining Light award Latvia's Minister of Defence Andris Spruds stands in front of the Freedom Monument with a NATO flag in his hand. Alexander Welscher/dpa Two NATO states have recorded violations of their airspace by suspected Russian drones, causing consternation in eastern Europe. The Latvian Defence Ministry on Sunday said it was investigating an incident that saw a suspected Russian drone crash into the eastern city of Rezekne. "But preliminary data indicate that it is a military UAV of the Russian Federation, and, according to the information available to the National Armed Forces, it flew into our airspace from Belarus," a statement from the National Armed Forces reported. A UAV is an unmanned aerial vehicle, commonly known as a drone. Ukraine has reported a number of Russian drones entering Belarusian airspace in recent months, while Belarus has repeatedly complained of violations of its airspace. "This situation is a confirmation that we need to continue the work we have started to strengthen Latvia's eastern border, including the development of air defence capabilities and electronic warfare capabilities" said Latvian Defence Minister Andris Spruds. Latvia is one of a number of NATO countries to have increased defence spending since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Also on Sunday, the Romanian Defence Ministry said a Russian drone briefly flew over its territory before re-entering Ukrainian airspace. Bucharest sent text messages warning residents of the border towns of Constanta and Tulcea as Romanian F-16 fighter jets took off to observe the drone's flight. The military also initiated a search for possible debris near the border town of Periprava. "NATO condemns the overnight Russian airspace violation into Romanian airspace. While we have no information indicating an intentional attack by Russia against Allies, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous," said NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana, who is himself Romanian. League of Women Voters of Sarasota County to host several forums before Nov. 5 election Correction: Daniel Kuether is the chairman of the Sarasota County Democratic Party. Also the North Port City Commission Candidate forum is Sept. 30 An earlier version of this story said otherwise. The League of Women Voters of Sarasota County will host four candidate forums before the Nov. 5 general election. Three of the forums are for countywide races, though the first one on Sept. 23 is for the North Port City Commission, with three of five seats on the ballot. The others are for the Sarasota County Public Hospital Board on Oct. 2, Sarasota County Tax Collector on Oct. 7 and Sarasota County Commission District 3 on Oct. 10. Shawn Bartelt, president of the League of Women Voters of Sarasota County, said that with the number of races on the ballot in November, the organization had to limit the number of races it could highlight. Bartelt said the League plans to host a fifth forum for the State House District 73 race, a rematch between Republican incumbent Fiona McFarland and Derek Reich, a longtime Sarasota County resident and teacher at Sarasota High School. Finding locations for a live forum can be problematic, which is one reason both the Tax Collector and County Commission District 3 forums will be conducted via Zoom and live streamed on YouTube. In 2022, McFarland earned more than 55% of the vote to win the race for the newly redrawn District 73. In 2020, she won her first term in the Legislature in District 72, when she beat Democrat Drake Buckman. Bartelt had hoped to have an in-person forum for District 73 in September but that has been postponed until late October, after McFarland, who is pregnant, has her fourth child. Links to learn more about all scheduled forums, register to attend and submit questions for consideration are at https://www.lwvsrq.org. League of Women Voters of Sarasota County President Shawn Bartelt North Port City Commission The forum for this non-partisan race, open to all registered voters in the city of North Port, is scheduled for 5:30 to 7 p.m. Sept. 30 at Shannon Staub Public Library 4675 Career Lane, North Port. The District 1 race pits incumbent Alice White against challenger Demetrus Petrov, while District 2 incumbent Barbara Langdon will go against Joshua Smith, with Landgon and Smith the top two finishers in a three-way primary that included former city commissioner Cheryl Cook. The District 3 race is between two friends, David Duval and Andrew Sias. Sias previously ran for the commission in 2016, when Debbie McDowell first won a seat on the council. McDowell cannot run again because North Port city commissioners are limited to two full terms. Commissioners must live in the district they represent but ballots in all races are cast citywide. Sarasota County Public Hospital Board The forum for this partisan race is set for 5:30 to 7 p.m., Oct. 2 at the Venice Community Center, 326 Nokomis Ave., S., Venice. Four of the nine hospital board seats are on the ballot. Incumbent Republicans Sharone Wetzler DePeters, in At-Large Seat 1, and Sarah Lodge, in Central District Seat 1, will face Democrats Alan Jerome Sprintz and Vicki Lynn Nighswander, respectively. The At-Large Seat 2 race pits Republican Kevin Cooper against Democrat Dr. Dale P. Anderson, while the At-Large Seat 3 race includes Republican Pam Beitlich and Democrat Dr. George Davis. Sarasota County Tax Collector The forum between incumbent Democrat Barbara Ford-Coates and Republican challenger Mike Moran, who is finishing his second term on the Sarasota County Commission, will be conducted from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Oct. 7, via Zoom. It should be the second time in roughly a month that the two will share the stage at a forum, with Ford-Coates and Moran scheduled to appear Sept. 5 at a forum hosted by Sarasota Tiger Bay. Sarasota County Commission District 3 The forum between former Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight, a Republican, and non-party affiliate candidate Shari Thornton will be from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Oct. 10, via Zoom. In the August primary, Knight upended incumbent Neil Rainford, who was appointed to fill the seat following the death of Nancy Detert. Other League presentations The League of Women Voters have several other election season programs scheduled before Nov. 5. Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Ron Turner will talk about guardrails in place for a smooth November election, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Sept. 12 in Gelbart Auditorium at Selby Library, 1331 First Street, Sarasota. Sarasota County Superintendent of Schools Terry Conner will talk about the impact on programs and infrastructure of the optional one-mill dedicated property tax for the School Board from 6 to 7 p.m., Sept. 19, in Gelbart Auditorium at Selby Library, 1331 First Street, Sarasota. A referendum on extending the optional property tax was overwhelmingly approved in March 2022 but is on the ballot again in November after a change in state law requiring that such votes be hosted on a November ballot. Government activist Cathy Antunes will discuss the importance of the Charter Review Board from 6 to 7 p.m., Sept. 25 in a program hosted on Zoom. Sarasota is one of only 20 Florida counties that have home rule power in a county charter, and the only one with an elected charter review board. This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: League of Women Voters of Sarasota County hosting candidate forums At least 7 shot, 2 killed, in about 5 hours overnight around Chicago, according to police CHICAGO At least seven people were shot, two fatally, in six incidents around the city during a span of about five hours overnight, according to Chicago police. Police say they have nobody in custody for any of the shootings as of early Sunday morning. The first fatal shooting reported by police happened just before 1 a.m. Sunday in the 11500 block of South LaSalle Street, in the West Pullman neighborhood on Chicagos Far South Side. Vigil held for 85-year-old grandmother found dead In that incident, police say, officers responding to the scene found a 38-year-old man who had been shot in the head on the ground. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police say a witness told officers they observed a red two-door vehicle fleeing the scene. The other fatal shooting reported by police happened just after 1:30 a.m. in the 4600 block of West Monroe Street, in the Austin neighborhood on the citys West Side. According to police, officers responding to the scene found a 25-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the back. That man was pronounced dead at the scene. In the same incident, police say a 34-year-old man was also shot and was rushed to an area hospital in critical condition. Police say further investigation showed both men were shot by an unidentified male who then fled the scene on foot. Woman killed, man injured in South Side shooting Here are details of the other four overnight shootings reported by Chicago police: An unidentified man was found unresponsive by a concerned citizen driving in the 700 block of North Halsted Street, in River West, around 12:45 a.m. Police responded to the scene and say the victim, who appeared to be between 20 and 30, was taken to an area hospital in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head. Just before 1:30 a.m. in the 2600 block of West Cullerton Street, in the Little Village neighborhood on the citys Southwest Side, police say a 28-year-old man was walking outside, heard shots fired and felt that the side of his face had been hit. The man sustained a graze wound, police say, and took himself to an area hospital, where he was listed in good condition. In the 4400 block of South Wallace Street, in New City on the South Side, police say a 26-year-old man was standing outside around 3 a.m. when he was shot by someone driving by in an SUV. Police say the man was shot in the foot and taken to an area hospital in good condition. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Just after 4:30 a.m. in the 3700 block of N. Halsted St., in Lake View, police say a 23-year-old man was arguing outside with another male, when that person pulled out a gun and shot the 23-year-old before fleeing the scene. Police say the victim was shot in the leg and taken to an area hospital in good condition. 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 WGN-TV. What led a former ballerina to fatally shoot her husband? After nearly four years, the trial of Ashley Benefield, the former ballerina charged with second-degree murder for shooting her estranged husband Doug, began in the summer of 2024. In the lead-up to the trial, a small group appeared near the courthouse to support Ashley's claims of self-defense. Among the supporters was Ashley's mother Alicia and Ashley and Doug's 6-year-old daughter Emerson, who stopped to speak to a reporter. Emerson: It feels like I'm standing up for the right thing and that I'm doing the right thing for her. Emerson's public show of support caught the attention of her half-sister, Doug's daughter Eva Benefield. Eva, known as "evathefreakindiva" on TikTok, let her half million followers know just how she felt. EVA BENEFIELD (On TikTok): So, I think that we should probably stop shoving cameras in 6-year-old's faces when they have no idea what's going on A JURY CONSIDERS: DID ASHLEY BENEFIELD KILL IN SELF-DEFENSE OR WAS IT MURDER? Lead prosecutor Suzanne O'Donnell said she believes Ashley killed Doug to guarantee she'd always be No. 1 in Emerson's life. Suzanne O'Donnell: I think Ashley wanted sole custody of her child and was very afraid that she was going to lose custody altogether. In her opening statement to jurors, O'Donnell outlined the state's theory of the case. SUZANNE O'DONNELL (in court): This was a custody battle that this mother was going to win at all costs. And the cost was the life of Doug Benefield. And that is murder. Defense lawyer Neil Taylor made his argument that Ashley shot Doug in self-defense after he physically assaulted her. NEIL TAYLOR (in court): Douglas Benefield was a violent abuser. Ashley Benefield's efforts to placate him was absolutely consistent with what abused women do. For the first time ever, Ashley would tell a jury what she says happened that night. The trial took place in Bradenton, Florida, near where Ashley was living with her mother when she killed Doug. It was the culmination of a long and complicated relationship. SUZANNE O'DONNELL (in court): and it goes all the way back to when they met, back in 2016. In 2016, Doug was living in Charleston, South Carolina, and was a consultant for technology companies. At 54 years old, Doug was 30 years older than Ashley but, as she told the jury, she was still smitten with him. ASHLEY BENEFIELD (in court): He was funny. Very smart. Charming. We just instantly clicked. Ashley Byers, 24, met Doug Benefield , 54, at a dinner in Florida in August 2016 and sparks flew immediately. The couple married 13 days later, in his hometown of Charleston, S.C. / Credit: Tonnie Benefield The couple met at a political dinner. At the time, Ashley was working in the Sarasota campaign office of Donald Trump and sometimes helped stir up the crowds at his rallies. Ashley also had done some swimsuit modeling and for a time had danced with the Maryland Youth Ballet. Just 13 days after meeting, they married. Stephanie Murphy is Doug's civil attorney. Stephanie Murphy: A lot of people ask why on earth did they get married so fast? I mean, come on when Doug first met her, she was every single bit as beautiful as those modeling photos will show She was a knockout! NEIL TAYLOR (in court): Describe the man you thought you'd married. ASHLEY BENEFIELD: He was very loving and attentive We laughed a lot and (crying) he made me feel very special and loved. Doug invited almost no one to the wedding, not even his teenage daughter Eva. Jim Axelrod | "48 Hours" contributor: He loves this girl, his 15-year-old daughter he goes and gets married and doesn't even tell her. Tommie Benefield: Yeah. Tommie Benefield is Doug's cousin. Tommie Benefield: it's bewildering I would've talked him out of it. Eva certainly would've talked him out of it. Eva was still dealing with an unspeakable trauma. Nine months earlier, her mother, Doug's then-wife, had died. It was Eva who discovered the body of 56-year-old Renee Benefield in their home, dead from an undiagnosed heart ailment. Eva Benefield: after my mom died, he really took, kind of, a motherly role along with a fatherly role. Jim Axelrod: Wow. And he made his daughter a promise. Eva Benefield: And I said, "are you gonna remarry, are you gonna start dating? Are you gonna have other kids?" Like, "what's gonna happen?" and he said, "No, Eva. I'm here for you. I don't plan on doing any of that." But just nine months later, Doug told his daughter he had married his new girlfriend. Jim Axelrod: That's a lot. Eva Benefield: It is a lot. Doug encouraged Ashley to try and mother a reluctant Eva who was only 9 years younger. Eva Benefield: he basically told her that I needed somebody I needed a motherly role in my life. And I didn't think that I needed that. Ashley would later tell jurors there was tension in the house and just months into their marriage the couple had a major argument about Eva. ASHLEY BENEFIELD (in court): He pulled the gun out and hold it to his head. He said that he is gonna blow his f------ brains out and I was gonna have to watch him. And then he pulled the trigger and he shot a hole in the ceiling in the kitchen. Doug's friend Trip Cormeny remembers Doug being embarrassed when he told Cormeny that he fired a gun in the house. Trip Cormeny: In his words he said, "I did the dumbest thing I've ever done in my life." But Ashley didn't leave Doug after that incident. Instead, two days later, Doug and Ashley went ahead with a formal wedding reception. The newlyweds were also planning for the future. Ashley had a grand plan to create a national ballet company. Trip Cormeny: I don't know that Doug could spell ballet before he met Ashley. And they wanted to start a family. Trip Cormeny: You know, when you love somebody, what do you wanna do? You wanna make her happy. ASHLEY BENEFIELD'S LETTER TO HER HUSBAND AND AN ALLEGATION OF POISON Even though there was a growing tension at home between Ashley and Eva Eva Benefield : He promised me that things things were going to be OK eventually. Doug went ahead with helping Ashley follow her dream establishing a ballet company in Charleston with a unique mission. Athena Nikolakopulos interviewed with Ashley and loved what she heard about her vision for the new company, the American National Ballet. Athena Nikolkopulos: She didn't want a cookie cutter company She wanted girls that were tall, girls that were short. Ashley, a dancer once with the Maryland Youth Ballet, wanted to create an inclusive ballet company. Doug wanted to make Ashley happy, friends say, and he was determined to make her dream a reality. / Credit: Jim Chatwin As they worked to get the company off the ground, Ashley focused on her other dream of becoming a mother. There was one problem. Doug had a vasectomy, but he agreed to have it reversed. Then before long, Ashley was pregnant. Jim Axelrod: How did that sit with you? Eva Benefield: It didn't sit well at all. He said he wasn't planning on doing any of that so this kinda felt like another stab in the back. In the summer in 2017, some 40 dancers from all over the world began arriving in Charleston to work with Ashley. But Ashley was nowhere to be found. Athena Nikolkopulos: We get there and we're like, "Where is she?" And Doug announces that she's bedridden with a really difficult pregnancy. At the end of August, Ashley went back to Florida to live with her mother, while Doug tried to make the ballet work in Charleston. ASHLEY BENEFIELD (in court): We decided together. He said that he couldn't take care of me. He was too busy and that my mom could take care of me better, so I was happy to go. But one September evening when Doug was out, Ashley and her mother came back to the house in Charleston. Ashley would tell the jury about that night. ASHLEY BENEFIELD (in court): I had decided I was going to leave him and so I went back to get my things. I left him a letter saying why I was leaving. In September 2017, Ashley and her mother returned to Charleston. She packed up her belongings and left a scathing note. Ashley called Doug In the letter, Ashley called Doug "possessive, controlling and manipulating." She wrote about that incident where he'd "shot a hole in the ceiling in the kitchen" and wrote that his behavior "has left me fearful for my life and safety as well as that of my unborn child." She told the jury why she was so afraid of him. ASHLEY BENEFIELD (in court): He would throw things or break things or smash things. He would come at me like he was gonna hit me. He told me I was lucky that he punched walls instead of me. Nearly a year after Doug's death, "48 Hours" spoke to his family lawyer Stephanie Murphy about the letter Ashley left Doug. Stephanie Murphy: I really think that Ashley thought that that was gonna be it. Just pack up her stuff, leave a note, and it was gonna be over. But the letter didn't deter Doug. He sent text after text, begging Ashley to reconsider. Instead, she reported Doug to the authorities. Eva Benefield: She got Child Protective Services involved from Florida. Ashley told police that Doug had anger issues and was violent. Investigators interviewed Eva. Eva Benefield: I was constantly having people come up to my door and questioning if my dad was a good dad. And it just made me so angry because he was. After an investigation, Doug was cleared. But Ashley also began asking questions about the death of Doug's previous wife Eva's mother Renee. Ashley texted Doug: "Wait what did she die of again?" Doug replied that Renee had a 75% artery blockage. Ashley texted back: "I thought I have heard you say something about medications or something? Like bad drugs?" Doug's cousin Tommie says Ashley told him she thought Doug had poisoned Renee. Jim Axelrod: What was your reaction? You must've been, like, "What?" Tommie Benefield: It it's out of left field. I've read the autopsy report. It's clear. Died of a heart attack, essentially. But Ashley, who said she was more nauseous than she would have expected as a pregnant woman, was suspicious. Stephanie Murphy: Ashley believed that Doug has been poisoning her while she was pregnant with their daughter. They were both big tea fans and she hearkened back to the times that Doug was bringing her tea in bed. After she left him, Doug sent her a package of tea for her birthday. ASHLEY BENEFIELD (in court) When I opened it, there was an overwhelming smell, like a real strong chemical smell and I got like an instant headache. NEIL TAYLOR: Did you report it to the police? ASHLEY BENEFIELD: Yes. According to a detective, it was determined that "the substance that was mailed to the victim was just tea." NEIL TAYLOR (in court): What was the result? ASHLEY BENEFIELD: No charges. By the start of 2018, Doug closed the ballet and was out of communication with Ashley. But he wanted to be part of his new baby's life and asked Stephanie Murphy to send Ashley a letter allowing him to be there for the birth. Instead, the next day, Ashley checked into the hospital without telling Doug. It was three weeks before her due date. Stephanie Murphy: She was at Tampa General Hospital claiming the child had been exposed to heavy metals in utero because her husband had poisoned her. Ashley told hospital staffers that when Doug learned she was pregnant, he hit her and locked her in a room back in Charleston. She also said he had stalked her in Florida. No charges were filed, but the hospital took precautions and registered her under her middle name: Christina. Three days later, doctors performed a C-section and Ashley gave birth to a baby girl. Doug was not notified. Stephanie Murphy: I think that Ashley's proposal from the very beginning was, "You'll have nothing to do with this child." BENEFIELD VS. BENEFIELD The news that Ashley had given birth to a baby girl in March 2018 took more than a month to reach Doug. Ashley said she still believed he had poisoned her and the baby, so she signed them up for 26 consecutive days of treatment in a hyperbaric chamber. Robert Cederoth: It can detox the body of heavy metals and other toxins. Safety Director Robert Cederoth says Ashley and her 3-month-old daughter Emerson spent 40 hours in total in the chamber. She was the youngest patient ever treated here. Robert Cederoth: Ashley's daughter was really small And so, we ended up taking this ring and we put it around her waist. It was like she was like a little ballerina and so half of her body was actually inside of the hood. In the summer of 2018, the poisoning allegations came to a head when the Benefield's squared off in a Bradenton, Florida, courtroom. Doug wanted to see his daughter and Ashley was requesting an injunction to keep him far away. An audio recording was made of the proceeding. Ashley accused Doug of poisoning her and told the judge about that incident when Doug fired a gun into the ceiling. Doug admitted to firing the gun and explained to Ashley's attorney that during an argument, he wanted Ashley to stop speaking. ATTORNEY: So, at this point, you decided that the next way you're going to do to keep her from talking about anything is to shoot the gun? DOUG BENEFIELD: Yeah there's not a lot of great ways to to figure out what I was thinking. It was definitely to put a stop to the conversation. But Doug denied poisoning Ashley. In September 2018, the judge ruled in Doug's favor, granting joint custody. She said she didn't believe anything Ashley had to say. JUDGE DIANA MORELAND [Court audio]: There is absolutely not a single scintilla of credibility that I'm attaching to anything that was testified to at least in this hearing of Ms. Benefield. Days later, Doug and Ashley met at the sheriff's office so he could see his 6-month-old daughter for the first time. Murphy says Ashley suggested that the three of them Doug, Ashley and Emerson spend time together. Stephanie Murphy: And Doug said, "OK, sure" because Doug wanted to make the transition as easy for his daughter as possible because, to her, he was a stranger. Over the next year, the three of them were together frequently. Doug and Ashley began sharing custody of their daughter when she was 6 months old. / Credit: Tommie Benefield Stephanie Murphy: Doug thought they were back together, that they were doing what they were supposed to do in the beginning, which was to slowly get to know each other be a family I thought everything was gonna be OK. But things were not OK and Doug was in for a big surprise, Murphy says. In August 2019, Doug found out Ashley was dating another man. Doug filed for divorce and Ashley lodged a new round of accusations about him. Stephanie Murphy: Ashley accused Doug of sexually abusing his daughter she accused him of a whole litany of things. Doug vehemently denied the allegations and the sheriff's office seemed to agree. They investigated and closed all of the cases regarding allegations of abuse without filing charges. Jim Axelrod: I wanna be clear about something Was Doug ever charged with any crime? Tommie Benefield: No, sir. In the summer of 2020, Ashley made plans to move to Maryland with her mother and daughter. Despite the difficulties in their relationship, Doug chose to join them. Doug told friends he still wanted to be a part of his daughter's life and continued to hope he could reconcile with Ashley and have a fresh start in Maryland. Trip Cormeny: There's nothing I can say that could possibly turn him around on this. He's gonna do this if it kills him. It was September 27, 2020, the day the turbulent relationship between the Benefields finally boiled over. Doug arrived at Ashley and her mother Alicia's home to help pack for the move. Stephanie Murphy: Alicia decides to take the baby for a walk down to the neighborhood park. Ashley stayed behind with Doug. It was shortly thereafter, when Ashley ran to her next-door neighbor, sobbing, and carrying her .45 caliber gun. And he called 911. JOHN SANT to 911: [It was] right next door to me. She just came over. Her estranged husband attacked her and she says she shot him. Doug had been shot in the leg and chest. He lived for an hour but died at nearby hospital. Ashley's attorney met her at the sheriff's office. Detectives began investigating Ashley's claim of self-defense, but they'd have to do it without her Stephanie Murphy: She didn't speak to detectives at all. But after a month of investigation, in November 2020, Ashley Benefield was charged with second-degree murder. She pleaded not guilty. After 17 days in jail, Ashley posted $100,000 bond. It was nearly three years later, in July 2023, that there was a key hearing in the case that brought everyone together, including Doug's daughter, Eva. EVA BENEFIELD (On TikTok | June 28, 2023): Next week is her first in-person hearing which means I'm gonna see her in person for the first time since she killed my Dad. Ashley's team had asked for the case to be dismissed, claiming she had shot Doug in self-defense. And prosecutors were fighting it. SUZANNE O'DONNELL (in court 2023): Did you do the autopsy of Doug Benefield DR. RUSSELL VEGA | Medical Examiner: Yes, I did. Eva wasn't fully prepared to hear the details of her father's death. DR. RUSSELL VEGA: The projectile path went through the chest wall on the right side and then it hit the right lung Eva Benefield (Sobs) it's talking about my dad in a way that doesn't feel very humane. They referred to the the murder, the shooting as the incident and. (Sobs) they they pulled up pictures of his body and, you know, they referred to my dad as the victim. EVA BENEFIELD: (Sobs) It's been difficult for me to kind of grasp what's going on and then hearing about it over again and over again and over again. It's just it's a lot. The judge denied Ashley's motion to dismiss the case. Ashley would have to stand trial for killing Doug. And that's when Ashley would tell the jury her version of what happened that night. ASHLEY BENEFIELD (in court 2024) I said, "I'm done and you need to leave now." (crying) He said, "you can't f------ leave me." ASHLEY BENEFIELD EXPLAINS WHY SHE SHOT DOUG One of the first witnesses at Ashley's murder trial was Doug's 23-year-old daughter. Eva Benefield had lived with Doug and Ashley when they were newlyweds and saw firsthand how they interacted. SUZANNE O'DONNELL (in court): Did you ever hear your dad at any time yell at her? EVA BENEFIELD: No. SUZANNE O'DONNELL : Did you ever see or hear your dad threaten her? SUZANNE O'DONNELL : Did you ever see or hear your dad get physical with her? EVA BENEFIELD: No Prosecutors next called John Sant to the stand. He is the neighbor Ashley ran to after shooting Doug. His 911 call was played for the jury. JOHN SANT TO 911: Calm down honey, calm down. (Ashley can be heard crying in the background) She's with me now, quite upset, the weapon is here. She says he attacked her, and she shot him. Prosecutors asked Sant if he had noticed any bruises on Ashley that night. SUZANNE O'DONNELL (in court): At any time during this interaction with Ashley, did she appear to have any injuries? JOHN SANT: No. The next morning, prosecutors called Ashley's mother Alicia Byers to the stand. She swore that Ashley had never discussed with her details of the shooting. SUZANNE O'DONNELL (in court): To this day you've never talked about it? ALICIA BYERS: No. Prosecutor Rebecca Freel found that curious. Rebecca Freel: She never said mama, he beat me or he was coming at me or any of those things we thought that was important to show that the person who's probably the closest to her in the world was unaware of those things. To show how Ashley behaved when she did not get her way, prosecutors called Det. Chris Gillum of the Manatee County Sheriff's Office to the stand. Gillum testified that Ashley once demanded that he arrest Doug in court before a sitting judge, for contacting her when he was not supposed to. Gillum refused. DET. CHRIS GILLUM (in court): her tone turned from the crying to very aggressive and she said, "you will effing arrest him in front of the judge. And I will make sure you do it." SUZANNE O'DONNELL: And what did you say to that? DET. CHRIS GILLUM: I said, "it's not going to happen" She started crying again and came out with a comment like um, "I can't believe you're willing to allow Doug to kill me and the baby." The prosecution presented a video found on Doug's phone to show that Ashley was never afraid of Doug. It was taken just one week before the shooting. Doug is recording himself playing a game with Ashley, her mother and Emerson and they are all laughing. But maybe the prosecution's most important witness was medical examiner Dr. Russell Vega. DR. RUSSELL VEGA [looking at projection in court]: That's the chest injury to the right side of the right nipple. He testified about the two bullets that hit Doug in the leg and chest. REBECCA FREEL (in court): Would you be so kind as to stand up and kinda point on your body to where the entrance wound would be? DR. RUSSELL VEGA (stands and points to his chest): Certainly (stands and point to his chest). Because prosecutors say Doug was shot in the side, they theorize that he was likely turning to run away when he saw Ashley point the gun. SUZANNE O'DONNELL (in court): Your honor at this time, the state rests. It was defense lawyer Neil Taylor's turn. He called Ashley to the stand and asked about the times she was afraid of Doug. ASHLEY BENEFIELD (in court): sometimes he would drive really scary, yelling and screaming at me and like running up on curbs. One time he almost hit a tree. ASHLEY BENEFIELD (in court): He would get in my face. He'd yell at me. He'd come at me like he was gonna hit me. And Ashley said Doug once punched the family dog Sully. ASHLEY BENEFIELD (in court): he punched him in the face so hard that he knocked him out. I thought he had killed him. At an earlier hearing, Doug was asked about Sully. ATTORNEY: You also punched the dog, the day you discharged the firearm? DOUG BENEFIELD: He jumped up he's a big dog, and he jumped up in my lap, and yeah, I admit I hit him, I didn't hit him like you would hit a punching bag or anything, but I hit him. Taylor asked Ashley to tell jurors her version of the night she shot and killed Doug. Ashley testified that, as the couple packed for their move to Maryland, Doug became agitated because Ashley had insisted Doug get his own apartment. ASHLEY BENEFIELD (in court): I tried to change the subject. I could see how upset he was getting Ashley told jurors that Doug bumped into her and pushed a box into her side. She said he hit her in the face when she tried to leave. Then, she said she ran into a bedroom where Doug followed her and that is when she grabbed her nearby .45 caliber gun one of three that were in house. Ashley Benefield takes the stand in her trial for the murder of her estranged husband Doug Benefield. / Credit: Pool/Bradenton Herald ASHLEY BENEFIELD (in court): I I just held the gun like in front of me and I I said, stop, and he like turned and he got into this like almost like a fighting stance. (crying) He started like moving his arms and his hands around ASHLEY BENEFIELD (in court): He started coming towards me and then he lunged at me. (crying) And I just start pulling the trigger. NEIL TAYLOR: Tell the ladies and gentlemen of the jury, why you shot Doug? ASHLEY BENEFIELD: I was scared to death. (crying) I thought he was gonna kill me. NEIL TAYLOR: As you sit here today, Ashley, how do you feel about what happened? ASHLEY BENEFIELD: Horrible. He's the father of my child. (crying) And someday I'm going to have to explain it all to her. (crying) After a break, Ashley returned to the stand. Taylor then produced an old text from Doug's previous wife Renee. It was undated, but Ashley said she found it on an old cellphone. He read aloud what Renee wrote to Doug. NEIL TAYLOR (in court): reads: "I was deeply disappointed that you distorted the truth about who you really were when I married you. I loved you through finding out you weren't really what you pretended to be you kicking me so hard on New Year's Eve on our honeymoon, because you were having trouble functioning in certain areas you holding a gun to your head twice in my home Matt Tympanick: when you hear that text message it helps Ashley Benefield's case. Criminal defense lawyer Matt Tympanick, who attended and followed this trial, says he feels that text supports Ashley's contention that Doug was abusive. Matt Tympanick: This isn't the first woman he has potentially abused. Doug's divorce attorney Stephanie Murphy says she once asked Doug about that text, and he confirmed Renee had sent it to him. Stephanie Murphy: Doug said that, yes, they had some struggles and, yes, there was an incident during their honeymoon, but it was not at all as Renee was describing it. Ashley's lawyer ended her direct testimony. Ashley now would have to go head-to-head with lead prosecutor Suzanne O'Donnell who had a surprise in store. THE DEFENSE PUTS DOUG BENEFIELD ON TRIAL Ashley Benefield walked back into courtroom 6A after a lunch break. She'd spent two hours that morning testifying about the alleged abuse at the hands of her husband Doug. But now, as she took the stand again. SUZANNE O'DONNELL (in court): I would like to just start with a couple of issues. It was prosecutor Suzanne O'Donnell's turn. And Ashley admitted Doug never physically abused her before he allegedly hit her the night of the shooting SUZANNE O'DONNELL (in court): I would like to just start with a couple of issues. SUZANNE O'DONNELL: Doug Benefield never punched you ever, correct? ASHLEY BENEFIELD: Um, yeah, I would say that's correct. SUZANNE O'DONNELL: Doug Benefield never choked you ever? ASHLEY BENEFIELD: Uh, no. SUZANNE O'DONNELL: He never kicked you? ASHLEY BENEFIELD: No. The prosecutor called Ashley down from the witness stand to demonstrate what happened that night. ASHLEY BENEFIELD (demonstrating Doug's movements): I held the gun out in front of me and I said stop. (Crying) He got into this, like, fighting pose. He like turned sideways. And he was like moving around with his like arms and his hands. And he started like inching forward towards me. Suzanne O'Donnell: I think it's invaluable in a case like this that the jury see what her version of events is. SUZANNE O'DONNELL (in court): So, he's standing there. He turns to like this and starts moving his arms around? ASHLEY BENEFIELD: Not like that. SUZANNE O'DONNELL: Well, show me. What was he doing? ASHLEY BENEFIELD (demonstrating Doug's movements): And, like, I know he got like this, I mean, was like making, like, fighting motions. I don't I don't know, I'm not a fighter, I don't know. Suzanne O'Donnell: I don't know that it came off as genuine as she expected it to. We have to look at what she said versus the physical evidence and see if it matches. ASHLEY BENEFIELD: And he lunged at me he came very quickly. SUZANNE O'Donnell: OK, so he lunged, was his fist up when he lunged? ASHLEY BENEFIELD (crying) I don't remember. The state insists Ashley's story didn't match with the medical examiner's testimony that Doug was shot in the side. Doug's cousin Tommie agrees. Tommie Benefield: If Doug was really lunging at her the way she said, he would've been presenting the front of his body. That's not how he was shot. Stephanie Murphy: She's the kind of person who eventually believes her own lies but just because someone believes what they're saying doesn't make it true. But the defense continued to portray the idea that Doug was abusive. Tommie Benefield They made this all about Doug. They cast Doug in the worst possible light. They called Dr. Jason Quintal, a trauma counselor who worked with the couple in the months before the shooting. DR. JASON QUINTAL (in court): Doug occurred as someone who was, um, domineering and at times would be super controlling. NEIL TAYLOR: Did you conclude whether there was an intimidation issue present? DR. JASON QUINTAL: Ashley stated that she was scared of Doug. Ashlet Benefield took the stand at her trial for the murder of her estranged husband Doug Benefield. / Credit: Pool/Bradenton Herald Domestic violence expert Bruce Ferris met with Ashley after the shooting and said her behavior was consistent with having suffered abuse. He addressed that video of Ashley, her mother and Doug laughing just a week before she killed him. Ferris said victims of domestic violence often appease their abusers to keep the peace. BRUCE FERRIS (in court): We've all heard the term walking on eggshells, they're trying to avoid aggression by their partner because they've grown to believe there's a threat here. Taylor says Ashley was only pretending to get along with Doug so he wouldn't harm her or Emerson. Jim Axelrod: Are you saying to me that Ashley was like, I'll just sort of keep him happy so that he doesn't get violent with me." Neil Taylor: That's exactly what I'm saying to you. SUZANNE O'DONNELL (in court): Domestic violence is absolutely a real problem. People that feel like they cannot get out. They have no way to get out. That is not this defendant. But in closing arguments, Prosecutor O'Donnell told the jury Ashley was not afraid of Doug not the day of the video, and not the day she killed him. SUZANNE O'DONNELL (in court): She did not have to shoot him. She had an agenda and it worked for what she wanted, and she got what she wanted. Sole custody of the child. And that's murder. Thank you. But in his closing, Ashley's attorney reminded the jury Ashley spent years trying to get authorities to protect her and Emerson from Doug. NEIL TAYLOR (in court): She filed complaint after complaint after complaint calling Doug Benefield's behavior to the attention of the authorities, with no result. He insisted Ashley only shot Doug because her life was in danger that night. NEIL TAYLOR (in court): I've presented to you everything that I possibly could to show you what Ashley knew about Doug at the time they took place to show you that her action in using deadly force was reasonable. We're confident you'll return a verdict of not guilty in this case. The jury began deliberating in the afternoon and continued late into the night. After nearly seven hours, lawyers, friends and family returned to the courtroom to hear the jury's decision. COURT CLERK: The defendant is guilty of manslaughter, a lesser-included offense. Guilty of manslaughter, but not second-degree murder. Matt Tympanick: Murder two requires some kind of intent Manslaughter doesn't require that, it's more of heat of passion The jury's essentially saying, we don't think she pre-planned this, but we also don't think she was justified in doing it. Any conviction that will put Ashley in prison comes as a welcome relief to Doug's family and friends. Tommie Benefield: The highlight of the trial for me personally was hearing the verdict read out loud The second-best thing was hearing the click of the handcuffs. Eva updated her followers about the verdict. EVA BENEFIELD (on TikTok): "My dad got the justice that he deserves." She's hoping one day to play a role in the life of Emerson, who is still being raised by Ashley's mother Alicia. Eva and Doug Benefield Eva Benefield (after the verdict): I hope that one day she'll grow into a strong, young woman and I'll be able to get to know her and explain to her who her father was and and show her all the pictures and videos and just really tell her how how life should have been. Ashley faces up to 30 years in prison. State Attorney Ed Brodsky, who runs the prosecutor's office, says they will ask the judge to sentence her to the maximum. Ed Brodsky This was an example of someone that wanted to take the law into her own hands. And that was the bridge that she crossed too far. Stephanie Murphy: As the years have gone by and the colors fade, you see that she's actually the Black Swan and always has been. Ashley's sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 22. Her attorney has requested a new trial claiming prosecutorial and juror misconduct. The prosecution denies that any misconduct took place. Produced by Paul LaRosa and Dena Goldstein. Richard Barber is the producer-editor.Tamara Weitzman is the development producer. gary Winter, Grayce Arlotta-Berner and Marcus Balsam are the editors. Jordan Kinsey is the field producer. Elizabeth Caholo is the associate producer. Patti Aronofsky is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer. Examining Harris and Trump's paths to victory Breaking down ABC's presidential debate rules for Trump-Harris showdown What Harris, Trump have said on economy, immigration ahead of debate Les AuCoin on his legacy, state of US and Oregon politics Les AuCoin on his legacy, state of US and Oregon politics PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) An Oregon U.S. lawmakers legacy will be honored in brick and mortar later this month at Pacific University. A native Portlander, Les AuCoin earned his degree in journalism from Pacific University, which is celebrating its 175th anniversary this year. On Sept. 27, the former U.S. congressman will have a building named after him at his alma mater. AuCoin spent 18 years in Congress starting in 1975, as the first Democrat to win Oregons First Congressional District, a seat the Democrats have held ever since. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Eye on Northwest Politics AuCoin, now 81, has some thoughts on the state of politics in America and in Oregon. Watch the video above for the full interview. 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 KOIN.com. Long Island politicians are calling on state elections officials to investigate how a dozen Nassau and Suffolk families wound up receiving letters from two state senators, thanking their dead relatives for registering to vote in the upcoming election. The letters of gratitude were sent from the offices of Republican State Sens. Jack Martins and Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, who represent different parts of Nassau County. Relatives received the missives the last week of August. I get mail for my mother, so its not a surprise for me to receive letters for her, Erin Molyneux, who lives in Port Washington, told The Post. But I was surprised that I saw it was from our state senator, congratulating her on registering, and thought, This is not right.' To make things more confusing, Molyneux called the states Board of Elections and learned his mothers name wasnt on the voting rolls. The letters were discussed during a press conference Friday, attended by some of the relatives. NBC Molyneux said his mother, Sang Harrison, lived most of her life in Georgia, and never had an actual New York address. Harrison, who was terminally ill, was only ever in New York for the last 10 days of her life in January 2023. The real worry I had was, is she a victim of identity theft? I dont want her name and reputation associated with any election fraud schemes, Molyneux said. I dont want my moms name associated with any story that she voted from the grave. or someone is voting in her name. Erin Molyneux with his mother, Sang Harrison, who died inJanuary 2023. NBC In letters to the State Inspector and the Department of Election Enforcement, Nassau County Legislature Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D, Port Washington) said the notes of congratulations caused significant distress to the families of the deceased. Even more troubling, she continued, contained in the letters, is the fact that many of the deceased individuals referenced in these letters had never registered to vote in the State of New York, raising serious questions about the source of the data being used by these senators. Sen. Jack Martins maintains the list of names came from the state rolls. Getty Images It appears that government resources may have been inappropriately utilized to compile these erroneous mailing lists, particularly just prior to a major presidential election. She inferred in her missives that Martins and Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick may have violated several provisions of New York State law and ethics standards. Martins could not be reached for comment Saturday, but said during a press conference Friday he received the list of new voters from the state Board of Elections. However, the Board of Elections countered he couldnt have received Harrisons name from them, as there is no person with that name in the statewide voter database. Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick also could not be reached for comment Saturday. Human-driven changes to the natural environment have knock-on consequences that aren't immediately obvious: air pollution, for example, has now been linked to an increase in the frequency of lightning in thunderstorms. Researchers from James Madison University (JMU) in Virginia looked at data from more than 500,000 thunderstorms across Washington, DC, and Kansas City over the course of 12 years, finding that having more fine particles in the air (aerosols) is broadly linked to a higher number of lightning strikes. The relationship between aerosols and lightning has been studied before, but it's something that scientists are still trying to get a proper assessment of, because of the many different atmospheric factors at play. "Pollution acts as cloud nuclei," says geographer Mace Bentley, from JMU. "It gets brought into the cloud through the updraft; the updraft and downdraft then separate the pollution particles, which divides the electrical charges in the cloud and leads to more lightning production." The team looked at PM2.5 (particulate matter up to 2.5 micrometers) and PM10 (up to 10 micrometers) in the environment, comparing them to thunderstorm activity. It seems that the concentration of these particles has more of an influence than their size. While more particles generally means more lightning, according to the data, there comes a point where having too many particles in the air actually seems to reduce the amount of lightning perhaps due to a loss of energy inside the storm. These are scenarios with a huge number of variables and multiple other factors, from air currents to land cover, also play a part. That said, while the associations outlined here are complex, they seemed to be the same in both cities studied. "It looks like no matter where you go in the world, urban pollution is capable of enhancing thunderstorms and lightning," says Bentley. The study turned up some other interesting findings too: thunderstorms were most common in both locations on Thursdays. Monday was the quietest day for thunderstorms in Washington, DC, while it was Friday for Kansas City. It was also observed that when there was most energy in the atmosphere influenced by factors such as temperature and humidity then the levels of air pollution had the most impact on the number of lightning strikes. This gives us a greater understanding of how fluctuations in air pollution might continue to reshape meteorological patterns. Next, the researchers want to take a look at this relationship in other parts of the world, while also adding more measurements to the mix to see just how much of an effect aerosols are having. "The environments will be analyzed for differences between urban initiated thunderstorms versus those across the greater region to evaluate the impacts of pollution," write the authors in their published paper. The study has been published in Atmospheric Research. Related News Liz Cheney described Donald Trump as depraved and dangerous while defending her decision to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris during a Sunday interview on ABCs This Week. Cheney was unequivocal about her choice, as she told This Week co-anchor Jonathan Karl that reelecting Trump for president would end up being an unrecoverable catastrophe for the country. We see it on a daily basis, somebody who was willing to use violence in order to attempt to seize power, to stay in power, someone who represents unrecoverable catastrophe, frankly, in my view, she said. And we have to do everything possible to ensure that hes not reelected. Though the retired Republican legislator told Karl she has never viewed this as a policy election while defending her political differences with Democratic presidential candidate Harris, Cheney also argued that Trump could barely be characterized as a true conservative and that Republicans have nominated somebody who is depraved. Somebody who shows us every day that he has tendencies and hes willing to embrace things that are fundamentally a danger to this nation and to our constitution, she continued. So, the choice, in my view, is not a close one. Cheney: "The Republicans have nominated someone who is depraved ... the choice in my view is not a close one." pic.twitter.com/KfAP6udMpO Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 8, 2024 Cheney also urged independent voters to learn about how Harris has evolved from when she first ran for president in 2020, saying that she has changed in a number of very important ways on issues that matter. I think, from a policy perspective, it is very important to recognize the change, she said. To recognize that she understands this election is going to require a coalition of people from across the political spectrum supporting her. Cheney announced her intention to vote for Harris last Wednesday at an event in the battleground state of North Carolina. While there, she told Trump-skeptical Republicans who are still weighing their options, I dont believe that we have the luxury of writing in candidates names. Particularly in swing states. Two days after Cheney declared her support for Harris, her father, former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, said hed be doing the same. In our nations 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump, he wrote in a statement. He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He can never be trusted with power again. The Cheneys join a handful of Republicans who have decided they will not be voting for a second Trump term. That list also includes Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Paul Ryan and Trumps ex-vice president, Mike Pence. Related... Former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney said Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is not a conservative and there is no chance Ronald Reagan would support Trump in her first sit-down interview since announcing she would vote for Democrat Kamala Harris in November. What we hear from Donald Trump, again, on a daily basis, that America is a failing nation, that America is a laughingstock, Cheney said Sunday in an interview with Jonathan Karl on ABCs This Week. The trash-talking of the United States of America very much is part of the message that Donald Trump is pushing, and so at the end of the day, I think it's important for people to recognize he's not a conservative. Her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, also will be voting for Harris. It will be her first time voting for a Democrat, Liz Cheney said and she urged fellow anti-Trump Republicans to do the same in two months. Donald Trump doesn't stand for any of the things that Ronald Reagan did, and it's another place that I would urge my Republican colleagues both in the Congress, but across the country to really look at Donald Trump's policies, to really look at the danger that he presents, to look at, you know, what he was willing to do to stay in power, Cheney said. It's a firm rejection not just of traditional Republican policies, but of the constitutional order on which this country depends. Cheney bashed Trump's policies, including a global tariff policy, as not being conservative, and instead an economic policy that could bring the United States toward a depression. When asked if she was still a Republican, Cheney replied: Im a conservative. "I'm certainly not a Trump Republican. I'm a conservative, Cheney said. I think that what's happened to the Republican Party today is indefensible, and I hope to be able to rebuild as I said, after this cycle. The former Wyoming representative also said she spoke to Harris "in the process" of making her endorsement, but did not provide other details of their conversation. She reiterated she still has major policy disagreements with Harris and the current Biden administration but she has "never viewed this as a policy election." Cheney, who served as the vice chair of the Jan. 6 select committee, said that other anti-Trump conservatives such as people like Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and former Vice President Mike Pence should take the extra step in voting for Harris over Trump. "I would say given the closeness of this election, particularly if you are going to find yourself voting in a swing state, you've got to take the extra step, Cheney said. If you really do recognize the threat that Donald Trump poses, then it's not enough to simply say I'm not going to vote for him. She added that its a secret ballot and while she wishes that people would make their decision more public, she would expect more Republicans to wrestle with their conscience and make the right decision at the voting booth. As for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley who ran against Trump in the primaries but now supports the former president Cheney said she "can't understand her position on this in any kind of a principled way. Cheney also criticized Trumps running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, for saying he would not certify the 2020 election results. It is hard to imagine a much graver danger than a president and a vice president who will put themselves above the Constitution, Cheney said. She added that people need to look at how Trump and his lawyers are attempting to suppress evidence for his role in Jan. 6 at every moment. It is up to us, the voters, to hold him accountable in November, Cheney said. Not to re-elect someone who did what he did. Speaking on ABC's "This Week," Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Cheney had abandoned her conservative principles. "I do think she actually is significantly in the minority here," she said on ABC's "This Week." "You look across the board, prominent Republicans are supporting President Trump, but ultimately, I think she's a non-factor. I'm not trying to be rude, but you don't get to call yourself a conservative or a Republican when you support the most radical nominee that the Democrats have ever put up." CORRECTION: Liz Cheney said she spoke to Kamala Harris "in the process" of making her endorsement. Liz Cheney is ready to force a reckoning for those Republicans who have come around to support Donald Trump for what she says are purely political reasons. Anti-Trump Republicans including Cheney have become increasingly vocal in the past few months as Kamala Harris has ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket; emboldened by the new vigor her party has found in her wake. Trump, now running for the presidency for a third time, is poised to either pull off a massive political comeback or suffer his second defeat in as many presidential election cycles to say nothing of the defeats his hand-picked candidates suffered in 2022s midterms. His enemies on the right, despite his dominating victory in the Republican primary earlier this year, still smell blood in the water and are now looking to Harris to deal an electoral deathblow this November. Other GOPers in this vein accepted speaking roles at the Democratic convention last month, including Cheneys former compatriot on the January 6 committee, Adam Kinzinger, and former Trump White House communications director Stephanie Grisham. But Cheney made the news of the month this weekend with a joint announcement from the former Wyoming congresswoman and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney: the two will both be supporting Kamala Harriss campaign this fall. The former VPs statement was closely followed by another from former President George W. Bush, Dick Cheneys old running mate, who stated that he would decline to endorse either candidate for the presidency this year. Liz Cheney announced on Friday that she and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, would both support Kamala Harris for president (The Independent) Dick Cheney will be voting for Kamala Harris, she said onstage Friday at the Texas Tribune Festival. If you think about the moment were in, and you think about how serious this moment is, my dad believes and he said publicly there has never been an individual in our country who is as grave a threat to our democracy as Donald Trump is. And on Sunday, she took it a step further by going on the offensive against Nikki Haley, Trumps longest-standing competitor for the GOP nomination this year. Cheney appeared on ABCs This Week to discuss Haleys endorsement of Trump onstage at the Republican convention in July, explaining: I can't understand her position on this in any kind of a principled way. I think that the things that she said, that she made clear when she was running in the primary, those things are true, Cheney continued. Those of us who have fidelity to the Constitution, have a responsibility and a duty to recognize [that] this is not about partisan politics. While she was not explicit, Cheney referred to Haleys description of Trump when she was running against him: that Trump was unqualified to be president. Haley made that argument while pointing to Trumps comments about her husbands military service; she also argued in separate interviews that she did not have faith that Donald Trump would follow the Constitution as president. Cheney was much more explicit in her condemnation of Trump himself, describing him in the interview as a president who will use violence to achieve his own ends. Haley would go on to say in her withdrawal from the 2024 race that Trump would need to earn the votes of her and her supporters; however, by July she was fully back on board the Trump train. Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period, Haley told a cheering crowd at her partys convention, a crowd that had booed her entrance moments earlier. Though the ex-president was hoping to have consolidated the GOP base before heading into the general election season, it appears that fissures remain in the partys foundation. Cheney, Kinzinger and others like Maryland Senate candidate Larry Hogan continue to vocalize their criticisms of Trump and the Maga wing of the GOP, while polls increasingly show Kamala Harris competitive in every battleground state won by Joe Biden in 2020 as well as others like Florida and North Carolina. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley bent the knee and endorsed her ex-opponent at the RNC in July. (Getty Images) A defeat for Trump in the general election this year would almost certainly kick off another battle for control of the Republican Party, which is eager to recover from a string of defeats on the national stage. The former president himself remains adamant that unproven claims of fraud are responsible for his defeat in 2020 while denying analyses from pundits, journalists and members of his own party theorizing that his selection of right-wing election deniers for key state races in 2022 contributed to the GOPs under-performance that cycle. The two presidential candidates are set to meet for the first time on Tuesday at what is technically the first debate of the general election cycle. A previous debate in late June between Joe Biden and Donald Trump occurred before either man was officially nominated as their partys candidate, though both had secured enough pledged delegates in their respective party primaries to do so. Following a widely panned performance, Biden would go on to drop out of the race before his partys nominating convention in August. Liz Cheney once said she regretted voting for Donald Trump in 2020. But she took her criticism leagues forward on Sunday, calling Trump a depraved man who threatens to plunge the U.S. into chaos. The Republicans have nominated somebody who, you know, is depraved, the former Wyoming congresswoman told ABCs Jonathan Karl on Sundays This Week. Somebody who shows us every day that, you know, he has tendencies and hes willing to embrace things that are fundamentally a danger to this nation and to our Constitution. Liz Cheney Spurns Her Party With Kamala Harris Endorsement Cheney endorsed Kamala Harris on Wednesday during an appearance at Duke Universitys Sanford School of Public Policy due to the danger Donald Trump poses. She announced the support of her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, for Harris on Friday. In her Sunday interview, Cheneywho said she had never voted for a Democratsaid she conferred with Harris as she gave her endorsement. She also lambasted Republicans whove said they would write the name of an alternative candidate instead of voting for Trump. Thats not enough, Cheney said. Its important to actually cast a vote for Vice President Harris. Karl pressed Cheney on Harris past embrace of Medicare for All and abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, policies the vice president has sought to moderate in recent weeks to tone down the appearance of progressivism. Would you still have been able to endorse Kamala Harris if it was the Kamala Harris of 2019 and 2020? Karl asked. Cheney said she thought Harris had changed her position on some issues in very important ways and argued the stakes of the election outweighed any policy differences. I would encourage independents to compare where she is today with Donald Trump on these issues, Cheney said. I think from a policy perspective, it is very important to recognize the change, to recognize that she understands that this election is going to require a coalition of people from across the political spectrum supporting her. The choice, in my view, is not a close one, Cheney added. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) The Okra Jubilee started bright and early at the Wichita Falls Farmers Market Saturday morning to celebrate okra and all of the different ways you can cook and eat it. A Montague County animal shelter celebrates 10th anniversary Morath Orchards brought a crop of fresh okra to the market along with other booths set up to show some of the more unique ways to find the staple crop. With so many people in this part of the country having okra as a big part of their lives, Becky Morath thought the Okra Jubilee was a perfect way to showcase the crops versatility. Anybody from our area, has grown up eating it, you can cook in a lot of different ways, Morath said. Its good for you, and its just one of those homey kinds of things, you know? It makes you feel good. At the other booths, okras versatility was on display. At one, okra was dried out like a chip and blended with different spices making a perfect snack. The same booth also had bacon-wrapped okra. Another booth had pickled okra, another local favorite. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News 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 Texomashomepage.com. WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) Mexican Independence Day celebrations started early with a Saturday morning parade through downtown Wichita Falls. RELATED STORY: Local parish to host Fiestas Patrias celebrations Our Lady of Guadalupe began celebrating the Fiestas Patrias with a Saturday morning parade they organized at 9 a.m. The Fiestas Patrias celebrates several critical Mexican historical events, with this parade celebrating the country earning its independence from Spain in 1810. The parade started at 3rd and Scott Street and made its way to a central booth on 8th and Lamar. School clubs, church groups and more participated in the parade, but Parade Director Maria Kalbfleisch said the Fiestas Patrias in Wichita Falls should be for everyone to celebrate. It brings an awareness of our ancestry, of our culture, and it also allows for us to open the Hispanic Month, Kalbfleisch said. For us, its a way of sharing what we have and inviting everyone to participate and have fun at the same time. The parade was just the first celebration of the Fiestas Patrias. Our Lady of Guadalupe is hosting an official party with live music and food at its church, 4212 Marconi St., on Saturday, September 14, from noon to 11 p.m. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News 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 Texomashomepage.com. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) Suicide is a leading cause of death in the US. On Saturday, volunteers in the Metro gathered to promote suicide prevention. The annual Albuquerque Out of the Darkness Community Walk was hosted by the New Mexico chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. How does New Mexico stack up when it comes to budgeting? The event gives those who attend a chance to share their experiences and spend time with others going through similar issues. It really is such an important topic, and it is just as important as physical health, and part of the reason why its called Out of the Darkness Walk is to shine a light on this very important crisis we are going through and know we are not alone, and this is something we are all doing together, said Alix Herrera, a member of the foundation. All the money raised for the event goes toward education, research, and support for survivors. 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 KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. Education was important to the early settlers, so they sent their children to school six to eight months out of the year, working around planting and harvest seasons. Students attended from first grade (sometimes kindergarten) to eighth grade and received a quality education in these one-room schools. Everyone learned because you heard all the students recite their lessons. After several years you had heard the information so many times that you had to try hard NOT to learn," said Lila Menz, who went to Alton School. That was fortunate for the students who wanted to continue to high school after their eighth grade year, because they had to pass an examination to do so. The examination was grueling and the students studied all year to pass it. The test was usually administered in Adel by the county superintendent of schools. It took an entire day, sometimes two, and covered the subjects of reading, orthography (spelling), arithmetic, grammar, geography, physiology, U.S. history, penmanship, music, and civics of Iowa. Boys were needed on the farm and often went no further than eighth grade. Interestingly enough, students in town schools did not have to pass this examination to go on to high school. Hazel Pierson Hawbaker taught at one of the nine schools in Walnut Township. I had two 8th graders that first year I taughtthe girl was a good student but the boy couldnt spell CAT, she related. He failed the spelling test the first time he took it. His parents gave permission, and he stayed many nights after school so I could help him. He got by the second time when he took it over by the skin of his teeth! He scored 74%, and 70% or below was failing. He went on to be a college professor at Columbia, Missouri in meteorology. Gloria Shirley Renshaw was the only one in her class at Sugar Grove #4. Her aunt taught in Minburn and urged her to stay with her for her eighth grade year to get to know the students she would be joining in high school. Consequently, she never had to take the dreaded 8th grade exam. Once the pupils passed this test, they could attend the nearest high school, where the choices for juniors and seniors were college preparatory, business/office, or Normal Training. During those years in Normal Training, students were taught what they would need to teach in rural schools along with assisting with classes in the lower gradesthe forerunner of student teaching. If they were 18 upon graduating and passed the State Normal Training tests, they were certified to teach in a rural school. They could also attend a Normal School if they wished to teach in a town school. In Dallas County, there were Normal Schools located in Adel, Dexter, and Perry. A group is seeking information about the names and locations of schools in Colfax Township. During the early years of Dallas County, Colfax Township was attached to Adel Township until January 4, 1869, when its present boundaries were drawn. In 1879, Colfax had nine one-room schoolsone was in the town of Panther and was called Panther Creek. The students attending the rural schools in Colfax Township would have had similar experiences with eighth grade exams. Unfortunately, other than the locations of the schools listed in 1875 and 1916 atlases, we havent uncovered any stories about the schools located there. In an ongoing effort to preserve the history of the township schools in Dallas County, we are seeking details on the names and locations of the schools in Colfax Township. If you have any information about these schools, such as their location or stories of students who attended them, our group would like to hear from you. Please contact Myrna Griffith at wpldirector@minburncomm.net, Deanette Snyder at deanettesnyder@gmail.com, or Sue Leslie at densueles@aol.com. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: A look at one-room schools in Colfax Township and eighth grade exams Last year, it was easy to forget what summer in the West has become. There were clear skies. The air smelled clean. No burning eyes. From the top of a peak in the Lost River Range, you could see the ends of the Earth. Few people were worried they would have to evacuate, or even lose, their homes. But this year were back to normal. Smoke filled the Treasure Valley, and much of the rest of the state, for most of the summer. Towns in the Sawtooths have lived on the knifes edge of evacuation for weeks. Many residents near Stanely were evacuated for a time and could be again. The Plex Fire last week led to the sudden evacuation of several Boise subdivisions. So many people terrified. So much beauty gone. Its whats happened almost every summer of my life. When I was a kid, I was evacuated from a big forest fire. Hundreds of people in my town lost their homes. For months after that, the mountains that had always watched over us looked like the surface of the moon. Nothing ever felt the same there again. Now I live a couple of hours from Yellowstone, and when I drive through the aftermath of the 800,000-acre 1988 fire, I feel like I lost something though I never saw the forests before the blaze. In 2060, thats how someone driving to Stanley through the scars of the Wapiti Fire will feel. These landscapes are ancient; fire is so fast. Wildfire is a natural part of the western landscape. Lots of trees and other plants cant reproduce without it. Many decades of fire management that didnt take this adequately into account led to a buildup of fuel that has exacerbated the problem. More and more people are recreating in the backcountry, too many of whom are too lazy to properly extinguish their fires, or drive with dragging chains, or play with incendiary devices. Invasive species like cheatgrass can transform burned areas into places even more fire-prone. That is to say, a lot of this accelerating fire trend isnt due to climate change. But a lot of it is most of it, actually. A 2021 study found, using multiple methods, that the majority of increase in fire weather in the West between two-thirds and 90% is attributable to climate change. The Copernicus Climate Change Service confirmed Friday that 2024 was the worlds hottest summer on record, surpassing the record set last year. None of that is too surprising, since just about every year it seems we hear that it was the hottest year ever. All of the top 10 years for global temperature have occurred since 2000, according to NOAA. And so have all of the top 10 years for recorded acreage burned in the U.S., according to the EPA. When the Legislature convenes in January, it will probably be as if none of this ever happened. There will likely be no hearings lawmakers have had only one formal hearing on climate change, five years ago, with no serious policy follow-up. Lawmakers will do nothing as long as their constituents do nothing. If they hear from enough constituents, they will be forced to care. There are things the state could be doing to slow this tide, from reviewing the effectiveness of fire management and mitigation practices Idaho pursues under Good Neighbor Authority to encouraging clean energy development like the Carbon Free Power Project, a commercial nuclear development which seemingly collapsed a year ago amid financial concerns to better enforcement of laws designed to stop people from engaging in behaviors that risk sparking wildfires. This is a crisis a long, slow one that is going to get worse as we lose Idaho an acre at a time and we need to start treating it that way. Because how much worse is up to us. Bryan Clark is an opinion writer for the Idaho Statesman. A local school welcomed the community into their doors for a fun time! Luther Memorial Academy held a block party Saturday at their school. New attractions, eyes on future keep Waterford Community Fair going after 87 years Originally the event was going to be held at the corner of 10th and Sassafras Streets but organizers moved it inside due to the rain. Kids were able to participate in a corn hole tournament, carnival games and face painting as a fundraiser for the school. Loving Giving Local: Luther Memorial Church I really like our diversity. We welcome students of any religion. We are a Lutheran-based school but we are very welcoming and encourage anyone to come down, said Michelle Thom, principal of Luther Memorial Academy. We are still accepting students for the 24-25 school year. This is actually our 49th operating year as a school. Im so proud of Luther Memorial Academy and everything theyve done for the community. For more information about the academy, click here. 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 WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com. Second gentleman Doug Emhoff (left) speaks at a rally with U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) (right) at Dieruff High School in Allentown on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (Capital-Star photo by Peter Hall) In Pennsylvanias largest city with a majority Latino population, second gentleman Doug Emhoff told voters and volunteers that Vice President Kamala Harris would ensure continued opportunity and prosperity for families hoping to start businesses and build generational wealth if she is elected president. This is all about creating an opportunity economy where all of us, every one of us, can succeed, Emhoff said Saturday in Allentown, where he visited a Harris-Walz campaign field office to kick off a neighborhood door-knocking effort and a city high school to speak at a rally. With the potential for Pennsylvanias 579,000 eligible Latino voters to sway the outcome in a battleground state where the last two presidential elections were determined by narrow margins, the Harris-Walz campaign and former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, have worked to reach them. Latinos, who make up more than half the population of Allentown, Pennsylvanias third-largest city, remain behind several other demographic groups in significant economic measures, according to a voter profile released this week by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute. A survey released this week by UnidosUS, the largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy center in the nation, shows Latino voters are concerned with the high cost of living, the minimum wage and rising housing costs heading into the November elections. Emhoff told voters in Allentown that Harris will lower costs and grow the middle class through education and support for families and small businesses. Thats the basis of any great economy. She is a capitalist. She is pro-growth. Shes pro-business, but shes also pro-labor and pro-market. All those things can exist at the same time, Emhoff told a crowd that the campaign estimated at more than 400 in the gymnasium at Dieruff High School on Allentowns east side. Allentown School Board President Andrene Brown-Nowell told the Capital-Star before the rally that the Latino community is looking to see how the presidential candidates are going to support their children through education. How are we making sure that they have all the resources that they need to fill the workforce and be prepared for the workforce, Brown-Nowell said. It is so important that our Latino community is supported, because they are the minority right now, but they are getting ready to be the majority. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona told the rally crowd he was the proud grandson of Puerto Rican farmers who told him: Para tener buena cosecha, hay que saben siembra. In order to have a good harvest, you must know how to plant seeds, right? Planting seeds for the future generation is what the Harris-Walz ticket is all about. Planting seeds for a brighter future for our children with access to education, healthcare and accessible housing, Cardona said. Some who listened to Emhoff told the Capital-Star theyre supporting Harris because they believe she and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, will protect the interests of the working class, minorities and immigrants. The most important thing is for us also to have the opportunity to build generational wealth, said Jose Merced of Bethlehem. Other folks had that opportunity, and we would like that opportunity also for our kids, you know, and so we can move forward and grow and have a better life. Merced said help for families such as Harris proposals to restore a pandemic era child tax credit and help first-time homebuyers resonated most strongly for him. Once they invest in a property, in a home, it could be theirs and for their children in the future, and you build generational wealth that way, because thats how America was built, Merced said. Maria Cruz of Northampton said she came to the rally to hear the speakers reaffirming the Harris-Walz campaigns promise of a new way forward. Cruz, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico with her mother as an 8-year-old, said she believes everything she worked for by becoming a citizen is at stake in this years election. The first thing I did when I became a citizen was register to vote, because sometimes people do not understand what it takes to be a citizen, and I think Trump doesnt understand that, Cruz said. So we are fighting, and we want to not have that back in the White House. Before the rally, Emhoff visited a Harris-Walz campaign office in downtown Allentown where he and U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) delivered snacks to volunteers from Mary Ann Donut Kitchen, a 65-year-old Allentown institution. Espaillat, the first Dominican American and first formerly undocumented immigrant to serve in Congress, spoke about the threat that a second Trump presidency poses not only to the United States, but to its position in the world. Although Trump has tried to distance himself, Democrats and civil rights advocates have issued dire warnings about a conservative presidential transition plan titled Project 2025. Among its plans to dismantle pillars of American society, it discusses closing the U.S. Department of Education. People from all over the world understand and know that the great equalizer in the United States is its public education system, Espallit said. It doesnt matter where you come from, what language you speak, who you pray to, whether youre middle class or youre working class. Espallit told the volunteers not to discount as rhetoric the idea that this years presidential election is the most important in decades. No, this one truly is not just for our country, but for the world, he said. The whole world is watching what happens in this election. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE LEMON GROVE, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) A 21-year-old man was fatally shot in Lemon Grove Saturday night, and authorities on Sunday identified the victim and announced the suspect was arrested. According to the San Diego County Sheriffs Department, deputies were in the 3000 block of Lemon Grove Avenue around 11:30 p.m. Saturday when they heard several gunshots ring out. While checking the nearby business area, the deputies were told that there was a group of people arguing in the 3100 block of School Lane. While responding to the area, authorities found the 21-year-old victim suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The man was transported to a local hospital by the Heartland Fire Department, where he was later pronounced dead. He has been identified as Diego Omar Valera-Trujillo, 21, of Spring Valley. The cause and manner of his death will be determined by the Medical Examiners Office. San Diego Homicide Investigators say they were able to identify a suspect after investigating all night and day. A Sheriffs Special Enforcement Detail arrested Joshua Gonzalez, 27, of Lemon Grove, near his home on Lincoln Avenue around 5:30 p.m. Sunday. He was taken into custody and faces murder charges. Sheriffs Homicide investigators say they are still working to determine the circumstances and motivation behind the shooting. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with more information about this incident is encouraged to call the Homicide Unit at 858-285-6330/after hours at 858-285-6232, or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477. 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 FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. A man accused of fatally shooting a Phoenix police officer and injuring another now faces a first-degree murder charge. Sgt. Phil Krynsky, a department spokesperson, announced on Saturday evening that prosecutors upgraded 41-year-old Saul Bal's attempted murder charge to first-degree murder after Officer Zane Coolidge died on Sept. 6. Coolidge was 29-years old and a five-year veteran with the department. Bal faces one count of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault, burglary and being a prohibited possessor addition to the first-degree murder charge. Coolidge and 31-year-old Officer Matthew Haney received a call on Sept. 3 at around 6:30 p.m. about a man attempting to break into a car near 16th Street and McDowell Road. When they approached him, Bal fled the scene, police said. The officers reported that Bal fired at Haney and Coolidge, injuring both, and they returned fire, as detailed in the police statement. Bal initially escaped but was arrested after a search lasting over three hours, which led to the closure of several city blocks, police stops and searches of vehicles in the area. Police lights illuminated the area in red and blue as dozens of officers scoured the area with much of McDowell Road shut down with the search stretching as far as 7th Street and Interstate 10 to the west and State Route 51 to the east. At a short news conference held that evening in front of the hospital where Coolidge and Haney were being treated, Phoenix interim police Chief Michael Sullivan said this was the 11th time an officer had been the target of gunfire in 2024. "It angers me. I hope you share my anger, he said. Coolidge remained in critical condition until Sept. 6 when he died. Officer Matthew Haney was protected from serious injury by his ballistic vest. Haney, who has been with the department for two years and works in the same squad and precinct as Coolidge, was released from the hospital Wednesday and is recovering at home with his family, who have requested privacy. Josh Maxwell, a prosecutor with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, asked Commissioner Jane McLaughlin that Bal be held on a $2 million cash-only bond. "Last night, Mr. Bal tried to murder two on-duty and fully uniformed Phoenix Police Department officers," Maxwell said. "He has a lengthy criminal history. He is on parole from the Arizona Department of Corrections and a prohibited possessor." Maxwell asked that, should Bal post bond, he be placed on electronic monitoring. McLaughlin sided with Maxwell, noting that Bal had an extensive criminal history and included "at least two prior allegations of violence against police officers" and set his bond at $2 million cash-only. McLaughlin added that most of Bal's criminal history was from California, which suggested he had ties to the state. It was not immediately clear Sunday morning whether his bond amount would increase following the upgraded murder charge. Near the end of the hearing, Bal denied shooting the officers. "I know they're saying that I shot 'em shot at 'em or something like that but I didn't have a gun," Bal said. McLaughlin reminded Bal that he had the right to remain silent about the crimes he is accused of, and while he was free to not exercise that right, recommended he wait to consult with his attorney before making any public statements to the court that could be used against him. Asked if he understood the warning, Bal appeared to mumble something unintelligible before saying, "I guess so, yeah." Bal's next scheduled court hearing is Sept. 10 at 8:30 a.m. in Maricopa County Superior Court. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Man accused of shooting Phoenix officer faces new murder charge Man accused of hitting Jewish students with bottle in Pittsburgh now linked to prior attack The suspect arrested last Friday on accusations of attacking a group of Jewish students on the University of Pittsburgh campus is now being accused of a previous incident at a different school. Jarrett Buba, the suspect identified in court documents, was arrested on Aug. 30 after a group of Jewish students on the University of Pittsburgh campus was attacked by someone wielding a bottle, the university said in a statement. He had no known affiliation to the school, according to the university, and was immediately arrested. Buba was charged last week with two counts of simple assault, two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of recklessly endangering another person, two counts of harassment and one count of resisting arrest, according to online records. According to the criminal complaint, on Aug. 29 the day before the attack on the University of Pittsburgh campus two Carnegie Mellon University community members had a glass bottle thrown at them. There were no reported injuries and the bottle struck a nearby vehicle, according to the criminal complaint. Carnegie Mellon Police canvassed the area after receiving a call but did not find the suspect. Buba was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment and harassment in connection with the Aug. 29 incident, according to online court records. It was unclear Saturday night whether Buba had a lawyer who could comment on his behalf. The next day, Carnegie Mellon University issued a public safety alert to the community due to the incident on the University of Pittsburgh campus. After seeing the alert, one of the victims from the Aug. 29 incident called police to indicate they believed the suspect was the same male from August 29, according to the complaint. The incident at Carnegie Mellon University appeared to be random. According to the complaint, Buba began following the two victims after they made eye contact with him. Surveillance footage shows the suspect engaging with the two victims, turning around to follow them, rushing toward them and aggressively throwing the green bottle toward the victims, according to the complaint. Buba continued to engage with the victims in an aggressive manner until he fled. The incident at the University of Pittsburgh involved two students who were wearing yarmulkes while walking on campus. One student made eye contact with Buba, who was seated at a table across the street, according to the criminal complaint. Buba was described in that incident as wearing a keffiyeh, a scarf that has become a symbol of Palestinian solidarity. Surveillance video shows Buba running across the street and up to the two students, who were traveling with a group, according to the complaint. The two students said they were attacked from behind with a green glass sparkling water bottle, one on the right cheek and the other on the back of the neck, resulting in several superficial lacerations. One of the victims struck Buba and tackled him to the ground to detain him while waiting for police, who arrived and eventually arrested Buba. The two students were treated at the scene, and the university said officials contacted the Hillel University Center and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to offer support to students. While there is not believed to be any ongoing threat to the public stemming from this incident, we recognize that incidents like these are unsettling to our Pitt community, the university said in its statement. To be clear: Neither acts of violence nor antisemitism will be tolerated. The incident occurred near the Cathedral of Learning, a central building on the universitys main campus. Agents from the FBIs Pittsburgh field office are investigating the case as a possible hate crime, according to the criminal complaint. Police said the investigation is ongoing, and the University of Pittsburgh confirmed that local and federal partners are supporting efforts. The University of Pittsburgh Police Department said it did not believe the incident was connected to an earlier violent incident reported at the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, which is located across the street from the Cathedral of Learning. Pittsburgh Public Safety said a man was shot in the leg near the complex around 5:30 p.m. and was transported in stable condition. Both the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon Universitys fall semester begam on Aug. 26. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com CARLISLE, Iowa Police have arrested a man in connection to Fridays bank robbery in Carlisle. On Friday, a man entered the First Interstate Bank in Carlisle and handed the teller a note demanding money. The note said that he had a gun, which he displayed in his waistband. The man left the bank and headed for an unknown location. Police released a security camera image of the man asking for help identifying him. Friday afternoon the Carlisle Police Department obtained an arrest warrant for Kevin Jeffrey Seay. On Saturday, police determined that Seay had fled to Lakeville, Minnesota. They contacted the Minnesota Police Department who were able to locate and take Seay into custody. Seay is charged with first-degree robbery, a Class B felony. The Carlisle Police Department would like to thank the Indianola Police Department, the Warren County Attorney and Sheriffs Office, the Iowa State Patrol, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations, the Lakeville, Minnesota Police Department and the Dickenson County Sheriffs Office, Minnesota for their assistance in the investigation. 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 who13.com. Man charged after teen hit, killed in Liberty, troopers say LIBERTY, N.C. (WGHP) A Liberty man will now face charges after a hit-and-run that took the life of a teen in Alamance County last month, according to a State Highway Patrol news release. On Aug. 20 at 9:49 p.m., Daniela Trejo Mendiola, 17, of Graham, was walking across the middle of the road when she was hit by a vehicle going northwest on Oak Grove Church Road. She died at the scene, troopers say. Alexis Masseys shooter still on the loose, family asks community for answers On Tuesday, Alamance County troopers and investigators with the Collision Reconstruction Unit met with the District Attorneys Office to discuss the findings of their investigation. Following an investigation conducted by Alamance County troopers, investigators with the Collision Reconstruction Unit, the Alamance County District Attorneys Office and State Highway Patrol officials will pursue felony hit-and-run charges against Joshua Thomas Brown, 38, of Liberty. At 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Brown voluntarily met investigators at the Alamance County Jail in Graham. Brown was arrested, charged and brought before a magistrate. Brown faces felony hit-and-run and was also cited with a window tint violation. He was given a $50,000 secured bond. 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 Queen City News. DELAWARE, Ohio (WCMH) A man is dead after being shot overnight Sunday in Delaware County, according to the sheriffs office. Deputies were called at 3 a.m. to go to a residence near Norton-Waldo Road in Marlboro Township where they found a man who had been shot. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene with his identity unknown at this time, per the DCSO. Vest-wearing security guard survives Christmas eve shooting; suspects remain at large The sheriffs office said several subjects were detained and that charges are anticipated after the shooting. Additionally, detectives believe other possible persons of interest fled the scene before law enforcement arrived. Shortly after 8 p.m., the DSCO announced they have issued a warrant for Bruno Vasquez Munguia, 22, who is wanted in connection to the shooting. DSCO said officers believe he may be in the Columbus area, or also possible in Indiana. DSCO said he is believed to be armed and dangerous, and should not be approached if seen. If anyone sees Vasquez Munguia, they are asked to call 911 or DSCO at 740-833-2800 immediately. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations is assisting the sheriffs office in the investigation of this shooting. This embedded content is not available in your region. 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 NBC4 WCMH-TV. 33-year-old man dead after shooting in west Phoenix A 33-year-old man was killed in a shooting early Saturday morning in west Phoenix. About 4:20 a.m., officers responded to reports of gunfire in a neighborhood near 51st Avenue and Thomas Road, according to Phoenix police Sgt. Brian Bower. Officers found a man lying outside a residence with a gunshot wound. They immediately moved him away from the house and administered lifesaving measures, Bower said. Phoenix firefighters arrived and pronounced the man dead at the scene. He was identified as Humberto Ortiz. Investigators learned that Ortiz had been shot by an unknown person who left before police arrived. Anyone with information on the shooter's identity was encouraged to call Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS or 480-TESTIGO. Officer dies: Phoenix police Officer Zane Coolidge dies from injuries after shooting This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Here's what we know about a west Phoenix shooting that left a man dead Athens Police say 17-year-old arrested in shooting at Athens apartment complex ATHENS, Ala. (WHNT) The Athens Police Department has confirmed that a teenager has been arrested and charged in a deadly shooting over the weekend in Athens. Athens Police Capt. Brett Constable confirmed to News 19 Monday that a 17-year-old had been arrested in connection with the shooting that left one dead. Murder charge against Jackson County man dropped after Stand Your Ground hearing Limestone County Coroner Mike West told News 19 that the victim has been identified as 33-year-old Ladevine Adre Crutcher from Athens. The Athens Police Department (APD) said Saturday afternoon a man was detained following the shooting investigation at Fifth Avenue Apartments in Athens. Constable says the man was detained for questioning about 20 minutes into the investigation. According to Constable, the investigation began after officers found a dead man in a grassy area at the complex following reports of a shooting. At around the same time as the shooting, Constable says a man arrived at Athens Hospital in a private vehicle after being shot in the leg. Constable says this injury happened in the same grassy area at the apartment complex. He says the man is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The juvenile suspect is expected to appear in court on Tuesday. 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 WHNT.com. Man dies after being shot multiple times in the chest in Seattle's Sand Point neighborhood Seattle Police say a 23-year-old man died from a shooting in the Sand Point neighborhood Sunday morning. Shortly before 3:30 a.m. someone called 911 to report hearing gunshots near 62nd Avenue Northeast. When police arrived, officers say they found the man, whod been shot multiple times in the chest, in pain. Officers provided aid until the Seattle Fire Department arrived, but the man died from his injuries. Homicide Unit detectives are now working to determine the circumstances that led up to the shooting. No suspect has been identified. If anyone has information about this incident, please call SPD Violent Crimes Tip Line at (206) 233-5000 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) A man who was brutally beaten in a fight on Friday died from his injuries early Sunday afternoon. Timothy Davis, 64, suffered serious head injuries after he was beaten with a skateboard in a fight on North High Street Friday afternoon. Police said despite all efforts by medical staff, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 12:15 p.m. Sunday. Police arrested Adrian Ashely, 46, for allegedly assaulting Davis. Ashley was originally charged with felonious assault, and police said Sunday he is now charged with murder. Ashley is scheduled to appear in court for his arraignment Monday at 9 a.m. Ashley has past charges ranging several decades, including a three-year sentence in 2004 for involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault, according to court documents. The homicide unit has been investigating the case for two days due to the severity of Davis injuries. Police said they believe several witnesses recorded the assault as it took place, and request any witnesses to the incident come forward. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 614-645-4730, or report anonymously to Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS (8477). 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 NBC4 WCMH-TV. ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) St. George Police responded to a hotel room where a man was holding his seven children hostage on Saturday. At around 11 p.m. on Sept. 7, police responded to a domestic violence situation at a St. George hotel located on the 1100 block of South Bluff Street. Officers found Jonathan Dayzie and a woman, who were both engaged in a physical fight. READ NEXT: Provo mother accused of 76 counts of child sex crimes involving 10-year-old daughter Officers were able to separate the two, according to a press release from St. George Police, however, Dayzie got inside the hotel room and barricaded the door, refusing to speak with officers. Dayzies seven children were also located inside the room. Dayzie reportedly threatened to hurt them during the incident. It was determined that an aggravated assault, kidnapping, and several other charges occurred between a female and Jonathan. Jonathan was also actively holding their seven children against their will in the whole hotel room and had threatened to hurt their children as well during the incident. SWAT was called due to the barricaded/hostage situation, the release states. Dayzie reportedly would not surrender and SWAT made what police called an energetic breach, to gain access to the room. The children were then released to the woman who was their mother. Medical personnel cleared everyone on scene of injuries. Dayzie was booked into Washington County Jail on two counts of aggravated assault, kidnapping, unlawful detention, seven counts of domestic violence in the presence of children, disorderly conduct, seven counts of child abuse, obstruction of justice, interfering with a peace officer, and intoxication. Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. 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 ABC4 Utah. WASHINGTON (DC News Now) The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said a man was shot in Southeast D.C. on Saturday night. MPD said that at about 9:40 p.m., officers were at the scene of a shooting in the 2300 block of Pennsylvania Ave. Two people shot in Southeast DC The man was conscious and breathing. 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 DC News Now | Washington, DC. Victim describes I-75 shooting in Kentucky. This man was out to kill. Rebecca Puryear is facing surgery but is thankful to be alive after she was one of five people shot and seriously injured while traveling on Interstate 75 in Southern Kentucky Saturday afternoon. Someone shot through the passenger-side window of Puryears 2021 Toyota Camry, hitting her in the right arm. The bullet continued across her chest and burst into fragments when it hit the driver-side door, injuring her left arm, Puryear said. She still had fragments in her chest Sunday, she said. The pain from being shot wasnt as bad as she expected, though, and she was grateful her injuries werent worse and that her husband and son werent shot. Im thanking God every second of the day, said Puryear, 28. This couldve been so much worse. What we know about the shootings on I-75 in Kentucky All five victims shot on I-75 north of London, in Laurel County, Saturday are stable. Police continue to search for a person of interest in the shooting, identified as 32-year-old Joseph Couch. Authorities shut down almost 20 miles of interstate and many side roads in the area on Saturday night while they searched for Couch, and the manhunt resumed Sunday morning. Puryear, of Harlan County, her husband Chris and their 4-year-old son, Christian, had been to Richmond to eat at Olive Garden and then on to Lexington, and were headed home when the shooting happened. Rebecca Puryear, shown with her son Chrisitan, was one of several people shot by a gunman along Interstate 75 in Laurel County Ky., on 9/7/2024 Puryear was driving as they headed south on I-75, cruise control set on 80 mph, when they heard a noise. I looked at my husband and said, What was that? He said it was gunshots. I said, Oh my God! Puryear said. Next thing I know, my ears are ringing. Puryear said her first thought was of whether her son and husband were hit. They had scratches from broken glass; her husband said he wasnt bleeding but she was. I was just gushing the blood, she said. I looked at my chest and said, My chest is burning. Puryear and her husband believe the shooter was on a hillside beside the interstate, given that the bullet pierced the passenger-side window. Police said the gunman shot a total of nine cars on both sides of the road. This man was out to kill, and he almost did, Puryear said. Police looked for evidence in the car of one of the people shot from ambush on Interstate 75 in Laurel County on 9/7/2024 Puryear said she was wearing a Wrangler cross-body purse. She thinks the strap across her chest with a metal piece deflected the bullet and prevented her from being injured more badly. Puryear started to pull off the road when she was shot but her husband told her to keep going to get out of danger. He was like, Absolutely not. Keep driving, Puryear said. She drove about a mile down the interstate and then pulled off. Her husband had her take off her shirt and press it on the wound to try to stem the bleeding. Chris Puryear had called 911 and sheriffs Deputy Bobby Roberts showed up soon, crossing over the median on the interstate to reach them. Roberts put Rebecca Puryear in the back of his cruiser and rushed her to Saint Joseph London Hospital. She was released Saturday night but will have surgery later, Puryear said. Police impounded her car as evidence, so friends brought another vehicle from Harlan County for her and her husband and son to get home. I was terrified to get back in a vehicle last night because he was still on the run, Puryear said of the gunman. She and her family got home by about 2 a.m. Sunday. Roberts, the deputy, messaged her about 3:30 a.m. Sunday to check on her, Puryear said. A few hours later she said she still hadnt been able to wrap my head around what happened. In a blink of an eye you could not be here, she said. I dont want nobody elses family to go through this. A man shot by Kuna deputies in August after multiple car chases was arraigned Friday afternoon on charges of robbery, grand theft, fleeing an officer and domestic violence. He attended the hearing via video from a hospital, the Ada County Sheriffs Office said. The man, Jeremiah Bainbridge, was hospitalized in critical condition right after being shot, according to previous Statesman reporting. His hospitalization delayed the criminal justice case, the arraignment hearing revealed. The prosecution asked for a $2 million bond, arguing that Bainbridge was a flight risk with limited ties to the area and is known to have access to weapons. He poses a significant risk to the community, James Vogt said in court for the prosecution. Judge Kira Dale set bond at $1 million, with several release conditions, including a no-contact order, an order to not possess firearms and a GPS unit to monitor his location. Vogt told the court that on the night of the incident, Bainbridge and his girlfriend had gotten into an argument. His girlfriend wanted to get out of the car because she didnt feel safe, according to Vogt. Bainbridge then ripped her car keys out of a closed pocket and drove away in her vehicle. The victim was observed to have scratches and abrasions, Vogt said. Court documents indicate that Bainbridge was driving 100 mph in a 40-mph zone. He swerved toward police officers who had tried to deploy spike strips, Vogt said, and called dispatch to say he was armed and wouldnt go back to jail. The Meridian Police Department initially chased the car until losing sight of the vehicle in Kuna and calling off the chase, according to Statesman reporting. Deputies with Kunas police force the town contracts with the Ada County Sheriffs Office for its services saw the car 15 minutes later and pursued Bainbridge on Meridian Road toward Interstate 84. Law enforcement eventually used a pursuit-intervention technique to stop the car and knock it into the median on I-84. Vogt said Bainbridge exited the vehicle with a gun in his hand; three Kuna deputies fired their weapons at Bainbridge, according to previous reporting. Man shot while at Delhi business, police say MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) A man was hospitalized after being shot while at a Delhi business Saturday morning, the Merced County Sheriffs Office announced. Deputies say early Saturday morning, they responded to a home on 5th Street in Delhi for a report of a shooting. Upon arrival, responding units reported a man suffering from a gunshot wound. He was transported to a local hospital where his condition is currently unknown. Investigators learned the man had been shot while at a business in the 9000 block of Stephens Drive in Delhi. This is an active investigation and anyone with additional information is asked to contact the Merced County Sheriffs Investigation Bureau at 209-385-7445. 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 YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47. Man stabbed in western German hotel after fight over noise complaint Police officers are on duty near the scene where a man has been stabbed in a hotel in Roedermark, after a dispute over a noise complaint. --/5vision.news/dpa A man has been stabbed in a hotel in western Germany after a dispute over a noise complaint. The early Sunday morning incident in the town of Rodermark, south of Frankfurt, saw four guests come to blows, police in nearby Offenbach said. A 33-year-old man then stabbed a man of the same age in the upper body with a knife. The victim was hospitalized, but police said his injuries are not life-threatening. The suspect fled into a wooded area and was arrested shortly after. He was taken into custody by order of a public prosecutor along with a 29-year-old accomplice. Man walked up to woman and sexually abused victim in Manhattan: NYPD CHELSEA, Manhattan (PIX11) A man allegedly went up to a woman, pulled her pants down, and grabbed her buttocks in a sexual abuse incident Tuesday morning, police said. The male suspect groped a 28-year-old female victim. More Manhattan News Officers from the tenth precinct responded to a 911 call at 3:45 a.m. The female victim had been walking near West 26 Street and 11 Avenue when she was approached by an unidentified male who pulled the victims pants down, authorities said. Police say the male fled eastbound on West 26 Street. The victim refused medical attention at the scene of the incident, police said. A full investigation remains ongoing. Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here. 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 PIX11. Man wanted for homicide in Maury County, considered armed and dangerous MAURY COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) Authorities in Maury County are trying to track down a wanted man who they said should be considered armed and dangerous. The Maury County Sheriffs Department posted about 46-year-old Michael Van Dobbs on Saturday, Sept. 7, saying he is currently wanted for criminal homicide. Have breaking news come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts Officials described Dobbs as 6 feet tall and 235 pounds. The following photo was shared on social media by law enforcement: Michael Van Dobbs (Courtesy: Maury County Sheriffs Department) If you see Dobbs or have any information regarding his whereabouts, you are asked not to approach him. Instead, call the Maury County Sheriffs Department immediately at 931-388-5151 or 1-800-TBI-FIND. Authorities have not released any information about the circumstances surrounding the incident that led to Dobbs being wanted for homicide. On Monday, September 9, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) said in a post to X that Dobbs had been added to Tennessees Most Wanted list of fugitives. A reward of up to $2,500 is being offered for information leading to his arrest, a follow-up post reads, in part. Download the News 2 app to stay updated on the go. Sign up for WKRN email alerts to have breaking news sent to your inbox. Find todays top stories on WKRN.com for Nashville, TN and all of Middle Tennessee. This is a developing story. WKRN News 2 will continue to update this article as new information becomes available. 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 WKRN News 2. Mandatory evacuations ordered as Line Fire in San Bernardino Co. surpasses 7,100 acres The Line Fire in San Bernardino County exploded beyond 7,100 acres in size on Saturday, prompting mandatory evacuations in Highland, Running Springs, Arrowbear Lake and San Bernardino. CAL FIRE and San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department officials said evacuation orders were issued for some neighborhoods Saturday morning while others remained under evacuation warnings. No structure damage or injuries had been reported as more than 500 firefighters battled the flames. officials said. No containment had been established. The blaze ignited Thursday evening in the area of Baseline and Alpin streets. It expanded to 1,200 acres by Friday night, and on Saturday afternoon, it was measured at 7,122 acres. The Line Fire in San Bernardino County exploded to more than 3,800 acres on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, prompting mandatory evacuation orders in Highland. Pyrocumulus cloud: Line Fire creates its own weather system Before sunset, the fire had grown big enough to create its own weather system. A massive, mushroom-shaped pyrocumulus cloud fed by the heat of the wildfire formed above, according to the National Weather Service. "These can create very dangerous conditions for fire fighters," the NWS said via social media. "As of 6:30 p.m., we recorded over 3700 lightning strikes inside the clouds, with over 280 ground strikes." More: Line Fire producing dangerous weather conditions for firefighters The fire made uphill runs and spotted out in front of itself as it burned through grass and chaparral, according to CAL FIRE. Firefighters were concerned about "potential for large fire growth" as the fire continued burning its way toward the north east, incident commanders said in a statement. Both directions of Highway 330 were shut down "until further notice" Saturday afternoon between Highland Avenue in Highland and Highway 18 in Running Springs, according to Caltrans and sheriff's department officials. Northbound traffic on Highway 18 was shut down Saturday evening between Kuffle Canyon Road and Running Springs, Caltrans said. Southbound traffic remained open. Fire officials set up a base of operations at Aurantia Park, which was closed to the public. What neighborhoods are under evacuation orders? A mandatory evacuation order was issued about 9:30 a.m. Saturday for Highland residents living between Calle Del Rio and Garnet Road and between Highway 38 and Greenspot Road. Sheriff's officials expanded the order Saturday afternoon to include the neighborhood north of Highland Avenue, between Orchard Road Orchard Road to Cloverhill Drive, in Highland, along with the community of Running Springs, east of Highway 330 and south of Highway 18, as well as the neighboring community of Arrowbear Lake. As night fell, an additional evacuation was ordered in San Bernardino for the neighborhood northeast of Highland and Palm avenue, according to the San Bernardino Police Department. Residents in the mandatory evacuation area were urged to leave immediately. Evacuation orders were also issued for undeveloped land east of Highway 330 to Summertrail place, and north of Highland Avenue, sheriff's officials said. Evacuation warnings, indicating evacuations were not yet required but could could become necessary soon, remained in effect for neighborhoods east of Church Street and north of Highland Avenue, as well as east of Weaver Street and north of Greenspot Road to the Iron Bridge, authorities said. The Line Fire in San Bernardino County exploded to more than 3,800 acres on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, prompting mandatory evacuation orders in Highland. "Those who require additional time to evacuate, and those with pets and livestock should leave now," according to a CAL FIRE statement. An evacuation center was established at Immanuel Baptist Church, 28355 Baseline Street. American Red Cross volunteers were sent to assist evacuees with shelter and other resources, according to representatives of the organization's Southern California Region. The Devore Animal Shelter at 19777 Shelter Way in San Bernardino was serving as a drop-off location for evacuated residents who need a temporary place for their pets, San Bernardino County officials said. It's crucial to understand the difference between an **Evacuation Warning** and an **Evacuation ORDER**: - Evacuation Warning means conditions could worsen and you should prepare to leave. -Evacuation ORDER means conditions are immediately dangerous and you must evacuate for pic.twitter.com/IAldEcvEik San Bernardino County Sheriff (@sbcountysheriff) September 7, 2024 Weather outlook Firefighters continued contending with triple-digit heat and low relative humidity levels. The NWS predicted a slight change of thunderstorms and showers in the area on Saturday and Sunday. An Excessive Heat Warning was in in effect in the area through 8 p.m. Monday. More: Smoke from Line Fire impacting High Desert air quality More: Line Fire exceeds 1,100 acres in San Bernardino County The cause of the fire remained under investigation. This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Evacuations ordered as Line Fire in Highland surpasses 7,100 acres Video above: Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, a spokesperson for the Laurel County Sheriffs Office provides an update on the search for Joseph A. Couch on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. LONDON, Ky. (WDKY/AP) The SUV belonging to a man authorities believe is linked to a shooting on a Kentucky interstate on Saturday has been found. Authorities were searching a rugged and hilly area north of London, a community of about 8,000 people roughly 75 miles south of Lexington, on Sunday, looking for 32-year-old Joseph A. Couch. He was initially considered a person of interest after authorities found an SUV registered to him on a service road near where Saturdays violence broke out on Interstate 75. While speaking with reporters Sunday afternoon, Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, a spokesperson for the Laurel County Sheriffs Office, said Couch had become a suspect due to the totality of everything that weve developed so far. Couch, seen in the photo handout below, remains at large as of 2 p.m. on Sunday, nearly 24 hours after the Laurel County Sheriffs Office was called to a portion of Interstate near London for a report of gunshots. Joseph A. Couch (LCSO) When they arrived at the scene, they found numerous vehicles on the side of the highway at Exit 49. An individual who was off that exit fired multiple rounds into the northbound and southbound lanes, striking nine vehicles and wounding five people, Acciardo said. The shooter was not in a vehicle at the time. When our first two units got to the scene there, they said it was a madhouse: people on the sides of the road, emergency flashers going, bullet holes, windows shot out, nine vehicles shot. Can you imagine that? Just chaotic, Acciardo said during a news conference Sunday. As of Sunday morning, all five people were listed as being in stable condition, although some of the victims had very serious injuries, including one person who was shot in the face, Acciardo said. When investigators located Couchs SUV, they also recovered a rifle case, the sheriffs office announced Sunday. While revisiting that area on Sunday, authorities located a semi-automatic weapon. The firearm was in an elevated wooded area next to the highway that he could have shot down upon the interstate from, Acciardo said. Federal authorities are helping to process the evidence. Investigators are continuing to search for Couch as of Sunday afternoon. We dont know where hes at, Acciardo told reporter, noting that while they believe Couch is still in the area theyre searching, he could be somewhere else. He couldnt have picked an area thats any more remote and difficult for us to try and locate him. Acciardo said the shooting appeared to be a random act of violence, and wouldnt speculate as to a possible motive. Authorities believe there was only one shooter and Acciardo said they do not believe the shooting was sparked by road rage. Couch is considered armed and dangerous, and authorities have advised the public not to attempt to approach him. Anyone with information regarding Couchs whereabouts or location is asked to contact the London-Laurel County 911 Center by calling 911 or 606-878-7000. Man dies after doctor removes the wrong organ during surgery, widow says Two other people were hurt in the vehicle accident, he said. Residents of Laurel County were on edge as authorities searched on foot Sunday in a remote wooded area near the highway that has only one business and a few houses nearby. London Laurel Rescue squad sent a drone to assist. State lawmakers from Laurel County urged residents in the area to stay home during the search. We had numerous calls throughout the county and were still getting them this morning, Acciardo said, of calls from concerned community members. This is a remote area. If he was going to target some place that he wanted to do something like this, it was the perfect spot. Rodney Goodlett, pastor of Faith Assembly of God in London, was helping direct traffic as parishioners gathered for a service Sunday morning. He said he expected the search to hold down attendance. Theres definitely people that probably wont be here today just nervous with the suspect still at large, he said. Goodlett said the congregation was going to pray for the community, the wounded and the first responders, some of whom attend Faith Assembly, where around 275 parishioners pray each week. This is tragic, obviously, that somebody would randomly do violent acts, he said. You hear media things taking place all around our country, but then when it hits home, its a little bit of a wake-up call. We do have the area contained right now. Its a very fluid investigation. Our people are still on the scene. Our special response team is there. We are trying to find a shooter there, he said. State lawmakers from Laurel County urged residents in the area to stay home as police continued to search for the shooter. Las Vegas police arrest pastor with guns, drugs in hotel room: sources Without a doubt, this is an act of senseless violence that does not reflect the values of this community, our Commonwealth, or its people, they said in a statement. In a video update on Facebook late Saturday night, London Mayor Randall Weddle tried to calm fears as the search continued for the gunman. He urged residents to call 911 if they hear or see anything suspicious near their homes. Below: London, KY mayor gives an update following the shooting from a livestream hosted on the citys Facebook page Were asking folks, please, do not go outside your home shooting because we might have first responders in that area. Its important to know you are safe. We have multiple agencies in this community, in the city of London and in Laurel County, Weddle said. Weddle said searchers know the general area where this individual is, but he would not release specific details. I am receiving initial reports from the Kentucky State Police and our Office of Homeland Security together we are actively monitoring the situation and offering support in any way possible, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a post on the social platform X. Please pray for everyone involved. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 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 Queen City News. A federal lawsuit claims that the owner/operator of a South End Tacoma hotel failed to prevent the sex trafficking of a young woman between 2019 and 2021 despite many red flags that should have alerted it to the illegal conduct occurring on the premises. The suit, filed by a woman identified only by her initials to protect her identity, alleged that the Quality Inn & Suites on 8810 S. Hosmer St. didnt act on warning signs that she was repeatedly being forced to have sex for money at the lodging establishment. Sex trafficking occurred at this subject hotel in 2019 and, upon information and belief, prior thereto, the complaint said. The suit was filed Aug. 28 in U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington. It said that the hotels owner, Tacoma Hotel Motel LLC, didnt timely or properly implement anti-trafficking policies and practices accepted in the hospitality industry, leading to the woman being victimized and trafficked for sex at the hotel. The lawsuit also alleged that the victims trafficker directly interacted with one or more hotel employees by means of paying or compensating employee(s) and staff members(s) to act as lookout(s)/informant(s) for any police activity. When reached by phone Wednesday, a Tacoma Hotel Motel representative declined to comment on the allegations and said that the company had yet to be served with the lawsuit. Messages left with the attorney representing the plaintiff were not returned by deadline Thursday. The Quality Inn & Suites is on a stretch of street in Tacoma that had been clustered with lodging establishments and had grown notorious for violent crime. While the hotel remains in operation, other properties over the past two years including the adjacent former Econo Lodge have been or will be converted into affordable-housing units. Crime rates have subsequently dropped in the area, according to a News Tribune analysis of city data. The lawsuit claimed there were other victims forced by the plaintiffs trafficker to have sex for money at the hotel and that the trafficker used proceeds from the illicit activity to pay for the room(s). Tacoma Hotel Motel either knew or should have known that sex trafficking was occurring on its premises because there were warning signs witnessed by staff, according to the suit. People constantly went to the traffickers rented room(s) to have sex with the victim(s), who walked around the motel under the influence of drugs and alcohol, with visible bruising and in sexually explicit clothing, the complaint said. There were suspicious items in the room(s) in plain sight of housekeepers, including cash, drugs, condoms and lubricants. The plaintiffs trafficker monitored the property and the plaintiff solicited for sex buyers on site at her traffickers direction, according to the complaint, which also described other red flags. The woman, who was born in 1999, has suffered from depression, anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the trauma she experienced, the suit said. The legal filing seeks a jury trial and an unspecified amount in damages and legal fees. The family of Marc Fogel attended a panel discussion about hostage diplomacy at the University of Pittsburgh on Saturday. Fogel has been imprisoned in Russia since 2021. The panel was hosted by the University of Pittsburghs Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies among others. International experts spoke at the Frick Fine Arts building. A former board member at the school where Fogel was set to teach shared his insight and accused the Russian government of shutting down and stealing the school. It was a center for thought and ideas and international engagement in the middle of the Russian capital that not just had an enormous impact on the kids who went there but made a real contribution to Russia, frankly, Ambassador Eric Rubin said. The US still has not declared Fogel as wrongfully detained despite his familys efforts. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Woman killed, 2 people hurt in shooting at Lawrence County bar Local school bus driver, police chaplain facing child pornography charges Massive tree falls during severe storms, splitting Beaver County home in half VIDEO: Heres how a local school district is working to address the nationwide teacher shortage DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts Mark Ruffalo has been taking heat over comments on social media Friday about the deaths of U.S. citizens Hersh Goldberg-Polin and Aysenur Egan Eygi in Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza, particularly from conservatives, such as one conservative talk show host who accused him of only supporting innocent dead [Jews] he can exploit. Neither Hersh Goldberg-Polin nor Aysenur Egan Eygi would be dead today [if] it werent [for] the USAs failed policies concerning the continued siege on Gaza, Netanyahu, and the IDFs intransigence, Ruffalo tweeted Saturday. If Biden had remained steadfast to American Law, his own policies concerning military aid, his Redlines and the world outcry, his ability to use American law to leverage a ceasefire, these beautiful young people would be alive today. Neither Hersh Goldberg-Polin nor Aysenur Egan Eygi would be dead today it werent the USAs failed policies concerning the continued siege on Gaza, Netanyahu, and the IDFs intransigence. If Biden had remained steadfast to American Law, his own policies concerning military aid, https://t.co/jAq32GFaKH Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) September 6, 2024 [Secretary of State] Blinkens comments do not meet the significance of this event. He does not address how the USA will keep other Americans safe there no matter what the circumstances may be. Eygi was protesting an illegal settlement. This has gone too far. Its too much and it has to be addressed in good faith, finally. #TooFarTooMuchGaza. Ruffalos post also quoted a tweet from polarizing Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who had shared video of Blinkens response to a press conference question. She added, Complete and utter failure in keeping Americans safe. Conservative commentator Jason Rantz wrote on X in response to Ruffalo, Just a reminder that the only Jews that Mark Ruffalo support are innocent dead ones he can exploit. What an absolute ghoul. Just a reminder that the only Jews that Mark Ruffalo support are innocent dead ones he can exploit. What an absolute ghoul. https://t.co/p1DquDZ5As Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) September 8, 2024 Conservative law professor Adam Mossoff chimed in, Mark Ruffalo went full Nazi Brownshirt. Never go full Nazi Brownshirt. (To turn an appropriate phrase from Robert Downey Jr.s famous line in Tropic Thunder.) Mark Ruffalo went full Nazi Brownshirt. Never go full Nazi Brownshirt. (To turn an appropriate phrase from Robert Downey Jr.'s famous line in Tropic Thunder.) https://t.co/qBlZgkHg0t Adam Mossoff (@AdamMossoff) September 8, 2024 An account called The Persian Jewess attacked Ruffalo by writing, Only a total and complete piece of human feces would pretend to care about Hersh Goldberg Polin after actively and purposely ignoring his existence and refusing to acknowledge his captivity for 330 days. Hey @MarkRuffalo go Fk Yourself. Goldberg-Polin, a dual citizen of both the U.S. and Israel, was among those taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023. His body, as well as the bodies of Ori Danino, Carmel Gat, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Eden Yerushalmi, was found in Gaza on Sept. 1 after nearly 11 months of captivity and they are believed to have been killed by Hamas. Activist Arsen Ostrovsky, a self-described Proud Zionist and senior fellow with the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, complained that Ruffalo had turned off comments on the contentious post. Ostrovsky wrote, The coward @MarkRuffalo removed the ability to reply to his obscene post. So allow me dear Mark to spell it out here: Hersh Goldern-Polin would indeed still be alive today if he was not attacked by Hamas, kidnapped into Gaza and then executed by Hamas. Eygi, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Turkey, was shot and killed in the occupied West Bank while protesting Israels presence in the area. Two eyewitnesses told CNN that Eygi was shot by Israeli military forces. On Sept. 5, Ruffalo and other prominent creatives calling themselves Artists4Ceasefire called for an end to weapons transfers that violate U.S. and international law. Ruffalo previously called for the U.S. to threaten cutting off weapons to Israel in an August editorial in the L.A. Times. Ruffalo, an outspoken progressive, has dodged accusations of both antisemitism and Islamophobia before. During the 2021 Gaza War, also known as the Unity Intifada, the actor apologized for accusing Israel of committing genocide. He wrote on X, I have reflected & wanted to apologize for posts during the recent Israel/Hamas fighting that suggested Israel is committing genocide. Its not accurate, its inflammatory, disrespectful & is being used to justify antisemitism here & abroad. Now is the time to avoid hyperbole. I have reflected & wanted to apologize for posts during the recent Israel/Hamas fighting that suggested Israel is committing genocide. Its not accurate, its inflammatory, disrespectful & is being used to justify antisemitism here & abroad. Now is the time to avoid hyperbole. Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) May 25, 2021 The 2021 conflict was initiated when Palestinians in East Jerusalem began protesting the anticipated eviction of six families in an area of the occupied West Bank; Israeli police entered Temple Mount the next day, also the final Friday of Ramadan. The conflict lasted until a ceasefire was reached several weeks later. In July 2024, Ruffalo was accused of perpetuating Islamophobic stereotypes when he described Project 2025 as the Sharia Law of the Christian crazy people who arent Christian at all but want to control every aspect of your life through their narrow and exclusionary interpretation of Christs egalitarian, inclusive, and kindly teachings. Sharia law is the body of religious law based on the practices and teachings of Islam. There are variations of how it is practiced throughout the nearly 50 countries that are described as Muslim-majority, and like most religions, there is a broad spectrum of both spiritual and secular interpretations of the law. The post Mark Ruffalo Takes Heat for Blaming American Citizens Deaths in Gaza on US Policy Towards Israel-Hamas War appeared first on TheWrap. Maui could soon ban some Airbnbs. Short-term rental owners say it will be financially devastating for them. Maui could soon ban some Airbnbs. Short-term rental owners say it will be financially devastating for them. A proposed plan in Maui would phase out 7,000-plus short-term rentals to address housing shortages. Rental owners say their property values will tank. One said his family may have to leave Maui. Experts say the ban would increase the long-term housing supply and likely reduce housing prices. Andrew Church has lived on Maui for more than two decades, while his long-term partner and fiancee, with whom he has a daughter, was born and raised on the island. After working and saving for years, Church started purchasing properties to operate as rentals in September 2022 and now has four units. His vacation rentals are now the primary source of income for his family. Maui officials have rolled out a plan to phase out 7,000-plus short-term rentals in an effort to open up more housing for local residents and bring down housing costs a move that Church said will devastate his family. "My family is losing sleep every night over this thing," Church told Business Insider. He said if the ban takes effect, he might not be able to pay his mortgage and would probably have to sell everything and leave Maui, where his fiance's family roots go back over a century. "By enforcing this ban, they are going to bankrupt my family," he said. With some of the most expensive real estate in the US, Maui has long had housing issues. Hawaii's median home price is higher than nearly every other US state. Maui specifically had a median home price of around $1.1 million in July 2024, compared to the countrywide median home price of $438,706, according to Redfin. The island's housing problems were exacerbated by the wildfire that devastated Lahaina in August 2023, destroying much of the downtown and displacing thousands of residents. The plan to phase out some short-term rentals came in the wake of the fire, but as a tourist destination with local housing issues, Maui is hardly alone. Barcelona and New York City are among the cities that have banned or implemented restrictions on Airbnb and vacation rentals. But on an island the size of Maui, where the tourism industry is estimated to be directly or indirectly responsible for 70% of every dollar generated, the consequences could be significant. Owners say their property values will tank The ban, which applies to properties on the so-called "Minatoya List," includes 7,160 units largely concentrated in the touristy areas of South Maui, primarily Kihei, and West Maui, mostly Kaanapali. The properties are technically zoned for residential apartments but, since 2001, have been allowed to legally operate as short-term rentals and have been taxed to that effect. The list is named for the city employee who initially wrote a memo about allowing the short-term rentals, which was eventually put into law. Much of Maui's historic Lahaina town burned in the fire last year. Mario Tama/Getty Images Maui Mayor Richard Bissen earlier this year announced a plan to end those permissions. The Maui Planning Commission voted unanimously in favor of it, recommending it be approved by the city council. If approved, the ban will take effect, depending on the area, in 2025 and 2026. Church said three of his four properties are on the list, but when he bought them in 2022 and 2023, he had no idea the list existed. When researching the properties, he confirmed their tax status as short-term rentals on the county site. He said the units were marketed and sold to him as vacation rentals and that no one, not a real-estate agent or a government official, mentioned the list to him. Church said other owners he knows said the same thing and are also concerned about the financial impacts of the ban. The Maui County mayor's office did not provide comment when reached by Business Insider. Jason Gobey, another short-term rental owner, told BI he researched and spoke to real-estate agents as well as others before buying his one-bedroom condo in Kihei in 2019. He also said he confirmed the property's tax status as a short-term rental and had no idea there could be an issue with it. Gobey and his wife live in Arizona but spend about four months of the year on Maui. He said he does not make a substantial profit on his condo but that buying it and renting it out was the only way they could afford to visit Maui as often as they do, during which time they are also spending heavily on the local economy. "We bought it to use it," he said. "But we need some income off of it." Both owners said their property value is going to plunge as a result of the ban. They said plenty of similar units have been listed for sale since the ban was proposed, but that no one is buying them. They feel certain that if they eventually sell their properties it will be at a substantial loss. Though some of the Minatoya List properties will likely be converted to long-term rentals, Church said it is not financially feasible for him. Due to the high costs associated with property maintenance, he thinks he would have to charge far too much to make a long-term rental work. Gobey said since he and his wife spend a month on Maui every few months or so, his unit will just sit empty when they are not on the island. Both owners said the people who help them maintain the units, like proper managers and cleaners, would also lose work as a direct result of the ban. Many of the properties on the Minatoya List are located in Kihei, a popular area for tourists. Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images The ban should help Maui's housing problem, but the wider impacts are unclear The owners also said they did not think phasing out their rentals would actually solve Maui's housing crisis, saying the value of the properties would likely still be higher than the average family could afford. However, Justin Tyndall, an associate professor of economics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, said the policy change would have a significant positive impact on housing in Maui, increasing the long-term residential housing stock by 13%. "That would just be a huge flood of new units. Some of them would end up for sale, or some of them would be rented out to locals," he told BI, adding, "It would definitely make housing more affordable." Even if many of the properties would still be unattainable to lower-income residents, increasing the supply of housing would likely put downward pressure on home prices and rents more broadly. Tyndall said Maui's housing issue largely comes down to a lack of housing supply resulting in extremely high prices. A significant driver of that is how few new construction projects there have been on the island over the past two decades, in part due to government regulations that make obtaining a permit difficult and costly. He said some of those regulations make sense, like those intended to protect ecologically sensitive areas, while others are misguided, and that there are changes the government could make to encourage developers to build more housing. But the benefit of adding the Minatoya List properties to the housing stock is that they are already built. He said the property value of those units will almost certainly go down, but that that's not a bad thing for the broader Maui housing problem. He also noted that 85% of the units on the list are owned by people who live out of state, while 92% are owned by people who don't live on Maui. While he said there's a consensus among experts that the change will benefit Maui housing by increasing supply and bringing down costs, he is still looking into what the broader impacts might be. "Maui is so dependent on tourism, taking away 7,000 visitor accommodation units will certainly reduce tourism levels," Tyndall said. "It's unclear by how much." He added that most hotels on the island generally operate at 60 to 70% capacity, so some would-be short-term renters will likely end up there, but at this point, it's still a big unknown. If the change leads to a significant reduction in tourists visiting Maui, it would mean less tax revenue for the county and job losses for people in the service industry. As for the short-term rental owners, Tyndall said folks should've known this was a possibility and that many people who work in real estate at least knew about the list. "Property investment involves risk," he said. "There's no guarantee you can operate a vacation rental in perpetuity." Are you a short-term rental owner on Maui, or have you or your family struggled to obtain housing on Maui? Want to share your perspective on the plan to phase out some vacation rentals? Contact this reporter at kvlamis@businessinsider.com . Read the original article on Business Insider Medical exploitation of Black people in America goes far beyond the cells stolen from Henrietta Lacks that produced modern day miracles In a case that revealed the exploitation of a Black woman beginning in the 1950s and extending for 70 years, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. in 2023 settled a lawsuit that the estate of Henrietta Lacks had filed against the biotech firm for its role in what the lawsuit called a racially unjust medical system. In 1951, Lacks was diagnosed with cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, one of the only hospitals in the area that would treat African Americans at the time. During her treatment, a sample of her cancer cells was taken without her knowledge or consent. In the lawsuit, Thermo Fisher was accused of unjust enrichment and illegally profiting from Lacks genetic material. Black suffering has fueled innumerable medical progress and profit, without just compensation or recognition, the lawsuit said. Henrietta Lacks cells, known as HeLa cells, have had a profound impact on medical science since they were first taken from Lacks in 1951. Those cells have contributed to the development of the polio vaccine, research into cancer, studies on the effects of radiation and toxic substances, gene mapping and countless other scientific pursuits. But nearly all of these advancements happened without her and her familys approval or compensation. Lacks is one of the most well-known examples of medical exploitation on a Black body. It is far from the only example. Medical abuse is a part of Black history In 2020, the American Public Health Association declared racism a public health crisis. The declaration, while important, speaks solely to present inequities and plans to advance racial equity in the future. But minimal attention has been afforded to the deep historical roots of anti-Black racism in the medical industry. Medical exploitation and intentional abuse of members of the Black community is an often overlooked part of Black history. But understanding the issue is critical in order to better analyze todays mistrust of the medical profession by many in the Black community. As a Black scholar who uses critical approaches to study culture, communication and health, I have my own experiences and peer-reviewed research that reveal various ways the Black community experiences racism within the health care industry. The Tuskegee experiment is one of the most well-known examples of medical exploitation in the Black community. The federal government from 1932 to 1972 lied to around 600 men about receiving treatment for syphilis. They were studying the effects of syphilis in the men, but did not, in fact, treat it in 399 of the men. Many are shocked to find out that the study lasted 40 years. Then 94-year-old Herman Shaw speaks at a 1997 White House ceremony about the abuse he received during the Tuskegee syphilis study. Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images The cautionary tale of the flawed Tuskegee experiment revolutionized how research was conducted and had various implications for the Black community. But as revealed in medical ethicist Harriet A. Washingtons groundbreaking book Medical Apartheid, the medical exploitation of the Black community extended far beyond Tuskegee. Grave robbing in Black communities The 18th and 19th centuries ushered in a new method of medicine focused on increased anatomical knowledge and dissections. In turn, more cadavers were needed, but the demand for cadavers far exceeded the supply. Moreover, at the time, social attitudes toward dissection and dismemberment of a corpse were not positive; they were primarily perceived as punishment for the most heinous criminals. The solution at the time was grave robbing. People would steal not only the bodies of the enslaved who had died but also the corpses of Black men, women and children from their graves and sell them to medical schools. At the turn of the 18th century, most of New York Citys dissection tables were full of Black bodies, despite members of the Black communitys accounting for only 15% of the population at the time. This practice was also extremely common in Maryland and Virginia. In fact, Virginia Commonwealth University officially apologized for this practice in September 2022. But in early 2023, Virginia lawmakers failed to pass a resolution formally acknowledging and apologizing for this inhumane treatment in their commonwealth. Unethical experiments on the incarcerated From the 1950s through the 1970s, Philadelphia health officials allowed the prominent researcher Dr. Albert M. Kligman to conduct dangerous experiments on incarcerated people, most of whom were Black. Kligman repeatedly and purposely exposed Black men to dermatological, biochemical and pharmaceutical experiments. One of the most significant was testing dioxin, the toxic chemical in the biochemical weapon Agent Orange. The city of Philadelphia and related institutions officially apologized in October 2022, but the apology does not remedy the lifelong scars and lingering health impacts from the experiments. This practice is not only a relic of the past. Incarcerated individuals in Arkansas were given a cocktail of drugs, including Ivermectin, to treat COVID-19. It is important to note that Ivermectin was not and has not been approved by the FDA for treatment of COVID-19. After suffering a long list of side effects, the men were informed that one of the drugs they received was Ivermectin, a drug usually used to treat cows and horses. This abuse of Black bodies who were incarcerated did not affect just men. Black women experienced abuse and exploitation in a different form. They were often forcibly sterilized without their consent. Between 1909 and 1979, California forcibly and legally sterilized around 20,000 women, most of whom were Black women and other women of color who were incarcerated or under state guardianship because of some perceived incapacity. In North Carolina, sterilizations were also used against Black women in state institutions to weed out any feeble-minded. Why it matters Acknowledging the full history of Americas medical industry is crucial to better understanding and combating race-based health disparities in the Black community. A member of the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power protests against stigmatizing people who tested positive for HIV. Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images It is also important to show how racism is still prevalent in contemporary medicine and public health. Black women continue to die during childbirth more than others. Black men have the shortest life span of any U.S. demographic represented in current data, and the Black community overall has the shortest survival rate of any racial group for most cancers. Systemic racism and negative attitudes from medical personnel are often to blame. Black men are often viewed negatively by doctors. Many Black cancer patients are not offered the opportunity to participate in clinical trials that could help them. A groundbreaking study published in Psychological and Cognitive Sciences in 2016 revealed a somber truth: Some medical professionals still believe there are biological differences between Black and white patients. In turn, they are less likely to treat Black patients for pain. The study further found that nearly half of the medical students in the study believed Black people have less sensitive nerve endings. Its my belief that revealing the dark history of medical racism is key to making sure that past injustices do not recur. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Deion Scott Hawkins, Emerson College Read more: Deion Scott Hawkins does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Kamala was ready for her debate with Donald Trump. Meet the man who pretended to be him in mocks Philippe Reines, a former deputy assistant secretary of state and senior advisor to Hillary Clinton, will play the role of Donald Trump in Kamala Harriss debate preparation (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images and Mandel Ngan /AFP via Getty Images) A man who described Donald Trump as a malevolent George Costanza and a malfunctioning appliance is helping Kamala Harris prepare for her first debate with the former president. Philippe Reines, a former deputy assistant secretary of state and senior advisor to Hillary Clinton, is the stand-in for Trump in mock debates ahead of the real thing on September 10. This is the second time he has played the role after acting as Trump in Clintons own preparations in September 2016, and he takes the job seriously. I dressed up like him, but I didnt put on an orange face or a wig, Reines told The Michael Smerconish Program on Sirius. Although one day I put self-tanner on one half of my face and no one noticed, so I didnt bother again. Reines had worked on Al Gores 2000 presidential campaign before joining Clinton for her first failed run for the White House in 2008. At the time, Vogue magazine described him as Clintons "Michael Clayton-esque image man and fixer. Reines, a longtime Clinton aide, has played the role of Trump several times (Getty Images) In her memoir Hard Choices, Clinton described Reines as passionate, loyal, and shrewd and said she could always trust him to speak his mind. He worked for Clinton for 17 years. He was a senior advisor when she became secretary of state and was at the center of her second campaign for the presidency. It was then that he became her Trump whisperer. Around three weeks before Clintons first debate with Trump, in September 2016, Reines joined a team of around 10 advisors in a ballroom at the Doral Arrowwood Hotel in Westchester. I didnt stand there all the time yelling crooked Hillary! or email email email! Thats not helpful Philippe Reines on what it was like to play Donald Trump with Hillary Clinton Among them were a handful of researchers and a smattering of consultants. Ron Klain, who would later become Joe Bidens chief of staff, was running the show, as he had done for Barack Obama in 2012 and would do so later for Biden in 2020. A replica of the debate stage had been set up in the room, where the advisors huddled for days discussing Clintons positions and running drills. They performed around eight full debate run-throughs 90 minutes at a time with no breaks and everyone staying in character. Reines described the experience as kinda like batting practice. Donald Trump looms over Hillary Clinton as she answers a question from the audience during their presidential town hall debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S., October 9, 2016. (REUTERS) In the case of Donald Trump, a lot of it is learning how to filter out the noise and expect the unexpected, he said in the Sirius interview. To prep, he studied Trumps performances in the Republican primary debates and other forums he took part in. He even watched them with the sound off so he could mimic his mannerisms and body language. A video of their 2016 mock debate released after the election shows Reines and Clinton preparing for an unwanted hug from Trump. The two burst into laughter as Reines bear hugs Clinton and she attempts to run away. Reines said he rarely went full-Trump in their mock debates, but he did try his best to get under Clintons skin. I didnt stand there all the time yelling crooked Hillary! or email email email! Thats not helpful, he said. The balance that I brought was knowing enough about Trump and studying enough about Trump, but also knowing Hillary. If Reines has a grand unifying theory on debating Trump, it is that the former president is both a terrible debater and incredibly difficult to debate. The frequency of his lies and mistruths makes it difficult to answer all of them. He has instead argued for striking a balance between countering them and sticking to the message. Theres a hard balance where you wanna stand up for yourself, but you also dont wanna kill time, Reines said. Hillary Clinton moves to avoid a hug from 'Donald Trump' (Twitter/Philippe Reines) Clinton said the same in one of her many debriefs after the debates. It is a waste of time to try to refute Mr. Trumps arguments like in a normal debate. Its nearly impossible to identify what his arguments even are. He starts with nonsense and then digresses into blather, she wrote in the New York Times in June this year, ahead of Bidens ill-fated debate with Trump. Trumps lack of filter obnoxious though it may be makes him appear more at ease and natural than most of his opponents, who have likely rehearsed lines and practiced talking points. Reines believes that to beat Trump requires fighting dirty. Democrats need to be able to communicate and attack in the same kind of blunt language that has until now been inappropriate in national politics, he wrote in a Politico article in 2019. So forget the glass houses rule and get out your slingshot, he added. He noted in the same article that Bidens refusal to take full responsibility for his past mistakes in office in the Democratic primary debates in 2019 actually helped him. If his various interviews given in recent years are any guide, Reines will likely advise Harris to pursue a similar strategy: Dont get bogged down in defending your record, hit back instead. On that note at least, Harris may be a step ahead of Clinton. The vice president has made mocking Trump and his running mate JD Vance for being weird a feature of her campaign, and the strategy appears to be working. Harris has also shown a willingness in previous debates to match her opponents energy when they are rude to her. In 2020, when she was repeatedly interrupted by vice president Mike Pence, she responded with words that would instantly become a viral meme: Mr. Vice President, Im speaking. Then Secretary of State-designate and U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton waiting for an elevator with her press secretary Philippe Reines at the U.S. Capitol January 7, 2009 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images) In short, viewers should expect her to come out swinging. But overall, there may not be a substantial difference between how Harris and Clinton handle Trump. Reines believes Clinton won both of her clashes with him, and so may seek to pursue a similar strategy as before. They were her most successful three days between the high of accepting the nomination and the low of Election Day, he wrote in Politico. The public generally agreed with him, according to polls taken after the debates ; but the margin was insufficient for her to win the race. Harris will likely face the same problem the then-secretary of state faced. Clinton was graded on a curve for the entirety of her campaign, and the debate was no different. She was expected to win the debate and needed to crush him decisively to claim the greater victory. When that didnt happen, the debates were looked back upon as a missed opportunity for her. But Harris will have a few things working in her favor, however. Trump was something of an unknown quantity on the debate stage in 2016 his match-up against Clinton was the first time hed been in a head-to-head match. Reines will now have much more footage to study, more foibles to exploit, and more traps to set. Harris, as her campaign stump speech has been clear to point out, believes her experience as a courtroom prosecutor, district attorney of San Francisco, and attorney general of California, gives her an edge against Trump. "In those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds: predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain," she has said in her speech at campaign events across the country. "So hear me when I say, I know Donald Trumps type. The Methuen Superintendent of Schools sent parents an e-mail that said a student made a bomb threat on TikTok targeting Timony Grammar School. Making threats is a suspendable offense and determination of school consequences is determined through a formal, legal process., said Brandi Kwong, Superintendent of Schools. Kwong says that making threats is a suspendable offense and determination of school consequences is determined through a formal legal, process. Some parents said kids should know better. Its scary, said Eva Nanje, parent, To go on tik tok and say that knowing how quickly tik tok can spread that information wow thats insane. The FBI Boston Division said it takes hoax threats very seriously because it puts innocent lives at risk. While we have no information to indicate a specific and credible threat, we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to gather, share, and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention, said FBI Boston Division. The Methuen Police Chief said investigators searched the entire school and property Saturday and determined its safe. One father said kids need to learn how to use social media in a positive way. You have to try to work around it or work with it gotta figure something out because I think social media is one of those things that youre not going to run away from I dont think its going to go anywhere, said Barniell Perez, parent. The superintendent says the student wont be in school during the investigation and Methuen police will have extra officers at the school Monday. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Yet another teen has been arrested and charged after making threats to shoot up a metro Atlanta middle school, the Roswell Police Department said. On Friday, RPD say they received multiple reports from concerned community members about an online threat against the school posted from an anonymous Instagram account. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Officials say they worked throughout the night to investigate the threat, which led them to a home in Roswell. RPD say the traced the threat to a 14-year-old who admitted to posting the threat as a joke, officials said. Police say during their investigation at the home, they found a replica pellet gun which had been displayed in the original threat. TRENDING STORIES: The teen was arrested on charges of terroristic threats and acts and domestic terrorism, and was taken to the Metro Regional Youth Detention Center. Across the state this week, dozens of young people have been arrested and charged for threats made against their community in the wake of the terrible events that took place in Winder. These arrests should send a clear message from the unified and collaborative Georgia law enforcement community: threatening the safety and security of others is never a joke. It is a crime, and we will bring every available resource to bear to investigate and charge those responsible, the department said. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE) Homelessness is an issue that affects thousands of people in the city of Fresno, and Fresnos city council is pushing forward with a set of ordinances that will address problems related to the unhoused community in the city. This week on Sunday Morning Matters, Eric Rucker has a one-on-one conversation with city councilmember Mike Karbassi about the intentions behind the proposals at the city level. Councilmember Karbassi addresses why the city began these efforts, how the city will enforce them, and what resources are available for homeless residents of Fresno. 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 YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47. NORMAL, Ill. (WMBD) Illinois State University is celebrating Good Neighbor Month by trying to combat hunger. ISU, Statefarm, and U.S. hunger are partnering together for the first-ever Million Meals Pack. Volunteers packed meals on Saturday at CEFCU Arena on ISUs campus. Once packed, the meals will be distributed to local food banks in McLean County. Gov. Pritzker announces federal funding to address food insecurity in Illinois Leanna Bordner with ISU said itll take an entire community to help stop food insecurity. Those of us here today, we take for granted that every day we all have a meal in front of us or two or three. And there are a lot of children and families that dont have that luxury, Bordner said. So its very rewarding to know that youre impacting lives. She said one in six children in Illinois faces food insecurity every day. 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 CIProud.com. Missing Newlywed Nurse, 32, Found Dead Days After Hawaii Wedding, as Neighbor, 27, Is Charged with Her Murder Melissa Jubane's neighbor, Bryce Johnathan Schubert, was arrested and charged on Sept. 7, according to authorities Beaverton Police Department/Facebook Melissa Jubane The search for a missing newlywed in Oregon concluded this week when police recovered her remains and charged her neighbor with murder. On Saturday, Sept. 7, the Beaverton Police Department announced in an update on Facebook that Melissa Jubane, a 32-year-old nurse who was reported missing three days earlier, had been found dead. The discovery came just days after her Aug. 24 wedding ceremony in Hawaii, per Fox affiliate KHON 2. Police initially received a welfare check request around 10:10 a.m. on Sept. 4 for Jubane, who worked at St. Vincent Hospital in Portland. As the department shared, she "had not reported for her morning shift, raising concerns among her coworkers, friends, and family." Beaverton Police then said that Jubane was not present at her home, and "her absence without communication was deemed unusual and alarming." After "unsuccessful" attempts to get in contact with Jubane, and no location information coming from her bank and credit card history, she was listed as a missing person that afternoon. Bryce Johnathan Schubert, Jubane's 27-year-old neighbor, is now believed to have been "involved in her disappearance" following an extensive investigation. He was arrested and charged with her murder on Sept. 7, per the Beaverton Police Department. "Melissa Jubane's remains have been recovered," they added. Beaverton Police Department/Facebook Melissa Jubane "This is an active investigation. While we acknowledge the significant community interest and concern, we must withhold further details to preserve the integrity of the investigation," the Beaverton Police Department wrote on Facebook, extending its "heartfelt gratitude to the community members who have assisted with the search for Melissa" and condolences to her family and loved ones. According to KHON 2, Jubane and her husband Bryan Llantero tied the knot on Aug. 24 and celebrated with friends and family a day later. Relatives told the outlet that the couple would often fly back and forth to Kalihi to see one another during their 10-year relationship after first meeting at Mokuleia Beach. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. The two got engaged on Oahu in 2023 and celebrated their wedding last month in Waimea Valley, Llantero's mother Imelda told the outlet, adding that the couple returned to the Pacific Northwest on Sept. 1 and spent Labor Day together the following day. Jubane then stayed at her Oregon apartment as it was close to her work, while Bryan stayed with her family in Bremerton, Washington, per the outlet. According to KHON 2, Jubane did not return to work on Sept. 4, and her husband last heard from her around 6 a.m. that morning. There was no Melissa, Imelda said. Her bag, wallet, and keys are missing, and her car is still parked in the parking garage. Imelda told the outlet that Bryan is devastated and that his siblings and father flew to Oregon when his wife was first reported missing. I miss her, Imelda said. Im so happy Bryan met her, I told Bryan to always love her. They were happy, very happy. Samantha Oregon, a friend of Jubane's, told CBS affiliate KVAL that she was "a very helpful person." She and Jubane's other friend, Vianca Urias, told the outlet they organized search parties on Friday, the day before her remains were found. "She loved helping people. She had a really big heart," Oregon said. "No matter the situation or what it was, she was always willing to help people." A GoFundMe campaign set up to support Jubane's family has since raised over $56,000 as of Sunday, Sept. 8. A booking report on the Washington County Sheriff's website lists Schubert's charge as murder in the second degree. It is unclear if he has obtained legal representation. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. The remains of an Oregon nurse who went missing have been found, and her neighbor has been charged with her murder, according to authorities. In a Facebook post updated on Saturday, the Beaverton Police Department said police officers conducted a wellness check after Melissa Jubane, 32, didnt show up for her shift as a nurse at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center on the morning of Sept. 4. Later that day, the department first shared a post about Jubane missing. After her coworkers, friends and neighbors expressed concerns about her absence, police said they searched Jubanes apartment but did not find her. Melissa was not present, and her absence without communication was deemed unusual and alarming, authorities said. Efforts by officers and family members to contact Melissa throughout the day were unsuccessful, as her phone appeared to be turned off, they added. Additionally, searches of Melissas bank and credit card records yielded no new information regarding her location. Following an extensive investigation, Jubanes neighbor, Bryce Johnathan Schubert, 27, was arrested on Friday and charged with her murder, the department said in its update Saturday. The update also said the investigation is still ongoing. Schubert is being held at Washington County Jail on second-degree murder charges, according to NBC News. The outlet also noted that authorities have not released the location where Jubanes remains were found nor detailed how Schubert was allegedly involved in her murder. HuffPost has reached out to the Beaverton Police Department for comment. In a statement given to KOIN, a local news station, Providence officials grieved Jubanes death. Our hearts are broken at the news of the death of our Providence St. Vincent nurse and colleague, Melissa Jubane. This comes as a shock to us all and she is mourned by her co-workers. Melissa was an exceptional nurse, committed to our Providence Mission and daily demonstrating our values of compassion, excellence and integrity, a spokesperson from the hospital said. We stand in support of her loved ones and those who worked so closely with Melissa. We appreciate all the expressions of concern from the community. Melissa was a person of Providence, and we will miss her. Related... Missing Washington hiker rescued a month after going missing may have only had another day left alive, rescuer says A hiker in northern Washingtons North Cascades National Park was rescued a month after he went missing in July, authorities said Saturday, and according to one rescuer, it was just in time. Robert Schock, 39, was last seen by other hikers in an area of the park on July 31 and did not have any overnight gear with him, the Whatcom County Sheriffs Office said in a statement to CNN. He was rescued and taken to a hospital on August 30, authorities say. When our crew found Robert, he was able to communicate to them that he had been immobile, stuck in that exact spot for approximately two weeks, wrote Jeff Kish, executive director of the non-profit Pacific Northwest Trail Association, in a Facebook post about the rescue late Wednesday. Search took nearly a month On August 3, park officials notified deputies of an abandoned vehicle at the Hannegan Pass trailhead. They also reported finding a dog they said belongs to Schock, 8 miles away on a trail near the Chilliwack River, according to the statement. Deputies who responded to the area over the following few days checked the vehicle and found the windows rolled down and Schocks wallet on the dashboard, the sheriffs office said. Park rangers searched the remote area several times by ground on August 7 and joined deputies in a helicopter search of the area, but found no clues leading to Schocks whereabouts. The US Border Patrols air search on August 16 of Chilliwack Basin and ground search of the area where the dog was found also yielded no clues, authorities said. On August 30, WCSO deputies were notified by National Parks Service rangers that Schock was located in the Chilliwack Basin, alive and well, the sheriffs office said in the statement. Hiker alive but not well Kish disagreed with the official statement of Schocks condition when his Pacific Northwest Trail Association team found him, he wrote on Facebook. Robert was found alive, but not well, Kish wrote. It is the belief of those who came to be involved in the rescue that Robert may have only had another day left in him before the outcome of his discovery would have been much more tragic. The non-profits crew had been working on restoring a trail destroyed by fires in 2022 the day they found Schock, according to Kish. They were heading back to camp after a long day when they heard a barely discernible sound near the Chilliwack River as they crossed it, he said. It was not readily apparent that they had heard a person, but their intuition was to take the time to investigate, just in case, Kish wrote. The team heard Schock yelling for help, according to CNN affiliate KIRO. The crew found Schock about a half a mile off the trail along the rivers bank, laid out and exposed to the elements, according to Kish, who added: His situation was dire. The team provided critical aid to Schock for several hours before rescue teams arrived to take him to a hospital, according to Kish. CNN has contacted the National Park Service for additional information. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Montgomery Public Schools to go on as normal after online threats Montgomery Public Schools students will attend their normal classes Monday, though MPS officials announced Sunday they are aware of social media posts that suggest threats to local schools. "We take these matters very seriously and have activated all safety protocols, including working with local law enforcement to identify those involved and take appropriate action," wrote Jade L. Jones, senior communications officer with MPS, in a statement released Sunday. "Schools will continue to operate on their regular schedules, with our priority being the safety of students and staff. We appreciate the communitys prompt reporting of this issue to both local authorities and the school system." MPS sent the statement by text to students' parents Sunday, and posted it on its social media as well. Neither the exact nature of the online threats nor the identity of the suspect who created them have been released by MPS. The Advertiser has reached out to Montgomery Police seeking more information. In Elmore County, Superintendent Richard Dennis said Sunday that Elmore County Schools dealt with two instances this past week, one at Wetumpka High School and one at Stanhope Elmore High School, relating to threats or potential threats made by students. "Those incidents were handled by school administration, local law enforcement and parents of the students," Dennis said. In Autauga County, no threats have been received or made in the past week, through social media or other means, said Superintendent Lyman Woodfin. Both Dennis and Woodfin said that if threats are made, steps will be taken to ensure the safety of students and staff. Montgomery Advertiser reporters Alex Gladden and Marty Roney contributed to this report. Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel can be reached at sheupel@gannett.com This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Montgomery Public Schools to go on as normal after online threats New Monument Honoring Former Queen Elizabeth Will Be Unveiled on What Would Have Been Her 100th Birthday When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: Getty Images A monument honoring the life and legacy of the late Queen Elizabeth is scheduled to be unveiled in London on what would have been the iconic royal's 100th birthday. According to a new report from the Daily Mirror, the sculpture will live in St. Jamess Park in London to commemorate the former matriarch's centennial year. News of the new monument, which will not be erected until 2016, is part of the previously established plans for both a permanent monument and a national legacy programboth in honor of the former Queen of England. A special committee was formed after the Queen's death, tasked with creating the monument and program that would honor the monarch. It is an honor to be asked to chair the Queen Elizabeth memorial committee, Lord Robin Janvrin, the late Queens former private secretary, said in 2023, when the committee was formed. Janvrin and the committee worked with the U.K. government and the Royal Household to create a monument literally fit for a queen. It will be a unique challenge to try to capture for future generations Her late Majestys extraordinary contribution to our national life throughout her very long reign," he added. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on March 13, 2015. Queen Elizabeth passed away on Sept. 8, 2022, at 96 years old and after a historic 70 years and 214 days on the throne. An announcement of both "the sculpture and nature of the historic piece will be announced this weekend to coincide with the second anniversary of the Queens death," the publication noted. Royals and those who used to work with and knew the late queen are already paying both subtle and obvious tributes to the royal ahead of the two-year anniversary of her passing. Recently, her son, King Charles, paid a touching sartorial tribute to his late mother by partnering with eco-friendly label Vin + Omi to offer a limited edition run of 100 scarves inspired by his mom's colorful sense of style. The 85 silk design, created by Vin Cara and Omi Ong, is sold exclusively in The King's Sandringham estate gift shop and features a bold yellow, blue, pink and green floral pattern. Queen Elizabeth wearing a headscarf A new book released earlier this year has also detailed the exact moment King Charles found out his mother had passed away. According to the biography The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy, the soon-to-be king was picking mushrooms on the grounds of his Birkhall estate when he was summoned to Balmoral. At the time, Charles was driving the Land Rover and racing to make it to the Queens bedside as she drew her last breathbut he wasnt able to make it in time. According to the book, the new King was asked to pull over and was told Sir Edward was on the phone. The new monarch knew exactly what was coming next, Hardman writes in an excerpt that was previously published by The Daily Mail . He had just turned off the B976 onto the back drive of the estate when, at the age of 73, he was addressed as Your Majesty for the first time. No further explanation was needed. Shelling killed at least 21 people at a market in southeast Sudan Sunday, a day after the country's rulers rejected a call by UN experts for an independent force to protect civilians from the devastating civil war. The Sudan Doctors Network blamed the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for the shelling, which happened in the town of Sennar. As well as the 21 killed, it said more than 70 people had been wounded in the attack. The attack was just the latest in a bloody conflict that broke out in April last year between the army and paramilitary forces. It has already killed tens of thousands of people and triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. Sunday's market shelling came a day after Sudan's foreign ministry rejected a call by independent UN experts for "an independent and impartial force with a mandate to safeguard civilians" to be deployed "without delay". The UN experts spoke out Friday, saying their fact-finding mission had uncovered "harrowing" violations by both sides, "which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity". But the foreign ministry, which is loyal to the army under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, ruled out their proposal in a statement issued late Saturday. "The Sudanese government rejects in their entirety the recommendations of the UN mission," it said. It denounced the UN Human Rights Council, which created the fact-finding mission last year, as "a political and illegal body", and called the panel's recommendations "a flagrant violation of their mandate". - 'Targeting civilians' - The RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, is fighting the Sudanese army under the country's de facto ruler Burhan. Saturday's foreign ministry statement -- just hours before the market attack -- accused the RSF of "systematically targeting civilians and civilian institutions". "The protection of civilians remains an absolute priority for the Sudanese government," it added. The UN Human Rights Council's role should be "to support the national process, rather than seek to impose a different exterior mechanism", it argued. The ministry also rejected the experts' call for an arms embargo. The UN experts' report found that eight million civilians have been forced to flee their homes to other parts of the country, while another two million people have fled to neighbouring countries. More than 25 million people -- over half the country's population -- face acute food shortages. "Sudanese are suffering through a perfect storm of crises," said World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a visit to Sudan on Sunday. He listed "over 500 days of conflict", displacement of populations, famine in some areas, natural disasters such as recent floods caused by dams bursting and disease outbreaks. "The scale of the emergency is shocking, as is the insufficient action being taken to curtail the conflict and respond to the suffering it is causing." Speaking from Port Sudan -- where government offices and the United Nations have relocated due to the intense fighting in the capital Khartoum -- he called on the "world to wake up and help Sudan out of the nightmare it is living through". bur-jj/imm The mother of a teenager who shot dead four people phoned his school in an attempt to stop the tragedy after receiving what she interpreted as a warning message from him. Marcee Gray, Colt Grays mother, was visiting her 81-year-old father Charles Polhamus when she received a text from her son saying: Im sorry, mom, Mr Polhamus told the New York Post. Ms Gray, 43, then called Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, and warned a member of staff of an extreme emergency telling the school to check on her son, a relative told The Washington Post. However, as Ms Gray was on the three-hour drive to the school, she found out that two students and two teachers had been killed. Police photos of suspect Colt Gray - Barrow County Sheriff's Office/via Reuters Ms Grays suspicions of an impending tragedy from that brief message followed a litany of concerns over Colts mental health. Texts seen by the Washington Post show that the school and family were in contact about his mental health a week before the shooting and that Colts sister Annie Brown had told a relative the teen was at the time having homicidal and suicidal thoughts. The teenager had also been interviewed after the FBI received anonymous tips in May 2023 about online threats to commit an unspecified school shooting, the agency said in a statement. Victims Christian Angulo, Cristina Irimie, Richard Aspinwall and Mason Schermerhorn The FBI narrowed the threats down and referred the case to the sheriffs department in Jackson County, which is adjacent to Barrow County. The sheriffs office interviewed the then-13-year-old and his father, who said there were hunting guns in the house but the teen did not have unsupervised access to them. The teen also denied making any online threats. The school shooting on Thursday morning was the states deadliest, which in addition to those killed saw another eight students and one teacher taken to hospitals with injuries. After Ms Grays panicked call, a school administrator searched for Colt but couldnt find him. Both Colt and his 54-year-old father, Colin Gray, face charges of murder in connection to the shooting. Colin Gray, 54, the father of Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray, pictured in court as he faces charges relating to the shooting - BRYNN ANDERSON/AP Police said Mr Gray gave his son, who is being charged as an adult, the AR-15-style rifle used in the massacre as a Christmas gift. Mr Polhamus, a former marine, said Colt was driven to violence because of his father, telling the New York Post: Colt has to pay for what he did but Im telling you, he was driven, no question in my mind. He was driven by his father to do what he did. Thats as plain as I can put it and I know Im right. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. ATLANTA (AP) The mother of a student at the Georgia high school where a teen allegedly killed four people says information indicating staff were warned he was having a crisis shows the shooting could have been prevented. The school failed them, that they could have prevented these deaths and they didnt, Rabecca Sayarath said Sunday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. I truly, truly feel that way. Sayaraths daughter, Lyela, told reporters on Wednesday, the day of the shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, that administrators appeared to be looking for Colt Gray, the 14-year-old who has been charged with four counts of murder, before the gunfire began. Others, though, are declining to blame school or law enforcement officials. "Im not going to referee or second-guess what happened with the authorities the other night," U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Democrat, said on CNN's State of the Union" on Sunday. I applaud our first responders. When others are running away from danger, they run toward the danger in order to do the best they can. Officials say Gray shot and killed students Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn, both 14, and teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53. Eight other students and a teacher were injured seven of them shot and are expected to recover. Annie Brown told The Washington Post that her sister, Colt Grays mother, texted her saying she spoke with a school counselor and warned staff of an extreme emergency before the killings. Brown said Marcee Gray urged them to immediately find her son to check on him. Brown provided screen shots of the text exchange to the newspaper, which also reported that a call log from the familys shared phone plan showed a call was made to the school at 9:50 a.m. Warrants for Gray's arrest say the shooting started at 10:20 a.m. Brown confirmed the reporting to The Associated Press on Saturday in text messages but declined to provide further comment. Marcee Gray expressed remorse for the shootings Saturday to The Washington Post and The New York Post. I am so, so sorry and can not fathom the pain and suffering they are going through right now, Gray told The Washington Post in a text. Its horrible. Its absolutely horrible, Gray told The New York Post outside her fathers home in Fitzgerald, Georgia, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Atlanta. Charles Polhamus, the boy's grandfather, has told multiple news outlets that Marcee Gray got a text from her son on Wednesday saying he was sorry. Polhamus told CNN that Marcee Gray drove to Winder, more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) from Fitzgerald, immediately after the shooting. The Washington Post also reported that texts show relatives contacted the school about the boy's mental health a week before the shooting, and that Brown told a relative he was having homicidal and suicidal thoughts. The newspaper reported that the teen's grandmother, Deborah Polhamus, met with a school counselor to request help. The boy "starts with the therapist tomorrow, Polhamus wrote in a text to Brown after that meeting. Investigators haven't said what they believe might have motivated Gray or whether they believe he targeted particular victims. Authorities have said Gray's father, Colin Gray, gave him access to the semiautomatic AR-15 style rifle used in the shooting. It's not clear how Gray brought the gun to campus or what he did with it in the two hours between school starting at 8:15 a.m. and when shots first rang out. Colin Gray became the first parent of a school shooting suspect to be charged in Georgia, District Attorney Brad Smith said Friday. Hes accused of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children for providing his son with the rifle. Colin Gray is jailed in Barrow County after declining to seek bail in a brief court hearing Friday in Winder. Colt Gray is being held in a juvenile detention center after declining to seek bail. Neither has been indicted or entered a plea. Lyela Sayarath said Wednesday that Colt Gray had left her algebra classroom and that she believed he was skipping class. In the minutes before the shooting, a female administrator came to her class looking for a student with the same last name and almost identical first name as Gray, she said. That other student was in the bathroom, but the administrator demanded to see his bag. That student returned with his bag moments later, Sayarath said, and told her that administrators had concluded he wasn't the student they were looking for. Someone also called the teacher on the intercom, apparently asking about Gray, Sayarath said. She said as the intercom buzzed a second time, the teacher responded, Oh he's here, seeing Gray outside the classroom door. When students went to open the door, which automatically locks from the inside when closed, Sayarath said they backed away. She said she saw Colt Gray turn away through the window of the door and then she said she heard gunshots 10 or 15 of them at once, back-to-back. Rabecca Sayarath, Lyelas mother, has said she believed the school erred by sending an unarmed administrator to look for Colt Gray instead of one of Apalachee High's armed school resource officers. When she questioned Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith about her daughters account at a Wednesday night news conference, Smith cautioned, With all due respect, maam, I think your information is incorrect. It's unclear if Barrow County school authorities knew before the shooting that Colt and Colin Gray previously had been interviewed by a sheriff's deputy in neighboring Jackson County in May 2023 after a report of an online threat to shoot up a middle school that Colt Gray, then 13, attended. Colt Gray told the deputy that he would never say such a thing, even in a joking manner, according to a report filed by investigators. No action was taken because of inconsistent information about the social media account used to make the threats. Colin Gray told the investigator back then that Colt had access to unloaded guns in the house but knew how to use them and not use them. He also said his son had struggled since he and his wife separated and that Colt was picked on in school. Nicole Valles, a spokesperson for the Barrow County school district, declined to comment Sunday in response to emailed questions seeking more details about what may have happened before the shooting. Because this is an active investigation and now court proceedings have begun, we are not commenting on specific details, Valles wrote, referring questions to the district attorney. Smith didn't immediately respond to emails Sunday with similar questions, while the Georgia Bureau of Investigation referred requests for comment to the district attorney. BERTRAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) State police are asking for help after a Welcome to Pure Michigan sign in Berrien County was found riddled with bullet holes. The sign on the northbound US-31 bypass in Bertrand Township was shot 18 times, apparently with rifle rounds, the Michigan State Police said. Troopers say they dont have any suspects. To the lawless individual(s) responsible for this reckless use of a firearm, state police wrote in a social media post, once your identity is known you will be charged & prosecuted to the highest extent of the law! This embedded content is not available in your region. If you know anything, youre asked to contact the MSP Niles Post at 269.683.4411. 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 WOODTV.com. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) Police said at least 10-15 cars in the Italian Village had their windows smashed overnight into Saturday morning. Columbus Police first received a call about the smashed windows Saturday around 8 a.m. As more calls rolled in, police said they could not confirm the total number of cars but estimated at least 10-15. Police said they did not have a total number of vehicles affected because several other cars had smashed windows, but police had not been able to make contact with the owners to file reports. Police had no other information to release as of Friday evening. 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 NBC4 WCMH-TV. FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WBOY) Continuing to inspire a love for science and teamwork, NASA has been hosting student workshops at its Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility in Fairmont, including one for students from the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind. After getting up bright and early on Saturday and traveling from Romney, West Virginia, around 15 students from WVSDB got to launch a rocket, build a robot and fly a drone. NASA officials from the Education Resource Center (ERC) hope this hands on experience will inspire these students to join in the three new teams NASA is helping to launch at the WVSDB after the pandemic disrupted the schools original robotics program. The new teams will be a rocket team, a robotics team, and a drone team. Students preparing model rockets for launch. (WBOY image) WVSDB student working on building robot. (WBOY image) WVSDB student flies drone. (WBOY image) John Holbrook, a graduate of the ERC program, now works for it as the Robotic and Drones Competition Lead. Our goal at the ERC is to inspire, educate and employ students across West Virginia, Holbrook said. And one of several ways that we do that is by supporting competitive robotics tournaments and teams across the state. Literacy grant aims to help reluctant young readers in Mon County While the students who attended the weekend workshop have a range of hearing and visual disabilities, ERC program manager Todd Ensign said he and his team are experienced in making the workshop all inclusive after working with the school since around 2014. Making sure that they have the tactile, you know resources in their hands, Ensign said. We talk about a nose cone, they can hold a nose cone, when they assemble robots they can feel and work with those. (WBOY image) For those who have hearing disabilities, they have interpreters. Ensign said during competitions those same students can go head to head with other students across the state, but equipped with additional visual cues to better help with things like competition timers. Regardless of their background or ability, these students were just excited to build on their STEM and team working skills. WVSDV student Elijah Collins, who has a visual impairment, said being a part of the school has been a huge help to him and discussed how the workshop inspired him. When you look at it, most people are like oh how is somebody thats deaf going to work with somebody thats blindand both sides of it just connect really wellcomes out as a team with great problem solving abilities and great teamwork. Monongalia County students receive YONDR pouches as part of smartphone-free policy WVSDV student Skylar Lanham, who is hearing impaired and worked alongside Collins, enjoyed the workshop as well and said she hopes to join the teams someday. I love learning how to compete with a drone and robots, Im liking it. More information about the Katherine Johnson IV&V Facility can be found on its website. 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 WBOY.com. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) A free college fair will be held at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex on Sept. 8. From 1- 8 p.m., the National Association for College Admission Counseling is inviting students, parents and counselors to the NACAC National College Fair. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet with college admission representatives, talk to college counselors, learn about gap years and summer programs, attend workshops and more. Attendees will also have access to a user-friendly app designed for the fair. Early registrants have the option to utilize the NACACs MatchMaking feature. This feature allows students to select the attributes that are most important to them in colleges and universities and be referred to the institutions that fit their provided criteria. Students can use this reference to connect with their best college matches at the fair. More information about the NACAC National College Fair in Birmingham is available here. 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 CBS 42. WASHINGTON A decision on whether to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug in the U.S. won't come until after the November presidential election, a timeline that raises the chances it could be a potent political issue in the closely contested race. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration last week set a hearing date to take comment on the proposed historic change in federal drug policy for Dec. 2. The hearing date means a final decision could well come in the next administration. While it's possible it could precede the end of President Joe Biden's term, issuing it before Inauguration Day "would be pretty expedited," cannabis lawyer Brian Vicente said. That could put a new spotlight on the presidential candidates' positions on marijuana. Vice President Kamala Harris backed decriminalizing the drug and said it's "absurd" to have it in the DEA's Schedule I category with heroin and LSD. The Democratic nominee's position shifted over the years; she once oversaw the enforcement of cannabis laws and opposed legalized recreational use for adults in California while running for attorney general in 2010. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, recently signaled support for a Florida legalization measure, following earlier comments that he increasingly agrees that people shouldn't be jailed for the drug now legal in multiple states. During his 2016 run for president, Trump said he backed medical marijuana but said pot should be left up to the states. Still, during Trump's term then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions lifted an Obama-era policy that kept federal authorities from cracking down on the pot trade in states where the drug is legal. Trump's campaign didn't immediately respond to a query about his position on rescheduling the drug. The Justice Department proposed reclassifying it in May, saying the change would recognize marijuana's medical uses and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some of the most dangerous drugs. The proposal, which would not legalize marijuana for recreational use, came after Biden called for a review. The DEA said it doesn't yet have a position on whether to go through with the change, stating in a memo that it would keep weighing the issue as the federal rulemaking process plays out. The new classification would be the most significant shift in U.S. drug policy in 50 years and could be a potent political issue, especially with younger voters. It faces opposition from groups such as Smart Approaches to Marijuana. Its president, Kevin Sabet, argues there isn't enough data to move cannabis to the less-dangerous Schedule III category, alongside ketamine and some anabolic steroids. The DEA's move to hold the hearing is "a huge win in our fight to have this decision guided by medical science, not politics," he said, adding that 18 states' attorneys general back his opposition. The hearing sparked some consternation among pot industry players. "While the result ultimately may be better, I think we're so used to seeing delays that it's just a little disappointing," said Stephen Abraham, chief financial officer at The Blinc Group, supplier of cartridges and other hardware used in pot vapes. "Every time you slow down or hold resources from the legal market, it's to the benefit of the illicit market." The proposal, signed by Attorney General Merrick Garland rather than DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, followed a recommendation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Federal drug policy lagged behind that of many states in recent years, with 38 legalizing medical marijuana and 24 legalizing its recreational use. Lawmakers from both major political parties pushed for the change as marijuana became increasingly decriminalized and accepted. A Gallup poll last year found 70% of adults support legalization, the highest level yet recorded by the polling firm and more than double the roughly three in 10 who backed it in 2000. The marijuana industry grew quickly, and state-licensed pot companies are keen on rescheduling partly because it could enable them to take federal business-expense tax deductions that aren't available to enterprises involved in "trafficking" any Schedule I or II drug. For some of Vicente's clients, the change would effectively reduce the tax rate from 75% to 25%. Some legalization advocates also hope rescheduling could help persuade Congress to pass legislation aimed at opening banks' doors to cannabis companies. Currently, the drug's legal status means many federally regulated banks are reluctant to lend to such businesses, or sometimes even provide checking or other basic services. Rescheduling could also make it easier to research marijuana, since it's difficult to conduct authorized clinical studies on Schedule I substances. Some medical marijuana patient advocates fear that the discussion already is deeply politicized and the focus on rescheduling's potential effect on the industry shifted attention from the people who could benefit. "It was our hope that we could finally take the next step and create the national medical cannabis program that we need," said Steph Sherer, founder and president of Americans for Safe Access. The organization advocates for putting cannabis in a drug category all its own and for creating a medical cannabis office within DHS. Rescheduling's immediate effect on the U.S. criminal justice system, though, likely would be more muted, since federal prosecutions for simple possession were fairly rare in recent years. Marijuana use is at an all-time highHere's how it affects mental health Marijuana use is at an all-time highHere's how it affects mental health Occasional cannabis use increases the likelihood of depression, suicidal thoughts, and academic struggles among young people WASHINGTON In addition to articles already covered by Native News Online, here is a roundup of other news released from Washington, D.C. that impacts Indian Country recently. Biden-Harris Administration Announces $3.48 Million for Tribes to Build Environmental Protection Capacity The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the availability of approximately $3.48 million for two, five-year cooperative agreements to build the capacity of Tribal governments to restore land for productive use and healthy communities, reduce waste, prevent environmental contamination and prepare for and respond to environmental emergencies in Indian country. Never miss Indian Countrys biggest stories and breaking news. Click here to sign up to get our reporting sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. These cooperative agreements will help bring together Tribes to share their experience and expertise in managing land cleanup and emergency response challenges, said Clifford Villa, EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management. We are building the partnerships and capacity that will benefit Tribes for years to come as we collectively work to revitalize Tribal communities and protect the environment. Through the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), EPA anticipates awarding two cooperative agreements to one recipient. The awardee will provide training, technical assistance, research, and tools to Tribal environmental staff to build capacity on waste management, cleanup, pollution prevention, and emergency response programs in Indian country. HHS Announces Tribal Consultation on Updated Draft Tribal and TEC Data Access Policies The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Office of the Deputy Secretary, is initiating Tribal consultation on two new draft policies: (1) the HHS Tribal Data Access Policy, and (2) the HHS Tribal Epidemiology Center (TEC) Data Access Policy . The revised documents reflect the input received from Tribal leaders in prior consultation, as well as internal HHS working group experts. We ask that you please review the enclosed draft policies to offer your comments and recommendations to assist in the preparation of the final policies. Comments are welcome on all aspects of the drafts. Please see this Dear Tribal Leader Letter for full details. HHS invites you to provide your input and feedback on the draft policies through one or both of the following methods: Virtual Consultation Date: October 1, 2024 Time: 3:00 5:00 PM EST ZoomGov Registration: https://hhsgov.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJIsde2grj8uGGIprr2dP29JGZRIFRw3MWc Written Comment Please send comments by October 31, 2024, via one of the following methods: Email: consultation@hhs.gov Subject Line: (please submit comments on each draft separately) o HHS Tribal Data Access Policy o HHS TEC Data Access Policy Postal Mail: Bertha Alisia Guerrero, Director Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs 200 Independence Ave. SW Mail Stop: 620E Washington, DC 20201 HHS is also pleased to announce its new Tribal Data Access Website is now live at https://cdo.hhs.gov/s/tribal-data. We encourage you to bookmark this link and check it regularly for updates. We will be posting the final HHS Tribal and Tribal Epidemiology Center Data Access Policies, FAQs, and new Division-specific materials here as they are available. We also welcome input during consultation about additional information or features you would like to see on this site. Enclosures: Biden Names Pueblo of Acoma Citizen to Route 66 Centennial Commission President Joe Biden on Friday named Charles P. Riley (Pueblo of Acoma) to the 66 Centennial Commission. Riley has made public service his career. He served the Pueblo of Acoma as a Tribal Council member for 13 years and as a Tribal Sheriff for one year. Riley holds a Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of New Mexico and worked for private engineering and surveying firms for 10 years, before joining the Bureau of Indian Affairs. At the Bureau of Indian Affairs, he held the positions of Regional Road Engineer, Designated Engineer, and Mescalero Agency Superintendent. Riley ended his government career working for the Bureau of Indian Education. He retired from public service after 25 years and is currently working for the Pueblo as the Director of Community Development. As the director of Community Development, Riley oversees the planning, design, and construction of roads on Pueblo of Acoma lands. His office has been awarded grants to plan and design 13 miles of roads and three bridges. His office is currently helping other departments with the development of a new Education Resource Center and Senior Center complex. The Pueblos future projects include a reservation-wide pedestrian/bike trail system, and the designation of a Tribal Scenic Byway that will lead to the historic Acoma village known as Sky City, that will begin and end on historic Route 66. About the Author: "Native News Online is one of the most-read publications covering Indian Country and the news that matters to American Indians, Alaska Natives and other Indigenous people. Reach out to us at editor@nativenewsonline.net. " Contact: news@nativenewsonline.net NE immigrant advocates seek to reignite rapid response teams in case of crackdowns or crisis (Getty Images) LINCOLN It happened 18 years ago, but Steve Joel and Yolanda Nuncio said Saturday they clearly recall the drug-sniffing dogs, helicopters and immigration agents converging on their towns meatpacking plant. The two Grand Island officials he was the school superintendent at the time and she was a state administrator saw more than 250 suspected undocumented workers arrested. People were scrambling to escape. Empty school seats followed. Some businesses closed. It was horrible, said Nuncio, a Grand Island resident who at the time oversaw the central part of the state for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. We were not prepared for a raid of that magnitude, or for the effects it had on the community. Rapid response teams That 2006 enforcement operation got advocates thinking about better ways communities should respond, particularly when children are separated from parents, Nuncio said. Strategies later gelled and rapid response teams kicked into action, for instance, after a 2018 high-profile probe during which 133 workers in and around ONeill, Neb., were detained. But in recent years, Nuncio said, those efforts have been largely dormant. On Saturday, participants of a five-hour summit organized by Las Voces Nebraska agreed to work more closely together to update plans and reignite community teams to quickly respond to immigration-related crackdowns or crisis situations. Motivating them is the amplification of border security discussions and a pledge by former President Donald Trump to launch Americas largest mass deportation if he is elected president in November, said Marty Ramirez, co-founder of Las Voces, a Latino advocacy network. There is anxiety, Ramirez said. Its like a hurricane. Its coming. Its coming. What do we do when it hits? A few dozen people, including Nuncio and Joel, tuned in to the online conference from communities across the state to discuss whether or how various groups and cities are preparing. Ramirez, of Lincoln, said a goal is to be armed with local and statewide protocols for disruptions that could range from shootings to raids. Experts from the statewide American Civil Liberties Union and the Immigrant Legal Center spoke about growing efforts to educate Nebraskans about their rights. Administrators from Omaha and Lincoln public schools spoke about their preparedness plans. Paul Gausman, superintendent of Lincoln Public Schools, for example, described the districts two sites that are set up to provide shelter and other services to students during emergencies, including reuniting kids with parents or guardians. Nebraska Appleseeds Ruby Mendez Lopez said her organization created a bare bones response flow chart for communities in the aftermath of the ONeill-focused immigration operations. She told the group that at least two Nebraska towns Crete and North Platte have started to develop their plans, identifying contacts and procedures tailored to local needs. They want to be prepared, she said. The toughest part of a rapid response plan, Mendez Lopez said, is getting buy-in from local government officials who could ease the execution of such plans. Olga Guevera of Unity in Action in South Sioux City said her community started discussing a rapid response strategy not long after the ONeill arrests but then COVID-19 hit in early 2020, and efforts were put on the back burner. I feel were not prepared. A lot of us feel in the same boat, she said. Joel, more recently retired as superintendent of Lincoln Public Schools, was superintendent of Grand Island Public Schools at the time of the 2006 raid, which was part of a national Swift and Company federal investigation that detained from six different plants about 1,300 workers accused of immigration and identity theft violations. You can imagine the fear that was permeating the entire city of Grand Island, Joel told summit participants. Educators tried to reinforce to families that the districts priority was to keep children safe, Joel said, and slowly but surely kids from immigrant families returned to classes. There is anxiety ... Its like a hurricane. Its coming. Its coming. What do we do when it hits? Marty Ramirez of Lincoln, retired psycholgist and co-founder of Las Voces Nebraska He said he witnessed other unexpected acts as well. The first person who walked into his office with a financial donation to help families came from a man who previously had made clear his negative view of illegal immigration. Joel said that when he reacted with surprise, the man said: Im a dad, too. Now retired, Joel described the effects of the Dec. 12 raid as both a highlight and lowlight of his professional career. He believes the overall response reinforces that communities will push back on large-scale deportation activities. Guevara and others said they look forward to collaborating with other agencies and areas on response strategies. Ben Salazar of Omaha, who helped coordinate the summit, said he foresees the formation of a coalition to help communities create concrete action plans. This is a giant step today, he said. Ramirez hopes for involvement from government officials and more Latino advocacy groups. Religious representatives spoke during the summit and offered continued support. Ramirez said he expects an uphill battle from Nebraskas congressional delegation and certain state leaders. He was pleased that the summit helped point out needs. Weve got to keep pushing, Ramirez said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX LINCOLN, Neb. (KCAU) More than 100 drivers were arrested for driving under the influence during the Nebraska State Patrols Driver Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign. According to a release, the effort ran from August 14 through Labor Day weekend and resulted in 112 arrests by the NSP. Former Sioux City bike shop owner dies at 100 This has been a busy summer across Nebraska, Superintendent of NSP Colonel John Bolduc said. But now that summer travel is in the rearview, its still important that we all do our part to keep roads safe. Always have a sober driver; watch your speed, put your phone down, and buckle up. The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign included troopers throughout the state and was made possible by funding from the Nebraska Department of Transportation Highway Safety Office. Sioux City musician Johnnie Bolin dies at 70 Along with the 112 arrests, troopers issued 1,792 citations for speeding, including 84 drivers who were cited for traveling at more than 100 miles per hour. 127 citations were issued for driving under suspension, 50 citations for open alcohol containers, 36 citations for minors in possession of alcohol, 38 citations for no seat belts, and 24 citations for improper child restraint. The release noted that troopers also helped 717 motorists during the campaign. Over the summer, troopers assisted more than 3,600 drivers on Nebraska roadways. Any motorist needing assistance can call the NSP Highway Helpline by dialing *55. 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 SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted what he called Iran's "axis of evil" in remarks Sunday after a terrorist attack at the West Bank-Jordan border crossing killed three Israelis. "It's a hard day. A despicable terrorist murdered three of our citizens in cold blood at the Allenby Bridge. On behalf of the government, I send my condolences to the families of the victims," Netanyahu said at the beginning of his cabinet meeting Sunday. "We are surrounded by a murderous ideology led by Iran's axis of evil. In recent days, despicable terrorists have murdered six of our hostages in cold blood and three Israeli police officers. The killers do not distinguish between us, they want to murder us all, until the last one; right and left, secular and religious, Jews and non-Jews." The Israeli military said a gunman approached the Allenby Bridge Crossing from the Jordanian side in a truck and opened fire at Israeli security forces, who killed the assailant in a shootout. It said the three people killed were Israeli civilians. Israels Magen David Adom rescue service said they were all men in their 50s. Jordan, a Western-allied Arab country with a large Palestinian population, is investigating the shooting, its state-run Petra News Agency reported. TRUMP CLAIMS ISRAEL WILL BE 'GONE' WITHIN TWO YEARS IF HARRIS IS ELECTED PRESIDENT: VIDEO Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem on September 2, 2024. Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri celebrated the attack, connecting the shooting to Israel's offensive in Gaza. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP "We expect many more similar actions," he said, according to Reuters. It marked the first attack of its kind along the West Bank-Jordan border crossing since Hamas terrorists killed approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in their Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel. Another 250 were taken as hostages into Gaza, and Hamas are still holding approximately 100 of them. Around a third of the remaining hostages inside Gaza are believed to be dead. "What prevents the elimination of our people as in the past is the strength of the State of Israel and the strength of the Israel Defense Forces," Netanyahu continued Sunday. "The heroic spirit of the soldiers, the policemen, the men and women of our security forces, the supreme sacrifice of our fallen heroes and the resilience of our people that's all the difference. When we stand together our enemies cannot, so their main goal is to divide us, to sow division within us." Over the weekend, Netanyahu noted, "the German newspaper Bild published an official Hamas document that reveals its plan of action: to sow division within us, to wage psychological warfare on the families of the hostages, to exert internal and external political pressure on the Israeli government, to tear us apart from the inside, and to continue the war until further notice, until the defeat of Israel." "The vast majority of Israeli citizens do not fall into this trap of Hamas," the prime minister said. "They know that we are committed with all our might to achieve the goals of the war to eliminate Hamas, to return all our hostages, to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel and to safely return our residents in the north and south to their homes." NETANYAHU SAYS SECURITY IN GAZA IS CRITICAL TO STOP HAMAS SMUGGLING HOSTAGES INTO IRAN: 'LOST FOREVER' "We will stand together, we will hold on to David's link together, and with God's help we will win," Netanyahu said. "And lastly, some ask 'Will you forever hold a sword?' In the Middle East, without a sword there is no eternity." The Allenby crossing over the Jordan River, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, is mainly used by Palestinians and international tourists, as well as for cargo shipments. The crossing has seen very few security incidents over the years, but in 2014 Israeli security guards shot and killed a Jordanian judge who they said had attacked them, the Associated Press reported. Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994. Authorities in Israel and Jordan said the crossing was closed until further notice, and Israel later announced the closure of both of its land crossings with Jordan, near Beit Shean in the north and Eilat in the south. Fox News' Yael Rotem-Kuriel and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Original article source: Netanyahu blasts 'Iran's axis of evil' after Jordan border terror attack kills 3 Israelis (Bloomberg) -- The Netherlands secretly sheltered Venezuelas opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez at the Dutch embassy in Caracas for six weeks before he fled to Spain on Sunday. Most Read from Bloomberg Gonzalez was granted political asylum in Spain a month after his party presented voting records to prove his win in the July 28 presidential election. Venezuelan authorities declared Nicolas Maduro reelected to a third term and ordered Gonzalezs arrest. At his urgent request, the day after the elections, I decided to grant Gonzalez hospitality for as long as necessary at the residence of the charge daffaires of the Netherlands in Caracas, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said in a letter to the parliament on Sunday. Earlier this month, Gonzalez wanted to leave the residence and continue his struggle from Spain, Veldkamp added. The US and other countries have claimed Gonzalez won the presidential vote. Nationwide protests erupted in Venezuela after the elections, with the government detaining 2,400 protesters and arresting four prominent opposition politicians. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Michel Barnier, pictured on Friday after being appointed as French prime minister, proposed a three to five-year moratorium on immigration in 2021 - LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP Frances new prime minister is under pressure to follow through on an old election promise to suspend immigration. Michel Barnier, is being propped up by Marine Le Pen of the hard-Right, who said she supported the three to five-year moratorium proposed by Mr Barnier when he made a run for president in 2021. At the time, Mr Barnier proposed a pause in order to take back control of the countrys migration policy. Along with a moratorium, his plans included ending the regularisation of undocumented immigrants, tightening the criteria for family reunification and reducing the number of long-stay visas. In an interview with La Tribune Dimanche published on Sunday, Ms Le Pen, leader of the hard-Right National Rally, said she was in favour of Mr Barniers call to implement a temporary immigration ban and expressed approval of the Brexit negotiator as prime minister. There is no doubt that Michel Barnier seems to have the same view on immigration as we do. Now, we expect action from him, she said. The leaders from the Left refuse to face the reality of the immigration problem. I also stick to Michel Barniers proposals during the 2021 Republican [party] primary, many of which were in line with our line. Marine Le Pen, pictured with a fan on Sunday, is pushing for a complete ban on immigration - DENIS CHARLET/AFP During his run for the Republican leadership, Mr Barnier promised that his first priority if he became president would be to put a stop to the current immigration and re-establish the authority of the state. My commitments on immigration, with a moratorium and a constitutional shield, and on security have one goal and one goal only: to solve the problems of the French, he told Le Figaro in 2021. He also called for the British to finally accept their responsibility and process asylum applications at home and warned: If we dont change anything, there will be other Brexits, a reference Ms Le Pen brought up in her interview. I remember the time when he explained that out-of-control immigration had been one of the reasons for Brexit. It is an analysis that I share, she said. A placard reading 'Barnier resign' following his appointment as the new French prime minister - SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP Mr Barnier was named prime minister by Emmanuel Macron, the French president, on Thursday after two months of political chaos following snap elections. New polling published by Ifop for the Journal du Dimanche Sunday showed the French are split on the presidents choice of prime minister, with 52 per cent expressing satisfaction with his choice, versus 48 per cent opposing it. Some of the French population criticised Emmanuel Macron for not appointing a Left-wing prime minister - CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP Mr Barniers approval rating rises to 62 per cent when asked about his perceived competence, and 61 per cent for his perceived openness to dialogue. The findings come a day after more than 100,000 Left-wing demonstrators took to the streets to protest Mr Barniers nomination. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Newsom heads to New York to raise money for Harris then to Pennsylvania, where she'll debate Trump Vice President Kamala Harris joins Sen. Alex Padilla and Gov. Gavin Newsom as they check out the I-10 Freeway repair project in Los Angeles last year. (Alex Gallardo / Associated Press) Gov. Gavin Newsom is heading east to headline a splashy big-dollar fundraiser for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in New York before the vice president's first debate with former President Trump on Tuesday in Philadelphia, which he'll likely attend. The governor will promote Harris and vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, from Sunday through Wednesday, according to a member of Newsoms political team, making media appearances and attending fundraisers in New York and stumping for the Democratic ticket in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. Newsom is jumping back into campaigning for the Democratic nominee after largely lying low in the weeks since Harris replaced President Biden at the top of the ticket. Newsom was a prominent surrogate for Biden, stumping for him around the country and defending him after his poor debate performance in June that ultimately led the incumbent to bow out of his reelection campaign. But his role in Harris campaign had been unclear. Harris campaign officials said Saturday that Newsom is a leader of Harris' national campaign committee, the same role he held with Biden's campaign. Harris and Newsom have a long history, having run in the same political circles in San Francisco before being sworn in together on the same day in 2004, Newsom as mayor and Harris as district attorney. The vice president reminisced about their friendship at her first Bay Area fundraiser after becoming the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in August. Read more: Kamala Harris raises $13 million in San Francisco, touts California roots I have known Gavin as a friend and colleague for so, so many years, she said. I want to thank you in front of all of our friends who are here for being an extraordinary leader of California and the nation. Still, a vein of competition has marked their relationship for many years, as both were viewed as rising stars in the Democratic Party. It was particularly notable during the Democratic National Convention last month: Newsom attended, but without a prominent official role. The governor, who normally seeks the spotlight, had only a brief moment on camera during the official programming when he announced California delegates' votes for Harris. He said he turned down an opportunity to speak on the opening night of the convention because he was attending a school orientation for his children and couldn't get to Chicago in time. Newsom told The Times in an interview during the convention that he was awaiting an assignment from the Harris campaign and was mindful of how the rest of the nation views San Francisco and California. Im deeply situationally aware of that, and thats why Im not asserting anything, he said. Im happy. I dont need anything or want anything. I just want to be helpful and not hurtful. Read more: Gavin Newsom navigates new role behind Kamala Harris One way Newsom is helping is by raising money. An invitation to Sunday's fundraiser in New York City asks donors to contribute up to $100,000 to attend the event headlined by Newsom, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Hosts include producer Shonda Rhimes and actors Tony Goldwyn, Robert De Niro, Leslie Lloyd Odom Jr. and Amber Tamblyn. The fundraiser is taking place as campaign disclosures show Harris with a gaping financial lead over Trump. The Democratic nominees campaign announced Friday that she and Walz and their allied committees had raised $361 million in August, the most in the current electoral cycle, and had $404 million in cash on hand. Trump, running mate JD Vance and their allied committees raised $130 million in August and had $295 million in the bank, according to Republicans. The former GOP president is scheduled to return to California this week for a pair of high-dollar fundraisers, one notably hosted by relatives of Newsom's wife, according to invitations obtained by The Times. After New York, Newsom is scheduled to visit Pennsylvania. On Tuesday, Harris is debating Trump at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. His aides referred questions about his attendance at the debate to the Harris campaign, which did not respond to The Times' question. A source familiar with the plans, though not authorized to speak about them publicly, said that Newsom is widely expected to attend the faceoff as a surrogate who's vocally promoting Harris in her historic run against Trump. Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter. Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond, in your inbox three times per week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Were starting off our Sunday nice with temperatures in the mid-60s and mostly clear skies! Temperatures warming into the mid-80s under mostly sunny skies later this afternoon. Well see another cool morning for tomorrow morning before temperatures warm into the upper 80s tomorrow afternoon with increasing clouds. Rain chances look to increase, especially for areas south of I-10, starting Tuesday. Rain chances will be rapidly increasing Wednesday and Thursday associated with a low pressure area, currently across the Bay of Campeche, which will be moving northward into the area. The National Hurricane Center is currently giving this area a high chance of tropical development. Tropical consolidation and development looks likely through the next 24-36 hours with surface pressures lowering in this area of the southern Gulf. Tropical models suggest a general movement to the northwest for Monday and Tuesday, with a bend back to the north and northeast Wednesday. This would bring the system near the Louisiana coast by Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Intensity models and forecasts will be better once the system actually develops, but most intensity models show the possibility of a tropical storm, but a weak hurricane cannot be ruled out. Wind shear will be high across the northern Gulf coast, so the main factor will be the latitude of the storm at certain points in the forecast, which will determine if the system stays south of the strongest belt of shear. A more northerly and faster system would encounter more wind shear and most likely be weaker, while a more southerly, slower-moving, storm will likely encounter less shear and be able to strengthen further. These details will have to be ironed out through the next few days. At this point, I would say heavy rainfall is probably the more pressing concern for us in Acadiana. Both the GFS and European model show the possibility of anywhere from 4-8 inches of rainfall across the area Wednesday and Thursday with isolated hot spots. Any type of wind threat is totally dependent on the eventual strength of this system. Winds offshore will get strong starting Wednesday morning and continuing through Thursday morning. High seas and Gale-force conditions likely! 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 KLFY.com. (ECNS) --"There is a long history of Africa and China supporting each other", said Foreign Minister Yassine Fall of Senegal, the incumbent African co-chair of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) at the 2024 FOCAC summit. In the interview with China News Network, she describes the image of China in her eyes, saying, "In the values of the Chinese, China and Africa should develop together, and there should be a universal wellbeing for all people, universal modernization of economies, of countries." Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, joined by Foreign Minister Yassine Fall of Senegal and Foreign Minister of the Republic of the Congo Jean-Claude Gakosso, the incoming African co-chair, met and took questions from Chinese and foreign journalists on Thursday. Speaking of this FOCAC summit, Fall highly praised the fruits it bears. In her view, the summit means that Africa-China communication is becoming diversified. Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, said the Chinese people will not forget that it was the African brothers who "carried" the New China into the United Nations, to which Fall had an emotional response. "Our relationship with China is really win-win," she put it this way describing Africa-China ties while tracing back to the last century. She said the relationship has a long history because China has been among the countries who always support and defend African nations for their independence, and after independence, supporting African nations in their development. Since coming to Beijing for the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, Fall has visited China many times and witnessed China's economic development, social changes, and scientific and technological progress. These advancements have shown her enormous possibilities of Africa-China cooperation. She called on Africa and China to strengthen economic and trade cooperation, and hoped that China's private sector would become models for African enterprises to learn from, thereby creating more job opportunities in Africa. In her view, China's expertise, science and technology can energize African businesses. Moreover, Fall urged Africa and China to intensify cultural communication, so that African artisans from all categories can come to China to learn from artistic creation. People-to-people exchange is another genre to be highlighted, noted Fall. It is her wish that young people from both sides can interact through technology transfers and skill trainings. Fall stressed, "The world is always competing, but when you do well and you will show the evidence. Nobody can hide the evidence." JD Vances ongoing comments about women who dont have children, whether about childless cat ladies or his condemnation of American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, are not helpful to the Trump-Vance presidential campaign, former Republican primary candidate Nikki Haley said on Face the Nation Sunday. When asked if Vance has been an effective messenger for the duos policies in light of those comments, Haley answered, I think that the policy look, you can either look at style or you can look at substance. I choose as a voter to look at substance The substance is cutting taxes, making housing more affordable, immigration, national security. Thats the substance. The style is, no, it is not helpful to talk about whether women have children or whether they dont. Its not helpful to say any of those things that are personality-driven. Americans are smart. They dont need all this other noise to distract them. They just want to know how youre going to help them, Haley added. Instead, voters should look at the records of both candidates, she argued. Youve got some stark contrast there. Harris was not strong on the border. Trump was strong on the border. Harris wanted to eliminate fracking. Now shes taking that back, but energy production was not as strong as it was under the Trump administration. Haley also took issue with Harris stance on health care in the United States, specifically her past support for Sen. Bernie Sanders Medicare for All bill in 2017. Harris explained at the time, This is about understanding, again, that health care should be a right, not a privilege. And its also about being smart. It is so much better that people have meaningful access to affordable health care at every stage of life, from birth on. Because the alternative is that we as taxpayers otherwise are paying huge amounts of money for them to get their health care in an emergency room. So its not only about what is morally and ethically right, it also makes sense from a fiscal standpoint, or if you want to talk about it as a return on investment for taxpayers. Though Harris has not explicitly laid out a health care plan in 2024, she has walked back her previous more progressive stances on health care from both 2017 and the 2020 primary. Haley herself noted that she doesnt support any step toward a Medicare for All system. When you talk about Medicare for All, when you talk about removing private health insurance, you might as well be Canada, Haley said. You might as well look at socialist health care. We never want to get to that point, because youre not going to get IVF or anything else. In 2021, Vance attacked teaching union president Weingarten for not having children. If she wants to brainwash and destroy the minds of children, she should have some of her own and leave ours the hell alone, Vance asserted. The comments were recently resurfaced by the Harris campaign. On Aug. 29, Weingarten told MSNBCs Jen Psaki, It was just a bizarre thing for him to double down on it now, because every parent and every teacher and every kid in August and September are thinking about the new year and what it means and that engagement. So he must really be disconnected from life. You can watch the full Face the Nation interview with Nikki Haley in the video above. The post Nikki Haley Calls JD Vances Childless Cat Ladies Comments Not Helpful | Video appeared first on TheWrap. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley dodged when she was asked whether she thinks former President Donald Trump is a good candidate, instead acknowledging only that she thinks he is "the Republican nominee. After Haley said of her 2024 candidacy in a "Face the Nation" interview set to air Sunday on CBS, I ran because I thought I could do a better job, moderator Margaret Brennan responded, You dont think hes a good candidate? I think he is the Republican nominee, Haley said in a clip released ahead of the full interview. And I think putting him against Kamala Harris, who is the Democrat nominee for me, its not a question." "Now, do I agree with his style? Do I agree with his approach? Do I agree with his communications? No, she continued. Asked whether comments by his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, about women who do not have children would hurt the campaign's standing with women in a part of the interview that aired Sunday, Haley said they were "not helpful." You can either look at style or you can look at substance. I choose, as a voter, to look at substance," she said, adding, The style is no it is not helpful to talk about whether women have children or whether they dont. Haley, who ran for the Republican nomination against Trump before she dropped out and quickly endorsed him, said that while she does not agree with Trumps style, approach or communications, she supports him because of policy agreements. Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is also willing to offer advice, she told CBS News. Haley said that she is on standby to campaign for Trump and that he is aware of that willingness. But she said she has not been asked to help with debate prep or campaigning. And thats his choice whatever he decides to do with his campaign, he can do that, she said. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said last month on NBC News' "Meet the Press" that he would like to see Haley and other GOP leaders hit the trail, saying, Me and Nikki need to go to Georgia. Were giving advice on TV to President Trump. Hes got a lot of critics, Graham said. Hes got a lot of advisers, but to Nikki Haley and [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis and [Virginia Gov. Glenn] Youngkin and all these great people we have, lets get together and actually campaign for the guy. Haley's support and her willingness to stump for Trump are a far cry from the dynamic the two shared during the primary, when Trump mocked Haleys birth name and Haley called him "diminished" and "unhinged." Speaking at Clemson University after she lost the South Carolina primary to Trump, Haley called him a disaster for the GOP, adding that she was not afraid to express her disapproval publicly and did not need to kiss the ring. Well, Im not afraid to say the hard truths out loud, Haley said at the time, before she endorsed Trump. I feel no need to kiss the ring. And I have no fear of Trumps retribution. Im not looking for anything from him. Haley has gradually changed her tune, speaking at the Republican National Convention in July and offering her strong endorsement. But that has not stopped Haley from criticizing Trump's campaign performance, telling Fox News in August that it needed to "focus" and stay away from personal attacks on Harris. Discussing the options before voters this November, Haley appeared to adopt a resigned tone in her comments to Brennan. These are the candidates we have been given, she said. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Nikki Haley criticized GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance for his controversial remarks about women, labeling the Ohio statesmans comments as not helpful, in an interview with CBS that aired Sunday. It is not helpful to talk about whether women have children or whether they dont, the former Republican presidential candidate said to Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation. I have said that and I will continue to say to Republicans, stop it, thats not helpful. Vance, who most famously referred to Kamala Harris and other women without children as a bunch of childless cat ladies miserable at their own lives, recently came under fire after a 2021 clip of him saying professional women choose a path to misery by prioritizing their careers over having children resurfaced. Donald Trumps running mate also also claimed that teachers without children really disorients and really disturbs him and, according to CNN reports, has described people without children using the terms sociopath and "psychotic. JD Vance Rants About Miserable Professional Women in Unearthed Clip While Haley took issue with Vances rhetoric, she said she focuses on substance over style. According to her, making housing more affordable, immigration, national security, thats the substance. The former United Nations ambassador, who also admitted she does not wholly agree with Trumps approach or style, endorsed the Republican nominee in July. Haley has not been tapped by the former president to help with his campaign, despite telling CBS he knows Im on standby. The Daily Beast has reached out to Vance for comment. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) New Mexicos new cabinet secretary for the Department of Information Technology has an El Paso connection. Manny Barreras was was appointed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to serve as the states next secretary for Information Technology. The announcement was made Friday, Sept. 6. For the past 19 years, Barreras has worked for Motorola Solutions Inc., where he was the senior territory account manager for New Mexico and El Paso. Manny Barreras is an exceptional leader with a proven track record in driving innovative solutions and delivering critical communication systems for public safety, Lujan Grisham said. His extensive experience and deep understanding of the challenges facing state and local agencies make him the ideal person to lead the Department of Information Technology. I am confident that under his leadership, New Mexico will continue to advance our technology infrastructure to better serve our communities. According to the news release issued by the Governors Office, Barreras has more than 26 years of professional experience in sales and business development, including 22 years in technical sales, marketing management and public relations. Barreras brings a wealth of expertise to the role, according to the news release. Among Barreras work was a $20 million radio system upgrade for the NM Department of Information of Technology in 2023, the Governors Office said. I am honored to be appointed as Secretary of the Department of Information Technology, Barreras said. I look forward to working with Gov. Lujan Grisham and the dedicated team at DoIT to enhance New Mexicos technology infrastructure, ensuring our state is at the forefront of innovation and providing the highest level of service to our residents. Barreras has a bachelor of business administration in marketing from New Mexico State University. Barreras begins his new role on Monday, Sept. 9. 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 KTSM 9 News. North Attleboro husband and wife identified as victims in deadly Foxboro crash The two people pronounced deceased after Friday afternoons two-car crash in Foxboro were identified as a husband and wife from North Attleboro on Saturday. 85-year-old Joseph Borelli and his wife Carol Borrelli, 81, were in their Honda Accord when it collided with a box truck in the area of South Street and Cedar Street around 4:40 p.m., the Norfolk County District Attorneys office said Saturday. The couple was transported to a nearby hospital where they were pronounced deceased. The driver of the box truck stayed at the scene and cooperated with police. Video from the scene showed both cars with heavy damage and one lying on its side. Drivers were asked to avoid the area. The investigation into the crash is ongoing. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson says he wants abortion to be illegal at zero weeks in new audio released by Democrats A Democratic group has released new audio of North Carolina Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is running for governor, saying he wants to get abortion restrictions down to zero weeks. In the audio, which the group said was recorded Sept. 3 at a Robinson campaign event in Troy, a woman asked Robinson about his stance on abortion and why he was supporting North Carolinas current ban on the procedure after 12 weeks. Robinson replied, That 12 weeks, exceptions for rape and incest Im not going to say its reasonable. But my faith allows me to live with that, because thats where the consensus is. Do I want to continue to lower it? You better know it. I would love to get down to six weeks. And Id like to get down to zero. I would like to push it back as far as we could and eliminate as many abortions as we can. We cant do it all at once, he added. The Democrats started off with Roe v. Wade, then moved to safe, legal and rare. Then they got to where? Nine months in the womb. They did that over 50 years. And we can do it. The recording, which was shared with NBC News, was published by the Mark Robinson War Room, a project of the North Carolina Democratic Leadership Committee, which is backed by the Democratic Governors Association. The group said it was established for the sole purpose of holding Lt. Governor Mark Robinson accountable for his toxic record and dangerous agenda for North Carolina. Robinson is running against Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein. Publicly, Robinson has stood behind allowing current restrictions in North Carolina to stand. He acknowledged in a TV ad this year that his wife had an abortion 30 years ago and offered support for the current restrictions in North Carolina, which limit the procedure after 12 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for rape or incest or to protect the life of the woman. But Robinson is advocating for measures that go further. He made similar comments at a campaign event in February, saying, Weve got it down to 12 weeks, the next goal is to get it down to six, and then just keep moving from there, WGHP-TV of Greensboro reported. In the audio shared with NBC News, Robinson also told the woman that he has not changed his stance on abortion at all and that theres no reason why an abortion should happen ever. Im 100% for life, and thats how I think it should be. If Im a pastor in the pulpit, thats what Im preaching. If Im counseling someone, a young lady, a couple, thats what Im telling them. Im telling them, Choose life for your child, he said. Robinson then explained that he was not a pastor and that as an elected official he needed to work with the consensus. Now a lot of people say: Well, thats changing your position. Thats giving up your conviction. Not its not, he said. You got to be an elected official. You have to be mature enough in your faith to watch people do things that you disagree with and allow them to do it, because we dont live in a theocracy. If we have politicians who start running the country like they run their church, then we end up like Iran. Thats not how this country was formed. Stein, an outspoken supporter of abortion rights, has vowed to defend access to the procedure. Asked about Robinsons comments about taking abortions down to zero, Mike Lonergan, his campaigns communications director, sent a written statement: Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is pro-life because of the painful and difficult experience he and his wife had, and his faith. y supporting taxpayer-funded, late-term abortion on demand, Kamala Harris and Josh Stein are extreme and out of step with North Carolina voters. They are using the same playbook that failed here in 2022, and itll fail again in 2024. The legislature has already spoken on this issue, Lonergan added. As governor, Mark Robinson will work to make North Carolina a destination for life by building a culture that does more to support women and families, including bolstering adoption, as well as foster and childcare. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) Officials have released the name of the woman who died nearly a month after an Aug. 8 afternoon motorcycle crash on South Dakota Highway 79 in Butte County. Neighbors react to shootings at west Sioux Falls home Julie L. Ostlund, 56, was driving a motorcycle southbound on Highway 79 near mile marker 157 when the motorcycle drifted off the road to the right, struck a pole and landed in the west ditch, the South Dakota Department of Public Safety (DPS) said. Ostlund died on Sept. 3. Ostlund was from Berthold, North Dakota. She was not wearing a helmet, according to the DPS. 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 KELOLAND.com. Sioux Falls, S.D. (Northern State) - Outscoring their opponents 75-35, the Northern State University volleyball team returns to Aberdeen with a 4-0 record. The Wolves downed their Saturday opponent, Alaska Anchorage with set scored of 25-19, 25-11, and 25-5. THE QUICK DETAILS Final Score: NSU 3, AA 0 Records: NSU 4-0, AA 2-4 Attendance: 87 HOW IT HAPPENED The two teams traded points to open the first set, however the Wolves took control and did not look back Northern hit .305 in the match, including a set high .464 in the third They tallied a match leading 39 kills, 38 assists, 67 digs, ten blocks, and six aces The NSU defense notched 26 more digs than the Seawolves and held their opponents to a .009 attack percentage Keri Walker recorded a double-double with 32 assists and 15 digs, adding two aces, two kills, and one block Morissen Samuels did not suffer an error offensively, hitting .500 with eight kills; she added four blocks and two digs as well Hanna Thompson matched Samuels kill total of eight and Natalia Szybinska led the team with nine kills It was all Abby Brooks at the net as the senior led the team with eight blocks; she added six kills and three digs Abby Meister notched her third straight 20-plus dig match with 20 in the win, averaging 6.67 per set NORTHERN STATE STATISTICAL STANDOUTS Natalia Szybinska : 9 kills, 2 blocks Morissen Samuels : 8 kills, .500 attack%, 4 blocks Keri Walker : 32 assists, 15 digs, 2 aces Abby Meister : 20 digs, 2 assists UP NEXT Northern State travels east next Friday and Saturday to the Wisconsin Parkside Hampton Inn Invitational. The Wolves will face Ohio Dominican, Parkside, Lake Erie College, and Wayne State (Mich.) For full tournament details CLICK HERE. 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 KELOLAND.com. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is asking the White House to approve a disaster declaration for ten counties in the Empire State, including Essex County and Franklin County. The request made Saturday concerns the damage left behind by the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby on August 8 through August 10. If President Biden approves, FEMA would be able to help rebuild damaged public infrastructure and remove debris. The President approved a similar request for flood damage in New Yorks North Country from early July. The governors office notes that the National Weather Service placed 17 New York counties under a flood watch because of Debbys remnants. The agency also issued a tornado watch to 26 New York counties. 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 ABC22 & FOX44. POTSDAM, N.Y. (WWTI) According to New York State Police, on Saturday, September 7, at about 10:31 a.m., they responded to a two-car, serious personal injury crash involving a marked State Police patrol vehicle on State Route 11 near the Walmart in the town of Potsdam. According to State Police, the preliminary investigation determined that a Trooper was traveling eastbound on State Route 11 with emergency lights and siren activated responding to a call for a physical domestic dispute. Active Shooter Drill at Canton-Potsdam Hospital State Police stated that as the Trooper approached the intersection near the Walmart, the light at the intersection turned red. He then struck a 2016 Chevrolet Equinox, which was pulling out of the Walmart onto Route 11. The Trooper immediately rendered emergency medical aid to the occupants of the Equinox. According to the police report, the driver of the Chevrolet Equinox was airlifted to the University of Vermont Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. The front passenger was transported to Canton-Potsdam Hospital and later transferred to the University of Vermont Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. The two passengers in the rear of the vehicle were transported to Canton-Potsdam Hospital with minor injuries. The Trooper was also treated for minor injuries at Canton-Potsdam Hospital, according to police. The State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit responded to the scene. State Police have stated they were assisted by the St. Lawrence County Sheriffs Office, Potsdam Police Department, Potsdam Fire and Rescue, the West Potsdam Fire Department, Parishville Rescue and the New York State Department of Transportation. 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 WWTI - InformNNY.com. NEW YORK (PIX11) A New York City correctional officer was arrested Saturday morning, according to police. The correctional officer, 58-year-old Leonel Cruz, was arrested within the confines of the 120 precinct on Staten Island. Cruz was off duty at the time of his arrest, police said. More Local News Cruz is facing the following charges: Assault in the second degree with intent to cause physical injury with a weapon Menacing in the second-degree Assault in the third degree with intent to cause physical injury Criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth-degree Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here. 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 PIX11. Forest Lake Police Chief David Schwartz started community policing before it was even a term, said Ron Hanegraaf, the first police officer Schwartz hired at the department. He just knew a lot of people in the town. He was more interested in talking to people than writing them a ticket. Schwartz, who served as chief from 1979 to 2004, died Sept. 1 at his home in Hugo of complications related to glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer. He was 75. Schwartz was born in St. Paul and lived in St. Paul Park when he was young. His family moved to Forest Lake when he was in high school. After graduating from Forest Lake High School in 1966, he attended St. Cloud State University for a year. He later graduated from Metropolitan State University in St. Paul with a bachelors degree in law enforcement. In October 1969, Schwartz was sworn in as a part-time police officer in Forest Lake. He worked in federal protective service for a few years until he was hired as a full-time police officer in January 1973. After Forest Lake Police Chief Jim Trudeau was elected Washington County sheriff in 1978, Schwartz applied for the departments top job. He was a great guy, Hanegraaf said. I mean, everybody talks about great guys, but he really was one. To work for him wasnt really working. The whole time I was there, I dont remember anyone quitting. Some people retired, but I dont remember anyone quitting. It was just a good department to work for. Schwartz hired the first woman police officer in Forest Lake; Sue Dejonker joined the force in 1979, Hanegraaf said. Call to public service Schwartz lived a life of faith, courage, integrity and grace, said his daughter, Margaret Schwartz Vesel, who lives in Vadnais Heights. His call to public service was strong, she said. He often joked that public service would never make him rich, but he believed it would provide a good fulfilling life. He was so proud of his department and the men and women that he served with, many of whom he kept in touch with long after his retirement. In an interview with the Pioneer Press when he retired, Schwartz said he had no regrets about spending his entire career at the Forest Lake Police Department. When I was hired here, I was the happiest person in the world, he said. I couldnt have asked for more than what the city gave me. Interstate 35 was completed in Forest Lake in 1969, and made the city an option for commuters. The suburb grew from about 5,000 to 16,000 people during Schwartzs tenure, and the growth bred anonymity, he told the Pioneer Press.. I used to know everybody I saw, or a family member of theirs, Schwartz said. Now, I know very few. Raised family in Hugo In 1972, Schwartz met Lucie Peloquin, of Hugo, at a bowling alley in Forest Lake. The couple married on Jan. 27, 1973, at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Hugo after a whirlwind romance, Lucie Schwartz said. We were 23 and 24. I liked his personality. He was just a kind, caring person, and very witty and lots of fun. He was a real big tease. The couple lived in Hugo and had three children: Margaret, Bryan and Matthew. When he wasnt working, Schwartz loved fishing and spending time at the family cabin on Lake Vermilion. We just liked to sit by the water, she said. It was a nice little quiet, remote cabin. Schwartz never talked shop with his wife, she said. He might have said he had a bad day, but he never brought his work home, she said. That was there, and this was family. Part of it was that it was confidential, but the other part was he left that at work. He spent enough time up at the office as it was. Lifelong learner Schwartz graduated from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va., in 1988, and received his masters degree in police leadership and education from the University of St. Thomas in 2003. He also got a certificate in staff and command from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. He taught several classes at Metro State University and helped train staff at Xcel Energy. He was a lifelong learner. It just never stopped for him, said Mike Aschenbrener, whom Schwartz hired in 1983 to be the eighth officer in the department. He was probably as forward-looking as any human Ive ever met and also a fabulous judge of character. He would tell you what you really wanted to hear, but hed also tell you what you needed to hear. Aschenbrener, who became a sergeant, left in 2003 to become chief of the Mendota Heights Police Department. He and Schwartz got their masters degrees together at UST, he said. He would often come to me and say, Were going to do this, do it, and it would be my job to do the nitty gritty, Aschenbrener said. I mean, he had the vision. He knew what he wanted, and he would make the changes, and off we would be on another program. Among the programs Schwartz helped institute: the school resource officer at Forest Lake Area High School, the departments snowmobile patrol, drunken-driving enforcement saturations, the Forest Lake Area Safety Camp and the citys emergency response plan. He served on the board of the Lakes Area Youth Service Bureau and was part of the group that formed the Family Violence Network, which later became Tubman Family Alliance. Related Articles He was always looking more long-term, Aschenbrener said. He would say, OK. Whats going to be the big fix? Taking the local Family Violence Network and then merging it with the Harriet Tubman Center (in Minneapolis). It was, Lets tie these things all together, where we can pool resources across the entire metro and provide that service all the time, every day, and not have a bunch of holes and gaps. I think that was his real, real strong suit. In addition to his wife and daughter, Schwartz is survived by his sons, Bryan and Matthew, and three grandchildren. A Mass of Christian burial will be 11 a.m. Friday at Church of St. Peter in Forest Lake, with visitation from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Roberts Family Funeral Home in Forest Lake and one hour prior to the Mass at church. Interment will be at St. John the Baptist Cemetery in Hugo. The series of federal probes into the Adams administration could critically undermine the citys ability to keep New Yorkers safe, warned the boss of the Office of Emergency Management. Commissioner Zach Iscol candidly told senior OEM staff Friday on a private call that the onslaught of investigations and raids this week could prove to be a distraction among the administrations leadership. This is not good, he said, according to a recording of the meeting obtained by The Associated Press. Zach Iscol warned the series of federal probes into the Adams administration could critically undermine the citys ability to keep New Yorkers safe Gregory P. Mango Theres a lot going on in the city and the thing that Im most concerned about is city leadership being distracted, said Iscol, who added he had not spoken to City Hall leadership yet. OEM, which handles the citys emergency procedures, is part of the portfolio handled by Deputy Mayor Philip Banks III, whose home was raided and phones seized by the feds this week. Councilman Bob Holden (D-Queens) who earlier this week called on Police Commissioner Edward Caban to resign after federal agents seized his phones as well during a raid, in addition to those of other members of the NYPD said he shared Iscols concerns. Several of Mayor Adams top officials were hit by FBI raids this week. Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock With the investigations looming, leaders like Caban are almost likely to feel less confident in their own decision-making so thatll take its toll on public safety. If youre under investigation, are you going to be as confident, as focused? he told The Post. Public safety is paramount in New York City especially now and we need all hands on deck, he added. You cant be operating at 100% with a federal probe hanging over your head. Other top officials in the administration whose devices were seized in recent days include Police Commissioner Edward Caban; First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright; Banks brother, David Banks, the citys schools chancellor. Another top Adams aide retired NYPD inspector Timothy Pearson also had his phones subpoenaed, according to the sources. None have been accused of any crime. The probes are being led by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, who have also been investigating Adams 2021 campaign in another unrelated high-profile investigation, sources said. Iscol reportedly told senior OEM staff the federal probes could prove to be a distraction for the administrations leadership. Gabriella Bass Federal agents have targeted at least eight of Adams top aides, beginning with his campaign fundraiser Brianna Suggs, whose home was raided in November over allegations of a kickback scheme involving City Hall and the Turkish government. In a separate investigation, overseen by the U.S. attorneys office in Brooklyn, FBI agents in February stormed two properties belonging to Winnie Greco, who served as Adams director of Asian affairs. Federal prosecutors probing his 2021 election fundraising slapped Hizzoner as well as City Hall officials and his campaign with a grand jury subpoena. City Hall spokesman Fabien Levy batted away concerns that the investigations will have any affect on New Yorkers safety, pointing to declining crime stats city since the first federal raids in November and the citys response on Wednesday to flooding in the Queens Midtown Tunnel. At the end of the day, New Yorkers care about whether the streets still safe, is the garbage still getting picked up, can kids go to school. And the answer to each of those questions is a resounding yes, he said. An OEM spokesman said Iscol and the Adams administration remain engaged on the mission of public safety. With Post wires Ohioans with Bitcoin on this website need to withdraw it now COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) The biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world has warned customers in Ohio it is pulling the plug, and they have less than a week to get their funds out before recovering them becomes more complicated. The shutdown is coming as a result of action by the Ohio Division of Financial Institutions under the state department of commerce. Tom Brockman, deputy chief communications officer for the Ohio Department of Commerce, confirmed the agency informed Binance on March 20 that it intended to revoke the cryptocurrency exchanges money transmission license. Binance responded by deciding to voluntarily wind down operations over the coming months. Its important for impacted consumers to know this is a legitimate action, and they should remove their funds from the Binance platform, Brockman wrote to NBC4. Ohio joined a growing handful of states to pull Binances license to operate in their respective region. The exchange sent out notices July 12 to its Ohio customer base, and asked them to withdraw any Bitcoin, Ethereum or other cryptocurrency they had to another address. Binance also blocked any users who already had zero balances, according to the ODOC. Why a crypto group is spending $12 million on Ohios Senate race Binance specified that it would completely halt trading for all customers in Ohio 60 days after the emailed notice, meaning the cutoff is Tuesday. On social media, the exchanges users posted some of the emails they received regarding the shutdown. We encourage you to prepare for the wind down process by reviewing your balances and withdrawing all funds from your Binance.US account before September 10, 2024. After this date, any remaining balance left in your account may require Binance.US to begin the due diligence process of escheatment, the exchange wrote in part. FILE The Binance app icon is seen on a smartphone, Feb. 28, 2023, in Marple Township, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File) Escheatment, in this case, means Binance will mark a users assets as unclaimed or abandoned, and transfer them to the state government where they last resided. For local customers, their cryptocurrency and any other money stored with Binance would go to the Ohio Division of Unclaimed Funds. From there, customers would have to provide specific documents to the state to show proof of ownership before they can reclaim their assets. While the funds will still be available in some way after Binances shutdown in Ohio, the exchange also warned users that the state could require it to convert all cryptocurrency balances to U.S. dollars before ODUF takes them. This could mean a person ultimately gets more or less money for an asset like Bitcoin, depending on its value the day it was changed. Binance noted the technical sales could also be taxable events under laws for capital gains. Ohio State presidents connection to a nuclear Bitcoin mining operation Binance also clarified that its existing customers could keep using the platform if they have moved out of Ohio. They would be eligible in any state except the following others: Alaska Georgia Maine New York North Carolina North Dakota Oregon Texas Vermont Washington Binance is recovering from a tumultuous 2023, where the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused it and CEO Changpeng Zhao of misusing investor funds and violating multiple laws. Zhao ultimately stepped down, and Binance agreed to pay a roughly $4 billion settlement in November as a result. 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 NBC4 WCMH-TV. As a long-time Oklahoman, Im no stranger to difficult weather. Living in Oklahoma taught me resilience is often rooted in adapting to harsh conditions. In nature we find examples of resilience against all odds. Take the prickly pear cactus, a plant found in Oklahoma. As its name suggests, the cactus is familiar with the prickly parts of life, often enduring poor soil, severe droughts and extreme temperatures. Its survival strategy storing water deep within and rationing nourishment offers a powerful metaphor for navigating trials. This year, Oklahoma Christian University is humbled and honored host a dedication for our Survivor Tree Memorial Plaza, a special spot on campus that is open to the public and includes two more natural examples of resilience. Two significant trees, one grown from a seedling from the Survivor Tree at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum and one grown from a cutting from the tree that survived the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, flank the plaza. The space is significant for many reasons, namely that OC is the only site in the world, outside of New York City, to have survivor trees from the Murrah Building and the World Trade Center side by side. Despite unimaginable tragedy, the two trees live on as reminders of healing and hope. More: The Survivor Tree salutes our love and compassion in one of the worst moments in our history Recently, I walked through the plaza and was surprised by the deep comfort I felt seeing the trees together. Many of us remember where we were on 9/11, and for Oklahomans especially, the bombing remains a defining event for our state. The plaza doesnt remove the deep pain or explain the reason for the two tragedies; instead, it offers a quiet place of reflection and a strong reminder that we are all connected. The two historic events are moments of unnatural terrorism. At OC, we feel Gods promise to be close to the brokenhearted. Following that example, for the last 10 years, OC has facilitated the Ralph Harvey Field of Flags, a tradition where we fly 168 American flags and 168 Oklahoma flags on April 19 and Sept. 11, remembering lives lost in these tragic events. Our new plaza includes a permanent Oklahoma state flag, New York state flag and American flag as a nod to the tradition and reminder of the connection between our two states. Like the prickly pear cactus, we know the world can be harsh and unpredictable. There is much outside of our control. But that is why we store nourishment; it can take the form of many things a beloved memory, a prayer, a kind word or even a place to rest and reflect. The Memorial Plaza will be dedicated on Sept. 13, after which it will be open to the public year-round. We hope that the permanent place serves as a reminder of the real nourishment that comes from finding common ground with one another. Christine Merideth is the chief advancement officer at Oklahoma Christian University. Christine Merideth is the chief advancement officer at Oklahoma Christian University. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Christian University opens Survivor Tree Plaza to the public OKLAHOMA CITY More than a decade ago, a small school district in southeast Oklahoma banned students from using cellphones during the school day. Warner Public Schools has scored among the top schools in the state ever since, consistently earning As and Bs on annual state report cards. Superintendent David Vinson said the cellphone ban has been integral to Warners academic success. He said the zero-tolerance policy removed distractions from the classroom, cut down on bullying and discipline issues, and encouraged students to build camaraderie face-to-face. Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter I think if you ask our teaching staff and Im confident in saying this because they say it all the time to me they feel like our cellphone policy is a huge and vital part of what makes us successful, Vinson said. More districts across the state, including some of Oklahomas largest, are following suit this school year with tighter restrictions or outright bans on student cellphone use. The trend extends nationwide. About 76% of all U.S. public schools, including 43% of high schools, prohibit non-academic use of cellphones, according to a report from the National Center for Education Statistics. Tulsa Public Schools, which has the highest enrollment in Oklahoma, doubled down on its existing policy this year, forbidding elementary and middle school students from using cellphones, smart watches or headphones for the entire school day. Tulsa high school students must turn off and put away these devices during class time. We needed to ensure that our students and families know that were going to remove every distraction that we can remove so that they can be fully focused on academics, Tulsa Superintendent Ebony Johnson said. Bixby Public Schools, with 7,900 students south of Tulsa, announced a similar policy this year, citing a significant rise in cyberbullying, sharing of inappropriate content, unauthorized recordings, loss of academic focus, safety concerns and diminished social interaction. Union Public Schools, the ninth largest district in the state, added its ninth-grade center to the list of schools with an off and away all day requirement for cellphone devices. Middle schools in the southeast Tulsa district already enforced the rule. School cellphone bans discussed at state Capitol State lawmakers have considered ways to incentivize more school cellphone bans. Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, filed legislation to offer grants of $100,000 to $1 million to schools that implement a phone-free campus policy. The bill never made it out of the Senate, but Pugh, who leads the chambers Education Committee, said he intends to file similar legislation again. Pugh said hes heard from some teachers and district officials who would support a statewide ban on cellphones in public schools. Doing so could take pressure off of local school officials who might face fierce pushback from their community if they were to implement the policy on their own, he said. I love the fact that schools are taking this upon themselves to figure out because I really think its that important, Pugh said. This is a hard thing to do. The reason the Warner district has been able to maintain its zero-tolerance policy is by having top-to-bottom support, said Vinson, the district superintendent. Teachers, principals, district administrators and the school board have all backed the no-cellphone rule and ensure its enforced consistently. You have to have board support, Vinson said. If your policy dies at board support, youre done. Discipline for violations vary The punishment for breaking the rule varies by district. In Warner, students caught with a phone have the device confiscated for a calendar week, or they can opt for a three-day out-of-school suspension. A second offense comes with a two-week confiscation or a five-day out-of-school suspension. Vinson said no student in Warner has ever broken the rule a third time. Tulsas policy doesnt involve confiscating phones, said Johnson, the districts superintendent. Teachers will give warnings to put phones away, and if a student doesnt comply, the school will call home to notify the childs family. Enforcing a cellphone ban might be harder in large schools, Vinson said, because of the sheer number of students to keep track of. He said it was easier to implement the rule a decade ago, when far fewer students had cellphones, especially among younger grades. But, Vinson said its still worth trying each school in its own unique way. I think to be successful educationally you have to find a way to remove the cellphones from your educational environment, he said. Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com. Follow Oklahoma Voice on Facebook and X. Oklahoma State Fair used to have a monorail: A look at the history Could it possibly have been the transportation of tomorrow? ... An elevated train suspended from an iron rail and traveling along 4,000 feet of tracks throughout the 1964 World's Fair in New York. The monorail "might be the hope of the harried commuter," a New York newspaper reported of the unique rail system that was providing passengers a bird's eye view of the fair. Not to be outdone by this futuristic attraction in the Big Apple in 1964, Oklahoma City set its sights on a monorail of its own for the State Fair of Oklahoma that same year. With 6,300 feet of track, the State Fair of Oklahoma's new monorail system would be the "longest in the Western Hemisphere" and travel 22 to 25 feet above fairgoers' heads. It was described as a "dream come true" for state fair manager Sandy Saunders in a May 13, 1964, story in The Daily Oklahoman that described the future path of the elevated train: The route will run north from the grandstand, then east of the science and arts museum, east and north of the art center and south of the 4-H and [FFA] buildings. More: Then and now: OKC projects from the 1980s that look an awful lot like projects today It will pass over the top of the Oklahoma Publishing Co. area, along the circle in front of the agriculture building, then down the median to the livestock complex. From there, it will follow Grand Blvd. to the south and east and turn back to the south end of the grandstand. A new monorail system at the State Fair of Oklahoma became a star attraction in 1964. On May 17, 1964, The Sunday Oklahoman followed up with a business story with the headline: "STATE TO TOP WORLD'S FAIR Our Monorail Longer" A story comparing the two monorail systems said the World's Fair monorail would be "a lowly second to the monorail system to be built at Oklahoma City's Fair Park." By June, three trains for the monorail had been bought and a contract awarded for construction of the elevated tracks in preparation of having the system up and running in time for the 1964 state fair. More: World's largest steam engine 'Big Boy' to visit Oklahoma on US tour: See the schedule The last beam was set into place by early September. By then, advertisements had begun to help build excitement about the new, shiny monorail. Fair manager Saunders spoke to the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, announcing: "For the first time, we're carrying our fair promotion into all adjoining states, and as far away as New Mexico. And our monorail the only one in the midwest is getting attention on a nationwide basis." A September 1964 story in The Daily Oklahoman announced the "Monorail's Ready." On Sept. 26, 1964, the monorail was ready. Eager passengers could take a ride around the fairgrounds for 75 cents or a 59-cent discount ticket. It was reported that the ride was a success, with fairgoers lining up before the ride opened: "The monorail is running away with honors as the undisputed top attraction at the State Fair of Oklahoma." The monorail's introduction to the 1964 fair wasn't without mishap. Two of the trains collided and passengers had to wait to be rescued while a plan was established on how that would happen. The trains weren't severely damaged and no one was injured. In fact, the accident didn't deter riders, who still lined up to board and pack the attraction once rides had resumed that same day. Elizabeth Smith of Oklahoma City was reportedly thrown to the floor during the collision: "I got a little dizzy when they took me off the train but I'm alright now. I would like to ride it again, it's very enjoyable." An advertisement for the State Fair of Oklahoma and its new monorail was published on Sept. 20, 1964, in The Daily Oklahoman. Before the state fair had even opened, discussions suggested the possibility of a monorail system for downtown Oklahoma City and surrounding areas, perhaps even to Tulsa, none of which actually happened. But improvements did occur for the state fair monorail, which became totally electric by the 1965 State Fair of Oklahoma. On Sept. 24, 1967, the newly modified electric monorail train travels by 14 Flags Plaza as it transports fairgoers throughout the State Fair of Oklahoma. More than 40 years later, in May 2005, it was announced the state fair's once futuristic and dazzling monorail would be part of the fair's history, removed to make way for modern renovations at the fairgrounds. In 1967, the monorail continued to provide fairgoers a view of the State Fair of Oklahoma grounds as it traveled high above. The monorail train cars zip travel above fairgoers at the 1967 State Fair of Oklahoma. In the background is 14 Flags Plaza on the fairgrounds. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: State Fair of Oklahoma debuts monorail ride attraction in 1964 MERIDEN, Conn (WTNH) Meriden police have arrested an Edison Middle School student for allegedly making a threat against fellow students, according to authorities. The Meriden Police Department and FBI New Haven, along with Meriden Public Schools, launched an investigation and identified where the threat originated. The male student has been charged with first-degree threatening and second-degree breach of peace. Dirt bike rider killed in head-on collision in Suffield Police say the student was released to his parents custody, and they have been cooperative. He is scheduled to appear in juvenile court Monday morning. Despite the arrest, Edison Middle School students will see added police. Our News 8 crew spoke to several students before the arrest was made Sunday night; I tend to get very nervous, and its scary, to be honest, 7th grader Dyanel Ruiz said. My mom told me, and she just said Im not going to school until they tell me everything is OK. Police said they were made aware of the threat posted on the social media app Snapchat early Sunday morning. Theyve sent out notices to parents through the Meriden Police Department channels to make sure they are aware we are not only investigating this seriously, but we will have an increased police presence, Mayor Kevin Scarpati said. We are not sure if this is a credible threat or not. That means extra officers from 8:15 a.m. for drop-off through pick-up at 2:35 p.m. Man in KKK robes alarms community in Mystic Scarpati said they are taking this threat very seriously, and the safety of students and staff is their top priority. If we believe there is a credible threat and more action needs to be taken, we will take that action, but just know that if school remains on and in session tomorrow [Monday], you will see the increased police presence, and we will be sure our students and faculty are safe at all times, Scarpati said. Obviously, it is a concern. This threat came four days after two students and two teachers were shot and killed at a high school in Georgia, heightening anxiety for students, especially after this threat. Hearing it might happen to your school is scary to feel, 7th grader Erist Solis said. They should just close the school until they deal with the problem. I dont know why they are opening the school like its a regular day. 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 WTNH.com. For generations, Utah hunters have relied on the vast, untamed expanse of our public lands. But now, a dangerous lawsuit threatens to sever that connection by challenging the Bureau of Land Managements ownership of 18.5 million acres and advocating for the transfer of these lands to state control. The negative implications are severe for all who value our hunting heritage, which is made possible by these lands. Maximizing profits at a cost Extraction, renewables and mining in Utah are booming, but theres a delicate balance to be struck here. The BLM has largely managed to walk that tightrope through its multiple-use mandate under the Federal Lands Management Policy Act (FLPMA), allowing for responsible extraction, recreation, controlled grazing and conservation. However, under state control, the pressure to wring every last dollar out of these lands would be massive and existing federal guardrails that balance various uses would no longer apply, tempting increased resource extraction and private sales of public land for revenue. Is the legacy we want to leave imbalanced, amplified extraction that devastates our landscapes, hampers public access and downsizes wildlife habitat? Federal protections evaporate The federal lands system has a proven track record for retaining lands in public ownership; meanwhile, the state effectively says, Trust us instead! with no track record of doing the same. Of the 7.5 million acres granted to Utah at the time of statehood, over half have since been divested. In its public support campaign, the state references the Utah Public Land Management Act, claiming it would prohibit public land sales except in rare circumstances. However, this legislative barrier to sale is far less restrictive than existing federal protections. State law can be altered to favor special interests and there are no guarantees that this promise will survive future legislative sessions, causing these lands to be extremely vulnerable under state control. Additionally, if federal lands were transferred to the state, this may set precedent for states across the West and its roughly 210 million unappropriated BLM acres. State actions speak loudest Past attempts by Utah officials to privatize public lands serve as indicators of what we can expect are the real intention for these lands. In 2017, Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetzs HR621 proposed disposing (aka selling) 3 million acres of federal public lands. Consider also the HOUSES Act from Sen. Mike Lee, which would streamline the sale of public lands for affordable housing development; Rep Ken Ivorys HJR019, which solidified Utahs support of the HOUSES Act in state code; and the 2016 appropriation for a similar lawsuit that demanded the transfer of federal lands to the state (to name but a few recent attempts). What message do these send about the states priorities regarding these lands? Wasting taxpayer dollars The operational feasibility of a land transfer without private land sales is a financial gamble at best and immense burden at worst. This risk doesnt align with fiscally conservative principles and comes at a major cost. The state allocated up to $20M for the legal battle, and the total cost is estimated at $14M. Additionally, the state appropriated millions for educating the public on federalism issues, some of which was earmarked for this high-dollar marketing campaign. At the time of statehood, Utah agreed to the federal Utah Enabling Act, which states it forever disclaim(s) all right and title to the unappropriated public lands within the boundaries thereof. What is unclear about that? Our public lands are not for sale This lawsuit is more than a political misstep it jeopardizes one of the best parts of living in Utah. Public lands are ours to own, a legacy handed down from generation to generation. We have a responsibility to conserve them for every Utahn who comes after us. We should advocate for improved collaboration between the state and federal land management agencies, a partnership that only deteriorates from our politicians continued hostility towards this uniquely American concept. Our public lands and hunting heritage are not for sale, and we must stand together to ensure that public lands stay where they belong. Because once theyre gone, theyre gone for good. And with them goes a piece of what makes Utah, Utah. Perry Hall is the chair of the Utah Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. He moved to Utah after college in search of bigger mountains and wild public lands where he hunts, fishes, skis and explores over 200 days a year. Robert Reich, former Labor secretary under President Bill Clinton and current public policy professor at the University of California at Berkeley, is angry with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Reich has written a column in the UK Guardian explaining why he finds Musk obnoxious and what should be done about it. Most of what Reich suggests is of dubious legality (such as threatening to arrest Musk). His suggestion that the United States government cut all ties to SpaceX would be an unmitigated disaster for NASA and the U.S. military. Imagine a world without SpaceX. The current revolution in commercial space travel would not have taken place. Elon Musks rocket company is wildly successful because it has provided launch services that are not only more reliable but degrees of magnitude cheaper than previous rocket companies were able to achieve. The main reason that the SpaceX Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches are so inexpensive is that the company has solved the reusability problem. The first stages of these rockets return to drone ships or onshore landing zones to be refurbished and relaunched. Except for one recent failure, SpaceX has routinely been landing Falcons first stages for several years. Without SpaceX, the Starliner astronauts, now stuck on the International Space Station, would be faced with the stark choice between a risky return on the spaceship they flew into space in or begging for a ride home on a Russian Soyuz. Without SpaceX and the in-development Starship rocket, America would not return astronauts to the moon anytime soon. China would likely be the next nation to accomplish that feat. Without SpaceX, there would be no prospect for private space stations, a moon base, or Elon Musks dream of a city on Mars. Commercial space flights such as Jared Isaacmans Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn would be pipe dreams. Starlink, which promises to bind the world together in a telecommunications web, would be pie in the sky. The military would have a harder time securing space from foreign enemies. What about Reichs complaints about Musk concerning SpaceX? Reich suggests that SpaceX is a monopoly by cornering the launch market and that its rockets were responsible for two-thirds of flights from U.S. launch sites in 2022 and handled 88 percent in the first six months of this year. SpaceX dominates commercial space with its highly reliable, inexpensive Falcon rockets. But it does not behave like a monopoly. It is not charging excessive prices for shoddy goods and services. SpaceX does have competitors, such as Rocket Lab and, soon, Blue Origin when its New Glenn starts to fly, Reich also claims Musks mercurial, impulsive temperament makes him and the companies he heads unreliable. Musk himself has admitted to having Aspergers, a form of autism. Several years ago, then NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine was obliged to remind Musk that he needed to concentrate on the Crew Dragon and not the Starship to satisfy SpaceXs contractual obligations to NASA. Eric Berger expressed the worry in his upcoming book, Reentry about the development of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy., that Musks eccentricities might someday get the better of him, as happened to the aviation pioneer Howard Hughes. No evidence exists that Musks mental health will compromise national security or send him spiraling into true madness. Properly managed, as Bridenstine proved, Musk remains a valuable asset to the U.S. and the world. Finally, Reich notes that Musk once denied Ukraine the use of his Starlink system to support efforts to attack Russian units in Crimea. Musk was being prudent by not involving himself directly in an armed conflict with Vladimir Putin in violation of American law, as Musk himself explained in a recent X post. In any case, Musk made a deal with the Pentagon to provide Starlink services to Ukraine, leaving him without direct involvement. Reich is not a cranky troll on social media. He is a former cabinet secretary and a university professor. The UK Guardian is a respected newspaper read on both sides of the Atlantic. Those two facts make his opinions all the more astonishing. One should be careful about proposing to ruin a man financially and even deprive him of his freedom for reasons that seem dubious at best and outrageous at worst. That is especially true when, by doing so, one would damage the national security and economic vitality of the U.S. to the detriment of all humankind. Mark R. Whittington, who writes frequently about space policy, has published a political study of space exploration entitled Why is It So Hard to Go Back to the Moon? as well as The Moon, Mars and Beyond and, most recently, Why is America Going Back to the Moon? He blogs at Curmudgeons Corner. 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. The summer of 1965, the first gynecologist I went to for a diaphragm turned me down. He was within his rights birth control had only just become legal for married people, and contraception for unmarried people like me would remain against the law until 1972. With the support of a growing feminist movement, single women with financial resources and medical access managed to get the pill anyway and rode the wave of the summer of love, exulting in the sexual revolution. Make Love Not War demanded not only peace in Vietnam but liberation from restraints on sex and dread of unwanted pregnancy. But a diaphragm could slip or have a hole in it. Condoms were considered ineffective and impaired our pleasure and freedom. Intrauterine devices were not in general use. You might skip a birth control pill one day or two days and find yourself pregnant, which is what happened to me. Or sleep with one's boyfriend and be edged into unwanted sex with someone else and not know who impregnated you. That also happened to me. Read more: Column: Warren Hern is one of the country's few late-term abortion doctors. This is what drives him White and privileged enough to pay what I remember as $2,000, I maneuvered a therapeutic abortion, a loophole in the law that allowed abortion for the health of the woman. Typically, the strategy was mental health. Im sure I told the psychiatrist I didnt want to marry the father and that I could not care for a child. The obstetrician agreed to perform the procedure, asked me on the operating table if I wanted to go through with it, and told me not to tell anyone. I told only the friends who drove me to the hospital. The story still amazes me. Who was that 23-year-old woman who managed to get a safe abortion all on her own? What was the impact of that decision on the rest of my life? I thought little about it until recently, when I realized my students and other younger women had no idea what it had been like back in the day. What to tell them? I remember being alone. I remember feeling scared. I had paid for the abortions of a couple of women I knew and driven a friend to an illegal one in New Jersey. She ended up in the hospital, bleeding badly. I damn near died, she told me, 55 years later. Read more: Calmes: Why Trump's 'leave it to the states' abortion stance ties him in knots I did not know, when I sought to terminate my pregnancy in New Haven, Conn., that a month before in New York City 12 women had gone public about their abortions at a speak-out, or that in Chicago an underground collective called the Janes was arranging safe abortions, free to those who could not afford them. Fear of pregnancy haunted everything beyond a kiss, as did stories of women sent away to have children they gave up for adoption, women who died from botched procedures, boyfriends who wouldnt help pay, boyfriends who would. The most radical position on abortion before Roe vs. Wade was repeal not reform the argument being that any abortion law, no matter how liberal, denied women control of our own bodies. After Roe, abortion opponents took control of the discourse, muddling the clarity of the simple fact that ones body is ones own. In 1977, the Hyde Amendment, which denied federal funds for abortion, further reinforced the disparity between women who could afford the procedure and those who could not. Demands for parental consent denied young women autonomy. Amid clinic bombings, the pro-choice movement seemed unable to effectively call out the cruelty of antiabortion rhetoric that privileged the life of an unborn child over that of an unrealized woman or overburdened mother. Read more: Column: Two years after the Supreme Court's abortion decision, meet the expert on post-Roe America Those of us whod had abortions were made somehow inaudible. Write a poem, a friend said to me on our way to Washington for the 1992 March for Womens Lives, an event prompted by a challenge to a Pennsylvania abortion rights law brought to the Supreme Court. Half a million rallied and Roe was preserved. Id hardly talked about my abortion, let alone written about it, but I remembered my long-ago loneliness. The poem recounted the sex that led to my 1969 abortion and a visit to a post-Roe women-run clinic. I remember the power of the audience response when I read it aloud and my surprise when a young editor wrote me, saying that her magazines decision to publish it had been controversial. With the Dobbs decision, public speech about abortion is no longer rare. What was silence has become an uproar. The new back alley is a flight you cant afford to a state where abortion is legal, or a hospital room where youre left to bleed out because your miscarriage is too late to be legally assisted by professionals. On a recent women's mobilization call for Kamala Harris supporters, two women told their stories both were hospitalized for late-term miscarriages, both abandoned by doctors who feared criminal charges. I nearly died, one of the women said. I was lucky, said the other. During the last two years, when Ive told women I was writing about my pre-Roe abortion, stories poured out: Mine was in a dentists office; I had to go to Puerto Rico; mine was botched and I was so alone. That Id prompted these revelations was surprise enough. More unnerving was that in almost every instance, the woman would lean forward: You are the only person Ive ever told, shed confide. Only you will know, a woman in her 50s whispered to me at a book signing last week. Though friends who knew me in my 20s tell me I always seemed confident, its amazing to me that I was able to make such a decision on my own behalf before I even had a self. Now in my 70s, I realize that moment helped to form me, a woman who has made many decisions against the grain. I still seem confident to friends, but every time an important choice presents itself, I churn back to that long-ago lonely girl. How stunning now to join that mobilizing call where the importance of decisions like mine were acknowledged, where my life as a single working woman was not odd or unusual, where I was invited to shout as one of many. Honor Moore is on the graduate writing faculty at the New School. Her newest book is A Termination. If its in the news right now, the L.A. Times Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. The most popular of President Bidens recent proposals to reform the Supreme Court is to limit the justices to staggered terms of 18 years. This idea is also among the five proposed amendments from the National Constitution Centers 2022 Constitution Drafting Project, which convened progressive, conservative and libertarian scholars to identify sources of agreement on constitutional reform. But despite its popularity, its doubtful that staggered 18-year terms would accomplish what advocates expect. The reform would tie control of the Supreme Court more tightly to the outcome of recent presidential elections, but it would also diminish the role of the Senate in the confirmation of nominees. And it is hard to imagine the Senate passing an amendment that diminished its own power. Advocates of the reform propose to cap the size of the Supreme Court at nine justices and give each justice an 18-year term, with a vacancy occurring every two years. The anticipated benefits are three-fold. First, term limits would shrink the gap between present political realities and the bygone moment in political time when a justice was appointed. That gap is sometimes intolerably large. The courts most senior justice, Clarence Thomas, was nominated by President George H.W. Bush in 1991. Eight presidential elections have elapsed in the meantime. With an 18-year term, no more than four presidential elections could separate a sitting justice from the political moment of his or her accession to the bench. Second, vacancies every two years would ensure that winning a presidential election translates to two Supreme Court appointments. When combined with the overall 18-year limit, this should produce a tighter fit between electoral outcomes and the courts jurisprudence over time. Third, advocates argue that this predictability will lower the temperature of judicial confirmation battles, because all sides will know they get a fresh chance at two seats after the next election. These all seem like sensible reasons to adopt term limits. But the consequences and potential drawbacks deserve careful consideration. It is by no means clear that making Supreme Court vacancies more predictable would make appointments less divisive. Indeed, as Rick Larue has argued, knowing which two justices will be replaced by the next president would only raise the stakes of the election and shift the attendant hyper-partisanship and acrimonious political rhetoric from one arena the confirmation process to another the permanent campaign. Predictability and perfect information have not, after all, made political decisions like redistricting and gerrymandering less controversial or partisan. Then again, vacancies on the court are so divisive because the Supreme Court is so consequential. If we want to lower the temperature, the justices will have to lower the stakes by being more modest in their ambitions. More importantly, maintaining the two-year timing and predictability of vacancies would require scaling back or eliminating the Senate confirmation power. In the context of divided government, a Senate majority can delay confirmation of nominees indefinitely to prevent an undesirable appointment, as Republicans did with Merrick Garland in 2016. The proposed amendment that resulted from the Constitution Drafting Project dealt with this problem by providing that advice and consent would be presumed if the Senate failed to reject a nominee within three months of receiving the presidents nomination. In other words, inaction equals confirmation. This is not a satisfying solution. If the Senate votes to reject the nominee before three months is up, the clock starts over with a new nomination. A Senate majority could still stretch out the process for nine or even 12 months. It would certainly force an up-or-down vote on nominees, but the opposition strategy would escalate from passive obstruction to outright rejection. That kind of honest and open political opposition might be healthy, but it would not lower the political temperature of the confirmation process. The cleanest and simplest means of achieving the predictability of two-year staggered vacancies would be to eliminate Senate confirmation altogether. The basic gist and logic of the reform is that winning a presidential election should translate into a somewhat predictable and measurable impact on Supreme Court jurisprudence. The appointment of two justices would simply become part of the spoils of electoral victory. So would eliminating Senate confirmation be such a bad thing? The Framers logic for Senate confirmation was essentially to prevent incompetent or corrupt officeholders, to ensure the president was making a responsible choice. As applied to justices, the process has occasionally performed that gatekeeping function. President George W. Bushs nomination of Harriet Miers and President Lyndon Johnsons failed effort to elevate Abe Fortas to chief justice come to mind. Then again, neither of those nominations was a complete disaster. Both nominees were guilty of mediocrity, not any real corruption or incompetence. And mediocrity has regularly found its way onto the bench, even with Senate confirmation. Against the limited benefits that accrue from the gatekeeping function, consider the circus that the confirmation process has become. Since 1980, the median time from nomination to confirmation is 80 days. Three months or more of drama has become the norm. Of the 15 successful confirmations since 1980, only one Amy Coney Barretts has taken less than a month, and it was denounced as unprecedented at the time. In fact, Barretts speedy confirmation is far closer to the historical norm. The median length of the confirmation process between 1900 and 1980 was 17 days. Of the 47 successful confirmations then, 36 required less than a month of deliberation, 19 took less than 10 days and three were confirmed within one day. The process was even shorter in the preceding century. Part of the chaos surrounding Supreme Court confirmations stems from changes in how the Senate deliberates on them. The centerpiece of the process, public confirmation hearings, has become a full-scale vetting of nominees. This, too, is a historical anomaly. The first public hearings for judicial nominees were not held until 1916, when the Senate broke precedent for Louis Brandeiss nomination. The first nominee did not appear before Congress until 1925 with Harlan Fiske Stone. And public hearings with testimony from the nominee were not the norm until President Harry Trumans nomination of Tom Clark in 1949. The public spectacle that has since ensued has arguably done nothing to improve the legitimacy or performance of the Supreme Court or the Senate. Perhaps, then, weakening or dispensing with Senate confirmation is not such a bad idea. Either way, it is important for advocates of term limits to own up to it as a necessary condition for tying the court more tightly to electoral outcomes. Matthew Brogdon is the Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation Senior Director of the Center for Constitutional Studies and associate professor of political science at Utah Valley University. 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. Former President Donald Trump opined lasty month that abortion seems to be much less of an issue, especially in those [states] where they have exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. I think the abortion issue has been taken down many notches. He also promised on social media that My Administration will be great for women and their reproductive rights. Trump knows that a substantial majority of Americans strongly oppose the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. His attempts to appeal to both supporters and opponents of reproductive rights demonstrate that he will say just about anything to get elected. Identifying himself as pro-choice for most of his adult life, Trump declared he was pro-life when he began to consider running for political office. In 2016, he proposed that women who got abortions should receive some form of punishment, then walked that back. In 2022, he hailed the Dobbs decision as the biggest WIN for LIFE in a generation, and gave himself credit for appointing the justices responsible for the decision. In April 2024, Trump signaled support for a federal abortion ban: people are agreeing on 15 [weeks], and Im thinking in terms of that, and Ill come out to something thats very reasonable. A month later he changed his mind: The states will determine by vote or legislation, or perhaps both. And whatever they decide must be the law of the land, or in this case the law of the state. In July, he said abortion should have never been in the federal government. In August, Trump reiterated his opposition to Floridas ban on abortions after six weeks. Asked if he supported an amendment to the states constitution expanding the right to abortion, Trump said, I am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks. Faced with a firestorm of criticism from anti-abortion groups, Trump campaign officials maintained he has not yet said how he will vote on the ballot initiative. Trump followed with an explanation that is best described as word salad. So, I think you need more time than six weeksAt the same time, the Democrats are radical because the nine months is such a ridiculous situationand you know some of the states like Minnesota and other states have it where you can actually execute the baby after birth and all of that stuff is unacceptable. So, Ill be voting no for that reason. Factcheckers pointed out that the Florida amendment permitted abortion before viability (about 24 weeks), and that no state permits executing babies after they are born. Trump also angered anti-abortion activists by refusing to commit to signing a Republican-sponsored Life at Conception Act stipulating that personhood begins at the moment of conception, because we now have it back in the states. And Trump dodged a question about whether he would order the Food and Drug Administration to limit access to mifepristone, a drug used in a majority of abortions in the U.S.: You can do things that will be, that would supplement, absolutely. And those things are pretty open and humane. But you have to be able to have a vote. At the end of August, with polls showing a slight lead for Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump announced that because we want more babies, his administration would require either the federal government or insurance companies to pay the entire cost (which typically runs in the tens of thousands of dollars per individual) of IVF treatments for all Americans. He did not specify whether his proposal would be implemented through the Affordable Care Act, which he has promised to repeal, or whether he has become an advocate of socialized medicine. Nor did Trump reconcile the plan with the 2024 GOP platform, which has language that seems to support rights of citizenship, under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, to fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses. Trump chose Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), an anti-abortion zealot, as his running mate, when he thought he would coast to victory against President Biden. Vance has claimed, We cant give in to the idea that the federal Congress has no role in the matter, because if it doesnt, then the pro-life movement is basically not going to exist, I think, for the next couple of years. When Ohio amended its constitution to allow abortions up to 20 weeks, Vance declared, There is something sociopathic that tells young women (and men) that it is liberating to murder their own children. Asked about exceptions for rape and incest, he said, Two wrongs dont make a right and denounced a society that looks at unborn babies as inconveniences to be discarded. With the outcome of the presidential race now very much in doubt, Vance does not mention these views on the campaign trail. He now says he opposes a national ban on abortion. About 63 percent of Americans want abortion to be legal most or all the time. An increasing number indicate that abortion is the most important issue in the 2024 election. Harris now has a 20-point advantage over Trump on whom voters trust to address it. Meanwhile, Trump and Vance are betting that their self-serving, self-contradictory strategy will reduce the electoral impact of supporters of reproductive rights. Glenn C. Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Emeritus Professor of American Studies at Cornell University. 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. Im disappointed in my legal talent, Ill be honest with you, former President Donald Trump, told reporters gathered in the lobby of Trump Tower on Friday afternoon. A phalanx of those very lawyers stood awkwardly behind him as he reminded the assembled journalists about his many legal troubles. But that was before the New York judge who oversaw the criminal trial that resulted in 34 felony convictions for Trump announced that sentencing wont happen before Nov. 26. With that decision from Judge Juan Merchan, its hard to deny that Trumps lawyers have pulled off a massive feat. The strategy they have pursued over the course of the last year, one that has played out in four cases and spanned across the country, has been successful. There will be no criminal accountability for Trump before Election Day. Things played out in Trumps favor in ways that would have been hard to imagine as the indictments rolled in. Even with him being convicted of those 34 counts of falsifying business records in May, this year has still gone better than expected for him. In December, it looked like Trump would spend this year stuck in courtrooms instead of on the campaign trail. But while the 78-year-old nominee isnt hustling between rallies like he used to, its not because hes stuck in one criminal trial after another. At times it feels like thats despite, not because of, Trumps orders to his lawyers. Those who stuck by him have followed his lead and made the most maximalist, overtly political arguments possible, whether they had any chance of success or not. The sheer volume of paperwork hes had lawyers file in motion after motion has cost millions of dollars in legal fees, almost of all of which has been paid by donors to his political campaign. Many of those legal efforts went nowhere, but just enough of the spaghetti stuck to the wall. One of Trumps many co-defendants first called attention to a romantic relationship Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had with a special prosecutor, and Trumps attorneys ran with the ball. Willis had wanted to begin the trial against Trump in August, roughly a year after indicting him for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. But that relationship was the opportunity Trumps allies seized upon to grind the proceedings to a halt. The appeals court that will decide if Willis should stay on the case wont hear oral arguments until December. The idea that there was some heretofore secret absolute immunity from criminal prosecution seemed laughable when Trumps lawyers were first attempting to delay his federal election interference case. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled it out of hand in December, but Trump took it all the way to the Supreme Court, which took its sweet time. After hearing oral arguments in April, it handed down its ruling that presidents do have absolute immunity for core constitutional duties and presumptive immunity for official acts on July 1, the last day of this years term. Chutkan finally has the case back, but she released a scheduling order Thursday that made clear pre-trial briefings on the new will extend past the election. And in Florida, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has kept a near constant foot on the brakes in Trumps federal classified documents trial, once seen as the most open and shut of the cases against him. As Cannon granted even the most absurd motions from Trumps team full hearings, her calendar became choked, and the case slipped further and further down the calendar. Then, in July, she dismissed the case entirely based on the out-of-left-field premise that Attorney General Merrick Garland improperly appointed special counsel Jack Smith to his role. The Justice Department is appealing that decision, but there wont be any resolution soon. For people clinging to the hope that theyd see Trump sentenced before Election Day, Judge Merchan put the final nail in the coffin Friday when he agreed to a request from Trumps lawyers to postpone the sentencing scheduled for Sept. 18. Hes due to issue a ruling on Sept. 20 on whether the Supreme Courts immunity case should affect the jurys decision to convict, and the delay will allow time for any potential appeal to be filed before Trumps sentence is handed down. Merchan wrote in his decision that hitting pause is important to avoid any appearance however unwarranted that the proceeding has been affected by or seeks to affect the approaching Presidential election in which the Defendant is a candidate. The decision to pause his sentencing does affect the election, though. Theres only one thing that could potentially bring this string of victories for Trump to an end: his losing on Election Day. Trumps legal strategy is to return to the White House next year. From the Oval Office, he would be able to order his attorney general to drop the federal charges against him or pardon himself. Hed also have the aegis of the presidency to shield him from any further legal action from Georgia or New York. Four years of justice delayed is riding on whether he defeats Vice President Kamala Harris, and Merchans decision to not sentence before the election is hard to see as anything but a boon for him. Importantly, though, even Trump losing to Harris doesnt guarantee that he wont be able to keep running this same playbook. Given what weve seen, theres still a likelihood that if hes convicted in other trials that he appeals all the way up to the Supreme Court each time. There may not be another lifeline waiting for him at the end but it would be enough to keep his head above water for as long as possible. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Why? And why now? Those were the first questions that sprang to mind Tuesday, when the Justice Department unsealed a criminal complaint charging six leaders of Hamas for their roles in the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack in Israel that killed around 1,200 people, including 40 U.S. citizens. A DOJ press statement said the attack was the culmination of Hamass decades-long campaign of terrorism and violence against Israel and its allies, including American citizens. According to the complaint filed in the Southern District of New York, Hamas was founded to create an Islamic Palestinian state throughout Israel by eliminating the State of Israel through violent holy war. The complaint further states that Hamas has murdered and injured dozens of Americans as part of its campaign of violence and terror, and has done so in retaliation for and in an effort to weaken American support for Israels right to exist and defense of that right. The 38-page document details decades of brutal attacks and atrocities going back to 1997 that were allegedly committed by a group the U.S. government has designated a foreign terrorist organization since. Lets start with the first question. Why would the DOJ file charges against Hamas leaders it is unlikely to ever arrest and bring to trial, particularly when three of those leaders have been already been killed? First, the Justice Department has long been in the business of using criminal prosecution to hold terrorists who kill American citizens accountable, even when the conduct occurs overseas. For example, in 2002, the Justice Department announced charges against Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh for his role in the brutal killing of journalist Daniel Pearl, despite the defendants pending charges in Pakistan. In 2017, Ahmed Abu Khatallah was convicted in a U.S. court for helping to plan and carry out the 2012 attack on the U.S. Mission in Benghazi that resulted in the death of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans posted in Libya. In some instances, it can take years or even decades to bring defendants to justice, but the DOJ has pursued terrorists relentlessly across administrations. In 2020, the Justice Department unsealed charges against the accused maker of the bomb that destroyed Pan Am 103 and killed 190 Americans over Lockerbie, Scotland, 34 years earlier. In 2021, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York announced charges against Taliban commander Haji Najibullah for his alleged role in the killing of three American service members in 2008. In 2011, prosecution of the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania was completed with the life sentence of the fifth defendant, Ahmad Ghailani. As Attorney General Merrick Garland noted in his press remarks this week, the Justice Department has a long memory, vowing to pursue terrorists responsible for murdering Americans for the rest of their lives. The second reason to file criminal charges is to achieve what the DOJ and other experts sometimes refer to as naming and shaming. Even when charges do not result in a criminal conviction and penalty, they can serve as a sort of moral condemnation on the world stage, in this case forcing foreign governments to take note of Hamas record of terrorism. To the extent Hamas portrays itself as a legitimate political entity or one engaged in humanitarian efforts, the indictment paints a starkly different picture of a group that engages in vicious violence. The complaint describes the October 7 attack as a massacre, detailing abductions, the burning of homes, shootings with machine guns at point-blank range and sexual violence against women, including rape and genital mutilation. It details brutality against grandparents and young children. The complaint also calls out Iran for allegedly supporting, supplying and training Hamas to achieve its own objectives of damaging, weakening, and ultimately destroying both the United States and Israel. Hezbollah, another group the U.S. government designates a terrorist organization, is also named in the complaint as an ally of Hamas that assisted in the Oct. 7 attack. Calling Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas the axis of resistance, the complaint lays out a damning account of their conduct against the United States and its citizens. A third reason to file a criminal complaint against Hamas may be to curtail its fundraising capabilities. The complaint specifies in great detail how the organization solicited and received $7.7 million in funds to promote terrorist activities through cryptocurrency payments, ostensibly to protect donor anonymity. By disclosing that the U.S. government is capable of tracking payments, prosecutors may hope to deter donors from contributing further. But even if the reasons for filing the complaint may be compelling, the question remains as to why now. The announcement of charges comes at a time when cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Gaza seem especially fragile. During the weekend, Israeli authorities recovered in a tunnel beneath Gaza the bodies of six hostages who had recently been killed. On Monday, Benjamin Netanyahu responded to massive protests seemed to double down on his demands. His remarks made the odds of a resolution soon feel even less likely. The complaint offers some tells about its timing. The last page of the complaint asks the court to seal the document except as needed to secure the defendants arrest, extradition, or expulsion, or as otherwise required for purposes of national security. That page also indicates that the complaint was filed in February, before the three deceased defendants were killed. To the extent authorities had hoped to find and arrest them in a country that permits extradition, their deaths reduce the complaints need for secrecy. This is not the DOJ going rogue. I know from my own experience as a federal prosecutor that policy prohibits charging decisions on the basis of politics. When a case may affect national security or foreign policy, it always involves interagency coordination. The White House and the State Department most certainly would have been briefed and asked to assess this case in light of the United States objectives in the Middle East. Garland himself hinted at this coordination when he referred to the whole-of-government effort to bring the Americans still being held hostage home. Similarly, State Department spokesman Matt Miller said Tuesday, when it comes to U.S. policy, we have long made clear that our first priority when it comes to terrorists is to see terrorists apprehended and brought the United States to stand trial for their crimes. Its also possible recent events actually prompted the DOJs decision to unseal the complaint. Hamas refusal to release hostages will remain a sticking point to any cease-fire resolution. This may be DOJs way of reminding Hamas that the U.S. is in the fight for the long haul. As Miller said Tuesday, It is time to finalize that deal. The people of Israel cannot afford to wait any longer. The Palestinian people, who are also suffering the terrible effects of this war, cannot afford to wait any longer. The world cannot afford to wait any longer. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com FILE - Opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez leads a demonstration against the official election results that declared that President Nicolas Maduro won reelection in Caracas, Venezuela, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez, File) CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) For millions of Venezuelans and dozens of foreign governments, Edmundo Gonzalez was the undisputed winner of the country's July 28 presidential election. But on Sunday, he joined the swelling ranks of once-prominent government opponents who have fled into exile, leaving his political future uncertain and tightening Nicolas Maduro's grip on power. The former presidential candidate arrived at a military airport outside Madrid after being granted safe passage by Maduro's government so he could take up asylum in Spain. His surprise departure came just days after Maduro's government ordered his arrest. Gonzalez, 75, burst onto Venezuela's political scene less than five months ago. His candidacy was as accidental as it gets after opposition powerhouse Maria Corina Machado was barred from running and a handpicked substitute was also blocked. In April, a coalition of more than 10 parties settled on Gonzalez, who overnight went from being a virtually unknown retired diplomat and grandfather to a household name in whom millions placed their hopes for an end to more than two decades of single-party rule. Accompanied by Machado, he crisscrossed the country in the final weeks of the campaign, energizing massive crowds of Venezuelans who blamed Maduro for one of the worst ever economic collapses outside a war zone. Lets imagine for a moment the country that is coming, he told a crowd of cheering supporters at a rally in La Victoria, a once-thriving industrial city. A country in which the president does not insult or see his adversaries as enemies. A country where when you get home from work, you know that your money has value, that when you turn on the switch, there will be electricity, that when you turn on the faucet, there will be water. The yin-yang strategy proved more popular than even many Maduro opponents had imagined. Election was quickly disputed Although the National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner, the opposition's superior ground game allowed it to collect evidence showing that it was actually Gonzalez who prevailed by a more than a 2-to-1 margin. Foreign governments condemned the official results as lacking credibility. Even some leftist allies of Maduro withheld recognition, demanding that authorities release a breakdown of results at all 30,000 voting machines nationwide, as it has in the past. In the weeks since the disputed vote, both opposition figures went into hiding amid a brutal crackdown that led to more than 2,000 arrests and the deaths of at least 24 people at the hands of security forces. Gonzalez stayed out of public view while Machado appeared at sporadic rallies seeking to keep the pressure on Maduro. Machado tried to put a positive spin on Gonzalez's departure late Saturday, assuring Venezuelans he would be back on Jan. 10 for a swearing-in ceremony marking the start of the next presidential term. His life was in danger, and the increasing threats, summons, arrest warrants and even attempts at blackmail and coercion to which he has been subjected, demonstrate that the regime has no scruples, Machado said on X. Let this be very clear to everyone: Edmundo will fight from outside alongside our diaspora." Candidacy came after career as a diplomat Gonzalez began his professional career as an aide to Venezuelas ambassador in the U.S. He had postings in Belgium and El Salvador and served as Caracas ambassador to Algeria. His last post was as Venezuelas ambassador to Argentina during the first years of the government of Hugo Chavez, Maduros predecessor and mentor. More recently, he worked as an international relations consultant, writing about recent political developments in Argentina and authoring a historical work on Venezuelas foreign minister during World War II. His years in El Salvador and Algeria coincided with periods of armed conflicts in both countries. For a time, his whereabouts were tracked by locals in El Salvador, and he would get calls at home meant to intimidate him, with the callers saying they were aware that Gonzalez had just arrived home. Maduro on the campaign trail claimed without evidence that Gonzalez was recruited as a CIA asset during that Cold War, which coincided with heavy U.S. military involvement in Central American country. Gonzalez had just returned to Venezuelas capital, Caracas, from a trip to Spain to visit a daughter and grandchildren when opposition leaders presented him with the idea of becoming a candidate. The subdued tone and poker face he forged as a diplomat cut a sharp contrast with boisterous, ego-driven politicians to which Venezuelans have long been accustomed. Maduro and his allies have taken his conciliatory tones as a sign of weakness. But that kind of language was among his many selling points to Venezuelans fed up with winner-takes-all politics. Enough shouting, enough insults, Gonzalez told supporters. "Its time to reunite." ___ Goodman reported from Miami. The presidential candidate of the Venezuelan opposition, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, arrives at the Santo Tomas de Villanueva school to cast his vote during the presidential elections. Opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has left Venezuela for Spain six weeks after a disputed presidential election marred by accusations of widespread voter fraud and repression. Jeampier Arguinzones/dpa Opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has left Venezuela for Spain six weeks after a disputed presidential election marred by accusations of widespread voter fraud and repression. Gonzalez, recognized as the true winner of the July 28 election by the United States and a score of Latin American countries, had been staying in Spain's embassy in Caracas for days and asked the EU country for asylum, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said late Saturday. She said the government had granted the 75-year-old former diplomat safe passage to Spain "in the interests of the country's political peace and tranquillity." Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares confirmed on X that Gonzalez left Venezuela "at his own request" and that he used a Spanish Air Force plane. "The government of Spain is committed to the political rights and physical integrity of all Venezuelans," he wrote. The opposition initially made no public statements on the matter. Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, secured a third term in the disputed election after the the country's electoral authority - which is stacked with government loyalists - declared him the winner with 51% of the vote. The government has not provided any voter tallies to back up 61-year-old Maduro's win. The opposition claims victory for Gonzalez, and has significant support from other countries in the region and the US. Since the vote, the police have cracked down on anti-Maduro demonstrators. The non-governmental rights organization PROVEA said 25 people have lost their lives so far and more than 2,400 people have been detained. In a major escalation, the Venezuelan Attorney General's Office recently issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez on charges including usurpation of office and incitement to sedition. The bench of the Nebraska Supreme Court at the Capitol in Lincoln. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN Nebraskans preparing to vote this fall on competing proposals to amend the State Constitution to add abortion rights or abortion restrictions should press pause. Whether they get to vote on either ballot initiative hinges on what the Nebraska Supreme Court decides after oral arguments Monday on three lawsuits aimed at stopping one or both of the proposals. Two of the three lawsuits target the abortion-rights amendment. Abortion-rights advocates filed the third to ask the court to either allow both proposals on the ballot or neither. Single-subject fight Much of the fight centers on interpretations of Nebraskas constitutional single subject rule, which prohibits ballot initiatives from addressing more than one topic in a single vote. Time is short. Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen, targeted by all three lawsuits for certifying the measures as legal to proceed, must certify the November ballot by Sept. 13. The stakes are national. Donors and groups are watching whether Nebraska might be the first state since the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade to weigh two competing measures one favoring abortion rights and another favoring abortion restrictions. Thus far, voters in every state that has put an abortion-related amendment on the ballot have sided with abortion rights and rejected abortion restrictions, including in neighboring Kansas. A new approach Groups seeking abortion restrictions tried a new approach in Nebraska. Their measure would set a ceiling after the first trimester on how late into a pregnancy abortion is legal but sets no floor. Their amendment would give the Legislature the authority to restrict abortion further or ban it entirely. It would also limit lawmakers ability to loosen restrictions beyond 12-14 weeks gestational age. Nebraskas current law, passed in 2023, prohibits abortions after 12 weeks gestational age. Opponents have argued that the amendment puts womens lives at risk and puts the government in the exam room between a woman and her doctor. Nebraskas abortion-rights amendment largely resembles what Ohio passed in 2023. It would codify a right to abortion until fetal viability, as defined by a treating medical provider. Viability fight Opponents have argued that it leaves too much room for medical providers to define viability later rather than using than the current scientific standard of about 22-24 weeks gestation. Exceptions were added to both proposed amendments: for the life or health of the mother in the abortion-rights initiative and for the life of the mother and after rape or incest in the abortion restrictions measure. Both pro-restriction lawsuits targeting the abortion-rights amendment argue it violates the states single subject rule for constitutional amendments. Both argue the attempt to codify a right to abortion, along with framing that right in a new way to restrict state interference and defining viability more loosely covers too many subjects. Both say creating a fundamental right to an abortion is different from the languages effort to limit regulation of abortion, potentially putting existing restrictions in legal peril. The lawsuit brought by Carolyn LaGreca, a Douglas County resident who ran a shelter for women facing unplanned pregnancies, is backed by the socially conservative Thomas More Society. The lawsuit filed by Lancaster County neonatologist Dr. Catherine Brooks has support from the local group that organized the competing amendment, Protect Women and Children. The lawsuit brought by 29 doctors, led by Dr. Elizabeth Constance, a fertility specialist in the Omaha area, is supported by Protect Our Rights, which organized the abortion-rights amendment. Both or none argument The doctors suit argues that both ballot initiatives met the legal standard to reach the ballot and should be weighed by voters, but that if one fails the single-subject test, then both do. It argues the abortion-restrictions amendment would codify a ban, add exceptions and recognize fetuses as unborn children, risking civil and criminal legal complications for mothers. Among the areas where this could cause issues, the lawsuit argues, is in how people qualify for benefits, whether a fetus is eligible for child support and whether criminal laws apply. In briefs filed last week for and against both lawsuits, groups aligned around their favored measures. Protect Our Rights argued that the abortion-rights amendment was built under a single subject, defining it as limiting government interference with abortion. Protect Women and Children argued that its competing amendment fits under a single subject, defining it as protecting unborn children from abortion. The dueling sides made similar arguments pushing back against whether their favored amendment should have been allowed to include exceptions. Each said they should because much of current abortion law in Nebraska includes exceptions. Oral arguments are scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at the Nebraska Supreme Court. Arguments are set to be streamed live on Nebraska Public Media. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Sexual Assault and Partner Abuse Care Program operates at the Civic Campus of the Ottawa Hospital, which expects to see 1500 patients by the end of the year. (Francis Deschenes/CBC - image credit) More victims of sexual abuse and intimate partner violence are seeking help from the Ottawa Hospital this year compared to last year, according to its care facilitator. The Sexual Assault and Partner Abuse Care Program (SAPACP) is a program at Ottawa Hospital that provides one-on-one care to patients who are 16 years or older and have experienced sexual or intimate partner violence. The program received around 1,200 patients last year, and have already reached that number this year, according to SAPACP care facilitator Kaitlyn Maki. The program expects to see around 1,500 patients by the end of 2024. This represents a 30 per cent increase in people seeking care for sexual assault and a 10 per cent increase in people seeking care after intimate partner violence, according to Maki, who is also a registered nurse. That increase suggests a need for more data about sexual and intimate partner violence and more funding to support victims willing to seek help, experts told CBC. Kaitlyn Maki is the care facilitator for the Ottawa Hospital Sexual Assault and Partner Abuse Care Program. Kaitlyn Maki is the care facilitator for the Ottawa Hospital Sexual Assault and Partner Abuse Care Program. She said that, for her staff, 'seeing that [they're] able to impact the community in a great way and make relationships is special.' (Gabrielle Huston/CBC) Why have the numbers gone up? Maki cited two factors for the rise in cases: more sexual violence overall and victims who are increasingly comfortable seeking care. "As a society we are having much more open and frank conversations about sexual violence and intimate partner violence in our everyday, and I think that's given a lot of people the strength to come forward looking for help," she told All In A Day's Alan Neal. Statistics Canada data shows the number of sexual assaults reported to police rose significantly between 2016 and 2019, and has continued to rise. Likewise, intimate partner violence reported to police is increasing. Intimate partner violence spiked during COVID-19, according to Bailey Reid, the co-founder of the Spark Strategy, a national organization that works with businesses and their employees to prevent sexual violence. Society may still be experiencing "lingering effects" from the pandemic, she said. The return to mass gatherings featuring drugs and alcohol could also lead to increased sexual violence, Reid suggested. Providing care for victims of sexual or intimate partner violence in one place and which avoids police involvement is a big draw according to Dawn Moore, a Carleton University professor who studies police responses to domestic violence. Carleton University researcher Dr. Dawn Moore received $236,000 from the province to lead a study on sexual violence on Ontario campuses. Carleton University researcher Dawn Moore said a 30 per cent increase 'is a good start, but there are a lot more people in the city who are being hurt who could use help.' (CBC) "We've always had hotlines," Moore said, "but we've never had a one-stop shop like they have now at the Ottawa Hospital." A service where victims are not immediately scrutinized is invaluable, she said. "You can tell somebody, 'I've been sexually assaulted' and they're not going to be suspicious of you immediately or just not believe you, which is such a common response ... especially when they report to police." The SAPACP offers a variety of services, including injury treatment, assessment, documentation, testing for pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, and crisis counselling. More funding and better data needed Whether an increase in patients at the program indicates a broader increase in violent offending is unclear however. "Was it ever really that low pre-pandemic, or did people not feel comfortable reporting?" asked Reid. In 2019, Statistics Canada data showed that only six per cent of sexual assaults were reported to police. Irvin Waller says Ottawa can learn from proven strategies and models from around the world, including in Glasgow, Scotland. Irvin Waller is a criminologist who said that the U.S. and U.K. use more specialized surveys than Canada, so they can better understand sexual and intimate partner violence. (Radio-Canada) A lack of reliable data about sexual assault and intimate partner violence, combined with a lack of funding, hinders action to combat the issue, according to Irvin Waller, a retired professor of criminology from the University of Ottawa and author of The Science and Secrets of Ending Violent Crime. The government could set a goal to reduce sexual violence by a certain amount within a specific timeframe, but without better data would have no way of assessing its progress, according to Waller, who spent his career working to reduce violent crime. The "generalized" data collected by Statistics Canada isn't enough, Waller said, suggesting that a more specialized survey would give better insight. "If the city of Ottawa wants to reduce intimate partner and sexual violence, then they need to commit to that," he said, by collecting the data and funding programs like bystander intervention and consent training. Maki identified the same need for greater funding for community partners who support the program with counselling services, shelter services, advocacy, and more. "Some of our community partners are reporting they've doubled in the number of referrals from last year to this year, and yet they still have the same level of staffing, the same funding," Maki said. Outraged heckler jeers NYC Mayor Eric Adams at Labor Day Parade over slew of fed probes on admin: Come get him! Outraged heckler jeers NYC Mayor Eric Adams at Labor Day Parade over slew of fed probes on admin: Come get him! Gov. Hochul and other pols gave Mayor Adams the cold shoulder at Saturdays Labor Day Parade following a series of stunning federal raids targeting members of his inner circle and their kin this week while a heckler tore into Hizzoner over the multiple probes into his administration. FBI, Mayor Adams is right here! the female spectator hollered as the march crossed West 46th Street and 5th Avenue. Hes right here and he probably has his cell phone with him! Come get him! the woman continued. Adams didnt acknowledge the rabble-rouser, who then seethed to others in the crowd: God, I hate the mayor. Gov. Hochul and other pols appeared to keep their distance from Mayor Adams seen here a few rows behind her during Saturdays parade. Don Pollard/Office Governor Hochul Democratic pols including Gov. Hochul, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Sen. Chuck Schumer and city Comptroller Brad Lander made sure to keep their distance from the mayor during the parade along Fifth Avenue. Marching at the front of a group of dignitaries, James and Hochul appeared cozy with one another, smiling and laughing, while Adams, ironically wearing a navy blue LOVE ballcap, sulked near the rear, several rows back, surrounded by his security detail. At one point he was about 25 feet away from Hochul, who was also seen flanked by Manhattan and Queens Borough Presidents Mark Levine and Donovan Richards Jr. Adams, meanwhile, was seen chatting up NYC Central Labor Council President Vincent Alvarez during the march. During a photo op moments before the parade kickoff, Hochul and Adams exchanged zero chit-chat, and flanked opposite sides of a group that had gathered for a photo. At last years parade, Hochul and Adams marched a few feet apart. A Democratic source who attended the parade claimed it was Adams who was keeping his distance from the VIP pols. It looked like the mayor was separating himself since he was standing toward the back, not that anyone was walking away from him, the source told The Post. The ice cold treatment comes just days after federal investigators hit members of Adams inner circle along with the NYPD in a shocking series of raids. On Wednesday, federal agents raided the home of Police Commissioner Edward Caban, whose twin brother, a shady former NYPD sergeant, is also being probed by investigators for his alleged worker as a fixer for a swanky nightlife spot, sources said. The ice cold shoulder comes just days after federal investigators hit members of Adams inner circle along with the NYPD in a shocking series of raids. Robert Miller James Caban, 56, allegedly helped with massaging any issues between business and cops over violations, and was hit with a search warrant and subpoena by the feds as well, according to sources. Prosecutors from the Southern District of New York are leading the investigation who are probing Adams top aides along with a separate investigation into the mayors 2021 campaign funding, sources said. Other top Adams officials who were hit by raids this week include Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks as well as Schools Chancellor David Banks and First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, according to law enforcement sources, who said the feds showed up with search warrants and seized their electronic devices. The feds also subpoenaed the phones of another Adams aide, retired NYPD inspector Timothy Pearson, sources said. Governor Kathy Hochul posed with people during the 2024 New York City Labor Day Parade. Don Pollard/Office Governor Hochul Asked about the federal investigations, James declined to comment, while Hochul ran from a Post reporter trying to inquire about the probes. Avi Small, a spokesman for Hochul, referred to the governors comment on Friday where she insisted that she and the mayor will continue to be partners. The mayor reaffirmed to a Post reporter that he was standing by his top cop amid calls for Caban to resign after the raid on his home, urging New Yorkers to let the investigation play out. We are a strong believer in what this country stands for due process, he said. Let the process play out. Hizzoner, meanwhile, brushed off concerns about New Yorkers losing faith in his administration over the myriad investigations that have piled up entangling his officials and close associates. Governor Kathy Hochul, Letitia James, and Chuck Schumer attended the 2024 NYC Labor Day Parade. Don Pollard/Office Governor Hochul The real test of a person isare you able to continue to progress even when there are a lot of things going on around you? he told The Post. I have shown I have the ability to do so. Ten months ago we first learned of the Turkish review that was taking place, it didnt stop us from moving our city forward, he added, referring to the federal probe launched last year into his 2021 mayoral campaign. We are always going to survive. (COLORADO SPRINGS) Starting Sunday, Sept. 8, North Academy Boulevard will have overnight closures for three weeks between Voyager and Shrider roads for 2C repaving work. Lane closures will begin at 7 p.m. and end at 7 a.m. daily to reduce traffic disruptions on the busy north-south corridor. Drivers should detour to East Woodmen Road or avoid the area. At least one lane in each direction will remain open overnight. Milling operations are set for the week of Sept. 8, with asphalt installation planned for the week of Sept. 15. Work is expected to finish by the end of September, weather permitting. The voter-approved 2C Road Improvements program funds the project, aimed at improving road conditions in Colorado Springs. 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 FOX21 News Colorado. Apollo Quiboloy was a 'spiritual advise' to Rodrigo Duterte, the former president of the Philippines - Manman Dejeto/AFP A televangelist preacher accused of sexual abuse and human trafficking has been caught after months of allegedly evading arrest in the Philippines. Apollo Quiboloy, who proclaims he is the owner of the universe and the appointed son of god, was thought to be hiding in a secret underground bunker in a compound owned by his religious sect, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Over the past two weeks, more than 2,000 police officers searched the 75-acre compound in Davao city, even bringing in drilling equipment. Their raid sparked days-long clashes between Mr Quiboloys supporters and riot police. Riot police struggle with supporters of Mr Quiboloy as they protest attempts to arrest him, outside his compound - Cerilo Ebrano/EPA-EFE Benjamin Abalos Jr, the interior secretary, wrote on Facebook on Sunday: Apollo Quiboloy has been caught. He gave no details of how or where Mr Quiboloy was arrested. Nicolas Torre, the police chief who led the manhunt in Davao, also confirmed Mr Quiboloys arrest. He told local reporters he had been informed that the preacher had surrendered. Wanted in US and Philippines Mr Quiboloy, 74, is wanted in both the Philippines and the US. In 2021, the US department of justice charged him with sexual trafficking of children and other serious crimes including fraud and coercion, money laundering and bulk cash smuggling. Prosecutors alleged he had sex with women and underage girls, threatening them with abuse and eternal damnation if they refused. Mr Quiboloy stands in front of his megachurch, which seats 75,000 - Facebook A Philippine court had ordered the arrest of Mr Quiboloy and several others on suspicion of child and sexual abuse. Mr Quiboloy and his lawyer have denied the criminal allegations against him and his religious group, saying they were fabricated by critics and former members who were kicked out. Friend of Duterte The evangelist preacher is followed by millions of people in the Philippines, where preachers can influence politics. He is a long-time friend of former president Rodrigo Duterte. Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the incumbent president, had urged Mr Quiboloy to surrender. Mr Quiboloy claims to have set up the Kingdom of Jesus Christ after hearing God whisper to him I will use you while attending an event led by Billy Graham, the American pastor, in 1973. He grew his following through radio, televangelism and social media. His sects compound includes a cathedral, a stadium, a school, a hangar and a taxiway leading to the neighbouring international airport. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. CAIRO (Reuters) - The Qatar Red Crescent and the U.N. agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) signed an agreement on Sunday, with $4.5 million from a Qatari state development fund, to aid more than 4,400 stranded Palestinian workers and patients from Gaza in the West Bank. "[The] cash assistance will represent vital support for those displaced who have not been able to return to the Gaza Strip since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Strip last October," a statement from the Qatar's state news agency said. "Thousands of Palestine refugees from Gaza remain trapped in the West Bank, trapped in this crisis situation, stranded from their loved ones and livelihoods," UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said. Since Israel's blockade of Gaza began in 2007, movement in and out of the Strip has been heavily restricted, forcing individuals to seek medical care, education, or jobs in the West Bank, while escalating violence often closes borders, trapping those in need of essential services. (Reporting by Ahmed Tolba and Adam Makary; Editing by David Evans) PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) This weekends rainy weather didnt stop local and visiting firefighters from tackling swift water rescue instructor training. The Panama City Fire Department hosted the training session. They teamed up with firefighters from across the country to become swiftwater rescue instructors. These skills are critical in an emergency involving moving water. Moving water up to one knot or one mile per hour or more is considered swift water. What were going to do is enter the water, bring out victims that are trapped or succumb to the water volume and pressure so that we can bring them to safety, Panama City Firefighter Ryan Smith said. Bay District Scholars program helps to fill classrooms amid teacher shortages The 5-day course includes a classroom curriculum as well as physical training. Saturday marked day 3 of training, and swift water rescuers practiced field scenarios such as a high-lining. A high line is when we stretch a piece of rope across a river or a body of water to an anchor point on either side, maybe a tree or some substantial object. We take a boat, put it on a trolley system with a set of pulleys and ropes. Were going to pull that boat out to the middle of the river or a creek or stream and then lower it down to wherever were going to rescue the patient, Smith said. Panama City Fire Department officials said certifying firefighters from outside of the community will enable them to do in-house training when they return to their departments. We can take swift water rescue training 1 and 2 back to our agencies and teach our guys, our women how to be swift water rescue technicians, Smith said. Officials added they just want to give back to locals and surrounding communities, especially those who helped Bay County during Hurricane Michael. Local organization hosts 12th annual Bridge of Hope suicide awareness walk If were called upon to assist with a natural disaster in the state of Florida for a deployment, we can take that training and those assets with us and help other agencies and pay them back the kindness that they paid us, Smith said. Panama City Fire Department officials said theyre aiming to become a deployable Urban Search and Rescue water element by the end of summer 2025. 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 mypanhandle.com. Apalachee High School teacher Stephen Kreyenbuhl knew something was wrong Wednesday before he heard gunshots. The social studies teacher told CNN he was in the middle of a lesson when his smartboard alerted that the school was in a hard lockdown. In that instance, I knew something emergency-wise was about to happen, Kreyenbuhl said. I got everybody into a corner, turned off the lights, and just kind of held everyone nice and tight and just said, Wait for everything to happen, everything to pass. Kreyenbuhl said the schools new alert system bought him critical time to prepare and protect his students before a shooter opened fire just down the hall from their classroom. I was so happy to hear the voice of our (school resource officer) outside the hallway within about two minutes of the gunfire, he said. The CrisisAlert system, designed by Centegix, includes a device the size of an ID badge. Its equipped with a button that, when pressed rapidly, can quietly notify administrators and local law enforcement to the exact location of an active emergency. The company works with school districts and law enforcement agencies to integrate the system into their current safety procedures and automate as much as possible. Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith told CNN Apalachee High School had the system for less than a week and had tested it for the first time only the day before the shooting. He called the timing, Gods intervention. Two students and two teachers were killed during the shooting Wednesday and nine others were injured. As the nation reels from yet another deadly school shooting the 45th in the country so far this year experts and law enforcement officials say this latest tragedy underscores the role technology can play in helping to reduce police response time and potentially prevent further bloodshed. Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith demonstrates how the Apalachee High School's alert system works. - CNN When seconds can save lives In a statement posted to social media Thursday, the Barrow County Fire Department said it received the first alert through the Centegix system at 10:22 a.m. The countys Battalion 1 unit arrived on scene 8 minutes later, and emergency rescue services entered the school by 10:34 a.m. By 10:52 a.m., all critically injured patients had been evacuated from the scene just 30 minutes from the first alert, the department said in the satement. When reached by email Thursday, a spokesperson for Centegix told CNN the company is saddened to hear of the events at Apalachee High School but declined to comment further. Brent Cobb, the companys CEO, told CNN in an interview earlier this year that their CrisisAlert technology was designed following the 2018 Parkland high school shooting in Florida to give teachers and administrators a fast and discreet way to call for help. Time equals lives, he said. And you need everyone to know immediately that a crisis is taking place. Once a lockdown is activated, the CrisisAlert system is designed to trigger a series of responses: Pre-recorded warnings sound over the intercom system to alert the entire campus to the lockdown, while on-site safety administrators, like school resource officers, are notified of the location of the incident. Cobb told CNN in some school districts the system is also integrated with local law enforcement agencies and can automatically call 911 and send messages to officers of the exact location of the incident. This is what happened in Barrow County. The goal, he said, is to help decrease police response times, an issue that has come under scrutiny in recent years following the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where it took officers 77 minutes to adequately respond to a shooter. In an exclusive interview with CNN Thursday, Smith scrolled through the series of alerts and the detailed map his officers received to guide them to where the shooting was happening. He also praised the unbelievable school resource officers who confronted the shooter and took him into custody. A school resource officer, in most cases, dont know that theyre going to make it out, he said. They know going in that either my life is going to be taken for a school resource officer this is the pinnacle of what they dont want. This is what we train for. Alyssas Law and cutting police response times In the years since her daughter Alyssa was killed during the Parkland shooting, Lori Alhadeff has channeled her grief into pushing for legislative action. Her organization, Make our Schools Safe, lobbies state legislatures to pass Alyssas Law, which would require school districts to install silent alert systems directly linked to law enforcement agencies. Seven states, including Florida, New Jersey and Tennessee, have enacted the law in recent years. Last year Georgia introduced similar legislation. My heart goes out to the families that had someone killed yesterday. I know their pain, unfortunately, Alhadeff told CNN Thursday, adding that she and other advocates will now be able to cite the use of panic buttons in the Apalachee shooting as they urge lawmakers to pass Alyssas Law. This technology is something that helps to mitigate loss of life, and it did yesterday in Apalachee High School, she said. Emergency alert systems have evolved rapidly since the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech, when the university officials came under fire for failing to immediately notify students or take safety precautions during the shooting spree, which killed 32 people. When we look at the data that we do have on mass shootings, we know that these tragedies are over very, very quickly, said Jaclyn Schildkraut, executive director of the Rockerfeller Institutes Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium. And so its about, what can we do to put more time on the clock the sooner that you can notify people, the better you are, because youre giving them that time to not only put the clock on their side, but to put the distance on their side. But she also cautioned the technology should not be treated as a panacea or as a substitute for safety training like lockdown drills. Its about thinking through these plans ahead of time, and then training your body and training your mind to know what to do if you ever have to do it, she said. Although four lives were tragically lost and the school and its faculty and students will never be the same, Kreyenbuhl said he is grateful the district implemented a system that enabled him to protect his students. I actually saw the lockdown initiate before I even heard the gunshots, so I had time to prepare, he said. Someone saw the threat even before he started to engage, so its almost like we knew before anything truly even happened, before lives were taken. Its insane the technology we have access to. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Parts of beach closed due to petroleum odors at Buxtons old naval base BUXTON, N.C. (WAVY) Cape Hatteras National Seashore is monitoring and enforcing the roughly half mile closure at and to the south of the Buxton Formerly Used Defense Site, they announced Saturday. Previous Coverage: Buxton community pleads for expedited removal of old naval base as petroleum threatens to leak into ocean Visitors are advised to stay out of the closed area to avoid sometimes strong petroleum odors. WAVY has been following these updates as the Buxton community urges a hastened effort to removed the remnants of an old navy base. It was decommissioned in the 1980s, and is just one of 46 Formerly Used Defense Sites, or FUDS, that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are responsible for. The map shows current beach closure associated with the petroleum contaminated former military site in Buxton. Barricades are in place at the entrance to each of the parking lots on the map. In past interviews with the Corps, they said this is a uniquely challenging project because it is on an eroding shoreline. Continue to check WAVY.com for updates. 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 WAVY.com. SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) Two people were injured during a suspected DUI crash in Otay Mesa Saturday night, authorities said. According to the San Diego Police Department, a 24-year-old woman was driving a 2012 Honda Accord southbound on La Media Road around 11:45 p.m. She was approaching Otay Mesa Road. At that same time, a 51-year-old man was driving a 2017 Toyota Prius eastbound on Otay Mesa Road, police explained. The driver of the Honda failed to stop at the red light and collided with the Toyota. The front passenger of the Honda was ejected from the vehicle and sustained severe facial lacerations, a left orbital fracture and a concussion. Meanwhile, the driver of the Toyota sustained a fractured sternum. Injuries for both parties were deemed non-life threatening. According to police, driving under the influence is suspected as a factor in the collision. The Traffic Division is investigating the incident. Anyone with information related to the crash is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477. 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 FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. Smart Communications, the wireless subsidiary of PLDT Inc., has partnered with AirAsia Philippines, SM, and 7-Eleven to reward loyal customers and boost access to its mobile network services. The collaboration includes a series of promotions aimed at expanding market reach while offering incentives to users. In the Load & Fly raffle with SM, four customers won international roundtrip tickets for two by purchasing Php500 load cards, SIMs, or eSIMs through SM outlets. Similarly, the CLiQQ, Load & Fly promo with 7-Eleven saw three customers win roundtrip tickets by buying select load promos or regular load via the CLiQQ app. - Advertisement - This is our way of delighting our customers with exciting rewards for using our products and services. We appreciate our partners AirAsia Philippines, SM, and 7-Eleven for helping us expand our reach and deliver world-class mobile services, said Chito Franco, PLDT and Smarts VP for Consumer Sales. One winner, 45-year-old Leah Gamban, a Smart subscriber for 20 years, won a prize after purchasing a prepaid load card at the SM Store. Thank you Smart, AirAsia, and SM Store for this wonderful prize, she said. Additionally, Smart distributed free SIM or eSIM vouchers to tourists on Manila-bound AirAsia flights, redeemable at Smart booths in Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3. AirAsia Philippines CEO Ricky Isla expressed his companys support for the partnership. AirAsia has always focused on making air travel accessible. Having partners like Smart enables us to enhance travel experiences through customer rewards and connectivity, he said. Franco noted that the partnership supports Smarts mission to provide an enhanced digital experience for tourists, aligning with the countrys tourism goals. Smarts mobile network, which covers 97 percent of the population, was recently recognized for having the Philippines Best 5G Coverage Experience by independent analytics firm Opensignal. It is part of the countrys largest integrated network, supported by PLDTs 1.1-million-kilometer fiber infrastructure. Smarts initiatives align with PLDTs efforts to bridge the digital divide, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 9) on industry, innovation, and infrastructure. They also support the Philippine governments push for digitalization. ANDERSON, Indiana The four Iowa passengers that took off from Fort Dodge and died in the Indiana fatal crash have been identified. Around 9:50 a.m. County Dispatch received a 911 call of a plane down approximately two miles southeast of the Anderson Municipal Airport, around 4200 block East 100 South. Units arrived on scene and found a single engine airplane down and on fire, the fire was quickly extinguished. Federal authorities, Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board, the county coroner, and other additional resources were called to the scene. Man arrested in connection to Carlisle bank robbery It was quickly discerned that the flight had left from Fort Dodge, Iowa and was enroute to the Anderson Municipal Airport in Indiana, the plane then lost altitude and crashed for an undetermined reason. The Madison County Coroners Office, assisted by the Hamelton and Delaware County Coroners office, have identified the four Iowa victims. Joseph R. Scallon, 68, from Iowa Falls, Owen James Renaud, 19, from Alden, Jesse H. Ostheimer, 41, from Alden, and Braden W. Hicks, 36, from Manson. The crash is still under investigation. 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 who13.com. Viktor Orban, the Prime Minister of Hungary, has said that he is continuing to work on the so-called peacekeeping mission, in which he is trying to "prevent the escalation" of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Source: Orban in an interview with journalists before attending an event in the town of Kotcse in Hungarys west, European Pravda reports Details: Orban mentioned that after his trips to Ukraine and Russia, he sent EU leaders his "peace plan", which was later published due to leaks in the media. "What I wrote was that if we were to do certain things at the beginning of July, then we could prevent the escalation of this conflict in the next two-three months. Now, if you compare the situation in early July with the current one, in early September, things are much worse than they were then," he said. The Hungarian prime minister went on to say that his peacekeeping mission "is not over, by the way". "I was working on it all summer, we are working internationally. There will be some compelling Initiatives coming, with some being visible as early as the month of September. You've got to work on it," Orban assured without giving any details. Background: As part of his peace mission, the Hungarian prime minister travelled to Moscow and spoke with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, becoming the first European leader to visit the Kremlin since April 2022. This led to sharp criticism in the EU and a downgrading of the level of representation at events held during Hungary's presidency of the EU Council. According to media reports, some EU leaders may boycott one of the main events of the Hungarian presidency an informal summit in early November, which will take place almost simultaneously with the European Political Community summit in Budapest. Support UP or become our patron! A Pennsylvania woman is facing charges after her dog allegedly tested positive for drugs before dying. According to NBC News affiliate WJAC, Season Sklinar, 41, of Johnstown tried to surrender her dog in July, stating her ignorance was harming the animal. The dog later received care at a veterinary clinic, where it was found to be positive for amphetamines and subsequently died, WJAC reports. Sklinar is charged with felony aggravated cruelty to animals and misdemeanor animal neglect. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Man accused of killing woman, injuring 4 other people while shooting at Lawrence County buildings Pittsburgh Police officer injured while trying to break up fight in South Side 1 person in custody after woman found dead, man shot in Fayette County VIDEO: Pittsburgh Police officer injured while trying to break up fight in South Side DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts Person in custody after shooting, SWAT standoff in Roseland CHICAGO - One person was taken into custody after a SWAT standoff and a shooting on Chicago's Far South Side early Sunday morning. Police said two people were barricaded inside a residence in the 10500 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue around 2:13 a.m. According to police, a 29-year-old man was shot multiple times and self-transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center. He is currently listed in critical condition. A second victim was taken to Roseland Hospital with a graze wound to the left forearm and is in good condition. Following the shooting, authorities established a perimeter and declared a SWAT situation. It was later cleared and one person was taken into custody. No additional information was available. HENRY COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) First responders helped an injured motorist Friday night after a truck flipped in Henry County. The Henry Volunteer Fire Department said eight firefighters were dispatched to a report of a crash with injuries shortly before 10:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 6. 2 people dead following Wilson County crash on Highway 109 When the engine arrived at the 1400 block of Macedonia Road, personnel said they found an overturned truck on its top with one person trapped inside. According to officials, the firefighters removed the patient from the truck using the jaws of life and then EMS transported the patient to the Henry County Medical Center helipad, where they were flown to a nearby trauma center in stable condition. 1 dead after crashing into a tree in Joelton Henry County deputies and 911 dispatchers also provided assistance over the course of the incident. The fire department said Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of the crash. No additional details have been released. 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 WKRN News 2. A Peruvian illegal immigrant has been arrested after allegedly abducting a high school student in Manassas, Virginia, as she was walking to school, according to police. The Manassas Police Department said 23-year-old Jesus Enrique Ramirez Cabrera was arrested on Friday and charged with abduction, robbery, impersonation of law enforcement and petit larceny. Police received a call from a resident who said they located a girl in distress near the intersection of Quarry Road and Zebedee Street. When officers arrived, they learned an unidentified man driving a red Jeep SUV possibly a Patriot or Commander approached the teenager as she was walking to school on Clover Hill Road. ILLEGAL MIGRANT ARRESTED, ACCUSED OF RAPE AFTER BEING RELEASED BY MASSACHUSETTS COURT: ICE Jesus Enrique Ramirez Cabrera was arrested Friday and charged with abduction, robbery, impersonation of law enforcement and petit larceny. The girl alleged that the suspect identified himself as a police officer and told her to get into the vehicle. He then allegedly exited the vehicle, grabbed the teenagers arm, put her in the front passenger seat and drove away. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Once the suspect reached Quarry Road, the girl was able to get out of the vehicle, she told police. Police first reported they were searching for a Hispanic man who was about 40 years old with black hair and a beard. MIGRANTS FORM 'CONSTELLATION' OF TENTS OUTSIDE OF MEGA SHELTER IN NEW YORK CITY: REPORT Immigrants line up at a remote U.S. Border Patrol processing center after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border Dec. 7, 2023, in Lukeville, Ariz. After a two-day investigation, detectives identified the suspect and arrested 23-year-old Cabrera. He was taken to the Prince William County Adult Detention where he was processed and held without bond. Federal sources told Fox News that Cabrera is a Peruvian illegal immigrant who was captured at the Arizona border in December and released into the U.S. SUSPECTED TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBERS IN AURORA, COLORADO, RELEASED ON $1,000 BOND Fox News Digital has reached out to ICE and the Manassas Police Department for further comment. Police do not believe any other suspects were involved in the incident with the teenager and said there is no ongoing threat to the community. Anyone with information on the matter is encouraged to contact the Manassas Police Department at 703-257-8000 or Crime Solvers at 703-330-0330. Original article source: Peruvian illegal immigrant arrested in Virginia after allegedly abducting teenager: police MANILA (Reuters) -An influential evangelist preacher from the Philippines accused of sex trafficking and sexual abuse has been arrested, authorities said on Sunday. Apollo Quiboloy, self-proclaimed "owner of the universe" and "appointed son of god", is wanted on charges of child and sexual abuse and related allegations of human trafficking. He has denied wrongdoing. "Apollo Quiboloy has been caught," Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said on his Facebook page, without specifying how or where he had been. The pastor is also on the FBI's "most wanted" list in the United States on separate charges of sex trafficking and bulk cash smuggling, over which he has also denied wrongdoing. Over 2,000 police were deployed since last month to search a sprawling compound in the southern city of Davao owned by Quiboloy's church, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), on suspicion that he was hiding there in a bunker. Philippine police spokesperson Jean Fajardo confirmed to reporters on Sunday Quiboloy was captured inside the compound, but did not provide further details. Quiboloy and four other co-accused were transported by military plane to the capital region on Sunday night after surrendering to authorities, Fajardo said. The five were detained at a detention facility inside the national police headquarters. "At around 1:30 p.m (0530 GMT), a negotiation took place for their surrender because we gave them a 24-hour ultimatum," Fajardo told reporters. Quiboloy is followed by millions of people in the Philippines, where church leaders hold heavy sway in politics. He is a longtime friend of former president Rodrigo Duterte. (Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Editing by Kevin Liffey and David Evans) PHOTOS: Remains of WWII soldier returned home to Oregon more than 80 years later PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) The remains of a recently identified World War II soldier from Oregon who was missing for over 80 years have been brought back home. U.S. Army Pvt. William E Calkins was captured by Japanese forces and died in a prisoner of war camp in the Philippines in November 1942 at the age of 20 after surviving the Bataan Death March earlier that year, the Department of Defense said last month. Timeline: Melissa Jubanes final days, disappearance His remains were identified earlier this year after being exhumed along with other unknown soldiers buried at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines. The remains of World War II U.S. Army Pvt. William E. Calkins were brought home to his Oregon relatives with planeside honors Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at Portland International Airport. He will be laid to rest Sept. 13 at noon at Fir Lawn Memorial Park in Hillsboro. (Oregon National Guard photo by Aaron Perkins, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs) The remains of World War II U.S. Army Pvt. William E. Calkins were brought home to his Oregon relatives with planeside honors Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at Portland International Airport. He will be laid to rest Sept. 13 at noon at Fir Lawn Memorial Park in Hillsboro. (Oregon National Guard photo by Aaron Perkins, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs) The remains of World War II U.S. Army Pvt. William E. Calkins were brought home to his Oregon relatives with planeside honors Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at Portland International Airport. He will be laid to rest Sept. 13 at noon at Fir Lawn Memorial Park in Hillsboro. (Oregon National Guard photo by Aaron Perkins, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs) The remains of World War II U.S. Army Pvt. William E. Calkins were brought home to his Oregon relatives with planeside honors Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at Portland International Airport. He will be laid to rest Sept. 13 at noon at Fir Lawn Memorial Park in Hillsboro. (Oregon National Guard photo by Aaron Perkins, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs) The remains of World War II U.S. Army Pvt. William E. Calkins were brought home to his Oregon relatives with planeside honors Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at Portland International Airport. He will be laid to rest Sept. 13 at noon at Fir Lawn Memorial Park in Hillsboro. (Oregon National Guard photo by Aaron Perkins, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs) On Friday, Calkins remains were brought home to his Oregon relatives with planeside honors at the Portland International Airport, the Oregon Military Department said. The effort to identify the remains of the unknown soldiers associated with Common Grave 704 began in 2018 when the Department of Defenses POW/MIA Accounting Agency sent them to a lab for DNA testing. MultCo, Portland test shelter availability tool Immediately after the war, the remains were exhumed from the camp, along with the other unknown soldiers, and stored at the Manila American Cemetary at the Philippine capital as unknown. A rosette will be placed next to his name at the cemeterys Walls of the Missing. Calkins will be laid to rest on Sept. 13 at noon at Fir Lawn Memorial Park in Hillsboro. 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 KOIN.com. Pierce County church alerts public about data breach. Heres what you can do Graham Emmanuel Baptist Church is alerting the public about a data breach, a law firm for the church announced on Saturday. Between May 15-17, someone accessed an internal database of the Graham, Washington, church and attempted to perpetrate an email scam by impersonating a GEBC employee. The goal of the scam was to try to obtain fraudulent donations, according to the church. The church launched an investigation and discovered the following on Aug. 8: that certain personal information was contained in the exposed data, including first and last name, date of birth, and medical condition and/or food restriction to the extent it was provided to the church. The types of impacted information varied by individual, a news release reads. The church is now mailing those whose information was disclosed in the breach. The notice contains information about the incident, GEBCs response, and information and resources to help individuals protect their information, the release reads. The church encourages the following: Call a toll-free phone number set up by the church at 888-401-0130. It is live 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Write the church at 22316 106th Ave., Graham, WA 98338. Report fraudulent activity to the Federal Trade Commission by going to the FTC website, calling 877-438-4338, or sending a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Response Center, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20580. Check the Graham Emmanuel Baptist Church website for more information about the data breach. Since this event, GEBC has taken measures to increase security across all of our networks, church officials say in the release. The confidentiality, privacy, and security of sensitive information in our care remains one of our highest priorities. The governments plan to tackle the hospital backlog in England will fail without a fundamental reform in how services work, health leaders say. Labour aims to increase the number of appointments and operations done each week by 40,000, to help hit the 18-week waiting time target. But NHS Confederation research found that would deliver only about 15% of the extra capacity needed to get back to reaching the target, which has not been hit since 2006. It called for a wider transformation of hospital care, including greater use of digital technologies to improve productivity. The warning comes ahead of the release of a government review of NHS performance later this week. Led by NHS surgeon and independent peer Lord Ara Darzi, the review was ordered by Health Secretary Wes Streeting shortly after the election, to help identify the biggest barriers to improving waiting times. Sources close to the review said it would be a warts-and-all report, including criticism about the lack of productivity in some areas. There will also be a warning about the state of children's health, and how that has deteriorated in the past decade. Data from the upcoming review is expected to show that more than 100,000 infants were left waiting for over six hours in A&E in England last year, while 800,000 children and young people are on NHS waiting lists for hospital treatments. Dr Mike McKean, Vice President of Policy at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, told BBC Breakfast that while the review will highlight some issues that apply to adults as well children, "we have simply got our prioritisation wrong here". "When you think about diseases that adults get - whether it's cancers, dementia or cardiovascular diseases - many of them are because of a lifetime of problems and a lot of them start in childhood. "If you get it right for children and families then we know we will have more robust adults who will get less illnesses and diseases," he added. Sir Keir Starmer referred to Lord Darzi's upcoming review in his first major interview this weekend, telling the BBC the NHS had been "broken" by previous Conservative-led governments. Fundamental changes The review is likely to pave the way for an expansion of surgical hubs, which are used to carry out low-complexity, high-volume treatments such as hip replacements and cataract surgery. This week a study by the Health Foundation think tank said in places where they had been introduced, the number of treatments had risen by a fifth. Existing hospitals will also be asked to do more, with staff paid time-and-a-half to work weekends to ensure 40,000 more appointments and treatments a week can be done, as promised in Labours election manifesto. But the NHS Confederation research, carried out jointly with consultancy Carnall Farrar, said this alone would not be enough to start hitting the 18-week target again. Currently the NHS backlog stands at 7.6 million waits, with more than 40% having waited over 18 weeks. The target is for 92% to be seen within 18 weeks. Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents managers, said the scale of the challenge facing the government should not be underestimated. Forty-thousand more operations and appointments a week wont be nearly enough to hit the target. The NHS needs reform, not just ever more activity. The NHS Confederation called for fundamental changes, including investment in digital technologies and greater use of robotic surgery and AI. Significant savings could be achieved through carrying out fewer appointments before and after treatment, it said. Follow-up checks could be done remotely and in some cases scrapped altogether, leaving it to the patient to decide whether they needed to be seen. The number of assessments and appointments carried out could also be reduced by joining up care better for the 1.2 million people who are waiting for more than one treatment. The report also said hospitals had to do better at vetting their waiting lists, warning time was being wasted chasing up patients who no longer needed treatment, either because they had already paid for it privately, decided not to have it or, in some cases, had died. But it said achieving these productivity improvements would require upfront investment in buildings and technology. The report also called for more to be done to prevent ill health, to reduce the numbers needing treatment. The Department of Health and Social Care said improving productivity and investing in technology would be part of its plan, alongside expanding the number of appointments and operations. "Fixing the NHS will be difficult and will take time, but this government will deliver the investment and reforms needed to turn the service around," its spokesperson added. Conservative shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins accused Labour of using Lord Darzi's review as "cover" to raise taxes in next month's Budget. She told Sky News: "They weren't straight with us about winter fuel payments, they're not being straight with us about taxes, and we need to have a grown-up conversation about the NHS, but this is not the way to go about it." Update 10.9.24: This story has been updated to reflect the 7.6 million NHS backlog is waits for treatment. Some people are waiting for more than one treatment. Fugitive pastor Apollo Quiboloy on Sunday decided to surrender to the chief of military intelligence instead of police authorities, who for over two weeks, have been turning the 30-hectare Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound in Davao City inside out in search of him. The televangelist handed himself over to Maj. Gen. Edmundo Perlata, chief of the Intelligence Service Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP), after apparently realizing that there was no escaping the thousands of lawmen that have converged upon his albeit sprawling headquarters. - Advertisement - Soon after his surrender, the flamboyant religious leader was immediately put aboard a government plane and whisked off to Manila. It was initially thought that Quiboloy would be brought to the ISAFP headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. However, he was brought to nearby headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Camp Crame instead. Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. broke the news of the KOJC leaders being taken into custody via a Facebook post. Nahuli na po si Apollo Quiboloy (Quiboloy has been caught), he said in an online post that was stingy in details. The post came with a photo of a slimmer Quiboloy with an Arab keffiyeh (headgear) around his neck and posing beside his attorney, Israelito Torreon. However, lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, who also represents the preacher, pointed out that his client gave up willingly. Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy, voluntarily surrendered to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, specifically the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces, or ISAFP. He was not arrested, especially not by the Philippine National Police under the DILG. Therefore, it is epal to the highest level for Sec. Abalos to be seemingly taking credit for the non-existent arrest, he said in a statement sent to journalists. In an interview, Police Regional Office-11 director Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III said he never doubted that Quiboloy was still in the KOJC compound despite efforts by the pastors legal counsel and other supporters to suggest otherwise. The reason why it took so long is because of the sheer size of the compound. We had to study it and we learned [the layout of the compound]. I am thankful to Pastor Quiboloy for finally realizing that this was the right thing to do to face the law, said the man who led the 16-day manhunt for the elusive pastor. Meanwhile, Senator Risa Hontiveros said in a statement on Sunday night that Quiboloy will definitely be held accountable for his misdeeds. You cannot outrun the law. You will not further delay justice, she said. The senator has been leading the Senate investigation into the alleged trafficking, violence and sex-related offenses perpetrated by Quiboloy against members of the Kingdom Of Jesus Christ (KOJC). Hontiveros stressed that justice is now within the reach of the victim-survivors. She thanked them for fearlessly coming out and revealing their ordeal in the hands of the pastor. We commend our law enforcement agencies for their tireless efforts and dedication, despite Quiboloys tactics, she said. She said the Senate will continue its investigation to put an end to the abuses on the most vulnerable sector of the society. She noted that Quiboloys days of acting like a king, playing with our laws and abusing women and the youth have ended. The televangelist has an arrest warrant issued by the Senate for his failure to attend the hearings on cases being hurled against him. Simultaneously, Quiboloy is facing charges under Republic Act 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act. He is also facing a non-bailable case for violation of Republic Act No. 9208 or qualified human trafficking, before a Pasig court. Planned downtown Modesto museum to showcase hundreds of iconic dolls. What will be there Inside Look is a Modesto Bee series where we take readers behind the scenes at restaurants, new businesses, local landmarks and news stories. As a child, playing with Barbies inspired her to know that she could be anything she wanted to be. Years later, they have inspired her to open a museum dedicated to the iconic dolls. Lourdes Uranday plans an October opening for the Be Anything Museum (BAM!) in downtown Modesto. The name is a riff on a slogan by toymaker Mattel, You Can Be Anything, for its line of Barbie dolls. Lourdes Uranday, executive director of the Be Anything Museum in Modesto, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Uranday is in the process of setting up the museum space in downtown Modesto featuring her collection of Barbie dolls. Uranday said she got her motivation to be anything playing with Barbies while growing up in Visalia. She was a farm worker and was the first in her family to go to college, attending Fresno State. She has a masters degree in business administration. I was always motivated to do whatever I wanted, said Uranday, who has lived in Modesto for 16 years. Being the youngest of four girls in my family, I always got the dolls (handed down). I got a lot of Barbies and I enjoyed playing with them at the time and (have) enjoyed collecting them as an adult. That collection will be on display at the new museum and features more than 350 dolls that span several decades. Ida B. Wells doll, from the Inspiring Women Barbie doll collection at the Be Anything Museum in Modesto, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. There are Barbies representing a variety of careers, ethnicities and cultures in the collection, Uranday said. Some of Barbies friends and family such as Ken, Midge, cousin Francie and sister Skipper will be on exhibit. She also will display carrying cases and other Barbie items, such as an airplane and a Corvette spawned from the recent Barbie film, an older remote-control Corvette and furniture items. And there will be plenty of clothes, shoes and other accessories. Uranday, 56, started intentionally collecting Barbies when she was about 18 or 19, she said, though some of the items in the exhibit will be those she played with as a child. About her own career While BAM! is a museum, its also a motivational center, she said. Its about how people can be anything (they set out to be). Uranday set her sights on being in the professional world. She worked in human resources at major corporations, including Foster Farms, she said. My career has been over 30 years in human resources ... offering people a job is offering them a career, she said. I had a great career, traveled the world. She has since retired from corporate human resources and is CEO of her business consulting firm, Lourdes Uranday Consulting, and is a human resources consultant and business adviser with Americas SBDC (Small Business Development Center) throughout Northern California. Now shes adding museum executive director to her resume. She has covered most of the spaces funding herself but also has sponsors from the community, she said. The cost to open the nonprofit will be about $20,000, Uranday said, with an annual budget of $80,000. She hopes to raise that money through grants shes applying for, big and small, as well as sponsorships and donations. She has received one start-up grant through the California Association of Museums. It was only $2,500, but that went a long way to get us up and running, Uranday said. There is a board of directors for the museum: President Roman Scanlon, Treasurer Madhu Singh, Ana Andrade, Judy Darner and Terri Isaac. There also are several volunteers to man the museum when it opens. Uranday hopes to ultimately pay them with grant funding, she said. Barbie dolls from the 70s at the Be Anything Museum in Modesto, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. The museum is set for a Modesto Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting and grand opening Oct. 9. Hours are planned to be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. BAM! is at 1111 I St., Suite 105. Patrons should enter through the glass entry in the alley, Uranday said. At the beginning, museum admission will be by donation, but eventually is expected to be $10, with promotions and discounts available. While not yet completed, the website, BeAnythingMuseum.org, is coming soon. Call 209-422-6807 for information, or email BeAnythingMuseum@gmail.com. Uranday also hopes to have schools visit and plans to have silhouettes of Barbie and Ken on which children can draw what they want to be when they grow up, she said. The vast variety of Barbies made by Mattel show children that they can be anything doctor, volleyball player, career woman, Uranday said. And with Latina dolls, Black dolls and dolls from cultures all over the world, there are no limits. I want to help other people be successful, she said. I feel like Ive made it and I want to pass that on to others. Lourdes Uranday, executive director of the Be Anything Museum in Modesto, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Uranday is in the process of setting up the museum space in downtown Modesto featuring her collection of Barbie dolls. Display cases feature Barbie dolls through the decades at the Be Anything Museum in Modesto, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Ken is there with Barbie at the Be Anything Museum in Modesto, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. A man suspected in a domestic violence incident in West St. Paul was killed in a car crash after fleeing police officers early Sunday morning, authorities say. At about 1:43 a.m. Sunday, a 911 caller reported that a 35-year-old man who had "consumed (a) large amount of alcohol and used drugs" was threatening residents and damaging property inside a local home, according to a release from the West St. Paul Police Department. Officers later spotted the suspect's vehicle headed east on Moreland Avenue and Kruse Street, at which time they attempted to pull it over and "arrest the driver for Domestic Assault and other charges." But police say the driver fled them, and a few blocks later, crossed Robert Street and lost control, striking a power pole and two parked cars in a driveway: The suspect was ejected from the vehicle, and ultimately pronounced dead at the scene. The man has not been identified, nor have any other details about the case been released. West St. Paul police say they've asked the neighboring Mendota Heights Police Department to investigate the crash, while the Minnesota State Patrol is conducting a crash reconstruction investigation. Note: The details provided in this story are based on law enforcements latest version of events, and may be subject to change. This embedded content is not available in your region. PD: Woman dead, suspect in custody after shooting in Wyoming WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) A woman is dead and a suspect is in custody after a shooting in Wyoming Sunday afternoon, according to police. Around 12:40 p.m., the Wyoming Police Department were called to Blue Bird Avenue near 36th Street for a report of a shooting. Officers arrived to find a 25-year-old Wyoming woman who had been shot multiple times. She was taken to the hospital but later died from her injuries, according to police. A suspect is in custody but police did not release that persons name. Wyoming police detectives and forensic services unit are investigating to figure out what led up to the shooting. This embedded content is not available in your region. Anyone with information should call Wyoming Police Detectives at 616.530.7300 or Silent Observer at 616.774.2345. 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 WOODTV.com. KANSAS CITY, Mo. The Kansas City Police Department has launched a homicide investigation after a person was found dead inside a home following a house fire earlier this week. According to KCPD, on Friday, Sept. 6, officers and crews with the Kansas City Fire Department were dispatched to the 5700 block of Bales. 17-year-old to stand trial for deadly shooting of Kansas City man Upon arrival, KCPD and KCFD found a person dead inside. Detectives, including Bomb and Arson, were then called to the scene to investigate the death, which they said was common in the case of a fatal fire. However, preliminary investigations revealed that the circumstances surrounding the death were suspicious in nature, and a cause of death could only be determined following further examinations from the Medical Examiners Office. On Sunday morning, police said that the examination concluded that the death was a homicide and that the KCPD Homicide Unit would follow through with investigations. Police investigating potentially connected deadly shooting, crash in KC The circumstances leading up to the fire and the death of the victim are all still under investigation. The cause of death is not available at this time, KCPD said. Homicide detectives will be working with the Medical Examiners Office to determine the Victims identification. It is anticipated that a confirmed victim ID could be significantly delayed. If you or anyone you know has information regarding this case, police ask that you contact homicide detectives directly at (816) 234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-8477. 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 FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. Manhunt under way after multiple vehicles shot at on Kentucky highway A manhunt continues for a second day in the US state of Kentucky after a number of people were shot on a highway near the city of London on Saturday. Police believe the attacker is somewhere in a remote and rugged area about 9 miles (14km) from the city of London in south-eastern Kentucky, authorities said on Sunday afternoon. Authorities have named Joseph A Couch, 32, from Woodbine in Kentucky, as a person of interest and say he is considered armed and dangerous. The incident began at about 17:30 local time (21:30 GMT). Police arrived and found nine vehicles had been shot into, near Interstate 75. Thirty-two-year-old Joseph A Couch has been named by police as a person of interest [Laurel County Sheriff's Office] Officers say shots were fired into vehicles travelling in both directions along the highway. The I75 was closed for several hours because of the danger to passing cars. Five people were shot and some maintained very serious injuries, officials said, including one person who was shot in the face. All were in stable condition as of Sunday morning. The Laurel County Sheriffs office is coordinating a ground search, and authorities were using a drone to assist. Officials said the woods in the area are thick and the search is slow-going. "That's probably one of the most remote exits on I-75," Deputy Gilbert Acciardo of the Lauren County Sheriffs office said during a Sunday afternoon briefing. "It's a big task. We want to get him before it gets dark again." Police found an assault-style firearm in the area on Sunday they believe was used by the gunman. Mr Couch's vehicle, a small silver SUV, was also found on Saturday night. There was a gun case inside but no weapon, according to officials. According to local media, shots may have been fired from a wooded area near to the highway, or from an overpass. Authorities had rushed to lock down the scene when they first arrived Saturday evening, Mr Acciardo said earlier on Sunday, according to the Associated Press. When our first two units got to the scene there, they said it was a madhouse, he said. People on the sides of the road, emergency flashers going, bullet holes, windows shot out, nine vehicles shot, he said. Can you imagine that? Just chaotic. Police said they have not yet determined a motive for the shooting. London, Kentucky's mayor, Randall Weddle, asked residents to be cautious and keep your doors locked, but said they were in no immediate danger. If youre out and about, just be vigilant, he said in a social media video posted on Saturday night. The town of London, near the site of the highway shootings, has about 8,000 residents and is near the Daniel Boone National Forest. Mr Weddle on Saturday night described the search area as having rugged terrain. Speaking to CNN, Christina DiNoto, who was driving on the I-75 with a friend at the time of the shooting, said "it was like a rock went through my back window", hurting her ear. "We looked at each other and we were like, 'Was that a gunshot?' And then were like, 'No, that wasnt a gunshot.'" She said it was only an hour and a half later they learnt that there had been a shooting. Kentucky's Governor Andy Beshear wrote on social media that the area should be avoided, and urged the public to "pray for everyone involved". The Fishergate entrance to Preston Station was temporarily closed [Google] A police officer and rail worker were assaulted at a railway station, leading to partial closures as people were leaving the BBC Radio 2 in the Park music festival. The attack, described as an "isolated incident", happened at about 21:30 BST on Saturday at Preston station, British Transport Police said. A man aged in his 50s was arrested and officers said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the assault. The officers condition was not life-threatening while the rail worker suffered minor injuries. About 70,000 people are thought to have attended the three-day festival at the city's Moor Park, which included performances by Sting, Sugababes and Manic Street Preachers. Officers briefly closed the stations Fishergate entrance as people tried to catch trains after the leaving the event, which ends later. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk Isla Bryson, who was convicted of raping two women while living as a man, was initially sent to a womens prison - Mike Gibbons Police Scotland allows rapists to self-identify as women, the force has told a Holyrood inquiry. A Scottish Parliament committee asked the force for clarification of how it records the sex of people who are charged or convicted of rape or attempted rape. Police Scotland replied that the sex or gender identification of anyone who comes into contact with the force would be based on how they present or how they self-declare. No evidence or documentary proof of biological sex would normally be required other than a persons self-declaration, the force said. Police Scotland said the only exceptions would be if their biological sex was pertinent to any investigation with which they are linked as a victim, witness or accused, or there needed to be further inquiry based on risk. The force said allowing people to self-identify their gender was consistent with the values of the organisation and the values of respect, integrity, fairness and human rights whilst promoting a strong sense of belonging. But feminist organisations told the Herald on Sunday that the response was offensive and represented a gross insult to all women. The row follows the high-profile case of Isla Bryson, who was convicted of raping two women while living as a man, Adam Graham. The predator was initially sent to a womens prison, prompting a public uproar that saw the rapist move to the male prison estate. There have been many protests in Scotland against men being housed in female prisons - Iain Masterton / Alamy Live News Although Bryson had not legally changed gender, Scottish Prison Service (SPS) guidance at the time stated that trans criminals should be sent to a jail that matched the self-identified gender that they were living in before their conviction. The Scottish Parliaments citizen participation and public petitions committee received a petition three years ago from policy analysis group Murray Blackburn Mackenzie (MBM) calling for action on how peoples sex is recorded in the justice system. It said that Holyrood should urge the SNP government to require Police Scotland, the Crown Office and the Scottish Court Service to accurately record the sex of people charged or convicted of rape or attempted rape. As rape is defined in law as involving penetration by a penis without consent, the group warned that allowing men to identify as women would skew official crime figures. It argued that recording sex accurately in these cases matters for data accuracy and trust in official statistics, public policy, media reporting, research, and for trust in public bodies. MSPs have since taken evidence on the issue from Police Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service and the Lord Advocate. In January this year, the committee wrote to the force to seek a clear explanation of how its policy on recording the sex of perpetrators of crimes aligns to the organisations values. Police Scotlands reply was sent in March but was only seen by the petitioners last week. Simply inexplicable Lisa McKenzie, of MBM, told the Herald on Sunday: Current policy means that men accused or charged with rape or any other sexual offences can be recorded as women. For Police Scotland to claim that this policy fosters a strong sense of belonging is deeply offensive. It suggests an organisation that does not take the interests of women seriously. That Police Scotland hope to record people as neither male nor female is simply inexplicable for an organisation that deals with sex-based offending and victimisation on a daily basis. A spokeswoman for For Women Scotland, a feminist group that opposes self-ID, said: This is a gross insult to all women who are being told, without irony, that some of the most violent men in society want to belong to the sex class they target and that we have to accommodate them at any cost and affirm their delusions. A Police Scotland spokesman said: The sex/gender identification of individuals who come into contact with the police will be based on how they present or how they self-declare, which is consistent with the values of the organisation. Police Scotland requires no evidence or certification as proof of biological sex or gender identity other than a persons self-declaration unless it is pertinent to any investigation with which they are linked as a victim, witness or accused and it is evidentially critical that we legally require this proof, or there is reason for further enquiry based on risk. We would look for the most sensitive way to acquire this information. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Police searching for Kansas City man who has been missing since Tuesday, frequents parks Kansas City Police are seeking the publics help in locating a missing 25-year-old man. A photo of Derius Bolden. Derius Bolden was last seen Tuesday around 3 p.m. in the area surrounding Mill Creek Park and Saint Lukes Hospital, near W. 45th Street and Wornall Road leaving St. Lukes hospital wearing a multi-colored tie dye hoodie and green shorts, according to Jake Becchina, spokesperson for the Kansas City Police Department. Bolden is 5 feet 7 inches with black hair, a beard and brown eyes. He frequently visits Mill Creek Park and Loose Park, Becchina said. His family is worried about his safety. Police are asking anyone who sees him to contact the missing persons unit at 816-234-5043. MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. Authorities are investigating after shots were fired Saturday evening near a Maryland Heights church carnival. The Maryland Heights Police Department reports that no one was injured and that four people are in custody after the shots fired. Police say that shots rang out at a park across the street from the Holy Spirit Catholic Church Carnival around 9:30 p.m. Witnesses at the carnival saw the fighting and said people started running after the shots rang out. And I saw two girls start fighting and I was like, Oh, gosh, and then they started shooting and then she made us run inside and we all went to the basement, said a witness. It was like a bunch of girls fighting and after they started fighting we saw cops and they had pepper spray so we ran, another witness said. We were just scared to come up here because we saw people start coming towards us, we didnt know what was going on, said witness Dylan Noble. The Maryland Heights Police Department shared just after 11 p.m. Saturday via Facebook, We want to assure everyone, that there is no danger to our community regarding the incidents that took place on or near the Holy Spirit Carnival. Police say a decision was made to shut down the carnival for the night around 9 p.m. due to a large crowd and multiple fights. Maryland Heights police requests support from several nearby agencies to help with crowd control and getting people out of the area. Police responded swiftly after learning of gunfire, leading to four people of unknown ages in custody. The safety of our community is always our top priority, and we remain committed to keeping our community safe, said Maryland Heights police in a Facebook post. The Holy Spirit Catholic Church is located at 3130 Parkwood Lane. Saturday was the second night of an annual carnival event. Additional details are limited at this time. FOX 2 will update as more information becomes available. 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 FOX 2. Police found a car and a gun belonging to the man suspected of shooting five people along Interstate 75 in Southern Kentucky on Saturday, but they had not found the alleged shooter by the time they suspended their search at nightfall Sunday. Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, spokesman for the Laurel County Sheriffs Office, said Sunday that police found a silver Toyota registered to 32-year-old Joseph Couch near the interstate on Saturday night, establishing Couch as a person of interest in the shootings. The car was parked atop a hill on a U.S. Forest Service Road near interstate Exit 49, the site of the shootings about nine miles north of London. Police found a rifle case in the car. Early Sunday afternoon, in the same area, police found an AR-15 assault-style rifle they believe was used in the shootings. Police said Sunday night Couch had bought the gun legally at a store in London Saturday morning, a few hours before the shooting, along with 1,000 rounds of ammunition. Police recovered most of the ammunition at the site of the shooting, according to Richard Dalrymple, the lead investigator for the sheriffs office. Acciardo said authorities dont know why the suspect ditched the gun, and they dont know if he has more guns. Police also found a cell phone they believe was Couchs, but the battery had been removed. Acciardo said investigators think Couch spent Saturday night in the woods of north Laurel County and was still there throughout Sunday. The search was slow-going because of the rugged terrain and thick woods, he said. He couldnt have picked an area thats any more difficult and remote for us to try to find him, Acciardo said. Couch is suspected of opening fire on motorists on both sides of I-75 from a ledge on a cliff that overlooks the interstate around 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Police first said nine vehicles were hit, but later said some motorists didnt realize their vehicles had been hit until they got home. Police said Sunday the shooter hit 12 vehicles. Five people were seriously hurt, but police said none of them suffered life-threatening injuries. I cant stress (enough) how chaotic this was, Acciardo said of the scene when first responders arrived, with glass shot out of cars and people bleeding. The Laurel County Sheriffs Office said Joseph A. Couch, 32, is a person of interest in a shooting that occurred near Interstate 75 in the Exit 49/Ky. 909 area Saturday night. Police said Couch should be considered armed and dangerous, and they encouraged people to call 911 if they see him. Police said Couch did not seem to be targeting specific people on the interstate, and they have not established a motive. Couch appeared to pick that spot for an attack because of the wooded areas around it, Acciardo said. The sheriff said theyve been bombarded with tips about Couch, but he noted thats a good thing. He also said Couchs family is cooperating with investigators. Police continue to search in Laurel County for Joseph Couch, described as a person of interest in shootings that injured five people along Interstate 75 Saturday evening. Almost 20 miles of the interstate, between Mt. Vernon and London, were shut down for about three hours Saturday night as police searched for Couch. The interstate remained open on Sunday, but Exit 49 and some side roads were closed. Acciardo urged people to remain vigilant and avoid the area. Four of the shooting victims were traveling on I-75 from out of the state. The other, 28-year-old Harlan County resident Rebecca Puryear, told the Herald-Leader she was driving with her husband and young son when she was shot in the arm and chest. Puryear said she thought the shot came from a hillside overlooking the interstate. Sunday 5 p.m. news conference Officials held several news conferences to provide updates on developments Sunday, including one at 5 p.m. London Mayor Randall Weddle described the incident as a shock and said some businesses closed and churches canceled services Sunday because the shooter remained at-large. Scared. Frustrated, Weddle said of public reaction in London. They want this individual found. Acciardo said about 40 to 50 officials from local, state and federal agencies are helping with the search, including the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Sunday 7 p.m. news conference As dusk fell, Acciardo said officers were still looking for Couch but would suspend the search at dark because of the potential danger to officers. Police had not found any further evidence, but believed Couch was still in the woods near the interstate exit where the shootings happened. Officers would stay overnight in the woods, as they did Saturday night, to ensure Couch didnt get out of the area, he said. Were gonna continue to contain the area, he said. Acciardo said police would continue focusing their search in that area unless they received a credible tip about him being elsewhere. He said police had checked out tips throughout the day Sunday about Couch being in other places. Those tips didnt pan out, but are an indication that the public wants to help police catch the gunman, he said. Acciardo said he had no information about whether the alleged shooter was having a mental-health crisis when he randomly fired into vehicles, but he said its legitimate to wonder why someone would do that. A normal person doesnt do this, he said. Sunday 9 p.m. update In addition to confirming Couch had bought the gun the same day as the shooting, authorities confirmed that Couch had military experience, serving at least four years in the National Guard in an engineer battalion. Master Trooper Scottie Pennington, a Kentucky State Police spokesman, said the agency had called in troopers from other areas of the state to help look for Couch. He described the area being searched as a jungle, where officers need machetes to cut through some thickets. Laurel County Sheriff John Root and other officers said they would not stop searching until they catch Couch or find that he killed himself in the woods, which they raised as a possibility. Were not gonna quit until we lay hands on him, Root said. Schools respond Acciardo said schools in Laurel County and East Bernstadt, an independent district in the county, had decided to close Monday because the gunman was still at large. Schools systems in Knox County, Clay County and Rockcastle County also announced they would be closed Monday. Jackson County Schools officials said in a Sunday post that they were also monitoring the situation. Beshear discusses shooting Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear discussed the shooting Sunday afternoon at the opening of the Lexington SC Stadium. I want to thank the multiple different law enforcement groups that are there, that worked throughout the night and are working now to try to make sure that the area is safe, Beshear said. Somethings got to change. We have to do better. You shouldnt be scared going to school or driving to work. Activist groups weigh in Kentucky chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both a part of Everytown for Gun Safety, a group that advocates for stricter gun control laws, called for an end to gun violence in the commonwealth in a joint press release on Sunday. With the 14th-highest rate of gun deaths of any state in the nation, Kentucky sees an average of 827 gun deaths every year, according to the release. We know that senseless gun violence has no place in our communities, but time and time again, our lawmakers would rather offer thoughts and prayers than actually take action to keep them off our streets. How many more times do our communities have to be torn apart before our lawmakers do something about this? said Cathy Hobart, a volunteer with the Kentucky chapter of Moms Demand Action, said in the release. Alexander Hones, a volunteer student with the Kentucky chapter of Students Demand Action and a student at Dupont Manual, said his generation refuses to accept that gun violence is unavoidable. Just days ago, students like me in Georgia were ducking for their lives under desks when they should have been focusing on learning, Jones said. Now were forced to do the same thing in our cars. When will this end? Cameron Drummond of the Herald-Leader contributed to this report. The governments of the Philippines and Indonesia have agreed to institutionalize cooperation between their police forces, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said over the weekend. DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr. said this developed following the high-profile arrest of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, who was hiding in Indonesia. What happened in Indonesia, you know Alice Guo, is just one case. But there are a lot of other criminals that can go through this path. So, we talked to the Indonesian policewhat we did like this, police-to-police, its going to be institutionalized. This is a cooperation, we will work together, Abalos said in a news forum in Quezon City on Saturday. Abalos said an exchange of information and operations between the Philippines and Indonesia will be facilitated. They (Indonesians) are also in trouble. They have a large border in the water. We (the Philippines) have a large border in the water and we have few boats. We have very few helicopters to patrol. So, there will be a conversation, exchange of information, exchange of operations. Thats what we agreed on, the DILG chief added. Guo was arrested earlier this week in a townhouse in Tangerang City, Indonesia. She was brought back to the Philippines early Friday via a private plane. Following her capture, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on Friday said he expects the disgraced former mayor to explain how the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) became a large criminal enterprise in her home turf. The President also said Guo has to explain how she got elected and accumulated a significant amount of wealth. In the same forum, Abalos also acknowledged that illegal drugs and smuggling were a common enemy for both the Philippines and Indonesia. - Advertisement - This will be the start of something big because we have common enemies. Number one, the [illegal] drugs, and number two, smuggling in that area, and more. We have been told that there are other operations that may be going through the Philippines. I just wont mention it. So, we have common enemies as far as we are concernedcriminal activities and the criminals themselves, he said. Police want to identify 2 men accused of stealing credit cards in Henry County Henry County police are asking for the publics help in identifying two men suspected of stealing credit cards. On September 2, 2024, the men shattered the rear passenger window of the victims vehicle on the 3000 block of Baylor Circle. Police say they stole credit cards from the vehicle. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Later that morning, the man wearing the gray sweatpants used the victims credit card to pay for an apple juice. Both men are wanted for questioning. If you recognize them, please call Detective Gairy at 770-288-8496 or the Henry County non-emergency dispatch at 770-957-9121. TRENDING STORIES: [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: Statement: A zero-tolerance policy during the Trump administration "led to less family separation than under Kamala Harris' border policies. Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, defended former President Donald Trumps immigration record during an appearance on NBC and pointed instead at the Biden-Harris administrations record. NBCs "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker asked Vance whether families would be separated under a mass deportation program if Trump were reelected. Vance said, "You start with the most violent criminals in our country," and then claimed Harris' policies have led to thousands of migrant children living with sex traffickers and drug cartels instead of their families. "There was a zero-tolerance policy during the Trump administration, and that led to less family separation than under Kamala Harris' border policies," Vance said Aug. 25. "That's what's so striking about this. Actually enforcing our border is the most humane thing, for children and certainly for American citizens." Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance deflected a question about the Trump administration's separation of children from their parents at the border by referencing children who arrive alone at the border. "Family separation" and "child separation" are not legal terms. They have generally been used to refer to the Trump administration practice of having immigration officials systematically separate children from their parents at the U.S. border to deter illegal border crossings. When contacted for evidence to support Vances statement, the Trump campaign pointed us to data and information about children who crossed the border alone during the Biden-Harris administration. These examples are not equivalent. The Trump administration zero-tolerance policy meant that U.S. immigration officials separated children and parents who arrived at the border together. The children the Trump campaign is referring to did not come with parents or other relatives. Children separated from their parents are "a completely different situation," said Peter Margulies, an immigration law professor at Roger Williams University School of Law. Unaccompanied children have "nothing to do with kids who arrive with their parents. It's like apples and oranges." Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, speaks during the third day of the Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum. The third day of the RNC focused on foreign policy and threats. The Trump administrations family separation policy Typically, a child and an adult who arrive together at the U.S. border can be separated when: Border officials cannot establish the custodial relationship. Officials believe the custodian may threaten the child. The custodian is being detained for prosecution. Immigration experts told us in 2019 that family separations were rare during the Obama administration and preceding administrations and did not happen on the same scale as under the Trump administration. The controversial family separations during Trumps tenure happened because of an April 2018 policy introduced by Trumps then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Sessions said an "escalated effort" was necessary at the southwest border and directed the application of the "zero-tolerance" policy to prosecute all adults illegally entering the United States. That meant that the Trump administration referred for prosecution all adult immigrants who illegally entered the country, even if they arrived with their children. When border officials referred parents for prosecution, their children were taken from them and placed in U.S. Health and Human Services Department custody. Amid growing criticism of family separations in public opinion surveys and by some Republicans, Trump issued a June 2018 executive order to detain families together when they arrived at the border if the parents faced prosecution. The executive order said the administrations policy would be to "maintain family unity." The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Trump administration over the zero-tolerance policy. In December 2023, as part of a settlement, a federal judge prohibited the separation of families at the border for deterrence. Lee Gelernt, lead ACLU counsel, told PolitiFact that more than 5,500 children were separated from their parents at the border during the Trump administration. President Joe Biden rescinded the Trump era policy and issued a February 2021 executive order to establish a task force to reunite separated children and their families. The ACLU told us in August that up to 1,000 children have not yet been reunited with their parents. Unaccompanied children not the same as children separated from parents To support Vances claim, the Trump campaign pointed us to monthly data about unaccompanied children encountered by border officials during the Biden administration, including more than 6,000 encounters in July. The Trump campaign also pointed to an Aug. 19 Homeland Security Department office of inspector general report about unaccompanied minors released from federal custody. The report led Republican lawmakers and conservative news outlets to say that Immigration and Customs Enforcement "lost" the children or that they are "missing." But the report does not mention children "separated" from their families at the border. The inspector general found that ICE transferred more than 448,000 unaccompanied children to Health and Human Services custody from fiscal years 2019 to 2023 (which includes about two years of Trumps administration). The inspector general report said ICE reported there were more than 32,000 unaccompanied minors who did not appear for their immigration court hearings during this period and that children "who do not appear for court are considered at higher risk for trafficking, exploitation, or forced labor." But immigration experts told us that the Trump-Vance campaign is conflating unaccompanied minors with children separated at the border. The inspector generals report "is entirely about unaccompanied children, which by definition means they arrived at the border unaccompanied by a parent or other legal guardian," said Theo Liebmann, a Hofstra University law professor who has represented immigrants. "So it is not possible for the report to be speaking to any separation of children from their parents by border personnel." Trump policy was unique Immigration experts said the Trump policy was one of a kind. "To our knowledge, zero tolerance is the only policy that affirmatively resulted in the separation of children from their parents," said Michelle Mittelstadt, a spokesperson at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan organization focused on immigration. When parents in other countries send their children to cross the U.S. border alone, they are choosing to separate themselves in their home country. Thats different from family separation by U.S. border enforcement. "The former is a problem of U.S. law generally, while the latter was a problem caused by Trump administration policies, such as prosecuting adult border crossers and placing their children with other adults," Margulies said. Policymakers from both political parties argue that federal laws that provide legal rights for unaccompanied children encourage parents to permit their children to travel alone to the U.S. Poverty, violence and climate change have led some children to leave their home countries in search of jobs in the U.S. "But that's family separation at the source, not at the border," Margulies said. PolitiFact's ruling Vance said, "There was a zero-tolerance policy during the Trump administration, and that led to less family separation than under Kamala Harris' border policies." The terms "family separation" and "child separation" have generally described the Trump administration practice of having immigration officials separate children from their parents at the U.S. border to deter illegal crossings. Immigration experts said Trumps policy was an outlier in recent decades among Republican and Democratic administrations. The policy caused the separation of 5,500 children from their parents at the U.S. border, according to the ACLU. The Trump-Vance campaign did not point to a Biden-Harris policy that lets border officials separate children from their families. The campaign referred us to data about children who arrived in the U.S. alone. But these examples are not equivalent. Unaccompanied children arrive at the border without a parent a choice they or their families make before proceeding to the U.S. alone. We rate this statement False. Our sources This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: JD Vances faulty comparison of Trump, Harris on family separation US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at the Enmarket Arena in Savannah. Brian Cahn/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa A bit more than 48 hours before Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump battle it out for the first time on a Philadelphia debate stage, a new poll shows the two opponents essentially neck and neck. But the poll, conducted by the New York Times and Sienna College and released on Sunday, set off some warning signs for Harris, including that 71% said they know what they need to know about her, compared to 90% for Trump. The two face each other in a debate hosted by the ABC television network on Tuesday at 9 pm (0100 GMT). Overall the survey of likely voters showed Trump with 48% compared to Harris with 47%. Looking at all registered voters, Harris is at 46% and Trump at 48 %, which is within the 3% margin of error. The newspaper noted that while Trump has had a tough month following US President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the race, his support is remarkably stable. But that these results show that support for Trump has not dwindled should be a warning sign to Harris, the paper suggested. TV debate will be a test for Harris In the run-up to the presidential election on November 5, just about every new poll makes headlines in the United States. The current poll is being watched particularly closely because it shows a lead for Trump in a major non-partisan national poll for the first time in around a month. However, it is impossible to say for certain at this stage whether support for Harris has faltered or if the hype surrounding her has died down since she entered the race - or both. More polls are needed for that. Polls with limited significance An analysis by US broadcaster CNN of several polls conducted since the Democratic Party convention in August also shows a close race between 59-year-old Harris and 78-year-old Trump, with no clear frontrunner. According to these polls, Harris has 49% support, while Trump has 47%. In the complicated US electoral system, national surveys are just one barometer of public opinion. Most observers are focusing on the so-called swing states, which include Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and a handful of others. The two candidates are roughly tied in these key electorates. This week, Portugal delivered the last Ka-32 helicopter of the six it committed to provide to Ukraine in October 2022. Source: European Pravda; Portuguese newspaper Diario de Noticias Details: Portugal's Defence Ministry stated that the sixth Ka-32 helicopter left for Ukraine on Friday, 6 September. Back in October 2022, Helena Carreiras, former Portuguese Defence Minister, announced the transfer of six helicopters to Kyiv. They were purchased by the Portuguese Interior Ministry in 2006. Carreiras explained that following the introduction of sanctions against Russia, the country could no longer operate Russian-made Ka-32s, and moreover, one of them had broken down in an accident. However, as of November 2023, the helicopters remained in Portugal. Lisbon stated at the time that they were awaiting "instructions from the Ukrainian side on the next steps to be taken" for the transfer process. The problematic issues were resolved under the new Portuguese government headed by Luis Montenegro. Background: Ukraine and Portugal signed a security agreement in May. Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro announced at the NATO summit in Washington in July that Lisbon intends to raise the amount of its military assistance to Ukraine to 220 million this year. Support UP or become our patron! Portugal is advocating for Ukraine's entry into the European Union and is urging the EU to start preparing for this possibility, Bloomberg reports. Portugal's foreign minister, Paulo Rangel, stated that the country is deeply engaged in the EU enlargement process during an interview at the Forum Ambrosetti, a conference taking place by Lake Como in northern Italy. He also said that Ukraine's potential membership will require financial and institutional reforms that need to be addressed now. Rangel has been a strong supporter of Ukraine, previously stating that the EU must stay committed to its policy that any discussions about ending the war in Ukraine should be led by the government in Kyiv. "We will never abdicate from respecting the United Nations charter, the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine," Portugal's Rangel said. "If we set the precedent that a state can use force to change internationally recognized borders, we will create conditions for multiplying conflicts globally." Read also: Ukraines not asking for anything more than you already have, Zelensky says in Italy Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Portugal is actively lobbying for Ukraine's membership of the European Union and is urging the bloc to begin preparations for the countrys potential accession, according to a Bloomberg report. Source: Bloomberg, citing Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti Forum conference in Italy Quote: "We are very engaged in the enlargement process. We need to prepare to receive Ukraine in the EU when thats possible." Details: Rangel noted that this process "will require a financial and institutional reform that we [the EU] should take care of immediately". As for the Ukrainian operation in Russia's Kursk Oblast, the Portuguese foreign minister stated that it "clearly changed the perception of the balance of the war" and called for negotiations on the peace process. He believes the Ukrainian authorities should lead these talks. Background: During his visit to Italy, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Support UP or become our patron! Live in a home governed by a condominium, co-op or homeowner's association? Have questions about what they can and cannot do? Ryan Poliakoff, an attorney and author based in Boca Raton, has answers. Question: Our condominium has been condemned because of structural damage that, to quote the receiver, go[es] back to the original construction of the buildings, but that was not known until we did our in-depth investigation since my appointment. I am at a loss as to how this building inspection was passed when I wanted to put up hurricane shutters and was required to get a permit and inspection done. The residents are required to vacate with only a months notice. Signed, D.M. Dear D.M., Im sorry to hear that you are going through this. The inspection that you had when you put up hurricane shutters had nothing to do with the issues that are now being discovered in your building. That inspection was simply to verify that your shutters were installed properly, and not that the entire building was sound. Floridas legislature has mandated that all condominium and cooperative buildings that are three stories or more in height must conduct a milestone inspection. This is a structural inspection of the building to determine whether it is safe to live in. A number of these inspections have uncovered serious structural issues that compromise the safety of the building and that have resulted in buildings being evacuated. As you know, these laws were passed in response to the Surfside tragedy (when a condominium tower collapsed due to structural defects), and so it was anticipated that the program would uncover some buildings that needed to be shut down. The bigger question is how your building got to this point, and why, if some defects go back to the original construction, they were not uncovered at that time. My best guess is that you live in an older property, and the post-development investigations that were done 40 or 50 years ago were less thorough than those conducted today. And, if you are like many older buildings where the residents have aged in place, your boards may not have committed themselves to spending the millions of dollars that would have been required over the years to not only properly maintain the building structure, but also that might have uncovered these defects before they became catastrophic. Has your building waived collecting reserve funds for its entire history? When your board suggested from time to time that the concrete needed to be restored, or that the building needed to be inspected, did owners scream at the board that they couldnt afford the expense, and that the building was just fine as it was? I see these kinds of arguments regularly, and these are some of the things that may have led you to where you are today. I have heard owners attack boards for spending money on necessary maintenance, arguing that the building was constructed so well that the repairs were a waste of time, and that the building was designed to last 100 years. The hostility expressed towards maintaining and repairing condominiums is significant, and boards are placed in an extremely tough situation. The legislature has now changed that equation by mandating the collection of most reserves and imposing inspection and repair requirements though as you have found those mandates come too late for some properties. Late on your HOA fees, can they cut off your internet, cable? Question: Our HOA fees include internet and cable. If residents fall behind on their HOA payments, does the board have the ability to turn off their internet and cable until their account is current? Would this depend on the amount of time they have been delinquent? Signed, E.V. Dear E.V., The HOA Act, like the Condominium and Cooperative Acts, provides that if an owner is more than 90 days delinquent, the association may suspend their right (and the right of their tenants, guests, or invitees) to use common areas and facilities until the monetary obligation is paid in full. However, it also says this subsection does not apply to that portion of common areas used to provide access or utility services to the parcel. So, the question becomes, is internet or cable a utility such that you cant suspend access? The statute never defines the term, so its not clear. You can imagine that the legislature wanted to prevent HOAs from effectively evicting people from their homes by turning off their electricity or water but people can certainly live without cable TV or internet (particularly with advances in smartphones and cellular networks). I can tell you that, while this remains an open question as far as Im aware, many of my clients do shut off cable and internet pursuant to these sections, and I have never faced a legal challenge as a result. The bigger barrier is that not every cable company is willing to play ball and shut off access, because they make money off all the additional services the owner may be paying for (such as faster internet, additional channels or pay per view content). Ryan Poliakoff, a partner at Poliakoff Backer, LLP, is a Board Certified specialist in condominium and planned development law. This column is dedicated to the memory of Gary Poliakoff. Ryan Poliakoff and Gary Poliakoff are co-authors of "New Neighborhoods The Consumers Guide to Condominium, Co-Op and HOA Living." Email your questions to condocolumn@gmail.com. Please be sure to include your location. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Legal expert on Palm Beach County condo condemnation, eviction notice Native Vote 2024. Going into 2024s election-cycle hubs for U.S. political power showed me the enchantment in New Mexico is unmatched. Nothing like leaving to make you love where youre from. A throughline between Wisconsin and Illinois is how fast and easy it is to get a good cheeseburger. They do need a little green chile up there to make the hamburger stands better. And hot take: Pizza is pizza is pizza. If it doesnt have green chile, it is not great pizza. Go ahead and @ me. Never miss Indian Countrys biggest stories and breaking news. Click here to sign up to get our reporting sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Waiting in lines to get on the floors of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and then, a couple of weeks later, at the Democratic one in Chicago, my thoughts kept turning to home, where were trying to sort out new ideas and fixes for problems we carry uniquely, but that are still tied to greater issues in the United States. [Editor's Note: This article was first publihsed by Source New Mexico. Used with permission. All rights reserved.] Many people nationally are working every day on access to clean water, good schools and safe, clean streets. Delegates from both political parties and elected leaders spoke to these issues with a more recent lens. In New Mexico, these are long-standing problems weve been patching up incrementally, sometimes going back years before New Mexico was taken over by the United States. Water Wars In regards to the environment, Republicans voiced loud support for extraction. Drill, baby, drill, former President Donald Trump said in his nomination speech. Democrats did speak to energy, too, while trying to at least say that clean air and water are necessary. Former President Barack Obama caught my attention during his speech when I heard the word clean followed by air and water. I had to take a picture of the teleprompter to just remind myself it happened. Days later, images from back home of the San Juan Generating Station coal stacks being demolished after decades of polluting this regions air, water and healthy existence reminded me that Obama-administration policies on coal are fragile. Coming from New Mexico, water abundance up north is so present, its in the air. The humidity can be tasted at times. The Great Lakes region (the name doesnt lie) has rivers, lakes and their rivers dump into their lakes, I thought as I constantly walked from where I stayed to my work covering the conventions. A little mud from a Bosque walk off Isleta Boulevard before I left somehow stayed on my sole. It mustve wanted to be on that Milwaukee concrete. On my first night staying at a colleagues house, I went for a glass of water. Confused on where to get it, only seeing the tap, I had to ask: can I drink from the kitchen tap? My host looked surprised, until I mentioned that the aquifer where I live has a history of contamination and my family in Zuni Pueblo cannot drink water from the tap. So I remind everyone that it took us fighting for an act of Congress to hopefully get us closer to the comfort others take for granted to just drink from the tap in their kitchen. Its just part of our New Mexico existence that were told to not drink the tap water. My host assured me that wasnt a problem there, but it was nearby. So the water issues we experience are at least peripherally present for others even with the rivers and the lakes, and the rivers that go into the lakes. It was a regular conversation between Milwaukee and Chicago, where bragging who has the better tasting tap water is like our Chile Verde Wars. Its all subjective and very privileged. Quality Education The entire reason for the assignment became a lesson on Native American history, both contemporary and pre-colonization. I was there with a team of Indigenous journalists, and each day we summoned the class. Outside of the 12 radio shows we did between the RNC and DNC, the crew answered all questions like it was a freshman seminar in American Indian studies at the University of New Mexico. Really, we were giving lessons Native American children are learning at home and, in some places in New Mexico, at preschool and elementary schools across the state. Not only is that unique since so many people do not know our history or that Native people are still here the politicians we were speaking with often said they would support expanding curriculum to their public schools. Suddenly we were talking about the culturally relevant curriculum and New Mexico public education reform mandate. Many at both conventions were surprised by the model. Sovereignty was a throughline to discussions of freedom. Every person not Native at both conventions had no idea about sovereignty, but could talk freedom. And when someone finally understood that sovereignty comes with terms, namely total approval by the federal government, they could see the limitations to their freedoms. This conversation with U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wisconsin) struck a nerve because he said he understood the perspective from his time as a medical professional for the Indian Health Services at the hospital in Shiprock. He connected the struggles for working with that system to economic sovereignty for tribes, like the Lac Courte Oreilles Band that he represents in Congress. A few weeks later, on the last night of the DNC in Chicago, a Laguna Pueblo person from New Mexico took the stage and gave a Keres introduction. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland kept up the principles of education for a television audience. Most directly, she took it to two Laguna Pueblo people working up in media row covering her speech. When Haaland asked how people at the convention were doing with the Keres phrase, Guwhatzi, my co-host for the radio show Shawn Spruce immediately responded in the way we as Pueblo people are taught. He said in Keres that he is doing fine. As I wrote the article, I asked Spruce if it was appropriate to write out the phrase. He said yes. Then he helped me spell it as best we could to share it with the Source NM audience. He gave me a Keres lesson a language I am actively trying to learn. When we published the article, we got several comments from readers acknowledging that Pueblo journalists are covering Pueblo politicians, which is as it should be. It felt enchanting. I could feel my uncles, my grandparents, a language they were told not to speak and struggled to pass on. I knew they heard it. I could feel their voice come out of me. And that is why we went to Milwaukee and Chicago. We needed Native voices to be heard Native issues to be reported on by our people. That is why we put so much stress on ourselves, our families and our co-workers back home. The support we needed was always at home. And we did it, is what I told my mom. Whats Safe? Before the J.D. Vance nomination speech at the RNC, the sounds of passive, angry, violent chants from the Fiserv Forum that hit the Republican talking points on immigration followed me outside of the Panther Arena where we interviewed GOP members of Congress earlier in the day. I had finished my job at that point. I was looking for tacos. That kicked off a great experience meeting Milwaukee. Everything open outside the perimeter around the Fiserv Forum was somehow loving, even with the large presence that apparently hit the city like a turd. Many businesses closed, home rentals were easy to snag because locals left. People werent tipping workers, even after the gleeful crowd inside cheered for tax reform on tips Local police from all over the country came and made traffic horrible. This was much different than the secure perimeter set and monitored by federal police, it was clear when state police from places like Indiana and Kentucky would march between arenas inside the perimeter for their shift to usually patrol some street outside in greater Milwaukee. An officer from Columbus, Ohio, shot and killed one local. I met several of his friends and apologized for all of us: the press, staff and the convention itself for having to be there as part of what felt like a takeover of their city. Its great to be back home. As soon as I got off the plane in Santa Fe I took a taxi to the Rail Runner, got to downtown Albuquerque, hopped on the 66 ABQ RIDE, sat in the back of the bus, and heard my cousins from Kewa Pueblo check in on me. They asked how I am doing. Were all doing just fine. The wildflowers in the backyard are fine, too. I was surprised at how well the house plants did with less care. RIP petunias. Source New Mexico is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Source New Mexico maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Shaun Griswold for questions: info@sourcenm.com. Follow Source New Mexico on Facebook and X. About the Author: "Levi \"Calm Before the Storm\" Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) is the founder, publisher and editor of Native News Online. Rickert was awarded Best Column 2021 Native Media Award for the print\/online category by the Native American Journalists Association. He serves on the advisory board of the Multicultural Media Correspondents Association. He can be reached at levi@nativenewsonline.net." Contact: levi@nativenewsonline.net Rejecting pot was sound decision On Aug. 6, the citizens of West Richland voted do not allow pot stores within city limits 55% to 44%. However, that was a non-binding advisory vote only. Then on Aug. 20, the West Richland City Council voted on the issue. The council chambers were packed and many citizens spoke in opposition to pot stores. Thankfully, the City Council listened to the citizens and voted to not allow pot stores. This was a huge win for the (citys) families. Keeping pot and other substances like it away from our families is critical. How critical you ask? As per a Duke University study, regular pot use by teenagers resulted in an 8- to 10-point drop in (teens) IQs that lasted their entire lifetimes. Thats a sobering statistic. The buzz is just not worth it! Dan Rickey, West Richland Check to ensure you got discounts Trip to the grocery store. With corporations using price gouging to increase the prices of our groceries, I have been using the weekly ads. The goal is to take the opportunity the grocery stores have offered to take advantage of the lower prices. This is a good concept, and I appreciate the excellent idea. My concern is this: The weekly ad offers are not being populated at the checkout stand. My last receipt showed a $40.00 overcharge out of a total $120.00 bill. How many people are trusting, like myself, that the register is correctly charging me the weekly ad prices and, who looks at their receipt to check that the prices are right? I specifically go to that store only to take advantage of their sale prices. What can we do about this? I figure at least 500 people go into a grocery store every day, and if they are charged one-third more, then the store is making really good on their gamble that people will trust them. Elaine Hetherington, Pasco Trump tariffs boosted costs At recent rallies, ex-president Trump said he would expand his stance on tariffs on foreign countries. We are going to have 10% to 20% tariffs on foreign countries that have been ripping us off for years, he said at one rally. We are gonna charge them 10% to 20% to come in and take advantage of our country because that is what they have been doing. American consumers were the losers because of Trump-imposed tariffs during the last Trump presidency, An example is the effect that Trump tariffs had on Dollar Tree and Dollar Family discount stores merchandise, which sells to low- and middle-income families. A sizeable portion of this merchandise is imported and includes household, health and beauty products, food and hardware. Tariffs forced these stores to pay more to import these goods. Since they could not absorb the higher costs, they either raised prices to offset the costs or discontinued selling them. As a result, many food prices increased from $1 to $1.25, having a direct impact on low- and middle-income family purchasing power. More Trumponomics would further increase low- and middle-income family expenses. Rose Petrie, Richland Trump facts listed by the number Fun facts to know and tell: 0 evidence supporting his Big Lie. 1 insurrection. 2 impeachments. 3 Supreme Court appointments that took away womens right to end a pregnancy. 4 pending criminal cases. 5 dead, killed on our democracys darkest day. 6 bankruptcies. 8 age he became a millionaire. 26 women that have publicly accused him of sexual misconduct. 32 counts of willful retention of national defense information. 34 felony convictions (now facing up to 20 years in prison). $75.00 in federal income taxes paid, for both 2016 and 2017. 88 pending criminal charges. Nearly 450 times that he pleaded the Fifth Amendment, when questioned about his business practices. $310,000 in documented hush money payments. More than $100 million estimated used from campaign donations to pay for his criminal defenses. $413 million gifted to him from his father. And ranked last, worst in history by a survey of 154 presidential scholars. Michael Harrington, Pasco Electing Trump will boost Putin If Donald Trump gets elected president, the next day Vladimir Putin will be the most powerful man on the planet. Craig King, Richland Sessler is her kind of candidate Jarrod Sessler has been so kind to me and my service dog Bentley. What I like the most about Jarrod is his faith in God and his integrity. For example, when Tiffany Smiley was telling the world that Jarrod was a vegan and would raise taxes on their beef, he told me, if God wants me to be a congressman, it will happen, but I will not stoop to my opponents level. He put together a commercial showing he is a beef farmer, he eats beef and that he wants lower taxes for all. Whats interesting (is) he did not mention Smileys name.A fter the primary was over, he asked Smiley to endorse him but she wouldnt. Jarrod won the primary by 33%. Without Smiley running, he wouldve won 53%. He won without using PAC funds that would compromise his integrity. Sessler is endorsed by the state Republican party and every county in the Fourth Congressional District and Donald Trump. Vote for a man with integrity who relies on his faith in God. Kim Spencer, Pasco Choose Harris, not cult leader We have only a few weeks before we elect a new president of the United States. We must choose one who cares about you and your welfare and more importantly that of the United States. There are two choices. Donald Trump thinks only of himself with little concern for you or our democratic way of life. His whole campaign is based on lies and insults of his opponent. His opponent and the obvious choice for president is Kamala Harris. Her qualifications begin with an exemplary career as a prosecutor and United States senator. She speaks the truth and has laid out her plan for the good of the country. Donald Trump cannot do that because he has no plan. It is disturbing to me that many so-called Christians blindly believe the lies of Donald Trump and vow to elect him as president regardless of his false claims and what appear to be claims to establish himself as president-for-life. I wrote a book that exposes the hypocrisy of Christian Evangelicals and what I would call the Trump cult with Trump as the charismatic leader. Charles Robinson, Prosser Potential Tropical Cyclone Six forms in Gulf with tropical storm watch issued for Mexico Potential Tropical Cyclone Six has formed over the warm waters of the southern Gulf of Mexico with over two months left of 2024s Atlantic hurricane season, the National Hurricane Center said Sunday. The storm that formed in the Gulfs Bay of Campeche was located about 320 miles south of Brownsville, Texas late Sunday with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph, according to the hurricane centers 11 p.m.ET update. The system is moving toward the northwest near 5 mph and a slow northwestward motion followed by a turn more northward is expected over the next day or two, the hurricane center said. On the forecast track, the disturbance is expected to move just offshore ofthe northern Gulf Coast of Mexico throughTuesday, and approach the Upper Texas and Louisiana coastline on Wednesday, forecasters added. Mexicos government issued a tropical storm watch from Barra del Tordo northward to the mouth of the Rio Grande ahead of potential impacts. The National Weather Service in the United States added a Tropical Storm watch from the mouth of the Rio Grande to Port Mansfiled, about 60 miles up the coast. The hurricane center said watches could also be issued for more areas of southern Texas and Louisiana Monday. The system is expected to become a tropical storm on Monday with more significant intensification expected on Tuesday as a result of very warm Gulf waters. It is forecast to strengthen to hurricane status before it reaches the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast, according to the hurricane center. The next named storm will be called Francine. An elongated area of low pressure over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico continued producing a large area of showers and thunderstorms on Sunday, the hurricane center said. The storms title, Potential Tropical Cyclone Six, is a designation used by the hurricane center to denote a storm that has not yet formed but is expected to soon and will bring impacts within the 48-hour window requiring alerts to be issued. The storm comes during an already unusually active Atlantic hurricane season which has so far produced five named storms by mid-August three of which became hurricanes. It also comes days before the statistical peak of the Atlantic hurricane season on September 10. Data from Colorado State University researchers show about 68% of all Atlantic tropical activity typically occurs after September 1. The latest activity in the Gulf follows a rare quiet period in the Atlantic, with no named storms forming since Ernesto in mid-August. CNN Weather The warm waters of the southern Gulf, where temperatures are in the low 90s Fahrenheit and around 5 degrees above average, contributed to the storms early strengthening over the weekend. An Air Force Reserve hurricane hunter plane investigated the system Sunday afternoon, still unorganized and not yet reaping the benefits of those warm water fuels. Weak steering conditions in the upper atmosphere could cause erratic movements and its too early to determine the systems potential strength or where it may make landfall. However, interests along the Gulf coast of Mexico, upper Texas, and Louisiana coasts should closely monitor the progress of this system, the hurricane center said. Portions of the northwestern Gulf Coast could potentially see strong winds, dangerous storm surge and flooding from heavy rainfall starting as early as Tuesday. Tropical downpours are expected to bring 4 to 8 inches of rain, with up to 12 inches possible from the coast of far northeast Mexico northward along portions of the Texas coast and into Louisiana through Thursday. This rainfall would lead to the risk of flash and urban flooding. Storm surge and rough surf could cause minor coastal flooding along the Mexican coastline. Tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area along the northern coast of Mexico beginning Tuesday. The storm could affect many of the same areas of Texas hit hard in July by Hurricane Beryl, which made landfall southwest of Houston as a Category 1 and brought extensive flooding and wind damage, causing significant power losses in and around Houston. For reference, the last season to have two named storms make landfall in Texas was 2020, when Category 1 Hurricane Hanna struck near Brownsville and Tropical Storm Beta struck Port Lavaca. If the storm hits the Texas coastline as a hurricane, it would be the first double punch in 16 years. The last time two hurricanes struck Texas in the same year was 2008 with Dolly in Corpus Christi and Ike in Galveston and Houston. The last named storm to directly hit Louisiana was Category 4 Hurricane Ida in 2021. Forecasters monitor 2 other systems in Atlantic The National Hurricane Center is also monitoring two other systems in the eastern Atlantic. Showers and thunderstorms associated with an elongated area of low pressure over the central tropical Atlantic continue to show some signs of organization. Environmental conditions appear favorable for this system to develop further. A tropical depression could form while the system meanders over the central tropical Atlantic through Monday and then begins to move generally westward through the rest of the week, the hurricane center said, putting chances of formation over the next seven days at 70%. Further east, low pressure several hundred miles southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands is producing a broad area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms. This system is expected to move very little during the next couple of days until it potentially interacts with a tropical wave forecast to move off the west coast of Africa on Monday. A tropical depression could form by the middle or latter part of the week while the system begins moving slowly northwestward. The hurricane center said this system has a 50% chance of forming. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Some 10,483 examinees showed up on the first day of 2024 Bar Examinations conducted in several local testing centers across the country, the Supreme Court (SC) said on Sunday. The High Tribunal had an initial pool of 12,246 registrants for this years digitalized examinations chaired by SC Associate Justice Mario V. Lopez. - Advertisement - During the application period, many prospective examinees were still completing their final year of law school or refresher courses. Unfortunately, some did not graduate and/or encountered unforeseen circumstances that led to withdrawals, he said. Supreme Court Associate Justice Mario V. Lopez (C) and colleagues visit one of the testing centers for the 2024 Bar Examinations in Metro Manila on September 8, 2024. (Photo by Pot Chavez) Lopez shared among the examinees this year were 155 senior citizens, with the oldest at 78 years old, as well as 313 examinees with special needs. The application period spanned from January to April to give ample time for applicants to gather requirements and to avoid last minute rush, according to the SC magistrate. Regionalization has allowed us to establish 13 local testing centers across the country two in Mindanao, three in Visayas, two in Luzon, and six in the National Capital Region, Lopez added. A total of 2,316 personnel were deployed across all testing centers to ensure the smooth conduct of the exams, he noted. The first day covered Political and Public International Laws, as well as Commercial and Taxation Laws while Civil Law, Labor Law, and Social Legislations are scheduled on September 11; and Criminal Law, Remedial Law, Legal and Judicial Ethics with Practical Exercises are set on September 15. Being one of the most difficult examinations, Lopez is also encouraging the examinees to balance physical and mental health. Lopez underscored that the use of multiple examiners for each subject has accelerated the checking process as they anticipate releasing the results by early December. He confirmed that the oath-taking ceremony and signing of the Roll of Attorneys are already scheduled on January 24, 2025. Meanwhile, Lopez is hopeful that the remaining examination dates will also be a sunny day as two more tropical cyclones are expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) this month. We have contingency plans in case of typhoons or disastrous circumstances This is something that is beyond our control. The local government is cooperating with us in preparation of this kind of circumstances, he told Manila Standard. Algerian president and candidate for re-election Abdelmajid Tebboune speaks after casting his ballot inside a polling station during the presidential elections, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo) ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) After being declared the winner of Algeria's election, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune joined his two challengers in criticizing the country's election authority for announcing results that contradicted earlier turnout figures and local tallies. The claims of irregularities mar what had earlier appeared to be a landslide re-election for the 78-year-old head of state. Algeria's National Independent Election Authority, or ANIE, on Sunday announced that Tebboune had won 94.7% of Saturdays vote, far outpacing his challengers Islamist Abdelali Hassani Cherif, who received only 3.2% and socialist Youcef Aouchiche, who got just 2.2%. Hours later, Tebboune joined his opponents in questioning the reporting of results with the three campaigns jointly issuing a statement accusing the country's top election official of announcing contradictory results. In a country where elections have historically been carefully choreographed affairs, such astonishing questions about irregularities shocked Algerians who expected Tebboune to win in a relatively uneventful fashion. Its unclear what will follow all three candidates casting doubt on irregularities and whether they will prompt legal challenges or delay the final certification of the result. The tally reported on Sunday gave Tebboune a total vote share that was far more than the 87% that Vladimir Putin won in Russias March elections and the 92% that Ilham Aliyev got in Azerbaijans February contest. But efforts from Tebboune and members of his government to encourage voter turnout to project legitimacy appeared to have fallen short, with less than one out of every four voters participating. Election officials on Sunday reported 5.6 million of the countrys roughly 24 million voters had turned out to vote. Such high abstention rates, which remain unofficial, would surpass the 2019 presidential election when 39.9% of the electorate participated. Officials did not explain why they had earlier announced 48% voter turnout at the time of polls closing. Before the three candidates joined in questioning the discrepancy, both of Tebbounes challengers raised concerns about it, citing their own tallies. Aouchiche called it strange. Ahmed Sadok, Cherifs campaign manager, blasted delays and the way the figure was calculated. Its a shame. Its an attack on the image of Algeria, which will become the laughing stock of nations, Sadok said earlier in the day. He also said there had been a failure to deliver vote-sorting records to the candidates representatives and that said the party had recorded instances of proxy group voting and pressure put on poll workers to inflate certain figures. The claims of irregularities cap off an election season that outraged activists and civil society groups. Human rights advocates railed against the campaign seasons repressive atmosphere and the harassment and prosecutions of those involved in opposition parties, media organizations and civil society groups. Some denounced this election as a rubber stamp exercise that can only entrench the status quo. Amnesty International last week condemned Algerias brutal crackdown on human rights including the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association in the run up to the countrys presidential elections. Before the candidates questioned the results, Tebbounes supporters and detractors each had drawn conclusions from the results. Pro-Tebboune university professor Abdellaoui Djazouli said on public television that the result was a resounding endorsement of Tebbounes program. The president has more legitimacy to continue his action to better establish his project for the new Algeria, he said on public television. But his runaway victory fueled criticism from pro-democracy activists who have long seen elections as tools that the countrys political elites have used to give off an appearance of popular support. Many said the loudest message to come out of the election came from those who chose to abstain out of fear that the election would only entrench and legitimize le pouvoir a term used to describe the military-backed elites who run the country. The vast majority of the Algerian people have just given le pouvoir a lesson in democracy, said Nassira Amour, a teacher and leading figure from Algerias pro-democracy movement. The majority did not vote ... This electoral masquerade is a victory for the Hirak, Amour added, referencing the pro-democracy movement that swept the country in 2019. That year, after Hirak protestors flooded the streets of Algerian cities, the military ousted President Abdelaziz Bouteflika after two decades in power. The interim government that replaced him heeded calls from military leaders to hold elections later that year, angering protestors who saw expediting elections as a way to calm discontent and sidestep demands for civilian-led, non-military rule. Tebboune, considered the militarys candidate, won his first-term in a widely boycotted election during which crowds sacked voting stations and police broke up demonstrations. Despite his early overtures and pledges to listen and usher in a New Algeria, Hirak protestors continued weekly demonstrations demanding deeper reforms. Algeria is Africas largest country by area and, with almost 45 million people, its the continents second most populous after South Africa to hold presidential elections in 2024 a year in which more than 50 elections are being held worldwide, encompassing more than half the worlds population. The president and CEO of Norcross-based Waffle House has died. Walt Ehmer, 58, joined the company in 1992, became president in 2006, and became CEO in 2012. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Waffle House released the following statement: It is with sadness that we inform you that our Chairman, Walt Ehmer, passed away today following a long illness. He will be greatly missed by his entire Waffle House family. We will share more details in the coming days, including highlights of Walts 30+ year career at Waffle House. For now, we know all of you join us in extending our deepest condolences to Walts family. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. TRENDING STORIES: Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens issued a statement about Ehmers death on Sunday morning: I am saddened to learn of the passing of Walt Ehmer, the CEO of Waffle House and a proud Georgia Tech alumnus. His leadership, dedication and warmth touched the lives of many, both within the Waffle House family and beyond. He leaves behind a remarkable legacy. My thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time. May they find comfort in his enduring impact and the lasting mark he made on so many. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: If a local Broadcast Hall of Fame is ever created, KSEE24s recently retired anchor Stefani Booroojian will be a charter member for her more than four decades of reliable, relatable, award-winning, community-connected TV news. When Booroojians 42-year career with the station began, female anchors were too often considered adornment for local newscasts whose stars were men. Women presented feature stories or weather, while men brought us news and sports. Opinion A cynical columnist might point out that, in local TV news, women were supposed to attract male viewers, while not prompting females to tune out. But Booroojian always seemed to be at least an equal partner on any anchor team, making each stronger and more appealing. She could also anchor by herself when the occasion demanded, an increasingly lost art. Her experience in the market was vital to newscast credibility as new-to-Fresno anchors and reporters cycled through KSEE part of a churn factor afflicting TV news as stations try to maximize profits at the expense of experienced staff with higher salaries. She brought a calm, authoritative, intelligent, sincere, open and community-oriented presence to viewers. It didnt matter whether she was on in the morning, at noontime or at night, Booroojian could reach viewers and make it look easy. Her accomplishments were numerous over the years. Buddy Check, a monthly reminder for women to do a breast self-examination and remind a friend to do the same, began under Booroojians guidance in 1995. How many women have benefited from that simple promotion is incalculable. In recent years, Booroojian spent significant time in Armenia learning more about her cultural heritage and helping us understand that important component of our Central Valley community. Her reporting focused on humanitarian efforts by Valley residents, which were tested last year when fighting erupted between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno Karabakh. It wasnt getting much attention on American newscasts, so we learned from local newscaster Booroojian. She brought the same display of reportage and understanding on a reporting trip to Lebanon focused on a medical mission to that Middle East hot spot. Meanwhile, when telethons were a bigger deal than they are today, Booroojians time on air seeking viewer donations always produced results. TV anchors are called upon to host fundraising events and appear at other community functions. Just showing up, though, isnt always enough, and at the events Ive attended where Booroojian was involved it was apparent shed spent plenty of time preparing. Ive heard more than a few people over the years praise Booroojian for helping them find their way upon arriving at KSEE24. Its a tough, competitive business, and sometimes it looks like newbies to this market dont get a lot of guidance, but Booroojian took time out of her schedule to mentor them. As Booroojian signs off at KSEE24, she leaves behind a substantial legacy that enlightened viewers, nurtured other staffers, saved lives and inspired careers. Lanny Larson was The Fresno Bees broadcast columnist in the 80s and 90s. In retirement, he teaches in Fresno States Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program. RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) Three north Raleigh homes on Silver View Lane remain surrounded by yellow caution tape. Neighbors living in the LongLake neighborhood described a feeling of heartache after witnessing a massive fire and devastation from a Friday storm. Were devastated for the families, this is a close-knit community, and the families have just lost everything, said Stephanie Bartsch. Bartsch said she heard the loud explosion of lightning that caused three of her neighbors houses to catch fire. It was incredible, we could feel the heat in our yard The storm was still going, lightning daggers were still coming down, she said. Alexis Masseys shooter still on the loose, family asks community for answers Raleigh firefighters confirmed the fire started from a lightning strike. They were able to put out the fire within 45 minutes, but the damage was significant. They confirmed three families were displaced. The fire department said four working structure fires were caused from Fridays storm. Firefighters received a number of other lightning calls that they also investigated while responding to other storm-related calls, including vehicles in flooded water. Bartsch said the hardest part is seeing three families now having to pick up after losing so much. As I went to bed that night, I thought, they dont have a toothbrush to brush their teeth, they dont have pajamas to put on they were just left with absolutely nothing, Bartsch said. She said it prompted her and others in the neighborhood to do more. In addition to checking in with the families and dropping off donations such as clothing, Bartsch said she and others helped create a GoFundMe page. Within just a couple days, the GoFundMe has already raised more than $20,000. The GoFundMe read, Within minutes, three homes went up in flames. We stood in sadness and shock watching the houses burn with our dear friends who own one of the houses Thankfully, all of the families are safe. The page described the ongoing effort to support the three families impacted by the fire and to help them get on their feet. The neighbor said she faced a close call just a few weeks earlier when lightning struck her own home. Ive lived here for about 21 years and weve never had any lightning in the whole neighborhood and twice now in three weeks, Bartsch said. Bartsch said a couple neighboring homes were also impacted by the previous lightning strike, but fortunately the damage and repairs were not significant. When it comes to the amount of support shes seen in her neighborhood, Bartsch added, I was not surprised by the response because these people are amazing, and they have paid it so far forward that people want to help. She said donations have come from within the neighborhood and even out of state. 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 Queen City News. Tuesday's presidential debate marks a rare historical moment in that it pits against each other two candidates with significant track records in the White House. That "political baggage" can be a curse for the candidates, according to experts who've studied debates, but also a blessing, depending on how it's portrayed and defended. When they square off in the ABC News debate in Philadelphia, both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will need to walk a fine line between affirming what they consider their successes during their administrations. And in Harris' case, that includes both supporting -- and separating herself -- from President Joe Biden's record, while also offering what she calls a "new way forward." "The question the candidates face is how much credit do you take and what effects will that have on gaining more votes from undecideds," Kathleen Hall Jamieson, the director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania told ABC News. PHOTO: In this split image, Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks in Glendale, Ariz., on Aug. 23, 2024, and Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris speaks in Pittsburgh, Sept. 2, 2024. (Evan Vucci/AP and Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters) MORE: Harris-Trump ABC News presidential debate: How to watch, what to know The history of sitting VPs on the debate stage This will mark only the fourth election cycle that a sitting vice president will take part in a presidential debate. Aaron Kall, director of the University of Michigan's Debate Program, told ABC News that in all of those previous cases, while the vice president was a candidate at the top of the ticket following very successful two-term presidents, it didn't guarantee victory. Only one of those sitting vice presidents, George H.W. Bush, went on to win the White House. PHOTO: Former Gov. Michael Dukakis, D-Mass., speaks during the second and final presidential debate with his opponent former Vice President George Bush, left, at Pauley Pavillion, University of California at Los Angeles, on Oct. 13, 1988. (Reed Saxon/AP Photo, FILE) The ABC News presidential debate will take place on Sept. 10 at 9 p.m. ET and air on ABC and stream on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu. "Some of the reasons incumbent vice presidents have tough times is because when it's three terms in a row of the same party, voters get fickle with that and want change," Kall said. Kall said that vice presidents have to toe the line between repeating the rhetoric and plans that the incumbent has set forth and laying a foundation for their own vision. MORE: Early voting options grow in popularity, reconfiguring campaigns and voting preparation Experts cited Vice President Al Gore's 2000 campaign as a prime example of that struggle -- and how that strategy can backfire. Gore went into the election in the aftermath of President Bill Clinton's Monica Lewinsky scandal and aimed to distance himself from that by focusing less on Clinton's record, according to Jamieson. PHOTO: Former Gov. Michael Dukakis, D-Mass., speaks during the second and final presidential debate with his opponent former Vice President George Bush, left, at Pauley Pavillion, University of California at Los Angeles, on Oct. 13, 1988. (Reed Saxon/AP Photo, FILE) The problem was that despite the scandal, Clinton's policies and record, especially when it came to the economy, were well-liked by voters and Gore failed to acknowledge that or run his campaign by capitalizing on that, Jamieson said. "Gore might have been elected president had he not run away from the Clinton record," she said. Harris faces opportunity, risks After Harris assumed the lead of the Democratic presidential ticket in July, she inherited a host of advantages and risks going into her first matchup against Trump, according to the experts. For starters, she is running in the rare occasion where a sitting president declined to run for a second term and does not have the near decade of standing that other sitting vice presidents had when they ran for office, according to Kall and Jamieson. Although Biden's approval ratings were low prior to his exiting the race, many of his policies and actions were popular among Americans, according to Kall. Harris has already taken advantage of that by touting the success on the campaign trail such as the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the CHIPs bill. She campaigned with Biden on Labor Day touting the administration's pro-labor policies. PHOTO: Democratic presidential hopeful California Senator Kamala Harris looks on during the fourth Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season in Westerville, Ohio, Oct. 15, 2019. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images) At the same time, Harris has to deal with the shortcomings faced by the administration such as tackling rising prices and the immigration issue, according to experts. Harris has begun to address those concerns by presenting her own policy differences, such as her proposed change to a Biden plan that would tax capital gains at a lower rate than he proposed. "She doesn't want to say she wants to continue the same policies as Biden, she needs to look forward to the future and set her own voice," Hall said. "She'll likely be preparing her debate in a similar way." Kall noted that Harris also has the bigger advantage on her side: the split-screen with her older opponent. Biden took a major hit during the last debate because he appeared to be less tuned-in to the questioning, which gave weight to critics who contended the president was not fit for office. Harris, who is 17 years younger than Trump, will likely try to use Trump's age to her advantage. "Being of a younger age, being of a different generation, and her personal backstory all of those things will allow her to keep her distance from both Trump and Biden on stage," he said. Kall noted that the last-minute change to the ticket gave Harris' campaign less time to prepare for the debate, and, more importantly, less time to follow up on any mistakes or successes from the matchup. "Timing is a premium and here because Harris is less defined and not present in this situation, how she does in those 90 minutes will show people how she can handle the job," he said. Trump has to contend with his record Trump is one of the few former presidents to run for re-election after being voted out. Grover Cleveland is the only president to win a second term in office after losing his bid for re-election in 1888. Since the start of the 2024 campaign, Trump has been touting his record during his time in office while also going on the attack against Biden, Harris and the Democrats. Jamieson said Trump's argument is similar to the often-repeated question "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" however, that question isn't necessarily a boon for either side. "The Democrats want you to remember the pandemic and Republicans want you to remember the economy. And in both cases there are reasons to vilify the candidates on their past," she said. The former president is coming into Tuesday's debate with more experience than Harris, as he has taken the presidential debate stage six times over the last eight years. Harris has not been in a debate since the 2019 Democratic primary. Trump has continually bashed Biden and Harris over the administration's handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and rising prices throughout his campaign stops, including a controversial visit to Arlington National Cemetery last month. "A lot of Trump's debate performances have been similar to his rallies so I expect Afghanistan to come up in the next debate," she said. MORE: ABC News releases rules for Sept. 10 debate between Harris and Trump Kall also predicted that Trump would bring up Biden and try to make voters believe that he and Harris are fully aligned in their policies. "I think he'd prefer that he'd debate Biden a second time, but harping too much could turn off independents who want to move on," he said. Trump's record has the most baggage of the two candidates from his two impeachments, the criminal conviction in New York and three outstanding indictments supersede any of his actions while in office, Jamieson said. PHOTO: Former President Donald Trump participates in the CNN Presidential Debate at the CNN Studios in Atlanta, GA, June 27, 2024. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) "There are some legacies that are carrying through and Trump is going to bring them in," she said. "The issue is how much that is brought up in the debate and how voters view his responses." Ultimately, the experts said, the issue over the candidates' White House records will matter most to the key group of undecided most looking at the demeanor and how they handle policies that matter to them the most. "The election is going to be close and those undecided voters in the handful of states will be key states," Hall reiterated. "They all certainly know Trump and Harris' past but they're going to be focused on what they will do going forward." A rare debate factor: Both Harris and Trump have a White House track record originally appeared on abcnews.go.com "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Since King Charles came to the throne in 2022, there can be little doubt that he has silenced critics who suggested he might be a meddling monarch. He immediately spelled out that he would not have as much time for his charities and issues and would instead focus on his new responsibilities. And in the two years that have followed, he has stuck remarkably close to the model set by his late motherand said and done nothing that could see him accused of rocking the boat. Yet, amidst this determined focus on smoothness of transition and stability, the infancy of King Charless reign has simultaneously seen the monarchy jolted like never before. The dual cancer diagnoses of the King and Princess of Wales came like a bolt out of the blue and put the royal family into unprecedented territory. Benjamin Cremel - Getty Images "The focus has really switched towards his health and I think thats really whats dominated his reign so far, said royal author Robert Jobson, whose latest book on the Princess of Wales has just been released. I think hes been a very good King, I think hes been engaged with the Prime Ministers that hes been involved with, hes been engaged with the subjects and big issues such as Southport [the July killing of three little girls which led to mass riots in the UK]. However, Jobson continued about Charless reign, "Most people are still focusing on that underlying issuehow well he is. This year is quite unlike what we were anticipating when the clock struck 12 on new year's eve, said Joe Little, Managing Editor of Majesty Magazine. The King's health issues and those of the Princess of Walesand the Princess Royal too, to a lesser extenthave completely changed the dynamic to 2024 and will continue to do so until this year is done. Indeed, the push and pull over the 74-year-old Kings timetable remains front and center seven months since his diagnosis was made public on February 5. The King and Queen are visiting Australia and Samoa in the fall, but are not now going to New Zealand on doctors advice that an extended program should be avoided. The Queen wants him to slow down quite a lot, said Robert Jobson. I dont think were going to see that. The trip to Australia is a reminder of the status of the 14 Commonwealth Realms outside of the UK where Charles succeeded his mother as head of state. Ties with many were strained long before his illness hindered the Kings ability to travel. Officials in several Caribbean countries have voiced intentions to soon follow in Barbados footsteps and become republics. But experts still point to visiting the realms as an important priority for the King following his recovery. The biggest challenge for the King right now is to regain his full health, at which time the next challenge will be to visit the realms that he is yet to visit as monarch as soon as possible, said Joe Little. Canadian journalist and royal expert Patricia Treble, agreed, I would hope that the focus would be more on the realms and the Commonwealth because I think that there is a pent up demand to see them, she said. Speaking about reports that a trip to Canada had been planned for spring but did not go ahead following the Kings diagnosis, Treble said a tour there has got to be back on the agenda. Charles went as Prince of Wales in May 2022, but the fact that it was before he became King, not after, means that the last time the monarch was in Canada was Queen Elizabeths visit in 2010. Its been 14 years since weve had our head of state here, Treble said. That matters. Nevertheless, Treble pointed out that breaking ties with the monarchy is not high on the agenda for most Canadians and that she thought the King was doing very well in his role despite the challenges he has faced. Of reaction to his diagnosis, she said, I think theres just a sense of sympathy for him, this overwhelming sympathy. He had been Prince of Wales for so long. And there was this recognition that he had finally become King, he had finally got his Coronation, he was finally about to start royal tours. And then of course everything had to be put on hold because of his health. In March, the Kings nephew Peter Phillips said that he was hugely frustrated not to be able to get on with everything he wants to do. And he is likely to still feel this keenly as he leads an institution increasingly grappling with how to stay relevant and popular in the modern world. Wiktor Szymanowicz - Getty Images This years Trooping the Colour will be remembered as a moment of joy as the Princess of Wales made her first appearance of the year and stood on the Buckingham Palace balcony alongside the King. But it was also notable for a prominent protest by republicans on the Mall carrying signs saying Not My King and Down With The Crownone of several protests organized by the group since the King came to the throne. Polls in the UK are also increasingly pointing to a split in opinion between generations over the monarchy, with people under 25 now more likely to now say they want an elected head of state. Charles experienced a boost in popularity straight after his accession, his rating on YouGovs favorability tracker has sat at around 60% sincea full 20% below his late mothers popularity. He once said to me when I asked him about the polls in Australia, I dont look at polls, Im in this for the long-term. I do believe hes telling the truth, said Robert Jobson. But, he added, I think there is a very different society to the one that Queen Elizabeth led in 1952 because then there was a very deferential society, a class societyMore than ever before I think theyve got a difficult job convincing people that this is not just about duty and service, but what right have they got to hold that position. JONATHAN BUCKMASTER Perhaps curiously, however, overall support for the monarchy as an institution remains remarkably stable. It has long been the case that around two thirds of the British public want to keep it, and a recent poll marking two years of the Kings accession found that 64% of the public overall still thought the country should have a monarchy. The same study found that William and Kate remain by far the most popular royals, providing a positive outlook for the future of the institution. As royal family members begin to return to public duties following the summer break, there remains a strong awareness that timetables have been modified and priorities necessarily readjusted due to illness. How we see the monarchy has been temporarily redefined. But, the reign of King Charles continues. Youre not going to have him slowing down when others will, Jobson said. He will continue to do as much as he can. Has he defined himself? Probably notI think ultimately he is somebody who will want to make a mark as King. Not just as Prince of Wales but as King. You Might Also Like Chinas ships have returned to the West Philippines Sea (WPS) shortly after it sought refuge from the onslaught of severe tropical storm Enteng last week, a maritime security expert said on Sunday. Ray Powell, Director of Sealight and a WPS monitor, indicated on X that Automatic Identification System (AIS) tracking detected at least six Qiong Sansha Yu maritime militia ships and one coast guard vessel moving from Panganiban Reef (Mischief Reef) to Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) over the weekend. - Advertisement - All the said ships were traveling with a speed of 9-10 knots, according to Powell. Prior to the typhoon, a record 203 Chinese ships were recorded in the WPS from August 27 to September 2marking the highest concentration of vessels in the area this year. More than a quarter of these ships were stationed at Escoda Shoal, which is becoming a new hotspot between Manila and Beijing. Powell had earlier reported that six other Chinese maritime militia ships had withdrawn from Bajo de Masinloc before the storm hit. Meanwhile, a 111-meter Chinese Coast Guard ship, identified by bow number 3305, remained at the reef throughout the typhoon. At Escoda Shoal, which has recently seen increased Chinese activity, over 20 Chinese vessels have surrounded a solitary Philippine Coast Guard ship, the BRP Teresa Magbanua. Additionally, a Chinese Coast Guard ship was observed at Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal), where the Philippine Navys aging BRP Sierra Madre is grounded. Powell also noted that China has been actively antagonizing the exclusive economic zones of Malaysia and Vietnam with its naval deployments. Tensions have escalated between China and the Philippines, with both nations accusing each other of deliberately ramming their coast guard ships near Escoda Shoal. Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela reported that this collision was the fifth incident of Chinese maritime harassment in August. On Sunday, Tarriela lambasted Chinas news site reports on its internet ranking around the globe. Global Times should refrain from boasting about this data, Tarriela said referring to its report that China tops as the most internet users with 1.1 billion users. As having the worlds largest netizen population in China, with nearly 1.1 billion internet users, does not alter the reality that websites content is heavily regulated in your country. He continued adding that the Chinese Communist Party uses the internet as a tool to disseminate fake news and misinformation to brainwash its citizens. This data simply emphasizes how the internet has become an effective means for the CCP to restrict and deny the freedoms of the Chinese people. He said. VANIMO, Papua New Guinea Pope Francis traveled to the remote jungles of Papua New Guinea on Sunday to celebrate the Catholic Church on the peripheries, bringing with him a ton of medicine, musical instruments and a message of love for the people who live there. Francis flew aboard a Royal Australian Air Force C-130 transport plane from Port Moresby to Vanimo, on the northwest coast of the South Pacific nation. There, Francis met with the local Catholic community and the missionaries from his native Argentina who have been ministering to them. For an Argentine pope who marveled in 2013 at having been chosen from the end of the Earth to lead the church, it was a voyage to another end of the Earth on the longest, farthest trip of Francis pontificate. Francis has previously traveled to the edge of the Arctic (to apologize to the Inuit people for church abuses), and into the Peruvian Amazon (to draw attention to its plight), and to the plains of Ur, Iraq (to boost Christian-Muslim ties). But even by his standards, Sundays trip to remote Vanimo was extraordinary. A crowd of an estimated 20,000 people gathered on the field in front of the Vanimo cathedral singing and dancing when Francis arrived, and he promptly put on a feathered headdress that had been presented to him. In remarks from a raised stage, Francis praised the church workers who go out to try to spread the faith. But he urged the residents of Vanimo to work at home at being good to one another. He urged them to be like an orchestra, so that all members of the community come together harmoniously to overcome rivalries. Doing so, he said, would help to drive out fear, superstition and magic from peoples hearts, to put an end to destructive behaviors such as violence, infidelity, exploitation, alcohol and drug abuse, evils which imprison and take away the happiness of so many of our brothers and sisters. It was a reference to the tribal violence over land and other disputes that have long characterized the countrys culture but have grown more lethal in recent years. Francis arrived in Papua New Guinea to urge an end to the violence, including gender-based violence, and for a sense of civic responsibility to prevail. Francis had started the day with a Mass before an estimated 35,000 people at the stadium in the capital, Port Moresby. In his homily, Francis told the crowd that they may well feel themselves distant from both their faith and the institutional church, but that God was near to them. You who live on this large island in the Pacific Ocean may sometimes have thought of yourselves as a far away and distant land, situated at the edge of the world, Francis said. Yet today the Lord wants to draw near to you, to break down distances, to let you know that you are at the center of his heart and that each one of you is important to him. Francis was elected pope largely on the strength of a speech he gave to his fellow cardinals in 2013 about the need for the church to go out to the peripheries where people need God most. In keeping with that philosophy, Francis has largely shunned foreign trips to European capitals, preferring instead far-flung communities where Catholics are often a minority. Vanimo, population 11,000, certainly fits the bill of being remote. It is located near Papua New Guineas border with Indonesia, where the jungle meets the sea, and is for the most part only reachable by plane or boat. Francis, historys first Latin American pope, has also had a special affinity for the work of Catholic missionaries. As a young Argentine Jesuit, he had hoped to serve as a missionary in Japan but was prevented from going because of his poor health. Now, as pope, he has often held up missionaries as models for the church. The Rev. Martin Prado, an Argentine missionary of the Institute of the Incarnate Word religious order, was responsible for getting the pope to Vanimo. As he waited for Francis to arrive Sunday, he recounted for reporters the crazy story of how he accompanied a group of Vanimo parishioners to Rome in 2019, and ended up scoring an audience with the pope after his parishioners insisted that they wanted to give him some gifts. Prado, who has spent the past 10 of his 36 years working as a missionary in Vanimo, said he wrote a note, left it for the pope at the Vatican hotel where he lives, and the next day received an email from Francis secretary inviting his group in. I invited him, but he wanted to come, Prado said. He has a big heart for people. Its not just words: He does what he says. Prado said some people deep in the interior of the diocese, in the jungle where cars have yet to arrive, need clothes, and for them a plate of rice and tuna fish is glorious. Francis was bringing a cargo of about a ton of medicine, clothing, musical instruments and toys, the Vatican said. Prado said Francis was also helping to build a new secondary school. He said half of the children of the diocese are unable to go to high school because there simply arent enough spots for them. The event had a very Argentine flair to it: On the stage was a statue of the Virgin of Lujan, the patron of Argentina who is particularly dear to Francis and whose name also graces the local girls school. When Francis met privately after the event with the nuns and missionary priests, they served him mate, the Argentine tea. There are about 2.5 million Catholics in Papua New Guinea, according to Vatican statistics, out of a population in the Commonwealth nation believed to be around 10 million. The Catholics practice the faith along with traditional Indigenous beliefs, including animism and sorcery. Francis visit to Vanimo was the highlight of his visit to Papua New Guinea, the second leg of his four-nation tour of Southeast Asia and Oceania. After first stopping in Indonesia, Francis heads on Monday to East Timor and then wraps up his visit in Singapore later in the week. In the usual liberal account, President Donald Trump reawakened America's atavistic, bigoted side, driving both the Republican Party and the United States to the right. In the usual conservative retort, it's the left that became more extreme in the 2010s, adopting radical views on race and gender that meant a moderate could seem to be moving rightward while in fact he was standing still. But there is a third possibility: that liberals spent the decade moving leftward on questions of race and sexual orientationand so did conservatives. And while the so-called Great Awokening has cooled somewhat since Joe Biden succeeded Trump as president, Republicans may have quietly continued to trend leftward on racial issues. To be clear: I am speaking of public opinion here, not public officials or public policy. And I don't dispute that explicit bigots became a lot noisier in the mid-'10s, or that they acquired more influence in certain circles. But noisier and more typical are not the same thing. In a 2020 paper for Public Opinion Quarterly, the University of Pennsylvania political scientists Daniel Hopkins and Samantha Washington reported that from 2007 through 2018, antiblack and anti-Hispanic stereotypes declined among both white Democrats and white Republicans. It's just that the Democratic drop in these surveys was much larger, creating a wider gap even though both groups, on average, were moving in the same direction. *** A similar picture appeared when Ohio State political scientist Thomas Wood tried in 2017 to measure the relationship between Americans' presidential votes and how they scored on the "symbolic racism" or "racial resentment" scale, which Wood described as a way to uncover "racial attitudes among respondents who know that it's socially unacceptable to say things perceived as racially prejudiced." This scale is controversial, because some of the statements it asks people to evaluatesuch as "Over the past few years blacks have gotten less than they deserve"could elicit the "wrong" answer for reasons unrelated to prejudice or resentment. The underlying problem was highlighted when surveys found substantial numbers of African Americans endorsing the purportedly racist positions, leading some social scientists to call for giving the measurement a less loaded label. At best, the scale measures whether people attribute racial disparities to structural barriers or individual failings. But whether or not the people who score higher on the scale are racists, it seems fair to say that the people who score lower on the scale are racial liberals. So what did Wood find? For Wood, the big takeaway was that "we've never seen such a clear correspondence between vote choice and racial perceptions" in three decades of these surveys: The higher you landed in the scale, the more likely you were to vote Republican. But as Musa al-Gharbi pointed out in a critique of Wood's work for The American Sociologist, this ignored the direction those Republicans were moving in. According to Wood's own data, al-Gharbi noted, whites who backed Trump over Hillary Clinton were "less racist than those who voted for [Mitt] Romney. The same holds among whites who voted for Clinton as compared to those who voted for [Barack] Obama." Again, voters in both parties were getting more racially liberal; it's just that Democrats went further. The explicitly racist and even fascist elements of the rightthe sort of people who chant antisemitic slogans while carrying tiki torchesmay have gotten larger and better-known in the early Trump years. But it is one thing to be large by fringe-group standards; it is another thing entirely to be embraced by the mainstream. Indeed, al-Gharbi argued during the 2020 election that when voters associated Trump with that sort of rhetoric and behavior, it made him less rather than more popular, including among white Republicans. Needless to say, most Republicans still tend to favor individual over structural explanations for racial disparities. But there is still plenty of variation within that worldview, including on such hot-button issues as race and policing. In June 2020, a Washington Post survey showed 53 percent of Republicans endorsing the protests that erupted after a cop murdered George Floydand this was after some of the protests turned into riots. Around the same time, a Pew poll showed a large minority of Republicans (40 percent) endorsing Black Lives Matter. Views on the George Floyd movement later became more polarized along partisan lines. But that initial configuration of opinions, persisting even after the street violence began, hints at how much the conventional narratives of the period miss. *** The Trump era also marked what was, at that point, the highest recorded rank-and-file Republican tolerance for gays and lesbians. In Gallup's annual polls, Republican support for same-sex marriage didn't reach 40 percent until 2016, but by 2020 it had gotten to 49 percent. It later became the majority opinion, leaping to 55 percent for the first two years of the Biden administration, though it sank back below the 50 percent mark in 2023 and 2024, probably in response to recent LGBT culture wars. (The figure currently stands at 46 percent.) Most of those culture wars center around trans people, whose political fights are currently far more contentious than the battles around gays and lesbians. Many social conservatives have tried to use those trans-rights conflicts as a wedge to reopen older debates about gay liberation; one way to read that drop in gay-marriage support from 55 percent to 46 percent is as a measure of how many Republicans have been receptive to that sort of messaging. We can't be sure whether that decline will continue or be a temporary recession. But it is notable that even now, after a two-year retrenchment, Republican support for same-sex marriage is higher than in any year before 2017. On racial questions, there hasn't been a Republican retrenchment at all. In June, the Democracy Fund published a report on "how attitudes about race and immigration are settling and shifting after Trump," drawing on surveys conducted regularly since 2016. On immigration, the authors found, both Democrats and Republicans have moved rightward since Biden took office. But when they looked at those "racial resentment" questions (while avoiding that dubious term), they found Democrats getting a smidge more conservative since Trump left officeand Republicans getting a smidge more liberal. There's one more shift worth noting here. While Democrats have continued to receive a majority of the nonwhite vote, their share has been decliningeven, to a small extent, among African Americans. That could just be temporary turbulence. But with Hispanics in particular seeming more open to voting Republican, we could be seeing the start of a long-term trend comparable to the movement of many "white ethnic" voters toward the GOP in the 1960s and '70s. No culture war configuration is permanent. Time and again, once-vivid fights have receded, as with same-sex unions, or disappeared almost entirely, as with interracial marriage. Sometimes an alliance formed to fight one cultural conflict will be what finally buries an old one, as when conservative Catholics, Protestants, and Mormons came together to fight liberal sexual mores. And even when a fight persists, the lineups on each side can radically change. Do not be shocked if that happens again. The post Republican Voters Got More Socially Liberal Under Trump appeared first on Reason.com. Florida Republicans are supremely confident about victory in November and wary of the perils of overconfidence. Party activists, candidates and elected officials who gathered Saturday in Hollywood for a major Republican Party of Florida fundraiser predicted widespread wins. If anybody thinks were going to lose, if anybody thinks in any way that Donald Trump is going to lose Florida, theyre crazy, said U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. The turnout in Florida all across the state for Republicans is incredible. Were going to have a great year. Scott, especially, hopes thats the case. Hes up for reelection this year, and some public opinion polls have shown a close race. (An Emerson College/The Hill poll on Friday showed Scott with 46% to 45% for his Democratic challenger, former Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.) Attempting to keep party activists and donors motivated in the final stretch of the campaign season, speaker after speaker brought up a powerful motivator: the specter of Vice President Kamala Harris winning the presidency. There was at least as much, if not more, condemnation of Harris as there was praise for the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump. We have the most radical ticket on the Democrat side in my lifetime, Scott declared. Shes a complete socialist. Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis continued on that theme, using a label Trump has applied to Harris: Comrade Kamala. In South Florida, home to many people who have fled repressive regimes, Republicans often use the socialist label in an attempt to vilify Democrats. State Attorney General Ashley Moody said everyones heads are spinning at the Harris candidacy. I have never seen a candidate running on such thin air, smoke and fumes, she said. There is no substance. No substance at all. Moody said Harris will offer a word salad, will cackle and will be who you want her to be, she will say what you want her to say to win and become different and dangerous if she is inaugurated president. Related Articles The Trump campaign dispatched Kimberly Guilfoyle as its surrogate to the event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood. Guilfoyle is a former Fox News personality, longtime fiancee of Donald Trump Jr. and host of a show on the right-wing video platform Rumble. Guilfoyle warned about America-last madness and extreme left-wing rule from the Democrats. Americans today walk out their door in the morning with less money in their pocket, with less safety on their streets, less sanity in their schools and with less confidence that the country that we all love and hold dear to our hearts can reach its full potential, she said. Why? Because of Kamala Harris. Guilfoyle asserted that the vice presidents radicalism is all too real. Pay attention to it. And her obsessive, reckless pursuit of power at all costs would take this nation down the path it may never recover from. But the good news is that Donald Trump, and the Republican Party, has a plan to get this country back on track. She later offered more criticism of the Democratic nominee. Kamala Harris wants Americans to feel like the enemy in their own country. Gov. Ron DeSantis, delivering the keynote address, said Florida during his time in office has led the way on issue after issue. We have delivered over and over again. He touted more funding for schools, infrastructure and Everglades restoration. And he highlighted some of the culture war social issues that have been a hallmark of his administration. We believe schools should educate, not indoctrinate, our kids. It was wrong to try to jam gender ideology into elementary school classrooms. Its wrong to distort history and try to make Founding Fathers villains, he said. And he proudly pointed to the tough response at Florida state universities to pro-Palestinian protests, which he called pro-Hamas. Were not going to let the inmates run the asylum. Were going to have order in the court. We said that Florida is where woke goes to die and I can report to you that the woke ideology is dead in the state of Florida, he said. DeSantis also repeated his strong opposition to two referendums on the November ballot that would legalize recreational marijuana for adults and enshrine abortion rights in the Florida Constitution. Both would be really bad for the state of Florida. Attendees also heard from U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Miami-Dade County Republican who is the senior member of Floridas congressional delegation. Three of the speakers, Moody, Patronis and U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, are potential candidates for the Republican nomination for governor in 2026, when term limits prevent DeSantis from running again. DeSantis demands Republicans publicly oppose amendment to add abortion rights to Florida Constitution Evan Power, chair of the state Republican Party said in an interview that party activists are excited and fired up. Among them is JoAnn DeBartolo, the state Republican committeewoman from Collier County, who said she was feeling very good. I can see the momentum. And Charles Chuck Benoit, who won the election for Lake County Republican state committeeman in last months primary, predicted a landslide. When hes been out registering voters, he said Democrats sometimes confide that they plan to vote for Trump. The only reason President Trump has a hard time is that nobody likes him except the American people, he said in an interview. Still, Power said during his speech that the party faithful should not assume the results will go their way without work. We take nothing for granted. We must run like were 10 points behind. There is no room for complacency in the Republican Party of Florida. One big advantage for Republicans, cited by DeSantis and several others on Saturday: the partys 1 million advantage over the Democrats in registered voters. When DeSantis was elected governor and Scott was first elected to the Senate in 2018, Democrats had more registered voters than Republicans. DeSantis said the elections cant be taken for granted, but with numbers like that, thats a big layup for Republican candidates. Patronis attributed much of the change to people moving to Florida Never did I think Florida would be a solid red state, Patronis said. The ones were getting are the ones we want. Theyre fleeing the deep blue states. Theyre fleeing the high-tax hellholes theyre coming from. Money is another Republican advantage. Power said the state Republican Party has outraised the Democrats 7 to 1. Saturday nights event may end up bringing in $1 million, he said. Making the night more profitable: the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino donated the event venue. Power thanked the Seminole Tribe of Florida more than once for its support, as did Patronis. Special thanks to the Seminole Tribe of Florida, the Hard Rock [for] the amazing support of tonights event. This could not happen without [Seminole Tribe] Chairman Osceola and Jim Allen [CEO of Seminole Gaming] and their incredible generosity, Patronis said, adding that a Friday night reception was by far one of the nicest parties Ive been to in years. Great event. The free location wasnt the only reason for holding the event in Broward, the most Democratic county in Florida. The state Republican Party, Power said, has lots of donors in the region. Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Mastodon. New research into dogs' long-term memory shows that dogs can remember the names of toys even years after not seeing or playing with them. On September 4, 2024, new research was published in Biology Letters that examined dogs' long-term memory and just how good it is. Here's what we know. In the journal Biology Letters, Shany Dror of Eotvos Lorand University in Hungary and their research team discovered just how far back a dog's long-term memory goes. Related: New Research Discovers Secret to Helping Rescue Dogs Get Adopted Faster and It's Fascinating In the research, the team wanted to learn more about a dog's ability to remember. To do this, they studied five dogs who had previously learned the names of 12 toys. The toys were then put away for two years so the dogs didn't have access to them. Then, two years later, the dog parents brought all those toys back into the rotation. " Three dogs had all 12, another had 11 toys, and one dog had only five toys as some had been misplaced," The Guardian explained. The research team then wanted to test if the dogs could still recall the names of those toys years later, and the results were fascinating. The dog parents were asked to show their dog the toys before placing the test toys in one room of their house alongside the other toys they've played with more recently. The parents then went into a different room while the dogs stayed in the room with the toys. The parents asked their dog to bring a toy to them by the name they had learned years ago. The research team watched how the dogs reacted to each prompt via online video recording. Some Dogs Have a Good Long-Term Memory "The results reveal that, overall, the dogs picked the correct toy 44% of the time on average with some having a success rate of up to 60%," The Guardian explained. Four of the dogs were able to retrieve three to nine of the reintroduced toys successfully. "These figures, the researchers add, are far above the level expected by chance," the publication explained. Little is known about the long-term memory capacities of the domestic dog, the researchers explained. Our findings expand our knowledge of this topic by showing that some individual dogs can maintain object-label mappings years after they have first been exposed to them. However, from the fact that this capacity is within the species cognitive abilities, we cannot infer that it is a common characteristic, the research team added. As the majority of family dogs do not show behavioral evidence of learning object labels, the findings presented here cannot be generalized to other dog populations or other cognitive domains. A $10.6 million project to restore storm-damaged dunes at Naval Station (NAVSTA) Mayport is now underway. General Mechanical Corporation (GMC) from Daytona Beach, Florida, was awarded the contract by the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Southeast in September 2023. This project is essential for rebuilding the coastal defenses affected by Hurricanes Ian and Nicole and ongoing tidal erosion. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< As of early July, the project team began sand mining operations to gather the large amount of sand needed. Their goal is to restore the dunes to a height of 12-14 feet to better protect the base from future storms. A key element to this project is to ensure the habitat protection of native animals that live or nest in the dunes, said Benjamin Yang, construction manager at NAVSTA Mayport. The team has been carefully monitoring a Loggerhead turtle nest and will wait until the hatchlings have safely made their way to the sea before continuing work in that area. To safeguard any vulnerable nests, orange barriers have been set up around them. The project also involves replacing the fencing between the base and the nearby Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park (Hanna Park) to enhance security. Additionally, damaged boardwalks and other facilities will be repaired. By mid-August, GMC had made notable progress. Out of the 64,000 cubic yards of sand needed, nearly 40,000 cubic yards had been mined, with 8,000 cubic yards screened and 9,000 cubic yards already placed on the dunes. Sand is being extracted from a designated area within NAVSTA Mayport. A Powerscreen machine sorts and reduces the sand to the appropriate sizes for use in rebuilding the dunes. Were screening between 1,000 and 1,200 cubic yards of sand and transporting about 100 truckloads roughly 1,400 cubic yards to the beach each day, said Dillon Moyer, superintendent at Continental Heavy Civil Corporation (CHC). While our initial target for completion is March 2025, we hope to finish by December 29, depending on weather and equipment conditions. South of NAVSTA Mayport, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is working on dune restoration at Hanna Park and will soon move north to the base. Their work will seamlessly transition to NAVSTA Mayports beaches upon completing Hanna Park. The combined efforts of GMC, CHC, and USACE highlight the teamwork needed to restore and strengthen the dunes and security at NAVSTA Mayport. Each day, the beaches are being rebuilt not only to protect against future storms but also to preserve the natural habitat for years to come. NAVFAC Southeast, based in Jacksonville, oversees the planning, design, and construction of facility projects. They provide crucial services like contracting, leasing, environmental management, and maintenance across Navy installations from Charleston, South Carolina, to Corpus Christi, Texas, and even Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They also handle real estate, facility management, and public-private housing ventures for military families in the Southeast region. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. A 26-year-old Boise man was arrested after a road-rage incident turned into much more, according to the Boise Police Department. On Thursday, just before 5 p.m., police responded to reports of shots fired in the 7900 block of W. Overland Road. Officers found several shell casings in a parking lot but couldnt find any victims or suspects, a police news release said. Officers then found an unoccupied suspect vehicle near the scene and a victim vehicle at a home in Boise, police said. Police interviewed three men, who were all unharmed. Thanks to assistance from some observant witnesses, officers later located and interviewed a suspect, the department said in its release. Evidence indicated there had been a road rage situation between the two parties prior to the shots fired. After police found the suspect, he allegedly was in possession of child sex abuse materials and a stolen vehicle. Police said he gave officers a fake name and tried to hide the gun he allegedly used. The man was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, grand theft, destruction of evidence, eight counts of sexual exploitation of a child, false information provided to an officer and a failure to appear warrant. Four of the crimes are felonies. Romania confirms that Russian Shahed UAV infiltrated its territory, Romanian F-16s scrambled in response A Russian drone flew into Romanian airspace during the Russian attack on Ukraine on the night of 7-8 September. Source: a statement from Romania's National Defence Ministry, as reported by European Pravda Details: The defence ministry reported that after warning residents in the border counties of Tulcea and Constanta about a potential air threat, the Romanian Air Force dispatched two F-16 fighters to "monitor the air situation". "During these events, the radar surveillance system detected and tracked the route of a drone that entered the [Romanian] national airspace and left the national territory in the direction of Ukraine," the statement said. Romania suggests that the drone could have crashed in a deserted area near the village of Periprava in Tulcea County, where a search operation is currently underway. "The Ministry of National Defence strongly condemns these attacks carried out by the Russian Federation against Ukrainian civilian targets and infrastructure, which are unjustified and seriously contrary to international law," the Romanian Defence Ministry stressed. Background: Earlier, the Ukrainian Air Force also reported that Russian drones had violated Romanian airspace. This is not the first time that Romania has recorded the threat of Russian drones crashing near the Ukrainian border. For example, in July, Romania scrambled F-16 fighter jets amid a large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine. Support UP or become our patron! Residents of the Romanian counties of Tulcea and Constanta, near the border with Ukraine, have been warned of the risk of "objects falling in the airspace" amid another Russian attack on Ukrainian cities. Source: European Pravda with reference to News.ro Details: On the night of Sunday, 7-8 September, residents of Tulcea and Constanta received an alert from the R0-Alert system warning of the risk of objects falling from the sky after Russia's attack on Ukraine near the Romanian border. Tulcea authorities noted that the alert was sent after "national defence and security structures detected a possible Russian attack on facilities in Ukraine, near the border with Romania". "We note that these messages are intended to inform the population in the area of Romania's border with Ukraine about possible attacks by Russia on Ukrainian territory, as well as the possibility of objects falling on national territory," they said. As of Sunday morning, the authorities of both Romanian counties and the Romanian Ministry of National Defence had not recorded the fall of any unidentified objects on the country's territory. Background: On the night of 7-8 September, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian drones had violated Romanian airspace. Support UP or become our patron! The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has protested the violation of the country's airspace by a Russian drone on the night of Sunday, 8 September. Source: Romanian Foreign Ministry, cited by European Pravda Details: The Romanian Foreign Ministry expressed a strong protest against another violation of airspace that could have occurred during the Russian drone attack against Ukraine. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs urges to stop the repeated attacks on the Ukrainian population and civilian infrastructure, as well as the irresponsible escalation of the security situation by the Russian Federation, in particular on the border between Romania and Ukraine," it added. The Romanian Foreign Ministry noted that it had informed its allies and NATO structures about the incident and kept contact with them. The Romanian Ministry of Defence had earlier confirmed that it had scrambled F-16 fighter jets due to the airspace violation and was also looking for the drone wreckage that could have fallen on the country's territory. During the night, residents of Romanian border areas also received warnings of an air threat. Support UP or become our patron! Roseville Sgt. Nicole Gee was a fine Marine. Why is her death being politicized? | Opinion Disrespectful Family of Nicole Gee, fallen Roseville Marine, commemorates anniversary with Donald Trump, (sacbee.com, Aug. 29) I feel for the families of the Fallen 13 the U.S. Marine Corps service members who lost their lives in the 2021 terrorist attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. However, I cant ignore that these families chose to disrespect the thousands of other heroes at the Arlington National Ceremony by making it a political event. Clifford Vose Antelope Trump plays on familys grief Family of Nicole Gee, fallen Roseville Marine, commemorates anniversary with Donald Trump, (sacbee.com, Aug. 29) Sgt. Nicole Gee was by all accounts a fine Marine. She deserves respectful remembrance and recognition. I believe she would have been saddened that her sacrifice is being belittled by her mother-in-law, Christy Shamblin, seeking to use her death for partisan, political purposes. Are we to believe that Donald Trump the draft dodger who characterized those killed in war as suckers and losers suddenly has deep compassion for a group of veterans killed by a terrorist bomb? Of course not. Larry Williams Rocklin Opinion Solutions to homelessness How Sacramento-area real estate veterans are helping homeless women get back on their feet, (sacbee.com, Aug. 28) I appreciate the coverage of solutions to homelessness. Id like to praise Womens Empowerment and the Real Estate Networking, Education and Work (RENEW) program for thinking of both the big and little things it takes to change womens lives. Many women who experience homelessness are fleeing domestic violence. Programs like the ones featured in this article are critical to getting survivors and others experiencing homelessness back on their feet and moving them closer to economic security. This is key to safety and healing for survivors of domestic violence and their families. Programs that empower women, support financial literacy and offer training and skill-building are essential to preventing domestic violence and supporting families. Karen Ben-Moshe Policy program officer, Blue Shield of California Foundation Difference of opinion Stockton residents fight back against wood pellet proposal, (sacbee.com, Sept. 1) Environmental justice is a crucial issue deserving of attention, but the op-ed distorts the facts and ignores the key benefits this project offers to our community and the broader region. California must act to reduce the fuel load in our forests to decrease the likelihood and severity of wildfires an issue that has shattered California communities. A single fire is devastating to our ongoing efforts to improve air quality statewide. Moreover, the op-ed doesnt acknowledge the critical economic opportunities this project would bring to rural communities. Golden State Natural Resources (GSNR) is a nonprofit public benefit corporation. Its commitment to transparency and community engagement stands in stark contrast to the op-eds portrayal, as evidenced by the numerous community meetings held in Stockton, Lassen and Tuolumne. This is a smart, community-driven approach to addressing wildfire risk and supporting economic growth. It deserves a fair and accurate portrayal. Matt Kingsley GSNR Board Chair Inyo County Supervisor Wildfire season CA wildfires: Fire season forecast, predictions for NorCal, (sacbee.com, May 17) Growing up in Northern California means expecting wildfire season during July, August and September. In 2018. the Carr Fire took thousands of homes and burned around 299,651 acres of land in Shasta County and the surrounding area. Unfortunately, my grandparents were among the thousands of people who lost their homes in the fire. The power went out in the whole neighborhood, and no evacuation warning had been issued for their neighborhood. Having an evacuation plan and being able to gather belongings promptly can be a challenge. I respect the amount of hard work and dedication that CalFire has put into wildfire prevention. However, sometimes we need to expect and prepare for the worst. Julianna Jones Sacramento Disappointing interview CNNs Dana Bash to interview Harris and Walz on Thursday, (sacbee.com, Aug. 27) I, like most of my political junkie, Democrat-leaning friends, watched the CNN Dana Bash interview with Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz from the first frame to last. Bash trotted out Donald Trump talking points: tropes about Harris racial identity and Walz military service. Instead, Bash should have asked: How would your approach to foreign policy, economic policy, taxes and deficit reduction differ from Trumps? How would you work with a divided, entrenched Congress? Do you favor any changes in the Supreme Court? What safeguards can be implemented to foster voter rights and ballot access? Ginger Rutland Sacramento As a new federal regulation that requires mammography centers to tell their patients how dense their breasts are takes effect, experts explain what breast density is and why it is important. The American College of Surgeons' National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) standards, revised last year to focus on personalized care, also require mammography centers to educate patients on breast density. Here, radiologists on the NAPBC board offer insight into what women should know about breast density, and why it matters. Breast density is the ratio of fatty and fibrous tissue in the breast. Breast density, which is unique to each woman, is important for several reasons. First, having dense breast tissue may mask small masses on a mammogram. Fatty tissue tends to appear as dark areas, while dense breast tissue and cancerous changes often show up as white areas, making it harder for radiologists to distinguish between suspicious lesions or benign changes. "Another way to think about breast density on a mammogram is like looking at a cloudy sky and trying to differentiate things that are coming through in the sky. You're not going to see things as well when the sky is cloudy versus when it's clear," explained Dr. Georgia Spear, division chief of breast imaging at Endeavor Health/NorthShore University HealthSystem and an NAPBC board member representing the American College of Radiology Imaging Network. In addition to making it hard to detect cancerous changes during mammograms, breast density raises a woman's risk of developing breast cancer by four to six-fold. Spear noted breast cancer tends to develop in fibrous and glandular tissue, which is more abundant in women with dense breasts. Only imaging can measure breast density. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), four categories of breast density may be noted on a woman's imaging report: (1) entirely fatty breast tissue, (2) scattered fibroglandular breast tissue, (3) heterogeneously dense breast tissue, and (4) extremely dense breast tissue. Women with dense breasts may benefit from additional screening. Women with increased breast density may receive supplemental screening with ultrasound or breast MRI. These screening techniques can help radiologists spot cancerous changes that may be masked by dense breast tissue. "Density is just one factor that we look at when we decide what's the best way to screen a patient," said Dr. Lora Barke, chief of breast imaging at Invision Sally Jobe in Denver and an NAPBC board member representing the American College of Radiology on Breast Imaging Commission. "When we look at density, it helps us decide on some other tools that would be beneficial for that patient along with mammography. Knowing breast density provides patients with a bigger picture to make more informed decisions." While mammograms remain the gold standard of breast cancer screening, Barke noted that MRI and/or ultrasound may be superior in detecting small masses or other subtle changes that may be more difficult to see on a mammogram, especially in women with dense breast tissue. Unfortunately, insurance coverage for supplemental screening varies widely, so breast MRIs and ultrasound may not be fully covered for some women. Queen Camilla, King Charles III, Prince William, and Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, pose for a photograph in the 1844 Room at Buckingham Palace in December 2023 in London, England. Credit - Chris JacksonGetty Images On the second anniversary of Queen Elizabeth IIs death, the royal family is honoring the former monarch in their own fashion. King Charles III, 75, and his wife Queen Camilla, 77, were seen attending Crathie Kirk church, which is the royal familys place of worship when they stay at the Balmoral estate in Scotland. Queen Elizabeth II was a regular attendee before her death at 96 years old on Sept. 8, 2022. Her passing was followed by a funeral viewed by more than 29 million viewers in the U.K. It also marked the ascension of her son Charles to the throne, though he was officially crowned in May 2023. The royal familys official account on X (formerly Twitter) posted its own tribute to the Queen, sharing a photograph of her smiling at a Buckingham Palace summer party in 2019. The accompanying caption read: Remembering Queen Elizabeth II, 1926-2022. King Charles III and Queen Camilla depart Crathie Kirk to attend a church service on Sept. 8, 2024. This Sunday marks the second anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's death. Jeff J MitchellGetty Images On the first anniversary of the Queens death in 2023, the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate, lead their own tributes during a small service in Wales at St. David's Cathedral. Outside of the post on the royal familys social media page, the couple has yet to publicly comment on the significant date this year. Read More: A Year After Queen Elizabeths Death, Britain Is a Different Place The U.K. Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, honored the late Queen in a post on X. Today marks two years since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. The late Queens dedication to the U.K. and Commonwealth taught us that whatever challenges our country faces, the value of service always endures, he wrote. For the 70 glorious years of her reign, she was at the heart of this nations life. Today we honour her memory. In tandem with the anniversary, the U.K. governments Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee issued a press release announcing that the new national memorial to the late Queen will be erected at St Jamess Park in London. The committee, which was established by the U.K. Government and Royal Household in 2023, considered many potential spots for the official memorial, but opted for St Jamess Park due to its historical significance and personal connection to the late Queen. It is only right that the memorial is situated in a location that represents the scale of her role at the heart of British society, and provides a place of reflection for the public, said the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Rt Hon Pat McFadden. The release made it clear that the government is in the early stages of memorial construction, but that later this year, more intensive discussions with architects and artists about design proposals will begin. The official design, according to the committee, is set to be announced in 2026, when the Queen would have turned 100 years old. Contact us at letters@time.com. Rubin: A farewell to Traffic Jam's Richard Vincent, who saw a future in the Cass Corridor Richard Vincent created a place to go in Detroit when people were pointedly staying away. Proudly staying away, even. I used to meet suburbanites all the time who would crow about how long it had been since they crossed 8 Mile. They didnt like baseball, apparently. Or opera. Or architecture. Or double chocolate cheesecake topped with a slab of coffee ice cream, drizzled with hot fudge and sprinkled with ground espresso. At Vincents restaurant, Traffic Jam & Snug, that was known as the Carlotta Chocolatta Ice Cream Cheesecake. As for Vincent, he was known as a lot of things, including talk show host Dick Cavett, who he occasionally pretended to be to get good seats at hot spots in New York City. He died at 82 last month, and that story and many others figure to be unspooled at his memorial service Monday. It'll be free appetizers and a cash bar, public invited, from 5-8 p.m. at Motor City Brewing Works on West Canfield in Midtown. Midtown was still very much the Cass Corridor when Vincent and the late Ben Edwards, his partner in life and business, turned a little bar called the Doghouse Saloon into a far-reaching but rarely overreaching operation that included a bakery, creamery and brewery. Within walking distance, if you cared to explore, were boarding houses where hookers congregated on porches if they'd been tossed out of their usual dive bars or the bars had been temporarily shuttered for health code violations. Traffic Jam's Richard Vincent, front, and Ben Edwards are getting comfortable with their brewing equipment. At T.J.'s, as the regulars called it, Wayne State students stopped by before they moseyed to Mexican Village for a post-dinner dinner at 3 a.m. Nicely dressed couples popped in before shows at the Fisher Theatre. Lawyers, journalists and similar riffraff congregated at lunch or after work, and Vincent worked the room, table-hopping with jokes or movie reviews or tales from his latest intriguing trip. The Traffic Jam and Snug restaurant, just off the Wayne State campus,called TJ's by its intimates, shown here in 1980 with its rather bohemian interior of exposed brick, stained glass, barn wood, and old prints of Queen Victoria and other cheerful scenes. "He was one of the icons who made Detroit what it was," said former manager Tom Agosta, one of many Traffic Jam employees who went on to open hospitality-related businesses of their own. More than that, Vincent envisioned what Detroit could be. MORE FROM NEAL RUBIN: Optimism reigns at Ford Field but what you're hearing there might be dangerous A tale of the Doghouse The sprawling enterprise that became Traffic Jam started with a drunken fight. Edwards was a biology teacher at Cass Tech, Agosta said, when he slipped into the Doghouse for a beverage in 1965. A couple of other customers started brawling, and a woman called out to no one in particular, "Anybody wanna buy a bar?" He finished his drink, walked over, and cut a deal. That same year, Vincent happened in with a mutual friend, and Edwards mentioned that he needed a bartender. Vincent reported for duty the next day, and stayed until he and Edwards sold the place in 1999. By long before then, the only remaining piece of the Doghouse was the urinal, mounted out front as a planter. They tweaked, expanded, and even built Michigan's first microbrewery across the street at 470 W. Canfield, where the memorial will be held, and where it took a 10-year tussle with the state to get license No. 1. Edwards mostly hovered behind the scenes, turning his passions into baked goods, cheeses and ales. Vincent was the smiling, omnipresent face. After his third trip to our table, a date once asked me if he was going to be with us all night. No, I said. Only until we leave. Confounding his partner Vincent was involved in theater in his callow youth at Michigan State University. He rarely acted, but somehow wound up on stage when Rudolf Nureyev danced there. "His snooty landlord saw him in that show," Agosta said, "and from then on, he could do no wrong. 'Your rent's late again? No problem!' " Individually and together, Vincent and Edwards had wide-ranging interests and far-flung adventures. Eager members of the Nomads travel club, they would always come home with recipes, or at least ingredients. "I'd never heard of a macadamia nut," Agosta said, "until they started making cookies with them." Richard Vincent in Quebec City in 2008. Vincent, who died last month, was one of the original owners of Traffic Jam & Snug in Detroit's Cass Corridor. After Edwards died in 2005, Vincent relocated to Quebec City, Canada, and became a ferocious bicyclist. He also helped design or decorate homes in Key West, Florida, and Ann Arbor, and was in Michigan with his husband, John Francisco, when he felt woozy after a 25-mile jaunt. The next day, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. That was two years after a fire gutted the Traffic Jam, which has yet to reopen meaning two years since the last serving of Carlotta Chocolatta left the kitchen. A crew works to clean up and secure The Traffic Jam & Snug Restaurant in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood after a fire destroyed the business on Friday, May 27, 2022. The first was born when the pastry chef showed Vincent and Agosta a new creation, a double chocolate cheesecake. "We should make a dessert out of this," Vincent said, as though it wasn't one already. He added the coffee ice cream, made in-house, and also the house-made hot fudge. "Richard said, 'This needs one more thing,'" Agosta recalled, which turned out to be the ground espresso. Edwards thought his partner had come unhinged: "You're going to put ice cream on cheesecake?" Yes, Vincent said, and it was their top seller from day one. So that's one story but there should be lots more on the menu Monday, when his friends get a chance to say goodbye. To reach Neal Rubin, email NARubin@freepress.com. To reach his heart forevermore, reintroduce Carlotta Chocolatta. A public memorial for Vincent will take place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at Motor City Brewing Works, 470 W. Canfield St., across the street from Traffic Jam & Snug in Midtown. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Memorial for Traffic Jam's Richard Vincent set for Monday in Detroit Russia on Sunday said its forces had advanced in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv reported deadly air attacks and urged the West to allow it to carry out more retaliatory strikes inside Russia. Russian attack drones flying towards Ukraine also breached the airspace of NATO members Romania and Latvia, the countries said Sunday, triggering calls for a robust response from the military alliance. Moscow has stepped up its aerial attacks in recent weeks, but it is also trying to fight off a major Ukrainian cross-border offensive into its western Kursk region, which has reshaped the course of the two-and-a-half-year war. Kyiv launched its Kursk offensive on August 6 hoping to force Russia to redeploy troops pressing forward in the east of the country. But Moscow has appeared to intensify its attacks there, chalking up its most significant territorial gains in almost two years over the month of August. And on Sunday, its military claimed to have captured another small village on the route towards the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region. Russia's defence ministry said its troops had "liberated the settlement of Novohrodivka", which lies around 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Pokrovsk. The town is one of Russia's larger territorial conquests of recent weeks, home to more than 14,000 inhabitants before Moscow launched its full-scale offensive in February 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week his main aim in Ukraine after 30 months of fighting was to capture the eastern Donbas area, which includes Donetsk. He claimed that Ukraine's Kursk counter-offensive had made that easier. - Drones breach NATO airspace - Moscow drew fresh condemnation on Sunday after its drones were detected in Latvia and Romania, both NATO and EU members. A "Russian military drone... crashed in the eastern part of Latvia yesterday. There is an ongoing investigation," Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said on X, formerly Twitter. Romania said a Russian attack drone targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine overnight had entered its airspace. "NATO must respond to the fact that Russian 'Shaheds' feel free to fly in the airspace of European countries. They need to be shot down," Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff, said on Telegram, referring to the Iranian-style self-detonating drones. Zelensky himself on Sunday also urged Kyiv's partners to give him more scope to use Western-supplied weapons against targets inside Russia. "In just one week, Russia has used over 800 guided aerial bombs, nearly 300 Shahed drones, and more than 60 missiles of various types against our people," he said in a Facebook post. "Terror can only be reliably stopped in one way: by striking Russian military airfields, their bases, and the logistics of Russian terror," he said. Seven people were reported killed across the country on Sunday after Russian rocket, missile and shelling attacks. Two people died in an air strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy, the capital of the region from where Ukraine poured troops and tanks across the border into Russia in its shock counter-attack. "Four more people were injured, including two children," Sumy military authorities said in a statement. Four were killed in separate Russian rocket and missile strikes on the frontline Donetsk region late Saturday and early Sunday, local officials said. Shelling of the northeastern Kharkiv region killed one and wounded 10, the region's governor said. Officials in the central city of Poltava said the death toll from a strike on a military education facility last week had risen to 58, after three more casualties succumbed to their injuries. Russian strikes also killed seven in the western city of Lviv last week, a relatively rare deadly strike on the city hundreds of kilometres from the frontlines and close to Ukraine's borders with EU and NATO members. Kyiv has for months been calling for the West to supply longer-range missiles and lift restrictions on their use. burs-jc/jj Russian army hits hotel in Donetsk Oblast, searching for people under rubble continues Zoria Hotel in Mykolaivka destroyed by the Russians. Photos: social media The Russian army struck a hotel in the town of Mykolaivka, Donetsk Oblast at around 21:50 on 7 September; two people are being searched for under the rubble. Source: Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne Donbas with reference to Volodymyr Proskunin, Deputy Head of Mykolaivka City Military Administration, Donbas News Details: Proskunin said that the search and rescue operation is ongoing, the rubble is being dismantled, and two people are being searched for under the rubble. According to preliminary data, the Russians attacked the town with aerial bombs. Donbas News reported that the Russians struck at the Zoria hotel. Quote from Donbas News: "At least three floors were destroyed. Photos of the aftermath of the strike were posted in local social media groups. Local residents also report smashed windows in neighbouring houses and the church of St Nicholas the Wonder Maker". Support UP or become our patron! Russian forces launched a multiple-launch rocket system (MLRS) attack on a residential area in the town of Derhachi in Kharkiv Oblast on the evening of Sept. 8, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported. The strike killed a 76-year-old woman and injured at least 13 others as of 8 p.m., according to Syniehubov. Eight residential houses were damaged in the attack. Attacks against population centers in Kharkiv Oblast intensified after Russia launched a new cross-border offensive in the northern part of the region in May. While the push has been halted by Ukrainian troops, Russian troops continue to hold a handful of settlements just across the border. Earlier this morning, Syniehubov reported that in the Kupiansk district of Kharkiv Oblast, two women, aged 73 and 81, were killed in the Russian attacks. Russian strikes also injured five people, including a child, in Kharkiv Oblast over the past 24 hours. Read also: Opinion: Russian soldiers in Ukraine are ordinary guys who commit horrific war crimes Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Russian strikes killed 11 and injured 32 people over the past day, local authorities reported on Sept. 8. Ukrainian air defense shot down 15 Shahed-type drones out of the 23 and one Kh-59 guided missile that were launched by Russia overnight on Sept. 8, according to the Air Force. Two Russian drones were "lost" on Ukrainian territory, likely as a result of electronic warfare means, the statement read. Russia reportedly launched the drones from Kursk Oblast, as well as from Cape Chauda in Russian-occupied Crimea. Russian forces also struck Ukraine with four Kh-59 missiles from Belgorod Oblast. Ukrainian forces used mobile fire groups, anti-aircraft missile troops, and electronic warfare units to repel the air attack. Air defense systems were activated in Odesa, Kharkiv, and Dnipro oblasts. In Donetsk Oblast, Russian attacks killed three people in the town of Kostiantynivka, one person in the village of Petrivka and another one in the village of Shcherbynivka. At least 11 people were injured in the oblast, according to Governor Vadym Filashkin. In Sumy Oblast, Russian forces attacked the Hlukhiv community with first-person-view (FPV) drones, guided aerial bombs, and multiple launch rocket systems, injuring a man, local military administration reported. Russia also struck the Sumy community with guided aerial bombs, killing two and injuring four people, including two children, In the Kupiansk district of Kharkiv Oblast, two women, aged 73 and 81, were killed in the Russian attacks. Russian strikes also injured five people, including a child, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov. In Kherson Oblast, Russian forces attacked 19 settlements over the past day, including its regional center, the city of Kherson. One person was killed, and other nine were injured due to the Russian strikes, the local military administration reported. In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Russia attacked the Myrove and the Marhanets communities of the Nikopol districts with artillery, killing a 76-year-old woman and injuring two women, aged 60 and 62, according to Governor Serhii Lysak. Read also: What the fall of Pokrovsk would mean for Russias war in Ukraine Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Eleven civilians have been killed in Donetsk Oblast over the past 24 hours. Photo: Donetsk Oblast Military Administration Russian forces claimed the lives of five people in Donetsk Oblast on 7 September, in particular three in the city of Kostiantynivka and one each in the settlements of Petrivka and Shcherbynivka. Source: Donetsk Oblast Military Administration Details: Another 11 people have been injured in Donetsk Oblast over the past 24 hours. In particular, four people were injured in Kostiantynivka, the same number in Hirnyk, two more in Katerynivka and one in Nova Poltavka. Since the onset of the full-scale invasion, the death toll in Donetsk Oblast, excluding Mariupol and Volnovakha, has reached 2,736. Support UP or become our patron! A Russian drone violated Romanian airspace during an overnight attack on Ukraine on Sept. 8, the country's defense ministry confirmed in a statement. Residents in the Romanian counties of Tulcea and Constanta received alerts around 2:30 a.m. local time, advising them to take shelter and warning of possible falling objects. Two F-16 fighter jets took off from Romania's 86th Borca Air Base to monitor the airspace, the ministry said. The Russian drone entered Romanian airspace but later left, heading back toward Ukraine. The ministry added that current data indicates that the drone may have struck a non-residential area in the village of Periprava in the county of Tulcea. Searches are ongoing. "The Defense Ministry strongly condemns these attacks by the Russian Federation against Ukrainian civilian facilities and infrastructure, which are unjustified and seriously violate international law," the statement said. Romania, a NATO member, has kept its allies informed about such incidents and condemned Russia's attacks on Ukraine as violations of international law. On Aug. 21, drone fragments were discovered in Romania near its border with Ukraine, specifically in the area around the village of Periprava, Tulcea county. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said in September 2023 that while Russian drones are not intentionally targeting Romania, the situation is still "unacceptable." Romania has taken measures to protect its citizens who live close to the Ukrainian border, including the construction of air raid shelters and the deployment of drone defense systems. Read also: 17 IRIS-Ts will boost Ukraines air defenses but its still not enough, experts say Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The village of Nevelske. Photo: DeepStateMap DeepState, a group of military analysts, updated their interactive online map of hostilities in Ukraine on the evening of 7 September, indicating that Russian troops had occupied the village of Nevelske in Donetsk Oblast. Source: DeepState Quote: "The enemy has occupied Nevelske and advanced in [the town of] Krasnohorivka. Fighting continues north of [the settlement of] Hirnyk". Support UP or become our patron! Russian prisoners of war (POWs) held in Ukrainian camps are no longer allowed to make phone calls to their relatives, Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets announced on national television on Sept. 7. Lubinets said that the ban does not violate the Geneva Conventions, as Russian POWs can still send written letters to their families. "There were many discussions about the possibility for Russian POWs to call their relatives in the Russian Federation... As of now, we have been informed that Russians still have the ability to write letters, but they no longer have the right to make phone calls," Lubinets said. Earlier in March, the petition calling to ban phone calls for Russian POWs received the needed 25,000 signatures. However, the Ukrainian parliament rejected the proposal back then, saying that phone calls "serve an important informative function, providing objective information to Russians that they should not be afraid to surrender." Russian soldiers who have surrendered or have been captured in Ukraine are kept in four POW camps. Conditions there adhere to international laws, particularly the Geneva Conventions, according to Lubinets. Multiple reports and witnesses show that Ukrainian POWs in Russia are most often kept in horrible conditions, subject to torture, beatings, and starvation. However, Lubinets latest address comes amid the recent increasing number of Russias violating the rights of Ukrainian POWs. On Sept. 6, Lubinets appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations in response to a video that allegedly shows the execution of a Ukrainian POW by Russia. The video, which is circulating on social media, was published by Ukraine's military intelligence's "I Want to Live" project. It is unknown when and where it was filmed. The footage purportedly shows a Russian soldier who asks a Ukrainian soldier if he wants to "say the last word, pray before dying," and then shoots him with a rifle three times. The moment of the shooting is blurred. The ombudsman also made a similar appeal in August over a video of Russian troops allegedly displaying the head of a decapitated Ukrainian soldier. The video surfaced on social media shows a man in Russian military fatigues with a covered face with what appears to be a severed head put upon a spike in the background. As of March 2024, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office collected pretrial information on over 128,000 victims of war crimes. The prosecutors said that they are investigating cases of at least 54 Ukrainian POWs being executed by Russia. More cases have likely appeared since then. Read also: Russian POWs on their capture in Kursk Oblast: Commanders just disappeared Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain The chatbot ChatGPT performed better than trainee doctors in assessing complex cases of respiratory disease in areas such as cystic fibrosis, asthma and chest infections in a study presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Vienna, Austria. The study also showed that Google's chatbot Bard performed better than trainees in some aspects and Microsoft's Bing chatbot performed as well as trainees. The research suggests that these large language models (LLMs) could be used to support trainee doctors, nurses and general practitioners to triage patients more quickly and ease pressure on health services. The study was presented by Dr. Manjith Narayanan, a consultant in pediatric pulmonology at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, Edinburgh and honorary senior clinical lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, UK. He said, "Large language models like ChatGPT have come into prominence in the last year and a half with their ability to seemingly understand natural language and provide responses that can adequately simulate a human-like conversation. These tools have several potential applications in medicine. My motivation to carry out this research was to assess how well LLMs are able to assist clinicians in real life." To investigate this, Dr. Narayanan used clinical scenarios that occur frequently in pediatric respiratory medicine. The scenarios were provided by six other experts in pediatric respiratory medicine and covered topics like cystic fibrosis, asthma, sleep disordered breathing, breathlessness and chest infections. They were all scenarios where there is no obvious diagnosis, and where there is no published evidence, guidelines or expert consensus that points to a specific diagnosis or plan. Ten trainee doctors with less than four months of clinical experience in pediatrics were given an hour where they could use the internet, but not any chatbots, to solve each scenario with a descriptive answer of 200 to 400 words. Each scenario was also presented to the three chatbots. All the responses were scored by six pediatric respiratory experts for correctness, comprehensiveness, usefulness, plausibility, and coherence. They were also asked to say whether they thought each response was human- or chatbot-generated and to give each response an overall score out of nine. Solutions provided by ChatGPT version 3.5 scored an average of seven out of nine overall and were believed to be more human-like than responses from the other chatbots. Bard scored an average of six out of nine and was scored as more "coherent" than trainee doctors, but in other respects was no better or worse than trainee doctors. Bing scored an average of four out of ninethe same as trainee doctors overall. Experts reliably identified Bing and Bard responses as non-human. Dr. Narayanan said, "Our study is the first, to our knowledge, to test LLMs against trainee doctors in situations that reflect real-life clinical practice. We did this by allowing the trainee doctors to have full access to resources available on the internet, as they would in real life. This moves the focus away from testing memory, where there is a clear advantage for LLMs. Therefore, this study shows us another way we could be using LLMs and how close we are to regular day-to-day clinical application. "We have not directly tested how LLMs would work in patient-facing roles. However, it could be used by triage nurses, trainee doctors and primary care physicians, who are often the first to review a patient." The researchers did not find any obvious instances of "hallucinations" (seemingly made-up information) with any of the three LLMs. "Even though in our study we did not see any instance of hallucination by LLMs, we need to be aware of this possibility and build mitigations against this," Dr. Narayanan added. Answers that were judged to be irrelevant to the context were occasionally given by Bing, Bard and the trainee doctors. Dr. Narayanan and his colleagues are now planning to test chatbots against more senior doctors and to look at newer and more advanced LLMs. Hilary Pinnock is ERS Education Council Chair and Professor of Primary Care Respiratory Medicine at The University of Edinburgh, UK, and was not involved in the research. She says, "This is a fascinating study. It is encouraging, but maybe also a bit scary, to see how a widely available AI tool like ChatGPT can provide solutions to complex cases of respiratory illness in children. It certainly points the way to a brave new world of AI-supported care. "However, as the researchers point out, before we start to use AI in routine clinical practice, we need to be confident that it will not create errors either through 'hallucinating' fake information or because it has been trained on data that does not equitably represent the population we serve. As the researchers have demonstrated, AI holds out the promise of a new way of working, but we need extensive testing of clinical accuracy and safety, pragmatic assessment of organizational efficiency, and exploration of the societal implications before we embed this technology in routine care." More information: Abstract no: OA2762 "Clinical scenarios in paediatric pulmonology: Can large language models fare better than trainee doctors?", by Manjith Narayanan et al; Presented in session, "Respiratory care in the digital age: innovative applications and their evidence" at 09:30-10:45 CEST on Monday 9 September 2024. [k4.ersnet.org/prod/v2/Front/Pr ?e=549&session=17916] Provided by European Respiratory Society Ukraine has stopped Russian prisoners of war from making calls to Russia; they are now only allowed to send letters. Source: Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner, on the national 24/7 newscast Details: Lubinets noted that "more and more often, the Russians are killing Ukrainian prisoners of war, as documented not only by international organisations, but also by Ukrainian representatives". He believes that this is being encouraged by the Russian Federation's senior leadership. There are four special camps for Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine, and the conditions there comply with the Geneva Conventions. Quote: "To be honest, we are adjusting a few things. For example, there has been a lot of discussion about Russian prisoners of war being able to contact their relatives in the Russian Federation. Our position is very straightforward: under the Geneva Conventions, there is a right to correspondence, not [necessarily] phone calls. As of today, weve been informed that the Russians [PoWs] can still write letters, but they can no longer make phone calls." Background: CNN released a video showing Russian troops apparently executing three Ukrainian soldiers after they had surrendered on the Pokrovsk front. On 3 September, the Donetsk Oblast Prosecutors Office reported that Russian forces had shot three Ukrainian prisoners of war on the Toretsk front. Support UP or become our patron! The aftermath of the Russian attack on Sumy. Photo: Sumy Oblast Military Administration Russian forces conducted an airstrike on the city of Sumy on the night of 7-8 September, leaving two people dead and four more injured, including two children. Source: Sumy Oblast Military Administration Quote: "An airstrike has claimed the lives of two people and left four more injured, including two children." Details: In addition, the authorities noted that houses and cars had been damaged. Quote: "All necessary services are working to deal with the aftermath of the attack. The injured are being provided with the necessary medical care." The aftermath of the Russian attack on Sumy on the night of 7-8 September. Photo: Sumy Oblast Military Administration The aftermath of the Russian attack on Sumy on the night of 7-8 September. Photo: Sumy Oblast Military Administration Support UP or become our patron! Russians target Derhachi in Kharkiv Oblast, killing 1 and injuring 13 people photos The aftermath of the Russian attack on Derhachi on 8 September. Photo: Oleh Syniehubov on Telegram The Russians stormed Derhachi in Kharkiv Oblast, killing a woman and injuring 13 others. Source: Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram : Telegram The aftermath of the Russian attack on Derhachi on 8 September. Photo: Oleh Syniehubov on Telegram Details: Syniehubov reported that a residential area was hit in the attack on Derhachi, which resulted in a fire in several private houses. Quote: "A 76-year-old woman was killed in an attack on Derhachi. At least 10 people have been injured." : Telegram The aftermath of the Russian attack on Derhachi on 8 September. Photo: Oleh Syniehubov on Telegram Update: At 20:10 Syniehubov reported that the number of people injured in Derhachi had risen to 14. The Russians struck the settlement with multiple-launch rocket systems. At least eight houses have been struck. Syniehubov also posted photos of the aftermath. Support UP or become our patron! (CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo.) On Saturday, Sept. 7, the Salida Fire Department (SFD) warned hikers to watch for rattlesnakes after crews responded to a snake bite victim. SFD reported numerous rattlesnake sightings in the area. The photo below shows a rattlesnake spotted during a call on Tenderfoot Mountain. Courtesy: Salida Fire Department According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), rattlesnakes avoid biting unless threatened or provoked. Though rare, bites are painful and serious, especially for children and pets. Understanding rattlesnake behavior helps avoid encounters. They return to the same spots to sun, hunt, and den each year. Slow-moving, they often stand their ground and rely on camouflage. If a rattlesnake coils or rattles, back away slowly to convince the snake you are not a threat. Rattlesnakes den in winter and are active by spring and they typically hunt in the late afternoon or evening. They can be seen more often in the autumn as temperatures cool, requiring them to bask in the sun on warm surfaces, such as pavement or rocks near trails or roads. CPW said the best way to avoid wildlife encounters is through awareness and avoidance. Stay alert, using your eyes and ears, and steer clear of any wildlife you spot or hear. Look for snakes basking in sunny areas like trails or roads and feel free to walk off-trail to avoid them. Always check where you place your hands and feet, especially near rocks or logs. Avoid using headphones so you can hear a rattlesnakes warning. Wear sturdy boots to protect your feet and ankles. Use extra caution at dusk when visibility drops, and always wear boots, even in camp. Travel in groups for better awareness and help in case of a bite. If you cant avoid a snake, follow these precautions: Freeze in place. Snakes are often heard before being seen. If you hear a rattlesnake, stop until you locate it. Moving without seeing the snake could bring you closer. Even if its visible, staying still reduces your threat and helps assess the situation. Keep at least five feet of space between you and the snake, as they can strike from a distance. Move back slowly if possible. Never attempt to catch, kill, or provoke the snake. One-third of bites happen when people try to handle or kill them. Safely move around it. If a snake is in your home or garage, contact local wildlife officials or a pest control company. To keep pets safe from rattlesnakes, always use a six-foot leash, as required on most public lands in Colorado. Dogs, in particular, may ignore a snakes warnings. If you live in rattlesnake-prone areas, remove rock piles or tall grass that could attract snakes or prey, and inspect the area before letting pets outside. Many Colorado dog training facilities offer snake avoidance training to help pets recognize and avoid snakes. Due to their size, pets are more vulnerable to rattlesnake bites. If bitten, seek immediate veterinary care and call ahead. Do not attempt to kill or catch the snake for identification. If bitten by a rattlesnake, the Colorado Poison Center advises: Call 1-800-222-1222 for instructions, then go to the nearest hospital. Remove jewelry and tight clothing. Stay calm and limit movement. Do not cut the bite or try to extract venom. Do not use ice, heat, or a tourniquet. Do not attempt to capture or kill the snake. 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 FOX21 News Colorado. This article may contain affiliate links that Yahoo and/or the publisher may receive a commission from if you buy a product or service through those links. If you have a Samsung slide-in electric range, you should check your make and model number ASAP. Samsung Electronics America just announced a recall on Samsung Slide-In Electric Ranges due to fire hazard. More than 1 million units are part of the announcement. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Samsung received more than 300 reports of accidental activation of the front-mounted knobs either by humans or pets since 2013. About 250 of these reports have caused fires, with 18 of them causing extensive property damage. According to the CPSC, 40 of those incidents resulted in injuries requiring medical attention. Whats included in Samsungs Slide-In Electric Range recall? The Samsung Slide-In Electric Ranges included in this recall were sold between May 2013 and August 2024 at Best Buy, Costco, The Home Depot, Lowes, and other appliance stores, and you can find your model number on the inside upper left corner of the oven door or inside the storage bin on the bottom of the oven, according to the CPSC. If the serial number is unreadable on a ranges label, you may contact 1-833-775-0120 for assistance, or chat online with one of our agents, Samsung told Good Morning America in a statement. If you own the range, you can also check model numbers against those included in the recall listed on the CPSCs website. What to do if your Samsung Slide-In Electric Range was recalled In a statement provided to Good Morning America, the brand shared that Samsung is providing knob locks or covers free of charge regardless of warranty status to all affected customers. If your range is one of those recalled, you can contact Samsung to receive a free set of knob locks or covers compatible with your model. If your range was included in the recall, the CPSC recommends you keep children and pets away from the range and ensure the knobs are turned off before leaving your home or going to bed. You should also keep flammable items away from the cooktop. Some of these ranges included in the recall are WiFi-enabled and can be programmed to send your phone a Cooktop On alert when the range is as an additional safety precaution. On its site, Samsung said customers who own the range may still continue to use it while waiting for their set of free knob locks or covers to arrive. Who to contact if your Samsung Slide-In Electric Range was recalled? Check your Samsung range number to ensure your model isnt part of the recall, and if it is, you can call 1-833-775-0120 for assistance, or chat online with a Samsung agent. This post originally appeared on Apartment Therapy. See it there: Samsung Is Recalling More than 1 Million Kitchen Ranges for a Safety Reason Further Reading Why People Are Ditching Their Seltzer After a Disturbing Study The One Cookware Brand That Gordon Ramsay Cant Stop Talking About Reeses Just Launched a Limited-Edition Peanut Butter Cup, and It Tastes 4x Better than the Original Sign up for The Kitchn's Daily newsletter to receive our best recipes, posts, and shopping tips in your inbox. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) on Sunday said former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo) is significantly in the minority when it comes to her opposition to former President Trump. I do think she actually is significantly in the minority. Here, you look across the board, prominent Republicans are supporting President Trump, but ultimately, I think shes a nonfactor, Sanders said on ABC Newss This Week. Im not trying to be rude, but you dont get to call yourself a conservative or Republican when you support the most radical nominee that the Democrats have ever put up. That doesnt make you a conservative, it certainly doesnt make you a Republican. I think it makes you somebody who wants to protect the establishment, she added. The comments came in response to Cheneys earlier remarks on This Week, during which she maintained she is still a conservative while voicing her opposition to Trump. Cheney, who became one of the most outspoken critics of Trump following the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, threw her support behind Vice President Harris last week and said she doesnt think Republicans against Trump have the luxury of writing in candidates names. Sanders on Sunday said she doesnt think Cheneys endorsement of Harris is news. It should come as no shock that Liz Cheney is not supporting the president, but what should come as a shock is that she is trying to call herself a conservative Republican, or either one of those two words, while supporting somebody who so clearly does not represent conservative principles, Sanders said. Cheney argued the Republican Party has shifted under the leadership of Trump, calling it indefensible. I hope to be able to rebuild, as I said, after this cycle. But I also think its really important for us, as were thinking about rebuilding, as were thinking about the future of the country, to recognize that at the end of the day, the vast majority of people in this country want to know fundamentally, that their elected officials are going to defend the peaceful transfer of power and that they are going to put the Constitution first, she said. And as someone is, you know, whos been a lifelong Republican, its heartbreaking to me to see what has happened to so many of the elected officials in my party, and I know we can do better, Cheney added. Sanders, who served as a White House press secretary during the Trump presidency, has historically supported Trump. The Hill reached out to Cheneys team for comment. 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. SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) Across the nation, many are mourning the loss of two teachers and two students after a school shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. A number of those people are questioning if its safe to step inside of the classroom again. The Savannah-Chatham County Public School System told News 3 that they continue to work toward ways to ensure safety for students, faculty and staff. News 3 spoke with Board of Education Police Department (BOEPD) Emergency Management Coordinator, Justin Pratt. He said a year ago, they started the process of redrawing school maps. The issue we had district-wide was that we didnt have a solidated building map that looked alike across all of our facilities, Pratt said. So, we may have had something that was drawn in the 50s we may have an architectural rendering that was drawn in 2024. Liberty County Animal Services need community help to clear shelter Pratt said the department realized that was an issue as it became harder to effectively respond to incidents. The technology department needed maps so they could jot down where they are putting cameras and access controls, he explained. Maintenance needed them so they could identify water source shut-off valves and gas lines. BOEPD then turned to the Critical Response Group for help. According to Critical Response Group, they use a military-grade mapping system to enhance response time through common language and unified points of reference between response units. They come to Savannah to walk the campus and make sure that what they have drawn is true and accurate, room numbers are correct, and fire extinguishers are where the map says they are supposed to be, said Pratt. Then, well have a new complete set of drawings for that facility incorporating all of the changes It is the second year the school system is working with the company. Pratt told News 3 he has seen improvement in response times within their department and when working alongside other emergency agencies. News 3 was told the company will redraw the facilities as they change or expand. 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 WSAV-TV. Scholz calls on 'several hundred thousand' of Ukrainian refugees to apply for jobs in Germany German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he would like to see "several hundred thousand" more Ukrainian refugees currently in Germany find employment, German media outlet Tagesschau reported on Sept. 7. Scholz's statement came amid talks of a possible cut in aid to Ukrainian refugees in Germany. Ukrainian refugees who receive social payments while unemployed has also caused debate among German officials. More than 200,000 Ukrainian refugees have already found jobs in Germany through the government's Jobturbo program, Scholz said during a conference with citizens and voters of his Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Teltow. "But there were several hundred thousand more, so to say. That is why I would like to see the work done," Scholz said, adding that the federal states and employers are responsible for assisting Ukrainians in finding employment. Teltow is in Scholz's constituency in Brandenburg, where he campaigned as a member of the Bundestag. Elections will be held in Brandenburg on Sept. 22. Germany has taken in more than 1 million refugees from Ukraine since February 2022. Berlin has spent more than 20 billion euros ($21.4 billion) on accommodation and integration of refugees, according to Bloomberg. Deutsche Welle reported in August that most refugees from Ukraine who are medical professionals are still not allowed to work in Germany due to "bureaucratic processes." Out of 1,674 doctors who applied to practice medicine, only 187 were approved, the media outlet said. In June, Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic asked the European Union for financial assistance to cover expenses for hosting Ukrainian refugees. The leaders of three states sent a joint letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with their request for funding. Speaking to reporters ahead of the EU leaders summit in Brussels the same month, Scholz said that the question of each member state's contribution to taking in Ukrainian refugees "is not clearly distributed." The EU should compensate those three nations for living costs, vocational training, and language courses, Scholz said at the time. Scholz's comments in Brussels come after his June 24 statement about the decreasing popularity of Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) that he leads, which is reportedly connected to some voters' opposition to the party's support for Ukraine. Read also: Howitzers, missiles, armor what Ukraine was promised in Ramstein Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) Kern County Sheriffs deputies were deployed to the Kern River on Sunday in response to a possible rescue. At about 12:40 p.m., the Bakersfield Fire Department and Kern County Sheriffs Office responded to a possible rescue by the river in an area near Lake Ming. A search and rescue response was deployed in search of two male subjects who possibly lost their footing and were in the water. The Kern County Sheriffs Office Watch Commander tells 17 News that two subjects were located in the area out of the water. 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 KGET 17. A second arrest in one week after a 2023 murder in Seminole SEMINOLE, Okla. (KFOR) A second suspect has been arrested in connection to the 2023 murder investigation of Jacob Washington from Seminole. The Seminole Nation Lighthorse Police announced that John Nolte III was issued an arrest warrant and turned himself in Saturday. On Aug. 29th his father John Nolte II was arrested in connection to the death of Washington. Nolte II was arrested by Texas Rangers and later booked into Seminole County Jail on a warrant for charges related to the murder. On Saturday officials said Nolte III was arrested for the offenses of Conspiracy, Accessory to Felony, and Arson and Destroying Evidence. The Seminole Nation Lighthorse Police Department says Washington was reported missing after being last seen on Friday, May 12, 2023. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Police investigating missing mans death as homicide Investigators say he was seen leaving work in his 2013 Chevy 1500 truck in Seminole near Sportsman Lake. 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 KFOR.com Oklahoma City. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels Weight loss interventions could reduce the risk of severe cases of flu and other infections in people with diabetes, suggests new research being presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Madrid, Spain (9-13 September). The study, by Rhian Hopkins and Ethan de Villiers, of the University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK, has found evidence to suggest that a higher BMI is a cause of severe infections. In contrast, there was no evidence that mild hyperglycemia contributes to the likelihood of a severe infection. Ms. Hopkins says, "Up to one in three hospitalizations in people with diabetes are for infections and people with diabetes are twice as likely to be hospitalized with infections than the general population. They are also at high risk of readmission. Previous studies have found that a higher BMI and poor blood sugar control are associated with severe infections. However, these studies have been observational and so haven't been able to prove that the links are causal. "If one or both of these factors can be shown to be causal, it may be possible to design interventions to lower the risk of severe infections in those at high risk, such as people with diabetes." The new study used data from the UK Biobank, which holds medical and genetic data on around 500,000 people in the UK, to explore the effect of higher BMI and poor blood sugar control on hospitalization for bacterial and viral infections. The 486,924 participants were classified into three groups: those with a record of hospitalization for a bacterial infection, such as pneumonia or a urinary tract infection (n=64,005); or a viral infection, such as flu, (n=14,562); and an infection-free control group (n=408,357). A higher BMI was found to be associated with hospitalization with infections. The likelihood of being hospitalized with a bacterial infection increased by 30% per 5-point increase in BMI (for instance, an increase in BMI from 30 kg/m2 to 35 kg/m2). Similarly, every five-point increase in BMI was associated with a 32% increase in the likelihood of a severe viral infection. Mild hyperglycemia was also found to be associated with severe infections. The likelihood of being hospitalized with a bacterial infection increased by 32% per 10mmol/mol increase in HbA1c, a measure of blood sugar levels. Similarly, every 10mmol/mol increase in HbA1c was associated with a 29% increase in the likelihood of a severe viral infection. The team then used Mendelian randomization, a technique that uses genetic information to establish whether a factor actually causes ill health, to determine if the relationships were causal. This suggested that a higher BMI is one of the causes of severe bacterial and viral infections. However, mild hyperglycemia did not appear to be a cause of severe infections. The study didn't focus on individuals with diabetes. However, given how vulnerable they are to infections, the results may be of particular relevance to them, says Ms. Hopkins. She adds, "Infections are a major cause of death and ill health, particularly in people with diabetes. Anyone admitted to hospital with a severe infection is also at high risk of being admitted again with another. However, we currently have few effective ways to prevent this. "This study demonstrates that higher BMI is a cause of hospital admission with infection. Clinicians could discuss weight loss options for people with a high BMI at risk of severe infections and readmission to hospital for infection. While this message may be particularly relevant to people with diabetes, it applies more widely, too." Further research is needed to determine if more severe hyperglycemia is a cause of severe infections. See inside the Brazilian C-390 Millennium that Boeing once wanted to buy but now doesn't have an answer to Boeing once wanted to buy a stake in Embraer's C-390 Millennium military aircraft. The $4.2 billion joint venture aimed to boost Boeing's market reach and Embraer's resources. The deal fell through in 2020 and left Boeing without a competitor to Lockheed's C-130 Hercules. Boeing doesn't have an answer to US aerospace company Lockheed Martin's C-130 Hercules military plane but it used to. In December 2018, Boeing and Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer announced joint ventures that would give the American planemaker an 80% stake in Embraer's commercial arm and a 49% stake in its new C-390 Millenium military jet. A $4.2 billion Boeing-Embraer Defense deal was eventually rejected by the Brazilian government in favor of partnerships with Boeing instead that would benefit both companies. Boeing needed Embraer's valuable regional fleet to enter new markets, and Embraer could take advantage of Boeing's marketing power and resources. However, the deal fell through in April 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 crisis. Boeing blamed the fallout on Embraer for failing to meet unspecified contract conditions. The Brazilian planemaker rebutted Boeing, saying it met the joint venture conditions, but Boeing "wrongfully terminated" the deal due to financial and reputational challenges surrounding two 737 Max crashes and other business problems. The bitter collapse meant Boeing would lose access to the regional sector, and it wouldn't have a direct military transport competitor to Lockheed's C-130 Hercules one of the world's leading military transport aircraft. The loss of Boeing's name and money didn't deter Embraer. Its multi-mission C-390 has since found footing outside Brazil, and despite its order book and legacy still dwarfing that of the C-130, Embraer's bigger and faster jet gives Lockheed a run for its money. Business Insider rode on Embraer's C-390 at the Farnborough Airshow in July. Embraer invited BI reporters on the aircraft during the Farnborough Airshow in July. Taylor Rains/Business Insider Packed with Embraer executives and media, Embraer's C-390 plane flew for about an hour around the English countryside. The jet was one of many military aircraft displayed at the airshow, sitting alongside larger players like the Boeing P-8 Poseidon and the Airbus A400M. Both Boeing and Airbus have strong military portfolios but lack a medium-sized airlifter, and Embraer hopes its tactical C-390 can snag business from the world's biggest competitors. The C-390 is a C-130 replacement option and could find business in the US. Lockheed's C-130 Hercules (above) boasts a legacy that Embraer's younger C-390 doesn't have, but the Brazilian plane is catching up with a similar size and speedier jet engines. Amir Cohen/Reuters Embraer largely built the C-390 as a replacement option for the world's C-130 Hercules fleet, and Embraer is actively eyeing the US defense market. Embraer already builds its light attack turboprop, the A-29 Super Tucano, in Jacksonville, Florida. The company showcased the A-29 and its C-390 at its nearby Embraer Executive Jets' headquarters in Melbourne, Florida, in March. Embraer Defense & Security CEO Bosco da Costa Jr. said in a press release that the A-29 was built "just hours away in Jacksonville, Florida," suggesting the C-390 could also be manufactured in the US a common requirement for foreign aircraft operated by the US military. The C-390 offers high speeds and a spacious cargo hold. A Brazilian Air Force loadmaster was onboard during the flight. Taylor Rains/Business Insider The C-390 outperforms the latest C-130J Hercules plane in speed and payload. Equipped with two IAE V2500-E5 turbofan engines, it measures just over 115 feet long, 38 feet tall, and has a wing span of 115 feet. The C-130 has a longer wingspan and slightly shorter length than the C-390 but is the same height. Its cargo hold length is about 60 feet, and the maximum payload can handle 26 metric tons (about 57,000 pounds) with space to accommodate light vehicles, heavy vehicles, and helicopters. That's more than the C-130J's 20 metric tons (about 44,000 pounds). At full capacity, the C-390 can reach speeds of about 614 miles per hour and has a range of 1,080 nautical miles. By comparison, the turboprop C-130 travels at slower speeds, but newer variants have a longer range than the C-390. The C-390 has secured orders from NATO. The first C-390 delivery to Hungary. Embraer The C-390 has served the Brazilian Air Force since 2019, but rising global tensions have increased the demand for military airlifters. Embraer recently inked a joint deal with NATO countries Austria and the Netherlands for nine C-390s. The C-390 has also been delivered to Portugal and Hungary the latter receiving its first on Thursday. The Czech Republic and South Korea have also announced orders for the C-390s in December to replace the C-130s. Still, only a few dozen orders for the C-390 have been placed worldwide compared to Lockheed's 2,700 C-130 deliveries since the launch of the Hercules program in the 1950s. Among the C-390's key selling points is its multi-mission capabilities. The C-390 Millennium takes off from a runway during an airshow ceremony. Jakob Wert "This aircraft is the best choice in the market, offering an unbeatable combination of high performance, advanced technology, and low life cycle costs," Costa said at the airshow in July. Embraer said its highly flexible C-390 could perform some dozen different missions in one platform supporting everything from medical evacuations and air cargo drop to weather reconnaissance and aerial refueling. Converting the jet for all missions takes three hours or less, according to Embraer. Cargo and troops can be dropped from the C-390. The C-390 performing air drops. Embraer According to Embraer, its C-390 can provide high and low-altitude aerial resupply to remote areas thanks to a calculation system built into the plane that uses an algorithm to determine optimal drop points while giving the pilot an option to manually or automatically release cargo. Further, up to 64 fully equipped paratroopers can deploy from the back of the C-390 for aerial assault operations. The C-130J can accommodate up to 92 paratroopers. The jet can be used for military transport and emergency aid. The thousands of pounds of cargo loaded onto the C-390 to fly to flood-impacted people in Brazil. Embraer Pilots and a loadmaster operate the C-390, which can carry up to 80 soldiers in seats lined against both walls of the jet. It's also available for humanitarian aid, disaster relief, and stability operations. "In a world where climate changes, conflicts, and disasters pose an increasing threat, being able to deliver fast and effective assistance determines success in saving lives, providing shelter, and restoring services," Embraer said on its website. For example, in March, the C-390 transported 18 tons of donations, like non-perishable food, water, and cleaning supplies, to flood-affected families in Rio Grande do Sul, in the south of Brazil. Operators can carry out medical evacuations. The demo flight had a set of six litters set up for medical evacuations. Taylor Rains/Business Insider The C-390 can accommodate up to 74 stretchers, eight other people, such as medical attendants, and any necessary life-supporting equipment. Four observation windows, special night vision, and a removable fuel tank that extends the plane's range make it ideal for day or night search and rescue operations. The C-130 can accommodate about the same number of stretchers, also known as litters. Air-to-air refueling is possible. The current C-390 fleet in operation has since completed more than 13,000 flight hours. Embraer Embraer's transport plane becomes the KC-390 ranker when in aerial refueling mode. It can refuel planes, helicopters, and other C-390s. In September 2022, the planemaker signed a deal with American defense company L3 Harris to create a boom-equipped "Agile Tanker" KC-390 to refuel the US Air Force fleet, especially in "contested logistics environments." The Hercules can also refuel most jets and helicopters midair in its specific KC-130J tanker configuration. Thousands of gallons of retardant and water can be dropped on fires. The C-390 can drop water with or without fire retardant. Embraer Embraer's C-390 is equipped with a "roll-on/roll-off aerial firefighting system" capable of delivering up to 3,000 gallons of retardant. The manufacturer said its C-390 firefighting capabilities meet US standards for performance and coverage. In June, Air Data News reported that the aircraft carried out its first firefighting mission by dropping 12,600 gallons of water onto fires in the Pantanal wetlands in Brazil. According to the US Forest Service, the competing Hercules can be configured with portable fire retardant delivery systems for aerial firefighting. The C-130H variant fighting California fires as of August can carry 4,000 gallons of retardant, the state said in a press release. The cockpit has high-tech avionics. The C-390 flight deck includes advanced avionics like a heads-up display that improves pilot situational awareness. Taylor Rains/Business Insider The C-390's fly-by-wire system reduces the workload for the flight crew and improves their control of the plane, especially at low altitudes where it is refueling, firefighting, or performing search-and-rescue. Further, the jet boasts an advanced suite of self-protection systems, including ballistic protection, laser and missile approach warning systems, stall protection, tactical radar, and threat detection systems. Embraer says the C-390 was built with "survivability in mind." The C-390 has a proper bathroom. The lavatory resembled a rustic version of what people will find on a commercial airliner. Taylor Rains/Business Insider Embraer told BI at the airshow that a primary reason to add the full-sized, private bathroom was because of the growing number of women serving in global militaries. The C-130 has a toilet system, but users have only curtains for privacy. The C-390 also has heated floors, temperature control, and reduced vibration and noise for passenger comfort. Boeing's closest answer to the C-390 is its larger C-17 Globemaster III. The US Air Force has hundreds of C-17 planes. picture alliance/Getty Images The US Air Force operates the giant C-17 military plane, which has a 164,900-pound payload and four Pratt & Whitney F117-PW-100 jet engines. It can perform various missions, such as transport, airdrops, and humanitarian flights. Its high speeds are comparable to those of the C-390, and Embraer is seemingly trying to muscle out the turboprop C-130 with a jet-powered airlifter that's smaller than the C-17. Read the original article on Business Insider Seneca Hay Auction raises funds to feed those in need SENECA, Mo. Hundreds of bales of hay are sold to help feed those in need. The Seneca Rodeo Grounds hosted the 18th annual Farmers Neighbor Feed Hay Auction today. Farmers from Jasper, Diamond, and Seneca donated more than 250 hay bales to raise money for the Seneca Food Pantry. Volunteers from the Seneca Food Pantry and Seneca FFA helped by selling hamburgers, hotdogs, and chips for donations. There were also cookies, cakes, and other desserts made by local churches for auction as well as multiple items donated by the public. 100 percent of the money raised goes to the Seneca Food Pantry. People should come out because its just a great community event I mean you have all kinds of people who are here, there is something for everyone here and its all for a good cause. were all getting to get together and now its all the churches and all the community coming together for one cause and its a blessing, said When they held their first hay auction 18 years ago, six thousand dollars was raised. Last year that number reached nearly twenty thousand dollars. 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 KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. A Psychic Fair will be held at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Watertown on Saturday, September 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church 1330 Gotham St. Watertown, NY General Admission is $10; event highlights include: 10 to 11 a.m. Free Sound Bath by Peace Flow Yoga; and 2 to 4 p.m. Psychic Medium Wilson Stevenson Gallery Reading; Vendors offering reiki, tarot reading, charm casting, dream interpretation and more will be in attendance. 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 WWTI - InformNNY.com. Several states announce ban on protective firefighter gear linked to health concerns: 'Their lives will be saved' The risks of firefighting go beyond the obvious and to the unseen: The protective gear that keeps these heroes safe contains chemicals that cause cancer. These per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, resist water and heat but they also caused two in three firefighter deaths from 2002 to 2019, as the Guardian reported. PFAS are called "forever chemicals" because they don't break down naturally. The properties that make them perfect for turnout gear jackets, pants, boots, gloves, and more also make them toxic to people, animals, and the environment. Forever chemicals infiltrate air, water, soil, and even our bodies, and they have been linked to cancer, congenital disabilities, and other terrifying health outcomes. In Massachusetts and Connecticut, though, lawmakers have banned the sale of PFAS-laden firefighting equipment. A similar effort in California fell short, the Guardian noted. The statutes will take effect in 2027 and 2028, and on Jan. 1, 2025, Massachusetts will also require manufacturers of PFAS-treated products to inform buyers about the PFAS. The Bay State legislation overcame multiple roadblocks. Diane Cotter, the wife of a Worcester firefighter who was diagnosed with prostate cancer, told the Guardian that union and state leaders worked together to stall the movement. "The American Chemistry Council, which represents PFAS makers, remained opposed, and the law has broader implications in the fight to regulate PFAS," the newspaper added. "As PFAS regulations have expanded, the industry has sought to present the chemicals as irreplaceable and essential to products that save lives, such as medical devices, pharmaceuticals, or turnout gear." However, some firefighters are already wearing PFAS-free gear, which is in line with other industry changes, including one state's prohibition of firefighting foam that includes PFAS. New Jersey banned the substance unanimously, and the Department of Defense will stop using it by the end of this year. "This next generation of firefighters their lives will be saved," Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts President Rich MacKinnon stated, per the Guardian. "Their families will not have to go through the diagnosis, treatment, and unfortunate death." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. For much of her adult years, Detroit native Dr. Priscilla Wade has helped people navigate the challenges of life. However, when Wade was entering Wayne State University as a freshman in 1974, it was the graduate of Osborn High School who was in need of directions. I didnt even know where the college was and I wound up on 32nd Street, Wade recalled, as she described how she ended up roughly 4 miles away from the Wayne State campus that day. I had to stop at a gas station to get directions. A friendly gas station attendant would point Wade in the right direction. But before that experience, a counselor at Osborn High School lived up to the school's mascot name the Knights by springing into action when it was needed the most and setting Wade on an educational path that led to her becoming the doctor of philosophy and licensed psychologist she is today. Native Detroiter Priscilla Wade, shown in her work office in Okemos, once had difficulty finding the Wayne State University campus. But as a licensed psychologist today, she now helps clients navigate the challenges of life. Wade credits the now 95-year-old Dr. Arthur Divers for "launching" her life. And Wade will finally get a chance to thank Divers in person on Sept. 20 during a 50-year reunion for Osborn High School's Class of 1974. I would not have attended college if it wasnt for Dr. Divers direction because at the time of graduation, I was a dancer with plans to go to New York City, Wade explained about the debt of gratitude she owes to Arthur Divers, who was known simply as Mr. Divers during the days Wade attended classes at Osborn, 11600 E. Seven Mile Road. I dont know who he talked to, but I started Wayne State University on conditional status. I did not apply and I had not taken an entrance exam. One small action by Dr. Divers made a huge difference because this 17-year-old would not have gone to college. And with that one action, he also eliminated intergenerational trauma in our family, because once I was able to start college, my siblings followed the template. As a student at Osborn High School, in the Class of 1974, Priscilla Wade showed enough promise to receive scholarship money from a parents group. However, Wade had no place to use the money until school counselor Arthur Divers reached out to Wayne State University. On Sept. 20, Wade and the now 95-year-old Divers will come together again during Osborn High School's Class of 1974 50th reunion. For more than 20 years, as Wade leveraged her higher education to launch a successful professional career, including establishing Psychological & Consultation Services, PC in Okemos, where she serves as president, Wade says she attempted to contact Divers. The wait finally ended recently when Wade connected with other classmates from Osborn who were planning the upcoming 50-year reunion for the Class of 1974. Someone in the group had informed Wade of an article written in the Feb. 26, 2023, Detroit Free Press about the then-94-year-old Divers. An email sent to the Free Press on the evening of Friday, Aug. 23 led to Wade contacting Arthur Divers daughter, Sheri Divers. And by Thursday afternoon, Aug. 29, Wade was reporting back to the Free Press that not only had she reached her old counselor, but that Arthur and Sheri Divers would be attending Osborns Class of 1974 reunion on Friday, Sept. 20 at the Blossom Heath Inn in St. Clair Shores as her paid guests. Dr. Priscilla Wade's professional journey since graduating from Osborn High School in 1974 included writing an advice column for a period of time, which was published in the Lansing State Journal. Wade will have a chance to talk about that experience and more on Sept. 20 at Osborn High School's Class of 1974 50th reunion at the Blossom Heath Inn in St. Clair Shores. I was so happy and excited to talk to him, said Wade, who had received scholarship money from a parents group before her high school graduation but had no place to use it before Divers outreach to Wayne State. I had searched for him for over two decades, wanting to thank him for his support at the end of my high school career. His help, may to him, been a part of his job. For me, it launched me into a life of possibilities and it was a life-changer. A Feb. 26, 2023, Detroit Free Press article helped Dr. Priscilla Wade find Dr. Arthur Divers after a more than 20-year search. Wade credits Divers for "launching" her life, and on Sept. 20, Wade will thank Divers in person during Osborn High School's Class of 1974 50th reunion. Guidance counselors and teachers dont know how they touch the lives of their students. I wanted him to know he made a difference in my life! On the early morning of Sept. 4, Wade was joined on a phone call by one of her siblings who followed the higher educational template she laid out to perfection. And while 11 years younger than her big sister, Dr. Christine Wade, an OB-GYN, is well aware of what Divers did for her family 50 years ago at Osborn High School. All of my siblings (all graduates of Osborn High School) went on to higher education in one way or another, and a lot of it started with Dr. Divers appearing at the last minute and being able to help my sister go to college, said Christine Wade, who graduated third in the Class of 1985 at Osborn, which earned her a scholarship from the Krainz Woods Neighborhood Organization. It really magnifies how important teachers and counselors are its a sacred relationship. "She was a trailblazer for our family and her greatest gift to me was her example," says Dr. Christine Wade, an OB-GYN, about her sister, Priscilla Wade, a 1974 graduate of Osborn High School, who began a family tradition of pursuing higher education after receiving help from Osborn school counselor Arthur Divers to enter Wayne State University. Christine Wade also had a special story to share about two other important people her parents, dad Maurice and her namesake mother Christine Wade. They may not have been aware of the pathway (to higher education), but they had a very sincere, deep and profound intention to see their children get an education, said Christine Wade, whose voice was filled with pride when she described how her father worked "from no sun in the morning until no sun at night" as a skilled tradesman for General Motors and the operator of his own Detroit barbershop, which provided money that paid for her classes and other essentials. My parents also were very prayerful people. And combined with their intention, its amazing how things came together. The words spoken by Christine Wade echoed a story that Divers communicated to the Free Press in 2023 about how his parents placed immense importance on education despite the fact that there were no previous high school graduates in the family before him. This may explain why Divers was prepared to go the extra mile 50 years ago as a counselor for Priscilla Wade. More: After her lunch was taken as a kid, Brianna Kennedy developed a hunger for helping others More: She lived for young people and that is why Alfredine Wiley's life is celebrated today My parents werent even high school graduates, Divers said on the evening of Sept. 4. But in my family, it was like a domino effect, because after I graduated from Dunbar (High School in Little Rock, Arkansas) my sister (Beverly Jean Divers) followed me and she continued on in school to earn a doctorate degree as well. So when I was a counselor at Osborn, if I saw talent, or even potential it was more than about grades I would write that letter of recommendation and be a reference for a student, or make a phone call to the college. I did things like that for a lot of students. And, at the time, Wayne State had a lot of money for students that came from families that never had anyone attend college. A man with a reputation for sporting elegant attire at community events, its a good bet that the now-95-year-old Divers will be among the best dressed on Sept. 20, when he walks through the Blossom Heath Inn doors, 24800 Jefferson, for Osborns Class of 1974 50th reunion. The event is scheduled to begin inside the Inn at 6 p.m., preceded by a picture-taking opportunity just outside of the Inn at Wahby Park, beginning at 5. And if Dr. Divers is not already scheduled to be a part of the reunions formal program, and an extra speaker is needed, he is always a source of wisdom guaranteed to inspire anyone in attendance at the reunion, where the Knights of Osborn will be clad in red and white the schools colors and gold to mark the 50th anniversary. Im certainly going to feel good, said Divers, when asked to predict what his state of mind will be when he arrives at the reunion with his daughter Sheri. It makes me feel that I did something worthwhile. As long as the good Lord lets me wake up in the morning, Im going to try to make the best of it. And I think the reason Im still alive today is because I was willing to help people and Im still willing to help. God gave us all something to help others and it just became a part of me. Arthur and Sheri Divers, far right, are accustomed to being in the company of important people, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. And, on Sept. 20, father and daughter will be in the company of people that are very important to the 95-year-old Arthur Divers, when they attend Osborn High School's Class of 1974 50th reunion as a guest of Priscilla Wade, who was admitted to Wayne State University as an undergraduate with help from Arthur Divers. Scott Talley is a native Detroiter, a proud product of Detroit Public Schools and a lifelong lover of Detroit culture in its diverse forms. In his second tour with the Free Press, which he grew up reading as a child, he is excited and humbled to cover the citys neighborhoods and the many interesting people who define its various communities. Contact him at stalley@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @STalleyfreep. Read more of Scott's stories at www.freep.com/mosaic/detroit-is/. Please help us grow great community-focused journalism by becoming a subscriber. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: On Sept. 20, this 95-year-old will fit right in with 1974 Osborn class Before Ashley Lowe was a lawyer and the CEO of the largest legal aid firm in Michigan, she sold copiers in California. "I was walking around downtown San Francisco all the time selling these copiers. I came in contact with a lot of people who were homeless. It changed my thinking quite a bit," Lowe said. She still remembers a man who would sleep in a parking structure, across the street from her job with Canon Solutions America. Lowe, who passed him every day on her way into the office, often brought him food in the morning and sometimes left lunch for him at the end of the day. She said she was saddened when, one day on her way into the office, he wasn't there. Ashley Lowe, CEO of Lakeshore Legal Aid, poses on the rooftop of her office building in Pontiac on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. "I have thought about that man for so long. Did he find a place to live? Did I do enough? What was my responsibility in this situation besides giving a guy a banana?" Lowe said. Lowe eventually shifted her career to law and went on to get her master's of business administration and a law degree from Georgetown University. Now, she's the CEO of Lakeshore Legal Aid, with 12 offices across metro Detroit that provide free civil legal services to people who are low income, older adults, and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. She helps people who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford legal representation, always thinking of the the man who she passed every day on her way to work. For her work, Lowe is being honored with a 2024 Eleanor Josaitis Unsung Hero Award, part of the Shining Light Awards that recognize regional leadership. The honors are presented by the Detroit Free Press and the Metropolitan Affairs Coalition. BUY TICKETS TO THE CEREMONY: Ashley Lowe will be honored during a luncheon on Oct. 15 at Ford Field From corporate lawyer to legal aid Lowe's path to representing poor and marginalized communities wasn't a straight one. In law school, she planned to be a corporate lawyer. "I had this idea that I would do corporate law and do my MBA at Georgetown, then I would be the perfect package for corporate work. That summer, I worked as a summer law associate and it was the most boring thing I've ever done. It was horrific," Lowe said. Lowe knew the experience wasn't for her. She later moved to Michigan with her husband and found work here. She took a job at Dickinson Wright Law. So when she and her husband decided they were going to stay in Michigan long term in 2000, she decided to take a job at Oakland Livingston Legal Aid on a two-year grant-funded position. "She could've stayed at a private law firm and made a lot more money, that off the top tells you she has a big heart and is committed to this work," said President of Lakeshore Legal Aid Board of Directors Thomas Linn. She didn't see herself as a partner in a big law firm long term and figured she'd do it for a few years and then figure out her next step. "I met with a longtime legal aid lawyer who tried to talk me out of it. They told me that people would think I couldn't get a better job, that I would work long hours and I won't get paid as much. Funny enough, the whole time she was telling me this I was thinking, that sounds great," said Lowe, who moved to Lakeshore Legal Aid in 2016. Lowe transitioned to CEO of the nonprofit in 2019. "When people are poor, so many things are hard. When I taught at Cooley (Law School), students used to tell me, 'Oh, this client didn't call me back, this is so frustrating. They don't value our time and resources,' " Lowe said. "So we had to set up this whole curriculum to tell students you are not their highest priority. They have to get food on their table or their kid could be sick. What they are hoping you do is take this and just do it," said Lowe. That's what Lowe and legal professionals at Lakeshore are doing. Filling in the inequities for poor and marginalized communities in the legal system. According to a Lakeshore Legal Aid's 2021 annual report, the nonprofit helped nearly 10,000 residents with housing-related issues and prevented more than 2,300 evictions. Seventy-five percent of Lakeshore's housing clients are of color, 71% are women and over 1,000 clients are 65 years or older. They helped an additional 6,000 residents with family law and financial stability issues. "Landlords have money, time, lawyers and can wait out a system. I believe that poor people deserve the best and I want to be part of that endeavor. Help people who are low income, on the short end of the stick and change the balance of power," Lowe said. Lowe said, in Detroit, less than 5% of tenants have a lawyer as opposed to 90% of landlords who are represented. She said this creates an interconnected system of default judgements that perpetuates evictions. "There's a horrible impact of someone being displaced from their home. If we can't reach a conclusion they're comfortable with, we may be able to get them on a payment plan or get them resources. If that's not possible at least they get time, time to get their new home or have their voice heard," Lowe said. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lakeshore Legal Aid CEO Ashley Lowe to receive Shining Light Award Sketches released of suspects accused of robbing Carrollton city contractor at gunpoint Police in Carrollton are investigating an armed robbery, and theyre hoping sketches of the suspects will lead to arrests. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Carrollton police said a city contractor was repairing signs along the Greenbelt section off Cedar Road on Tuesday when the robbery happened around 1:30 p.m. They flagged him down, then brandished a gun, Carrollton police Lt. Blake Hitchcock said. The victim called 911 to report the young teens took off with his side-by-side utility vehicle and his wallet. Both items were ditched less than 500 feet away with the wallet missing its cash. Investigators said during the encounter, the victim was punched in the eye. Hitchcock said the victim is doing OK. TRENDING STORIES: On Wednesday, Georgia Bureau of Investigation forensic artist Kelly Lawson drew sketches of the suspects based on the victims description. The suspects are between 12 and 14 years old. If you recognize their faces or have any information regarding the incident, contact Det. Wilson at 770-834-4451 or via email. Tipsters can remain anonymous. The investigation is ongoing. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) Fire crews are battling a large vegetation fire visible in parts of North County that broke out Saturday at Camp Pendleton, while a smoke advisory has been extended through Monday for the communities surrounding the Marine Corps Base. Cal Fire reports the Roblar Fire began at 2:55 p.m. Saturday in the area of Case Springs Road and Roblar Truck Trail on Camp Pendleton and was burning at around 200 acres. As of 6:30 p.m. Saturday, the fire was reported to be burning at 500 acres, according to Cal Fire and Camp Pendleton. North County residents report seeing ash from nearby Airport Fire In an update Sunday evening, Cal Fire and Camp Pendleton reported that fire grew to 900 acres and was 15% contained. Smoke has been visible in some communities in North County surrounding the Marine Corps Base. As of Monday afternoon just before 3 p.m., the fire had burned 1,000 acres and was at 20% containment, Camp Pendleton said in an update. Both the Camp Pendleton Fire Department and CAL FIRE have been working on containment efforts. Fire crews as of Monday night have been able to contain the 1,000 acre wildfire to 45%. On Tuesday, that fire was still burning at 1,000 acres, but crews have been making progress with 51% containment. Evacuation orders lifted as crews battle vegetation fire in Campo The Marine Corps Base reports the vegetation fire is within the Zulu Impact Area, which is 6.6 miles from Oceanside and 5 miles from Fallbrook. Crews battle large brush fire at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (Photo: Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton) Because of the wind direction, the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District extended its smoke advisory for nearby communities south and east of Camp Pendleton, including Fallbook, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Vista and Bonsall. Residents in the impacted areas should be aware the air quality levels may be affected and will be unhealthy in areas where the heavier smoke is. You can check the air quality in real time at airnow.gov and with the AirNow widget below. Escondido battery storage fire update: All evacuation orders lifted Crews from Camp Pendleton, along with several air tankers, are working to douse the fire. According to Camp Pendleton, the cause of the wildfire remains under investigation. Crews battling brush fire at Camp Pendleton 9-7-24 (Credit: ALERTCalifornia | UC San Diego) Crews battling brush fire at Camp Pendleton 9-7-24 (Credit: ALERTCalifornia | UC San Diego) Crews battling brush fire at Camp Pendleton 9-7-24 (Credit: ALERTCalifornia | UC San Diego) Those in communities near Camp Pendleton are advised to limit outdoor and physical activity and to stay indoors when possible to limit your exposure to fine particulate matter and ozone, especially anyone with respiratory or heart disease, or who is elderly or a child. Check back for updates on this developing story 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 FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. Something Strange Is Happening to The Calls of Amazon Parrots Something Strange Is Happening to The Calls of Amazon Parrots Some parrots in the Amazon no longer sound like they used to when they call out to each other through the trees. Scientists studying the yellow-naped amazon (Amazona auropalliata) have noticed in the last few decades that these Pacific coast parrots are changing their 'accents'. While it could interfere with mating and reproduction, the researchers speculate it might actually be a positive sign of the birds adapting. Like many other birds, yellow-naped parrots are known to have regional dialects. This means that different communities shriek, whistle, and screech in slightly different ways, depending on where they live. Scientists have noticed this about the species since 1994, but between 2005 and 2016, researchers from New Mexico State University and the University of Pittsburgh (UPJ) at Johnstown have noticed a significant geographic shift. The types of calls these parrots are making in different regions seem to be bleeding into one another. Some calls that were recently heard in the north region, for instance, had only previously been heard in the south. In fact, some birds in the north were capable of producing both accents, researchers found, what they call a 'bilingual' skill. This could possibly give the parrots a survival advantage. Birds that can communicate with more groups may be able to share more information, access foraging areas, or gain roosting privileges. And that may be more important now than ever. In the last three generations alone, the yellow-naped parrot has lost more than 92 percent of its population in Central and South America, mostly due to habitat loss and poaching for illegal wildlife trade. The fact that these widespread changes coincide with shifting accents may be no coincidence. "The observed cultural changes may represent adaptive responses to changing group sizes and patterns of social association," write the authors of the study. The findings have broad implications for threatened species right around the world. Vocal dialects are a common example of animal culture heard among songbirds, parrots, bats, and cetaceans. Like human accents, these dialects can reveal where animals come from, and their use may promote social cohesion and bonding. "Given the key roles that vocal dialects may play in animal social systems, research into cultural evolution in the face of anthropogenic change is warranted," write biologist Christine Dahlin, from UPJ, and her colleagues. In Australia, for instance, one type of songbird, called the regent honeyeater, is so very critically endangered that not enough individuals in its population exist to teach its song to the next generation. As a result, many wild birds are singing 'weird' songs, some of which don't even belong to their species. Yellow-naped parrots still sound like themselves, but the migration of the species' southern accent to the north suggests that some acoustic patterns are on the move. Since the 1990s, yellow-naped amazons have displayed three distinct vocal dialects. One in the north, one in the south, and one in Nicaragua. A survey in 2005 found the integrity of these accents had remained intact for over a decade, sounding like this; But then something seemed to have changed. They began to sound more like this; By a third survey in 2016, the population of yellow-naped amazons in Costa Rica had plummeted by more than half, probably caused by nest poaching, habitat loss, and fragmentation. While researchers observed long-term persistence of the north and south dialects, the team also documented four new call variants, a large increase in bilingual sites and birds, and a shift in the geographic range of the three traditional dialects. The rise of new acoustic variants was especially evident in the south. The greater distance between roosting sites in this region could have inhibited movement and promoted cultural drift, researchers explain. In the north, on the other hand, where roosting sites are denser, parrots may have learned to vocalize from a wider variety of neighboring birds, allowing accents to spread and catch on. "Some of this change could be disruptive, with the potential to further exacerbate population declines. However, an increase in bilingual sites could also be a sign of adaptability," the researchers conclude. "Ultimately, monitoring cultural behaviors, such as the rate of change in dialects, can help wildlife managers understand anthropogenic impacts, population dynamics and conserve species." The study was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Related News HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) South Carolinas Board of Education on Tuesday approved a policy barring students from using electronic devices during the school day, giving districts until January to draft local rules or risk losing state aid. Research and feedback show that the widespread use of smartphones in schools has created serious academic, mental health, and discipline challenges, State Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver said in a statement. With this policy, South Carolina students will be free to focus on their academic future and building life-long friendships in a safe environment, while South Carolina educators are free to focus on teaching. During the school day, students are prohibited from accessing their personal electronic devices, unless authorized for classroom use. Students may not wear or access device accessories during the school day, language in the policy says. Students must store their devices and device accessories in lockers, backpacks, or otherwise as directed by the school district during the school day. Districts may forbid student possession of devices and device accessories on school property. Horry County Schools spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier said district officials are expected to discuss the policy in the coming weeks. News13 has asked all of the school districts in our coverage area about how they plan to address the new policy. SC Board of Education threatens to take away funding if cellphone ban not met Between May 27 and June 7, 9,738 teachers responded to a four-question survey, sent to all educators statewide, about their experiences with student cell phone use in their schools. The responses spanned 4,816 elementary, 2,834 middle, 1,785 high and 303 administrative and support staff. Teachers also had the opportunity to provide open-ended feedback on the topic. Major themes of their responses are described below. Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Virginia and major cities including New York and Los Angeles have all either banned or are planning to bar electronic devices in classrooms, according to S.C. Department of Education data. 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 Queen City News. Southern California is facing record-high temperatures, and excessive heat warnings will stay in effect through the weekend until Monday night at 8 p.m. The heat is a big issue with the excessive heat warnings and heat advisories that are going to continue as we make our way into both Sunday as well as Monday afternoon before we get a little bit of relief finally coming into Southern California by Tuesday, reports KTLA meteorologist Kaj Goldberg. A record-breaking temperature of 112 degrees in downtown Los Angeles was recorded on Friday as temperatures peaked, breaking the areas previous record of 111 degrees in 2020, according to the National Weather Service. The following temperatures across the Southland also broke previous records on Saturday: 101 degrees in Long Beach (previously 100 set in 1977) 111 degrees in Woodland Hills (previously 109 set in 1955) 95 degrees in Camarillo (previously 94 in 2011) On Friday, LAX reached 102 degrees (previously 99 set in 2020). The following temperatures tied past records: 114 degrees at Burbank Airport 105 degrees at UCLA 99 degrees in Oxnard For the rest of the weekend, NWS warned Southern California residents and visitors of these extreme heat conditions: Mountain and L.A. city regions will see dangerously hot conditions with temperatures up to 105 degrees Beaches and coastal regions could get up to 96 degrees In the San Fernando Valley, temperatures could reach up to 113 degrees Orange County could see temps in the mid-90s to 106 degrees The Inland Empire could see 102 to 110 degrees With these hot conditions, officials say there is a high risk for dangerous heat illness, especially for children, the elderly, those without air conditioning, and those who are active outdoors. Health and Safety Tips To minimize the risk of heat-related illnesses, officials recommend these precautions: Stay cool: Spend time in air-conditioned buildings, avoid direct sunlight, and limit outdoor activities, especially during the hottest parts of the day. Residents without air conditioning should seek refuge in public cooling centers. Stay hydrated: Drink more water than usual, and dont wait until youre thirsty to hydrate. Avoid beverages with high sugar, caffeine, or alcohol content, as they can contribute to dehydration. Look out for others: Check on neighbors, friends, and family members, particularly those who are elderly or young or have pre-existing health conditions. Ensure pets have plenty of water and shade, and never leave them or children in parked cars. For non-emergency information, residents can call 311, and in the event of a suspected heat stroke, they are urged to call 911 immediately. Symptoms of heat-related illnesses include heavy sweating, weakness, dizziness, nausea, and, in severe cases, confusion or unconsciousness. Cooling Centers As temperatures rise, L.A. officials have urged residents to plan and prepare to avoid heat exhaustion. Cooling centers have been established throughout the region to provide relief for those without air conditioning. The city has opened the following cooling centers which will now be extended through Monday, Sept. 9: Fred Roberts Recreation Center, 4700 Honduras St., Los Angeles, CA 90011 Mid Valley Senior Center, 8801 Kester Ave., Panorama City, CA 91402 Sunland Senior Center, 8640 Fenwick St., Sunland, CA 91040 Jim Gilliam Recreation Center, 4000 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90008 Lincoln Heights Senior Center, 2323 Workman St., Los Angeles, CA 90031 Lafayette Recreation Center, 625 S. Lafayette Park Pl., Los Angeles, CA 90057 Ten L.A. city libraries will also be open on Sundays from 1 p.m. 5 p.m. Residents can find the nearest cooling center by calling 311, checking the Cool Spots LA app, or visiting the citys emergency management website. 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 KTLA. Southern California wildfire burns so intensely that it creates its own weather as it spreads, forcing evacuations Thousands of Southern California residents were forced from their homes Saturday after an explosive wildfire grew thousands of acres in size in mere hours and is burning so intensely that it is creating its own weather. The Line Fire, which began about 53 hours ago in San Bernardino County, has burned more than 17,237 acres up from nearly 7,000 acres just a few hours earlier. About 4,800 homes have been affected by the evacuation order in the Running Springs and Arrowbear Lake areas as of Saturday evening, the San Bernardino Sheriffs Department told CNN. Hundreds more have been evacuated in the city of Highland. The fire was at 0% containment on Saturday evening. It was first spotted at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains near Natural Parkland Trailhead early Thursday evening, according to fire officials. The blaze is creating its own weather in the form of pyrocumulus clouds. These clouds can create erratic winds that push the fire outward, which is contributing to the fires spread. If fires burn hot enough, the clouds can produce lighting and rain, called pyrocumulonimbus. They can reach heights of 50,000 feet and generate their own systems of thunderstorms. The San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department placed several communities under precautionary evacuation warnings and have provided animal shelter services for pets and livestock in need of evacuation. The agency expanded evacuation orders for some nearby areas Saturday evening as fire conditions worsened, it announced on X, formerly Twitter. The American Red Cross set up an evacuation shelter at a local church Saturday for residents seeking refuge from the fire. Multiple agencies from around the region including Cal Fire, the US Forest Service-San Bernardino National Forest, San Bernardino County Fire and San Bernardino County Sheriff are working together in managing the fire. The Line Fire has grown more than 14 times in size in just over 30 hours, from just about 1,180 acres at 5 p.m. PT Friday afternoon to its size as of late Saturday night. Adding to the list of natural disasters, a pair of earthquakes struck nearby Ontario, California, within a half hour of each other, jolting the already rattled region. The first earthquake was recorded at 3.5 magnitude at 10 a.m. local time, and the next one was recorded at 3.9 magnitude, according to data from US Geological Survey. Residents living as far as Los Angeles felt the Saturday morning shake, according to USGS. Meanwhile in neighboring Nevada, the Davis Fire described by fire officials as a dangerous, wind-driven blaze had burned around 1,500 acres by Saturday evening and destroyed at least six structures, Truckee Meadows Fire and Rescue said on X. This comes as much of the Western region remains under heat alerts through the weekend with temperatures in Southern California ranging from 95 to 105 F, which is a 10 to 20F above average weather pattern for the region. CNNs Ashley R. Williams contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Southern California Wildfire Is So Fierce Its Creating Its Own Weather A swathe of Southern California is engulfed in flames, as a wildfire rages in San Bernardino County. According to CBS News, the Line Fire blaze that started Thursday night has doubled in size and has burned through 17,459 acres as of Sunday. The fire, which is being fought by 600 firefighters, came in the midst of an intense heatwave in the region. The uncontrolled fire has been declared a state of emergency, and thousands have been evacuated from their homes. This included the communities of Running Springs and Arrowbear Lake. The fire is so strong that it has created its own mini weather system with thunderstorm-like clouds made from smoke and lightning strikes. According to the New York Times, these storms are called pyrocumulonimbus storms. While they can bring rain, winds can cause the fire to spread, and lightning could spark a new fire. One X user took to the platform to share photos of the clouds filling the sky around the fire. #linefire fire creating clouds extending over north bench yucaipa pic.twitter.com/n6TitZYUJV Tim Rankin (@rankadank) September 8, 2024 Another user captured video of the smoky haze around Running Springs. The Line Fire started in Highland, CA and grew to over 17,500 acres. There is 0% containment. This was the scene yesterday as we drove through Running Springs just as the evacuation order was announced. #LineFire #calfire pic.twitter.com/XPhaoSjSjY Zippers4Ever (@MarkWeidhase) September 8, 2024 Despite firefighters constantly fighting the flames, Line Fire is still at zero percent containment. A Sunday update from Cal Fire said, Smoke remains a challenge for aircraft, limiting access to parts of the fire. Limited resources and logistical support have hampered fire control efforts. Afternoon thunderstorms could cause new ignitions and potentially influence activity around the fire perimeter. It also noted that 35,405 structures are in harm's way. The report notes no civilian injuries but cites three firefighter injuries. Currently, there are no reported fatalities. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. St. Louis County Police Department Bureau of Crimes Against Persons detectives report that they are investigating a homicide in Ferguson. They say a man was killed in the area of Airport Road and North Dade Avenue at around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 7. Police officers from the City of Berkeley Police Department responded to shooting in the area of Airport Road and Peurifoy Avenue where a man was in a vehicle with a life-threatening gunshot injury. The man was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead. The preliminary investigation revealed that the shooting occurring in the area of Airport Road and N. Dade Avenue. The investigation is ongoing. Please contact the St. Louis County Police Department at 636-529-8210 to speak with investigators if you have any information regarding this incident. To remain anonymous or potentially receive a reward, please contact CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS (8477). 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 FOX 2. The last time US presidential candidates met on stage, they traded barbs and personal takedowns in a debate that upended the 2024 campaign. President Joe Biden's performance forced him to drop out of the race. So now Kamala Harris, his replacement as the Democratic nominee, will face off against former President Donald Trump in the second debate on Tuesday 10 September (21:00 local time; 01:00 GMT Weds). The event represents an opportunity for a do-over for both parties and the consensus among voters is clear: they want more policy and less political sparring. The BBC spoke to voters from across the political spectrum. Here's what seven of them are hoping to see unfold. [BBC] A Republican born and raised in Utah, he voted for Mr Biden in the 2020 election but plans to switch to Trump in November. I'm curious to see what they're both going to do. Kamala Harris has been knocked recently for not doing a lot of interviews and for being underground versus Donald Trump, who usually gets knocked for his style in terms of how he conducts himself during debates and just his loudness. I've decided I'm going to vote for Trump this time, but I would like to see what the vice-president has to say. I'd like to see how she performs more off the cuff and without an ability to read from the prompter. I want to see how she does with those fast questions interacting with Trump. Even though I'm voting for him, it's not because I'm comfortable with it necessarily. It's really just a style thing. I hope Trump can just stand there and not go all crazy and whatever - just minimise the attacks and focus on policies. [BBC] This Colorado resident voted for Biden in the last presidential election. He's eager to to watch the debate. I feel like I know what's going to happen. I know that Kamala Harris is an extremely competent debater. I still remember her and Mike Pence's debate from four years ago and I'm really excited to see her go toe-to-toe with Trump. I'm happy to have somebody on stage who will be able to directly counter, really be an opposing force, to him on stage. The biggest trap is that Donald Trump says so many things so quickly. It's easy to get wrapped up in what he's saying. I hope that Harris doesn't sink to his level. I'd love to see her maintain her optimistic, upbeat message even in the face of Trump. [BBC] An independent voter from the swing state of Pennsylvania, she backed Biden last time but plans to vote third-party or write in a candidate come November. I honestly haven't been planning on watching the debate, at least not live. I'm not excited about either candidate at all. From what I've seen from our debates in the last few elections, they're just platforms for who can yell the loudest and who's got the best one liner that will catch a headline. I haven't heard anything of substance. If someone got up on stage and they were realistic about what they could achieve or could not achieve, then maybe that would change my mind. But I don't think either of them are going to say anything like that. [BBC] This Republican voter backed Trump in 2016 and 2020. Shes planning to vote for him again, but she wants to hear more about policy from both. Im looking at it like its a job interview, its who Im choosing for president. Everyday, I talk to people at the poverty level and it seems like its getting worse. I personally think the economy was better under Trump. I want to hear what Kamala Harris is going to do. What Ive been hearing is mostly her vibes and you cant run the United States of America on vibes only. I am hoping for a great debate where both parties actually lay their policies out on the table. [BBC] This Republican voted for Trump in 2020 - his first election - and believes the economy was much better under the former presidents administration. I think it will be informative and entertaining at the very least. Id like to know how our economy is going to get back on track. Id also like to know about the candidates plans for reducing illegal immigration. I believe Trumps strengths are an actual laid out policy. I think Kamala Harris has kind of hidden her views or switched her views. He does a better job laying out his plans. But I think his biggest weakness is his demeanour. I do plan on voting for Trump again and I hope he wins the debate, but I think theres not a lot either of them can do or say to change peoples minds. [BBC] This independent voted for Trump in 2020 but is currently undecided this time. I am much happier that we'll be having Kamala up there and I'm really happy that they're going to be doing it muted [so they can't interrupt each other]. [The candidates are] getting so personal about each other. Even in the last debate, I'm like: 'Did you guys even answer the question? Or are you guys just defending yourself about what he said about you?' They're just personally attacking each other instead of answering any of the things that we want to hear. [BBC] This Democrat was glad to see Mr Biden step down as the nominee and believes his party now has a better shot at beating Trump. I do plan on watching. I think Biden's debate performance was pretty disappointing and so I'm way more excited to see what Harris is able to do and how she carries herself and presents herself. A big issue for me is climate change and environmental policy and so I'd be curious to hear what she says on that. However, the sad thing, at least for me, is that I would vote for anyone [over Trump]. I almost don't care what your policy positions are. I just know what your policy positions aren't and so therefore, I'm stuck with you come hell or high water. [BBC] More on the US election Our schoolkids deserve more My fifth-grader started school with one substitute science teacher, then another. The fourth-grade science teacher quit, too. The test scores showed it. My son gets As and Bs, but his test scores are abysmal. Thats partly his fault and partly the state governments fault. His principal said a permanent qualified candidate for this school year has yet to be found. In her 30 years of experience, she said, shed never had such difficulty finding a replacement. With 65% of Texas teachers wanting to quit, I totally get it. Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker recently said that more must be done to boost scores, and thats great. Real courage would address the current unnecessary war on public education in Austin and the school voucher agenda. Texas bright future depends on voting for public education today. Politicians note: Were watching. - John Davis, Crowley Not in line with the numbers The Azle Independent School District and its school board deserve a jeer for sending a representative to the Tarrant Appraisal District board meeting to oppose property tax relief for Tarrant County residents while the school district takes in even more taxes. (July 29, star-telegram.com, The implications are not good. Tarrant Appraisal changes could lead to higher school taxes) Azle property tax is budgeted to increase by millions for the 2024-25 school year over the previous one. That was on top of millions in increases the previous year. The increase in enrollment over that time was about 2% (about 140 kids). - Diane Thorpe, Fort Worth Keep Texas land, water clean Thank you for the great reporting on forever chemicals in Johnson County farmland. (Sept. 1, 4A, Almost worthless; North Texas farmers sue EPA, fertilizer company, alleging chemicals in fertilizer is destroying their land, killing their livestock) To everyone who wants clean air, clean water and limited chemicals in our food, remember what Donald Trump did during his four years in office: He ended more than 100 environmental policies, including bans on toxic chemicals, and installed industry lobbyists in top jobs. So, if you want the Environmental Protection Agency to be able to stop these toxic forever chemicals and support clean air, clean water, industrial safety standards, etc., we need to make sure Trump doesnt get back into office. - David C. Rondeau, Aledo No faith in Trump or Harris Neither Donald Trump nor Kamala Harris is worthy of the presidency of the United States. Neither mentions the great COVID-19 catastrophe in which the U.S., with less than 5% of the worlds population, had one of the highest coronavirus death rates of any country on the planet. Trump is no friend of the environment, and Harris has reversed her position on highly polluting fracking. Neither is trustworthy. - Loretta Van Coppenolle, San Antonio I dont see a real choice I am a Hispanic, 73-year-old woman, and I worry about all the immigrants getting into our country illegally. I was born and raised in a small town about 15 minutes from Houston, where the overpopulation now is unreal. I was so disappointed in President Joe Biden running our country that I really dont know if I will even vote this year. Former President Donald Trump does have some ideas, but hes too busy talking trash about other people instead of focusing on the truth and getting America back on track. As for Vice President Kamala Harris, I am not too sold on her running the country. There is just something about her annoying smile. I cant quite see her doing a good job. - Guadalupe F. Balboa, Houston Sudan's military-led government has rejected a call by a UN fact-finding mission for the deployment of an international force to protect civilians from the countrys ongoing civil war. Sudans warring parties had committed "harrowing" human rights violations against civilians, the UN mission reported. Thousands of people have been killed and nearly eight million displaced since conflict broke out in April 2023 between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The two had jointly staged a coup, but then fell-out, plunging Sudan into a civil war. Given the failure of the warring parties to spare civilians, it is imperative that an independent and impartial force with a mandate to safeguard civilians be deployed without delay, the UN missions lead, Chande Othman, said. The fact-finding mission also called for an arms embargo to be imposed on both sides involved in the conflict. It reported its findings after obtaining first-hand testimony from 182 survivors, family members and eyewitnesses. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is accused of supporting the RSF with money and guns - which it denies - while Saudi Arabia is said to have close ties with the Sudanese government. Sudan's foreign ministry said the government rejected the recommendations of the fact-finding mission in their "entirety". It described the UN Human Rights Council as "a political and illegal body", and said the mission's recommendations were "a flagrant violation of their mandate". The RSF has not yet commented on the proposal. Meanwhile, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) called on the "world to wake up and help Sudan out of the nightmare it is living through", AFP news agency reported. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was speaking during a visit to Port Sudan - the main hub for aid agencies and new headquarters of the government, after it was driven out of the capital, Khartoum, by the RSF. "The scale of the emergency is shocking, as is the insufficient action being taken to curtail the conflict and respond to the suffering it is causing," Dr Tedros was quoted as saying. In August, a UN-backed committee of experts declared a famine at a camp housing about 500,000 displaced people near the besieged city of el-Fasher in Darfur, one of the regions worst-affected by the conflict. Various mediation efforts, brokered by Saudi Arabia and the US, have failed to end the conflict. More BBC stories on Sudan conflict: [Getty Images/BBC] Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica BBC Africa podcasts FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE) In Sacramento, Governor Gavin Newsom is targeting oil companies he accuses of price gouging fuel, and hes asking for a special session of the legislature to address those accusations. We get a look at the negotiations with lawmakers to make that special session happen. Click here for more Sunday Morning Matters We also sit down for a one-on-one with Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi to discuss the proposals by the City Council to address homelessness in the city, and how those efforts could impact the unhoused community. And debate season is upon us, from local congressional races all the way to the White House. We look at a local debate between Michael Maher and Congressman Jim Costa, all while Vice President Kamala Harris prepares to face off against Former President Donald Trump next week. All of that is on this weeks Sunday Morning Matters. 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 YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47. The PSU said in its regulatory filing that the move underscores OIL's dedication to reducing carbon emissions and zero flaring initiatives and contributing to a greener future for the nation. The energy giant said that being OGDC signatory, OIL is on track of decarbonization to achieve its target of Net Zero by 2040. Launched at COP28 in 2023, the OGDC marks a major step forward in the industry's joint endeavour to lower greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas activities. By signing this Charter, the OIL has demonstrates its commitment to environmental stewardship, including operational efficiency and R&D investment, and aligns itself with international best practices, the company said. The charter has been signed by ver 50 of the biggest oil and gas companies in the world so far. As per the information provided on the website of the OGDC, it is one of the landmark initiatives launched at COP28 by Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 President. It is a global industry effort dedicated to speeding up climate action and achieving high-scale impact across the oil and gas sector. The Charter itself outlines a series of ambitions for Signatories, which will be supported by a sustained program of knowledge sharing and collaboration to accelerate action. "With its broad geographical reach, targeting producing nations in the Global North and South, the OGDC has the potential to deliver tangible outcomes in support of the world's move to a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions future.," the information adds. The OGDC is a key initiative under the Global Decarbonization Accelerator (GDA), a series of landmark initiatives launched at COP28 to speed up the energy transition and drastically reduce global emissions.(ANI) The 2024 presidential election is heating up ahead of the ABC News debate, set for Sept. 10, between former President Trump and Vice President Harris. Harris arrived in Pittsburgh on Thursday where she continued to prepare for the upcoming debate. Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), was out on the campaign trail, engaging with voters in the Keystone State. Trump completed a town hall with Fox News Sean Hannity and addressed the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) national board of trustees. There, he accepted the endorsement of the nations largest police union. The upcoming debate between the nominees is likely going to be the focus of this weeks Sunday talk shows. Three left-wing senators are scheduled to appear on different talk shows this week where they will likely discuss the upcoming ABC News debate. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is set to appear on NBCs Meet the Press where he will likely discuss what Harris can do to have a successful debate performance and reiterate his message for beating Trump in November. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is scheduled to be on CNNs State of the Union where he will likely talk about how the vice president was received in his home state and how she will perform at the Sept. 10 debate. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) is set to appear on CNNs Inside Politics Sunday where he will likely talk about his reelection campaign against GOP rival Dave McCormick. Casey will also likely discuss how the vice president will perform at the upcoming debate. Based on recent polling, the White House contest will likely be close. As Harris continues to campaign, Republicans continue to criticize her for switching some policy positions she held during her 2020 presidential primary run. Some Republicans will likely talk about Harriss campaign. Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who endorsed Trump after dropping out, will likely discuss both candidates campaigns going into the debate during her scheduled appearance on CBS Face the Nation. Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who said this week she will be voting for Harris, is scheduled to appear on ABC This Week. Cheney will likely discuss her decision to vote for the vice president and how she will be supporting the campaign in the final 60 days. Here is the full list of appearances on this weeks Sunday shows: NewsNation The Hill Sunday: Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump; former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), candidate for Senate. ABC This Week: Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.); Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R). CNN State of the Union: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg; Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.); Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). CBS Face the Nation: North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D); Former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley; Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas). FOX Fox News Sunday: Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas); Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). NBC Meet the Press: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.); North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R). CNN Inside Politics Sunday: Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.); GOP Pennsylvania Senate rival Dave McCormick. FOX Sunday Morning Futures: Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fl.), House Oversight Committee, House Freedom Caucus; Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas), House Financial Committee, House Agriculture Committee; Dr. Ben Carson, former HUD Secretary, founder, American Cornerstone Institute; Alina Habba, Trump Campaign Senior Adviser; Charly Arnolt, host, Outkick The Morning. 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. Supporters of Pakistan's imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party participate in a rally demanding his release from prison where he has been held for more than a year after being sentenced in multiple cases, on the outskirts of the capital, Islamabad, Pakistan, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/W. K. Yousufzai) ISLAMABAD (AP) Thousands of supporters of Pakistans imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan rallied on the outskirts of the capital, Islamabad on Sunday, demanding his release. He has been in prison for more than a year in connection with more than 150 police cases. Khan, the main rival of current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, remains a popular figure despite these cases, which critics and his party say are politically motivated. He was ousted in 2022 through a no-confidence vote in parliament. Sunday's rally, one of the biggest this year by Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf opposition party, or PTI, was held peacefully, though police briefly clashed with some activists. Khans spokesman Zulfi Bukhari denounced the police action against his peaceful supporters, in a statement. Earlier, authorities had blocked key roads by putting shipping containers to prevent his supporters from attending the rally. God willing, we will secure the release of Imran Khan soon," said Ali Amin, the top elected official in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, addressing the rally. He gave an ultimatum of two weeks to the government for his leader's release. Khan has been in prison since 2023 when he was arrested after being sentenced in a graft case. LEE COUNTY, Ala. (WRBL) A suspect is in custody and facing a murder allegation following a deadly shooting over the weekend, Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones confirmed to WRBL. Sheriff Jones says an altercation led to the deadly shooting early Sunday morning, around 12:30 a.m., near Walnut Street, south of Opelika. Authorities say a woman called 911 saying she had a gunshot victim in her vehicle. She drove the victim, later identified as 31-year-old Victor Lewis Morgan of Birmingham, to the Lee County Sheriffs Office, where deputies immediately began life-saving measures. An ambulance transported Morgan to East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika, where he was pronounced dead at 2:17 a.m. on Sunday, September 8. LCSO: Randall Pearson booking photo Sheriff Jones says 32-year-old Randall Pearson is charged with Murder in connection with the shooting. Sheriff Jones confirmed the arrest Sunday morning, though further details regarding the motive and circumstances of the incident remain under investigation.This is a developing story, and WRBL will provide updates as more details become available. 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 WRBL. FORT MILL, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) Two suspects are wanted by police after an attempted carjacking and shooting early Saturday morning, according to the Fort Mill Police Department. The incident happened just before 4 a.m. on September 7. Officers were called about an attempted carjacking at Main Street and Tom Hall Street. Meck Sheriffs deputy involved in early morning wreck after other car runs red light: MCSO Two unidentified suspects reportedly approached a vehicle stopped at the intersection. The driver fled, but the suspects shot several times into the vehicle, according to authorities. No one was hurt. Ultimately, the suspects failed to steal the vehicle, and they were seen driving off in a black sedan. This is an active investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call Fort Mill Police at 803-548-9337. This is a Developing Story . Check back for updates 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 Queen City News. Cant keep me out of here: Man accused of breaking into mobile home MEMPHIS, Tenn. Memphis Police arrested a man on Saturday who they say broke into a mobile home in August. On August 14 at 11:15 a.m., an officer responded to a residential burglary in the Shady Oaks Trailer Park. Cordova womans car stolen from her driveway The complainant told the officer that she saw the suspect, Kijaun Lindsey, allegedly climbing out of the front window of the mobile home. According to the police report, the window was cracked and there appeared to be fresh pry marks. The complainant said that Lindsey had been debarred from the Shady Oaks Mobile Home Home Park because hed allegedly had an extensive history including aggravated assault and arson at the park. When the complainant confronted Lindsey about being inside the park, hed told her You cant keep me out of here. I will keep coming back. Pair of women accused of shooting mans car, vandalizing house Lindsey then left the scene in a black Honda. The mobile home was otherwise unoccupied at the time of the incident. Officers later contacted the victim who is the renter/tenant of the mobile home that was allegedly broken into. The victim said Lindsey was not allowed at her residence and she wishes to prosecute. 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 WREG.com. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. A state working group focused on maternal health returns its first list of recommendations. What comes next? Talk Business & Politics host Roby Brock talked with a panel to discuss the issue DHS Medicaid director Janet Mann, Department of Health secretary Renee Mallory and Arkansas Surgeon General Dr. Kay Chandler. Roby then talks with Anna Beth Gorman from the Womens Foundation of Arkansas and Tamika Edwards from Southwest Power Pool to discuss an annual gender equity scorecard that has opened for information. What does it hope to measure? What trends have we been seeing in recent years? Talk Business & Politics airs Sunday at 9:30 a.m. on FOX 16. For more coverage, head to TalkBusiness.net. 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 KLRT - FOX16.com. (Bloomberg) -- Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan ordered a probe into the abduction of political figures and government critics before elections in the East African nation. Most Read from Bloomberg The investigation follows the abduction and murder of a senior member of the main opposition Chadema party, Ally Mohamed Kibao. I have ordered investigative agencies to quickly bring to me a detailed report on this horrific incident and other similar incidents, Hassan said in a statement posted on X. Hassan, a former vice president who came to power in 2021 when President John Magufuli died in office, is seeking to boost voter confidence as the country gears up for local-government elections in November. That vote will provide an indication of the support her ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party will garner in general elections scheduled to take place next year. Cabinet Reshuffle Last month, Hassan announced a cabinet reshuffle that included promoting loyalists including newly appointed Health Minister Jenista Mhagama and Minister of State in the Prime Ministers Office William Lukuvi as Hassan prepares a bid to become the CCMs candidate for president next year. Those changes followed the dismissal in July of two CCM rivals, including the nations former intelligence chief, according to Oxford Economics analyst Jervin Naidoo. Announcing the probe on Sunday, Hassan vowed to uphold democracy and insisted her government would not tolerate acts of violence against its citizens. Opposition leaders said Kibao was abducted in the commercial hub of Dar es Salaam on Sept. 6 by suspected armed security officers in plain clothes. His body was recovered dumped in a field late Saturday, with his face disfigured by acid in an apparent attempt to conceal his identity, according to opposition officials. Freeman Mbowe, chairman of the opposition Chadema party, has called for a judicial inquiry to investigate allegations of the forced disappearance of more than 200 people across the country over the past two years. The Tanganyika Law Society said it would convene a national dialogue to discuss unsolved abductions and murders of civilians. We echo the calls of Tanzanian civil society organizations and urge the government of Tanzania to uphold its constitution, and ensure a safe and open political space where all voices are free to participate, the US Embassy in Tanzania said in a statement on Aug. 14. (Updates with analyst comment in fifth paragraph) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) Two organizations in Morgantown joined forces on Sunday to create a fundraiser to help youth and those affected by home fires. Mylan Park and the American Red Cross hosted the Taste of Morgantown benefit at the Hazel and J.W. Ruby Community Center. The event showcased some of the area restaurants best dishes, which guests and judges got to vote on in different categories, while also raising money for the Home Fire Campaign. Money was raised by tickets purchased by those in attendance. Representatives for the American Red Cross said that home fires are one of the most devastating things that a family can go through and that no one is ever prepared for that situation. Chairwoman of the Board of Directors for the Allegheny Highlands Chapter of the Central Appalachian Region of the American Red Cross Melissa Hornbeck expressed how important the fundraiser is. So, the Home Fire Campaign stays local within our region to help citizens throughout the state of West Virginia as well as surrounding counties who are affected by home fires, Hornbeck said. So, that provides needed resources as far as money or supplies or places to stay, relocation, everything to that effect. Philippi hosts 3rd annual Cupcake Jubilee Assistant Director of Marketing and outreach for Mylan Park and the Event Coordinator for the Taste of Morgantown Danielle Rudash noted how the helps not only the Red Cross, but the local community. What is cool about this event is that all around from the organizations to the restaurants youre supporting local, and you see a variety here, Rudash said. Its all about supporting that local restaurant and maybe learning about new restaurants that you never knew of and then going a supporting them later after this event is over. This is the third year that the American Red Cross has partnered with Mylan Park to host the Taste of Morgantown. Some of the funds raised will also go to help the Mylan Park youth programming and all the events they host that are free to the community throughout the year. 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 WBOY.com. Members of the Tavares Police and Fire Departments that worked the night of the fatal crash that killed a two-year-old attended a private vigil Friday night. In a Facebook post, the Tavares Police Department gave a special shoutout to Officer Bannick, Officer Welte, and Corporal OShea, along with the members of the Tavares Fire Department, for attending the vigil. People of all ages gathered in the neighborhood where 19-year-old Joshua Aidan Montero was accused of speeding and hitting the two-year-old Monday night. Read: Police: 15-year-old student was found with a BB gun at a high school on Friday The child was riding his bike in front of his house when he was ran over, and later died at the hospital according to police. Montero was arrested and charged with DUI manslaughter and is being held with no bond. A GoFundMe has been established to support the 2-year-olds family. To donate, click here. Read: Investigation underway after person injured in drive-by shooting, DeLand police say Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. A three-day event focused on the semiconductor ecosystem is set to be held from Wednesday to Friday in Greater Noida. SEMICON India 2024 will bring together global leaders, semiconductor industry experts, academia, and government officials. The event's extensive exhibition is expected to feature over 250 exhibitors from across the global semiconductor supply chain. It will create opportunities for stakeholders to showcase their latest advancements in semiconductor and electronics. Themed Shaping the Semiconductor Future, the event will showcase the country's growing semiconductor ecosystem with support from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM). Additionally, officials from state governments - including host state Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, Assam, Karnataka, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu - will share their vision for ecosystem expansion with progressive and industry-friendly policies for attracting investments in the semiconductor and display ecosystems, the event's website showed. "The expectation primarily is the participation of a large number of companies, and especially there are two areas which are of particular interest. One area is how to build the overall ecosystem of semiconductors in India, which includes companies that will manufacture equipment for semiconductor manufacture, companies that will provide various kinds of materials, companies that will provide gases. So what needs to be done in that area will get considerable attention," S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, told ANI. "Likewise, the other major area which directly interests the youth of this country is the potential job opportunities. Semiconductor manufacturing is a new area in India. We do not have very many large facilities. And so we have to develop the skills for people to actually engage in the manufacture of semiconductors. This is an opportunity where many youth will get attracted into this area, hopefully," he said. "We are ensuring that a large number of students actually attend the events there and they are able to see for themselves what the potential is for careers in the semiconductor space and how they can get trained and how they can build their skills to be part of the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem," he added. The semiconductor industry in India is still in a nascent stage, with various local and multinational companies intending to tap its vast potential. To develop a vibrant semiconductor ecosystem, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday approved the proposal of Kaynes Semicon Pvt Ltd to set up a semiconductor unit in Sanand, Gujarat, which would be India's fifth. The Programme for Development of Semiconductors and Display Manufacturing Ecosystem in India was notified on December 21, 2021 with a total outlay of Rs 76,000 crore. In June 2023, the Union Cabinet approved a proposal for setting up a semiconductor unit in Sanand, Gujarat. In February, 2024, three more semiconductor units were approved. Tata Electronics is setting up a semiconductor fab in Dholera, Gujarat and one semiconductor unit in Morigaon, Assam. CG Power is setting up one semiconductor unit in Sanand, Gujarat Construction of semiconductor units is progressing at a rapid pace and a robust semiconductor ecosystem is emerging near the units. American chip maker Micron's high-end semiconductor fabrication plant at Gujarat's Sanand, which is India's first, is coming up at a rapid pace. It is expected to be operational in late 2024. In total, work on four semiconductor units is currently underway - 3 in Gujarat and 1 in Assam. Semiconductors are crucial for modern society and are needed for manufacturing an array of devices including phones, medical devices, cars and electronic gadgets. As per media reports, approximately 70 percent of total manufacturing capacity is concentrated in South Korea, Taiwan, China, the US, and Japan. India will soon start commercial production of semiconductors and related products and become a global power in this sector similar to the technology, nuclear, and digital spaces, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this year, as he laid foundation stones for the three semiconductor plants. India has lost decades in semiconductor manufacturing and now is the time to move ahead, he had said. As part of its Atmanirbhar and Make in India plan, the government launched production incentive (PLI) schemes in varied sectors, including electronics, to make Indian manufacturers globally competitive, attract investments, enhance exports, integrate India into the global supply chain and reduce dependency on imports. (ANI) ABILENE, TEXAS (KTAB/KRBC) As the presidential election approaches, Taylor County Republicans and Democratic party are hosting a debate party. The Taylor County Republican Party will host a watch party for the Presidential Debate on Tuesday, September 10, at 8 p.m. Doors will open at 7:30 p.m. at the Taylor County Republican Party Headquarters on 1477 S Danville Drive, Abilene, TX. Taylor County Democratic Party kicks off the Presidential Debate watch party at 7:00 p.m. at Logans Roadhouse, 3126 South Clark Street, Abilene, TX. For more information on the watch party, the Taylor County Republican Party has the debate watch party information on their website. Meanwhile, the Taylor County Democratic posted the information on their Facebook. 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 KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. Authorities have arrested a 17-year-old boy in Cathedral City, accusing him of making violent threats online against Rancho Mirage High School. The teen's home was searched, but no weapons were found. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department said deputies received a report on Wednesday, Sept. 4, around 6 p.m. that someone had posted school violence threats online. With the FBI's help, it identified a home in the 27-000 block of Ventura Drive in Cathedral City as where the threats had been made from. A school resource deputy identified the teenager as the suspect the next day. Deputies and Cathedral City police officers searched his home and found evidence of the online threats but no weapons, the sheriff's department said. They arrested the teenager and booked him into juvenile hall. An entrance at Rancho Mirage High School His name wasn't released because of his age. The sheriff's department asked anyone with information about the threats to call Deputy Fongsamout Hohman at 760-8361600. Ani Gasparyan covers the western Coachella Valley cities of Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City. Reach her at ani.gasparyan@desertsun.com. This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Teen arrested after violent threats against Rancho Mirage High School The mother of the Georgia teenager accused of killing four people at his high school says she warned school administrators before the shooting. Marcee Gray told relatives she had notified a school counselor about 30 minutes before her 14-year-old son, Colt Gray, allegedly fatally shot two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School, the Washington Post reported. I was the one that notified the school counselor at the high school, she texted her sister, Annie Brown, according to screenshots obtained by The Post. I told them it was an extreme emergency and for them to go immediately and find (my son) to check on him. Marcee Gray confirmed to The Post she reached out to the school. I am so, so sorry and can not fathom the pain and suffering they are going through right now, she texted The Post. Students said an administrator entered Colt Grays math class following the alert but he was not there. The administrator reportedly asked about a student with a similar name and took that students backpack from the room. Minutes later, Gray opened fire, according to authorities, killing 14-year-old students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo and teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53. Police responded within minutes and arrested Gray, who surrendered without incident. He made his first court appearance on Friday but did not enter a plea. Grays father, Colin Gray, was also charged with second-degree murder for buying his son the assault-style rifle he used in the shooting, according to police. The Gray parents separated in 2023, with Colt living with his father while his two younger siblings lived with their mother. A neighbor described Colts home life as absolutely horrible, and at least one student said he fit the stereotype of a school shooter. Investigators learned Gray was interested in prior school shootings, including the 2018 Parkland, Fla., shooting and the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Newtown, Conn. _____ Tennessee man cited for having too many flags in yard FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WKRN) A Tennessee man, cited for having too many flags in his front yard, is asking city leaders to reconsider the ordinance he is said to have violated. Duane Charlton has lived on Birchwood Circle in Franklin, just south of Nashville, for nearly three decades. Currently, he has seven flags posted along his curb, as well as two flag poles that each have two flags. Charlton told Nexstars WKRN his flags are meant to represent his patriotism and support for the military and first responders. More US and World News The United States of America, no matter what, is still the greatest country, in my opinion, in the entire world, Charlton said. This flag is my [contribution] to the soldiers that did die, and my freedom means a lot to me, and a lot of people dont understand what that flag stands for. On Aug. 22, Charlton received a notice from the city, letting him know he could only have three flags due to a Franklin zoning ordinance that went into effect July 1. However, Charlton refused. Two weeks later, he was issued a citation and a notice to appear in court Oct. 3. I hope that this gets resolved or theres an exception to the rule that the American flag should fly no matter how many they want to fly, Charlton said. Many of Charltons neighbors have shown their support, with more than 70 signing a petition he created in response to his notice. His next-door neighbor said residents also look forward to Charltons elaborate Halloween and Christmas displays each year, adding that his flag display should be protected as political expression. Its not a matter of supporting him. This is a fundamental thing that connects all of us, neighbor Roger Conatser told WKRN. Lets dismiss this for now, let the city council have an opportunity to re-think this, put a hold on any future enforcement of this ordinance until the city council has some time to reflect on it. Charlton said he didnt want to take his flags down unless he was absolutely forced to do so. I dont think Im wrong in my beliefs, and Im going to fight until they tell me I cant, he added. Charlton asked neighbors wishing to support him to contact their aldermen and show up outside Franklin City Hall for his Oct. 3 court date at 7:30 a.m. WKRN reached out to the City of Franklin for comment on Saturday, Sept. 7. A spokesperson was working to get us a response. 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 PIX11. A Tennessee teenager faces a felony charge after a pursuit with law enforcement Saturday morning that began near Gadsden and ended in Tuscaloosa County, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. The driver took troopers on a chase that covered five counties and involved several other law enforcement agencies. The pursuit began around 7:30 a.m., when troopers tried to stop a 2023 Nissan Armada in Centre, a city in Cherokee County on the northeast side of Alabama. When the driver failed to stop, troopers pursued the vehicle south on U.S. 411 before the driver turned onto Interstate 59. Troopers said the driver then hit two civilian vehicles in Jefferson County. The pursuit ended at the 77-mile marker in Tuscaloosa County when the Armada left the road when the driver tried to leave Interstate 59. The Armada struck a fence and a building in the process. The driver of the Armada, identified as a 15-year-old from New Market, Tennessee, was apprehended by troopers after attempting to flee on foot. The teenager was taken to the Tuscaloosa County Juvenile Detention Center and charged with felony eluding. The news release from ALEA states that no injuries were reported because of the pursuit and no force was used to apprehend the driver. This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Five-county pursuit ends with teen driver arrested by state troopers (FOX40.COM) A large swarm of bees attacked firefighters as they battled a grass fire Thursday, according to the Modesto Fire Department. In the morning hours, Modesto firefighters who were stationed in Oakdale and Knights Ferry and CAL FIRE Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit were faced with what they called an unexpected challenge while trying to extinguish a fire on Sonora Road in eastern Stanislaus County. Northern California police discover alligators and several firearms in residence On top of a blaze that consumed the grass, crews were met thousands of bees that complicated their firefighting efforts. The Modesto Bee reported that beekeepers were smoking bees in boxes to gather honey in the area near the fire. Despite these obstacles, MFD said they maintained a swift and coordinated response and contained the fire to just 1.6 acres in under 15 minutes. 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 FOX40. Thousands of Mexicans, mainly court employees and law students, protested in the capital Sunday against a controversial judicial reform proposal that would see judges elected by popular vote. They gathered in Mexico City as the Senate began to debate the initiative pushed by outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and approved by the lower house, called the Chamber of Deputies, in which the ruling party holds sway. The proposed reform, which would see the election of judges of the Supreme Court and other tribunals as well as magistrates, has sparked diplomatic tensions with the United States, prompted protests by opponents, and upset financial markets. "The judiciary will not fall," changed protesters who marched on the Senate, expected to vote on the proposal Wednesday. Striking judicial workers have asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the matter, a request that Lopez Obrador has said has no legal basis. In rare public remarks the chief justice of the Supreme Court, Norma Pina, appeared to lash out Sunday at the reform proposal, although she did not name it specifically, saying Mexico risked "the demolition of the judicial branch." Pina said last week the court would discuss whether it has jurisdiction to halt the reform. In her remarks Sunday, carried on social media, Pina presented two alternative reform proposals and called on Lopez Obrador and congress to listen to Mexicans' comments about the reform package. "Today it is still possible," Pina said. "We can change things." The United States, Mexico's main trading partner, has warned that the reforms would threaten a relationship that relies on investor confidence in the Mexican legal framework. Lopez Obrador, who will be replaced by his ally Claudia Sheinbaum on October 1, argues that the change was warranted because courts currently serve the interests of the political and economic elite. sem/db/mlr/dw/nro Thousands rallied in the Pakistani capital on Sunday demanding release of former prime minister Imran Khan, who has been behind bars for more than a year, amid a deepening political turmoil in the country. Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party organized the rally, marking its first show of power since the disputed February general elections. Local media did not provide live coverage of the event, held on the outskirts of the capital. Images and videos posted on the social media platform X show Khans supporters marching towards the capital from various parts of the country. The PTI accused authorities of harassing workers to suppress attendance at the rally. The city's administration blocked key entry points into Islamabad, with shipping containers and riot police deployed to prevent possible unrest. "We will not rest until Khan is released from jail, said Khans close aide Hammad Azhar in the opening speech that set the tone of the rally. Khan is the only person who can save this country from the clutches of corrupt and incompetent politicians, said Salman Akram Raja, a prominent lawyer and PTI leader from Lahore. Khan has been in jail since August 2023 and is facing trial for allegedly inciting violence on May 9 of that year - the day when his supporters went on a rampage and attacked military installations, something that had never happened before. Khan denies the allegations. All of his convictions have been either suspended or overturned in recent months. However, an unprecedented arrest and subsequent court martial of a former spy chief, who is widely believed to have been close to Khan when he was prime minister, has complicated his case. Israeli security secure the entrance of the Allenby Bridge, between the West Bank and Jordan, after a Jordanian truck driver killed three Israeli border agents. Photo by Debbie Hill/ UPI Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Three Israeli border guards were shot dead by a Jordanian truck driver at the Allenby Crossing on the border between Jordan and the occupied West Bank, the Israeli Emergency Services said Sunday. The Israel Defense Forces described the shooting as a terror attack and is investigating whether the truck was rigged with explosives. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an "abhorrent terrorist murdered" the guards. Israeli security sources told the Times of Israel the truck driver was Maher Dhiab Hussein al-Jazi, 39, a Jordanian national from the southern Jordan town of Udhruh, east of Petra. Military and Israel Airports Authority officials said the gunman got out of the truck during an inspection at the terminal and opened fire at several of the crossing's workers. Security guards returned fire at the terrorist, killing him. The crossing, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, is the West Bank's sole crossing with Jordan. Israeli security appear at the entrance of the Allenby Bridge crossing between the West Bank and Jordan Photo by Debbie Hill/ UPI Two other crossings between Israel and Jordan -- Rabin and Jordan River -- were closed after the attack, the Israel Airports Authority said. Palestinians can only use the Allenby Bridge Crossing to enter Jordan from the West Bank, while Israelis generally use the Rabin and Jordan River crossings. The three victims were identified as: Yohanan Shchori, 61, a father of six from the West Bank settlement of Ma'ale Efraim; Yuri Birnbaum, 65, from the settlement of Na'ama; and Adrian Marcelo Podzamczer, from the settlement city of Ariel. Allenby Bridge between the West Bank and Jordan, is closed after three Israeli border agents were killed by a Jordanian truck driver. Photo by Debbie Hill/ UPI During the beginning of the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said: "We are surrounded by a murderous ideology led by Iran's axis of evil. In recent days, abhorrent terrorists murdered six of our hostages and three Israel Police officers in cold blood. The murderers do not differentiate between us. They want to murder us all, right and left, secular and religious, Jews and non-Jews, until the last one." He added: "We will stand together. We will wield the sword of David together and with G-d's help, we will win." Hamas hailed the attacker as "one of Jordan's brave men." In a statement, it said that the attack was a "natural response to the holocaust carried out by the Nazi Zionist enemy against our people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, and its plans for the Judaization of the Al Aqsa mosque." The terror group also called on people in Arab and Muslim countries to rise up in support of Palestinians. Two weeks ago Israel's military carried out raids, bulldozing highways and launching airstrikes in multiple parts of the occupied West Bank. Since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, troops have arrested some 5,000 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 2,000 affiliated with Hamas. More than 670 West Bank Palestinians have been killed since then, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry. IDF said most of of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops or terrorists carrying out attacks. Also, 32 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another six security forces members were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank. Jordan, which signed a peace deal with Israel in 1994, has been highly critical of Israel's military operations in the West Bank and Gaza. In northern Israel, IDF said around 50 rockets were launched from Lebanon toward Israel by Hezbollah. There were no casualties. Hezbollah said it had bombarded Kiryat Shmona "in response to the enemy attacks... and particularly the attack" that killed the emergency workers in the Lebanese village of Froun." Three Israeli civilians have been killed in a shooting at the Allenby Crossing on the border between the occupied West Bank and Jordan, Israeli authorities said Sunday. The Israel Airports Authority, which runs the border terminal at the Allenby Crossing with Jordan, told CNN that the three men who died worked at the crossing. The terrorist shot dead three employees of the Allenby terminal at close range, before being killed by a security guard, the manager of the crossing, Alex Chen, said. The Allenby crossing mainly serves Palestinians and foreigners. Israelis are not allowed to use it. An Israeli policeman and soldier patrol the area near the crossing. - Ammar Awad/Reuters The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said a terrorist approached the area of the Allenby Bridge from Jordan in a truck, exited the truck, and opened fire at the Israeli security forces operating at the bridge. Three Israeli civilians were pronounced dead as a result of the attack, the IDF said, adding that the assailant had been shot dead. The IDF also published a photograph of the hand gun it said was used in the attack. Israeli police spoke of several casualties at the scene, and also said the shooter had been neutralized. Jordanian authorities said a preliminary investigation had identified the suspect as Maher Diab Hussein Al-Jazi, a Jordanian citizen from Al-Hussainiya in the Maan governorate south of the capital, Amman. Al-Jazi had acted alone, the Jordanian Ministry of Interior said, adding that he had driven over the crossing in a vehicle taking commercial goods from Jordan to the West Bank. It said various authorities were now coordinating the repatriation of Al-Jazis body for burial in Jordan. The suspected gunmans brother Shady Al-Jazi said his family had been surprised by the news, which they learned through satellite television. He suggested his brothers anger at Israels war on Hamas in Gaza may have been a motivating factor. He used to work as a truck driver and would cross (the bridge) often to offload the truck and then return back to Jordan. But his grief over whats happening to the Muslim nation, seeing all the killing in Gaza, and every one of us who feels passionately for his brethren, this could motivate him, he told Jordanian news outlet Ammon in an on-air interview. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the shooting, saying the three Israelis were murdered by a despicable terrorist. In remarks at the beginning of the weekly government meeting, Netanyahu said Israel was surrounded by a murderous ideology led by Irans axis of evil. The Jordanian government also condemned the shooters actions, with the foreign ministry spokesperson Sufian Qudah saying the country rejects and condemns violence and targeting civilians for any reason. However, the ministry also hinted there was a link between extremism and Israels actions in Gaza and the West Bank, calling for moves to address the root causes and de-escalate tensions and noting Jordans efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza. The incident comes almost two weeks after Israels military launched one of its most expansive operations in the West Bank in years, carrying out raids, bulldozing highways, and launching airstrikes in multiple parts of the occupied territory. Israeli security forces are seen near the site of the shooting. - Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images Clashes in the West Bank have become more frequent since Israel began its war in Gaza in response to Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7. Israeli troops and settlers have killed nearly 700 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since October, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah, whose figures do not distinguish between militants and civilians. All three land crossings between Israel and Jordan were closed following the attack, the Israel Airports Authority said. On Monday, the Yitzhak Rabin crossing connecting Jordan to Eilat and the Jordan River crossing connecting Jordan to the occupied West Bank reopened to passenger traffic, according to the AIA, which said both would open to cargo traffic from Tuesday. The Allenby Crossing remained closed Monday but is expected to open to passengers only from Tuesday. All Jordanian drivers who were questioned following the incident have since been released, and over 100 trucks have returned to Jordan, Jordanian authorities said. Jordan became the second Arab country to sign a peace deal with Israel in 1994. It has been highly critical of Israels military operations in the West Bank and Gaza. Jordan is a close ally of the United States, from which it receives substantial military aid. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Delhi Minister Atishi on Sunday said that the central government would table a proposal to tax any online payments below Rs 2,000 done through payment gateways at 18 per cent, at the GST Council meeting scheduled for Monday. Addressing a press conference here, she said her government and the party would oppose the proposal. At present, online payments made through payment gateways are not taxed, she said. "(Taxing them) will hurt small businesses and startups. We will oppose this proposal tomorrow at the GST Council meeting," she told reporters. Further, she said she would oppose taxing research grants given to educational institutions. "In August 2024, several educational institutions in the country were given show-cause notices by the central government for not paying GST. The central government is asking for a GST on research grants received from 2017 to 2024, including Punjab University and IIT Delhi... No country in the world imposes a tax on research grants... The central government has reduced the amount of research grants...," she said. "Now that the educational institutions are raising grants on their own, through private or foreign institutions, the central government wants to impose GST on those grants also. and the Delhi government will raise this issue in the GST council tomorrow and demand GST exemption on research grants...," she added. The 54th Meeting of the Goods and Services Tax Council or GST Council, will be held on September 9. The GST Council, consisting of the Union Finance Minister and representatives from all States and Union Territories, was established to make decisions on various aspects of GST, including tax rates, exemptions, and administrative procedures. The last meeting of the GST Council was held on 22 June 2024 this year. The GST regime removed the inefficiencies and complexities of the previous archaic taxation system. Over the years, GST has, among others, simplified compliance and reduced the cascading impact of tax. Before July 1, 2017, the indirect tax regime was highly fragmented. The Centre and States were separately taxing goods and services. The GST Council, a federal body comprising the Union Finance Minister as its Chairman and Finance Ministers of all States as members, has played its part in the forum. A Finance Ministry study suggested that consumers saved at least four per cent of their household monthly expenses on an aggregate after GST. Thus, consumers now spend less on daily consumables like cereals, edible oils, sugar, sweets, and snacks. (ANI) The Allenby Bridge, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, lies about halfway between Amman and Jerusalem [Getty Images] Three Israeli men have been shot dead at a border point between Jordan and the occupied West Bank, Israeli officials say. The gunman - identified by the Israeli military as Jordanian Maher Jazi - approached the Allenby Bridge crossing from the Jordanian side in a truck then got out and opened fire, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. Security personnel "eliminated" the gunman and the IDF checked the truck over for signs of explosives, a statement said. Jordan says it is investigating the incident, which happened in an Israeli-controlled area where Jordanian vehicles offload goods entering the West Bank. The border point has now been closed from both sides. Israeli media reported the victims were named Yohanan Shchori, 61, Yuri Birnbaum, 65, and Adrian Marcelo Podzamczer, whose age was not given. The three men were said to be guards working at the border crossing, but were not military or police. Kan News, Israel's state broadcaster, reported that Jazi was a 39-year-old who had worked as a truck driver. Video footage showed the attacker walking to the terminal and firing his weapon three times before he was shot dead. A Jordanian border official told Reuters that at least two dozen Jordanian truck drivers in the offloading area had been detained by Israel's military for interrogation. All of Israel's land crossings with Jordan have been closed after the incident, the Israel Airports Authority said. The Allenby Bridge crossing, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, lies about halfway between Amman and Jerusalem and is the only official crossing point between the West Bank and Jordan. It is also the only entry point to the West Bank that does not go through Israel. Jordan and Israel maintain security, trade and diplomatic ties - though Jordan is critical of Israels actions towards Palestinians. Dozens of trucks cross from Jordan daily to supply goods for markets in both the West Bank and Israel. [BBC] Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was a "hard day" and sent his condolences to the victims' families at the start of a cabinet meeting. He added: "A loathsome terrorist murdered three of our citizens in cold blood at the Allenby Bridge." Hamas officials did not claim responsibility for the attack, but described it as a "natural response" to the war in Gaza. The Palestinian health ministry says more than 600 Palestinians have been killed in West Bank violence since Hamas's 7 October attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza. During the same period, at least 18 Israelis were killed in West Bank violence, according to United Nations (UN) figures, which do not include deaths since 11 August. Last week, Israeli forces withdrew from Jenin city and its refugee camp - an area in the West Bank - after a major nine-day operation there. The area is a stronghold of militants and has a civilian population of about 60,000. Israel says it is trying to stem deadly Palestinian attacks on Israelis in the West Bank and Israel, and acting against terrorism. More on this story Voices for Life supporters gather outside a hearing room on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024 at the Indianapolis Community Justice Campus. (Leslie Bonilla Muniz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) A Marion County judge on Friday heard attorneys wrestle over the definition of a medical record as he prepared to either dismiss an abortion records lawsuit or let it move forward. The dispute hinges on the question of whether a terminated pregnancy report is a medical record exempt from public disclosure. Superior Court Judge Timothy Oakes acknowledged that, no matter which side he vindicated, the loser would appeal to a higher court. Is my assumption correct that, regardless of my decision here today, that this is a three-stop train and were only at stop one? he asked the plaintiff. Yes, your honor, attorney Patrick Gillen replied. He represents the plaintiffs in the case. Attorney Patrick Gillen, who argued on behalf of Voices for Life, responds to a reporter after a hearing on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024 at the Indianapolis Community Justice Campus. (Leslie Bonilla Muniz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) The dispute has roots in the states near-total abortion ban. The Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) said in January that it would stop releasing individual terminated pregnancy reports out of concern for patient privacy. The agency cited the small number of procedures and newly bulked-up reporting requirements. South Bend-based Voices for Life filed suit in May, seeking access to the records. The anti-abortion group said it wanted to evaluate compliance with the recently implemented ban. This includes seeing the names of the doctors on the form and the date of the procedures. Indianas Attorney General Todd Rokita has also waded into the fight, siding with the South Bend group toward disclosure and going against the states health department an agency he represents in court. The conflict of interest spurred a brief spat over legal representation and at least one attorney has reportedly filed a disciplinary grievance with the board overseeing Rokitas law license. IDOH countered in July, asking the judge to dismiss the case. After one delay, the parties met at the Community Justice Campus in Indianapolis. Medical record dispute Medical records fall under a confidentiality exception to Indianas public records access law. Ryan Shouse, an attorney with Indianapolis-based Lewis and Wilkins LLP representing IDOH, argued the terminated pregnancy reports are medical records, and cant be released. Per Indiana Code, medical records contain three elements: written or printed information; are in the possession of a provider; and concern a patients diagnosis, treatment or prognosis. Shouse said the reports are written, are in the possession of IDOH which he contended is a provider and contain detailed information about the patients and their specific procedures. He said the statute doesnt require that a patients name be on a document for it to be a medical record. But Gillen, an attorney with the Thomas More Society representing Voices for Life, said a name is paramount. A plain, ordinary and common-sense reading of the law, Gillen said, requires that the medical information be linked to a specific individual. And he asserted that IDOH holds the records as a regulator, rather than as a provider. The agency, Gillen continued, has no idea who the person is. While its possible that a report could be reverse-engineered to identify a specific patient, Gillen argued, the detective work needed shows that the report itself isnt a medical record. Turning to lawmakers The judge asked both sides for the risk they faced if he ruled against them. Shouse said that the status quo held for now, because IDOH is not publicly releasing individual reports. He said the agency feared the improper release of patient-identifying information to the general public, but called the reverse-engineering argument a consequence, not part of his sides legal strategy. Gillen dismissed those fears as remote and speculative. The risk to his client, he said, was the whims of the legislature. He said that if the case went his way, a legislative fix wouldnt be necessary. But his client could go to the Statehouse if an unanticipated problem comes to life. He said legislative sausage-making could prevent Voices for Life from vindicat(ing) their rights. Need to get in touch? Have a news tip? CONTACT US An intervenor, meanwhile said doctors want more clarity. Katherine Jack, an attorney from Jack Law Office representing the Indianapolis Dr. Caitlin Bernard, said an unfavorable ruling risked uncertainty for medical providers. Jack said its doctors mandate to keep medical records confidential. The intervenor was neutral on the motion to dismiss. Gillen dismissed that, arguing that doctors wouldnt be held liable for filing terminated pregnancy reports, since the law requires them to do so. But patients have been identified with less. Bernard herself landed in licensing trouble in 2022 after telling the Indianapolis Star about a 10-year-old Ohio abortion patient who was six weeks and three days pregnant. Reporters used that information to identify the perpetrator, and others found the patient a rape survivor who was close to her assaulter after multiple national outlets claimed the girl didnt exist. Rokita pushed Bernards disclosure as improper, and the states Medical Licensing Board agreed, reprimanding Bernard and fining her $3,000 last May. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Thursday: MCPS to hold first community meeting on school rezoning Marion County Public Schools has announced two upcoming community meetings in relation to two new schools that are under construction. Elementary schools W and X are being build in the southwest part of the county. So officials plan to share rezoning information related to both schools. READ: Blue is Back: Blue Man Group celebrates theater groundbreaking for return to Orlando School W will be located in the Marion Oaks community, south of CR-484. School X is under construction in the Winding Oaks area, south of SR-200. District officials said both public meetings will share the same information, including: Attendance boundaries for the new schools Rezoning plans Curriculum programs Transportation options Artist renderings Meeting dates, times and locations are as follows: Thursday, Sept. 12 at 6 p.m.: Cafeteria of Sunrise Elementary School - 375 Marion Oaks Course, Ocala, Florida 34473 Monday, Sept. 16 at 6 p.m.: Cafeteria of Hammett Bowen Jr. Elementary School - 4397 SW 95 Street, Ocala, Florida 34476 Organizers said families and students can ask questions to MCPS staff during these informal meetings. READ: This is about peace of mind: Marion County firefighter fights for cancer benefits Both schools are slated to open in August 2025. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. It's time to confront the digital threat to human trafficking in our community Human trafficking is often perceived as a distant issue, something that happens overseas or in other parts of the country. But the truth is, its happening right here in our community perhaps even closer than we think. This year, at the sixth annual Community Freedom Summit on Sept. 28, we at Not For Sale: One Step At A Time, in partnership with Walsh University are asking you to take a stand. We need you to join us in acknowledging the painful reality of human trafficking and working together to make a difference. The theme of this years summit, Technology in Human Trafficking, couldnt be more relevant. As our world becomes increasingly interconnected, traffickers are exploiting technology to target vulnerable individuals, including children. The internet, social media and mobile apps have become tools in the hands of those who seek to manipulate, exploit, and abuse. We can no longer turn a blind eye to the ways technology is being used to facilitate human trafficking. Kathie Gray Our event will feature two esteemed keynote speakers who are at the forefront of the fight against this scourge. Michael Wheeler, president and chief legal officer at Patriot Software, will share his expertise on the role of artificial intelligence in combatting human trafficking. David Frattare, director of state investigations and commander of the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, will speak about the grim realities of internet crimes against children, including sextortion and the use of dangerous apps. These experts will help us understand the technological landscape of human trafficking and provide valuable insights on how we can protect our community. But this summit isnt just about listening; its about action. One of the most powerful elements of the day will be our collaboration with the Ohio Attorney Generals Office and the Red Sand Project. Participants will pour red sand into the cracks of the sidewalks at Walsh University, symbolizing how vulnerable people often fall through the cracks of society and into the hands of traffickers. This visual demonstration serves as a stark reminder that human trafficking is a hidden crime that thrives in the shadows unless we shine a light on it. Last year, over 1,100 participants joined us in raising awareness and taking a stand against human trafficking. This year, we hope to make an even greater impact. We invite you to be part of this movement. Whether youre a student, parent, educator, business leader or concerned community member, your involvement matters. Human trafficking is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world, with millions of victims suffering from forced labor and sexual exploitation. The International Labor Organization reported that in 2021, 27.6 million people were subjected to forced labor globally. Here in the United States, cases of human trafficking have been reported in all 50 states, and it is estimated that 1 in 7 missing children is a victim of sex trafficking. Traffickers are becoming more sophisticated, using social media, online advertisements and even dating apps to recruit and exploit their victims. They prey on the most vulnerable among us children and young people who may be struggling with low self-esteem, emotional distress or a desire for attention. The tactics they use are insidious, from false identities and promises of love or money to threats and blackmail. Its a cruel and calculated system that leaves its victims feeling trapped and powerless. Yet, technology can also be a force for good. Law enforcement agencies are harnessing artificial intelligence and data mining to detect and dismantle trafficking networks. Nonprofits are using online platforms to raise awareness and offer support to victims. But they cannot do it alone. The fight against human trafficking requires all of us to be vigilant, informed and proactive. As a community, we must educate ourselves and others about the dangers that exist online. Parents, in particular, need to be aware of the apps their children are using and the potential risks they pose. Conversations about online safety are no longer optional they are critical to keeping our children safe. This years Community Freedom Summit is more than just an event its a call to action. Its a chance for us to come together, learn from experts and take meaningful steps to protect our community from the horrors of human trafficking. By attending the summit, participating in the Red Sand Project, and joining the Freedom Walk, youre not only showing your support for victims you are sending a clear message that human trafficking has no place in our community. We at Not For Sale: One Step At A Time are committed to fighting human trafficking one step at a time, but we need your help. Together, we can make a difference. Together, we can ensure that no one falls through the cracks. Join us on Sept. 28 at Walsh Universitys Cecchini Center. Doors open at 9 a.m. Lets stand united against human trafficking and take a step toward a future where everyone is free. Kathie Gray is president and co-founder of Not For Sale: One Step At A Time. This article originally appeared on The Repository: Not For Sale: One Step At A Time focuses on fighting human trafficking That time Harry Reid snatched control of the Senate away from Bush and the Republicans By the time this photo was taken in 2008 they had moved on. Sort of. For better or worse. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) The 2024 Senate map was always brutally tilted against Democrats. Democrats have mounted an admirable effort. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen is poised to keep her seat in Nevada, and from the high desert to the Great Lakes, Democrats are holding their own or better in multiple competitive Senate races. But Democrats have little to no margin for error, and if they lose just one competitive race incumbent Sen. Jon Tester in Montana is the most vulnerable Republicans will almost certainly take control of the Senate away from the Democrats. Maybe Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell can upset Republican incumbent Sen. Rick Scott in Florida, nullifying a Democratic loss in Montana. Mucarsel-Powell is polling about the same or better in Florida than Tester has been in Montana, and all the kids seem (or seemed) to think Montana is (was) competitive. So maybe Florida is too? Or maybe independent candidate Don Osborn will upset Republican incumbent Sen. Deb Fischer in Nebraska(!?) and then caucus with Democrats (although he hasnt declared as much and is being cagey about it). Or maybe Chuck Shumer, leader of the Senate Democrats, will pull a Harry Reid. In the 2000 election, Republicans lost four Senate seats, but that still left them with 50 senators. George W. Bush had just lost the popular vote, but had won the vote in the U.S. Supreme Court, so Bush became president. The vice president is the tiebreaker in a 50-50 Senate, so Republicans retained control, thanks to (newly confirmed Kamala Harris voter) Dick Cheney. But Reid, then second in command among the Senate Democrats, got to doing what he always did best conniving. Three months into Bushs first term, in May 2001, and in concert with then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, Reid persuaded Vermont Republican Sen. Jim Jeffords to switch his affiliation from Republican to independent and caucus with the Senate Democrats. And just like that, Reid and the Democrats snatched control of the Senate away from the Republicans and their newby president. (Alas, having obtained control of the Senate in 2001, the most consequential thing Democrats did with it was give Bush a blank check to invade Iraq in 2002.) So if Democrats lose Montana and/or Ohio this year, maybe Schumer can channel Harry Reid and persuade Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) or Sen. Lisa Murkowski (I-Alaska) to caucus with the Democrats? Yeah, long shots at best. If Kamala Harris wins the presidency but Republicans control the Senate, Republicans will be able to and will obstruct her agenda. Typically the most (and maybe only) productive years of a presidency are the first two. Republican control of the Senate would squelch that. If Republicans win control of the Senate and Trump wins the presidency, maybe then Collins or Murkowski could be persuaded to caucus with Democrats and effectively give them control, neither Collins nor Murkowski having much use for Trump/Trumpism. Combined with Democratic control of the House (a decent possibility), that would at the least be helpful in hindering Trumps rush to despotism. Said Pollyanna. *** Low-info voters in command of high-stakes election. The national media is now officially chock full o Harris-Trump pre-game, er, pre-debate coverage (the debate is Tuesday). Much of that coverage is marveling at the purported mad skills of Kamala Harris. Normally and counterintuitively this would be unsettling for the Harris faithful, because you dont want your candidate stuck with unreasonably high expectations. But another thing your national media is chock full of is analysis declaring the 2024 election will be decided by approximately 42 low-information voters in Reno. Okay thats an exaggeration. Its actually 42 low-information voters in suburban Pennsylvania. Okay, thats an exaggeration too. But not much of one. In other words, the expectations game is more than usually irrelevant this time, because the really rather small number of people who have yet to determine how/if theyll vote and who are projected to decide the election are by and large the same people who are paying no attention whatsoever to the expectation game. Theres good reason to believe Tuesdays show will be the most-viewed presidential debate ever. Which means some, maybe even a lot, of those low-info voters in Pennsylvania, Nevada, and the other battleground states will be watching. It might be the only, hence decisive, significant bit of information about the 2024 presidential campaign that some of them will ingest. A popular media narrative/complaint in every election cycle is that candidates are not being specific about their positions on policies. Yes, a very high-minded concern, Im sure. But its another thing thats more than usually irrelevant this time, because of the aforementioned low-info yet election-deciding voters of 2024, who by definition are not going to be driven by policy specifics. Oodles of smart and dedicated people are working tremendously hard to save, well, pretty much everything worth saving. Thats whats at risk in this election. Yet the whole shebang is probably going to be settled by the feelies of a few voters who may or may not even know they live in swing states. Itd be pretty funny, if the stakes werent so high. Versions of this column were originally published in the Daily Current newsletter, which is free and which you can subscribe to here. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) doesnt seem to care that the Department of Justice revealed a Russian plot to once again influence a presidential election. To him, theyre just a few memes or videos. Cotton told CNNs Dana Bash on Sundays State of the Union that, while he thought people shouldnt take money from adversarial governments like Russia and China, he didnt think their impact would truly be felt on the 2024 election results. His comments came days after the DOJ announced Russia Today employees paid $10 million to a U.S.-based media company that hosts various right-wing media figures including Tim Pool and Dave Rubin. DOJ Bombshell Alleges MAGA Media Group Is Backed by Russian Money I also think it's fair to say that a few memes or videos in the vast sea of political commentary is not going to make much of a difference in this election, nor has it in past elections as well, Cotton said. What did make a difference in the last election is the lies about Hunter Biden's laptop that more than four dozen former intelligence officials lied about in the middle of that campaign. Bidens laptop has been a consistent talking point for right-wing figures, but Cottons deflection chooses not to engage with social medias impact on the electionand the burgeoning use of generative artificial intelligence. Both campaigns have embraced social media to target audiences who derive their news from it, with Kamala Harris campaign co-opting brat summer and Trump and his supporters frequently sharing fake, AI-generated images or manipulated video clips. Bash noted to Cotton how some people only get their information from those memes and videos, but he tried to explain what a true Russian threat was, offering hypotheticals of attacks on voting machines or electric grids. What really would be catastrophic is if a foreign government, say, hacked into the voter registration system during voting, or hacked into election machines and erased votes, or turned off the electricity in a big city on Election Day, he said. That worries me a lot more than a few videos or memes, he later added, noting that theyre really not all that consequential in the grand scheme of things. Cotton did not offer any evidence or note any intelligence briefings to back up such threats. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. When U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wausau) announced his bill to redesignate the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore as a national park, it came as a complete surprise (National Park upgrade for Apostle Islands would not impact treaties with Indian nations, Aug. 25). The correspondence his office sent to local governments touted only its potential economic effects. However, many of the folks who actually live and work here do so in large part because we believe that some things can and should transcend economic value, and the beauty and health of our nature is one of those things. Rep. Tom Tiffany: National Park upgrade for Apostle Islands would not impact treaties with Indian nations That said, housing prices in our area are already beyond the reach of many because of short-term rental speculation. Many who would like to start or support the Main Street businesses Tiffany lionizes already cant afford the cost of entry. Whats worse, our infrastructure most notably roads and wastewater management, including within the National Lakeshore itself have been starved by austerity for so long that they dont meet current needs, much less any future growth. If you love our land and nature, thats great, but you cant also hate on the actual people who live and work to make and keep it safe and sustainable for you, or you risk loving it all to death. Tiffanys bill should be rejected. John Anderson, Cornucopia Who decided to drop pow wow exhibit? Disconnect at Milwaukee Public Museum glaring. Reconsider support: Milwaukee police union should rethink endorsing a convicted felon and insurrectionist Tips for getting your letter to the editor published Here are some tips to get your views shared with your friends, family, neighbors and across our state: Please include your name, street address and daytime phone. Generally, we limit letters to 200 words. Cite sources of where you found information or the article that prompted your letter. Be civil and constructive, especially when criticizing. Avoid ad hominem attacks, take issue with a position, not a person. We cannot acknowledge receipt of submissions. We don't publish poetry, anonymous or open letters. Each writer is limited to one published letter every two months. All letters are subject to editing. Write: Letters to the editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 330 E. Kilbourn Avenue, Suite 500, Milwaukee, WI, 53202. Fax: (414)-223-5444. E-mail: jsedit@jrn.com or submit using the form that can be found on the on the bottom of this page. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Housing prices are already out of reach of locals near Apostle Islands (NEXSTAR) Pharmacies are stocked with a new batch of flu shots, but that doesnt mean you need to rush out and get one. Health experts, who youve often heard urging vaccination as soon as possible, are instead suggesting it may not be the ideal time for most people to get their annual influenza vaccine. Timing the flu vaccine perfectly is tricky, but youll want to get it ahead of peak flu season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises. Flu activity tends to pick up around October, peak between December and February, and decrease throughout the spring season. Whooping cough cases are up 169% this year in New York City: CDC The CDC says most people should try to get the flu vaccine in September or October, but definitely by the end of October. You really want to think about getting your appointment or making your plan to get vaccinated sometime around the last half of September through the end of October, Dr. Judith ODonnell, chief of infectious diseases at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, told NBC News. A recent study of 800,000 pediatrician visits found that children who got vaccinated in October were also least likely to be diagnosed with influenza that season. Waiting until the latter half of September or October to get the shot can offer you protection for a bit longer, through the end of peak flu season. It takes about two weeks for the vaccine to be fully effective, the CDC says. The advice to wait a few more weeks applies to most people, but elderly people and those with chronic health conditions should consult their doctor to make the decision that works best for their individual risk level and exposure. Korean BBQ and hot pot franchise opens first location in Manhattan Some children between 6 months and 8 years old should get a vaccine sooner, the CDC advises, because theyll need two doses. Pregnant people in the third trimester may also want to consider getting vaccinated early. If you dont think youll be able to get vaccinated in October, its better to get one now than not at all. You may want to make things easier for yourself by getting a COVID-19 booster at the same time, which health experts say is safe to do. If we could have a crystal ball, then wed be able to time things just right, Scott Hensley, a microbiology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said in an interview with STAT. Theres risk in waiting, and theres risk in getting it too soon. Even if you miss the ideal window, its still beneficial to get vaccinated later in the flu season as long as the influenza virus is still circulating. 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 PIX11. The House Foreign Affairs Committees Republican chair issued a scathing new report Sunday outlining what he views as the Biden administrations failures on Afghanistan and playing up Vice President Kamala Harriss role in the chaotic 2021 U.S. withdrawal from the country. The report from Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) caps a three-year investigation that included contentious public hearings and repeated clashes with senior Biden officials over access to documents. But the probe has previously focused on Biden and top White House and State Department officials around him. Now Harris is painted as a key player. The report stresses that the Biden-Harris administration prioritized the optics of the withdrawal over the security of U.S. personnel on the ground and misled and, in some instances, directly lied to the American people at every stage of the withdrawal. McCaul in 2022 issued a 115-page interim report on his investigation that referred to Harris by name just twice. The final report, coming four weeks after Harris became the Democratic nominee, mentions her at least 251 times. Republicans and Democrats have traded blame for the 20-year wars calamitous end that saw the Taliban take control of the country. While Bidens administration did execute the withdrawal, it was former President Donald Trump who cut a peace deal with the Taliban in 2020 that included the release of thousands of prisoners and a fixed date for a U.S. exit. Democrats on the committee say that McCauls report downplays Trumps role and that the Republican is using the investigation as a political tool to hit the Biden administration, a charge McCauls team denies. With the ascendance of Vice President Kamala Harris to the top of the Democratic presidential ticket, the GOP performance has reached a crescendo, said the House Foreign Affairs Committees ranking member, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.). Sundays report pivots sharply from prior documents by magnifying Harriss role in Afghanistan policy. Vice President Kamala Harris was the last person in the room when President Biden made the decision to withdraw all U.S. forces from Afghanistan; a fact she boasted about shortly after President Biden issued his go-to-zero order, the report states. Despite warnings against withdrawing by senior leaders, Vice President Harris aide disclosed the vice president strongly supported President Bidens decision. President Bidens former Chief of Staff Ron Klain affirmed Vice President Harris was entrenched in the presidents Afghanistan policy. The report notes that when the evacuation took place in August 2021, Harris was on a trip to Singapore and Vietnam where she pledged the administration would continue to protect Afghan women and children. Her promise has clearly not been fulfilled, the report concludes. Harris and her supporters in Washington have increasingly trumpeted the role she has played in the Biden administrations foreign policy in the final stretch of the election campaign season, but she has said little on Afghanistan since she was tapped as the Democratic nominee. Her campaign is hitting back against Republicans by highlighting Trumps role in setting the stage for the U.S. withdrawal. Trump shamelessly attacks the vice president because he hopes he can trick the country into forgetting that his own actions undermined U.S. strategy and put our troops and allies in harms way, Morgan Finkelstein, the campaigns national security spokesperson, said Saturday..l Saturday marked the five-year anniversary of Trumps controversial decision to secretly invite the Taliban to a Camp David summit to negotiate the U.S. withdrawal a plan he then said he scrapped after a Taliban attack in Kabul. The White House condemned the report and defended Biden as having made the best of the deal Trump cut with the Taliban to get out of Afghanistan by May of 2021. White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations Sharon Yang said in a statement that the report was based on cherry-picked facts, inaccurate characterizations, and pre-existing biases. She added: Ending our longest war was the right thing to do and our nation is stronger today as a result. McCauls report does blame the Trump-appointed U.S. envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, for undermining the Afghan government by excluding it from the talks and argues he didnt keep the U.S. military fully informed about the terms of the negotiations. Khalilzad fired back that the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and then-Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley took part in talks with the Taliban. No agreement was made on any military issue without the full knowledge of our military leaders and their participation in decisions made by our leaders, Khalilzad said in a post responding to a preview of the report. Meeks issued a rebuttal memo to McCauls report. In his 59-page response, Meeks accused McCaul of politicizing the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and taking particular pains to avoid facts involving former President [Donald] Trump and his role in setting the stage for the Taliban victory and collapse of the U.S.-support Afghan government before he left office. As for Harris, he said Republicans now claim she was the architect of the U.S. withdrawal though she is referenced only three times in 3,288 pages of the Committees interview transcripts. POLITICO was not able to independently verify Meekss claim, as the committee has not publicized all of the interview transcripts from the investigation. The dueling partisan reports reflect the growing acrimony between the Republicans and Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which has historically been a bastion of bipartisan cooperation on Capitol Hill. Even as McCaul faces condemnation from Democrats, he has also been criticized as letting some key officials off the hook. Jerry Dunleavy, a former journalist for conservative media outlets, publicly resigned from his job as a senior investigator in the probe, alleging that McCaul wasnt interested in holding military commanders accountable for what happened or probing Harris and her advisers about their roles. Its an open question whether the inquiry into decisions made under Bidens leadership will transfer into a political liability for Harris. Bidens poll numbers tanked three years ago as U.S. forces left Afghanistan, the disorderly pullout from Afghanistan and the Abbey Gate bombing in Kabul that killed 13 U.S. service members. Republicans have since raised the withdrawal as an election-year issue for Biden, and since he exited the presidential race, Harris. On the third anniversary of the U.S. exit, Trump, speaking at a National Guard groups conference, described Afghanistan as one in a string of foreign policy failures for Harris and the Biden administration. Caused by Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, the humiliation in Afghanistan set off the collapse of American credibility and respect all around the world, Trump said. It gave us Russia going into Ukraine. It gave us the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, because it gave us lack of respect. But Trumps push to capitalize politically on the withdrawal has also boomeranged on him. Harris and others have criticized Trump over reports that Trumps campaign staff got into a confrontation with an official at the Arlington National Cemetery last week. The former president was there for a memorial with families of service members killed at Abbey Gate. McCauls report charges that Biden was determined to withdraw all U.S. forces regardless of whether the Taliban was meeting its end of the deal. The group had pledged to cut ties with terror groups and reduce violence. McCaul also repeated in his report charges that U.S. officials left behind a significant amount of classified information in the U.S. embassy compound during the rushed U.S. evacuation from Kabul as Taliban forces closed in around the Afghan capital. That classified information, McCaul alleges, likely fell into the hands of the Taliban. The State Department did not respond to a request for comment on the matter. The Republican lawmaker also reiterated accusations that the Biden administration ignored repeated warnings to draw up plans for an emergency evacuation of noncombatants, known as a NEO, in the weeks leading up to the final withdrawal. Indeed, testimony obtained by the committee reveals the administration failed to even contemplate a plan for a NEO with the Taliban in control of the country, the report reads. This failure is inexcusable in light of warnings from Embassy Kabul personnel and the Defense Department that a Taliban takeover was imminent following the military withdrawal. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misstated the title of White House spokesperson Sharon Yang. Our transparency laws place power in the hands of the people. We should treasure that. When its time to take a hard look at our public officials and decide which ones to re-elect or reject we need information. A major source of that information is the government itself. Access to public records and meetings is essential for us to know the facts and speak out about how government is run, during election season or any time. Among the tools at our disposal are the Texas Public Information Act, the Texas Open Meetings Act and the federal Freedom of Information Act along with transparency provisions in other Texas laws and the state constitution. The Austin City Council listens to public comments during the council's first meeting of 2023 at City Hall in Austin. (Credit: Aaron Martinez/American-Statesman/File) As strong as these tools are, we must be vigilant about keeping them sharp. Our information laws at times require legislative updates to reflect how records are created, stored and used in the modern world. For example, providing easy-to-find online information and searchable-sortable spreadsheet data when it exists, instead of old-fashioned copies, should be the norm. Unfortunately, not all governments do this voluntarily. Just as important is the need to overcome barriers some governments intentionally use to block information access. Loopholes in the laws must be closed. Enforcement should be fine-tuned. The nonprofit Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas will explore these transparency issues and protection of First Amendment rights at its annual conference Sept. 13, in Austin. Conference registration is available to anyone who is interested. Open records and meetings allow us to go beyond government officials spoken words or spin and let us see how decisions are truly made and how governing is carried out. How is taxpayer money spent? Are contractors who are building roads and bridges meeting deadlines and ensuring safety? Do school districts, cities and counties effectively manage programs and budgets? Government information belongs to the people, and in almost all cases it needs to flow freely, without delay. The publics right to know does not depend on the whims of officials, elected or non-elected, former Texas Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby, who held office when the states open records law was enacted in 1973, once explained at an FOI Foundation gathering. Winning an election or getting a government job doesnt make anybody smarter than they were before, or less subject to the law. In fact, public officials not only have to obey the law like everybody else, they have an even higher duty, he said. The Texas Public Information Act presumes documents are open unless theres an exception in the law to releasing the record. Even then, in most instances a governmental entity must ask the Texas attorney generals office for permission to withhold it. Thats a safeguard that provides oversight and can deter the entity from acting in bad faith toward a requestor. The Open Meetings Act, meanwhile, makes the meetings of many governmental bodies open to everyone unless theres a specific exception allowing a closed session, such as deliberation on a pending real estate transaction or personnel matter. But no action can be taken behind closed doors; the public has a right to know about and observe the bodys decision-making. These major transparency laws place power in the hands of the people. Thats something we should treasure and use. Making this state and nation a better place is our responsibility as Texans and Americans. Demanding change when necessary and soaking up all the information we can along the way helps get the job done. Shannon is executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, a nonprofit organization based in Austin that advocates for open government and free speech. The FOI Foundation also hosts regional training sessions to help Texans learn to use the Public Information Act and Open Meetings Act. The next seminar is Oct. 16 in Edinburg in the Rio Grande Valley. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: US, Texas transparency laws place power in the hands of the people Nicole Kidman, the acclaimed actress who recently arrived in Italy for the Venice Film Festival, was forced to leave shortly after her arrival due to the unexpected death of her mother, Janelle Ann Kidman. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kidman was honoured with the Best Actress award for her performance in 'Babygirl' at the prestigious festival but was not present to accept the accolade herself. In her absence, Halina Reijn, the director of 'Babygirl', stepped in to accept the award on Kidman's behalf. On stage, Reijn expressed her shock and sorrow, stating, "I'm in shock, and I have to go to my family, but this award is for her. I am beyond grateful that I get to say her name to all of you. The collision of life and art is heartbreaking, and my heart is broken," he said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Brady Corbet, who received the Silver Lion for Best Director at the same event, also extended his condolences to Kidman, acknowledging the personal tragedy she faced. Nicole Kidman had previously shared in early January 2022 that her mother was in declining health, though details were not fully disclosed at that time. During an appearance on NPR's 'Fresh Air' podcast, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Kidman spoke about the challenges of balancing her mother's care with her career commitments. She recounted a poignant visit to an art gallery with her mother, reflecting on its significance, "So luckily, last yesterday, even though [COVID-19 strain] Omicron is raging through this country, we were able to take her into the gallery after hours and show her the Matisse exhibit, which, coming from a mother who's raised me in the arts was very, very - it was a soothing balm." Kidman had previously highlighted her mother's influence on her career and personal development. In a 2020 interview with 'The Sydney Morning Herald', she described how her mother's support and sacrifices shaped her career, "She's given me the fire to pursue the career I have because I've always wanted to please her. But she also carved her own path and wanted her daughters to have the same opportunity to carve their own paths." (ANI) A pickup crashed into the Elks Lodge in Apache Junction Saturday evening, sending 15 people to hospitals and injuring 15 others for a total of 30 hurt, police said. Police said 10 people were taken to various hospitals by ambulance while at least five people drove themselves to a hospital where they were treated for minor injuries. Apache Junction police identified the driver Sunday morning as 73-year-old Thomas Edward Kain and said alcohol was a contributing factor. It added that the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control is investigating the circumstances separately. "This accident shows just how dangerous it can be to drink and drive," the department said in a statement. "Alcohol impairs your ability to drive safely by reducing your reaction time and decision-making skills. We are grateful that there were no fatalities and this story could have ended very differently." Lauren Reimer, a Pinal County Sheriff's Office spokesperson, told The Arizona Republic Sunday afternoon that Kain was booked into the county jail on a $45,000 bond. Reimer did not say what charges Kain was booked on or whether he had bonded out. Police and the Superstition Fire & Medical District responded to the accident at 2455 N. Apache Trail. Those searching for family or friends affected by this incident can contact the Apache Junction Police Department at 480-982-8260. The Elks Lodge posted a statement on Facebook Sunday morning offering condolences to those affected. "In response to the unfortunate incident at the Apache Junction Elks Lodge last night, we want to express our heartfelt sympathy and support for all those impacted," the organization said. "Our thoughts are with the victims and their families, and we want to recognize the tireless efforts of the first responders who assisted." The organization said anyone who needs support due to the incident can call a crisis hotline at 480-546-7151. It added that a support team would be at the lodge at 2 p.m. to help those affected. The organization had a 4 p.m. prime rib dinner on its calendar for Saturday with an open mic night between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Truck driver jailed, 30 injured in Apache Junction Elks Lodge crash The Trump campaign slammed reports that Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign told Arab American leaders in Detroit that if shes elected on Nov. 5, she would likely name left-wing Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison as the U.S. top cop. "Keith Ellison would be a natural fit in a Kamala Harris administration. Both are radical liberals who support ending cash bail and releasing violent criminals into American neighborhoods. The good news for the American people is that its never going to happen, because President Trump is going to win on November 5," Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital. Over the weekend, reports surfaced that the Harris campaign allegedly told Arab American community leaders in Detroit that Ellison is on Harris' short list of potential attorneys general. Ellison has since denied the report. "Arab American leaders in Detroit have been told by the Kamala campaign that @keithellison is on the short list to be Attorney General if she should win," former acting director of National Intelligence under the Trump administration, Richard Grenell, posted to X on Saturday. ABANDON BIDEN CAMPAIGN RELAUNCHES, TARGETS HARRIS IN KEY SWING STATES Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison arrives to speak on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 21, 2024, in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) The Harris campaign directed Fox Digital to a post on Ellison's X account denying the report when approached for comment. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP "This is a lie designed to trigger the Muslim-haters," Ellison posted in response to Grenell's social media post. MINN AG KEITH ELLISON COMPARES JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS TO HOUSE SLAVE CHARACTER IN BLOCKBUSTER HIT Ellison currently serves as Minnesotas attorney general, a left-wing Democrat who served as a U.S. congressman representing the Gopher State between 2007 and 2019. Ellison was elected as the first Muslim to Congress in U.S. history. Ellison has long come under fire from conservatives, including last year when he compared Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to the slave character in Quentin Tarantinos 2012 film "Django Unchained," pinning blame for skyrocketing auto theft on car manufacturers, his handling of spiraling crime in the state during and after the 2020 George Floyd riots, and accusing the Republican Party during his DNC speech last month of thinking "theyre above the law." MINNESOTA AG KEITH ELLISON WARNS TARGET ABOUT THEIR 'OBLIGATIONS' TO THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY "No one is above the law, and no one is beneath it. In the Republican Party, everyone thinks theyre above the law. Hell, nearly a dozen of their own lawyers are facing serious charges. Even their lawyers need lawyers," Ellison said during the DNC, when Harris officially accepted her nomination after President Biden dropped out of the presidential race amid mounting concern over his mental acuity. Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is embraced by U.S. President Joe Biden during a campaign event at IBEW Local Union #5 on September 2, 2024, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. President Joe Biden joined Vice President Harris for her second Labor Day event, for the first time on the campaign trail since he departed the Democratic ticket, and Harris was confirmed as the Democratic Party's nominee for the 2024 presidential election against the Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump. The event was attended by members of the IBEW, United Steelworkers, AFSCME, and other unions. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) Social media critics and conservatives sounded off this weekend over the report that the Harris campaign is considering Ellison as a top contender for U.S. AG. DEM AG SLAMMED FOR COMPARING JUSTICE THOMAS TO 'DJANGO UNCHAINED' CHARACTER: 'RAGE POLITICS' The media has speculated that Harris attorney general shortlist likely includes current deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco, former U.S. associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, and Obama-era deputy Attorney General Sally Yates. Conservative political commentator and journalist Julie Kelly said last month the Harris campaign could also tap Jan. 6 attorney Matthew Graves as AG, if Harris were to win. Graves serves as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia and is the chief prosecutor of Trump supporters who breached the U.S. Capitol in 2021. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison arrives to speak on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 21, 2024, in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) The report that Ellison is on Harris' AG short list comes as Harris faces backlash from both Muslim and Jewish voters over her stance on the ongoing war in Israel, which has continued since Oct. 7. First known as the "Abandon Biden" campaign, Muslim American voters in Michigan revamped their mission last month to rally support against the Harris ticket. The Abandon Biden campaign first surfaced earlier this year in the heavily Muslim populated city of Dearborn , as voters denouced Biden for his continued support of Israel. CHALLENGER TO 'RECKLESS' KEITH ELLISON SAYS FAR-LEFT ATTORNEY GENERAL AN 'ABSOLUTE DISGRACE' ON HANDLING CRIME "This action is a direct response to Kamala Harris' support for the ongoing genocide in Gaza," the Abandon Harris campaign said in the release. Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at the Enmarket Arena August 29, 2024, in Savannah, Georgia. Harris has campaigned in southeast Georgia for the past two days. Simultaneously, former President Donald Trump is courting the Jewish vote, predicting that he could win 50% of the demographic. A poll last month found Trump leading Harris among Jewish voters in typically liberal New York. Ellisons office did not respond to Fox News Digitals request for additional comment on Sunday. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub . Fox News Digital's Michael Lee contributed to this report. Original article source: Trump campaign slams report 'radical' Keith Ellison is on Harris' AG short list: 'natural fit' At a Fox News town hall on Wednesday, former President Donald Trump previewed some of the themes that we will likely hear more from him on the campaign trail and during his September 10 debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. Discussing the US southern border, Trump asserted that more terrorists have come into the United States in the last three years. And I think probably 50 years. As we approach the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, this seems like an odd claim to make when 19 Arab hijackers, none of whom had crossed the southern border into the US, killed almost 3,000 people, the vast majority of them in Trumps hometown of New York City. And if it were really the case that jihadist terrorists were pouring across Americas southern border during the past three years as Trump claimed, wouldnt there have been, you know, some terrorist attacks in the US as a result? Or, at the very least, a lot more terrorists being arrested in the US during that same time frame? In fact, there have been no reported terrorist attacks in the US during the past three years carried out by jihadist terrorists crossing the southern border. Indeed, the most recent lethal terrorist attack by a jihadist terrorist happened when Trump himself was in office in 2019 when a Saudi military officer killed three American sailors at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida, and he had arrived legally in the US as part of a Pentagon training program. Meanwhile, during the past three years, 22 people have been murdered in the United States by far-right domestic terrorists in places such as Buffalo, New York, and Allen, Texas, according to data collected by New America, a research institution (where I am a vice president.) The ordinarily voluble Trump typically doesnt have much to say when far-right domestic terrorists perpetrate terrorism in the United States. At the Fox town hall, Trump also claimed that there were no acts of radical Islamic terror while he was president. Yet, the Pensacola terrorist attack happened on Trumps watch, as did the attack in Manhattan in 2017 by an ISIS-inspired terrorist who killed eight people using a truck as a weapon. The terrorists crossing the southern border trope is a 2024 remix of Trumps call for a Muslim ban during the 2016 election campaign, which conflated Americans widespread concerns about immigration with their fear of terrorism, which since the 9/11 attacks has been imprinted on many Americans minds. To be sure, there are reasonable concerns about the southern border, like the fact that, as CNN reported in June, eight Tajikistan nationals in the US who had crossed the southern border were arrested on immigration charges following the discovery of potential ties to terrorism, including possibly to ISIS. There was, however, no evidence these men were plotting a terrorist attack. Also, FBI director Christopher Wray testified last year before the US Senate Judiciary Committee, I am concerned that we are in a heightened threat environment from foreign terrorist organizations for a whole host of reasons and obviously their ability to exploit any port of entry, including our southwest border We have seen an increase in so-called KSTs, known or suspected terrorists, attempting to cross over the last five years. It is the case that according to the US Customs and Border Protections most recent statistics, in 2024 so far, there were 43 encounters with people on the terrorism watch list on the southern border. Also, in 2024, Customs and Border Protection Patrol had 281 encounters with people on the terrorism watchlist on the US border with Canada. Yet, Trump is not calling for draconian immigration enforcement for people crossing the Canadian border, even though so far this year around six times more people on the terrorism watch list tried to cross that border. Also, being on the terrorism watch list doesnt mean you are a terrorist; CBS News has reported that there are some two million people on it. This is all a far cry from Trumps claim on Fox that more terrorists have come into the United States in the last three years. And I think probably 50 years and that there was no Islamist terrorism in the US during the four years he was in office. However, if past performance is predictive of future performance, Trump will likely make similar claims during the final weeks of the election campaign. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Trump decries using lift to appear taller during debates: A form of cheating Former President Trump posted online saying no props or lifts will be used in the upcoming debate to make one candidate appear taller, calling it cheating. No boxes or artificial lifts will be allowed to stand on during my upcoming debate with Comrade Kamala Harris. We had this out previously with former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg when he was in a debate, and he was not allowed a lift, Trump posted to his Truth Social site. It would be a form of cheating, and the Democrats cheat enough. You are who you are, it was determined! Trump is set to face Vice President Harris in a high-stakes, highly anticipated presidential debate Tuesday in Philadelphia. The campaigns went back and forth about debate rules, with the Harris campaign wanting to keep microphones on while the other candidate speaks, breaking from the rules agreed upon in Trumps debate with President Biden. Trump then raised questions about whether he would attend the debate at all, but they finally agreed to a set of rules this week. The former president won the coin flip and chose to deliver the last closing statement of the debate, and Harris chose the right podium position. The debate will be hosted by ABC News, who released information about the rules. Candidates will have two minutes to answer questions, two minutes for rebuttals and one minute for follow-ups, clarifications or responses. There will be no audience, and closing statements will be two minutes long for each candidate. Each candidate will receive a pen, pad of paper and water bottle. No prewritten notes or props will be allowed on stage, and campaign staff cant interact with the candidate during commercial breaks. Harris has claimed she is 5 feet, 4 inches tall, and her height increases if shes wearing heels. Trump is 6 feet, 3 inches tall. 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. Trump Doubles Down On Bogus Gender-Affirming Care Claim His Own Campaign Can't Back Up Donald Trump rolled out an bonkers, evidence-free claim about gender-affirming care for children during a campaign rally on Saturday. Can you imagine youre a parent and your son leaves the house and you say, Jimmy, I love you so much, go have a good day at school and your son comes back with a brutal operation, Trump told the crowd in Mosinee, Wisconsin. Can you even imagine this? What the hell is wrong with our country? The false claim arrives just over a week after the former president spewed similar talk at an event that featured anti-transgender hate hosted by the far-right group Moms for Liberty, which has been labeled an anti-government extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The transgender thing is incredible. Think of it. Your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation. The school decides whats going to happen with your child, Trump told Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice. Trumps prior claim is false, too, as theres no evidence showing schools in the U.S. are sending children into gender-affirming surgeries or administering them on school grounds or that these surgeries occur without parental consent, CNN noted. Gender-affirming care can also be lifesaving, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, while operations such as genital surgery and mastectomies are rarely performed on minors. CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale took to social media to knock Trump over his lie, adding that the GOP nominees own campaign could not find a single example of this school secretly sends child for gender-affirming surgery without parental consent thing having ever happened anywhere in America. Justice told CNN last week that while children werent getting surgery in school, she was thankful to Trump for pushing the false claim at the Moms for Liberty event. Trump: Can you imagine you're a parent and your son leaves the house and you say, Jimmy, I love you so much. Go have a good day in school and your son comes back with a brutal operation. pic.twitter.com/ChmwpavFAH Acyn (@Acyn) September 7, 2024 Critics on social media didnt hold back on Trump, with some referring to the amount of people injured and killed due to gun violence in schools. The former presidents remarks arrived just days after two students and two teachers were killed during a shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia. I cannot overstate this if you are afraid that your child is going to have a gender affirming surgery at school but you arent afraid they may be shot at school, there is no way were living in the same nation. https://t.co/gxQVHIBOH8 Michael OBrien (@DrOBrienMD) September 7, 2024 No. But I can imagine Jimmy ending up on a goddam slab in a goddam morgue as a victim of yet another school shooting because these are fundamentally unserious idiot people. There are enough real things to be afraid of. No need to invent any like the rubes do. https://t.co/HvkVM4DbAb Jeff Timmer (@jefftimmer) September 7, 2024 This lie makes me so angry. This isn't how surgery for trans people even works! https://t.co/UxAqDdyDXM Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) September 7, 2024 Boiled-brain Fox News culture war gibberish about a thing that even his own campaign can't prove has ever happened. https://t.co/DniLvCC8IC Mike Rothschild (no relation) (@rothschildmd) September 7, 2024 Can you imagine youre a parent and your son leaves the house, and you say, Jimmy I love you so much. Go have a good day in school and your son doesnt come back because of a guy armed with an AR-15? Because that actually happens, all across this country. https://t.co/pIPpWZ8MPZ George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) September 7, 2024 Related... Donald Trump falsely claimed yet again that children are the subject of brutal gender operations at schools across the US. Kamala supports states being able to take minor children and perform sex change operations, take them away from their parents, perform sex change operations, and send them back home, Trump said in Mosinee, Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon. Can you imagine youre a parent and your son leaves the house and you say, Jimmy, I love you so much. Go have a good day in school and your son comes back with a brutal operation, he added. Can you even imagine this? What the hell is wrong with our country? Theres no evidence this has ever happened or been planned. In states where gender-affirming surgery is legal for people under the age of 18, parental consent is required. Trump made a similar false claim while speaking to the conservative group Moms for Liberty last week. The transgender thing is incredible. Think of it. Your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation. The school decides whats going to happen with your child, he falsely claimed. Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign event at the Central Wisconsin Airport on September 07, 2024 in Mosinee, Wisconsin. Trump made a rambling speech in which he made baseless claims about gender operations (Getty Images) An adolescent medicine physician at the Yale School of Medicine, Dr Meredithe McNamara, told CNN on Monday that everything in this statement is false. Of course surgery of any kind happens in a qualified medical center and not in a school. Of course, parents are the medical decision-makers for their kids, especially when it comes to gender-affirming care, she added. Pediatrician Michael OBrien reacted to Trumps rally speech on Saturday night, writing on X: I cannot overstate this if you are afraid that your child is going to have a gender-affirming surgery at school but you arent afraid they may be shot at school, there is no way were living in the same nation. Can you imagine youre a parent and your son leaves the house, and you say, Jimmy I love you so much. Go have a good day in school and your son doesnt come back because of a guy armed with an AR-15? Because that actually happens, all across this country, actor George Takei wrote. Trump continued his rambling performance by bashing Vice President Kamala Harriss running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as Tampon Tim, a moniker used widely by rightwingers. Did you see signed a bill where tampons will be in every boy's bathroom? ... He's a whack job, Trump said of Walz on Saturday. Walz rose to prominence as he appeared on cable news in the lead-up to his selection as Harriss VP pick, dubbing Trump and his running mate Ohio Senator JD Vance as weird, something which appears to have gotten under Trumps skin. No, he's weird. He is really weird. This guy, can you imagine I'm weird? It's just, you know, they do sound bites, Trump said on Saturday. Pivoting to one of his favorite subjects, immigration, Trump made the bizarre claim that as border czar, Kamala Harris let in over 20 million, they're now saying the number could be 25 million illegal aliens from 168 different countries. Most people don't even know that you have that many countries, he added. Trump made his oft-repeated claim that the people crossing the border are coming from prisons and jails, insane asylums and mental institutions and terrorists at a level that we've never seen before. Trumps numbers are heavily overestimated. Since the start of President Joe Bidens time in office, Customs and Border Protection has recorded about 10 million migrant encounters across the country, but it should be noted that a migrant can be counted as an encounter on several occasions. Both independent and government analyses estimate that repeat encounters make up between a quarter and more than half of all encounters, The New York Times noted in June. Meanwhile, border officials also estimate that about 1.7 million people avoided detention and have entered the US since fiscal year 2021, government data shows according to a Fox News Freedom of Information Act request. Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump will meet in their first and perhaps only debate on Tuesday (Brendan Smialowski) (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/AFP) The US presidential race remains neck-and-neck according to polls released Sunday, two days before Kamala Harris and Donald Trump hold their first -- and potentially only -- televised debate. The latest polling confirms that Trump retains locked-in support from about half of voters, despite the Republican's historic status as a convicted felon and his role in instigating the unprecedented attempt to overturn his 2020 loss to Joe Biden. Harris, who only jumped into the race after President Biden quit in July, has rapidly transformed herself from a little-noticed vice president into a serious contender. However, the polls show she has not made a major breakthrough, leaving the race a toss-up. A New York Times/Siena poll found that 78-year-old Trump is leading Harris nationally by 48 to 47 percent, well within the margin of error. US presidential elections are decided by tallying the results of state-by-state contests, rather than an overall national popular vote, meaning that a tiny handful of swing states typically determine the balance. The poll found Harris, 59, narrowly ahead in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and tied in four other swing states: Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona. A CBS News/YouGov poll put Harris ahead by one percentage point in Michigan and Wisconsin and tied in Pennsylvania. The election is already chaotic, with 81-year-old Biden dropping out amid concerns over his age, Trump narrowly surviving an assassin's bullet at a rally, and fears mounting that Trump will again refuse to concede if he loses in November. However, the latest numbers confirm that each candidate retains a remarkably stable base of loyalists, almost evenly splitting the country. One game changer could be Tuesday's ABC News debate, the only one scheduled between the two. Trump will be under pressure to rein in his characteristic use of insults and intimidation as he stands next to a mixed-race candidate vying to become the first female president in US history. Harris will need to use the huge viewership to connect with Americans in a way that she was unable to as vice president and has had little time to accomplish in her super-condensed campaign run. With Trump now the oldest presidential nominee in US history, she is pitching an optimistic, forward-looking message in contrast to Trump's apocalyptic claims that the country faces terminal decline without him in the White House. But Harris has also been accused of running on vague optimism and unity at the expense of putting out concrete policies. She finally addressed the growing pressure late Sunday when her campaign put out a policy page, touching on subjects from unions and cost-of-living issues to health care. - Sexist taunts - At the same time, Harris will have to solve the conundrum of how to debate Trump, who habitually makes false statements on nearly every topic and loves to get under his opponents' skin. Biden, in his only debate against Trump before dropping his candidacy, found himself entirely unable to cope. Already, Trump has been subjecting Harris in his speeches to racist and sexist taunts, deliberately mispronouncing her name and calling her "crazy" and a "Marxist." "It will take almost superhuman focus and discipline to deal with Donald Trump in a debate," Harris supporter and current transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNN. The Harris campaign announced it would "barnstorm battleground states" after the debate, beginning in North Carolina, then Pennsylvania. Trump held a rally in Wisconsin on Saturday where he appealed to his mostly white, working-class base with a dark speech claiming that he is struggling against a "rogue regime" where Democrats "imported murderers, child predators and serial rapists from all over the planet." On his Truth Social platform, he warned that once back in the White House he would impose "long prison sentences" on all those he said were planning "cheating" in November. sms/bbk/dhw Donald Trump is threatening that a proposed mass deportation of undocumented immigrants if he returns to power will result in blood being spilled, Reuters reported. Speaking at a rally in Wisconsin on Saturday, the Republican nominee falsely claimed that "crime is through the roof" it is near a 50-year low following a spike when he was president and that it will get worse. "You haven't seen the migrant crime yet," he claimed. "It started, and it's vicious, but you haven't seen the extent of it yet." In fact, immigrants are far less likely to commit crimes than native-born US citizens, according to a study of 150 years of U.S. Census data. Cities that have seen the largest increase in migrants, including New York City and Philadelphia, have seen that influx accompanied by plummeting rates of violent crime. But Trump, who has long lied about the connection between immigrants and crime, claiming that foreigners are "poisoning the blood of the country," told supporters that asylum-seekers are taking over the country. "In Colorado, they're so crazy they're taking over sections of the state," he falsely claimed, citing a bogus viral story about Venezuelan gangs taking over an apartment complex in Aurora, a claim denied by police, the city's Republican mayor and residents, who say the claim was spread by a slumlord to deflect blame for poor conditions at their property. But Trump used the false story to segue to his proposed mass deportation of at least 12 million undocumented people, telling supporters that, "getting them back will be a bloody story." As The New York Times previously reported, Trump's proposed deportations would be unprecedented in scale, requiring the building of "huge camps to detain people" and the creation of a deportation squad composed of "local police officers and National Guard soldiers voluntarily contributed by Republican-run states." Trump's comments came the same day that he promised to carry out a sweeping crackdown on his political opponents should he win the 2024 election. Former President Donald Trump is promising to carry out what he described as an unprecedented crackdown on his political enemies should he win the 2024 election, saying that after his victory there will be a wave of arrests and prosecutions at a level "never seen before in our Country." The Republican candidate, who recently admitted that he lost the 2020 election, returned Saturday evening to falsely claiming he defeated President Joe Biden but that his victory was stolen from him. In a post shared on social media, Trump reiterated his usual litany of falsehoods about U.S. elections while promising that, "WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again." The 78-year-old GOP nominee went on to assert that the country could not be allowed to become a "Third World Nation," a threat his campaign has repeatedly invoked in the race against Vice President Kamala Harris. In August, Trump's campaign shared an ad that echoed white nationalist language on migration, stating: "Import the third world" and "Become the third world," an image of Black men used to depict "your neighborhood under Kamala." On Saturday, the former president denied the possibility that he could legitimately lose in November. He also emphasized that his promised post-election crackdown would be sweeping in nature, claiming targets would include "Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials." Hundreds if not thousands of people could ultimately be detained, he suggested, writing: "Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country." Trump has previously called for terminating the U.S. Constitution so that he could return to power, while also saying he would be a dictator on "day one." Under Project 2025, a plan for a second term drafted by allies at the right-wing Heritage Foundation, Trump would purge the federal government of career, nonpartisan bureaucrats, replacing experts and others with MAGA loyalists. The threat that a second Trump presidency poses to democracy has prompted even some former leading Republicans to speak out. On Friday, former Vice President Dick Cheney endorsed Harris, saying her opponent could not be trusted with ever wielding power again. "In our nation's 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump," Cheney said in a statement. Chef turned actor Ranveer Brar recently shared insights into his upcoming film, 'The Buckingham Murders' meanwhile discussing his on-screen chemistry with Kareena Kapoor Khan. Scheduled for release on September 13, the movie is directed by Hansal Mehta and stars Kareena Kapoor Khan in a gripping role. Ranveer, who plays the character Daljeet Kohli, expressed his excitement and trepidation about his acting career. Reflecting on his journey, he admitted that while he had previously declined acting roles due to a fear of being typecast as a villain, he found his stride with 'Modern Love Mumbai'. "When I came to Mumbai, I always believed my arrival was no coincidence," Ranveer said, in a conversation with ANI. His first experience in acting was through the series, which he found comforting as it involved playing a role akin to his own profession. In his latest project, Ranveer plays a role starkly different from his real-life persona. "This time, I'm not playing a chef. I liked the idea of portraying a character so unlike myself," he noted. He also praised director Hansal Mehta for his demanding yet insightful direction. "Hansal sir's approach requires depth and precision. He's amazing in terms of how he understands you as an individual, and how he understands your character, and how he very simply makes you meet your character," he said. "I didn't go to any workshop, nothing, even the script reading that was going on, that day I had another shoot, I went to London one day, so I wasn't even in the reading. He and I did not even meet, we talked on the phone, and I went, I was totally tensed... And then he said, Ranveer, I want stillness," adding "Whatever you do, I want stillness. Speak a dialogue with stillness and then keep stillness when you are not speaking a dialogue as well." Ranveer further opened up about his experience working with Kareena Kapoor Khan. Ranveer described it as "outstanding". "It was something else. You know, obviously, for most of the shoot, you're in awe. She's the queen of the industry, and working with her was surreal. Her ability to transform instantly when the camera rolls is remarkable," he said. Ranveer emphasized Kareena's knack for making her co-stars feel at ease while bringing unparalleled expertise to her craft. "She has this amazing knack of just sort of, you know, being normal and treating you very very normally." The film, 'The Buckingham Murders', features Kareena as a grieving detective on a quest to capture a child murderer. The trailer showcases her intense portrayal of the role, adding depth to the film's narrative. As the release date approaches, Ranveer is hopeful and enthusiastic. "It's been a thrilling journey, and I'm excited for audiences to see the film," he concluded. 'The Buckingham Murders' will be released in the theatres on September 13. (ANI) Trump says his plan to expel millions of immigrants will be a bloody story Trump says his plan to expel millions of immigrants will be a bloody story Donald Trump has issued yet another ominous warning about his potential second term in the Oval Office, this time promising a "bloody story" for the millions of immigrants he intends to deport. He made the comments at a campaign rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin on Saturday, echoing the broader Republican National Committees 2024 platform. The GOP's plans for America after a Trump victory include aggressive immigration enforcement and mass deportations. That's when Trump alluded to the blood. "And ya know getting them out will be a bloody story," Trump said. "[Undocumented immigrants] should have never been allowed to come into our country. Nobody checked them." Though Trump did not explain what he meant by "bloody story," he has frequently and falsely insisted that many undocumented workers crossing into the US illegally are criminals released from Venezuelan prisons or other violent lawbreakers. Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump holds a rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin, U.S. September 7, 2024 (REUTERS) He told his supporters that "in Colorado, they're so brazen they're taking over sections of the state," which is likely a reference to a fake story claiming that a Venezuelan gang took over an apartment building in the city. The fearmongering and dehumanizing language used by Trump to describe immigrants may be intended to prime his base for more brutal ICE crackdowns, should he succeed in November. As was previously reported by the New York Times, Trump's vision for America includes mass deportations that will be so extensive that "huge camps" will be needed to detain people. To execute his vision, Trump has proposed the creation of a deportation force pulled from local police and National Guard troops volunteered by "Republican-run states." In other words, Trump wants an army of Republican-loyal racial purity troops and concentration camps. Following the Eisenhower model, we will carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history," he told a crowd in Iowa earlier his month. The phrase "Eisenhower model" refers to a 1954 campaign to kick Mexican immigrants out of the country. The effort was given the brazenly racist name "Operation Wetback." In addition to the "bloody story" for undocumented immigrants, things won't be much better for documented students who dared to criticize Israel's actions in Gaza. Under his plan, foreign students who participated in pro-Palestine or anti-Israel protests would have their visas canceled. And to ensure no one who thinks differently from Republicans makes it across the border, US consular officials would be directed to enact ideological screenings of applicants. Trump's most notable anti-immigrant minion, Steven Miller, assured the New York Times that there would be no underplaying the severity of the crackdowns under a second Trump regime. Any activists who doubt President Trumps resolve in the slightest are making a drastic error: Trump will unleash the vast arsenal of federal powers to implement the most spectacular migration crackdown, Miller said. The immigration legal activists wont know whats happening. (The Hill) Former President Trump responded to former Vice President Dick Cheneys decision to back his Democratic rival in November late Friday, calling the former GOP vice president an irrelevant RINO or Republican in name only. Dick Cheney is an irrelevant RINO, along with his daughter, who lost by the largest margin in the History of Congressional Races! the former president wrote in a post on Truth Social, referring to former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who lost her 2022 midterm election to a Trump-backed challenger. The criticism comes after Cheney, who under former President George W. Bush, said Friday in a statement that he will support Vice President Harris in the fall. As citizens, we each have a duty to put country above partisanship to defend our Constitution, Cheney said. That is why I will be casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris. The GOP presidential nominee noted in his Friday post that Cheney was unable to get his former adviser, Lewis Scooter Libby, pardoned. Libby was convicted in 2007 in an investigation centered on the leak of a CIA officers identity and later sentenced to 30 months in prison. Trump issued a pardon to the former Bush official in 2018. Trump wrote, They couldnt get Scooter Libby, who did so much for them (but was so unfairly treated!), PARDONED. I did it! The former president also argued that Cheney is the King of Endless, Nonsensical Wars, wasting Lives and Trillions of Dollars, just like Comrade Kamala Harris. I am the Peace President, and only I will stop World War III! he claimed. Liz Cheney has emerged as one of Trumps most vocal critics following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The younger Cheney, one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach the former president for his efforts to remain in power following the 2020 election, also served on the House select committee investigation the Jan. 6 riots. Trump blasted Cheney in his Friday evening rant, saying she served on the committee of Political Losers and her actions were unthinkable. She and her Unselects deleted and destroyed all evidence and information ITS GONE. Must of it proved that [former Speaker] Nancy Pelosi was responsible for J6 DIDNT PROVIDE SECURITY, he wrote. The Wyoming Republican announced earlier this week her decision to back Harris, saying she thought a lot about the decision and could not support Trump. The former president wrote in his post that those who sat on the Jan. 6 select committee should be prosecuted for what they did. But, he added Comrade Kamala is even worse! 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 PIX11. Trump vows long term prison sentences for people he falsely accuses of cheating in the 2020 election Trump vows long term prison sentences for people he falsely accuses of cheating in the 2020 election Donald Trump promised to prosecute those who cheated during the 2020 election as he intends to keep a close eye on the November race, the Republican nominee said in a late night rant. The former president vowed in a post shared to X on Saturday night to seek political retribution when he retakes the White House for Democrats who, Trump baselessly claimed, committed rampant cheating and Skullduggery during the 2020 election. Despite Trumps insistence and his teams legal challenges to the election results across the country, no court has supported these fraud claims. CEASE & DESIST, the former president wrote. WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again. Trump said he plans to watch the Sanctity of the 2024 Presidential Election very closely and warned the ballots cast will be under the closest professional scrutiny. We cannot let our Country further devolve into a Third World Nation, AND WE WONT! Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials, Trump warned. Donald Trump at a press conference at Trump Tower on September 06, 2024 in New York City. He vowed long prison sentences for who those he claimed cheated in the 2020 presidential election (Getty Images) Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country, he continued. This isnt the first time this week that Trump has warned about potential voter fraud. Speaking in North Carolina on Friday to the Fraternal Order of Police, hours after the largest police union endorsed him, the former president claimed that Democrats could only win by fraudulent means in November. Watch for the voter fraud, because we win without voter fraud, he said. We win so easily. Trump who was criminally convicted in May of falsifying business records as part of a conspiracy to corruptly influence the 2016 election continued: You can keep it down just by watching, because, believe it or not, theyre afraid of that badgeTheyre afraid of you people. Theyre afraid of that more than anything else. Also this week, in an interview with podcaster Lex Fridman released Tuesday, Trump repeated familiar election fraud claims but also admitted that he lost by a whisker in 2020. When Fridman pressed the GOP nominee about how to address independent voters who could be troubled by his debunked fraud claims and the ongoing lawsuits in various states over the fake electors scheme, Trump still pointed a finger at the Democrats. I think the fraud was on the other side, he replied. I think the election was a fraud, and many people felt it was that, and they wanted answers. And when you cant challenge an election, you have to be able to challenge it, otherwise its going to get worse, not better. Meanwhile, late last month, Trump faced a superseding indictment in the federal case over his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, after the Supreme Court ruled in July that he has some immunity from prosecution. The former presidents legal team has urged the judge to dismiss the case. Trump faces separate criminal charges for allegedly trying to cheat in the 2020 election, in part, by pressuring state officials in Georgia to find him enough votes to overturn his defeat. He denies any wrongdoing in both cases. On the state level, prosecutors in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin have been taking on fake electors and Trump allies connected to the alternate electors scheme. A similar case in Nevada was dismissed in June. Trumps heated post comes three days before he is set to face Kamala Harris in a debate on ABC News, likely the only debate that will happen ahead of the November election. Tucker Carlson and Glenn Beck in Salt Lake City detail the battle they see between good vs. evil Tucker Carlson and Glenn Beck framed the current moment in American politics as a spiritual battle between good and evil during the fourth stop of the Tucker Carlson live tour in Salt Lake City on Saturday. The two conservative talk show hosts who each at one time boasted the status as most watched person on cable television only mentioned political parties once. But references to God, scriptures and end times filled Carlsons 30-minute opening monologue, and his and Becks subsequent hourlong discussion, which included a prayer from Beck, before an audience of several thousand at the Delta Center. In a conversation that ranged from lighthearted to confessional, Carlson and Beck condemned elected officials who advocate for transgender treatment for minors, support intervention in prolonged foreign conflicts and encourage the censorship of free speech, saying such leaders are not just of the wrong opinion, they are working for evil. Thats much deeper than political, Carlson said. Thats a theological difference. Carlson visited Utah as part of his first live tour, which began in Arizona on Wednesday and which will criss-cross the country over the course of 16 shows, featuring guests like Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance, former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and former Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. Carlson has nearly 14 million followers on X where he publishes long-form interviews with guests who he calls the most interesting people in the world. His podcast currently ranks No. 2 on iTunes top charts. Recent interviewees include country musician Jason Aldean, former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and podcaster Darryl Cooper who received backlash online this week after calling Winston Churchill the chief villain of the Second World War on Carlsons Tuesday show. Carlson defines good and evil Carlson made a point of criticizing social media vitriol Saturday night, saying the motivation behind his live tour was to come into contact with more normal everyday Americans, who he said are much less divided than the media portrays them to be. If you experience the country through your iPhone primarily, oh, its so dispiriting, Carlson said. The forces that stoke division, whether they be digital, political or corporate, present one of the clearest signs of evil, according to Carlson, who listed several nonpolitical markers for good and evil. Seeding confusion? Evil. Imposing chaos on order? Evil. Encouraging unity? Good. So if you find a leadership class that encourages the people it leads to hate each other along racial lines, or religious lines, or lines of sex youre looking at an act of evil. Period. And youre certainly seeing that in this country, Carlson said. Carlson and Beck did not express hope in politicians to turn things around. Beck, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said after personal studies with biblical scholars he felt like the world was in the end times. But Beck, and Carlson, who said he is an Episcopalian, both expressed hope in the individual goodness of people. There is more good than there is evil, Beck said, raising his voice, and rising from his chair. But we are not standing up. Stand up and say it out loud, Thats wrong. Thats evil. That will not happen around me on my watch. Period. Beck and Carlson talk Utah politicians While Carlson praised Utahns for their kindness and pioneer ancestry, Beck took a few shots at Beehive State politicians. Beck, who mentioned he lives in Idaho with his studio in Texas, said there are not a lot of officials in state government that, as Carlson put it, understand the stakes of whats going on. Beck then recounted seeing several event attendees saying, No Cox, no Cox, no Cox, referring to Utahs Republican governor, Spencer Cox. And I completely understood it, because Im aware of politics here, Beck said. There were dozens of volunteers at the event promoting the write-in gubernatorial candidacy of state Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding, who lost in the GOP primary to Cox by 37,500 votes in June. Lyman attended the event, as did state Reps. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, and Jefferson Burton, R-Salem, and Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs. Lymans running mate, Natalie Clawson, told the Deseret News they saw the event as a prime opportunity to advertise their bid for governor because they were among friends. We really resonate with Tucker Carlson and Glenn Beck because of the message that they are sharing, and they stand for free speech, and theyre standing against corruption, Clawson said. Clawson said she hoped the two famous conservative personalities would bring up Utahs gubernatorial race. Carlson devoted an entire 11-minute monologue to criticizing Cox in 2022 and did so again during an interview at the Republican National Convention in July. Hes concerned about how Utah is becoming more of a blue state under Governor Coxs leadership, Clawson said of Carlson. We share that same concern with many of the people who are here tonight. Carlson and Beck pointed to Utahs senior senator as an example of the representation they hoped to see more of. Carlson praised Utah Sen. Mike Lee as a friend and a wonderful, wonderful man. Beck responded by saying, Quite honestly, the way the media and some leadership in this state treat Mike Lee is an abomination. He is not a radical. He is not a radical. He is a constitutionalist. Beck: Trump assassination attempt an op Toward the conclusion of the event, Carlson asked Beck what he made of the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump. Beck, the author of more than a dozen No. 1 bestselling books, said, As a fiction writer, I would say that was an Op (government operation). They tried to kill the president of the United States. Carlson echoed Becks conclusion, saying the fact there was an unguarded roof within a few hundred yards of the stage where Trump stood was conclusive proof that the Biden administration allowed that to happen. Period. They literally allowed it to happen. Whether knowingly or not, they allowed it to happen. In the final minutes of his interview, Beck compared Trump to Martin Luther King Jr., as an imperfect individual who agreed to lead a movement. The Lord will use any person, any flaws, anybody, if you just will say yes, Beck said. Donald Trump is just the first person who said, Okay, Ill do it. And he will do it. Treat others how you would want to be treated How will Gavin Newsoms order to sweep homeless encampments change Stanislaus County? (modbee.com, July 26) I vehemently denounce the recent Supreme Court ruling in favor of Grants Pass, Oregon, which has banned public camping within city limits. This approach fails to address the issue, and may even exacerbate it. The real solution lies in providing affordable housing, supportive services and a living wage that allows individuals to live with dignity. Additionally, better mental health support and drug addiction programs are crucial. Restorative interventions have consistently proven to be more effective than punitive measures. Homelessness should not be treated as a crime, but indifference toward the suffering of others is, indeed, sinful. We must recognize and uphold the inherent dignity of every human being, regardless of their life situation. We must also challenge the stigma associated with homelessness, as it can lead to social exclusion, marginalization and the denial of fundamental human rights and opportunities. The fundamental question is: If we or our loved ones were to experience homelessness, how would we desire to be treated? Moreover, what policies would we earnestly advocate for in such circumstances? Pope Francis states: Take care of brothers and sisters who are weaker ... the elderly, the sick, the hungry, the homeless and strangers, because we will be judged on this. Misael Avila Associate pastor, Sacred Heart Catholic Church Turlock Opinion A message to anti-vaxxers The new COVID vaccine is here. Why these are the best times to get immunized, (modbee.com, Aug. 29) There is a movement of people who think vaccinations are bad and cannot be trusted. As a former nurse in my late 80s, I have been around long enough to be able to speak to the truth of these vaccines: No one today has experienced very serious diseases such as diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus (lock jaw), poliomyelitis or tuberculosis because most of us were vaccinated. Younger people have no idea what misery these inflictions cause I saw it first-hand as a young person and nurse back when there were hospital wards for TB and polio patients. A few exceptions of bad outcomes from vaccines are very unfortunate, but the greater good has been served, saving so many people from being crippled or dying. Those who do not know the history of these diseases are likely to repeat that history. Those who preach falsehoods about vaccinations are hurting their offspring and themselves. Carol Tamo Modesto Think before you vote Donald Trump says he can stabilize prices. Does his plan make any sense? (modbee.com, Sept. 4) When you cast your ballot this year, keep a couple of things in mind: Donald Trump is not qualified to be president. There is no world in which his talent, experience or leadership abilities render him the opportunity to be a successful president. He was roundly rejected after his first term. A second try will be no better. If you believe there is some larger government entity that will prevent him from exercising his worst impulses, think again. There isnt. Congress wont stop him. The Supreme Court wont stop him. If he manages to convince Congress that the election process needs improving, you wont be able to stop him either. Put aside your ideological beliefs for this election and consider what you see in front you: An experienced prosecutor, senator and vice president versus a failed businessman who spends his life and fortune fighting the law at every turn, filled with anger and hate, who views most of us as losers and suckers. Richard Cato Modesto WEST UNION, W.Va. (WBOY) Drivers in Doddridge County are encouraged to plan ahead beginning Monday as two roads close for work. According to two press releases from the West Virginia Department of Transportation, County Route 55/20, Honeysuckle Road, starting at the intersection of WV 23 for just over a mile will be closed for paving and shoulder work between Sept. 9 and 18, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. What is a hybrid car and how do hybrid cars work? County Route 64, Rush Run Road will also close starting Monday for a drainage structure repair project. The closure will start at milepost 2.55 and will be closed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until Sept. 27. The recommended detours for this closure include: Doddridge County Route 19, Grove Summers Road WV 18, Dis Debar Road Gilmer County Route 4, Rush Run Road Weather and unforeseen circumstances could change these project schedules. 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 WBOY.com. STOCKTON, Calif. (KRON) Two teenagers were arrested Friday in connection to a robbery they committed on a 73-year-old in Stockton last week, according to police. Death of woman extricated from car in Vallejo investigated as homicide: PD The Stockton Police Department said an elderly woman, 73, was pulling cash out of an ATM on the 8000 block of West Lane when two teenagers, aged 14 and 15, confronted her. Police said during the confrontation, the two teens knocked the woman down to the ground while stealing the money from her hand. SPD said the two juveniles fled immediately after grabbing the womans cash. Officers searched the area but said they could not locate the two. Stockton police said detectives immediately began working on the case, and with the help of multiple Crime Stopper Tips, they were able to confirm the teens identities. On Friday, detectives arrested both the 14-year-old. The 15-year-old suspect remains outstanding, PD said. 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 KRON4. PRINCETON, WV (WVNS) A local car club is seeking to raise awareness and honor 9/11 victims heading into the week of 9/11. Memorial Ride for 9/11 to take place in Mercer County The Two Virginias Jeep Club hosted their 9/11 Memorial Jeep Ride. The trek began early in the morning at the Chuck Mathena Center in Princeton, West Virginia and they would finish their drive in Tazewell, Virginia. Event Coordinator, Ethan Lusk told 59News this ride was about much more than just enjoying a sunny day in the Virginias. We have had mothers and fathers, kids brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors, and we are just riding to remember them that they are not forgotten and also [we are] paying our respects to active and retired law enforcement and first responder personnel, said Lusk. 9/11 took place 23 years ago and took the lives of nearly 3,000 people. Despite the test of time, that tragic day will live in the memories of all Americans. As Spanish-American Philosopher George Santayana once said, Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it. I think you are going to get a lot more people like to do more memorial events around town around the state actually, because there is not a whole lot to do in this area besides this right here, said Lusk. Lusk says that Jeeps have a special connection with patriotism and the American way. After all, Jeeps were created as another mode of transportation for the US in World War II. Which states buy the most American cars? Lusk hopes that this 9/11 Memorial Ride will become an annual tradition to honor the victims of 9/11. 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 WVNS. (Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he wanted to counter the rise of the far right in the UK by delivering fundamental change to the economy, despite having to make unpopular choices along the way. Most Read from Bloomberg A week after Alternative for Germany (AfD) won a state election in eastern Germany, Starmer said he was worried about the rise of the far right across Europe. We can see whats happening in Germany with the recent election, and we can see whats happening in France and other countries, and Im worried about the far right because its the snake oil of the easy answer, Starmer said in an interview with the BBC broadcast on Sunday. Far-right riots swept England just weeks after Starmers election this summer. The unrest erupted after false reports spread online about the identity of the suspect in a stabbing in Southport, near Liverpool, that left three young girls dead. Starmer said he was convinced that the solution is for his Labour government to deliver the change they promised in their election manifesto earlier this year. He said he was utterly focused on improving living standards, to make sure we have properly functioning services, particularly the NHS, and to deal with issues like immigration and crime and sewage. But he also acknowledged that will mean him taking unpopular decisions. On Tuesday, Starmer could face a rebellion from his own MPs as he seeks to pass a contentious bill in Parliament that will scrap the winter fuel allowance for most pensioners. Starmer defended the move, saying it was needed to help fill a 22 billion ($29 billion) black hole in the nations finances. The savings made would be used to fund the National Health Service and public transport, which pensioners also rely on. He argued that the overall state pension increase during the course of the current parliament would outstrip any reduction in the fuel payments. Were going to have to be unpopular. Tough decisions are tough decisions. Popular decisions arent tough. Theyre easy, he said. Starmer is also set to make a second visit to the White House in the coming week, shortly after taking a controversial decision to suspend some Isreal arms licenses. The decision was made due to concerns that the use of British components in Gaza risks violating international humanitarian law. Starmer shrugged off any potential criticism from the US, saying hed discussed the decision with Washington both before and after the announcement. Instead, he said he wanted to focus on the war in Ukraine, which he said is becoming ever more pressing. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Ukraine is building weapons underground to supply the military with arms in the event of delays in military aid from abroad, President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the Ambrosetti International Economic Forum in Italy on Sept. 7. The Ukrainian president arrived in Italy to meet with local business leaders and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as Kyiv increasingly calls for additional air defenses and other aid to repel Russia's aggression. "We are building underground facilities for the production of weapons so that Ukrainian soldiers can defend themselves even when supplies from our partners are delayed," Zelensky said. Ukraine has developed new drones and missiles, particularly to "return the war to the Russian territory," the president added. "Sooner or later, Putin will feel the pressure and will want only one thing peace," Zelensky said. Zelensky's trip to Italy followed his visit to Germany, where he received additional pledges of military assistance at the 24th Ramstein group meeting and held talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. "Our people are under constant threat of Russian missile and drone strikes every, every night and every day," Zelensky said in Italy. Russia recently deadly attacks against the Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv, Poltava, and Lviv. According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), which tracks international aid for Ukraine, Italy has committed a total of 1.7 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in economic and military assistance to Ukraine as of June 2024. Holding the Group of Seven (G7) rotating presidency in 2024, Italy hosted a summit that saw the announcement of a $50 billion loan for Ukraine covered by frozen Russian assets proceeds. Italy will also host the 2025 Recovery Conference, inviting officials from 77 countries and 500 companies. Read also: Howitzers, missiles, armor what Ukraine was promised in Ramstein Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Pedro Almodovar's English-language debut, 'The Room Next Door,' has been awarded the coveted Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, marking a significant milestone in the renowned Spanish director's illustrious career. The film, which delves into profound themes of euthanasia and climate change, was met with a remarkable 18-minute standing ovation at its premiere earlier this week, according to Variety. At 74, Almodovar, known for his impactful Spanish-language films and a previous Oscar win for 'All About My Mother,' has ventured into English with a film that explores complex questions of life, death, and friendship. In his acceptance speech, delivered in Spanish, Almodovar asserted that euthanasia should not be constrained by political or religious barriers. "I believe that saying goodbye to this world cleanly and with dignity is a fundamental right of every human being," he stated while accepting the award, as per Variety. He also expressed his gratitude to his lead actresses, Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton, emphasising that the award belonged to them for their powerful performances. While 'The Room Next Door' was a frontrunner for the top prize, the Silver Lion for Best Director went to Italian filmmaker Maura Delpero for 'Vermiglio,' a contemplative drama set in the Italian Alps during World War II, according to Variety. This unexpected recognition highlights Delpero's distinct storytelling in a film that contrasts sharply with the high-profile competition. In the acting categories, Nicole Kidman claimed the Best Actress award for her provocative role in 'Babygirl,' where she portrays a CEO entangled in a risky affair with a young intern. Kidman, who was present at the festival, did not attend the awards ceremony following the sudden death of her mother. French actor Vincent Lindon received the Best Actor accolade for his role in 'The Quiet Son,' a film that addresses the impact of extreme-right radicalism on a family. The Best Director award was given to American Brady Corbet for his ambitious film 'The Brutalist,' a 3.5-hour epic shot on 70mm celluloid about a Hungarian Holocaust survivor rebuilding his life in the US, according to Variety. The Best Screenplay award went to Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega for 'I'm Still Here,' a gripping narrative about Brazil's military dictatorship. The Special Jury Prize was awarded to Dea Kulumbegashvili's 'April,' an emotional drama focusing on the topic of abortion. Notably, several high-profile films, including Todd Phillips's 'Joker: Folie a Deux,' Luca Guadagnino's 'Queer,' and Pablo Larrain's 'Maria,' did not secure any awards despite positive critical reception, according to Variety. The Venice Film Festival, which is a significant marker for the upcoming awards season, concluded with French actress Isabelle Huppert leading the jury that evaluated this year's entries. (ANI) Ukraine protests over screening of film about Russian soldiers at festival in Venice Yaroslav Melnyk, Ukraine's ambassador to Italy, has protested the showing of Russian director Anastasia Trofimova's film The Russians at War at the Venice Film Festival and urged the festival's organisers to prohibit Russian propaganda. Source: Ukrainian Embassy in Italy on Facebook, as reported by European Pravda Details: The Ukrainian ambassador states that Kyiv was "taken aback by the decision of the jury of the film festival" in Venice to screen the film The Russians at War, which he believes is "inappropriate and offensive to the Ukrainian people." Quote: "The Russians at War is a film of sympathy for the aggressor, with a parallel depreciation of the aggressor's victims, despite thousands of Ukrainian lives lost and millions maimed by the Russians," the ambassador stated. Melnyk stated that the film "is a shameful example of Orwellian manipulation of the truth," noting that it ignores active hostilities in Ukraine since 2014, and that its display is especially inappropriate given the tragedies in Poltava, Lviv, and Odesa, where dozens of people were killed by Russian strikes. "The main character of the film [crew], director Trofimova, who has a history of personal cooperation with the most infamous Russian propaganda channel Russia Today, should really cause great concern among the European cultural community," he told CNN. The envoy urged Venice Film Festival organisers to "condemn the use of art for propaganda and prevent the participation of films that openly promote Russia's war against Ukraine and whitewash the crimes of the Kremlin regime." The Russians at War was already exhibited on 5 September at the Venice International Film Festival. The director stated that she spent seven months with a Russian battalion fighting in Ukraine and was surprised to learn that they were "absolutely ordinary guys with families, with a sense of humour." Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis was outraged that the Venice Film Festival screened this movie. The Ukrainian Consulate General in Toronto also expressed concern about the plan of screening The Russians at War during the international film festival in this Canadian city. Support UP or become our patron! An aircraft-type interceptor drone made by Ukrainian company Besomar. Photo: Screenshot from Militarnyi news outlet Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have observed that Ukraine is making significant progress in developing electronic warfare (EW) capabilities to counter Russian UAVs, which helps preserve limited air defence systems and missiles. Source: ISW Quote: "Ukraine continues to successfully adapt and develop its anti-drone capabilities, allowing Ukrainian forces to leverage lower-end systems to offset Russian pressures on Ukraine's limited air defence umbrella." Details: On 7 September, Ukrainian military analyst Petro Chernyk stated that Ukrainian electronic warfare (EW) systems are effectively disabling Shahed-136/131 loitering munitions by disrupting their navigation, causing them to alter course and eventually crash due to running out of fuel. Ukrainian officials have revealed that several Russian Shahed drones recently failed to reach their intended targets for unknown reasons. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Air Force acknowledged on 31 August and 6 September that its EW had affected Russian drones. Ukrainian drone manufacturer Besomar announced on 7 September that it had developed an interceptor drone capable of bringing down Russian UAVs and that Ukrainian forces were using these interceptor drones in the war zone. Quote: "ISW has also recently observed reports of Ukrainian forces using first-person view (FPV) drones to down Russian helicopters and reconnaissance and strike drones. These Ukrainian countermeasures are part of wider efforts aimed at offsetting the pressure that repeated, large-scale Russian strike series exert on Ukraine's limited air defence umbrella in the face of delayed and inconsistent deliveries of Western security assistance." Details: American analysts suggest that Ukraine's deployment of EW systems against Shahed drones will help conserve the country's limited air defence systems and missiles. This is especially crucial as Ukraine relies on these resources to defend its frontline positions, critical infrastructure, and densely populated areas from Russian missile strikes. In addition, ISW continues to believe that Russian and Ukrainian forces are locked in a technological race between offensive and defensive technologies and that Ukraine's ability to inaugurate technological innovations that outpace Russian adaptations is critical to Ukraine's ability to offset Russia's current materiel superiority. To quote the ISWs Key Takeaways on 7 September: Ukraine's Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) Head Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov noted that Ukraine's incursion into Kursk Oblast is having theatre-wide impacts on Russian offensive operations in Ukraine and addressed the prospects for continued Russian offensive operations in Winter 20242025. Iran reportedly recently delivered more than 200 Fateh-360 short-range ballistic missiles to Russia. Russian forces recently regained territory and Ukrainian forces recently advanced in Kursk Oblast amid continued Ukrainian offensive operations in the area on 7 September. Russian forces recently advanced near Kupiansk, Pokrovsk, and the city of Donetsk and in the Dnipro River Delta. Russian officers continue to mistreat and abuse their subordinates likely due to poor command training and discipline. Support UP or become our patron! Key developments on Sept. 7-8: Russian offensive near Pokrovsk reportedly slowing down Zelensky: Ukraine building underground weapons factories Ukrainian drones hit ammunition warehouse in Russia's Voronezh Oblast Death toll of Russian Sept. 3 attack on Poltava rises to 58 Russian drone violates Romanian airspace during Sept. 8 attack on Ukraine Russian POWs no longer allowed to call relatives, ombudsman says Russian forces have captured considerably less territory in the Pokrovsk direction over the past week than during earlier periods, Russian independent outlet Agentstvo reported on Sept. 7. Citing data from defense analysts, Agentstvo also backed Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi's recent claims that Moscow's push near the key town is losing steam. Ukrainian officials have described Pokrovsk as the most difficult sector of the front. Russia has deployed experienced troops in an effort to capture this crucial logistics hub. The crowd-sourced Ukrainian monitoring site DeepState reported that over the past week, Russian forces had captured only 10 square kilometers (4 square miles) near Pokrovsk. This is a sharp drop compared to the 73 square kilometers (28 square miles) reportedly seized between Aug. 26 and Sept. 1 and 59 kilometers (23 square miles) in each of the two preceding weeks. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) also wrote that, according to geolocated footage, Ukraine was able to regain some ground near the villages of Mykhailivka and Halytsynivka, which lie roughly 20 and 30 kilometers southeast of Pokrovsk, respectively. Syrskyi also said that Russia's advance in the Pokrovsk direction had been halted in the past six days. The general linked this to Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast, which was designed to divert Russian forces from Pokrovsk and other hot sectors in Donetsk Oblast. "Over the last six days, the enemy hasnt advanced a single meter in the Pokrovsk direction. In other words, our strategy is working," Syrskyi said. Read also: What the fall of Pokrovsk would mean for Russias war in Ukraine Zelensky: Ukraine building underground weapons factories Ukraine is building weapons underground to supply the military with arms in the event of delays in military aid from abroad, President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the Ambrosetti International Economic Forum in Italy on Sept. 7. "We are building underground facilities for the production of weapons so that Ukrainian soldiers can defend themselves even when supplies from our partners are delayed," Zelensky said. He arrived in Italy to meet with local business leaders and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as Kyiv increasingly calls for additional air defenses and other aid to repel Russia's aggression. Ukraine has developed new drones and missiles, particularly to "return the war to the Russian territory," the president said. "Sooner or later, Putin will feel the pressure and will want only one thing peace," Zelensky said. Read also: Howitzers, missiles, armor what Ukraine was promised in Ramstein Ukrainian drones hit ammunition warehouse in Russia's Voronezh Oblast Drones operated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) struck an ammunition and military equipment warehouse in Russia's Voronezh Oblast overnight on Sept. 7, a source in the SBU told the Kyiv Independent. Authorities in the Russian region reported a drone attack and a fire at an unspecified facility earlier in the day. Local Telegram channels said that ammunition storage near the village of Soldatskoye caught fire, a claim corroborated by the SBU source. Soldatskoye lies around 70 kilometers (over 40 miles) south of Voronezh and over 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of the Ukrainian border. "This warehouse was actively used by Russia to supply materiel to (Russian forces) in Ukraine, which is why it was targeted by SBU drones," the source said. The drone strike reportedly led to chain explosions of the stored ammunition and at least four powerful fires. Read also: 17 IRIS-Ts will boost Ukraines air defenses but its still not enough, experts say Death toll of Russian Sept. 3 attack on Poltava rises to 58 Three victims of Russia's Sept. 3 attack on Poltava died in the hospital, bringing the total death toll to 58, Governor Filip Pronin said on Sept. 8. Russia launched two ballistic missiles against the city on Sept. 3, hitting the Military Communications Institute and a neighboring medical facility. The educational institution building was partially destroyed. Search and rescue operations at the site of the Russian missile attack on the city concluded on Sept. 5. The number of people killed at that time was 55, while 328 were injured. According to Zelensky, the missiles flew only three minutes before hitting the buildings, giving people little time to hide in the shelter. Poltava is a city of around 300,000, located in Poltava Oblast in central Ukraine. It is situated around 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the border with Russia, and 230 kilometers (143 miles) from the eastern front. The city and surrounding region are regular targets of Russian drone and missile attacks. Read also: As Ukrainian children return to school, Russia launches missiles at educational facilities Russian drone violates Romanian airspace during Sept. 8 attack on Ukraine A Russian drone violated Romanian airspace during an overnight attack on Ukraine on Sept. 8, the country's defense ministry confirmed in a statement. Residents in the Romanian counties of Tulcea and Constanta received alerts around 2:30 a.m. local time, advising them to take shelter and warning of possible falling objects. Two F-16 fighter jets took off from Romania's 86th Borca Air Base to monitor the airspace, the ministry said. The Russian drone entered Romanian airspace but later left, heading back toward Ukraine. The ministry added that current data indicates that the drone may have struck a non-residential area in the village of Periprava in the county of Tulcea. "The Defense Ministry strongly condemns these attacks by the Russian Federation against Ukrainian civilian facilities and infrastructure, which are unjustified and seriously violate international law," the statement said. Read also: Russian afternoon attacks kill and injure multiple civilians across Ukraine Russian POWs no longer allowed to call relatives Russian prisoners of war (POWs) held in Ukrainian camps are no longer allowed to make phone calls to their relatives, Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets announced on national television on Sept. 7. Lubinets said that the ban does not violate the Geneva Conventions, as Russian POWs can still send written letters to their families. Earlier in March, the petition calling to ban phone calls for Russian POWs received the needed 25,000 signatures. However, the Ukrainian parliament rejected the proposal back then, saying that phone calls "serve an important informative function, providing objective information to Russians that they should not be afraid to surrender." "There were many discussions about the possibility for Russian POWs to call their relatives in the Russian Federation... As of now, we have been informed that Russians still have the ability to write letters, but they no longer have the right to make phone calls," Lubinets said. Russian soldiers who have surrendered or have been captured in Ukraine are kept in four POW camps. Conditions there adhere to international laws, particularly the Geneva Conventions, according to Lubinets. Multiple reports and witnesses show that Ukrainian POWs in Russia are most often kept in horrible conditions, subject to torture, beatings, and starvation. Read also: Opinion: Russian soldiers in Ukraine are ordinary guys who commit horrific war crimes Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Ukraines new foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has decided to recall Mykhailo Kharyshyn, Ukraines charge d'affaires in Georgia, and submitted a request for the dismissal of Deputy Foreign Minister Iryna Borovets. Source: Sybiha on Facebook Details: Sybiha said he had held a meeting with Ukrainian ambassadors and consul generals on 8 September. Quote: "I have set out very clear criteria for the efficient work of a Ukrainian ambassador. These are concrete results, courage, and proactivity. The ambassadors of a country at war cannot be detached from the realia of war. In this connection, I have decided to recall the acting Ukrainian charge d'affaires in Georgia." More details: Sybiha noted that he had announced the termination of the long-standing mission of the charge d'affaires in Georgia due to his "complete lack of understanding of the realia of diplomacy of a country at war". The minister noted that he had also submitted a request for the dismissal of Deputy Foreign Minister Iryna Borovets. Sybiha added that "the Ministry will have a new structure, and the embassies staff schedules will be reviewed". "We need young people to join us. The right conditions will be put in place to achieve this I have planned a meeting with the heads of leading universities in the sector," he said. Background: Mykhailo Kharyshyn, the charge d'affaires in Georgia, revealed in August that Ukraine had received Tbilisis permission to appoint a new ambassador in Georgia [Ukraine recalled its ambassador from Georgia early on in the full-scale invasion ed.], but unclear rhetoric from the Georgian authorities had hindered it. On 5 September the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) voted for the appointment of Andrii Sybiha as Minister of Foreign Affairs, replacing Dmytro Kuleba. Support UP or become our patron! Ukrainian and British governments sign a framework agreement to cooperate in the defence and weapon production sector, in Kyiv KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appointed on Sunday former arms production minister Oleksandr Kamyshin as an external adviser for strategic issues, a decree published on the presidential website said. Kamyshin, who was the minister for strategic industries and oversaw arms production, resigned last week as part of a Ukrainian government shake-up at a critical juncture in the war with Russia. Zelenskiy said Ukraine needed "new energy" and ordered the biggest government reshuffle since the start of Russia's invasion in February 2022. Last week the Ukrainian parliament voted to appoint nine new ministers including the foreign minister and two deputy prime ministers. On Sunday, Zelenskiy took more steps to reset his team and published several decrees on new appointments in his office. "I will continue to work for our defence industry," Kamyshin said on the Telegram messaging app shortly after his appointment. He said he would also look after other strategically important directions but did not elaborate. Kamyshin oversaw a significant increase in Ukraine's domestic arms production amid the fighting and was a driving force in efforts to bring more Western financing, experience, and technologies into the Ukrainian weapon production industry. Zelenskiy also appointed Viktor Mykyta, the governor of the western Zakarpattia region, as a new deputy head of his office to oversee the regions. Mykyta said that one of his key tasks would be to ensure the efficient work of military administrations in the regions and develop communication and trust between authorities, local communities and businesses. (Reporting by Olena Harmash; Editing by Hugh Lawson and David Evans) Ukrainian air defences destroy 15 out of 23 Shahed UAVs and 1 out of 4 missiles launched by Russia overnight One Kh-59 air-to-ground missile and 15 Shahed loitering munitions have been shot down. Photo: Ukraine's Air Force Ukrainian air defence units shot down 1 Russian Kh-59 air-to-ground missile and 15 Shahed loitering munitions over the course of an air defence operation on the night of 7-8 September. Source: Ukraine's Air Force Details: Two Russian drones disappeared from radar. The Ukrainian military notes that three other Kh-59 missiles did not reach their intended targets due to active counteraction by Ukraine's defence forces. The Russians reportedly launched 4 Kh-59 air-to-ground missiles from Belgorod Oblast and 23 Shahed-type loitering munitions from Kursk, Russia, and Chauda in occupied Crimea. Ukrainian air defence units responded to the Russian attack in Odesa, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts. Support UP or become our patron! A Ukrainian drone struck a fuel storage facility near the town of Volokonovka in Russia's Belgorod Oblast, sparking a fire at the fuel tanks, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov claimed on Telegram on Sept. 8. Photos and videos shared by local Telegram channels at around 6 p.m. show a large fire and smoke, reportedly in Belgorod Oblast. Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on the alleged attack, and the Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the claims. Later in the day, Gladkov also alleged that Ukrainian drones attacked three additional settlements in the oblast, damaging several residential houses and cars. No casualties were reported. Earlier on Sept. 1, dozens of drones reportedly targeted several Russian regions overnight on Sept. 1, including Moscow, Tver, Voronezh, Tula, Kaluga, Bryansk, Belgorod, Lipetsk, and Kursk, according to local officials. In Belgorod Oblast, some 14 drones were reportedly shot down. Several houses, cars, and commercial properties were damaged after repelling an aerial attack, according to Gladkov. Read also: Opinion: Russian soldiers in Ukraine are ordinary guys who commit horrific war crimes Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) conducted a successful cyberattack on Russian web resources on 7 September, congratulating Russians on the Day of Ukrainian Military Intelligence, celebrated annually on 7 September. Source: a statement from DIU on Telegram Details: "On 7 September 2024, cyber specialists from DIU attacked a number of Russian online resources involved in the genocidal war," DIU reported. Ukrainian intelligence noted that the attack had targeted companies involved in the war against Ukraine, along with those involved in the development of Russia's military infrastructure. The firms in question are SMKomplekt EK, KristElKom, KonturNIRS, Chip-prof, Chelyabinsk Plant of Industrial Modernisation, Sibinstrument, Smetka.ru and several others. The Simferopol Forum also came under attack. "The cyber operation resulted in DIU specialists gaining access to 14 servers, destroying the internal infrastructure of the attacked targets by erasing system files, databases and backups," the statement added. The cyber specialists also posted congratulations on the Day of Military Intelligence of Ukraine on the websites of the attacked resources. Support UP or become our patron! Democrats in Congress joined the United Nations to condemn the killing of a U.S. citizen in the West Bank on Friday and called for Israeli accountability as tensions continue to mount over settlement expansions that have increased since Oct. 7. According to eyewitness accounts, 26-year-old Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was shot in the head by Israeli soldiers during a protest against West Bank settlement expansion on Friday. The witnesses said violence had flared during a weekly anti-settlement demonstration as some protesters threw rocks at Israeli forces and were met with fire. But one attendee told the Associated Press that the situation had already de-escalated when Eygi was shot and that she did not pose a threat to Israeli forces. In a statement released Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces wrote that they had responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity in the area and that a foreign national had been killed as a result. They added that the details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review. Eygi, a Seattle resident who also holds Turkish citizenship, had recently graduated from the University of Washington and was volunteering with the activist group International Solidarity Movement. Some who mourned Eygis death on social media drew parallels to another U.S. citizen, Rachel Corrie, who was also associated with the International Solidarity Movement and who was killed by Israeli forces in 2003 while protesting the demolition of Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip. An Israeli court ruled in 2012 that the military was not at fault in Corries death. In a statement, Eygis family said their daughter had been peacefully standing for justice and called on the Biden administration to order an independent investigation into her death and ensure full accountability for the guilty parties. National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said in a statement Friday that the U.S. is deeply disturbed by Eygis death and that the White House had requested an investigation from the Israeli government. United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Friday that the organization also wants to see a full investigation of the circumstances and that people should be held accountable, emphasizing that civilians must be protected at all times. High-ranking Democrats soon joined calls for a probe into Eygis killing. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, extended his condolences to Eygis family in a statement Saturday, calling for the Israeli government to deliver answers quickly and thoroughly. Smith also condemned the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal, destabilizing, and in violation of the rights of Palestinians in the West Bank. The perpetrators must be held accountable with a full, thorough, and transparent investigation, Smith wrote, stopping short of calling for an independent probe into Eygis death. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) echoed calls to increase pressure on the Israeli government, writing that the Biden administration must do more to hold Israel accountable for the deaths of three American citizens in the West Bank since Oct. 7. Two 17-year-old boys were shot and killed in separate instances earlier this year. To date, the U.S. has not received satisfactory responses from the Netanyahu Government about the two other Americans killed in the West Bank since October 7th, and the Biden Administration has not been doing enough to pursue justice and accountability on their behalf, the statement read. The Maryland senator also decried the escalating violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank and the expansion of illegal settlements, saying that the United States cannot turn a blind eye to these actions. Since Oct. 7, more than 690 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, according to Palestinian officials. Under the baobab: Culturally blended family would be another first of a Harris presidency I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother- Langston Hughes If Vice President Kamala Harris wins the election and becomes president in November it will bring many new realities to our country. Everyone knows that she would be the first woman, of African and Indian descent, to ascend to the presidency. But she would also be part of the first culturally blended family to reside in the White House. Through our personal experience we know something about that. My wife, running partner, and best friend of more than 50 years is a person of Caucasian persuasion. My mothers second husband was white. He was my stepfather when I became a teenager. A poet, piano player and cynic, he profoundly affected my life. Until the 1967 Supreme Court decision in Loving V. Virginia, marriage between the races was illegal in many states. When Jo and I got together in 1970 we could not safely travel together in the South. Intimidation, arrest and even death were possibilities. As working class artists, my mom and stepfather could only live comfortably in a handful of communities in the United States. Vice President Harris Jamaican father and South Indian mother were sheltered in academic ivory towers, outside of which they were subject to intense scrutiny, scorn and public contempt. Interracial relations could be even more serious. In the last century, a mere rumor of sexual encounter between a Black man and a white woman resulted in thousands of Black men being lynched. Things have changed. According to the Pew Research Center in 2016, 10.2% of married people living together were in interracial or interethnic relationships. Their progeny are one of the fastest growing demographics in the country. We first came to Centre County in the last century. People of color were scarce, even though Bellefonte once had a thriving community of color during the industrial boom. As the Civil War cenotaph in front of the county courthouse illustrates, many U.S. Colored Troops served honorably in the Union Army. St. Paul AME Church is a living memorial to a robust people who helped vitalize the Centre County community. The Mills Brothers barbershop and singing group are part of local folk lore. Still, most of the young people in my classes had never seen an African American teacher or had a Black classmate. We rarely saw integrated groups, let alone couples. Literally the handful of mixed couples (we called ourselves families) knew and supported each other. Today young people have helped foster an inclusive community of the worlds diverse peoples, who are represented from the president of the university to the store clerks at Walmart. Mixed groups are the rule not the exception. You are as likely to overhear a conversation in Mandarin as English in a local pizzeria. We nurture and are nurtured by ideas which are as likely to have been generated at the Sorbonne, the university in Accra or Tiananmen Square. We are better for it. We are perched on the brim of a bright tomorrow. Visas in hand, we stand at the gate of the City on the Hill prepared to enter. We are encouraged not discouraged by the promise of an expanded White House. We are invigorated not threatened by the hope of a different perspective. Strengthened by our collective pilgrimage from the dark and forlorn places of our past we step toward a brighter day, knowing that this time, this time, sisters and brothers, the singing of the American chorus will include all our voices. Tomorrow, Ill be at the table when company comes. Nobodyll dare, Say to me, Eat in the kitchen, then. Besides, theyll see how beautiful I am and be ashamed I, too, am America.- Langston Hughes Charles Dumas is a lifetime political activist, a professor emeritus from Penn State, and was the Democratic Partys nominee for U.S. Congress in 2012. He was the 2022 Lions Paw Awardee and Living Legend honoree of the National Black Theatre Festival. He lives with his partner and wife of 50 years in State College. Pamela Anderson, long known for her iconic role in 'Baywatch' has recently addressed her experiences of being underestimated by Hollywood throughout her career. Anderson, who has predominantly been seen through a glamorous lens, has found a new depth in her role as Shelley in 'The Last Showgirl,' according to an interview she gave to Variety. Shelley is a struggling dancer facing obsolescence due to her age and changing tastes among Las Vegas tourists. During an interview at the Variety Toronto Film Festival Studio, Anderson reflected on her journey, admitting, "I underestimated myself too. And it just came at the right time. Everything just came at the right time." Her career took a significant turn in 2023, marked by the release of Ryan White's Emmy-nominated documentary 'Pamela, A Love Story' and her best-selling memoir 'Love Pamela.' Anderson described the alignment of these events as "surreal" and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to reinvent herself. "The stars have really aligned," she remarked, noting that it feels "very surreal" and expressing her amazement at the turn of events, "I feel so blessed and fortunate that I get this opportunity and chance to kind of have this life that I've thought I could have a long time ago," she told to Variety. 'The Last Showgirl,' which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6 to enthusiastic applause, presents Anderson in a raw, unglamorous light, showcasing a broad spectrum of emotions. Director Gia Coppola initially hesitated but was ultimately convinced by Anderson's documentary, as per Variety. "I kind of came across a picture of her... and there was this sort of gut feeling of, 'Well, what about her?'" Coppola recounted. Her cousin, Matt Shire, recommended Anderson, leading Coppola to realize, "no one else can be her. I have to go find her." Despite initial resistance from Anderson's agent, Coppola eventually succeeded in casting her. "It got turned down within an hour, and then, I was able to find a way through Brandon [Lee], your son, to get her the script," Coppola explained. Anderson later signed with another company, leading to her role in the film, as per Variety. Writer Kate Gersten, who penned the script over a decade ago, found Anderson's portrayal to be exactly what she envisioned. "I wrote it 11 years ago. I didn't have Pamela in mind," Gersten noted adding, "And then the first time I heard her read... she just said every single line the way I've always imagined it in my head." 'The Last Showgirl' explores not only the struggles of older women in Las Vegas but also the fleeting nature of youth, a theme resonant with Hollywood's treatment of young actresses. Kiernan Shipka and Brenda Song, who also feature in the film, shared their experiences. Song spoke about the stark differences in her and Macaulay Culkin's childhood acting experiences, noting, "We have vastly different experiences as child actors... I think it's just harder to take on because sometimes it's like, 'No, you just don't look right,'" during an interview with Variety. Shipka, reflecting on her own career, agreed that rejection becomes more challenging with age. "It is more of a mental trip as an adult than it was as a kid," she said. Ultimately, Anderson finds value in being underestimated. "Having nothing to live up to is a good position to be in," she concluded, adding, "You can surprise everybody even with a full sentence. You're a genius." (ANI) CONWAY, Ark.- The start of the school year was a bit busier than the last, with growing enrollment numbers at several universities across the state, including the University of Central Arkansas. Official census day numbers have come out, and UCA can officially announce that its enrollment has increased by 3.4% to 10,123 students enrolled in total. Its great to be a couple of weeks into the semester and know that we can officially give a count to our freshman class, thats 2183, we are really excited, UCA President Houston Davis said. University of Central Arkansas moves in potential biggest freshman class to campus today A lot of new faces, and a lot of new energy on the UCA campus, Davis said. Davis says it is a true testament to the outstanding faculty, staff, and students here at the university. I like to say when a student comes to UCA, theyre not just looking at the university and the people that work here they are looking at the students that they see having an experience here, Davis said. Davis says this is the right direction for UCA. Housing issues arise as University of Central Arkansas welcomes potential biggest freshman class Conway as a whole is feeling the increase in traffic and students presence as they come and go in the community as the fall semester brings students back to the college town. The classrooms and residence halls also feel the growth. The university partnered with The Edge, a nearby apartment complex, for an extra 96 beds this year. When asked how the university will handle the housing issue if enrollment numbers continue to rise, President Davis said they are already analyzing it. University of Central Arkansas athletics and aviation programs receive new leaders You dont make that decision for one or two years, you have to make that decision for multiple decades, Davis said. According to Davis, the university will examine enrollment numbers over the next few years to determine the right course of action. However, after putting the math on the paper, they have a few options. We certainly are looking at needing to have some partnership, whether that be with private entities for more housing or potentially putting up new housing at UCA, Davis said. Former UCA basketball player representing Puerto Rico on the Olympic stage A portion of the number can be attributed to the first class of the UCA Commitment program, a debt-free pathway for education. 765 of those 2183 incoming freshmen are on UCA commitment, Davis said. Its moving the needle, and its really exciting. UCA is not the only school to see record-breaking enrollment; the University of Arkansas says a 4.6% increase with a total student body of 33,610. Arkansas State University saw a 12% increase of 16,687 students, while Harding University saw a 2% increase, making its total student body 4,696. 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 KARK. By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Republicans will release a long-awaited report on Monday blasting Democratic President Joe Biden's administration for failures surrounding the chaotic and deadly U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. The report contends that the administration made its decision to evacuate noncombatants far too late, formally ordering it only on Aug. 16, failed to communicate between departments in Washington and among officials in Afghanistan, and botched the paperwork for the departure of Afghan civilians eligible to leave the country. It is the result of a three-year investigation led by Representative Michael McCaul, Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "Americas credibility on the world stage was severely damaged after we abandoned Afghan allies to Taliban reprisal killings the people of Afghanistan we had promised to protect," the report said. "And the moral injury to Americas veterans and those still serving remains a stain on this administrations legacy." The withdrawal has become intensely politicized ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election. Last month, the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, shot video for his campaign at Arlington National Cemetery where he appeared at a ceremony honoring troops killed in the evacuation. Trump has also attacked Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris over the exit from Afghanistan during campaign appearances, blaming them personally for the deaths at Kabul airport's Abbey Gate. On Aug. 26, 2021, as U.S. forces were trying to help Americans and Afghans flee as the Islamist Taliban movement took control of the country, a suicide attack at the Abbey Gate entrance to Kabul's airport killed 13 Americans, compounding the U.S. sense of defeat after two decades of war. Harris is the Democratic presidential nominee. Democrats have insisted that some blame for the messy end of the war - less than seven months into Biden's presidency - should be laid at the feet of Trump, who began the withdrawal process by signing a deal with the Taliban in 2020. "When former President Trump took office, there were approximately 14,000 American troops in Afghanistan. Days before leaving office, the former President ordered a further reduction to 2,500," Representative Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs panel, said in a letter to committee Democrats about the investigation. Republican committee aides dismissed that contention as partisan politics, saying Biden could have ignored Trump's agreement or enforced it, accusing officials who served during Biden's presidency of allowing the Taliban to disregard its commitments. Some 800,000 U.S. servicemembers served in Afghanistan following the U.S.-led invasion triggered by the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the U.S. by Afghanistan-based al Qaeda. During the war, 2,238 U.S. servicemembers died and nearly 21,000 were wounded. Independent estimates put the number of Afghan security forces and civilians killed at more than 100,000. McCaul has subpoenaed Secretary of State Antony Blinken three times in connection with the Afghanistan investigation, most recently last week, saying that he wants him to testify in person. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by David Gregorio) US intelligence says Russia promotes Trump in more sophisticated manner than before WP US intelligence reports that the Russian government's covert efforts to influence the 2024 US presidential election are more advanced than before. Source: The Washington Post, citing a senior official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) Details: The ODNI official said that Russia's activities "are more sophisticated than in prior election cycles". He noted that Russia is using "authentic U.S. voices" to "launder" Russian government propaganda and spread divisive narratives through social media, as well as on fake websites posing as legitimate American media organisations. The publication reads: "Moscow is targeting U.S. swing states in particular, the official said, and using artificial intelligence to more quickly and convincingly create fake content to shape the outcome in favour of former president Donald Trump." This is "consistent with Moscows broader foreign policy goals of weakening the United States and undermining Washingtons support for Ukraine," the ODNI official said. Two things put Russia "at the top of the list" of foreign governments seeking to influence the election, the ODNI official said. "Theyre [the Russians ed.] fairly robust and quite practised at doing this type of activity. Also the scope and the scale of their activities are quite significant." The official added that Russia is working on the election race. The Russians are using artificial intelligence to create synthetic content more quickly and persuasively and have hired influence firms that use marketing, public relations, and other expertise to make attribution more difficult. "Americans are more likely to believe other Americans views compared to content with clear signs of foreign propaganda," the official said. "So what we see them doing is relying on witting and unwitting Americans to seed, promote and add credibility to narratives that serve these foreign actors interests." The ODNI also noted that as Moscow's sophistication has grown, the U.S. intelligence community's "understanding of these efforts has also increased in our effort to understand and counter it." Previously: John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator for the US National Security Council, said that Americans should take seriously Russia's intentions to interfere in the US election. Background: Dimitri Simes, a Russian propagandist of American origin, and his wife Anastasia were charged in the United States with violating the sanctions regime in favour of Pervyi Kanal (Channel One) Russia, a state-owned Russian television station. Support UP or become our patron! HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. (USD) The South Dakota volleyball team fell in straight sets to NKU Invitational host Northern Kentucky Saturday afternoon in Regents Hall. Lauren Medeck hit the double-digit kill mark for the first time in her young career with 11 and added five digs. Avery Van Hook handed out 20 assists, while Kamryn Farris was USDs digs leader with 15. Caity Clancy and Alaina Wolff each recorded a pair of service aces. Following a back-and-forth start in the first set, the Norse would score 10 unanswered points to grab a 21-8 lead and would take the frame 25-11. Northern Kentucky registered a .406 attack rate in the opening set, while the Coyotes were held to a .071 clip. The first four South Dakota points of the second set would belong to Medeck, who would carry the hot hand throughout and register 11 kills in the frame. Amanda Loschen followed with three kills of her own in the set and assisted in one block. A Loschen kill would start a 5-1 USD run, and following consecutive kills from Medeck, the Coyotes grabbed their first lead of the match, 12-11. The Norse answered later in the set with a 6-1 run of their own, but a Kylen Sealock kill and Avery Van Hook ace would curb the NKU momentum. The Yotes reached set point following five straight points, beginning with another Loschen kill, but the Norse would respond with two points to pull the frame even at 24-24. Audrey Nelson put the Yotes a point away from capturing the set, 25-24, with a kill but NKU ended the set and went up 2-0 after scoring three straight. Northern Kentucky built a 9-2 lead early in set three and would keep the Coyotes at bay as they downed USD 25-14 in the final set to earn the match win. The Norse were efficient in the final frame, notching 12 kills at a .385 clip. The Coyotes will close out the NKU Invitational tomorrow morning against RV Missouri at 10:00 a.m. CT. NOTES South Dakota is now 1-2 against the Norse and 0-1 at Regents Hall. Freshman Lauren Medeck recorded her first 10+ kill match and led the Yotes in kills for the first time in her career. Kamryn Farris tallied 15 digs for the third time this season. Caity Clancy matched her career highs with two services aces and seven digs. She also recorded two aces last season against Northern Kentucky. The Norse had the advantage in hitting percentage (.337 to .088) and blocks (11 to 4). 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 KELOLAND.com. Residents of some 1,900 homes in the Gig Harbor area can safely use their tap water again after their water provider canceled a boil-water order Saturday. The residents were advised to boil tap water Friday after E. coli was found in a water sample, the city announced. The majority of the water system is located in unincorporated Pierce County, but several neighborhoods along Peacock Hill within city limits were also affected, the city said. Washington Water Service posted a notice Thursday evening warning that bacteria had been found in a sample collected from a Peacock Hill water-system storage tank on Wednesday. The 1,900 lots and houses that use the system were urged to drink and cook with bottled or boiled tap water. On Friday, the water service planned to introduce chlorine to the systems other storage tanks as a precautionary measure. Short-term symptoms of E. coli infection include nausea, diarrhea, headaches and cramps. Those who are immunocompromised as well as young children, infants and elderly people can be at higher risk. Those who bought bottled water as a result of the advisory can ask for a reimbursement by mailing a receipt, with their address and account number, to P.O. Box 336, Gig Harbor, WA 98335. Residents with concerns or questions can call 877-408-4060 or email customerservice@wawater.com. EASTERN MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA SEPTA plans a regional rail hike. Meanwhile, vehicle brek-ins are rising in the region. These were some of the stories making news this past week in Eastern Montgomery County: The Hatboro Borough Police Department has detained a 19-year-old man in a sexual assault and strangulation incident. Dominic DiGiulio was wanted after police began an investigation into a reported sexual assault that occurred on the 200 Block of Jacksonville Rd. on July 26. (Read More) Facing a $240 million annual budget deficit, SEPTA Thursday announced a regional rail fare increase and the elimination of some travel discounts. SEPTA said the proposed fare adjustments would go into effect on Dec. 1. With the state budget providing less than one-fourth of what the authority requested and the exhaustion of federal COVID relief funds, SEPTA said the need for a permanent solution grows more urgent by the day. (Read More) Like neighboring Abington Township, the Cheltenham Township Police Department said it is seeing similar crimes regarding stolen vehicles and theft from vehicles. Police urge residents to make sure their vehicles are locked at also seeing similar crimes regarding stolen vehicles and theft from vehiclestimes, and all valuables are removed while left unattended. (Read More) Abington Township is getting a municipal traffic signal upgrade from the Shapiro Administration. Gov. Josh Shapiro and Department of Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll announced that 73 municipalities will receive over $30 million to support traffic signal upgrades. The township will receive $442,480 for the full modernization of the existing traffic signal at the intersection of Fitzwatertown Road (Route 2038) and Old Welsh Road (Route 2029). (Read More) The Arby's in Center Point Place in Warminster now has an opening date. The franchise owners of the fast food chain known for its roast beef sandwiches posted on the Warminster Community Group Facebook page that the Street Road location will be opening soon. "Dear friends and neighbors, we are excited to be joining this wonderful neighborhood and community soon and opening soon," the franchise owners said. "We have started hiring now." (Read More) Vehicle Break-Ins, Sex Assault Arrest: Eastern Montco News originally appeared on the Abington Patch (Bloomberg) -- The resistance against Venezuelas Nicolas Maduro was dealt a major blow on Saturday, when the presidents main opposition fled to Spain. Most Read from Bloomberg Edmundo Gonzalezs departure comes one month after his party presented voting records to prove his win in the July 28 presidential election through an unprecedented, citizen-led oversight system. Venezuelan authorities, however, declared Maduro reelected to a third term and ordered Gonzalezs arrest. The governments repression has grown at a breakneck pace ever since, with the detention of 2,400 protesters and arrest of four prominent opposition politicians. The forced exile of the countrys president-elect is a sad day for the millions who voted for him, said Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. It also places a political transition even further from reach. The nation quickly coalesced around Gonzalez, a little-known former ambassador, after he was chosen to represent the opposition in April. Gonzalez, 75, was a stand-in for Maria Corina Machado, the oppositions most popular figure, who was barred from running. While Venezuelas electoral authority said Maduro won with 51.95% of the vote, the opposition published more than 80% of voting tabulations that show Gonzalez received nearly 70%. Gonzalez has to flee to preserve his freedom, Machado commented in a post on X on Sunday. The regime has no scruples and no limits in its obsession with silencing him and trying to subdue him. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said Gonzalez sought refuge at Spains embassy in Caracas several days ago and that the two nations arranged for his passage this weekend. Spains Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares later confirmed Gonzalez was on his way on a Spanish Air Force plane. The Netherlands secretly sheltered Gonzalez at the Dutch embassy in Caracas for six weeks, the Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said in a letter to the parliament on Sunday. The move is likely to draw further outcry from the US and other countries that have concluded Gonzalez was the winner of the presidential vote. Venezuelan prosecutors accused Gonzalez of breaking the law because the opposition uploaded voting records to show he won in a landslide. He is accused of crimes including forging a public document, incitement to disobedience of laws, conspiracy and sabotage. His departure comes amid rising tensions in the capital, as dozens of Maduros agents stationed themselves outside Argentinas embassy in Caracas on Friday, threatening to go after opposition campaign workers who have sheltered there for months. The standoff is escalating tensions within Latin Americas left, where longtime allies of Maduro, including the presidents of Brazil and Colombia, have failed to rein in his authoritarian tendencies. Six top aides to Machado have been sheltered in the Argentine embassy since March. They are currently under the protection of the Brazilian government through an agreement with Argentina, whose personnel were expelled from the country in the aftermath of the election. --With assistance from Cagan Koc. (Updates with Machados reaction in the seventh paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. By Ana Cantero and Vivian Sequera MADRID/CARACAS (Reuters) -Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez flew into Spain on Sunday to seek asylum, Madrid said, hours after quitting his country amid a political and diplomatic crisis over July's disputed election. Gonzalez - who has challenged President Nicolas Maduro's declaration of victory - arrived at the Torrejon de Ardoz military base with his wife, Spain's foreign ministry said in a statement. The exit of the 75-year-old - seen by the U.S., the EU and other powers in the region as the winner of the disputed vote - came a week after Venezuelan authorities issued an arrest warrant for him, accusing him of conspiracy and other crimes. "Today is a sad day for democracy in Venezuela," European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement. "In a democracy, no political leader should be forced to seek asylum in another country." Gonzalez "remains the best hope for democracy," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a post on messaging platform X. "We must not let Maduro and his representatives cling to power by force," he said. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Instagram authorities had given Gonzalez safe passage in a bid to restore "political peace". Spain's foreign ministry said there had been no official talks with the Venezuelan government on Gonzalez's exit. Venezuela's opposition say the July 28 election resulted in a resounding victory for Gonzalez, and published vote tallies online that they say show he won. Maduro has dismissed all such assertions and says there was a right-wing plot to sabotage his government. Gonzalez's move to Spain marked another jolting shift in the fortunes of the former diplomat who came out of retirement and took over the candidacy in March, initially as a placeholder after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and then another replacement could not stand. Machado confirmed on X that Gonzalez was now in Spain, adding he had fled to protect his "freedom, his integrity and his life". "The increasing threats, summons, arrest warrants and even the attempts at blackmail and coercion to which he has been subjected show that the regime has no scruples or limits in its obsession to silence him and try to break him," she wrote. Gonzalez would continue to fight for the opposition from Spain, while she would continue to do so within Venezuela, Machado said, and vowed that he would be sworn in on Jan. 10, 2025, when the next presidential term begins. EMBASSIES, TALKS Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told Spanish TV he had told Gonzalez "any person whose physical integrity or fundamental rights may be endangered would be welcomed in Spain and its embassy." He added that his relocation to Spain had been planned for days and the foreign ministry said Gonzalez's asylum process would now start. Gonzalez had sought refuge in the Dutch and then the Spanish embassy in Venezuela after the election, Dutch and Venezuelan officials said. Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said in a letter to his parliament on Sunday that Gonzalez had urgently requested refuge in the Dutch embassy the day after the election. "At the beginning of September, Edmundo Gonzalez indicated that he ... wanted to leave and continue his fight from Spain", Veldkamp added. Spanish officials, including former Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, linked to diplomatic relations in the South American country in the past, were involved in a week of negotiations with Venezuelan authorities for Gonzalez to leave the country, a source with knowledge of the talks told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. OPPOSITION PRESSES FOR MORE PROTESTS That Maduro allowed Gonzalez's departure despite the arrest warrant he was facing may soften some harsh recent international criticism of him. Machado, though, remains subject of an investigation and has largely been sequestered at an unknown location since the vote, emerging only occasionally to lead rallies. Gonzalez's departure came less than 24 hours after security forces surrounded Argentina's former embassy in Caracas, now being protected by Brazil, where six opposition staffers have been sheltering since warrants were issued for them in March. Attorney General Tarek Saab, who met with Gonzalez's lawyer this week and who has been one of the opposition's most strident accusers, held a press conference Sunday saying the government knew the "exact moment" Gonzalez entered the Spanish embassy and agreed to give him safe passage to leave the country. In a recording obtained by Reuters after Gonzalez arrived in Spain, he said his exit from Caracas was "surrounded by pressure, coercion and threats." "I trust that we'll soon continue the fight for liberty and the return to democracy in Venezuela," Gonzalez said. The opposition is pressing for more street protests and international pressure for its victory to be recognized, but so far those tactics have borne no fruit amid waning attendance at anti-government rallies. (Reporting by Belen Carreno, Ana Cantero and Corina Pons in Madrid, Vivian Sequera and Mayela Armas in Caracas, Anthony Deutsch in Amsterdam, and Julia Symes in Bogota; Editing by Aislinn Laing, Alexandra Hudson and Ros Russell) Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has led the oil-rich but cash-poor country since 2013 (Pedro Rances Mattey) (Pedro Rances Mattey/AFP/AFP) Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia -- who insists he, not Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro is the legitimate elected leader -- said Monday he fled to Spain "so that thigs can change" and appealed for "dialogue". Gonzalez Urrutia arrived in Madrid late Sunday after weeks in hiding. The opposition says it can prove he won the July 28 elections in which Maduro -- in power in the oil-rich but cash-poor country since 2013 -- claimed a widely disputed victory. "I decided to leave Venezuela... so that things can change and so we can build a new stage for Venezuela," the 75-year-old wrote in a letter addressed to Venezuelans posted social network X, before adding that "only the policy of dialogue will enable us to reunite as compatriots". "It is a gesture that reaches out to everyone and I hope that as such it will be reciprocated," he said. "I have taken this decision thinking of Venezuela and that our destiny as a country cannot, must not, be that of a conflict of pain and suffering." Shortly after touching down on a military plane with his spouse, Gonzalez Urrutia's press team distributed an audio message in which he pledged to "continue the fight to achieve freedom and the recovery of democracy in Venezuela." Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told radio Onda Cero earlier on Monday that Madrid would grant Gonzalez Urrutia asylum, saying he is "better off in Spain" than in hiding nor in jail in Venezuela. Sources close Gonzalez Urrutia said he will not speak publicly or grant media interviews until he is received by Albares and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who are both on an official visit to China. The meeting could take place on Thursday, the sources said. Gonzalez Urrutia left because "his life was in danger," Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on X, citing a "brutal wave of repression". Gonzalez Urrutia had replaced Machado on the ballot at the last minute after she was prevented from running by institutions loyal to Maduro, accused by observers of human rights violations. Venezuela's regime-loyal CNE electoral authority declared Maduro the election winner but the opposition cried foul. Much of the international community has refused to accept the result. - 'Best hope for democracy' - Authorities issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez Urrutia, who Maduro has said belongs behind bars along with Machado. She remains in hiding, save for leading a handful of anti-Maduro protests since the disputed vote. Gonzalez Urrutia left Venezuela after ignoring three successive summons to appear before prosecutors, arguing that he risked his freedom. Machado said on X that "the increasing threats, subpoenas, arrest warrants and even attempts at blackmail and coercion against (Gonzalez Urrutia) show that the regime has no scruples or limits." "Faced with this brutal reality, it is necessary for our cause to preserve his freedom, his integrity and his life," she added. Venezuela's vice president Delcy Rodriguez said on social media that Caracas had agreed to the safe passage of Gonzalez Urrutia, who had taken "refuge voluntarily at the Spanish embassy in Caracas a few days ago." Attorney General Tarek William Saab told journalists Gonzalez Urrutia's departure marked the close of a piece of "farcical theater... fatefully named 'To the End'", referring to the opposition's post-election fightback slogan. He did not say whether the investigation against the opposition figure was now closed. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Gonzalez Urrutia "remains the best hope for democracy" in Venezuela. - Disputed results - Saab had opened an investigation against Gonzalez Urrutia for crimes related to his insistence that he was the rightful victor of the July poll. Charges include usurpation of public functions, forgery of a public document, incitement to disobedience, sabotage and association with organized crime. He risks a jail sentence of 30 years. The charges stem from the opposition's decision to publish its own tally of polling station-level ballots cast, which it says showed Gonzalez Urrutia winning about two-thirds of votes. Venezuela's electoral authority has said it cannot provide a breakdown of the election results, blaming a cyber attack on its systems. Observers have said there is no evidence of such hacking. Post-election violence in Venezuela has claimed 27 lives and left 192 people injured, while the government says it has arrested some 2,400 people. After Venezuela's last election, in 2018, Maduro also claimed victory amid widespread accusations of fraud. With the support of the military and other institutions, he managed to cling to power despite international sanctions. Maduro's rule has seen GDP drop 80 percent in a decade, prompting more than seven million of the country's 30 million citizens to flee. burs-pgf-vab-mig/ds/ach/giv Clad in a white kurta and trousers, Sanjay Dutt looked handsome as always. Maanayata wore a blue and pink beautiful ethnic outfit. The couple were seen posing with Rahul Kanal. On Saturday, Salman Khan made a stylish appearance at Rahul Kanal's residence. The actor also posed for photographers stationed at the residence. Ganesh Chaturthi is a 10-day festival that commenced on September 7 and will continue until Anantha Chaturdashi. This festival is also known as Vinayak Chaturthi or Vinayak Chavithi. During Ganesh Chaturthi, Lord Ganesha is worshipped as the god of new beginnings and the remover of obstacles. Devotees across India and abroad celebrated Lord Ganesha's wisdom and intelligence. Devotees welcomed Ganesh idols into their homes, offered prayers, and visited the colourful pandals. The streets were filled with the sounds of devotion and joy as people came together to celebrate the festival with enthusiasm and heart. The colourful decorations, lively chants, and the fragrance of sweets added to the festive spirit that could be felt everywhere. Meanwhile, on the work front, in the coming months, Sanjay Dutt will be seen in multi-starrer 'Welcome 3'. On his birthday last year, Akshay Kumar shared the film's promo on social media and wrote, "Khud ko aur aap sab ko ek birthday gift diya hai aaj (I have given a gift to you and myself on my birthday today). If you like it and say thanks, I'd say Welcome(3) #WelcomeToTheJungle. In cinemas, Christmas - 20th December, 2024. #Welcome3. Produced by #JyotiDeshpande. Produced by #FirozANadiadwallah. Directed by @khan_ahmedasas @officialjiostudios @baseindustries_group." Recently, Ranveer Singh and Aditya Dhar have officially confirmed their new project, featuring a stellar cast that includes Sanjay Dutt, R Madhavan, Akshaye Khanna and Arjun Rampal. (ANI) Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez landed in Madrid on Sunday afternoon, Spain said, after fleeing his home country with an arrest warrant accusing him of terrorism, conspiracy and other crimes related to Julys disputed presidential election. Gonzalez, his wife and Spanish officials landed at the Torrejon de Ardoz military air base, according to a statement from Spains Foreign Ministry. He is now seeking asylum in Spain, CNN understands. Gonzalez said Sunday his departure from the country came despite coercion and threats that he would not be allowed to leave though he did not make explicit who had made those threats. In an audio note shared with CNN en Espanol by his press team, Gonzalez said he trusts that very soon, we will continue the fight for freedom and democracy in Venezuela, and thanked his followers for their messages of solidarity. He said later that he had decided to leave thinking of Venezuela and that our destiny as a country cannot, should not be, one of a conflict of pain and suffering. He also thanked the Spanish government for granting him protection and called for continued political dialogue within Venezuela. Venezuelas Attorney General Tarek William Saab told CNN on Sunday that authorities will close the case against Gonzalez after his departure. We, along with Edmundo Gonzalezs lawyer in the upcoming days will establish the form, time and place to judicially close that case, he said. Venezuela has been in a state of crisis since the poll, in which authoritarian incumbent Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner by the countrys electoral authority a body stacked with his allies with 51% of the vote. But tens of thousands of tallies published by the opposition showed a convincing win for Gonzalez. Venezuelas opposition and multiple Latin American leaders refused to recognize Maduros victory, which sparked deadly protests during which thousands were arrested. In a statement on Sunday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Gonzalezs departure was the direct result of the anti-democratic measures. The election results and the will of the people cannot be merely swept aside by Maduro and the Venezuelan electoral authorities. We stand with Gonzalez Urrutia in his call to continue the struggle for liberty and the restoration of democracy in Venezuela, Blinken said. A day earlier, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said in a statement that Gonzalez has left the country and requested political asylum from Spain. She added that Gonzalez had been staying at Spains embassy in the capital Caracas, as a voluntary refugee, and that Venezuela allowed him to leave for the sake of the tranquility and political peace of the country. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Gonzalez was at his own request flying to Spain on a Spanish Air Force plane. The government of Spain is committed to the political rights and physical integrity of all Venezuelans, he wrote on X. The ministers office would not give further details on how long Gonzalez had been in the Spanish embassy. However, the foreign ministry of the Netherlands said Sunday that prior to his stay in the Spanish Embassy, Gonzalez had spent weeks in the Dutch embassy in Caracas, moving in a day after the July 28 election and staying there until early September. At (Gonzalezs) urgent request, the day after the elections, I decided to give him hospitality at the state residence of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Caracas for as long as necessary, the Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs Caspar Veldkamp said in a statement. Veldkamp said that in early September, Gonzalez announced his intention to leave both the Dutch embassy and Venezuela to continue his fight from Spain. The EUs top diplomat Josep Borrell said Gonzalez was at the residence of the Netherlands in Caracas until September 5. The Dutch foreign minister said he stressed to Gonzalez the importance of the oppositions work and the transition to democracy but despite everything, he expressed his desire to leave and continue his fight from Spain. Threat to life Gonzalezs lawyer Jose Vicente Haro has previously told CNN his client had not sought refuge in an embassy. However, he told CNNE on Sunday that due to his clients need to defend his life and personal safety Gonzalez had taken different decisions from what he had originally wished for. Haro said the decision to leave Venezuela was reached only late on Friday evening and followed privileged and confidential information about potential danger to his life. The lawyer said Gonzalez only had two options: prison unjustly for crimes he didnt commit or preserve his life and abandon the country. Asked why Gonzalez chose Spain, Haro said he assumes its because one of Gonzalezs daughters lives there. His daughter was seen Sunday outside the Torrejon de Ardoz military air base in Madrid, after Gonzalez and his wife arrived on a Spanish military plane. The lawyer said the situation outside Argentinas embassy wasnt a major factor in Gonzalezs decision to seek asylum, but it was something Gonzalez considered. On Friday, Venezuelan security forces surrounded the Argentine embassy in Caracas after two opposition members took refuge inside, joining four others who took refuge there earlier this year. Many aspects were taken into account, if we had a siege situation in the Argentine embassy, we could have a situation in any embassy accredited in Venezuela, Haro said. Forced into exile The Organization of American States (OAS) said Sunday that Gonzalez had effectively been forced into exile after an arrest warrant was issued by Venezuela Prosecutors Office last Monday. The Prosecutors Office had accused him of crimes associated with terrorism in relation to the disputed election and said he had failed to respond to three summons regarding its investigation into an opposition website that posted results from the contested vote. When asked about the coercion and threats that Gonzalez said led to his decision to request asylum in Spain, Venezuelas Attorney General said on Sunday that the pressure and threats came from opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. Gonzalez was the victim of pressure from his party that forced him to make decisions, he said. There is an absolute fracture in that extremist opposition. CNN has reached out to Machado for comment. Though the Venezuelan government says it allowed Gonzalez to leave, it has not explained why it granted safe passage to a citizen wanted by the justice system, other than saying it was for the sake of political peace. The Maduro government has granted similar safe passages to opposition leaders in the past, with critics accusing it of silencing the opposition through enforced absence. The OAS said Gonzalez only did what was required by the Venezuelan governments actions. The (Maduro) regime has not only failed to produce the slightest evidence of an electoral result but has forced into exile the candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, the OAS said in a statement. The United States has pressured the Venezuelan government to release specific data regarding its presidential election, citing concerns about the credibility of Maduros claimed victory. It has also seized one of Maduros planes, saying it was bought in violation of US sanctions. Opposition figure Juan Pablo Guanipa posted on his X account that, though Gonzalez had left, the opposition must continue fighting to ensure that their claimed election win is respected. The important thing is that he was elected, that his election was proven and that popular sovereignty must be respected, he said. CNNs Abel Alvarado and Philip Wang contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, who the United States and a host of other countries believe was the real winner of Julys presidential election, fled his country and was heading to Spain, where he was granted political asylum after the Nicolas Maduro regime issued orders to arrest him. Gonzalez left the country late Saturday on board a Spanish air force plane headed to the Dominican Republic, from which the opposition leader was expected to board another flight to Madrid. According to press reports, regime officials allowed Gonzalez to leave the country following a two week-long negotiation in which Maduros top lieutenants Delcy Rodriguez and Jorge Rodriguez and former Spanish president Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero were involved. Spain insists that it was Edmundo himself who requested asylum, but other sources familiar with the conversations maintain that all this arose from a negotiation in which even the Rodriguez brothers, Delcy and Jorge, the political operators closest to President Nicolas Maduro, participated, the Spanish daily El Pais reported Sunday morning. Political leader Maria Corina Machado, the main leader of the Venezuelan opposition whose support was fundamental to Gonzalezs strong showing in the election, is still in the South American country. Machado, who has said that she has no plans of leaving Venezuela, said Sunday morning that Gonzalezs departure had become a necessity because his life was in danger, and because of the increasing threats, summons, arrest warrants and even attempts at blackmail and coercion to which he has been subjected. This demonstrate that the regime has no scruples or limits in its obsession with silencing him, Machado said through her X account In the face of this brutal reality. It is necessary for our cause to preserve his freedom, his integrity and his life. The Venezuelan judiciary, which has often been described by the United Nations and other international organizations as a persecution tool subservient to Maduro, claims that Gonzalez and Machado have been conspiring against the government by forging the election tallies backing their claim that Maduro lost the election to Gonzalez. Machado and Gonzalez had been in hiding for some time, suspecting that the regime would eventually move to arrest them alongside the close to 2,000 people Maduro had already detained as part of the latest wave of repression. Before boarding the plane out of Venezuela, Gonzalez was staying at the residence of the Spanish ambassador in Caracas. The siege that Maduros security forces had imposed on the Argentine embassy, where other key members of Machados political party have been seeking refuge, was a clear sign for Gonzalez that there was no safe place remaining for him in Venezuela, El Pais reported. Delcy Rodriguezs, who is Maduros Vice President, commented on Instagram late Saturday night that the regime decided to allow Gonzalez to leave Venezuela in the name of maintaining peace in the troubled South American nation. Once the relevant contacts between [the Spanish and the Venezuelan] governments had taken place, and the requirements of the case in compliance with international law had been met, Venezuela granted the necessary safe-passage authorization for the sake of the countrys tranquility and political peace, she wrote. The Venezuelan opposition claims that Gonzalez defeated Maduro in Julys presidential election by a margin of more than 2-1, and published the official vote tallies, known as actas, gathered in more than 80% of the countrys voting stations. The government-controlled National Electoral Council had announced on election night that Maduro had won with nearly 52% of the vote but has so far failed to produce the actas demonstrating the victory of the Venezuelan strongman, despite repeated calls from the international community to do so. The News Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez fled to Spain on Saturday after a warrant was issued for his arrest as part of a political crackdown by President Nicolas Maduro. Gonzalez stood against Maduro in the countrys widely contested presidential election in July, which both claimed to have won. However, Maduro, with the backing of the countrys courts and army, was ultimately declared the victor, despite a lack of evidence for the claim. Since then, there have been widespread protests across the country, leading to at least 27 deaths and international condemnation. SIGNALS Maduro stamps out remaining dissent Sources: Caracas Chronicles , The New York Times, BBC Venezuela has historically used arrest warrants to force opposition figures into exile, The Caracas Chronicles noted: Maduro could have apprehended [them] at any moment, but had seemingly refused, perhaps enabling Gonzalez and his claim to the presidency to leave. Meanwhile, Venezuelan security forces surrounded the Argentine embassy in Caracas, the BBC reported, where several other opposition politicians are sheltering. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado who was banned from running for president remains in hiding, as one of the last prominent opposition figures still free in Venezuela. But she said on Thursday that it was harder and riskier to stay as the political crisis intensifies. Gonzalez flight a sad day for democracy Sources: BBC, Newsweek, The New York Times Multiple countries have cast doubt on Maduros victory, including the US, several in the European Union, Brazil, and Colombia all of whom asked for proof that he had won the election. Meanwhile, Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea all swiftly announced their support for Maduros third term. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Gonzalezs departure was the direct result of the anti-democratic actions undertaken by Maduro, while the Spanish authorities described Gonzalez as a hero that Spain will not abandon. However, calls by South American countries for international support have had little effect. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Gonzalezs flight was a sad day for democracy in Venezuela. The leader of Venezuelas opposition has fled to Spain, where he has been granted political asylum. Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia arrived in Madrid at around 4.30pm local time on Sunday on a Spanish Air Force plane. The 75-year-old has been in hiding since elections were held in Venezuela in July with a government crackdown on opposition figures soon following. Rights groups say Venezuelan authorities have been committing widespread violations against critics, including carrying out arbitrary arrests and violence against them. On Sept 2, a judge issued an arrest warrant against Mr Gonzalez for conspiracy, incitement to disobedience and other crimes after he disputed the election result. Mr Gonzalez fled to the Dutch embassy, where he sought refuge for more than a month before staying at the home of Spains ambassador. Before the July 28 election, Mr Gonzalez was a political unknown, but he was the only person left to run against Nicolas Maduro after the government banned all other opposition candidates. President Nicolas Maduro speaks at a rally in Caracas to celebrate the results of the presidential election - Fausto Torrealba/Reuters Venezuelas socialist government announced that Mr Maduro had won a third six-year mandate with 52 per cent of the vote, but it has not yet published the official results. Venezuelas oppositions own tallies show Mr Gonzalez winning with 67 per cent of the vote. The US, the EU and major Latin American governments have refused to recognise Mr Maduros claim to victory. Mass protests have led to at least 27 deaths and 2,400 arrests. Jose Manuel Albares, the Spanish foreign minister, told reporters that Spain had responded positively to an asylum request from Mr Gonzalez and denied that Madrid had negotiated the move with Venezuelas government. Speaking on Saturday before Mr Gonzalezs move into exile, Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish prime minister, described the retired diplomat as a hero whom Spain will not abandon. However, Right-wing politicians criticised the move. Bringing Edmundo Gonzalez here without recognising him as the legitimate president does no favours to democracy, but rather removes a problem for the dictatorship, said Esteban Gonzalez Pons, a spokesman for the Peoples Party, which has said it will force a vote over recognising Mr Gonzalez as Venezuelas leader. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. The presidential candidate of the Venezuelan opposition, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, arrives at the Santo Tomas de Villanueva school to cast his vote during the presidential elections. Opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has left Venezuela for Spain six weeks after a disputed presidential election marred by accusations of widespread voter fraud and repression. Jeampier Arguinzones/dpa The Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, whom the US and many Latin American countries consider the true winner of the July 28 election, arrived in Spain on Sunday, where he is seeking asylum. Gonzalez, 75, boarded a Spanish air force plane in the middle of the night after being in hiding for days following a disputed presidential election marred by accusations of widespread voter fraud and repression. Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Gonzalez would "naturally" be granted asylum. In a major escalation, the Venezuelan Attorney General's Office recently issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez on charges including usurpation of office and incitement to sedition. The most important opposition figure, Maria Corina Machado, is still in hiding in Venezuela. The 56-year-old was banned from running for office due to alleged irregularities from her time as a member of parliament. Nicolas Maduro, the disputed winner of the election, said she should be behind bars. The United States and a score of Latin American countries recognized Gonzalez as the election's winner but the incumbent Maduro claimed he had won. The opposition initially made no public statements on the matter. The country's electoral authority - which is stacked with Maduro loyalists - declared him the winner with 51% of the vote. He has been in power since 2013 The government has not provided any voter tallies to back up 61-year-old Maduro's win. Since the vote, the police have cracked down on anti-Maduro demonstrators. The non-governmental rights organization PROVEA said 25 people have lost their lives so far and more than 2,400 people have been detained. "Sad day for democracy in Venezuela" The European Union's top foreign diplomat, Josep Borrell, who is Spanish, said in a statement that it was "sad day for democracy in Venezuela." He said Gonzalez was forced to leave Venezuela "in the face of repression, political persecution and direct threats against his security and freedom." Borrell, writing in Spanish, said Gonzalez stayed at the Dutch embassy until September 5 but applied for asylum in Spain. Borrell said based on publicly available information, Gonzalez "won the elections by a large majority." In Madrid, Gonzalez will meet his daughter Carolina, who has lived and worked there for years. Spain wants to mediate Spain's left-wing government, which also doubts Maduro's victory, will advocate dialogue and negotiations between the government and opposition in Caracas "in order to achieve a peaceful solution for Venezuelans," said Foreign Minister Albares. "The government of Spain is committed to the political rights and physical integrity of all Venezuelans," Albares wrote on X. The opposition says Gonzalez received 67% of the vote, while Maduro only received 30%. Protests broke out during the election, which were violently suppressed by the authorities. The opposition complained of numerous arbitrary arrests. Venezuela bans Brazil from representing Argentina Six members of the opposition had already sought refuge in the Argentinian embassy in Caracas in March and are still there. Following the expulsion of Argentina's diplomats in the dispute over the election results, Brazil has been administering the embassy of its neighbour since August. This will no longer be permitted, Venezuela's government announced on Saturday, saying there were indications that terrorist activities and murder plots against Maduro and Rodriguez had been planned at the embassy. Its embassy has been surrounded by security forces and secret service agents since Friday, the Argentinian government said. It had previously asked the prosecuting authority of the International Criminal Court in The Hague to apply for an arrest warrant against Maduro. The presidential candidate of the Venezuelan opposition, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, arrives at the Santo Tomas de Villanueva school to cast his vote during the presidential elections. Opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has left Venezuela for Spain six weeks after a disputed presidential election marred by accusations of widespread voter fraud and repression. Jeampier Arguinzones/dpa The Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, whom the US and many Latin American countries consider the true winner of the July 28 election, arrived in Spain on Sunday, where he is seeking asylum. Gonzalez, 75, boarded a Spanish air force plane in the middle of the night after being in hiding for days following a disputed presidential election marred by accusations of widespread voter fraud and repression. Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Gonzalez would "naturally" be granted asylum. In a major escalation, the Venezuelan Attorney General's Office recently issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez on charges including usurpation of office and incitement to sedition. The most important opposition figure, Maria Corina Machado, is still in hiding in Venezuela. The 56-year-old was banned from running for office due to alleged irregularities from her time as a member of parliament. Nicolas Maduro, the disputed winner of the election, said she should be behind bars. On Sunday, Machado wrote on X that her fellow campaigner's life had been in danger. Gonzalez would continue his fight from Spain, she said. She plans to continue fighting in Venezuela until the end. "Victory is ours," she posted. The United States and a score of Latin American countries recognized Gonzalez as the election's winner but the incumbent Maduro claimed he had won. The country's electoral authority - which is stacked with Maduro loyalists - declared him the winner with 51% of the vote. He has been in power since 2013 The government has not provided any voter tallies to back up 61-year-old Maduro's win. Since the vote, the police have cracked down on anti-Maduro demonstrators. The non-governmental rights organization PROVEA said 25 people have lost their lives so far and more than 2,400 people have been detained. "Sad day for democracy in Venezuela" The European Union's top foreign diplomat, Josep Borrell, who is Spanish, said in a statement that it was "sad day for democracy in Venezuela." He said Gonzalez was forced to leave Venezuela "in the face of repression, political persecution and direct threats against his security and freedom." Borrell, writing in Spanish, said Gonzalez stayed at the Dutch embassy until September 5 but applied for asylum in Spain. Borrell said based on publicly available information, Gonzalez "won the elections by a large majority." In Madrid, Gonzalez will meet his daughter Carolina, who has lived and worked there for years. Spain wants to mediate Spain's left-wing government, which also doubts Maduro's victory, will advocate dialogue and negotiations between the government and opposition in Caracas "in order to achieve a peaceful solution for Venezuelans," said Foreign Minister Albares. "The government of Spain is committed to the political rights and physical integrity of all Venezuelans," Albares wrote on X. The opposition says Gonzalez received 67% of the vote, while Maduro only received 30%. Protests broke out during the election, which were violently suppressed by the authorities. The opposition complained of numerous arbitrary arrests. Venezuela bans Brazil from representing Argentina Six members of the opposition had already sought refuge in the Argentinian embassy in Caracas in March and are still there. Following the expulsion of Argentina's diplomats in the dispute over the election results, Brazil has been administering the embassy of its neighbour since August. This will no longer be permitted, Venezuela's government announced on Saturday, saying there were indications that terrorist activities and murder plots against Maduro and Rodriguez had been planned at the embassy. Its embassy has been surrounded by security forces and secret service agents since Friday, the Argentinian government said. It had previously asked the prosecuting authority of the International Criminal Court in The Hague to apply for an arrest warrant against Maduro. Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has vowed to "continue to fight" for democracy in his own country, after being granted asylum in Spain. Mr Gonzalez left Venezuela, after having spent weeks in hiding, arriving at the Torrejon military air base in Madrid with his wife at about 16:00 local time on Sunday (14:00 GMT). The departure of the 75-year-old from the country followed turmoil in the wake of the 28 July elections, in which President Nicolas Maduro claimed victory - something which was disputed by Mr Gonzalez, and many sections of the international community. In an audio message distributed by his press team, he said he was "confident that soon we will continue the fight to achieve freedom and the recovery of democracy in Venezuela". Prior to his departure, an arrest warrant had been issued in Venezuela, with the government accusing him of conspiracy and of forging documents, among other "serious crimes". Thanking his supporters for expressions of solidarity and confirming his arrival in Spain, Mr Gonzalez said: "My departure from Caracas was surrounded by episodes of pressure, coercion and threats that I wouldnt be allowed to leave." Earlier, the country's opposition leader Maria Corina Machado wrote on social media that he had made the decision to leave the country because "his life was in danger", citing a "brutal wave of repression" in the election aftermath. Ms Machado, a popular candidate in the country, had been expected to run as the candidate against Mr Maduro, but was prevented from doing so at the last minute by institutions loyal to the president. The opposition said it had evidence Mr Gonzalez had won by a comfortable margin, and uploaded detailed voting tallies to the internet which suggest Mr Gonzalez beat Mr Maduro convincingly. The US, the EU and the majority of foreign governments have refused to accept Mr Maduro as the winner without Caracas releasing detailed voting data to prove the result. In a statement on Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Mr Gonzalez's departure from Venezuela "is the direct result of the anti-democratic measures that Nicolas Maduro has unleashed on the Venezuelan people, including [Edmundo] Gonzalez Urrutia and other opposition leaders, since the election". He added: "The election results and the will of the people cannot be merely swept aside by Maduro and the Venezuelan electoral authorities. We stand with Gonzalez Urrutia in his call to continue the struggle for liberty and the restoration of democracy in Venezuela." Earlier on Sunday, Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell said: "Today is a sad day for democracy in Venezuela." He added that "in a democracy, no political leader should be forced to seek asylum in another country". He said Venezuela needed to end its oppression of opposition leaders and free all political prisoners. Speaking at a socialist party meeting on Saturday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described Mr Gonzalez as "a hero who Spain will not abandon". The country's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Madrid would grant Mr Gonzalez asylum as it was "committed to the political rights" of all Venezuelans. Mr Gonzalez's departure came as security forces in Venezuela surrounded the Argentine embassy in the capital, Caracas, where six opposition figures have been sheltering. Venezuela's foreign ministry alleged that terrorist acts were being plotted inside. Edmundo Gonzalez ran against Nicolas Maduro in the presidential election [Reuters] The opposition candidate in Venezuela's recent presidential election has arrived in Spain after fleeing his homeland. A Spanish Air Force plane carrying Edmundo Gonzalez landed at Torrejon airbase in Madrid, where he will be granted political asylum. Mr Gonzalez had been in hiding in Venezuela. A warrant for his arrest was issued after the opposition disputed July's presidential election result, which saw incumbent Nicolas Maduro handed a third term. The Venezuelan opposition's overall leader, Maria Corina Machado, said Mr Gonzalez had fled "to preserve his freedom, his integrity and his life". She accused Mr Maduro's administration of unleashing "a brutal wave of repression" following the election, the results of which many nations in the region have questioned. Venezuela's Attorney General, Tarek Saab, said on Sunday that the Venezuelan government had agreed with Madrid to give him safe passage. Mr Maduro's deputy had earlier said this was to restore "political peace", after Mr Gonzalez "voluntarily" sought refuge at the Spanish embassy in Caracas. However, Spain's foreign ministry said there had been no official talks with the Venezuelan government on Mr Gonzalez's exit. Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said that Madrid would grant Mr Gonzalez asylum as it was "committed to the political rights" of all Venezuelans. The departure of the 75-year-old came a week after Venezuelan authorities sought to arrest Mr Gonzalez, accusing him of conspiracy and of forging documents, among other "serious crimes". He had been in hiding since 30 July, fearing arrest following statements made by leading government politicians who said he should be "behind bars". Mr Gonzalez had not been widely known before March this year, when the main opposition coalition registered him as its candidate. Ms Machado had won an open primary with 93% of the vote - but the opposition looked for an alternative candidate after she was barred from running for public office. After another opposition candidate was also banned from standing, Mr Gonzalez's name was put forward. Fearing he too could be barred from running, the opposition kept Mr Gonzalez in the background, while Ms Machado criss-crossed the country calling on people to vote for him. The opposition said it had evidence Mr Gonzalez had won by a comfortable margin, and uploaded detailed voting tallies to the internet which suggest Mr Gonzalez beat Mr Maduro convincingly. The opposition has questioned the validity of a victory for President Maduro [Reuters] Venezuela's election body, which is stacked with government supporters, has failed to publish its voting tallies, despite international pressure to do so. The US, the EU and the majority of foreign governments have refused to accept Mr Maduro as the winner without Caracas releasing detailed voting data to prove the result. The European Union foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, described Mr Gonzalez's flight as "a sad day for democracy in Venezuela". He added: "In a democracy, no political leader should be forced to seek asylum in another country." Some nations have recognised Mr Gonzalez as the winner of the Venezuelan presidential election, while allies of Mr Maduro - including Russia and China and Iran - have expressed support for the incumbent. Spain's foreign minister reiterated on Sunday that until vote tallies were produced and verified, Madrid would not recognise Mr Maduro as president-elect. Mr Albares said that Spain would "promote dialogue and negotiations between the government and the opposition to reach a peaceful solution". Mr Gonzalez's departure came as security forces in Venezuela have surrounded the Argentine embassy in the capital, Caracas, where six opposition figures have been sheltering. Venezuela's foreign ministry alleged that terrorist acts were being plotted inside. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) Two suspects remain at large in connection to the shooting of a security guard who survived thanks to a bulletproof vest. Columbus police said a man working as an unarmed security guard was shot in the early hours of Christmas Eve in 2023. Officers responded to reports of shots fired at The Spot Bar on East Livingston Avenue, near Reynoldsburg, at 2:25 a.m. This embedded content is not available in your region. Police said the victim was attempting to clear the outside area of the bar after closing time when he approached to men standing in the parking lot. One of the men reportedly became argumentative and pulled out a handgun. The security guard was shot multiple times in the torso, arms and legs, but police said his life was saved due to a bulletproof vest he was wearing. Columbus police are searching for suspects who left in a gray SUV after a shooting outside The Spot Bar in east Columbus, Dec. 24, 2023. (Courtesy/Central Ohio Crime Stoppers) The suspects, who were allegedly talking to two women who frequent the bar, fled the scene in a mid-sized, gray SUV. They are believed to be in their late twenties to early thirties. Central Ohio Crime Stoppers is asking for assistance regarding any information leading to the arrest and/or indictment of the person(s) responsible for this crime. Anyone with information is asked to call 614-461-TIPS (8477) or visit www.stopcrime.org and submit your tip. 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 NBC4 WCMH-TV. Nadigar Sangam, the South Indian Artistes' Association of Kollywood, passed a resolution on Sunday calling for strict action against sexual harassment complaints in the industry. The 68th General Council meeting of Nadigar Sangam was held in Kamarajar Arangam in Chennai on Sunday. Large numbers of Union members participated in the meeting and several issues were discussed. Other than Vishal, the association's president, Nassar, the association's treasurer, Karthi and several others participated in the general council meeting. Actor Vishal, who is also the general secretary of Nadigar Sangam, affirmed that 'strict action' will be taken as soon as a complaint is received. Speaking to ANI, Vishal said, "There is a commission already been formed by Nadigar Sangam. The action is going to be very strict. We will take action once the complaint is received, whoever it is. Any girl who undergoes this kind of situation" Actor Nasser also said the issue has been taken very seriously and a committee has been formed. "The meeting went well as usual. We have taken the issue very seriously. We have formed a committee. We have given confidence to women that there is somebody to listen to this is our first step," he stated. This comes in wake of the row created in the Malayalam film industry after the Justice Hema Committee report disclosed some shocking details of harassment, exploitation, and ill-treatment of women in the industry. The 235-page report, published after redacting the names of witnesses and the accused, notes that the Malayalam film industry is controlled by about 10 to 15 male producers, directors, and actors who dominate and exert control over the industry. The report of the three-member panel headed by a former judge of the Kerala High Court and set up by the state government in 2017, was submitted to the Pinarayi-led Kerala government in December 2019 and made public only this month. The government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the hardships faced by women in the industry. Following the allegations, Mohanlal resigned as the President of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA). Several other AMMA leaders also resigned from their positions. (ANI) A member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment places flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery on May 26, 2022 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Almost every voter in Maine is connected to a veteran or active-duty service memberwhether a father, aunt, grandfather, neighbor, or friend. In a brief timespan, three events, all related to the ideals that our service members protect, have converged: a) This weeks presidential debate, b) The anniversary of 9/11, and c) The recent incident at Arlington National Cemetery. Amid the bustle of American life, its easy to overlook signs begging for reflection. These events reach that level, and we urge you to find a moment for a quiet coffee to think (hard in todays world, we know, but try). The presidential debate and free press So crucial that most of us take it for granted, our free press is rooted in Americas founding and protected by our Constitution. This week, our nation will eagerly gather to watch journalists grill those seeking to lead us. Try that in 85% of the rest of the world. 9/11 and our collective memories The horrors of September 11, 2001, left nearly 3,000 people dead in New York, Washington, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Mainers died that day. In the Iraq and Afghan wars that followed, 48 more active-duty soldiers, Marines, Airmen and women, and sailors from Maine gave what Abe Lincoln once called their last full measure of devotion. While America and the world continue to wrestle with the meaning of those conflicts, the fact is that the al Qaeda terrorist network has largely been neutralized. But the pain from those wars endures. Which brings us to A recent incident at Arlington National Cemetery Former President Donald Trumps behavior at our most sacred burial ground was obscene. His staff pushed a cemetery official, filmed an election campaign ad, and posed for grinning photos at the graves of soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan. If you havent followed Trumps history of disrespecting service membersinsulting the late senator and POW John McCain, bullying Gold Star families, or calling fallen soldiers suckers and losershis Arlington photo shoot is worth your time. Look it up: Trump, Arlington, thumb. Arlington is row upon row of white marble headstones marking the final resting place for over 400,000 Americans. That simplicity weaves each sacrifice into a larger whole our nation bound together by all who have served. Arlington takes your breath away. We are 9/11 vets who have formed a coalition of diverse veterans organizations to advocate for free and fair elections this November. We send our condolences to the families who recently gathered with Trump to remember their deceased kin. We understand their anger over the futility of lives lost in the evacuation of Kabul. But Trumpthe draft dodgerhanging over their white marble graves with a leering smile and thumbs up as if Arlington was a used car lot, is extraordinary. How did we, as a people, get here? Somehow, Trumps power as a politician comes from his ability to make Americas free press go crazy covering his hostility and outrages. And in a way that is hard to pin downbut we all feelhe leverages anger towards those 9/11 wars that drained a certain part of Americas soul. It remains for history to untangle why, just before our nations 250th birthday, America is considering as its leader an angry old casino developer/reality TV star who sent a mob to attack the U.S. Capitol last time he lost an election. The great thing is, everyone reading this has a chance. Turn the page. America is so much greater than Trump and his rage. Veterans and active-duty soldiers already have. A new poll, conducted just before Arlington, shows his support among us slipping again with a majority of those surveyed believing that Trump would falter in a combat situation. It also found he is one of the most unpopular Republican presidential candidates in decades. So read and participate in the free press. Say a prayer on 9/11. And most of all, go to Arlington someday and be awed by our countrys complexities and all those who sacrificed to make it possible. Trump visited and missed the whole point. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE CHICAGO A vigil was held Saturday night honoring the life of an 85-year-old grandmother whose body was found after she went missing last Sunday. Obviously we wish that she was here with us today, said Karina Juarez, granddaughter of Francisca Renteria. With candles in hand and shirts with her face, family and friends filled Wentworth Park to remember 85-year-old Renteria. She was just very sweet. Like I said, she just wanted to come here and be with her kids, and at least she got her wish to be with all of her kids, Juarez said. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Body of missing grandmother with dementia last seen on Southwest Side found Renteria, who had demenita, recently moved from Mexico to be with her family in Chicago. She was staying at a relatives home near 56th Street and Melvina in Garfield Ridge. She went missing last Sunday after walking out of the house. You all helped us have hope, said granddaughter Estephani Villa at the vigil. Community members united to search for Renteria, hoping to find her alive. Sadly, her body was found Wednesday. Everyone just helped us out so much, so we just thank you for being here, showing us what a community is showing us that we arent alone. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Renterias granddaughters said police do not suspect foul play in the case, but that she died of natural causes. We thank you all for joining us. Thank you for showing up, helping search, putting up fliers, and again trying to give us hope, Villa said. Renterias granddaughters said they hope to share more information about funeral services on Monday or Tuesday. There is also a GoFundMe page to help the family with expenses for the funeral. 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 WGN-TV. MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) A Virginia State Police trooper is facing multiple charges in Myrtle Beach after allegedly sexually assaulting a woman at a Grand Strand resort. Darren Hampton Roberts is accused of holding the woman against her will on a bed and assaulting her after an argument while they were at the Caribbean Resort and Villas at 3000 N. Ocean Blvd., according to information in a Myrtle Beach police report. The Virginia State Police confirmed to News13 on Thursday that Roberts is a trooper assigned to the Wytheville Division Area 24 Office in Pulaski County, Virginia. He has been placed on administrative leave without pay pending the outcome of the criminal investigation. The agency said it was notified of his arrest on Monday by Myrtle Beach police. The Myrtle Beach police report said Roberts and the woman knew each other and that officers noticed multiple injuries visible on her body during their investigation. Authorities have charged Hampton with kidnapping, first-degree criminal sexual assault and first-degree domestic violence. He was booked into the J. Reuben Arrested on Tuesday and released on Wednesday after posting a $20,000 bond on Wednesday. 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 Queen City News. VP Kamala Harris returning to Charlotte for a post-debate event. What we know Vice President Kamala Harris is headed back to Charlotte. The Democratic presidential candidate will hold events in Charlotte and Greensboro Thursday to kick off a nationwide campaign swing following her first debate with former President Donald Trump, a Harris campaign official confirmed Sunday to The Charlotte Observer. Additional details about the events were not immediately available. Harris and Trump will debate at 9 p.m. Tuesday night, moderated by ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis. The New Way Forward Tour will launch in North Carolina Thursday and also include events in other battleground states featuring Harris, her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and their spouses. Both presidential hopefuls have put an emphasis on the Tar Heel State. Trump visited Charlotte on Friday to accept an endorsement from the Fraternal Order of Police, and recently held rallies in Asheboro and Asheville. Harris has visited has visited North Carolina eight times in 2024, and Walz was in Raleigh in late August for a political event and campaign reception. Trump currently leads Harris by less than one percentage point in North Carolina, according to RealClearPolitics polling average. Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz arrives with his wife Gwen Walz as he is schedule to speak at Laborfest 2024 hosted by labor unions and union members of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council on Monday September 2, 2024 at Avflight Milwaukee in Milwaukee, Wis. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic nominee for vice president, will return to Wisconsin on Friday as part of the campaign's tour of swing states after the Tuesday debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. More: Here's how to watch the first debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump The Harris-Walz campaign has not yet said where Walz will be in Wisconsin, or what time. Walz is also expected to be in Michigan on Friday. The campaign said Harris, Walz and other surrogates will visit every media market in each battleground state Thursday through Sunday. Harris will visit North Carolina and Pennsylvania. The campaign is billing the swing as the "New Way Forward" tour and will air a new ad with the same name in battleground states, including Wisconsin. The ad will focus on Harris' pitch for a federal ban on price gouging on food, capping the cost of prescription drugs, and ending the affordable housing shortage, the campaign said. Walz's last stop to Wisconsin was on Labor Day, when he gave remarks at Milwaukee's Laborfest. Both campaigns have visited Wisconsin frequently in the run-up to Election Day, including Trump's rally in Mosinee over the weekend. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tim Walz will visit Wisconsin Friday after first Harris-Trump debate (Bloomberg) -- Nebraska wasnt on anyones election-year bingo card but Warren Buffetts home state is quickly emerging as a battleground for party control of Congress and perhaps even the White House. Most Read from Bloomberg Shifting political dynamics in the solidly Republican state have put at least one Senate and one House race in play, as Democrats also mount a bid to claim one of the states Electoral College votes in the presidential election even as Donald Trump holds a solid lead over Kamala Harris statewide. Heres what to watch: Fischer in Fight Republican Senator Deb Fischers third term is far from a certainty as independent Dan Osborn, a union leader, mounts a formidable challenge. The latest SurveyUSA poll of the state shows Fischer holds just a 1 percentage point lead in the race with more than 20% of voters undecided a number that rarely bodes well for the incumbent. The Senate map isnt favorable for Democrats and picking up a seat in a Republican stronghold should the independent choose to caucus with them would be a major victory and boost their odds of holding onto their narrow majority. House Hopes Republican Don Bacon, a leading House moderate representing the Omaha area, trails in that same poll by 6 percentage points to Democrat Tony Vargas, a state senator and the same opponent he defeated in 2022. On Friday, the non-partisan Cook Political Report moved Bacons rematch to toss-up, reflecting Vargas growing popularity among voters. Democrats need a net pick-up of just five House seats nationally not counting vacancies that opened up since the last election to take the chambers majority. Blue Dot Nebraska divvies up three of its five Electoral College votes based on the winner in each congressional district, giving outsize importance to the blue dot of Omaha. Joe Biden won the district in 2020. Trump won in 2016. Utah Senator Mitt Romney took it as a presidential candidate in 2012. And former President Barack Obama won in 2008. Omahas lone vote would clinch the presidency for Harris if she wins Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, but none of the other battlegrounds, and holds all the reliable Democratic states. Both the Harris and Trump campaigns have boosted their presence and other activities in the area, where some polls show Harris leading Trump. Motivated Voters Aside from deciding on the candidates, Nebraskans will vote on two dueling constitutional amendments on abortion, an issue that has particularly mobilized Democratic voters in the first presidential election cycle since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. An initiative legalizing medical marijuana use now appears to have enough signatures to make the ballot, another factor that has been distinctly in Democrats favor. Osborn, the independent Senate candidate, opposes a federal abortion ban and supports legalizing marijuana, both issues that have shown broad crossover appeal even in Republican states. Walz Factor Harris running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, grew up on a farm in Nebraska. That, combined with his longtime championing of agriculture issues, could go a long way with voters in the state. During his six terms in Congress, Walz helped write three farm bills. As governor, he has advocated for policies aimed at boosting crop-based renewable fuels like corn ethanol. You can take the man out of Nebraska ... but you cant take Nebraska out of the man, Gwen Walz, the governors wife, said while attending an event in Omaha with her husband in August. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. How to watch the Philadelphia Harris-Trump debate: On TV, streaming and at debate watch parties Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.(Photos: Seth Wenig-Pool/Getty Images; Jim Vondruska/Getty Images) As former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris prepare for their first and possibly only presidential debate on Tuesday in Philadelphia, the Harris-Walz campaign and supporters will be hosting some 280 debate night watch parties statewide. The Harris-Walz watch parties cover nearly all 67 Pennsylvania counties, and follow the campaigns weekend get-out-the-vote drive across the state that included canvass launches and phone banking events. A Trump campaign spokesperson told the Capital-Star in an email he did not have details about any open press debate watch parties as of Sunday afternoon. The Republican National Committees TrumpForce 47 grassroots organizing site lists several debate watch parties in Pennsylvania on Tuesday. The debate at Philadelphias National Constitution Center will air live on ABC at 9 p.m. Tuesday, and stream live on ABC News Live, Disney Plus and Hulu. ABC journalists David Muir and Linsey Davis will serve as moderators; there will be no live audience and the candidates mics will be muted when it is not their turn to speak. The June 27 debate between Trump and President Joe Biden, who was then the Democrats nominee, went poorly for the incumbent. Biden gave halting, unclear answers to some questions and appeared confused. The performance prompted Democrats to call for Biden to step aside in favor of another candidate, which he did on July 21. He immediately endorsed Harris. The candidates and their running mates have spent considerable time in Pennsylvania as the campaign enters the home stretch, with its 19 electoral votes seen as key for either candidate. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic nominee for vice president, was in Lancaster and Pittsburgh on Wednesday and Erie on Thursday, while second gentleman Doug Emhoff campaigned in Allentown on Saturday. Trump was last in Pennsylvania on Wednesday when he taped a Fox News interview in Harrisburg. Harris has been working on debate prep in Pittsburgh, and on Saturday stopped at Penzeys Spices in the citys Strip District neighborhood, where she chatted with voters and bought some spices. Trump held a campaign rally in rural Wisconsin on Saturday where he promised tariffs and claimed, without citing evidence, that undocumented immigrants posed a threat to Wisconsin. A new Times-Siena poll released Sunday showed Harris with a slight lead over Trump in Pennsylvania, but Trump with an edge at the national level. This article was updated at 6:25 p.m. Sept. 8, 2024 with information from the Trump campaign ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) Saturday, folks in Webster celebrated the fifth annual Barrys Irish Festival. Our favorite part about this event at Barrys Irish Festival is seeing every single person and every single smile that comes through that door and being able to say hi to them and really make that part of our own day, Jessica Barry said. There was plenty to see and do, including a Best Kilt contest, as well as live Irish music and dancers. The Barry said they felt extremely grateful to have so many people coming out in support of them. Its great that you get to showcase all the wonderful talent that is in our community. We have so many wonderful Irish musicians, Irish dancers its unbelievable, Danny Barry said. Its wonderful to see how people take to it and celebrate together, its very, very much a Barrys family here, its wonderful. This event ran from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. at the Webster Firemens Field. Organizers noted, a portion of the festivals proceeds will go to first responders and the Rochester American-Irish Heritage and Culture Center. 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 RochesterFirst. Wednesday house fire in Laurens Co. leaves one dead LAURENS COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) The Laurens City Fire Department responded to a house fire on Wednesday evening, on Cora Street. Fire Chief, Neal Roberts, said that neighbors pulled the victim out of the fire. The victim was identified as 86-year-old Emma Jean Jessie Simmons, of Laurens. Simmons was airlifted to Greenville Memorial and later flown to Augusta Burn Center to receive further treatment, the Laurens County Coroners Office said. Simmons succumbed to her injuries on Thursday. The Laurens County Coroners Office said an autopsy will be conducted on Monday to determine the cause of death. 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 WSPA 7NEWS. BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) On This Week in Louisiana Politics, the Orleans Parish District Attorney is coming under fire for his work to right what he calls past wrongs in some convictions. He has had many re-sentencings that the legislature is taking a closer look at. This month, the latest round of funds for people along the coast to strengthen their roofs is opening up. See how many people have been served so far and who is eligible. Later in the show, Shannon Heckt sits down with Congressman Garret Graves to hear about his last push during his term to reform Social Security and eliminate two provisions that often reduce peoples benefits. US Rep. Garret Graves makes last push to reform Social Security, help people get more money Latest News 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 BRProud.com. Over the next two months, approximately 9,80,000 ration cardholders in the state will receive an extra 10 kilogrammes of rice per ration card. This initiative has been taken with an aim to support flood-affected families by ensuring they have access to essential food supplies during the recovery period, stated Tripura CMO. State officials have urged eligible citizens to collect their additional rice from designated ration distribution centres. This move is part of a broader relief effort to mitigate the impact of the floods on vulnerable communities, stated Tripura CMO. Earlier, CM Saha announced a special package of Rs 564 crore for the flood-affected areas and people in the state. On Wednesday, CM Saha said that Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has pledged financial assistance of Rs 5 crore for flood relief efforts in the northeast state. In a phone conversation on Wednesday evening, CM Majhi expressed his condolences to CM Saha for the devastation caused by the recent natural calamities in the state. During their discussion, the Odisha Chief Minister offered a hand of cooperation for post-disaster recovery and pledged assistance of Rs 5 crore to support Tripura's relief efforts, Tripura CMO stated. Following continuous rainfall and unprecedented floods since August 19 in the state, 31 people have lost their lives, and over 72,000 people have been displaced so far, according to a press release by the State Relief, Rehabilitation and Disaster Management Department. As per a government statement, a total of 492 relief camps had been set up by the district administration, providing shelter to the people displaced by the floods. Clothing has also been distributed to about 300 needy people in the Amarpur and Karbook sub-divisions. (ANI) Western air defence should shoot down Russian UAVs and missiles over Ukraine Ukraine's Foreign Minister Ukraines Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the West should enhance its assistance for Ukraine following the recent occurrences of Russian drones landing on NATO territory. Source: Sybiha on Twitter (X), as reported by European Pravda Details: According to Sybiha, Russian drones' violations of Romanian and Latvian airspace serve as a reminder that the Russian Federation's hostile acts extend beyond Ukraine. Quote: "The collective response of the Allies should be to support Ukraine as much as possible now in order to put an end to the aggression of the Russian Federation, protect life and preserve peace in Europe. For this, Ukraine needs concrete actions of its allies," he stressed. Among such moves, Sybiha cited the West's decision to utilise its air defence to shoot down Russian missiles and drones over Ukraine, as well as increased assistance to Ukraine's Armed Forces and the removal of restrictions on Kyiv's use of weapons. "Act now," the minister concluded. Background: After a Russian attack on Ukraine on the night of 7-8 September, Romania said a drone violated its airspace. The wreckage is being searched for on its territory. Latvia also said it had found a broken Russian military drone in the east of the country and launched an investigation. Support UP or become our patron! Where did Missouri get its name from? ST. LOUIS Missouri features many treasures residents and visitors love, including the Gateway Arch, food, culture, and its large variety of caves. How did the Show-Me-State get its name? The Missouri name was initially recorded during an exploration down the Mississippi River by French missionary Jacques Marquette and explorer Louis Jolliet in 1673. According to the Missouri State Parks, when the duo came across an unknown river from the northwest, they encountered a large tribe of Native Americans that lived upstream. The tribe was named the Missouri. According to the Missouri Secretary of State, the Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology has stated that the phrase was referred to as the towns of the large canoes, and other native people often referred to the tribe as wooden canoe people or he of the big canoe. The Missouri were considered to be prairie dwellers and lived in massive, mat-covered houses that held 1525 people each. The newly discovered river Marquette and Joliet encountered was eventually named the Missouri River, in honor of the tribe living beside it. The tribe contributed significantly to the fur trade and often stopped traders from travelling through the Missouri River to obtain different items. As European settlers began to enter the area, disease and warfare with other tribes took a toll on the Missouri tribe. By 1758, about 750 Missouri remained alive before the surviving members of the tribe were moved to Nebraska, according to the Missouri State Parks. With all of the contributions the tribe made to the region, The Missouri name began to stick as the region became known as the Missouri Territory in 1812, before eventually being officially adopted as the state of Missouri in 1821. Today, Missouri is populated with over 6 million people that call it home. Whether residents refer to the state as Missour-ee and Missour-uh, there are over 68,000 square miles that can be explored. 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 FOX 2. Whooping cough cases are up 169% this year in New York City: CDC NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) Cases of whooping cough have spiked this year in New York City, according to data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Whooping cough cases are up 169% so far this year as compared to 2023, according to CDC data. The city has reported 427 cases in 2024, a jump from 159 cases in the same period last year. Person in NY dies from listeria outbreak linked to Boars Head deli meats: CDC The entire state of New York has seen an even bigger spike, with cases up over 300% so far this year, CDC data show. New Jersey saw a far less dramatic increase, jumping only to 128 cases this year compared to 110 last year. In total, the country has logged over 11,000 cases of whooping cough in 2024, compared to just over 3,000 in 2023. Whooping cough is highly contagious and can cause coughs that last weeks or months. It can cause a runny nose, low-grade fever, exhaustion, coughing fits that empty the lungs and vomiting. Students at New York City Public Schools are required to have a pertussis, or whooping cough, vaccine for elementary school and a booster for middle and high school. Adults are also recommended to get vaccinated, especially if they interact with infants under 1 year old, according to the citys Department of Health. Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter from Los Angeles who has covered New York City since 2023. She joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here. 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 PIX11. Wildfires can create their own weather, including thunderstorms and tornado-like fire whirls an atmospheric scientist explains how Wildfire blowups, fire whirls, towering thunderstorms: When fires get large and hot enough, they can actually create their own weather. In these extreme fire situations, firefighters ordinary methods to directly control the fire dont work, and wildfires burn out of control. But how can a fire create weather? Im an atmospheric scientist who uses data collected by satellites in weather prediction models to better anticipate extreme fire weather phenomena. Satellite data shows fire-produced thunderstorms are much more common than anyone realized just a few years ago. Heres whats happening. The wildfire and weather connections Imagine a wildland landscape with dry grasses, brush and trees. A spark lands, perhaps from lightning or a tree branch hitting a power line. If the weather is hot, dry and windy, that spark could quickly ignite a wildfire. When vegetation burns, large amounts of heat are released. This heats the air near the ground, and that air rises like a hot air balloon because hot air is less dense than cool air. Cooler air then rushes in to fill the void left by rising air. This is how wildfires create their own wind patterns. Fires create their own wind patterns and weather as their heat rises. The illustration is based on a coupled fire-atmosphere computer model, WRF-SFIRE-CHEM. Adam Kochanski/San Jose State University/WIRC What happens next depends on the stability of the atmosphere. If the temperature cools rapidly with elevation above the ground, then the rising air will always be warmer than its surroundings and it will keep rising. If it rises high enough, the moisture will condense, forming a cloud known as a pyrocumulus or flammagenitus. If the air keeps rising, at some point the condensed moisture will freeze. Once a cloud has both liquid and frozen water particles, collisions among these particles can lead to electrical charge separation. If the charge buildup is large enough, an electrical discharge better known as lightning will occur to neutralize the charges. Whether a fire-induced cloud will become a thunderstorm depends on three key ingredients: a source of lift, instability and moisture. Dry lightning Wildfire environments typically have limited moisture. When conditions in the lower atmosphere are dry, this can lead to whats known as dry lightning. No one living in a wildfire-prone environment wants to see dry lightning. It occurs when a thunderstorm produces lightning, but the precipitation evaporates before reaching the ground. That means there is no rain to help put out any lightning-sparked fires. Fire whirls As air rises in the atmosphere, it may encounter different wind speeds and directions, a condition known as wind shear. This can cause the air to spin. The rising air can tilt the spin to vertical, resembling a tornado. These fire whirls can have powerful winds that can spread flaming ash, sparking new areas of fire. They usually are not true tornadoes, however, because they arent associated with rotating thunderstorms. Decaying storms Eventually, the thunderstorm triggered by the wildfire will begin to die, and what went up will come back down. The downdraft from the decaying thunderstorm can produce erratic winds on the ground, further spreading the fire in directions that can be hard to predict. When fires create their own weather, their behavior can become more unpredictable and erratic, which only amplifies their threat to residents and firefighters battling the blaze. Anticipating changes to fire behavior is important to everyones safety. Satellites show fire-created weather isnt so rare Meteorologists recognized the ability of fires to create thunderstorms in the late 1990s. But it wasnt until the launch of the GOES-R Series satellites in 2017 that scientists had the high-resolution images necessary to see that fire-induced weather is actually commonplace. Today, these satellites can alert firefighters to a new blaze even before phone calls to 911. Thats important, because there is an increasing trend in the number, size and frequency of wildfires across the United States. Climate change and rising fire risks Heat waves and drought risk have been increasing in North America, with rising global temperatures more frequently leaving dry landscapes and forests primed to burn. And climate model experiments indicate that human-caused climate change will continue to raise that risk. As more people move into fire-risk areas in this warming climate, the risk of fires starting is also rising. With fires come cascading hazards that persist long after the fire is out, such as burn-scarred landscapes that are much more susceptible to landslides and debris flows that can affect water quality and ecosystems. Communities can reduce their vulnerability to fire damage by building defensible spaces and firebreaks and making homes and property less vulnerable. Firefighters can also reduce the surrounding fuel loads with prescribed fire. Its important to remember that fire is a natural part of the Earth system. As fire scientist Stephen J. Pyne writes, we as humans will have to reorient our relationship with fire so we can learn to live with fire. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Kyle Hilburn, Colorado State University Read more: Kyle Hilburn receives funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. GARY, Ind. A woman from Merrillville, Indiana, was killed in a two-vehicle crash on I-80 early Saturday morning. Indiana State Police said the crash happened at around 3:50 a.m. near the 8.4 mile-marker on I-80. A silver Hyundai Santa Fe rear-ended a white Lazy Boy box truck in the right center lane. The initial investigation indicated the Hyundai was traveling at a high rate of speed when it hit the box truck. The box truck then lost control and crashed into the center median wall, knocking down a light pole, according to investigators. Bicyclist killed in north suburban hit-and-run crash Authorities said the box truck then crossed all lanes of traffic before crashing into a right ditch. After the initial impact, investigators said the driver of the Hyundai was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene, while the Hyundai continued to head east for about a quarter mile before coming to an uncontrolled stop. The driver of the Hyundai has been identified as 25-year-old Darya Foster. The driver and passenger of the box truck were taken to Methodist Northlake Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. 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 WGN-TV. FORT SCOTT, Kan. Cervical health awareness is the focus today in Southeast Kansas. The Womens Health Fair kicked off at 8:00 a.m., Saturday morning at the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas clinic in Fort Scott. Women 21 through 65 were able to get a screening and learn about cervical cancer. CHC/SEK staff provided information about mammograms, pelvic floor therapy, vaccines, and colorectal health. Attendees could also take a Pap-smear, early detection works, and get immunized for HPV and the flu. Just trying to reach out to women. Um, you know, we have all women providers today, so women treating women, trying to make it as comfortable and pleasant experience as possible, said Holly Gault M.D., CHC/SEK physician. Gault says this marks the third cervical cancer screening event hosted in Southeast Kansas, with previous events in Pittsburg and Iola. The next womens health fair in Southeast Kansas will be hosted in Coffeyville. 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 KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. CORRECTIONVILLE, Iowa (KCAU) The Woodbury County Conservation Board hosted a citizen scientist project this morning at Little Sioux Park. Folks of all ages helped safely tag monarch butterflies in preparation for their upcoming migration to Mexico. With insect nets in hand, participants were able to be scientists for a day and be part of the conservation efforts for the monarchs. Sioux City Public Library offering new book bundle service It just helps provide data for the scientists that are studying the monarchs, said Woodbury County Conservation naturalist Kari Sandage. As we all know, their population is declining, so by doing this we can help track their population and get a little more research on the monarchs. Woodbury Parks will be hosting another monarch tagging event at the Sioux City Prairie on September 12 at 6 pm. 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 SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. People from the Indian diaspora protest the rape and murder of a trainee medic in Kolkata last month, in Stockholm People from the Indian diaspora protest the rape and murder of a trainee medic in Kolkata last month, in Stockholm By Supantha Mukherjee and Abhirup Roy (Reuters) -Thousands of diaspora Indians protested in more than 130 cities across 25 countries on Sunday, organisers said, to demand justice after last month's rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a hospital in the city of Kolkata. The protests started in large and small groups across Japan, Australia, Taiwan and Singapore, before spreading to cities in Europe and the U.S. They added to ongoing nationwide protests in India after the Aug. 9 killing of the 31-year-old postgraduate student of chest medicine. A suspect has been arrested along with the former principal of R.G. Kar Medical College where the victim was studying. "The news of this heinous crime committed on a young trainee doctor while on duty numbed and shocked each of us at the sheer ruthlessness, brutality and disregard of human life," said Dipti Jain, an organiser of the global protests. The doctor had retired to sleep on a piece of carpet in a seminar room after a marathon 36-hour shift, given the lack of dorms or resting rooms. She was later found bleeding from her eyes and mouth, with injuries to her legs, stomach, ankles, her right hand and finger, according to a doctor's inquest report accessed by Reuters. Hundreds of protesters gathered in several cities in the San Francisco Bay Area, demanding accountability for the crime and safety for Indian women. In Dublin, California, about 35 miles (56 km) east of San Francisco, protesters formed a human chain, shouting slogans and waving placards that read "We demand justice" and "Shout it loud, shout it far, justice for R.G. Kar". People across ages, including young children and seniors, recited poems and took part in a street theatre. "While we do want women's safety, this is about the safety of everyone at their workplaces," said Sukalpa Chowdhury, a 39-year-old physician who joined the protests in Dublin. "How can we have our future generations, who will go to the same institutes, feel safe, get a good education and serve society? That is a big concern for everyone." At another protest in the Swedish capital Stockholm, scores of mainly black-clad women gathered in Sergels Torg square to sing songs in Bengali and hold signs. Although tougher laws were introduced after the 2012 gruesome gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in New Delhi, activists say the Kolkata case shows how women continue to suffer from sexual violence. India's federal police are investigating the crime but are yet to file charges. The country's Supreme Court created a hospital safety task force last month to recommend steps to ensure medical workers' safety. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm and Abhirup Roy in Dublin, California; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Stephen Coates) CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) The West Virginia Black Heritage Festival was in full swing in downtown Clarksburg on Saturday showcasing its history. The Main Street area in front of the courthouse saw plenty of singing, food truck, and vendors for everyone to visit and enjoy. Some of the food at the festival included Catfish, ribs, and collard greens. Festival officials said they kicked off the celebration by crowning West Virginias Black Heritage Festival King and Queen and expressed the importance of taking time to celebrate ones heritage, especially in the Mountain State. Preston County Buckwheat Festival adding modern take on traditional buckwheat cakes In 1990 the Kelly Miller Alumni Association was discussing fund-raising ideas and that evolved into what we know today as the West Virginia Black Heritage Festival. Chairman of the Board of Directors of the festival James Griffin reflected on its history. We know weve come this far by faith, and we always want to take time to thank God for bringing us to where we are, Griffin said. Oftentimes when youre out of West Virginia and youre a native West Virginian and you mention West Virginia people kind of give you a little snicker, but weve made a lot of contributions here in West Virginia. The festival will wrap up Sunday evening. Officials invite everyone to attend the festival, where they can enjoy the family-friendly atmosphere. 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 WBOY.com. The arrest was made during a naka of police established at Kallar Chowk on Jammu Rajouri Poonch national highway, said police. During naka checking, a team of police was conducting frisking of vehicles and pedestrians when a man tried to escape from the spot after noticing the naka team, said police. Upon his suspicious movement, cops managed to intercept him, and subsequently he was detained, and during frisking, a consignment of narcotics, nine kilogrammes and likely Ganja, was recovered that has been seized subsequently, police added. Accused Umesh Kumar Sahu, a resident of Chhattisgarh, has been arrested, and a case under FIR 390/2024 U/Ss 8/20 NDPS Act has been registered in Rajouri, informed police. The recovery has been made by a team of police under the supervision of Deputy SP Headquarters Satish Kumar and SHO Rajouri Abid Shah, said police. SSP Rajouri Randeep Kumar said that tightening noose against drugs and narcotics peddlers is among the top priorities of police, and a number of FIRs have been registered in this contest in the recent past. He further appealed to people to share information about people involved in this crime and said that people can approach the District Police Office (DPO) directly to share information, further assuring that their identity will be kept completely secret. (ANI) Spectators brave the weather during the AJ Bell Great North Run 2024 through Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead and South Shields [Richard Sellers/PA Wire] Flood warnings are in place across parts of England and Wales as heavy rain continues throughout the weekend. The Environment Agency has issued 17 flood alerts for England, most of which are in the north Midlands and the south west, while Natural Resources Wales issued 11 food alerts for the country's southern regions. The Met Office has a yellow weather warning in place that covers most of southern England up to Stoke on Trent and Sheffield, and much of south and mid-Wales. Forecasters warned that spells of heavy, possibly thundery rain between 21:00 BST on Saturday and 18:00 BST on Sunday may cause flooding and disruption. "Given all the rain that has fallen recently across southern parts of the UK, this could result in some localised flash-flooding," senior BBC meteorologist Nikki Berry said. "However, some parts of the warning area may see little or no rainfall at all." It comes as people had to be rescued in parts of south Wales on Saturday, with a couple helped from their car as roads flooded following heavy rain. Another person was rescued by firefighters after their home was flooded in Bridgend. BBC Wales senior meteorologist Derek Brockway said a month's rain fell in 24 hours at Swansea's Victoria Park on Friday - which became the UK's wettest place. Some parts of south-east England also had more than half of their expected rainfall for the whole of September in 24 hours on Thursday and Friday. Goudhurst in Kent and Farnham in Surrey saw 29.4mm (1.16 inches) and 28.4mm (1.12 inches) respectively. Sunday's yellow warning for rain covers all of southern and central England up to South Yorkshire, and all of Wales' southern counties. The Met Office said areas of heavy and thundery rain over the weekend were expected to spread north, and then west, across England and Wales. These areas of heavy rain may become more persistent across western areas during Sunday daytime, while slow-moving heavy showers and thunderstorms are likely to develop further east, the Met Office said. There is a low chance that a few spots within the warning area could see 80 to100mm (3.1 inches to 3.9 inches) of rain by the end of Sunday. These higher totals are slightly more probable in the southern half of the warning area. A road near Cooden Beach railway station in Bexhill was flooded on Thursday [Bailey Moules] From Saturday evening there was heavy and thundery rain which cleared northwards across some southern parts of the UK overnight, according to the Met Office. Some of the more persistent rain has been affecting Wales, parts of the West Midlands and northern England, with Victoria Park in Swansea gaining further 38mm (1.4 inches) of rain overnight into Sunday. There has also been heavy rainfall in parts of Shropshire. Close to Shrewsbury, 47mm (1.8 inches) of rain has fallen so far since Sunday morning. The figure is well over half the September rainfall average of around 61mm (2.4 inches) for the region, according to the BBC Weather Centre. Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Dan Harris said: "Reminiscent of this time last week, the forecast for later this weekend comes with larger uncertainties than average. "This is due to a more complex than usual meteorological pattern involving multiple corridors of heavy, locally thundery rain revolving around a slow-moving area of low pressure." Mr Harris added that people should keep up-to-date with weather forecasts as warnings will be kept under review. Motoring enthusiasts shield from the heavy downpours as they attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival near Chichester [ Reuters] What about next week? "The rain and showers will ease through this evening and overnight as low pressure responsible slides away to the east," BBC Weather Centre Meteorologist Gareth Harvey said. "An Atlantic low pressure system will bring some rain to the north of the UK going through Monday into Monday night. This clears to the south and east during Tuesday, ushering in much cooler air to the whole of the UK," he added. However, he warned that showers "will be plentiful around the middle of the week, especially so towards the north-west", with the air potentially "cold enough for some snowfall mixed in with some of the showers over the highest Scottish mountain peaks". Follow BBC Surrey on Facebook, and on X. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. More on this story: Related internet links: YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) The music was loud and drinks were flowing for a cause throughout Saturday in Youngstown. The Pabstolutely 17 fundraiser for Golden String Radio took place from noon to midnight at Royal Oaks. Golden String Radio is a station run by adults with disabilities. Many different bands performed at the event to raise money for the organization. It brings visibility to our folks and our community, and people need to know that were out there and we need help, Justin Arroyo. Anyone who wants to help can go to Golden String Radios website. Wilson Corbisello contributed to this report. 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 WKBN.com. President Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed his speechwriter Dmytro Lytvyn and former Strategic Industries Minister Alexander Kamyshin as his new advisors as part of a major government reshuffle, according to presidential decrees published online. Zelensky also appointed Iryna Vereshchuk, former head of the Reintegration Ministry, and Viktor Mykyta, former head of the Zakarpattia Oblast Military Administration as new deputies to Andriy Yermak, the head of the Presidential Office. Ukraine's parliament approved Kamyshin's resignation on Sept. 4. He had been in his post at the Strategic Industries Ministry since March 2023 and had been tasked with bolstering Ukraine's domestic weapons production. Following Kamyshin's resignation, Herman Smetanin currently heads the ministry. The dismissals of Vereshchuk and Mykyta were announced on Sept. 5 and 6, respectively. Before Vereshchuk's appointment as Yermak's deputy, she was head of the Reintegration of Occupied Territories Ministry for nearly three years. The government is currently reforming the ministry, which has the working title "Ministry for Bringing Ukrainians Home." Mykyta served in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) before being appointed the head of the southwestern Zakarpattia Oblast in 2021. Read also: Whos who in Ukraines biggest wartime government reshuffle Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting with the US congressional delegation in Italy on 6 September. Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that he discussed "some details" of Ukraines victory plan with the US congressional delegation in Italy. The plan will be presented to US President Joe Biden and presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Source: President Zelenskyys evening address on 8 September Quote from Zelenskyy: "On the sidelines of the [Ambrosetti] Forum in Italy, I met with a delegation of the US Congress. We talked, in particular, about the victory plan for Ukraine about some of its details, and we will present all the steps to US President Biden and both presidential candidates, Trump and Harris, in full. Our main focus now, at the beginning of the fall, is to strengthen the positions of Ukraine and Ukrainians as much as possible, protect our cities and villages from Russian terror, and, of course, provide more capabilities for our warriors on the frontlines." Details: Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine is "really counting" on the outcomes of the upcoming conversation with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. He added that negotiations with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are also important for Ukraine. Background: On 27 August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he will present Ukraines plan for victory to US President Joe Biden in September and will also pass it on to US presidential candidates. Support UP or become our patron! Throughout my tenure representing Greenville County, I've been deeply committed to driving positive change and fostering innovation in our community. From my early days on Greenville City Council to my current role serving on the House Ways and Means Committee, I've consistently advocated for initiatives that empower South Carolinians and harness the transformative power of technology. An example of the innovative spirit that thrives in Greenville can be seen in local businesses like Cogito and Bandwagon Fanclub, Inc. Cogito, a pioneering biomedical-neuroinformatics company based in our city, produces non-invasive wearable devices for cognitive and physiological awareness. It is committed to serving our military and health-care sectors with real-time decision support systems, highlighting the crucial role of cutting-edge technology in critical fields. Bandwagon Fanclub, Inc., also based in Greenville, is an experience technology company that revolutionizes how fans engage with events. It offers unique solutions that enhance event experiences and allow brands to access and purchase user-generated content easily. Its innovative Proof of Experience blockchain ensures authenticity and security, leveraging real-time data to augment the content provided. As we celebrate these successes, we must also remain vigilant against restrictive policies that threaten to stifle innovation and undermine our progress. Congress is considering legislation that could restrict access to essential tech platforms, posing a significant threat to small businesses and entrepreneurs in our community. As someone deeply invested in South Carolina's economic development, I urge policymakers to approach any proposed legislation with careful consideration of its potential impacts on innovation and economic growth. We must continue to advocate for policies that protect an open internet and support the continued success of small businesses. Instead of stifling innovation, we should be exploring ways to nurture it, ensuring that our community remains competitive on both a national and global scale. Our commitment to technological innovation is not just a matter of economic prosperity; it is essential to every individual and family in our community relying on technology for communication, recreation, and quality-of-life. As leaders, it's our responsibility to champion initiatives that drive innovation, empower our citizens, and foster economic growth. Chandra Dillard Greenville The writer represents District 23 in the South Carolina House of Representatives. This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Why leaders must help small businesses thrive in digital revolution When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: TWiT On Episode 127 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik talk with Max Haot of VAST about his company's first space station. We all know the ISS is living its last days and will be deorbited sometime around 2030... but what's coming up next? Max Haot of VAST joins us to discuss his company's first space station, called Haven-1, set to launch in 2025. For a company just just a few years old, VAST has made impressive progress toward what is likely to be the first private crewed space station in history. Subsequent plans include a larger orbital habitat with artificial gravity and much more. It's an exciting time in Space 2.0, and companies like VAST are leading the way! Join us for this fascinating hour. Download or subscribe to this show at: https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space. Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Space news of the week Model Falcon 9! TOP TELESCOPE PICK: A Celestron telescope on a white background Looking for a telescope to see planets and comets? We recommend the Celestron Astro Fi 102 as the top pick in our best beginner's telescope guide. Finally, did you know you can launch your own SpaceX rocket? Model rocket maker Estes' stunning scale model of a Falcon 9 rocket that you can pick up now. The launchable model is a detailed recreation of the Falcon 9 and retails for $149.99. You can save 10% by using the code IN-COLLECTSPACE at checkout, courtesy of our partners collectSPACE.com. About This Week In Space This Week in Space covers the new space age. Every Friday we take a deep dive into a fascinating topic. What's happening with the new race to the moon and other planets? When will SpaceX really send people to Mars? Join Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik from Space.com as they tackle those questions and more each week on Friday afternoons. You can subscribe today on your favorite podcatcher. A Siliguri court on Saturday awarded the death penalty to a convict in the 2023 rape and murder case of a minor girl. An Additional district and sessions Judge on Saturday sentenced MD Abbas to death within the 13 months after the minor was brutally raped and murdered in 2023. The Additional Sessions Judge Anita Meherotra Mathur came to the end of the case after recording 33 witnesses and prosecution's arguments. Speaking to ANI, Special Public Prosecutor Bivas Chatterjee said, "On the last occasion, we pleaded for the death sentence because three sections on which the punishment was proved among the other sections carries a maximum punishment. So last day I had a one-and-a-half hour hearing on this point trying to project this case as one of the rarest of the rare cases." Bivas Chatterjee said that the death sentence was awarded in two consecutive sections - one is section 302, which is murder and another is section 6 of the POCSO Act. "The death sentence was awarded in two consecutive sections. One is section 302, which is murder and another is section 6 of the POCSO Act," Chatterjee said. The incident happened on August 21, 2023, when the minor girl, heading for school, was brutally raped and murdered in an abandoned area under the jurisdiction of the Matigara Police Station in Siliguri. The Matigara police launched an investigation and arrested MD Abbas within six hours of the crime. (ANI) A fire burning down the entire roof structure of a medical bloc at the Miskoltapolca thermal spa complex has been extinguished, a deputy spokeswoman of the regional disaster management authority said on Saturday. Nobody has been injured. The 800sqm building's roof caught fire on Friday evening, Zsuzsanna Rinyu told MTI. Firefighters arrived after 7.30pm at the scene where the fire broke out in the 2nd floor of the aquatherapy department and spread further to the roof, she said. The rescue operation was carried out with ten vehicles and a team of 40 firefighters and was concluded after midnight, Rinyu added. "It managed to prevent the fire's spreading to the nearby forest". Meanwhile, the new, incoming mayor of county seat Miskolc told a press conference on Saturday that the city would turn to the central government for help since the case "concerns lost tourism revenues and people's jobs". Jozsef Toth-Szantai said the next step to follow was to conduct an investigation to establish the cause of the fire and the damage caused. Hungary Around the Clock reports: Gov't Promises to Help Rebuild Miskolc Cave Baths The government will provide all possible help for rebuilding the cave baths that burnt down in Miskolctapolca on Friday, Economy Minister Marton Nagy told Miskolcs mayor-elect Jozsef Toth-Szantai. Nagy noted that the livelihoods of the staff and their families are in jeopardy as the baths a major tourist attraction are temporarily closing due to the restoration works and cannot receive any guests. Toth-Szantai told Nagy that the company spa operator assures staff that they can keep their jobs through reorganisation. He said tourists with reservations will be accommodated and cared for in other spas in Miskolc. About the Cave bath: The thermal water (temperature: 30C/86F) is reputed to reduce joint pain, and since it has a lower salt content than most thermal waters (around 1000 mg/liter), people can bathe in it for much longer, practically an unlimited amount of time. The Cave Bath can be visited all year long, except for January. The cave and the thermal spring have been known since ancient times, but Tapolca became a popular bathing place only after the Ottoman occupation of Hungary (16th-17th century). During this time the area belonged to the Greek Orthodox abbey of Goromboly; the development of Tapolca into a bathing place was the idea of the abbot in 1711. He also brought doctors from Kassa, today Kosice, Slovakia to examine the beneficial effects of the water. Three pools and an inn were constructed in 1723. The cave itself was not used yet, as the pools were outside. The water was colder than it is now, because the cold water springs of Tapolca (which now play an important role in providing Miskolc with drinking water) were used too. By the mid-18th century, after a short period of popularity, the bath was neglected and by the 19th century the buildings were in ruins. In 1837, the new abbot of Goromboly had the buildings restored and expanded. He also had the first indoor pool (though still outside the cave) built, but only for wealthy guests. Inside the cave bath In the early 20th century, the growing city of Miskolc bought the area from the Greek Orthodox Church not only because of the thermal water but also because of the drinking water source (which now provides half of the city's water supply). In the following years, new public baths were built. In 1934, Tapolca was officially recognised as a spa town. In 1939, the construction of a new bathing house began. During the construction, several archaeological findings were unearthed, and a new, previously unknown water spring was found with a water temperature of 31.5C. The thermal bath was opened in 1941 but the Cave Bath itself was opened only on 14 May 1959. Since then, the bath complex has been expanded several times. The outdoor pool and the characteristic, seashell-shaped roof before it were built in 1969. In the 1980s, new rooms and corridors were built, and warmer pools (34C and 36C) were constructed. The newest expansion of the bath complex started in 1998. Click here to virtually visit the Cave Bath MTI Stock Photo - for illustrative purposes only Source: MTI - The Hungarian News Agency, founded in 1881. ********************************* You're very welcome to comment, discuss and enjoy more stories via our Facebook page: Facebook.com/XpatLoopNews + via XpatLoops groups: Budapest Expats / Expats Hungary You can subscribe to our newsletter here: XpatLoop.com/Newsletters Do you want your business to reach tens of thousands of potential high-value expat customers? Then just contact us here! Ganesh Chaturthi, one of India's most beloved festivals, celebrates the birth of Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed deity of wisdom, prosperity, and new beginnings. Over the years, the way this festival is celebrated has evolved dramatically, reflecting Indias changing cultural, social, and political landscape. From private family rituals to grand public spectacles, the festival has grown in scale and significance, becoming a symbol of unity, devotion, and cultural pride. Ancient Beginnings of Ganesh Chaturthi: A Private Affair Ganesh Chaturthi has its roots in ancient India, where it was traditionally a private, household celebration. Families would install small clay idols of Lord Ganesha in their homes, perform simple rituals, offer sweets, and pray for prosperity and the removal of obstacles. These celebrations were intimate, centered around family and close friends, reflecting a personal connection to the deity. The Rise of Public Ganesh Chaturthi Celebrations: Bal Gangadhar Tilaks Vision The transformation of Ganesh Chaturthi from a private festival to a public celebration began in the late 19th century, during Indias struggle for independence. Freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak, recognizing the festivals potential to unite people across social and economic lines, popularized the idea of public Ganesh Utsavs in Maharashtra. In 1893, Tilak organized large, community-based celebrations to foster a sense of national unity and cultural pride among Indians. These public events became platforms for patriotic songs, speeches, and performances that subtly promoted Indias fight against British colonial rule. Tilaks vision gave Ganesh Chaturthi a new dimension, turning it into a symbol of resistance and solidarity, and forever changing how the festival was perceived and celebrated. Modern-Day Ganesh Chaturthi Spectacles: Grandeur and Innovation Today, Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated with unmatched grandeur across India, particularly in states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Gujarat. Cities like Mumbai become the epicenter of the festival, with massive pandals set up to host gigantic and elaborately decorated idols of Lord Ganesha, some reaching up to 20 feet tall. These pandals often reflect social themes, current events, or environmental messages, making each installation unique and thought-provoking. The festivals modern celebrations are characterized by processions, dance, music, and a sense of community involvement. Competitions for the best idol, the most creative pandal, and the most eco-friendly practices have become common, reflecting a blend of tradition and contemporary culture. Eco-Friendly Ganesh Chaturthi Initiatives: A New Wave of Conscious Celebrations In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the environmental impact of Ganesh Chaturthi, particularly regarding the immersion of idols made of non-biodegradable materials in water bodies. To address these concerns, many communities have shifted towards using eco-friendly idols made of clay, natural dyes, and biodegradable materials. These initiatives are aimed at preserving the sanctity of the festival while protecting the environment. Eco-friendly Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations now often include community clean-up drives, awareness campaigns, and workshops on sustainable practices, reflecting a responsible approach to festival traditions. The Global Spread: Ganesh Chaturthi Beyond India Ganesh Chaturthi has transcended national borders and is celebrated by Indian communities worldwide. From the United States and Canada to the UK, Australia, and the Middle East, the festival is a vibrant reminder of Indian culture and tradition. International celebrations often blend traditional Indian customs with local influences, creating a unique, multicultural experience. Ganesh Chaturthi 2024: A Festival of Unity and Cultural Pride Ganesh Chaturthis evolution from a private, home-based celebration to a grand public event showcases its enduring appeal and adaptability. It is not just a religious festival; it is a cultural phenomenon that unites people across social, economic, and geographical divides. Whether in a modest household setting or a bustling city street, the essence of Ganesh Chaturthi remains the same: a celebration of devotion, community, and the spirit of overcoming obstacles. As the festival continues to evolve, it retains its core values of faith, unity, and joy, making Ganesh Chaturthi not just a celebration of a deity but a vibrant expression of Indias cultural heritage. A court in Siliguri, West Bengal, sentenced a Rape-Murder convict named MD Abbas, to death for his involvement in the rape and murder of a minor girl On Saturday. The heinous crime, which occurred last year, has been met with a strict judicial response. Additional District and Sessions Judge Anita Mehrotra Mathur delivered the verdict after a thorough legal process. Crime Details The tragic incident took place on August 21, 2023, when a young girl was on her way to school. She was brutally raped and murdered in an isolated area within the jurisdiction of the Matigara Police Station. Swift police action led to the arrest of MD Abbas within six hours of the crime, reflecting the urgency and seriousness with which the authorities treated the case. Legal Proceedings Special Public Prosecutor Bivas Chatterjee argued for the death penalty, emphasizing the severity of the crime. He highlighted that the case involved charges under three sections, including Section 302 (murder) and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, both of which carry the maximum punishment. Chatterjee presented his case as one of the "rarest of the rare" instances, leading to a prolonged one-and-a-half-hour hearing focused on securing the death penalty. Judge Anita Mehrotra Mathur's judgment came after recording testimonies from 33 witnesses and meticulously considering the prosecution's case. This sentencing coincides with ongoing national protests over another high-profile case involving the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The case has drawn significant public and media attention. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has recently stated that the accused, Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer, acted alone and that there was no gang rape involved, contrary to earlier allegations. Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis won't be able to read Sharad Pawars mind even after 100 births and targeted Union minister Amit Shah, prompting a counter by BJP's Ashish Shelar. While Raut made jibes at Shah over his visit to Mumbais Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesh idol, Shelar demanded an apology from Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray alleging that the ex-chief minister had stopped public celebrations during the Ganesh festival citing COVID-19. Rauts remarks against Fadnavis came days after the deputy CM claimed that NCP (SP) Sharad Pawar had shortlisted three to four names for the CMs post ahead of the state elections, but Thackeray was not one of them. Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners Congerss, Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) have said that they would contest the Maharashtra polls, likely to be held in October or November, as one unit. Talking to reporters here, Raut said, In 2019, did Fadnavis know what Sharad Pawar was thinking and planning? Even if he is born 100 times, Fadnavis will fail to fathom what goes on in Sharad Pawar's head. If there is any courage left with the ruling dispensation in the state, they should give a call for the election. Sharad Pawar was instrumental in the creation of MVA to keep the BJP, then the single-largest party, out of power after the 2019 state polls. Raut alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah orchestrated the splits in parties in Maharashtra and "even within families leading these parties". The allegation has come in the wake of Deputy CM Ajit Pawar's recent statement that society frowns upon people who break their families. Ajit Pawar made the statement during a rally in Gadchiroli, where he tried to discourage party leader and state minister Dharmarao Baba Aatram's daughter Bhagyashri from crossing over to the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP). Raut said, Who broke political parties and families (in Maharashtra)? Modi and Shah engineered splits in political parties and even in families. They (CM Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar) fell prey to it. They should admit they were threatened, pressured, or lured to defect from their parties. Be it the undivided Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray or Sharad Pawars NCP, both parties gave ample opportunities to Shinde and Ajit Pawar for many years, but they chose to defect, claimed the Rajya Sabha MP. He criticised Shah over Manipur, accusing him of neglecting the northeastern state, and his Mumbai visit. Despite the fresh attacks in Manipur and the continued suffering of women, the union home minister is here in Mumbai. He (Shah) should go to Manipur, Jammu and Kashmir. What business does he have in Mumbai? He should show courage to visit Manipur, the Sena (UBT) leader said. At least seven persons have been killed and more than 15 injured in incidents of violence in Manipur in the last five days. Referring to Shahs visit to Lalbaugcha Raja, Raut said, We need to take care as they might relocate Lalbaughcha Raja to Gujarat as they did with the major industrial projects, institutions and organisations ... Is it their plan to weaken Maharashtra and support those who plunder the state? This is not the work of the home minister but he does it. BJPs Mumbai chief and MLA Ashish Shelar responded to Rauts jibes. Shelar said Thackeray as the then CM broke the age-old tradition of public celebration of Ganesh festival during the COVID-19 outbreak. You were the one to separate Ganesha devotees from their beloved Bappa. Hence, Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut must apologise to Lalbaugcha Raja and all Ganesh devotees, he said. Asking Raut to stop publicly exhibiting his ignorance, the BJP leader said he had crossed all limits of decency by criticising Shah, who has been visiting Mumbai to seek the blessings of Lalbaughcha Raja even when he was not a Union minister. Shah was not even the BJP president when he would travel to Mumbai to seek Bappas darshan, said Shelar, calling Rauts relocation of Lalbaucha Raja comment ridiculous. Raut seems to have forgotten that during the tenure of Uddhav Thackeray as the chief minister, the over 125-year-old tradition of Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav was broken, he said. Devotees were not allowed to take the darshan of Lalbaugcha Raja, said the BJP leader. Today, you might have forgotten that it was Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and your Sena that had plotted to stop Ganesh mandals from celebrating this festival forever. People of Maharashtra are still angry and have not forgotten it, he said. Shelar also slammed Raut over his comments against Fadnavis. It is you who is interested in knowing what is going on in ones head It is not our habit. The works done by Devendraji as an activist, a volunteer and a leader are immense, and they will lead Maharashtra on the path to progress in the years to come," said Shelar. Nobody in the BJP is interested in knowing what is going on in someones head, he said "It is your habit to peep into others homes to know whats cooking there, Shelar added. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Sunday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will form the government for the third term with a majority in the Haryana assembly elections. "After seeing the love and support of people, I can say that the BJP will form the government for the third term with the majority in the state...I will file my nomination on the 10th," the Chief Minister told reporters. Earlier, launching a blistering attack on the speculated alliance of Congress and AAP for the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections, CM Saini said on Thursday that both parties are completely indulged in corruption and just want to fill their pockets. He pointed out that Congress and AAP both are corrupt parties. There were scams during the Congress era, and Aam Aadmi party came to power saying that it was a corruption-free party, but unfortunately both the corrupt parties have joined their hands. Their agenda is not to work for the welfare of the people of Haryana; their agenda is to indulge in corruption and fill their pockets Meanwhile, the BJP also initiated a "Jan Samvad" campaigning programme in the state just ahead of the Assembly polls. BJP leaders and in-charges of Haryana have been given the responsibility to hold public dialogue with the people and give information about the public interest schemes of the government. The government will make all the answers to the questions related to the beneficiaries available to the public domain. An introduction booklet will also be prepared, which will be distributed among the people. The voting for the 90-member legislative assembly in Haryana will be held on October 5, with the last date for filing nominations being September 12. The counting of votes will take place on October 8. On August 31, the Election Commission of India (ECI) revised the polling date for the Haryana Assembly elections from October 1 to October 5, and moved the counting of votes for both the Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana assemblies from October 4 to October 8. (ANI) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the Trinamool Congress (TMC), alleging that a letter from TMC MP Jawhar Sircar to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee exposed that "TMC means Too Much Corruption." BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla a video on microblogging site X and claimed that Sircar's letter reveals that every institution in West Bengal has been "corroded with corruption" under Mamata Banerjee's government. "The letter by Jawhar Sircar, TMC MP, exposes dirt, corruption and dictatorial attitude within the TMC. TMC means 'too much corruption," he said in a shared video. The letter of Jawahar Sircar after statements of Sukhendu Shekhar & Shantanu Sen reflects following 1) TMC means Too Much Corruption Every institution has been corroded with corruption by Mamta Govt Speaking up on corruption gets you into trouble! 2) Mamata Govt priority pic.twitter.com/vo1hoSbU0P September 8, 2024 Reacting to the Kolkata doctor rape-murder case, he writes in a post that the Mamata government's priority was not "Nyay for Beti". "Mamata Govt priority in RG Kar case was not Nyay for Beti. It was an institutional cover up. There is total no confidence against her as the movement is a peoples movement yet TMC leaders abused the protestors and threatened them," the post read. BJP national spokesperson raised three questions in the post and also asked why Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka are still silent and they are not visiting the victims parent. Meanwhile, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said that this is Sircar's personal choice and decision and he has every right to take such a step. We have learned that Jawhar Sircar has made his decision. He was one of the finest bureaucrats in the country and a standout from West Bengal. This is his personal choice, decision, and letter, and he has every right to take such a step. We simply want to express that we, too, agree with the essence of his letter and the questions it raises. Ghosh told reporters in Kolkata. Ukraine-Russia War: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday that India and China can help find a solution to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. She made these comments after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Cernobbio, northern Italy. Her statement came just two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that India, Brazil, and China could act as mediators. "China and India have a role to play in resolving the conflict," Meloni said, according to Italian media. She emphasized that Ukraine should not be abandoned, saying, "What must not happen is to think that the conflict can be resolved by abandoning Ukraine to its fate." Meloni reaffirmed Italy's stance, saying, "The decision to support Kyiv is in line with Italy's national interest and will never change." On Thursday, Putin had mentioned at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok that he was in touch with India, Brazil, and China about the Ukraine situation. "I am in contact with my partners, and I have no doubt that the leaders of these countries... will be really interested and provide a helping hand," Putin said. His remarks came when asked about potential mediators for the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kyiv last month. During his visit, he told Zelenskyy that both Russia and Ukraine should start peace talks without delay and said India was ready to play an "active role" in restoring peace. Modi said that India has been on the side of peace since the beginning and that he would even like to contribute personally to resolving the crisis. His visit on August 23 was the first by an Indian prime minister to Ukraine since its independence in 1991. It followed a summit he held with Putin in Moscow six weeks earlier. National Conference leader and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah has accused the present government of failing to combat terrorism. While addressing a public meeting in Shopian district, South Kashmir he stated that if anyone has sacrificed in the fight against militancy, it is the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC). Abdullah expressed disappointment over the Prime Minister and Home Minister's statements and asserted that political differences should not distort the truth. He further questioned whether he needs to remind the Home Minister of the sacrifices made by NC members, who have been victims of terrorism. Responding to the Home Minister's claim that terrorism would increase if an NC-Congress government were formed, Abdullah said, "the Home Minister compared his own five-year tenure with Abdullahs six-year term to assess changes in terrorism trends." He stated that terrorism has been on the rise over the past five years and has affected districts across Jammu, including Kathua, Poonch, Rajouri, Udhampur, Reasi, and Doda. Abdullah reiterated the NC's commitment to restoring Article 370, pointing out that the Supreme Courts decision to revoke it was a departure from its previous rulings. He said, "if the BJP could maintain the issue for 20-25 years, the NC will continue to advocate for its restoration." Abdullah clarified that while he cannot predict when this might happen, the struggle will persist. Ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday announced the sixth list of ten candidates for the upcoming polls. The saffron party nominated RS Pathania to contest from the Udhampur East Assembly seat and Naseer Ahmad Lone to contest from Bandipora. As per the released candidate list, the BJP has also fielded Mohd Irnees Karnahi from Karnah, Ghulam Mohammad Mir from Handwara, Abdul Rashid Khan from Sonawari, Naseer Ahmad Lone from Bandipora, Faqir Mohammad Khan from Gurez (ST), and RS Pathania from Udhampur East. Political parties have geared up their electoral preparedness in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, where elections are scheduled for the third week of September. Polling in Kashmir is scheduled to be held in three phases starting from September 18, 25, and October 1 and the result is going to be declared on October 8. The National Conference and the People's Democratic Party have included the restoration of Article 370 in their manifestos. In contrast, the BJP has asserted that Article 370 is a matter of the past. The upcoming polls will be the first held in the Union Territory since the abrogation of Article 370. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah released the party manifesto in Jammu and launched a scathing attack on Congress and the National Conference's manifesto on Saturday. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has serious allegations against Dr Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. According to the CBI, Dr Ghosh manipulated the recruitment process for medical house staff, favouring certain candidates over others. The agency claims that Dr Ghosh implemented a system of interviews for house staff appointments, but there were no official interview panels. Instead, only the final marks from these interviews were released before recruitment decisions were made. This, the CBI alleges, allowed Dr Ghosh to compile a list of house staff that excluded many qualified medical trainees. Mismanagement of Contracts The investigation also highlights alleged misconduct regarding the awarding of contracts at the hospital. Dr. Ghosh is accused of awarding contracts to his associates in breach of established rules and procedures. The CBI has scrutinized the process by which the hospital's canteen contract was given to Nargis, the wife of Dr. Ghosh's security guard. The agency found that the contract was awarded to her company, Eshan Cafe, in a manner that contravened proper bidding procedures. Documents revealed that the bid amount was handwritten, and Dr. Ghosh even reportedly returned the non-refundable caution money to her firm. Arrests and Financial Irregularities Dr. Ghosh was arrested last month in connection with these financial irregularities. Alongside him, two vendors and his security guard have also been taken into custody. The CBI alleges that Dr. Ghosh had established a "criminal nexus" with these individuals to secure wrongful gains. The two vendors, who were previously known to Dr. Ghosh from his tenure at Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital, were reportedly favored for supplying materials to RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Evidence collected by the CBI indicates that this illicit network resulted in significant financial losses to the government. The scrutiny into RG Kar Medical College and Hospital's financial dealings intensified following a tragic incident at the facility. On August 9, a doctor was found dead in the hospital's seminar room. The autopsy revealed that she had been raped, assaulted, and strangled. The police have arrested a Kolkata police civic volunteer, Sanjay Ghosh, as the primary suspect in this heinous crime. The tragic event has cast a shadow over the ongoing investigation into financial and administrative malpractices at the hospital. Kerala Lottery Results Sunday 08-09-2024 LIVE: The Kerala Lottery Department, on behalf of the Keralan government, announces the "AKSHAYA AK-668" Lucky Draw Result today Akshaya AK-668, September 08, 2024. The draw will be held at Gorky Bhavan near Bakery Junction in Thiruvananthapuram. The Kerala Lottery Result 2024 for "Akshaya AK-668" will feature 12 series, with changes in series possible each week. A total of 108 lakh tickets are available for purchase weekly. The ticket prices may vary. Check the Akshaya AK-668 results right here to see if youre the first-place winner of 70 Lakhs. Stay tuned to this website for the live update of Kerala Lottery Akshaya AK-668 results today. Kerala Lottery Result 08-09-2024 September: FULL LIST OF WINNING NUMBERS FOR AKSHAYA AK-668 Draw LUCKY NUMBER FOR 1ST PRIZE OF RS 70 LAKHS IS: AO 240975 LUCKY NUMBER FOR 2ND PRIZE OF RS 5 LAKHS IS: AS 524824 LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 3RD PRIZE OF RS 1 Lakh ARE: AN 635197 AO 207466 AP 905771 AR 788503 AS 164157 AT 674995 AU 148430 AV 265773 AW 950936 AX 753659 AY 909040 AZ 957418 LUCKY NUMBERS FOR CONSOLATION PRIZE OF RS 8,000 ARE: AN 240975 AP 240975 AR 240975 AS 240975 AT 240975 AU 240975 AV 240975 AW 240975 AX 240975 AY 240975 AZ 240975 (For The Tickets Ending with The Following Numbers below) LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 4TH PRIZE OF RS 5,000 ARE: 1287 3170 4197 4352 4798 4899 5971 6116 6311 7863 8015 8575 9021 9024 9029 9419 9769 9929 LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 5TH PRIZE OF RS 2,000 ARE: 0493 1434 2418 4074 5596 5631 6266 LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 6TH PRIZE OF RS 1,000 ARE: 0390 0848 0900 1527 1820 2840 3095 3359 3797 4313 4529 4807 5214 5782 6841 7586 7634 8466 8538 8873 8992 9373 9383 9437 9884 9972 LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 7TH PRIZE OF RS 500 ARE: 0026 0041 0274 0387 0475 0651 0894 0901 0995 1177 1323 1488 1569 1627 1652 1669 1794 2497 2540 2736 2882 2883 2903 3257 3472 3634 3774 3830 3871 4097 4306 4491 4596 4647 4779 4936 4948 4983 5019 5334 5447 5855 6075 6251 6353 6592 6632 6758 6776 7033 7250 7353 7452 7564 7661 7739 7990 7991 8079 8102 8537 8542 8946 9247 9338 9389 9444 9639 9673 9694 9911 9997 LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 8TH PRIZE OF RS 100 ARE: 0030 0272 0400 0441 0459 0572 0881 0973 0994 1067 1126 1207 1259 1423 1756 1960 1976 2011 2193 2223 2355 2410 2512 2542 2656 2728 2927 2978 2993 3017 3131 3219 3260 3279 3304 3368 3598 3610 3658 3802 3843 3850 3856 3887 3949 3952 3999 4078 4184 4193 4210 4217 4228 4288 4462 4468 4504 4579 4598 4919 4940 5047 5129 5179 5212 5294 5325 5338 5574 5650 5725 5796 5807 5841 5857 5947 6084 6193 6324 6444 6462 6662 6811 6824 6878 6937 6970 7002 7349 7439 7484 7527 7565 7584 7631 7649 7729 7756 7844 7866 7897 8150 8182 8485 8535 8755 8764 8788 8925 9009 9273 9275 9527 9558 9576 9734 9736 9793 9823 9844 9961 9979 9988 KERALA LOTTERY RESULT 08-09-2024 September TODAY: AKSHAYA AK-668 LOTTERY PRIZE DETAILS 1st Prize: Rs 70 Lakhs 2nd Prize: Rs. 5 lakhs 3rd Prize: Rs. 1 Lakh 4th Prize: Rs. 5,000 5th Prize: Rs. 2,000 6th Prize: Rs. 1,000 7th Prize: Rs. 500 8th Prize: Rs. 100 Consolation Prize: Rs. 8,000 (NOTE: Lottery can be addictive and should be played responsibly. The data provided on this page is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as advice or encouragement. Zee News does not promote lottery in anyway.) Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha announced on Sunday that his party and the Congress are in talks to form an alliance ahead of the Haryana assembly elections. While discussions are ongoing, no agreement has been finalised yet. According to a PTI report, Chadha expressed optimism, stating that negotiations are moving in a "positive" direction. However, the parties will not cut out a deal unless it is a win-win situation. Chadha, who has been engaged in intense negotiations with the Congress said that a ball by ball commentary is not possible, but both parties have desire and hope to form an alliance. "The talks are happening in a positive atmosphere. Both parties are working towards contesting the elections together, prioritising unity and the demands of the people of Haryana, while setting aside individual party and candidate aspirations," he told PTI Videos. Polling for Haryana's 90-member assembly is scheduled for October 5, with the deadline for filing nominations set for September 12. Sources indicate that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is seeking 10 seats in a potential alliance with the Congress, but the latter is willing to offer only seven. AAP MP Raghav Chadha, however, declined to provide specific details about the ongoing seat-sharing negotiations. Chadha added that the party will take decision before (September) 12. The talks are going on, good discussions are happening, I hope a good conclusion will come out of it," he said. AAP-Congress Alliance The Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), both partners INDIA-bloc, previously reached a seat-sharing agreement for the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi, Haryana, and Gujarat. In Haryana, AAP fielded its state president, Sushil Gupta, as the sole candidate, though he lost to BJP's Naveen Jindal. Recently, Gupta declared that AAP is prepared to contest all 90 assembly seats in Haryana independently, forming an "alliance with the people of the state." In Punjab, however, both parties contested the Lok Sabha polls separately. As the BJP demands Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's resignation following the tragic rape and murder of a woman doctor in Kolkata, Trinamool Congress leader and Asansol MP Shatrughan Sinha criticized the BJP on Sunday for "politicizing" this unfortunate incident. The actor-turned-politician, who left the BJP five years ago, noted that "nobody demanded the Prime Minister's resignation" when horrific incidents were reported from places where the BJP was in power. "There can be no doubt that the incident was deplorable. The government of West Bengal has, therefore, brought the stringent Aparajita Bill. It is an exemplary anti-rape law which, we hope, would get the nod from the governor soon and would inspire other states to take similar measures," he said, PTI reported. He further added that nobody questioned PM Modi when sexual crimes were reported from Manipur, Hathras in Uttar Pradesh and Kathua in Jammu. "Nobody asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to quit when serious sexual crimes were reported from Manipur, Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, and Kathua in Jammu," he said, PTI reported. Reflecting on his time in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee administration, According to PTI, he said, "I was responsible for the health portfolio. I take pride in the fact that the in-principle approval for AIIMS, Patna, was granted during my tenure. It brings me joy to see the hospital thriving today." Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has claimed that police fired shots at its supporters during a rally in Islamabad on Sunday. The demonstration was organized to demand the release of the party's founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is currently imprisoned. In a social media post, the party criticized the "heavy shelling" of "peaceful protestors," labeling it as "Undeclared Martial Law." The PTI's statement on X read: "Scenes Pakistanis have grown accustomed to in this #UndeclaredMartialLaw. Heavy shelling by Islamabad police on peaceful Pakistanis gathered in massive numbers for Imran Khan & PTI's rally in Islamabad. Shameful, despicable, desperate, cowardly behavior by the illegitimate, authoritarian regime, over & over again. These disgraceful, unlawful acts only strengthen the people's resolve to fight for their 'Haqeeqi Azadi'!" The rally began with party leader Hammad Azhar addressing the crowd, stating that supporters had gathered to uphold the rule of law and the supremacy of the Constitution. Azhar said that "no obstacle would deter them today," reported ANI. He added, "We will, God willing, secure Imran Khan's release." The event, which was rescheduled from July and August due to permission revocations over security concerns and fears of unrest, is aimed at rallying support for the release of Imran Khan, who has been imprisoned since last August. Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Jawhar Sircar on Sunday sparked a debate with his letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, announcing his decision to resign from the Rajya Sabha. Sircar's resignation comes in the aftermath of the shocking rape and murder of a Kolkata doctor, a tragedy that has shaken the state. In response, fellow TMC leader Kunal Ghosh expressed his agreement with a significant part of Sircar's letter. We have learned that Jawhar Sircar has made his decision. He was one of the finest bureaucrats in the country and a standout from West Bengal. This is his personal choice, decision, and letter, and he has every right to take such a step. We simply want to express that we, too, agree with the essence of his letter and the questions it raises. Ghosh told reporters in Kolkata. #WATCH | Kolkata: On TMC Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar quitting from his post, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh says, "Jawahar Sarkar is a respected person... He is one of the best bureaucrats in the country. This is his personal decision, his personal letter, I cannot comment on it. He has pic.twitter.com/evGwLxcHrM ANI (@ANI) September 8, 2024 Earlier in the day, Jawhar Sircar, in a letter to TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, voiced his disappointment with the state government's handling of corruption following the scandal involving the former education minister. He highlighted that the incident at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where a 31-year-old trainee doctor was allegedly raped and murdered, was the tipping point of his decision. I am quitting as MP primarily because of WB governments faulty handling of the most spontaneous public movement following the terrible rape-murder case at RG Kar Hospital. Quitting politics to be with the people in their struggle for justice. My commitment to values unchanged pic.twitter.com/V98R06ziny Jawhar Sircar (@jawharsircar) September 8, 2024 Jawhar Sircar expressed disappointment, stating that despite his initial hopes for significant reforms through Mamata Banerjee's anti-corruption campaign, little progress had been made. A youth organisation of Odisha is celebrating Ganesh Puja for the 18th year by preparing a 15-foot tall Ganesh idol using 25,000 glass bangles, and the pandal has been made of bamboo in Baripada. Friends Union Organisation President Saumya Ranjan Mishra told ANI, "We are celebrating Ganesh Puja for 5 days according to the tradition of Maharashtra. The festival lasts for 8 days with tribal traditional songs, dances, a national-level dance competition, and much more. Prasad distribution takes place for 5 days. Some artists come from West Bengal and other states. Very unique 15-foot Ganesh idol made by 25000 (twenty-five thousand) glass bangles. This is the main attraction of our Ganesh festival, for which devotees come from different states." Cashier of the organisation Srikant Barik said, "This time we are celebrating 18th year. We have spent more than 22 to 25 lakhs all together for this decoration and making unique idols." One of the members of the Friends Union, Debashish Lal said, "Here we celebrated Ganesh Puja with people of all communities, including Muslim members. Our organisation is a symbol of unity and communal harmony." The Ganesh Chaturthi festivities kicked off on Saturday with great excitement and joy across the country. Devotees, including those in big cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Surat, and Delhi, are celebrating the auspicious occasion with devotion and happiness. Ganesh Chaturthi, a vibrant 10-day festival, commenced on September 7 and will continue until Anantha Chaturdashi. This festival, also known as Vinayak Chaturthi or Vinayak Chavithi, honours Lord Ganesha as the 'God of New Beginnings' and the 'Remover of Obstacles,' celebrating his wisdom and intelligence. In every city, people welcomed Lord Ganesha into their homes and pandals, filling the air with the sound of prayers, music, and festive chants. From grand processions to traditional rituals, the celebrations in the country began in full swing, marking the start of this joyful festival across India. Devotees welcomed Ganesh idols into their homes, offered prayers, and visited the colourful pandals. The streets were filled with the sounds of devotion and joy as people came together to celebrate the festival with enthusiasm and heart. The colourful decorations, lively chants, and the fragrance of sweets added to the festive spirit that could be felt everywhere. (ANI) New Delhi: Bollywood power couple Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh have been blessed with a baby girl. The duo is yet to formally announce the good news officially on social media. DeepVeer welcomed their newborn baby girl at HN Reliance Hospital in Mumbai. Have A Look At The Post: On Saturday evening, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh were spotted at HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai, accompanied by Ranveer's mother and sister. Paparazzi quickly captured their car entering the hospital, sparking widespread speculation and excitement about the arrival of DeepVeer's baby. A viral video circulated on social media further fueled anticipation of the couples joyous news. Watch The Video Below! Earlier, New parents DeepVeer, along with their family, visited Shri Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai last week to seek blessings ahead of their baby's arrival, preparing for this life-changing moment. Last week, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh shared a stunning maternity photoshoot, impressing fans with their bold style and shutting down critics. As the news spreads, friends, family, and fans are sending warm wishes and congratulations to the new parents in Tinseltown. Warm wishes to the couple as they start their beautiful new journey together! Today, September 8, 2024, is a joyous day for Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone as they welcome their first childa baby girl! The couple shared the heartwarming news on social media, posting a sweet image confirming the arrival of their daughter with the caption, Welcome Baby Girl! 8.9.2024. Deepika & Ranveer. The announcement has been met with an outpouring of love and congratulations from fans and fellow celebrities, including Alia Bhatt, Shaheen Bhatt, Rubina Dilaik, Amruta Khanvilkar, Athiya Shetty, and Malaika Arora. Social media has been flooded with well-wishes and blessings for the new family. Deepika Padukone was admitted in the hospital yesterday, on the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. A day before that, the actress and her husband Ranveer Singh visited the Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai to seek blessings for their little one. Have a look at the video: Earlier this month, they shared a gorgeous maternity photo shoot on Instagram. The couple looked absolutely stunning in the monochromatic pictures. New Mom Deepika flaunted her baby bump, while Ranveer held her close and stared at her lovingly. Their post was simply captioned with an evil eye amulet, a heart, and an infinity emoji. Before Deepika's pregnancy, Ranveer had often expressed his desire to have a baby girl. Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukones love story began around 2012, blossoming into a relationship that captivated fans. The couple tied the knot in a grand ceremony on November 14 and 15, 2018, at the stunning Lake Como in Italy. In the eighth season of the popular talk show Koffee With Karan, hosted by Karan Johar, the couple delighted fans by sharing their wedding video for the first time in five years. During the episode, Ranveer also opened up about his romantic proposal to Deepika in 2015 during a trip to the Maldives. Hyderabad: Malayalam film actor Vinayakan was apprehended by police at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGI) Saturday evening after causing a disturbance while intoxicated. The incident occurred at the airport gate, leading to the actor being taken into custody. Speaking to the media, Inspector K. Balaraju of the RGI Airport police station said the situation unfolded around 6 PM. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) inspector reported that Vinayakan, who had arrived on an Indigo flight from Kochi and was slated to travel to Goa, was visibly drunk and engaged in inappropriate behaviour with airport gate staff. The CISF subsequently handed Vinayak over to the RGI airport police. A case has been filed against him under the City Police Act. Inspector Balaraju confirmed, "The actor was under the influence of alcohol and created a significant disturbance. We have registered a case accordingly." Vinayakan has received numerous accolades for his acting, including the National Film Award for Best Actor for his role in 'Maheshinte Prathikaaram'. His recent projects include, Rajinikanth starrer 'Jailer', 'Kammatti Paadam', 'Oruthee' and others. ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for an alliance of Islamic nations to stop "Israeli arrogance, Israeli banditry, and Israeli state terrorism," Israel-based i24 News reported. Erdogan made the remarks after Palestinian and Turkish officials said that a Turkish-American woman taking part in a protest on Friday against settlement expansion in the West Bank was killed by Israeli troops. Speaking at an Islamic schools' association event near Istanbul, Erdogan said, "The only step that will stop Israeli arrogance, Israeli banditry, and Israeli state terrorism is the alliance of Islamic countries," i24 News reported. He stated Turkiye's recent steps to improve relations with Egypt and Syria have been taken at "forming a line of solidarity against the growing threat of expansionism," which he stressed also threatened Lebanon and Syria, according to i24 News report. In response to Erdogan's calls for an alliance of Islamic nations to stop Israel, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that the Turkish President continues to throw the people of his country into fire of hatred and violence for the "sake of his Hamas friends." Katz called Erdogan's claims that Israel wants to conquer countries in the region a "dangerous lie and incitement." He stated that Israel is defending its borders and citizens from Hamas and the "Shiite axis of evil led by Iran." In a post on X, Israel Katz stated, "@RTErdogan continues to throw the Turkish people into the fire of hatred and violence for the sake of his Hamas friends. Today, he calls on Islamic nations to form an alliance against Israel, claiming 'Israel wants to conquer countries in the region, including Turkey.' This is a dangerous lie and incitement." "Israel is defending its borders and citizens from the murderers and rapists of Hamas, and from the Shiite axis of evil led by Iran. Erdogan and the Muslim Brotherhood alliance have been working for years alongside Iran to undermine moderate Arab regimes in the Middle East. Erdogan should be silent and ashamed," he added. Earlier in August, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the killing of Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in an attack in Tehran and offered condolences to the Palestinian people. In a statement released on X, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "We condemn the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, Chief of the Hamas Political Bureau, in a heinous attack in Tehran." "We express our condolences to the Palestinian people, hundreds of thousands of whom, like Haniyeh, have been martyred in order to live peacefully in their homeland under the roof of their own state," it added. It accused the Israeli government of lacking intention to achieve peace. It said that the attack was aimed at spreading war in Gaza to a regional level. It further said that Turkey will continue to support the "just cause" of the Palestinian people. In a statement, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "The Netanyahu government's lack of intention to achieve peace has been demonstrated once again. This attack is also aimed at spreading the war in Gaza to a regional level. If the international community does not act to stop Israel, our region will face an even greater conflict." The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs' statement came after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that Ismail Haniyeh had been killed in an attack in Iran's capital, Tehran, according to Press TV report. The IRGC said that Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed when their house was hit in Tehran. A baby was delivered in an ambulance on Saturday on the way to a hospital after the mother was refused to get admitted in another hospital in the Mainpuri region of Uttar Pradesh. The incident took place at "Sausaiya Matra Shishu Chikitshalaya," where the mother was refused admission due to the absence of the anaesthesiologist. As per information received by the father of the baby, the hospital first stated that the delivery of the child couldn't be done normally due to some complications and said they needed to operate to deliver the baby. Later, it was stated that the anaesthesiologist was absent and the mother was referred to another hospital. On her way, she delivered the baby inside the ambulance. "I came with my wife for delivery. They said that the delivery couldn't be done normally, and then I said that they do the operation for delivering the baby. Upon which they said that they could, as the anaesthesia doctor wasn't present and they referred to another hospital. On the way to the hospital, the baby was delivered in the ambulance," the father of the baby said. Following this, a two-member investigating committee was formed to probe into the matter. "A complaint was registered by the concerned person, and for this I have made a two-member investigating committee... In one week they will submit the report, and further investigation will take place following that report," said the Chief Medical Officer, Dr RC Gupta. (ANI) Amid the controversy surrounding a government school in Chennai conducting a "Spiritual Awakening" session, Tiruchirappalli MP and DMK leader Durai Vaiko condemned the event and promised appropriate action against those responsible. Speaking to ANI, the DMK MP said, "It is highly condemnable that we had a person in the name of Mahavishnu get into a school campus; in fact, he was invited by school authorities to give a motivational lecture." Vaiko described the speaker as irrational and stated that such individuals should not be allowed in educational institutions. "He says if we chant the mantra, we may get acid rain, and sick people may get cured. This sort of person should never be allowed inside an educational institution. This person claims to be an avatar of God," Durai Vaiko noted. "It is not a spiritual speech at all. It is a Sanatana speech. There is a difference between Hinduism and Sanatana. This person claims to be an 'Avaatar' of god," he added. "How do you allow a person who talks like this into a school?" he questioned. He expressed concern that such lectures could misguide students and stated that both the Chief Minister and the Education Minister have condemned the event and assured that action would be taken against those responsible. Regarding Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi's remarks that the Central Board of Education's (CBSE) syllabus is superior to the Tamil Nadu state board syllabus, Vaiko accused Ravi of acting as an RSS 'Pracharak' and claimed that the state syllabus is on par with the CBSE syllabus. "Our governor, RN Ravi, has never performed ads for the governor of Tamil Nadu; he had functioned as the 'Pracharak' of the RSS. I am very sure he knows the truth," he alleged. "The state syllabus is par with the CBSE syllabus. The state syllabus has been upgraded in the last 5 to 6 years," he added. On September 6, R. Thamilarasi, the principal of Ashok Nagar Girls Higher Secondary School, was transferred following the controversy over the NGO Paramporul Foundation conducting the 'Spiritual Awakening Classes' at the school. Thamilarasi has been reassigned to Government Higher Secondary School, Kovilpathagai, Thiruvallur district. A video of the purported session went viral, prompting DMK supporters to question the state government and the education department. Education Minister Anbil Mahesh announced that a committee has been formed to investigate the permissions granted for the event and that action will be taken within 1-2 days based on the findings. "Based on our department's principal secretary, we have formed a committee based on that. We will make an inquiry on who all are involved in this, how it happened, and who gave the permission, everything will be enquired. Based on that, we will take action within 1-2 days," the minister said. Earlier, Chief Minister MK Stalin also responded to the criticism by saying the state's textbooks contain the best scientific ideas for the students. "Our high-quality textbooks contain the best scientific ideas that students need to know. "The teachers themselves can bring out the best ideas needed to face future challenges with confidence and sharpen the knowledge. Actions will be taken by the School Education Department to provide the necessary innovative training, social education with appropriate departmental experts and scholars." the Chief Minister said in a post on X. "I have decreed to formulate and issue new guidelines for regulating various programmes in schools in the state so that all our schoolchildren, who are the future generation of Tamilnadu, get progressive-scientific ideas and lifestyles. Individual progress, ethical living and sound ideas for social development should be inculcated in the hearts of the students. Over the past three years, I have consistently emphasised the importance of education and the need to develop scientific thinking at numerous events," the CM added. (ANI) Amid the controversy surrounding a government school in Chennai conducting a "Spiritual Awakening" session, MDMK Lok Sabha MP Durai Vaiko on Sunday condemned the event and promised appropriate action against those responsible. Speaking to ANI, the MDMK MP said, "It is highly condemnable that we had a person in the name of Mahavishnu get into a school campus; in fact, he was invited by school authorities to give a motivational lecture." Vaiko described the speaker as irrational and stated that such individuals should not be allowed in educational institutions. "He says if we chant the mantra, we may get acid rain, and sick people may get cured. This sort of person should never be allowed inside an educational institution. This person claims to be an avatar of God," Durai Vaiko noted. "It is not a spiritual speech at all. It is a Sanatana speech. There is a difference between Hinduism and Sanatana. This person claims to be an 'Avaatar' of god," he added. "How do you allow a person who talks like this into a school?" he questioned. He expressed concern that such lectures could misguide students and stated that both the Chief Minister and the Education Minister have condemned the event and assured that action would be taken against those responsible. Regarding Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi's remarks that the Central Board of Education's (CBSE) syllabus is superior to the Tamil Nadu state board syllabus, Vaiko accused Ravi of acting as an RSS 'Pracharak' and claimed that the state syllabus is on par with the CBSE syllabus. "Our governor, RN Ravi, has never performed ads for the governor of Tamil Nadu; he had functioned as the 'Pracharak' of the RSS. I am very sure he knows the truth," he alleged. "The state syllabus is par with the CBSE syllabus. The state syllabus has been upgraded in the last 5 to 6 years," he added. On September 6, R. Thamilarasi, the principal of Ashok Nagar Girls Higher Secondary School, was transferred following the controversy over the NGO Paramporul Foundation conducting the 'Spiritual Awakening Classes' at the school. Thamilarasi has been reassigned to Government Higher Secondary School, Kovilpathagai, Thiruvallur district. A video of the purported session went viral, prompting DMK supporters to question the state government and the education department. Education Minister Anbil Mahesh announced that a committee has been formed to investigate the permissions granted for the event and that action will be taken within 1-2 days based on the findings. "Based on our department's principal secretary, we have formed a committee based on that. We will make an inquiry on who all are involved in this, how it happened, and who gave the permission, everything will be enquired. Based on that, we will take action within 1-2 days," the minister said. Earlier, Chief Minister MK Stalin also responded to the criticism by saying the state's textbooks contain the best scientific ideas for the students. "Our high-quality textbooks contain the best scientific ideas that students need to know. "The teachers themselves can bring out the best ideas needed to face future challenges with confidence and sharpen the knowledge. Actions will be taken by the School Education Department to provide the necessary innovative training, social education with appropriate departmental experts and scholars." the Chief Minister said in a post on X. "I have decreed to formulate and issue new guidelines for regulating various programmes in schools in the state so that all our schoolchildren, who are the future generation of Tamilnadu, get progressive-scientific ideas and lifestyles. Individual progress, ethical living and sound ideas for social development should be inculcated in the hearts of the students. Over the past three years, I have consistently emphasised the importance of education and the need to develop scientific thinking at numerous events," the CM added. (ANI) Andhra Pradesh Congress leader V Gurunadham, on Sunday said that any party with a majority in Lok Sabha can restore Article 370 in the future . "Our Home Minister Amit Shah says that removal of Article 370 from the constitution of India is history, so it will not come back. Congress accepted it because anything done by the Central and state government must be accordance with the constitution of India. Now the point is, as far as the BJP government is concerned, they have done it with the support of Lok Sabha by virtue of Constitutions," said Andhra Pradesh Congress leader V Gurunadham. "So the Constitution says that if the majority accepts that, its automatically be deleted. In future any party with the, majority can restore Article 370. The congress party is not saying that it will be restored immediately but we cannot overrule the fact that it cannot be restored in future," he added. The Andhra Congress leader also condemned the statement by Amit Shah. On September 6, Shah stated that Article 370 is a thing of past and will never return again while releasing the Bhartiya Janata Party's manifesto for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections. "Now Article 370 has become a thing of past, it is not a part of the constitution. I have read the agenda of NC and seen the silent support of NC, but I want to make it clear, that article 370 is a thing of past and it'll never return again, we will not let that happen. Article 370 was the thing that gave weapons and stones in the hands of the youth It's the spirit of separatism that used to force youth towards terrorism," Amit Shah added The Union territory will go to polls in three phases on September 18, 25, and October 1, with the results to be announced on October 8. This is the first assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of article 370. Meanwhile, Congress leader Gurunadham congratulated wrestler Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia on joining Congress. "I congratulate both the wrestlers. One was given a ticket to contest assembly election another was made the chief of Congress farmer unit" he said. On September 6, the two ace wrestlers joined the Congress almost a month before the Haryana assembly polls. Within hours of them joining the party, wrestler Vinesh Phogat was fielded in the Julana constituency for the upcoming Haryana polls. Whereas, Bajrang Punia was appointed working president of the All India Kisan Congress. The voting to the 90-member legislative assembly in Haryana will be held on October 5 and the last date for filing nominations is September 12. The counting of votes will be held on October 8. (ANI) The election committee will take election related decisions including the selection of candidates of ABVP for contesting election, according to a press release from ABVP. Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad Delhi State President Tapan Bihari has been appointed as the Chairman for the DUSU election committee. Other members include ABVP National Girls' Coordinator Manu Sharma Kataria, National Secretary Shivangi Kharwal, Delhi State Secretary Harsh Attri, State Organizing Secretary Ram Kumar, State Joint Organizing Secretary Vipin Uniyal, DUSU President Tushar Dedha, DUSU Secretary Aprajita and North Zone pramukh Lalit Pandey. ABVP Delhi State President Tapan Bihari stated, "The election committee has started discussing the names of potential candidates for DUSU elections. Like previous years, this year's 'DUSU in Campus' Campaign has received a positive response from the students. ABVP over the years has consistently represented the students and stood firmly with them for their concerns and rights. We will announce the names of potential candidates soon." Delhi State Secretary, Harsh Attri stated, "ABVP units across the university campus are actively connecting with students and sharing the work of outgoing ABVP led DUSU and seeking their feedback and suggestions for the upcoming manifesto. We have received a massive positive feedback from the students. With this election committee being formed, discussions have begun and we will soon release names of potential candidates." The date for Students' Union polls is scheduled for September 27. (ANI) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav chaired a review meeting in Indore on Sunday with public representatives and officials from various departments. Speaking to the media about the meeting, Chief Minister Yadav emphasized Indore's significance as a financial hub and outlined future development plans. "Indore has a unique position in the country and is also known as the financial capital of the state. In the future, Indore, Ujjain, Dewas, and Dhar will be developed as part of a metropolitan city under PM Narendra Modi's 'Amrit Kaal' plan for 2047. Among the outlines of the four major cities in the state, the report for Indore and Ujjain has been the best. Other cities will also be developed," he said. Regarding plans for development and expansion, Yadav said, "The pace of growth in railways, roads, airways, and industrial and commercial sectors will be streamlined and well-planned. Public representatives have provided suggestions during the meeting on this topic. Our aim is to make Madhya Pradesh a model of development." He added that the Madhya Pradesh government would also advance in line with the projects of the Government of India. The metro project from Indore to Ujjain will be completed before Simhastha (Kumbh Mela). Ongoing metro projects will also accelerate, with the metro speed set at 80 kilometres per hour, eventually reaching 160 kilometres per hour with the Vande Metro service. CM Yadav will also attend the tribal student encouragement and honour ceremony, being organised at Khalwa in Khandwa district on Sunday. During this event, he will inaugurate a free bus service for girls from Harsud and Khalwa in the Harsud Assembly constituency, provided for Government College Harsud. Additionally, he will honour beneficiary students under the Tribal Affairs Department's scholarship scheme for pursuing education abroad. Earlier, on Saturday, Chief Minister Yadav paid tribute to soldier Pradeep Patel, who lost his life in the Sikkim road accident, at Khajuraho Airport in Chhatarpur district. Four Indian Army personnel, including Pradeep Patel, died in a road accident on Thursday, September 5, while commuting from Pedong in West Bengal to Zuluk along the Silk Route in Pakyong District in Sikkim, according to Indian Army officials. (ANI) President Droupadi Murmu expressed her desolation over the deaths of eight people who lost their lives following the collapse of a three-story building in the Transport Nagar area in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow on Saturday evening. According to officials, the incident, which involved a three-story medical warehouse collapsing, resulted in the deaths of eight people and left 28 others injured. The injured people were admitted to three hospitals in the Krishna Nagar area, with some already discharged. Murmu further prayed for the speedy recovery of those who sustained injuries in the incident. Taking to social media platform X, Murmu said, "I am deeply saddened by the deaths of many people in the building collapse accident in Lucknow. I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the speedy recovery of those injured." Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured in the building collapse incident. "The loss of lives due to a building mishap in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, is saddening. Prayers with those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon," the PM said in a post on X. "An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000," he added. Lucknow's Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Amit Verma, announced that a committee will be formed to investigate the building collapse. "A committee will investigate the reasons behind the collapse. Structural engineers and experts will provide insights into the cause," Verma told ANI. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also directed officials to expedite relief efforts. He had also asked officials to promptly transport the injured to the hospital for proper treatment. CM Yogi has also wished for the speedy recovery of the injured. Additional Director General of Law and Order Amitabh Yash told ANI that CM Yogi is continuously reviewing the situation and the relief and rescue operations. Taking to social media platform X, CM Adityanath paid his condolences to the people who lost their lives in the incident. "The loss of life due to the collapse of a building in Lucknow district is extremely sad and heartbreaking. My condolences are with the grieving families of the deceased. Instructions have been given to the concerned officials to conduct relief and rescue operations on a war footing and provide proper treatment to the injured. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to give a place to the departed souls in his feet and provide speedy recovery to the injured," he said. (ANI) Amid ongoing talks between Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party for a pre-poll alliance in the Haryana assembly elections, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa slammed both INDIA bloc partners, saying that they neither have an agenda nor any policy for the state and will be defeated even if they come together. He further claimed that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, just want to "stay alive" in politics. Speaking to ANI, Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, "Congress is a party that has gone towards decline, and AAP is searching for its identity. They neither have any agenda nor any policy for the state. They just want to gain control of Haryana." "Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal want to keep themselves alive in politics. They will ally as they know how bad their situation is. No one will vote for them in Haryana. Despite the alliance, they will be defeated," he added. Earlier, AAP state president Sushil Gupta confirmed that talks between the AAP and Congress are going on and the aim is to oust the BJP government. "Aam Aadmi Party is a disciplined party, being the state president of the party, I am making full preparations for 90 seats. Our workers are associated with the 'Parivar Jodo Abhiyan', Arvind Kejriwal's guarantee is going from village to village, our public meetings are going on. All the leaders are preparing to oust the BJP government with full readiness," Gupta said. "It is true that talks of agreement (between AAP and Congress) are going on," the former Rajya Sabha MP added. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha further said that both parties have a desire, a wish and a hope for forming an alliance and both parties will decide before September 12, which is the last day of nomination. "I do not want to make any statement on personal statements or individual seats. I can only tell you that both parties have a desire, a wish and hope for an alliance. The last date for nomination is 12th September. We will take a decision before 12. If we don't agree or if there is no win-win situation, we will leave it," he said. The voting to the 90-member legislative assembly in Haryana will be held on October 5 and the last date for filing nominations is September 12. The counting of votes will be held on October 8. In the 2019 assembly polls, BJP emerged as the single largest party with 40 seats. Congress could win 30 seats. (ANI) Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan hit out at Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren over the deaths of twelve candidates during a police recruitment physical efficiency test. He said that the youth of Jharkhand will never forgive the JMM government. Ahead of the polls, BJP Jharkhand Election Incharge Shivraj Singh Chouhan arrived in Ranchi on Sunday. Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, "Our target is to free Jharkhand from the misrule of JMM. As elections in the state is getting closer, Chief Minister Hemant Soren had promised 5 lakh jobs. In the last few days during the Excise constable recruitment drive, youths were forced to run for 10 km without proper arrangements. This kind of 10 km run is not conducted anywhere. Just for vote bank politics and to deceive the youth, this conspiracy was fabricated." He said that as a result of this conspiracy, 12 youths passed away during the physical tests for the recruitment of excise constables. "12 youths passed away. This is not an incident, this is murder. This has been done for vote bank politics and youth of Jharkhand will never forgive the JMM government," he added. Earlier Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren expressed his condolences over the deaths of aspirants during the physical tests for the recruitment of excise constables. He directed an immediate review of the rules set by the previous government and instructed changes for future recruitment drives. Taking to the social media platform X he said "Johar friends, the untimely death of the participants during the race for the recruitment of excise constable is sad and heartbreaking. While directing for immediate review of the rules made by the previous government". He also instructed to make changes in the rules for all future recruitment drives. Jharkhand is set to witness an election to the 81-member legislative assembly later this year as the current government's tenure ends in 2024. The Election Commission of India (ECI) is yet to announce the dates. (ANI) PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday said that if her party had not been there, the National Conference would have been functioning in a dictatorial manner in Jammu and Kashmir. "The public of Jammu and Kashmir has understood that PDP had established good governance in the state. Universities, colleges, and AIIMS were established by the PDP government," Mufti told reporters here. "If Mufti Mohammed Sayeed had not founded PDP then the National Conference would still be functioning in a dictatorial manner. People are very angry and upset with the National Conference," she added. Mufti's strong remarks against NC come as political parties have stepped up their electoral campaign in the Union Territory for the upcoming Assembly election. Polling would be held in three phases starting from September 18, 25, and October 1. The counting of votes will take place on October 8. The National Conference and the People's Democratic Party have mentioned the restoration of Article 370 in their manifestos. The BJP, on the other hand, said that Article 370 has become a thing of the past. The upcoming elections are the first polls to be held in the Union Territory after the abrogation of Article 370. The National Conference and the Congress have forged a pre-poll alliance ahead of the polls. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who released the BJP's manifesto in Jammu on Friday, launched a scathing attack on Congress and the National Conference's manifesto on Saturday. Shah said that they want to spread terrorism, snatch reservations of Gujjars, Bakarwal, Paharis, and Dalits, release criminals, and start LOC trade with Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir. In an interview with ANI, NC Vice-President, Omar Abdullah, said that Article 370 is a long struggle. "Article 370 and the special status of J&K are part of the National Conference's ideology. It's not something that we will surrender. But it's not something that this assembly will be able to do. A couple of government changes will be needed at the centre before we even begin to address this issue. It took the BJP decades to do this, and we are not foolish to think that we will be able to undo it in 5 years. It's a long struggle. It's an issue that we believe is important to keep alive," he said. There are a total number of 90 assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, out of which 7 seats are reserved for SCs and 9 seats are reserved for STs. According to the Election Commission of India, Jammu and Kashmir has 88.06 lakh eligible electors. In the previous Assembly elections, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) won 28 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 25, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) won 15, and the Congress won 12. (ANI) In a post on X, Kerala Chief Minister Pinaryi Vijayan shared the achievement and said that the state's efforts have been recognised. "Proud moment for Kerala as our efforts in combating cyber crimes have been recognized by @HMOIndia as part of the foundation day celebrations of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)," CM Vijayan said on Sunday. https://x.com/pinarayivijayan/status/1832720018540572847 "The award for commendable performance in handling online crime against women and children highlights our commitment to ensuring a safer digital space," he added. The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) is an initiative of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, to deal with cybercrime in the country in a coordinated and comprehensive manner. I4C focuses on tackling all the issues related to cybercrime for the citizens, which includes improving coordination between various law enforcement agencies and the stakeholders, driving change in India's overall capability to tackle cybercrime, and improving citizen satisfaction levels. (ANI) Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Sao on Sunday slammed National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah over his remarks about the hanging of parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, adding that Omar Abdullah's support to a 'terrorist' is unfortunate. Speaking to ANI Chhattisgarh, Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao said, " Afzal attacked the parliament of India, attacked the elected representatives of the country, and attacked the pride and democracy of the country." "This statement of Omar Abdullah reflects his separatist mentality. His manifesto also points towards this. It is very unfortunate that Omar Abdullah is talking about a separatist mentality and standing with a terrorist," the BJP leader added. Sao further targeted the Congress party, an alliance partner of the NC, in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election and demanded a clarification. "Congress party is contesting this election with a tie up with NCP so Congress will also have to clarify whether they agree with these statements of Omar Abdullah," he said. "The way congress leaders stood up with the separatist gangs in the country shows their mentality," the Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister added. Notably, in an interview, Abdullah had told ANI that he did not believe any purpose was served by "executing" Afzal Guru. Earlier on Saturday, September 7, BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said that National Conference leader Omar Abdullah's remarks about the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was an "expose of their nefarious, nasty, separatist anti-national design". Trivedi also targeted the Congress, an alliance partner of the NC, in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election, saying that it "is showing their real nefarious design through proxy". Jammu and Kashmir will go for assembly polls in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1. Votes will be counted on October 8. These are the first assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. Omar Abdullah is contesting from two constituencies - Ganderbal and Budgam. Congress and the National Conference are fighting the polls together as allies. (ANI) Congress workers on Sunday held protests outside the Congress headquarters in the National Capital demanding local candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in Haryana, which are taking place on October 5. A Congress worker alleged that despite losing their deposit twice state President Udai Bhan's son-in-law and his daughter were given tickets again, further adding that the candidates would resign or contest on their own if their tickets were not taken back. Speaking to ANI, the worker said, "We all have put this issue in front of our party and today, with the help of the media, we want to bring attention to this matter again. From the Pataudi region, 42 candidates had applied for a ticket and 38 of them are here today. Out of those 42 candidates, one is the son-in-law of the state President Udai Bhan and one is his daughter. The party-in-charge had said that those who got their deposit seized twice would not be given tickets. Despite that, both of them are being given tickets." Further, he added, "We have decided that if those two get the tickets, then all of us will launch our independent candidate or we will resign and contest ourselves. Today, we had given this in writing but we were told that nothing can be done, in that case, the head should resign." Sunita Verma, another member, said that Congress's rule of not giving tickets to any candidate after they have lost tickets was being broken. Verma said, "Our head Bawariya had made a rule that after losing two tickets, a person would not be given tickets. However, this rule is being broken and we have only one demand that this rule be followed. The Congress members are seeing anything." She further demanded that Rahul Gandhi should make sure that the rules are followed. "We party members just demand that Rahul Gandhi and the whole Congress should make sure that the rules made are followed properly. How is it justice when a person who has been denied tickets twice is given a ticket again," she added. (ANI) The conviction of an elderly Christian in Iran for attending a house church shows how the Islamist regime politicizes religious activity, according to leaked cases of 327 Christians charged with crimes related to their faith. The Iranian-Armenian Christian from Rasht who was nearly 80 years old at his trial in 2022 was charged with membership in the community under the name of a home church of Zionist Evangelical Christianity with the aim of disrupting the security of the country; gathering and colluding against the countrys security; disturbing the public mind and disrupting social order through Christian publications with the aim of attracting Muslims; and insulting Islamic sacred things, according to advocacy group Article 18. The Christian, identified as Alexander B. and described by his attorneys as a dignified and calm man of faith who respectfully adheres to the laws and systems of the Islamic Republic of Iran, was sentenced to five years in prison. His attorneys, Alireza Thaqfi and Mohammed Kialashki, told the court that describing mere attendance at Christian worship as Zionist and a threat to national security showed the prosecutors attempt to inflate the charges to justify an illegal conviction and disproportionate sentence. He was sentenced to five years in prison, which considering the age of the client and his lack of any criminal record, and lack of knowledge about the prohibition of participation in friendly meetings and performing religious ceremonies [in a house church] and the absence of specific malice, is very heavy, they told the judge, according to court records of cases in the Tehran area leaked in stages by Edaalate Ali since February. Stay informed with The Christian Daily Newsletter Sign up As the Iranian regime is based on religious principles, the effects of state religion are seen in the prosecutor quoting Supreme Leader Ali Khameini: From the spread of unrestrained and immorality, to the promotion of false mysticism, to the promotion of Bahaism, to the promotion of the network of house churches, these are the things that the enemies of Islam are doing today with study, planning and foresightto weaken religion in the society. Likewise, the prosecutor quoted the Supreme Leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989, Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini, as stating, If we understand that in our Tehran, the centers of propaganda of the church, Zionism, and Bahaism have been created, which mislead people and distance them from the rules and teachings of Islam, isnt it our duty to destroy these centers that harm Islam? Armenian and Assyrian Christians whose Orthodox and Catholic faiths are legal in Iran are aligned with the Islamic Revolution, the prosecutor said, but Armenian and Assyrian Christians in the Protestant religion, with their evangelistic nature and the mission of Christianizing Iran, are considered a security threat for the Islamic Revolution. Persian-language evangelical movements are supported by fundamentalist evangelical Christians and Zionists who regard Shia Islam as their biggest enemy and their religious duty to fight it, the prosecution stated. Since American Zionist Christians consider the Islamic Republic as their enemy, they do not stop any hostile efforts against Iran, and they use the evangelistic activity in Iran as an action against the security of the Islamic Republic, the prosecutor stated, by destroying and humiliating the dear Islam and promoting Islamophobia and casting doubts on the beliefs of Muslims, especially young people who are suffering for example from financial or emotional problems. The command and planning center of this alleged movement is located in the United States, accompanied by intellectual and financial support of the Zionist regime and England, the prosecution stated. Describing house churches as not approved by authentic Christians and deviant sects, they asserted that the deviant branches of Christianity used house churches along with satellite networks, radio, books, the internet and the financing of underground pyramid networks to create deviation in the minds of Muslims to persuade them to join. Taking into account that the purpose of forming house churches and evangelistic activities by these sects in the Islamic Republic of Iran is to attract Muslims to Zionist Christianity, and it is completely dependent on the international Zionist intelligence services, with people converting from Islam there will be no trace of the Islamic Republic system, they stated. Therefore, the act of forming a house church, and evangelistic activity, is considered to be with the aim of disrupting the countrys security. The Christians attorneys formulated statements against these allegations, emphasizing that the generalities had nothing to do with the particular behavior of the Christian in the case. The repeated questions and interrogations [make] it quite clear that the motive of the prosecutor was only tomake the charge appear big and the accused so valuable that he can exchange them with the prisoners wanted by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for exchange in America, they told the judge. What prosecutors referred to as membership of an organization threatening national security was only attendance at prayer meetings and gatherings of groups of friends, they said, adding that a house church is simply a place for activities similar to those of any church. The most important part of the charge is gathering to disturb the security of the country, the defense attorneys stated. What were the clients limited actions related to the countrys security? How was this big accusation against the client confirmed? From a legal point of view, there is no connection between the behavior of the client and the disruption of the order and security of our beloved country and the Islamic system, and no reason has been presented in the case. The prosecutor repeatedly used the term Zionist only to distort the importance of the Christians actions, thus accusing and punishing an innocent person, the attorneys stated. They added that actions threatening national security mean those that directly and knowingly target national security and intend to weaken it. In this regard, firstly the client had no intention of such an action, they said. Secondly, his action in participating in home meetings was justto pray according to his religion. Therefore, the gathering of several people in one house does not mean an illegal organization. They described the prosecutors case as full of false statements, such as calling him an evangelical visiting [pastor], attributing statements to him that he never uttered and citing as destinations countries and provinces to which he had never travelled. The job of the client is mentioned as the pastor of a house church of Zionist Christianity, while the job of the client is a driver, they said. The interrogator has no right to attribute a job to the client based on his imagination, which has nothing to do with the client and is a pure lie. The investigator in the charges against Alexander B. fabricated a definition of the word evangelism that was broadened only to suit his goal of convicting him according to terms of the Islamic Republic, attorneys said. In the charge of aiming to attract Muslims, the irregular gatherings the Christian attended were with his fellow Christ-followers, and there were no Muslims present, they said. So far in this case there is not even a single example that a Muslim person was attracted to Christianity, they told the judge. He was charged with insulting Islamic sacred things, but there is no statement or evidence of such a charge in the case, they said. Nor was there any reason or evidence on filed for the charge against him of acquiring illegal property. The accusation is only because of the clients statement that he received 600 dollars of aid from a church, they stated. While tithes are money that Christians pay to the church and not to a person. Iran ranked ninth on Open Doors 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that the state government has merged the School Education Board of Assam and the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council to form a unified Assam State School Education Board in conformity with NEP 2020. As per Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the "new board will synchronise school education tailored to the needs of the 21st century." In a post on X, Chief Minister Biswa said, "In a major milestone towards taking our education sector to new heights and in confirmity with NEP 2020, we have merged SEBA & AHSEC to form a unified Assam State School Edutcation Board. The new board will synchronise school education tailored to the needs of the 21st century." https://x.com/himantabiswa/status/1832684126241222961 Meanwhile, Assam Governor Lakshman Acharya has announced the nomination of RC Jain as the Chairman of the Assam State School Education Board and Rukma Gohain Baruah, Chairman, Assam Higher Secondary Education Council, as the Vice-Chairman of the Assam State School Education Board. They have been nominated for a term of 3 years or up to 70 years, whichever is earlier, from the date of issue of this notification. As per the Ministry of Education, National Education Policy, 2020 (NEP) envisions a massive transformation in education through- "an education system rooted in Indian ethos that contributes directly to transforming India, that is Bharat, sustainably into an equitable and vibrant knowledge society, by providing high-quality education to all, thereby making India a global knowledge superpower." The NEP 2020 is founded on the five guiding pillars of access, equity, quality, Affordability and accountability. It will prepare our youth to meet the diverse national and global challenges of the present and the future, as per the Ministry of Education. "In school education, the National Education Policy 2020 stresses on the core values and principle that education must develop not only the cognitive skills, that is, - both 'foundational skills' of literacy and numeracy and 'higher-order' skills such as critical thinking and problem solving - but also, social and emotional skills - also referred to as 'soft skills' -including cultural awareness and empathy, perseverance and grit, teamwork, leadership, communication, among others," as per Ministry of Education. The policy aims and aspires to universalize the pre-primary education and provides special emphasis on the attainment of foundational literacy/numeracy in primary school and beyond for all by 2025, as per Ministry of Education. (ANI) Targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party over changing the status of Jammu and Kashmir, from a full-fledged state to a Union Territory by abrogating Article 370, Congress leader Pawan Khera said on Sunday that no "bigger injustice" has been done to any state in the country. "There are many questions. The biggest question, which the Congress Party and many parties have been raising, is that you (BJP) took away the status of a full state from a state and made it a Union Territory. No bigger injustice has been done to any state in this country," he said. In August 2019, the government of India abrogated Article 370, effectively ending Jammu and Kashmir J&K's special status and reorganising into two Union Territories (UTs) -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Earlier in the day, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, accused the BJP of 'defaming' the NC and said that the country belongs to all its citizens, including Muslims. He further stated that those questioning Muslims should be reminded about their significant contributions and sacrifices for the country's independence. "BJP will do everything possible to defame the National Conference, but we will win and change the fate of the people," said the National Conference chief. "The BJP says if the National Conference and Congress come to power, terrorism will start again. I ask them, when they abolished Article 370, did terrorism end? The National Conference and Congress will ensure that we get our statehood back," Abdullah added. Earlier on Saturday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a scathing attack on Congress and the National Conference's manifesto, stating that the alliance wants to bring back the old system and start talks with Pakistan, but "till there is no peace, there will be no talks with Pakistan." Criticising the Congress and National Conference's manifesto, Shah said that they want to "spread terrorism, snatch reservations of Gujjars, Bakarwal, Paharis and Dalits, release criminals and start LOC trade with Pakistan, in Jammu and Kashmir." Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls will be held in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1. There are a total number of 90 assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, out of which 7 seats are reserved for SCs and 9 seats are reserved for STs. According to the Election Commission of India, Jammu and Kashmir has 88.06 lakh eligible electors. These are the first assembly elections to be held in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. (ANI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said that the DMK government in the state has created a sense of assurance among Tamils worldwide that "Tamil Nadu is our homeland." "Overall, the Dravidian Munnetra Kazhagam government has created a sense of assurance among Tamils worldwide that 'Tamil Nadu is our homeland.' That's why I always say, 'This is not a party government; it is a government for a race!'," Stalin said while addressing the 'American Tamils' Meeting' held in Chicago, US, on Saturday. He said that the power to overcome caste and religious differences and unite everyone lies in Tamil people. "We are those who believe that even if we fall, we will live as Tamils. This spirit wasinstilled by the Dravidian movement. Our Tamil race has a pride that no other race in theworld has. We are those who have sacrificed ourselves to protect our mother tongue. I take pride in being a member of the Dravidian Munnetra Kazhagam that gave us those sacrifices," Stalin said. The Chief Minister said that Tamils hold various high positions in many countries these days. This possibility has been made possible by social justice and leaders who have fought for it in Tamil Nadu, he said. "This is the society for which leaders like Periyar, Anna, and Poet Kalaignar (M Karunanidhi) have strived. That is why, through the Justice Party's governance, the Kamaraj era, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam rule, we continue to give priority to education in Tamil Nadu," he said "It was due to the emphasis Kalaignar placed on computer education that Tamil Nadu progressed in the IT sector. During his tenure, there was no other state with a significant development like Tidel Park. On that foundation, we attracted the world to Tamil Nadu, and Tamil Nadu was embraced by the world. You are proof of that," he added. The Chief Minister said that Tamil Nadu has earned the distinction of being the first address for investors. "You must have heard about the progress Tamil Nadu has made since the Dravidian model government was established. Have you heard how it is progressing? In terms of industrial development, wherever I go and meet heads of companies, I always highlight how Tamil Nadu leads the way in India and the unique features of Tamil Nadu, inviting them to start businesses there. This is why Tamil Nadu has earned the distinction of being the first address for investors," he said. The Chief Minister also spoke of various initiatives launched by his government for overseas Tamils. "We have established a toll-free assistance centre for Tamils abroad. The 'My Village'the initiative helps overseas Tamils improve their hometowns. The Kanian Poongundranar Award is given to expatriate Tamils. We provide financial aid to the families of those who go abroad for work and face difficulties. We have rescued 1,524 students who went to Ukraine for education during the war," he said. "We have brought back 83 Tamils from Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar. We rescued 126 individuals from Israel who were unable to continue their education. In the past three years alone, we have rescued 2,398 people from abroad and in different states," he said. (ANI) The Bharatiya Janata Party heightened its attack against National Conference leader Omar Abdullah over his remarks on the execution of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, accusing him of having a "separatist mentality." In a recent interview with ANI, Abdullah said that he did not believe any purpose was served by "executing" Afzal Guru. Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao said on Sunday, that the remarks of the NC leader reflect his "separatist mentality." "This statement of Omar Abdullah reflects his separatist mentality. His manifesto also points towards this. It is very unfortunate that Omar Abdullah is talking about a separatist mentality. The Congress party will also have to clarify whether they agree with these statements of Omar Abdullah," Chhattisgarh Deputy CM told ANI. Bharatiya Janata party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad also attacked the Congress party over its 'silence' over Abdullah's remarks. "Who was Afzal Guru? Was he involved in terrorist activities or not? Were innocent people killed or not?. Why is the Congress party silent on it?. I want to tell Congress that Kashmir has changed. Tricolour flutters at Lal Chowk. There is development in J-K. The public knows that they were looted in the name of terrorism," the BJP leader said. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Rachna Reddy also attacked National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah and said that such "separatist and seditious elements" should be dismantled and rooted out of the Indian electoral politics. Drawing a sharp criticism to NC Vice Chief Omar Abdullah's statement on Afzal Guru's execution, Rachna Reddy said, "How dare you support seditious elements and separatist agendas....How dare you question the Supreme Court?" "It is for the people of Jammu and Kashmir to make a decision today to completely dismantle such separatist and seditious elements and to completely root them out of Indian electoral politics. Don't give them power. This is your country," the BJP leader added. Earlier in the day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh criticised Omar Abdullah's remarks and asked whether the separatist leader should have been garlanded publicly. "I heard that National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Sahab said that Afzal Guru should not have been hanged. I want to ask him that Afzal Guru should not have been hanged; should he have been garlanded publicly? And these people claim that they will restore Article 370," Singh said in a public meeting in Ramban. Abdullah has drawn ire ever since he made the remarks on the separatist leader's execution. "The unfortunate thing was that the Jammu and Kashmir government had nothing to do with Afzal Guru's execution. Otherwise, you would have had to do it with the permission of the state government, which I can tell you in no uncertain terms would not have been forthcoming. We wouldn't have done it. I don't believe that any purpose was served by executing him," Abdullah had said. Earlier on Saturday, BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi attcked Omar Abdullah and said his remarks were an "expose of their nefarious, nasty, separatist anti-national design." Trivedi also targeted the Congress, an alliance partner of the NC, in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election, saying that it "is showing their real nefarious design through proxy." BJP MP Manoj Tiwari also slammed Abdullah's remarks and said the National Conference leader had made remarks that are "anti-country" and against the verdict of the Supreme Court. He also targeted Rahul Gandhi over the remarks and asked if the Congress leader agreed with such remarks of his ally in Jammu and Kashmir. BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari on Saturday reacted to former JK CM Omar Abdullah's remarks on Afzal Guru and said that his statement reflects the mindset of the INDIA bloc, which is about backing the terrorists. Meanwhile, the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir are scheduled to be held in three phases on September 18, September 25 and October 1. The counting of votes will take place on October 8. These are the first assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. Omar Abdullah, who lost the Lok Sabha election from Baramulla, is contesting from two constituencies -- Ganderbal and Budgam. Congress and the National Conference are fighting the polls together as allies. (ANI) A suspected case of Mpox was reported in Delhi in a man who recently returned to India from abroad, a Union Health Ministry release said on Sunday. According to the release, the patient has been placed under isolation in a designated hospital and is currently stable. The release further mentioned that the samples from the patient are being tested to confirm the presence of Mpox. "The case is being managed in line with established protocols, and contact tracing is ongoing to identify potential sources and assess the impact within the country," the release stated. The Ministry stated that the development aligns with the earlier risk assessment conducted by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and there is no cause of any undue concern. It further asserted that the country is fully prepared to deal with such isolated travel-related cases and has robust measures in place to manage and mitigate any potential risk. Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, has been a public health issue in parts of Africa for many years but resurfaced as a global concern in 2022. Since January 1, 2022, Mpox cases have been reported to the WHO from 121 member states across all six WHO regions. The WHO Mpox report dated September 3, 2024, provides global data up to July 31, 2024. A total of 102,997 laboratory-confirmed cases and 186 probable cases, including 223 deaths, have been reported to the WHO. In July 2024, 1,425 cases and six deaths were reported globally. More than half of these cases were from the African region (55%), followed by the American region (24%) and the European region (11%). The South-East Asia Region (SEAR) reported 1 per cent of the total cases. (ANI) After fresh incidents of violence in Manipur, Seram Rojesh, Convener of the Delhi Meitei Coordinating Committee, on Sunday condemned the violence. "On September 1, in Koutruk area in Imphal, for the first time the Kuki Militants have used drones and bombed many places. In that bombing, one mother of two children was killed and again on September 6 in Bishnupur district, long range missiles have been dropped on former Chief Minister Mairembam Koireng's residence. Delhi Meitei Coordination Committee condemn this kind of terror activities used by the Kuki militants," he said. Further, he claimed that the latest incidents were just to push the Kuki's demand for a separate administration. "Will the country like India will allow such kind of terror tactics against a particular community for some demand? This not just a single attack. This is one of the seven major attacks happened in the last one and a half years. The first attack took place on May 3 in four districts where the Kuki majorities are there. Later, the violence spread to valley in Imphal also," he said. "The question remain is that how this kind of series of attacks were allowed to happen by the state forces and government of India? This is the question we want to ask as Manipur is a state in India. Why the security forces been deployed in Manipur not taking any action against Kuki Militants," Rojesh further added. The Delhi Meitei Coordinating Committee also appealed to Prime Minister Modi to visit the state and intervene in the matter. Rojesh said, "We appeal to the Prime Minister to immediately go to Manipur and he should intervene. Their (Kuki Militants) demands should not be allowed by government of India." The Convener of DMCC further mentioned that the security forces should immediately dismantle Militant bunkers in the hilly areas. "These attacks are just a part of a larger project which is making an independent country, the Kuki land. This is the time that the Government of India acts against them and dismantle all the bunkers. When we talked to the villagers, they told us that they are scared at night as bomb can drop from anywhere. It is terror. All the communities are living in fear," Seram Rojesh said. He also highlighted that if people have any demands there are other ways to achieve that, adding that the integrity of the state should be protected. "Telangana was separated from Andhra Pradesh and was made a state but the people of Telangana never used such of violence. Government of India should clarify that no division of Manipur based on ethnics and demand can be done. Manipur's integrity should be protected," he said. "The Situation is very tense. The Meitei community people cannot go outside the foothills. All the national highways have been blocked by the Kuki Militants. They have been using water chemical warfare from the hills. They are using all kind of tactics to terrorize the community," he added. Earlier on Sunday, Chief Minister N Biren Singh handed over an ex-gratia amount of Rs 10 lakhs to the family of people killed. In a post on X, Manipur CM said, "Representatives of the JAC against the brutal killing of (L) Ngangbam (O) Surbala Devi by Kuki militants at Koutruk called on me at my Secretariat. An ex-gratia amount of Rs 10 lakhs has been handed over to the bereaved family as a small gesture from the government, recognizing the deep loss they have endured. While no financial assistance can truly compensate for the life lost, it is our responsibility to stand by the affected families and offer them support in these difficult times." (ANI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday visited the Lok Bandhu Hospital in Lucknow to meet those injured in the building collapse incident. He enquired about their well-being and gained information from the doctors about their treatment Taking to X, CM Yogi wrote, "Met the people injured in the unfortunate building collapse incident in Lucknow at Lok Bandhu Shri Rajnarayan Combined Hospital today. Enquired about their well-being and obtained information from the doctors about their treatment." "Under the supervision of skilled doctors, proper treatment is being provided to all on top priority. In this difficult time, the UP government stands with the victims and their families with full readiness and sensitivity. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to grant speedy recovery to the injured," the post further reads. The incident, which occurred on Saturday evening, resulted in the deaths of eight people and left 28 others injured. Meanwhile, on the complaint of Transport Nagar Chowki Incharge MK Singh, an FIR has been registered against Rakesh Singhal, the owner of the Harmilap Building. Earlier today, President Droupadi Murmu expressed her grief over the deaths of eight people who lost their lives in the Lucknow building collapse incident and prayed for the speedy recovery of those who sustained injuries in the incident. Taking to social media platform X, Murmu said, "I am deeply saddened by the deaths of many people in the building collapse accident in Lucknow. I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the speedy recovery of those injured." Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured in the building collapse incident. "The loss of lives due to a building mishap in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, is saddening. Prayers with those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon," the PM Modi said in a post on X. "An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000," PM Modi added. (ANI) Mehbooba Mufti, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, on Sunday accused the BJP leaders of being frustrated which was why they were targeting the regional parties. Addressing a public rally in Kokernag in favour of PDP candidate Haroon Chowdhary, Mehbooba Mufti said, "What will (BJP) they do? They are frustrated. They know that people are upset after what they did five years ago in Jammu and Kashmir (abrogation of Article 370). People want to respond to them through ballot. They can talk about anything." The former JK CM also questioned the National Conference recalling the NC leaders meeting with the BJP leaders in Delhi under the cover of darkness to form a government with them in 2014. Her comments follow the statement of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devender Singh Rana, who claimed that NC leader Omar Abdullah attempted to ally with the BJP in 2014. "You must have heard the statement of Devendra Rana sahab. The time when the BJP people from Delhi were standing at our door asking to form a government with them for three months...Who was the promient National Conference leader to meet Amit Shah in Delhi? And asking him to form a government with them." Rana told reporters earlier in the month, "He (Omar Abdullah) was interim CM and didn't want to leave power. He wanted NC to be in power in one way or the other. Farooq Abdullah was abroad and he asked him to go and talk to the BJP and stay in government somehow. BJP was in the centre, so Farooq Abdullah always wanted to go hand in hand with the central government. Now the situation will not arise for BJP and NC to come together." Polling would be held in Jammu Kashmir in three phases: September 18, September 25, and October 1. The counting of votes will take place on October 8. The National Conference and the Congress have forged a pre-poll alliance days ahead of the polls. There are a total number of 90 assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, out of which 7 seats are reserved for SCs and 9 seats are reserved for STs. According to the Election Commission of India, Jammu and Kashmir has 88.06 lakh eligible electors. These are the first assembly elections to be held in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. In the previous Assembly elections, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) won 28 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 25, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) won 15, and the Congress won 12.(ANI) A woman was killed after a panther made an attack on her on Sunday morning in Kirat under the Jhadol Police Station area here. The deceased has been identified as Mirabai Ahari, a 40-year-old resident of Dhikalia who was attacked while she was collecting wood. Upon receiving the information, the Jhadol Police station officials and Forest Department officials arrived on the spot. The mutilated body of the victim was found after a search in the dense forest. Angry villagers blocked the National Highway 58 E for six hours after the incident occurred. Babu Lal Kharidi, Cabinet Minister of Rajasthan, said that the incident that occurred was a tragic one and compensation would be provided to the family of the deceased. Speaking to ANI, Kharidi said, "The incident that occurred is a very unfortunate one. The woman attacked by the panther has died. We understand the anger of the people over the incident. We will be providing compensation to the family of the deceased." The dead body has been taken to the mortuary for postmortem. Meanwhile, ongoing search operations have intensified in Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh to hunt the 'man-eating' wolves who have killed a three-year-old girl and injured 40 people in the district. So far, four wolves have been found and the search for the remaining two wolves has been going on. The Forest Department of Bahraich installed snap cameras at most of the probable habitats of wolves in the area to monitor any movement by them, which would also help the forest department to learn about the movement of the wolves in order to catch them. The forest department has installed these snap cameras to capture the images of the wolves. Sanjay Pathak, General Manager of the Forest Department, said that the snap camera strategy works automatically without any human interference, which makes wolves comfortable as they don't sense any human presence. Speaking to ANI, Pathak said, "The snap cameras installed will work without any human interference, which will make the wolves comfortable, as they would not sniff the alien smell of the humans." (ANI) After the launch of the 7th Rashtriya Poshan Maah, so far 1.79 crore activities have been reported from 756 districts of 35 States and UTs, according to the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The Ministry reported more than 20 lakh activities on the theme 'Complementary Feeding, a critical aspect of infant nutrition,' of the Poshan Maah. The ministry said that the reported activities demonstrate the widespread enthusiasm and commitment of people to improve nutrition outcomes among infants and young children. The ministry is observing 7th Rashtriya Poshan Maah, a month-long event aimed at improving ground-level nutrition outcomes and encouraging behavioural changes. This year's theme includes Complementary Feeding, a critical aspect of infant nutrition. The ministry advised that around or after age of 6 months, an infant's need for energy and nutrients starts to exceed that which is provided by breast milk. Complementary foods are necessary to meet those needs. An infant of this age is also developmentally ready for foods other than mother's milk. During the period of complementary feeding, children are at high risk of undernutrition. Sensitisation of the community about the time of initiation, nutritional quality, quantity and frequency of complimentary feeding will help to ensure healthy growth of children. Earlier on Saturday, the ministry said that Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh are among the top contributing states. The 7th 'Rashtriya Poshan Maah' was launched on 31st August 2024 at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. It focuses on key themes such as anemia, growth monitoring, complementary feeding, and Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi, along with technology for better governance. The campaign also emphasised environmental sustainability through the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' initiative, in which plantation is encouraged across all the operational 13.95 lakh Anganwadi centres. In terms of key focus as per the ministry, as of Saturday, over 39 lakh activities have been conducted on anemia, over 27 lakh activities on growth monitoring, almost 20 lakh activities on complementary feeding, over 18.5 lakh activities on 'Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi', and 8 lakh activities on environmental sustainability through 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam. (ANI) China has announced that it will no longer allow children to be sent overseas for adoption, ending a practice that has been in place for over three decades. The policy change stems from the countrys former strict one-child policy, which led to the international adoption of thousands of children, primarily girls and children with disabilities. The head of a Christian orphan network expressed concerns regarding the future fate of these unwanted children but said he has hope towards believers in China to step up and care of the most vulnerable. Commenting to Christian Daily International about the sudden change, Jedd Medefind, President of Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO), said that China has been steadily constricting international adoption for many years. Most observers expected that to continue, but this sudden shutdown still came as a surprise to many. It's especially heartbreaking for the families who've already been matched with children, some for many years. They don't consider these children statistics or photographs, but as their daughters and sons, he said. Since China first opened its doors to international adoption in 1992, more than 160,000 Chinese children have found homes with families around the world. Of these, approximately 82,000 were adopted by families in the United States, according to data from China's Children International (CCI). On Thursday, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning confirmed the policy shift, explaining that the decision aligns with global trends in adoption practices. She noted that the only exceptions to the new rule would be cases involving the adoption of a child or stepchild by foreign relatives within three generations. Stay informed with The Christian Daily Newsletter Sign up "Apart from the adoption of a child or stepchild of blood relatives of the same generation who are within three generations of foreigners coming to China to adopt, China will not send children abroad for adoption," Mao said. She expressed gratitude toward foreign families and governments that have adopted Chinese children, acknowledging the love and kindness theyve shown over the years. It remains unclear how the policy shift will affect families currently in the process of adopting Chinese children, leaving many prospective adoptive parents in limbo. The decision comes amid broader demographic challenges faced by China. After two consecutive years of population decline, the country is struggling to encourage young couples to marry and have children. Despite incentives, many young women are hesitant to start families, citing concerns over the high cost of childcare, job security, and an uncertain economic future. Chinas one-child policy, which was in place from 1979 to 2015, played a significant role in shaping the country's adoption landscape. Under the policy, many families chose to keep boys, traditionally seen as the main family caregivers, and gave up girls for adoption. This led to a surge in international adoptions, particularly to Western countries. As China seeks to address its population decline and shift its focus toward domestic adoption and family planning, the end of international adoptions marks a significant turning point in the countrys social policy. Medefind is not convinced that the change will lead to more Chinese families adopting these children, however. Virtually all children adopted from China in recent years were at least 4 or 5 years old or older and also had some kind of disability, he says. Therefore, he is concerned that these children simply won't have a way to ever reach a permanent family -- not overseas, and almost certainly not domestically either. Chinas move to halt international adoptions mirrors recent actions by other nations. In May, the Netherlands banned its citizens from adopting children from foreign countries, while Denmark has also stopped international adoptions after its last adoption agency ceased operations. It's impossible to know what will happen to each of the Chinese children who'll now be kept from joining a family via intercountry adoption, but from all we've seen in countries that have taken similar steps to curtail international adoption, the prognosis isn't good, Medefind says. Large numbers of kids simply grow up without families, in institutions or worse. He observed that countries that banned intercountry adoption sometimes see a modest initial uptick in domestic adoptions of healthy infants, but many other kids simply languish. It's likely most of the children who would have been adopted internationally the majority of which have special needs will never find a family. They will grow up facing the profound struggles that come with orphanhood and disabilities in a culture that looks down on both. However, Medefind also sees the new situation as an opportunity for Christians in China to distinguish themselves from the wider culture and reveal Christs love to the most vulnerable. My earnest hope is that many caring Chinese families, especially the growing number of devout Christians in China, will consider adopting an older child, a sibling group, or a child with special needs. That'd be an incredibly counter-cultural choice in a society that prizes bloodlines and views both orphanhood and disability as permanent defects, he says. Committed Christians around the world motivated by the love of God and their own sense of being adopted into His family are increasingly making choices like that, and I have a great deal of respect for and hope in Chinese believers for this also. Olympian Bajrang Punia who recently got inducted into the Congress and appointed the working President of the Kisan Congress on Sunday received a WhatsApp message that allegedly asked him to "quit Congress immediately or face dire consequences for him and his family members". The wrestling champion lodged a formal complaint at the Bahalgarh police station in Sonipat district, following the text message that was recieved from an phone registred in a foreign country, Sonipat Superintendant of Police Ravindra Singh said today. "Bajrang Punia has given a complaint in Bahalgarh Police Station that he has received a threat message from a foreign number," SP Singh said. Singh said that the threat has been received by an unknown person and the legal action is underway. "The legal action is underway. An unknown person has given a threat, investigation is underway," he said. Further details are awaited. Earlier in the day, Punia alleged double standards from the BJP, saying that had he and Vinesh Phogat joined the BJP they would have been hailed as "patriots" but are now labelled 'anti-nationals' for aligning with the opposition. Punia expressed confidence that, as a farmer's son, he would raise the concerns of the farmers in a better way. "I am an athlete and a son of a farmer, as per the responsibility given by the party, I think I can raise concerns of the farmers in a better way... Brijbhushan and BJP have a problem (that we joined Congress). We would have become patriots if we had joined the BJP, but because we have joined the Congress, they are calling us anti-nationals. We are with our leader Rahul Gandhi and his struggle. He is raising the voice of all sections, be it farmers, youth or athletes," he said. On Friday, Phogat and wrestler Bajrang Punia joined Congress just a month ahead of the Haryana Assembly Elections. Within hours of joining the party, Phogat was fielded as a party candidate from the Julana Assembly Constituency. Whereas Punia was appointed as the working president of the All India Kisan Congress. Punia won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, while Vinesh Phogat became the first woman wrestler to reach the Olympics final in Paris last month. The wrestlers resigned from their respective positions in Northern Railways earlier on that day. The voting for the 90-member legislative assembly in Haryana will be held on October 5 and the last date for filing nominations is September 12. The counting of votes will be held on October 8. (ANI) Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak on Sunday visited Lok Bandhu Hospital in Lucknow to meet the victims injured in the building collapse incident in Lucknow's Transport Nagar area. During his visit, Pathak instructed officials and doctors to ensure high-quality medical care and provide all possible assistance. In a post on X, Pathak stated, "Met the people injured in the unfortunate building collapse incident in Lucknow at Lok Bandhu Shri Rajnarayan Combined Hospital today. Enquired about their health and instructed the officers and doctors to provide high quality health facilities to all the injured and provide them all possible help." https://x.com/brajeshpathakup/status/1832767328552960274 The incident happened on Saturday evening. Eight people died and 28 sustained injuries in the building collapse. Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also visited the Lok Bandhu Hospital in Lucknow to meet those injured in the building collapse incident. He enquired about their well-being and obtained information from the doctors about their treatment. Taking to X, CM Yogi wrote, "Met the people injured in the unfortunate building collapse incident in Lucknow at Lok Bandhu Shri Rajnarayan Combined Hospital today. Enquired about their well-being and obtained information from the doctors about their treatment." "Under the supervision of skilled doctors, proper treatment is being provided to all on top priority. In this difficult time, the UP government stands with the victims and their families with full readiness and sensitivity. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to grant speedy recovery to the injured," the post further reads. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured in the building collapse incident. "The loss of lives due to a building mishap in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, is saddening. Prayers with those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon," PM Modi said in a post on X. "An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs 50,000," PM Modi added. President Droupadi Murmu also expressed her grief over the deaths of eight people who lost their lives in the Lucknow building collapse incident and prayed for the speedy recovery of those who sustained injuries in the incident. Taking to social media platform X, the President Murmu said, "I am deeply saddened by the deaths of many people in the building collapse accident in Lucknow. I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the speedy recovery of those injured." Lucknow's Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Amit Verma, announced that a committee will be formed to investigate the building collapse. Verma told ANI, "A committee will investigate the reasons behind the collapse. Structural engineers and experts will provide insights into the cause." (ANI) People from the medical fraternity, activists and local citizens on Sunday formed a human chain in Siliguri to protest against the RG Kar rape and murder case and demand justice for the victim. The brutal rape and murder of a trainee woman doctor in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital has sparked widespread protests in West Bengal and across the country. The victim was found dead in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. Earlier today, sculptors of Kumartuli held a protest in Kolkata against the Kolkata rape and murder incident. People also held a torch march protest in Kolkata against the rape and murder incident. BJP workers protested in the Kolkata Esplanade area against the incident. Rickshaw pullers in Kolkata also held protests against the rape-murder incident. In a related development, BJP MP Jyotirmay Singh Mahato on Sunday wrote a letter to the Director of ED requesting an investigation and arrest of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in connection with health scams involving Sandip Ghosh and the RG Kar Case. TMC Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar on Sunday wrote to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and offered his resignation from the post of MP. "I have suffered patiently for a month since the terrible incident at RG Kar Hospital, & was hoping for your direct intervention with the agitating junior doctors, in the old style of Mamata Banerjee. It has not happened & whatever punitive steps that govt is taking now are too little & quite late. I think normalcy may have been restored in this state much earlier if the caucus of the corrupt doctors was smashed and those guilty of taking improper administrative actions punished immediately after the scandalous incident happened," reads the letter. On Thursday, the victim's family accused the Kolkata Police of attempting to offer them money while they were grieving with their daughter's remains. On September 2, the Anti-Corruption Branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Dr Sandip Ghosh, along with three others, over alleged corruption and financial misconduct at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Ghosh, the former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, has been remanded to 8-day police custody. The next hearing of the case will be on September 10. On September 3, amid protests over the Kolkata rape and murder case, the West Bengal Assembly unanimously passed the 'Aparajita Woman and Child Bill (West Bengal Criminal Laws and Amendment) 2024'. The Bill introduces the death penalty or life-long imprisonment for rape by amending the relevant sections in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the new penal code. (ANI) On September 6, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose referred the Aparajita Bill to President Droupadi Murmu for consideration. (ANI) A team of youngsters in Surat have built a 11-foot idol of Ganesh using 70 kg of neem bark here on Sunday to celebrate Ganesh Puja. The idol, built by 10 artisans, weighs about 600 kg and was built in a period of 35 to 4 days. Apart from neem, different types of grass and soil have been filled in the idol to keep it stable. No chemicals were used anywhere. Kinjal N Patel, the head of the association whikch bult the idol said that it was made using 70 to 80 kgs of neem and natural grass that is used in farms and further said that the motive behind the idea was to not cause any damage to the environment during the festive occasion. Speaking to ANI, Patel said, "We have used approximately 70 to 80 kg of neem and natural grass along with soil to build the idol. The main motive behind using these resources was to save the environment and not cause any degradation during the festive occasion." Vratik Patel, another member of the association, said that the main motive was to create awareness about the importance of trees and plants among the people. "We created the idol using the natural resources and tree components because we wanted to create an awareness regarding the importance of trees and plants among the people so that people start caring about the environment," he added. Meanwhile, in Mayurbhanj, in Odisha, a youth organisation celebrated the 18th Ganesh Utsav by preparing a 15-foot tall Ganesh idol using 25,000 glass bangles, and the pandal has been made of bamboo in Baripada. Friends Union Organisation President Saumya Ranjan Mishra told ANI, "We are celebrating Ganesh Puja for 5 days according to the tradition of Maharashtra. The festival lasts for 8 days with tribal traditional songs, dances, a national-level dance competition, and much more. Prasad distribution takes place for 5 days. Some artists come from West Bengal and other states. Very unique 15-foot Ganesh idol made by 25000 (twenty-five thousand) glass bangles. This is the main attraction of our Ganesh festival, for which devotees come from different states." Cashier of the organisation Srikant Barik said, "This time we are celebrating 18th year. We have spent more than 22 to 25 lakhs all together for this decoration and making unique idols." (ANI) BJP National Spokesperson RP Singh said on Sunday that situation has changed in the poll-bound Jammu and Kashmir, and said today everyone is hoisting the tiranga at their home in the Union Territory. The BJP leader also recalled how the Omar Abdullah-led government stopped BJP leaders from hoisting the flag at Lal Chowk in 2011. "In 2006, the Pakistan flag was hoisted in Lal Chowk. In 2008, we decided to hoist the Tiranga in Lal Chowk. The party took out a Tiranga Yatra in 2011. Arun Jaitley, Sushma (Swaraj) Ji, and Anurag Thakur were arrested. They did not allow us to raise the flag. Omar Abdullah government was in power. I raised the flag at Lal Chowk," Singh said while addressing a press conference in Jammu. "Later, I was beaten for four hours at Munshi Bagh Ram police station, and Kashmir police asked me to raise slogans against India," he recalled. "Today Tiranga is being hoisted at every home in Kashmir." "The situation has changed in the last few years," he said. "There has been no incident of stone-pelting reported in the last two years." He also slammed National Conference Vice-president Omar Abdulah over his remarks on the execution of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. "What is Omar Sahab stating? Afzal hum Sharminda hain. He is saying that it was not right to hang Afzal," he said. Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls will be held in three phases on September 18, 25, and October 1. The counting will be done on October 8. There are a total number of 90 assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, out of which 7 seats are reserved for SCs and 9 seats are reserved for STs. The National Conference and the Congress have forged a pre-poll alliance days ahead of the polls. According to the Election Commission of India, Jammu and Kashmir has 88.06 lakh eligible electors. These are the first assembly elections to be held in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. In the previous Assembly elections, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) won 28 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 25, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) won 15, and the Congress won 12. (ANI) The state government has appointed Dr Sanjeev Gupta, Secretary, Home Department, Uttar Pradesh Government, as the Chairman of the committee. As per the Uttar Pradesh government, the said investigation committee is expected to comprehensively investigate the causes of the incident and submit its investigation report to the government as soon as possible. The building collapse incident, which occurred on Saturday, resulted in the deaths of eight people and left 28 others injured. Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak on Sunday visited Lok Bandhu Hospital in Lucknow to meet the victims injured in the building collapse incident in Lucknow's Transport Nagar area. During his visit, Pathak instructed officials and doctors to ensure high-quality medical care and provide all possible assistance. In a post on X, "Met the people injured in the unfortunate building collapse incident in Lucknow at Lok Bandhu Shri Rajnarayan Combined Hospital today. Enquired about their health and instructed the officers and doctors to provide high-quality health facilities to all the injured and provide them all possible help." Earlier today, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also visited the Lok Bandhu Hospital in Lucknow to meet those injured in the building collapse incident. He enquired about their well-being and obtained information from the doctors about their treatment. Taking to X, CM Yogi wrote, "Met the people injured in the unfortunate building collapse incident in Lucknow at Lok Bandhu Shri Rajnarayan Combined Hospital today. Enquired about their well-being and obtained information from the doctors about their treatment." "Under the supervision of skilled doctors, proper treatment is being provided to all on top priority. In this difficult time, the UP government stands with the victims and their families with full readiness and sensitivity. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to grant speedy recovery to the injured," the post further reads. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured in the building collapse incident. (ANI) The exam will start from September 15. During the meeting, the Chief Minister underscored the critical need for a transparent and merit-based examination process, instructing each District Commissioner to implement measures for a seamless examination process, including personal inspections of examination centres to ensure essential amenities are provided. He directed SPs to enforce rigorous security measures around these centres. He also called for heightened vigilance on social media to address any attempts by miscreants to undermine the examination's integrity. These robust strategies aim to ensure a smooth, secure examination process, reflecting the state government's unwavering commitment to transparency. Chief Secretary Dr. Ravi Kota, DGP G.P. Singh, Special DGP Harmeet Singh, Principal Secretary K.K. Dwivedi, Police Commissioner Diganta Borah, senior officers of the Government of Assam, District Commissioners, and SPs were present in the meeting. (ANI) The Muslim institutions and leaders, during the meeting in Ahmedabad, collectively said that the Waqf Amendment Bill should be opposed and withdrawn by all means, as it is a religious issue for the Muslim community. A meeting was held at the Jama Masjid in Ahmedabad on Sunday to discuss the suggestions to be given to the JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee) on September 13 concerning the Waqf Board Amendment Bill 2024. Several Muslim organisations, such as Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, along with many individuals, gathered in the meeting. Notably, suggestions on the issue have been invited by the JPC through email or personally in any way. Mufti Shabbir Ahmed Siddiqui, Imam of the Shahi Jama Masjid Mosque, said that no changes can be made to Waqf properties, according to Islamic principles. Speaking to ANI, Siddiqui said, "The Waqf properties belong solely to Allah, not to the Muslim community. According to Islamic principles, no changes can be made to it. Waqf is a religious issue of Muslims; hence, there can be no change in its use. It is said that Waqf lands are sometimes sold or illegally occupied, and if government brings a strict law to prevent this, we will support that." "However, if there are provisions in the bill that allow any changes to Waqf properties, we reject the bill. Since we have been asked for our opinion, we are providing it. We also urge the public to send their opinions to the authorities through email," he added. Meanwhile, the fourth meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to examine the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, was held on Friday. During the meeting, senior officials of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) made a presentation before the Joint Parliamentary Committee. Several stakeholders, including the Zakat Foundation of India and the Telangana Waqf Board, put forth their views, suggestions, and oral evidence on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. According to sources, the Archaeological Survey of India gave a detailed presentation in the JPC-led meeting on issues related to Waqf in protected monuments and sites and explained the problems they are facing. They also discussed why the Waqf Board Amendment Bill is necessary. Opposition parties have been continuously opposing the Waqf Board Amendment Bill in JPC meetings, leading to uproar and heated debates. The Waqf Act 1995 empowers the Waqf Board to declare any property or building as Waqf property in the name of charity. According to sources, using this authority, the Waqf Board has issued notifications to declare protected monuments as Waqf properties, resulting in conflicts with the rights granted under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958. (ANI) Women in Imphal organised a protest rally on Sunday against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre as the crisis continues to grip Manipur after starting more than a year ago. The protestors were seen holding fire torches and raising slogans against the government, demanding action over the continuing violence in the state. Earlier in the day, Seram Rojesh, convener of the Delhi Meitei Coordinating Committee, condemned the violence in the state and appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the state and intervene in the matter. Chief Minister N Biren Singh earlier in the day handed over an ex-gratia amount of Rs 10 lakhs to the family of people killed. In a post on X, Manipur CM said, "Representatives of the JAC against the brutal killing of (L) Ngangbam (O) Surbala Devi by Kuki militants at Koutruk called on me at my Secretariat. An ex-gratia amount of Rs 10 lakhs has been handed over to the bereaved family as a small gesture from the government, recognizing the deep loss they have endured. While no financial assistance can truly compensate for the life lost, it is our responsibility to stand by the affected families and offer them support in these difficult times." Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, accompanied by 18 MLAs, met with Governor L Acharya on Sunday morning amid the fresh incident of violence in the state. The Chief Minister and the MLAs, including Ministers Basanta, Ranjan, Susindro, Govindas, Awangbow Newmai, Kashim Vashum, and MLAs Loken, Kongkhan Robindro, and Nalini, among others, held a meeting with the Governor. Kuki militants reportedly deployed long-range rockets at two locations in civilian areas, killing a 78-year-old man, identified as RK Rabei, and injuring six others in Bishnupur, as confirmed by Manipur Police on Saturday.The district magistrate has issued prohibitory orders, restricting assemblies of more than five people and the carrying of arms and ammunition. (ANI) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Minority Front National President Jamal Siddiqui said that the Muslim community is joining BJP in large numbers through the nationwide membership drive. Speaking to ANI during the drive held in Delhi on Sunday, Jamal Siddiqui said, "The Morcha is running a membership campaign 2024 across the country. The team of Minority Front is continuously going among the people of minority community across the country and making them members of the BJP." He said that the Minority Front has a target of making 50 lakh members and added that they can also strengthen the party for the upcoming elections. "Today, people of Muslim community are joining the Bharatiya Janata Party in large numbers and are ready to walk step by step with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the creation of a developed India. We just need to go among them," he added. Delhi State President Anees Abbasi told the media that 2500 minorities have enrolled as members of the BJP so far. "There is a lot of enthusiasm among the minorities to become members of the BJP," he added. General Secretary Faisal Mansoori, Shabana Rehman, Naeem Safi, District President Vakil Qureshi, Dilshad, and Shaukeen, among others, were present. The membership drive, which began on September 2, is set to run until October 15. For the first time, the process is being conducted through a digital app, making it more accessible and efficient for prospective members. On September 2, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the BJP's nationwide membership drive and called it an expansion of the family and also an ideological movement. "It isn't a game of numbers. It doesn't matter the numbers we achieve. This membership drive is an ideological and emotional movement," he said. He said the BJP is the only political party that is following the democratic process properly and added that the BJP is also expanding its work and strives to improve to live up to the expectations of the people. "Several generations have invested their lives into this party, and then today the party has made its place in the hearts of the people," he said. PM Modi received his BJP membership renewal certificate from party president JP Nadda at the 'Sanghatan Parva, Sadasyata Abhiyan 2024' in Delhi. The membership drive will be conducted in two phases--September 2 to September 25 and October 1 to October 15. Each phase will target specific milestones, ensuring a comprehensive reach across the country. (ANI) As the RG Kar rape-murder case, which shook the whole nation, nears a moth, protests were held across various parts of West Bengal, criticising the Mamata Banerjee-led state government and demanding justice for the victim. The brutal rape and murder of a trainee woman doctor in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital has sparked widespread protests in West Bengal and across the country. The victim was found dead in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. A huge crowd gathered at Jadavpur 8B bus terminus on Sunday to protest over RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-murder incident and to demand justice for the victim. A protester speaking to ANI criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, claiming she is more concerned with preserving her position than addressing the issue. "The Bengal Chief Minister is of no use; she only cares about saving her position. If we do not get justice, we will stage a bigger protest," she told ANI. Another protester emphasised that justice must be served regardless of the time it takes. "We have gathered here for justice. No matter how long it takes, we demand that justice be served," she said. Another protester stated, "The night should be safe for everyone. (The protest will continue) until justice is served." Earlier today in Kolkata, people from various walks of life held a protest on Sunday over the Kolkata rape and murder incident by forming a human chain. In Tollygunge, artists and technicians of the Bengali film industry held a protest march against the Kolkata rape and murder incident and demanded justice for the victim. In Siliguri, people from the medical fraternity, activists and local citizens formed a human chain to protest against the RG Kar rape and murder case and demanded justice for the victim. In Kolkata's Raja Bazar area, women of the Muslim Committee held a protest over the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape and murder case and demanded justice for the victim. Earlier today, sculptors from Kumartuli, people with torches, BJP workers, and rickshaw pullers separately took to the streets to protest against the rape and murder incident. Notably, the protest has been ongoing for nearly a month. In a related development, BJP MP Jyotirmay Singh Mahato on Sunday wrote a letter to the Director of ED requesting an investigation and arrest of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in connection with health scams involving Sandip Ghosh and the RG Kar Case. Amid mounting pressure on the Mamata government, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar on Sunday wrote to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and offered his resignation from the post of MP. "I have suffered patiently for a month since the terrible incident at RG Kar Hospital, & was hoping for your direct intervention with the agitating junior doctors, in the old style of Mamata Banerjee. It has not happened & whatever punitive steps that govt is taking now are too little & quite late. I think normalcy may have been restored in this state much earlier if the caucus of the corrupt doctors was smashed and those guilty of taking improper administrative actions punished immediately after the scandalous incident happened," reads the letter. The incident has sparked a war of words between the BJP and the state government, with the BJP demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. On Thursday, the victim's family accused the Kolkata Police of attempting to offer them money while they were grieving with their daughter's remains. Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer at the G Kar Medical College and Hospital, has been arrested in connection with the incident. On September 2, the Anti-Corruption Branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Dr Sandip Ghosh, along with three others, over alleged corruption and financial misconduct at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Ghosh, the former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, has been remanded to 8-day police custody. The next hearing of the case will be on September 10. Amid protests over the Kolkata rape and murder case, the West Bengal Assembly this week unanimously passed the 'Aparajita Woman and Child Bill (West Bengal Criminal Laws and Amendment) 2024'. The Bill introduces the death penalty or life-long imprisonment for rape by amending the relevant sections in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the new penal code. On September 6, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose referred the Aparajita Bill to President Droupadi Murmu for consideration. (ANI) Several women on Sunday held a protest at Kolkata's Raja Bazar area over the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape and murder case and demanded justice for the victim. At the Jadavpur 8B bus terminus, a huge crowd gathered to protest over the incident and to demand justice for the victim. In Kolkata, people from various walks of life held a protest on Sunday over the Kolkata rape and murder incident by forming a human chain. The brutal rape and murder of a trainee woman doctor in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital has sparked widespread protests in West Bengal and across the country. The victim was found dead in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. In Tollygunge, artists and technicians of the Bengali film industry held a protest march and demanded justice for the victim. In Siliguri, people from the medical fraternity, activists and local citizens on Sunday formed a human chain to protest. Earlier today, sculptors from Kumartuli, people with torches, BJP workers, and rickshaw pullers separately took to the streets to protest against the rape and murder incident. Notably, the protest has been ongoing for nearly a month. Dr Tapas Pramanik, who was on duty in the Emergency Department at RG Kar Medical College on August 9, expressed his hope to ANI that the investigating agency will submit a transparent report leading to capital punishment in the RG Kar rape-murder case, which is under Supreme Court hearing. "We are hoping that we will get a judgement that the investigating agency will submit a report maintaining the transparency and accountability of the culprit and there will be a capital punishment based on that... We are also hoping that there should be action against those doctors who are seen in videos tempering the evidence... There should be a punishment against those who are behind the vandalism that took place," Pramanik told ANI. The Supreme Court is set to hear the case of rape and murder at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on September 9. In a related development, BJP MP Jyotirmay Singh Mahato on Sunday wrote a letter to the Director of ED requesting an investigation and arrest of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in connection with health scams involving Sandip Ghosh and the RG Kar Case. TMC Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar on Sunday wrote to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and offered his resignation from the post of MP. "I have suffered patiently for a month since the terrible incident at RG Kar Hospital, & was hoping for your direct intervention with the agitating junior doctors, in the old style of Mamata Banerjee. It has not happened & whatever punitive steps that govt is taking now are too little & quite late. I think normalcy may have been restored in this state much earlier if the caucus of the corrupt doctors was smashed and those guilty of taking improper administrative actions punished immediately after the scandalous incident happened," reads the letter. The incident has sparked a war of words between the BJP and the state government, with the BJP demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. On Thursday, the victim's family accused the Kolkata Police of attempting to offer them money while they were grieving with their daughter's remains. Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer at the G Kar Medical College and Hospital, has been arrested in connection with the incident. On September 2, the Anti-Corruption Branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Dr Sandip Ghosh, along with three others, over alleged corruption and financial misconduct at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Ghosh, the former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, has been remanded to 8-day police custody. The next hearing of the case will be on September 10. On September 3, amid protests over the Kolkata rape and murder case, the West Bengal Assembly unanimously passed the 'Aparajita Woman and Child Bill (West Bengal Criminal Laws and Amendment) 2024'. The Bill introduces the death penalty or life-long imprisonment for rape by amending the relevant sections in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the new penal code. On September 6, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose referred the Aparajita Bill to President Droupadi Murmu for consideration. (ANI) Congress released its second list of nine candidates for the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections on Sunday. According to a statement from the party issued by party general secretary KC Venugopal, the party has decided to field Ashok Arora from Thanesar, Kuldeep Sharma from Ganaur, Brijendra Singh from Uchana Kalan, and Paramvir Singh from Tohana. Anirudh Chaudhary will contest from Tosham, Balram Dangi from Meham, Manju Choudhary from Nangal Chaudhary, Vardhan Yadav from Badshahpur, and Mohit Grover from Gurugram. Meanwhile, wrestler and Congress leader, Vinesh Phogat, on Sunday exuded confidence in winning the Julana seat in the upcoming Haryana Assembly Elections and said that nothing can be bigger than being a winner in people's eyes. "It feels good, people are very excited, the responsibility we have been given, the Congress party has sent us here as candidates, so people are giving us love and supporting us. Our people will make me win, and I am a winner in their eyes, so nothing can be bigger than this," Vinesh told reporters. Vinesh, along with wrestler Bajrang Punia, joined Congress on Friday, just one month ahead of the polls in the state. In another development, in a setback for the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of polls, Aditya Chautala resigned from the party and joined the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). INLD also announced Aditya Chautala as its candidate from the Dabwali assembly constituency. Party supremo Om Prakash Chautala gave the ticket to Aditya. Aditya Chautala, is also the grandson of former Haryana Chief Minister Devi Lal. After joining INLD, Aditya said that he has worked hard for the BJP for 10 years but still attempts were made to "derail" him. "I also worked for the people; despite this, the party cheated me. My name is not on the list of tickets issued, and an attempt was made to derail me. I gave so many years to the party, people expected that I would contest and win the elections," he told reporters. The voting for the 90-member legislative assembly in Haryana will be held on October 5 and the last date for filing nominations is September 12. The counting of votes will be held on October 8. In 2019 assembly polls, the BJP became the single-largest party with 40 seats, and Congress won 30 seats. (ANI) Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party Jharkhand in-charge Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday said that the BJP will carry out six Parivartan Yatras in Jharkhand and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Jamshedpur on September 15. "...We will take out six Parivartan Yatras in Jharkhand. Our local prominent leaders as well as senior leaders will also participate. The Prime Minister will visit Jamshedpur, Jharkhand on 15th (September). Along with the gift of Vande Bharat Train, the Prime Minister will deposit the first installment of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in the accounts of 1,13,195 poor people of Jharkhand," Chouhan told reporters. Shivraj Singh Chouhan arrived in Ranchi on Sunday. The Minister said, "Our target is to free Jharkhand from the misrule of JMM. As elections in the state are getting closer, Chief Minister Hemant Soren has promised 5 lakh jobs. In the last few days during the Excise constable recruitment drive, youths were forced to run for 10 km without proper arrangements. This kind of 10 km run is not conducted anywhere. Just for vote bank politics and to deceive the youth, this conspiracy was fabricated." He said that as a result of this conspiracy, 12 youths passed away during the physical tests for the recruitment of excise constables. "12 youths passed away. This is not an incident, this is murder. This has been done for vote bank politics and the youth of Jharkhand will never forgive the JMM government," he added. Jharkhand is set to witness an election to the 81-member legislative assembly later this year as the current government's tenure ends in 2024. The Election Commission of India (ECI) is yet to announce the dates. (ANI) Tripura University on Sunday hosted its 13th convocation at the MBB Auditorium, marking a significant moment in its ongoing efforts to align with Swadeshi educational practices. The ceremony, known as "Dikshant Samaroh," underscored the university's commitment to traditional values and the Swadeshi system of education. The event saw the conferral of 63 Ph.D. degrees and 130 gold medals to outstanding graduates from the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes for the academic year 2023. The awards honoured those who achieved top ranks in their respective disciplines, reflecting the university's dedication to academic excellence. The ceremony was graced by Tripura Governor Indrasena Reddy Nallu, as the chief guest. The convocation was presided over by Chancellor of Tripura University, Javed Ahmed, whose distinguished career includes roles as a former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and former Commissioner of Police in Mumbai. In his address, Governor Nallu praised the university's impressive campus and its significant role in the nation's educational landscape, stating, "I am visiting both the state and the university for the first time. I saw the campus today and yesterday, and the setup here is very impressive. This university is one of the leading educational institutions in the country." Chancellor of Tripura University, Javed Ahmed, while addressing the event, said, "I am visiting both the state and the university for the first time. I saw the campus today, and the setup here is very impressive. This university is one of the leading educational institutions in the country." Tripura University's Swadeshi model emphasises that education extends beyond academics, integrating moral values and lifelong learning. Graduates are encouraged to embody these principles and act as societal ambassadors, disseminating the values learnt during their time at the institution. The convocation not only celebrated academic achievements but also reaffirmed Tripura University's commitment to fostering a holistic educational environment rooted in tradition and cultural heritage. (ANI) Rejecting the media reports stating that his visit to the US to meet some top leaders, including former US President Barack Obama and US Vice President Kamala Harris, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar clarified on Sunday that the visit was purely personal. "I am travelling to the US along with my family till September 15. The media reports that I am meeting former US President Barack Obama and US Vice President Kamala Harris are incorrect. It is a personal visit," he clarified in a press statement. The Deputy Chief Minister also released to the media a letter that he had written to AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge regarding his visit to the US. "Regarding my upcoming visit to the United States of America, I would like to dispel the ongoing rumours--my visit is purely for personal reasons and is no way related to any political motive, nor is it due to any political invitation. I request everyone to kindly refrain from indulging in any kind of conjecture," wrote DK Shivakumar on social media platform X. Earlier on Saturday, Shivakumar urged Union Minister Pralhad Joshi to work towards getting approvals for the Mahadayi project and funds for the Upper Bhadra project rather than wasting his energy on raising issues like Muda and Darshan arrest. Speaking at his Sadashivanagar residence, he said, "I appeal to Pralhad Joshi with folded hands on the Ganesha Chathurthi to get us approval for the Mahadayi project and funds for the Upper Bhadra project." He was responding to Union Minister Pralhad Joshi's statement that the Congress government was trying to distract the people from the Valmiki Corporation scam by releasing a photograph of Darshan purportedly smoking inside the jail. "I will speak to the Chief Minister in about 15 days on whether to call for an all-party meeting, Mahadayi, or to call for a meeting of the Commission. We will discuss the nature of our fight for Mahadayi," Shivakumar said. (ANI) Amidst the ongoing flood crisis in Andhra Pradesh, the Akshaya Patra Foundation provided critical food support to impacted individuals and families. Sriman Vamsadhara Dasa, President Hare Krishna, said that under the instructions of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Municipal Minister Narayana, they provided food three times a day to those affected. "We are located at the Akshaya Patra kitchen in Mangalagiri, which served as a central hub for food distribution during the recent floods in Vijayawada. Under the instructions of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Municipal Minister Narayana, we provided food three times a day to those affected," he said. "On the first day, we served 60,000 people, which increased to 1.5 lakh people on the second day. By day 14, we had provided food to 3.3 lakh people. Government officials supported us in delivering food to those in need," he added. "Our centralised kitchen, equipped with the latest technology, enabled us to cook for 60,000 people at a time while maintaining high-quality and hygienic food standards," Hare Krishna said. Meanwhile, the Indian Army continued its humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) to contain critical breaches by using Gabion baskets in Vijayawada amid the ongoing floods in Andhra Pradesh. "The Indian Army HADR operations column has been pro actively addressing the situation in Vijayawada following breaches in three critical locations. The initial breaches, identified as Breach 1 and Breach 2, each ranging from 10-15 meters in width, have been temporarily plugged by the Civil administration stabilising the situation momentarily." said an official statement. However, the temporary solution to plug the two breaches led to a funnelling effect, which increased the water flow at the third breach. "This temporary solution has led to a funnelling effect, increasing the water flow significantly at the third breach site, which spans approximately 80-100 meters. The water current at this location is currently between 6-8 knots, with projections suggesting it might escalate to 10-12 knots." the statement added. The HADR team is reportedly going to use Gabion and HESCO baskets to contain the breaches in critical areas. According to the statement, "The team plans to employ a robust two-layer strategy using Gabion baskets, each measuring 5x2x2 meters. These baskets will be stacked atop one another and filled with stones to fortify the breach. Following the placement of the Gabion baskets, a protective bund reaching up to 4 meters in height will be constructed, accompanied by necessary earthwork to support the outer side of the baskets." The Indian Navy has also continued its relief and rescue operations in the flood-affected areas of Andhra Pradesh. The Flood Relief Teams (FTR) evacuated people to safety and distributed food to affected households. (ANI) Opposition leader in Pakistan's National Assembly, Omar Ayub said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan accepted his resignation as the party's secretary general, which he tendered for the second time, Pakistan-based daily, Dawn reported. Omar Ayub said that he requested Senator Shibli Faraz to convey his resignation as Secretary General of the party during his meeting with Imran Khan on Thursday. In a post on X, he said, "I had requested Senator Shibli Faraz sahib Opposition Leader Senate and Chief of Staff to convey my resignation as Secretary General PTI during his meeting with... Imran Khan sahib on Thursday 5th September, 2024. I am most grateful and indebted to...Imran Khan sahib that he has accepted my resignation letter dated 4th September 2024. I had earlier resigned on 22nd June 2024, but it was not accepted. Holding the offices of Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Secretary General PTI, pursuing my legal battles and looking after the issues of the constituency I represent in the National Assembly are all taken together a tremendous workload. I will continue to work as a worker of PTI..." "Let us all strive to make the Jalsa of 8th September 2024 at Sanjrani Islamabad a resounding success inshallah. Wishing the new Secretary General all the best. I will work closely and tirelessly with the new Secretary General...", Omar Ayub said. https://x.com/OmarAyubKhan/status/1832346705477402665 Earlier on July 7, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rejected the resignation of Omar Ayub Khan. It said that Omar Ayub will continue serving on the post in line with instructions given by PTI founder Imran Khan. In June, Omar Ayub stepped down as the secretary-general of PTI "to focus" on his role as the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly of Pakistan. However, PTI's core committee and parliamentary party opposed his step, asking him to withdraw his decision to step down from the party's coveted post. (ANI) The dinner, held at the Seaview Resort Xiamen, brought together leaders and delegations worldwide, along with senior government officials and business executives. The banquet served as a prelude to Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi's keynote address at the CIFIT opening ceremony. One of China's premier investment and trade fairs, CIFIT attracts over 1000 business delegations, 5000 companies, and around 50,000 business people from around the globe. Following the event, Sheikh Saud and his accompanying delegation will embark on a visit to Dongguan and Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. There, they will engage in meetings with local government leaders and business representatives to explore opportunities for cooperation. The CIFIT, an annual event organised by China's Ministry of Commerce, plays a pivotal role in fostering international investment relations. Renowned as one of the world's most influential investment fairs, it draws participants from over 100 countries and regions. (ANI/WAM) Bollywood star Nawazuddin Siddiqui landed in Kathmandu on Saturday afternoon to attend the premiere of "Shambhala," a Nepali film selected for the Berlin Film Festival. Upon arrival, Siddiqui was greeted by enthusiastic fans at the airport terminal. Speaking to ANI, Siddiqui shared, "I am here for the celebration of our movie called Shambhala. I am here for maybe two or three days." Directed by Min Bahadur Bham, "Shambhala" is set to premiere on Sunday. The film has already achieved a milestone by being the first Nepali movie selected for the Berlin Film Festival. Lead actress Thinley Lhamo has also garnered acclaim, winning the Boccalino d'Oro Prize at the Locarno Film Festival. The film is scheduled for a public release in Nepal on September 13, 2024. In addition to the premiere, Siddiqui plans to tour Kathmandu. "Yes, of course, Nepal is a beautiful country. Since I am here in Kathmandu, I will see all the sights," the actor told ANI. Siddiqui had previously expressed interest in watching the film during his meeting with Bham at the film festival and showed eagerness to collaborate with the director in the future. Bham was at the airport to welcome Siddiqui and his team, who arrived from Mumbai. Fans surrounded Siddiqui for photos and autographs as he was escorted from the terminal. One fan, Deepika Thapa, who managed to present Siddiqui with a red rose, expressed her excitement, "It was such a blessing. My friends and I had been waiting since morning. Meeting him was a 'wow' feeling. It was indeed a grand welcome." At 50, Siddiqui has starred in notable Bollywood films such as "Black Friday" (2004), "New York" (2009), "Peepli Live" (2010), "Kahani" (2012), and the "Gangs of Wasseypur" series (2012). He is also the only actor with eight films officially selected and screened at the Cannes Film Festival. Siddiqui stars in two Emmy-nominated series, "Sacred Games" (2019) and "McMafia" directed by James Watkins. "Shambhala" follows an expectant mother from the highlands who embarks on a journey with her husband's younger brother in search of her husband. The film was shot at altitudes ranging from 4,200 to 6,000 meters in Dolpa, Karnali. (ANI) Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader, Asad Qaiser said that primary goal of rally scheduled on Sunday in Islamabad is to demand the release of PTI founder Imran Khan, ARY News reported. Accompanied by Mehmood Achakzai, a Member of the National Assembly, Asad Qaiser visited the rally venue to oversee the preparations on Saturday. He expressed concern that the government is working to introduce a judicial package to weaken the judiciary, ARY News reported. "Our MNAs are being threatened on the assembly floor, senators were pressured to vote for the government," Ary News quoted him as saying. Qaiser accused the government of resorting to intimidation tactics and pointed out that PTI's founder had fought the case of Muslim Ummah in Washington and stood against Israel. He said that despite attempts to keep PTI out of the elections, public support for the party remains strong, as people are participating in the rally preparations. He described the upcoming rally as a referendum on the rule of law, stating that it is PTI's constitutional right to hold the rally. Qaiser warned that any efforts to prevent the rally would be considered illegal, as the party has secured the necessary permissions, an No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the administration. Regarding legal cases against the PTI founder, Qaiser told ARY News that recent amendments to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws have cleared Imran Khan of charges in the Toshakhana and Al-Qadir Trust cases. He said that PTI will proceed with the rally regardless of any obstacles, stressing the party's commitment to legal and constitutional rights. Qaiser added that Imran Khan has the legal right to pursue his cases in court, and the amendments to the NAB laws, now affirmed by both Parliament and the Supreme Court, have effectively resolved these matters. Earlier in the day, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf issued an advisory to its ticket holders and assembly members, directing the members of national assembly and members of parliament to arrive with at least 500 workers, while those from distant areas are expected to bring 150 workers on September 8 power show in Sangjani area of Islamabad. (ANI) Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) said that it detected seven Chinese military aircraft, six naval vessels, one official ship and two of the aircraft entered its Air Defence Identification Zone from 6 am (local time) on Saturday to 6 am (local time) on Sunday. Of the seven Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), two aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's southeastern and southwestern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ). Taiwan's MND said that it has monitored the situation and responded accordingly. In response to China's military action, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed coastal-based missile systems to monitor PLA activity. In a post on X, Taiwan's MND said, "7 PLA aircraft, 6 PLAN vessels and 1 official ships operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 2 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly." https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1832585736446726425 On Saturday, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence said that nine Chinese military aircraft, seven naval vessels operating around Taiwan from 6 am (local time) on Friday to 6 am (local time) on Saturday. According to Taiwan's MND, one of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's eastern Air Defence Identification Zone. In a post on X, Taiwan's MND said, "9 PLA aircraft, 7 PLAN vessels and 1 official ships operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 1 of the aircraft crossed the median line. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly." https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1832222256485044632 This latest incident adds to a series of similar provocations by China in recent months. China has increased its military activities around Taiwan, including regular air and naval incursions into Taiwan's ADIZ and military exercises near the island. (ANI) Several people were shot near Interstate 75 in Laurel County, Kentucky in the US, CNN reported, quoting the Laurel County Sheriff's Office. Kentucky State Police Trooper Scottie Pennington urged people to stay inside their homes. "I-75 is closed at mile marker/Exit 49, and U.S. 25, nine miles north of London due to an active shooter situation," the sheriff's office said in a post on Facebook. "Numerous persons have been shot near I-75," the statement added. Kentucky State Police Trooper Scottie Pennington said via social media the suspect "has not been caught at this time. We are urging people to stay inside." Law enforcement will provide "as much information as it becomes available," he added. Governor of Kentucky, Andy Beshear urged people to avoid I-75 area. In a post on X, he said, "Kentucky, we are aware of a shooting on I-75 in Laurel County. Law enforcement has shut the interstate down in both directions at exit 49. Please avoid the area. We will provide more details once they are available." https://x.com/GovAndyBeshear/status/1832551281283530974 Beshear added that the security forces are monitoring the situation. In a post on X, he said, "I am receiving initial reports from the Kentucky State Police and our Office of Homeland Security -- together we are actively monitoring the situation and offering support in any way possible. Please pray for everyone involved." https://x.com/GovAndyBeshear/status/1832560338111181006 Earlier on Friday, US President Joe Biden has renewed his call for an assault weapons ban after the shooting incident in a school in Georgia that left four people dead, CNN reported. He urged Congress to act on stronger gun control measures. In his remarks at the solar energy manufacturer in Westby, Wisconsin, Biden said, "I'd like to say a few words about the school shooting yesterday." He stated that some of the Republican leaders in Congress should "finally" say "enough is enough." Biden has been calling for an assault weapons ban for a long time but has been stymied by Republican leaders in Congress. (ANI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday arrived in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, to attend the First India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister for Protocol Affairs, Abdulmajeed Al Smari, welcomed Jaishankar in Riyadh. Jaishankar is on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia from September 8-9. Upon arrival in Riyadh, Jaishankar, in a post on X stated, "Arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to take part in the First India - Gulf Cooperation Council Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Thank Abdulmajeed Al Smari, Deputy Minister for Protocol Affairs for the warm reception." During his visit to Riyadh, he is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with foreign ministers from GCC member countries, according to a Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) release. In its release, the MEA stated, "India and the GCC enjoy a deep and multifaceted relationship, in areas including political, trade & investment, energy cooperation, cultural and people-to-people ties." "The GCC region has emerged as a major trading partner for India and is home to a large Indian expatriate community, numbering around 8.9 million. The Foreign Ministers meeting will be an opportunity to review and deepen institutional cooperation between India and the GCC across various sectors," it added. After concluding his visit to Riyadh, Jaishankar is scheduled to travel to Germany for a two-day visit from September 10-11. This will be his first bilateral visit to Berlin. India and Germany share a robust strategic partnership, and Germany is one of India's prominent trading partners and among the largest foreign direct investors. During his visit, EAM Jaishankar will meet the German Federal Foreign Minister as well as the leadership and other ministers from the German government with an objective to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations between India and Germany, according to the MEA release. The External Affairs Minister will thereafter travel to Geneva, Switzerland, for an official visit from September 12-13. Notably, Geneva is home to a large number of United Nations bodies and international organisations, the release said. During the visit, the External Affairs Minister will meet with heads and representatives of international organisations with whom India is actively engaged, the release said. During the visit, Jaishankar will also meet Switzerland's counterpart to review the close partnership between the two nations and explore avenues to enhance the bilateral relationship further. (ANI) Following the Supreme Court's verdict in the NAB amendments case, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has sought acquittal from the 190 million case, Geo News reported. During the hearing at the accountability court in Rawalpindi's Adiala jail on Saturday, PTI founder filed a petition for acquittal in the case that accused Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, of causing a loss of billions of rupees to the national exchequer. During the court hearing, Imran Khan's lawyer said that the 190 million case is no more valid after the verdict as all the cabinet decisions are protected in NAB amendments, according to a Geo News report. The NAB prosecutor said, "The question that arises here is whether the accountability court has jurisdiction in this case or not after the NAB amendments." He stated that if the court has jurisdiction in the case, then the acquittal petition can be heard. At this, the PTI founder's lawyer said they have not challenged the jurisdiction of the court. He stressed that it is the court's discretion to make a decision on its jurisdiction. Then, the accountability court adjourned the hearing on Khan's acquittal plea until September 10. Imran Khan filed the plea following the apex court's decision on Friday accepting intra-court appeals filed against the September 15, 2023, majority judgement striking down the amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO). A five-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faiz Isa, accepted the intra-court appeals registered by the federal and provincial governments against the judgement announced on September 15, 2023. Announcing the verdict, the Supreme Court said that Imran Khan could not prove that NAB amendments were unconstitutional. The verdict was reserved on June 6 on various appeals filed against the Supreme Court's September 15 judgement that was announced by then-Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial. Some of the amendments made to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999 were struck down in the majority judgement. The amendments--National Accountability (Second Amendment) Act 2022--were passed in a joint sitting of the parliament in April 2022 during the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government, Geo News reported. The sections 2, 4, 5, 6, 25, and 26 of the NAB laws were modified. However, nine of the 10 amendments were declared "null and void" by the CJP Bandial-led bench on the PTI founder's petition filed in June 2022. According to the charges of the case, PTI founder and other accused allegedly adjusted 190 million sent by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government as part of the agreement with the property tycoon, Geo News reported. Subsequently, Imran Khan got his cabinet's approval for the settlement with the UK crime agency on December 3, 2019, without revealing details regarding the confidential agreement, according to Geo News report. The decision was taken that the money will be submitted to the apex court on behalf of the tycoon. According to the NAB officials, the PTI founder and his wife obtained land worth billions of rupees from the property tycoon, to construct an educational institute, in exchange for striking a deal to give legal cover to the property tycoon's black money that he got from the UK crime agency. (ANI) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for an alliance of Islamic nations to stop "Israeli arrogance, Israeli banditry, and Israeli state terrorism," Israel-based i24 News reported. Erdogan made the remarks after Palestinian and Turkish officials said that a Turkish-American woman taking part in a protest on Friday against settlement expansion in the West Bank was killed by Israeli troops. Speaking at an Islamic schools' association event near Istanbul, Erdogan said, "The only step that will stop Israeli arrogance, Israeli banditry, and Israeli state terrorism is the alliance of Islamic countries," i24 News reported. He stated Turkiye's recent steps to improve relations with Egypt and Syria have been taken at "forming a line of solidarity against the growing threat of expansionism," which he stressed also threatened Lebanon and Syria, according to i24 News report. In response to Erdogan's calls for an alliance of Islamic nations to stop Israel, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that the Turkish President continues to throw the people of his country into fire of hatred and violence for the "sake of his Hamas friends." Katz called Erdogan's claims that Israel wants to conquer countries in the region a "dangerous lie and incitement." He stated that Israel is defending its borders and citizens from Hamas and the "Shiite axis of evil led by Iran." In a post on X, Israel Katz stated, "@RTErdogan continues to throw the Turkish people into the fire of hatred and violence for the sake of his Hamas friends. Today, he calls on Islamic nations to form an alliance against Israel, claiming 'Israel wants to conquer countries in the region, including Turkey.' This is a dangerous lie and incitement." "Israel is defending its borders and citizens from the murderers and rapists of Hamas, and from the Shiite axis of evil led by Iran. Erdogan and the Muslim Brotherhood alliance have been working for years alongside Iran to undermine moderate Arab regimes in the Middle East. Erdogan should be silent and ashamed," he added. Earlier in August, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the killing of Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in an attack in Tehran and offered condolences to the Palestinian people. In a statement released on X, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "We condemn the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, Chief of the Hamas Political Bureau, in a heinous attack in Tehran." "We express our condolences to the Palestinian people, hundreds of thousands of whom, like Haniyeh, have been martyred in order to live peacefully in their homeland under the roof of their own state," it added. It accused the Israeli government of lacking intention to achieve peace. It said that the attack was aimed at spreading war in Gaza to a regional level. It further said that Turkey will continue to support the "just cause" of the Palestinian people. In a statement, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "The Netanyahu government's lack of intention to achieve peace has been demonstrated once again. This attack is also aimed at spreading the war in Gaza to a regional level. If the international community does not act to stop Israel, our region will face an even greater conflict." The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs' statement came after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that Ismail Haniyeh had been killed in an attack in Iran's capital, Tehran, according to Press TV report. The IRGC said that Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed when their house was hit in Tehran. (ANI) Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, arrived in Dallas, Texas, on Sunday for his three-day US visit starting today. The Congress MP was welcomed at the airport by Sam Pitroda, Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, and members of the Indian diaspora. Rahul Gandhi expressed his anticipation for engaging in meaningful discussions to strengthen the bond between the two nations. He was greeted with bouquets and performed aarti upon his arrival in the US. In a Facebook post, Gandhi said, "I am truly delighted by the warm welcome I've received in Dallas, Texas, USA, from the Indian Diaspora and members of the Indian Overseas Congress." He added, "I eagerly look forward to engaging in meaningful discussions and insightful conversations that will further strengthen the bond between our two nations during this visit." During his US visit, Rahul Gandhi will hold meetings and interactions in Washington, DC, and Dallas, including at the University of Texas. Earlier on August 31, Sam Pitroda said that this is Rahul Gandhi's first visit to the US after becoming the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. "Since Rahul Gandhi has become the leader of the opposition, I, as chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, with a presence in 32 countries, have been bombarded with requests from Indian diaspora diplomats, academicians, businessmen, leaders, international media, and many others for interactions with Rahul Gandhi," Pitroda said in a video statement. He further said that the Congress leader is coming to the US for a very brief visit from September 8-10. "He will be in Dallas on September 8 and will be in Washington DC on September 9 and 10th. In Dallas, we'll have interactions with University of Texas students, academicians, and community people. We'll have a very large community gathering, we'll meet some technocrats and then we'll have a dinner with the leaders from the Dallas area," Pitroda said. The Indian Overseas Congress chief further said that Rahul Gandhi will travel to Washington, DC, where there is a plan to hold similar interactions with a variety of people, including think tanks, national press club and others. "There are a lot of events planned with a variety of people because we find that people also have a lot of interest in the states we run with a Congress government. We look forward to a very successful visit and look forward to welcoming Rahul Gandhi to the US," he added. In the recently concluded Lok Sabha election, Rahul Gandhi won two constituencies (Rae Bareli and Wayanad) but resigned from the Wayanad seat in Kerala, from where his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is likely to contest a bypoll. Earlier in June this year, the Congress Working Committee passed the resolution and appointed Rahul Gandhi as the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha. (ANI) Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez has left the country and is heading to Spain, his lawyer and Venezuela's vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, has announced, CNN reported. He departed from Venezuela after an arrest warrant was issued against him last week, accusing him of terrorism, conspiracy, and other crimes related to the presidential election held in July. In a statement, Delcy Rodriguez said, "Today, September 7, opposition citizen Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who has been a voluntary refugee in the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in Caracas for several days, has left the country and requested political asylum from that government." She stated Venezuela allowed Gonzalez to leave "for the sake of the tranquility and political peace of the country." Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Gonzalez was "at his own request" travelling to Spain on a Spanish Air Force plane, according to CNN report. Taking to X, he stated, "The Government of Spain is committed to the political rights and physical integrity of all Venezuelans." Previously, Edmundo Gonzalez ignored at least three summons to appear before prosecutors as part of a probe into claims he secured victory in the presidential polls, CNN reported. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of the election with 51 per cent of the vote by the country's electoral authority--a body stacked with the president's allies, despite thousands of election tallies released by the opposition that demonstrated a convincing win for Gonzalez. The opposition in Venezuela and various Latin American leaders refused to recognise Maduro's victory, which erupted protests in the country in which thousands were arrested, CNN reported. Recently, the US pressurised the Venezuelan government to "immediately" release specific data about the presidential polls, citing concerns regarding the credibility of Nicolas Maduro's claimed victory, as it also seized one of Maduro's aircraft, saying it was purchased in violation of US sanctions. (ANI) The students of public schools in Sindh have been waiting to receive textbooks from government, even after two months since the academic year began, Pakistan-based ARY News reported. A petition has been filed in the Sindh High Court against the education department over the non-receipt of textbooks in the government schools. The petition was filed against the Sindh Textbook Board chairman and Education Secretary, along with directors of primary and secondary education. The lawyers representing the case pointed out that the majority of schools in Sindh have been waiting to receive textbooks from the education department, ARY News reported. Earlier this year, the Sindh High Court (SHC) in Karachi ordered the education department to reopen the government schools that had been shut due to the lack of necessary resources within two months, the report said. The court issued the directive after Justice Salahuddin from the Sindh High Court issued a report highlighting the concerning state of government schools in the province, according to ARY News report. According to the report, judicial magistrates visited 19 different districts in Sindh and found that 2,640 schools were shut as they did not have essential resources like teachers and furniture. The report said that Sanghar district was named as the most affected, with 438 nonfunctional government schools. Meanwhile, Pakistan is currently facing a significant education crisis with a staggering 25.3 million children aged 5 to 16 out of school, representing 36 per cent of the country's school-age population. Moreover, rural areas are particularly the worst affected, with the highest deficit in enrolment. Based on the data from the 2023 Population Census, the report, "The Missing Third of Pakistan," published by the Pak Alliance for Maths and Science (PAMS) shed light on the startling reality of out-of-school children (OOSC) in Pakistan, the first comprehensive analysis of OOSC at the tehsil level, reported The Express Tribune. The report revealed a significant issue within Pakistan's education system, noting that a majority of Pakistani children, 74 per cent, live in rural areas. Efforts to boost enrolment in these regions face major issues, like restricted access to schools, poverty, and social barriers, The Express Tribune reported. The data also showed that the rural-urban divide in education is widening, with around 18.8 million out-of-school children residing in rural areas. The report further stated that children between the ages of 5 and 9 are especially at risk, with 51 per cent of them never having attended school. Alarmingly, 50 per cent of children have either dropped out or are no longer going to school. These early setbacks are expected to have long-lasting effect on the literacy rates of Pakistan since fundamental educational skills are mainly acquired during this period. The delay in enrolment is also a major issue, particularly in rural communities, where economic conditions and limited resources stop many children from going to school. Gender disparity further exacerbates the crisis, according to The Express Tribune report. The report indicated that 53 per cent of the children not attending school are girls, with the problem being particularly severe in rural areas where female literacy rates are already low. The report also highlighted that, particularly in some tehsils of Pakistan, 80 per cent of girls aged between 5-16 years have never been to school, highlighting deep-rooted gender inequality in accessing education. (ANI) Police in Islamabad have tightened security measures ahead of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rally in Sangjani on Sunday, imposing restrictions on hotels from providing accommodation till September 9. ARY News reported. The police have ordered hotels, guesthouses, and restaurants in the area to remain closed until September 9, and prohibited the provision of food and other edible items. "No food or any other edible item will be provided until September 9, whereas the violation of police orders will result in strict action," a police spokesperson stated. The party aims to demonstrate its political strength through the rally in Islamabad on Sunday The party's leadership has already visited the venue, and preparations are complete, as per ARY News. The district administration had granted conditional approval for the rally, stipulating that it would run from 4 pm to 7 pm, with no disruption to business or public movement. Further, PTI leadership has issued directives to its members and ticket holders ahead of the party's rally in Islamabad. Lawmakers and party workers from nearby constituencies have been instructed to arrive with a minimum of 500 supporters, while those from farther away are expected to bring at least 150 workers. According to ARY News, to ensure a coordinated arrival, members have been asked to form convoys from their respective constituencies before heading to the rally venue. Additionally, party leaders from surrounding areas, including Rawalpindi, Murree, and others, have been tasked with mobilizing more workers to attend the event. According to the PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar, Umar Ayub, and the Jalsa Committee instructions, the attendees are required to reach the meeting venue by 2 pm, All entry and exit points to the Red Zone in Islamabad have been sealed off using containers. Only authorized individuals will be allowed entry through Margalla Road. Containers have been placed in the Sangjani area, blocking the GT Road in both directions. The motorway's entry point to Islamabad at the 26th toll plaza has also been closed. (ANI) Tibet Policy Institute and Bharatiya Janta Party MP, Tapir Gao from Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday expressed serious concern about China's upcoming mega hydropower project, terming it a 'water bomb.' The upcoming mega hydropower project on the Brahmaputra River near the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh has become a matter of serious concern for environmentalists. Dechen Palmo, a researcher at Tibet Policy Institute of the Tibetan government in exile in the North Indian hill town Dharamshala, is conducting a research study on the rivers of Tibet. Speaking to ANI she said, "During a recent meeting the Chinese government has released a five-year plan where they have come up with this huge dam that will be built on Yarlung Tsangpo ( the Brahmaputra river). They haven't mentioned how big this dam would be and where this dam will be built so, however, there are many researchers and scientists who say that the dam would be built in the Metok region just before it enters India at the great bank of the Yarlung Tsangpo. So as per the different reports we have seen that it would be of 60-gigawatt hydropower dam and such a big dam built in this region will have a great impact on Tibet as a whole and also on the downstream regions including India and Bangladesh." "So there are many research done on how this great dam has impact and since the region itself is seismically very active zone and over the past ten years there were many earthquakes happened in this region also so even if we look back in the 1950s there were very huge earthquakes happened with the magnitude of 8.4 so if such a big dam will be constructed in this region it will have an impact on the ecosystem as a whole," she added. Member of Parliament from Arunachal Pradesh, Tapir Gao told ANI, "It's a great threat not only for Arunachal, not only for India, it is for Bangladesh also so I have raised this issue in parliament, Loksabha that China is making a water bomb, any time they may release huge quantity of water. It will have devastation in Arunachal, Assam and even in Bangladesh so under our leader Modi ji we are also preparing to have a big dam inside Arunachal Pradesh to retain whatever China do in... any kind of atom bomb against this country so we are prepared for that." (ANI) Nearly 300 Myanmar civil society groups have called on China to immediately halt all threats against the country's ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) and to cease pressuring them to agree to a ceasefire and concessions with the "illegal Myanmar military junta," according to a report in The Irrawaddy. The statement from the organisations, as reported on the website of the publication produced by former Burmese activists who fled violent crackdowns on anti-military protests, said, "The Myanmar military junta is perpetrating atrocities on a mass scale and is the prime cause of instability and regional insecurity." "There can only be sustainable peace when the junta is removed and held accountable for its international crimes," the 270 endorsing organisations said in their statement, as cited in The Irrawaddy. They stated that China's support for the junta and its planned election "undermines the will of the Myanmar people, deepens the people's suffering, and prolongs the crisis." According to the statement, the EAOs are at the forefront of the revolution in Myanmar, serve as the de facto authorities in their territories, and are key stakeholders in a future federal democracy, while the junta is an "illegal, illegitimate, and criminal organisation that is the root cause of the crisis in Myanmar." This follows a warning reportedly issued by China's Yunnan province, which cautioned the ethnic Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) to immediately cease fighting the Myanmar regime in northern Shan, which lies along the China-Myanmar border, or face "more deterrent and disciplinary measures." The TNLA is one of the three members of the Brotherhood Alliance of ethnic armies that has been waging an offensive known as Operation 1027 since October last year. On 10 January this year, Beijing brokered a ceasefire between the ethnic alliance and the regime, but the TNLA, along with another member of the ethnic alliance, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, resumed their operation in northern Shan State on 25 June after the regime's military repeatedly bombed the TNLA's territory, breaching the China-brokered ceasefire. Nan Lin of Anti-Junta Alliance Yangon (AJAY) was cited in The Irrawaddy as saying that the organisations, including civil society bodies, revolutionary forces, ethnic groups, and Rohingya rights organisations, who issued the statement, aimed to show that China's policies regarding Myanmar are "deeply flawed." "Our revolutionary forces are not promoting hatred against China. We do not hate China, nor any ethnicity, and we seek no enemies. However, we will not accept any interference or pressure on our people's path to freedom, justice, and dignity," he was quoted as saying. In July, the Communist Party of China (CCP) invited leaders from four of Myanmar's political parties to Beijing as part of its push for elections in Myanmar. Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has promised to hold elections in 2025, with China pledging its support for the move. Meanwhile, in their statement, the 276 civil society organisations of Myanmar also called on China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to support efforts to impose targeted economic sanctions and a comprehensive arms embargo against the junta, and to refer the crisis in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court or establish an ad hoc international criminal tribunal. China must not block UN action to resolve the crisis in Myanmar, they said. China's strategic interests in Myanmar are driven by its substantial economic investments and the country's strategic location, which acts as a gateway to the Indian Ocean--a region of interest to China due to its significant investments, including the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, part of Beijing's flagship Belt and Road Initiative, and the China-Myanmar Oil and Gas Pipelines. According to a report in The Irrawaddy, Myanmar's junta has intensified deadly airstrikes on civilian targets, killing at least 40 people, including a dozen children, in the past six days. The aerial attacks followed junta leader Min Aung Hlaing's recent vow to launch counterattacks to retake territory seized by resistance forces. Myanmar's military staged a coup in 2021 and imprisoned most of the country's civilian leadership. Pro-democracy groups have allied with ethnic militias to battle the junta. (ANI) Baloch rights activist Sammi Deen Baloch was stopped from flying abroad by immigration officials and was detained for over three hours at Karachi airport on Sunday. Sammi took to social media platform X to protest her detention, going live to share her experience. She alleged that immigration authorities detained her for over three hours and confiscated her passport, without providing any formal explanation for the violation of her rights. "Today, the immigration officials at Karachi airport stopped me from flying abroad without providing any explanation for violating my fundamental right to liberty and freedom of movement. I was detained at immigration for over three hours, and my passport was confiscated," Sammi posted. The activist said that when she protested and went live on social media, authorities returned her passport, but failed to provide any documentation or reason for the travel ban." "I was verbally informed that immigration was acting on written orders from the government of Balochistan. I appeal to international human rights bodies to raise their voices against this violation of rights," Sammi added. https://x.com/SammiBaluch/status/1832702234791977268 Prominent Baloch rights activist, Mahrang Baloch also condemned the incident, calling it a blatant attempt to silence voices critical of human rights abuses in Balochistan. "I am deeply irked to learn that Karachi airport authorities barred Sammi Deen from flying out of the country despite her holding a valid visa, ticket, and all necessary travel documents. This is a clear attempt not only to deny basic human rights, including the right to movement but also to restrict information and silence voices that speak about Balochistan," the activist said. https://x.com/MahrangBaloch_/status/1832702150142513540 The incident highlights the ongoing efforts by Pakistani authorities to stifle activists raising awareness about the human rights violations in the conflict-ridden Balochistan region. Sammi Deen has been an outspoken advocate for the rights of Baloch people and has drawn attention to the forced disappearances and extrajudicial actions that have plagued the region for years. As of now, there has been no official comment from the Pakistani government or immigration authorities regarding the order preventing her from travelling. The incident has sparked calls from human rights organizations to investigate the growing crackdown on dissenting voices in Pakistan. (ANI) As the situation in Balochistan continues to be grim, two brothers, Ismail and Habibullah, were allegedly killed by Pakistani forces in a fake encounter following their extrajudicial arrest. The two brothers, who were residents of the Narmak area of Kalat district, were reportedly taken into custody during a raid at their home before being killed hours later. According to the family, Ismail and Habibullah, sons of Abdul Nabi Lahri, were innocent civilians involved in agriculture and manual labour. One of the brothers was also suffering from a serious illness, casting further doubt on their alleged involvement in militant activities. The family has vehemently rejected the Pakistani forces' claim of their involvement in terrorism, calling the deaths a "fake encounter" meant to cover up an extrajudicial killing. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani military, issued a statement on Saturday, claiming that the two men were "alleged terrorists" who were killed during an operation near Kalat. The statement also mentioned that a large cache of weapons and ammunition was recovered during the raid. However, the ISPR did not disclose the identities of the deceased. However, in contrast to the Pak military's statement, the family of the victims claim that the two brothers were forcibly detained from their home in Nirmak before being killed. Meanwhile, several human rights organisations have also raised concerns about the incident. Paank, the human rights wing of the Baloch National Movement, took to social media platform X, stating, "PAANK is deeply concerned about the extrajudicial killing of two brothers, Ismail and Habibullah, in Kalat, Balochistan, by Pakistani security forces. According to our sources, the brothers were forcibly detained from their home and later killed in a staged encounter". https://x.com/paank_bnm/status/1832479099727835560 The incident has added to the growing accusations of human rights violations in Balochistan, where enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings are frequently reported. Human rights groups are calling for an independent investigation into the deaths of Ismail and Habibullah, demanding accountability for the actions of Pakistani forces in the region. But, as of now, no further comment has been made by the authorities regarding the family's allegations. (ANI) The US Department of Commerce said on Thursday that the export restrictions followed consultation with international partners and would strengthen relations with "like-minded countries." "Today's action ensures our national export controls keep step with rapidly evolving technologies and are more effective when we work in concert with international partners," Under Secretary for the Bureau of Industry and Security Alan Estevez said in a statement. "Aligning our controls on quantum and other advanced technologies makes it significantly more difficult for our adversaries to develop and deploy these technologies in ways that threaten our collective security," he added. This comes as the US has sought to throttle China's tech industry with curbs on advanced chips and related equipment amid the growing strategic rivalry between Washington and Beijing, as reported by Al Jazeera. President Joe Biden has also pressed allied countries to introduce new restrictions to limit Beijing's access to semiconductor technology. Earlier on Friday, the Netherlands also announced tighter controls on exports of semiconductor-making machines. "We see that technological advances have given rise to increased security risks associated with the export of this specific manufacturing equipment, especially in the current geopolitical context," Dutch Foreign Trade Minister Reinette Klever said in a statement. Other countries, including Japan, have previously joined US efforts to hobble the Chinese tech sector by rolling out curbs on advanced chip-making equipment, Al Jazeera reported. On the other hand, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has accused Washington of violating market principles and disrupting global supply chains. "This does not align with the interests of any side," spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular news conference. (ANI) Doha [Qatar], September 8 (ANI/WAM): The Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), honoured Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Deputy Chief of Police and Public Security in Dubai, as the GCC Pioneer Social Work Personality for 2024, during an award ceremony held in the Qatari capital, Doha. During the ceremony, which was attended by Jasem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC); GCC ministers of social affairs; GCC ministers of human resources and civil service; and a number of humanitarian actors and philanthropists, the UAE police commander was awarded a commemorative shield and a certificate of appreciation in recognition of his constructive contributions and pioneering role in the service of community in the GCC. Addressing the audience, the GCC secretary general said that this celebration is a token of gratitude and acknowledgement to all the honourees for their efforts in achieving the sustainable development goals of the GCC countries, and in recognition of the significant work they have accomplished through their roles and responsibilities in their respective countries. It also serves as motivation to continue contributing to the blessed progress of the GCC, he added. The shield was received on behalf of Lieutenant General Tamim by Mohammed Murad Abdulla, Director of the General Directorate of Security Conferences and Seminars at the Office of the Deputy Chief of Police and Public Security in Dubai. Lieutenant General Tamim expressed his thanks and gratitude for this high honour, which he said is an incentive to continue working and giving for the advancement and prosperity of Gulf societies. A distinguished group of administrative talents, individuals, institutions, and leading companies in the fields of labour, social development, and social work in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries were also honoured. (ANI/WAM) The conference is in partnership with the Strategic Partner, Crescent Group, and supported by the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany. Scheduled for 4th-5th November 2024, at the Sharjah Archaeology Museum, with live online streaming, this milestone event promises an enriching experience for museum professionals, researchers, students, and enthusiasts. Attendees will benefit from insights shared by leaders and educators from the global museum and cultural sectors, making it an unparalleled opportunity for networking and professional growth. The conference will feature an extensive array of significant subjects and include various panel discussions, keynote speeches, specialized workshops, and presentations, all aimed at fostering dialogue, exchange, and collaboration among museum professionals. Key themes will explore how international cooperation between museums and cultural entities can enhance standards and services in museums. The panels will also provide insights from past SAWA Museum Studies Program participants on how the program has influenced their careers and practices. Discussions will cover museological topics including interpretation, curation, and curatorial strategies in exhibition spaces, among other important topics. The conference will address the importance of creating inclusive and engaging experiences for diverse museum audiences, shedding light on the use of technologies and augmented reality in museum spaces. This hybrid conference will allow participants to join either online via live streaming or in person at the Sharjah Archaeology Museum. The award winning SAWA Museum Studies Programme is a pioneering initiative designed to offer professional qualification and learning opportunities for emerging museum professionals. This collaborative programme is led by Sharjah Museums Authority, together with the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Goethe-Institute Gulf Region, and the University of Applied Sciences Berlin (HTW). The programme is curated and facilitated by a distinguished team of Arab and European educators, emphasising reciprocal learning and diverse museological practices in the MENA region and Europe. (ANI/WAM) Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in New Delhi on Sunday on his first official visit to India, the Ministry of External Affairs said. Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, received the Crown Prince upon his arrival. He was also accorded a ceremonial welcome after he landed here in the national capital. "A new milestone in a historic relationship. His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in Delhi on his first official visit to India. Warmly received by @CimGOI @piyushgoyal and accorded a ceremonial welcome," MEA spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X. In the pictures shared by Jaiswal, Piyush Goyal can be seen greeting Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the former receiving a ceremonial welcome. https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/1832747811856679251 Notably, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is on an official India visit from September 9-10 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On September 9, the Crown Prince will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hold discussions on a wide range of areas of bilateral cooperation. He is also scheduled to call on President Droupadi Murmu. He will also visit Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. On September 10, the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince will visit Mumbai to participate in a Business Forum, in which business leaders from both countries will participate. "India and UAE share historically close and friendly ties. In recent years, the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and UAE has deepened in a wide range of areas, including political, trade, investment, connectivity, energy, technology, education, and culture," the MEA stated. "The Crown Prince's visit will further reinforce strong India-UAE bilateral relations and open avenues for partnership in new and emerging areas," it added. In February this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited UAE. He held discussions with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the India-UAE bilateral relationship and witnessed the exchange of eight agreements. PM Modi and President Al Nahyan welcomed the MoU for creation of an intergovernmental framework between India and the UAE on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC), which reflected the lead taken by the UAE and India in furthering regional connectivity. The two leaders further endorsed the efforts from both sides to strengthen the strong economic and commercial cooperation and explore new areas of collaboration. They welcomed the strong growth witnessed in the UAE-India trade relations since the entry into force of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). During his visit, PM Modi inaugurated the majestic Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) Mandir, the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He also addressed the Indian diaspora at the event titled 'Ahlan Modi'. (ANI) The aviation authorities in Karachi airport, have added the name of Baloch rights activist, Sammi Deen Baloch to the 'Exit Control List' commonly known as the 'no-fly list' after she was stopped from travelling to Oman on Sunday. Sadia Baloch a law student and Baloch student leader, alleged in a post on X that Sammi's name has been added to Exit Control list for "unknown reasons," adding that this exposes the "prejudice-based and undemocratic policies" of the Pakistani state. "Sammi Deen Baloch was stopped by immigration officials at Karachi airport today while she was about to fly to Masqat, Oman. She was told that her name had been placed on the Exit Control list for unknown reasons. Alienating Baloch human rights activists like this exposes the prejudice-based and undemocratic policies of the State," Sadia Baloch stated in a post on X. https://x.com/sadiabalochssb/status/1832702294804115573 Baloch rights activist Sammi Deen Baloch was stopped from flying abroad by immigration officials and was detained for over three hours at Karachi airport on Sunday. In a video statement released by Sammi Deen Baloch, the activist said, "I have been stranded here at Karachi Jinnah International Airport. I was here to catch a flight to Muscat. I have been stranded here for several hours. I was previously given a boarding pass, and then I was stopped from boarding the plane. They have still not given me a plausible reason, and have taken my passport." She further added, "I was detained here for several hours, I was questioned and investigated and I have been sitting here in a small office for the last 3-4 hours and they have not returned my passport. I have been urging them to, at least tell me that I have been detained and stopped by the Federal Investigation Agency, Pakistan (FIA) on what accusations. I have not been issued a letter, they are just telling me that they have received a letter from the Home Minister's office to put me on the ECL list. However, no such paper has been shown to me yet." Further, Baloch rights activist, Mahrang Baloch also condemned the incident, calling it a blatant attempt to silence voices critical of human rights abuses in Balochistan. "I am deeply irked to learn that Karachi airport authorities barred Sammi Deen from flying out of the country despite her holding a valid visa, ticket, and all necessary travel documents. This is a clear attempt not only to deny basic human rights, including the right to movement but also to restrict information and silence voices that speak about Balochistan," the activist said. The incident highlights the ongoing efforts by Pakistani authorities to stifle activists raising awareness about the human rights violations in the conflict-ridden Balochistan region. Sammi Deen has been an outspoken advocate for the rights of Baloch people and has drawn attention to the forced disappearances and extrajudicial actions that have plagued the region for years. (ANI) The trader community in Pakistan has been struggling to stay afloat as the administration has been imposing heavy taxes on every essential commodity because of an ongoing economic crisis. Recently, traders and businessmen across Islamabad observed a shutter-down strike against overbilling and heavy taxes implemented by the government. The 'fed-up' business community said that, instead of reducing the luxuries that elites or government employees enjoy in Pakistan, the government has been squeezing the general public by imposing heavy taxes. The demonstrators called upon the government for its poor policy formation and stated that, business in Pakistan is already in poor condition, and the traders are not ready to compromise with their basic demands on the trader-friendly schemes. Raja Javed Iqbal, a trader from Islamabad, highlighted that there are at least 10 additional taxes on commercial electricity bills, and if this situation continues, no business can continue smoothly. Iqbal mentioned, "These electricity bills are now out of our reach. We are not able to understand how the schemes which the government claims are for our benefit will be positive for us. They have imposed several taxes on us traders; why don't they reduce their expenses. Instead of using luxury cars, why don't they use buses just like us?" "What sort of public service is this, where the public servant enjoys all the luxury and the general public is pushed towards poverty? One can observe very well we are forced to pay bills despite zero income and this is increasing our losses further," he added. The local trader further claimed that all the international loans being secured by Pakistan are being spent by the politicians sitting in power. Iqbal said, "Our government often takes loans from international lenders, where does all of it go? It is surely spent on maintaining the fleet of cars given to people of power own. All of that money must be spent on us because that money is our money and they are using it for their own luxurious lives." (ANI) In June 2023, USAA reported the personal information of an estimated 19,000 members had been exposed online. In a breach that occurred between Dec. 20, 2022, and May 18, 2023, it said a third-party contractor shared member access credentials with unauthorized individuals, giving them access to members personal and financial information. The company last year provided insurance, banking and retirement solutions to more than 13.5 million members of the U.S. military, veterans and their families. Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, who is also in charge of foreign affairs, attacked the Imran Khan administration on Saturday for allegedly making poor decisions in his tenure as the country's Prime Minister, especially when it came to security and economic matters, Dawn reported. He also connected the mistakes made by the previous administration to the current upsurge in terrorism and economic difficulties. At a news conference held at the Pakistan High Commission in London, Dar made the remarks and also discussed the political and security climate in Pakistan. The deputy prime minister described his official visit to London, where he met with representatives of the British government and the Pakistani community, as "useful, busy and fruitful." At the press conference, Dar made important remarks on a "three-star general who went to Kabul to have a cup of tea" in 2021 and connected the nation's current rise in terrorism to the decisions made by then-spymaster Lt Gen. Faiz Hameed to free terrorists, according to Dawn. "Those released at that time are masterminding terrorism in Balochistan," Dar said, adding that "the country is paying a price for that cup of tea in Afghanistan." According to Dawn, on being asked if Lt Gen. Hameed had the approval of Imran Khan, the prime minister at the time, to travel to Kabul, Dar responded, "I find it difficult to accept that he could have gone without the prime minister's permission," Dawn reported. The current military establishment, he continued, "cannot be praised enough," since its members are so well trained. Meanwhile, taking on questions about Imran Khan's trial, Dar said, "We have not made a new law. Whatever is happening with Imran Khan is happening according to the law. When it comes to attacking security installations, the issue falls under the army law. I can't guess what will happen, but I can say his case will proceed as per the law." Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)'s Dar further added that the party is not holding any talks with Tehreek-e-Insaf, saying "hands are tied after the May 9 riots." In response to a question about why PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif had remained silent since leaving London despite grave concerns, Dar refuted the idea that Sharif was dormant. He asserted that the elder Sharif was consulting and making suggestions with PML-N teams at the federal and provincial levels. (ANI) Jaishankar said on Sunday that during the visit, he brought out India's deep historical connect that now serves as a foundation to develop a strong contemporary relationship. In a post on X, he said, "Visited the Saudi National Museum and King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives in Riyadh. Brought out India's deep historical connect that now serves as a foundation to develop a strong contemporary relationship." https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1832777154989301916 Earlier in the day, Jaishankar arrived in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, to attend the First India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister for Protocol Affairs, Abdulmajeed Al Smari, welcomed Jaishankar in Riyadh. Jaishankar is on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia from September 8-9. Upon arrival in Riyadh, Jaishankar, in a post on X stated, "Arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to take part in the First India - Gulf Cooperation Council Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Thank Abdulmajeed Al Smari, Deputy Minister for Protocol Affairs for the warm reception." https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1832576138360631588 During his visit to Riyadh, he is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with foreign ministers from GCC member countries, according to a Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) release. In its release, the MEA stated, "India and the GCC enjoy a deep and multifaceted relationship, in areas including political, trade & investment, energy cooperation, cultural and people-to-people ties." "The GCC region has emerged as a major trading partner for India and is home to a large Indian expatriate community, numbering around 8.9 million. The Foreign Ministers meeting will be an opportunity to review and deepen institutional cooperation between India and the GCC across various sectors," it added. After concluding his visit to Riyadh, Jaishankar is scheduled to travel to Germany for a two-day visit from September 10-11. This will be his first bilateral visit to Berlin. (ANI) Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, while interacting with the students at the University of Texas at Dallas in the US, said that one must focus and choose their battles carefully. Talking about whether his perspective changed as compared to the beginning of his career and now, Gandhi said that you don't raise every issue but focus on addressing the fundamental ones. "Now I am coming to the conclusion that listening is much more important than speaking. Listening means to put myself in your position. If a farmer speaks to me, I will try to step myself in their day-to-day life and understand what they are trying to say. Listening is fundamental and then understanding the deeper dynamics. One must not raise every single issue. You focus on important issues and fight for it. One must choose their battles carefully," he said. Speaking about a day in his life, the Congress leader said, opposition at its heart is the voice of people. "Opposition at its heart is the voice of people. During parliament days, there is a sequence of events going on. But, otherwise it is the 'where' and 'how' can I raise issues of the people of India. You have to think from an individual, group, industry, farmers' perspective and the important thing is, that one has to do it sensitively and after listening and understanding carefully," he said. The MP from Rae Bareli added that when faced with an issue, he tries to realise the nuances and complexity and plans the day accordingly. "Very often, when you see an issue, you realise nuances and complexity and plan your day according to that. During parliament, one goes there in the morning and there is a war [chuckles]. The war is pleasant and fun, but gets nasty sometimes. It is a war of ideas and words. We try to put a point of view across and the government tries to suppress it. On other days, a lot of people- party people, businesspeople, farmers, etc.--come to see us and we try to listen and understand them," Gandhi said. Rahul Gandhi arrived in Dallas, Texas, on Sunday for his three-day US visit. The Congress MP was welcomed at the airport by Sam Pitroda, Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, and members of the Indian diaspora. (ANI) Imran Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf, was issued a warning by the local administration to adhere to the rally's NOC guidelines, which mandated them to vacate the venue by 7pm, ARY News reported. In the Sangjani Rally on Sunday, the district magistrate issued several reminders to vacate the venue. But the rally exceeded the permit time, which made the police and the administration take action against them, as per ARY News report. The participants arriving from a different route clashed with the police as the PTI workers threw stones, leading the police to respond with tear gas at Choongi No 26 area, ARY News stated. A police spokesperson told ARY News that participants deviated from the designated rally route and attacked law enforcement. Several officers, including SSP Safe City Shoaib Khan, were injured in the incident as stone pelting continued. Pakistan's interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, took notice of the situation and sought a report from Inspector General Islamabad and instructed to provide the best medical treatment of injured police officers. In a telephonic conversation with injured SSP Shoaib Khan, Mohsin Naqvi inquired about his health and emphasized the need for top-quality treatment for all injured officers involved in the incident. PTI alleged that shots were fired at its members by the police during the rally in Islamabad on Sunday, which was being held demanding the release of party founder and incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf shared a video where they shared visuals from the rally and stated, "You can jail a man, but not his ideas," referring to PTI's incarcerated leader and founder Imran Khan. https://x.com/PTIofficial/status/1832850507464950111 The party's official account also shared pictures of protests at Pakistani Embassy in Norway demanding the release of Imran Khan. https://x.com/PTIofficial/status/1832845794434502907 The post stated, "Protest in front of the Pakistani Embassy in Oslo Norway to show solidarity with Imran Khan and his fight for justice and democracy." (ANI) Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, while interacting with the students at the University of Texas, Dallas in the US, said that Bharat Jodo Yatra introduced the idea of love in politics. Elaborating the reasons for conducting the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi said, "The reason [behind conducting Bharat Jodo Yatra] is that all avenues of communication in India were shut. No matter what we did, it was all shut. We spoke in parliament. That's not televised. We go to the media, they don't pick up what we say. We even go with documents to the legal system, nothing happens. So all our avenues were shut. And for a long time we literally couldn't understand how to communicate. And then suddenly we hit upon the idea... what better way to go directly than to literally go walking across the country? And so that's what we did..." "But it went surprisingly easy. And it fundamentally changed the way I think about my work... It completely changed how I view politics, how I view our people, how I communicate, how I listen. To me, the most powerful thing that happened organically, was that we introduced certainly for the first time in India, possibly for the first time in many countries, the idea of 'love' in politics. And this is strange... because... [in] the political discourse in most countries, you will never find the word 'love'... You'll find hatred, anger, unfairness, corruption... and the Bharat Jodo Yatra actually introduced that idea into the Indian political system, and it has amazed me how that idea has worked," he said. The Congress leader also said that India has to think about the act of production and organising production. "India has to think about the act of production and organising production. It's not acceptable that India simply says, manufacturing or production is going to be the reserve of the Chinese... or Vietnamese... or Bangladeshis. Bangladesh completely outcompetes us in textiles, regardless of the problems they're facing right now... We have to reimagine how to produce in a democratic environment. Until we do that, we will face high levels of unemployment. And frankly, it's not sustainable. So... if we carry on down this path... you're going to see massive social problems coming in India and in the United States and in Europe. The polarization of our politics is because of this," he said. Talking about issues faced by the youth due to unemployment, the Raebareli MP said that the act of production creates jobs. But India organises consumption, which is the reason of worry. "If you look at the United States in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, they were the center of global production. Anything that was made- cars, washing machines, TVs- all made in the United States. Production moved from the United States... [then] to Korea, [from there] it went to Japan. Eventually it went to China... China is dominating global production. [In] India, the phones... furniture... clothes, [most are] made in China. That's a fact. The West, America, Europe, India have given up on the idea of production and they've handed it to China. The act of production creates jobs. What we do, Americans do, the west does, is organize consumption. Uber, Foxconn, Mahindra, Bajaj organize production. These are the guys who create the jobs..." Gandhi added that not all countries have an employment problem. "Let's be clear. Not everywhere on the planet has an employment problem. The west... [and] India has an employment problem. But there are many countries in the world that don't have an employment problem. China... [and] Vietnam doesn't have an employment problem. So there are places on the planet that are not struggling with unemployment. There's a reason," he said. (ANI) When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: Stiliyan Ivanov/National Archaeological Institute with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Archaeologists in Bulgaria have unearthed five gold coins dating to the time of the emperor Justinian the Great (ruled from A.D. 527 to 565). Although it is not unusual to discover coins during excavations, these ones were located on the floor of a 10th-century house suggesting the dwelling's medieval occupants may have kept the coins as a kind of heirloom or artifact. The coins were found in August during an archaeological dig in the village of Debnevo in northern Bulgaria. Excavations in Debnevo and the nearby fortress, which was built in the early fifth century, have been ongoing since 2019, and archaeologists have so far found the remains of a large fourth to third century B.C. settlement, as well as evidence of habitation from the fourth to sixth centuries A.D., when the area was part of the Byzantine Empire . During a recent expedition, archaeologists excavated a medieval dwelling in Debnevo that had been badly damaged by fire. The occupants appeared to have abandoned their house following the fire in the 10th century, and the team recovered iron tools, including two sickles and two axes; a belt buckle; ceramic vessels; and three bronze rings in addition to five gold coins that were around 400 years older than the house. The coins were minted during the reign of Justinian the Great, whose rule saw the Byzantine Empire reach its greatest geographical extent in the mid-sixth century, after the Western Roman Empire had fallen . Justinian's legacy includes the publication of a body of Roman laws as well as the development of new art and architectural styles that would come to be known as Byzantine. One of Justinian's goals was to " restore the empire of the Romans ", which he accomplished by reestablishing control over Western European and North African provinces. Related: 700-year-old coin depicting Jesus and medieval king discovered in Bulgaria All five coins are of the same type: a "tremissis" a small gold coin worth one-third of a "solidus" that depicts the emperor wearing a pearl diadem on the front, while the back depicts the personification of Victory holding a wreath in her right hand and a cross and globe in her left. The inscription on the front reads "Our Lord Justinian Perpetual Augustus," a reference to the first Roman emperor, whose name was later used to refer to all emperors, while the back reads "Victory of the Augusts." Two of the coins, likely burned in the fire that destroyed the house, are stuck together. A charred square excavation site RELATED STORIES Europe's oldest known village teetered on stilts over a Balkan lake 8,000 years ago 1,800-year-old Roman tombs in Bulgaria included medallion featuring an emperor and glass bottles for collecting mourners' tears 1,100-year-old breastplate to ward off evil may contain the oldest Cyrillic writing ever found "The dwelling was built on the remains of an early Byzantine building," expedition leader Stiliyan Ivanov , an archaeologist at the National Archaeological Institute with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, told Live Science in an email. "Therefore, we assume that the coins were found during the construction of the early medieval dwelling. Our working hypothesis is that the owners kept the coins because of the gold value." Although it was never a large settlement, Debnevo has a deep history , as the archaeological team has found evidence of structures, burials and artifacts dating as early as 5000 B.C. and as late as the 18th century. Four Caddo students admitted to Louisiana School for Math, Science and Arts 132 students from 38 Louisiana parishes are among the new Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts students who were enrolled during a traditional ceremony held on Friday, Aug. 30LSMSA officially welcomed 132 new students representing 58% of the states parishes during its 42nd annual Matriculation Ceremony held at 2 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 30 at A.A. Fredericks Auditorium on the campus of Northwestern State University. From a pool of more than 200applicants statewide, 140 students were invited to attend the tuition-free, state-funded residential school for high-achieving, academically motivated students. Students from Caddo Parish who were among the new first-year LSMSA students include: London Beaubouef (26), of Keithville Emerson Bruhnke (26), of Shreveport Gloria Jung (27), of Shreveport Owen Thomason (26), of Shreveport The 24-25 school year began at LSMSA on Wednesday, Aug. 21. This group of new students includes 77 new sophomores, 50 new juniors, and five new seniors. Executive Director Dr. Steve Horton formally welcomed students and their families to LSMSA. I hope that youre becoming aware of what happens when you flex your talents and abilities, when you expand your capacity to study, work, and learn, said Dr. Horton. I hope that you already sense what it can mean for you to soar with the eagles. The keynote address, delivered by LSMSA Principal Lecturer of Biology Dr. Allison Landry, encouraged new students to remain resilient under pressure and to rely upon their fellow students for support. Resilience means rebounding from setbacks and struggles, putting one foot in front of the other and moving forward, said Dr. Landry. Processional music was performed by the LSMSA Mixed Ensemble under the leadership of Instructor of Instrumentals, Theory and Composition Michael Young. The National Anthem was sung by Sophie Lee (26), of Bossier Parish, and the LSMSA alma mater was sung by Elizabeth Porche (26), of Ascension Parish. The senior class reflection was delivered by Senior Class President Blaise Albarez (25), of St. Tammany Parish. This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Four Caddo students admitted to Louisiana School for Math, Science and Arts Mississippi lawmakers in recent years have introduced legislation to get a better handle on homelessness in the state but have been met with little success. That could change in the upcoming legislative session after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that cleared the way for states and local governments to make sleeping out of doors illegal. Here are four key things to know: How many people are unhoused in Mississippi? While Mississippi has the lowest rate of homelessness in the nation 3.3 per 10,000 residents there are roughly 1,000 unhoused people, most of whom are located in the Jackson metro and Gulf Coast areas. According to figures released in 2023 by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the most recent available, about one-third of the unhoused live in Jackson Metro. More than 250 live on the Gulf Coast. Of the remaining areas of the state, Hattiesburg has the next highest number of unhoused people around 140 according to the latest point-in-time report provided to NAEH by the Mississippi Continuum of Care, followed by Meridian with 83 and Tupelo with 64. The 2024 point-in-time report does not currently include the Jackson or Coast figures. While the NAEH's method of counting those who are unhoused is consistent from year to year, many unhoused people are not accounted for. A man takes the opportunity to get some rest beneath the pavilion at Smith Park in Jackson in this 2020 file photo. What are lawmakers doing to combat homelessness? According to state Rep. Zakiya Summers, D-Jackson, the House is already discussing the issue. She is hopeful that progress will be made under the leadership of House Speaker Jason White. Summers has tried to introduce legislation in the past that could help the unhoused get identification if they need it, which would enable them to apply for housing assistance and other social and health services. The state Senate also is planning a series of hearings to talk about what can be done from a legislative perspective, said Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall. He introduced a bill in the Senate last year that would make sleeping in many public places illegal, but the bill also seeks to provide access to mental health care or substance abuse treatment if needed and if the person wants help. He said from the studies he's read, the majority of unhoused people have drug addiction or mental health issues and sometimes both. Summers and Fillingane hope to introduce similar legislation in 2025. In depth: What will homelessness look like in Mississippi after recent Supreme Court decision? What is homelessness? In a nutshell: A homeless person is one who is without a home, often one who is living on the streets. The term "homeless" and "homelessness" are most commonly used in lay terms and by government agencies. An unhoused or houseless person is one who has no physical address, whether they live on the streets, in a tent or have temporary lodging at a shelter or other location. An unsheltered person is one who is without shelter, for instance a tent or other place to get out of the elements. Housing insecurity happens when a person does not have stable or adequate housing, including those who are being evicted or regularly come up short when paying their monthly bills. Unhoused in Jackson: When homeless people migrate, trash is left behind. Who should clean up the properties? What is the Supreme Court's ruling on homeless encampments? Earlier appellate court rulings determined that banning unhoused people from sleeping in public places constituted cruel and unusual punishment a violation of the Eighth Amendment. The Supreme Court in a 6-3 ruling determined a person's Eighth Amendment rights would not be violated by a law that prohibits sleeping in public places. While the ruling does not force states and local governments to enact such bans, it paves the way for them to do so. Anyone can be fined or jailed for sleeping in public places that have enacted such bans. Advocates for the unhoused say these kinds of laws would criminalize being homeless and would not stop people from being unhoused, according to a report by the NAEH. Have you or someone you know ever been without a home? Contact Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on X @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge. This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Things to know about homelessness in Mississippi A southern Oregon man died and two others were hospitalized Thursday after their boat capsized in Winchester Bay, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Anthony Knight, 35, of Medford, was rescued by the Coast Guard and later died at a local hospital. Coast Guard officials said that around 2 p.m. on Thursday, a 63-year-old Medford man and his 36-year-old son were fishing with their neighbor, Knight, in an 18 foot, 6 inch Kingfisher boat in the ocean when after a few hours of fishing they decided to come in. "While progressing into the bay, a large wave crashed into the left side of the boat causing the boat to roll over," a news release said. "All three occupants went into the water without lifejackets. The vessel eventually capsized." Officials said the 63-year-old and Knight were rescued by Coast Guard personnel and that "lifesaving efforts" were initiated on Knight, who was unconscious. Both the man and Knight were transported to Lower Umpqua Hospital for medical treatment but efforts to revive Knight were unsuccessful. The Medford man's son was later located by a Coast Guard helicopter on the North Jetty and was airlifted from there to North Bend Hospital. The incident is under investigation by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office Marine Division in coordination with the Oregon State Marine Board. Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 16 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. Urness is the author of Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon and Hiking Southern Oregon. He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors. This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon man dies after boat capsizes in Winchester Bay (ECNS) -- The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was held in Beijing from Wednesday to Friday with the theme "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future." The summing marks another milestone in the history of China-Africa relations, and embarks on a new journey of China-Africa cooperation. Mwangi Wachira, former economist at the World Bank and advisor to the Government of Kenya, and Paul Frimpong, executive director and Senior Research Fellow of the Africa-China Centre for Policy & Advisory, were invited to share their insights on China-Africa cooperation during exclusive interviews with China News Network. Reflecting on the past forty years of Africa-China friendship since China's opening-up, Wachira highly recognized the achievements of bilateral relations, saying that it has changed the face of the continent. "It has a dramatic impact on the country, a positive impact on the country." In his view, the bilateral trade volume and China's direct investment in Africa are excellent examples of this partnership. According to data from China's Ministry of Commerce, in 2023, China-Africa trade reached $282.1 billion, up nearly 11 percent compared with 2021, and setting a new historical high for the second consecutive year. In the first half of 2024, China imported goods worth 60.1 billion dollars from Africa, up 14 percent year-on-year. China's investment cooperation with Africa has been progressing steadily and healthily. Its annual direct investment in Africa's manufacturing industry totals more than $400 million, and the number for infrastructure industry exceeds $37 billion, significantly contributing to Africa's industrialization and economic diversification. Frimpong said that in the scope of Africa-China relations, bilateral cooperation has expanded to many fields. He also shared his impression of the Chinese enterprises. He said that there are numerous, hundreds and thousands of Chinese enterprises at different levels operating in Ghana. They integrate themselves into the society, living and interacting with the local community. He further analyzed the current state of Africa-China cooperation and emphasized the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Although SMEs receive less attention compared to large state-owned enterprises, of 10,000 Chinese companies operating on the continent, 70 percent are SMEs, and it is this large group of Chinese that the Africans encounter and serves as an important channel for African people to understand China. The opinion was echoed by Frimpong, who also believes that SMEs in Africa and China play an important role in bilateral relations. He took the oil and gas industry as an example to further explain the view. According to Frimpong, the Ghanaian companies need to find partners to cooperate with and establish connections in the industry while some Chinese SMEs are also in the large value chain of oil and gas, some responsible for processing and selling goods. Cooperation between these two groups can bring them opportunities to participate in large-scale intergovernmental cooperation projects. Therefore, he believed that cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa and China can be significant. Moreover, he noticed that there are cooperative experiences for them to learn in different fields. A generic view of police tape Dave Thompson - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images Two people died and two others were hospitalized after a rollover crash early Saturday on the South Side, near Texas A&M-San Antonio, according to San Antonio police. Police said four people were inside a white 2006 Cadillac Escalade and traveling at a high rate of speed shortly after 2 a.m. on South Zarzamora Street near Applewhite Road. San Antonio police said the driver ran off the road into a dirt lot and attempted to reenter the roadway when they struck a concrete drainage ditch, causing the truck to roll over multiple times into tall brush. Advertisement Article continues below this ad ALSO READ: San Antonio Crime Stoppers offer reward in Sonic manager shooting death Two occupants, a man and a woman in their early 20s, were ejected from the truck. They were both pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The deceased man and woman have not been positively identified and their families have not been notified. The two other occupants were critically injured and taken to an area hospital by EMS. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Police: Toddler is fatally stabbed by 6-year-old brother in Joliet, Illinois JOLIET, Ill. (WTVO) A 6-year-old Joliet boy stabbed his 2-year-old brother to death on Friday afternoon, according to Joliet authorities. Around 5:04 p.m., officials responded to the 2700 block of Fairway Drive for a call saying a child had been stabbed. Police said they found the child in the home with multiple stab wounds. During investigations, authorities determined the 2-year-olds older brother stabbed him in the family room with a kitchen knife. An ambulance rushed the toddler to Ascension St. Joseph Medical Center, but he died at the hospital. The childs mother and grandmother were in the house during the incident and the mother called 911 when she found the 2-year-old, according to Joliet Police Sergeant Dwayne English. English said they may never know exactly what happened that afternoon. Its a very fluid investigation, and you know, its important to state that our hearts go out to this familybecause in our opinion, everyone in this incident is a victim, said English. The older brother and his grandfather were both at the police station with officers on Friday night, English told CBS. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is also investigating the incident. 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 MyStateline | WTVO News, Weather and Sports. Slovenia's Tomaz Vesel has withdrawn his bid to join Ursula von der Leyen's team of European Commissioners, after the Slovenian government came under pressure to nominate a female candidate, according to Slovenian press agency STA. The decision was based on "talks" with von der Leyen that "concluded that they had divergent views on the functioning of the new European Commission", STA reported. The news comes after von der Leyen pressured smaller EU member states to pick female candidates to serve in the next EU executive, to enable her to achieve gender balance in the next team, according to diplomatic sources. The Slovenian government had initially defied such pressure, saying in a statement on Tuesday that the coalition government remained "united" around Vesel's candidacy. But on Wednesday, von der Leyen voiced frustration at EU governments for undermining her efforts to ensure equal representation of men and women in her next college, the 27 senior officials who'll steer the EU's powerful executive over the next five years. "I have throughout my whole political life been fighting for women having access to decision-making positions and leading positions," von der Leyen said on Wednesday in Brussels. "And my experience is that if you don't ask for it, you don't get it. It does not come naturally," she continued. "This is why I sent my letter. Because if I had not sent this letter, there would not have been a hook (...) to look at the diversity topic." In July, she explicitly asked member states to name two candidates, one male and one female. Only one country, Bulgaria, heeded that request, meaning the roster of candidates bidding to join von der Leyen's team stood at nine women and 17 men. Von der Leyen also said competence and relevant experience were prerequisites for joining her team, adding that a European Commissioner needs a track record in government, diplomacy or EU institutions. Vesel, a lawyer who previously served as the president of the Slovenian Court of Auditors, may have fallen foul of those criteria. Von der Leyen has also asked the bloc's smallest member state, Malta, to propose a woman as an alternative to Glenn Micallef, the 35-year-old former Head of Secretariat of Prime Minister Robert Abela. Small asteroid burns up over Philippines just hours after being spotted in space Small asteroid burns up over Philippines just hours after being spotted in space A small asteroid slammed into Earth's atmosphere over Luzon Island in the Philippines Wednesday night, lighting up the dark sky as if it was daytime. In the early hours of September 4, 2024, Jacqueline Fazekas, an observer with the Catalina Sky Survey reported the discovery of a small asteroid, initially named 'CAQTDL2'. The CSS is a NASA-backed effort to locate and catalogue near-Earth asteroids, run by the University of Arizona, using telescopes at the Mt. Lemmon Observatory. BIG NEWS! CSS observer Jacqueline Fazekas has just discovered a small meteoroid that will harmlessly impact with Earth's atmosphere in about 8 hours over the Western Pacific. The object (called CAQTDL2) is small, a few feet in diameter. Attached are the discovery images. pic.twitter.com/js7qHNiZq0 Catalina Sky Survey (@catalina_sky) September 4, 2024 Follow-up observations of this object, which was estimated to be roughly one metre wide, revealed that it was just hours away from impacting with Earth. This is the 9th asteroid detected by astronomers, so far, that was found just hours before impact. The asteroid officially named 2024 RW1 based on the time of its discovery was first spotted at 5:43 UTC on Wednesday and impacted at 16:39 UTC, nearly 11 hours later. The smaller an asteroid is, the harder it is to find in the vastness of space. Still, given that two others of similar size, one in 2022 and another in 2023, had been detected between four and five hours before they arrived, it would seem that astronomers are getting better at spotting these small near-Earth objects. With the impact point quickly located, the European Space Agency posted an alert that the meteoroid was expected to burn up over Luzon Island, in the Philippines. UPDATE 2: We expect the ~1 m asteroid discovered this morning to strike Earth's atmosphere over the Philippines near Luzon Island at 16:39 UTC today. Thanks to new observations, we now have a very good idea of where it will impact. And the object has a name! Welcome to Earth https://t.co/C1lVUfP9Uu pic.twitter.com/agxS4tRuHm European Space Agency (@esa) September 4, 2024 That region was still dealing with the aftermath of tropical storm Yagi, but residents were advised that they could witness a fireball at around 12:40 a.m. PHST on September 5. Read more: Philippines death toll from tropical storm Yagi rises to 13 Right on time, the asteroid was spotted producing a spectacular green and orange fireball that streaked over the Philippines as it plunged into the atmosphere from space. Fireball over Philippines Sep 4 2024 - Karen Bea via AMS This closeup of the September 4/5 Luzon Island Bolide, taken as a screenshot from an eyewitness video, reveals the colours of the fireball. Bright green/white light surrounds the meteoroid as it flies through the air, with an orange trail following in its wake. (Karen Bea via the AMS) A meter-wide rock is fairly significant on a human scale. That would represent a reasonably-sized boulder if it was encountered in the wilderness, perhaps a good place to sit and rest for a moment while on a hike. However, when something of that size arrives from space, Earth's atmosphere acts as an effective shield against it. Based on observations, this asteroid was travelling at a speed of around 24 kilometres per second (over 85,000 km/h) when it arrived here. At that speed, hitting the top of the atmosphere is like slamming into a brick wall. As a result, it produced a lot of bright light and, unless it was an iron or stony-iron meteoroid, the original rock was likely blasted into multiple smaller fragments. With the ESA's trajectory for the asteroid completely over the water north of Luzon Island, though, any pieces of it that may have survived to reach the surface are now probably on the bottom of the ocean. Related: Got your hands on a space rock? Here's how to know for sure Where did it come from? According to NASA, 2024 RW1 was an Apollo asteroid a near-Earth object with an orbit that crosses or comes near Earth's orbit from a distance farther out in the solar system. Asteroid 2024 RW1 orbit - NASA CNEOS This orbit simulation reveals that 2024 RW1 originated from the outer asteroid belt, between Mars and Jupiter. (NASA CNEOS) In this case, its orbit (above) was traced back to the outer asteroid belt. The majority of objects from that region of the solar system are known as carbonaceous (C-type) asteroids. These are the darkest, least dense, and most common type of asteroid in the solar system, which are mostly rocky and contain a large amount of carbon. (Thumbnail image courtesy Karen Bea, via the American Meteor Society, who recorded the fireball's entry into Earth's atmosphere from Santa Ana, Philippines.) Watch below: How would we defend ourselves against dangerous asteroids? Out of this World Click here to view the video HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilsons office paid nearly $3,000 for his first trip to the southern border earlier this week, a spokesman told News13. Wilson spent one night at a private residence along with a senior advisor, stopping in El Paso, Texas on Tuesday. The commercial airfare was $2,647, his office said. Wilson said in a news release he was briefed by Texas Department of Public Safety officials about the many issues there that affect South Carolina, and joined by attorneys general Chris Carr of Georgia and Jason Miyares of Virginia. Last year, 3.3% of South Carolinas crimes were immigration-related, compared to 30% nationally, according to U.S. Sentencing Commission figures. Wilson spokesman Robert Kittle told News13 the attorney general met with Texas Border Czar Mike Banks and officials from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Illegal drugs from Mexican cartels come up through the southern border and end up in SC every day, Kittle said. He was also briefed and given updated information on human trafficking and how our current border policies have lent themselves to increases in human trafficking. Since 2021, the U.S. Department of Justices Joint Task Force Alpha created specifically to human trafficking and smuggling from Central American nations and Mexico have made more than 300 arrests yielding roughly 240 convictions. Wilsons efforts at strengthening South Carolinas illegal immigration laws and policies have been part of his administration. Last month he joined a federal suit looking to block taxpayer-funded healthcare services for children brought into the nation by non-citizens. Kittle said the State Grand Jury has taken on nine recent cases involving 527 defendants, some of whom are undocumented immigrants. Examples include: Devil in Disguise: An investigation centered on fentanyl and methamphetamine thats resulted in 90 defendants Las Senoritas: An investigation primarily involving methamphetamine thats resulted in 54 defendants Triple Crown: An investigation primarily involving cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl thats resulted in 63 defendants Los Banditos: An investigation involving methamphetamine resulting in 44 defendants including undocumented immigrants Rocket Fuel: An investigation involving methamphetamine resulting in 35 defendants Groundhog Day: An investigation centered on methamphetamine resulting in 39 defendants Prison Empire: An investigation involving methamphetamine resulting in 100 defendants including undocumented immigrants Polar Express: An investigation involving methamphetamine resulting in 56 defendants including undocumented immigrants Graceland: An investigation primarily involving methamphetamine resulting in 46 defendants In a statement, Kittle said Wilson had no faith in a high-profile bipartisan border security bill that was derailed earlier in the year. It did a great job of throwing large amount of money at the symptoms of the crisis while ignoring the root causes of the crisis, Wilsons office said. It did a great job of funding the pipeline for processing illegals into the interior but did very little to disincentivize the illegal border crossings to begin with. Kittle told News13 Wilson has no plans for a return trip to the border. * * * Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here. 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 WBTW. Before we begin the new week in earnest, we're taking a look back at the week that was, and the stories that led the news with Taunton Daily Gazette readers. Top stories this past week included: The Somerset Berkley boys soccer team honored Zachary Deane during their season opener, and they are dedicating this season to him. A Brockton worker was flown to a Boston hospital after being rescued from a Bridgewater coal train. Massachusetts held its primary: here are the results. A 39-year-old East Taunton man was killed in a motorcycle crash on Tuesday afternoon. A federal bankruptcy judge on Wednesday approved the sale of six Massachusetts hospitals including Good Samaritan in Brockton, Morton in Taunton and Saint Anne's in Fall River. Here's what we know, as of this writing. These were the Top 5 stories of the past week, according to Gazette readers: Joe Pacheco, Kelly Dooner in race for First Bristol and Plymouth Senate seat The Massachusetts primary was held this past week, and longtime Raynham Selectman Joe Pacheco will be the Democratic candidate for the First Bristol and Plymouth Senate seat held by Taunton Democrat Marc Pacheco (no relation). The Republican candidate is Taunton City Councilor Kelly Dooner, and the independent candidate is Jim DuPont. Marc Pacheco is not seeking re-election, after 32 years in the state senate. A polling site at Joseph H. Martin Middle School on March 5, 2024. The general election is on Nov. 5. Election 2024: Joe Pacheco will be Democratic candidate for Taunton state Senate, wins by nearly 2-to-1 Brockton Southern comfort food restaurant destroyed by fire reborn as Taunton food truck Khalils Kitchen was decimated by a fire on Main Street in Brockton in June. But it's been reborn, as Khalil's Express, a food truck, currently sitting in the parking lot for Hometown Furnishings/Hometown Nutrition at 264 Broadway in Taunton. From left, Joao Alves and owner Rudy Alves working and serve up Chopped Cheese Sandwiches and Loaded Fries at Khalil's Express food truck at 264 Broadway in Taunton on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. Owner Rudy Alves, who is running the food truck with his brother Joao, said his resilience has kept him going. Khalil's Express: Brockton Southern comfort food restaurant destroyed by fire reborn as Taunton food truck Taunton Eats: Old Colony History Museum, Berkley Beer Company team up for special event Each week, Taunton Eats rounds up meal deals, special events, and mouth-watering offerings at local eateries and markets to consider when planning your next night on the town. This week, we're highlighting a special collaboration between the Old Colony History Museum and Berkley Beer Company. In honor of the 250th anniversary of the Liberty & Union flag, Berkley Beer Company is releasing a special ale, to be released at a special event at OCHM, when the gallery is transformed into a 1774-inspired tavern. Taunton Eats: Old Colony History Museum, Berkley Beer Company team up for special event Weekly home sales: Charming three bedroom in Raynham sells for over $600K The latest Greater Taunton real estate report featured a Raynham home that sold for $620,000. Built in 1920, the house on North Main Street combines old charm and modern updates, with elegant archways, custom built-ins, beautiful crown molding, a designer kitchen, and updated bathrooms. Check out this property, as well as other recent top-sellers. Weekly home sales: Charming three bedroom in Raynham sells for over $600K Pet of the Week: Husky Bryce is sweet, enjoys long walks The most recent Taunton Animal Shelter Pet of the Week was Bryce, a handsome male Husky who is about 3 years old. He's a sweet, friendly, happy guy, who enjoys long walks. Find out how to adopt Bryce, and see if you're the one to be his new best friend. The Taunton Animal Shelter Pet of the Week is Bryce, a handsome male Husky who is about 3 years old. Visit TauntonGazette.com on Sundays for the latest Pet of the Week. Pet of the Week: Husky Bryce is sweet, enjoys long walks This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Top stories: Candidates chosen for Taunton state senate race Israel will no longer exist: Trump warns Jewish Republicans what will happen if Harris wins Donald Trump has claimed Israel will be gone if Kamala Harris wins the election, during a speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas. If they win, Israel is gone. Just remember that. If they win, Israel is gone, Trump told the crowd via live video feed on Thursday. You can forget about Israel, thats whats going to happen. So they have to get out on Nov. 5 and they have to vote for Trump. If they dont, I think its going to be a very terrible situation. He also claimed Jews who vote for Democrats need to have their head examined and wondered: How do they exist? He also claimed if Harris becomes president, youre not going to have an Israel...Israel will no longer exist. During the speech, the former president appeared to initially misstate the last name of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israel-American hostage killed by Hamas, as Goldman. Goldberg-Polin was one of six hostages found dead in Gaza last week, which prompted widespread protests across Israel as residents demand faster progress on returning the remaining Hamas captives, and ending the war nearly a year after the militant groups initial October 7 invasion. The Republican presidential candidates remarks to the group in Vegas were met with a mix of praise and criticism. A longtime member of the RJC told The Dispatch that the room largely viewed Trump as the superior candidate to Harris. People may have lingering concerns or they wish maybe their preferred primary candidate would have prevailed, the member said. But everybody here I think isnot everybody, but the vast majority of people arepractical, living in the real world, and they understand that its a binary choice and most people think thats a very easy choice. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump appears via live video feed at the Republican Jewish Coalition annual leadership summit on September 5 in Las Vegas (AP) Caroline Glick, an Israel-based policy expert and political commentator, said on X after the speech Trump was on fire at the RJC event. Others argued that Trumps remarks, which echo claims he has made on the campaign trail, were both inaccurate and antisemitic. The Harris campaign says it will strongly support Israel if the Vice President wins the White House in November, while also pushing for a ceasefire with Hamas and the return of hostages. The Democrats campaign accused Trump of being an insincere ally to Jewish people. Donald Trump openly demeans Jewish Americans, proudly dined with a neo-Nazi, and reportedly thinks Adolf Hitler did some good things, Harris-Walz 2024 spokesperson Morgan Finkelstein said in a statement to Politico. He has said the only people he wants counting his money are short guys wearing yarmulkes, and praised neo-Nazis who chanted Jews will not replace us as very fine people. Others echoed that criticism. For centuries antisemites have depicted Jews as existential threats lurking inside the countries they inhabit, Rob Eshman wrote in the Forward, a Jewish news publication. Trump makes the same charges, not against all Jews, just against the ones who refuse to vote for him which is most Jews. He added: Theres a word for hatred directed at Jews you disagree with. The word is: antisemitism. Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, had a similar view, tellingThe Washington Post, This is antisemitism, plain and simple, and if any other elected official or candidate said these things even once let alone on a nearly daily basis they would be condemned as antisemitic. In office, Trumps actions on Israel won praise from the countrys prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, but did not earn him the support of most U.S. Jews, nearly three-quarters of whom identify as Democrats. Many young Jewish people have also been at the forefront of pro-Palestinian activism across the U.S. since October 7, and are unlikely to side with Trump on Israel issues. During the Trump administration, the U.S. recognized Jerusalem as the Israeli capital; formally recognized Israels annexation of the Golan Heights; and pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal. The Trump administration also helped usher in the Abraham Accords, through which the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain became the first Gulf states to formally normalize relations with Israel. Edgewood ISD board president Martha Castilla and trustee James Hernandez listen to recommendations on school closures in 2023. Castilla is seeking reelection in District 4 in the Nov. 5 election. Robin Jerstad Dorothy Borjas is challenging Edgewood ISD board president Martha Castilla for her District 4 seat in the Nov. 5 election. Courtesy of Dorothy Borjas Rudy Lopez is running for the District 5 seat on the Edgewood ISD board in the Nov. 5 election. Courtesy of Rudy Lopez Jubilee Hailey Pena is running for the District 5 seat on the Edgewood ISD board in the Nov. 5 election. Courtesy of Jubilee Hailey Pena Richard Santoyo is running reelection to the District 7 seat on the Edgewood ISD board in the Nov. 5 election. Courtesy of Richard Santoyo Sergio Delgado is challenging Richard Santoyo for the District 7 seat on the Edgewood ISD board in the Nov. 5 election. Courtesy of Sergio Delgado Dwindling enrollment in the Edgewood Independent School District is a top issue in the Nov. 5 board election, which will see a recent high school graduate face off with a retiree and challenges by dissatisfied parents against two incumbents. The districts leaders say charter school competition is the main reason enrollment has dropped 22% in five years and now stands below 10,000 students. Trustees voted last fall to close two schools and might need to close more, they warned. Heres why the candidates think they should be elected. Advertisement Article continues below this ad District 4 Board President Martha Castilla, who was first elected in 2016, did not respond to multiple interview requests. She faces a challenge from a former substitute teacher who is unsatisfied with her childrens education. Dorothy Borjas, 35, a stay-at-home mom of two, said her 13-year-old daughter had attended what were supposed to be bilingual classes in elementary school in Edgewood ISD but that English was not being taught. In fifth grade, she could not spell what, Borjas said, so she moved her daughter to a San Antonio ISD school. Borjas said she saw struggles at all grade levels when she worked as a substitute teacher in Edgewood ISD before the coronavirus pandemic. She said teachers and paraprofessionals need pay raises, mentorship and paid mental health days. The answer to the districts loss of students is to increase the quality of education, Borjas said, and the district could find financial savings by cutting administrative jobs. Advertisement Article continues below this ad This is not a Dorothy campaign. This is a student campaign, she said. Im not doing this for myself. Im not doing this to be known. Im doing this for every student that goes to Edgewood, because its not about me, its about them. District 5 The board seat currently held by Joseph Guerra who said it was time to retire from this part of my public life after roughly 13 years as a trustee will either be filled by a college student or a retiree. Rudy Lopez, 54, worked as a civilian with the San Antonio Police Department for 25 years and has been appointed to serve on multiple city commissions. Edgewood ISD must improve if its going to compete with charter schools, he said. Lopez doesnt have kids of his own, but he has family members who would have gone to Winston Intermediate School of Excellence, a neighborhood school that had become a STEAM academy (science, technology, engineering, art and math) under the districts expansion of magnet programs. Advertisement Article continues below this ad But when Winston closed this year as part of a consolidation forced by shrinking enrollment, they instead went to a charter school, he said. Lopez said the closure of Winston, which was in the neighborhood whose association he led as president for 10 years, spurred him to get involved with the school district. He does not support the legislative attempt to provide state money to parents to pay for private school tuition, because the vouchers would be too limited to make that option affordable to families at or below the poverty level. Even when pay is lower than he would like, teachers could be encouraged to stay if they were listened to, Lopez said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad My method and methodology with my employees (as a supervisor at SAPD), knowing that they didnt get paid very well, was to make them feel like they were a part of the operation and the decision-making, to motivate them and involve them as much as they could in the process, he said. Lopez and his opponent, Jubilee Pena, both graduated from John F. Kennedy High School but Pena, 19, was in the Class of 2023. She graduated with an associates degree from Palo Alto College through Kennedys early college program and is pursuing a degree in psychology from Texas A&M University-San Antonio. Pena said the election of then-19-year-old Michael Valdez in 2022, who had graduated from Edgewood Fine Arts Academy earlier that year, has shown her it is possible for young people to have a voice on the board. The board censured Valdez in January for disruptive and disrespectful conduct after a probe found he violated district rules and acted inappropriately. Valdez was the sole trustee to vote against Edgewood ISDs school closures last fall. Pena said she would have voted the same way. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Pena said her poor experience with special education services, which she obtained until eighth grade for a learning disability, is a big reason why shes running to be a trustee. She said her early college program also fell short, providing proctors, not teachers. I just see a whole bunch of older people, so I think the younger people should get on the board, because they experience what the students are experiencing now. So they know whats going on in the school more than the older folks, in my opinion, and we have fresher, newer ideas. District 7 One trustee who voted to close Winston and Wrenn Middle School was Richard Santoyo. It was a hard decision but he stands by it, he said, given the hard enrollment and financial realities the board was faced with. He said he would vote to close more schools if it was the only way the district could survive. Edgewoods issues partially stem from the citys lack of investment in the area, going back more than 100 years, leading to a low property tax base, Santoyo said. He was appointed to a state board of managers when the Texas Education Agency dissolved Edgewoods elected board in 2016 because it was paralyzed by a 3-3 factional tie. In 2020, when the board transitioned back to elected members, he ran for the seat and lost. But the following year, the victor in that race resigned, and Santoyo took the seat as an appointee. His proudest moment as a trustee so far was voting to hire Superintendent Eduardo Hernandez, who brought Edgewood out of its dark days, he said. Thats why I want to continue to serve with the superintendent. Were on the same wavelength, Santoyo said. Were headed in the right direction. It may not be in leaps and bounds like people would like, like I would like, but nevertheless its going in that direction. His challenger is Sergio Delgado, a transit security officer for Via Metropolitan Transit. A disabled Army veteran and district alum, Delgado has two kids in Kennedy High School. He has never run for public office before, but he thinks its time for a change on the board and he hopes to bring something new, he said. The school closures have been hard on the community, Delgado said. He said he has heard of parents having to drive 20 minutes to drop off a student, some having to then take a sibling to a different school. A private school voucher might be OK in that case, Delgado said, but he generally opposes vouchers because it would take money away from the district. His main concerns are the need to attract qualified teachers, compensating them well, and school nutrition. Delgado said his daughters complain about the food, sometimes passing up lunch because it is so unappealing, but he knows the importance of school meals, having relied on them himself growing up. Hed like to see new programs with healthy dining options. Delgado said providing teacher raises are difficult with declining enrollment and the lack of state funding that entails. He said the district could save money by reconfiguring salaries of the superintendent and legal counsel. Its hard to justify, Hey, we need more money for teachers, when were losing seven thousand kids in enrollment. So weve got to stop shutting down schools, Delgado said. AICHI, Sep 08 (News On Japan) - Toing, a startup spun off from Nagoya University, is developing artificial soil by carbonizing rice husks and infusing them with proprietary microorganisms, using high-functioning biochar called "Soratane" to promote decarbonization and plant growth. The inspiration behind the company came from a project focused on "space farming." We interviewed CEO Kohei Nishida about their strategy to target overseas markets. At Toing's farm in Kariya, Aichi Prefecture, various vegetables such as eggplants and peppers are being grown, but the real point of interest is beneath the surface. When asked about the soil, Nishida responded, "It's not soil; we call it Soratane, which is our high-functioning biochar." This specially developed biochar is extremely light and dry, having been treated with microorganisms. "Our bio technology is key. Even if another farmer tries to replicate it, it likely wont work as well," Nishida explains. The biochar is created by heating rice husks to high temperatures and turning them into charcoal. The addition of the companys unique microorganisms boosts soil nutrients, acting as a substitute for chemical fertilizers, and enhances plant growth. Other agricultural waste, such as tea leaves and food scraps, can also be used to create Soratane, without affecting the crops' quality. Toing is collaborating with around 200 farmers to reduce chemical fertilizer usage. Nishida emphasized that the vegetables grown with Soratane are more environmentally friendly. Toing, founded out of Nagoya University, is now expanding its business worldwide, aiming to change the future of agriculture with Soratane. Nishida explains that Soratane, meaning "space charcoal," originated from their initial goal to develop a space agriculture system. "We still continue to work on space farming projects, supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries," Nishida added. When asked about the benefits of using Soratane, Nishida responded, "It allows for efficient use of fertilizers, reducing chemical fertilizer consumption while also strengthening the plants against diseases, thereby enhancing soil functionality." Soratane can improve the breakdown of nitrogen and other cycles, making it much easier to manage compared to traditional organic farming. Soratane offers an advantage to organic farmers, enabling them to maintain higher crop yields. According to Toing's research, it can increase yields by 10% to 70%, depending on conditions, and reduce the reliance on chemical fertilizers. One of the secrets behind Soratane's effectiveness lies in the specific microorganisms Toing uses. Nishida explains, "We adapt the types of microorganisms to different soil types across Japan. Each soil type requires a customized approach." The longevity of Soratane's effects can last between three to five years, after which it needs to be reapplied. "We communicate with farmers to tailor the application based on their needs," Nishida adds. Although Toing continues its space farming research, Nishida is also looking at how Soratane could be used in extreme environments on Earth, such as deserts. However, he noted that solving water shortages would be necessary to make farming in deserts possible. In terms of water retention, Nishida explained that biochar improves the soils ability to retain water, which is advantageous for farming. "It can also enhance the soils water-holding capacity and reduce soil compaction," he said. Toing sources the raw materials for Soratane from industrial waste, helping to reduce environmental impact and promote decarbonization. The biochar sequesters carbon in the soil, potentially for hundreds or thousands of years, helping mitigate climate change. Nishida concluded by stating that as Soratane spreads, it could play a crucial role in revolutionizing global agriculture. Source: BIZ TOKYO, Sep 08 (News On Japan) - The charm of Japanese antique markets lies in discovering rare items before they fade into obscurity. These markets have become a gathering spot for foreign treasure hunters, whose interest now surpasses that of Japanese collectors. Rare Film: 'Young Lincoln' At the Saitama Antique Fair on June 11, a wide variety of items were on display, from traditional Japanese furniture to Western armor. Yannick, a 24-year-old student from Germany, was on the lookout for vintage cameras. Yannick said, "I got this one for 1,000 yen at another antique market. It was broken and didnt work, but I took it apart and fixed it myself." Yannick often buys damaged cameras at a low price and repairs them. Occasionally, he comes across rare finds. "This camera is extremely rareit doesnt even have a serial number," Yannick explained. Surprisingly, he bought it for just 300 yen. This is the thrill of antique markets, where one can find a personal treasure. The fair, featuring over 140 vendors, was filled with mysterious antiques that were not always easy to identify. One vendor held up an item, asking, "Do you know what this is?" It was a tool from the Edo period, with part of it made from iron. You might have seen something like it in period dramas. "This is a striker used for lighting fires, made from obsidian or another material. You strike it to produce sparks and start a fire. Youve probably seen it in samurai films." A closer look revealed a pocket where cotton was stored for starting fires. Another curious item resembled a prewar camera, but it was actually a lantern projector, used to project images by manually winding film through the device. The vendor even had a rare film of 'Young Lincoln,' which may have been used in schools. A Lifelong Love for Antiques At the Yokohama Kotto World antique fair, another unique item caught the attention of Lisa Westberg (in her 40s), who was visiting from Zushi with her husband. "Ive never seen anything like this before. I wonder what it was used for," she said. The tool, mostly made of wood with some glass, was used for squeezing juice from persimmons to dye fabrics. Lisas interest in antiques began with her father, Hogan, 76. "I love traditional designs. How much is this?" Hogan asked. "Its 1,000 yen," the vendor replied. "Ill take it," Hogan said. The Westberg familys love for antiques is evident in their home, which is filled with treasures from various countries. In their Japanese-style room stands a gold statue from China, and the veranda is adorned with a Mexican plant pot with traditional patterns. Lisa shared, "Im drawn to items that reflect different cultures. I love displaying them." Passion for Japans History In Kyoto, the largest antique fair in western Japan attracted over 300 vendors and long lines of people, with more than 300 attendees waiting to enter. Many foreigners, like Peter from Canada, were drawn to this event. Peter, 59, had been searching for a specific item and was thrilled to finally purchase a piece of samurai armor called 'hanbo.' "A hanbo is a protective mask that covers the cheeks and chin," Peter explained. "I paid 50,000 yen for it." Though the price might seem steep, Peter wasnt fazed. "Its not expensive at allmy love for Japanese history is strong." Peters home in Canada houses an impressive collection, including a helmet from the Momoyama period and a box used for storing armor from the Sekigahara battle era. His latest purchase was a Taisho-era military medal. Peter proudly added, "I also collect Japanese medals." The asking price for one medal was 4,000 yen, but Peter managed to negotiate a discount. "Ill buy all 10 for 15,000 yen. The condition isnt great, so Id like a better price," he said, sealing the deal. Remaking Kimonos Found at Antique Markets One particularly devoted visitor to these fairs is Andrea, a Hungarian woman in her 20s who has lived in Japan for five years. Andrea regularly attends antique markets, where she buys old kimonos to remake into stylish outfits. "I wear kimonos all the time," Andrea said. "Im even going to work in this outfit today." Andrea works for an IT company and often wears her kimono to meetings. She embellishes her outfits with embroidery inspired by traditional Hungarian designs. Before coming to Japan, Andrea dressed conservatively, but since discovering kimonos, her creativity has flourished. She has remade over 150 kimonos into her unique designs. "Its fun, but I dont have many friends who understand this passion," she admitted. The Allure of Japanese Antiques for Foreign Collectors At a Kyoto antique market, Chris, a 48-year-old American, caught attention. Chris spent 10 years working at Christies, one of the most prestigious auction houses in the world. Despite his vast experience with global antiques, Chris purchased a humble itema tanzaku (poem card) from the Edo period. "This is a work by Rengetsu, a female poet from the Edo period," Chris shared. Though his home in the U.S. boasts a remarkable collection, including silver plates adorned with the Tokugawa family crest and plates from the Azuchi-Momoyama period, Chris has a special fondness for a chipped Edo-era water pitcher. "In China, when a ceramic piece is flawed, they throw it away. But in Japan, they value these imperfections. This concept of 'wabi' exists only in Japan, and thats what makes Japanese art so interesting," he said. Japanese antique markets continue to captivate foreign collectors with their rich history and unique charm. Source: ANN Toyama, Sep 08 (News On Japan) - An exhibition and sale of prison-made goods crafted by inmates aiming for social reintegration was held at Toyama Prison in Toyama Prefecture. Now in its 45th year, the Toyama Correctional Exhibition showcased approximately 3,200 items across 369 categories from prisons nationwide. Toyama Prison, known for its woodworking programs, featured a mikoshi (portable shrine) priced at 4 million yen, crafted by seven inmates over the course of about six months. To date, 5,800 mikoshi have been produced, with around 10 more commissioned for this year. These mikoshi are highly popular and regularly featured in festivals across the country. A visitor remarked, "Its incredibly beautiful, such a magnificent mikoshi," while another said, "Its amazing that something so beautiful can be made with such dedication over a long period of time." In addition, the exhibition offered activities such as a personality test used upon admission to juvenile detention centers and a tasting of "prison curry," a meal served once a week to inmates at Toyama Prison. Source: ANN Even though basketball isn't the first sport that comes to mind when you think of New Zealand, it has been making its mark since the beginning of the 1900s. By Udeze Ekene A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has said the current hardship faced by Nigerians is becoming unbearable. Olatunbosun Oyintiloye appealed to President Tinubu to act fast and save the citizens. The Osun APC chieftain advised the President to remove every bureaucratic bottleneck impending swift implementation of programmes aimed at addressing the hardship Nigerians are currently facing. The former member of the Osun State House of Assembly stated this on Sunday while speaking with journalists in Osogbo. Oyintiloye said while Nigerians hope that the President would turn the country around positively through his programmes, the federal government must accelerate measures that can cushion the hardship caused by the governments policies. Nigerians are hopeful that there will be a positive turnaround in the country, but measures to achieve this must be accelerated. There is no doubt that the president is doing everything humanly possible to alleviate the suffering of the masses, but a faster approach must be considered. The president should ensure that every bureaucratic bottleneck impeding the swift implementation of policies that will put smiles on the faces of the masses is removed. The economic suffering the masses are currently going through is becoming unbearable, and the president must act fast, Daily Post quoted him. Naija News reported that APC chieftain, Joe Igbokwe, on Saturday, took to his Facebook handle, to call on the President to reverse the currently increased electricity tariff. Igbokwe cried that his small business and other business would be destroyed if the federal government did not reverse its electricity policy. Algerias incumbent president Abdelmadjid Tebboune won a second term with more than 94% of votes amid low turnout, crackdown on opponents, and vote rigging concerns. Tebboune was running against two less known candidates Islamist candidate Abdelali Hassani Cherif and socialist Youcef Aouchiche, who both received 3% and 2.1% of votes respectively. Less than 50% of voters cast ballot in the election, which took place in a climate of human rights violations and crackdown on opposition. Abdelali Hassani Cherif denounced dysfunctions and inflated results plaguing the presidential Algerian elections and the manipulation of turnout figures by authorities. The vote was marked by unacceptable administrative practices by the independent elections committee, Cherif campaign director said in a statement. We regretfully note the return of old practices that could have been avoided, including: pressure on some polling station supervisors to inflate results, failure to deliver counting records to candidate representatives, and collective voting by proxy, the statement adds. Amid an electoral campaign marked by indifference of ordinary Algerians, the regime intensified its crackdown on opposition figures forcing Karim Tabbou to house arrest and banning him from any political activity. It also kidnapped opposition figure and leader of Algerias communist party MDS Fethi Ghares, one of the most outspoken proponents of the pro-democracy protests known as the Hirak. The Algerian regime is still thumbling at any call that would re-ignite calls for democracy following the example of the 2019 Hirak that prevented Bouteflika from a fifth term. Rick Scott is sweating what should have been a pretty easy reelection. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images Back in 1980, former West Virginia governor Arch Moore was running a hopeless campaign against his successor, Jay Rockefeller, whose immense family wealth extinguished any real hope for an upset. His campaign deployed a legendary bumper sticker that read: Make Him Spend It All, Arch! That could also be the slogan for Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powells long-shot campaign against the richest member of the U.S. Senate today, Floridas Rick Scott. Florida is a state that has been trending sharply Republican in recent years, as my colleague Gabriel Debenedetti explained in 2023 after a notably disastrous election cycle for Democrats: Although Obama won it twice, no Democrat has been elected governor in the state since 1994, and recent years have seen Democrats encountering problems turning out Black Floridians. In probably the best-known shift, Democrats have also begun struggling more than ever before with Latino voters in south Florida. One casualty of that trend was Mucarsel-Powell, who briefly represented a Miami-Dade County congressional district before being upset in 2020. Now shes doing a very creditable job in her first statewide race, hammering Scott for MAGA extremism generally and for reactionary views on abortion in particular. Scott has a large war chest combining $13 million in self-funding (as of the end of July) with the big donor base he developed as past chairman of the Senate Republicans fundraising arm. But its likely hell drop a lot more dough before its over: In his first Senate race in 2018 and in two previous (successful) gubernatorial runs, he spent a total of more than $150 million of his own money on his campaigns. Democrats love to remind voters that their senator made his bundle in stock and severance pay after leaving a burning building at the for-profit hospital chain he founded, Columbia/HCA, which soon got zapped with over a billion smackers in fines for Medicare fraud (Scott himself was never charged with criminal wrong-doing). While Scott continues to plunder his childrens inheritance, polls continue to show this race as closer than expected and perhaps getting closer. The incumbent leads in the RealClearPolitics averages by 4.3 percent, but each new poll shows Mucarsel-Powell gaining; most recently a September survey from Emerson showed the race statistically tied, as the Hill reported: Scott leads Mucarsel-Powell 46 percent to 45 percent among likely Florida voters, well within the surveys plus or minus 3.4 point margin of error. Nine percent of voters said they are undecided. Among independent voters, 47 percent said they back Mucarsel-Powell and 34 percent broke for Scott, while 19 percent said they are undecided. Mucarsel-Powell leads Scott by 5 points among women voters, and Scott led Mucarsel-Powell by 8 points among men. The poll also found Mucarsel-Powell polling ahead of Scott with the states Hispanic vote by 6 points, while Scott led Mucarsel-Powell by 19 points among white voters. One problem Scott has brought onto himself stems from his recent efforts to make himself a power in the Senate Republican Conference and a national MAGA star. He feuded with and unsuccessfully challenged Mitch McConnell, and hes running again as the Trumpiest option for succeeding McConnell. Perhaps in preparation for these gambits, in 2022 he released (and then subsequently toned down slightly) a truly wild 11-Point Plan to Save America that is to Florida Democrats what Project 2025 has become to Democrats nationally. It included a total sunsetting of federal programs every five years (he later remembered the state he represents and exempted Social Security, Medicare, and the U.S. Navy from this death sentence) and minimum income taxes on working poor people whose tax liability is eliminated by tax credits. Like other Florida Republicans, Scott has also been wrong-footed by Ron DeSantiss presidential-campaign-driven six-week abortion ban (which Scott initially supported but then, like Trump, suggested was a bit too strict) and the subsequent ballot initiative to restore Roe v. Wades protections for pre-viability abortions as part of the State Constitution. Scott naturally opposes this amendment, which will likely win a majority of the vote in November and may top the 60 percent supermajority required for enactment. Mucarsel-Powell is criticizing Scott constantly for being on the wrong side of this issue. In another parallel to the national campaign, the Democrat is also pounding Scott for his vote against a bipartisan border deal and for having nothing constructive to offer on immigration policy (Mucarsel-Powell is herself an immigrant from Ecuador). Scott, of course, is labeling his opponent as a socialist who is relying on noncitizen voting for victory. Mucarsel-Powell was smart to get out in front of one issue by harshly attacking Venezuelas Maduro regime and its recent efforts to reverse an apparent election defeat. The possibility that Scott could actually lose this race is manna from heaven for Democrats, not just in Florida but nationally. They are hanging onto control of the Senate by their fingernails. And with Joe Manchins seat already lost and Jon Testers in grave peril, an upset win over Scott or over his fellow MAGA bravo Ted Cruz whos having his own problems with Republican extremism on abortion could produce the miracle they need (in addition, of course, to a Harris presidential win that would make Tim Walz the Senate tie-breaker). But if nothing else, maybe Mucarsel-Powell can indeed make Rick Scott spend it all. 10 items in this article 2 items on sale! Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photos: Retailers We write about hundreds of products each week. Here, in our version of the Sunday circular, weve plucked some of our recent favorites: expert-recommended essentials, life-changing stuff you didnt know you needed, newly launched gizmos, and very good deals we uncovered while trawling through the vast online-shopping universe including a strengthening oil that wont weigh down fine hair, rocks glasses that feel satisfying to hold, and the under-$200 ball gown our writer has worn from Paris to picnics. The laminator Jason Schwartzman pushes to its limit Blusmart A3 Laminator Machine $130 $130 Jason Schwartzman is an on-the-record Strategist stan, and as it turns out, hes very particular about his stuff, making him an ideal celebrity shopping subject. When we spoke to him about his favorite things, he told us about his Blusmart laminator, which has a paper cutter attached to it. Both my son and I love it. Well just sit around, make up a fake book, print it, then laminate it, Schwartzman says, adding that he also tries to laminate three-dimensional items youre not supposed to laminate. Id like to be able to laminate a rope, but I just dont know how to do this. Ill always be testing. $130 at Walmart Buy The grab-and-go ball gown one writer wears to weddings, picnics, and vintage markets The AI-powered mattress pad thats like a Snoo for adults Eight Sleep Pod 4 From $2,649 Our sleep writer Amelia Jerden started testing the Eight Sleep Pod 4 a fancy hydropowered mattress cover as part of a project to try various bed-cooling systems. What sets Eight Sleep apart is that its app is equipped with an AI called Autopilot to track your sleep via sensors in the mattress pad and make automatic adjustments to improve your rest. Another nice feature is the vibration alarm, which wakes you with physical vibrations. While the Eight Sleep is great for temperature-controlled sleep, Jerden says she could honestly give or take the Autopilot membership, especially since it costs $17 a month. But if you were going to buy both a sleep tracker and a temperature-control system anyway, it would certainly be convenient to have them bundled into one, she says. From $2,649 at Eight Sleep Buy A graphic T-shirt for Beetlejuice fans Idea Books Winona T-shirt $46 $46 If youve been hunting for better graphic T-shirts, Chris Black suggested his favorite, non-corny picks in his latest column. Black says creating consistently cool graphic T-shirts is one of the hardest things for a brand to pull off, but Iconic Books gets the job done with this minimal and to-the-point tee. Show your love for an iconic 90s actress with a simple, typography-based graphic T-shirt, he says. [Editors note: Idea Books lists its prices in GBP; the USD price listed is an approximation.] $46 at Idea Books Ltd. Buy And seltzers for spice lovers A pumpkin-spice broom (also known as PSB) Our beauty writers go-to mineral SPF for brown skin A no-frills rocks glass with a solid weight to it Hair oil suitable for all hair types Verb Ghost Oil $20 $20 Were fans of Verbs hair-care products (and crowned the brands conditioner as our favorite of all time), so its no surprise that Ghost Oil is our top choice in our roundup of the best hair oils. It works for all hair types (without being too heavy for fine hair), is both sealing and moisturizing, and its very reasonably priced. It contains common hair oil ingredients such as moringa and argan oil and the less-common bamboo extract, known for its hair-strengthening properties. $20 at Amazon Buy $20 at Sephora Buy Alexa Chungs new Madewell collection Alexa Chung for Madewell Suede Miniskirt $298 $298 As seen in this weeks Dont Dillydally, after 14 years, Alexa Chung is finally collaborating with Madewell again. Her new collection features sophisticated and streamlined looks, featuring mostly denim (pants, button-up shirts, skirts, and more) as well as several pieces in rich suede, like this A-line miniskirt. $298 at Madewell Buy get the strategist newsletter Actually good deals, smart shopping advice, and exclusive discounts. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. This divestment is part of Shell's global portfolio realignment, while traders and NOCs seek to expand their presence in the African market. Saudi Aramco, ADNOC, Trafigura, and other major players are in the race to acquire Shell's gas stations and other downstream assets. Shell is divesting from its downstream operations in South Africa, attracting interest from major oil traders and national oil companies. Oil trading giants and the national oil companies of some of the Middle East's biggest oil producers are in the race to buy Shell's South African service stations as they look to expand their access to downstream assets. The world's largest oil firm and oil exporter, Saudi Aramco, the national oil company of Abu Dhabi, ADNOC, Oman's OQ Trading, and international trading giant Trafigura are interested in buying Shell's gas stations in South Africa, sources with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg this week. Trafigura and the Middle Eastern NOCs are joined by South Africa's Central Energy Fund, which owns state oil and gas firm PetroSA, as well as Sasol, in the race for Shell's service stations, according to Bloomberg's sources. Shell said earlier this year that it is preparing to divest from downstream operations in South Africa as a result of an internal portfolio review. Shell holds a majority share in Shell Downstream SA (SDSA), which was formed by the merger agreement between Shell South Africa and Thebe Investment Corporation a decade ago. Shell is retaining its upstream assets and even plans to drill ultra-deepwater wells offshore South Africa, looking to expand the recent discoveries off Namibia into South Africa's west coast. However, the UK-based supermajor is reshaping its global downstream portfolio and the South African assets are up for sale. Trafigura already has a presence in Africa with its unit Puma Energy. Engen, the owner of the biggest gasoline stations network in South Africa, was sold last year to Vivo Energy, a subsidiary of the world's largest independent oil trader, Vitol Group. Trafigura and Sasol were also in competition to buy Engen, but Vitol won the race. Trafigura, Vitol, and the other major independent traders have been snapping up refineries and retail network assets that the biggest international oil and gas producers are divesting as part of strategic portfolio realignment. In this way, commodity traders gain direct access to a refinery to which they can send part of the crude they sell and become larger players on the crude options and futures market to hedge their exposure to physical crude oil. In recent months, the largest independent oil trading houses have acquired several refineries from Big Oil worldwide in consortia with other companies. Vitol Group signed a deal last year to buy 35% of the Saras refinery in Italy after reaching an agreement with members of the Moratti family. Trafigura said in April that Rhone Energies, its consortium with Entara LLC, has entered into exclusive negotiations to buy the Fos-sur-Mer refinery and the Toulouse and Villette de Vienne terminals from ExxonMobil's local unit Esso. Glencore also made the list of the biggest oil traders buying refineries from Big Oil. In May, Shell reached an agreement to sell its refining and chemicals assets in Singapore to CAPGC Pte. Ltd., a joint venture company between Chandra Asri Capital Pte. Ltd. and Glencore Asian Holdings Pte. Ltd. The commodity trading industry currently has the means to reinvest strategically in long-term deals and strategic decisions, according to consultancy Oliver Wyman. One winner move for reinvesting the profit windfalls could be to invest in assets, "which gives traders greater optionality and influence over the commodities they trade," Oliver Wyman said in a report earlier this year. For their part, the NOCs of the top Middle Eastern producers are looking to buy more downstream assets abroad to either supply crude for refineries or sell their refined petroleum products to service stations. Saudi Aramco, for example, continues to be on the lookout for acquisition opportunities in the downstream and LNG, a senior executive told Reuters in an interview. In recent months, Aramco has struck several deals in refining and petrochemicals in China and LNG in the United States and Australia. Earlier this year, ADNOC bought an 11.7% stake in Phase 1 of NextDecade's Rio Grande LNG export project in Texas, as Abu Dhabi's national oil company announced its first strategic investment in the U.S. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com The IMF warns that Saudi Arabia needs an oil price of $96.20 per barrel to balance its budget, raising concerns about potential deficits. Saudi Arabia has long prided itself on being the lowest-cost oil producer in the worldand has taken maximum advantage of this fact. Now, with ambitious spending plans for a diversified economy, that lowest cost is becoming less relevant. Its the breakeven cost of oil that matters. And thats going up. Earlier this year, the International Monetary Fund warned that Saudi Arabia would need an oil price of $96.20 per barrel to break even. Anything less, the IMF said, would mean another annual deficit for the Gulf economy. The IMF attributed its upward revision to Saudi Arabias Vision 2030 spending and its decision to reduce daily oil production in a bid to prop up prices. The Saudis did not heed the unspoken advice to restore production to over 10 million barrels daily, so their breakeven price remains high and so does spending. Last year, the kingdoms Public Investment Fund, or PIF, for short, became the worlds biggest spender among sovereign wealth funds with a total bill of $124 billion. Those investments were made both at homein the Neom smart city megaproject and a new airline, Riyadh Air, for instanceand abroad, where Saudi money is being spent on a variety of investments, including electric cars, energy efficiency projects, and more. As a result of this spending spree, however, PIFs assets shrank considerably, from over $105 billion in 2022 to $37 billion as of September 2023. Since then, these assets have rebounded, with the cash portion of those up from $15 billion in September 2023 to $65 billion this July, per Bloomberg. Whats more, in 2023, the PIF swung into a profit after a loss-making 2022. Still, the budget breakeven oil price remains too high for comfortat least according to some observers. At least until 2030, Saudi will have massive budgetary needs due to the need to demonstrate some significant outcome in key Vision 2030 projects and to prepare for and host big sporting and cultural events, Middle East Institute scholar Li-Chen Sim told CNBC. All this amidst expected growth in oil supply from the U.S., Guyana, Brazil, Canada, and even the UAE and possible anemic oil consumption growth in China, the Kingdoms largest oil customer, means that the Kingdoms fiscal breakeven price is likely to rise perhaps to around $100, the analyst added. Growth in non-OPEC oil production has become a popular refrain among bearish oil price forecasters who also like to point to weakening demand growth from Chinathe worlds biggest importer of crude. The argument goes that oil prices are going to be weaker for longer due to this weaker oil demand growth in China and the constantly rising supply from the non-OPEC camp. Yet neither the weakness in Chinas oil demand nor the size of production growth are something guaranteed. In the U.S., for instance, the Energy Information Administration expects a slowdown in production growth this year after a surprising 1 million bpd increase in 2023. It is quite likely that the federal agency, which has been wrong before, is right this time. The industry is in the process of consolidation, with production decision-making getting concentrated in fewer hands. In Guyana, production will likely continue to rise in leaps and bounds as Exxon puts more wells into operation and as Brazil aspires to achieve major output growth, but those would very likely depend on international pricesjust like U.S. output growth. Those three could certainly complicate Saudi Arabias life, but these potential complications may not be as dramatic as they may seembecause low oil prices are bad for everyone. This means that the argument about rising non-OPEC production has a drawback that rarely gets mentioned. For all its breakeven problems, Saudi Arabia is still the lowest-cost producer of crude in the world. It could delay some of its spending plans, if necessary, but it could withstand a sustained oil price rout better than U.S. shale drillers and Brazilian presalt field operators, theoretically. Besides, the breakeven oil price might not really provide a realistic look into an economys health, as suggested in an article by Tim Callen, a visiting fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. For Saudi Arabia, oil production and expenditure often change substantially and quickly, Callen wrote. With considerable spare oil production capacity and a demonstrated policy of actively adjusting production depending on demand and supply conditions in the global market, oil production is more variable for a country that always produces at full capacity. Historically, government spending has also tended to increase as oil prices rise, meaning that the market and breakeven oil price often move together, he noted. In other words, the suggestion that Saudi Arabia is in trouble because it cannot make the ends of its planned budget meet is accurateup to a point. The megaprojects can be delayed, as they have been before when the price environment was sub-optimal. Money can also be drawn from international debt markets where Saudi bonds appear to enjoy substantial popularity, not unlike Aramco shares. Oil-dependent economies, it seems, still draw investors in, transition and non-OPEC output growth notwithstanding. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com UTSA professor Mel Webb conducts orientation on Aug. 29 for a new cohort of students enrolled in the Philosophy and Literature Circle, which meets weekly with incarcerated people. Clint Datchuk On Thursday nights, professor Mel Webb and students from the University of Texas at San Antonio sit down with incarcerated individuals, side by side, at the Dominguez State Jail on San Antonios Southwest Side. Nerves settle when Webb starts the class, called the Philosophy and Literature Circle. And then everyone becomes an educator, co-learner and scholar, engaging in critical and passionate exchanges. They read short stories by Langston Hughes, dialogue by Plato and Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter from Birmingham Jail. Advertisement Article continues below this ad UTSA professor Mel Webb introduces a new cohort on Aug. 29 to the Philosophy and Literature Circle, which connects students with incarcerated people. Clint Datchuk And everyone writes. They review each others work. In the circle, we approach philosophy as a way of life, as the love of wisdom, Webb said. And we honor the unique wisdom that is possible because of the distinctive life path that weve taken. My life path happens to have included grad school. The life paths of those incarcerated happened to include a conviction for a jail felony, a category more severe than a misdemeanor but, with a maximum possible sentence of two years, a lesser offense than a third-degree felony. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Webb, who uses they/them pronouns, works in several disciplines, including theology, philosophy, history, ethics, sociology and moral psychology. A professor of instruction with a cross-appointment in the UTSA Department of Philosophy and Classics and the universitys Honors College, they are the 2024 recipient of the Richard S. Howe Excellence in Teaching Mentoring Award. In 2019, Webb launched the experiential learning program with 15 students and 13 Dominguez residents, hoping to challenge participants to expand their understanding of humanity and their place within it. The 13th cohort began this fall. Mel Webb highlights the growth of UTSAs Philosophy and Literature Circle program since it began in 2019. Students in the program meet weekly with incarcerated people at the Dominguez State Jail. Clint Datchuk A program alum still incarcerated at Dominguez, Jesse Gutierrez, told interviewers in a reunion last May documented by UTSAs communication team that he didnt know what to expect at the first class. As everyone started learning about the circle and sharing stories, they built relationships, he said. Just being a part of a program in college inspired me to want to learn more, to move forward, Gutierrez said. And I got more involved in the classes. Its been an experience that Im never going to forget. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Another participant, John W. Kinney Jr., said hed always wanted to travel the path of philosophy and being selected for the circle while at Dominguez allowed him the opportunity and was definitely an escape from, so to speak, the reality of the situation. Theres no downside to it, coming from my standpoint, Kinney said. Its so appreciated that were given this opportunity to even grow in a program as such. The UTSA College of Liberal and Fine Arts supports student engagement in the program, which also gets funding from Humanities Texas and private donors. By the end of the course, participants understand themselves, one another and their shared world, Webb said. Wanting to learn and be in a community that helps oneself envision free, peaceful life with others is welcome, the professor said. Theres dignity in that. They have ongoing opportunities to take what theyve learned and use in a future trajectory for themselves. Mel Webb conducts a breathing exercise on Aug. 29 before introducing a new cohort to UTSAs Philosophy and Literature Circle, which meets weekly with incarcerated people at the Dominguez State Jail. Clint Datchuk The professor said the circle shapes what they write to loved ones; it helps them imagine speaking about what seems risky or other relationships in their lives. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Webb started working in prisons in 2013 as a graduate student after a friend mentioned teaching English composition at a prison at night. Webb joined the Prison Teaching Initiative of Princeton University, part of a wider effort in New Jersey to offer college level programming in state prisons. Webb was studying for a PhD in theology and was approached by a student, Anitwone Cox, a theologian and a prison choir director, about getting the Princeton Theological Seminary involved. They conferred with Dayle Rounds, the seminarys associate director, and adapted a certificate in theology and ministry. Webb collaborated with the prison chaplain, the Rev. Dr. Charles Atkins Jr. It was meant to prepare people who arent necessarily called to ordination in their traditions, Webb said, but are otherwise involved in spiritual lives of people within their faith communities. In the summer of 2018, after moving to San Antonio, Webb was looking to get involved in a prison program but couldnt find any in the region. UTSA academic administrators heard about Webbs idea and decided such a class would be consistent with the universitys mission. Jill Fleuriet, vice provost for honors education, helped Webb launch the program. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Mel Webb conducts orientation Aug. 29 for a new class of students enrolled in UTSAs Philosophy and Literature Circle, which meets weekly with incarcerated people at the Dominguez State Jail. Clint Datchuk In the spring, Webb teaches Moral Imagination and U.S. Incarceration. In the fall, its Peace and Justice, which requires taking part in the circle. Students get college credit; the inmate scholars get continuing education units through UTSA. The success of the Dominguez circle has prompted Webb to work with Trinity University to launch a circle at the Torres Unit, a state prison in Hondo. Webb has a board, called the Core Community team, that includes Jose Nicolas Flores, whose higher education experience started a year before he was released from prison, when he enrolled in the Coastal Bend College prison program in 2011. He served 13 years for offenses that included robbery and burglary and after parole enrolled at San Antonio College, then at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. Today, at 44, hes a licensed chemical dependency counselor, community health worker and certified criminal justice addiction professional. Education helped my reentry, Flores said. Attending a conference in Indianapolis, the Texas Longhorns hoodie he was wearing drew the attention of Webb, also at the conference. They struck up a conversation and found they had a mutual interest in teaching at local prisons. Not long after, Webb asked Flores to join the board. A college degree increases opportunities to be successful and stay out of prison, Flores said. An Institute for Higher Education Policy report said postsecondary education opportunities in prison was associated with a 46% reduction in recidivism. Not only are we recognizing Dr. Webb for doing this, Flores said, but to bring awareness and break the stigma of people like me and people getting out of prison. Rayne Trevino, 21, a student in the circle last fall and spring, said the cohort offered lessons she applies outside of the classroom. Trevino got her bachelors in philosophy from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and is a second year philosophy student and research assistant in the UTSA masters program. The circle requires a different kind of commitment compared to other courses, where classmates dont even need to acknowledge one another, she said. Students and participants look forward to it. Weve lost that culture in classrooms and Dr. Webb brought it back, Trevino said. You meet cool people you have a lot in common with. Theyre people like us. That kind of teaching, to be flexible, is great. On the last day, youre a community. The professor said the process of the circle itself is the experience. With Russias full-scale invasion at 30 months and counting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is trying to shake things up on the battlefield and in the halls of power in Kyiv. In early August, Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into Russian territory, sending troops across the border and opening a new front in the Kursk region. This week, Zelenskiy launched the biggest government shake-up since the all-out war began, replacing Kyiv's foreign minister -- a prominent face of Ukraine abroad since 2020 -- and engineering several other changes in the cabinet of ministers and his influential administration, widely known as the presidential office. Heres a look at the motives, the timing, and the potential effects of a move that the wartime leader says will give Ukraine new energy at a crucial juncture but that critics say will actually change little. Why Now? Zelenskiy replaced his defense minister a year ago and the commander in chief of the armed forces in February, and there had long been rumblings of a more sweeping change in government. Ruslan Stefanchuk, speaker of Ukraines parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, announced in June that there would be changes in the cabinet, noting that several ministries, including those in charge of culture, agricultural policy, and infrastructure, had been without confirmed ministers for some time. Nothing happened at that time, though, and subsequent rumors that Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal might be on the way out proved inaccurate. He is still in place. Prominent political scientist Volodymyr Fesenko told RFE/RL that he believes Zelenskiy and his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, had long wanted to make changes but only recently had time to get to the nitty-gritty and make decisions about who should go where. As soon as they took the corresponding political decisionsthats when it happened, Fesenko said. In any case, the shake-up comes at an intense time in the war, with Ukraine holding territory in Russias Kursk region and Moscows forces pressing forward in the Donbas -- the eastern provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, which Russian President Vladimir Putin appears determined to seize in their entirety. It also comes ahead of a tough winter, as Ukraine struggles to keep the power on while Russian forces pummel the countrys energy infrastructure in addition to the homes of civilians. Furthermore, it comes as Zelenskiy, who is beseeching the West to let Ukraine strike military targets deeper in Russia with long-range weapons -- prepares to potentially hand U.S. President Joe Biden a victory plan later this month. What's The Goal? On September 4, Zelenskiy said that Ukraine needs new energy and described the government shake-up that was unfolding as aimed at strengthening our state in various areas." The president, who was elected in April 2019, said that some officials have been in their posts for 4 1/2 to five years. He called for quick results in an address the following evening, urging his new team to work "more actively than before" and achieve advancements in arms industry investments, financial stability, "support for the front line," and Ukraine's EU membership bid. Some opponents suspect the reshuffle is aimed at further consolidating power in the hands of Zelenskiy and his administration, pointing to the fact that several of the moves involve cabinet members shifting to the presidential office or vice-versa. Andriy Sybiha, the former first deputy foreign minister who is replacing Dmytro Kuleba as the top Ukrainian diplomat, earlier worked in the presidential office. The new minister of development of communities, territories, and infrastructure, Oleksiy Kuleba, is a former deputy of Yermak. And Iryna Vereshchuk, the former minister for reintegration of temporarily occupied territories, is moving to the presidential office to work on social policy. Oleh Rybachuk, a deputy prime minister under former President Viktor Yushchenko and now head of the Kyiv-based NGO Center UA, said that its impossible to talk about new faces [in the cabinet] because they are chosen based on many criteria and by various influence groups. They have to go through this casting process by influential figures in [Zelenskiys] office -- mainly Yermak. Yermak has not commented on his role in the shake-up. Earlier, in an interview with a Ukrainian media outlet, he responded to claims that he interferes in the work of the Foreign Ministry by saying, "My authority ends where the mandate of the president ends," adding that he sees himself as a national-security adviser. Fesenko had a different take than Rybachuk on the back-and-forth movement between the cabinet and the presidential office. The personnel reserveis limited, he said, so the new appointments were made by choosing from among those who have proven themselves on Volodymyr Zelenskiys team. They want to keep people on the presidents team so that they dont just go nowhere, so Vereshchuk will work for a while in the presidential office, and then maybe some other positions will emerge, Fesenko said. Will The Shake-Up Succeed? Opposition figures voiced doubt that the government shake-up will bring positive change. No fresh blood will emerge, lets put it bluntly, Yulia Klymenko, a lawmaker from the opposition party Holos, said on an RFE/RL Ukrainian Service program on September 5. Its the same people. They are just changing places, moving from one ministry to another. We dont see or hear any new ideas or fresh or new people. Laying out what he suggested was a barrier to effective change, Rybachuk asserted that ministers have little power, while the real decisions are made by people close to Zelenskiy in his office, who he said do not bear the necessary level of responsibility for their decisions. The president says he wants to see people with new energy, active professionals, but at the same time his entourage says that he is setting the condition that these new people must understand fasterand immediately fulfill all the whims, essentially, of the president and his office, Rybachuk said on the same program. That is certainly not a model that will bring us significant results. Supporters of Zelenskiy argue that he is open to bringing new people into government, pointing among other things to his appointment of Rustam Umerov, of the Holos party, as defense minister last year. Fesenko said he believes that by new energy Zelenskiy meant changes within existing teams and not exclusively new faces. "At one time, the president fell ill with this disease of the new face when he thought that if he appointed enough new, young people, there would be an update or change, he said. And it turned out that, unfortunately, it does not work. Ukrainians are likely to judge the shake-up by how things go in the coming weeks and months. A woman in Sumy, a northeastern border region that comes under frequent attack from Russia, suggested that she welcomed a shake-up because there is no satisfactionwith the people who have been sitting in posts for too long. There are no changes, she told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. A man in the northern city of Chernihiv, which avoided Russian capture early in the full-scale invasion and also comes under attack as the war drags on, said he believes the shake-up is about all those ministers who have compiled certain negative [images]. As a response, the government is trying to get rid of those negatives along with the people." But he suggested he would not hold his breath, saying that whats important is not the people but the system we have. A woman in the same city said her biggest hope is for the war to end soon. My two sons are fighting, and my grandson is in the military, she said, repeating that she hopes the war will end as soon as possible. By RFE/RL More Top Reads From Oilprice.com () Just about everyone knows that the birthplace of pizza is Italy. However, where can you find the most unique pizzas in the world? For many people, the answer is Japan! It may come as a surprise, but Japan is home to some of the most interesting pizzas you can find. Pizza shops in the country regularly feature what outsiders would probably consider to be some very unusual toppings. Like many other western food imports, Japan certainly puts its own unique spin on pizza, creating pies that are curiously delicious! How did pizza come to Japan? These days, pizza can be found almost anywhere in Japan: in restaurants, via delivery, or even in supermarkets. This wasnt always the case. It is said that pizza first graced Japans shores thanks to two crew members of an Italian navy ship who arrived in Kobe during the Second World War. But it is said that the title Japans First Pizzeria belongs to a restaurant by the name of Nicolas. This pizza parlour was opened in Tokyos Roppongi, by Italian-American Nick Zapetti in 1954. A decade later, Japan began importing frozen pizza from America to be sold in supermarkets. By the 1970s, pizza could be found in cafes, family restaurants, and Western-style restaurants in locations all over the country. A Delivery Boom In 1985, Japans first home delivery pizza was established in Tokyos Ebisu neighborhood. The concept, which first began in America back in the 1960s, was a hit in Tokyo. Soon the practice of having "fresh out of the oven" pizza delivered right to ones door became a nationwide phenomenon. With the dawn of the millennium, pizza delivery chains began offering online ordering services, streamlining the delivery process even more. These days, Japans pizza delivery business is more popular than ever, with several chains that operate all over the country, offering extensive menus that include not only a variety of pizzas, but sides, and desserts as well. Pizza chains have made their websites even more attractive, allowing customers to create their own online profile. The advent of the smartphone, which is often used for both ordering, as well as an easy means of using coupons, has made getting piping hot pizza a snap. Fall Down the Rabbit-hole to a Wonderland of Pizza Flavors While pizza has become commonplace across the world, what makes Japans pizza special are the incredible number of unusual toppings. Many of the pizzas in Japan have been crafted to cater to Japanese tastes. Japan is known for its robust variety of seafood cuisine, and this seafood culture has also influenced the way pizza is made in the country. However, by no means is the pizza limited strictly to Japanese flavors; many have taken inspiration from various world cuisine to make some unexpectedly tasty flavor fusions. Teriyaki Chicken with Mayo Pizza While chicken has become a popular topping in many countries, youre not likely to find this particular kind outside of Japan. Meat grilled with sweetened soy sauce, along with mayonnaise, corn, and shredded nori seaweed makes for a distinctly Japanese flavor. Squid Ink Pizza Dont be alarmed if you see a someone biting into a black pizza in Japanits not burnt, its just a squid ink pizza! Pitch black squid ink, combined with tomato sauce, and topped with squid itself, is an interesting treat for the eyes as well as the taste buds. Squid ink is used quite often in Japanese cooking, as well as in pizzas birthplace of Italy, so the combination of the two is less foreign than you may initially think. Natto Pizza If youve never imagined a pizza topped with fermented soybeans, youre far from alone. Natto is one of Japans most love it or hate it foods. While it enjoys its status as one of Japans healthiest traditional foods, its distinctive smell makes it one that many non-Japanese try to avoid. However, if youd like to give it a taste, you may as well try it along with a soft crust, melted cheese, and some nori and bacon. [Movie] Love It or Hate It: How to Eat Japan's Infamous 'Natto'! Chashu Pork Pizza If youve eaten authentic Japanese ramen, and wished you could eat a whole dish featuring the barbeque pork slices it is often topped with, this is the pizza you must try! Based on Chinese char siu, chashu is an ingredient featured frequently in Japanese-style Chinese cuisine. However, it sometimes makes an appearance on Japanese pizza, for an Asian-Italian fusion you wont soon forget. Miso sauce and leeks complement the juicy pork slices on tomato sauce, creating a truly unique flavor combination. Cod Roe Pizza Cod roe, known in Japan as mentaiko, makes appearances in a variety of cuisine, eaten as a standalone dish, or in sushi or pasta. However, the most interesting use of these tiny eggs perhaps belongs to mentaiko pizza. This pizza has made appearances with various toppings, such as potatoes, nori, corn, mayo, and squid. Yet another seafood delight! Try One of These Delicious Curiosities! While pizza is certainly not the first food that comes to mind when Japanese cuisine is mentioned, it is nonetheless worth a bite for anyone visiting Japan. With a new varieties rolling out regularly, Japans pizza menu is constantly expanding, with unique toppings and tastes. Try one on your next visit and you just may discover a new favorite! Via Live Japan Before voters even begin casting ballots, Democrats and Republicans are engaged in a sprawling legal fight over the 2024 election through a series of court disputes that could even run past Nov. 5 if results are close. Republicans filed more than 100 lawsuits challenging various aspects of vote-casting after being chastised repeatedly by judges in 2020 for bringing complaints about how the election was run only after votes were tallied. After Donald Trump made "election integrity" a key part of his partys platform following his false claims of widespread voter fraud in 2020, the Republican National Committee says it has more than 165,000 volunteers ready to watch the polls. Democrats are countering with what they are calling voter protection, rushing to court to fight back against the GOP cases and building their own team with over 100 staffers, several hundred lawyers and what they say are thousands of volunteers. Despite the flurry of litigation, the cases have tended to be fairly small-bore, with few likely impacts for most voters. When you have all this money to spend on litigation, you end up litigating less and less important stuff, said Derek Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame University. The stakes would increase dramatically should Trump lose and try to overturn the results. Thats what he attempted in 2020, but the court system rejected him across the board. Trump and his allies lost more than 60 lawsuits trying to reverse President Joe Bidens win. Whether they could be successful this year depends on the results, experts said. A gap of about 10,000 votes roughly the number that separated Biden and Trump in Arizona and Georgia in 2020 is almost impossible to reverse through litigation. A closer one of a few hundred votes, like the 547-vote margin that separated George W. Bush and Al Gore in Florida in 2000, is much more likely to hinge on court rulings about which ballots are legitimate. If he loses, hes going to claim that he won. That goes without saying, Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, said of Trump. If it looks like what we had last time I expect well see the same kind of thing. Trump has done nothing to discourage that expectation, saying he would accept the results of the election only if its free and fair, raising the possibility it would not be, something he continues to falsely contend was the case in 2020. He also continues to insist that he could only lose due to fraud. The only way they can beat us is to cheat, Trump said at a Las Vegas rally in June. To be clear, there was no widespread fraud in 2020 or any election since then. Reviews, recounts and audits in the battleground states where Trump disputed his loss reaffirmed that Biden won. And Trumps attorney general said there was no evidence that fraud tipped the election. Trump installed his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, as co-chair of the Republican National Committee, which then named attorney Christina Bobb as the head of its election integrity division. Bobb is a former reporter for the conservative One America News Network who has been indicted by Arizonas attorney general for being part of an effort to promote a slate of Trump electors in the state, even though Biden won it. Echoing Trump, the RNC said it's trying to counter Democratic mischief. President Trumps election integrity effort is dedicated to protecting every legal vote, mitigating threats to the voting process and securing the election, RNC spokeswoman Claire Zunk said in a statement. "While Democrats continue their election interference against President Trump and the American people, our operation is confronting their schemes and preparing for November. This time around, Democrats say theyre prepared for whatever Republicans might do. For four years, Donald Trump and his MAGA allies have been scheming to sow distrust in our elections and undermine our democracy so they can cry foul when they lose, Jen OMalley Dillon, Vice President Kamala Harris campaign manager, said in a statement. But also for four years, Democrats have been preparing for this moment, and we are ready for anything. The highest-profile litigation so far has been in Georgia, over new rules from a Republican-appointed majority on the State Board of Elections, which has echoed Trump's conspiracy theories. The rules could allow members of local election boards to try to refuse to certify results, a gambit Trump supporters have tried, unsuccessfully, to reverse losses in 2020 and 2022. A Trump-aligned group sued to have courts declare that election board members have that power while Democrats sued to overturn the new rules. GOP Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has questioned the wisdom of the board changing procedures so close to the election. Legal experts say the state board's rules conflict with longstanding state law that certification is not optional. Whether local boards delay or refuse to certify the results from the upcoming election has been a growing concern, especially after a handful of local officials took that step during this year's primaries. But experts say the fears of a certification crisis are overblown, in large part because most state laws are clear that state or local boards must certify the official results brought to them by election offices. The courtroom remains the most important venue for candidates who want to challenge results. Trying to deny certification is a really poorly thought out theory, Ben Ginsberg, a Republican election lawyer, said on a Thursday call with reporters. It has never worked. What college students need to know before they vote Tips for college students Register to Vote Make Your Vote Count LINCOLN A 24-year-old man was killed early Sunday in one of three separate shootings Lincoln police are investigating. Lincoln police found two men with gunshot wounds after being called to the area of 11th and P Streets about 1:30 a.m. on the report of a fight. The 24-year-old man was taken to a Lincoln hospital, where he died of his wounds around 5:30 a.m., police said in a press release. Police said they are not releasing his name pending notification of his family. The other victim has injuries not believed to be life-threatening. Assuming police rule the 24-year-old man's death a homicide, it would be the seventh one in Lincoln so far this year. In a separate incident, Lincoln police responded to a report of a shooting outside two convenience stores near the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's East Campus late Saturday. Police were called to the area of 33rd and Holdrege Streets on reports of a shooting around 11 p.m. When they got there, they found a 20-year-old woman with gunshot wounds. She was transported to a local hospital and was reported to be in stable condition. An employee at the Casey's convenience store at the southwest corner of 33rd and Holdrege Streets told a Lincoln Journal Star reporter that he saw a person wearing a hoodie and ski mask get out of a car at the intersection and begin firing a gun toward the Kwik Shop convenience store across the street. Video viewed by the Journal Star also showed a person firing from the Casey's parking lot toward a car at the Kwik Shop just before 10:55 p.m. The Casey's employee said he saw the shooter flee on foot to the west of the Casey's. Just after 11:30 p.m., UNL sent an alert warning of a dangerous person in the area armed with a rifle. UNL later posted that the person was no longer in the area. Police cordoned off the Casey's parking lot with crime-scene tape and used numerous cones to mark shell casings. Lincoln police said in a press release that it is actively seeking a suspect in the shooting. Earlier on Saturday, officers responded to another shooting report in the area of 20th Street and Cornhusker Highway. The caller told officers that 51-year-old David Blackburn of Lincoln shot multiple rounds at the building after the two had gotten into a verbal altercation. Officers found a bullet hole in a vehicle as well as six bullet holes in an exterior wall of the building. Officers located Blackburn at a nearby hotel and found him in possession of the gun that was allegedly used in the shooting. He was arrested on suspicion of attempted second-degree assault, use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, discharge of a weapon near a vehicle or building and terroristic threats and taken to the Lancaster County jail. Police do not believe any of the shootings are related, and investigations are ongoing in the 11th and P and 33rd and Holdrege shootings. The Lincoln Police Department said it is seeking information from the public, including video recordings, on those two incidents. The San Antonio Book Festival marks its 12th anniversary at the Central Library and the neighboring UTSA Southwest Campus. Steve Bennett / San Antonio Expr Aerial view of the Central Library Friday May 20, 2016. Edward A. Ornelas/San Antonio Express-News Kathy Donellan, interim library director, gives an update at the San Antonio Public Library board of trustees meeting at the Central Library branch on April 24, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Christopher Lee/Christopher Lee/Staff photographer Former Precinct 1 County Commissioner Sergio Chico Rodriguez chats with former Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff at BiblioTech South in San Antonio, Texas on May 4, 2020. Josie Norris/Staff Photographer Bexar County will give $3.5 million to the San Antonio Public Library system next year, but city leaders say the county should pay nearly four times that much to cover its fair share of the expenses. County residents who live outside San Antonio city limits check out 26% of the books and other materials that the library circulates each year. The city puts the cost of providing that service at about $13 million. Mayor Ron Nirenberg and council members Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and Sukh Kaur are among the city officials who want the county to pay up. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The county makes up 26% of library use, but they'll only be contributing less than 6% of the operating costs, McKee-Rodriguez, who represents District 2 on the East Side, said at a budget hearing last week. I'm incredibly frustrated. It seems like we're getting the short end of the deal. Funding fights over library services are nothing new for the city and county. About a decade ago, ongoing brawls over library funding drove then-County Judge Nelson Wolff to spearhead BiblioTech, an all-digital library system. Discussions are on ice for now, but the city won't receive more than the $3.5 million the county has pledged for next year. City and county leaders are finalizing their budgets for fiscal 2025, which begins Oct. 1. The librarys budget, pending council approval, will be $56.3 million. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Kathy Donellan, the public librarys interim director, said she hopes to reach a multi-year agreement with the county that's based on resident usage before 2026. The library has proposed incrementally raising the amount the county pays each year until Bexar reaches its full share of expenses. The countys contributions havent kept the SAPL system from growing. Ten of its 30 library branches have been built since 2005. But that growth has largely been on the citys dime. If we don't have this fee for payment for the services we're providing to the county, it makes it difficult to grow and meet that demand, Donellan said. If the county were to increase its payment, that would give the city more resources to invest into the library, to kind of share that load. Residents from several suburban cities across Bexar County use San Antonio libraries because they dont have their own library systems. The SAPL doesnt tap those cities for money because it relies on the county to cover those costs. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Longstanding, but shaky, pact The county has been paying into the San Antonio library system since 1936, but the payment arrangements keep changing. The county in the past signed multi-year contracts, but since 2019 the county has worked out its funding with the library on a year-to-year basis. The county paid a fee based on usage from at least 1996 through 2007, according to library officials. Since then, the two parties have been negotiating flat-fee payments. READ MORE: San Antonio set to slash millions in next budget as sales and property tax revenue slow Advertisement Article continues below this ad The countys share had been growing steadily from $1.7 million in 1996 to $3.5 million in 2007. But since turning to flat fees, the countys payment has mostly hovered around $3.5 million, though it dipped to $2.6 million in the years following BiblioTechs opening. Not all urban counties in Texas work as closely with big-city counterparts as Bexar has with San Antonio. Travis County doesnt give any money to the Austin Public Library. But not all residents of Travis County can use the library for free many have to pay a $120 annual fee or can buy a digital card for $22 a year, which is available for all Texas residents. Similarly, Harris County doesnt put money into the Houston Public Library. The county has its own library system. But the city of Houston allows all Texas residents to join its library free of charge. Funding fights BiblioTech opened its first branch in September 2013 after the city asked the county to bump up its payment to the SAPL from $3.7 million to $6.7 million. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Wolff at the time said the county created BiblioTech to better serve unincorporated areas and suburban cities that didn't have their own libraries. In 2014, he said San Antonio libraries were becoming more like community centers, and the county wanted a stronger focus on providing low-cost access to e-books. We've had difficulties over the years, trying to say to them that they needed to be more aggressive in the digital age, and they needed to get their expenses under control, Wolff said at the time. City and library officials were critical of BiblioTech when it opened and became increasingly concerned that Wolff would keep his word to gradually pull funding from the city library. Then-library director Ramiro Salazar said at the time such a move could force the city to reduce library hours, cut staff and maybe close branches. Then-library chairwoman Jean Brady told county commissioners that if the library lost county support, it would stop serving county residents outside of San Antonios city limits. Tempers cooled a bit in 2015 when the county and city reached a four-year funding agreement. But they havent signed a multi-year agreement since it expired in 2019, and county leaders have denied the citys repeated requests to return to a usage-based payment model, like the one in place in the early 2000s. Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai was not made available to comment on the county's funding decisions for this article. The 2015 agreement was about more than just funding. The city and county also agreed that they would avoid duplicating services and make efforts to share resources. BiblioTech director Laura Cole said when the agreement was signed in 2015, officials had hoped that one day the city and county would share a checkout system, but technological challenges have stymied that effort. Cole said the two still work together to try to avoid offering the same services. BiblioTech was designed as a complementary library service, and we really do believe that the more access that everyone in the county has to information, education, digital services and library services is a good thing. I think the city and the county definitely agree on that, Cole said. BiblioTech has four branches and will open a fifth next year. Cole said BiblioTech opens branches in areas of the city where people may not have access to the internet or laptops or tablets, so they can have a nearby place to access the internet and digital books. Both the city and BiblioTech allow people to use laptops and WiFi on-site. BiblioTech also allows people to check out tablets and WiFi hotspots to take home for up to three weeks at a time. Bexar County residents can sign up for a library card through BiblioTech and can download resources remotely. BiblioTech currently has 235,000 card holders, 92% of whom are San Antonio residents. Cole said the county has never asked the city pay to support BiblioTech services. ABUJA The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it has made another intervention in the retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) to the tune of $2698.71million in addition to CNY 39.69million in the spot and short tenured forwards segment of the inter-bank foreign market. The Director, Corporate Communications Department at the Bank, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, disclosed this on Friday, July 12, 2019, noting that the interventions in United States dollars, just as in previous transactions, were to meet requests in the agricultural and raw materials sectors. Similarly, the transactions in Chinese Yuan were for Renminbi- denominated Letters of Credit. Mr. Okorafor also reiterated the satisfaction of the Banks management with the stability in the forex market, stressing that the Bank would continue to make necessary interventions in order to ensure liquidity in the Nigerian foreign exchange market. He said the Bank was further encouraged by the improved inflow of foreign exchange, which has kept the exchange rate around the N360/$1 for close to 30 months. While urging Nigerians to continue to support the policies of the CBN aimed at boosting the production capacity of local industries as well as creating jobs for citizens, he assured that the Bank would remain committed to ensuring that all the sectors of the forex market continue to enjoy access to the needed foreign exchange. Meanwhile, a dollar exchanged for N360 while CNY1 exchanged at N55, at the Bureau de Change (BDC) segment of the foreign exchange market on Friday, July 12, 2019. Relationship adviser and blogger, Jor Olumofin has shared a story of the drama that played out between a Nigerian couple. The lady brought gifts for her man on the Independence Day of Nigeria and also expected some from her man. He was shocked about the development and this angered the lady who walked out on him. People are of the opinion that the gifts should have gone to President Muhammadu Buhari. Read the gist below: Senator Shehu Sani has shared his opinion on controversy sourrounding the Italian man quarantined for coronavirus in Nigeria. He says he hopes the Italian man with Coronavirus in Nigeria isnt a spirit. Because the federal government has refused to share the name or photo of the sick man. According to Senator Sani, if it was a Nigerian that had the disease in Italy, the Italian government would have shared every available detail of the man. You agree with him? Read his tweet below; BLOOMINGTON The 2024 Housing Matters Conference will be held Oct. 17-18 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, 10 Brickyard Drive, in Bloomington. The event has sold out for the last two years and is on track to sell out again, according to a news release. Nearly 350 housing professionals will come together to discuss how to create more affordable housing throughout Illinois. This year, three of the breakout workshops have been approved for continuing educations credits for LCSW, LWS, LCPC and LPC licenses, including Affordable Housing & Homelessness 101; Home Illinois FY25-26 and Harm Reduction. Elected officials, including Bloomington Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe, Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe and Evanston city council member Bobby Burns, will have a roundtable to discuss local strategies to increase the housing supply. The conversation will be facilitated by Sue Loellbach. Registration for the event can be completed online at housingactionil.salsalabs.org/2024HousingMattersConference. The ancient city of Cape Coast has been transformed into a vibrant spectacle of color and royalty as the Fetu Afahye festival reaches its climax. For the first time in history, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, joined the Paramount Chief of Oguaa, Osabarimba Kwesi Atta II, and his chiefs for the grand durbar, signaling a significant moment in the festivals history. The Fetu Afahye festival, which dates back to the 17th century, is a celebration of the Oguaa peoples rich cultural heritage and their victory over their enemies. This years festival has attracted thousands of people from across Ghana and beyond, all eager to experience the pomp and pageantry of the occasion. The streets of Cape Coast are jammed with people, and the citys historic Victoria Park is packed with chiefs, queenmothers, and their subjects, all dressed in their finest regalia. Security is tight, with a heavy police presence ensuring that the festival passes off without incident. The festival has been marked by a series of events, including a procession of chiefs, a durbar, and a grand parade. One of the highlights of the festival was the Orange Friday carnival, which took place on Friday evening. Thousands of people joined in the carnival, dancing and singing through the streets of Cape Coast. For many, the Fetu Afahye festival is a time to reconnect with their roots and celebrate their cultural heritage. The festival has also attracted a number of dignitaries, including government officials and traditional leaders. In his address to the gathering, Osabarima Kwesi Atta called for unity and cooperation among the people of Ghana. The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu also addressed the gathering, praising the people of Oguaa for their rich cultural heritage and their contributions to Ghanas development. Source: dailyguidenetwork.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The running mate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, on Sunday, arrived in Tamale for the Tamale South Constituencys parliamentary campaign launch of Hon. Haruna Iddrisu. Tamale South Constituency is the largest constituency in the Northern Region and has the highest number of votes in the region. Hon. Iddrisu, who is the incumbent Member of Parliament for Tamale South Constituency, also garners the highest number of votes in the Northern Region. He is considered by political watchers as one of the brightest Members of Parliament and is held in high esteem by Members on both sides of the political divide in the legislature. At Sundays campaign launch, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang will thank the people for their support and abiding faith in the NDC, and for rallying behind Hon. Iddrisu and the other NDC Members of Parliament in the Tamale metropolis. She will also renew the NDCs commitment to keep developing the Northern Region as well as highlight policies in the 2024 NDC manifesto aimed at creating jobs, empowering women financially, providing opportunities for the youth and supporting zongos. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A man driving east on Highway 90 with two children inside his vehicle early Sunday morning heard an unidentified "pop" sound and discovered a shattered rear window. A 9-year-old girl suffered minor cuts to her left arm, police said. Ken Branca/21 ProVideo A 9-year-old riding in the back seat of a vehicle heading east on Highway 90 Sunday morning was cut after the rear window shattered following an unidentified "pop" sound, San Antonio Police said. Officers were called to the 1100 block of Probandt Street for a shooting in progress at about 5:20 a.m. A man, 41, told police he heard a "pop" sound while driving on the highway. The man, who had two children with him inside the vehicle, exited the highway to check on the 9-year-old passenger, who was screaming, according to a preliminary police report. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The vehicle's rear window had been shattered, causing minor cuts to the child's left arm, police said. The driver said he saw no other vehicles and was unable to identify the sound's origin, the report states. A 14-year-old also riding in the vehicle saw a black SUV when the sound occurred, police said. However, the teenager did not see a firearm or witness a muzzle flash. Advertisement Article continues below this ad 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: Public service employees dont necessarily benefit from remote work. Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain A new research report released today has identified an important shift in how employees choose to engage in the workforce, as they increasingly seek flexibility and opportunities to tailor work schedules and locations to their needs. The ninth report in the Gender Equity Insights Series from the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC) and the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) provides an in-depth analysis of the evolving nature of part-time work and implications of this change for the future of work in Australia. Despite Australia having one of the highest shares of part-time employment across OECD countries, the report identifies a decline in the share of women engaged in part-time work (down 3.2 percentage points to 29.7% in the two years to 2022-23). At the same time, full-time roles that incorporate flexible work arrangements, such as remote and hybrid work options, are now becoming more prevalent in Australian workplaces, having risen by 2.3 percentage points to 42.5% for the same period. The findings present employers with a clear challenge to actively consider what more they can do to support part-time employees as well as those who need to or choose to work flexibly. Report author and BCEC Director John Curtin Distinguished Professor Alan Duncan said there is a re-evaluation of part-time work, with more employees and employers valuing flexibility and autonomy. "Driven by technological advancements, changing workforce demographics and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the growing demand for flexible work options presents a significant opportunity for women to enhance their economic participation and career progression," Professor Duncan said. "While these trends indicated a structural shift towards full-time employment and away from part-time work for many working women, the same isn't true for men, where patterns of work between full-time, part-time and casual employment have remained mainly constant over the same three-year period. "Of those that are working part-time, a rising share of both women and men are choosing part-time work out of preference and fewer are citing care of children as the main reason for doing so. However, an increasing number of women are also turning to part-time work because it's their only option. The most significant increases in the share of women in full-time work over the past three years have taken place among women aged between 35 and 55." WGEA CEO Mary Wooldridge said the report's findings reinforced the need for employers to ensure their jobs are designed to be inclusive and not based on a full-time mindset. "Women and men working part-time still face a promotion barrier due to the lack of flexible working arrangements and the capacity to work part-time as managers," Ms. Wooldridge said. "Women are twice as likely to work part-time, so improvement in availability and support for part-time work will be a positive step for gender equality in Australia. Men also benefit from arrangements that better align with how, when and where they want to work. Enabling more management roles to be undertaken part-time and/or flexibly will expand employers' access to a greater talent pool and support reducing their gender pay gap. "Crucially, this report finds that employers who conduct a gender pay gap analysis, set targets and implement a formal policy or strategy on flexible work have higher rates of women managers working part-time. By embracing flexible work practices and addressing the challenges associated with part-time employment, employers create a more equitable and supportive work environment for all employees." The report calls on employers to develop a plan for action that normalizes both flexible and part-time work, without career penalties. By normalizing flexible arrangements, organizations can work towards removing the historical "flexibility stigma" associated with career penalties in terms of pay and progression. The report also recommends companies consider whether some jobs that may have traditionally been "off-limits" for flexible or part-time work might be re-imagined and re-designed to enable flexibility for employees. Co-author Dr. Silvia Salazar, from BCEC, said the move away from part-time work points to widespread structural change in the Australian labor market. "The report shows that part-time work for women is less common in larger, male-dominated companies, but having women on company boards significantly increases part-time opportunities," Dr. Salazar said. "Implementing policies on flexible work and conducting pay gap audits are crucial for promoting flexible work arrangements and advancing pay equity, particularly for female managers. "As part-time work decreases, more people prefer additional flexible work options. This trend presents an opportunity for employers to make these arrangements standard without harming employee experiences. The move away from part-time work is particularly evident among non-managers across various industry sectors, so businesses must not focus solely on gender equity for managers and senior executives at the expense of non-managerial roles. "Ensuring gender equity across all levels of the workforce is essential to achieving meaningful and sustainable progress in workplace equality," Dr. Salazar added. With the nature of work continuing to evolve, this "Gender Equity Insights 2024: The changing nature of part-time work" report serves as a vital resource for Australian employers seeking to adapt to the changing workforce landscape. More information: Gender Equity Insights 2024: The changing nature of part-time work This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Most school shootings don't just happen out of nowherethere are typically warning signs. A year before a 14-year-old boy was arrested for allegedly opening fire in his high school math class in Winder, Georgia, on Sept. 4, 2024killing two teachers and two studentsauthorities visited his home to investigate several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting. When they interviewed the boy, who was 13 at the time, he denied making the threats. The father told police there were hunting guns in the house but that the boy didn't have "unsupervised access" to the weapons. The FBI said in a statement on the day of the shooting that there was "no probable cause for an arrest" and that local law enforcement "alerted local schools for continued monitoring of the subject." Teachers at the school had been supplied with special identification cards with panic buttons a week prior to the shooting. While authorities credit the ID cards with preventing the shooting from being worse than it was, the action still came too late to stop the killings. In many ways, the story mirrors dozens of similar stories that we, a sociologist and psychologist, have collected in recent years in our effort to study the lives of mass shooters. It typifies what we believe is one of the biggest challenges that schools face when it comes to averting school shootings: recognizing and acting upon warning signs that school shooters almost always give well before they open fire. In our database of U.S. mass shootings since 1966defined as incidents in which four or more victims were murdered with guns in a public location and with no connection to underlying criminal activity, such as gangs or drugsthere have now been 15 shootings at K-12 schools. The first took place in Stockton, California, in 1989. Seven of those school shootings occurred in the past decade, including the second and third deadliest on record: Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022 (21 dead) and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018 (17 dead). The deadliest in history occurred in December 2012, when 20 children and six adult staff members were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. In all, 138 people were killed in the attacks and at least 177 people were injured. What we know about mass school shooters When the Columbine High School massacre took place in 1999, it was seen as a watershed moment in the United States. At the time, it was the worst mass shooting at a school in the country's history. Twenty-five years later, it ranks fourth. Despite the billions of dollars invested in school safety since Columbine, school shootings have become more frequent and more deadly. Beyond the mass shootings that grab the headlines, a gun goes off in an American school almost every day. Our research and dozens of interviews with school shooting perpetrators, survivors and first responders suggest that part of the problem is law enforcement and school officials. Influenced by myths and misinformation about Columbine, they still don't know enough about mass school shooting trends to recognize the warning signs. The majority of mass school shootings were carried out by a lone gunman, with just twoColumbine and the 1998 shooting at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansascarried out by two gunmen. The choice of "gunmen" to describe the perpetrators is accurateall but one of the mass school shootings in our database were carried out by men or boys. The average age of those involved in carrying out the attacks was 18the youngest was 11 and the oldest was 32. As juveniles, a majority of school shooters used guns borrowed or stolen from parents, caregivers and other significant adults in their lives. After every school shooting, people say "we never thought something like this could happen in our community." However, mass school shootings happen most frequently in small suburban or rural communities like Winder, Georgia. There, the suspect is a 14-year-old student at the school. This is unsurprising. Most school shooters have a connection to the school they target. In our database, we found that 15 of the 17 school shooters were either current or former students. For most perpetrators, the mass shooting event is intended to be a final act. The majority of school mass shooters die in the attack. Of the 17 mass school shooters in our database, eight were apprehended. The rest died on the scene, nearly all by suicidethe lone exception being the Robb Elementary shooter in Uvalde, who was shot dead by police. Preventing the next school shooting Inspired by past school shooters, some perpetrators are seeking fame and notoriety. However, most school mass shooters are driven by despair and generalized anger; over 80% of school mass shooters showed signs of a crisis before the shooting, including depression, mood swings, agitation, isolation, trouble with daily tasks and other noticeable behavior changes. Most importantly, over 90% leaked their plans ahead of time to others, preempting their attacks by leaving posts, messages or videos warning of their intent. School shooters communicate their intent to do harm in advance as a final, desperate cry for help. The key to stopping these tragedies is being alert to these warning signs and acting on them immediately. Even if investigators don't have enough evidence for an arrest, they can continually monitor students and help connect them to school- or community-based services or interventions, including peer-mentoring or mental health treatment. Simply criminalizing or punishing threats increases the risk for violence by worsening grievances with the school. At the same time, parents can be reminded to keep guns secure. Almost all shootings by children and teens can be prevented by safe storage of firearms and accountability for adult gun owners. When a weapon is stored separately from its ammunition, locked and unloaded, it is much more difficult for someone to quickly use it in a violent attack. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The starry part of every galaxy is surrounded by a vast shroud of gas extending out for more than 100,000 light years. Credit: Cristy Roberts / ANU / ASTRO 3D Have you ever wanted to make a $150,000 gamble? If you're right, you open a new window to the universe. But if you're wrong, you've just wasted a lot of money and time. That is exactly what my team did when we pointed the Keck telescope at Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawai'i at what looked like empty space, hoping to reveal the hidden gas that shrouds all galaxies in the universe. There were cheers in the control room when we realized our gamble had paid off. In a study published today in Nature Astronomy, we reveal the first detailed picture of the gas shroud around a galaxy, extending 100,000 light years out into "empty" space. If our own Milky Way has a similar halo, it is likely already interacting with the halo of our nearest galactic neighbor, Andromeda. Most of the universe is not the bright stars Most of the matter in the universe is not in the bright stars that make up the spectacular images of galaxies we see. For one thing, galaxies are surrounded by dark matterwhich astronomers believe is some kind of exotic invisible particle. But even most of the normal matter is not in stars. Instead, it is in gigantic clouds of gas that surround galaxies. We believe these halos around galaxies contain as much as 70%90% of the universe's normal matter (mostly consisting of hydrogen, helium, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen gas). Understanding this diffuse gaswhich is where all the stars and planets we see had their beginningshelps us understand more about our own story, on the grandest scales. However, this halo of gas is spread out over huge areas of space, which makes it extremely faint. In fact, it is 10,000 to 100,000 times fainter than the bright parts of galaxies. We have known about these gas halos since the 1950s, when astronomers discovered they were absorbing certain frequencies of light that passed through them. However, these measurements reduce gigantic regions of space stretching hundreds of thousands of light years into a single pointso we knew very little about the exact size or shape of the halos, or the way gas flows between them and their host galaxies. How to see a galactic halo For a long time, it was believed to be impossible to capture an image of the halos. However, that changed with the development of a new kind of spectrographa device for viewing the spectrum of different wavelengths of light in an imagecalled an "image slicer." The image slicer lets us take spectroscopic images of regions of the night sky to much fainter levels than previous generation instruments. A team led by Chris Martin at Caltech (one of our collaborators on this project) built an ultra-faint spectrograph called the Keck Cosmic Web Imager and put it on the Keck telescope. The Keck is one of the largest optical telescopes in the world, and its location atop the Mauna Kea volcano in Hawai'i is one of the best astronomical sites in the world. With the new device in place, we are able to see extremely faint things in the sky. We used this instrument to stare for an entire night at the apparently empty space around a galaxy. This was followed by intense work analysing the data, as we were working at the limits of what the telescope could do. Credit here goes to Nikki Nielsen, now a professor at Oklahoma University, who led the data analysis and the writing of the paper when she was working in our team at Swinburne University. To our excitement the gamble paid off, and returned data that allowed us to generate an image of the halo of gas around one galaxy. What does the shroud of gas around galaxies look like? Our team took images of the glow of hydrogen and oxygen gas over a region ten times larger than what would normally be called a "galaxy." This was exciting! Firstly, because it confirmed the idea that most of the universe's ordinary matter is in these diffuse halos of gas. We also found that the galaxy does not smoothly "fade out" into the surrounding halo. There is an abrupt break from one to the other. In the past, a lot of debate surrounded the nature of this transition. In our data, it is easy to see an abrupt change near the edge of where the vast majority of stars are located. The glow of oxygen gas around the starburst disk galaxy IRAS 08339+6517, fading from brightest (yellow) to faintest (blue). Credit: Nielsen et al. / Nature Astronomy Why can we see the halo at all? There is still a mystery as to why we can see the gas at all. It is glowing, but we don't know why. We often see the glow of hydrogen gas inside a galaxy, but there we know it is glowing because it has been heated up by strong radiation from nearby stars. Outside a galaxy, however, there are not enough nearby stars to heat up the gas enough to explain the glow we see. One possibility is that the halo is made of streams of gas moving in different directions. When the streams collide at high speed, the shock makes them glow. Another possibility is that some very heavy stars and certain black holes (both inside galaxies) produce very large amounts of ultraviolet light. Some of this light can escape the galaxy, and might provide a kind of ambient background UV lighting for the cosmos. Combined with fast-moving streams of gas, the ultraviolet background might be enough to produce the glow we have seenbut it will take more observations to know for sure. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: City workers remove garbage floating on the Negro River, which has a rising water level due to rain, in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, June 6, 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Edmar Barros, File The world creates 57 million tons of plastic pollution every year and spreads it from the deepest oceans to the highest mountaintop to the inside of people's bodies, according to a new study that also said more than two-thirds of it comes from the Global South. It's enough pollution each yearabout 52 million metric tonsto fill New York City's Central Park with plastic waste as high as the Empire State Building, according to researchers at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. They examined waste produced on the local level at more than 50,000 cities and towns across the world for a study in Wednesday's journal Nature. The study examined plastic that goes into the open environment, not plastic that goes into landfills or is properly burned. For 15% of the world's population, government fails to collect and dispose of waste, the study's authors saida big reason Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa produce the most plastic waste. That includes 255 million people in India, the study said. Lagos, Nigeria, emitted the most plastic pollution of any city, according to study author Costas Velis, a Leeds environmental engineering professor. The other biggest plastic polluting cities are New Delhi; Luanda, Angola; Karachi, Pakistan and Al Qahirah, Egypt. India leads the world in generating plastic pollution, producing 10.2 million tons a year (9.3 million metric tons), far more than double the next big-polluting nations, Nigeria and Indonesia. China, often villainized for pollution, ranks fourth but is making tremendous strides in reducing waste, Velis said. Other top plastic polluters are Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russia and Brazil. Those eight nations are responsible for more than half of the globe's plastic pollution, according to the study's data. The United States ranks 90th in plastic pollution with more than 52,500 tons (47,600 metric tons) and the United Kingdom ranks 135th with nearly 5,100 tons (4,600 metric tons), according to the study. A volunteer stands on top of a pile of rubbish collected that day while participating in the Plastic Cup event near Tiszaroff, Hungary, Aug. 2, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Denes Erdos, File In 2022, most of the world's nations agreed to make the first legally binding treaty on plastics pollution, including in the oceans. Final treaty negotiations take place in South Korea in November. The study used artificial intelligence to concentrate on plastics that were improperly burnedabout 57% of the pollutionor just dumped. In both cases incredibly tiny microplastics, or nanoplastics, are what turn the problem from a visual annoyance at beaches and a marine life problem to a human health threat, Velis said. Several studies this year have looked at how prevalent microplastics are in our drinking water and in people's tissue, such as hearts, brains and testicles, with doctors and scientists still not quite sure what it means in terms of human health threats. "The big time bomb of microplastics are these microplastics released in the Global South mainly," Velis said. "We already have a huge dispersal problem. They are in the most remote places ... the peaks of Everest, in the Mariana Trench in the ocean, in what we breathe and what we eat and what we drink." He called it "everybody's problem" and one that will haunt future generations. "We shouldn't put the blame, any blame, on the Global South," Velis said. "And we shouldn't praise ourselves about what we do in the Global North in any way." A man walks on a railway track littered with plastic and other waste materials on Earth Day in Mumbai, India, April 22, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File It's just a lack of resources and ability of government to provide the necessary services to citizens, Velis said. Outside experts worried that the study's focus on pollution, rather than overall production, lets the plastics industry off the hook. Making plastics emits large amounts of greenhouse gas that contribute to climate change. "These guys have defined plastic pollution in a much narrower way, as really just macroplastics that are emitted into the environment after the consumer, and it risks us losing our focus on the upstream and saying, hey now all we need to do is manage the waste better," said Neil Tangri, senior director of science and policy at GAIA, a global network of advocacy organizations working on zero waste and environmental justice initiatives. "It's necessary but it's not the whole story." Theresa Karlsson, science and technical advisor to International Pollutants Elimination Network, another coalition of advocacy groups on environment, health and waste issues, called the volume of pollution identified by the study "alarming" and said it shows the amount of plastics being produced today is "unmanageable." But she said the study misses the significance of the global trade in plastic waste that has rich countries sending it to poor ones. The study said plastic waste trade is decreasing, with China banning waste imports. But Karlsson said overall waste trade is actually increasing and likely plastics with it. She cited EU waste exports going from 110,000 tons (100,000 metric tons) in 2004 to 1.4 million tons (1.3 million metric tons) in 2021. Velis said the amount of plastic waste traded is small. Kara Lavender Law, an oceanography professor at the Sea Education Association who wasn't involved in the study, agreed, based on U.S. plastic waste trends. She said this was otherwise one of the more comprehensive studies on plastic waste. A volunteer picks up trash on a river which is covered with trash at Pecatu, Bali, Indonesia, March 22, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati, File Nina Gomes recovers a discarded plastic bag from ocean waters, near Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, March 19, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Bruna Prado, File Officials in the plastics industry praised the study. "This study underscores that uncollected and unmanaged plastic waste is the largest contributor to plastic pollution and that prioritizing adequate waste management is critical to ending plastic pollution," Chris Jahn, council secretary of the International Council on Chemical Associations, said in a statement. In treaty negotiations, the industry opposes a cap on plastic production. The United Nations projects that plastics production is likely to rise from about 440 million tons (400 million metric tons) a year to more than 1,200 million tons (1,100 million metric tons, saying "our planet is choking in plastic." More information: Costas Velis, A local-to-global emissions inventory of macroplastic pollution, Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07758-6. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07758-6 Journal information: Nature 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Eastern Iowa Community Colleges will host the traveling exhibit, "Exit Wounds: Soldiers' Stories Life after Iraq and Afghanistan" starting this Monday through Friday, Sept. 20 at Scott Community College's Urban Campus in downtown Davenport. Created by Jim Lommasson, the exhibit features interviews and photographs to capture the stories of American soldiers as they reintegrated into civilian life after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. An opening reception will take place from 5-7 p.m. on Monday in the Urban Campus's Community Room, located at 101 West Third St. in Davenport. The exhibit will be open for public viewing from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Friday, Sept. 20. It will be closed on Sunday, Sept. 15. Based out of Portland, Oregon, Lommasson is an author and freelance photographer whose work focuses on the aftermath and human stories behind conflict. His 2015 book, "Exit Wounds: Soldiers' Stories Life After Iraq and Afghanistan," forms the core of the exhibit, aiming to give veterans a platform to share their experiences in their own words and images. "The soldiers need to tell their stories, and we need to hear them. We must know the true consequences of their of our actions," Lommasson said in an EICC news release. "We must take responsibility for the aftermath of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as at home." Photos: EICC's CRE8 Labs Student Showcase An autopsy is being conducted to determine what caused the death of a 42-year-old Davenport man who was found deceased early Thursday in the 700 block of West 15th Street, just hours after he had crashed his vehicle several blocks away, police said. Iowa State Patrol Lieutenant Brian Votroubek said that at 1:45 a.m. Thursday, troopers with the Iowa State Patrol came upon a crash at Warren and West Locust streets in Davenport. The driver of a white 2019 Dodge Journey GT had apparently tried to make a right southbound turn onto Warren Street from West Locust Street. However, the driver lost control and crashed into a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe that was legally parked in a residential driveway. A check of the Dodge showed it was owned by James Ormillio Lewis. Lewis was not at the scene of the crash by the time authorities arrived. A search was done of the area, but Lewis was not located. About five hours later, Davenport police were sent to 716 W. 15th St. to investigate the report of a man who appeared to be passed out in the backyard of the residence. The man was identified as Lewis, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The house where Lewis was found is about four blocks from where he crashed his vehicle. Iowa State Patrol took over the investigation. Votroubek said there were no obvious signs of physical injury to Lewis, so an autopsy is being conducted to see how he died. A toxicology screen also will be done to determine if Lewis had any alcohol or drugs in his system that may have contributed to his death. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Iowa State Patrol at 563-284-9501. The most common types of car crashes in America The most common types of car crashes in America The most common collisions A vast majority of fatal crashes involve a single driver An unidentified pedestrian died after getting struck by a Jeep in the 5000 block of Fredericksburg Road at about 8:45 p.m. Saturday. Police believe a vehicle struck the man before he was hit by the Jeep because other car parts were found scattered at the scene. Ken Branca A pedestrian died Saturday night after he was struck by a Jeep, which authorities suspect was the second vehicle to hit the man, San Antonio Police said. The unidentified man was in the roadway in the 5000 block of Fredericksburg Road when a 2023 white Jeep Compass crashed into him at about 8:45 p.m., according to a preliminary police report. The man suffered life-threatening injuries, police said. He died at the hospital. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Police believe another vehicle hit the man before he was struck by the Jeep because parts from another vehicle were found scattered at the scene, the report states. When located, the driver of that unknown vehicle faces a charge of vehicle collision resulting in death, police said. The Rapid City Fire Departments specialized group of ARFF, Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighters, took part in a mandatory training exercise Friday morning at the Rapid City Regional Airport. The RCFDs Station 8 crews are ARFF specialized in aircraft emergencies. We respond to any incidents that are on the airport, in particular with aircraft emergencies, said Neill Goodart, ARFF section chief for the Rapid City Fire Department. Fridays exercises utilized a live fire training prop to provide the most realistic emergency scenarios. Our job, we have 60 seconds from the time of airport emergency to be responding, Goodart said. We have three minutes before we're supposed to be on-site flowing water. Aircraft emergencies are very rare. We are lucky to live in the United States of America for many reasons, but one of them is our aircraft travel in this country is as safe as anywhere in the world, much safer, as a matter of fact. So it's all about immediate, fast response, and that's what we're working on today. Once a year, the Federal Aviation Administration requires annual live-fire training for crews to maintain certification at all airports with commercial traffic. ARFF crews are the only firefighters in the country who are federally mandated to be in particular places according to Goodart. Crews practiced proper fire attack techniques on a simulated plane while also involving other fire station departments. With the ability that we're able to have here, we are able to incorporate, as if it would be real life, not just for the ARFF crews, said Louis Kurtz, owner and trainer of ARFF Specialists, a mobile aircraft fire training simulating company. Chief Goodart was able to coordinate having engine crews come and cycle through to see this very unique training and allow them to then proceed and conduct and do search and rescue. Manpower, when you have an aircraft with one to 200 souls on board, needs many, many people. While the training simulated a crash with responding trucks on the scene to deal with heavy fuel spills, fire, search and rescue of the place, Kurtz said they train for all sorts of emergencies not just limited to crashes. Aircraft emergencies include incidents such as bird strikes and lithium-ion battery fires. We typically have one in 11 million people who will ever encounter an actual aircraft-related incident, Kurtz said. So everyone should know that flying still is very safe, but it's just staying on top of whatever current hazards that keep evolving in this world that we're well trained for, whatever these planes potentially can catch fire and everything. Burning boat forces Cancun owner into the sea Cancun, Q.R. Rescue teams tried to put out a fire on a boat Sunday morning, however, despite efforts, the boat was consumed by flames. Other boaters videoed the small vessel engulfed in flames near the Calinda Bridge in the hotel zone of Cancun. The Sunday morning boat fire appears to have started in the engine. Rescue teams from other boats tried desperately to put out the fire, but the fire was too advanced. Elements from the Cancun Fire Department and Tourist Police attended the scene but were unable to do much to save it. The boat began to burn near the bridge at kilometer 4.5 of the Cancun Hotel Zone and quickly spread. Light winds also helped fan flames, which were well underway by the time the fire department arrived. The boat fire happened near the Calinda Bridge. Photo: September 8, 2024. According to local authorities, there were no injuries. The owner of the boat was on board when the engine began to smoke. He tried to put it out himself, however, when the smoke turned to flames, he was forced to jump into the sea from where he was picked up by other boaters. The boat caught fire Sunday morning. Photo: September 8, 2024. The small private boat was completely consumed by the fire. Civil Protection and Cancun firemen are continuing with their investigation into an official cause. Police continue search for gunmen who shot two Puerto Morelos taxi drivers Puerto Morelos, Q.R. Armed men who fled on a motorcycle after shooting two Puerto Morelos taxi drivers have not been found. The shooting took place early Saturday evening outside an eatery near the Villas Morelos I subdivision. One man was able to drive himself to hospital while the other required an ambulance transfer. One of the taxi drivers has since been transferred to a Cancun hospital. Witnesses reported the attack as being targeted since there were others at the eatery at the time of the shooting. No one else was hurt during the attack. Both taxi drivers belong to the Cesar Martin Rosado Taxi Union. One of the shooting victims was transferred by ambulance. Photo: September 7, 2024. Armed men arrived at the eatery around 7:00 p.m. where they shot their targets before fleeing on the federal highway. Police continue their investigation and their search for the gunmen. Max Witherell and his trusty sedan, tentatively named The Dolphin, celebrated his birthday Thursday at Porcupine Falls. Its less than a miles hike into the Bighorn National Forest in north-central Wyoming. Friday morning, the Windy Gap resident and his 20-year-old Honda coupe were heading for Yellowstone National Park, through towns named Cody, Wapiti and Pahaska Tepee. The plan is to swing The Dolphin north-northwest through Montana and cross the border into Alberta, Canada near Glacier National Park. From there, Witherell will head for Edmonton, where hell visit with his schoolteacher half-sister, Daisy. From her place, hell head north and west, through roughly 2,000 miles of wilderness, with hardly any cell towers and even fewer fueling stations. Basically, if my car breaks down while Im north of Edmonton, theres reasonable odds I will get eaten by a bear, he told me in a text. Most days, Witherell is a mild-mannered Roanoke Valley real-estate agent for Virginia Realty Group. The Franklin countian is single, 30, and has a healthy thirst for adventure. Also: He had a profitable spring before the real estate markets summertime lull. Vacation money is no issue. Under such circumstances, is there any good reason NOT to embark on a massive, 10,000+ mile road trip before lifes responsibilities begin tying one down? I think its intriguing, said his mom, Sharon Witherell, organist and music director for Trinity Ecumenical Parish in Moneta. Hes kind of at a juncture in life where hes trying to figure out what to do next, she added. She worries about his adventure a bit, but not enough to say, you shouldnt do that, Sharon said. Hes one of those charmed kind of kids. God seems to take care of him. 5,000 mile drive (one-way) Originally, Witherell intended to begin the journey from Roanoke. He posted tip-seeking messages on the subreddit /roadtrip, and later decided to start farther south. In mid-August, he drove The Dolphin 1,200 miles to Key West, Florida. There, on Aug. 22 he recorded a two-minute video selfie and posted it to his Facebook page its title is Maximilian J Witherell. On screen hes wearing a Hawaiian shirt and Panama-style hat, strolling along a Key West wharf. (Hes also chronicling the trip on Reddit user name: ZABKA_TM). Im at the southernmost tip of the continental United States and from here Ill be driving to Anchorage, Alaska as long as my car doesnt break down, Witherell announces. Thats not a given, its a 2004 Honda Accord with 172,000 miles. I think well do all right, Witherell adds. Its only another 5,000 or so miles to Anchorage. And thats before he turns around and drives back to Virginia his intention if The Dolphin survives the adventure. (If it doesnt, hell junk it and fly home.) By Aug. 25, hed driven back to Roanoke, where his mechanic repaired an oil leak. By Aug. 29, Witherell was heading west and snapping photos of the Greenbrier River in Hinton, West Virginia. Right now, he has his GPS set to keep him off major highways when practical. And it has steered him wrong at least twice once into a cornfield in Nebraska, another time onto a gravel road in South Dakota that basically led nowhere. 1 month in Poland, 2022 Wetherill grew up in Columbia, South Carolina. In 2020, he moved here with his mother and younger sister, Olivia, for Sharons church job. Their parents are divorced. (Daisy, an older half-sister in Alberta, is the offspring of their dad in Michigan, from an earlier relationship.) He graduated high school in Columbia, where he played on the chess team, which he called my only sport. Later, he attended the University of South Carolina where he studied accounting and music. (His instrument is the bassoon.) He came close to earning a degree but didnt finish. Until this summer, hed never solo-driven west beyond Christiansburg or north past Luray, so one could say this semi-planned three-week road trip is a pretty big deal. But its hardly his first adventure. In 2022, he traveled to Poland, and lived there for a month as Russian missiles, bombs and mortars fell on neighboring Ukraine. In Warsaw, he and a longtime friend, Gregory Battis, volunteered in efforts by the Fulbright Program to establish online universities in Ukraine, because Russias military invasion has forced the closure of Ukrainian college campuses. Battis, a financial analyst for a hedge fund in Oregon, originally planned to drive the Alberta-to-Anchorage leg of the journey with Witherell. But Battis couldnt get leave from his job. So Witherell is making the journey alone. Since I cant join him on the trip, Im helping him live the essence of it by planning it for him, Battis told me. Especially the West, because hes unfamiliar with the West and I live here. The result is, Battis is acting as Witherells remote travel agent, hunting for cheap gas and accommodations along his friends route, which has no set schedule, but rather plays out day-to-day. Ive seen views most tourists would never see from the interstate, and this trip has had amazingly light traffic, Witherell wrote on Facebook. Why Alaska? Witherell said he chose Alaska as a destination because hes never driven west, wanted to see the USAs largest state and has family part way there (in Alberta). Also, I knew I needed a long road trip, and I wanted something interesting to see when I got there, he said. He told friends and family to expect him to be gone for three weeks, but hes not sweating the calendar. While hes gone he cant show houses to his clients. But as long as he can find a WiFi connection, he said he can handle real estate phone calls and paperwork matters with his iPhone. So far the journey has been mostly smooth. In Georgia, a state trooper who had followed The Dolphin for at least 20 miles pulled Witherell over, ostensibly for a lane-change violation in a construction zone. The cop let him off with a verbal warning, which preserved Witherells unblemished driving record. One of his first major stops was St. Louis, which Battis figuratively steered Witherell toward because the midwestern city is the epicenter of chess in America. That took Witherell to some holy chess ground the St. Louis Chess Club. He snapped photos of chess greats that hung on the walls. From the moment I got there it was heaven, Witherell wrote on his Facebook page. I tried to take photos but mostly I was just back on the chess board, and those few hours of therapy cleared up more than a weeks worth of road fatigue. He even played in a club tournament that night. To my shock I wasnt the worst player in there, and won $20, which was nice because I woke up the next morning with a flat tire, he wrote. From there he hit Iowa, Nebraska and later the Badlands in South Dakota. He snapped a photo of Mount Rushmore, and described the Badlands as an alien landscape. It was in South Dakota that his no-highways GPS took him on an unpaved detour. I spent around 50 miles on gravel roads, taking a path I doubt any tourist had tried before, Witherell wrote. Though it offered some decent views, my car hated every second of it. Im not kidding when I say this might be the first time a Virginia license plate went on some of these roads. Friday afternoon, Battis reported from Portland that Witherell had left Yellowstone and was heading for Glacier National Park, which spans Montanas border with Canada. By the highway, that distance is 368 miles, according to Google Maps. He ended Friday in Helena, Montana, which means hell get to the Canadian border on Saturday. From there Witherell and The Dolphin will have at least another 2,320 miles to make it to Anchorage, which is the half-way point of his trip. You might want to cross your fingers for him. Venezuela's opposition chief Maria Corina Machado on Thursday called on the world to recognize candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as president-elect after a disputed election in the oil-rich nation. President Nicolas Maduro claimed victory in the July 28 vote, but many in the international community have refused to acknowledge that result. However, they have also stopped short of accepting Gonzalez Urrutia as the president-elect, instead calling for Caracas to publish detailed polling results to substantiate its claim that Maduro won a third term. "The world knows Edmundo Gonzalez is the president-elect and Maduro was defeated by a landslide," Machado said during a virtual appearance. "I think it's certainly come to a point in which we need to move ahead... and this is a moment in which Edmundo Gonzalez should be recognized as president-elect of Venezuela." The United States, the European Union and several Latin American countries have refused to recognize Maduro's claimed victory without seeing detailed election results. The opposition published its own voting records, which it says showed Gonzalez Urrutia winning 67 percent of the vote. Venezuela's electoral authority said it cannot provide a full breakdown of the July 28 election results, blaming a cyber attack on its systems. Observers have said there is no evidence of any such hacking during the election. "They are not going to do it because the results would prove that we win," said Machado. The UN Security Council met Thursday to discuss the situation at the request of leftist Ecuador, which recognized Gonzalez Urrutia in early August as the "legitimate winner" of the vote. Peru's Foreign Minister Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea also recognized the opposition candidate as Venezuela's "president-elect" shortly after the vote, prompting Caracas to sever diplomatic relations. But in an apparent U-turn on Thursday, Peruvian Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen denied his country had recognized Gonzalez Urrutia as Venezuela's rightful leader, saying: "There has been no official communication from the Peruvian state recognizing Mr Gonzalez Urrutia as having that status." After Venezuela's last election, in 2018, Maduro was proclaimed winner amid widespread accusations of fraud. Eventually, the United States and many other countries recognized the then-speaker of parliament, Juan Guaido, as acting president. During this time the US stepped up sanctions against Venezuela, including an oil embargo. However, Guaido never had any real power. The opposition dissolved its "interim government" in 2022 and the once wildly popular young politician faded from public life. Washington has said it is weighing "a range of options" against Maduro and his allies. Maduro has led the oil-rich but cash-poor country since 2013, presiding over a GDP drop of 80 percent that pushed more than seven million of once-wealthy Venezuela's 30 million citizens to emigrate. Ahead of the election, Machado was polling as the most popular politician in the country before she was banned from the race by courts loyal to Maduro. Gonzalez-Urrutia, a little-known former diplomat, stood in for her at the last minute. When Maduro's victory was announced, spontaneous protests erupted from citizens complaining their vote had been stolen, leaving 25 civilians and two soldiers dead, and some 2,400 in jail. Maduro blames the opposition for the violence and has said Machado and Gonzalez Urrutia both belong behind bars. Human Rights Watch slammed "shockingly brutal" repression at the hands of security forces. "Maduro feels that he can kill people, make people disappear, detain people without anything happening," said Machado. "He has to be held accountable for the crimes he has committed, and he has to understand that the world will not just look the other way." Prosecutors have issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez Urrutia over his insistence that he is the rightful winner of the election, charging him with usurpation of public functions, forgery of a public document, incitement to disobedience, sabotage, and association with organized crime. On Wednesday, he appealed through his lawyer, Jose Vicente Haro, for Venezuela's attorney general "not to prosecute acts that are not of a criminal nature, not to initiate political persecution." Gonzalez Urrutia has been in hiding for a month, and Haro explained he had ignored three successive summons to appear before prosecutors because he was in a position of "defenselessness." 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #36 Posted on 8 September 2024 by BaerbelW, Doug Bostrom, John Hartz A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 1, 2024 thru Sat, September 7, 2024. Story of the week Our Story of the Week is about how people are not born stupid but can be fooled into appearing exactly so to the rest of us. This week we posted a critique of Australian Queensland state senator Gerard Rennick by journalist and author Peter Hadfield, sailing under his Potholer54 YouTube flag. The title "Could this be the stupidest politician in Australia?" is certainly not a flattering introduction to Rennick, but hearing the senator express his understanding of CO2's role in Earth's atmosphere in his own voice and words certainly gives us pause. Rennick really does sound stupid obdurately so. Is Senator Rennick unusually stupid? Doubtful. Rennick holds two post-graduate degrees, each from respectable institutions not prone to handing out sheepskin to all comers. Given their knowledge domains and the typical adjacency of commerce to laissez-faire philosophy, these degrees may however offer a clue as to how Rennick has come to be found spouting humiliatingly wrong comprehension of the interaction and behavior of energy and matter in Earth's atmosphere. How does somebody come to appear as stupid while actually being reasonably intellectually competent? Indicators from a lot of research on human psychology and cognition suggest that our beliefs are heavily influenced by our ideology. In supporting our principles, we selectively choose what to believe, as a largely unconscious process. Even when reality doesn't comport with supporting our principles, we may cling to beliefs that bolster our bedrock values. Judging by his own words and stated policy concerns, Senator Rennick appears commited to the principle that government is overly invasive. This poses a cognitive problem in connection with human-caused climate change, given that without goverment interventions we can't solve the problem we've created by our changing Earth's climate. To resolve this uncomfortable logical collision, Rennick has apparently has sought and found explanations that avoid this dilemma by simply rearranging our perception of reality to fit his principles. Unfortunately, repeating these faulty rationalizations makes Rennick appear to be very stupid when clearly he is not genuinely unintelligent. How did Senator Rennick come up with the ideas he's embarrassingly reciting into the permanent historical record of Queensland's parliament? A generous reading of this situation is that Rennick is vulnerable and has been victimized. In all probability the claptrap he's repeating is not original but rather is regurgitation of disinformation, bunk he's found outside the space between his own two ears. Because what he hears supports his principles, Rennick is a gullible mark. The perpetrators of the deceit Rennick has found and adopted are surely congratulating themselves for finding a parrot with such a high profile. Sadly it's the case that victims like Rennick are exposed to a postive firehose of rubbish delivered by social networks. We can expect worse to come, given that so-called "AI" is being used to increase proliferation of lies such as those repeated by Senator Rennick. A paper just published in Communications Earth & Environment by Skeptical Science founder Dr. John Cook and colleagues explores how this is happening on the social media service formerly known as Twitter. We wish Senator Rennick would take better care of his own reputation and our collective future. He might well start by reading the review paper Science Denial, which could help by arming him for some self-reflection. Stories we promoted this week, by publication date: Before September 1 September 1 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #35, Skeptical Science, Barbel Winkler, Doug Bostrom & John Hartz. A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, August 25, 2024 thru Sat, August 31, 2024. September 2 September 3 September 4 Is Climate Change or Global Warming the Better Term to Inspire Action? , Climate, Sentient , Julieta Cardenas. Lede: "A majority of people surveyed expressed willingness to eat less meat to curb climate pollution." , Climate, Sentient , Julieta Cardenas. Lede: "A majority of people surveyed expressed willingness to eat less meat to curb climate pollution." The UK is building an alarm system for climate tipping points, Climate Change & Energy, MIT Technology Review, James Temple. "The Advanced Research and Invention Agency is providing 81 million to get scientific teams looking for telltale signs of spiraling climate shifts." September 5 September 6 How to Do It is Slates sex advice column. Have a question? Send it to Stoya and Rich here. Its anonymous! Dear How to Do It, I have a close friend of nearly 20 years (we are both women). Weve been through a lot of big life events together. Im also good friends with her spouse, and our children have played together their whole lives. Many years ago, before either of us were married, but while we were dating our spouses (I am now divorced and single), we had sex. There had always been some attraction there, and we got carried away. Neither of our partners knew and we agreed to just forget about it, and we never talked about it for all those years. Advertisement Recently, our families went on a trip together and we had sex again. Like before, it was spur of the moment and not planned. Her spouse still doesnt know. I feel horribly guilty and havent spoken to them since. I miss my friend and I dont want to lose the friendship. I also dont want to cause trouble in their marriage and hurt her spouse with this knowledge. She told me she does not want her spouse to know. But I dont feel like I can look him in the face anymore. Is losing the friendship the price I have to pay for making this big mistake? Or should I just go back to pretending like nothing ever happened and preserve the friendship (including the friendship between the kids) and spare her husband the pain that would come from him knowing about this? We live in a small community so I will run into them, everyone goes to the same school, and we have mutual friends. Small Town Scandal Dear Small Town Scandal, Advertisement There arent easy choices here, but I think the option of pretending like nothing ever happened will incur the least amount of stress on the bonds that have already been established. As you outline, this issue is bigger than you. Losing the friendship might have been an adequate penance were your families not enmeshed via a multigenerational friendship. The actual price you must pay is looking at her husband and swallowing whatever guilt you have. This may not go down easy, but you did it before. I would not be advising you to do this if you were embarking on a sexual relationship with your close friend, but I think its fair to assume that this, like the sex that you had with her many years ago, is a one-off event. Or two-off. Whateverthe number is low and you feel sufficiently bad about what happened. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cheating and being cheated on can devastate a relationship, but they dont have to. When you mess up, the most important thing is to learn from what happened so that you can avoid repetition of the offending behavior. Think back to last time and how you coped with this shared secret. I am assuming that it got easier to face both your and her partners over time. Ride it out. Derive strength from the knowledge that you made it through before. Luckily, you are not alone here. You have a close friend that youre in this with. You can commiserate with and confide in her. She may have some tips for getting through. You can share your struggles with her. Use this as an opportunity to bondin an ethical way thats on the right side of her agreement with her husband. Advertisement Get more How to Do It in our Advice newsletter The latest sex, parenting, and money advice from our columnists delivered to your inbox twice a week. Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again, or manage all your newsletter subscriptions here Please enable javascript to sign up for newsletters. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Dear How to Do It, I am a woman who enjoys receiving anal, and I enjoy it best with a little friction. Ive had anal with plenty of lube, and its fun, but when my boyfriend uses minimal lube, its absolutely mind blowing until a few hours later when my anus is very angry with me. Is there a way to enjoy the friction-y anal I want without the pain later? A lube I should try or an aftercare routine that helps? Anal Enjoyer Dear Anal Enjoyer, Advertisement Lube is the first rule of anal. Its the Thou shalt have no other gods before me of anal. Its the You do not talk about Fight Club of anal. Your own hole is a living example of why lube is so important. Without it, the penis can create small tears in the tender lining of the anus, resulting in pain (and an increased risk of contracting STIs). You can attempt to treat this after the fact with a balm or by washing the area, drying with a hair dryer on low heat and then applying Vaseline, but avoiding what causes these injuries in the first place is ideal. Advertisement Advertisement I think you should experiment with the type of lube you use. Water-based lubes tend to dry the quickest. They require reapplication, so you might want to play with that by using just enough to keep things moving. If youve been using a water-based lube, try a silicone (my personal fave is Swiss Navys but Uberlube is great, too). And vice versa. There are silicone-water hybrids, coconut/water-based hybrids, there are ones that are aloe-based, there are fisting creams. For some, youll find a little goes a long way to keep things slick, and yet facilitate friction (Im thinking primarily of the silicone here). Keep in mind that different brands create even more variation in the market, so just because you dont like one companys silicone doesnt mean you wont like anothers. Order some small sizes and test a bunch to see what works best for you to find the lubed-up-no-lube sensation you crave. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How to Get Advice From How to Do It Have a nagging (or totally inconsequential) question about sex? Its fun to see your words in this column! Send it in now. Dear How to Do It, Ive always felt that I was a good person, but somethings happened lately that really has me questioning myself. After four decades together, my parents have opened up their marriage and my father has come out as gay. They still live together but my mom has a new boyfriend and so does my dad. My father was always the manliest of men, a hairy-chested biker and certified action man, so its a shock to see him enter this new phase of his life. I really, really want to be supportive and Ive always prided myself (pun intended) on being open-minded and accepting. I am not, however, OK with this. Its a lot. Advertisement Advertisement I understand that I am the problem and I am working through that with an excellent counselor but until I get my thoughts together I need a little space. How do I have that conversation with my parents, particularly as we enter the holiday season? For now, I have expressed as much love and support as I can, but I dont think that I can completely hide my discomfort at this change, nor am I sure I currently understand it. I just need a script to deflect while I arrange my thoughts. Its Me, Not Them Dear Its Me, Not Them, Advertisement True self-awareness is a rare commodity and you have it. That is to say: You are the problem, and its heartening to see you admit it. If youre going to be the problem, you should at least have the decency to know it. Admitting youre wrong is the first step. Advertisement This is going to be a process of acclimation. You are shocked to find out that your manly, hairy-chested biker of a father is into men, but boy do I have news for you: There are back rooms full of such guys, and there have been for decades. Im talking about pre-Stonewall societies of bikers riding around and rubbing on each other with purpose. I was once like you, with a very narrow conception of how gay men looked and behaved and then I grew up and exposed myself to the community (in more ways than one) and now when I see a bearded guy with a gut and slight twinkle in his eye in a South Jersey Target, I think, Hmm. Actual experience can go far in rewriting your archetypes. Advertisement Granted, the specific archetype here is that of your father, which is a big one. Its OK that you need some time to process this. However, I think that you should signal said need as minimally as possible. You dont think you can hide your discomfort, which means there is a possibility that you can. Hedge your bets in that direction. The last thing a gay person who has been closeted for decades needs is more shamehes dealt with enough of that. If you cant be happy that hes finally accepted who he is enough to actually live it, pretend like you are. Fake it till you make it. If you need time, make yourself scarce with excuses and preferably alibis. Limit your time with your parents but dont cut it off all together. That may be enough to convey your processing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Contrary to the specific advice you seek, I dont think that you should strike up a direct conversation about your discomfort. This isnt about you and there is no way that wont come off as at least slightly offensive. Let them notice your reservation and come to you to ask if anything is wrong. If and when they do, keep it focused on you. Tell them what you told us: You know youre in the wrong here, and that it turns out that you werent as enlightened as you thought. Lead with love, and remind them that youre human. Tell them that youre seeing a counselor and hope that you get used to this change in their lives sooner than later. Its unfortunate that you feel the way that you do, but you know that and are working on it. Youre well on your way. Remember that its OK to be uncomfortable and that sometimes the best way to get through discomfort is to push through it until youre used to it. Then its no longer uncomfortable at all. Advertisement Dear How to Do It, Ive recently started dating a guy I hooked up with briefly three years ago, and its been great except for one compliment he keeps pushing both in and out of bed. Julien and I hooked up for a few weeks in 2021, but I moved away suddenly when my sister got sick. After I moved back, I eventually ran into him and the chemistry was still there. But he insists on telling me I lost weight since he first knew me. It was part of the very first conversation we had when we re-met. Now when our clothes come off he seems to automatically lean for a compliment about how tiny I look, or how small my hip bones are. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everything else we do is hot, but this moment always makes me feel uncomfortable. At my doctors request Ive been trying and failing to lose weight for the past 18 months. I now weigh exactly what I did in 2021. But he pushes this compliment hard, and it even features in his dirty talk. How do I fix this? This Does Not Turn Me On Dear This Does Not Turn Me On, They say theres no accounting for taste, but I find that also goes for perception. A little trend Ive noticed: Sometimes people, especially ones that I see intermittently (say a few times a year or less) will tell me that when they last saw me my hair was longer. These people exist across friend groups and most likely never have met (and if they have met, I highly doubt the length of my hair was anything they discussed). Meanwhile, I get my hair buzzed and faded every week and have been doing this for decades. In rare exceptions, Ill go for two weeks. That means my hair is never much longer than by a few millimeters no matter when you last saw me. And yet people will insist. Why do they do this? Clearly, what I am in their heads is something other than what I actually am. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think this guy might be responding similarly to you. He doesnt know what hes talking about but hes insistent. Sounds like a dude to me! Look, its reasonable to request that he not comment on your weight. People dont like that in general, no matter the tone. You detect he means it as a compliment but its still inappropriate. I would choose a nonsexual time to bring this up. Just give it to him straight: Everything else about your hook-ups is hot, except for his tendency to comment on your weight, which is not the compliment that he thinks it is. If you feel like sharing that youve been trying to lose weight and havent, it might put your discomfort into even more clear perspective for him (it sounds like he could use as much perspective as you can offer). If it happens again during sex, a simple, Weve talked about this, should suffice without making things too awkward. If he cant stop saying it, well, hes showing you who he is and you can ignore him accordingly. That might be the only way to stop the comments for good. Rich More Advice From Slate Ive been dating my boyfriend for a few months. He has erectile dysfunction thats been getting rapidly worse to the point that we can barely have sex. He keeps saying that hes going to go to the doctor to see about getting Viagra, but that hasnt happened yet. Im sure hes embarrassed, but its such an easy solution. Is there anything I can do or say to nudge him into going to the doctor about this? Care and Feeding is Slates parenting advice column. Have a question for Care and Feeding? Submit it here. Dear Care and Feeding, My son Edgar is in third grade. He befriended Gus at school a few years ago, and they have been in class together since. Gus lives in the neighborhood, and is a distant relative on my husbands side of the family. The kids have play dates, and although Gus is a difficult child to handle in large doses (he is prone to tantrums, extremely anxious, and weve heard him threaten to end the friendship if Edgar doesnt give in to his demands), my husband and I decided that the best course of action was to just let this play out naturallywe feel that either Gus will mature or Edgar will outgrow him. We do talk to Edgar when hes frustrated with Gus about how every child is different and we should be kind to everyone because we dont know their situations, but we also remind him that we arent required to hang out with someone who makes us feel bad. But recently, Edgar was at Guss house after school with another classmate, Kyle, and even though Guss mom was there, Gus and Kyle put on a very non-kid-friendly horror movie and watched it for an extended period of time. (Think: a man selling his skin, a possessed girl with her head backward crab-walking, etc., all hyper-realistic.) I knew Kyle and Gus were into horrorthey talk about it!but I always assumed it was more Five Nights at Freddys level (not my cup of tea, but still PG), not this, which I consider grossly inappropriate for 8-year-olds by any parents standards. Now I have a child at home who has spent the last five nights sleeping all or part of the night with me in his bed, the first two of which he was so frightened hed scream if I left the room even for a minute. Where do I go from here? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My husband thinks that given the other issues, we should cut the friendship with Gus outside of school. I feel like that would seem like we were punishing Edgar for being honest with us about what he watched and where he saw it, and instead, we should just put stricter terms around play dates (only at our house or a neutral location, like a park) and continue to let Edgar lose interest in Gus in his own. (Gus is neither his only, nor preferred, friend.) I also am not sure what conversation to have with the other mom. I want to be straightforward but dont want to put Edgar in a position to be teased by his friends for being afraid (of something he has every right to be freaked out by!). I also worry about Gus. Every time he is at our house, he is anxious to the point of absurdity: He cant walk 2 feet into our garage on a sunny day because its too scary; he had to stop playing outside at noon because the shadows scare him in our (mostly treeless, very small, very suburban) backyard. Now I think I see the root cause of this. But is that my place to say or do I just focus on my own child? Horror Flicks Are Not for Kids! Dear Horror, Advertisement Advertisement First of all, I think youre right about the way to handle this friendship going forward. If Edgar continues to want to see Gus, he must see him at your house or outdoors (under your supervision). And I think all play dates should be initiated by Edgar (in other words, if Guss mother calls, asking to set one upor if Gus comes running up to you at pickup time asking if he can come home with you today, and Edgar isnt also clamoring for thisyou should politely decline). When you say no, you can cite already-made plans (and then quickly make some, even if its just grocery shopping or at-home Mom-and-me time). When Edgar asks to spend time with Gus, thats when you arrange it with the strictures in place. Advertisement Advertisement As to your concerns about Gus: Im with you. I think this child is not being adequately parented. But this is very tricky. Since being lackadaisical about what content her 8-year-old consumes is unlikely to be the only problemmy guess is its the tip of the icebergand Guss anxiety and other issues are almost certainly more complicated than only a reaction to this exposure, you would have to proceed very cautiously. No parent likes being told theyre not doing right by their child. And while Guss mom may well figure out that you dont want your child left in her care (I mean, surely shell eventually notice that Edgar is no longer allowed to visit, even if you never say so outright), she is likely to take offenseand perhaps take it out on her troubled child. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Consider a discreet conversation with the childrens teacher, and/or the school nurse or counselor if there is one, asking them to keep an eye on Gus. The most I would do at this juncture, where his mother is concerned, is mention (as if in passing) that you were surprised the kids were allowed to watch that movie, that the kind of movies your child usually watches are [whatever they are]. See what she says. Did she not notice what theyd put on? Or does she think it was just fine for them to watch it? Does she tell you youre being overprotective, or does she shruglike, why are we having this stupid conversation? Or (my faint hope) does she ask you why youre surprised, and why you protect your child from this sort of thing? You might go so far as to ask: Doesnt Gus find this stuff pretty scary? I know I do! At the very least, this may give her something to think about (even if she says, defensively, in the moment, Nah, he likes it). But I dont think its your place to talk to her about Guss anxiety and fears, or about her parenting. I applaud you for not wanting this child to fall between the cracks even as you protect your own child. But tread carefully, so as not to make things worse for him. Advertisement Advertisement Want Advice on Parenting, Kids, or Family Life? Submit your questions to Care and Feeding here. Its anonymous! (Questions may be edited for publication.) Dear Care and Feeding, We have three adult children. One is successful and has been out of the house for years. The youngest just finished high school and is in the military. The problem is our middle child. He is smart, capable, and fun to be around, but he quits when things are difficult or dont immediately work out in his favor. He rarely holds a job for more than a few months, usually citing a mean boss or difficult co-workers as the reason he left. He took the military placement test and did well enough to get his dream job, but he quit before finishing bootcamp. He found a great opportunity as an electricians apprentice, which he kept telling us was going well, and then was fired for underperforming. He keeps making bad decisions and refusing to put in the work to secure his future, and he is running out of opportunities (of which he has had many). Advertisement He comes to us, and to his older sibling, for advice, which he then ignores. He sees the lifestyle that I and others have achieved, but fails to understand that he is looking at the end result of a lifetime of effort, including having to face many challenges and disappointments. Some of this is youthful foolishness, but he doesnt learn from his failures, and I worry this is just how he is and will always be. I want to tell him I am disappointed in him and do some tough love (e.g. refuse to let him move home when things dont work out yet again) but he recently had a breakdown and nearly overdosed on pills. It doesnt help that I am going through some problems in my own life and just dont have the mental or financial bandwidth to deal with his problems as well. Any advice? Parent to Difficult Middle Child Dear Difficult, Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You want to tell your struggling grown child that youre disappointed in him? Your child who recently had a breakdown and a suicide attempt? What do you suppose it would accomplish to let him know that you have had it with him? (I know what you want it to accomplish: You want him to realize the error of his ways, clean up his act, and be more like his siblingsand you want to be free of the burden of worrying about him and helping him. The former is absolutely not going to happen through tough loveand, frankly, telling him hes a disappointment to you sounds like the tough without the love anywayand the latter? Well, as far as Im concerned, the responsibility of parents to the children theyve brought into the world has no expiration date.) Advertisement Your middle child isnt being difficult on purpose. There is something wrong. The pattern you describe is a sign of mental illness, not of laziness, foolishness, or whatever else youre ascribing it to. He needs help. He may need medication; he surely needs therapy. Tell him that. See if you, his siblings, or anyone else he trusts can persuade him to see a mental health professional. A psychiatrist should be the first stop: He needs to be evaluated for depression, anxiety, ADHD, and other conditions. And he needs your love, not your disappointment; your compassion, not your comparisons to his older and younger siblings; your best self, not your tough self. Im really sorry youre going through difficulties of your own. But they dont absolve you from caring about your son. Find the bandwidth. Advertisement Catch Up on Care and Feeding Missed earlier columns this week? Read them here. Discuss this column in the Slate Parenting Facebook group! Advertisement Dear Care and Feeding, I have an 8-year-old son, Cody, who is just starting second grade. He has always been well-behaved, so I was shocked when his teacher gave me a call to share some concerns she had. There was this assignment they did where they had to get up and tell the class about something theyd read or done over the summer. Cody talked about some comic books from my husbands collection that he discovered in the attic, where wed long ago stored them. We knew about that partthat hed found and read some of his dads comicsbut apparently the teacher asked if there were any characters he particularly liked and why, and Codys favorite character was one of the villains. He said he knew he was not supposed to root for the bad guys, but this one had all of the most awesome lines. Then he quoted one that the teacher wrote down, because it was so disturbing to her: Cocaine is my god and I am a human instrument of its will. When one of the other kids asked what cocaine was, Cody confidently declared that it was a white power that Snowflame breathed in to activate his superpowers. I assured the teacher that we dont use drugs at home (she asked!) and that we didnt realize there was any objectional material in those comics. My husbands going to do a thorough inventory and make sure he cant get into anything else that isnt age-appropriate, but Im not sure what kind of conversation we should be having with our son. I dont even think he fully realizes that cocaine is an illegal and dangerous drug, so I guess we can start there. But Im not sure how to tell him what is and isnt appropriate to talk about in public like that. Closing the Barn Door Dear Barn Door, Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think this is a tempest in a teapot. The teacher was doing due diligence, calling to ask about drug use at home (though if you and your husband were a couple of cokeheads, would you have been likely to confess that?), as well as letting you know that hed said something that concerned her about the media he was consuming, but I dont think this episode is a big deal at all. Tell him what cocaine actually is, sure. Explain why it worried his teacher. But I wouldnt hammer home the idea that some things arent appropriate to talk about. That would only make him secretive. And leaving it to an 8-year-old to figure out what is or isnt an acceptable subject for public discourse is a pretty big burden to put on him. So just move right along, OK? Advertisement Dear Care and Feeding, I am a father to two amazing, well-behaved kids (a 14-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy), who live with me half the time. We live in a two-bedroom apartment, and recently my daughter has become more and more discontent with sharing a room with her brother. She says that shes uncomfortable sharing a room with a sibling of the opposite sex at her age, that she wants more privacy, and that its very difficult being unable to study at her desk at nightall of which I totally understand! But my current financial situation doesnt allow us to move to a three-bedroom (she is aware of this). We looked at installing a privacy curtain, but their room simply isnt big enough for half of it to be enough for either of them. Shes also allowed to spend time alone in my room during the evenings, before bedtime, but it doesnt make up for the sleeping arrangements. The past few nights, shes been on the verge of tears. Shes asked to sleep in the living room or at her moms house (where she has her own room), and its breaking my heart to see her so sad. Do I move to a cheaper area of the city, farther from their school, where I could afford a three-bedroom? Do I let her sleep at her moms house every night? Is it fair to her to keep her waiting a few more years? Is there an option Im not thinking of? Its Getting Claustrophobic in Here Dear Claustrophobic, Advertisement Advertisement For heavens sake, either give her the living room and forgo a living room (or partition it, if its big enoughgiving her the larger portion and reserving the smaller part for the three of you to hang out in together) or else (and better yet) you start sleeping in the living roomreplace whatever sofa you have now with one that folds outand give her your room. Of course at 14 she doesnt want to share a room with her little brother. Or anyone. She does need privacy, an area of her own in which to do her homework, read, listen to music, talk on the phone with or entertain friends in person, and just be. And yes, I know, you want a private space of your own too. But you have the apartment half the time for your private space/life/needs. And in four years, shell be out of both your place and your exs. Give her what she needs by making a sacrifice of your own. Thats the option youre not thinking of. Michelle Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More Advice From Slate I have a son (9), and two daughters (5 and 6 months). About a month ago, a new family moved in a couple blocks away. They also have a 9-year-old boy (Luke), whos in my sons class. The boys hit it off at school and started asking to hang out with each other more often. After one meet-up at the neighborhood park, we set something up at our house after school. The boys had a great time. The next day, I got a text from Lukes mother asking me to call her. Alarmed, I called her immediately, and she asked me if I breastfeed my 6-month-old. During a recent stay in London, my wife and I took an early evening stroll down Lambs Conduit Street, in the West End district of Bloomsbury, a mere 15-minute walk from the din of Piccadilly Circus but a world away: peaceful, elegant, a medley of quaint shops and stately houses, tucked amid which was a restaurant called Noble Rot. We sat at a table. The atmosphere was convivial, the food delicious, the wine exquisitely paired. On the bar counter were copies of a small but thick magazine, also called Noble Rot, adorned with a bright hipster-cartoon cover. Out of curiosity, I bought oneand, as sometimes happens in random moments, my take on a whole slice of life began to change. Advertisement In this case, what changed was my attitude toward wine and its seriously playful possibilities. Flip through the establishment wine magazines, and youre presented with august pronouncements, the vintages under review awarded numerical ratings, the accompanying text instructing you what flavors and aromas to expect when you open a bottleand which of these sensations to value more or less than others. By contrast, open up Noble Rot, and youre instantly smacked with a more jovial vibe: Come on in and join the party! The writers, who include food and wine specialists as well as occasional celebritiesincluding the actress Keira Knightley, who turns out to have a wicked pen and a fine palateare extremely well-informed, evocative, funny, and, above all, curious. In the issue that I bought that night, No. 34, the editors opening piece begins, It doesnt take an ancient Greek philosopher to recognize that the more you learn about wine, the more you know you dont know. (I cant imagine Wine Enthusiast publishing that sentence.) This was by way of introducing an essay about the great wines of Switzerlanda tough subject, as Swiss vintners export just 1 percent of their output. So, the editor set off to explore the countrys spectacular mountainside vineyards, sat for long, sloshy conversations with the beyond-obscure Alpine masters, and reported back every detail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The piece on Swiss wine, it turned out, was an outlier; the magazine sticks mainly to the oenophiles standard map of Europe: France, Italy, Spain, Greece. But even there, it focuses on small, little-known wineries, many of them run by a single person. In a recent Zoom conversation, the editor of Noble Rot, Dan Keeling, described the typical operator of such vineyards as an obsessive, a dreamer who makes hundreds, maybe thousands of decisionsabout treating the soil, adjusting to the weather, calibrating the tannins, determining when to pick the grapes, and figuring out how to store them, to name just a fewand they all add up to the final thing, which, with any luck, might be magic. Advertisement In his own evolution as a writer and editor, as well as a purveyor and lover of these wines, Keeling has also become an obsessive and a dreamer. And one clear aim of Noble Rot is to entice readers into becoming obsessives and dreamers too. The striking, delightful thing is the combination of thorough expertise, ardent passion, and esoteric subject matteror, rather, the delving into an esoteric branch of a common subject, the sense that were being let in on a secret, a hidden cellar, that most people, even those who know something about wine, dont know exists. Keeling also co-authored a book, Noble Rot: Wine From Another Galaxya title that captures the fizz of a strange adventure. (A sequel is coming out in November, Whos Afraid of Romanee-Conti? A Shortcut to Drinking Great Wines.) Advertisement Advertisement A couple of decades ago, Keeling, who is now 49, was the managing director of Island Records. (He signed Coldplay, among other pop bands.) There was a wine shop, run by a musician friend, just down the street from his studio. Keeling would sometimes go in and ask for a bottle costing 15 pounds or less. Like many people, I felt vulnerable in there, he recalled. I thought wine was a bit of swiz. I didnt know anything, figured there couldnt be much difference between a 15-pound bottle and a 50-pound bottle. Advertisement Then, one of the shops employees, Mark Andrew, started holding tastings in the basement. Hed bring in these amazing artisanal wines, Keeling said. They were inconsistent, but when they were good, they were really, really, really good. Advertisement The big moment came when Keeling tasted a 2005 Ridge Lytton Springs. It had this vivid blueberry flavor like a lot of California zinfandels, but it was also savory, he remembered. It was this complexity, the balance between the two, that brought the wine to lifeId never tasted that before. He drew a comparison with his first love, music: All great music has at least two different emotions at play at the same time. What makes Kate Bushs Running Up That Hill endlessly fascinating is its combination of joyful defiance with melancholic resignation. Advertisement Advertisement Andrew, the tasting coordinator, was a year ahead of Keeling on the path to a dreamy obsession with wine, so they became friends and set out exploring more intensely. In 2013 they started the magazine, mainly because no other publication was writing about wine the way they and their friends talked about it. Advertisement We didnt know what we were doing, but that didnt stop us, he recalled. They took a class from the Guardian on how to start a magazine. They found a few designers to scribble the artwork, modeled their style on the DIY look of Jockey Slut, an indie music mag of the day, and printed 1,000 copies of their first issue, under the legend Wine Music Food Life. (The phrase noble rot refers to a fungus deliberately injected into some types of grapes to make the resulting wine much sweeter. Keeling adapted it, saying, We just loved the contrast of the words, in the tradition of many great artiststhe Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Fatboy Slim, etc.) Advertisement Advertisement A key model for the magazine was an American, Kermit Lynch, who had started a wine import business, specializing mainly in French wines, back in 1972, when you could barely give away the stuff.* (He is now one of the two biggest U.S. wine importers.) Lynch wrote a lively memoir, Adventures on the Wine Route, and a collection of his monthly newsletters, summarizing his latest offerings, called Inspiring Thirst. Keeling devoured, and continues to dip into, both books. What I loved about his writing, he said, is its very knowledgeable, very opinionated, but he also has a sense of humor. Advertisement Lynch, whom I reached in Bandol, France, where he spends half the year (the other half hes in Berkeley), is in turn a big fan of Noble Rot, saying, I like their punk attitude, which, even at age 82, he intends as a high compliment. Advertisement As the magazine found its audience, Keeling and Andrew opened their wine bar and restaurant, then started a retail wine shop (called Shrine to the Vine) and an import firm (Keeling Andrew & Co.). The magazine, unlike the big glossies, carries no adsa choice that allows editorial independence. However, a skeptic might wonder if the publications articles serve as advertisements for the pairs commercial enterprises. Keeling understood the question but waved it away. I would not write about any wine that I wouldnt want to drink myself, he said. Im just a wine lover. These are the best wines I can find; these are the wines we want to have in our cellar. We could make more money by taking ads or selling the more commercial wines, but lifes too short for that. Advertisement Whats it all about, then? What drives the likes of Keeling, Andrew, and Lynch to spend vast sums, in some cases hundreds of dollars, for a single bottle of crushed grapesnoble rot, so to speakthat provides, even in its best incarnations, a fleeting experience? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Keeling acknowledges this barrier to entry, the high prices, as one of the things I dont like about really good wine. He quickly added, If you want to go see Taylor Swift and dont know somebody, I dont know how much thats going to cost. Think of this like going to see the best gig youve ever seen in your life. He chuckled, then added, What can I say? Im a thrill-seeker. This particular thrill, of wine, comes with history, culture, geography, local traditions, peoples stories. Stories are a massive part of itthe greatest evenings spent with friends who are really focused on wine, telling a story about Chave Hermitage.* The greatest wines take us out of ourselves. Some of these vineyards, some of these wines, have this visceral energy. Thats what were chasing after. Advertisement In an email after our conversation, I asked Keeling for a short list of wines he could recommend that cost less than $30 a bottle. He suggested the following: Thymiopoulos Xinomavro Jeunes Vignes 2022 San Lorenzo Verdicchio Le Oche 2022 Juan Antonio Ponce La Casilla 2021 Lustau 3 en Rama Manzanilla de Sanlucar NV Cadi Press Dolcetto dAlba 2022 I bought a bottle of the first wine, a dry Greek red, at a nearby wine shop for $21 and drank it with dinner that night. It was fresh and fruity going in, with a hint of spiciness on the way downone of the best low-priced wines Ive ever had. It was extremely above average everywhere in Slovakia in terms of temperature, said Milan Lapin, a respected climatologist. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Share The summer of 2024 in Slovakia has set new heat records, with almost every meteorological station operated by the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMU) recording the warmest weather since meteorological observations began. We have recorded five heat waves during the summer the first two lasted for five days each, the next for 20, 12 and nine days, respected climatologist Milan Lapin told the TASR newswire, adding that the latest, fifth wave, is estimated to last until September 9. This summer is rated as extremely above normal, with a deviation of more than 1.7 degrees Celsius from the long-term average. However, at all meteorological stations in Slovakia, the temperature deviation this summer was much more significant. For example, at Hurbanovo in southern Slovakia it was 4.4 degrees Celsius warmer than the long-term average of 1901-2000 and 4.3 degrees Celsius warmer than the 1961-1990 average. Thus, the summer of 2024 was extremely above normal everywhere in Slovakia in terms of temperature, and probably also compared to the long-term average from 1991 to 2020, said Lapin. At the same time, August this year in Hurbanovo was 0.1 degrees Celsius warmer than the previous record August, in 1992. It had a preliminary average temperature of 24.6 degrees Celsius, which means that it was 5.1 degrees Celsius warmer compared to both the long-term averages of 1901-2000 and 1961-1990. The average daily maximum was, based on preliminary data, 31.7 degrees Celsius, which is 5.5 degrees Celsius more than the 1961-1990 average, the climatologist explained. August 1992 was the hottest previous month in the history of observations in Slovakia so far. Prolonged heat associated with drought led to forest fires in several places. At the same time, however, September 1 brought a significant change, ending the heatwave with a cooling of about 10 degrees Celsius. This year, the heat has continued well into the first third of September. During the summer of 2024, meteorologists recorded 48 "tropical" days in Hurbanovo: 7 in June, 19 in July and 22 in August. At the same time, according to SHMU data, the summer of 2024 brought in Hurbanovo tentatively eight "supertropical" days, with a daytime temperature of 35 degrees Celsius and above, and also 81 summer days with a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius and above. There were also 73 summer nights when the air temperature did not drop below 15 degrees Celsius and, among these, as many as 20 "tropical" nights when it did not drop below 20 degrees Celsius. However, thanks to the persistently high air temperature in recent days, the total number of tropical days and tropical nights - for the whole of 2024 will be even higher. In September 2024, in the first four days, every day somewhere there was a daytime high of 35 degrees Celsius or more, and every night was tropical somewhere, Lapin told TASR. He also pointed out that even though about 225 millimetres of rain fell during the summer of 2024 (87 percent of the 1901-1990 average), the fact that it fell almost exclusively as showers and thunderstorms means there were large differences in soil watering even over small distances. All 14 months from June 2023 to July 2024 broke global records for heat, as assessed by Copernicus, NASA and NOAA, said Lapin, who is a professor emeritus at the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science at Comenius University in Bratislava and also works with the SHMU. The year 2024 is also expected to be one of the warmest ever globally since assessments began in 1880. Last year was the warmest in the history of measurements, with the average global temperature reaching 14.98 degrees Celsius. This is 1.48 degrees Celsius more than the pre-industrial period, which, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), was from 1850 to 1900. The planets climate is therefore fast approaching the critical warming threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Madcap Coffee Finca Santa Cruz Brother and sister duo Jose and Karina Arguello are third generation coffee growers based in the municipality of La Concordia, Chiapas, Mexico. Much of the duos knowledge is passed down from their father, who taught them everything he learned over his lifetime of operating the farm. After purchasing the farm 8 years ago, Jose took on the director role of the regional producers cooperative called CAFECO, while Karina manages the green coffee sales. Since then, Jose and Karinas farm has earned various awards, impressively including 2nd place overall in Cup of Excellence in 2023, and 1st place overall in 2019, 2021 and 2022. At Finca Santa Cruz, lush vegetation shades the coffee trees across the familys 250 hectares, 95 of which are dedicated to coffee production. For this lot, typica and bourbon coffee cherries are fermented in a tank for 24 hours, then dried on beds in cherry for about 14 days. The final cup is extremely clean for a naturally processed coffee, with vibrant citrus acidity and a tangy sweetness reminiscent of tamarind fruit. Finca Santa Cruz is a stand out on our menu, and we are honored to offer it for the first time at Madcap this summer. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240907/russia-to-establish-embassy-in-dominican-republic--govt-decree-1120071584.html Russia to Establish Embassy in Dominican Republic Gov't Decree Russia to Establish Embassy in Dominican Republic Gov't Decree Sputnik International Russia will establish an embassy in the Dominican Republic's capital city of Santo Domingo, a government decree said. 2024-09-07T21:03+0000 2024-09-07T21:03+0000 2024-09-07T21:03+0000 americas newsfeed mikhail mishustin dominican republic santo domingo russia russian foreign ministry russian embassy https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/09/07/1120071428_0:0:1000:563_1920x0_80_0_0_a4b1cd03b654cfcd2d6c6026ecfef41d.jpg "To accept the proposal of the Russian Foreign Ministry, agreed with the relevant federal executive bodies, on the establishment of the Embassy of Russia in the Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo)," the document read. The Russian Foreign Ministry will establish the staffing level of the embassy and approve its staffing table, according to the document. The functions of the diplomatic mission in this country, as well as in Haiti, are currently performed by the Russian Embassy in Venezuela. https://sputnikglobe.com/20221204/dominican-republic-plans-to-export-coffee-other-goods-to-russia-via-third-states-envoy-says-1105019324.html americas dominican republic santo domingo russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International russian embassy in dominican republic, embassies in santo domingo https://sputnikglobe.com/20240908/corporate-complicity-in-censorship-destroys-due-process-1120072210.html Corporate Complicity in Censorship Destroys Due Process Corporate Complicity in Censorship Destroys Due Process Sputnik International The censorship of users on major social media platforms is as effective as government censorship, but leaves those affected with little recourse. 2024-09-08T00:29+0000 2024-09-08T00:29+0000 2024-09-08T00:29+0000 analysis chris hedges russia china us justice department sputnik vimeo youtube https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/104783/49/1047834955_0:37:1024:613_1920x0_80_0_0_904bbd14d78a09565e0038e1c16442f8.jpg The ability of major social media companies to destroy someones life work and silence their speech without trial is antithetical to the Western justice system, which is marketed as the fairest in the world.Thanks to the recent widespread acceptance of censorship in the West, multinational and multi-billion dollar companies are now the sole arbiters of truth and the Overton window, determining guilt and doling out punishments unilaterally and without oversight. While their heavy hands have resulted in a few alternatives growing in popularity, the vast majority of speech in the West still hinges on the whims of a few companies and their content policy which is as opaque as it is fluid.While most of the censorship online has come at the behest of various governments, those being censored are ultimately cut out of online discourse without trial and very little recourse. In the case of Tenet Media, they have not been charged with a crime and those indicted are unlikely to face trial because they will not be extradited to the United States by Russia. That means Tenet and other affected accounts are now in an indefinite state of limbo.For as long as [the case] exists and its not gonna be contested because the defendants are in Russia and beyond extradition, then nobody has to bother proving any of it. And all you have is the process in the media, which has been the media always prints the press release and in this case, the allegation, explained Serbian-American journalist Nebojsa Malic on Sputniks Backstory. Its almost as if this kind of stuff is put out there specifically to influence public opinion and create and manage these perceptions because the people named or actually charged are not in a position to defend themselves.The result is a world in which the government can use technology companies to censor its citizens without trial or recourse and tech companies have the power to act as prosecutors, judges and juries of individuals, with or without government instruction.In April 2022, YouTube deleted the entire six-year archive of On Contact an Emmy-nominated television show hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges was removed from YouTube.This kind of stuff is disgraceful, but its also a violation of due process, explained Malic. How do you delete somebodys life work without recourse? How is this possible? If China did this to somebody, you would have every single NGO humanitarian organization, professional grifters who are fundraising millions from the gullible public all over the world in the name of human rights and democracy, denouncing this as tyrannical. But it happens in the US and its fine.The common defense of censorship advocates is that it is a private company not the government who is pressing the censorship button. Putting aside that most of the censorship by big tech is done at the behest of a government, multinational corporations are more powerful than they have ever been and digital communications is how the modern world functions in the technology age.YouTube has 2.5 billion active monthly users, representing nearly 32% of the worlds population. Meanwhile, Rumble, the largest alternative that touts its support of free speech, had 53 million monthly users in the second quarter of 2024. That means a commentator like Chris Hedges would limit his reach by nearly 98% if he moved to a pro-free speech platform.(Note: video platforms like Vimeo and Dailymotion have more users than Rumble, but have content policies similar to YouTube.)The ability to limit ones speech to 2% of its potential audience is as effective a censorship tool as anything seen before it. It destroys peoples livelihoods and prevents aspiring content creators from making an impact. Whether it is done by a government or a corporation is immaterial if there is no way around it. A corporation with a monopoly on speech rivals the power of any government on earth.This kind of behavior is just entirely antithetical to what the entire Western and American specifically jurisprudence is supposed to be about, Malic continued. You have an adversarial system in which the government makes an allegation, has to prove that allegation and the defendant gets a say in the court of law and facts are eventually established Theres due process and, I mean, these are the things that separate the United States from the late Ottoman empire, for example. And if all these things are thrown out the window in the name of preserving our democracy, whatever that is, then what is there at the end? What are we left with? https://sputnikglobe.com/20240904/jackson-hinkle-on-frightening-clampdown-on-alternative-media-in-us-all-thats-left-is-to-jail-us-1120016981.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240901/durov-arrest-first-salvo-of-final-battle-in-the-30-year-war-on-privacy-1119974550.html russia china Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Ian DeMartino Ian DeMartino News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Ian DeMartino censorship online, free speech platforms, government forces censorship online, government works with media companies to censor https://sputnikglobe.com/20240908/former-venezuelan-presidential-candidate-gonzalez-granted-asylum-in-spain---vice-president-1120073344.html Former Venezuelan Presidential Candidate Gonzalez Granted Asylum in Spain - Vice President Former Venezuelan Presidential Candidate Gonzalez Granted Asylum in Spain - Vice President Sputnik International Former Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia has received asylum in Spain, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez confirmed. 2024-09-08T03:54+0000 2024-09-08T03:54+0000 2024-09-08T03:54+0000 americas newsfeed us nicolas maduro venezuela spain delcy rodriguez https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/09/08/1120073187_0:160:3072:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_cdb172d7ddc5ca539874b684d12f975b.jpg "Today, September 7, opposition citizen Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia left the country, voluntarily taking refuge for several days in the embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in Caracas, asking for political asylum from this government," Rodriguez said on Telegram. On Tuesday, the Venezuelan Attorney General's Office announced that the Venezuelan Court of First Instance had issued a warrant for the arrest of Edmundo Gonzalez, a former presidential candidate for the United Right opposition who had failed to appear three times to testify when subpoenaed. The office is investigating the publication of opposition polling station data on an online site in parallel with the official presidential election results by the electoral commission, as well as incitement to street violence. The presidential election in Venezuela was held on July 28, the next day the National Electoral Council declared Nicolas Maduro the elected president for 2025-2031. He received, according to the electoral council, 51% of the votes. The next day, protests broke out in Venezuela, clashes between the police and protesters began in Caracas, who began throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at law enforcement officers. According to the attorney general's office, more than 2,000 people have been detained in cases of destruction of state infrastructure, incitement of hatred and terrorism. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240818/venezuelas-opposition-maduro-supporters-hold-separate-rallies-in-caracas-1119808260.html americas venezuela spain Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International edmundo gonzalez urrutia, venezuelan opposition candidate Long marginalized by the banking industry, Mexico's neighborhood tortilla producers are cautiously embracing financial technology, in a country where cash is still king for many. The National Tortilla Council and technology firm Finsus have developed a mobile application that allows vendors of the staple food to charge customers using cards, QR codes or a cellphone number. "It's revolutionizing the industry," said the organization's president, Homero Lopez Garcia, whose ambitious goal is for 90 percent of tortilla makers to use the app within three years. The feedback from those who have tried it has been positive: "They say 'I like it, I understand it'," he said. The hope is that the app will also enable tortilla producers to generate additional income by offering their clients cellphone top-up and bill payment services. For many, the app is their first link to the formal financial industry. Only around half of Mexico's 129 million inhabitants have a bank account and most tortilla shops operate informally. Although it is still in the testing phase, the app is already making life easier for tortilla producer Abel Garcia, who has been in the business for 25 years. The 60-year-old said that he started out using family savings after failing to get a bank loan, and now owns several stores. "It was difficult to get credit -- very, very difficult!" Garcia said, in the working-class district of Iztapalapa. His success finally gave him access to banks, but with restrictions that put him off using them. "That's why we tore up the checkbook," he said. Tortillas are consumed by millions of Mexicans every day and an estimated 110,000-135,000 businesses are involved in their production, according to official and industry figures. Most of them operate in the informal economy, as do many Mexican workers. Mexico City for example is home to around 18,000 tortilla shops, according to the national statistics institute INEGI. But only around 10 percent of them are legally registered, figures from City Hall show. Without access to the formal financial system, many of them prefer dealing in cash. A 2021 survey by the banking regulator CNBV found that 64 percent of Mexicans preferred notes and coins over debit or credit cards. Maria Adelaida Francisco, who works in a tortilla shop in Mexico City, had never used a financial application until her boss Jorge Ramirez suggested she try the new one. Now the 40-year-old uses it to pay her electricity bill, she said. Some tortilla producers avoid banks for fear of paperwork or debts. "They're a bit scared of the tax issue or they don't know about it," said Ramirez, 35. Several of his eight employees now use the application to collect their salaries. The change reflects a wider embrace of financial technology in Latin America's second-largest economy. According to a study by the Inter-American Development Bank and the venture capital company Finnovista, Mexico is home to 20 percent of the region's financial technology ventures, behind only Brazil. The number of fintech startups in Latin America and the Caribbean increased more than four-fold between 2017 and 2023, to 3,069 across 26 countries, the report said. Despite the advances, the financial inclusion of Mexico's tortilla makers is still "zero," Lopez Garcia, the National Tortilla Council president, said. "The banks don't believe in the industry," he said. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240908/rt-editor-in-chief-cites-broadcasters-success-as-one-of-reasons-for-us-sanctions-1120081089.html RT Editor-in-Chief Cites Channel's Success as Key Factor Behind US Sanctions RT Editor-in-Chief Cites Channel's Success as Key Factor Behind US Sanctions Sputnik International The editor-in-chief of Russia's Rossiya Segodnya international media group and RT, Margarita Simonyan said RT's success was behind the recent US sanctions against Russian media outlets. 2024-09-08T22:50+0000 2024-09-08T22:50+0000 2024-09-09T08:16+0000 russia margarita simonyan sputnik russia anton anisimov rt bbc cnn censorship https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/1c/1116455171_0:0:3001:1688_1920x0_80_0_0_c7f1212a059f0342ad8d6887268d7dc7.jpg "Why did they do it now? For two reasons firstly, the projects turned out to be incredibly successful: our audience has grown very significantly compared to what it was when we broadcast openly. Last year alone, our English-language projects had almost 14 billion views. This hurts them. This is more than our closest competitors BBC and CNN," Simonyan said on the air of Rossiya 1 broadcaster. Simonyan recalled earlier that after the start of the Russian special operation, a number of Western countries supporting Ukraine had restricted the work of the TV channel and media group, including revoking licenses. "In these countries and, in particular, in the US, we began to work, how can I say, underground. Guerrilla warfare is a well-known, familiar, and beloved business for any person born in the Soviet Union, and raised on Soviet textbooks, and educated in a Soviet school. We organized a number of 'guerrilla' projects," the journalist said.She also emphasized that the audience in other countries had even increased. On September 4, the US Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against Simonyan and her deputies Anton Anisimov and Elizaveta Brodskaia. Deputy Director of the RT English-Language Information Broadcasting Andrey Kiyashko, RTs Digital Media Projects Manager Konstantin Kalashnikov and a number of other employees of the broadcaster were also added to the sanctions list. The US State Department, in a parallel move, tightened the operating conditions for Rossiya Segodnya and its subsidiaries, designating them as "foreign missions." Under the Foreign Missions Act, they will be required to notify the department of all personnel working in the United States and disclose all real estate they own. US authorities also announced restrictions on the issuance of visas to individuals they allege are "acting on behalf of Kremlin-supported media organizations." However, the Department of State refused to disclose the names of those subject to the new visa restrictions. Commenting on the new sanctions, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller claimed the measures did not target any particular individual Russian journalists, but rather the employees of the targeted companies who were involved in "covert activities." Meanwhile, US authorities have charged Kalashnikov and another RT employee, Elena Afanasyeva, with money laundering conspiracy and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).*Rossiya Segodnya is the parent media group of Sputnik News. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240906/attacks-on-sputnik-rt-about-shoring-up-us-institutions-while-attacking-freedom-of-press-1120051423.html russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International rt, sputnik, sanctions on russia, russian media sanctioned https://sputnikglobe.com/20240908/russian-forces-liberate-novogrodovka-city-in-donetsk---defense-ministry-1120075004.html Russian Forces Liberate Novogrodovka City in Donetsk - Defense Ministry Russian Forces Liberate Novogrodovka City in Donetsk - Defense Ministry Sputnik International Russia's Tsentr (Center) group of forces has taken control of the city of Novogrodovka in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Russian Defense Ministry told Sputnik on Sunday. 2024-09-08T09:21+0000 2024-09-08T09:21+0000 2024-09-08T09:21+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine russian army russian armed forces russian defense ministry ukrainian crisis donetsk https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/05/12/1118523956_0:347:3023:2047_1920x0_80_0_0_e677c46dc65889928f8076f7af17810a.jpg Russia's Tsentr (Center) group of forces has taken control of the city of Novogrodovka in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Russian Defense Ministry told Sputnik on Sunday. Ukrainian Losses in Last 24 HoursKiev lost up to 625 servicepeople in battles with Russia's Yug (South) group of troops over the past day, as well as a Kozak combat armored vehicle, two UK-made 155mm FH-70 howitzers and an electronic warfare station, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.Russia's Sever (North) group of troops eliminated up to 160 Ukrainian soldiers, the ministry said, adding that Kiev also lost up to 550 soldiers in fighting with Russia's Zapad (West) group of troops.Ukraine has also lost up to 560 soldiers in battles with Russia's Tsentr (Center) group of troops, the Russian ministry said.Ukrainian units have lost up to 130 soldiers and a UK-produced FH-70 howitzer in battles with Russia's Vostok (East) group of troops, the ministry added. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240831/scott-ritter-ukrainian-conflict-wscalation-can-lead-to-global-ending-nuclear-war-1119971548.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240831/ukraine-losing-air-force-commander-in-blame-game-highlights-f-16-drawbacks-1119973266.html donetsk Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International russia's special military operation, ukrainian crisis, russian armed forces, novogorodovka liberated, novogorodovka russian control, hostilities donetsk, ukraine conflict https://sputnikglobe.com/20240908/russian-missile-strike-eliminates-up-to-30-foreign-mercs-near-sumy---defense-ministry--1120077193.html Russian Missile Strike Eliminates Up to 30 Foreign Mercs Near Sumy - Defense Ministry Russian Missile Strike Eliminates Up to 30 Foreign Mercs Near Sumy - Defense Ministry Sputnik International Russian forces have carried out a missile strike and eliminated up to 30 foreign mercenaries and six units of military equipment of the Ukrainian armed forces near the settlement of Stetskovka, located north of the city of Sumy, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday. 2024-09-08T13:36+0000 2024-09-08T13:36+0000 2024-09-08T13:37+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine russian armed forces russian army ukrainian crisis mercenaries https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/09/08/1120077025_0:0:1920:1080_1920x0_80_0_0_0047dcab4b8372bcd1bcd6466afc1595.jpg The ministry also published a video showing the moment of the strike on enemy positions and a powerful explosion.Earlier Russian Armed Forces conducted a missile strike on Poltava training center. As a result of precise attack, 500 military specialists, including foreign mercs, were killed or wounded.Russian officials repeteadly stressed that mercenaries are non-combatants by international law and will be later persecuted for participation in hostilities should they survive. Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Russian missile zaps foreign mercs into oblivion near Sumy Sputnik International Russian missile zaps foreign mercs into oblivion 2024-09-08T13:36+0000 true PT0M19S 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International russia's special operation, ukrainian crisis, russian armed forces, ukraine mercs, ukraine mercenaries, russian missiles, missile strike sumy https://sputnikglobe.com/20240908/thousands-of-brazilians-rally-to-protest-against-blocking-x-1120073029.html Thousands of Brazilians Rally to Protest Against Blocking X Thousands of Brazilians Rally to Protest Against Blocking X Sputnik International Thousands of Brazilians gathered in Rio De Janeiro and Sao Paulo to protest the country's recent banning of the social media platform X. 2024-09-08T03:20+0000 2024-09-08T03:20+0000 2024-09-08T03:20+0000 americas elon musk jair bolsonaro brazil rio de janeiro sao paulo alexandre de moraes x (formerly twitter) https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/09/08/1120072872_0:161:3070:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_88062db3e5a1567a21d089f1d5e38243.jpg On August 30, Brazil's Supreme Federal Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered the blocking of X in the country due to Elon Musk's refusal to appoint a new legal representative for the social network. In addition, the judge had previously frozen Starlink's accounts in Brazil for the same reason. The Supreme Court then upheld Morais's decision to suspend X. At the same time, Musk emphasized that the social network X and Starlink, which is part of SpaceX, are two legally different companies, so the Brazilian court's decision to freeze the latter's accounts is illegal. In Rio de Janeiro, hundreds of citizens gathered on Copacabana Beach to demand the resignation of the judge. Another large rally was convened in Sao Paulo, with former President Jair Bolsonaro and his son Eduardo, who was wearing a T-shirt with the X logo against the backdrop of the Brazilian flag, taking part. americas brazil rio de janeiro sao paulo Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International x, twitter, banned in brazil, protests against moraes, censorship in brazil https://sputnikglobe.com/20240908/trump-very-offended-by-putins-endorsement-of-harris-1120072700.html Trump Jokingly 'Very Offended' by Putin's Endorsement of Harris Trump Jokingly 'Very Offended' by Putin's Endorsement of Harris Sputnik International Republican nominee for president Donald Trump joked on Saturday that he was very offended by Russian President Vladimir Putin's preference that US Vice President Kamala Harris win the 2024 Presidential elections. 2024-09-08T01:27+0000 2024-09-08T01:27+0000 2024-09-08T05:26+0000 americas kamala harris vladimir putin democratic party us 2024 us presidential election donald trump https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/0c/15/1115731673_0:87:3096:1828_1920x0_80_0_0_3199d19079e1c2a9249637cd7ae17409.jpg Putin, speaking at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum, said jokingly that Russia would support the US presidential candidate from the Democratic Party, Kamala Harris, as recommended by incumbent President Joe Biden. The Russian leader noted that Harris had such an "infectious" laugh, from which one could conclude that she was "doing well." Trump also wondered why the head of the Russian state supported Harris, adding that Putin is a "chess player." In addition, the former president once again expressed confidence that the Ukrainian conflict would not have happened under his rule. The US presidential election will be held on November 5. Vice President Harris will represent the Democratic Party, and former President Trump will represent the Republican Party. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240901/putins-remarks-about-biden-true-for-vp-harris---kremlin--1119978387.html americas Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International putin endorses harris, putin prefers kamala, trump responds to harris endorsement https://sputnikglobe.com/20240908/turkiyes-ruling-party-points-to-eus-double-standards-in-fighting-russian-media-1120072432.html Turkiye's Ruling Party Points to EU's Double Standards in Fighting Russian Media Turkiye's Ruling Party Points to EU's Double Standards in Fighting Russian Media Sputnik International The European Union practices double standards in regards to Russia media and anti-Turkish publications, a Turkish parliamentarian said. 2024-09-08T01:00+0000 2024-09-08T01:00+0000 2024-09-08T01:00+0000 world emmanuel macron sergey lavrov russia france turkiye european union (eu) sputnik justice and development party (akp) omer celik https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/02/13/1116877665_0:80:3263:1915_1920x0_80_0_0_0edac3cd75a77f2829684f2cd0e10142.jpg "The European Union practices double standards: broadcasts with anti-Turkish content, with any lies, go unhindered, but a number of measures have been taken to prevent 'Russian' propaganda. At the same time, they claim that the measures against Russian broadcasts are within the framework of freedom of expression. At the same time, there are a large number of anti-Turkish broadcasts in Europe," Celik told the Haberturk broadcaster. The situation with Russian media in the West has become increasingly difficult in recent years. In November 2016, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for action against Russian media, naming Sputnik and RT as the main threats. A number of Western politicians, including American senators and congressmen, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron, accused Sputnik and RT of interfering in the elections in the US and France, but did not provide any evidence. Russian officials called such statements unfounded. Recently, the EU has imposed sanctions against the largest Russian media outlets, banning their broadcasting in the European Union. This decision was made without going to court or to national regulators in EU countries, which are responsible for the media markets of their countries. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow did not expect the West to impose sanctions on journalists, athletes, and cultural figures. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240906/attacks-on-sputnik-rt-about-shoring-up-us-institutions-while-attacking-freedom-of-press-1120051423.html russia france turkiye Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International european union censorship, anti-turkiye media, anti-turkey media, censorship of sputnik, censorship of rt https://sputnikglobe.com/20240908/ukrainian-armed-forces-suffer-from-desertion-especially-among-new-recruits---reports-1120079009.html Ukrainian Armed Forces Suffer From Desertion, Especially Among New Recruits - Reports Ukrainian Armed Forces Suffer From Desertion, Especially Among New Recruits - Reports Sputnik International The Ukrainian armed forces are suffering from desertion and insubordination, especially among new recruits, CNN reported, citing the Ukrainian military. 2024-09-08T16:08+0000 2024-09-08T16:08+0000 2024-09-08T16:09+0000 ukraine cnn volodymyr zelensky desertion ukrainian army ukrainian conflict russia's special operation in ukraine https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/04/0d/1117905708_0:160:3072:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_c5667a676f6a8f976bc73102ef303ed4.jpg "Not all mobilized soldiers are leaving their positions, but the majority are. When new guys come here, they see how difficult it is. They see a lot of enemy drones, artillery and mortars They go to the positions once and if they survive, they never return. They either leave their positions, refuse to go into battle, or try to find a way to leave the army," one unit commander, who is currently engaged in battles in the vicinity of Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk), told CNN. Many commanders are not reporting on desertion as they expect the soldiers to return voluntarily and get away with it, the broadcaster reported.The Ukrainian soldiers are also complaining about poor communication between the military units, the broadcaster said, citing six Ukrainian commanders and officers. Martial law was introduced in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and the following day Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on general mobilization. Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 are prohibited from leaving the country for the duration of martial law. Evasion of military service during mobilization in the country is punishable by imprisonment for up to five years.Russia has been conducting a special military operation in Ukraine since February 24, 2022. President Vladimir Putin has said that the operation aims to "protect people subjected to genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that it is necessary to remove military forces and Nazi elements from Ukraine to achieve these goals. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240908/ukraine-loses-over-11220-soldiers-87-tanks-in-russias-kursk-region---defense-ministry-1120078687.html ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International ukrainian army desertion, ukraine army morale, insubordination ukraine, ukrainian conflict https://sputnikglobe.com/20240908/why-central-asia-stops-treating-taliban-as-terrorists-and-seeks-closer-ties-with-afghanistan-1120079377.html Why Central Asia Stops Treating Taliban as Terrorists and Seeks Closer Ties With Afghanistan Why Central Asia Stops Treating Taliban as Terrorists and Seeks Closer Ties With Afghanistan Sputnik International As Central Asian countries gradually stop regarding the Taliban* as a terrorist organization, it becomes evident that these states want to maintain good relations with Afghanistan regardless of what government currently reigns in Kabul, says Rustam Burnashev, professor at the Kazakh-German University. 2024-09-08T17:39+0000 2024-09-08T17:39+0000 2024-09-08T17:39+0000 analysis afghanistan kazakhstan central asia taliban relations https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/15/1116302114_0:0:3068:1727_1920x0_80_0_0_483d26c81c0f81762c208676408fb9fd.jpg It is relations, especially the economic and transport-logistic, that are regarded here as the means to normalize the situation in Afghanistan and to remove the Afghanistan-related threats that have been concentrating in Central Asia, he tells Sputnik.According to Burnashev who specializes in Central Asian security affairs, Kazakhstan simply wants things in Afghanistan to be normal and the economy serves as the main instrument of this normalization.He outlines three vectors of the joint ventures that Afghanistan can engage in together with Central Asian states.1. 'Simple economic cooperation'Namely, there are certain goods that Afghanistan can export to Central Asia (fruits, for example) and import from there.2. Transport and logisticsAfghanistan is regarded as an important and economically advantageous transit zone that can effectively connect our [Central Asian] countries with Southern Asia, assuming that the situation in Afghanistan is normalized and certain infrastructure, roads, railroads and warehouses are built, Burnashev explains.3. Energy projectsSuch projects include the CASA-1000 that would involve supplying electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan, and TAPI, a pipeline that would funnel natural gas from Turkmenistan to India via Afghanistan and Pakistan.**Under UN sanctions for terrorist activities. afghanistan kazakhstan central asia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International central asia taliban relations, kazakhstan afghanistan relations, afghanistan economic projects https://sputnikglobe.com/20240908/yemeni-foreign-minister-reaffirms-support-for-palestinians-in-talks-with-iran-1120073776.html Yemeni Foreign Minister Reaffirms Support for Palestinians in Talks With Iran Yemeni Foreign Minister Reaffirms Support for Palestinians in Talks With Iran Sputnik International Yemeni Foreign Minister Jamal Ahmed Ali Amer and his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, discussed the latest developments in the West Asian region, during which Amer reaffirmed Yemen's support for the Palestinian people in their resistance against Israel, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has said. 2024-09-08T06:50+0000 2024-09-08T06:50+0000 2024-09-08T06:50+0000 world middle east israel iran west iranian foreign ministry hamas https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/07/10/1119387023_0:178:3007:1869_1920x0_80_0_0_eeaf44305fe464e72b8cab4cfc021c2b.jpg "Referring to the escalation of conflicts in the West Asian region the Yemeni foreign minister said his country's policy of supporting the oppressed Palestinian people will not change," the ministry said in a statement. During a phone conversation, they also discussed bilateral relations and regional cooperation. The top Yemeni diplomat expressed hope that the two countries would enhance economic ties, according to the statement. On October 7, 2023, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. In addition, Hamas fighters infiltrated the border areas, opened fire on the military and civilians and took hostages. Israeli authorities say that about 1,200 people were killed during the raid. The Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords in the Gaza Strip and announced a complete blockade of the enclave. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240908/houthis-shot-down-eighth-us-drone-mq-9-reaper-1120073624.html israel iran west Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International yemeni foreign minister jamal ahmed ali amer and his iranian counterpart, abbas araghchi, discussed the latest developments in the west asian region, during which amer reaffirmed yemen's support for the palestinian people in their resistance against israel, the iranian foreign ministry has said. A quartet of $25,000-plus divisions of the Maine Sire Stakes for two- and three-year-old trotters invaded Bangor Raceway at Historic Bass Park on Saturday, Sept. 7 where streaking freshman high-stepper Whatawonder took his eighth consecutive victory. While his opponents are getting closer and closer to the talented son of Whataworkout, the added competition didnt stop the Lisa Watson-trained gelding from copping another wire-to-wire score in his $26,389 two-year-old male trot. Leaving from pylon position, regular pilot Ken Watson sent Whatawonder right to the top where he raced through unhurried fractions of :32.2 and 1:04.3 through the opening half. Stepping on the accelerator into a 1:34.2 (:29.4) third panel, the pacesetter had Libertys Wildcard (Kevin Switzer Jr.) right on his helmet and stablemate Katahdin Victor (Wally Watson) first-over and challenging for the lead. At the head of the stretch, the trotting wonder kicked into high gear and hurried home in :29.1 while matching strides with Libertys Wildcard to prevail by a scant three parts of a length. Tripping the timer in 2:03.3, it was a new lifetime mark for the Barbara Lawson-owned and bred Whatawonder. Stablemate Katahdin Victor finished third in the non-wagering event. In the $26,409 early three-year-old filly trot My Saving Grace nabbed her third win in a row, cruising home by nine lengths in 2:04.2, a new lifetime mark. Driven by Mark Athearn for trainer Gretchen Athearn, the daughter of Shake It Off Lindy is owned by Margaret Thyng. She was bred in Maine by Leighton Property. Twisted Venture (Mike Cushing) finished second and Bernies Legacy (Dave Ingraham) was third. Sophomore trotting gelding Chipper Dale returned to his winning ways as he grabbed his $25,908 division, dropping a full two seconds off of his time badge in the process. Driven by Drew Campbell for trainer Valerie Grondin, the son of Shake It Off Lindy smoked the field past the half and rolled down to the wire in 2:00.1 in front by 9-1/2 lengths. Chipper Dale is owned and was bred by Lynn-Marie Plouffe, and picked up his sixth seasonal victory and a new lifetime mark. Stablemate Pembroke Will (Heath Campbell) finished second and Carrabassett (Mark Athearn) was third. In the only event on the pari-mutuel card, eight two-year-old trotting fillies vied for $27,049 in purse money. Third choice Barbella (Bruce Ranger) was sent out for the early lead into a snappy :30.1 opening panel, with 6-1 longshot Little Shot (Ivan Davies) protecting his two-hole position into the first turn. With the rest of the field scattered by breakers those two continued on past a swift 1:00.2 half and a 1:31.1 third panel. With Barbella doing all of the heavy lifting, Little Shot pushed past the pacesetter in the homestretch to prevail by a length in 2:03. A maiden no more, Little Shot is co-owned (with Shirley Hutchins), trained and was driven by Ivan Davies. Bred by Dr. Douglass Hutchins and Paul Kinnear, the daughter of Noble Venture made her seventh career start a memorable one, paying $15.40 to win. Favourite Blizzards Fury (Switzer) finished third. The Maine Sire Stakes continues on Sunday, Sept. 8 with two-year-old filly pacers and then returns to Bangor on Wednesday for the two-year-old male pacers. The following week the series transitions over to the Farmington Fair for harness racing Monday through Friday with all of the remaining divisions of two- and three-year-old Maine-bred events. Four divisions of the $240,000-plus USD freshman finals will be held at Cumberland on Saturday, Sept. 28. (Maine Sire Stakes) Sage-rubbed pork shoulder at Papalo BBQ J.C. Reid/Contributor Owner-pitmaster Drew Bent at Papalo BBQ in La Mesa, Calif. J.C. Reid/Contributor Left tray: watermelon salad, citrus pickled slaw, saffron red rice, cornbread. Right tray: mole barbecue chicken, sage-rubbed pork shoulder, cherry-glazed pork ribs, herb-smoked beef chuck steak, Alabama-style white sauce, mole sauce, chimichurri, all at Papalo BBQ, La Mesa, Calif. J.C. Reid/Contributor Papalo BBQ in La Mesa, Calif. J.C. Reid/Contributor Watermelon salad with Tajin, fresh lime zest and sea salt at Papalo BBQ J.C. Reid/Contributor Papalo BBQ in La Mesa, Calif. J.C. Reid/Contributor Papalo BBQ in La Mesa, Calif. J.C. Reid/Contributor If you find yourself driving through the Sonoran Desert west of Tucson, Ariz., especially after a rainfall, it is advisable to pull over to the side of the road and take a deep breath. Unlike nearby southwestern deserts, like the land-locked Mojave, the Sonoran benefits from a somewhat tropical climate influenced by the nearby Gulf of California. Parts of this desert get as much as a foot of rain per year. Papalo BBQ 8323 La Mesa Blvd., La Mesa, Calif. sonoranbbq.com Visually, its greener than many of its counterparts and dominated by the majestic saguaro cactus, whose verticality lends an exclamation point to the otherwise level plane of the desert floor. Advertisement Article continues below this ad That floor is populated by a rich variety of plants and trees providing the fragrances notable to any visitor: creosote bush, velvet mesquite, desert sand verbena and a pungent, cilantro-like wild herb known as papalo. This Sonoran feast for the senses is the inspiration for a new barbecue joint in nearby San Diego, Calif.: Papalo BBQ, opened by celebrated local chef Drew Bent. Its one of the most creative and unique interpretations of smoked meat traditions and techniques Ive ever encountered. There are meaty St. Louis-cut pork ribs that are smoked and coated with a bitter-sweet cherry glaze and drizzled with flakes of cilantro and shards of pecans. A smoked pork steak is sage-rubbed and served in thin slices. Smoked chicken is served in a mole-barbecue sauce. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In lieu of traditional brisket, theres a smoked beef chuck steak coated with herb butter. What, no brisket? Its a question Bent gets a lot from locals who are familiar with other joints in the area that feature Texas-ish barbecue, with sliced and sauced brisket. But for now, Bent is sticking with the lower-cost cut of beef rather than pricey brisket, something many Texas barbecue pitmasters are quietly considering. Side dishes are equally creative and traditional, including saffron red rice, a creamy, citrusy pickled coleslaw and a bright salad of watermelon chunks dusted with Tajin (Mexican spice mix), fresh lime zest and sea salt. A fleet of house-made sauces accompanies the rest of the menu a tangy Alabama-style white sauce, a fragrant chimichurri and an earth-sweet mole-based sauce. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Theres a lot going on here. Fortunately, Bents classical training, combined with his own travels and cooking experiences in Mexico, have allowed him to meld Texas-style smoking techniques and the inspiration of the Sonoran Desert into a remarkably cohesive restaurant concept. The concept is doing exactly what I hoped it would do create conversation, says Bent. Technically, Bent is smoking meat with coastal live oak in a J&R Manufacturing Little Red Smokehouse, the smoker of choice for many space-challenged restaurants. He also uses a custom pit designed by another local pitmaster, Brad Cooper of Coops West Texas BBQ. As Texas-style barbecue has swept the U.S., with clones of Franklin BBQ from coast-to-coast, its rare to find a unique vision of what smoked meats can be and taste like. Of course, introducing something creative into a tradition-bound industry like Texas barbecue is always a challenge. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Papalo BBQ is less than a year old, but Bent has already created a menu of favorites combined with a rotating selection of specials, such as mezcal-infused rib tips and smoked beef picanha. North America Cup champ Nijinsky remained unbeaten on Canadian soil this season with a 1:48.4 victory over his stablemate, 1-5 favourite Legendary Hanover, in one of two Simcoe Stakes divisions for three-year-old pacers on Saturday night, Sept. 7 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Driven by Louis-Philippe Roy in the $167,000 open division, Nijinsky (pictured above) muscled off the gate alongside Calicojack Hanover (Tyler Jones), but settled for a spot in third as Calicojack Hanover marched forward to lead into a :27 first quarter. Roy stayed put with Nijinsky until hearing footsteps coming to a :54.2 half. With a rush, Nijinsky grabbed the lead before those footsteps of Legendary Hanover (James MacDonald) loomed nearer to the top. Roy obliged to let Legendary Hanover take the lead into the final turn and stayed engaged from the two-hole heading to three-quarters in 1:21.2. But Nijinsky bullheadedly steamed ahead and overhauled Legendary Hanover in the final eighth to pull away to a 1-1/2-length win. Cupid Shuffle (Sylvain Filion) gave chase in third and Calicojack Hanover settled for fourth. I couldnt really ask for a better trip for my horse, said Roy after the race. Like Ive always said, hes handy and can do any kind of trip. Tonight was the best we couldve hoped for. He has such a huge heart and thats probably what made the difference tonight, added Roy. In the last turn, he almost feels like he struggles following Legendary Hanover Legendarys a big horse, strong and very gifted, [but] Nijinsky just doesnt want to get beat. You make sure you have him a target and hell for sure give you more than 100 per cent of an effort. Anthony Beaton trains Nijinsky, a colt by Bettors Delight out of Pirouette Hanover, for owners West Wins Stable, John Fielding and Mark Dumain. Its hard not to get anxious every time these two race, said Beaton. Its been a special summer for us, all summer really. We just didnt want to see them beat one another up finish one-two, preferably. I thought 'Legendary' raced good, obviously Nijinsky got a great trip, and they both raced great to the wire. Theyll both, Im sure, come out of it good and well be onto the next event. Beaton indicated that next start may be the Little Brown Jug in Delaware, Ohio on Sept. 19. In his career, Nijinsky has won 10 times from 20 starts. Hes now amassed $1,197,582. Nijinsky returned $7.70 to win as the second wagering choice. An aggressive backstretch brush by Doug McNair with Pass Line proved the winning move in the $152,000 Simcoe Stakes for three-year-old pacing fillies as the Dave Menary trainee held off all comers in a 1:51.2 mile. There wasnt a lot of speed early, so I made my mind up to rush her down the backside [and] it worked out good, said McNair afterwards. I think she had a little pop to her. She hasnt been that good on the front yet this year, so I didnt want to pop the plugs and open up a couple and then have her come to a stop on me. I just kept her going, crossed our fingers and she got lucky. McNairs move came after a :28.2 first quarter to disrupt even-money favourite Odds On Platinums dawdle on the lead. Pass Line overtook Odds On Platinum (Sylvain Filion) before a :56.3 half and McNair kept her strong as Stonebridge Halo (Louis-Philippe Roy) mounted a first-over challenge to three-quarters in 1:24. Pass Line held her ground all through the lane as Odds On Platinum bobbled in and out for racetrack, finding room only late to take second by a length. Coco Jo Jo (Jody Jamieson) roared down the center of the track for third and Stonebridge Halo faded to fourth. I wish both fillies were here tonight, said Menary, who had to scratch likely favourite Its A Love Thing due to sickness. But Pass Line picked up the slack and were happy to be holding the trophy. Tonight was a good confidence builder. Ill talk to Ronnie [Burke] and the connections I think theyre contemplating the Jugette with her, but Ill leave that up to him and whatever it takes, well get it done. Pass Line races for owners Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi, Frank Baldachino and Rich Lombardo Racing. An O'Brien Award winner at two, the daughter of All Bets Off out of Breakheart Pass won for just the second time this season in a dozen races and for the 12th time in 25 starts lifetime, good for $929,696 in earnings. She paid $5.10 to win as the second choice. To view Saturday's harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park. (With files from Woodbine) This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain We've long been warned about the looming demise of traditional journalism in the face of digital disruption. But some tech giants, once the very disruptors themselves, have been positioning themselves as journalism's saviors. Programs such as the Google News Initiative promise not only to keep journalism alive, but by enabling innovation, to also help it adapt and thrive into the future. Much of the media industry has welcomed this financial and technical support. For smaller, cash-strapped newsrooms, it can be life-changing. But modern journalism is already heavily dependent on the platforms offered by big tech. Adding new financial dimensions to this relationship raises urgent questions about press independence. We set out to explore how big tech's "philanthrocapitalism" could be reshaping the news industry, focusing on countries in the Global South, where such funding can play an outsized role. Our findings suggest an emerging web of dependency between cash-strapped newsrooms and Silicon Valley's deep pockets. That offers some important lessons, both for media organizations and the tech giants themselves. A double-edged sword Big tech is now deeply enmeshed with modern journalism. Platforms such as Google and Facebook are at the heart of the way news is distributed, and new players like OpenAI are revolutionizing the way we create content. These companies admittedly provide vital digital infrastructure that has enabled much of the innovation we've seen in journalism over the past decade. But they're also the entities that disrupted the traditional news business model in the first place. Google News Initiative's Innovation Challenge offers selected news organizations grants to explore new ways of incorporating technology into journalism. Launched in 2018, it has provided about A$44 million for more than 200 projects in 47 countries. To investigate the news-tech relationship further, we conducted 36 in-depth interviews with media organizations in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East that received grants as part of this program. The regions included in our study are all part of what's known as the Global South, where relative political instability, the digital divide, limited funding and a lack of media literacy can all make news organizations more vulnerable to the influence of big tech. Great ideas, tough to implement Our study uncovered a wide range of exciting journalistic technology projects launched by the Google News Initiative's Innovation Challenge. But many struggled to progress beyond the initial stages or sustain themselves long term. In Brazil, for example, two promising projects were ultimately discontinued. The Lume app, developed in partnership with nine independent journalism organizations, was designed to make local news more accessible for people with vision impairments. Another, ConfereAI, used artificial intelligence to help users fact check the accuracy of links and short texts. Both projects got off to a promising start. However, for financial and technical reasons, their development could not be sustained after launch. Across all of our respondents, three-quarters expressed difficulties implementing new technology. Many said they simply lacked the resources or expertise. This can create a cycle of dependency on further funding or support. News and technology aren't an easy cultural fit We also found many news organizations were outsourcing technical development to companies and individuals based outside their own country, such as the United States, Canada or in the European Union. That might save money and time in the short term. But as a broader trend, it raises serious concerns about how well newsrooms are being empowered to build their own capabilities, and the potential for new forms of "digital colonialism". Those that did try to hire locally faced their own challenges. Many media organizations, especially in Africa, struggled to pay high enough salaries to attract required tech talent. Tech companies typically offer higher pay than many of these newsrooms can afford, often in foreign currencies like dollars or euros. Some success stories That isn't to say there weren't any success stories. Google even encouraged some organizations to plan for long term sustainability early on, including Stears, a legacy media company in Nigeria. Stears' project proposed developing an easy-to-use subscription management service. This would allow African publishers to implement paywalls and monetize their audiences without needing technical expertise. Stears acknowledged the benefits of Google's advice to plan for the long term. "If sustainability wasn't a major consideration from the beginning, things could have been different because the Google team encouraged us to prioritize sustainability from the outset, it will be a matter of returning to our normal day-to-day operations and aligning our expenses accordingly." But this was unfortunately not a reality for many other projects that were ultimately discontinued. At least eight projects from the organizations we interviewed were phased out or never made publicly available. Big tech is under pressure Google has been criticized for profiting from news without paying for it. By promoting technological innovation in media, Google is positioning itself as a "philanthrocapitalist" organization. Its initiatives are presented as support for the news industry, and help build goodwill among journalists, media organizations and policymakers. But we should be skeptical, because this strategy also serves Google's broader interests. If being seen to fund innovation and training programs can deliver a more favorable regulatory environment, it might ultimately help the tech giant avoid stricter regulations forcing direct payments to news publishers. Regulators around the world are increasingly throwing their weight behind such proposals. But in many regions, including Brazil, Google has been pushing back hard. Journalism must embrace tech, but carefully To survive, journalism must continue to embrace technology. But doing so should never cost newsrooms their independence. News organizations should prioritize building direct relationships with their audience to reduce reliance on third-party platforms. They should also stay informed about evolving regulations, and actively participate in policy discussions shaping the future of the news-tech relationship. Google itself can still make a positive contribution to journalism. But our findings suggest that to enhance this program, Google should broaden its funding criteria to support a more diverse range of news organizations over a longer time period. Support should also be extended beyond technological innovations to encompass newsroom operations and other journalistic projects. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The secret to avoiding red lights during rush hour in Utah's largest city might be as simple as following a bus. Transportation officials have spent the past few years refining a system in which radio transmitters inside commuter buses talk directly to the traffic signals in the Salt Lake City area, requesting a few extra seconds of green when they approach. Congestion on these so-called smart streets is already noticeably smoother, but it's just a small preview of the high-tech upgrades that could be coming soon to roads across Utah and ultimately across the U.S. Buoyed by a $20 million federal grant and an ambitious calling to "Connect the West," the goal is to ensure every vehicle in Utah, as well as neighboring Colorado and Wyoming, can eventually communicate with one another and the roadside infrastructure about congestion, accidents, road hazards and weather conditions. With that knowledge, drivers can instantly know they should take another route, bypassing the need for a human to manually send an alert to an electronic street sign or the mapping apps found on cellphones. "A vehicle can tell us a lot about what's going on in the roadway," said Blaine Leonard, a transportation technology engineer at the Utah Department of Transportation. "Maybe it braked really hard, or the windshield wipers are on, or the wheels are slipping. The car anonymously broadcasts to us that blip of data 10 times a second, giving us a constant stream of information." When cars transmit information in real time to other cars and the various sensors posted along and above the road, the technology is known broadly as vehicle-to-everything, or V2X. Last month, the U.S. Department of Transportation unveiled a national blueprint for how state and local governments and private companies should deploy the various V2X projects already in the works to make sure everyone is on the same page. The overarching objective is universal: dramatically curb roadway deaths and serious injuries, which have recently spiked to historic levels. A 2016 analysis by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded V2X could help. Implementing just two of the earliest vehicle-to-everything applications nationwide would prevent 439,000 to 615,000 crashes and save 987 to 1,366 lives, its research found. Dan Langenkamp has been lobbying for road safety improvements since his wife Sarah Langenkamp, a U.S. diplomat, was killed by a truck while biking in Maryland in 2022. Joining officials at the news conference announcing the vehicle-to-everything blueprint, Langenkamp urged governments across the U.S. to roll out the technology as widely and quickly as possible. "How can we as government officials, as manufacturers, and just as Americans not push this technology forward as fast as we possibly can, knowing that we have the power to rescue ourselves from this disaster, this crisis on our roads," he said. Most of the public resistance has been about privacy. Although the V2X rollout plan commits to safeguarding personal information, some privacy advocates remain skeptical. Critics say that while the system may not track specific vehicles, it can compile enough identifying characteristicseven something as seemingly innocuous as tire pressure levelsthat it wouldn't take too much work to figure out who is behind the wheel and where they are going. "Once you get enough unique information, you can reasonably say the car that drives down this street at this time that has this particular weight class probably belongs to the mayor," said Cliff Braun, associate director of technology, policy and research for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which advocates for digital privacy. The federal blueprint says the nation's top 75 metropolitan areas should aspire to have at least 25% of their signalized intersections equipped with the technology by 2028, along with higher milestones in subsequent years. With its fast start, the Salt Lake City area already has surpassed 20%. Of course, upgrading the signals is the relatively easy part. The most important data comes from the cars themselves. While most new ones have connected features, they don't all work the same way. Before embarking on the "Connect the West" plan, Utah officials tested what they call the nation's first radio-based, connected vehicle technology, using only the data supplied by fleet vehicles such as buses and snow plows. One early pilot program upgraded the bus route on a busy stretch of Redwood Road, and it isn't just the bus riders who have noticed a difference. "Whatever they're doing is working," said Jenny Duenas, assistant director of nearby Panda Child Care, where 80 children between 6 weeks and 12 years old are enrolled. "We haven't seen traffic for a while. We have to transport our kiddos out of here, so when it's a lot freer, it's a lot easier to get out of the daycare." Casey Brock, bus communications supervisor for the Utah Transit Authority, said most of the changes might not be noticeable to drivers. However, even shaving a few seconds off a bus route can dramatically reduce congestion while improving safety, he said. "From a commuter standpoint it may be, 'Oh, I had a good traffic day,'" Brock said. "They don't have to know all the mechanisms going on behind the scenes." This summer, Michigan opened a 3-mile (4.8-kilometer) stretch of a connected and automated vehicle corridor planned for Interstate 94 between Ann Arbor and Detroit. The pilot project features digital infrastructure, including sensors and cameras installed on posts along the highway, that will help drivers prepare for traffic slowdowns by sending notifications about such things as debris and stalled vehicles. Similar technology is being employed for a smart freight corridor around Austin, Texas, that aims to inform truck drivers of road conditions and eventually cater to self-driving trucks. Darran Anderson, director of strategy and innovation at the Texas Department of Transportation, said officials hope the technology not only boosts the state's massive freight industry but also helps reverse a troubling trend that has spanned more than two decades. The last day without a road fatality in Texas was Nov. 7, 2000. Cavnue, a Washington, D.C.-based subsidiary of Alphabet's Sidewalk Infrastructure partners, funded the Michigan project and was awarded a contract to develop the one in Texas. The company has set a goal of becoming an industry leader in smart roads technology. Chris Armstrong, Cavnue's vice president of product, calls V2X "a digital seatbelt for the car" but says it only works if cars and roadside infrastructure can communicate seamlessly with one another. "Instead of speaking 50 different languages, overnight we'd like to all speak the same language," he said. 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hafnia Limited (NYSE:HAFN Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 12,782,157 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $107,651,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned 2.52% of Hafnia at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Hafnia during the 2nd quarter worth $148,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank acquired a new stake in shares of Hafnia during the second quarter worth about $528,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Hafnia during the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Hafnia in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,421,000. Get Hafnia alerts: Hafnia Stock Performance Shares of HAFN stock opened at $6.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.57. Hafnia Limited has a 52 week low of $5.66 and a 52 week high of $8.99. The businesss 50 day moving average is $7.77. Hafnia Increases Dividend Hafnia Company Profile The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a $0.4049 dividend. This is a boost from Hafnias previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 23.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. (Free Report) Hafnia Limited is a tanker owner, transporting oil, oil products and chemicals for major national and international oil companies, chemical companies as well as trading and utility companies. Hafnia Limited is based in SINGAPORE. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HAFN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Hafnia Limited (NYSE:HAFN Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Hafnia Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hafnia and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of American Shared Hospital Services (NYSEAMERICAN:AMS Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the stock. American Shared Hospital Services Stock Down 1.0 % Shares of American Shared Hospital Services stock opened at $3.06 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. American Shared Hospital Services has a 52 week low of $2.16 and a 52 week high of $4.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.25 and a beta of 0.70. Get American Shared Hospital Services alerts: American Shared Hospital Services (NYSEAMERICAN:AMS Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.06. American Shared Hospital Services had a return on equity of 5.39% and a net margin of 18.41%. The company had revenue of $7.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.15 million. As a group, research analysts predict that American Shared Hospital Services will post 0.29 EPS for the current year. Institutional Trading of American Shared Hospital Services About American Shared Hospital Services Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of American Shared Hospital Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in American Shared Hospital Services by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 179,637 shares of the companys stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 8,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in American Shared Hospital Services by 31.2% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 55,501 shares of the companys stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 13,201 shares in the last quarter. 23.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. (Get Free Report) American Shared Hospital Services provides stereotactic radiosurgery and advanced radiation therapy equipment. It operates in two segments, Medical Equipment Leasing, and Retail. The company offers radiosurgery equipment for the Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery, a non-invasive procedure to treat malignant and benign brain tumors, and arteriovenous malformations, as well as for trigeminal neuralgia. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for American Shared Hospital Services Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for American Shared Hospital Services and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Royal Bank of Canada restated their underperform rating on shares of Asana (NYSE:ASAN Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $10.00 price target on the stock. A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ASAN. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Asana from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Asana from $28.00 to $23.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 31st. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Asana from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Asana from $19.00 to $15.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a market outperform rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Asana in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $14.67. Get Asana alerts: View Our Latest Stock Analysis on ASAN Asana Stock Performance Shares of ASAN stock opened at $11.78 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of -10.07 and a beta of 1.16. Asana has a 12-month low of $11.29 and a 12-month high of $23.44. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $13.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.62. Asana (NYSE:ASAN Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 3rd. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.03. Asana had a negative return on equity of 77.48% and a negative net margin of 38.55%. The company had revenue of $179.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $177.68 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.31) earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Asana will post -1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Insider Buying and Selling In other news, CFO Tim M. Wan sold 5,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $75,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,063,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,958,635. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Asana news, insider Eleanor B. Lacey sold 9,000 shares of Asana stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.44, for a total value of $102,960.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 389,149 shares in the company, valued at $4,451,864.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Tim M. Wan sold 5,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $75,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 1,063,909 shares in the company, valued at $15,958,635. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 84,443 shares of company stock worth $1,026,976. 63.97% of the stock is owned by insiders. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Asana Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Asana in the second quarter valued at $17,100,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Asana in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,050,000. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in Asana in the second quarter valued at $146,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Asana by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 49,096 shares of the companys stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,888 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Asana by 25.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 32,503 shares of the companys stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 6,634 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.21% of the companys stock. About Asana (Get Free Report) Asana, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates a work management platform for individuals, team leads, and executives in the United States and internationally. Its platform helps organizations to orchestrate work from daily tasks to cross-functional strategic initiatives; manage work across a portfolio of projects or workflows, see progress against goals, identify bottlenecks, resource constraints, and milestones; and communicate company-wide goals, monitor status, and oversee work across projects and portfolios to gain real-time insights. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Asana Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Asana and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com downgraded shares of ASE Technology (NYSE:ASX Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday. Separately, Morgan Stanley lowered ASE Technology from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Get ASE Technology alerts: Check Out Our Latest Report on ASE Technology ASE Technology Price Performance Shares of ASX stock opened at $8.94 on Wednesday. ASE Technology has a twelve month low of $7.25 and a twelve month high of $12.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.22. ASE Technology (NYSE:ASX Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The semiconductor company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.11. ASE Technology had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 9.90%. The company had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that ASE Technology will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year. Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASE Technology Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ASE Technology in the second quarter valued at about $1,901,000. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of ASE Technology by 376.7% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 121,125 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $1,383,000 after purchasing an additional 95,714 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in ASE Technology by 105.3% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 982,028 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $11,215,000 after purchasing an additional 503,765 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in ASE Technology by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,840,090 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $32,434,000 after purchasing an additional 266,991 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of ASE Technology by 528.5% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 478,766 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $5,468,000 after buying an additional 402,585 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 6.80% of the companys stock. About ASE Technology (Get Free Report) ASE Technology Holding Co, Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides semiconductors packaging and testing, and electronic manufacturing services in the United States, Taiwan, Asia, Europe, and internationally. It develops, constructs, sells, leases, and manages real estate properties; produces substrates; offers information software, equipment leasing, investment advisory, and warehousing management services; commercial complex, after-sales, and support services; manages parking lot services; processes and sells computer and communication peripherals, electronic components, telecommunications equipment, and motherboards; and imports and exports goods and technology. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for ASE Technology Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ASE Technology and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. A 300-acre wildfire has erupted on the Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge, according to the Brazoria County Fire Marshal's Office. Houston Chronicle A Katy man who previously had been accused of assaulting his wife on three occasions since 2009 now faces felony murder charges in connection with her death. Houston police allege Walden Whitaker, 41, fatally stabbed his wife, Dolores Kelly. Kelly was found dead in the bedroom of their shared apartment near Franz Road in Katy on Sept. 1, according to ABC13. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Whitaker was arrested late in the afternoon that same day. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Biohaven (NYSE:BHVN Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on BHVN. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Biohaven from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. HC Wainwright reiterated a buy rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Biohaven in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Biohaven in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. They issued an overweight rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Biohaven in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating on shares of Biohaven in a report on Monday, August 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Biohaven has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $54.44. Get Biohaven alerts: Read Our Latest Report on Biohaven Biohaven Stock Performance BHVN opened at $36.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.40 and a beta of 1.30. Biohaven has a 1-year low of $16.45 and a 1-year high of $62.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.81 and a 200-day moving average of $41.75. Biohaven (NYSE:BHVN Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($3.64) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($1.72) by ($1.92). As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Biohaven will post -8.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Insider Buying and Selling at Biohaven In other news, Director John W. Childs bought 28,400 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $35.67 per share, with a total value of $1,013,028.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,339,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,458,561.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 16.00% of the companys stock. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Biohaven A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BHVN. Algert Global LLC raised its holdings in shares of Biohaven by 5.9% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 7,402 shares of the companys stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Biohaven by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 8,291 shares of the companys stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC increased its holdings in Biohaven by 2.3% in the second quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC now owns 21,850 shares of the companys stock worth $758,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Biohaven by 3.7% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,575 shares of the companys stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Biohaven by 4.7% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,431 shares of the companys stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.78% of the companys stock. Biohaven Company Profile (Get Free Report) Biohaven Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, focuses on discovering, developing, and commercializing therapies for immunology, neuroscience, and oncology worldwide. The company's pipeline products include Troriluzole, which is in Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of neurological and neuropsychiatric illnesses; BHV-5500 that blocks glutamate signaling mediated by post-synaptic NMDA receptors; Taldefgrobep Alfa, which is in Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy and obesity; BHV-7000, a candidate in Phase 2/3 clinical trials for the treatment of focal and generalized epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder; BHV-2100 that is in Phase 1 clinical trials for the treatment of migraines and neuropathic pain; and BHV-8000, a product candidate in Phase 1 clinical trials for the treatment of early Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, sclerosis, and amyloid-related imaging abnormalities. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Biohaven Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Biohaven and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Canadian Utilities (TSE:CU Free Report) had its price objective upped by BMO Capital Markets from C$35.50 to C$37.00 in a research report released on Thursday, BayStreet.CA reports. CU has been the topic of a number of other reports. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Canadian Utilities from C$34.00 to C$35.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. National Bankshares upped their price objective on shares of Canadian Utilities from C$34.00 to C$37.00 in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Canadian Utilities from C$34.00 to C$36.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Canadian Utilities has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of C$36.17. Get Canadian Utilities alerts: Read Our Latest Report on Canadian Utilities Canadian Utilities Stock Performance Shares of CU opened at C$34.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 149.94, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.29. Canadian Utilities has a twelve month low of C$28.13 and a twelve month high of C$35.05. The firms 50 day moving average price is C$31.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$31.16. The firm has a market cap of C$7.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.65. Canadian Utilities (TSE:CU Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported C$0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of C$0.42 by C$0.01. Canadian Utilities had a net margin of 16.43% and a return on equity of 8.72%. The firm had revenue of C$860.00 million for the quarter. On average, analysts forecast that Canadian Utilities will post 2.4100069 EPS for the current fiscal year. Canadian Utilities Dividend Announcement The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.453 per share. This represents a $1.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.25%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. Canadian Utilitiess dividend payout ratio is presently 91.41%. Canadian Utilities Company Profile (Get Free Report) Canadian Utilities Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the electricity, natural gas, renewables, pipelines, liquids, and retail energy businesses in Canada, Australia, and internationally. It operates through ATCO Energy Systems, ATCO EnPower, and Corporate & Other segments. The ATCO Energy Systems segment provides regulated electricity transmission and distribution services in northern and central east Alberta, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and the Lloydminster area of Saskatchewan; and integrated natural gas transmission and distribution services in Alberta, the Lloydminster area of Saskatchewan, and Western Australia. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Canadian Utilities Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Canadian Utilities and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Credit Suisse FI Large Cap Growth Enhanced ETN (NYSEARCA:FLGE Get Free Report) traded down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $809.53 and last traded at $809.53. 3,100 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 352% from the average session volume of 686 shares. The stock had previously closed at $818.83. Credit Suisse FI Large Cap Growth Enhanced ETN Stock Down 1.1 % The businesss 50-day moving average price is $809.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $809.53. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Credit Suisse FI Large Cap Growth Enhanced ETN Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Credit Suisse FI Large Cap Growth Enhanced ETN and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Acadian Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL Free Report) by 61.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 537,729 shares of the technology companys stock after selling 861,916 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Dell Technologies worth $74,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new stake in shares of Dell Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in Dell Technologies by 58.2% during the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 223 shares of the technology companys stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Dell Technologies in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in Dell Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Dell Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. 38.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Dell Technologies alerts: Dell Technologies Trading Down 4.8 % NYSE:DELL opened at $102.00 on Friday. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $117.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.90. Dell Technologies Inc. has a 1-year low of $63.90 and a 1-year high of $179.70. Dell Technologies Announces Dividend Dell Technologies ( NYSE:DELL Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The technology company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. Dell Technologies had a net margin of 4.32% and a negative return on equity of 182.71%. The business had revenue of $25.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Dell Technologies Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year. The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 23rd. Dell Technologiess dividend payout ratio is currently 36.33%. Analyst Ratings Changes Several research analysts recently weighed in on DELL shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Dell Technologies from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Dell Technologies from $155.00 to $128.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Dell Technologies from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Dell Technologies from $125.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Dell Technologies from $155.00 to $140.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $136.80. Get Our Latest Analysis on Dell Technologies Insider Buying and Selling In other Dell Technologies news, CMO Jane Tunnell sold 3,624 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.98, for a total value of $529,031.52. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 89,294 shares in the company, valued at $13,035,138.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CMO Jane Tunnell sold 3,624 shares of Dell Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.98, for a total transaction of $529,031.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 89,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,035,138.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David W. Dorman sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.26, for a total value of $10,144,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 114,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,462,517.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,902,278 shares of company stock worth $942,086,320. Corporate insiders own 46.70% of the companys stock. Dell Technologies Profile (Free Report) Dell Technologies Inc designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells, and supports various comprehensive and integrated solutions, products, and services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) and Client Solutions Group (CSG). Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Dell Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Dell Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of DiamondPeak Holdings Corp. (OTCMKTS:DPHCU Get Free Report) were down 13.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $19.76 and last traded at $20.45. Approximately 65,400 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 32% from the average daily volume of 49,678 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.69. DiamondPeak Trading Down 13.7 % The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $20.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.45. About DiamondPeak (Get Free Report) DiamondPeak Holdings Corp. does not have significant operations. It intends to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses. The company was founded in 2018 and is based in New York, New York. Read More Receive News & Ratings for DiamondPeak Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for DiamondPeak and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSEARCA:XRT Free Report) by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 19,354 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 1,222 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLCs holdings in SPDR S&P Retail ETF were worth $1,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in XRT. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of SPDR S&P Retail ETF during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of SPDR S&P Retail ETF during the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SPDR S&P Retail ETF by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 700 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of SPDR S&P Retail ETF during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SPDR S&P Retail ETF by 36.3% during the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 759 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Get SPDR S&P Retail ETF alerts: SPDR S&P Retail ETF Stock Down 1.7 % XRT opened at $72.52 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.25. SPDR S&P Retail ETF has a 52 week low of $57.48 and a 52 week high of $80.10. The company has a market capitalization of $612.79 million, a PE ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.20. SPDR S&P Retail ETF Company Profile SPDR S&P Retail ETF (the Fund) seeks to replicate as closely as possible the performance of the S&P Retail Select Industry Index (the Index). The Index is an equal weighted market cap index. The Index represents the retail sub-industry portion of the S&P Total Market Index. The Fund invests in industries, such as apparel retail, automotive retail, food retail, department stores, Internet retail, general merchandise stores, drug retail, and hypermarkets and super centers. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding XRT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSEARCA:XRT Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for SPDR S&P Retail ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for SPDR S&P Retail ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG Free Report) had its price objective trimmed by Susquehanna from $159.00 to $158.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a positive rating on the energy exploration companys stock. Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on EOG Resources from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of EOG Resources from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an overweight rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a peer perform rating for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $139.00 to $125.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EOG Resources currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $143.95. Get EOG Resources alerts: Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on EOG EOG Resources Trading Down 1.0 % Shares of EOG Resources stock opened at $120.35 on Wednesday. EOG Resources has a 52-week low of $108.94 and a 52-week high of $139.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.17 billion, a PE ratio of 9.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The companys fifty day moving average price is $126.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.08. EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy exploration company reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.98 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.07 billion. EOG Resources had a net margin of 30.33% and a return on equity of 25.42%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that EOG Resources will post 12.2 EPS for the current year. EOG Resources Dividend Announcement The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 17th. EOG Resourcess dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%. Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, EVP Michael P. Donaldson sold 11,037 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.50, for a total value of $1,429,291.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,250 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $9,615,375. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.48, for a total value of $505,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 35,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,434,135.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael P. Donaldson sold 11,037 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.50, for a total transaction of $1,429,291.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,250 shares in the company, valued at $9,615,375. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,537 shares of company stock worth $2,751,612. Company insiders own 0.30% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On EOG Resources A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EOG. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in EOG Resources by 59.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,420,916 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $3,074,660,000 after acquiring an additional 9,455,621 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in EOG Resources by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,948,119 shares of the energy exploration companys stock worth $598,475,000 after buying an additional 1,029,727 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,564,463 shares of the energy exploration companys stock worth $1,478,401,000 after buying an additional 766,056 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,840,705 shares of the energy exploration companys stock worth $609,300,000 after buying an additional 403,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 28,889,715 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $3,693,261,000 after acquiring an additional 373,365 shares in the last quarter. 89.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About EOG Resources (Get Free Report) EOG Resources, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, explores for, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas primarily in producing basins in the United States, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and internationally. The company was formerly known as Enron Oil & Gas Company. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for EOG Resources Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for EOG Resources and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF (NYSEARCA:KSA Free Report) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,170 shares of the companys stock after selling 280 shares during the quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC owned about 0.08% of iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF worth $576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF in the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF by 17.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,225 shares of the companys stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 12,654 shares of the companys stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF during the 1st quarter valued at $522,000. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF during the first quarter worth about $688,000. Get iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF alerts: iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF Stock Performance KSA stock opened at $41.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $780.91 million, a P/E ratio of 17.50 and a beta of 0.58. iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF has a 1 year low of $36.21 and a 1 year high of $45.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.41. iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF Profile The iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF (KSA) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI Saudi Arabia IMI 25-50 index, a market-cap-weighted index of Saudi Arabian firms covering 99% of the market cap spectrum. KSA was launched on Sep 16, 2015 and is managed by BlackRock. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KSA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF (NYSEARCA:KSA Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Issuer Direct (NYSE:ISDR Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday morning. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the stock. Issuer Direct Price Performance Shares of NYSE ISDR opened at $10.49 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $9.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.67. Issuer Direct has a 1-year low of $7.61 and a 1-year high of $21.00. The company has a market cap of $40.04 million, a PE ratio of 52.45 and a beta of 0.75. Get Issuer Direct alerts: Issuer Direct (NYSE:ISDR Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $7.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.62 million. Issuer Direct had a positive return on equity of 5.86% and a negative net margin of 1.97%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Issuer Direct will post 0.54 EPS for the current year. Insider Activity Issuer Direct Company Profile In related news, insider Topline Capital Management, Ll acquired 4,744 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $7.80 per share, with a total value of $37,003.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 662,855 shares in the company, valued at $5,170,269. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link . In related news, insider Topline Capital Management, Ll acquired 4,744 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $7.80 per share, with a total value of $37,003.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 662,855 shares in the company, valued at $5,170,269. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link . Also, major shareholder Topline Capital Partners, Lp acquired 22,469 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $7.83 per share, for a total transaction of $175,932.27. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 685,324 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,366,086.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here . Insiders bought a total of 51,153 shares of company stock worth $444,409 over the last 90 days. 26.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. (Get Free Report) Issuer Direct Corporation operates as a communications and compliance company, provides solutions for both public relations and investor relations professionals in the United States and internationally. The company provides press release distribution, media databases, media monitoring, and newsrooms through media advantage platform; ACCESSWIRE, a news dissemination and media outreach service; and Webcaster Platform, a cloud-based webcast, webinar, and virtual meeting platform that delivers live and on-demand streaming of events to audiences of various sizes, as well as allows customers to create, produce, and deliver events. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Issuer Direct Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Issuer Direct and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shore Capital reiterated their house stock rating on shares of James Cropper (LON:CRPR Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Digital Look reports. James Cropper Stock Down 2.0 % Shares of CRPR opened at GBX 250 ($3.29) on Wednesday. The businesss 50 day moving average is GBX 269.85 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 299.56. The company has a market capitalization of 23.88 million, a PE ratio of -595.24 and a beta of 0.52. James Cropper has a 12-month low of GBX 212 ($2.79) and a 12-month high of GBX 828 ($10.89). The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 96.80. Get James Cropper alerts: About James Cropper (Get Free Report) Featured Articles James Cropper PLC manufactures and sells papers products and advanced materials. It operates through Paper, Colourform, and Technical Fibre Products segments. The company offers specialty papers comprising of packaging, art, technical, and print papers. In addition, It offers moulded fiber products. Further, the company manufactures nonwovens material, board, metal coated carbon fibers, and electrochemical materials, as well as involved in paper converter activities. Receive News & Ratings for James Cropper Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for James Cropper and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. On the morning of September 8, the second China (Bozhou) - RCEP Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry Cooperation Conference was held in Bozhou, where the establishment of the RCEP TCM Industry Cooperation Council was announced. The secretariat will be permanently located in Bozhou. Since the first cooperation meeting during the 2023 TCM Expo, Bozhou has actively participated in open development discussions and exchanges with ASEAN and RCEP regional cooperation. The city has organized businesses to visit countries and regions such as Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam, hosting a series of promotional activities and business negotiations. Economic and trade ties have become increasingly close, with 213 enterprises engaging in trade with RCEP countries, achieving 17 new cooperation intentions, signing 14 trade orders totaling 40 million yuan. From January to July this year, the import and export volume with RCEP countries reached 940 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.7%, accounting for 35.7% of the city's total import and export volume. RCEP is the world's largest free trade agreement in terms of population coverage and economic scale, providing Bozhou with greater opportunities and space to seize the moment. During this year's cooperation conference, Bozhou signed memorandums of cooperation with the Philippine Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the Indonesian Traditional Health Organization Association, aiming to establish cooperative relationships with six of the ten ASEAN countries and 11 industry associations. The scope will further expand into cultural tourism, green food, and trade logistics. Bozhou TCM Group, Hefu Pharmaceutical, and Shenglin Pharmaceutical will hold signing ceremonies with several companies from Southeast Asia. Bozhou TCM Group, as the only state-controlled pharmaceutical company in Bozhou, marks a deeper involvement of state-owned capital in RCEP industry cooperation, which will undoubtedly accelerate the "going global" efforts of more local enterprises and establish cooperative relationships with businesses in various countries. Source: anhuinews.com Caroline Wilburn is a breaking news reporter for the Houston Chronicle. A May graduate of Texas A&M University, Caroline worked as an election stringer for the Associated Press and as a breaking news fellow at the Texas Tribune. At the Tribune, she got a crash course in interpreting data, distilling complicated policy and following statewide trends on a tight deadline. Shes also a skilled video editor and podcast producer. She won a first-place award for audio news production at the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its stake in KB Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:KB Free Report) by 58.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,304 shares of the banks stock after selling 4,600 shares during the quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.s holdings in KB Financial Group were worth $187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KB. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in KB Financial Group by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 370,030 shares of the banks stock worth $19,267,000 after buying an additional 64,000 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in KB Financial Group by 3.9% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 267,625 shares of the banks stock valued at $15,146,000 after purchasing an additional 10,014 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in KB Financial Group by 8.2% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 254,968 shares of the banks stock valued at $13,276,000 after purchasing an additional 19,260 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KB Financial Group by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 130,659 shares of the banks stock worth $6,803,000 after purchasing an additional 10,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of KB Financial Group by 195.1% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 100,447 shares of the banks stock valued at $5,233,000 after buying an additional 66,413 shares during the last quarter. 11.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get KB Financial Group alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of KB Financial Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. KB Financial Group Stock Performance KB Financial Group stock traded down $2.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $61.61. 191,168 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 203,407. KB Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.57 and a 12 month high of $67.40. The firm has a market cap of $24.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.69, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $62.33 and a 200 day moving average of $56.78. KB Financial Group (NYSE:KB Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The bank reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter. KB Financial Group had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 7.29%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KB Financial Group Inc. will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year. About KB Financial Group (Free Report) KB Financial Group Inc provides a range of banking and related financial services to consumers and corporations in South Korea, the United States, New Zealand, China, Cambodia, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, and internationally. The company operates through Retail Banking, Corporate Banking, Other Banking Services, Credit Card, Securities, Life Insurance, and Non-Life Insurance segments. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for KB Financial Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for KB Financial Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Kingfisher plc (LON:KGF Get Free Report)s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 254.92 ($3.35) and traded as high as GBX 277.50 ($3.65). Kingfisher shares last traded at GBX 275 ($3.62), with a volume of 2,502,997 shares. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KGF. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a GBX 250 ($3.29) target price on shares of Kingfisher in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Kingfisher to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the company from GBX 245 ($3.22) to GBX 310 ($4.08) in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an underweight rating on shares of Kingfisher in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Get Kingfisher alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Kingfisher Kingfisher Trading Down 0.6 % Kingfisher Company Profile The businesss fifty day simple moving average is GBX 272.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 255.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 37.49, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of 5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,527.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.98. (Get Free Report) Kingfisher plc, together with its subsidiaries, supplies home improvement products and services primarily in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, and internationally. It also operates retail stores under the B&Q, Castorama, Brico Depot, Screwfix, TradePoint, and Koctas brands. The company sells its products through stores and e-commerce channels. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Kingfisher Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Kingfisher and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (OTCMKTS:MTENY Get Free Report) and Nuvera Communications (OTCMKTS:NUVR Get Free Report) are both small-cap utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends. Analyst Ratings This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Mahanagar Telephone Nigam and Nuvera Communications, as provided by MarketBeat. Get Mahanagar Telephone Nigam alerts: Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Mahanagar Telephone Nigam 0 0 0 0 N/A Nuvera Communications 0 0 0 0 N/A Valuation and Earnings Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Mahanagar Telephone Nigam $314.01 million 0.00 -$520.82 million N/A N/A Nuvera Communications $65.79 million 0.63 -$3.21 million ($1.32) -6.10 This table compares Mahanagar Telephone Nigam and Nuvera Communications revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation. Nuvera Communications has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Mahanagar Telephone Nigam. Institutional and Insider Ownership 13.4% of Nuvera Communications shares are held by institutional investors. 11.3% of Nuvera Communications shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth. Profitability This table compares Mahanagar Telephone Nigam and Nuvera Communications net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Mahanagar Telephone Nigam N/A N/A N/A Nuvera Communications -11.27% 1.71% 0.65% Volatility & Risk Mahanagar Telephone Nigam has a beta of 3.77, indicating that its share price is 277% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nuvera Communications has a beta of 0.29, indicating that its share price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Summary Nuvera Communications beats Mahanagar Telephone Nigam on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks. About Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (Get Free Report) Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunication services in India and Mauritius. It operates in two segments: Basic and Other Services; and Cellular Services. The company offers basic telephony, mobile, broadband, and other data services. It also provides cloud services, Wi-Fi solutions, e-governance projects, managed services, turnkey ICT solutions, GIS based services, capacity building and skill development services, etc.; and operates data centers. The company was founded in 1882 and is based in New Delhi, India. About Nuvera Communications (Get Free Report) Nuvera Communications, Inc. operates as a diversified communications company in the United States. The company offers broadband Internet access and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) phone services; voice services to make and receive telephone calls within a defined local calling area; and network access services to other communication carriers for the use of its facilities to terminate or originate long distance calls on its fiber network. It also provides video services, including commercial TV programming, cable television services, and video-on-demand services; data services for business and residential customers; email and managed services comprising web hosting and design, online file back up, and online file storage; directory assistance, operator service, and long-distance private lines; directory publishing, bill processing, and other customer services; and fiber-delivered communications and managed information technology solutions, as well as sells and services customer premise equipment. In addition, the company is involved in the retail sale and service of cellular phones and accessories; and the operation of various IPTV and CATV systems. The company serves communities in Minnesota and Iowa through customer service call centers, its website, and commissioned sales representatives. The company was formerly known as New Ulm Telecom, Inc. and changed its name to Nuvera Communications, Inc. in June 2018. Nuvera Communications, Inc. was incorporated in 1905 and is headquartered in New Ulm, Minnesota. Receive News & Ratings for Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Mahanagar Telephone Nigam and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. MRA Advisory Group purchased a new stake in shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,535 shares of the energy exploration companys stock, valued at approximately $319,000. A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 241.5% in the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 11,250 shares of the energy exploration companys stock worth $1,416,000 after buying an additional 7,956 shares during the period. Kerusso Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in EOG Resources in the second quarter worth about $2,549,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in EOG Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,251,000. Gallacher Capital Management LLC increased its position in EOG Resources by 251.0% during the 2nd quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 7,701 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $969,000 after purchasing an additional 5,507 shares during the period. Finally, Umpqua Bank purchased a new position in EOG Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.91% of the companys stock. Get EOG Resources alerts: Insider Activity at EOG Resources In related news, EVP Michael P. Donaldson sold 11,037 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.50, for a total transaction of $1,429,291.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,615,375. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Michael P. Donaldson sold 11,037 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.50, for a total value of $1,429,291.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,250 shares in the company, valued at $9,615,375. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 6,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $816,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 60,892 shares in the company, valued at $7,648,035.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,537 shares of company stock valued at $2,751,612. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on EOG shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on EOG Resources in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They set an overweight rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on EOG Resources from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Bank of America restated a buy rating and set a $151.00 price objective on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $147.00 target price on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $143.95. Get Our Latest Report on EOG Resources EOG Resources Trading Down 1.0 % NYSE EOG opened at $120.35 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $126.66 and a 200 day moving average of $126.08. The company has a market capitalization of $69.17 billion, a PE ratio of 9.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.89. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.94 and a 1 year high of $139.67. EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy exploration company reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.98 by $0.18. EOG Resources had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 30.33%. The company had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.49 earnings per share. EOG Resourcess revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 12.2 earnings per share for the current year. EOG Resources Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 17th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 17th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. EOG Resourcess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.75%. EOG Resources Company Profile (Free Report) EOG Resources, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, explores for, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas primarily in producing basins in the United States, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and internationally. The company was formerly known as Enron Oil & Gas Company. Read More Receive News & Ratings for EOG Resources Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for EOG Resources and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. The Goldman Sachs Group restated their neutral rating on shares of Novartis (NYSE:NVS Free Report) in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $121.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $119.00. Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a hold rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Barclays upgraded Novartis to a strong sell rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $118.38. Get Novartis alerts: View Our Latest Report on NVS Novartis Price Performance NVS opened at $116.65 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $238.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.52. Novartis has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $120.92. Novartis (NYSE:NVS Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Novartis will post 7.5 EPS for the current year. Institutional Trading of Novartis Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Novartis by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the companys stock worth $788,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,610 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Novartis by 191.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the companys stock valued at $202,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,318 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 53.7% during the 1st quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the companys stock valued at $184,372,000 after buying an additional 666,104 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,610,000. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD grew its stake in Novartis by 40.1% in the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the companys stock valued at $199,819,000 after buying an additional 590,830 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the companys stock. Novartis Company Profile (Get Free Report) Novartis AG engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. The company offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It focuses on therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular, renal and metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, as well as ophthalmology and hematology. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Novartis Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Novartis and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM Free Report) had its price target lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $120.00 to $138.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock. Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on PM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $113.70. Get Philip Morris International alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Philip Morris International Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.5 % Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $125.81 on Wednesday. Philip Morris International has a fifty-two week low of $87.23 and a fifty-two week high of $127.45. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $113.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.32. The company has a market cap of $195.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.57, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.02. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.32% and a net margin of 9.41%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International will post 6.45 EPS for the current year. Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total transaction of $1,038,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total transaction of $2,260,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 158,447 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $17,906,095.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total value of $1,038,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 684.4% during the 2nd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the companys stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 64.8% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 267 shares of the companys stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 57.4% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 318 shares of the companys stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 250.0% during the first quarter. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH now owns 322 shares of the companys stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About Philip Morris International (Get Free Report) Philip Morris International Inc operates as a tobacco company working to delivers a smoke-free future and evolving portfolio for the long-term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company's product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products primarily under the IQOS and ZYN brands; and consumer accessories, such as lighters and matches. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Philip Morris International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Philip Morris International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC reduced its position in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR Free Report) by 77.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,200 shares of the asset managers stock after selling 14,400 shares during the quarter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLCs holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. were worth $442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KKR. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in KKR & Co. Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 622.9% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 253 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 371.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 264 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank boosted its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 202.6% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 351 shares of the asset managers stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 408.9% in the 4th quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 458 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. 76.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get KKR & Co. Inc. alerts: KKR & Co. Inc. Stock Performance NYSE KKR opened at $116.24 on Friday. KKR & Co. Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.72 and a twelve month high of $128.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $103.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.06, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.62. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $115.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.85. KKR & Co. Inc. Announces Dividend KKR & Co. Inc. ( NYSE:KKR Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. KKR & Co. Inc. had a return on equity of 5.05% and a net margin of 17.99%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. KKR & Co. Inc.s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.70%. Insider Buying and Selling at KKR & Co. Inc. In other KKR & Co. Inc. news, major shareholder Kkr Group Partnership L.P. sold 2,554,644 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.85, for a total value of $48,155,039.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 39.34% of the companys stock. Analyst Ratings Changes KKR has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded KKR & Co. Inc. to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $144.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $128.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on KKR & Co. Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a buy rating and a $153.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, KKR & Co. Inc. presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $124.93. Read Our Latest Report on KKR & Co. Inc. KKR & Co. Inc. Company Profile (Free Report) KKR & Co Inc is a private equity and real estate investment firm specializing in direct and fund of fund investments. It specializes in acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, credit special situations, growth equity, mature, mezzanine, distressed, turnaround, lower middle market and middle market investments. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KKR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for KKR & Co. Inc. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for KKR & Co. Inc. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Revolve Group, Inc. (NYSE:RVLV Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,470 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $182,000. A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RVLV. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Revolve Group during the second quarter worth $456,000. Versor Investments LP lifted its stake in Revolve Group by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 16,953 shares of the companys stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 1,405 shares in the last quarter. BloombergSen Inc. lifted its stake in Revolve Group by 21.6% in the 2nd quarter. BloombergSen Inc. now owns 25,335 shares of the companys stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Revolve Group by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 163,495 shares of the companys stock worth $2,601,000 after buying an additional 12,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Revolve Group by 410.8% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 73,336 shares of the companys stock worth $1,167,000 after buying an additional 58,979 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.60% of the companys stock. Get Revolve Group alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on RVLV shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Revolve Group from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Revolve Group from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wedbush reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Revolve Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Revolve Group from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Revolve Group in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Revolve Group presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $21.44. Revolve Group Stock Down 3.3 % Shares of RVLV stock opened at $20.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 61.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 2.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $19.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.56. Revolve Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $12.25 and a 52 week high of $24.64. Revolve Group (NYSE:RVLV Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.08. Revolve Group had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 8.35%. The company had revenue of $282.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $277.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Revolve Group, Inc. will post 0.56 EPS for the current fiscal year. About Revolve Group (Free Report) Revolve Group, Inc operates as an online fashion retailer for millennial and generation z consumers in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, REVOLVE and FWRD. It operates a platform that connects consumers and global fashion influencers, as well as emerging, established, and owned brands. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Revolve Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Revolve Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of ResMed (NYSE:RMD Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $236.00 price target on the medical equipment providers stock. Several other equities analysts have also commented on RMD. Citigroup lowered ResMed from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Oppenheimer lowered ResMed from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on ResMed from $204.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com lowered ResMed from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on ResMed from $238.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $204.70. Get ResMed alerts: View Our Latest Report on RMD ResMed Stock Performance ResMed stock opened at $244.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.61, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $215.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.61. ResMed has a 52 week low of $132.24 and a 52 week high of $247.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. ResMed (NYSE:RMD Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical equipment provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. ResMed had a return on equity of 25.00% and a net margin of 21.79%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that ResMed will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current year. ResMed Increases Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from ResMeds previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. ResMeds dividend payout ratio is presently 32.57%. Insider Transactions at ResMed In related news, CFO Brett Sandercock sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total value of $209,810.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 91,056 shares of the companys stock, valued at $19,104,459.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, General Counsel Michael J. Rider sold 882 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.00, for a total value of $203,742.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 10,512 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,428,272. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Brett Sandercock sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total value of $209,810.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 91,056 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $19,104,459.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,248 shares of company stock valued at $17,698,433 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.21% of the companys stock. Institutional Inflows and Outflows A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in ResMed by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in ResMed by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,291 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in ResMed by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,060 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $586,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in ResMed by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,188 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $631,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in ResMed by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 902 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.98% of the companys stock. About ResMed (Get Free Report) ResMed Inc develops, manufactures, distributes, and markets medical devices and cloud-based software applications for the healthcare markets. It operates in two segments, Sleep and Respiratory Care, and Software as a Service. It offers various products and solutions for a range of respiratory disorders, including technologies to be applied in medical and consumer products, ventilation devices, diagnostic products, mask systems for use in the hospital and home, headgear and other accessories, dental devices, and cloud-based software informatics solutions to manage patient outcomes, as well as provides customer and business processes. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for ResMed Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ResMed and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. MariMed (OTCMKTS:MRMD Get Free Report) and Exactus (OTCMKTS:EXDI Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations. Institutional & Insider Ownership 0.2% of MariMed shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of Exactus shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.5% of MariMed shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 65.0% of Exactus shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth. Get MariMed alerts: Volatility and Risk MariMed has a beta of 2.8, suggesting that its share price is 180% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Exactus has a beta of 4.21, suggesting that its share price is 321% more volatile than the S&P 500. Profitability Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets MariMed -10.97% -2.75% -1.06% Exactus N/A -3,272.69% -185.29% Analyst Recommendations This table compares MariMed and Exactus net margins, return on equity and return on assets. This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for MariMed and Exactus, as reported by MarketBeat. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score MariMed 0 0 0 1 4.00 Exactus 0 0 0 0 N/A Valuation and Earnings This table compares MariMed and Exactus gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio MariMed $148.60 million 0.42 -$16.03 million ($0.04) -4.07 Exactus $2.07 million 0.00 -$9.46 million N/A N/A Exactus has lower revenue, but higher earnings than MariMed. Summary MariMed beats Exactus on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks. About MariMed (Get Free Report) MariMed Inc. engages in cultivation, production, and dispensing of medicinal and recreational cannabis in the United States and internationally. The company sells flowers and concentrates under the Nature's Heritage brand; and soft and chewy baked goods and a hot chocolate mix under Bubby's Baked brand; and drink mix under Vibations brand. It also offers chewable cannabis-infused mint tablet under the brand Kalm Fusion; and flower, vapes, and edibles under InHouse brand. In addition, the company provides supplement, nutrient-infused fruit chews under Betty's Eddies brand and ice creams under Emack & Bolio's brand. The company licenses its brands. MariMed Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is based in Norwood, Massachusetts. About Exactus (Get Free Report) Exactus, Inc., is a farmer and manufacturer of hemp-derived phytocannabinoid products. The company sells its CBD products through its Green Goddess brand and third-party resellers. Exactus is engaged in producing industrial hemp from farms in Oregon and plans to extract and manufacture directly through cGMP facilities. Industrial hemp is a type of cannabis, defined by the federal government as having THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) content of 0.3 percent or less. THC is the psychoactive compound found in cannabis. Receive News & Ratings for MariMed Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for MariMed and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Retired Houston Police Department officer Gerald Goines, center, and his defense team arrive at 482nd District Court for his trial on two felony murder charges in the January 2019 deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas Monday, Sept. 9, 2024 at Harris County Criminal Courthouse in Houston. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Retired Houston Police Department officer Gerald Goines pleads not guilty to two felony murder charges in the January 2019 deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas at the 482nd District Court Monday, Sept. 9, 2024 at Harris County Criminal Courthouse in Houston. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Defense attorney Nicole DeBorde Hochglaube puts her hands up as she tells the jury that Rhogena Nicholas was shot and killed by Houston police officers because she didnt listen to their command and didnt raise her hands when the officers entered her house during the opening statement at 482nd District Court Monday, Sept. 9, 2024 at Harris County Criminal Courthouse in Houston. Retired HPD officer Gerald Goines was on trial for two felony murder charges in the January 2019 deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Nicholas during the Harding Street Raid. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Prosecutors Keaton Forcht tells the jury that retired Houston Police Department officer Gerald Goines was one of four police officers that were shot during the Harding Street Raid as during his opening statement of the murder trial of Goines at 482nd District Court Monday, Sept. 9, 2024 at Harris County Criminal Courthouse in Houston. Goines was on trial for two felony murder charges in the January 2019 deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Retired Houston Police Department officer Gerald Goines is photographed during the opening statement of his two felony murder charges in the January 2019 deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas at the 482nd District Court Monday, Sept. 9, 2024 at Harris County Criminal Courthouse in Houston. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Retired Houston Police Department officer Gerald Goines is photographed during the opening statement of his two felony murder charges in the January 2019 deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas at the 482nd District Court Monday, Sept. 9, 2024 at Harris County Criminal Courthouse in Houston. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Retired Houston Police Department officer Gerald Goines, center, listens to the prosecutor reading his two felony murder charges in the January 2019 deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas at the 482nd District Court Monday, Sept. 9, 2024 at Harris County Criminal Courthouse in Houston. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Defense attorney Nicole DeBorde Hochglaube puts her hand on retired Houston Police Department officer Gerald Goines shoulder as she is telling the jury that Goines is not responsible for the deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas during her opening statement at 482nd District Court Monday, Sept. 9, 2024 at Harris County Criminal Courthouse in Houston. Goines was on trial for two felony murder charges in the January 2019 deaths of Tuttle and Nicholas. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer The raid, prompted by a womans 911 call falsely warning of drugs in the Pecan Park home, left five police officers, including Goines, wounded. An internal audit of HPDs narcotics division followed, unearthing allegations that Goines lied about using a confidential informant to buy heroin from the Pecan Park home. The bad intel that was then used to carry out the botched raid. MORE ON GOINES: What to know about the ex-HPD cop on trial for murder Advertisement Article continues below this ad From there, prosecutors reviewed Goines arrests a review that led to the overturning of several convictions and a higher court cementing Goines as a bad actor whose word as a police officer could not be trusted. A swath of pending civil litigation also followed. Goines retired in disgrace. Within months of the raid, a grand jury indicted Goines on charges that will go before a jury in the 482nd District Court. In that case, District Attorney Kim Oggs prosecutors are expected to face off with an elite team of defense attorneys, who for years have picked apart the novel prosecution for potential constitutional violations and whose combined experience triples the prosecutors. The defense team has already quashed the murder indictments once. The felony murder charges with tampering with a government record as the underlying offense means prosecutors arent required to show Goines intended to kill anyone but they must prove his paperwork led to the couples deaths. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Goines, 59, remains free on bond and has declared his innocence. Shawna Fugate (left) aids Cliff Tuttle, uncle of shooting victim Dennis Tuttle, as they prepare to enter 7815 Harding for the first time since the raid Tuesday, April 16, 2019, in Houston. Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Proving the case At stake in the case is whether the prosecution can convince jurors that Goines fabricated a confidential informant to carry out the botched raid. A wide range of stakeholders from lawyers, law enforcement and policing experts agree it wont be easy, citing the habits of juries and potential issues with the case itself. Neal Davis, a criminal defense attorney, argued a jury may struggle to convict Goines on the unique felony murder charge but not others. Advertisement Article continues below this ad It could be the jury finds the tampering didnt lead to the deaths but he did tamper with the record by lying, Davis said. The jurys decision-making, however, could depend on any deeply-rooted opinions about law enforcement, which lawyers tried to identify during weeks of one-on-one interviews with potential jurors in July. Prosecutors asked at least one juror, who was selected, whether Goines was more credible or not as a former police officer. Spence Graham, an attorney who formerly handled some prosecutions of law enforcement in the district attorney's office, said jurors are often reluctant to convict police officers. For every defendant, it has to be beyond a reasonable doubt, Graham said. I think it has to be stronger than that when youre dealing with a police officer, but also public officials. I think there's a natural reluctance to see those people as criminals. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Texas Southern University professor Howard Henderson countered that U.S. juries have shifted their perspectives on policing after the murder of George Floyd, the former Houstonian coincidentally once arrested by Goines, at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer in 2020. You have seen more police officers found guilty from that point than in all of American history, Henderson said. While others may hail that as progress, Henderson noted that accounts of use of force by police officers have not diminished. It remains difficult to hold police accountable for their actions, he said. If convicted, civil rights attorney Andrew Lemanski said the verdict would undoubtedly send a message to Houston police officers that you cant do these kinds of things. If acquitted outright, it would affirm his long-held belief that jurors tend to give police officers the benefit of the doubt. Changes to HPD policy Doug Griffith, a longtime police officer and union leader who has known Goines for about 30 years, said some of HPDs rank-and-file officers knew the veteran officer for decades and simply dont believe he did anything wrong, he said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad There's this contention out there that says, Was he lazy? Yes. Did he sometimes cut corners because he was lazy? Yes. Is he a dirty cop? No, Griffith said. Younger officers think otherwise, blaming him for the curtailing of no-knock warrants, Griffith continued. The raid altered narcotics operations at the Houston Police Department by ending the frequent use of no-knock warrants to take accused criminals by surprise under most circumstances. Some officers defended the use of the warrants, contending the targeted criminals could flush it before officers get inside, Griffith said. HARDING STREET FALLOUT: Court limits years of disgraced Houston cop Goines' known misconduct At their peak, no-knock warrants were often carried out two or three times a week, he said. Now it's different, now you do your surveillance and you have SWAT handle it, he continued. During recent testimony, a Houston police officer said knocking and announcing the presence of officers could jeopardize their safety but so could no-knock warrants as some residents, who may have drugs, may believe theyre being targeted by other criminals. Theyll shoot back or shoot through walls, Officer John Guerra testified. Alimentation Couche-Tard (TSE:ATD Free Report) had its price objective trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from C$96.00 to C$94.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, BayStreet.CA reports. Several other analysts also recently issued reports on ATD. Desjardins decreased their target price on Alimentation Couche-Tard from C$86.00 to C$85.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Alimentation Couche-Tard from C$87.00 to C$85.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Alimentation Couche-Tard from C$89.00 to C$86.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. National Bankshares increased their target price on Alimentation Couche-Tard from C$84.00 to C$86.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, CIBC increased their target price on Alimentation Couche-Tard from C$88.00 to C$89.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of C$87.50. Get Alimentation Couche-Tard alerts: Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Alimentation Couche-Tard Alimentation Couche-Tard Stock Performance TSE:ATD opened at C$76.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of C$73.53 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.90. Alimentation Couche-Tard has a fifty-two week low of C$68.93 and a fifty-two week high of C$87.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 109.56, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of C$80.29 and a 200-day moving average price of C$79.16. Alimentation Couche-Tard (TSE:ATD Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 25th. The company reported C$0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of C$0.67 by C($0.02). Alimentation Couche-Tard had a return on equity of 21.13% and a net margin of 3.94%. The firm had revenue of C$23.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$23.13 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Alimentation Couche-Tard will post 4.0130276 earnings per share for the current year. Alimentation Couche-Tard Dividend Announcement The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.175 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Alimentation Couche-Tards dividend payout ratio is presently 18.47%. About Alimentation Couche-Tard (Get Free Report) Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc operates and licenses convenience stores in North America, Europe, and Asia. Its convenience stores sell tobacco products and alternative tobacco products, grocery items, candies and snacks, beer, wine, beverages, and fresh food offerings; road transportation fuels and electric vehicle charging solutions; and aviation fuels, as well as energy for stationary engines. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Alimentation Couche-Tard Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Alimentation Couche-Tard and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated their sector perform rating on shares of Barratt Developments (LON:BDEV Free Report) in a report released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a GBX 575 ($7.56) target price on the real estate development companys stock. Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an overweight rating and issued a GBX 560 ($7.36) target price on shares of Barratt Developments in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Get Barratt Developments alerts: View Our Latest Analysis on BDEV Barratt Developments Stock Down 2.6 % Barratt Developments Increases Dividend Shares of LON BDEV opened at GBX 492.60 ($6.48) on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of 7.14 billion, a PE ratio of 2,141.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.09 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.92, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.52. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is GBX 513.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is GBX 491.36. Barratt Developments has a 12-month low of GBX 384.15 ($5.05) and a 12-month high of GBX 582.60 ($7.66). The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a dividend of GBX 11.80 ($0.16) per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This is an increase from Barratt Developmentss previous dividend of $4.40. This represents a yield of 2.27%. Barratt Developmentss payout ratio is currently 12,173.91%. Insider Buying and Selling at Barratt Developments In other Barratt Developments news, insider Steven J. Boyes sold 118 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 483 ($6.35), for a total value of 569.94 ($749.43). 1.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Barratt Developments Company Profile (Get Free Report) Barratt Developments plc engages in the housebuilding business in the United Kingdom. The company acquires and develops land; plans, designs, and constructs homes, apartments, penthouses, and communities, as well as undertakes mixed-use regeneration schemes; and develops retail, leisure, office, industrial, and mixed-use properties. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Barratt Developments Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Barratt Developments and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Stifel Nicolaus restated their hold rating on shares of Watches of Switzerland Group (LON:WOSG Free Report) in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a GBX 430 ($5.65) price target on the stock. WOSG has been the topic of several other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Watches of Switzerland Group from GBX 420 ($5.52) to GBX 435 ($5.72) and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Shore Capital reiterated a not rated rating on shares of Watches of Switzerland Group in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a buy rating and set a GBX 440 ($5.79) price objective on shares of Watches of Switzerland Group in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Watches of Switzerland Group from GBX 500 ($6.57) to GBX 520 ($6.84) and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Watches of Switzerland Group presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of GBX 474.17 ($6.23). Get Watches of Switzerland Group alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Watches of Switzerland Group Watches of Switzerland Group Trading Down 1.8 % About Watches of Switzerland Group Shares of WOSG stock opened at GBX 373.40 ($4.91) on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of 894.55 million, a P/E ratio of 1,493.60, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 2.17. Watches of Switzerland Group has a 1-year low of GBX 324 ($4.26) and a 1-year high of GBX 728 ($9.57). The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 109.69, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firms 50-day simple moving average is GBX 395.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 384.76. (Get Free Report) Watches of Switzerland Group PLC operates as a retailer of luxury watches and jewelry in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States. It offers its products under the Goldsmiths, Mappin & Webb, Watches of Switzerland, Mayors Jewelers, and Betteridge brands. The company also engages in sale of fashion and classic watches, and jewelry; and gifts, as well as provides servicing, repairs, and product insurance services. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Watches of Switzerland Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Watches of Switzerland Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL Free Report) in a research report released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the electronics makers stock. Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Vertical Research assumed coverage on TE Connectivity in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a hold rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of TE Connectivity to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of TE Connectivity from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of TE Connectivity from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of TE Connectivity from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TE Connectivity currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $158.45. Get TE Connectivity alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on TE Connectivity TE Connectivity Stock Down 2.5 % Shares of NYSE:TEL opened at $143.38 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. TE Connectivity has a fifty-two week low of $115.00 and a fifty-two week high of $159.98. The stock has a market cap of $43.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.33. The firms 50 day moving average price is $150.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.22. TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The electronics maker reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.01 billion. TE Connectivity had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 18.53%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.77 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that TE Connectivity will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Insider Buying and Selling at TE Connectivity In other TE Connectivity news, CFO Heath A. Mitts sold 59,700 shares of TE Connectivity stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.70, for a total value of $9,235,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,889,893.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Heath A. Mitts sold 59,700 shares of TE Connectivity stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.70, for a total value of $9,235,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,889,893.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Robert J. Ott sold 2,913 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.59, for a total transaction of $450,320.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at $3,942,663.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,363 shares of company stock valued at $11,042,161 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.86% of the companys stock. Institutional Investors Weigh In On TE Connectivity A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of TE Connectivity by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,596,370 shares of the electronics makers stock worth $2,265,218,000 after buying an additional 5,526,230 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in TE Connectivity by 26.2% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,280,632 shares of the electronics makers stock valued at $944,791,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,199 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of TE Connectivity during the 4th quarter worth $693,985,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of TE Connectivity by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,632,809 shares of the electronics makers stock worth $650,910,000 after purchasing an additional 111,340 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of TE Connectivity by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,630,003 shares of the electronics makers stock valued at $510,015,000 after purchasing an additional 403,750 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.43% of the companys stock. About TE Connectivity (Get Free Report) TE Connectivity Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells connectivity and sensor solutions in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the AsiaPacific, and the Americas. The company operates through three segments: Transportation Solutions, Industrial Solutions, and Communications Solutions. Read More Receive News & Ratings for TE Connectivity Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for TE Connectivity and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xerox (NYSE:XRX Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning. XRX has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Xerox in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a sell rating and a $11.00 price objective on the stock. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Xerox from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $12.75. Get Xerox alerts: Check Out Our Latest Analysis on XRX Xerox Stock Performance Shares of XRX opened at $10.23 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $10.84 and a 200 day moving average of $13.84. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.52 and a beta of 1.57. Xerox has a 12 month low of $9.51 and a 12 month high of $19.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Xerox (NYSE:XRX Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The information technology services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.14). Xerox had a negative net margin of 1.60% and a positive return on equity of 7.33%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Xerox will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year. Xerox Dividend Announcement The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Xeroxs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -63.69%. Institutional Trading of Xerox Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Xerox by 2.4% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 47,430 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in Xerox by 1.4% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 98,961 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $1,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Xerox by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 23,930 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xerox by 155.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,264 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Xerox by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 72,476 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $1,328,000 after buying an additional 1,407 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.36% of the companys stock. About Xerox (Get Free Report) Xerox Holdings Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a workplace technology company that integrates hardware, services, and software for enterprises in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Print and Other; and FITTLE. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Xerox Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Xerox and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. The winner of Big Idea Grand Island 2024 will receive $10,000 to help start or grow their business. Thanks to donations from the Central Nebraska Growth Foundation and area businesses, the winning amount has been increased from $5,000 last year. The second-place prize is worth $2,000 and the third-place prize is worth $500. Cash winners will also receive professional services. Big Idea Grand Island is a spin on the popular television show, Shark Tank. Like the TV program, entrepreneurial hopefuls make a two-minute pitch before a panel of judges for a product, service or invention. Ten finalists will be selected from the submissions and pitch their idea in front of the judges and audience. The top five finalists are determined by the audience and the judges pick the top three winners. New for this year, the audience will select a popular vote winner. The final competition is planned for Monday, Nov. 4, at the Liederkranz, 401 W. First St. Big Idea is a fantastic platform for entrepreneurs to showcase their ideas, said Aimee Steinhardt-Duysen, director of CCCs Grand Island Entrepreneurship Center. As Grand Island continues to grow, more small businesses emerge, and its essential that professional and city organizations support them. Big Idea Grand Island serves as a proving ground where local entrepreneurs can turn their dreams into reality, contributing to the growth and enhancement of our community. Ideas for Big Idea Grand Island are now being accepted through midnight Oct. 16. Ideas can be retail-based, technology-driven, product inventions, manufacturing, food service or service-based. Ideas must be for-profit, and businesses must be located in Grand Island. Visit www.bigideagi.com to submit ideas. The entrepreneurial ecosystem is vital to our community, driving innovation and growth in Grand Island, said Mary Berlie, Grand Island Area Economic Development president. Recognizing this, the Central Nebraska Growth Foundation saw the importance of fostering local talent and decided to increase the prize money for this years event. This support not only empowers entrepreneurs to pursue their ventures but also strengthens our entire community by encouraging economic development and job creation. Big Idea Grand Island is organized by the Central Community College Entrepreneurship Center in collaboration with the Grand Island Area Economic Development Corporation. Samantha Ketterer is a Houston Chronicle reporter covering higher education. She can be reached at samantha.ketterer@houstonchronicle.com. Since joining the staff in 2018, Samantha has also covered criminal justice and the Harris County courthouse. She is a former reporting fellow for the Dallas Morning News' state bureau and a former city hall reporter for The Galveston County Daily News. Samantha, who is from Houston's suburbs, graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and is a proud alumna of The Daily Texan. Bahrain and Hungary have forged a robust partnership, with bilateral ties significantly strengthening in recent years. Through high-level visits and a series of important agreements, both nations have deepened their political and economic collaboration. Last week, Hungarys Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister, Peter Szijjarto, visited Bahrain, marking another milestone in the growing relationship between the two countries. During the visit, Mr. Szijjarto engaged in important discussions with Bahrains Foreign Minister, Dr. Abdullatif Al Zayani, and senior Bahraini officials. Several pivotal agreements across key sectors were signed. This is just the beginning and we will continue to build on them in the future, Mr Szijjarto reiterated in an exclusive interview with TradeArabia. Mr. Szijjarto praised the relationship as exemplary, emphasising its remarkable progress. Brotherhood is the most fitting term for our relationship, and we do not use this word lightly, he declared, highlighting the deep connection established between the two countries during the Covid crisis and how Bahrain helped to save thousands of lives in Hungary. He was also received by His Majesty King Hamad, underscoring the deep ties between the two nations. Mr. Szijjarto expressed his honour at being received by His Majesty King Hamad. Recalling his visit to Hungary a few years ago, His Majesty assured me that he thoroughly enjoyed his stay and found Hungary to be a beautiful location. I hope this positive experience will encourage more Bahraini citizens to visit Hungary, he said. Mr. Szijjarto discussed a range of topics in the interview, including the investment potential in both nations. He called on the EU countries to separate the trade from political concerns and expedite free trade agreements, particularly with GCC states, which promise significant economic gains. On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Mr. Szijjarto stressed that Hungary, as a neighbouring country to Ukraine, has consistently advocated for peace through dialogue. He lamented the ongoing involvement of global powers and the supply of arms, which he believes are stalling peace efforts. (Incidentally, the war began during his previous visit to Bahrain, prompting him to return home urgently.) Excerpts from the interview: How would you describe Bahraini-Hungarian relations, and what's your vision for this relationship moving forward? The most fitting term here is brotherhood, and I'll explain why; we don't use this word lightly. During the challenging period of Covid-19, the European Commission mishandled its vaccine procurement process, which left European countries without vaccines for an extended time, while the US, UK, Japan, and other countries had already begun vaccinating. Many Europeans were dying as a result, and at that critical moment, the Hungarian government made a strategic decision to purchase vaccines from Russia and China to protect its citizens. It was a complicated process to approve these vaccines due to the lack of prior experience. However, the Bahraini government had already gained experience with these vaccines. Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullatif Al Zayani shared documentation with us, detailing Bahrains experience with the Sinopharm vaccine, which enabled Hungarian authorities to authorise the use of Sinopharm, ultimately saving thousands of Hungarian lives. We will always remember this gesture. I understand various agreements have been signed during your visit. How will they enhance the relations between the two countries? Building on this strong foundation of brotherly relations, we have worked hard over the past few years to achieve practical successes, leading to the signing of a mutual investment protection agreement today (Wednesday, September 4). We are also collaborating with Bahrains Economic Development Board to support Hungarian companies investing in Bahrain. A significant announcement was made about Festipay, a leading Hungarian fintech company, forming a joint venture with a Bahraini partner. This joint venture will provide cashless payment services at the Bahrain International Circuit during the Formula One race. Our oil company, MOL Group, is planning to invest in Bahrain. Theyve been in contact with Bapco Upstream and other Bapco-related companies to provide enhanced oil recovery (EOR) solutions in an environmentally friendly way. There is also a proposal to establish a factory to produce rubber bitumen in the private sector. In the field of cybersecurity, Quadron, a leading Hungarian firm, has partnered with a Bahraini company to provide cybersecurity solutions for authorities in the kingdom. These initial success stories are just the beginning, and we will continue to build on them in the future. The two major agreements signed today will significantly enhance our relationship, both in terms of people-to-people interactions and economic ties. On the economic side, the mutual protection of investments agreement is crucial, as it provides legal certainty for Hungarian investors in Bahrain and vice versa. Given our geographical distance, legal certainty is even more important, making this agreement a reassurance that can further encourage reciprocal investments. In addition to the agreements mentioned earlier, we have also signed a significant agreement with Bahrains Ministry of Education for a scholarship programme. Starting next year, Hungary will offer 10 scholarships annually to Bahraini students at Hungarian universities. The selection and nomination of these scholars, as well as the choice of faculties, will be at the discretion of the Bahraini side. Moreover, weve agreed to initiate cooperation with young athletes, allowing Bahraini athletes to study and train in Hungary as part of this programme. Looking ahead, say five years, where do you see the relationship going further? I believe our cooperation will rest on two crucial pillars: economic and political. Economically, the prospects are clear. Politically, it's important to note that both Bahrain and Hungary are advocates of peace, despite the war hysteria around. Bahrain and Hungary are both in dangerous regions; both nations consistently support each other in international forums, representing the global majority that seeks peace. Our cooperation in international organisations will be vital in the coming period. Recently, the Bahrain-Hungarian Joint Economic Commission and Business Forum held their second meeting this year. How has the economic cooperation progressed? And do you have similar arrangements with other GCC states? We are very pleased with the work of the Joint Economic Commission, which Minister Dr. Abdullatif and I co-chair, because of the tangible results that it has brought, such as the projects I mentioned earlier. Additionally, trade relations are improving, with Hungarian food and medical industry products increasingly appearing in Bahraini markets. We're also advocating for stronger economic ties between the EU and the economically booming GCC, believing that closer cooperation would benefit both and would help to stop the decline in the European Union's competitiveness. We support resuming EU-GCC free trade agreement talks and discussions on a visa-free regime. What are your core areas of focus in the GCC region? As for Hungary's trade relations with other GCC countries, we maintain equally strong relationships with all six nations, rooted in mutual respect. We never lecture or interfere, and similarly, we dont want others to do the same to us. Our aim is simply to cooperate, which is something our GCC partners appreciate. All GCC countries also share a pro-peace stance in international organisations, further facilitating our cooperation. Energy cooperation will be crucial in the future, given that Hungary, as a landlocked country in the heart of Europe, lacks energy resources. Diversifying both energy sources and routes is vital for us. Therefore, we are working closely with GCC countries to incorporate their energy resources into our energy mix. In terms of energy services, Hungary specialises in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technology, which allows for the efficient extraction of oil from fields that may otherwise be considered exhausted, using environmentally friendly procedures. We are currently negotiating with several GCC countries to sell this technology, and we are optimistic about reaching agreements soon. Tourism is a major GDP earner for Hungary. How do you plan to attract more tourists from this region, who are eager to explore new regions? Hungary is an increasingly attractive destination for visitors from the GCC, particularly because of Budapest and other scenic regions. The influx of tourists from the GCC is growing, driven by the countrys safety, openness, and welcoming nature. Our tourism agency has been actively engaging with this region, and we are encouraging more carriers to launch direct flights between the GCC countries and Hungary. While there are currently four destinations in the region you can fly to from Hungary, we hope to see more in the future, including a direct connection to Manama if a carrier expresses interest. Hungary holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union until the end of 2024, how can the Hungarian presidency contribute to the development of relations between the GCC and the European Union? As Hungary holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union this year, we are in a position to contribute to strengthening relations between the EU and GCC. In October, we will host the EU-GCC Summit in Brussels, where I hope European leaders will listen to GCC leaders on the importance of peace. This summit will also provide an opportunity to keep key issues, such as the visa-free regime and the free trade agreement, on the agenda. The Free Trade Agreement with the GCC member states has been a pending question for quite a long time, what possibilities do you envision for its negotiation and conclusion, especially with your country being at the helm now? Regarding the long-pending EU-GCC Free Trade Agreement, its unfortunate that the European Union has been as slow as a snail when it comes to FTAs. In the last two decades, no FTA has been signed, and the reason isnt that we are 27 members who all need to agree, but rather that some consistently confuse non-trade-related issues with trade, such as labour regulation, environmental protection, human rights, LGBT rights, and so on. If this approach isnt reconsidered, an agreement will never be reached. The upcoming appointment of a new EU trade commissioner will play a significant role in shaping the future of these agreements. I hope the new trade commissioner will be in favor of trade rather than against it. The whole world has been affected by the Russia - Ukraine conflict and being a neighbour, you must have faced many challenges. How did you overcome them? In your opinion, what is the road ahead and how to resolve this conflict? Hungary has been directly impacted by the ongoing conflict for over two-and-a-half years. We have received over 1.3 million refugees, faced soaring energy prices, and dealt with the inflation caused by the war. Additionally, we have a community of 150,000 Hungarians living in Ukraine, many of whom have been conscripted into the Ukrainian army and sent to the frontline, with tragic losses. Given the human suffering, we strongly advocate for an immediate end to the war through peace talks, rather than prolonging the conflict through continued military support. - TradeArabia News Service Bahrain-based ila Bank, powered by Bank ABC, now offers its customers the opportunity to invest in government securities issued by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) on behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain. This new investment service makes ila the first bank in Bahrain to be directly connected with the CBB, giving its customers a one-stop investment solution at a click of a button, the bank said. Customers enjoy a comprehensive view of all upcoming securities, allowing them to place bids and purchase available securities directly through the ila app. The securities available for investment include Government Treasury Bills, Development Bonds, and Islamic Securities (Sukuk). With its fully digital platform and direct link to the CBB, ila provides a highly simplified customer experience, enabling instant investment in securities and easy monitoring, without complicated paperwork or physical visits. The bank further helps its customers maximize their returns by not charging any custody fee on holding their investments. The service also provides real-time updates on securities, deadlines, returns and maturity dates, via in-app notifications. Nada Tarada, ila Bank's Head of Business and Customer, commented: "At ila, we are committed to meeting the financial needs of our customers in a holistic manner. Helping them save and invest is a crucial part of enabling their financial independence. We are proud to offer this investment channel to our customers in Bahrain, empowering them to invest in a range of instruments with just a click. Investing in government securities has never been as convenient and easy as it is now with ila Bank." Customers interested in investing in Government Securities can easily do so by selecting their preferred type of security on the ila app and submitting the purchase order directly through the app. The minimum investment amount is BD10,000. TradeArabia News Service KPMG in Bahrain has announced an expanded alliance with ServiceNow, the AI platform for business transformation, aimed at transforming business operations across Bahrain and the wider region. As a new region for the KPMG and ServiceNow Global alliance, the companies will leverage KPMG professionals industry expertise and market knowledge along with ServiceNows advanced technology platform to help organisations in Bahrain streamline their processes, enhance efficiency, and unlock new opportunities for growth, said a statement. As businesses face increasing demands for agile service delivery, enhanced employee experiences, and improved operational transparency, the KPMG and ServiceNow alliance helps deliver cutting-edge digital solutions to meet these challenges head-on. Through this collaboration, KPMG in Bahrain will offer clients a comprehensive suite of digital tools designed to modernise workflows, optimise costs, and enable the flexibility needed to thrive in todays rapidly evolving business environment. Jamal Fakhro, Managing Partner of KPMG in Bahrain, said: "We are thrilled to collaborate with ServiceNow, a global leader in digital transformation. This alliance reinforces our commitment to expand our capabilities to support clients in their digital journeys in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Together with ServiceNow, we are committed to delivering innovative digital solutions that drive meaningful impact and sustainable growth for businesses and leaders across the region." Manav Prakash, Partner, Advisory Services, KPMG in Bahrain, added: "This alliance enables us to bring leading digital solutions to our clients, helping them navigate the complexities of the digital age with confidence. By integrating ServiceNow's advanced technology with KPMG professionals advisory expertise, we are uniquely positioned to help businesses enhance their operational efficiency, improve employee experiences, and ultimately achieve their strategic objectives. This alliance augments our service offerings in relation to Technology and Digital transformation." Jeyapriya Partiban, Partner, Head of Advisory Services at KPMG in Bahrain, emphasised the benefits of the alliance, stating: "Our clients are increasingly seeking ways to automate and optimize their business processes. Our collaboration with ServiceNow expands our service offerings in terms of tailored solutions that not only meet clients current needs but also prepare them for future challenges. This alliance underscores our commitment to helping businesses in the Kingdom of Bahrain achieve digital excellence." Andrew Keeling, Global Alliance Director, ServiceNow, KPMG International, highlighted the significance of the expanded alliance: "We are excited to extend our global KPMG and ServiceNow alliance to the Kingdom of Bahrain and the broader Middle East, a region with tremendous potential for digital transformation. Together, we help empower organizations to unlock new levels of productivity, efficiency, and innovation. Our combined efforts will provide businesses in Bahrain with access to best-in-class digital tools and strategies needed to succeed in today's competitive landscape." The alliance between KPMG in Bahrain and ServiceNow will focus on several key areas, including Finance, Supply Chain & Procurement, HR and People processes, and Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). By integrating AI, low-code capabilities, and intelligent automation into these functions, the alliance aims to streamline complex processes, enhance decision-making, and deliver greater strategic value to clients. Karine Picard, GVP COO, ServiceNow EMEA expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration, saying: "We are delighted to work with KPMG in Bahrain to bring our digital workflow solutions to the region. This alliance will enable us to extend our reach and deliver impactful digital transformation services that help businesses achieve greater agility and resilience in an ever-changing market. As organizations worldwide continue to embrace digital transformation, the need for reliable, scalable, and secure digital infrastructure has never been more critical. Our alliance with KPMG in Bahrain will provide businesses with the tools they need to thrive in the digital era, ensuring they can adapt to changing market dynamics and capitalize on new opportunities." By combining KPMG professionals' consulting expertise with ServiceNow's AI powerful platform, this alliance aims to empower business leaders to reimagine their operations, helping to drive long-term success and sustainable growth, it said. - TradeArabia News Service Saudi Arabias King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (KFSHRC) will unveil its latest breakthrough in generative Artificial Intelligence at the third edition of the Global AI Summit (GAIN) this week. The summit will take place at the King Abdulaziz International Convention Centre in Riyadh from September 10 to 12, under the esteemed patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA). KFSHRC will introduce its cutting-edge, locally-developed generative AI technology, designed to analyse and harness vast data sets, driving unparalleled efficiency across the hospitals operations. This innovative technology is set to revolutionise healthcare delivery, empowering physicians to offer immediate, precise solutions to patients. Upon completing a rigorous verification process, including stringent accuracy, reliability, and safety tests, this technology will be seamlessly integrated into the hospitals operations, reinforcing KFSHRCs position as a leader in global healthcare, a statement said. This advanced AI system will significantly streamline the hospitals operational processes, reducing the time required to summarise and analyse scientific publications and internal policies. It will also equip staff with the tools to effectively monitor patient pathways and derive insights from data sets, ultimately elevating the overall patient experience, it said. Dr Osama Alswailem, Chief Information Officer at KFSHRC, explained that the hospital's participation in this world-renowned event, organised by SDAIA, underscores its leadership in developing and applying generative AI technologies in healthcare. This initiative enhances the efficiency and outcomes of healthcare institutions and advances the delivery of personalized, precision care. Furthermore, it showcases the innovative strides made within KFSHRC by talented Saudi professionals, aligning with the hospital's commitment to fostering local expertise and driving innovation in the sector. During the summit, Professor Ahmad Abusalah, Healthcare Intelligence Informatics Officer at KFSHRC, will highlight hospitals pioneering efforts in applying AI to healthcare, detailing the transformative impact of these innovations. He will also share critical insights into building sustainable AI strategies and avoiding common pitfalls, providing valuable knowledge to the global healthcare community. KFSHRC has been ranked first in the Middle East and Africa and 20th globally on the list of the worlds top 250 Academic Medical Centres for the second consecutive year and is recognised as the most valuable healthcare brand in the Kingdom and the Middle East, according to the 2024 Brand Finance rankings. Additionally, in the same year, it was ranked among the worlds best 250 hospitals by Newsweek magazine. TradeArabia News Service The fifth edition of Saudi Maritime & Logistics Congress (SMLC) is being held under the patronage of the Minister of Transport and Logistic Services, Eng Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, who will also deliver the keynote address on day one. The exhibition and conference are set to take place at the Dhahran Exhibition Centre Expo on September 18 and 19 and are held with Founding Partners, Bahri and Seatrade Maritime. With its main partners, The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) and the Transport General Authority (TGA), as well as strategic partners, Saudi Aramco and IMI, the two-day event aims to bring together experts and specialists from the global maritime transport and logistics sector to share knowledge, experiences, and insights. Investments and partnerships It also seeks to foster investment and strategic partnerships, explore opportunities for growth, and support the National Transport and Logistics Strategy and the kingdom's Vision 2030. The event will feature more than 10,000 participants, 50 speakers, and various sessions and workshops covering important topics such as interrelated logistics; supply chain; ship construction and repair; oil sustainability; digitisation of maritime transport; maritime safety; energy transformation and workforce development. The conference will also address pressing issues, challenges, and solutions related to the maritime transport industry while promoting cooperation among countries to achieve common goals in this vital industry. Recommendations and proposals The goal of this edition is to provide recommendations and proposals that will improve the maritime transport industry and enhance the sustainability of logistics services in accordance with international standards and leading models. Chris Morley, Group Director of Seatrade Maritime, organisers of the event, said: The ministers endorsement of the event cements how crucial this meeting is for the kingdom to meet and do business with international experts and ultimately, decision makers.--TradeArabia News Service Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano Amon will participate in a fireside chat at Global AI Summit (GAIN) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on September 11. GAIN, organised by the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA), will bring together global leaders in artificial intelligence (AI) to explore the latest advancements and discuss the impact of AI on various sectors. Amon will underscore how Qualcomm Technologies is enabling intelligent computing, particularly in industrial settings. He will also impart insights on AI's global economic impact on the industrial digital transformation and Qualcomm Technologies steadfast commitment to innovate in industrial IoT. Qualcomm Technologies has announced a collaboration with Aramco that aims to contribute to connectivity, AI, and advanced computing technologies for industrial use cases in Saudi Arabia. TradeArabia News Service The Saudi Red Sea Authority (SRSA) has issued Saudi Arabias first regulation for Saudi yachts within the geographical scope, which regulates yachts activities, outlines necessary requirements and conditions, and oversees the issuance of tourism and leisure licenses and permits. It also ensures environmental protection, sustainability, and adherence to all safety requirements as part of SRSAs key role in developing a sustainable coastal tourism sector. Issuing the new regulation aligns with SRSAs mandate that includes issuing necessary licences and permits, setting service standards and regulations for coastal tourism activities, ensuring marine environmental protection in the Red Sea, along with encouraging practitioners and enthusiasts, all of which will contribute to enhancing user experiences and advancing the maturity of the coastal tourism sector. The regulation for Saudi yachts includes the conditions and procedures for issuing technical licence (leisure tourism) and the required criteria for yacht owners or authorised tourism maritime agents. It also outlines the conditions for issuing tourism chartering licences, which require a licensed maritime tourism agent or yacht management company, a signed contract between the agent and the charterer, as well as meeting the requirements for a secure access from the marina to the yacht, and a safety guide on board yachts which is designated for tourism chartering. The regulation also specifies the procedures and requirements for obtaining a tourism trip permit within Saudi Arabia's Red Sea waters, including mandatory documentation such as a list of passengers information, sailing destinations, and chartering contract. Regarding water toys, the regulation mandates obtaining the necessary approvals and licences for activities such as recreational fishing, diving, etc. It requires a clear usage guide for water activities, a comprehensive response plan detailing rescue and first aid procedures, the availability of life jackets, and special activities for children. Additionally, the regulation mandates issuing the required licences, providing specifications for chartering yachts, and ensuring that all safety and environmental protection measures are met on board. It also emphasizes the rights of people with disabilities, the preservation of the marine environment by minimizing plastic use and preventing pollution, adherence to safe navigation guidelines, and ensuring charterers compliance with the terms of their contracts. Meanwhile, the issuance of the new regulation coincides with the launch of SRSAs awareness campaign More Than a Sea, though which the Authority highlights its roles in developing a thriving coastal tourism sector, by setting policies, strategies, plans, programs, and initiatives necessary for regulating the navigational and marine tourism activities, as well as issuing licenses and permits. - TradeArabia News Service Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) explored avenues for collaboration to strengthen cultural ties, and develop exchange programmes with Hungary during a visit of Hungarys Ambassador to its headquarters in Dubai Design District. Hala Badri, Director General of Dubai Culture and Karoly Benes, Ambassador of Hungary to the UAE, held talks that focused on organising a series of musical and theatrical performances and art exhibitions. Additionally, they discussed leveraging successful experiences in archaeology and excavation, which would enhance studies and research related to Dubai's archaeological sites. During the meeting, Badri highlighted key Dubai Culture projects and initiatives, such as the Sikka Art & Design Festival, Al Marmoom: Film in the Desert Festival, Dubai Calligraphy Biennale, the Dubai Public Art Strategy, and other programmes aimed at supporting and empowering creative talent, encouraging them to contribute to enriching the local cultural scene. In turn, Ambassador Benes, who was accompanied by Laszlo Marton, Deputy Head of Mission at the Hungarian Embassy, discussed a series of upcoming Hungarian artistic performances, events, and exhibitions that will be hosted at Dubai Opera and Coca-Cola Arena. The meeting was attended by Mansoor Lootah, CEO of the Operations Support Sector and Chief AI Officer; Muna Faisal Algurg, CEO of the Culture & Heritage Sector; Dr Saeed Mubarak bin Kharbash, CEO of the Arts & Literature Sector; Shaima Rashed Al Suwaidi, Director of the Marketing & Corporate Communication Department; Rafia Alsuwaidi, Manager of the International Relations Office, along with other officials from Dubai Culture. TradeArabia News Service The Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard Company (Asry), a leading ship and rig repair yard in the Gulf, has recently announced the launch of the first phase of the Bapco Refining Self-Propelled Fuel Oil Bunker Barges Project, which is scheduled for execution in the final quarter of 2024. An official launch ceremony was held at the companys headquarters in Hidd, in the presence of senior officials from both companies, led by Dr Ahmed Al-Abri, Chief Executive Officer of Asry, and Bapco Refining representatives. This project comes as part of a strategic alliance between Asry and Bapco Refining, in a major step towards positioning Bahrain as a key maritime hub in the region, said an Asry statement. The project consists of the delivery of two self-propelled fuel oil bunker barges to one of the biggest national industrial corporations. Asry was able to secure this project due to the companys extensive experience and high competency in the field of marine asset optimisation, being the most adept maritime repair and fabrication facility in the region, it said. Dr Abdulrahman Jawahery, Chief Executive Officer of Bapco Refining, stated: "We acknowledge the advantages of leveraging the distinguished expertise at Asry in executing this strategic project. This approach will allow us to meet the advanced and diverse requirements of the energy sector in alignment with international standards and specifications, ensuring compliance with the dual framework of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marpol agreements." Dr Al-Abri commented: Bapco Refinings Fuel Barges Project is one of the largest projects secured for implementation by ASRY for one of its most important national clients in the regional energy sector. Efforts are devoted to completing this project and ensuring smooth operations, where the long-standing expertise of the company will undoubtedly contribute to the projects success and the achievement of its desired goals. He added: "Our ongoing commitment to delivering high-quality work on schedule while maintaining safety reinforces our position as the preferred global yard of call for ship, rig, and naval ship repair and maintenance, along with being a destination for engineering, industrial construction, and fabrication projects. TradeArabia News Service A drone is flown near the Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constable's Office in 2021. Drones could soon take on a new role in The Woodlands, responding to 911 calls ahead of first responders as the population and traffic grow. Gustavo Huerta, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Drones could soon take on a new role in The Woodlands, responding to 911 calls ahead of first responders. Leaders of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office see the drone pilot program as a way to beat traffic congestion and get to calls quicker, but critics such as the American Civil Liberties Union have raised privacy concerns about similar programs in other cities. The use of drones isn't new to Montgomery County, said Samuel Harrison, a specialist with the sheriff's office. The agency uses them for search and rescue operations and to assist surrounding agencies, he said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Drones as First Responder program would expand on this use by providing a "cost efficient way" for the agency to get support in the sky and respond to 911 calls quicker as the county continues to grow. Live camera footage from a drone shows traffic on I-69 near the Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constable's Office in 2021. Drones could soon take on a new role in The Woodlands, responding to 911 calls ahead of first responders as the population and traffic grow. Gustavo Huerta, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Drones offer tool to beat traffic congestion Lt. Scott Spencer said Montgomery County's fast growth poses a challenge for leaders and the general public when infrastructure doesn't keep up with population. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "I think it's been said many times before as cops, we drive the same roads, we're stuck in the same traffic, we're having to deal with the same issues," Spencer said. "Having a program like this gets us eyes without cops having to drive fast to be able to go to a scene." As of July 1, 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the countys population to be 711,354. In 2022, the population was 679,554 and in 2021 it was 650,755. The program has become popular with law enforcement agencies around the country. In 2018, the Chula Vista Police Department in California was the first department to kick-start a similar program after the Federal Aviation Administration began offering waivers for flying beyond visual sight, opening up the possibility of longer flights, remote operation, and more efficient and expansive fleets, according to a report by MIT Technology Review. Other agencies followed suit, including the Pearland Police Department, which began its drone program in 2023. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "This is about force multiplying," Spencer said. "For years, the sheriff's office has constantly implemented technological advancements that make us smarter, instead of working so hard...that's a huge deal for us as we're being tasked with more and more stuff. So, we're using technology to help fill those voids." Privacy concerns police drone use Privacy concerns have been raised about drone programs in law enforcement. In a 10-page letter published in 2023, American Civil Liberties Union Senior Policy Analyst Jay Stanley said these drone programs could lead to the public feeling more uneasy than "the sense of safety and well-being that people want to feel when theyre in their homes and communities." "The Constitution doesnt normally permit warrantless surveillance where people have a 'reasonable expectation of privacy,' but abuses do occur, and when they do people naturally become paranoid," Stanley wrote in his letter, giving examples of instances where people, in the privacy of their own homes, could be mistakenly seen as committing a crime. Savannah Kumar, attorney for the ACLU of Texas, said the state group also has concerns about the drone program. Advertisement Article continues below this ad We have previously raised serious privacy concerns about the Drones as First Responder program," said Savannah Kumar, attorney for the ACLU of Texas. "These programs require careful scrutiny, as they tend to be costly gimmicks that waste resources, infringe on individual rights, and lead to concerning shifts in policing practices. Our communities deserve better than to have our tax dollars pay for unnecessary police machinery to spy on us from above. We need more transparency around this proposal, but the bottom line is that the police should not have this unchecked ability to monitor our every movement. When asked about privacy concerns in 2023, the Pearland Police Department told the Houston Chronicle that it based its policies for the drone program on legal precedents and would place restrictions on surveillance technology to only emergency-response situations. "We understand the importance of privacy and have taken significant steps to ensure that the (Drones as First Responder) program is used in a manner that respects individual privacy rights," Spencer said about the sheriff's office program. "We have worked closely with other agencies, including the Pearland Police Department, which consulted with the American Civil Liberties Union to ensure their polices, and in turn ours, balance public safety with privacy rights." Drones responding to incidents are expected to face their cameras toward the horizon during transit, preventing the inadvertent capture of private property, Spencer said. Upon arriving at a scene, the camera will only be directed at the incident location and efforts will be made to avoid capturing "unnecessary footage of private residents or individuals," he said. As for capturing photos and video, operators of each drone are instructed not to document an incident until they arrive on scene. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Other steps are expected to be taken by the agency as a way to be transparent with the public, such as making each drone identifiable as the agency's drone, logging each flight and making it publicly available on the agency's website for anyone to view the details of each flight. The sheriff's office already keeps a log of when and where deputies operate a drone. Lt. Jim Slack controls a drone near the Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constable's Office in 2021. Drones could soon take on a new role in The Woodlands, responding to 911 calls ahead of first responders as the population and traffic grow. Gustavo Huerta, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Woodlands serves as test program The agency plans to launch its program in The Woodlands and eventually expand to more areas in the county, Spencer said. A launch date has not been announced. According to documents provided to The Woodlands Township, the cost of the new program totals more than $400,000. This includes funding for deputy drone specialists, vehicle and drone equipment, and a surveillance subscription. County commissioners approved funds for the agency to purchase a dock-based drone and an aircraft detection system, Harrison said. During a township budget workshop in August, the board of directors agreed to spend $20,000 for the new specialists. The board is set to approve the budget Sept. 5. The drone program costs much less than a helicopter, Spencer said. "These other large agencies have very large, expensive helicopters...in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions of dollars to maintain," he said, noting that drones would be able to respond to the same calls that a helicopter would, such as an officer-involved shooting or a missing person. "This is the same concept, if there's one of those types of calls." The Woodlands was chosen for the pilot program because of population density, Harrison said. "There's a lot of commercial, public space and foot traffic," he said, noting the amount of shopping centers, businesses and The Woodlands Mall. "You have, one, a lot of vehicle traffic, which reduces response time, and two, people out walking around." Drones offer 'eye in the sky' If funding is approved, a drone would be docked on a rooftop in The Woodlands, Harrison said. When a 911 call is made, or if an officer asked for assistance, the drone would then respond. "It won't be doing any patrols," he said. "It'll primarily just be to respond to 911 calls and provide that 'eye in the sky' with very rapid response time." Harrison said a drone might respond to a report of a person using weapon, an injured person needing immediate assistance or a burglary. Agencies that have launched similar programs have seen response times drop to 60 to 80 seconds from when calls come in, he said. "If we can get a drone overhead in 60 to 80 seconds, we can start feeding information and even a live video feed to the other officers that are responding, so we have more information," he said. Sustainability Forum Middle East (SFME), a regional platform dedicated to driving net-zero and nature-positive solutions, in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), will host a high-level roundtable on MENAs Economic Transition Seising Green Opportunities for Growth and Human Capital Development. The event will take place on October 9, 2024, in the Kingdom of Bahrain and is part of the Forums Decarbonisation Roundtable Series, which convenes business leaders and climate and sustainability experts around the region to address issues critical to MENAs transition to a low-carbon future. The roundtable will explore the regions potential to achieve ambitious climate targets while securing a successful economic transition that unlocks significant growth and opportunity. The session will focus on the role of decarbonisation in driving economic diversification, job creation, and the development of human capital, as regional economies work towards their 2050/2060 net-zero targets. According to a recent study released by the International Labour Organisation and Islamic Development Bank, the MENA region could create 10 million new jobs by 2050 through decarbonisation and green industrial growth and accelerate GDP to 7.2 percent and employment to 5.3 percent in less than three decades. Experts will discuss the vision and actions needed to realise such potential including the kinds of diversification, industrial and climate-related policies, and incentives that need to be created. They will address underlying factors that can supports MENAs transition and enable its economies to emerge even stronger as they decarbonise. Among these are a young, educated and tech-savvy labour force, the ability to emerge as leaders in renewable energy, with the abundance of solar, wind, and land resources, as well as comprehensive plans in many MENA countries, through various national visions and strategies, that are aggressively promoting diversification and green industry. Essential to harnessing growth will also be significant investments by governments and the private sector into human capital development with an emphasis on training the workforce in new sectors and technologies, as well as ensuring the effective transition and upskilling of workers in legacy industries for jobs in a green economy. The event will kick off with a fireside chat with Group CEO of Bank ABC, Sael Al Waary, who will highlight key growth sectors and financing needs. This will be followed by a panel discussion featuring public and private sector experts from leading organisation including Alexander van Veldhoven, Group Chief Strategy Officer of Bapco Energies, Amin Sultan, Chief Power Officer of Alba, Dilip George, Group CEO of Foulath Holding, Ian McCallum, Group Chief Sustainability Officer of Bank ABC, and Zeeba Askar, Chief Investment & Sustainability Officer of Infracorp. The session will be moderated by Pablo Avogadri, Partner and Director, Energy, at BCG. Giuseppe Bonaccorsi, Managing Director and Partner at BCG, emphasises the pivotal role of sustainability in the Middle East's economic future: "The Middle East, particularly Bahrain, is uniquely positioned to achieve ambitious climate targets while driving economic growth. Decarbonisation not only fuels diversification and job creation but also accelerates the development of innovation ecosystems in GCC countries in line with net-zero goals. This, in turn, enhances talent attraction and upskilling, which are critical for building a circular and nature-positive economy. Collaborative efforts like the Sustainability Forum Middle East roundtable, which we are proud to play an active role in, are key to addressing the challenges and seising the opportunities of the net-zero transition." Adding, Laila Danesh, Managing Director of FinMark Communications, the Forums founder and organiser, said, "We are pleased to partner with BCG to bring together leading voices from across the region to discuss the strategies and investments necessary to fully maximise opportunities for economic growth and development that exist as the MENA region moves towards carbon neutrality. The roundtable will provide a platform for experts to explore the innovative policies and collaborations that currently exist and those required to support the MENA regions transition, with a focus on key actions and investments to harness and drive growth." Supporting the Forum and its annual calendar of activities are Lead Partners: Bank ABC and Infracorp, Strategic Partners: Tamkeen, Bapco Energies, and Standard Chartered Bank, Forum Partners: APM Terminals Bahrain, Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard, Zubi & Partners, Bahrain Ship Repairing and Engineering Company and American Chamber of Commerce, Bahrain, Official Carrier: Gulf Air Group, and Media Partners: Asharq Business with Bloomberg, BFT and OGN. -TradeArabia News Service The two-day China Visitors Summit successfully concluded in Dubai on September 6 with 103 buyers and 82 suppliers from 14 countries in attendance. In his opening speech on September 5, Alexander Glos, CEO, China Visitors Summit, said: Today is the start of a whole new era in global Chinese travel. Chinese travellers have really changed and evolved since the Covid outbreak and Chinese travellers now are discovering new destinations all over the world. Last year, which was an alleviated, short year for Chinese travel, we had 89 million global Chinese travellers travelling around the world, spending $198 billion. According to hotels.com, Chinese travellers are the biggest spenders for hotel reservations around the world, he said. This is still just the beginning. The future is really bright and wonderful for Chinese travel, and all of us are going to have lots of opportunities to prosper from it in the near future, he added. Shahab Shayan, Regional Director, Asia Pacific and Turkey at Dubai Economy and Tourism (DET), said: Dubai is China-ready. Dubai is ready to welcome back China as it has never before. We have done an amazing China Ready programme starting with visa free travel and being able to provide Chinese travellers with Alipay and Wechat pay, meaning that a Chinese tourist can just come to Dubai with their phone and start paying for everyday things. Payments for even for the taxis and the RTA buses can be now done with just the phone. Shayan continued: In the last six months, Dubai has actually welcomed over 9 million overnight visitors, which is a tremendous growth for what we received at the same time, pre-pandemic. Even though we had a late start with China, we saw China recovered almost 84 per cent in the first six months of this year versus 2019. Since its inception in 2008, the China Visitors Summit (CVS) has been the largest and premier meeting point for Chinese travel industry buyers and global travel suppliers seeking to expand their business with China. The event drew around 120 Chinese travel industry buyers, including travel agencies, tour operators, MICE managers, wholesalers, luxury agencies, corporate travel planners, and specialty agencies, as well as OTAs and more. These buyers met with regional and national travel suppliers, including hotels, attractions, museums, airlines, car rental companies, DMCs, and more. China Visitors Summit will travel to Riyadh this week from September 9 to 10, 2024, and take place at the Riyadh Airport Marriott Hotel. TradeArabia News Service Explora Journeys, the luxury lifestyle ocean travel brand of the MSC Group, has announced that Rosalba Giugni will be the godmother of Explora II, at the new ships official naming ceremony on September 15 in Civitavecchia near Rome, Italy. Explora II is the latest addition to the Explora Journeys fleet and reflects the brand's commitment to offering unparalleled luxury ocean travel experiences. The celebratory event will follow Explora IIs delivery from shipbuilder to shipowner on September 12 at the Fincantieri shipyard in Sestri Ponente near Genoa, Italy. Explora II will depart the following day for her seven-night maiden journey to Tarragona, Spain, offering the luxury ships first guests an incredible Mediterranean sailing visiting Sorrento, Lipari (Aeolian Islands), Trapani (Sicily) and Siracusa (Sicily) in Italy and Valletta, Malta. Rosalba Giugni is the Founder and President of the Marevivo Foundation, a non-partisan environmental conservation organisation committed to the preservation of marine environments that was founded in 1985. Marevivo has since grown to more than 30,000 members and has become an important player in the Italian environmental sector. Born of a shared vision between Captain Gianluigi Aponte, Founder and Chairman of the MSC Group, and Rosalba Giugni for marine conservation education in the Mediterranean Sea area, Marevivos partnership with the MSC Group has been stewarded by the MSC Foundation since 2019. Beyond empowering children, youth and the next generation of maritime professionals, Rosalbas work encompasses various aspects of the marine ecosystem, from fishing to maritime property, tourism, commercial shipping and recreational boating. She has been instrumental in the creation of marine reserves, the promotion of international campaigns, and the development of legislation to protect marine ecosystems. Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman Cruise Division, MSC Group, said: We are honoured to have Rosalba Giugni as the godmother of Explora Journeys magnificent new luxury ship, symbolising the dedication of the MSC Group and our MSC Foundation to preserve the natural beauty of the oceans that are fundamental to our journeys around the world. Her commitment to marine conservation and the protection of the sea makes her an inspiration to us all. Rosalba`s passion for the sea extends to scientific dissemination and public advocacy, making her a fitting godmother for Explora II. Rosalba Giugni, Founder and President of Marevivo added: I am deeply honoured to be named the godmother of Explora II. This role holds special significance for me, as it reflects our shared commitment to experiencing the world in a meaningful and respectful way. I am pleased to support Explora Journeys and the MSC Group in promoting and advancing a cultural shift towards greater protection of our precious marine ecosystem. Our future is tied to the health of the sea, and its wellbeing depends on the choices we make. The climate crisis is a clear warning: we are out of time. The ecological transition needs to begin now, tomorrow may already be too late. -TradeArabia News Service THE theme for this years World Sight Day: Love your eyes, kids, is a call to action, says co-founder of the Trinidad Eye Hospital (TEH) and Hummingbird Medal Gold recipient, Dr Ronnie Bhola. One of the main problems affecting our young population that is causing concern among health care professionals like Bhola is myopia a condition in which people can see close objects clearly but objects farther away appear blurred. THE topic of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley being replaced as political leader of the Peoples National Movement (PNM) is not an issue currently up for consideration, said Foster Cummings, Member of Parliament (MP) for La Horquetta/Talparo yesterday. There are strong processes in the PNM. There is a leader in office in the PNM. That is the leader that we support and who will take us into the next general election, he said. Red Bull took over Discovery Green for a showcase Saturday that saw racing vehicles, including F1 cars, speed and spin on the Houston pavement. The Red Bull Showrun track, which featured four 360 zones for vehicles to spin out and do doughnuts, ran on Avenida de las Americas in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center, up Walker Street for a little and then up McKinney Avenue until ending at the intersection at La Branch Street. "There was a little bit of everything," said David Coulthard, a former F1 professional racer from 1994-2008. Lowriders cruise down the track during the Red Bull Showrun on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Coulthard was one of multiple notable names participating in the Red Bull Showrun with current Red Bull junior driver Arvid Lindblad, drifter Mike "Mad Mike" Whiddett, off-road racer Andrew Carlson and motorcyclist Aaron Colton also circling, driving and spinning their way through the small court. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Only Coulthard and Lindblad, a 17-year-old currently racing on the F3 circuit, drove F1 cars as other drivers motored around in different customized vehicles, including a modified Ford Lighting Supertruck, a custom Ford Mustang GT3 and a McLaren P1 Hypercar specifically customized by Whiddett for drifting. On Track Performers drive at high speed for the Red Bull Showrun on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer "This is not really the environment for a Formula 1 car, but I think people get a little bit of the taste of the sounds," Coulthard said. "The overall Red Bull show is really impressive." Joining Whiddett in the McLaren was Houston rapper and local legend Paul Wall. The artist, who once contributed a verse to a song titled Drive Slow, wasn't moving slowly Saturday. He zoomed around in the passenger's seat as the large crowd cheered for him. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "I was expecting to be nervous, but I gotta tell you, it was so controlled," Wall said to the crowd. "My boy Mad Mike did his thing, I wasn't nervous or scared at all." Crowd reacts to the cars speeding by during the Red Bull Showrun on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer More than 35,000 people attended Saturday's festivities, according to Red Bull. In addition to the on-track activities, there was also a fan zone on Discovery Green that included racing simulators, merchandise stands, food trucks and more. Fans were also able to get an up-close look at some of the Red Bull vehicles, including a custom-made "Red Bull Slab" for the event, and other cars. Coulthard, who is from Scotland, said he enjoyed seeing the slabs as they're not a part of the culture in Europe. He noted that seeing different car and vehicle cultures around the world is something he loves about doing these types of events. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Chicano Boulevard Lowrider cruises for the Red Bull Showrun on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer A crowd watches the Red Bull Showrun from the pool deck of the Marriott Hotel on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Pit crew for F1 driver David Coulthard wheel the car back into the paddock during the Red Bull Showrun on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Crowd reacts to the cars speeding by during the Red Bull Showrun on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer On Track Performers drive at high speed for the Red Bull Showrun on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer The Red Bull Showruns bring the action, and race cars, all over the country and the world. Previous showcases in the U.S. have been held in Washington D.C. and Nashville, Tenn. Another one is scheduled for next week in Minneapolis. People traveled from all over to watch Saturday, including Karina Moreno from Mexico. "It's something that brings people together," Moreno said of the event. Helmet of F1 driver David Coulthard rests on his F1 car during the Red Bull Showrun on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Another person to make the trip to Houston for the event was 16-year-old Alison Martinez, who came in from San Antonio to watch the action. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Martinez, a huge F1 fan whose favorite team is Red Bull, was shaking with excitement and energy after the exhibition finished. "It's awesome," Martinez said, unable to hold in giggles of joy. "I love it so much." Criminal charges have been laid against a man and woman in connection with the brutal attack Hyatt farse and outta place. The audacity of them. Saying that in this country they are not APACHE JUNCTION As many as 30 people were injured after a vehicle crashed into an Elks Lodge restaurant in Apache Junction, authorities said Sunday. City police said 73-year-old Thomas Edward Kain was arrested after he got into his truck to leave the restaurant and accidentally drove into the front of the building around 7 p.m. Saturday. Police said alcohol was a factor in the crash, but they didnt disclose Sunday what charges Kain could face. Jail records show Kain was in custody in Pinal County, but court records werent available online Sunday and it was unclear if he had a lawyer representing him in the case. Apache Junction Police Officer Darrin Hatch said authorities received a 911 call from a patron at the Elks Lodge who said a man left the bar and got into a truck before the crash. Police said 10 of the injured were taken to hospitals by ground ambulances for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries ranging from deep cuts to fractures. One person was in critical but stable condition. Fifteen others were treated at the scene for minor injuries and police said at least five more people drove themselves to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. Governor Greg Abbott and Mayor John Whitmire tour a resource staging area and thank first responders who have worked throughout Hurricane Beryl on Monday, July 15, 2024 in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer The storm's projected path shifted to the east Monday morning, according to a National Hurricane Center update that showed the storm making landfall in Louisiana. CenterPoint Energy representatives announced Sunday they were monitoring and preparing for severe weather as a way to avoid widespread power outages such as those following Hurricane Beryl this summer. Advertisement Article continues below this ad According to the National Weather Service, a storm system moving through the Gulf of Mexico is likely to develop into a tropical storm, then to a hurricane before it arrives on the Gulf Coast. According to Houston Chronicle's meteorologist Justin Ballard, heavy rain could come to the Houston area, with the potential for localized flooding. "Texas stands ready to provide all available resources needed to support Texans as a severe storm system begins to move along the Gulf Coast that will bring potential flash flooding threats and heavy rain," Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement, noting the state's division of emergency management would be deployed Monday morning. "Texans are urged to take the necessary precautions for potential tropical weather, including remaining weather aware, monitoring road conditions and having an emergency plan to ensure safety of themselves and their loved ones." TRACK THE STORM: See the latest on the system set to become Tropical Storm Francine The Texas Division of Emergency Management issued an activation notice to the Texas Emergency Management Council agencies, increasing readiness level of the Texas State Operations Center to a 24-hour escalated response operations, a news release stated. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Additional resources include search and rescue boat teams, helicopters with hoist capabilities, medical support teams, saw crews, support for agriculture and livestock needs, and teams to monitor road conditions and outages. These resources come from several agencies including the state's department of public safety, transportation, health services; Texas National Guard, Texas A&M, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Public Utility Commission of Texas, Railroad Commission of Texas and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The tropical wave had been in Mexico's Bay of Campeche as of Sunday afternoon, the same time experts suggested the disturbance had a 90% chance of developing into a tropical depression or storm, according to the National Hurricane Center. CenterPoint announced over the weekend that it was taking several steps to prepare for possible severe weather, including prepping crews and equipment, securing work sites and securing additional resources from mutual assistance companies, the company said in a news release. Additionally, the company reminded customers to follow natural gas and electric safety guidelines as well as prepare themselves and their homes for severe weather by assembling a storm preparedness kit, which includes supplies like flashlights, water, nonperishable food items, flashlights and a first aid kit. Individuals who require electricity for life-sustaining equipment are encouraged to make separate arrangements to ensure they have power, according to the news release. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "We have a plan to address this potential storm, and we are executing our plan, said Darin Carroll, senior vice president of electric business, in the news release. Although the exact path and intensity of this potential storm are still unclear, we want to assure our customers that we are preparing for impact. We encourage everyone across the Greater Houston area and the larger Gulf Coast region to get their plans in place now for their families, loved ones, homes and businesses. Houston Mayor John Whitmire said Sunday the city was "positioning our resources to ensure we are fully prepared for any scenario." "Our readiness efforts include pre-positioning generators, deploying high-water rescue vehicles, and ensuring increased staffing levels across essential departments," Whitmire said in a statement. "We are also collaborating closely with our community partners to maximize the efficiency of our response, should the need arise." Meanwhile, Lousiana officials are making preparations as the tropical storm is expected to speed up and turn northeast beginning late Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center said Monday. In a release on Sunday, Entergy New Orleans announced that employees were currently monitoring the storm. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "Entergys Louisiana storm team is prepared to work long hours after the storm passes, restoring service to customers as quickly and safely as possible," the release reads. "The company has materials and supplies on hand and is prepared to adjust staffing and resources based upon the forecast and where they are most needed." Steven Benyard, vice president of reliability for Entergy in Louisiana, urged customers to take the "potential of severe weather seriously and stay prepared." Now is not the time to let your guard downplease take the necessary steps to ensure the safety of your family and your home," Benyard said in a written statement. "Rest assured, our crews and contractors will be ready to respond if needed, working tirelessly to restore power and provide support in the aftermath of any storm." To check for road conditions, people are encouraged to visit DrveTexas.org, access additional preparedness tips at TexasReady.gov and to find general disaster preparedness information at tdem.texas.gov/prepare. Vietnamese Minister of National Defense Phan Van Giang is paying a visit to the U.S. at the invitation of U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin from September 6 to 11. During the visit, the two sides discuss global and regional issues of mutual interest, thereby enhancing the two countries' strategic trust, further promoting their defense cooperation in line with their comprehensive strategic partnership, and contributing to maintaining peace, stability, and development in the region and the world. The visit by Minister Giang and a high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense to the U.S. is in response to a trip to Vietnam by Austin in July 2021, according to Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People's Army) newspaper. During Austins visit to the Southeast Asian country, he held talks with General Giang. They praised the outcomes of defense cooperation between Vietnam and the U.S., particularly in addressing the aftermath of the war, tackling non-traditional security challenges, and supporting Vietnam's participation in United Nations peacekeeping missions. They highlighted efforts to strengthen Vietnam's maritime law enforcement capabilities, military medicine, and training. The two officials also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the search, collection, and identification of Vietnamese martyrs remains. They also exchanged several war memorabilia. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Some 168 young delegates from 10 ASEAN countries and Japan are going to join a month-long cruise trip in one of the most important annual foreign affairs activities for young people in the region. Following the success of previous journeys, the Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese Youth Program (SSEAYP) 2024 is slated to set sail in November. At the invitation of the Japanese Cabinet Office, the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the National Committee for Vietnamese Youth has put together a delegation to participate in the 48th trip for SSEAYP in 2024. SSEAYP 2024's main activities will take place on the Nippon Maru cruise ship from November 4 to December 11. This year, the vessel will dock in three countries, namely Japan, Vietnam, and Indonesia. This year's SSEAYP is a major milestone of the program as 168 delegates from the 11 countries are set to join the trip. The Timor-Leste delegation will participate in the program as an observer. Since its inception in 1974, SSEAYP has established its position as one of the most important annual foreign affairs activities for young people in ASEAN and in Japan. SSEAYP 2019 delegates from Malaysia perform a greeting dance upon arriving in Ho Chi Minh City in November 2019. Photo: Duyen Phan / Tuoi Tre Participants will embark on a month-long cruise voyage across ASEAN and Japan, while hosting diplomatic and bonding activities both on the cruise ship and in visiting countries. The main purpose of the trip is to enhance understanding, solidarity, and friendship between Japan and Southeast Asia. Over the years, SSEAYP has become a dream journey for many young people, bringing unique experiences and golden opportunities for Vietnamese, ASEAN, and Japanese youth. In Vietnam, participants in previous journeys have come together and formed a close-knit community of aspiring youths. The Vietnamese delegation participating in the 48th SSEAYP - 2024 (VPY48) consists of 17 delegates, who are outstanding young people of many ages, subjects, and professional fields. Among the delegates, commonly called 'ambassadors,' are doctors, the assistant brand manager of Vietnams leading dairy producer Vinamilk, former delegates of high-level diplomatic programs for the youth, and U.S. and British government scholarship beneficiaries. Vo Thi Binh Nhi, welfare and guidance administrator from the British International School - Ho Chi Minh City (Nord Anglia Education), is also among the SSEAYP 2024 participants. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A magnitude-3.3 earthquake struck A Luoi, a mountainous district in Thua Thien-Hue Province, central Vietnam, on Sunday morning, according to the Institute of Geophysics. The quake occurred at 6:40 am at a depth of around eight kilometers, Dang Van Hoa, head of the provincial Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue, reported, citing the institute under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology. Hoa noted that not only residents of A Luoi but also people in areas tens of kilometers from the epicenter felt the tremor's impact. Ngo Vinh, a resident of the Ngu Binh mountain area in the provincial capital of Hue, about 70 kilometers from A Luoi, said he experienced slight ground shakes while at home during the quake. Trembles from the earthquake lasted for several seconds but they could be felt clearly, Vinh said. He commented that shakes from this quake were weaker than those he had previously felt from the magnitude-5 tremor that hit Kon Plong District of Kon Tum Province in the Central Highlands region, several hundreds of kilometers away from Hue, on July 28. The earthquake struck shortly after super typhoon Yagi swept through multiple northern localities on Saturday, leaving at least four dead and 78 injured, Hoa said. Nguyen Xuan Anh, director of the institute, explained that in Vietnam, earthquakes with a magnitude of three to 3.9 are considered minor, often felt by some people and causing slight shaking of objects, but rarely resulting in damage. Quakes with a magnitude of four to 4.9 are classified as small, while those ranging from five to 5.9 are considered moderate, with the potential to cause minor to moderate damage. A quake is categorized as strong when its magnitude reaches six. Vietnam has recorded three significant earthquakes in its history, all occurring in Dien Bien Province in the north: in 1935, 1983, and 2001, with a magnitude of 6.9, 6.7, and 5.3, respectively, according to official statistics. Like us on Facebook or follow us on X to get the latest news about Vietnam! 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. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer As a tropical disturbance continued to develop in the Gulf of Mexico Sunday, CenterPoint Energy representatives said they were monitoring weather forecasts and preparing for potential severe weather along the Texas coast and in the Houston area. The idea is to avoid widespread power outages such as those following Hurricane Beryl this summer. The tropical wave, which could eventually become Tropical Storm Francine, had been in Mexico's Bay of Campeche as of Sunday afternoon, the same time experts suggested the disturbance had a 90% chance of developing into a tropical depression or storm, according to the National Hurricane Center. LIVE TRACKER: Follow the path of Tropical Storm Francine Advertisement Article continues below this ad CenterPoint is taking several steps to prepare for possible severe weather, including prepping crews and equipment, securing work sites and securing additional resources from mutual assistance companies, the company said in a news release. Additionally, the company is reminding customers to follow natural gas and electric safety guidelines as well as prepare themselves and their homes for severe weather by assembling a storm preparedness kit, which includes supplies like flashlights, water, nonperishable food items, flashlights and a first aid kit. Individuals who require electricity for life-sustaining equipment are encouraged to make separate arrangements to ensure they have power, according to the news release. "We have a plan to address this potential storm, and we are executing our plan, said Darin Carroll, senior vice president of electric business, in the news release. Although the exact path and intensity of this potential storm are still unclear, we want to assure our customers that we are preparing for impact. We encourage everyone across the Greater Houston area and the larger Gulf Coast region to get their plans in place now for their families, loved ones, homes and businesses. Carroll said the company aims to restore the public's trust in the wake of widespread outrage regarding its handling of July's Hurricane Beryl, which left nearly 2.3 million customers in the Houston area without power. "While no two storms and their impact are ever alike, we believe our actions since Beryl will help improve our response should this tropical disturbance impact our service territory, he said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad CenterPoint's efforts to avoid future widespread outages are laid out in its Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative. As part of the resiliency plan's first phase, the company installed more than 1,100 fiberglass poles, trimmed vegetation affecting more than 2,000 miles of power lines and added more than 300 automation devices across Houston, CenterPoint representatives have said. In the future, the company plans to install additional "system hardening, strategic undergrounding, self-healing grid technology," and further improve its outage tracker. CenterPoint released its new outage tracker at the beginning of August following months of frustration from customers who claimed the tracker was not working during May's derecho and was inaccurate after Beryl, showing areas of Houston as "energized" even though power had not been restored. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Do Son Industrial Park in Hai Phong City, northern Vietnam was submerged by floods caused by heavy rains from typhoon Yagi, the third storm to strike Vietnam this year. Yagi slammed into the mainland of northern Vietnam for several hours on Saturday and Sunday, leaving behind a trail of damage in several northern localities, especially the port city of Hai Phong. The powerful storm has caused a huge economic loss for the city as many warehouses and companies were forced to suspend operations out of the flooded industrial park. Hundreds of firms at Do Son Industrial Park have given their employees days off as their factories and the roads leading to these facilities are inundated at the moment. The headquarters of the industrial park were in a shambles in the wake of Yagi. Nguyen Van Minh, an employee at Tian Long Vietnam Company, located in Do Son Industrial Park, said that the super typhoon wreaked havoc on the firm. Hundreds of square meters of roofs of the companys factory were blown away by powerful winds on Saturday afternoon when Yagi made landfall, while torrential rain soaked a 3,000-square-meter section of the factory," Minh lamented. The company must allow its employees not to go to work on Sunday morning. The floodwater will not recede completely until Tuesday next week. As observed by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters, several warehouses of many major enterprises at the industrial park were still in deep water early on Sunday afternoon. Among the affected firms are Shinning Vietnam Electronic Company, Zhong Xin Ya Tai Vietnam Company, and Jinyungfeng Precision Tech Vietnam. Nguyen Hong Lan, a worker at Zhong Xin Ya Tai Company, said that most of the employees at her firm did not go to work on Sunday morning, except for some coming for a clean-up. The warehouse was inundated, while plenty of materials were destroyed, causing an estimated loss of billions of Vietnamese dong, Lan bemoaned. (VND1 billion =US$40,626) Similarly, D.V.Q., owner of a firm at Canh Hau Industrial Park, shared that the storm cost his company an estimated VND10 billion ($406,420). Many production materials at Zhong Xin Ya Tai Vietnam Company are soaked in floodwater. Photo: Dang Van Tuan Yagi downs trees, power poles Several streets in Hai Phong City, including Le Hong Phong, Nguyen Van Linh, and Pham Van Dong, remained submerged under floodwaters at noon on Sunday. The typhoon also caused many power poles and trees to be uprooted, littering these roads with debris. Many areas of the city were left without power, forcing a series of restaurants and shopping malls shut down. Besides, Yagi damaged numerous billboards along some streets in Hai Phong. Along Pham Van Dong Street, hundreds of trees, billboards and power poles were reportedly downed by powerful winds from the typhoon. Fallen trees and flooded routes made it tough for residents to commute. Typhoon Yagi left two people dead and 12 others injured in the city, according to a report made by the steering committee for natural disaster prevention, control, and search and rescue of Hai Phong. In addition, the typhoon ravaged many houses, warehouses and farms, while destroying thousands of hectares of local crops. Aeon Mall in Hai Phong City remains shut on September 8, 2024. Photo: Dang Van Tuan Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Police in Ho Chi Minh City said on Friday that they had arrested 39-year-old Nguyen Van Tam, hailing from An Giang Province, southern Vietnam for allegedly posing as Nguyen Van Nen, secretary of the municipal Party Committee, to commit fraud and appropriate assets. The arrest followed a report that someone had impersonated and mimicked the voice of the citys Party leader, calling his relatives to request money and solicit investments. The city's cybersecurity and hi-tech crime prevention unit in collaboration with its criminal police agency then probed into the case. Shortly after that, the forces apprehended Nguyen Van Tam, the suspect behind this fraudulent scheme. Tam confessed that he had used lots of unregistered SIM cards to impersonate high-profile figures such as the citys Party chief, Ministry of Public Security officials, and directors of lottery companies in several provinces, calling businesses, organizations, and relatives of these figures to ask for money and solicit investments. After the victims fell into the trap and transferred the money, Tam immediately withdrew the funds and blocked their phone numbers. So far, Tam had deceived many victims and stolen billions of Vietnamese dong. (VND1 billion = US$40,600). Police are looking for additional victims, encouraging them to come to the citys criminal police division at 459 Tran Hung Dao Street, Cau Kho Ward, District 1, or contact investigator Nguyen Van Nghia via the mobile phone number 0937456466 to assist in the ongoing investigation. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Typhoon Yagi, the third storm to hit Vietnam this year and the most powerful storm to have struck the East Vietnam Sea over the past three decades, has claimed the lives of 14 people and injured 167 others as of Sunday, according to the Department of Rescue and Relief under the Ministry of National Defense. At a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Sunday morning to assess the post-storm situation, the department reported that Quang Ninh Province recorded four deaths; Hanoi, three; Hoa Binh Province, four; Hai Phong City, Hai Duong Province, and Military Region 3, one each. As many as 38 vehicles were sunk or missing in Quang Ninh Province alone. Typhoon Yagi also damaged or blew off the roofs of 744 houses in northern Vietnam, including 300 in Quang Ninh, 158 in Lang Son, 89 in Bac Giang, among others. The disaster affected over 9,000 hectares of rice and other crops, caused more than 5,700 trees and 40 power poles to collapse, and damaged 27 transformer stations. Up to 38,000 households, comprising approximately 141,800 people, were evacuated to safety, the Vietnam Government Portal, reported, citing the Department of Rescue and Relief People tidy up tree branches on Hang Dau Street in Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, September 8, 2024. Photo: Vietnam News Agency The northern region will continue experiencing heavy rains until Monday next week with average precipitation of 100-150 mm, even over 200 mm in some areas, according to the National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting. Certain areas in Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Cao Bang, Thai Nguyen, Phu Tho, Hoa Binh, and others are at high risk for flash floods and landslides. Cities and provinces in the northern region, including Quang Binh, Hai Phong, Lang Son, Thai Nguyen, Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Yen Bai, Bac Kan, Nam Dinh, Thai Binh, Ha Nam, and Hanoi, are facing a heightened risk of flooding due to heavy downpours. On Sunday morning, Hanoi raised the flood alert in the Bui River to level two as the water level was 6.51 meters, said Nguyen Xuan Dai, director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. With such a water level in the river, Hanois outlying districts of Chuong My, My Duc, and Quoc Oai will likely be flooded. Typhoon Yagi causes a factory in Hai Phong City, northern Vietnam to collapse. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said he and his deputies would visit typhoon-hit localities to direct recovery efforts. He described Yagi as the most powerful typhoon to have entered the East Vietnam Sea in the past three decades. Its consequences are serious despite proactive and drastic response, the government leader added. He also conveyed the condolences and sympathy of Party General Secretary and State President To Lam, along with other Party and state leaders, to the stricken families, units, and localities. PM Chinh praised the national steering committee for natural disaster prevention and control, as well as the ministries, agencies, military, and police forces for their efforts in responding to the typhoon. He also thanked the people for following directions and assisting others in mitigating the storms impact. He emphasized the need for continued efforts to search for missing individuals, treat the injured, ensure the provision of food, clothing, and shelter to those in need, and quickly restore electricity, water, telecommunications, and other services to support management, production, business, and daily life. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper and a delegation of U.S. Marine veterans and their relatives paid a visit to a support center for Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin victims and unfortunate children in Da Nang City, central Vietnam on Friday. As part of their Vietnam trip from September 2 to 8, the delegation visited the social center in Hoa Nhon Commune, Hoa Vang District, where they met with and offered gifts to AO/dioxin victims. The center currently houses around 90 victims, providing them with opportunities for recreation, education, vocational training, and healthcare. U.S. Marine veterans visit AO/dioxin victims at a support center for these victims and disadvantaged children in Da Nang City, central Vietnam, September 6, 2024. Photo: Thanh Nguyen During the visit, the U.S. veterans and Ambassador Knapper listened to the victims' emotional stories, expressing empathy for the suffering caused by the effects of AO/dioxin from the war in Vietnam, which ended in 1975. The American guests also engaged in cultural and sporting activities with the victims, further strengthening bonds of understanding and support. Todays meeting can be seen as a great spiritual encouragement for all the AO victims at the center, said Nguyen Van An, chairman of the Da Nang Agent Orange Victims Association. Such visits bring joys and cheers to the victims, helping them overcome challenges and move forward, he added. Members of the U.S. Marine veteran delegation and U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper, wearing a yellow tie, pose for a photo with some of AO/dioxin victims at a support center for these victims and disadvantaged children in Da Nang City, central Vietnam, September 6, 2024. Photo: Thanh Nguyen He underscored that the war is over but the consequences of AO/dioxin, a toxic defoliant that U.S. troops used in the war, are still lingering throughout Vietnam and Da Nang in particular. John D. Hollis, a member of the veterans' delegation, underscored that AO/dioxin suffering is one of the severe consequences left over from the war in Vietnam. He said the delegation wished to contribute to healing the wounds of war and bringing a brighter future to all AO/dioxin victims, including children. Children all over the world deserve to have fun and be happy, Hollis said. Ambassador Knapper emphasized that Vietnamese and American children are the future of the two countries, reiterating Washingtons commitment to support Vietnam on its path to become a strong, independent, and resilient country. A member of the U.S Marine veteran delegation (C) talks with AO/dioxin victims at a support center for AO/dioxin victims and disadvantaged children in Da Nang City, central Vietnam, September 6, 2024. Photo: Thanh Nguyen He added the two countries will celebrate the 30th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2025. In 1961-71, U.S. troops sprayed more than 80 million liters of toxic chemicals, 61 percent of which was AO containing 366kg of dioxin, on nearly 26,000 hamlets and villages that covered 3.06 million hectares, or roughly one-fourth of the area of southern Vietnam, according to the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin. An estimated 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to AO/dioxin during the war and over three million have suffered illnesses from it, the agency said. Every year, Vietnam earmarks a budget of more than VND10 trillion (US$402 million) to cover AO/dioxin victim expenses, monthly allowances, healthcare, and functional rehabilitation, as well as support for areas still severely affected by the toxic herbicide. Like us on Facebook or follow us on X to get the latest news about Vietnam! A traffic police team helped a pregnant woman give birth to twins when she showed signs of going into labor while traveling in her car on the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong - My Thuan - Can Tho Expressway in southern Vietnam on Thursday. Major Nguyen Van Huong, head of Traffic Patrol Police Unit No. 7 under the Ministry of Public Securitys Traffic Police Department, reported on Friday that a patrol team from the unit performed a commendable act on the freeway connecting Ho Chi Minh City with several southwestern provinces. At 7:40 pm on Thursday, four police officers were on patrol when they saw a seven-seater car parking in the emergency lane of the freeways section in Chau Thanh District of Tien Giang Province. According to the website ATGT.VN, a man got out of the car to ask for assistance from a police officer as his wife, who was inside the vehicle, showed signs of going into labor and needed emergency delivery. A doctor at Tien Giang General Hospital receives a woman after traffic police officers assisted her in giving birth to twin boys in her car on the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong - My Thuan - Can Tho Expressway on September 5, 2024. Photo: Traffic Police Department. The officers immediately assisted the man, T., in helping his wife give birth to twin sons in his car. After the childbearing, the health conditions of the woman and her two babies were weak, so the team gave them first aid and care before taking them to the Tien Giang General Hospital. T. explained that his wife, who was over 34 weeks pregnant, went into labor when her water broke while they were en route to Ho Chi Minh City for delivery, according to VnExpress. A similar incident occurred in early July when traffic police in Can Tho City, located in the Mekong Delta, used their specialized police motorbikes to escort a car carrying a woman on National Highway 1 to the Can Tho Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, where she safely gave birth to a baby girl. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Nearly 200 people joined a charity walk along a beach in Nha Trang, a popular city in Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam, on Sunday to raise funds for poor children and victims of human trafficking. Such hotels as Novotel Nha Trang, Movenpick Resort Cam Ranh, Ibis Styles Nha Trang, and Handwritten Ibis Phu Yen launched the Dragon Walk For Change 2024 on Sunday morning, with the participation of their employees, tourists, and locals. The walk was aimed at not only supporting people in need but also inspiring the community to engage in charity work. Participants walked or ran for a distance of five kilometers or 10 kilometers. Hundreds of locals and tourists join a charity walk along a beach in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam, September 8, 2024. Photo: Tran Hoai Apart from being a sporting event, the walk highlighted efforts to help underprivileged children and labor trafficking victims in Vietnam, said Nguyen Thi Thuy Phuong, general manager at Novotel Nha Trang and representative of the organizing board. The walk helped raise a fund of some VND62 million (US$2,520), which will be sent to charity organizations to benefit poor children and human trafficking victims, according to the organizers. Joining the walk, Van Phu Khanh said that the meaningful fundraising event should be expanded to attract more participants. "I am extremely delighted to join the walk with locals and tourists to contribute positively to the community," Khanh said. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Aussie actor Nicholas Denton (Jones Family Christmas, Utopia, Bloom, My Life Is Murder, Glitch) has been cast in upcoming AMC series The Talamasca based on the works of Anne Rice. Set to go into production in Manchester next month the series is part of the so-called Anne Rice Immortal Universe after AMC acquired the rights to Rices books The Vampire Chronicles and The Lives of the Mayfair Witches. The Talamasca will focus on the men and women responsible for tracking and containing the witches, vampires, and other creatures scattered around the globe. Denton will star as Guy Anatole. The character is described as brilliant, handsome and sharp on the surface, but hes always known his mind works a little differently. On the cusp of graduating law school, he is approached by a representative of The Talamasca, a secretive agency that monitors and protects us from the supernatural world. When Guy learns that The Talamasca has been tracking him since his childhood, he falls headlong into a world of secret agents and immortal beings who, up to now, have maintained a fragile balance with the mortal world. But for that balance to hold, and for Guy to survive, he will have to learn to embrace the dark, treacherous depths of his true and singular self. He becomes the second Aussie to star in an Anne Rice series following Sam Reid in Interview with the Vampire. Source: Variety South Australian firefighter Andy Dunt is the sole winner of Hunted Season 3 on 10. In the final episode just two teams remained: friends, Romanee & Chelsea and married couple, Andy & Deb. Both teams were laying low as they awaited details of the Extraction point, Gem Pier in Williamstown. But connecting to online for the info 24 hours before would reveal their locations to the Hunters. But the Hunters managed to track down the owners of a red Mazda which Romanee & Chelsea had taken to a house in Geelong. Hiding under the house they were discovered and resisted a cash offer to reveal the Extraction point to the Hunters. Generous. Meanwhile Deb and Andy had made their way to contacts at a Church in Balwyn who, remarkably, had parents who lived on the Williamstown foreshore. Its as if it had all been scripted. Hiding out in the final hours in Williamstown they plotted their race to the Extraction point boat, as the Hunters miraculously had managed to sight a boat from their chopper in the sky. Beating Andy and Deb to the pier were Ground Hunters Kim and Howie, who captured Deb in the final minutes. But Andy jumped into the water and made it to the boat with just seconds to spare, as if like a Hollywood movie climax. He escaped with $51,500, just $1500 more the $100,000 split between two winners in both 2023 and 2022. I was disappointed that I wasnt on the boat with Deb because we really hoped to be there together, but it was a huge relief that, as a team, we had done it. We put so much effort in and had such a great time, said Andy. Deb said of those who aided their run, We were mind blown that these people didnt know us, but they gave up their time, resources, money it was such a surprise to us how much people were willing to put themselves out there. At the end, we really wanted to win for ourselves, but we also wanted to win for the people who had been part of the team and helped us get to the end. Andy said: Once you come home, you just go straight back into your normal life of work, kids and you sort of forget about it, so its been awesome re-living it. Deb put herself outside her normal comfort zone going on Hunted and I think it has really expanded her horizons as a person, putting herself in uncomfortable situations and I think shes grown heaps through the process. We definitely learned a few life lessons and are so, so happy we did it. Absolutely one of the best experiences of our lives, 100 percent, added Deb. Despite the Hunters initially declaring their reputations were on the line if anybody made it, boss Reece Dewar later referred to 17 of 18 captures as a win after all. Australian production company, Northern Pictures has won two Creative Emmy Awards for Love On The Spectrum U.S. Co-created by Karina Holden and Cian OClery, Northern Pictures took home the Outstanding Casting For A Reality Program and Outstanding Directing For A Reality Program categories, beating off serious competition from the likes of RuPauls Drag Race, Squid Game: The Challenge, The Amazing Race, The Golden Bachelor, The Traitors and Welcome to Wrexham. It was also nominated for Outstanding Picture Editing For An Unstructured Reality Program and Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program. This marks five Creative Arts Emmy Awards for the series following 2022 wins. Karina Holden, Head of Factual for Northern Pictures, Co-creator and Executive Producer said: Its an incredible feeling for our cast and crew to be acknowledged by the Academy here in Hollywood. We had a big contingent of Australians on the red carpet, with our producing and post team able to travel from Sydney to be here for the Awards. Love on the Spectrum U.S. cast members Abbey, David and Dani were also given the honour to present an award on-stage tonight, which was wonderful to experience their excitement and joy. This week comes just as we are wrapping up the filming on Season 3, so its quite a way to celebrate! Cian OClery, Co-creator, Showrunner and Director said: Were all humbled and honoured to receive these awards and want to acknowledge and thank the whole Love On The Spectrum team. Special shout out to our amazing cast, whose stories people are embracing around the world. To date, two seasons following people on the autism spectrum as they navigate. dating and relationships on Netflix, with a third season on its way. Suhail Bhat, TwoCircles.net Gurugram (Haryana): On a Monday morning in Manesar, a village in Gurugram district, Haryana, a group of four women attentively follows instructions from their female drone instructor. These propellers need adjustment before we take the drone into the sky, advises Nisha, the master instructor at the Drone Destination programme. Support TwoCircles Anita is among the many women benefiting from the Drone Destinations pioneering All Women Drone Pilot Training Program, launched in collaboration with IFFCO (Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd.) and leading drone companies. This initiative is transforming womens roles in agriculture across Haryana and other states. We live in a village where men dominate every field, and women are barred from using new agricultural technologies. I am thrilled to call myself a drone pilot in my village, shares Anita from Furkabad, Uttar Pradesh. This training program is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Lakhpati Didi Yojana, which empowers women-led self-help groups (SHGs) by equipping them with drone technology skills to start their own businesses. Women from villages in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have been enrolling in the Drone Destinations programme. Hundreds of new drone pilots are now seeing the benefits of this scheme, gaining both additional income and a unique position in their communities. Drone Destination provides free training, including accommodation and meals, for women from disadvantaged backgrounds who often face numerous obstacles in accessing such opportunities. We believe that drone technology will lead to more precise farming methods and create new income opportunities for our farmers. Our goal is to ensure that women are integral to this technological advancement, says Chirag Sharma, CEO of Drone Destination. Having already trained over 4,000 farmers, including 1,000 women, through government programs, the Drone Destination aims to not only teach women how to operate drones but also to help them become independent business owners in the agricultural sector. Our current trainees are exceptionally passionate and have made remarkable progress. They are now prepared to apply their skills in their agricultural fields, Nisha adds. She explains, We begin with theoretical classes to cover the basics, and then transition to practical lessons in the fields, where they learn to operate the drones and use the remote controls effectively. The significance of womens earnings is paramount. Traditionally, women have suffered injuries and spent long hours carrying 15 kg spray machines for manual fieldwork. I now feel confident operating drones in my fields. It allows me to earn well and gain respect in my village. Other women in my village are now eager to take drone training, says Afsana from Madhya Pradesh. Over the next year, the Drone Destination plans to expand this initiative nationwide, targeting the training of over 10,000 women from self-help groups. The courses will include comprehensive aspects of drone operations and maintenance to ensure participants are fully equipped to manage and operate drones effectively. The program is already making a significant impact, transforming the lives of women from remote areas where farming is the primary income source. Traditional methods have been labor-intensive and inefficient, making this new technology a game-changer. A trainee from Yamuna Nagar, Haryana, expresses her enthusiasm: Becoming a drone pilot was my dream for making farming tasks easier and more efficient. Im proud to be the only woman in my village who has taken this initiative, says Parveen Saini. These training programs are not only boosting the local economy but also empowering women who have been marginalized. By saving money on sprays and creating new job opportunities as drone operators, these women are driving change in their communities. We look forward to expanding our efforts and reaching more rural villages, says Nikhil Misra, head trainer at the Drone Destination in Manesar. Shown are potential rain totals in Southeast Texas over the next five days, according to the National Blend of Models. Adjustments will be needed as the track of a tropical disturbance becomes more clear. Pivotal Weather Early September is the climatological peak of hurricane season, and it is looking like active tropical weather is expected to develop in the Gulf of Mexico over the next few days. As of Sunday afternoon, a tropical wave in the southern Gulf of Mexico has gained strength and is now classified as a potential tropical cyclone, according to the National Hurricane Center. Wind speeds are already at tropical storm strength, but the system has not yet developed a well-defined center of circulation. Once that happens, it will be named Tropical Storm Francine. Shown is the forecast track of Potential Tropical Cyclone Six. National Hurricane Center The National Hurricane Center has also released their first forecast cone for the tropical system. According to the cone, potential Francine will move close to the mouth of the Rio Grande by Tuesday afternoon. From there, the storm is expected to turn northeastward, riding parallel but offshore of the Texas coastline as it moves toward Southeast Texas and Louisiana. Advertisement Article continues below this ad LIVE TRACKER: Follow the path of Tropical Storm Francine The storm is forecasted to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane by Wednesday, as it nears the Texas and Louisiana coastlines. According to the cone, a Texas landfall near Galveston and Houston is still possible, but most weather models are bringing the landfall farther east into Louisiana late Wednesday. All areas along the Gulf Coast, from the Rio Grande Valley to Corpus Christi and northward to Galveston and Houston, will need to monitor the progress of this system. Even if it does not make a direct landfall in Texas, the system many along the coast could experience heavy rain, high storm surge, and strong wind speeds. Next couple of days Before Houston potentially deals with tropical mischief later this week, the forecast for Sunday and Monday is looking beautiful. A cold front has brought northeast winds and dry air into the region, which will result in the coolest temperatures weve experienced since May. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Early Sunday, low temperatures in the Houston metro area are expected to fall to the upper 60s. Itll be even cooler to the north, as temps fall to the low to mid-60s in cities like Conroe, Huntsville, and College Station. Shown are expected low temperatures across Southeast Texas Sunday morning. National Weather Service Temperatures will be very pleasant throughout the morning. Houston will not rise to 80 degrees until around noon. Afternoon highs will be warm, topping out at 85 to 86 degrees. Thanks to the much drier air in place, humidity will not be a concern at all. Early morning low temperatures could be similar on Monday morning, possibly even a degree or two cooler than what we experienced on Sunday. The Houston metro area will bottom out between 67 and 69 degrees. Temperatures by Monday afternoon are set to rise slightly from the previous day, topping out in the upper 80s under partly to mostly sunny skies. By late Monday night, moisture is expected to start increasing, bringing clouds back into the region as all eyes turn to the Gulf of Mexico. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Tropical rain chances increase On Tuesday, chances of showers and thunderstorms will start increasing significantly as tropical moisture moves closer to Southeast Texas. Overall rain chances will be about 50 to 70% in Houston, with even higher rain chances along the Gulf coast toward Galveston. Shown is the spaghetti plot for the tropical disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico. Models are starting to agree on a path into southeast Texas and Louisiana. WeatherBell Even higher rain chances are expected on Wednesday. This is when the Houston area could see the potential tropical system move close to the Texas coastline, especially by late Wednesday afternoon and evening. Due to the uncertainty regarding how strong or exactly where this potential tropical system tracks, rainfall totals are uncertain at this time. However, there is potential for several inches of rain in the Houston metro area between Tuesday and Thursday, with even higher totals along the coastline. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Ben-Gvir and Acceleration of Israel's Collapse Ben-Gvirs rush to achieve the religious Zionist agenda contradicts the traditional form of Israeli colonialism, predicated on the incremental genocide of Palestinians and the slow ethnic cleansing of Palestinian communities from East Jerusalem and the West Bank Sunday September 8, 2024 8:45 AM , Dr. Ramzy Baroud Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir vowed, on August 26, to build a synagogue inside the Muslim holy site Al-Haram Al-Sharif. Ben-Gvir, as a representation of Israels powerful religious Zionist class in the government and society at large, has been candid regarding his designs in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of Palestine. He has advocated a religious war, calling for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, the starvation or killing of prisoners and the annexation of the West Bank. In his capacity as a minister in the equally extremist government of Benjamin Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir has worked hard to translate his language into action. He has raided the Palestinian Al-Aqsa Mosque repeatedly, and implemented his starvation policies against Palestinian detainees, going as far as defending rape inside Israeli military detention camps and calling the accused soldiers our best heroes. His supporters have carried out hundreds of assaults and dozens of pogroms targeting Palestinian communities in the West Bank. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 670 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank since the start of the Gaza war. A large number among those killed and injured were victims of illegal Jewish settlers. But not all Israelis in the political or security establishments agree with Ben-Gvirs behavior or tactics. For example, on August 22, Israels Shin Bet chief, Ronen Bar, warned against the indescribable damage to Israel caused by Ben-Gvirs actions in East Jerusalem. The damage to the State of Israel, especially now is indescribable: global delegitimization, even among our greatest allies, Bar wrote in a letter sent to several Israeli ministers. Bars letter may seem odd. The Shin Bet has been instrumental in the killing of numerous Palestinians, in the name of Israeli security. Bar himself is a strong supporter of the settlements, and as hawkish as is required for the person who leads such a notorious organization. Bars conflict with Ben-Gvir, however, is not that of substance, but style. This conflict is only an expression of a much greater ideological and political war among Israels top institutions. This war, however, began before the October 7 attack and the ongoing Israeli war and genocide in Gaza. Seven months before the start of the war, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a televised speech that those who think that a real civil war is a border we wont cross, have no idea. The context of his comments was the real, deep hate among Israelis resulting from the attempts by Netanyahu and his extremist government coalition partners to undermine the power of the judiciary. The fight over the Supreme Court, however, was merely the tip of the iceberg. The fact that it took Israel five elections in four years to settle on a stable government in December 2022 was itself indicative of Israels unprecedented political conflict. The new government may have been stable in terms of the parliamentary balances, but it destabilized the country on all fronts, leading to mass protests, involving the powerful, but increasingly marginalized military class. The October 7 attack took place at a time of social and political vulnerability, arguably unprecedented since the founding of Israel atop the ruins of historic Palestine in May 1948. The war, but particularly the failure to achieve any of its objectives, deepened that existing conflict. This led to warnings from politicians and military men that the country was collapsing. The clearest of these warnings came from Yitzhak Brik, a former top Israeli military commander. He wrote in Haaretz on August 22 that the country is galloping towards the edge of an abyss, and that it will collapse within no more than a year. Though Brik was, among various factors, blaming Netanyahus losing war in Gaza, the anti-Netanyahu political class believes that the crisis mainly lies in the government itself. This solution, according to recent comments made by Herzog himself, is that Kahanism needs to be removed from the government. Kahanism here is a reference to the Kach Party of Rabbi Meir Kahane. Though now banned, Kach has resurfaced in numerous forms, including in Ben-Gvirs Otzma Yehudit party. As a disciple of Kahane, Ben-Gvir is set to achieve the vision of the extremist rabbi, that of the complete ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. Ben-Gvir and his ilk are fully aware of the historic opportunity that is now available to them as they hope to ignite the much-coveted religious war. They also know that if the war in Gaza ends without advancing their main plan of colonizing the rest of the occupied territories, the opportunity may not present itself ever again. Ben-Gvirs rush to achieve the religious Zionist agenda contradicts the traditional form of Israeli colonialism, predicated on the incremental genocide of Palestinians and the slow ethnic cleansing of Palestinian communities from East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Though the Israeli military believes that illegal settlements are essential, they perceive these colonies in strategic language as a security buffer for Israel. The winners and losers of Israels ideological and political war are most likely to emerge following the end of the Gaza war, the outcomes of which will determine other factors, including the very future of the state of Israel, as per the estimation of General Yitzhak Brik himself. [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.] Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates. Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. Welcome Guest! You are here: Home Gaza Photographer Mahmud Hams wins Visa dOr News award Palestinian Photographer, Mahmud Hams, has been conferred the prestigious Visa dOr News award for his outstanding and impactful coverage of the Israeli war in Gaza Sunday September 8, 2024 5:50 PM , ummid.com News Network Palestinian Photographer, Mahmud Hams, has been conferred the prestigious Visa dOr News award for his outstanding and impactful coverage of the Israeli war in Gaza. Mahmud Hams' work has drawn global attention to the humanitarian crisis and violence faced by Palestinians, highlighting the severe consequences of the ongoing war. Visa dOr News prize is one of the top photo journalism awards. Mahmud Hams has worked for news agency AFP for over two decades in the Palestinian territories. 44-year-old Mahmud Hams, holds a degree in Journalism and Information from the Islamic University of Gaza. He joined AFP in 2003 and has since covered daily news in the Gaza Strip. He has also reported from Libya and Egypt. Mahmud Hams left Rafah in February 2024 with his family and has since been working for AFP in Qatar. Hams says he has reported from war conflict zones in various countries but the ongoinf war is totally different. I spent my childhood in Gaza, and in 23 years of photojournalism, I have witnessed every war, every conflict there. But this war is unlike any other, without precedent from the very first day, he said. My colleagues and I have had to face incredibly difficult conditions, with no red lines and no protections for anyone. There were even attacks targeting journalists offices, which are supposed to be off-limits in times of war", he added. In 2018, Hams was awarded the 25th Bayeux-Calvados War Correspondents Prize for the photograph of the paralysed protester during the Great March of Return. Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates. Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. HCM CITY Despite potential risks, Viet Nam is regarded as one of the fastest-growing economies within the ASEAN region, serving as a crucial link to ASEAN and beyond, speakers said at a conference in HCM City on Friday. Wee Ee Cheong, deputy chairman and CEO of United Overseas Bank (UOB) Singapore, said Viet Nams economy is expected to grow by 6 per cent this year, up from 5 per cent last year. The country has great potential, driven by its youthful population, skilled workforce, and abundant natural resources, he said. As a key member of ASEAN, Viet Nam is benefiting from shifts in the global supply chain and various free trade agreements, he added. Victor Ngo, CEO of UOB Vietnam, said: Viet Nam has emerged as a preferred destination for corporations seeking to diversify their manufacturing operations amid global instability, supply chain restructuring, and the China+1 strategy. Its strategic location, large and youthful population and favourable business policies, have made it an attractive investment destination, he added. Heng Koon How, head of market strategy, global economics, and market research at UOB, said Viet Nams share of ASEANs GDP has nearly doubled, rising from under 6 per cent in 2000 to 12 per cent today. Viet Nam's economic recovery in the first half is anticipated to persist into the latter half of the year, he noted. Its GDP grew 6.9 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter, up from 5.8 per cent in the first quarter, he added. Despite potential risks, we maintain a positive growth forecast of 6.0 per cent for Viet Nam this year, up from 5 per cent last year, he said. With a burgeoning middle class and a population of some 100 million, consumer spending is expected to rise as wealth increases in Viet Nam, he added. Viet Nam is also transitioning from low-cost manufacturing to higher value-added technologies while expanding its services, retail, and tourism sectors. Phan Van Mai, chairman of the municipal Peoples Committee, said that the growth rate for the ASEAN region is projected to reach 5 per cent this year, with Viet Nams growth expected at 6 per cent. Viet Nam, including HCM City, will continue to create the most favourable conditions for foreign investors, particularly those from Singapore, with a focus on sectors such as finance, trade, and high technology, he said. The southern economic hub has made efforts to streamline administrative reforms and foster an environment conducive to the operation of foreign enterprises within the city, he added. Singapore has emerged as Viet Nams fifth-largest trading partner and the largest foreign investor in HCM City, he said. ASEAN: a gateway for global trade Ngo of UOB Vietnam said the ASEAN region is positioned as a crucial gateway for global trade, with Viet Nam as a key connector. Despite global economic uncertainties since the COVID pandemic, ASEAN economies have shown resilience due to their collective strengths, he said. Cheong of UOB Singapore said ASEAN is on track to become one of the worlds largest markets by 2030, supported by strategic connectivity, free trade agreements, and a growing middle class. In 2022, while global FDI decreased, ASEANs inflows rose to a record $226 billion. With a combined GDP of $3.6 trillion, ASEAN is expected to grow around 5 per cent this year, surpassing many developed nations. However, challenges persist, including Chinas uneven recovery, potential policy risks from leadership changes in key ASEAN countries, and uncertainty from the upcoming US presidential election, which could heighten trade tensions. The annual Gateway to ASEAN regional conference, themed ASEAN: Crossroad to the World, was organised by UOB. VNS HA NOI Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Tran Thanh Man and a high-ranking delegation of the legislature left Ha Noi on Sunday morning for an official visit to Russia where he will also co-chair the 3rd meeting of the Viet Nam-Russia Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee. The trip from September 8-10 is made at the invitation of Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Victorovich Volodin, and Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly Valentina Ivanovna Matviyenko. The top legislator is accompanied by NA Vice Chairman Nguyen Khac inh, Chairman of the Viet Nam-Russia Friendship Parliamentarians Group; Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, Chairman of the Vietnamese Sub-committee of the Viet Nam-Russia Intergovernmental Committee for Economic-Trade and Scientific-Technological Cooperation; NA General Secretary and Chairman of the NA Office Bui Van Cuong; Chairman of the NAs Committee for External Relations Vu Hai Ha; Chairman of the NAs Committee for Culture and Education Nguyen ac Vinh; Chairman of the NAs Committee for Economic Affairs Vu Hong Thanh; Chairman of the NAs Committee for Science, Technology and Environment Le Quang Huy; Chairman of the NAs Committee for Defence and Security Le Tan Toi; Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi; Minister of Health ao Hong Lan; Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lt. Gen. Vo Minh Luong; Deputy Minister of Public Security Lt. Gen. Le Quoc Hung, and Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia ang Minh Khoi. Leaders of NA agencies, ministries, sectors and localities also joined the delegation. This is the first official visit to Russia by Man in his capacity as NA Chairman and also the first trip by a key leader of the Vietnamese Party and State in 2024. It follows Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Viet Nam in June. The visit is one of the practical and effective activities aiming to concretise the Joint Statement on deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership, on the basis of the 30-year achievements of implementing the Treaty on Principles of Friendly Relations between Viet Nam and Russia. It also aims to realise cooperation orientations reached in the phone talks between Party General Secretary and President To Lam and President Vladimir Putin on August 8, 2024. The trip is expected to contribute to promoting and strengthening the Viet Nam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership in general and the close ties between the Vietnamese NA, and the State Duma and the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia in particular. VNS MOSCOW National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation arrived at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow on Sunday afternoon (local time), beginning a three-day official visit to Russia where he will co-chair the third session of the Viet Nam-Russia Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee. The NA Chairman and delegation were welcomed at the airport by First Vice Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Ivan Ivanovich Melnikov, Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia ang Minh Khoi, the Vietnamese Embassy's staff and representatives of the Vietnamese community in Russia. The visit, the first by Man in his capacity as the NA Chairman and the first by a key Vietnamese leader this year, follows Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Viet Nam in June. It aims to concretise the Joint Statement on deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership, on the basis of the 30-year achievements of implementing the Treaty on Principles of Friendly Relations between Viet Nam and Russia, helping to promote and strengthen the Viet Nam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership in general and the close ties between the Vietnamese NA, and the State Duma and the Federation Council of Federal Assembly of Russia in particular. It also expects to realise cooperation agreements reached in the phone talks between Party General Secretary and State President To Lam and President Vladimir Putin on August 8. Man is scheduled to hold talks with Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Victorovich Volodin. The two leaders will also co-chair the third session of the Viet Nam-Russia Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee. The Vietnamese top legislator will also hold talks with Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly Valentina of the Russian Federation Ivanovna Matviyenko and sign a new cooperation agreement between the Vietnamese NA and the Federation Council. His agenda includes meetings with high-ranking leaders of the Russian State and major political parties. He will also receive leaders from regions of Russia that have cooperation ties with Viet Nam, representatives from the Russia-Viet Nam Friendship Association, and veterans who fought in Viet Nam. VNS HA NOI Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and his spouse left Ha Noi on Sunday afternoon, successfully concluding their four-day official visit to Viet Nam at the invitation of Party General Secretary and State President To Lam and his spouse. While in Viet Nam, President Embalo attended an official welcome ceremony and held talks with Party General Secretary and State President To Lam. The two leaders witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on establishing a political and diplomatic consultation mechanism between the two countries foreign ministries, and an MoU on agricultural cooperation between the two ministries of agriculture and rural development. The top Vietnamese leader and his spouse also hosted a banquet in honour of their Guinea-Bissau guests. The Guinea-Bissau President also met with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, who expressed their confidence that the visit, the first delegation exchange at the head of state level between the two countries since they established diplomatic ties in 1973, would create new momentum for the two countries traditional friendship and cooperation, building on recent bilateral delegation exchanges, joint work, and mutual support. President Embalo expressed his admiration for Viet Nams revolutionary cause and national construction efforts, noting that a secondary school in Guinea-Bissau has been named after late President Ho Chi Minh. He affirmed that Viet Nam is considered as a model for developing countries in Africa, including Guinea-Bissau. The Vietnamese and Guinea-Bissau leaders updated each other on their respective countries' situation and expressed their satisfaction with the positive outcomes in bilateral relations, especially as the two sides celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations last year. They also discussed ways to further step up cooperation in the time to come. As part of his visit, the Guinea-Bissau President visited the Field Crops Research Institute (FCRI) under the Viet Nam Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS), in the northern province of Hai Duong and participated in other activities. VNS Jonathan Keeperman, AKA "Lomez," spoke at the 2024 National Conservative Conference in Washington, D.C. DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Before the era of Donald Trump, the rights online radicals yelled at the Republican Party from the cheap seats. Now, theyve become players within the conservative power structure, as the walls that once kept them at bay have crumbled. The Republican nominee for vice president has explicitly cited a neo-monarchist blogger as an influence on his thinking about the executive branch; junior Trump White House staffers were reportedly all reading a writer called Bronze Age Pervert. The influence of these fringe ideas on the right is, at this point, unmistakable. But most people dont understand the particulars of how it happened and, in fact, is continuing to happen. Theres a whole network of campaigners, often invisible to mainstream observers, who are actively working to bring radical ideas into the American mainstream. Their goal is to (re)introduce ideas, like the notion that Black people are generally less intelligent than white people, into the mainstream intellectual world and, in doing so, ultimately transform for the worse the contours of whats permissible in our politics. Advertisement Article continues below this ad So I listened with interest when a prominent figure in this world, a book publisher and secret Twitter troll named Jonathan Keeperman, went on an obscure podcast to explain exactly how his mainstreaming strategy works. At its core, it is about creating an alternative set of social institutions. But it also depends on building ties with more mainstream figures, such as Tucker Carlson, who serve as go-betweens to pump the radical rights ideas into the political bloodstream. Keeperman runs an outfit called Passage Press, which releases tomes from right-wingers historic (like the inter-war German radical Ernst Junger) and contemporary (aforementioned neo-monarchist blogger Curtis Yarvin). Hes treated as a respectable figure by the mainstream, speaking at the same National Conservatism conference this July that hosted Sens. J.D. Vance, Josh Hawley, and Mike Lee. Yet Keeperman has been living a dual life. In his appearance on Unsupervised Learning, a podcast hosted by conservative geneticist Razib Khan, Keeperman addresses this duality explaining how and why his shitposting under the L0m3z handle connects to his broader strategy. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Keeperman says that his work is built on a central premise: that any quest to convince mainstream cultural institutions to discuss outer right topics is doomed to fail. People on the right who wish to discuss taboo topics, like the link between race and IQ, must instead form our own self-verifying and self-credentialing networks. Passage Publishing is designed to be a foundational institution in this network. So too is the online community of anonymous right-wing posters in which L0m3z flourishes. The anons, as theyre called, create a self-reinforcing world to discuss extreme ideas, one thats largely impervious to mainstream efforts to expose and shame them. This community wields offensive language as an ideological weapon, intentionally using slurs to break down boundaries about the public discussion of far-right ideas. You use these words just because youre not supposed to, Keeperman says on the podcast. You want to demystify this language and strip this language of its ability to manage what people can say and how they say it. For this reason, he shrugs off the Guardians criticism of him using the F-slur and similarly offensive words. Advertisement Article continues below this ad This strategy of breaking down boundaries appears to have worked: Keeperman has published under the L0m3z moniker in multiple different right-wing publications, proof positive that the sort of vicious language his account regularly deploys is no longer disqualifying even in relatively respectable conservative outlets like First Things magazine. By cultivating key ideological allies he describes as having one foot in the credible institutional world, Keeperman can count on elite defenders to ensure that his performative online cruelty doesnt have any true professional consequences. In the podcast, Keeperman names Chris Rufo one of the rights most prominent activists as one such ally. Trumps former top strategist (whos currently in federal prison) Steve Bannon is another such ally. After the Guardian expose, Bannon hosted Keeperman on his podcast and vowed to defend him: Were gonna have your back, and others are going to have your back, Bannon said. I dont want to overemphasize Keepermans personal influence. Passage Press is a relatively small publishing house; L0m3zs 85,000-person following on X is large but not gigantic. But his interview with Khan is notable because it lays out, in unusually blunt terms, how a much larger network of influence operates. He bluntly describes how abstruse high-brow publishing works hand-in-glove with online posting to mainstream radical ideas; he also shows how figures in the conservative mainstream provide cover for this kind of work. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Zack Beauchamp is a senior correspondent at Vox, where he covers ideology and challenges to democracy, both at home and abroad. 2024 Vox Media, LLC. Visit at vox.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC SYDNEY National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh held working sessions with top officials of Australias New South Wales state on September 6-7, helping to strengthen and deepen comprehensive strategic partnership between Viet Nam and Australia. Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Greg Piper highlighted the immense potential for collaboration between New South Wales and Vietnamese localities, expressing his confidence that the visit would foster cultural and economic exchanges between Viet Nam and Australia, and specifically between Vietnamese cities and New South Wales in the near future. Thanh underscored New South Wales's pivotal role in expanding cooperation with Vietnamese localities, particularly in key areas. She noted that HCM City, a partner city of New South Wales, could become a pioneer in implementing the Viet Nam-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership and Australia's Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040. The Vietnamese NA is committed to creating favourable conditions for Australian firms, including those from New South Wales, to invest and operate effectively, sustainably and stably in Viet Nam, she said. The legislator proposed several areas for future cooperation, including trade promotion, information and technology sharing for mineral extraction, coal and liquefied natural gas, business support to leverage free trade agreements, logistics, clean energy, and low carbon emissions. She also recommended effective implementation of the joint declaration on practical actions to combat climate change. Thanh also suggested facilitating the exchange of delegations, including those from the New South Wales Legislative Assembly to the People's Councils of Vietnamese cities and provinces. In a meeting with Deputy President of the New South Wales Legislative Council Rodney John Roberts, Thanh expressed Viet Nam's readiness to host delegations from the New South Wales Legislative Council to share experiences with the People's Councils of Vietnamese localities. She sought New South Waless expertise and technology in hi-tech agriculture, building value chains for agricultural products, food and beverages within global and regional supply chains, and collaboration in training and investment in Viet Nam, particularly in the production of raw materials for pharmaceutical and supplementary food industries. On the occasion, she called on New South Wales authorities to create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community living and working there, helping them serve as a bridge for the bilateral ties. Roberts, for his part, described people-to-people exchange as a cornerstone of the friendship bonds between the two countries. Agreeing with Thanhs proposals, he underlined Viet Nam's vast and diverse development potential and vowed to soon visit Vie Nam in the near future. The same day, Thanh and New South Wales Minister of Trade and Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology, Building, and Corrections Anoulack Chanthivon discussed advancing collaboration in innovation, sci-tech, education, hydrogen energy, finance, investment funds and banking. Regarding education-training, Thanh requested New South Wales to increase scholarships for Vietnamese civil servants, especially those from localities. She also emphasised the need to foster professional exchanges in public management through training courses and workshops on urban management, smart city development and digital transformation; as well as steping up collaboration in vocational education, including the transfer of training courses and establishment of vocational training centres in Viet Nam, to develop a quality workforce. New South Wales will continue to focus on investing in education and stays ready to consider cooperation programmes that align with Viet Nam's needs, Chanthivon assured. Their discussions covered the priorities of Viet Nam and New South Wales in the fields of energy, renewable energy, and just energy transition. They reviewed Viet Nam's achievements in these areas and its commitment to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. Chanthivon welcomed Vietnamese enterprises to invest in New South Wales and expressed his readiness to help them understand the local investment environment, policies and regulations to reinforce bilateral cooperation. In the afternoon, the Vietnamese delegation met with outstanding representatives of Vietnamese community in New South Wales. VNS HA NOI Mozambican President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi and his spouse arrived in Ha Noi on Sunday afternoon, beginning their three-day official visit to Viet Nam at the invitation of Party General Secretary and President To Lam and his spouse. This trip marks President Nyusi's first visit to Viet Nam since taking office and also the first visit by a Mozambican president to the Southeast Asian nation in over 17 years. Welcoming President Nyusi and his wife at Noi Bai International Airport were Chairman of the Presidential Office Le Khanh Hai, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Hang, and Vietnamese Ambassador to Mozambique Pham Hoang Kim, and several other officials. Taking place in the context that Viet Nam and Mozambique will celebrate the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, the visit aims to strengthen cooperation in traditional areas while expanding into new areas such as telecommunications, energy and minerals, fisheries, and digital transformation. During the visit, President Nyusi is scheduled to meet and hold talks with Viet Nam's key leaders, and visit several businesses, educational and cultural establishments, and historical sites. The two sides are also expected to sign several important cooperation documents in areas of their strength and demand. Viet Nam and Mozambique established diplomatic relations on June 25, 1975. In recent years, the exchange of delegations between the two countries, while their cooperation mechanisms like the Intergovernmental Committee and political consultation have been maintained, laying a foundation for promoting comprehensive cooperation. Both sides have actively coordinated and supported each other at multilateral forums. Regarding trade and investment, Viet Nam raked in US$127 million from exports to Mozambique last year, with main items being fertilisers, garments, and farming equipment. Imports from Mozambique totalled nearly $420 million, with key products being coal and cashew nuts. Vietnamese businesses' investment in Mozambique is a bright spot in economic cooperation between the two nations, notably the success of Movitel - a joint venture between Viet Nams Viettel Group and Mozambiques SPI company - that was established in 2012 with an investment of over $600 million. It is now one of the top three contributors to Mozambique's national budget, providing diverse telecommunications and IT services. In addition, the two countries successfully implemented several agricultural projects, notably the first phase of a project on cooperation in research and development of food crops in Mozambique during 2013-17, with potential for a second phase in the time to come. Currently, the Vietnamese community in Mozambique consists of approximately 200 people, mainly managers and employees working at Movitel. The remainders are education and healthcare experts. VNS HA NOI Super typhoon Yagi that swept through northern mountainous localities over the weekend killed at least 14 people and injured 176 others, according to the information updated at 10am on Sunday by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Among the dead, four were from Quang Ninh Province, three from Ha Noi, one from Hai Phong City, one from Hai Duong Province, one from Military Region 3 and four from the same family in Hoa Binh Province who died during landslides on Sunday early morning. Most of the injured victims were from Quang Ninh Province. Twenty-five small cement and timber ships sank at their anchorage in Quang Ninh Province. Thirteen fishermen went missing including seven people on Tien Thanh 05 ship and six people on Hong Gai sea tugboat which broke anchor and drifted without contact, according to the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control. Five localities which suffered the most damage from the typhoon Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Thai Binh, Hai Duong, and Ha Noi reported extensive power outages. Chairing a meeting to overcome the super typhoons consequences on Sunday morning, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said Typhoon Yagi and its circulation were assessed to leave a wide range of influence on 26 localities from the northern region to Thanh Hoa Province. Yagi made landfall in Viet Nam and caused serious devastation for over one day. Torrential rain and floods are still forecast in the northern mountainous region. PM Chinh asked relevant agencies to review and offer assistance to localities that suffer from losses and families of the deceased. He called for urgent typhoon recovery actions and directed mobile and electricity network operators to cooperate and share network connections. Strong winds and heavy rain damaged 3,279 houses and left 401 electricity poles to collapse. Many stores, offices and schools had their roofs blown off or were damaged. A number of advertising signs and telecommunication poles were broken. About 121,500ha of rice and farm produce crops were destroyed, mostly in Thai Binh, Hai Duong, Bac Ninh provinces, Ha Noi and Hai Phong City. Over 1,000 fish cafes were damaged or blown away in the typhoon, mostly in the coastal province of Quang Ninh. According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, after the typhoon weakened into a tropical depression, heavy rain is predicted to continue on Sunday and Monday in the entire plains, midlands and mountainous areas of the north, with an average 24-hour rainfall of up to 100-150mm, and in some places over 200mm. There is a high risk of flooding on rivers and streams and flash floods and landslides in some localities. Urban areas still stand a high risk of flooding. Eighteen northern provinces have been warned of flash floods and landslides. Meteorological experts warn that flash floods and landslides can have negative impacts on the environment, threaten people's lives, cause local traffic jams, affect the movement of vehicles and damage production and socio-economic activities. Affected localities need to regularly monitor real-time warnings of areas at risk of flash floods and landslides updated online on the website of the General Department of Hydrometeorology at https://luquetsatlo.nchmf.gov.vn and in separate bulletins. Recovery efforts Joint efforts between local authorities and residents have been underway across the region since Sunday morning after the typhoon weakened into a tropical depression on Sunday morning. Traffic around Ha Noi on Sunday was disrupted by fallen trees, blocking all or part of the roadway. Many families had to mobilise the support of neighbours to deal with water flooding into their homes, Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper reported. In some hallways, water flooded through the cracks in the glass doors and flowed onto the floor. Building management staff and residents had to take turns to clean the floors and prevent water from flowing into the elevators. At the Gelexia apartment building in Hoang Mai District, a family had to take turns bringing clothes and towels to soak up the water flowing into the house through the cracks in the glass windows. Nguyen Van Dung, a resident at @Home apartment building in Hoang Mai District, told Tien Phong: The wind was howling, the glass door separating the living room and the balcony was shaking. Water poured through the cracks in the door into the house, flooding the living room, bedrooms and kitchen area. I have never seen such strong winds in more than 20 years of living in the capital city. From 3pm on Saturday until 5am on Sunday, the city reported rainfall from 100 to 220mm in most of the inner districts, according to the Ha Noi Sewerage And Drainage Ltd Company. The company has arranged mobile pumps and suction trucks to drain the water. From 5am on Sunday, the company has arranged workers to clean up the intakes and barriers, focusing on operating the main pumping stations to keep the water level in the system at the lowest level, ready to receive and transport water when heavier rain occurs. To prevent flooding, the company will continue to operate pumping stations on the system and sluice gates of ong a, Bay Mau, am Chuoi lakes to lower the water level. Speaking to the press on Sunday morning, Bui Thi Minh Hoai, Secretary of the city Party Committee, said local authorities have taken drastic measures to respond to the typhoon, for example, promptly evacuating people from dangerous old apartment buildings, arranging safe shelters, mobilising forces on duty to support locals during the typhoon. Thanks to those efforts, the city basically still ensures the key goals, especially keeping people safe. In Quang Ninh Province, Cao Tuong Huy, chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee, said the damages and fatalities caused by the typhoon have not been fully determined due to the widespread impact of broken 110KV power poles and lost information connection. The province has mobilised all sectors, localities, police, army and people to focus on cleaning up to soon stabilise people's lives. He proposed to the Prime Minister that the provinces power system must first be restored to connect communications. Forty-six people stranded at sea and on islands have been safely brought to shore. Local authorities also proposed that the Government support helicopters for searching people and vehicles missing at sea. Since early Sunday morning, residents of Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province poured into the streets to start cleanup work. Tran Thi Van, living in Cao Thang Ward witnessed the storm sweeping through Ha Long. She said her family was so scared that they had to run down to the basement of a solid building near their house to take shelter from the storm. At first, the wind was strong, then heavy rain caused flooding, and the family was so scared that they stayed up all night. Nguyen Van Quyen, from the same ward, said although his family did not suffer any damage, he took the initiative early in the morning to join the neighborhood to clean up the streets. He said the cleanup work to overcome the typhoons consequences might take several weeks. Local authorities and sectors in other localities are also mobilising forces to urgently mitigate the damage, assess losses, and support residents in stabilising their daily lives. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has instructed power companies to assess the damage and promptly restore power grids, prioritising the electricity supply to key enterprises and industrial zones. The Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Information and Communications have directed telecommunications firms to quickly restore communication networks. The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment have provided guidance on managing reservoir operations to prevent compound flooding. VNS HA NOI Four airports in Viet Nam affected by typhoon Yagi have resumed operations on Saturday evening and Sunday early morning. Different airlines maintained their flights on Sunday as planned. Noi Bai International Airport in Ha Noi operated normally from 11.50pm on Saturday. Van on Airport in Quang Ninh Province resumed operations from 8.12pm and the Tho Xuan Airport in Thanh Hoa Province opened from 10pm on Saturday. The Cat Bi Airport in Hai Phong City reopened from just after midnight on Sunday. Information from the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting showed that by Sunday morning, typhoon Yagi moved in a west-northwest direction, weakened and then gradually dissipated. Based on the typhoon's developments and the airport's reopening plans, many airlines maintained normal flights on Sunday as planned, ensuring the travel for customers who had booked tickets. Airlines recommend that passengers should proactively monitor information and arrange travel time to the airport to ensure on-time flights. Previously, the Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam decided to extend the suspension of aircraft reception at Van on and Cat Bi airports until 8pm on Saturday; at Noi Bai Airport until Saturday midnight, an increase of three hours compared to the announcement on late Friday. 145 flights were affected by the typhoon closures, including 65 outbound flights (39 domestic, 26 international), and 80 inbound flights not received (37 domestic, 43 international) The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines cancelled cancelled 34 flights and adjusted the working hours of 78 other domestic and international flights on Saturday and Sunday Budget carrier Vietjet announced a temporary suspension of 67 flights to and from the Noi Bai Airport in Ha Noi from 10am to 7pm on Saturday. On the same day, the airline also temporarily suspended 18 flights to and from the Cat Bi Airport in Hai Phong City from 5am to 4pm, and four flights to and from the Tho Xuan Airport in Thanh Hoa Province from 12pm to 10pm. Bamboo Airways also cancelled 14 flights on Saturday. The Viet Nam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM) said that on Saturday morning, Van on and Cat Bi airports were directly affected by the typhoon from 7am with strong winds and the lowest visibility during the typhoon. The Noi Bai Airport was directly affected by the typhoon from around 10am, visibility was reduced to 800-2,000m during the typhoon. Some barriers at the airport collapsed due to strong winds. At around 12pm, the typhoon affected the Tho Xuan Airport, with very heavy rain and the lowest visibility reduced to 1.5-3km. The VATM issued an official dispatch requesting relevant units to focus on responding to the typhoon and post-typhoon floods and proactively overcome consequences. VNS The power sector's workers are restoring electricity grid ruined by the typhoon. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has called on people, businesses, organisations and localities to provide aid and support for those affected by typhoon Yagi, the third storm to hit Vietnam this year. Chairing a hybrid conference in Hanoi on September 8 to direct recovery efforts, PM Chinh described Yagi as the most powerful typhoon to enter the East Sea in the past three decades, with an unpredictable escalation, prolonged duration and widespread impact. Despite proactive and drastic response by various sectors and localities, its complicated progression still resulted in significant damage in human and property. He conveyed condolences and sympathy of Party General Secretary and President To Lam, other Party and State leaders, to the affected families, units and localities. The PM announced that he and Deputy Prime Ministers would personally visit affected areas to oversee recovery efforts following the conference. PM Chinh instructed sectors and localities to conduct thorough assessments of fatalities, injuries, missing persons, and material damage to ensure timely assistance. Hanoi's Linh Dam urban area is devastated by typhoon Yagi. (Photo: VNA) The PM stressed the importance of providing essential aid, including food, clothes, and shelters to those in need. Additionally, he ordered the swift restoration of electricity, water, telecommunications, and other vital services to facilitate management, production and consumption. Other specific tasks were also assigned to relevant ministries, agencies and localities. Typhoon Yagi has left nine people dead and 187 others injured in several northern provinces, according to initial statistics reported as of September 8 morning. According to the Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, 25 small boats sank at their moorings in Quang Ninh. The provinces of Quang Ninh, Thai Binh and Hai Duong, Hai Phong city and the capital city of Hanoi experienced widespread power outages and communication disruptions. Due to the prolonged duration and intensity of the typhoon's strong winds and gusts, 3,279 houses were damaged; 401 power poles were broken. Many stores, offices, and schools were unroofed or damaged. Numerous billboards and telecommunication poles were pulled down; and urban trees were uprooted or broken along major roads in Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Hai Duong, Hanoi, and other areas. Co To residents in Quang Ninh clean up the environment after the storm (Photo: VNA) Agricultural production has also suffered significant damage, with 121,500 hectares of rice and crops submerged or destroyed and over 1,000 aquaculture cages damaged or washed away, primarily in Quang Ninh. In the capital city of Hanoi, more than 17,000 trees collapsed or were damaged, causing local traffic congestion and electricity outage. Although the typhoon has weakened into a tropical depression and is dissipating in the northwestern region, its remnants are expected to bring heavy rainfall to northern provinces until the end of September 9, particularly in the northwest, with average rainfall ranging from 100-200mm and local amounts reaching up to 350mm. Consequently, in addition to recovery efforts, localities must remain vigilant against flash floods and landslides. Super Typhoon Yagi to hit northeastern mainland on September 7 Super Typhoon Yagi is currently about 620km southeast of the northeastern coastal province of Quang Ninh and will make a landfall on September 7, said the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting. Super typhoon Yagi kills four, injures 78 Super typhoon Yagi killed four people and injured 78 others after slamming into northern localities on September 7 afternoon, according to the Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority (DDMA) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). Tim Combs, executive director of Americans for Independent Living, laughs with volunteers as they and Lowes employees help renovate the community room at AFIL's new headquarters in the former Slumberland building on University Avenue. DODGEVILLE Mary Alice Jackson was 13 when she said goodbye to her older brother Robert. It would be seven decades before she found out what happened to him after he left home. The path beyond the doorstep of his home in Dodgeville led Jacksons brother, Army Cpl. Robert Raess, 21, to a death in battle. Raess was entitled to a funeral with full honors, and on Saturday, after nearly 74 years, he got precisely that. The morning began with a 10 a.m. Mass at St. Josephs Catholic Church in Dodgeville. Then Raess remains were taken to Gorgen Funeral Home, where friends, family, and military officials congregated. The pallbearers, seven in dress blues, carried Raess casket to the hearse and later to the gravesite. They meticulously folded the American flag adorning the top of the silver box before walking it to Jackson, offering gratitude and condolences. Taps rang out from a lone trumpet, and Jackson cradle the flag as something truly precious. Thanks to a local donor, Raess was buried in a plot near his parents, the bittersweet fulfillment of every military familys wish: that their soldier come home to them. It wasnt the homecoming Raess family had hoped for, but Jackson said she was no less grateful. Its just sweet bitterness, so happy that they finally brought him home and hes with his mom and dad, Jackson said. He deserves it. Long journey home For decades, Jackson wondered what had happened to her brother, never imagining that the answer she and her family had been seeking for so long would come to her in a Costco parking lot. She was leaving the store near her current home in the state of Oregon when her phone rang, the screen displaying an unfamiliar area code. When Jackson hesitantly picked up the call, a woman gave her the news: Roberts remains had been identified, and with them clarity about what happened to him. A member of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, Raess was killed on Aug. 31, 1950. According to Army officials, witnesses reported he was killed when he was positioned on high ground above the Naktong River. His battalion was overrun in an offensive launched by the North Korean Peoples Army. While withdrawing, Raess and the rest of his group were shot at by NKPA soldiers atop a hill. Two survivors later reported that the NKPA troops captured living troops as prisoners and bayoneted Raess and the others who had been hit. For years, Raess body lay in a mass military grave labeled by numbers and letters, unidentified despite early efforts by military officials. After more than seven decades of anonymity though, DNA testing gave Raess his name back, and the Army gave Jackson her brother back. In July 2018, Raess remains were exhumed for identification from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, or the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identified Raess remains in March 2024, according to a statement from U.S. Army spokesperson Fonda Bock. For seven decades, he was known only as X-1578 Tanggok, the name officials attached to his remains, Bock wrote. As DNA technology has progressed, the identification of older remains has become more feasible, an effect that stretches beyond the walls of forensics laboratories. Repatriations are more common Ahead of the graveside rites, motorcycles led the funeral procession to St. Josephs Cemetery, rumbling in formation. The chilly air seemed to still when their engines fell silent, shortly replaced by the hollow popping of a 21-gun salute. All was still save for flags, waving somber gratitude over the mourners. Cpl. Raess funeral was one of five repatriations that John Curran and the Patriot Guard Riders will have attended within the span of a month. The riders attend the funerals of members of the U.S. military and first responders at the invitation of a decedents family, and Curran is the Wisconsin state captain. We used to do about one (repatriation ) a year, then we got down to one a month, he said. Curran, a regular at funerals like Raess, sees his share of grief and hugs his share of loved ones. No matter how many tears fall on his shoulder, though, he says these events are celebrations, the relief outweighing the pain in many cases. Repatriations to me are not sad, funeral-like events. Theyre homecoming celebrations, Curran said. People are happy that somebodys coming home. Gratitude was definitely at the fore in Jacksons mind, even with her brother in a casket. Im so thankful to all the people around, the outpouring of kindness and sympathy is just amazing, she said. Its just so gratifying, I really dont have enough words to thank everybody. Photo recap: See how US honored its fallen military men and women Alexandra Rae is live with information about preventing more fires from starting as the containment grows for the Davis Fire. Many people were lining up along North Virginia Street this morning for the Northern Nevada Pride parade. Over 100 groups and businesses began walking down the road and interacting with attendees. One person we spoke with has been living in Reno for over ten years now, and says he has seen a lot of growth with this event. "Over the years, we have really seen it grow. We've seen a lot more support from local businesses, local community organizations, putting their support behind this amazing event," said Joshua Lewis. Another person told us today's parade was emotional, because of everyone coming together. "I love it, I absolutely love it because that is what pride is about, each other, it's not sexuality. We are all a family you know as the song goes. Reno is stepping up, I'm pretty impressed and I'm proud of Reno," said Heather Beaupre. Once the parade ended, everyone moved over to Wingfield Park to continue celebrating. There were vendors, food, and many live performances. Almost everyone we spoke with says they are glad they went today, and are already looking forward to attending next year. Press Release September 7, 2024 Bong Go extends help to hundreds of Typhoon Enteng victims in Catanduanes Following the aftermath of Typhoon Enteng which affected various parts in the country, on Thursday, September 5, Senator Christopher "Bong" Go dispatched his Malasakit Team to assist the typhoon victims from Barangays Dugui, Dugui San Isidro, and Dugui San Vicente in Virac, Catanduanes along with Governor Joseph Cua. Go expressed his continuing commitment to support recovery of those affected by calamities and other crises by doing what he can to provide help and bring services closer to those in need. "Huwag kayong magpasalamat sa amin. Sa totoo lang kami ang dapat ang magpasalamat sa inyo dahil binigyan ninyo kami ng pagkakataon na makapagserbisyo sa inyong lahat. Hindi ko sasayangin ang oras na ibinigay ninyo sa akin," expressed Go. Held at their respective Barangay Halls, Go's Malasakit Team gave out food packs to 299 beneficiaries in Brgy. Dugui, 79 in Brgy. Dugui San Isidro, and Brgy. Dugui San Vicente. Meanwhile, Go continues to emphasize the importance of proactive measures to enhance disaster resilience. He urged the government to work diligently towards the recovery of affected people and implement proactive initiatives to transform into disaster-resilient communities. In line with his advocacy for disaster resilience, Senator Go has pushed for his filed Senate Bill No. 188, known as the Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR) Act. This proposed bill seeks to establish a dedicated agency focused on creating adaptive and resilient communities. "We need to be better equipped and prepared to face these challenges. That is why I am urging my fellow lawmakers to prioritize the passage of SBN 188, which will establish the Department of Disaster Resilience," Go explained, underscoring the need for a specialized department to manage disaster response and recovery efforts effectively. As the rainy season continues, Senator Go, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, also reminded the public to be vigilant about the health risk common during these times. To address health concerns, especially during such crises, Go encouraged residents to seek assistance from the Malasakit Centers, a one-stop shop for medical assistance, with one located at Eastern Bicol Medical Center in Virac. The Malasakit Centers Act, established in 2019 through Republic Act No. 11463, was principally authored and sponsored by Senator Go. This law aims to simplify access to various medical assistance programs by consolidating them in Department of Health-run hospitals, easing the burden on patients seeking help with their medical expenses. Presently, there are 166 operational Malasakit Centers nationwide, ready to assist patients with their medical costs. According to the DOH, the program has already benefited more than 11 million Filipinos. "Patuloy kaming magseserbisyo sa inyo dahil bisyo ko ang magserbisyo at ako ay naniniwala na ang serbisyo sa tao ay serbisyo 'yan sa Panginoon, serbisyo 'yan kay Allah," underscored Go who is also known as Mr. Malasakit for his compassionate service to Filipinos in need. 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On the other hand, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi officially launched the partys campaign for the upcoming Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir, declaring that the Congress would restore statehood to J&K after coming to power. He emphasized that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) must restore statehood to the region, or the INDIA (Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance) bloc, led by opposition parties, would take it up as their first priority upon defeating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party. Gandhi, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, stated, We will ensure the return of statehood to the region, whether the BJP wants it or not. We will pressurize the government under the banner of the INDIA alliance. His statements reaffirm the Congresss commitment to reversing the BJP-led governments decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmirs statehood in 2019. Come September, Jammu and Kashmir will witness its first assembly election in a decade, providing the people a long-awaited chance to elect local representatives and have a say in government decision-making. The polls, set to take place for 90 assembly seats43 in Jammu and 47 in Kashmirwill be conducted in three phases from September 18 to October 1. This will be the first assembly election since the abrogation of Article 370 and the regions downgrading to Union Territory status in August 2019. In the June Lok Sabha election, the National Conference (NC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured two seats each, with the NC dominating in Kashmir and the BJP in Jammu. The fifth seat was won by Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) candidate Sheikh Abdul Rashid, commonly known as Engineer Rashid. In Jammu, the BJP had a strong showing with over 24 percent of the vote share, followed by the Congress at 19.4 percent. In the Kashmir Valley, the National Conference captured 22.3 percent of the vote, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) managed 8.5 percent. This division of votes reflects the regions political landscape, with the BJP maintaining its dominance in the Jammu region and the NC and PDP continuing to hold influence in Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir has been under direct central rule for over six years, since June 2018, and this election marks a significant moment for the region as it prepares to restore local governance. Over four years after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) revoked the special status of Indian-administered Kashmir, the party has decided not to contest this years general election in the region. Political analysts and opposition leaders suggest that this decision signals possible discontent in the region over the move, as well as an implicit acknowledgment by the BJP of the challenges it faces there. Relations between Kashmir and Delhi have been strained for decades, with a prolonged insurgency against Indian rule and military action resulting in thousands of deaths in the Himalayan region over the past several decades. The situation worsened in 2019 when Prime Minister Narendra Modis government revoked most of Article 370, which had granted significant autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir. The region was subsequently bifurcated into two federally-administered territories: Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir. Following the 2019 decision, the government also imposed a strict communication blockade and detained hundreds of political leaders, including three former chief ministers, for extended periods. Since then, Modi and his ministers have consistently defended the move, claiming that it has brought peace to the region. In recent years, local BJP leaders have conducted extensive grassroots campaigns in Kashmir, attempting to broaden the partys support base. However, the BJPs decision not to field candidates in the ongoing general election in Kashmirthe first since the revocation of Article 370has surprised many. While the party has fielded candidates in two Hindu-majority seats in Jammu, it has not done so in the three Muslim-majority seats of the Kashmir Valley. The BJPs chief spokesperson in Jammu and Kashmir, Sunil Seth, explained that elections were not the partys priority, stating that their main objective was to win the hearts of the people. He further emphasized that integrating Kashmir fully with the rest of India had been a long-term goal, and they did not want to create the impression that the effort was merely for electoral gains. Critics, however, argue that the decision reflects the partys recognition that securing a victory in the region would be challenging. Tragic Incident in Haryana: Class 12 Student Aryan Mishra Mistaken for Cattle Smuggler, Shot Dead by Vigilantes 2 In a heart-wrenching incident that has sparked outrage in Haryanas Faridabad, a 19-year-old student, Aryan Mishra, was allegedly shot dead by a group of cow vigilantes who mistakenly identified him as a cattle smuggler. The tragic event occurred on the night of August 23, near Palwal, and has since led to the arrest of five men, who are currently in judicial custody. Victims Identity and Incident Overview Aryan Mishra, a Class 12 student enrolled in an open school in Faridabad, became an unintended victim of an aggressive chase by cow vigilantes. The incident unfolded when Aryan left his home late at night to join five friends in an SUV for a casual drive. According to the police, the vehicle in which Aryan and his friends were traveling became the target of a misguided vigilante operation led by Anil Kaushik, the head of an organization known as Live for Nation, which promotes cow protection. The Night of the Incident: Misidentification and Fatal Chase On the fateful night of August 23, Anil Kaushik, along with his associates Varun, Saurabh, Krishan, and Adesh, reportedly received information about suspected cattle smugglers in the area. The tip-off mentioned a Renault Duster, which closely resembled the SUV Aryan and his friends were in. Acting on this information, the group decided to intercept the vehicle, leading to a high-speed chase that ended in tragedy. During the pursuit, shots were fired at the vehicle. Two of those bullets struck Aryan Mishra, fatally wounding him. Initially, Aryans family was unaware of the involvement of cow vigilantes, suspecting instead that the attack was related to some enmity involving one of Aryans friends. Legal Proceedings: FIR and Arrests Following the incident, a First Information Report (FIR) was filed under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including charges of murder, rioting, and violations under the Arms Act. The police investigation quickly turned up crucial evidence, including CCTV footage, which confirmed the involvement of the cow vigilante group. As a result, the five accused men were arrested and placed in judicial custody. Fathers Heartfelt Account: The Last Moments of Aryan Mishra In a statement to the police, Aryans father, Siya Nand Mishra, recounted the harrowing moments that led to the discovery of his sons death. He explained that Aryan had left home without the familys knowledge to join his friends Harshit Gulati, Sujata Gulati, Shanky, Sagar Gulati, and Kirti Sharma in Harshits Renault Duster. At approximately 3:30 am, Harshits father arrived at their home, urgently requesting the family to go to Palwal. Although the reason was unclear at the time, Aryans brother Ajay quickly accompanied Harshits father on a Scooty towards Palwal. Shortly after, Ajay returned home with grave news, urging his father to head to B K Hospital immediately. Upon arrival, they were instructed to proceed to SSB Hospital, where Aryan was being treated. It was there that Aryans father learned the devastating truthhis son had been shot, and two bullets had struck him. Community Outcry and Demands for Justice This tragic case has ignited a firestorm of emotions across the region, with community members and activists calling for stringent action against the vigilantes. The incident has highlighted the dangers of mob justice and the urgent need for a more robust legal framework to prevent such tragedies. As the investigation continues, Aryan Mishras family and the wider community are seeking justice for the young man whose life was cut short by an act of mistaken identity. The case serves as a stark reminder of the perils of vigilantism and the devastating impact it can have on innocent lives. As a grueling manhunt stretched into a third day Monday for a suspect in an interstate shooting that struck 12 vehicles and wounded five people, authorities vowed to keep up a relentless search as the stress level remained high for a rural area where some schools canceled classes. Authorities have been searching a rugged, hilly area of southeastern Kentucky since Saturday evening, when a gunman began shooting at drivers on Interstate 75 near London, a small city of about 8,000 people located about 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Lexington. The search was temporarily suspended once darkness fell Sunday night, but was set to resume Monday morning. Were not going to quit until we do lay hands on him, Laurel County Sheriff John Root said Sunday night. Joseph A. Couch, 32, was named first as a person of interest and later as a suspect in the shooting after authorities said they recovered his SUV on a service road near the crime scene. They later found a semi-automatic weapon nearby that they believe was used in the shooting, said Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, a spokesperson for the local sheriffs office. On Sunday, as another day of searching was ending without any sign of the suspect, Acciardo acknowledged the frustration that law enforcement officers and people who live near the search area are feeling. As this continues, it becomes more stressful for the community, it becomes more stressful for the officers that are there because were looking ... and were trying to find him, and we havent found him, he said. State police Master Trooper Scottie Pennington, a spokesman for the London state police post, said troopers are being brought in from around the state to aid the manhunt. He described the extensive search area as walking in a jungle with machetes needed to cut through thickets of woods. Acciardo said it appears that the attacker planned the shooting for that location because it is very remote and the terrain is hilly, rocky and hard to navigate. With the gunman still at large, numerous area school districts canceled classes for Monday. Pennington urged area residents to lock doors, keep porch lights on and monitor security cameras. The search was focused on a remote area about eight miles north of London. Authorities sought to reassure residents that they believe the suspect will be found. Were doing everything that we can do, Root said, adding, Just be confident. Authorities said Couch purchased the weapon and about 1,000 rounds of ammunition Saturday morning in London. Couch has a military background, having served in the National Guard for at least four years, said Capt. Richard Dalrymple of the Laurel County Sheriffs Office. Authorities initially said nine vehicles were struck by gunfire, but later increased that number to 12, saying some people did not realize their cars had been hit by bullets until they arrived home. They said the gunman fired a total of 20 to 30 rounds. Couch most recently lived in Woodbine, a small community about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of the shooting scene. Acciardo said authorities found his abandoned vehicle Saturday and then an AR-15 rifle on Sunday in a wooded area near a highway where he could have shot down upon the interstate. A phone believed to be Couchs was also found by law enforcement, but the battery had been taken out. Some residents of Laurel County were on edge as authorities searched with a drone, helicopter and on foot in a remote and sparsely populated wooded area near the busy interstate. Cody Shepherd, sipping a bloody mary outdoors while waiting to watch a football game at the Pour Boyz Sports Lounge in London on Sunday, said locals were abuzz with speculation. A resident of London, he was at a party Saturday at a friends house about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of where the shooting occurred. We were listening to the police scanners all night, he said, adding they heard sirens and saw a helicopter overhead. On Sunday, several local churches canceled services. But Rodney Goodlett, pastor of Faith Assembly of God in London, was helping direct traffic as parishioners gathered for a morning service. He expected the search would hold down attendance. This is tragic, obviously, that somebody would randomly do violent acts, he said. You hear media things taking place all around our country, but then when it hits home, its a little bit of a wake-up call. Acciardo said authorities are being inundated with tips from the public and are following up on each one in case it could help them find the shooter. When the search has been suspended at night, specially trained officers have been deployed in strategic locations in the woods to prevent the gunman from slipping out of the area. Weve got to get him, Acciardo said. Every year, Democrats in the Alabama Legislature propose bills they say will help reduce gun violence, and 2025 will be no exception, with four already in the pipeline and a fifth being pushed by a sheriff. The bills will likely rekindle the debates that resurface after every school shooting, like the one at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, Ga., where four people died and nine others were injured. A 14-year-old student is charged with murder. His father is charged with second-degree murder for giving him the weapon -- a semi-automatic, AR-15 style rifle -- as a Christmas gift. See also: Montgomery requires photo IDs for carrying concealed guns on person or in vehicles This young man, little boy in Georgia, was equipped by his father, said Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham. He equipped this young man to go out and be a killer. Givan has pre-filed a bill, HB13, that would make it a felony to sell or give an assault-style weapon to a person under 18. It would also be a felony for a person under 18 to possess an assault-style weapon. Other bills pre-filed for next year would ban devices that help semi-automatic firearms fire more like automatic guns - bump stocks and Glock switches. Most of the proposals face an uphill battle in the State House when the session starts in February. Republicans hold three-fourths of the seats and generally oppose gun control bills. One that could possibly pass is HB26, Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery, which makes it a crime to have a handgun equipped with a device to make it fire multiple rounds with a single pull of the trigger, like an automatic weapon. The devices, sometimes called Glock switches, are illegal under federal law. Ensler filed the same bill this year. Law enforcement officials supported it, saying a state law was needed in addition to the federal law. The House passed Enslers bill but it did not come up for a vote in the Senate. The Mississippi Legislature passed a law banning Glock switches earlier this year. Ensler said he has found three Republican co-sponsors this upcoming session which strengthens its chances of passing. While Ensler is optimistic about his bill, Givan said its frustrating that opponents will always use the argument that the intent of the bills is to deny citizens their Second Amendment rights. But Givan said it is important to honor a commitment she said Democratic lawmakers made after the Parkland, Fla. high school massacre in 2018 to push such legislation. What is it going to take? Is it going to take your child getting killed? Will it take that representatives grandchild or daughter or sister or someone getting killed? Givan said. No one is trying to take away anyones Second Amendment right, Givan said. We must come up with something with regards to gun control and getting these guns out of the hands of children. Its simple. This is not rocket science. Here is a look at proposed bills to address gun violence in Alabama. Givans bill carries a definition of assault weapon that covers many semi-automatic rifles and handguns. Givan pre-filed her bill in July and said the Georgia shooting is just the latest example of parental complicity in a school shooting tragedy. What are they telling the child, embedding in the mind of the child when they give the child a gun as a gift? So that needs to be the question, Givan said. HB23 by Rep. Kenyatte Hassell, D-Montgomery, would require a person to have a permit to carry an assault-style weapon on their person or in their vehicle. Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, said she is working with Republican lawmakers for a bill intended to help keep guns off schools campuses. Drummonds bill says that if a parent fails to reasonably secure a gun at home and their child takes it to school, the parent can be charged with a crime. Earlier this year, Michigan parents Jennifer and James Crumbley became the first convicted in a U.S. mass school shooting, the Associated Press reported, for not securing a firearm at home and acting indifferently to signs of their sons deteriorating mental health before he killed four students in 2021. The bill defines reasonably secure as being in a locked box or gun safe, although the definition is not limited to those storage methods. A gun with a trigger lock attached would be considered reasonably secured. It is simply a responsibility bill to say secure your firearms so that children will not take then onto our school campuses, K through 12, Drummond said. Given the atmosphere of what were seeing now and all of the school shootings, its not if it will happen in Alabama, but when it will happen, Drummond said. Drummond is bringing the bill back for a third time after failed efforts in the 2023 and 2024 sessions. She said she is talking to her Republican colleagues about what it would take to pass the bill. Im not taking anybodys weapon away. Im not telling them how to use it or when to use it. Im only simply saying secure it for the welfare of our children, Drummond said. Drummonds bill originally would have made it a felony if a parent failed to secure a gun and their child took it to school. The bill was changed to reduce the penalty to a misdemeanor. Drummond noted the shooting at LeFlore High School in Mobile in January, when a 16-year-old girl brought a handgun to school and shot a 15-year-old boy during an altercation. The bullet caused a superficial wound but also struck a 17-year-old in the chest. Authorities said it could have been much worse. Drummond said she was alarmed during a visit to a school in her district to learn about guns being found on campus. I asked the police, when you find a gun, what happens? They call the parent and the parent comes and picks it up. They should not be on school campuses. Period, Drummond said. Although no bill has been pre-filed, Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch has said he is gathering information to see if there can be an effort to change the permitless carry law to require youths under age 21 to purchase a permit to carry a concealed weapon. After a violent weekend in which Bessemer police investigated a triple homicide and seven others were shot, Police Chief Michael Wood said law enforcement is hindered by permitless carry. You need a background check, Wood said. With a permit law, Wood said, if theyre on their way to a shooting and the police stop them and they dont have a permit for that gun, guess what? We can take them to jail. Its a misdemeanor, correct, but it just stopped a felony or a robbery or something else. Walt Ehmer, the president and CEO of Waffle House, has died at age 58, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced Sunday morning. I am saddened to learn of the passing of Walt Ehmer, the CEO of Waffle House and a proud Georgia Tech alumnus. His leadership, dedication and warmth touched the lives of many, both within the Waffle House family and beyond. He leaves behind a remarkable legacy, Dickens said. The circumstances surrounding his death have not been released at this time, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. Ehmer joined Waffle House in 1992, named president in 2006, CEO in 2012, and chairman in 2022, according to an interview by Georgia Tech Alumni Association for the Jospeh Mayo Pettit Alumni Distinguished Service Award. In the same interview, Ehmer explains that his career focused on building relationships and serving others. He was an active member of the community, serving on local boards including Aarons, the Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta, the Atlanta Police Foundation, and the Metro Atlanta Commerce. Walt was a dedicated leader, tireless advocate for public safety, and an unwavering supporter of our mission to build a safer, stronger Atlanta, the police foundation posted on Facebook. His passion for community service and steadfast commitment to improving the lives of others will leave a lasting impact on all who had the privilege of knowing him. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time. He will be greatly missed. The Athens Police Department is investigating a Saturday afternoon shooting at Fifth Avenue Apartments that left one man dead and another injured. Officers responded around 2:48 p.m. to the apartment complex near 5th Avenue and Sanders Street after several 911 calls about a shooting. The deceased victims body was found by officers in a grassy area, according to Capt. Brett M. Constable. While officers were conducting their investigation at the apartment complex, a wounded man arrived at Athens Hospital in a private vehicle. Officers later determined that he was injured in the deadly shooting at the apartments. He was shot in the leg and is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, Constable said in a news release. The shooting victims names have not been released. A person has been detained for questioning. For some time now the Left has been salivating over the prospect that New York judge Juan Merchan would jail Donald Trump on September 18, before the election. Reports were that a cell in Rikers was being readied for him and even that hed be denied Secret Service protection (such as it is) while incarcerated. Not going to happen. The week started off badly for Manhattan District attorney Alvin Bragg, the prosecutor of that case, when on a hidden camera Nicholas Biase, Braggs chief spokesman said, Honestly, I think the case is nonsense. (When the video by Steven Crowders operative was made public, he claimed he denied he meant it, that he was just trying to impress the woman who taped him so shed go on a date with him.) Of course, the case contending it was felonious for the way money paid to hush Stormy Daniels was reported is, in fact, nonsense. A few days later, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik filed an official ethics complaint against Judge Merchan for refusing to recuse himself despite his familys increased financial ties to the proceedings. (His daughter has garnered millions of dollars fundraising on behalf of Kamala Harris.) That same day Merchan announced he is delaying sentencing until November 26 -- that is, after the election. Because of a need to respond on September 16 to another matter, Trumps attorneys asked for a delay. Braggs office deferred to the Court -- that is, they did not object to any delay, and by letter Merchan responded to Trumps counsel indicating hed delay imposition to avoid any appearance that the proceeding has been affected by or seeks to affect the approaching presidential election in which the defendant is a candidate. (Where would anyone have gotten that impression?) He ordered sentencing adjourned until after hearing Trumps lawyers arguments in November on presidential immunity: Unfortunately, we are now at a place in time that is fraught with complexities rendering the requirements of a sentencing hearing, should one be necessary, difficult to execute, the judge said. Trump responded in a Truth Social post, "there should be no if necessary, indicating the case should be rightfully terminated. The case in D.C. before the intemperate and overtly partisan Judge Tanya Chutkan also is stalled. That case was brought by Jack Smith, whose office has spent $35 million as of April of this year trying to tie Trump to the riot on January 6 of 2020. The Supreme Courts ruling on presidential immunity has thrown a grenade into this fantastical case as did its ruling on what constituted obstruction of an official proceeding. Chutkan was forced to delay the trial until after the election, but she and Smith are seemingly still doing whatever they can to interfere with the election. She took what I think is an unprecedented step which violated Trumps due process rights and does so as defiance of the procedures set forth in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Normally, the defendant (here, Trump) can file a motion to dismiss, the prosecutor can respond, and the defendant can file a reply. Shes turned this inside out by allowing Smith to file an opening brief on immunity questions. In this brief you can bet that Smith will throw in things which would never meet the evidentiary standards applicable at trial, like grand jury testimony, which is entirely one-sided and presented with no opportunity for cross examination or rebuttal. What Chutkan did today by taking the rare -- unprecedented? -- step of allowing DOJ to file an opening brief on additional immunity questions is a way to put Trump on trial without a jury and little recourse. Tom Windom, Smiths prosecutor, told Chutkan the brief would be comprehensive. The document will include grand jury transcripts, 302s (FBI) and other cherry picked evidence to salvage the Big Lie narrative as people start to vote. You can GUARANTEE DOJ will release new bombshells to put Trump on the defensive and create damaging headlines. Its a paper trial but without cross examination, defense witnesses, or other due process rights. I havent researched what options may be available to the defense to prevent this travesty, but there ought to be a way to protect Trumps constitutional right to due process in the face of such partisan hackery. And then theres Hunter, who probably wont be jailed either. If you recall, Hunter was offered an extraordinary sweetheart deal by the Department of Justice, one that fell apart as soon as the judge took a look at it. Under the initial plea deal, Biden was expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanors for failing to pay his federal taxes on time in 2017 and 2018, while avoiding being prosecuted for a felony gun charge -- illegally possessing a firearm as a drug user. But both sides said the bargain was off the table after U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who is presiding over the case in Wilmington, Delaware, questioned if the deal offered the president's son blanket immunity from prosecution in his plea dealings or only for his tax offenses. After the top prosecutor said it would not offer sweeping immunity, Biden's attorney declared the agreement "null and void." In June a jury convicted him on federal gun charges. He was also charged in a nine-count indictment in the central district of California with tax evasion, failure to file/pay taxes, and false/fraudulent tax return. The indictment details a four-year scheme to avoid the $1.4+ million tax obligations he owed between 2016 and 2019 and to file false returns . Hunter Biden initially entered an Alford plea which allowed him to plead guilty while simultaneously maintaining his innocence. Federal prosecutors fought back and Hunter Biden ended up entering a standard guilty plea. Judge Scarsi signed off on the guilty plea which means Hunter Biden will avoid a trial. President Biden has said he will not pardon Hunter. I wouldnt bet on him holding to this. Its perfectly obvious that Hunter pled guilty to avoid public exposure of the at least 27 million dollars that flowed into his familys coffers as bribes by foreigners with something they wanted from the then vice-president. These include bribes from a Romanian real-estate magnate with ties to the CEF China Energy and the Ukrainian gas company Burisma. Other bribes involved, Russian, Chinese, Kazakhstan, and Ukrainian individuals. At Real Clear Investigations, Paul Sperry reports: Sources say Hunter threw in towel to avoid trial exposing Biden-China influence peddling, after prosecutors filed "road map" glossary to trial exhibits: "CEFC China Energy" "Patrick Ho" "Kevin Dong" "Mervyn Yan" "Ye Jianming" "State Energy HK" "RosemontSenecaBohai" "SinoHawk." The glossary to the governments trial exhibits is here and its obvious that the sources Sperry refers to were not just spitballing it. If you should harbor the least suspicion that Merrick Garlands Department of Justice is behaving honorably and worthy of trust, remember that but for Judge Maryellen Noreikas sharp eye, wed know little of this. Hunter Biden faces the prospect of becoming the first presidents child to be imprisoned when he is sentenced in November on gun charges and in December on tax charges, but legal experts expect relatively light punishment rather than decades behind bars threatened by the convictions. The two verdicts culminated five years of federal investigation. Biden pleaded guilty Thursday to all nine charges he that failed to pay his taxes from 2016 through 2019. His June trial and conviction on three gun charges featured wrenching testimony about his addiction to crack cocaine during that period and he avoided putting his family through a second ordeal with his surprise tax plea. Biden, 54, must now prepare for sentencing Nov. 13 of up to 25 years in prison on the gun charges and Dec. 16 of up to 17 years on the tax charges. The convictions came after a plea agreement fell through in July 2023 that provided a chance for him to walk away with probation and no prison time. I doubt he will get anywhere near the statutory maximums. Hell somehow pay the back taxes and get probation or home confinement with little if any jail time. The last piece for today is that, when it comes to the government itself, well have what is misleadingly called a government shutdown unless by September 30 Congress passes a continuing resolution. The Speaker has threatened he will not agree to it unless the SAVE ACT is included in the resolution. The SAVE ACT would require proof of citizenship to register for federal elections, mandate states to verify citizenship status, and remove non-citizens from voter lists. It will be interesting to see which members of Congress refuse to sign on to a provision a vast majority of their constituents strongly favor. Oklahoma Superintendent of Schools Ryan Walters has been criticized for mandating that the Bible and Ten Commandments be integrated into the states 5th through 12th grade curriculum. Much of the criticism stems from Walterss perceived challenge to the separation of church and state clause of the First Amendment as well as fears that the superintendent wants Oklahoma teachers to indoctrinate rather than teach. Walters states that the Bible is a necessary historical document to teach our kids about the history of this country, to have a complete understanding of Western civilization, to have an understanding of the basis of our legal system. The Superintendent has received pushback from education professionals in Oklahoma who see the nefarious hand of proselytization behind Walterss edict. Superintendent of the Bixby Public School system, Rob Miller, said, If there is no curricular standard that ties with that particular classroom, what would be the purpose of a Bible if not for pure indoctrination? National watchdog groups are also concerned. Interfaith Alliance stated, This is blatant religious coercion that should have absolutely no place in public schools in Oklahoma or any other state. Although one may disagree with requiring schools to showcase the Bible and Ten Commandments in classrooms, it is impossible to deny Walterss assertion that they are vital components for understanding U.S. history and Western civilization in general. Thus, given the woeful lack of knowledge exhibited by American high school graduates that underpins the distortion of U.S. history contributing to growing social disunity, education leaders might at least consider Walterss claim. Although it is contentious to claim the United States is a Christian nation, it is not in the least controversial to link American laws and political ideologies to the Judeo-Christian ethic, especially the teachings of Christ. In the span of the 300,000-year history of Homo sapiens, the radical idea of human equality is rather new. Evolving from the Genesis claim that God created humanity in the Divine image, Christ posited human equality in the eyes of God a mere 2,000 years ago, and that idea was first put into law by the United States only in 1789. The struggle for the realization of equality under the law has symbolized much of U.S. history, as citizens continue to strive toward a more perfect Union. Disrespect for the sanctity of the individual has reached such proportions in the U.S. that some medical professionals recommend that a child need only be 14-years-old to begin gender transition treatment. Its hard to imagine the proliferation of such ideas without an understanding of the Bible and the Christian tradition that spawned the progressively radical concepts established during the Renaissance, The Reformation, The Scientific Revolution, and The Enlightenment. The ideas proposed and developed during these movements led to the abolition of slavery, the liberation of women and sexual minorities and miraculous breakthroughs in science in several Western countries. It seems reasonable that a study of the book that established the foundation of these movements would be necessary to understand the United States, a republic Lincoln called the last best hope of earth. Still, critics like Miller are concerned that the Bible will be nothing more than a classroom prop. Compared to the prevalence of other classroom props used in many schools, including the Genderbread Person, however, the Bible might stack up fairly well. At the least, it seems that a discussion about which source would better help young Americans build a stronger and more united country would be a good idea. Miller also says that the Bible would make no sense in a seventh-grade math classroom or a high school chemistry class. Devout Christians like Isaac Newton and Francis Bacon, recognized as the Fathers of the Scientific Revolution, might disagree. Bacon sought to unite empiricism and supernatural belief in intellectual life and Newton concluded that gravity was the result of Gods will. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Renes Descartes of I think, therefore I am fame believed Gods existence is purported to be as obvious and self-evident as the most basic mathematical truth and he [Descartes] attempted to show how the logic of the demonstration is rooted in our ordinary reasoning practices. If nothing more, introducing students to these ideas might be a good hook and provide some insight into the motive behind the motivation to learn math and science. Harvard University appears to have taken this approach. Beginning in 1992, the university launched The Veritas Forum, with this mission: Driven by a love for the university and its mission to seek truth, The Veritas Forum puts the Christian faith in dialogue with other beliefs and invites participants from all backgrounds to seek truth together. A Place for Truth: Leading Thinkers Explore Lifes Hardest Questions, an excellent book edited by Dallas Willard, analyzes the arguments both for and against the existence of God that scientists have presented at the Veritas Forum. According to a 2009 Pew Research survey, 51% of American scientists believe in some form of higher power or deity while 33% believe in God. In fact, Francis Collins, head of the Human Genome Project, says that God can be worshiped in a cathedral or laboratory. More specifically, he notes, If you see God as the creator of the universe in all of its amazing complexity, diversity and awesome beauty then science, which is, of course, a means of exploring nature, also becomes a means of exploring Gods creative abilities. The question of how religion is handled in a republic founded on a constitution that separates church and state will always be contentious. That said, helping students understand the Bible and Christianitys impact on the U.S. and western civilization is not an infringement of First Amendment rights. Rather, it is an essential part of understanding the context in which U.S. history was shaped. Studying the Bible and The Ten Commandments in school might remind Americans that we have a rich common heritage. That heritage might just serve to unite rather than divide us. Dana E. Abizaid is a freelance contributor to The Daily Caller and has taught in university and high school classrooms for over 20 years. Image: Free image, Pixabay license. Scientists are increasingly taking on the role of dictating morality. Academic papers are full of pronouncements about how their touted research improves society. The field of economics is an excellent example. Economists create utility functions to study human behavior. A good is simply something that makes a person happier, as expressed by a higher utility. However, the devil is in the details. In economics, a pedophile and a child both have utility functions. Suppose that the pedophile really enjoys abusing a child, while the child is so abused that he hardly notices the abuse anymore. Are we to add their utility together and decide that the overall effect is positive? If not, should we weight their happiness? Perhaps the pedophile should only be given a 30% weight to his feelings while the child gets a 70% weight. In an organized society, decisions must get made about how to weight one persons happiness against anothers. However, scientists have no more moral authority to determine those weights than any other member of society. Nevertheless, in a razzle-dazzle of complex and obscure equations and statistical results, they attempt, through sleight of hand, to suggest that their scientific methods qualify them to determine what those weights should be. Weighting predator versus prey by Andrea Widburg using AI. Academic authors are encouraged to add sections to their papers proposing new policies and discussing the societal impacts of their research, preferably with the latest approved buzzwords. To do otherwise is to be judged as lacking in morality. The punishment is rejection. Even worse, there is significant money to be made from coming to some conclusions over others. Governments and corporations, imbued with their own agenda, spend oceans of money to fund research. Academics are no less resistant to monetary temptations than anyone else, though they enjoy pretending otherwise. Their scientific discoveries somehow always seem to bend with the wind. The more economically and politically sensitive the topic, the more shrill the declarations of morality. It is pure deception. The history of economics is one of humility, where economists were constrained to stay within the bounds of what science is capable of. For instance, economists did not add the utility functions of different people together. When judging what is right, they relied on what they could measure. Economic efficiency became a standard. Stated simply, a policy is economically efficient if it could theoretically improve at least one persons welfare (through the consumption of more goods) without harming the welfare of any other person (through reduced consumption.) One persons happiness was not weighed against anothers, and judgments were made based on whether people were happier without trying to quantify each persons happiness. Arguments to buttress the case were made that those who benefit from economically inefficient policies tend to be very visible and vocal. The harmful effects of inefficiency tend to be wide-ranging and difficult to observe and quantify. These effects are nonetheless very real and potentially very large. While each vocal group receives a benefit, the economy stagnates into widespread poverty through a thousand cuts. Some policies have the desirable result of no conflictsome people benefit while no one is hurt. Economic efficiency reigns. However, many policies do not have this happy result. Shall we tax people to help a hungry child? Should we install expensive talking traffic signals to help the blind? Academic finance papers are now replete with policy proscriptions and pronouncements about how to help particular groups, often referred to as stakeholders. These prescriptions typically extoll the benefits to favored stakeholders while ignoring, downplaying, or delegitimizing the costs to other groups. The smug moral superiority of these pronouncements seeps through, along with the political bias of the authors. The fact that their proposals are economically inefficient and that groups are harmed is an uncomfortable subject that can be avoided by focusing on which stakeholders benefit. Asserting that economic efficiency is the only legitimate criterion suffers from the same flaws. It is a criterion that can be quantified, but it is not the end of the discussion. Taxing people to care for a hungry orphan is not economically efficient. Economists may be able to measure the economic losses of taxing people, but they cannot weight the welfare of those involved. The temptation is to assert that we should judge based only on what economists can tell us. The Government Accounting Office (GAO) provides a microcosm of this problem. It is tasked with measuring the economic impacts of legislation and not making recommendations about whether legislation should be enacted. Decisions about legislation are supposed to be left to a representative republic to judge before God. A lack of trust begins when people suspect that the GAO is shading the numbers to promote an agenda. How much worse would that lack of trust be if the GAO also expressed opinions on the merits of legislation? Not surprisingly, public trust in academia has been plummeting. However, the malaise extends far beyond the hallowed halls of universities. Our society has increasingly turned from Christianity, leaving a terrible void that demands to be filled. The expansion of equations, statistical results, and learned academic prophets to fill that void has left deep dissatisfaction in its wake. How sterile and cold, heartless, and lacking in discernment those equations are. Many famous scientists were Christiansnot because they were pressured to espouse Christianity or because they were too ignorant to know any better. It was because they recognized that while science could study the workings of God, it could not quantify Gods love. Christianity and science work together for the benefit of the whole. Isaac Newton, Blaise Pascal, and Galileo Galilei, just to name a few, submitted themselves to this essential truth. Even an academic staring at a monitor full of statistics may have a lovely daydream. In it, academics strive to fully measure policy effects without bias or inserting their own moral judgments or opinions in the name of science. Our pluralistic society, fully informed with the facts, then wrestles with those difficult decisions that pit one persons happiness against anothers. Academics keep their personal opinions out of their research but, otherwise, fully participate in those judgments as equal members of that pluralistic society. God is the ultimate judge of right and wrong and guides his imperfect people towards moral choices. However, in the world of academia, this daydream is hopeless romanticism. America is a trust society. We trust our elected representatives will work in our interests. We trust the police will honestly and apolitically enforce the law. We trust criminals will be prosecuted and if convicted, sentences commensurate with their offenses will be imposed. We trust our currency will retain its value, and contracts and property rights will be enforced. We trust well be able to go about our daily business without risking injury or death. We trust our borders will be protected, and our national security secured. We used to, anyway. Graphic: Libs of TikTok screenshot. The gang takeover of an apartment complex in a Denver suburb, Aurora, provides a glimpse of a dystopian future where the rule of law has failed, and trust breaks down. Denver is a sanctuary city, and money is being siphoned from the police to provide room and board for tens of thousands of illegal aliens. Its not working. There isnt enough money in Denver, Colorado, even America, to support tens of millions of unvetted people who dont speak the language and have no marketable job skills, yet Kamala Harris wants to shower them with Social Security, Medicare, free college, and other perks unavailable to Normal Americans. Graphic: X Screenshot. Denver City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky has taken the lead in exposing gang violence, but Colorados Democrat Governor, Jared Polis claimed she was imagining things. That is until an apartment resident filmed an armed gang breaking into a mans apartment and the video went viral. Graphic: X Screenshot. Suddenly, the Democrat narrative of noble newcomers who commit far fewer crimes than Normal Americans and who want only to better their lives, went out the window, and police began to make arrests. And suddenly, there actually were members of a murderous Venezuelan gangTren de Aragua--in Aurora. Jurinsky wasnt imaging things after all. Graphic: Aurora Police Department Screenshot, Public Domain. Four Venezuelan national members of the Tren de Aragua gang arrested in Colorado have been confirmed as illegal aliens, per a statement from an ICE spokesperson to Fox News. The Venezuelan nationals, ranging in ages from 19 through 24, all crossed the southern border through Texas illegally in 2022 and 2023, under the Biden administration. All four were arrested by Aurora police and ICA has placed detainer requests on two of them. The four were arrested after a shooting which occurred near Nome Street Apartments, one of the apartment buildings in Aurora which had been overtaken by armed members of Tren de Aragua. To no ones surprise, Americans can surely trust the Harris/Biden Administration to release unvetted criminals and terrorists into America, and if Harris is elected, to greatly accelerate illegal immigration. Colorado residents clearly cannot trust their politicians to protect them. Democrat narratives, not public safety, are their priority. They are, for the moment, embarrassed into action, but the moment public attention moves on to other outrages narrative maintenance will once again be their priority. Imagine the plight of residents of such an apartment complex. Constantly threatened by armed gangsters, theyre unsafe in their apartments, and in coming and going. Calling the police exposes them to danger, and Jurinsky explained unless the police can send four or more officers to calls there, they wont come at all. Worse, the police must develop probable cause to make arrests for individual crimes, and witnesses are hard to come by. Making arrests may or may not result in bail, and prosecutors may or may not sustain appropriate charges. Judges may or may not impose serious sentences upon conviction. Trust is lost when the rule of law is uncertain. Do citizens enforce the law themselves? After all, the power police have is on loan from the populace. Professional police officers know they exist, as do prisons, as much to protect criminals from us as to protect us from criminals. Forced to take back their power and dispense justice themselves, citizens would tend to impose a swifter and more final sort of justice. For the moment, in blue cities and states, that power relationship is uncertain. Understaffed and defunded police agencies cant provide traditional services, greatly increasing crime, while their political masters refuse to report actual crime rates which badly damage the narrative. Citizens engaging even in clear self-defense too often find themselves arrested and prosecuted with a fervor criminals seldom, if ever, see. As a result, crime worsens, honest citizens are increasing victimized, and societal trust further deteriorates, as does our representative republicwere not our democracy. Should things get worse, should the police be marginalized, unable to enforce even a semblance of the rule of law, well devolve to a 3S society: shoot, shovel, and shut up. No sane Americans wants that total lack of public trust. Aurora, and the rule of law vs. the narrative are on the ballot in November. Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor. Lets take a break from current events and remember how the unexpected will always make its way on the front pages. On Labor Day 1972, President Nixon looked like a man headed for re-election. At the same time, I am not sure that people were predicting a 49-state sweep, or winning the popular vote by 22 points. He was the favorite, but not for a historic landslide. Then something happened at the Olympics, and the world watched those horrific scenes from Munich: nine Israeli hostages, five terrorists, and one German policeman were killed. How much did this incident impact the 1972 election? Its hard to say, but it put experience and foreign policy in the minds of voters. It was similar to the Beslan school shooting in 2004 in another presidential election. Munich reminded us that terrorists knew no limits not even young athletes in the Olympics. It was the beginning of massive terror attacks, such as 9-11 here in the U.S. Most of all, it reminded us that you never know what can happen in the last 60 days before an election. PS: Check out my blog for posts, podcasts, and videos. Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain. It is possible that Kamala Harris will win the presidential election. If so, it is more than likely that she will implement certain policies, including the imposition of a so-called Wealth Tax. She has been rumbling about it of late. So, what is a wealth tax? A wealth tax, also called capital tax or equity tax, is imposed on the wealth possessed by individuals. The tax usually applies to a persons net worth, which is assets minus liabilities. These assets include (but are not limited to) cash, bank deposits, shares, fixed assets, personal cars, real property, pension plans, money funds, owner-occupied housing, and trusts. Other Democrats/Progressives/Liberals (DPLs) have brayed similarly. Image made using AI. In 2021, Sen. Elizabeth Fauxcahontas Warren (who is fake in every way) proposed a wealth tax to take effect in the 2023 tax year. It did not pass. Warrens proposed legislation was co-sponsored by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Mazie Hirono, Edward Markey, Jeff Merkley, Bernie Sanders, Brian Schatz, and Sheldon Whitehouse. An eighth senator, Alex Padilla, later became another co-sponsor. Two House co-sponsors, Reps. Brenda F. Boyle and Pramila Jayapal, supported a companion bill in that chamber. This tax is applied to unrealized capital gains: Unrealized capital gains occur when the value of an asset increases over its cost basis (typically the purchase price) while it is held unsold. This can be thought of as theoretical profits. [snip] Realized capital gains occur when an asset is actively sold for more than its cost basis. The resulting profits from the sale are considered the realized gains. Realized capital gains have a final, known value. That last sentence is the kicker because things are very different for unrealized capital gains. In the latter case, the asset has not been sold, and thus a price has not been locked in for the benefit of the asset-holder. That means its necessary to have certain property, real and personal, appraised so a fair amount of tax can be levied. The DPLs have the perfect person to do the job of ensuring that a fair amount of tax is determined and applied. Further, the DPLs already owe this perfect person a huge debt of gratitude. I am speaking, of course, of no other than Judge Arthur Engoron. [Engoron] is an American judge serving on the Manhattan Supreme Court since 2013. He presided over the New York civil investigation of the Trump Organization in 2024. [Hyperlinks omitted.] Based upon his (ahem) knowledge, skill, training, and experience in the appraisal of real property, Engoron reached an interesting outcome in the New York case: A New York judge ruled last week that former President Donald Trump inflated the value of his Mar-a-Lago estate by an eye-popping 2,300%. That finding, part of shocking [sic] ruling that found Trump and his adult sons liable for fraud, was just one of multiple examples in which Judge Arthur Engoron found the Trump real estate empire to have been grossly inflated in value. But the Mar-a-Lago finding in particular is raising eyebrows among real estate and legal experts because of the metric Judge Engoron relied on: the county tax assessors appraisal value. From 2011-2021, the Palm Beach County Assessor appraised the market value of Mar-a-Lago at between $18 million and $27.6 million, Engoron wrote in his ruling. The judge noted Trump valued Mar-a-Lago at between $426.5 million and $612 million, an overvaluation of at least 2,300%, compared to the assessors appraisal. If there is to be a wealth tax, then appointing Engoron to lead Kamalas Wealth Tax Enforcement Unit would be the spoonful of sugar that helps the madness go down. I am sure those affected would welcome an appraisal deflated by 2300% (or whatever). And, if nothing else, for those of us who want to see Donald Trump win, we can feel happy for him in his loss knowing that the taxable value of Mar-a-Lago will be diminished sizably. (Until the DPLs change their minds, that is.) Judge Arthur Engoron for Wealth Tax Czar! Leftists hate Jews and Israel, and leftists control the Western media. Thats why it shouldnt be any surprise to learn that the BBC, the taxpayer-funded media outlet that is still the largest news purveyor in the UK, is reported to have violated its own editorial guidelines over 1,500 times in its Israel reporting in just the four months after Hamass October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. But before piling on the BBC, remember that our own taxpayer-funded NPR is probably just as bad. The report comes from a research cohort led by Trevor Asserson, a British lawyer. The investigatory team included around 20 lawyers and 20 data scientists. Using human intelligence and AI, the group examined the approximately nine million words the BBC generated in the four-month period immediately after the October 7 attack, when Hamas (which Iran outfits and finances, and for which Iran does planning) slaughtered over 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped over 250 more (subsequently murdering many of them). Public domain images (edited). What the team concluded was deeply disturbing: The BBC breached its own editorial guidelines more than 1,500 times during the height of the Israel-Hamas war, a damning report has found. The report revealed a deeply worrying pattern of bias against Israel, according to its authors who analysed four months of the BBCs output across television, radio, online news, podcasts and social media. [snip] Researchers identified a total of 1,553 breaches of the BBCs editorial guidelines, which included impartiality, accuracy, editorial values and public interest. The bias was not subtle. The report concluded that the BBC repeatedly downplayed Hamas terrorism while presenting Israel as a militaristic and aggressive nation. This bias may have come about in part because some of the BBCs reporters dont even pretend to be objective. For example, a BBC Arabic contributor named Mayssaa Abdul Khalek has openly stated death to Israel, while praising Hitler. Another reporter from Lebanon called Israel, the only nation in the Middle East that has a multicultural society and full civil rights for all, a terrorist apartheid state. Among the reports findings are that: The BBC refused to label as terrorists Hamas members and the other Palestinians who participated in the attack on Israel, an attack the BBC also refused to label as terrorism. The BBC insists on using the term occupied Palestinian land when referring to the West Bank and Gaza. In fact, if the BBC doesnt want to recognize that Israel obtained the land by conquest in 1967, it could refer to the West Bank as Jordan and refer to Gaza as Egypt because those countries seized the land in 1948 (although Jordan subsequently relinquished a claim to the West Bank). The BBC loves to call Yasser Arafat presidential, as, for example, when it claims that Israeli bombs landed on the presidential compound of Yasser Arafat. The BBC refers to all Israeli settlements near Gaza and the West Bank as illegal, implying that they are legitimate military targets. BBC reporting is vitriolic when referring to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a surprise given that it was Sharon who had Israel retreat from the Gaza Strip. Theres much more, but Im currently unable to find a complete text of the report. Media outlets, instead, are referring to The Telegraph report from which I quoted at the top of this post. But of course, its not just the taxpayer-funded BBC that shows this type of bias. The taxpayer-funded NPR does, too. NPR has always been hostile to Israel. Indeed, it was its dishonest reporting in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when I was a regular listener, that led me to the conservative blogosphere and my political transformation. I finally figured out that the legal maxim of falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus (false in one thing, false in everything) applied to both witnesses and media outlets. If you type in Israel or Gaza or Palestine in NPRs search box, you can see these headlinesand you might spot just a little bias. And please note that none of the following NPR headlines explains that Hamas, after holding and torturing the hostages for 300 days, executed them to prevent their being rescued: The BBC report is shocking, but I can guarantee that an NPR report would be just as shocking. Our only taxpayer-funded media outlet is a cesspool of leftist garbage and antisemitism. If we ever get a Congress and President with testicular fortitude, they should act to defund and break up NPR and PBS entirely. Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently announced that the Lone Star States effort to clean up its voter rolls has resulted in more than 1 million names being removed. Since Senate Bill 1 was signed into law in 2021, individuals who are noncitizens, have moved to other states, or who have passed away have been removed from the voter rolls. Indeed, thousands of noncitizens have been removed from the rolls. This, of course, greatly angers Democrats, who fervently believe that non-residents, non-citizens -- and the dead -- should be able to vote. As often as they like. Abbott released a statement saying, Election integrity is essential to our democracy. I have signed the strongest election laws in the nation to protect the right to vote and to crackdown on illegal voting. These reforms have led to the removal of over one million ineligible people from our voter rolls in the last three years, including noncitizens, deceased voters, and people who moved to another state. Fascist! Hater! Far-right racist! How dare he try to prevent the dead from voting! Is he trying to destroy our democracy?! A million names came off of one states voter rolls? And the 2020 presidential election was determined by as few as 50,000 total votes in just three states?! And Democrats and pundits still claim the election was the most secure in American history?! (Covers mouth, coughs while saying bull***t!) That claim might be slightly more credible if Democrats werent freaking out over Republicans efforts to stop illegal aliens from voting, as The Gateway Pundit recently reported. Or if Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson hadnt issued a direct threat to any local election officials who might choose not to certify the upcoming 2024 election results in the event of fraud, saying, We will come for you. Or if states had honored the request of RFK, Jr. to be removed from their ballots. Or if the California Senate hadnt passed a law banning voter ID in local elections. Republicans pathetically tepid efforts to prevent Democrats from stealing elections in the future apparently havent assuaged the fears of Democrats that the Bad Orange Man could somehow win in 2024. Therefore, many are hoping and planning for a quick return of COVID-19 and especially the accompanying draconian lockdowns and mail-in voting that were the hallmarks of the previous pandemic. Image: Jo Naylor, via Flickr // CC BY 2.0 Deed In the smartphone industry, every brand has its own way of marketing. For example, Samsung is known for taking direct shots at Apple, its most direct rival. However, other companies, like Google, take a more wholesome approach to dealing with their rivals. The latest #BestPhonesForever ad that shows the Pixel 9 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro discussing potential replies for the Apple devices pen pal is proof of this. Pixel 9 Pro suggests potential replies to iPhone 15 Pros pen pal via Gemini in #BestPhonesForever ad Googles #BestPhonesForever ads show the latest Pixel and iPhone generations in friendly situations. The very name of the ad series states that both are the best phones, parodying the best friends forever expression. The approach is quite different from Samsungs, while also allowing Google to show off the exclusive features of its Pixel phones. The most recent #BestPhonesForever ad shows the iPhone worried about not knowing how to respond to its pen pal Guillermo, a calculator from Barcelona. If youre not aware, pen pals are people (phones in this case) who communicate continuously through letters. The new Pixel 9 Pro enters the scene when it notices its iPhone pal is in distress. Funnily, Apples device did not notice at first because its notifications were muted. While the #BestPhonesForever ads are friendly, Google still uses them to claim that their phones are better. In this case, the ad blames the iPhones lack of ideas for conversation topics on the few new features of iOS 18. The Pixel phone jokingly suggests the new iOS app icon color customization as a conversation topic. After a less-than-convincing response from the iPhone, the Pixel suggests using Gemini. While initially unsure, the iPhone is impressed with the capabilities of Googles AI-powered assistant. The Pixel phone throws out multiple potential topics with which the iPhone can respond to its pen pal. You can watch the new ad in full below. Verizon has announced that it is acquiring Frontier Communications in a deal worth $20 billion. The telecom giant is going to expand its fiber network across the US with Frontiers acquisition. Following the deal, Frontiers existing fiber consumers across 25 states in the country will join Verizons existing Fios connections. The acquisition would be a reunion of the brands. Verizon had sold its TV and internet business in many major states to Frontier in 2016 for a deal worth $10.54 billion. Frontiers fiber network will integrate into Verizons Fios network after the acquisition Once the deal is closed, Frontiers consumer fiber network in the US will immediately integrate into Verizons Fios network. Frontiers current 2.2 million fiber consumers across 25 states in the US will join Verizons 7.4 million Fios connections in nine states and Washington, D.C. Together, the brands have approx. 10 million fiber consumers across 31 states and Washington, D.C. The acquisition of Frontier is a strategic fit, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg said, as it provided an opportunity to be more competitive in more markets. Notably, Verizon and Frontier will now have 25 million fiber passings across the US. These are potential consumer locations where a fiber network passes by. In comparison, AT&T currently has nearly around 28 million fiber locations. Furthermore, Verizon is committed to its plans to launch an additional 2.8 million fiber locations by the end of 2026. It will help the telco better compete against the market leaders like AT&T. Currently, Verizons fiber network covers less than 10 percent of regions in the US. The acquisition will provide it with roughly another 3 percent coverage. To compare, AT&T covers nearly 15 percent area in the country. The $20 billion deal will close in approximately 18 months According to Verizons press release, its acquisition of Frontier is an all-cash deal thats worth $20 billion. Under the agreement, Verizon will acquire Frontier for $38.50 per share. It represents a premium of 37.3 percent to Frontiers closing share price on September 3, 2024. The acquisition will close in approximately 18 months, depending on approval by Frontier shareholders and regulators. Jamie Smiths flamboyant counter-attack kept England alive in the third Test against Sri Lanka after a burst of five wickets for 26 left the game in the balance on day three. After securing a first-innings lead of 62 at the Kia Oval England found themselves in a tight spot as the tourists reduced them to 82 for seven. Recklessness from the top order and a vastly improved bowling effort in the afternoon flipped the match on its head before Smith launched a one-man assault. Undaunted by the weight of scoreboard pressure he produced a quite brilliant riposte from number six, striking 67 from 50 balls with 10 fours and a six. He was out to the final ball before tea in another dramatic twist, leaving England 140 for eight and ahead by 202. The day began with England taking Sri Lankas last five wickets for 52 to leave them 263 all out, debutant Josh Hull picking up two more as he and Olly Stone finished with three apiece. England had an opportunity to bat their opponents out of the game but showed some of the same carelessness which drew sharp words from former captains Michael Vaughan and Sir Alastair Cook on day two. They lost two of their top three in a half-hour window before lunch, Ben Duckett driving errantly to mid-on and Ollie Pope following his first-innings century by dragging on with a loose swish of the bat. They still carried a 97-run lead into the break but the vulnerability of their position was exposed as Sri Lanka dialled up the pressure. Dan Lawrence produced another unconvincing effort (John Walton/PA) Dan Lawrence (35) had spent longer at the crease than anyone but lacked the wherewithal to provide the anchor his side needed. He started the afternoon session in fifth gear, leaving all three stumps exposed as he attempted to open up the leg side and somehow avoiding being bowled by the tiniest of margins. A huge six over long-off showed him in a better light but his ambition soon got the best of him, swinging furiously at a ball that shaped away and grazed the edge. Kumara celebrated emphatically, perhaps slighted by the flashy nature of the stroke, and Lawrence added a bruised finger to a bruised ego as he thumped his bat in disgust. Roots presence should have settled England, and normal service appeared to resume when he punched a classy cover drive to overtake Kumar Sangakkara as the sixth highest run-scorer in Test history. Only Sir Alastair Cook stands between him and a place in the top five but that will have to wait until next months tour of Pakistan after Fernando surprised him with an inswinging yorker. The ball crunched his front foot on the full, with a hopeful DRS call only confirming his fate. With their cornerstone gone, there was an opening for Sri Lanka and Fernando bulldozed through it. Like Root, Harry Brook was a fraction late to one that shaped in through the air and thudded into the front pad. Like Root, he burned a review on his way. Vishwa Fernando, centre, removed Joe Root, left, and Harry Brook lbw (John Walton/PA) Chris Woakes was caught behind for a duck off Kumara and though an injury to wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal provided a chance for England to take a breath, their struggles continued. Gus Atkinson, carrying a quad injury that left him unable to bowl in the morning, was trapped plumb in front by Milan Rathnayake. Smith had seen enough and lifted the mood around the stands with a handful of increasingly daring strokes. After seeing a leading edge narrowly escape the man at mid-off he plundered 52 off just 17 deliveries. Rathnayake suffered most pain, pummelled down the ground when he went full and flogged for six as he dragged his length back. Some shots were pure timing, others brute strength, but it was a heady mix. Stone had contributed just five to a partnership of 58 as Smith entered T20 mode, but the fun came to an end when he drilled Fernando straight to midwicket with the tea break just seconds away. Fairtrade brands and retailers are calling on competitors to sell more products sourced on fairer terms to boost the impact on low-income farmers around the world. Clipper Tea, Brewgooder and the Co-op said they would like to see more sales in their sectors on Fairtrade terms to better support farmers who produce everyday essentials like bananas, cocoa, tea, and coffee. It comes as the certification body marks its annual Fairtrade Fortnight campaign, calling on shoppers, MPs, retailers and brands to Be the Change in an unfair trade system that leaves farmers round the world facing increasingly insurmountable challenges. Fonio grain farm workers in Guinea, West Africa (Brewgooder/PA) Fairtrades minimum price, premium payments, standards and guaranteed fairer prices mean farmers can afford to put food on the table, send their children to school, cover farm costs and adapt to climate change. UK-based brewer Brewgooder said it hopes to see more brewers buying Fairtrade fonio grain after it recently established the first Fairtrade-certified brewing supply chain. Set up in just six months, the supply chain aims to ensure farmers in Guinea, West Africa, are paid a fairer price for their work and grain, with 67 producers already signing up according to local cooperatives. Brewgooder has made the new supply chain, named open grain accessible to any UK brewer or business so they can maximise the impact sales have on farmer communities. Alan Mahon, founder at Brewgooder, said: Alone we can make a small but meaningful difference, but as an entire industry even if only adopting Fairtrade fonio in small amounts we can support farmers in Guinea make a game-changing impact on these communities while simultaneously bringing quality and desirable products to market. Enabling other beer producers to use our supply chain makes that possible. Brewgooders new IPA is made from fonio grain sourced on Fairtrade terms from farmers in Guinea (Brewgooder/PA) Were not adopting Fairtrade fonio to give ourselves a (unique selling point), but to show what can be achieved when you collaborate with farming communities for a fairer deal. Organic brand Clipper, which is one of Fairtrades first and longest-standing tea partners, has long called for fairer prices across the sector. Hayley Murgett, head of hot drinks marketing at Clipper-owner Ecotone, said if half the tea in the UK was sold as Fairtrade, the difference it could make to farmers would be absolutely insane. Wed love to see more and more brands coming onto the Fairtrade premium, she said. The more tea that can be sold with Fairtrade, the better we can improve those lives of the workers and farmers, who will then be able to better secure their future as well through climate combating measures. The tea sector is among those facing more volatility in recent years including Indian tea prices surging over the summer as extreme weather hit yields, especially in Assam. Clippers cookstoves project in India have helped to prevent deforestation (Fairtrade/PA) Ms Murgett said Fairtrades premium can help farmers offset some of the impacts. I think thats where Fairtrade and organic play a really important role for us to try and secure the future of tea, she said. With British shoppers making particularly heritage-based decisions about the brand of tea they choose, Ms Murgett said Clippers focus is how it can disrupt that kind of pattern and get them to question that tea choice so they could make that sort of more Fairtrade and organic impact. Daniel Parr, Ecotones European R&D team leader, also said shoppers value perception behind tea needs to be much higher, citing the fact that people are now willing to pay premium prices on coffee because of barista culture. You look at all the skill and craft and effort that goes into making a kilo of tea and then youre seeing a few pence per tea bag, he said. Sustainable pricing is key but it has to be part of moving the dial on value perception. The Co-op said more retailers need to join the Fairtrade movement to maximise its impact (Alamy/PA) He added that more tea companies buying Fairtrade is exactly what we we want to see. Meanwhile, the Co-op said they would like to see other retailers to join the Fairtrade movement to help tackle the supply chain challenges that will intensify over the next decades. It comes as the Co-op became the first UK retailer to move its entire range of fresh-cut roses to be 100% Fairtrade, which will help to fund social and community projects like supporting almost 5,000 female flower farm workers in Kenya. Emily Pearce, senior sustainable sourcing and international development manager at the supermarket said: As the second largest Fairtrade seller in the world, were proud to continue to pioneer Fairtrade by being the first UK retailer to extend our commitment to sourcing 100% Fairtrade roses. Its incredible to see first-hand how our Fairtrade commitments change lives and build more resilient supply chains, yet we need others to join the Fairtrade movement to tackle the challenges the food systems face in the next 30 years. Fairtrade is thanking British shoppers for supporting low-income farmers around the world, as research suggests that two-thirds opted to buy certified products this year. Marking its annual Fairtrade Fortnight campaign, the organisation said the British public has helped to protect the future of everyday essentials like bananas, cocoa, tea, flowers, coffee and more, through their purchasing decisions. Research by YouGov found that seven in 10 UK adults (69%) said they bought a Fairtrade product, which are produced by farmers and agricultural workers overseas. A supermarket shopper chooses a bunch of Fairtrade bananas as the organisation thanks British consumers for their support of low-income farmers (Fairtrade/PA) Fairtrades minimum price, premium payments, standards and guaranteed fairer prices mean farmers can afford to put food on the table, send their children to school, cover farm costs and adapt to climate change. The certification body said that retail sales of Fairtrade products generated around 28 million in premium payments in 2023, which went directly to the producers so they could invest in business, community, healthcare, education and climate resilience projects. During Fairtrade Fortnight, which kicks off on Monday, the organisation is joining up with supermarkets and leading brands to thank millions of people across the UK for their impact on these farmers lives. This includes billboards placed outside supermarkets in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff and Edinburgh from Monday, congratulating shoppers on their support and encouraging them to buy more Fairtrade. The billboards will highlight local purchasing figures, such as nine in 10 adults (89%) in Edinburgh buying a Fairtrade product last year and 65% of adults in Bristol enjoying Fairtrade chocolate. The Co-op will offer a 10% discount on Fairtrade products for their members during the two weeks while brands like Maltesers, Ben & Jerrys, Green & Blacks, Clipper and Cafedirect will also join the celebrations, the organisation said. Jaime Alberto Garcia Florez, a Sierra Nevada farmer, tends to his coffee crops at his farm in Siberia township, Colombia (Fairtrade/PA) Elsewhere, thousands of grassroots supporters in communities, schools, places of worship and universities are planning hundreds of special events across the country to celebrate the campaign as well as Fairtrades 30th anniversary. Marie Rumsby, Fairtrade Foundations director of advocacy, said: Every Fairtrade purchase makes a difference to farmers lives, and we want to remind shoppers that when they next visit a supermarket, they choose products with the Fairtrade logo, as these ensure farmers receive fairer prices for their hard work and can invest in their families and communities. Without the stability a fairer trade system provides and as farmers tell us climate change is making it harder to grow crops it is more important now than ever to show solidarity so future generations of farmers will be able to continue farming. But choosing to buy Fairtrade products helps build their resilience to these global challenges and helps keep our favourite products on our supermarket shelves. Elsewhere, Fairtrade research revealed that significant sections of the British public continue to back fair prices and fairer terms of trade for overseas farmers. The survey found that 85% of UK adults think farmers in low-income countries should receive stable and fair pay for the products they grow. Coffee beans at the Red Ecolsierra association in Santa Marta, Colombia (Fairtrade/PA) And more than half (54%) of UK adults understand that buying Fairtrade has a positive impact on the lives of farmers and workers. Fairtrade also found that the majority of the UK public shares its concerns about climate change putting production and supply at risk, and the impact this could ultimately have on prices. Its latest poll revealed that 4 in every 5 adults in the UK (79%) are concerned about the potential effect of climate change on the price of food in the UK. A similarly high number 69% are concerned about the potential effect of climate change more widely on the supply of food in the UK. The UK is failing to tackle tax evasion among retailers despite new government powers, according to a new report by the UKs public spending watchdog. The National Audit Office said the Government lacks an effective response to illegal tax dodgers in the sector, amid a sharp increase in the problem in recent years. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) most recent figures, from 2022-23, estimate that 5.5 billion was lost due to tax evasion, 81% of it from small businesses, up from 66% in 2019-20. But the department currently does not have a specific strategy to clamp down on the issue, the NAO said. One particular issue is retailers that allow themselves to go insolvent then set up again under a new registration, so the same directors can carry on trading. HMRC estimated the practice, known as phoenixism, accounted for 15% of its tax debt losses in 2022-23, equivalent to more than 500 million. However, the Insolvency Service disqualified only seven directors specifically for phoenixism between 2018-19 and 2023-24, out of a total of 6,274 disqualified directors. Meanwhile, new powers to issue penalties for businesses that falsely manipulate the amount of money passing through their till known as electronic sales suppression came into force in 2022. The NAO said that HMRC has still not yet issued any civil penalties using the powers, but that the department told report writers that publicity around their existence has had a deterrent effect. Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: Although tax evasion has been growing among small businesses, HMRC has so far lacked an effective strategic response. Its assessment of risks has given too little emphasis to widely used methods of evasion such as sales suppression and phoenixism. It has also failed to use new powers to tackle tax evasion. Tackling tax evasion is not a straightforward task. But real opportunities exist for HMRC to work more systematically across government to reduce it. Tighter controls and more compliance work could raise significant sums and improve value for money. It comes after Labour said during the general election that it will crack down on tax avoiders to pay for its commitments on schools and the NHS. The party said it will try to raise 5 billion a year by the end of the next Parliament by narrowing the tax gap the difference between the amount of money HMRC is owed and the amount it actually receives. Elsewhere, the NAO added that fraudulent businesses setting up on Companies House, the UKs register of companies, is still an issue despite the Government introducing tighter requirements in March. Suspicious companies have included directors named after cartoon characters or religious figures, while some directors on the register have been listed as being as young as zero, or older than the worlds longest-living person. While new powers in March are supposed to allow officials to request evidence on company registrations, verify directors identities and remove inaccurate listings, some of the measures will still not be fully operational until Companies House develops the necessary systems and capability. An HMRC spokesperson said: The UK has one of the lowest tax gaps reported in the world, but the Government is committed to reducing it further. While the vast majority of businesses pay the tax thats due, we will continue to use our civil and criminal powers against the determined minority who refuse to play by the rules. Such action helped us protect 41.8 billion in the last 12 months. We also work closely with partners including the Insolvency Service and Companies House to tackle evasion in retail and online services. An Insolvency Service spokesperson said: We work hard to tackle phoenixism using all the investigative tools at our disposal and working closely with HM Revenue and Customs. This may mean on some occasions, we use our civil and criminal powers to target other misconduct connected to phoenix activity, but which is more likely to result in tougher enforcement outcomes. A Companies House spokesperson said: We are using our enhanced powers in various ways to crack down on misuse of the register, including proactively sharing intelligence with law enforcement colleagues. As part of our ongoing programme of reform we will be introducing compulsory identity verification checks for new and existing officers and equivalents as well as those filing information with Companies House. Kings time of reflection on anniversary of Queens death after challenging year The King is to attend church near Balmoral for private prayer and reflection in remembrance of his mother Queen Elizabeth II on the second anniversary of her death. Charles will head to Crathie Kirk, where the late Queen worshipped, for Sunday morning service, two years on from his accession to the throne. The King, 75, has been staying on his Aberdeenshire estate in the Highlands, where his mother died peacefully at the age of 96 on September 8 2022. At Charless side will be Queen Camilla, with the pair spending the summer at their haven in Scotland after the challenges of the past nine months. The Kings second year as sovereign was marked by the difficult double health blow of his cancer diagnosis and that of his daughter-in-law the Princess of Wales. But with the monarch and Queen consort travelling in the autumn to Australia and Samoa on their first major long-haul trip since news of his condition broke, a royal source said Charless health was heading in a positive trajectory. On Accession Day, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who delivered the sermon at the late Queens state funeral, has given thanks for Elizabeth IIs life of faith and devotion and prayers for the Kings steadfast service. The Queen died in September 2022 after 70 years as the nations monarch (Tolga Akmen/PA) The Rt Rev Justin Welby said: Today we remember the life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and mark the second anniversary of the accession of His Majesty King Charles III. As we pray for the royal family today, we give thanks for Queen Elizabeths life of faith and devotion and continue to pray for the King in his steadfast service to our nation. The anniversary is a deeply personal time for the King, who became monarch when his beloved mother died in her Platinum Jubilee year after reigning for seven decades. A royal source said: There will be personal thoughts, prayers and reflections. Im sure it will be a very poignant day for all. How could it not be, not least given the year of challenge that the whole family has had? The King and Queen appeared moved by the poignant commemorations for the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Portsmouth in June (Dylan Martinez/PA) Royal expert Joe Little, of Majesty magazine, described the health troubles faced by the King and Kate as a rollercoaster period. Nobody saw those things coming and they had a profound impact, Mr Little said. It has been a rollercoaster year for the King, not just for him, but for his family, and it will have been of great concern to the Queen. Nonetheless he has been remarkably active for someone with his condition and given his age. He hasnt really let the treatment hold him back, but Im sure he hasnt done anything near as much as he would have liked to have done. The Kings second year as monarch has been less hectic than his first, with cancer treatment understandably having an impact on his schedule, though he has still undertaken dozens of visits, meetings and events. Charles and Camilla during the Braemar Gathering this weekend (Aaron Chown/PA) Charles has carried out official engagements on 132 days during the past year, compared with 161 days in the previous 12 months, according to PA news agency analysis of the Court Circular. On Saturday, Charles, dressed in a tartan kilt, and Camilla enjoyed a day out at the annual Braemar Gathering, watching the Highland Games. Scotlands First Minister John Swinney and his wife Elizabeth Quigley also arrived to stay overnight with the King and Queen the same day, with the King holding an audience with Mr Swinney on Saturday evening. Prayers will be said for the King and the royal family hundreds of miles away at services in Londons Westminster Abbey the scene of the late Queens final farewell at her funeral 11 days after her death. Elizabeth IIs coffin, draped in the Royal Standard with the Imperial State Crown and the Sovereigns orb and sceptre, is carried out of Westminster Abbey after her state funeral (Danny Lawson/PA) The gothic abbeys bells will also ring out to mark the Kings accession anniversary, as is the custom. Gun salutes are usually fired on Accession Day, but because this year it falls on a Sunday when salutes traditionally do not take place, the military tribute by The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery at Hyde Park and The Honourable Artillery Company at the Tower of London has been moved to Monday. Both regiments taking part were responsible for firing the Death Gun salutes upon the death of Elizabeth II, with almost all of the soldiers and horses taking part playing a role in the Queens funeral and the proclamation of the King. Members of the royal family regularly worship at Crathie Kirk while they are staying at nearby Balmoral Castle, and the late Queen, a devout Christian, was a regular attendee. Crathie Kirk in Scotland, where the King will attend a morning service (Andrew Milligan/PA) The Kings great-great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone for the 19th-century church. The tiny grey granite place of worship, a short drive from the castle, stands on a hill overlooking 14th-century church ruins and the River Dee. The Princess Royal married then-commander Tim Laurence there in the winter of 1992. There was a Kenyan double at a soggy Great North Run with contrasting victories for Mary Ngugi-Cooper and Abel Kipchumba. Ngugi-Cooper was part of a six-strong lead group that stayed together virtually to the wire, with the 35-year-old pipping Ethiopias Senbere Teferi in a sprint finish. Ngugi-Cooper is the 11th successive Kenyan winner of the womens event but has strong links to the UK. She is based in Leeds with her British husband and is coached by Steve Cram. Eilish McColgan finished fifth (Richard Sellers/PA) She told the BBC: It was amazing. Its always been a dream for me to come and race here at the Great North Run. To win it, its a dream come true. It was a bit mentally tough because no one was dropping and youre coming to the last mile and everyone is there. Britains Eilish McColgan was part of the lead group and crossed the line in fifth, five seconds behind Ngugi-Cooper, whose winning time was one hour, seven minutes and 40 seconds. Im really happy with that, said Scot McColgan. It was a really tough field that was assembled this year so to be amongst those women and still be there with 200 metres to go, if youd told me that last week Id have snapped your hand off. The mens race was a one-man show, Kipchumba breaking away early on and defying the wet conditions to cross the line in 59mins 52secs. Britains Marc Scott, winner of the event in 2021, reeled in Norways Sondre Moen to finish second, one minute and 19 seconds adrift. Former champion Marc Scott crosses the line (Richard Sellers/PA) There were home winners of both the wheelchair events in Jade Hall and Johnboy Smith. Hall was making her comeback after giving birth to her daughter in March and she said: I wasnt really sure how it was going to go. The weather was tricky today but I really enjoyed it. Its been really hard. I do feel like Ive got a different body now and Im learning how that works for me. Smith said: It was a good race, very, very tough. Wet, cold, miserable, but fun all at the same time. Benjamin Netanyahu, centre, in discussion with Shin Bet's David Barnea, left, and the IDF's Ronen Bar, right - Kobi Gideon/Israeli Gpo/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a split with Mossad and the IDF over hostage negotiations as senior government figures openly row over ending the war in Gaza. Disagreements between the security services and the prime ministers office over signing a ceasefire deal have been growing in recent weeks and have started to be leaked to the public through a campaign of toxic briefings. It comes as ministers clash in key security meetings, with reports of shouting matches and fists slamming on tables over the terms of an agreement that could free some of the remaining hostages. The split at the top of government have intensified since last Saturdays killing of six hostages in a Gaza tunnel that led to mass protests and a general strike to stop the war and sign a ceasefire deal. The hostage negotiation team, run by David Barnea, the director of Mossad, and Ronen Bar, the head of Shin Bet security services, want to strike a compromise deal with Hamas to end the war but they are frustrated by Mr Netanyahu. Families of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza protest to call to end the conflict, in Tel Aviv - ABIR SULTAN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Its clear that both the negotiation team and government are frustrated with each other, an Israeli source privy to the ceasefire talks told the Telegraph. Books will be written about the negotiations, the source added, and general mistrust among everyone involved. With the Oct 7 anniversary approaching and mass unrest, the intelligence chiefs want to reach a ceasefire and get the hostages out, a position the army also seems to have taken. But Mr Netanyahu has refused to give up on his most recent demand; full control of the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow buffer zone separating Egypt from Gaza. Tensions peaked in a security cabinet meeting last week, where Mr Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defence minister, reportedly engaged in shouting matches during a vote on whether Israel should keep control of the Philadelphi Corridor. Fight leaked to media The verbal fight was leaked by Israels Channel 12, revealing how Mr Barnea let the cabinet know that there wasnt any logic to vote on the issue now. In any case, the negotiations are currently focused on (other issues) and not the Philadelphi Corridor, Mr Barnea said, revealing the deepening divide between Mr Netanyahu and the negotiation team. Herzl Halevi, the chief of staff of the IDF, also took issue with Mr Netanyahus insistence on keeping control of the corridor, saying the army will know how to enter and return to the corridor at the end of the first six weeks of the ceasefire. There are enough constraints in the talks, you dont need to add another, Mr Halevi reportedly said. But the atmosphere became hostile when Mr Gallant confronted the prime minister directly about whether he was willing to sacrifice the lives of hostages, asking him: What about when 30 lives are at stake? What do you do? I stay on the Philadelphi (Corridor) Only resolute negotiations will force (Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader) to fold, Mr Netanuyahu reportedly replied. Mr Gallant accused the prime minister of imposing his position on the defence brass. Fist banging and spat They had their own plan. You have been running the negotiations by yourself ever since the war cabinet disbanded (in June). We learn of decisions only after the fact, Mr Gallant said furiously. The negotiators sketched the maps as you wanted, but they had a different position, he added. Mr Netanyahu then reportedly banged his fist on the table, calling for a vote on the corridor. A spat also broke out between Mr Gallant and Ron Dermer, the strategic affairs minister, after the latter said the prime minister can do whatever he wants. The prime minister can indeed make all the decisions, and he can also decide to have all the hostages killed, Mr Gallant replied snarkily. Locked in forever war Critics also claim Mr Netanyahu is blocking a deal so he can cling on to power. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said last week that the government was locked in a forever war that has and will never have an end date. An Israeli official defended Mr Netanyahu and his insistence on keeping control of the border. They told the Telegraph that the issue of the Philadelphi Corridor was agreed on in the bridging proposal put forward by the US, Qatar and Egypt on August 16. Everyone understands Israel has to stay along the Philadelphi Corridor, the official said. The official also took issue with the IDFs claim that Israel can retake control of the corridor at a later point if needed. Well, weve heard that before and were not gonna fall for it again. We have paid too high of a price, the official said. As the internal bickering in Israel continues, Hamas has reportedly upped its demands for more Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages. Click here to view this content. Herbie Flowers (left) with the British pop group Blue Mink in 1973 - Hulton/Getty Herbie Flowers has passed away, at the grand age of 86. His is not a name that rings loud in the annals of rock n roll, unless you are one of those who likes to pour over the small-print credits on old vinyl albums from the 1960s and 70s. But I guarantee you know his work. His nimble fingers gave us whats probably the most famous bassline in history: the slippery descent and ascent that forms the framework of Lou Reeds classic 1972 hit, Walk on the Wild Side. Can you hear it now, echoing in the air, a ghost summoned by the mere invocation of the songs title? That cool slide up and down the frets, between two perfectly rounded notes, takes us on an elegant stroll through Reeds seedy vision of New York. But listen closely: buried inside, in surreptitious resonance, another bass reverberates a 10th above it, the same notes played in a higher octave on an electric bass. Thats all the work of Flowers, who came up with the twin basslines and played them both, the lower on a double bass, the higher on an electric fretless. The effect utterly transformed Reeds dry, dark, thoughtful song, as producers David Bowie and Mick Ronson sat in the studio control room at Trident in London and marvelled. Flowers once said that in those days, the recording rate for a three-hour session was 12 but if you overdubbed another instrument, you got double the money. Not that I did it for that reason. It was 20 minutes work that earned Flowers 24 and has resonated in rock history ever since. An unassuming man who referred to himself as an old jazzer, Flowers worked his cool bass magic on some of the greatest records ever made, becoming one of the most in-demand session players in the world in the late 1960s, 70s and 80s. Glancing through his discography, Im in awe of how many of my personal all-time favourite records he played on, songs where (I belatedly realise) the bass does much of the heavy lifting. Here are a few: the 1969 soul fusion classic Melting Pot by Blue Mink (a band of which Flowers was a member); David Bowies weightless Space Oddity, also 1969; Melanies gorgeously overwrought 1970 epic Lay Down (Candle in the Rain); the dubby 1971 rocker Jump Into the Fire by Harry Nilsson; Cat Stevenss 1972 reclamation of his brokenhearted soul ballad The First Cut is the Deepest; David Essexs spookily nostalgic 1973 smash Rock On (for which Flowers created another immaculate double-tracked bassline). In his prime session years, its said that Flowers played on 500 hits, and worked with George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Dusty Springfield, Hank Marvin, Justin Hayward, Cliff Richard, Steve Harley, Roger Daltrey, Allan Clarke and Olivia Newton-John. Thats Flowers on Tim Roses heartrending take on the Bee Gees Ive Gotta Get a Message to You (1971), Elton Johns epic Indian Sunset (1971), T Rexs cosmically weird Dandy in the Underworld (1977), Chris Speddings taut rocker Wild in the Street (1977), Paul McCartneys glistening ballad No More Lonely Nights (1984), and Bryan Ferrys achingly beautiful version of the Irish folk lament Carrickfergus (1978). Flowers also wrote songs himself, albeit not all are remembered with the same fondness as the above. His biggest success came with Grandad, a novelty song he wrote for Dads Army star Clive Dunn: it featured the St Winifreds School Choir and tortured the nation with three weeks as a Christmas number one in 1971. (You dont hear that one so much today.) And Flowers made some quirky solo jazz albums, while his band Sky released seven albums of progressive rock jazz fusion between 1979 and 1987. From the 1990s on, he focused almost entirely on playing jazz and teaching bass guitar. It was the quiet life of a quiet man, lived entirely out of the glare of showbusiness headlines, yet his liquid basslines pulse on through the history of pop. Flowers with David Bowie and Marc Bolan on the TV show Marc in 1977 - Avalon I like a story I heard about the making of Lou Reeds Transformer album. The quirky Goodnight Ladies was the final track to be recorded at the end of exhausting and highly strung sessions. The story goes that Bowie, Ronson and Reed had got stuck trying to work out an arrangement for Reeds odd little ditty, and all disappeared for a liquid lunch, leaving Flowers and a horn section in the studio twiddling their thumbs. Flowers got out a tuba and, on the spot, concocted the bizarre music-hall-meets-Dixieland arrangement just to have something to do. When Reed returned, suitably refreshed, he loved it, he sang a vocal, and the album was done. Transformer went on to be acclaimed as one of the greatest albums ever made; Flowers would have packed up his instruments, collected his 12 fee, and rolled onto his next gig. Its nice to think of his passing in the same light. Like many great musicians before, Flowers has left the stage; but the music just keeps on playing. People line up to speak during public comment for a San Francisco Planning Commission on Feb. 1. A new research paper found that the speakers at Planning Commission hearings may not actually reflect the demographics of the city. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle Before the San Francisco Planning Commission decides the fate of a new development, it often has to spend time gathering public input a process that can extend a meeting for hours for particularly controversial proposals. Some argue this public comment period is a crucial part of the local democratic process, allowing residents to raise issues the commission may have overlooked. But the people who address the Planning Commission may not actually reflect the demographics of San Francisco, according to a new research paper. The study, based on an analysis of nearly 1,000 Planning Commission meetings from 1998 to 2021, found that the median speaker was more likely to be white, politically engaged and a homeowner than the typical San Francisco resident. The typical speaker was also two decades older than the median resident. The research was conducted by Alexander Sahn, a political science professor at University of North Carolina. He analyzed about 42,500 public comments from the minutes of Planning Commission meetings. He was able to get gender and ethnicity data for about half of the speakers from San Francisco voter records. The demographics of the remaining commenters were estimated based on their names, though about 12% of speakers were anonymous or only gave their first name. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The paper also contends that the views of white commenters have a stronger correlation with the commissions decisions than speakers of other racial groups, even accounting for what planners recommended, but local officials dispute the value of this finding. Sahns research did not include comments made outside official hearings, including emails and phone calls made to commissioners. A graduate of UC Berkeley and an East Coast native, Sahn said he was struck by how contentious fights over developments in the Bay Area could become. But while local officials rely on public forums to get input from the community, theres not much research on who actually shows up, he added. Sahns research suggests its older, whiter residents. Thats not surprising when you consider that Planning Commission meetings take place in the middle of the week at midday, he said. I think theres this idea that anyone can show up and participate, versus the reality that theres a small number of people who have the resources and time, Sahn added. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Other research in Massachusetts, Houston and Palo Alto also found that those who speak at public meetings tend to be older and white, and are more likely to be homeowners, than the general population. The study also found that a higher share of opposition from public speakers is associated with a higher chance commissioners will deny projects, though Sahn emphasized that his findings dont prove that the former causes the latter. Residents who live closer to a proposed project are both more likely to speak at hearings and more likely to oppose the project, according to the paper. Some planning officials pushed back against Sahns findings. Kathrin Moore, who is serving her fifth term on the Planning Commission, said that estimating gender and race based on speakers names isnt a very precise method. And even if the data is accurate, she added, it could merely be a product of where a project is located. Commissioners hear proposals on everything from a 55-story tower to a deck for a single-family home. The latter type of project, Moore argued, usually only interests residents living in the immediate area whose population may be less diverse than the city overall. While Dan Sider, chief of staff for the Planning Department, believes the studys methodology has flaws, he acknowledged a significant share of commenters are older and white often neighbors arguing with each other. He added that for larger projects, such as zoning reforms, the department conducts outreach to parts of the community that we dont typically see in City Hall hearing rooms. Advertisement Article continues below this ad John Rahaim, a former San Francisco planning director, said some of the studys findings totally jive with my memory, which is that many if not most commenters were probably white homeowners. Thats probably less true now than it was two decades ago, he added, before pro-development advocates began organizing renters to attend Planning Commission meetings. The main issue with the study, Rahaim said, is its claim that the commissions decisions are more strongly correlated with the opinions of white speakers than those of other racial groups. One reason is that the commission is sometimes legally required to approve a housing proposal, even if public comment is overwhelmingly against it. And for some projects, he added, many supporters and opponents have already contacted the commission before the meeting even starts a factor the paper itself acknowledges. I think that for most housing projects, the commission knows how it wants to vote long before the project gets to a hearing, Rahaim said. Jenny Schuetz, a housing researcher with the Brookings Institution, said papers like Sahns raise questions regarding whether public hearings are as democratic as officials believe. Surveying voters through text messages and forming focus groups could help encourage participation, she added. Advertisement Article continues below this ad We probably need to experiment with some different methods to see what works, Schuetz said. But sticking with the current system raises real concerns about fairness and accountability. Sider echoed that sentiment, noting that while public hearings inform officials about issues they wouldnt have otherwise learned about, its also important to acknowledge that they dont hear from everyone specifically, the people who would eventually live or work in a proposed building. Thats something we cannot cast aside in those moments when public comment threatens to devolve into a popularity contest, Sider said. Police and paramedics at the scene of the reported collapsed ceiling at Pizza Express in Salford Quays, Manchester Police, paramedics and fire crews are attending a Pizza Express restaurant in the Salford Quays area of Manchester following reports that a ceiling has collapsed inside the building. Emergency services were called to the Quayside shopping centre in the area on Sunday afternoon. Witnesses said a large number of diners had been inside the restaurant when the ceiling came down. It is believed a gym is situated on the floor above. It was not initially clear if anyone had been hurt in the incident. Greater Manchester Police said "crews are working to make the area safe and remain in attendance - MEN MEDIA A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: At around 3.45pm today, officers were called to reports of a ceiling collapsing at a business on Salford Quays. Officers are in attendance along with other emergency service colleagues as they carry out their work. A spokesman for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said: At just after 3.45pm today (Sunday 8 September), fire crews were called to reports of a collapsed ceiling at a restaurant on Salford Quays. Three fire engines from Salford and Broughton quickly attended the incident. Crews are working to make the area safe and remain in attendance. Duchess of Sussex gave a short speech to Oprah Winfrey's book club guests on Saturday evening The Duchess of Sussex was joined by friend Oprah Winfrey as she spoke at the opening of a bookshop in California. The book club session was held at the Goodmothers bookshop in Summerland, a few miles from where the Duchess of Sussex lives in Montecito with Prince Harry and their two children. Meghans short address was attended by Marco Leone, astrology and psychology expert Dr Jennifer Freed and psychic medium Laura Lynne Jackson. A copy of Spare - her husbands autobiography which was critical of the pairs treatment by the Royal Family - was also seen on display in the background. The evening of light-filled speeches was partly to celebrate the opening weekend of Godmothers, co-owned by literary agent Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, which hosted a string of events and conversations with celebrities and authors. Oprah Winfrey and Meghan greet a guest at the evening of of 'light-filled speeches' Ms Walsh had put Harrys memoir on display with a collection of books penned by local writers. Meghans picture book for children, The Bench, which was published in 2021, is also on the shelf. It comes after The Telegraph revealed that the Duke has no interest in returning to royal duties in the UK and is focused solely on his future in the United States. Harrys efforts to maintain contact with old friends and an evident desire to repair his relationship with his father the King sparked speculation that he is seeking a fresh start and even an official working role within the family fold. But multiple sources close to the Duke said this is not the case and he is happy and settled in California, with an amazing new set of friends and several projects on the horizon. Since relocating to the US, the Duke has maintained contact with a tight group of trusted advisers with whom he worked in his former UK life, some of whom he occasionally turns to for advice. However, they too expressed surprise at the suggestion that he might one day return to royal duties and are unaware of an alleged blueprint outlining how he might one day begin moving in UK circles again, the existence of which was first reported by The Mail on Sunday. Indonesian students shout slogans during a rally against the government's attempt to reverse a constitutional court ruling to election laws. Photograph: Hotli Simanjuntak/EPA In early August, against a backdrop of deadly student-led protests, Bangladeshs prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigned her position, bringing to a close a political dynasty that stretched back to the countrys founding. This week, students took to the streets on the other side of Asia, to protest against amended election laws that have helped foster the establishment of a new dynasty. In a few weeks Prabowo Subianto will be sworn in as Indonesias president and with him his vice-president, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the 36-year-old son of current leader Joko Widodo. Across the continent, the rise and fall of leaders, soundtracked by the cries of demonstrators, is both a testament to the resilience of Asias political dynasties, and a warning to the few influential families which have for decades seen power passed between them. Democracy is a virtue, but it doesnt work properly when you have such huge social and economic inequalities and the opportunities to have an influence are so unequal, says Prof Vedi Hadiz, director of the Asia Institute at the university of Melbourne. Political dynasties are far from unique to Asia; Novembers US presidential election will be the first since 1976 without a Bush, Clinton or Biden on the ticket. However, in Asia, at least seven countries are run by family members of former rulers. Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Laos and Brunei are all led by the children of former leaders. In Pakistan the prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, is the brother of former leader Nawaz Sharif, who is in a coalition with a party led by the son of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, while Indonesias president-elect, Prabowo Subianto is the ex-son-in-law of former dictator Suharto. Weak political parties, the cost of campaigning and closed political networks all help to explain the longevity of Asias political families, says Dr Ken Setiawan, senior lecturer in Indonesian studies at the University of Melbourne. In the Philippines 2022 presidential election, local media reported that eventual winner Ferdinand Marcos Jr himself the son of a former president spent more than $11m on his campaign, the majority of which came from contributions. Its very easy to promote or nominate family members, says Setiawan. Which makes it really difficult for people to come through the grassroots. Pancakes and allegations of nepotism In 2014, Indonesia broke free of years of dynastic politics, when it elected Joko Widodo, or Jokowi, the first president not to have come from Indonesias military or political elite. Jokowi rose from humble beginnings in his grandfathers furniture factory, through positions in local politics and on to the governorship of Jakarta. His status as a political outsider saw him garner widespread support. Ten years on Jokowis image has been transported from the cover of Time Magazine to the hands of protesters, who accuse him of nepotism and destroying democracy. Last week, thousands of Indonesians took to the streets to protest planned changes to electoral laws which would have paved the way for Jokowis youngest son to run in elections in this November by tweaking rules on age requirements. There is a lot of anger, says Setiawan. This is someone [Jokowi] who 10 years ago was labelled a hope for democracy. A similar scandal played out in November when an Indonesian court overturned a rule stating only candidates over 40 could seek the presidency, allowing Jokowis eldest son to run for vice-president. Jokowi has been trying to secure his political influence beyond the two terms of his presidency, says Setiawan. That has a lot to do with his own political priorities and his big infrastructure drive. A lot of those projects that have been started, but havent finished yet, she says. Along with allegations of nepotism, questions over the capabilities and experience of Jokowis son have been rife. Gibran ran a chain selling pancakes before he was elected mayor of Solo in 2020. Prior to the presidential election, he rebuffed accusations that he had received poor grades at univeristy, with some even questioning the authenticity of his degree. Gibran eventually produced his diploma from the UKs University of Bradford, inadvertently opening up new attack lines from those opposed to his candidacy. Political dynasties help to perpetuate high levels of inequality in Asia, says Hadiz, with educational opportunities often afforded to only a minority of powerful families That equips you further to consolidate your position within society, he says. Its an accusation evidenced in the CVs of a generation of political scions. Like Gibran, Thailands new leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra the fourth member of the Shinawatra family to become prime minister studied in the UK, graduating with a degree in hotel management from Surrey University. In 2023, Cambodias longtime leader Hun Sen handed power to his son, Hun Manet, who studied at the University of Bristol. The Philippines president Marcos attended Worth School in West Sussex and Oxford University, though he did not complete his degree. A leadership vacuum Despite anger from voters in some countries, any real political opposition to dynastic politics remains fragmented and disorganised, says Hadiz. The congress in the Philippines which has elected four presidents who were descendants of political families since 2001 has recently blocked a bill to define and ban family dynasties from politics. A 2022 study found that almost 80% of the countrys congress are from political families. You could have an eruption of protests like you did in Indonesia a couple of days ago, says Hadiz, but once the controversy has passed the groups will disband. When Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh, the student movement that helped to oust her celebrated the end of one of the worlds most enduring political dynasties, that began when her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, led his country to independence in 1971. As the country welcomes a new interim leader, Hasinas son, who acts as an adviser to his mother, called the students very ungrateful. Sajeeb Wazed Joy said his mother would be retiring to spend time with her grandchildren. Days later, in an interview with Indian media, Joy said that although he had never had any political ambition, the country was facing a leadership vacuum. Stating that he would do anything to save his mothers political party, the grandson of Bangladeshs founder said that he was ready to enter politics. Friedrich Merz addresses the audience during a campaign event for Brandenburg's regional state elections on 4 September. Photograph: Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty Images Friedrich Merz, Germanys mercurial conservative opposition chief and a passionate hobby pilot, should be flying high these days as the countrys hotly tipped next leader. One year before the next general election, his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has enjoyed a comfortable lead for months with about 32% support, nearly double the score of its nearest competitors, as the fractious government led by Social Democrat Olaf Scholz plumbs new depths of disfavour. But the chance at the chancellery Merz has been dreaming of since the 1990s has hit turbulence stemming from the countrys inescapable 20th-century history. Whether and how he can extricate his party from the dilemma posed by last weekends bombshell state elections will help determine Germanys democratic health for years to come in the battle to win back voters from the pro-Russian extremes. In this months polls in two former communist states, a far-right force became the strongest party for the first time since the Nazi period in one region, Thuringia, and in the other, Saxony, it finished a very close second behind Merzs party. AfD supporters call it undemocratic that the partys successes dont result in it joining governments Ursula Munch, Academy for Political Education The strong showing for the anti-immigration, anti-Islam Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) has left the mainstream conservatives navigating a minefield as all the democratic parties have committed to a ban on cooperation with the extreme right. A third election, in Brandenburg state surrounding Berlin, looms on 22 September, with similar results expected. For the coalition arithmetic to add up to a majority, the CDU must now seek the strangest of bedfellows for a high-risk experiment in government. Cue the dramatic return of another of the most florid political characters of the post-reunification period, former Stalinist Sahra Wagenknecht, whose Kremlin apologist party came in a pivotal third place in both states. Wagenknecht was known in those years for often antagonising and perennially outshining the members of her party, the successors to the East German communists who built the Berlin Wall. She finally broke with the far-left Die Linke last year and formed her own eponymous grouping in January. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW, after its German initials) has shaken up the political landscape with stances tailored to pick up disaffected voters, particularly in the east, who are still angry about government restrictions during the Covid pandemic, dislike Germanys arms shipments to Ukraine and are deeply anxious about immigration. Wagenknecht, a bestselling author from the east who has never held government office, boasted to reporters on the day after the state elections that her young party had become a power factor in Germany. Polling at about 8% nationally, it now has every incentive to exact the highest price from Merzs CDU during the state coalition talks, suggesting it will set an ultimatum on ending Berlins support for Kyiv and try to block plans to station medium-range US missiles on German soil. After the state elections, Merz, a westerner and former BlackRock executive, warned that the BSW was rightwing extremist on some issues and leftwing extremist on others a black box with uncertain and potentially explosive contents. He nevertheless gave each regional CDU chapter the green light to enter into coalition negotiations with the party, as there is no viable alternative. That decision, however, has now sparked a rebellion within the CDU just when the party hoped to be closing ranks around a flag bearer to lead it into the September 2025 national election. Wagenknecht contradicts everything the [centre-right] parties have stood for since the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany: clear allegiance to the west, a united Europe and Nato membership as historys greatest project for peace, Christian Democrat Frank Sarfeld, who says he represents about 100 party dissidents, told the daily Tagesspiegel. Cooperation with the Kremlin offshoot is unthinkable, added CDU lawmaker Roderich Kiesewetter, accusing both the Wagenknecht alliance and AfD of trying to destroy the CDU as a big-tent party. Merz, whose impulsive nature sparks flashes of temper that concern even his allies, could now be looking more vulnerable with the revolt in his own ranks. The Munich broadsheet Suddeutsche Zeitung dubbed his predicament Russian Roulette as potential rivals line up. What will remain of Friedrich Merz when Sahra Wagenknecht is finished with him? asked Die Zeit. The electoral successes could plunge [his party] into crisis and cost him the chancellor candidacy. One key area where Merz and Wagenknecht overlap, however, is a hard line on migration an issue that also plays to the strengths of the far right. Since 2015, when Angela Merkel allowed more than one million people fleeing war and turmoil to enter Germany, immigration has become one of the countrys most divisive political issues. It prompted the rightward lurch in the AfD then primarily a eurosceptic grouping and opened up a civil war in Merkels Christian Union bloc, which led most of the West German and united German governments in the post-war period. Merz, a longtime rival of Merkels who angrily resented several moves she made to consolidate power at his expense, has spearheaded an unyielding stance since she left the stage in 2021, which now appears to be gaining the upper hand in the country. But many observers say that the AfD, from the sidelines, is calling the tune. That issue, combined with a sense of martyrdom among far-right supporters because their party has been blocked from formal power, could prove to be explosive, said Ursula Munch, director of the Academy for Political Education thinktank in Bavaria. AfD supporters call it undemocratic that the partys successes dont result in it joining governments they consciously overlook that you can vote for an extremist party but cant expect that it will find coalition partners, she said. However, not including the AfD will improve its prospects for the next election. Thats the big dilemma for the other parties. Political scientist Oliver Lembcke of Ruhr University Bochum said the state elections results leading to the upcoming coalition talks between Merz and Wagenknechts forces showed that the AfD boycott had at least, in part, backfired. The strategy of the firewall was to marginalise the AfD in the east by excluding it while pointing up the democratic parties steadfast principles, he said. That has clearly failed. Both Munch and Lembcke predicted that doubts about aid to Ukraine would grow as the national election campaign grinds on, potentially allowing Wagenknechts party to make greater inroads in the west. Her success will drive her to gain further media attention and, at the same time, send the message to voters that its worth it to vote for the BSW, Lembcke said. Jude Law wavered when he was asked whether he considered himself to be a royalist - Cindy Ord/Getty Images North America Jude Law has suggested that he would not bow to members of the Royal family. The star of The Talented Mr Ripley portrays Henry VIII towards the end of his life in Firebrand, the newly released film. Yet Law, 51, suggested in an interview that he would not bow to members of the Royal family and wavered about describing himself as a monarchist. Im intrigued by their history, Mr Law said of the Royal family. But Ive never been a great believer in treating someone a certain way because they are born under a title. When asked whether he considered himself a royalist, the south London-born actor replied: I dont know that I am. And I dont know that I want to bow down to anyone, personally, he told The Sunday Times. Other stars who have portrayed monarchs on the silver screen have changed their views on the institution. Dame Helen Mirren described herself as having been a grumpy anti-monarchist at the time of the 1977 Silver Jubilee, only to say she felt proud of Queen Elizabeth II at the time of Her late Majestys Diamond Jubilee in 2012. It comes after the release on Friday of Laws latest film, Firebrand, in which he plays a 28-stone Henry VIII as the monarch marries his sixth and final wife, Katherine Parr, played by Alicia Vikander, the star of Tomb Raider. Law also said he had gorged himself on late-night ice cream in order to portray the morbidly obese king, who by that stage needed nine men to lift him on to his horse. He also acknowledged the influence of Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced film mogul, on his portrayal of Henry VIII, saying: I was very aware that Henry symbolises the downfall of many men who soared through life with great success and got drunk on power, abused it and fell. And so Harvey must have crossed my mind. Jude Law acknowledged the influence of Harvey Weinstein when playing Henry VIII in Firebrand, the actor's new film - Sylvain Gaboury/FilmMagic Law and Weinstein worked together on Cold Mountain, the 2003 film, which saw the British actor starring opposite Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger as a wounded deserter from the Confederate army during the American Civil War. Former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard said Labor is a more diverse and stronger party as a result of the affirmative action rule. Photograph: AAP Julia Gillard is urging the Labor party never to remove its 50% female target for parliamentary candidates despite surpassing it federally, warning there are forces especially in the toxic sewer of social media which can still drag women back. In an interview to mark this months 30th anniversary of Labors controversial affirmative action rule, Australias first and, so far, only female prime minister reflected on the hope she expressed the day she left office in 2013, that it would be easier for the next woman who runs the country. I think some things are going to be easier and some things are going to be a bit harder, Gillard told Guardian Australia. Related: Julia Gillard says progress on gender equality is really glacial She said having women as 52.4% of Labors parliamentary caucus will naturally make it easier for a woman to rise into leadership. It also helped that people generally and the media in particular were more conscious now of how women are treated in politics. I think journalists across the board are much more sensitive on these questions now than when I was prime minister, Gillard said. So I think in many ways, all of that says its going to be easier. What has become harder is how dominant social media is in political messaging and political reporting. And as we know from all of the analysis, all of the statistics, the social media world can be a toxic sewer for women. Gillard points to the Coalitions comparatively low female representation at 29.4%, or 25 of its 85 federal parliamentarians. She said it should look at the scoreboard and stop resisting a quota because it works. The affirmative action rule guarantees for us the very solid foundation, and that means that we can keep making progress in other ways, Gillard said. And you know, in this time of anniversary, I think we should be celebrating what that very strong foundation has given us, but we should also be advocating for its adoption right across the parliament. Gillard stopped short of advocating for more diversity quotas but said achieving one form of diversity naturally encourages others. Although the affirmative action rules 30th anniversary is not until 26 September, federal Labor will mark it with a special gathering this parliamentary sitting week and by introducing the legislation underpinning a pay rise for childcare workers. Gillard argued Labor is a more diverse and stronger party as a result of the affirmative action rule. And I know that the constant argument put against this is merit, she said. But if you believe, as I do, that merit for politics merit generally is equally distributed between men and women, then if time after time after time youre disproportionately sending men to the parliament not women, then that doesnt mean that youve selected the most meritorious people. Theres a bias in your system. Gillard welcomed new accountability standards for parliamentarians arising from former sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins Set the Standard report on parliamentary workplaces. Im a big believer that transparency matters, shining a spotlight matters, seeing what is wrong and then setting about fixing it, Gillard said. She said the female quota rule had done the same within the Labor party. But she was not prepared to endorse calls to extend the formal policing of behaviour into the chambers or outlaw robust debate. Look, Im not one who can, with a straight face, be the advocate for a kinder, gentler parliament, she said. As you know, when I was in parliament, I used to give as good as I got. Gillard, whose 2012 misogyny speech attacking then opposition leader Tony Abbott has become emblematic of womens political resistance, said one of her objectives had been to show that a woman could thrive in indeed, you know, dominate a raucous parliamentary chamber, that these skills were not somehow skills that only men had, that women could do that too. But she said internationally, there were now demands for different political styles and kinder, more empathetic leadership. I think ultimately those debates will tell on parliamentary structures here and around the world. Gillard reflected on the battle within Labor to cement the affirmative action rule in its 1994 platform and, in variations, ever since. Women were on a march from being, you know, outside the power structures of the party to the inside of the power structures of the party, Gillard says of the lead-up to that controversial decision. Gillard was elected in the safe seat of Lalor in 1998. The then-lawyer was defeated for preselection in the safe seat of Melbourne by Lindsay Tanner ahead of the 1993 election. Related: I will not: how Julia Gillards words of white-hot anger reverberated around the world Gillard was among the network of Labor women who lobbied to secure support for what was initially a mandatory quota of women being preselected in 35% of winnable seats by 2002 and would become, in 2012, a requirement that at least 40% of candidates be women and at least 40% men, followed in 2015 by the target of 50% female representation by 2025. Even right before the vote at the partys 1994 national conference at Hobarts Wrest Point casino, and with the strong advocacy of then prime minister Paul Keating, victory wasnt a certainty. There were still many senior factional figures who were opposed to it, who thought it would tie their hands in preselections, didnt see the need for it, who were putting the case that, you know, it would be a distortion to merit whilst, of course, not realising that continuing to disproportionately preselect men and not preselect women, is, and of itself, a distortion to merit, Gillard recalls. So all of these arguments were still being put. I mean, as we got closer and closer to the debate, we were more and more confident it was going to be carried. When it was, women flooded on to the conference floor in jubilation. That exuberance when it happened was genuine, a sense of, Wow, finally, its done. Tough decisions are tough decisions. Keir Starmer on BBC1s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. Photograph: Jeff Overs/BBC/PA Keir Starmer has urged Labour MPs to support his unpopular plan to remove the winter fuel allowance for all but the poorest pensioners, saying the government could not run away from difficult choices. Speaking in his first major TV interview since taking office, the prime minister also hinted at increased support for Ukraine, saying his visit to the White House next week to see President Biden would be focused on the strategic situation there, and in the Middle East. Asked about Tuesdays vote on the changes to the fuel allowance, forced after the Conservatives submitted a motion to annul the governments change to regulations, Starmer refused to say if Labour MPs who rebelled would be stripped of the whip but made it clear he expected their support. That will be a matter for the chief whip, he told BBC Ones Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. Were going into a vote. Im glad were having a vote, because I think its very important for parliament to speak on this. But every Labour MP was elected in on the same mandate as I was, which was to deliver the change that we need for the country. The new government has already suspended the Labour whip from seven MPs who supported an amendment in July to end the two-child benefits cap. Starmer stressed that restricting access to the payments was a vital part of reducing spending he said had spiralled under a Conservative government that had run away from difficult decisions. Im absolutely convinced that we will only deliver that change Im absolutely determined we will if we do the difficult things now, he said. I know theyre unpopular, I know theyre difficult. Of course, theyre tough choices. Tough decisions are tough decisions. Popular decisions arent tough, theyre easy. I do recognise how difficult it is for some people. I do recognise its really hard for some pensioners. But of course, they do rely on the NHS, they do rely on public transport. So these things arent completely divorced. Worries about the impact of the policy change are known to be shared by some cabinet ministers, with some frontbenchers believing the government will have to announce extra support in the budget. Starmer, however, argued that with the triple lock policy of pension increases, he could guarantee that the annual increase in the state pension will outstrip any reduction in the winter fuel payment. Starmer is due to be in Washington on Friday for talks with Biden, a trip not yet set out by No 10 but announced by the White House. Asked if this was an attempt to assuage anger among US officials about the UKs decision last week to suspend some arms export licences to Israel because of risks they could be used in violations of international law, Starmer rejected the characterisation. Youre wrong about that, he said. Weve been talking to the US beforehand and afterwards, and theyre very clear that theyve got a different legal system, and they understand the decision that weve taken. So thats very clear. The reason Im actually going and having the visit is not about that at all. Its because the situation in Ukraine is becoming ever more pressing, as is the situation in the Middle East. The talks with Biden would focus on the tactical decisions we have to make on those areas, he added, saying that the next few months would be crucial for Ukraine, as well as in the Middle East. Asked if this could lead to an increase in support for Ukraine, or a decision to allow Kyiv to use donated weapons on targets inside Russia, Starmer said he was not going to get into a discussion about that on live television. He added: But of course, I want to make sure that we give Ukraine the support that it needs for as long as it needs. Just Stop Oil protesters behind Met police assistant commissioner Matt Twist as he addresses a select committee in parliament last year. Photograph: House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA Arrests at large protests, including those organised by pro-Palestine and environmental groups, will probably be made more quickly in the future, the Metropolitan polices assistant commissioner has said. Matt Twist also suggested that the force had not got everything right in handling demonstrations over the past year. The capital has seen a number of large-scale protests since October last year, some of which have drawn hundreds of thousands of people to central London. Among them were demonstrations held by Just Stop Oil, Extinction Rebellion, and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), which is calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Twist spoke about policing protests in an interview with the rightwing thinktank Policy Exchange in May, before far-right riots erupted across the country after the Southport attacks in July. His comments have now been released alongside a new report by the thinktank. Twist, who is responsible for protest and public order policing across London, said: When we look back at the policing of protests over the last eight months, we know we didnt get everything right particularly in the early stages in October. On occasion we did not move quickly to make arrests We are now much more focused on identifying reasonable grounds for arrest, acting where needed, and then investigating, so in these circumstances its very likely arrests would be made more quickly now. Twist said that while the number of demonstrators had fallen significantly from a peak of about 300,000 people at pro-Palestinian events every fortnight last November to about 5,000 to 10,000 people every third weekend by May the protests still represented a very real policing challenge. On the topic of two-tier policing, a theory falsely claiming that police treat white people taking part in disorder more harshly than minority groups, Twist said: In public order policing, we are neutral as to the cause that is being protested. We base policing tactics on the threat, harm and risk based on the information and intelligence available to us. In that sense, there is no such thing as two-tier or differential policing there are in fact an infinite number of tiers of policing, depending on the threat, harm and risk. Twists comments were released in conjunction with a new report published by Policy Exchange, which is co-founded by Michael Gove. It estimates that Palestine-related protests in London have cost the Met 42.9m. In January, shortly after the largest pro-Palestine demonstrations in the capital had taken place, the Met said it had spend 26.5m on protests related to the conflict in Gaza. As part of the report, a nationwide poll of more than 1,500 adults was conducted, which found that more than two-thirds of respondents would drop plans to travel with small children (71%) or an elderly or mobility-impaired friend or relative (69%) if a major protest was taking place in a nearby city or town centre. Of those surveyed, 62% said they would drop plans to visit a tourist attraction, while 58% would abandon plans to go shopping. Pro-Palestine protests in the UK have been largely peaceful. In February, the independent media platform openDemocracy reported that 36 people who attended pro-Palestine rallies last year had been charged with an offence, and that the arrest rate at these marches was lower than at the most recent Glastonbury music festival. Former Met commissioner Lord Hogan-Howe QPM endorsed the report. He said: In recent years, the policing of protest has become increasingly challenging for police commanders and officers on the ground. As this timely and detailed Policy Exchange report shows, the government must rebalance the legal regime in favour of ordinary members of the public going about their daily lives. Deaths from heart disease have gradually fallen over the past 50 years, but the premature mortality rate has since crept back up NHS progress is going backwards for the first time in 50 years, a major report commissioned by the Government has found. The report by Lord Ara Darzi, a surgeon and former health minister, will this week highlight failures in the most basic care offered by the health service. It will criticise the amount of time children are left waiting in A&E and how the NHSs routine services ground to a halt during the pandemic. Lord Darzi will say that the progress made since the 1970s on deaths from heart disease and waiting times for treatment is now in reverse for the first time. Within hours of Labour winning the election, Health Secretary Wes Streeting had declared the NHS broken and pledged to turn our health service around. He commissioned the report a week later. It is expected to be instrumental in shaping the Governments 10-year plan to radically reform the NHS. Lord Darzi is particularly concerned about heart care, with heart disease one of Britains biggest killers. Mortality rates from heart problems are now rising, having fallen steadily from the 1970s until 2010. Waiting times for life-saving surgery for those suffering a heart attack have risen by a quarter and waits for treatment have gone backwards across all areas of the health service. In an interview with the BBCs Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Sir Keir Starmer said Lord Darzi was really clear that the NHS is broken but not beaten. His diagnosis, and my conclusion, is that the only way out of this now is reform, Sir Keir said. I think only a Labour government can reform the NHS and therefore we will use his diagnosis as the platform for the reform that we now need to carry out in relation to the NHS. He added: Everybody watching this who has used the NHS, or whose relatives have, knows that its broken. Lord Darzis report will be published on Thursday. It found that improvements in the cardiovascular disease mortality rate for people aged under 75 stalled in 2010 and started rising again during the Covid-19 pandemic. In its submission to the investigation, the British Heart Foundation said: We are extremely concerned that the significant progress made on heart disease and circulatory diseases (CVD) in the last 50 years is beginning to reverse. The number of people dying before the age of 75 in England from CVD has risen to the highest level in 14 years. Deaths from heart disease have gradually fallen over the last 50 years to a low of 71 per 100,000 people in 2019, according to the British Heart Foundation. The premature mortality rate has risen since then to 79 per 100,000. Lord Darzis investigation also found that there are wide variations in the standard of care patients receive from the NHS depending on where they live. Lord Darzis report found that improvements in the cardiovascular disease mortality rate for people aged under 75 stalled in 2010 - Stephen Kelly/PA Wire/PA It will say: The time for the highest risk heart attack patients to have a rapid intervention to unblock an artery has risen by 28 per cent from an average of 114 minutes in 2013-14 to 146 minutes in 2022-23. Patients in Surrey are likely to receive the procedure in less than 90 minutes, while those in Bedford, Luton, and Milton Keynes must wait around four hours despite them being just 50 miles apart. It will also warn of widespread variations in stroke care. A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said: Its alarming that the progress made on heart disease and stroke is now in decline. It points to a failure to help people stay healthy, and a failure of the NHS to be there for us when we need it. This government is acting to cut waiting times and reform the NHS, so it catches illness earlier, which is better for patients and less expensive for our health service. The report will also point to evidence that where bold action has been taken, health has improved. It will say this is notably the case for smoking. Labour brought in a ban on smoking in public places in 2007 and the Government is currently proposing to phase out legal sales of cigarettes by age. Sir Keir Starmer told the BBCs Laura Kuenssberg Lord Darzi was really clear that the NHS is broken, but not beaten - JEFF OVERS/BBC/AFP via Getty Images/BBC Lord Darzis review was commissioned by Mr Streeting to uncover the full extent of the challenges facing the NHS to provide a full and frank assessment of the issues it has inherited. The Government said the findings will help provide the basis for a 10-year plan for the NHS and build a health service that is fit for the future. However, there were warnings on Sunday that Labours pledge to deliver 40,000 extra weekly NHS appointments to reduce waiting times will not be enough to meet targets. In its general election manifesto, the party set a target of having 92 per cent of patients begin routine hospital treatment within 18 weeks of referral by the end of this parliament. This would be achieved by having neighbouring hospitals share waiting lists, supplying additional capacity from the independent sector, and incentivising NHS staff to work extra evenings and weekends. But a new report by the NHS Confederation and healthcare consultancy Carnall Farrar has found the number of appointments promised - equivalent to two million a year - would only meet 15 per cent of the target if care continues to be delivered in the same way. The NHS would, in fact, need to provide 33.6 million outpatient appointments by 2028/29 to bring waiting lists back to meeting the 18-week level, according to the report. Victoria Atkins, the shadow health secretary said she was concerned that the Government would use the findings of the report to justify tax rises. She said: This report should be about what the state of the NHS is and providing solutions and what worries me is that Labour is using this report as cover for the tax rises they plan to raise on us all at the Budget in October. Lord Darzi is a pioneering surgeon who won the nickname Robo Doc for spearheading the use of keyhole surgery and robotics in operating theatres. Under the last Labour government, he recommended the rollout of polyclinics major sites bringing together GPs with a wider range of services from 8am until 8pm. The peer has also said that hospitals should provide far more care seven days a week, noting: British Airways does not leave its planes on the tarmac over the weekend. Currently, half of NHS hospitals close their operating theatres at weekends, with the number of elective operations, such as hip replacements, falling by 80 per cent on Saturdays and Sundays. The southern cassowary chick is only the fourth known to have hatched in Europe this year - Birdland Park & Gardens/SWNS One of the worlds deadliest chicks has hatched in a bird park in the Cotswolds. Birdland has announced the first successful hatching in its history of the chick of a southern cassowary, renowned as one of the worlds largest and most formidable flightless birds. The southern cassowary is regarded as dangerous because of its claws, strong legs and aggressive behaviour when threatened. The birds have killed people, including Marvin Hajos, 75, who was attacked by one of his pet cassowaries in Florida five years ago. It is a major milestone for the Bourton-on-the-Water wildlife attraction, which has been trying to breed the giant birds onsite for more than 25 years. Click here to view this content. The chick, which is part of the Eaza Ex-situ Programme, formerly called the European Endangered Species Programme, is only the fourth to hatch in Europe this year and the firstborn in the UK since 2021. The parents, a male from Avifauna in Alphen, the Netherlands, and a female from Frankfurt, Germany, have been together at Birdland since 2012. Alistair Keen, the headkeeper at Birdland, said: It has been a massive effort from the entire team here over many years, but its all been worthwhile when you see this amazing humbug-coloured chick exploring its new surroundings under the watchful eye of a very protective father. Southern cassowaries, such as these ones in Queensland, have dagger-like claws 10cm long - BirdImages/iStockphoto Cassowaries have a reputation as one of the worlds most dangerous birds and their size, speed and power combined with their dagger-like 10cm claws mean we have to take looking after them extremely seriously. They are the only birds onsite that have their own risk assessment as they are potentially so hazardous. In order to avoid disturbing them during the incubation, weve been using video cameras to monitor the nest, and when we caught our first glimpse of the tiny chick, it was a very special moment indeed. It is the male that incubates the eggs and looks after the hatchlings, a rare occasion in the animal world. The father sits on the nest for up to two months. Once the brown-and-tan striped chicks hatch, its the male that leads them to his regular feeding grounds, protecting them and teaching them the ways of the world. Youngsters stay with their fathers for up to 16 months. The name cassowary is thought to originate from two Papuan words: kasu (meaning horned) and wari (meaning head). It refers to the birds prehistoric-looking casque, a hollow structure made of keratin on the top of their head. Found in the tropical rainforests of Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, the southern cassowarys conservation status was recently redesignated from vulnerable to least concern. However, deforestation and increasing human activity are providing a growing threat to the birds long-term survival prospects. Although flightless, like other members of the ratite family including ostriches and emus, they are powerful runners, reaching speeds of up to 31mph. Despite lacking the ability to fly, the giant birds can also jump up to 2m and have even been filmed swimming. Over the coming weeks, it is hoped that visitors will have a rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of the fast-growing bird in its spacious enclosure. A Southwest Airlines jet arrives at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix in 2022. An SFO-bound Southwest flight from Phoenix safely landed at Ontario International Airport (San Bernardino County) on Saturday after declaring an emergency onboard. Matt York/Associated Press 2022 A Southwest flight bound for San Francisco International Airport was diverted to Ontario International Airport in Southern California on Saturday evening after the smell of smoke was detected in the aircraft, according to Southwest Airlines. Southwest Flight 984, operated on a Boeing MAX 8, departed Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport just after 7:30 p.m. en route to SFO, but declared a general emergency onboard and was diverted to Ontario International Airport in San Bernardino County. The flight landed safely in Ontario just before 8:30 p.m. Crew elected to divert the flight due to a faint smell of smoke in the cabin, according to Southwest Airlines. There was no visible smoke in the aircraft, said Lynn Lunsford, a spokesperson for the airline. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The pilots were given oxygen masks after crew members smelled smoke, per normal safety procedures, Lunsford said. Upon arrival in Ontario, emergency personnel performed an initial examination and found nothing unusual in the aircraft, the airline said. The smoke smell might have come from wildfires in the vicinity of the flight path, though its origin is still unclear, Lunsford said. Passengers on the flight were moved to another aircraft and were scheduled to arrive at SFO late Saturday night. Southwest is conducting a thorough inspection of the aircraft. Pope Francis meets with the faithful of the diocese of Vanimo at the esplanade in front of the Holy Cross Cathedral in Vanimo, Papua New Guinea. Photograph: Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters Pope Francis travelled to Vanimo, on Papua New Guineas remote north-west coast, after celebrating a mass in the capital of Port Moresby in front of an estimated audience of 35,000 people. The pope received an enthusiastic welcome in the town located on a peninsula close to the border with Indonesia. He was greeted by members of the small Catholic community who are served by missionaries from his native Argentina. Related: Togetherness in our diversity: Pope Francis preaches unity at south-east Asias largest mosque As he arrived in the remote region, the pope was accompanied by almost a tonne of humanitarian aid and toys to deliver to the faithful and missionaries who live there. You are doing something beautiful, and it is important that you are not left alone, Francis told the crowd, which the Vatican estimated at 20,000, in a meeting outside the towns one-storey, wood-panelled cathedral parish. You live in a magnificent land, enriched by a great variety of plants and birds, said the pope. The beauty of the landscape is matched by the beauty of a community where people love one another. The popes visit to Vanimo is likely to be the highlight of his visit to Papua New Guinea, the second leg of his four-nation tour of south-east Asia and Oceania. After first stopping in Indonesia, Francis heads on Monday to East Timor and then wraps up his visit in Singapore later in the week. In Vanimo, the small town came to a standstill with shops shuttered and roads closed off to host the pope for his three-hour visit. Father Augustine Prado told the Guardian that he and his brother had invited the pope to visit Vanimo in 2019, when they travelled on a pilgrimage to Rome. My brother, Father Martin, invited him, Prado said, adding they had been friends since 2019. The Prado brothers and their sister, Sr Cielos, are part of a small group of Argentine missionaries and sisters who look after the Baro parish, a school complex and a home for girls who have been victims of violence, which the pope has been helping for years. Baro is a small village close to Vanimo and near the border Papua New Guinea shares with Indonesia. Locals lined the main highway to Baro, which was decorated with flowers and banners, as they hoped to catch a glimpse of the pope. Authorities gave special permission for some to travel from nearby Indonesia to see the pope in Baro. Pelagus Laguwan and a group of faithful from the Jayawijaya Wamena Catholic Parish were the first to arrive from across the border. Laguwan said the trip cost them about US$500 to come across the land border to see the pope. The Vatican is far, so we are humbled that the pope came to Papua New Guinea, he said. We may not be of the same country, but we live on the same land, so we are honoured that the pope is gracing our land and will bring blessings, he said, adding that it was the first time that many had crossed the border into Papua New Guinea. Earlier on Sunday, the pope used his mass in Port Moresby to tell the crowd that he wished to prioritise the church on the peripheries, adding that they may well feel themselves distant from both their faith and the institutional church, but that God was near to them. Brothers and sisters, you who live on this large island in the Pacific Ocean may sometimes have thought of yourselves as a far away and distant land, situated at the edge of the world, he said. Today the Lord wants to draw near to you, to break down distances. Some had gathered from the early hours of Sunday to make sure they could take part in morning mass. More than 90% of Papua New Guineas 12 million residents call themselves Christian, but the religion sits alongside a large number of local beliefs, customs and rites. About a quarter of Papua New Guineans are Catholic. Agence France-Presse contributed to this report. There were 7,415 recalls of freed prisoners in the first quarter, a 9 per cent rise on a year earlier - Andrew Aitchison/Corbis The prison early release scheme to be launched on Tuesday risks being undermined by recalls of freed offenders, ministers fear. Sources have told The Telegraph that ministers have two major concerns over the early release plans, which will see around 1,750 offenders released on Tuesday, 40 per cent of the way through their sentences rather than 50 per cent, to prevent jails running out of spaces. With nearly 2,000 prisoners being recalled every month for breaching their licence after release, they are worried that any increase could limit the number of spaces freed up to ease overcrowding, according to the sources. Nearly 2,000 prisoners are recalled to jail every month for breaching their licence after release - Andrew Aitchison/Corbis A senior justice source said: The two things theyre worried about is that it doesnt solve the problem, because lots of people come back because theyve been bounced back on probation. Theyve been bounced back because theyve been homeless or because theyve breached licence conditions in some way. The second fear relates to a prisoner on early release committing a serious further offence. Fingers crossed The source said: Second and most worrying is a serious further offence which, fingers crossed, wont happen. People come out of prison all the time. Theres always a danger that can happen. But at the moment the risk is increased because everybodys having to work so frantically. So there is a danger someone slips through the cracks. There is always a risk of serious offences (SFOs), even without early release, with around 500 committed on average each year by a freed prisoner. SFOs are defined as a violent or sexual crime committed by someone who is or was under probation supervision. It includes murder and manslaughter. Recalls increase 9 per cent The latest Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures show the number of recalls of freed prisoners for breaching their licence was 7,415 between January and March 2024, a 9 per cent increase on the same quarter in the previous year. This can range from failing to attend an interview with a probation officer to reoffending. The 7,415 recalls were equivalent to more than half of the 13,829 prisoners released during the same quarter. The increase was attributed to the Tories introduction of their ad hoc early release scheme and probation officers increased caution following a series of high-profile scandals over SFOs by freed offenders. In a report on the data, MoJ officials warned that the expansion of the Tories early release scheme for prisoners to up to 70 days before their scheduled date would mean recalls are likely to show increases in the next few quarters. Labours scheme is different in that it changes all prisoners release dates to 40 per cent of their sentences unless they have been jailed for sexual offences, terrorism, domestic abuse or for more than four years for violence. Sources said this gave prison and probation officers more certainty about the release dates. By announcing the scheme two months ago, the MoJ said it had aimed to give all relevant authorities and services the necessary time to prepare for the release of offenders and to notify victims. Justice system in crisis An MoJ spokesman said: The new Government inherited a justice system in crisis, with prisons on the point of collapse. It has been forced to introduce an early release programme to stop a crisis that would have overwhelmed the criminal justice system, meaning we would no longer be able to lock up dangerous criminals and protect the public. The new Lord Chancellor announced in July that she was scrapping the previous Governments early release scheme, replacing it with a system which gives probation staff more time to prepare for a prisoners release. The Government has also set out plans to recruit over 1,000 new trainee probation officers by March 2025 to meet additional demand. Checking upon checking upon checking Tom Wheatley, president of the Prison Governors Association (PGA) said: We are almost giving people a better chance than they would have had through the normal run of things. Theres checking upon checking upon checking. The prison population hit a record weekly high on Friday of 88,521 amid an influx of people jailed in the riots. It meant there were just over 700 spare places in male adult jails. This is an improvement from a low of just 86 spare places after the August bank holiday weekend. Russian money has flooded into the Dubai property market since the Ukraine invasion - Stefan Tomic/E+ British expats are being priced out of Dubai as property is snapped up by wealthy Russians following the Ukraine invasion. Since 2022, Russian nationals have bought up $6.3 billion (4.8 billion) in existing and in-development properties in Dubai, according to a group of economists with the EU Tax Observatory and Norways Centre for Tax Research. Last month, property firm Knight Frank revealed prices in Dubai have risen 124 per cent since 2020. And the rise in prices is forcing British expatriates to look elsewhere, according to a real estate expert in the kingdom. Many of those making the move commute to work in Dubai, which is between an hour and 90 minutes drive away from Ras Al Khaimah. Mona Jalota, founder of Krypton Global Real Estate, said she had received an uptick in enquiries from British expatriates enquiring about a move out of the city for cheaper rents and purchases. Every time there is a global or political crisis, Dubai continues to be a safe place to invest in, hence the continuous demand keeps the prices being pushed up, she said. Shruti Krishnan, from White Window Real Estate said cash purchases from Russians are swaying landlords to push for cash-only sales too. Most of the Russian market is purchasing and in areas that give them really high rental so because of that the prices have gone up a lot, she said, such as Palm Jumeirah, Downtown Dubai and Creek Harbour, where short term rentals are highly profitable. Dubai vital hub for British business Theyre doing cash purchases so what happens is, they will buy the property in cash and when that happens the sale is faster and the sellers are happy, so you see different sellers asking for cash-only sales, especially rising since the war. It has led to a two-tier pricing with cash prices versus prices for those on mortgages: a cash sale of one million Emirati Dirham (AED) is now the equivalent of an AED1.25m sale to a mortgage client. The rising rents have also pushed many in Dubai to buy, as prices become equivalent to mortgages, said Ms Krishnan, a one-bedroom apartment last year AED35,000 a year, now AED50,000 a year in Dubai South, on the far edge of Dubai. The price rise has come at a time when there has been a significant spike in interest from British nationals looking to move to the UAE from the UK. Earlier this year, John Mason International Movers reported a 50 per cent increase in enquiries this year from people looking to leave the UK. Steve Johnston is one of the Brits who have recently left Dubai, where he has lived for 27 years. Originally from the Wirral, he is now paying 40 per cent less in rent than in Dubai after moving to the northernmost emirate in the United Arab Emirates, Ras Al Khaimah. The radio presenter was paying around AED4,000 (830) a month for a studio apartment while now, pays just AED2,300 (480) including free air conditioning, internet, and electricity, in a brand new building. I can see a lot more people moving out of Dubai, he said. Jennifer Webster is also making a similar move. She said: Ive been served my second eviction notice in three years as landlords look to capitalise on higher rental rates for villas and I simply cannot afford to pay the moving costs then find another villa for myself, my husband and our two rescue dogs, when prices are so inflated. She has gradually moved further and further out of the city. Even with that, costs are far too high and we are living hand to mouth off our salaries every month which negates the point of moving here in the first place, she explained. The report from the EU Tax Observatory said the team found evidence of a substantial boom in Russian interest following the outbreak of the war. We estimate that Russians bought $2.4 billion worth of existing residential real estate during the two years following the invasion, and a further $3.9 billion of off-plan properties. This is roughly a 940 per cent and 1,500 per cent increase on the previous two years. The gunman killed three civilian border guards at the Allenby Bridge crossing, near the West Bank city of Jericho. Photograph: Jamal Awwad/EPA Three Israeli security guards have been killed at a border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan when a Jordanian truck driver opened fire on them, in a fresh sign that the nearly year-old Gaza conflict is spreading violence across the region. On the same day, an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza killed a senior aid official and two women and two children from his family. The West Bank border shooting took place on Sunday at the Allenby Bridge crossing over the River Jordan, also known as the King Hussein Bridge. The Israeli military said: A terrorist approached the area of the Allenby Bridge from Jordan in a truck, exited the truck, and opened fire at the Israeli security forces operating at the bridge. The terrorist was eliminated by the security forces, three Israeli civilians were pronounced dead as a result of the attack. Jordan said it had opened an investigation into the triple shooting and that the border crossing had been closed. A spokesperson for the Jordanian foreign ministry, spokesman for the ministry, Dr Sufyan Al-Qudah, said initial investigations suggested that the shooting was an individual act. The statement added that Jordan rejected and condemned violence and targeting civilians for any reason. According to family members, the gunman was a 39-year-old truck driver who came from the influential Huwaitat tribe in southern Jordan. Israeli reports said the shooting was carried out at close range in a commercial section of the border crossing, where trucks from Jordan and the Gulf go to unload for onward transport into the occupied West Bank and Israel. The border has been largely quiet since Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994. In Gaza, the civil defence group, which fights fires and rescues people trapped in rubble, said its deputy director for northern end of the strip, Mohammed Morsi, had been killed in an airstrike. The organisation said four members of his family also died in the bombing of Morsis house in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp, north-east of Gaza City. There was no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Israel said it had closed all three of its land border crossings with Jordan and the Israeli army was also reported to have cordoned off the West Bank city of Jericho, which is close to the Allenby Bridge crossing, in case other would-be attackers had already entered. Israels prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, described the gunman as an abhorrent terrorist. We are surrounded by a murderous ideology led by Irans axis of evil, he said in a statement issued at the start of a cabinet meeting. There has been a surge in violence in the West Bank, involving army raids on Palestinian towns and frequent and increasing attacks by Israeli settlers. In recent days there has also been a sharp rise in the number of attacks on Israeli settlers and security forces, including two car bombs and one attempted car bombing. The increasing bloodshed in the West Bank comes as the Gaza war enters its twelfth month, with the estimated Palestinian death toll approaching 41,000. The conflict was triggered by a surprise Hamas attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 Israelis were killed. Since the outbreak of the Gaza war, 650 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank amid army raids and settler attacks. About 12 Israelis have died in fighting or attacks there over the same period, six of them in the past eight days. The US, Egypt and Qatar have been trying to broker a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel for several months but negotiations are mired, mostly in a dispute over whether, or for how long, Israel can keep a residual force in a strategic corridor along Gazas border with Egypt. The Prime Minister said he needed to make difficult decisions - JEFF OVERS/BBC Click here to view this content. Sir Keir Starmer has declared his Government is going to have to be unpopular amid a backlash to his decision to cut winter fuel payments. The Prime Minister said he needed to make difficult decisions during his first months in office to deliver wider reforms further down the line. On Tuesday, MPs will vote on plans to scrap universal winter fuel payments for about 10 million pensioners who do not qualify for pension credit. The move has sparked a backlash from Labour backbenchers and prompted warnings that many retirees on tight budgets could be plunged into fuel poverty. In an interview with the BBCs Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Sir Keir insisted Labour won Julys general election on the promise of changing Britain. I am absolutely convinced that we will only deliver that change, and Im absolutely determined that we will, if we do the difficult things now, he said. I know they are unpopular, I know theyre difficult, of course theyre tough choices. Popular decisions arent tough, theyre easy Asked whether he was willing to be unpopular, Sir Keir replied: Were going to have to be unpopular. Popular decisions arent tough, theyre easy. When we talk about tough decisions, the things the last government ran away from, that governments traditionally run away from, Im convinced that because theyve run away from difficult decisions, we havent got the change we need for the country. Sir Keir went on to say he was absolutely clear that winter fuel payments had to be cut to stabilise the economy, citing what Labour claims is a 22bn black hole in the public finances. He also declined to say whether Labour MPs who voted against the cuts on Tuesday would be suspended from the party. That will be a matter for the Chief Whip, he said. Were going into a vote. Im glad were having a vote, because I think its very important for Parliament to speak on this. But every Labour MP was elected in on the same mandate as I was, which was to deliver the change that we need for the country over the time weve got in office. Broken society Sir Keir argued the riots that swept British cities last month following the killings of three young girls in Southport were symbolic of a broken society. He labelled the violence far-Right in the main after the disorder was fuelled by false claims online that the suspect was an asylum-seeker who reached Britain on a boat. More than 1,200 arrests have been made in relation to the unrest with 796 people charged, while prison sentences of up to nine years have been handed out to the worst offenders. The riots, I think, were symbolic of a broken society, Sir Keir said. Im not going to justify the violence in those riots. They were not protests, they were far-Right in the main. But underneath that, I think, was a societal black hole, a breaking of our society, which we need to mend. Rise of far-Right Pressed on whether he believed Britain was a racist country, he said: I dont think were a racist country, I think were a country of decent people, tolerant people. The Prime Minister added that he was worried about the rise of the far-Right in politics after the AfD, a German anti-immigration party, triumphed at state elections last week. I mean, we can see what is happening in Germany with the recent election, we can see what is happening in France and other countries, he said. I am worried about the far-Right because it is the snake oil of the easy answer. I am convinced that the answer to it is delivery in government. Sir Keir said the Government had to speed up and get on with reviewing flammable cladding after the conclusion of a seven-year public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire. Grenfell deaths avoidable The inquiry blamed the fire on the systematic dishonesty of the companies that made cladding for the towers botched refurbishment, adding all 72 deaths were avoidable. I accept its my duty, the duty of this Government, and everybody in a position of responsibility to make sure they are safe in their home, he said. We will accelerate the programme, Im frustrated that its going as slowly as it is to deal with the cladding The money is there, the intention is there. We need to move more quickly. However, Sir Keir was unable to give a date when people will be able to feel safe in their homes. We are speeding up the process, I want to get this done as quickly as possible, he continued. Each block will be on a different timetable. I am not able to give you an end date, but I can tell you I meant what I said when I responded to this report. I said this has to be a turning point. Sir Keir also revealed his familys new Siberian kitten is called Prince after he let his children get a new cat while they live at Downing Street. He said his daughter had picked Prince up on Wednesday after a long summer of negotiations about the possibility of getting a dog. Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, said Labour was clear about its plans to introduce the VAT raid on fee-paying schools long before the party won the election - TAYFUN SALCI/SHUTTERSTOCK Wes Streeting has claimed that private schools and fee-paying parents cant complain about the Governments VAT raid on the sector. The Health Secretary insisted Labour was clear about its plans long before it won the election as he defended the decision to tax private school fees from January. During an interview with The Camilla Tominey Show on GB News, Mr Streeting was asked about the mother of an autistic girl who is bringing the first legal test case against the policy. Alexis Quinn enrolled her 12-year-old daughter Addison at an independent school after staff at the local state school would be unable to meet her needs. Mrs Quinn says she will not be able to afford a 20 per cent fee increase, meaning she would have to move Addison back to a state school in the middle of the academic year. Click here to view this content. Responding to the case, Mr Streeting said: Id say two things ... Im not familiar with the specific case, but from what youve just described it sounds like that pupil would be entitled to an ECHP [Education, Health and Care Plan] which would then exempt them from VAT on school fees. The first thing to say is that there is that exemption, and that relates to the second point. This isnt a surprise, this isnt something that weve decided to do in government but wasnt in our manifesto. Weve been clear about this for some time now. Mr Streeting said his party had been very clear about the policy before and during the general election campaign. The priority for this money is to invest in the state education that benefits the 93 per cent of pupils in this country including the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, he said. So thats the thrust of the policy, thats the Governments agenda. Its for the 93 per cent at state schools, not simply the 7 per cent at independent schools. And people were forewarned, so they cant complain now. The annual fees at Eton College, pictured, will increase to 63,000 in January - CHRISTOPHER FURLONG/GETTY Last month, Eton College became the first private school to announce it would pass on the 20 per cent VAT in full to parents, meaning annual fees will rise to 63,000 in January. The Government argues ending tax breaks on private schools will fund priorities including the recruitment of 6,500 new state school teachers. But critics of the policy fear that the state sector will be unable to cope with an increase in demand, while analysis has suggested it could have a net cost to taxpayers of 1.8 billion. A separate legal challenge also looms in the High Court over claims that the plans breach human rights law. In a letter to HM Treasury, first reported by The Telegraph, lawyers argued the policy discriminates against children with special educational needs and threatened court action unless the policy was dropped. Click here to view this content. Artist Michael Craig-Martin photographed at the Royal Academy, London for the Observer New Review by Suki Dhanda. Photograph: Suki Dhanda/the Observer In 1961, aged 20, Michael Craig-Martin enrolled at the Yale University School of Art and Architecture and immediately found himself all at sea. Back then, he recalls, abstract expressionism was still lingering and painting was painterly. The first thing I realised was that I was the only person on the course who really couldnt do it. I was just not given to that kind of painting. I remember thinking, Thats it. Its all over for me. Now 83, and about to have his firstfull British retrospective at the Royal Academy of Art, Craig-Martin sees that moment of panic and self-doubt as a necessary part of a creative epiphany that has underpinned his subsequent journey as an artist. Thats when I learned what I later passed on to my students in my years as a teacher. You have to use what youve got. You cannot try to become something youre not. The people who work in that painterly way are doing what is natural to them. If you are struggling to try to do the same, even with the best will in the world, it aint gonna work. In the company of other gifted graduate students including Chuck Close, Brice Marden and Richard Serra, Craig-Martin embraced nascent conceptualism and began making small geometric sculptures. Painting, of a playfully conceptual rather than painterly kind, would come years later. I was totally green when I wandered into it and it made my life, he says of the heady, ideas-based environment at Yale. I thought that the chance to do a retrospective show of this scale in the UK was gone. It could hardly be later As his career-spanning Royal Academy exhibition will make clear, Craig-Martins creative life has been singular in its long, slow-burning trajectory, deeply informed by the genres he encountered as a curious art student and afterwards: minimalism, pop art and what he calls thought-process art. He is, by his own admission, one of contemporary arts great late developers, having worked quietly for decades until, in the mid-1990s, he created his signature style large-scale, boldly coloured, minimalist paintings of everyday objects such as spoons, chairs and lightbulbs. By then, he was 55 years old and more widely known as an art teacher than an artist, having been the most important mentor of the YBA [Young British Artists] generation Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas, Gary Hume et al while a tutor at Goldsmiths College in London in the late 1980s and early 90s. Although he has had previous retrospectives at Londons Whitechapel Gallery in 1989 and the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin in 2006 this one is larger and more definitive, tracing a long arc from what he calls his monochrome prehistory to his embrace of colour and beyond into digitally generated work. To be honest, he says, I did think that the chance to do a retrospective show of this scale in the UK was gone, but here it is. It could hardly be later, but, in another way, its happening at exactly the right time. The show will begin in 1967 with a small-scale sculptural pop-up book and culminate with Cosmos, a single-room, immersive digital-video installation created specifically for the exhibition. Its half an hour long, with sound and vision on four walls, and features around 300 images, he says, palpably excited. The installation has been in gestation for nearly a year and, as we speak, is still unfinished. It will be ready on the night, he tells me, confidently. * * * I am chatting with Craig-Martin in his expansive, light-filled apartment high up in one of the Barbicans modernist tower blocks. His view of the capital extends from the glass-and-steel skyscrapers that now loom over the east of the city to the vast expanse of north London as far as Alexandra Palaces towering television transmitter mast in the distance. In his open-plan living space, the decor is immaculately stylish, ultra-minimalist and carefully curated, from the white leather Corbusier sofa and armchairs to the large black-and-white canvas by Mark Lancaster on one wall and the small silhouetted figure by Julian Opie that stands atop a plinth in front of a wall-length window. Dressed in a black T-shirt and trousers, and sporting pristine white Prada trainers, Craig-Martin exudes an air of self-assuredness, his thoughts on art and culture expressed with the clarity and confidence that, one senses, made him such an inspiring teacher at Goldsmiths. Michael hand-picked his students, and those who werent in his group tutorials were always inquisitive about them and maybe slightly envious, says artist Michael Landy, who graduated from Goldsmiths in 1988. For me, he is right up there as a tutor, because it is no mean feat to simplify things for students who, like me, could find so many reasons to not do stuff. Plus, he always had such great anecdotes from his own life. Craig-Martins early life, as with several preceding generations of his family, was initially nomadic. He was born in Dublin but his family moved to London when he was an infant, and soon after they were evacuated to Colwyn Bay in Wales, where he spent the following four years. When the war ended, his father, an economist, was offered a job by the World Bank, and they relocated to Washington, which he hated as a boy it seemed unbelievably provincial but now considers it to be the first of many strokes of good luck that have attended his life. Working on the retrospective, he says, has made him reflect on his life as well as his work. It has really made me realise how much luck has to do with everything, including success, of course, and the one piece of luck you have no control over is when you get born. I was born in 1941 and as I grew into adulthood in the 60s, postwar America was thriving culturally and economically. Things were changing with such momentum. I saw out the old world and saw in the new. From the outside, his upbringing seems gilded. In the 1950s, his father was granted extended home leave from work every three years, which enabled the family to travel to Europe for the summer. Their first destination was always his grandparents house in Dublin. There were lots of cousins and I remember my grandfather as a kind of Edwardian pater familias, he says, wistfully. He drank whiskey and would have crates of soda siphons delivered to his house by horse-drawn cart. The laundry was collected and delivered that way too. I have rich memories of that world, which, of course, has now gone without trace. As a boy in 50s America, he was visually alert and interested in everything that was modern. To this day, he can identify every make of classic American car from that time. When he was 15, his father was transferred to Bogota, Colombia, where the young Craig-Martin first took drawing classes at the Lycee Francais with an artist called Antonio Roda, an exile from Francos Spain. His college education, like his young life, was peripatetic: he studied English literature and history at Fordham University in New York, then art at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris before, as he puts it, stumbling into Yale in the autumn of 1961, when a dean there took an incredible chance on me. It was Craig-Martins great good fortune that, during his time at Yale, a cultural shift occurred that resounds to this day. Painting, as he puts it, began to be doubted as the central concern of art, and indeed treated with a degree of suspicion, as other ways of doing things were suddenly in the ascendant. That shift had begun a decade before, when Josef Albers, one of the luminaries of the Bauhaus movement, instigated a dramatic transformation of the teaching of art at Yale. Albers integrated the disciplines of painting, sculpture, graphic arts and architecture departments under the single heading of design. More importantly for what was to follow, he asserted that the process, rather than the finished object, was the defining element of artistic creativity. Craig-Martin imbibed it all and, when he found his style decades later, the bright brashness of pop art and the formal logic of minimalism somehow came together. Like most worlds, the art world is essentially straight After Yale, he says, he couldnt find a teaching job anywhere in America that I wanted to go to, so he travelled to England on the advice of fellow artist Victor Burgin. There, he was immediately offered a teaching post at Bath Academy of Art at Corsham, and began to create his series of box sculptures at home in the evenings. In 1972, the year before he began teaching at Goldsmiths, one of his early wall pieces, Six Images of an Electric Fan, was included in a pivotal group show, The New Art, at the Hayward Gallery, the first British survey of conceptualism. The show also included work by Burgin, Gilbert & George and Richard Long and, perhaps unsurprisingly, divided critics. Richard Cork, writing in the Evening Standard, hailed the exhibitions brave new voices, while the Telegraph dismissed it as a journey into nowhere. The gallerys director of exhibitions took the middle view, confessing to a colleague, I cannot find much to love in it, but a lot to think about. In 1974, Craig-Martin made headlines of his own with what, for the next few decades, was his defining work and is now recognised as a landmark moment in the history of conceptual art. First exhibited at the Rowan Gallery in London, An Oak Tree, created in 1973, comprised a glass of water on a glass shelf mounted high on a gallery wall with accompanying text describing how the actual oak tree is physically present but in the form of the glass of water. As well as being a mischievously provocative statement about the nature of the artistic imagination, the text echoed the Roman Catholic idea of transubstantiation: the moment when the communion wafer and wine become the body and blood of Christ. Thats where the initial idea came from, he nods. Only a Catholic would know what the term even meant, but what I was really saying was that works of art only work on the basis of a certain kind of faith. If you dont give yourself to the piece, it wont work. In 1976, aged 35, Craig-Martin experienced a period of traumatic upheaval in his personal life, coming out as gay after 13 years of marriage to Jan Hashey, whom he had met at Yale, and with whom he has a daughter, Jessica. I ask if, having been raised a Catholic, he had grappled with his sexuality for a long time. Oh, definitely. I stopped going to church at 19. At that age, there was nothing of help for me there. I came up against the absolute failure of Catholicism at the exact point that I needed it. When I sought help and guidance, I was dismissed. It was made very clear to me that I should shut my mouth. He smiles now at the absurdity of that moment, before becoming more reflective. Today, one has a clear idea of gay and straight, but in 1960 the language wasnt the same. I was 21 before I heard the world gay. It was a closeted word. The change that has happened since has been remarkable. Back then, though, like many people at that time, ones greatest wish was that it wasnt true and that, if one did the right things, it might go away. So, yes, there was a trauma for me and it came out eventually in the marriage, which was impossible. The art world, he tells me, as a kind of afterword, is not really as gay as he expected it to be. There are many gay artists, of course, and if you are gay, you get to know virtually all of them but, like most worlds, it is essentially straight. * * * In one of the most ironic twists of fate that have accompanied Craig-Martins life, he retired from his teaching post at Goldsmiths in 1988, just at the moment the YBA generation he had nurtured first gatecrashed the public consciousness. The catalyst for their breakthrough was the now legendary Freeze group show curated in 1988 by Damien Hirst, who would go on to become the most stellar of Craig-Martins former students. I gave up teaching the moment I could afford to and suddenly found myself a spokesperson for an institution I no longer had anything to do with, he says, laughing. The YBAs extraordinary success was also a dramatic vindication of Goldsmiths free-form teaching environment in which there were no classes, no year divisions and no departments. Students were simply given a studio to create in and a tutor to bounce ideas off. We were essentially taught to present work and talk about it in order to understand what we were doing, says Michael Landy. It was not prescriptive. You could go in there a painter and come out a poet. It was all a bit daunting, but liberating, and it gave us an incredible confidence to go out into the world beyond. Why, though, is Craig-Martin alone so fondly remembered by his former charges? He was just so enthusiastic about us making things, which was different from some of the other tutors, who seemed as if they were weighed down by their own practice and somehow transmitted that to their students, says Landy. Michael didnt have any of that anxiety. He was always so encouraging and positive. For his part, Craig-Martin remembers that halcyon time at Goldsmiths with deep fondness and remains friends with many of his former students, but he is also keen to clarify his role there. There is still this idea that I suggested to people that they should network in order to make it in the art world, he says. This is a misunderstanding. What was important to me was to let them know that they were on to something and that the existing art world was not going to do anything for them. No gallery was going to pick them up, so what they had to do was create their own exhibitions, which they did in such an amazing way. I remember I was invited to see Freeze a few days before it opened, and I was utterly flabbergasted. Did he anticipate how successful they would become? Well, in terms of my teaching experience, it was a completely exceptional time. Id never seen anything like it in terms of creativity and engagement. I thought they could be the next generation of British art, but no one could have predicted what actually happened. More than once he singles out Hirst for his most effusive praise. I sometimes talk to Damien about the importance of taking risks as an artist, he says. I have taken risks with my work, but he is an absolutely staggering risk-taker. He risks his own reputation by doing things that people think are abominable. What, I ask, does he make of the recent controversy arising from Hirsts supposedly cavalier approach to dating some of his signature sculptural pieces, which were made in 2017, but dated to the 1990s. Are the people who bought them complaining? he replies without hesitation, before elaborating. Imagine if I produced a sculpture in an edition of three, and lets say I made the first one in 1995, and maybe two of them sold then. Now, you could come to me years later and want to buy the third, so what happens? We will make it for you, but date it from the year the first one was made. That is normal practice. Its about the date of conception, not the date it was physically made. And besides, is one piece somehow more authentic than the other? * * * Craig-Martins own pivotal moment as an artist actually began in the mid-1990s, when he belatedly discovered colour and applied it to the big monochrome wall drawings he had been making since the late 1970s. Before then, he tells me, he was frightened of colour: It was daunting to me as a very logical person. Also, I didnt want to do just red, yellow and blue. The miracle is that we look at a picture of a shoe and see a shoe It is that disparity between object and image that I play with Instead, he created the reddest red, the yellowest yellow and the bluest blue to further transform the everyday objects he had already altered in terms of scale and context. Colours at their most intense become exciting, he says. To his still obvious delight, he found that audiences responded to his new paintings, not with respect and interest, but emotionally. There was a sense of joy in the gallery. Often in his work, he says, he is playing with things to see what happens. He is loth to explain his art further. I absolutely believe the most essential things about a work of art are unsayable. The explanation is the work of art itself, which is one of the reasons that you make it. You cant look for that explanation in some other language because the art itself is the language. As we wind down our conversation, Craig-Martin tells me that there are a couple of mistakes that people often make about his work. The first is that they confuse the subject everyday objects with the content, which he describes as an exploration of the wonder of making a two-dimensional image. I ask him to elaborate. A painting of a shoe looks nothing like a shoe, being entirely flat and made of bits of colour put together, he says. The miracle is that we look at it and can see a shoe as clearly as if there was a shoe in the room with us. It is that disparity between the object and the image that I play with. The other misconception hinges on the term man-made objects, which is often used to describe his ordinary everyday subject matter. We tend to describe the world in terms of natural and man-made as if the two are fundamentally at odds with each other. That is wrong, because we are nature as much as the plants, the trees and the animals. And when we make things, we are doing something that is natural to us. In a way, the iPhone is as natural as a stone. As one of arts elder statesmen, what advice would he give those starting out in todays more brutally commodified art world? Well, the one thing they could take heart in is that it is much easier to be creative in your 20s. One has a mental and emotional fluidity and an energy at that age. It is much harder to sustain that creative capacity over a lifetime. How did he manage it? One realises that success creates opportunities and, if you seize those opportunities and act on them when they arise, they create further success. Its circular. The people who have lasted have acted well on their opportunities. So, with this new work, Cosmos, it may be that Im about have a whole new career as an immersive artist. That would not surprise me. Peter Dutton said a Coalition government led by him would overturn this bad Labor decision and get this project up and running. Composite: AAP Tanya Plibersek has accused Peter Dutton of planning to ignore evidence of historical Indigenous cultural practice and trash heritage protection laws to greenlight certain mining projects and companies based on the vibe. The environment minister told Guardian Australia that Duttons vow to overturn her determination rejecting the proposed site of a tailings dam at the $900m McPhillamys goldmine development in central-western New South Wales showed he had no respect for research or official advice. Ive got evidence, Ive got advice from my department that this is the right decision, Plibersek said of the ruling she made on 13 August. What the Coalition is now saying is it doesnt matter what the evidence or advice is, theyll just make a decision on the vibe. Plibersek was responding to Duttons comment late last week that he would reverse her disgraceful ruling should he win government and overhaul the Indigenous heritage laws that protect sites of cultural importance from destruction by developers. Related: Whats the fight over McPhillamys goldmine about and why has Tanya Plibersek hit out at misinformation? Under a Coalition government I lead, today we announce that we will overturn this bad Labor decision and get this project up and running, Dutton told the Daily Telegraph newspaper in a report published on Friday. Local communities lose out when Labor governments kill their opportunities for a political reason all to curry favour with the Greens in inner-city seats. Plibersek said the idea that the Coalition would determine whether or not to approve projects based on what or who they liked was incredible. Just like Scott Morrison, Peter Dutton is showing us hes prepared to ignore the law, cut corners and play favourites, she said. Clearly, Peter Dutton wants a system where getting projects approved depends more on whether he likes you rather than whether you comply with the law. Thats no way to run a government. She called it a dangerous way to operate a recipe for uncertainty thatll scare off investment and kill jobs. There wont be a renewable energy project thats safe, she said. Peter Dutton must immediately explain whether there are other projects hell approve or axe without knowing the details or applying the law. Plibersek recently signed off on the governments 60th renewable energy project approval a 600MW solar farm near Dunedoo, also in the NSW central west. Shadow environment minister, Jonathon Duniam, rejected Pliberseks claim to have followed the evidence, pointing to the views of another Indigenous group, the Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council. Originally opposed to the mine, it has now changed its stance to neutral. The fact is that Tanya Plibersek does not have the evidence, Duniam told Guardian Australia. Shes ignored the evidence of her own department, the NSW government and the local Indigenous group legislated to give evidence on this. Shes picked and chosen the Indigenous voices she wants to listen to and ignored those she didnt agree with. Pliberseks McPhillamys ruling, in a legislative instrument which can be disallowed by the Senate, means the area earmarked for the goldmines tailings dam at the headwaters of the Belubula River and its springs at Kings Plains, near Blayney, will be preserved under Indigenous heritage protection law. NSW state planning authorities had approved the project after consulting other local Aboriginal groups and some heritage experts. The federal ministers decision was based on evidence from the Wiradyuri Traditional Owners Central West Aboriginal Corporation, a group which also provided cultural heritage evidence to the Morrison government about the site of a proposed development at Bathursts Mount Panorama Wahluu, resulting in a protection order being issued there in 2021. Last week, corporation member Yanhadarrambal Uncle Jade Flynn told ABC central west that his group had been threatened, harassed and slandered as a result of the federal intervention and ensuing media coverage. Related: Environmental groups apply to take Tanya Plibersek to high court over coalmine approvals Theres 19 artefact scatters and 18 isolated finds, he was quoted as saying of the site. This proof of occupation and use of that site directly correlates to the intangible cultural heritage of the are. So, thats the creation and dreaming stories and the songlines. The application to protect the Belubula headwaters area was lodged in 2020. The protected area represents 400 hectares (988 acres) of the 2,500-hectare proposed mine site. Pliberseks decision does not block the whole development, only the proposed tailings dam at that location. The mining company, Regis Resources, is understood to have surveyed other locations within the site but has said that without the dam at that location, the project is unviable. The companys share price has risen since Pliberseks decision and two members of its board, chair James Mactier and director Jim Beyer, have notified the Australian Stock Exchange that they increased their own shareholdings in the past week. A company spokesperson told the ABC that Mactiers stock purchase on 3 September followed the public release of the companys earnings, after which there is a window for directors to buy or sell stock. The gold price had also increased. Last week, Plibersek hinted she could fast-track approval of an application with an alternative tailings dam proposal, saying she could look at that very quickly. The Coalition plans to ask the Senate this week to vote to disallow Pliberseks regulation. Israeli media reported an assailant had opened fire at an inspection area - Yousef Masoud/SOPA Images/LightRocket A truck driver opened fire Sunday at an Israeli border crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan, killing three Israeli guards before being eliminated by security forces, the Israeli military has said. The deadly shooting at the Allenby Bridge Crossing, also known as King Hussein Crossing, comes amid surging violence in the West Bank, with major Israeli military raids and attacks by Palestinians. The military said a terrorist reached the area of the crossing, in the Jordan Valley, in a truck from Jordan. The driver exited the truck and opened fire at Israeli security forces operating at the bridge, the statement said. Three Israeli civilians were pronounced dead as a result of the attack, the military said, later clarifying that they were working as security guards and not part of the army or police forces. The attacker was shot dead by forces, the military added. International gateway for Palestinians The crossing is the only international gateway for Palestinians from the West Bank that does not require entering Israel. Private security guards operate it alongside Israeli security forces stationed there. Israels emergency medical service Magen David Adom said earlier that three people had died of gunshot wounds at the crossing, in what police described as a shooting attack. Israeli media have reported the assailant had opened fire at an inspection area. Violence in the West Bank has soared since the war in Gaza broke out after the Hamas October 7 attack on Israel. Since then Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 662 Palestinians in the West Bank, which Israel occupied in 1967, according to the Palestinian health ministry. At least 23 Israelis, including members of the security forces, have been killed in Palestinian attacks during the same period, Israeli officials say. Click here to view this content. Feeld describes itself as a dating app for open-minded couples and singles Photograph: Feeld A dating app aimed at alternative relationships nearly doubled its revenues last year as non-monogamous, queer and kinky users helped the UK-based business expand its reach across the world. Feeld, founded by an entrepreneur couple in an open relationship, has said it is on a mission to elevate the human experience of sexuality and relationships from its registered office on an industrial estate in Carlisle, Cumbria. Growth in the apps popularity in recent years, amid surging interest in non-traditional relationship structures such as polyamory, meant that last year was the first for which Feeld was large enough to file full accounts at Companies House. They show that the companys profits increased from 2.4m to 5.5m in the year to the end of 2023, on the back of revenues that rose from 20.7m to 39.5m. The majority of that income is now derived from outside the UK, with 33m of turnover coming from overseas. Feeld is available to download for free across the globe, including in the US and Australia, and charges users to access its full range of services. The company was founded by Bulgarian-born Dimo Trifonov in 2014 after he and his partner, Ana Kirova, both of whom were living in London, discussed opening up their relationship. Kirova has been involved in the app which was initially named 3nder until a lawsuit from much larger rival Tinder since its early days. In December last year, she became its chief executive and led a rebranding exercise, as well as a technology upgrade that was initially beset with glitches, which the company said have now been ironed out. The app has also increasingly expanded into social events. Companies House filings reveal a change in Feelds ownership structure after Kirova took over as chief executive in December 2023. Prior to January 2024, Trifonov owned the vast majority of the shares. While he still holds the largest stake in the company, nearly half of his shares were transferred to Kirova in early 2024. This reduced Trifonovs stake below 50%, according to filings which show that Kirova now owns nearly 24% of the business. Prior to the transfer, accounts show that shareholders were paid a dividend of 400,000 in 2023 and 292,923 the year before. Trifonov owned slightly more than half of the stock at the time. Kirova said: I do not believe in growth at all costs, and we do not pursue that as a business. We listen to our members across different channels and do our best to grow Feeld in ways that support their personal journeys. Noting the current trends within the dating app industry, Feeld has proven that our model defies tradition and people are responding accordingly. The companys growth represents a fightback since 2016, when Trifonov warned that the lawsuit from Tinder, owned by Match Group, might force him to lay off his workforce. At the time, Trifonov accused Tinder of loading a nuclear weapon against his startup and pointed out that Tinder itself was preceded by the gay dating app Grindr, whose name differs only by a few letters. Trifonov was ultimately forced to change the apps name. The company has since grown its workforce from eight people in 2016 to nearly 50. The foundation that supports firefighters and the S.F. firefighters union say the billboards they paid for are only meant to raise awareness about cancer rates. Emily Hoeven/The Chronicle Regarding Are S.F. firefighters using dirty tricks to sway your vote on pension benefits without you realizing it? (Emily Hoeven, SFChronicle.com, Aug. 31): Emily Hoeven alleges that San Francisco firefighters engaged in dirty tricks with a public service campaign highlighting their high rates of occupational cancer. It is not a trick its a call to action. Studies by federal agencies and leading American universities show that firefighters have a greater risk of cancer than the general population. I know this all too well. In 2001, at 49, I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer while serving as captain of Rescue Squad 1. Four other firefighters from my station were soon diagnosed with cancer. Only two of us are alive today. Advertisement Article continues below this ad This is why I founded the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation in 2006. Since then, more than 300 city firefighters have died from cancer, and more than 200 have been diagnosed in the past decade. Firefighting is inherently dangerous, but hidden killers carcinogenic chemicals make this profession truly lethal. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies firefighting as a Group 1 carcinogenic profession, its highest rating. Our campaign, funded by the firefighters union to promote cancer awareness, was not some dirty trick to support Proposition H it was a plea for understanding. Its time to stop pretending firefighters can keep working until age 58 without severe consequences. We wont apologize for telling the truth about firefightings deadly risks, and we wont stop fighting for those who risk everything to protect this city. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Tony Stefani, founder, San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation Shootings too common Regarding The shooting of Ricky Pearsall was shocking, but dont be surprised (Open Forum, SFChronicle.com, Sept 4): Jack Ohman is right, the Ricky Pearsall shooting is no real surprise. Two weeks ago a Galileo High School student was shot across the street where I live near Aquatic Park in San Francisco. In the 24 years Ive lived there, the sound of gunshots is commonplace. Nothing changes. Why? The NRAs congressional lobby in Washington has successfully derailed gun control legislation since the 1994 federal assault weapons ban. That will continue until Americans get enraged at the violence and protest. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Ill be in that march. Elise Kazanjian, San Francisco PG&E unresponsive The California Legislature has done a good job of ensuring that cities dont hinder the efficient construction of accessory dwelling units. Unfortunately, it appears PG&E cant be regulated into making timely connections for this new construction to the power grid. Weve been waiting more than six months. Our little cottage is completed and empty thanks to PG&E. Advertisement Article continues below this ad 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 PG&E rarely responds to questions and when it does, it gives us vague answers and thanks us for our patience, which ran out months ago. We wish the Legislature could find a way to make this utility more consumer-friendly. For nearly 200 years, the vital role that 19th century female detectives played in the police force has been overlooked and underestimated. Photograph: Serio-Comic Journal (1885). Some of the searchers were skilled at inspecting the clothes, hair and genitals of Victorian women and finding stolen money and pawn tickets for stolen goods. Others undertook risky sting operations, catching thieves and criminals red-handed and successfully testifying against them in court. Yet for nearly 200 years, the vital role 19th-century female detectives played in the police force has been overlooked and underestimated. Now a new book is seeking to assert the rightful place of these courageous women who were often working class in the history of the police and celebrate their proto-feminist contribution to Victorian society. Women dont officially enter the police force as officers until 1917. But across Britain, in a commonplace way, women are working for the police long before the police tell us they are, said Dr Sara Lodge, a senior lecturer in Victorian literature and culture at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, and author of the forthcoming boo, The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female Detective. They are part of the fabric of Victorian policing. Lodge has found records of searchers women employed to search female suspects for concealed stolen goods at police stations which date back to the 1840s, shortly after the Metropolitan police was founded. The searchers did a really important task because men, even today, cant search a female suspect with propriety. And of course, in the Victorian period, there were huge opportunities for women to conceal things about their person. Records show that some suspects hid wedding rings under their tongues and rolled banknotes into their hair; others sewed jewellery into skirt bustles and hid coins in stockings. In 1890, a searcher discovered 45 pawn tickets for stolen goods in the chignon bun of a Frenchwoman. One searcher, Ann Lovsey, served Birmingham Police for at least 36 years in the 19th century, Lodge discovered: That is a career in the police not casual work. And shes part of the life of the police station. Shes living on the premises, working day and night and is, according to the papers, well-known as a female detective. Lodge found evidence of Lovsey and other female searchers undercover work. While uniformed policemen were employed to be very visible on the street and were often known to criminals, the presence of a working-class woman in the underworld of Victorian society was often unremarkable and underestimated. As a result, Lodge said, brave female searchers were frequently tasked with observing and detecting suspected criminals stealing from their employers, as well as sting operations where, for example, they cool-headedly lured backstreet abortionists and house burglars into police traps. In one memorable case from 1855, female searcher Elizabeth Joyes was asked to ferret out an audacious scoundrel who was repeatedly stealing luggage from first-class railway waiting rooms while passengers backs were turned. When a man with suspiciously shabby shoes entered the first-class waiting room and warmed himself by the fire, she watched him closely. When he made off with the large portmanteau of a vicar, Joyes gave chase and eventually secured his arrest. Newspaper reports of the case heralded Joyes as a woman employed as a female detective. Similarly, in 1860, Sarah Dunaway, a policemans wife, was asked to watch the dockyards in London to find out who was stealing bags of unrefined sugar from ships. She successfully followed a suspect from the docks to a shop, entered surreptitiously to purchase a few trifling items and witnessed the thief selling the bag in the back parlour, a transaction that she later relayed convincingly in court. The judge compliments her and says that shes an excellent witness, said Lodge. In a newspaper report, Dunaway was also compared favourably with prominent female writers and reformers of the time: unlike them, she had showed herself capable of a mans work. Lodge added: They half-jest in court that theres a new department of the police: a female detective. This is the 1860s, and people are already anticipating that women will join the police. Like Dunaway, many women who served the police had family connections to a local policeman: Joyes was a policemans widow, and Lovseys in-laws worked in the police. Often, they were paid a pittance and provided regular unacknowledged labour to the police in the same ad-hoc way that a vicars wife would for the church: That was part of the expectation of women at the time, said Lodge. Womens work in police stations across Victorian Britain was routine but if you go looking for these women in the police order books of employees, you wont find them. She hopes the book will bring greater recognition of Victorian female detectives and womens long history in the police. As we saw with the Sarah Everard investigation, theres been a dark underbelly of misogyny and racism in the police, she said. A better understanding of the longevity of womens role in the police might encourage women today to feel they belong in the police more. Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who has been granted political asylum in Spain - GABRIELA ORAA/AFP The leader of Venezuelas opposition fled to Spain on Sunday, where he has been granted political asylum. Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia arrived in Madrid at around 4:30pm local time on a Spanish Air Force plane out of Caracas. The 75-year-old has been in hiding since elections were held in Venezuela in July and a government crackdown on opposition figures soon after. Rights groups say Venezuelan authorities have been committing widespread violations against government critics, including carrying out arbitrary arrests and violence against them. On September 2, a judge issued an arrest warrant against Mr Gonzalez for conspiracy, incitement to disobedience and other crimes after he disputed the election result. Mr Gonzalez fled to the Dutch embassy, where he sought refuge for more than a month before then staying at the home of Spains ambassador. On Sunday, he and his wife flew into the Torrejon military air base near Madrid after his request for political asylum had been granted. Before the July 28 election, Mr Gonzalez was a political unknown, but he was the only person left to run against Mr Maduro after the government banned all other opposition candidates. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro delivering a speech in Caracas on August 28 - Fausto Torrealba/Reuters Venezuelas socialist government announced that Mr Maduro had won a third six-year mandate with 52 per cent of the vote, but it has not yet published the official results. Venezuelas opposition has published its own tallies showing a landslide win for Gonzalez. They said copies of ballot machine data showed that of the votes cast, Mr Gonzalez won 67 per cent. The US, the European Union and major Latin American governments, including Left-wing administrations in Brazil and Mexico, have refused to recognise Mr Maduros claim to victory. Mass protests against the government have since broken out, leading to at least 27 deaths and 2,400 arrests. The Venezuelan government has blamed the opposition, while opponents accuse the government of carrying out a campaign of repression. On Saturday, Venezuelan security forces surrounded Argentinas embassy in Caracas, where six opposition activists are currently in hiding. The Maduro government said it will revoke the diplomatic status of the embassy, currently held by Brazil, after Argentina pulled out its diplomatic representatives, allowing it to arrest the activists. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told reporters that Spain had responded positively to an asylum request from Mr Gonzalez and denied that Madrid had negotiated the move with Venezuelas government. Maduros victory not recognised Spain, which has granted asylum to more than 100,000 Venezuelans fleeing repression, does not recognise Mr Maduros alleged victory, Mr Albares said. Speaking on Saturday before the announcement of Mr Gonzalezs move into exile, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described the retired diplomat as a hero whom Spain will not abandon. However, Right-wing politicians criticised the move as an affront to democracy. Bringing Edmundo Gonzalez here without recognizing him as the legitimate president does no favours to democracy, but rather removes a problem for the dictatorship, said Esteban Gonzalez Pons, a leading spokesman for the conservative Peoples Party (PP). The PP has said it will force a vote in Spains parliament this week over recognising Mr Gonzalez as Venezuelas leader. In 2019, some 60 countries including Spain recognised opposition politician Juan Guaido as president of Venezuela, a move that failed to dislodge Mr Maduro from power. Wes Streeting made his feelings known when speaking to up to 40 Labour backbenchers - Thomas Krych / Story Picture Agency The Health Secretary said he is not remotely happy with the plan to remove the winter fuel payment from millions of pensioners. Wes Streeting spoke as up to 40 Labour backbenchers prepared to defy Sir Keir Starmer by abstaining in Tuesdays vote on whether the cut should go ahead. A small number of MPs are also expected to vote against the policy and have been warned they could lose the whip as a result. The Prime Minister vowed on Sunday that he would plough on with the change, saying the Government is prepared to take unpopular decisions for the good of the economy. While Mr Streeting conceded that the controversial policy, announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in July, would have a negative impact on his constituents, he insisted that it was necessary because of the state of the economy bequeathed by the Tories. I think it is a tough choice, and weve had plenty of political criticism for it, I think, which demonstrates the political pain of it, he told Sky News. Im not remotely happy about it, and Im not remotely happy about having to say to some of my constituents: Im sorry that Im going into work this week to vote for something that will take money away from you. Let me tell you that whether its pensioners or anyone else in this country, they wont forgive us if we duck the difficult decisions now and end up leaving the country with a bigger bill, a bigger price of failure in the future. Other cabinet ministers are understood to share the concerns about the plan. Labour rebels say they have been threatened with the suspension of the Labour Party whip if they vote against the Government on Tuesdays motion. On Sunday evening Liz Kendall, the Work and Pensions Secretary, was understood to be ringing rebels in a bid to limit the size of the revolt. Rachel Reeves will address Labour MPs in the Commons on Monday to explain her decision to strip the benefit, worth up to 300 a year, from all those who do not receive pension credit. Around 10 million people will lose the payments. She has faced pressure to change the policy so that more pensioners on very low incomes keep the payments. Many potential rebels are considering restricting themselves to abstention because of the chilling effect of Sir Keirs decision in July to suspend the whip for six months from seven Labour MPs who voted against the Governments decision to keep the two-child child benefit cap. Rebels expect around 40 MPs to abstain, plus a small number including some newly elected MPs to vote against it. It means the size of the rebellion could be similar in size to that over the decision not to lift the two-child benefit cap last July. It comes as it emerged Labours own research in 2017 predicted almost 4,000 pensioners could die if the benefit was stripped from millions of pensioners under plans being considered by Theresa May. The analysis, uncovered by the Daily Mail, claimed 3,850 elderly people would die if the proposal went ahead. Labour called the plan, which was abandoned, the single biggest attack on pensioners in a generation in our country. Speaking on BBC Ones Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Sir Keir urged MPs to vote for the cut to winter fuel. Im absolutely convinced that we will only deliver that change if we do the difficult things now, he said. I know theyre unpopular, I know theyre difficult. Of course, theyre tough choices. Tough decisions are tough decisions. Popular decisions arent tough, theyre easy. I do recognise how difficult it is for some people. I do recognise its really hard for some pensioners. He also said that many people agreed that the winter fuel allowance needed to be more targeted. The general secretary of the Trades Union Congress demanded the Chancellor unveil measures to help poorer pensioners in the Budget, saying he feared older people would be afraid to put their heating on. Paul Nowak said: I do have real concerns about those cuts to the winter fuel allowance. I hope that well go into the Budget with the Chancellor setting out what support shes going to give to those pensioners, particularly those who arent entitled to pensioner tax credit, but who arent well off by any stretch of the imagination. I dont want any pensioner going into the winter frightened to turn on their heating. The Prime Minister also said last week that he expected those with the broadest shoulders to do the heaviest lifting, and I expect that to be played out in the Budget as well. Paul Nowak, general secretary of TUC, expressed real concerns about cuts to the winter fuel allowance - Peter Byrne/PA One Labour MP who was considering rebelling said there were no signs the Government was backing down, and that the whipping operation was having a chilling effect. So far, the line is if you vote against, we cant guarantee youll keep the whip, the rebel said. Its spooking people out there and after the two-child benefit vote, people realise what that means. Whether therell be a six-month suspension, we dont know yet. Abstention is the new voting against. Obviously there are lots of people who want to vote against. But its very important to keep the whip and stay in the tent. One Labour party source said many of the new MPs were nervous about the vote after their inboxes filled with up f---loads of emails from angry constituents and campaigners. They predicted that a small number of the 2024 intake of MPs were likely to be among those voting against the Government. However, it is understood the suspension of seven Labour MPs for six months over the two-child benefit cap has already proven effective in deterring some would-be rebels. The mood was set in part by the reaction to those who voted against the Kings Speech and also for the rebel amendment, the source said. That has done a bit of tone-setting. John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor who had the whip suspended over the two-child benefit cap, said pensioners will die unless Ms Reeves changes course. Asked whether he believed that would be the case, he told LBC: Yes, thats not me speaking. A number of Labour MPs had a meeting with the various agencies representing older people: Age UK, people like that. So were talking about organisations of some standing in society and theyre saying that there is a real risk that people will die as a result because we have these excess deaths in winter. Click here to view this content. Technology experts have revealed plans to help seal 100,000 methane-leaking wells in the next decade, which could prevent millions of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. Rockit, a clean technology company based at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, aims to use a chemical injection method to transform the methane emitting rocks into a solid, permanent seal of insoluble minerals. The team predicts the technique will lock in toxic greenhouse gases deep underground for thousands of years. Samples of rock on a workbench used by Rockit to help develop its method of sealing methane wells (Tanya Jay/PA) Rockit has been accepted into Scottish Enterprises prestigious High Growth Spinout programme, securing 75,000 in funding to elevate its solution. The International Energy Agency has reported that methane has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. It is calculated that cutting methane emissions by 45% by 2030 could help meet the Paris Agreements goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C. Rockit has won awards for its prototype, which has been validated under lab conditions and was granted an accelerated patent by the UK Governments Green Channel. Oleg Ishkov, a lead researcher at Heriot-Watts School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, said: Using existing methods, research suggests it would take over 300 years to plug millions of at-risk wells on the planet. Our technology offers a radical new solution by transforming porous rocks into impermeable barriers, locking harmful gases underground for millennia. With Scottish Enterprises funding, were now poised to advance our research. It has also allowed us to add two commercial champions to the team in the form of expert advisers. The team said the plan could potentially prevent millions of tonnes of harmful greenhouse gas emissions being released into the atmosphere every year. Mark Zwinderman, chief executive of clean tech company SAS Environmental Services, and Laurence Ormerod, a former vice-president at Weatherford International, will join Professor Eric Mackay and Dr Ishkov from Heriot-Watt to push the initiative forward. The team predicts the technique will lock in toxic greenhouse gases deep underground for thousands of years (Tanya Jay/PA) Leah Pape, head of high growth services at Scottish Enterprise, said: Were delighted to welcome Rockit into our High Growth Spinout programme. The project is at the earliest stage of its scaling journey, but were confident that it can fully commercialise its cutting-edge research with our support and encouragement. Professor Gill Murray, deputy principal for enterprise and business at Heriot-Watt, added: Rockit exemplifies the innovative, high-impact research we champion at Heriot-Watt University. This technology has the potential to make a significant contribution to global net-zero goals, showcasing how our research can deliver tangible environmental benefits on a global scale. As a global university, were uniquely positioned to help translate groundbreaking ideas into commercially viable solutions. Our long-standing support for Rockit, including championing its founder in the Converge Net Zero Challenge and showcasing the path-breaking research at international events like Cop28, demonstrates our commitment to fostering transformative technologies. Working with animals can be just as fun and rewarding as it seems, but it can also be emotionally and physically taxing. Whether you're in the veterinary field or running a boutique shop for pets, it's all too easy to become invested in your favorite furry clients. However, some of the most challenging animal-related jobs out there are in wildlife rehabilitation. Even when you've successfully helped an animal heal, you still have to say goodbye forever when you release them into the wild. It doesn't get any more bittersweet than that! As difficult as it may be to watch your new friends walk away for good, it's also incredibly heartwarming to know that you played a role in getting them back home into the wild. I can only imagine how emotional a group of animal rehabilitation experts was feeling on August 27 as they released a group of 9 coyote pups into the wild near San Diego. Wow--look at them go! The caretakers may not have been ready to watch them go, but the coyote pups were out of there! They spent the last six months in the care of the San Diego Humane Society, but thanks to the experts' diligent care, these little dog lookalikes get to spend the rest of their lives in the wild where they belong. Related: Rescued Coyote Pup's Reaction to Hearing Wild Coyotes for the First Time Is Pretty Cool It's fascinating to see how each of the 'spicy dogs,' as one commenter called them, each reacted a little differently to being released into the wild. Some wasted no time running away from their human babysitters, while others were a lot more hesitant to leave the animal carrier. Even though they belong in the wild, it must have been so reassuring for the wildlife rehabilitators to know that their patients felt safe with them. Eventually, all nine coyote pups left the carriers in search of their natural habitat, and these animal experts can give themselves a pat on the back! Working As a Wildlife Rehabilitator This particular TikTok video focuses on the coyote pups themselves, but there's a lot to be said about the people who made it possible for them to be released back into the wild. Often, wild dogs who enter wildlife rehab have a better chance of re-adjusting to life in the wild (when they're able, that is) because of how much they learned before arriving for treatment. It's also because many animal species can learn by mimicking human actions, which is only one way that wildlife rehabilitators can work with their patients. Whether a rehabilitator is working in a zoo or a wildlife nonprofit, no two jobs are the same. Each patient has different needs based on their location and circumstances, and it's up to you to decide how to help a zoo animal or wild animal feel like their best self. Working as a wildlife rehabilitator may be difficult and tiring, especially at first, but it will be so worth it to see the impact you have on real animals across the globe. 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. The Scottish church where Queen Elizabeth II worshipped has hosted the BBCs Songs Of Praise programme for the first time to mark the second anniversary of her death. Crathie Kirk is very close to Balmoral, where Elizabeth spent summer breaks on her Aberdeenshire estate with her family. The nations longest-reigning monarch died peacefully at Balmoral Castle on September 8 2022 at the age of 96. Queen Elizabeth II sits in Crathie Kirk during a service in 2014 (PA) The special programme, due to be screened on Sunday, features a hymn commissioned by the King called Crathie in honour of the building. During the programme, presenter Claire McCollum meets Crathies minister and chaplain to the monarch, Reverend Ken MacKenzie, to reflect on the late Queens deep faith and how she always felt part of his congregation. He will take the broadcaster on a historical tour of the kirk, including the foundation stone laid by Queen Victoria in 1893 and the royal pews where the King and Queen Camilla regularly worship. The Rev Ken MacKenzie is chaplain to the monarch (Andrew OBrien/PA) Professor Paul Mealor conducts the congregation during the special recording, with those gathered singing a number of hymns including the new piece written by him for the King. Prof Mealor is one of the countrys leading composers who has created music for a number of royal events including Charless 65th, 70th and 75th birthdays, and the 2011 wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Claire McCollum also meets a local ghillie an attendant during hunting or fishing trips on the River Dee to see how faith and fly-fishing can go hand in hand, before taking a walk through the Cairngorms with Merryn Glover, an award-winning Christian writer to compose a poem reflective of her time there. Songs Of Praise was first broadcast on the BBC in October 1961 and showcases congregations around the UK singing hymns and spiritual music. Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he will not let violence dictate Government policy following the summer riots, and shared concerns about snake oil promises from the far right across Europe. The Prime Minister also said he did not think Britain was a racist country, and pointed to the decent people who joined clean-up efforts following Augusts unrest. The riots were sparked after three young girls were killed in an attack in the Merseyside town of Southport on July 29. Hundreds of people have now been through the court system for riot-related offences, after clashing with police and attacking hotels housing asylum seekers, among other actions. The Prime Minister told the BBCs Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg there was racism there during the unrest in the early weeks of August, adding: Yes I accept that across the country people have strong views about things like immigration. I accept that, but I am not prepared to tolerate that sort of disorder under any circumstances. Nor will I change Government policy one bit as a result of that sort of violence. Sir Keir said he did not think Britain was a racist country but one of decent people, tolerant people. The real Britain was the people who came out the day after in Southport. It was incredible, people came out with their trowels, with their brooms, they cleaned up, they rebuilt. They are the real face of Britain and that is the Britain that I think is essential to reuniting and bringing this country back together. Sir Keir shared concerns about the rise of far-right political parties across Europe, pointing to recent victories by Alternative For Germany (AfD) in German regional elections, and the gains by Marine le Pens National Rally in the French parliament. He told the BBC: I am worried about the rise of the far right. I mean, we can see what is happening in Germany with the recent election, see what is happening in France and other countries. I am worried about the far right because it is the snake oil of the easy answer. I am convinced that the answer to it is delivery in Government. For use in UK, Ireland or Benelux countries only BBC handout photo of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, during a pre-record for the BBC 1 current affairs programme, Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg (Jeff Overs/BBC/PA) Elsewhere, the Prime Minister turned his focus across the Atlantic, and told the programme his coming visit to the US on September 13 would be focused on dealing with the ever-more pressing situation in Ukraine, as well as the conflict in the Middle East. Sir Keir said it was wrong to claim the US was angry at Britain for its decision to suspend some arms sales to Israel. The UK announced it would limit the sales of some arms on Monday, citing humanitarian concerns among its legal reasoning. He added: We have been talking to the US beforehand and afterwards. They are very clear that they have got a different legal system and they understand the decision that we have taken. The Prime Minister would not be drawn into offering full-throated support for Kamala Harriss bid for the presidency in the coming November election, instead claiming he would work with whoever is the victor. Asked about the vice presidents selection as the Democrat candidate for US president, Sir Keir replied: Of course, it is really good to see the election developing as it is in the US. I have been very clear as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom that I will deal with whoever the American people elect in as their president. A sketch of Queen Victoria and her family in mourning after the death of Prince Albert is among works by a Scottish artist in an exhibition in his home city of Dunfermline later this month. Joseph Noel Paton: An Artists Life is a rare retrospective dedicated to one of the leading artists of the Victorian era, and features a number of his royal commissions, alongside paintings showcasing his naturalistic style. The exhibition at Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries also includes notebooks, personal objects and letters the artist received from such luminaries as Oscar Wilde and Lewis Carroll, and Queen Victorias private secretary. The Dunfermline-born artist was hugely popular during his lifetime, with barriers often needed to keep crowds in check when his work went on display. He was also said to have been Queen Victorias favourite artist, and she is reported to have remarked that Paton painted such beautiful pictures. It was the Queen herself who in 1862 invited him to Windsor Castle to produce the sketch of her and her nine children gathered around a marble bust of Prince Albert, just months after Alberts death in December 1861. The artists wife Maggie and children Diarmid, Mona, Freddy and baby Victor all accompanied him when he travelled to Windsor to undertake the commission. The sketch had been intended as a preparatory drawing for a painting entitled In Memoriam, but Paton had to return home after he contracted influenza during his stay, and the painting was never completed. For exhibition curator Lesley-Anne Lettice, the fact Paton was invited into Victorias inner circle during this time revealed a lot about the esteem in which he was held. Being invited to Windsor so early in the Queens mourning period shows how highly Noel Paton was regarded he was one of very few non-family members allowed into her inner circle at that time, she said. The exhibition is a celebration of a long life, well lived. Patons vibrant paintings and intricate drawings are a testament to his talent and reflect the many interests of this fascinating man. A pen and ink sketch of of Queen Victoria and her family (Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture/PA) Paton first attracted the royal familys attention in 1847, when Prince Albert saw his celebrated painting The Reconciliation of Oberon and Titania as it won a prize during a competition to decorate the new Houses of Parliament. A painting called Home! Return from the Crimea then impressed Queen Victoria so much when it was exhibited at Londons Royal Academy in 1856 that she asked him to paint a smaller version as a gift for her husband. A number of royal commissions followed, with many featuring in this exhibition. Among them another drawing, this time in pen and ink, of the royal family in the wake of Alberts death, a prototype for one of the panels he painted in Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, and an edition of Shakespeares plays containing his illustrations. Our next exhibition, Joseph Noel Paton: An Artist's Life, is currently being installed! This repro of Paton's 'Queen Margaret and King Malcom Canmore' is in our entrance display you'll be able to see the original when the exhibition opens on 14th September. pic.twitter.com/fhrsg4ZbMd Dunfermline Carnegie Library & Galleries (@ONatDCLG) August 10, 2024 Visitors will also be able to see the certificate and seal Paton received on becoming the Queens Limner in Scotland the art equivalent of the poet laureate in 1866. The other paintings on display include work inspired by biblical scenes, classical mythology and Scots folklore, giving visitors the opportunity to appreciate Patons naturalistic style, which drew inspiration from the Pre-Raphaelite art movement. Altogether the exhibition features works from eight different public collections, including the National Galleries of Scotland, the Royal Scottish Academy and Glasgow Museums, as well as many private loans. The exhibition Joseph Noel Paton An Artists Life runs from September 14 to February 9 2025 at Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries. Admission is free. Its a favorite in his home state of Texas. Getty Images/Allrecipes Country music legend George Strait has sung countless hit songs throughout his career, and while most touch on love and life, several illustrate the occasional long night. And, when Strait does get the Friday Night Fever and has to nurse a hangover after a night of sipping anejo, theres one tried-and-true solution he turns to. As it turns out, the King of Country is also the king of comfort food, because his go-to hangover remedy, shared in an interview with the Daily Beast, is one of the most hearty and satisfying meals in the book: menudo. This authentic Mexican soup is savory, rich, and sure to sop up all the antics of the night before. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios What Is Menudo? If youve never heard of menudo, its a traditional Mexican soup made with tripe, hominy, and a savory broth spiked with red chilies. Not only is it known for its rich, spicy flavor, but also its reputed healing properties, curing everything from a common cold to a head-pounding hangover. But, even when you eat it in the best of health, the deep red soup is still guaranteed to bring comfort and warmth with every spoonful. Its tripe soup, Strait explained. Its very, very tasty. When I happen to have the occasional hangover, which I try not do, if I can get some menudo thats what I get. The traditional Mexican dish has become popular in Texas, Straits home state, with the rise of Tex-Mex cuisine. With only four main ingredientstripe, hominy, chilies, and a rich brothmenudo is a dish thats just as simple to make, as it is satisfying. How to Make George Straits Favorite Hangover Meal There are plenty of ways to make menudo even richer and more complex, but our four-ingredient recipe keeps the dish easy and simple. Reviewers say the spice level is totally dependent on personal preferencesand the dish tastes even better on the second day. To make it, combine two pounds of beef tripe and two chopped onions in a 16-quart pot, then fill the pot with water until its about three-quarters of the way full. Cover the pot and cook on low heat until the tripe is tender, about two hours. Next, add four 15-ounce cans of hominy and chili powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Cover and cook for another 45 minutes to an hour to let the flavors incorporate. You can serve it with fresh onions, corn tortillas, and a squeeze of lemon if you have them on hand. So, the next time youre in need of some Sunday morning comfort, take a page out of George Straits book and whip up a pot of menudo. Itll be sure to make you feel like youre Living and Living Well. Get the recipe Read the original article on All Recipes. Their tonic water of choice is easy to get at any grocery store. Simply Recipes / Getty Images As a newly-minted 21-year-old, one of my first declarations of adulthood was choosing a standard cocktail order. I did not want to be the one standing at the bar stammering immaturely about my drink order. I quickly picked up what the classic gin and tonic was putting down. I loved gins herbal flavors, and the tonic water introduced just enough bitterness to keep things interesting, along with a touch of sweetness to balance everything out. It also felt like a sophisticated choice, a crystal-clear glass in a boozy college bar sea of blue drinks and flaming shots. Since then, Ive been making my own gin and tonics at home, experimenting with different gins and garnishes. I never really branched out when it came to the tonic water, though. Now that there are so many tonic waters available on store shelves, I wanted to take a better look at the options and get opinions from the folks who stand behind the bar. Turns out, they share the same opinion and their tonic water of choice is easy to get at any grocery store. The Bartenders I Asked Simply Recipes / Fever-Tree The Best Tonic Water According to Bartenders Thanks to its not-too-sweet flavor profile and extra bubbly bubbles, Fever Tree tonic water has won the hearts of the bartenders I interviewed. Fever Tree has a perfect balance of sweet and bitter where some other tonics can lean cloying, says Conway. A less-sweet tonic water gives you more options when youre mixing up a drink. Having less sugar in a tonic water allows me to personalize a gin and tonic with a dash of liqueur or specialty syrup without the overall drink becoming saccharine and losing its refreshing zing, Chamberlain adds. Van Nostrand [looks] for the trifecta balance of bitterness, sweetness, and astringency in a tonic water to ensure her cocktails are well balanced. She continues, I like a tonic that tastes refreshing in its own right and that also underscores the botanical or fruity notes of the spirit Im mixing with. Flavor is a major consideration for all three bartenders. For a drink as simple as a gin and tonic, every component should be high-quality and taste good on its own. Conway loves the flavor of Fever Tree because The bitterness from quinine adds flavor and contrast to the sweetness while a bump of citrus from orange brightens up the bitter notes. Bubbles were almost as important as flavor to the bartenders I spoke with. Conway loves that Fever Tree tonic water has a great amount of carbonation so the bubbles last for a while in the drink. Van Nostrand agrees, saying that the fine, fizzy bubbles add a zingy, almost electric mouthfeel to the tonic, which accentuates any citrus, juices, or tart flavors. While all the bartenders make their gin and tonics with Fever Tree tonic water, they had other ideas for the spritzy mixer. Chamberlain uses Fever Tree in non-alcoholic beverages because the bitterness of the quinine adds character and sophistication, which can help mocktails feel less like they belong only at the kids table. Van Nostrand recommends using ...Fever Tree tonic in an espresso tonic. I like mine with a sprig of fresh mint for an herbaceous pop. Conway also uses Fever Tree for espresso tonics. An espresso and tonic with a lemon wheel makes for a great pick-me-up that balances the espresso and effervescent sweetness, she says. Read the original article on Simply Recipes. Elected governments increasingly exploit elections to establish minority rule, with economic elites maintaining outsized influence. Focusing on elections can also push aside other democratic practices. Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto/Getty Images If democracy is going to flourish on this planet, its practitioners must be members of the same team. Unfortunately, global democracy is a field divided. Democratic activists, experts and reformers often are fierce partisans of just one of several competing sub-fields: electoral democracy, deliberative democracy (focusing on randomly selected citizens studying issues), participatory democracy (where people might set a local budget or make a plan), direct democracy (initiative and referendum) or digital democracy (using online environments like Decidim or vTaiwan). I routinely experience this dynamic firsthand. As a convener of global forums on direct democracy since 2008, I was sometimes excluded from gatherings on participatory or deliberative democracy. After I took a fellowship at an institute associated with deliberative democracy, two supporters of my direct democracy work accused me of betrayal. Advertisement Article continues below this ad This democratic divide, and how to bridge it, is the subject of a new white paper, From Waves to Ecosystems: The Next Stage of Democratic Innovation, by Josh Lerner, co-executive director of People Powered, a global hub for communities, organizations, researchers and funders seeking to improve democracy. Most pro-democracy movements focus on defending elections. Others call for innovations in direct, deliberative, or participatory democracy. Champions of each approach have claimed that their solution alone will deliver real democracy, Lerner writes. There is, however, no one way to fix democracy. One problem is that most money spent on democracy is swallowed up by elections, even though elections, he writes, have generally not resulted in equal political power or government by the people. Instead, elected governments increasingly exploit elections to establish minority rule, with economic elites maintaining outsized influence. Elections also put in power people who rate as more narcissistic and psychopathic than average. Lerner adds: We are pouring so much money and time into elections that other democratic practices are pushed to the sidelines, marginal and disconnected. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Those other democratic practices do experience waves of popularity. Direct democracy grew rapidly in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and participatory democracy became fashionable in the 1960s and again in the 1990s with participatory budgeting in Brazil. Today, many democratic practitioners are riding a deliberative wave using lotteries to create assemblies of everyday citizens. But the waves have retarded broader democratic development. Lerner writes that waves lead to groupthink, and each wave becomes top-heavy with big expectations that it will change everything and be the one solution weve been waiting for. No single kind of democracy works well for all our decisions. But, asks Lerner, what if all of these democratic approaches are limited individually but more effective together? Lerner, sounding optimistic, sees an emerging next stage that involves weaving different democratic practices into balanced democratic ecosystems. Why ecosystems? Because successful ecosystems are diverse, interconnected and dynamic. Healthy ecosystems change over time to remain resilient as conditions and needs fluctuate, Lerner writes. Advertisement Article continues below this ad For example, assemblies and direct democracy dont work well for tricky budget decisions in a fiscal crisis, but the participatory budgeting process does. Deliberative democracys citizens assemblies work well for producing proposals on difficult issues (like abortion in Ireland). But for legitimacy, all voters not just the small assembly should decide whether to adopt such a proposal as the actual law, via a referendum. What would a healthy democratic ecosystem look like? Lerner points to Paris, which has experimented with different combinations of democratic practice. There, an elected City Council works with a citizens assembly of randomly selected Parisians on big topics like homelessness. And the deliberative assembly works with a participatory budgeting process on how to spend 100 million euros annually on city improvements. Instead of competing with one another, advocates of different democratic processes should build bridges and focus on their common enemy authoritarian regimes and funders of anti-democratic work. But its not enough to defend the current system against such forces, writes Lerner. Democracy needs a just transition a phrase he borrows from the climate movement to this much more varied democratic ecosystem. What if instead of solely defending elections, we also offered something better a broader system of democracy that gave people a more meaningful voice? Lerner writes. This transition will not be easy. Like for climate change, it will require changing mindsets, jobs, skills, and everyday practices. Advertisement Article continues below this ad 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 It also requires more urgency. Democratic practitioners love experiments and pilots, but those are too slow. We have toyed with alternatives while the ice caps and our trust in democracy melt away. Authoritarian regimes are wreaking havoc faster than our efforts to counterattack them. California man loses life savings, owes more than $30K in taxes after falling prey to sophisticated scam now he fears he may lose his home if he cant pay his tax bill On top of losing his life savings to scammers, Chester Frilich of Concord, California is facing a tax bill of over $30,000 which could end in him losing his home. As reported by ABC7 News, his problems began when he received a call from somebody claiming to be from Xfinity, who claimed his account was used to upload pornographic videos. An hour later, he heard from Jason Brown with the Federal Trade Commission, listing all of his credit cards and telling him he was under investigation for wire fraud. Don't miss Commercial real estate has beaten the stock market for 25 years but only the super rich could buy in. Here's how even ordinary investors can become the landlord of Walmart, Whole Foods or Kroger Car insurance premiums in America are through the roof and only getting worse. But 5 minutes could have you paying as little as $29/month These 5 magic money moves will boost you up America's net worth ladder in 2024 and you can complete each step within minutes. Here's how In order to clear the issues, the scammers posing as the FTC said they would help him move his money to a secure account, which involved him sending thousands of dollars of gold and cash through couriers and UPS. He tapped into multiple accounts, including Certificate of Deposit (CD) and IRA accounts, to send over $200,000 in funds before the police informed him that it was all a scam. By using those accounts to send money, Frilich amassed a tax burden of around $30,000, which will end in the IRS putting a lien on his home if he cant pay the bill or work out an arrangement with the agency. While losing money in a scam is awful, getting penalized on top of it makes it even worse. How can you guard yourself from tax problems as you try to avoid fraud? Why early withdrawal penalties matter While most bank and investing accounts are designed to hold liquid assets defined as cash or assets that can be converted to cash quickly and easily some accounts are structured to effectively lock down money to pay interest and dividends over an extended period of time and are not considered liquid. Examples include the two types of accounts Frilich pulled money from: Certificate of Deposit (CD) accounts and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Both are designed to keep money locked for an extended period of time, but in different ways. A CD is offered by banks or credit unions as a savings option, where consumers agree to deposit their money for a specific period of time before they can make a withdrawal. CD terms can range anywhere from one month all the way to five years. IRAs are investment accounts designed to help you save money for your retirement. The earliest one can withdraw money from an IRA without issue is when the account holder turns 59. Anyone withdrawing money from either of those accounts before they mature will face penalties. Under federal law, banks are allowed to charge penalties for early withdrawal of CDs. While the minimum penalty is seven days of simple interest if the withdrawal is done within six days of deposit, a larger penalty can apply for early withdrawal at any other time during the term. In addition to bank penalties, dividends earned on CDs is taxable income, and must be reported on your taxes for the year it was withdrawn. The rules for IRAs are a little more complex. Account holders can make withdrawals without penalty under certain allowable exceptions, such as the birth or adoption of a child, recovering from a natural disaster, or using the money for qualified higher education expenses. In all other situations, a withdrawal is not only included as part of your gross income tax at the end of the year, but is also subject to an additional 10% tax penalty. In both situations, Frilich face tax penalties that would be due with his income tax return. Because he couldnt pay the full tax bill in time, the IRS says they can put a lien on the home to secure the governments interest in his property. And not only can that be stressful, it can damage your credit score and stay on your credit report for years. Read more: Car insurance rates have spiked in the US to a stunning $2,150/year but you can be smarter than that. Here's how you can save yourself as much as $820 annually in minutes (it's 100% free) Protecting yourself from both scams and tax penalties Before sending money to anyone, its crucial to ensure you know who the recipient is, and where the money is going. Government impersonation scams usually start with somebody calling you saying theyre from an agency and you need to give them money urgently, or something bad will happen. The Federal Trade Commission emphasizes that government agencies will never call, email, or text to request information or money. Additionally, if someone says theyre from a company and offers you repayment from a previous scam, offers to connect to your computer to secure your refund, or offers to send you a check for over the disputed amount with the promise to send it back, its likely a refund scam. Before agreeing to anything, hang up and do your research to ensure youre not a target for theft. Scammers may try to establish authority by using information from a targets (illegally obtained) credit report. One way to protect yourself from credit report attacks is through a credit freeze. A freeze is a free service offered by all three credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion), which locks down access to your report to new requests. While it can protect your personal information, you will need to unfreeze your credit if you are applying for a new credit card or loan. Finally, Frilich says his biggest mistake was panicking when contacted by the scammers, and signing a non-disclosure agreement which prevented him from knowing who they truly were. The FTC says if you realize youre being scammed, cut off communications with the scammers immediately, and start doing damage control to prevent further attacks. This includes contacting the payment provider to try and reverse any money sent, changing your bank account and credit card numbers, creating new usernames and passwords for any online accounts a scammer might have access to, and doing security scans to remove any access they could have to your computer or cellphone. And, of course, be sure to report the incident to the FTC. What to read next This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. Elon Musk in Los Angeles, California, on 13 April 2024. Photograph: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters Elon Musk is on pace to become the worlds first trillionaire by 2027, according to a new report from a group that tracks wealth. Informa Connect Academys finding about the boss of the electric carmaker Tesla, private rocket company SpaceX and social media platform X (formerly Twitter) stems from the fact that Musks wealth has been growing at an average annual rate of 110%. He was also the worlds richest person, with $251bn, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as the academys 2024 Trillion Dollar Club report began circulating on Friday. The academys analysis suggested business conglomerate founder Gautam Adani of India would become the second to achieve trillionaire status. That would reportedly happen in 2028 if his annual growth rate remains at 123%. Jensen Huang, the chief executive officer of the tech firm Nvidia, and Prajogo Pangestu, the Indonesian energy and mining mogul, could also become trillionaires in 2028 if their trajectories hold. Bernard Arnault, the LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton boss and the worlds third-richest person with about $200bn, is on track to eclipse a trillion dollars in 2030 the same year as Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta. A handful of companies have secured valuations of more than $1tn. Berkshire Hathaway most recently topped the valuation in late August, days before its architect Warren Buffett celebrated his 94th birthday. Nvidia joined the $1tn club in May 2023 and in June hit $3tn, positioning it at the time after Microsoft and before Apple as the worlds second-most-valuable company. However, as CNBC noted, the question of who might be the globes first trillionaire has fascinated the public ever since the world crowned its first billionaire in 1916. That was the USs John D Rockefeller, the founder and at the time largest shareholder of Standard Oil. Despite that fascination, many academics see the accumulation of immense wealth as a social ill. One report calculated that the richest 1% of humanity account for more carbon emissions a primary driver of the ongoing climate crisis than the poorest 66%. Just days before Informa Connect Academy tapped Musk as the most likely to become the worlds first trillionaire, one of his posts on X earned him backlash from many of the sites users. His post said an interview between the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and the podcaster Darryl Cooper a fellow rightwing media figure was very interesting. Worth watching. Cooper claimed in the interview that the Nazis did not mean to murder so many people when they carried out the Holocaust and killed 6 million Jews during the second world war. Instead, Cooper remarked, Adolf Hitlers Nazi regime simply was not equipped to care for them and the podcaster blamed the British prime minister Winston Churchill for that war becoming what it did. Musk ultimately deleted his post, and the White House condemned Carlsons interview of Cooper as a disgusting and sadistic insult to all Americans. The billionaire announced in August that he was supporting Donald Trump as the Republican nominee seeks a second presidency in Novembers election. Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice-president, is also running in the election. Vice President Harris and former President Trump are neck and neck in three key battleground states, according to new polling released just days before their first debate. A CBS News/YouGov poll, released Sunday, shows Harris leading Trump among likely voters by 2 points in Wisconsin, 51 percent to 49 percent, and by 1 point in Michigan, 50 percent to 49 percent. In Pennsylvania, Harris and Trump are tied with 50 percent support. All results are within the margin of error. Harris has a more commanding lead over Trump on the enthusiasm question among registered voters in their respective parties. In Michigan, 89 percent of registered Democrats say theyre excited about Harriss campaign, compared to 78 percent of registered Republicans in the state who say theyre excited about Trump. In Wisconsin, 87 percent of registered Democrats are excited about Harris, and 76 percent of registered Republicans are excited about Trump. And in Pennsylvania, 82 percent of registered Democrats are excited about Harris, while 75 percent of registered Republicans are excited about Trump. These three battleground states are seen as critical to either candidates chances at winning the White House. The recent poll suggests there could still be some room to pick up voters, especially for Harriss campaign. Among likely voters who say they are neither voting for Harris nor leaning toward voting for her, 10 percent say they would or would maybe consider voting for Harris in Wisconsin. In comparison, 7 percent say the same in Michigan, and 6 percent say the same in Pennsylvania. Among likely voters who are neither voting for Trump nor leaning toward voting for him, 4 percent say they would or would maybe consider voting for Harris in Wisconsin, while 8 percent say the same in Michigan, and 4 percent say the same in Pennsylvania. The survey was conducted Sept. 3-6, 2024, and included 1,086 registered voters in Michigan, 1,085 in Pennsylvania and 958 in Wisconsin. The respective margins of error are 3.7 percentage points in Michigan, 3.5 percentage points in Pennsylvania and 4 percentage points in Wisconsin. 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. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump during their final presidential debate in October 2016. MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will meet for their first debate on Tuesday. Hillary Clinton, who debated Trump in 2016, said Harris should lean into her prosecutor experience. Clinton argued that Trump could be "rattled," pointing to their heated debate in 2016. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has some advice for Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the Democratic presidential nominee's upcoming debate with former President Donald Trump. Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, jousted with Trump during three high-stakes debates that year. She recently told The New York Times that Harris should use her background as a prosecutor to make a case against Trump. "She just should not be baited. She should bait him," Clinton told the newspaper. Clinton argued that during a key moment in the final 2016 presidential debate, her needling of Trump on foreign affairs where she called him a "puppet" of Russian President Vladimir Putin threw him off balance. "He can be rattled," Clinton told the Times. "He doesn't know how to respond to substantive, direct attacks." "And I think that from her prosecutorial background, I think that's what she will be equipped to do," Clinton added. Clinton, who in 2016 won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College to Trump after coming up short in pivotal battlegrounds like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, said the debate would be a prime opportunity for Harris to offer a contrast with the former president as they appeal to wavering voters. "There still is enough potential movement in key states where people can be persuaded that they don't want to sign on for another four years of him," Clinton said. Trump in both 2016 and 2020 relentlessly sought to control the tone of his debates with Clinton and now-President Joe Biden, respectively. In the first televised debate of the 2020 election, Trump frequently spoke over Biden, so much so that Biden told Trump to "shut up" after several interruptions. Biden's onetime 2024 reelection bid was eventually derailed in large part by a poor debate performance against Trump in June. The next month, Biden stepped aside as the presumptive Democratic nominee and endorsed Harris as his successor, paving the way for her ascension as the party's new standard-bearer. Harris and Trump, who are locked in a highly competitive race, will face off on Tuesday at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Read the original article on Business Insider LONDON, Ky. The manhunt for a gunman whose shooting rampage wounded five people and forced closure of a rural Kentucky interstate turned up an AR-15 rifle and fully-loaded magazines Sunday as the search for a person of interest in the case intensified. A vehicle registered to Joseph A. Couch, the person of interest, was found Saturday night near Interstate 75, hours after a gunman opened fire on passing vehicles before fleeing into the woods. Police located a gun case inside the vehicle. Gilbert Acciardo, spokesperson for the Laurel County Sheriff's office, said deputies responding to a 911 call at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday found vehicles parked along the highway with windows shot out or riddled with bullet holes. Some of the wounded were "severely" injured, though he said no fatalities were expected. "Everything was chaotic," he said at one of multiple briefings Sunday. Acciardo said Couch should "definitely" be considered armed and dangerous and that he would "more than likely" be considered a suspect by the end of the day. He added that authorities are confident Couch is in the woods but urged the community to remain vigilant. You know, he could pop up anywhere. I hate to say that, but he could, Acciardo said. Initial reports indicated a road rage incident Acciardo said initial reports indicated the shooting was a road-rage incident between two vehicles. Officers later determined the shooter was camped out near Exit 49 and was shooting at passing cars, Acciardo said. "In a chaotic scene like this, you got to weed through everything and figure out what's going on," Acciardo said. "Yeah, we got some breaks in the in this case to identify a suspect early on, and I really think this is going to be the guy." Acciardo said the initial hunt for the gunman was hampered by darkness and the terrain of the remote, wooded, hilly area about 160 miles southeast of Louisville. He said helicopters with infrared search tools were being used in the search. The interstate in the area was shut down in both directions for more than three hours. Investigators paused the search at about 3 a.m., resuming about six hours later. Approximately 30 to 40 officers were involved in the search. A drone with an infrared detector was flying above the area, but the woods foliage is so thick that sometimes it cant pick up what we want it to pick up, Acciardo said. 'Everybody looks out for each other' in London Ophelia Riley, a London native who still travels to London every Sunday for church, said she drove to town a day early after hearing about the incident. She has family in the area, and two of her relatives are involved in the investigation her brother is a Kentucky State Police officer and her cousin is a Laurel County deputy, she said. An event like this, she said, is far from typical for the community. "I've been out all night just running around because I couldn't sleep," Riley said. "Nothing really happens in Laurel County. It's quiet, it's family-oriented. Everybody looks out for each other." Kentucky, we are aware of a shooting on I-75 in Laurel County. Law enforcement has shut the interstate down in both directions at exit 49. Please avoid the area. We will provide more details once they are available. Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) September 7, 2024 Locals urged to remain vigilant More than a dozen first-response agencies are assisting the investigation, according to Laurel County officials. Gov. Andy Beshear was monitoring the case and thanked first responsers for their efforts. Kentucky State Police was aiding the search and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Louisville said in a statement its officers were assisting. "I understand that the community is seeking more answers, but this is all the information I have at this time," London Mayor Randall Weddle wrote in a social media post early Sunday morning. "Please remain vigilant and call 911 if you see the individual in question." Where is London, Kentucky? London, with a population of about 7,500, is the county seat for Laurel County. The county sits in the southeast portion of the state and has a population of roughly 63,000, according to a 2020 Census estimate. Part of the Daniel Boone National Forest lies inside county limits. It's about 90 miles south of Lexington an 100 miles north of Knoxville, Tennessee. At the crossroads of I-75 and Highway 80, Laurel County is primed for economic development and growth, according to the London-Laurel Economic Development Authority. The county is home to 17 manufacturers, 12 distribution warehouses and five food production sites. "I've been in law enforcement here for 48 years, and I can never remember a situation such as this in our little county," Acciardo said. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky I-75 shooting updates: Search intensifies for suspect Former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney encouraged anti-Trump Republicans and independents Sunday to consider voting for Vice President Kamala Harris, saying its not enough to write in someone other than former President Donald Trump in the November election. Given how close this race is, in my view, again, its not enough. You have many Republicans out there who are saying, Well, you know, were not going to vote for him, but we will write someone else in, Cheney said in an interview on ABC News' "This Week." And I think that this time around, thats not enough, that its important to actually cast a vote for Vice President Harris. Asked why she decided to support Harris, Cheney said that she had never voted for a Democrat in her 40 years of voting but that Trump poses a challenge and a threat fundamentally to the republic. Follow live updates on the 2024 election We see it on a daily basis, somebody who was willing to use violence in order to attempt to seize power, to stay in power, someone who represents unrecoverable catastrophe, said Cheney, a vocal Trump critic who was vice chair of the House Jan. 6 committee. Frankly, in my view, and we have to do everything possible to ensure that he doesnt, that hes not re-elected. Pressed about whether Harris moderation of her positions on a variety of issues compared with a few years ago made the decision to endorse her easier, Cheney pointed to Harris speech at the Democratic National Convention last month, saying she believes its a speech former GOP Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush could have given. Its very much an embrace and an understanding of the exceptional nature of this great nation, a love of America, a recognition that America is a special place, a recognition that we all have to work together to ensure that, she said. And you contrast that to ensure that we maintain it. You contrast that with what we hear from Donald Trump again on a daily basis, that America is a failing nation, that America is a laughingstock. The trash-talking of the United States of America very much is part of the message that Donald Trump is pushing. And so at the end of the day, I think its important for people to recognize hes not a conservative, Cheney said, citing Trumps embrace of global tariffs, which she decried as fundamentally an anti-conservative policy that would choke off global trade. Cheney said she has spoken to Harris in the process of making her decision to endorse her campaign, but she declined to elaborate. Im not going to talk about the details of conversation, except I would just say that she has a full recognition and understanding of the stakes of this race and of the importance of reflecting the broad coalition thats coming together to support her, she said. Asked what she makes of former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley's recent remarks that she is on standby to campaign for Trump after she had decried him as unqualified for a second term in office, Cheney said she cant understand her position on this in any kind of principled way because Haley had run on conservative principles in the Republican presidential primaries. The things that she said, that she made clear when she was running in the primary, those things are true, she said. And again, you know, those of us who are conservative, those of us who believe in fidelity to the Constitution, have a responsibility and have a duty to recognize this is not about partisan politics, and the country is going to need to rebuild [a] conservative, true conservative movement when were when were through this election cycle. In too many instances that so many elected Republicans have made, which is to abandon the Constitution to tell yourself that this is just simply, you know, a partisan choice thats not what were facing this time around," she said. A spokesperson for Haley did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Cheney, who was ousted from House Republican leadership after she denounced Trump in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, announced her endorsement of Harris last week. Days later, her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, also said he plans to vote for Harris in November. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., dismissed the notion that Harris Republican endorsements will make a difference. Its a remarkable time in politics. You have Dick Cheney endorsing a Democrat, and you have a Kennedy endorsing a Republican, Cotton said on CNN's "State of the Union," referring to former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who endorsed Trump last month. I think what it tells us is that theres a lot of ferment in American politics, but in the end, endorsements are not going to make the difference in this race. Whats going to make the difference is their records, he added, before he criticized Harris record on the economy. In his statement endorsing Harris, Dick Cheney criticized Trumps baseless claims of a stolen 2020 election and said, He can never be trusted with power again. Asked in an interview on NBC News Meet the Press about what he would say to undecided voters who might be swayed by the former vice presidents argument, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said hes unsure whether any undecided voters would be swayed because its been pretty well understood that Cheney is not a fan of Trump. Burgum questioned whether Cheney would get on the campaign trail for Harris, noting Democrats criticism of him over his record on foreign policy. This is the, you know, Darth Cheney, he said. I think, you know, genocidal war criminals, what Democrats were calling him for decades. And now, overnight, theyre embracing him. So I guess Im just wondering if, you know, maybe hell be on the campaign trail. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who has not endorsed Harris since she replaced President Joe Biden in the race, applauded the Cheneys in a separate interview on "Meet the Press." "What I think Dick and Liz Cheney are saying is that in this existential moment in American history; its not just issues," he said. "Cheney and I agree on nothing, no issues. But what we do believe in is that the United States should retain its democratic foundations. "And its not just Cheney. I think there is a significant number of Republicans who say, 'Well, you know, I may not agree with the vice president on this issue or that issue, but I cannot support somebody who is a pathological liar, somebody who fomented an insurrection to overthrow the election returns,'" he added. "So I applaud the Cheneys for their courage in defending democracy. Obviously, on all the issues, we have very different points of view." Sanders also said he does not think Harris is abandoning her progressive ideals, saying she made a pragmatic move by moderating her views in order to win the win the election. Marcee Gray FITZGERALD, Ga., The mom of accused Georgia school shooter Colt Gray spoke out Saturday for the first time since her teen was accused of gunning down four people at his high school. Its horrible. Its absolutely horrible, Marcee told The Post outside her fathers home in Fitzgerald, about three hours from Atlanta. The mother of three appeared devastated as she carried pillows inside the home. She wore a pink T-shirt, jeans, sneakers and a large cross necklace. Marcee Gray seen outside of her fathers home in Fitzgerald, Georgia Saturday. Robin Rayne for NY Post Asked if she had anything to say to the families of the victims, which included two students and two teachers, she demurred. Nothing to anyone right now. Ill have my time to speak. Its not right now, she said. She also declined to discuss a haunting apology text message Colt, 14, sent her before allegedly opening fire. Im not going to talk about details or anything, she said. Marcees brief appearance marked the first time shes been spotted since authorities said her son opened fire at Apalachee High School. Both Colt and his father, Colin Gray, face life in prison for the bloodshed Colin, 54, allegedly gave his son the AR-15-style rifle used in the massacre as a Christmas gift. Marcee, 43, had been at the Fitzgerald home Wednesday morning when her son sent a concerning text before he gunned down his victims, her father Charles Polhamus told The Post. Gray called the incident absolutely horrible. Robin Rayne for NY Post Im sorry, mom, the message read. Marcee desperately called Apalachee High School and warned a counselor of an extreme emergency, according to a report. I was the one that notified the school counselor at the high school. I told them it was an extreme emergency and for them to go immediately and find [my son] to check on him, she told her sister, according to the Washington Post. Colt Gray is accused of killing four in the Georgia rampage. AP Polhamus said both Colt and Colin were getting what [they] deserve with the grieving grandfather calling for his ex-son-in-law to be hit with the death penalty. He slammed Colin as an evil abusive junkie who dragged Marcee into addiction with him ruining the family and setting the stage for the violence at Apalachee High School. Marcee whose rap sheet stretches back nearly two decades once described herself as a victim of abuse and boasted on social media last year that her kids were thriving after the couple split. Colt Gray, left, is seen with his mother Marcee Gray in an undated family photo posted to Facebook in 2021. Marcee Gray/Facebook Her dad denied reports from former neighbors of the family that Marcee abused the kids herself and locked them out of the house. Collie Gray did this to his family and he will rot in hell for it. Thats a fact, Polhamus said outside his home. He needs the death penalty. He is probably one of the worst narcissists in the world. Colt didnt cause that to happen. He did it. He didnt wake up one day and decide Im going to kill [four] people. No, he didnt do that. He came out of an environment. If you step in a wad of st, what happens to your foot? You step in a wad of st. This is no different. To live in that for 11 years, my daughter and her children. Multiple people were shot Saturday along a highway near the southeastern Kentucky city of London, authorities said. A search was underway for the gunman. At about 7 p.m. local time, the Laurel County Sheriff's Office reported that "numerous people were shot" and Interstate 75 had been closed about nine miles north of London. The highway was fully reopened a little before 9:30 p.m. local time, the sheriff's office reported, but the suspect remained at large. A spokesperson for the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington told CBS News that it had received at least two patients from the incident so far, but there was no word on their conditions. Lexington is located about 90 miles north of London. Joseph A. Couch, a person of interest wanted in connection with a shooting along a highway near London, Kentucky, on Sept. 7, 2024. / Credit: Laurel County Sheriff's Office The sheriff's office said it was searching for a person of interest in the shooting, 32-year-old Joseph A. Couch. He was described as a White man, about 5-foot-10 and weighing 154 pounds. A photo of Couch was also released. Trooper Scottie Pennington, a Kentucky State Police spokesperson, urged Laurel County residents in the area to remain inside. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms responded to assist state and local police with a "critical incident" near I-75, the agency said. No further details on the incident were immediately provided. The exact number of victims was still unclear. "Kentucky, we are aware of a shooting on I-75 in Laurel County," Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear wrote in a social media post. "Law enforcement has shut the interstate down in both directions at exit 49. Please avoid the area. We will provide more details once they are available." Authorities at the scene of a shooting in the area of Interstate 75 near London, Kentucky. Sept. 7, 2024. / Credit: Laurel County Sheriff's Office "CBS Weekend News" headlines for Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 How the trend of slacklining is gaining momentum Boeing's Starliner returns safely to Earth, but without crew The state-of-the-art ship Le Lyonnais was built in 1855 for transatlantic passenger and mail service A French ship that sank following an 1856 collision while on its maiden voyage has been found off the Massachusetts coast, according to a report. For nearly 170 years, Le Lyonnais lay at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The fog-induced crash killed more than 100 passengers and crew members. However, last month, a dive team headed by two New Jersey residents found its wreckage about 200 miles near the Massachusetts coast, The Boston Globe reported. The state-of-the-art ship Le Lyonnais was built in 1855 for transatlantic passenger and mail service. The ship never made it home following its maiden voyage from Le Havre to New York in January 1856. Facebook/D/V Tenacious The state-of-the-art ship equipped with an iron hull and an early steam engine supplementing its sails Le Lyonnais was built in 1855 for transatlantic passenger and mail service, according to the outlet. But the French vessel never made it home following its expedition from Le Havre to New York in January 1856 as it collided off Nantucket with the Adriatic, a sailing vessel from Maine on Nov. 2. The crash left a hole in Le Lyonnais hull that caused it to capsize and sink to the ocean floor, The Globe reported. Major players in the quest to find the wreckage were New Jersey residents Jennifer Sellitti and her partner Joe Mazraani, self-described lawyers by day and shipwreck hunters on the weekend, operating Atlantic Wreck Salvage LLC and the vessel D/V Tenacious. This one became a passion project for us over the last eight years, Sellitti said. Formerly a staff attorney for the Committee for Public Counsel Services in Massachusetts, Sellitti became obsessed with this ship, and her story, she told The Globe. And every little piece of information I uncovered was this sort of this unraveling of what really is an incredible story about this collision. Sellittis research indicates 114 of 132 passengers and crew members on the doomed ship died. Among those were Albert Sumner, the brother of abolitionist Massachusetts Sen. Charles Sumner, along with his wife and daughter; and John Gardiner Gibson, eldest son of Charles and Catherine Gibson, the first residents of Bostons Gibson House Museum, the Globe reported. An 1856 report in The New York Times said the collision took place in a thick fog. The Adriatics captain, Jonathan Durham, initially expected Le Lyonnais would miss his ship, but after a light on the Adriatic was accidentally snuffed and relit, he saw that Le Lyonnais had changed her course and was coming directly toward the [Adriatic], the outlet reported. The Times report said Le Lyonnais kept going after the collision and was almost immediately out of sight in the fog. Durham told the Times his crew hailed the steamer, and requested them not to leave us, but received no answer. Those aboard Le Lyonnais ultimately abandoned ship for lifeboats and a makeshift raft, The Globe recounted. The dive crew spent five days in the water examining potential wreckage sites, and one of those turned out to be it. Facebook/D/V Tenacious The Adriatic, which had been bound for Savannah, Georgia, instead went to Gloucester, Massachusetts, for repairs, arriving in distress on Nov. 4. Capt. Durham was later apprehended in France and stood trial for the collision, according to Sellitti, who has written a forthcoming book about the incident called The Adriatic Affair: A Maritime Hit-and-Run off the Coast of Nantucket. To find Le Lyonnais, the team combined what Sellitti had researched with information about anomalies on the ocean floor, which initially came through conversations with fishermen in the area, she told The Globe. Later, the duo used sonar to scan the ocean depths and began exploratory dives of the unknown bumps and masses they were finding. Assisting in the search was Capt. Eric Takakjian, who had begun looking for Le Lyonnais nearly a decade earlier. Takakjian said the ship is historically significant. Her iron hull construction methods represented some of the earliest examples of that type of hull construction for oceangoing ships known to exist, he said in a statement. Last month, their dive crew spent five days in the water examining potential wreckage sites, and one of those turned out to be it, Sellitti said. During Mazraanis final dive on Aug. 25, he found rigging that confirmed the vessel had sails as well as the engine, Sellitti said. Sellitti and Mazraani arent revealing the ships exact location because they plan to continue dives hoping to learn more about the ships final hours, according to The Globe. Sierra Smith suffered a traumatic brain injury after falling when she tried rollerblading for the first time in 2016. Courtesy of Sierra Smith Sierra Smith's resuscitation record from her head injury and her discharge summary from the Atlanta Medical Center. Courtesy of Sierra Smith On March 4, 2016, I opened my eyes. A nurse in bright blue scrubs came into focus as she rushed to my bedside. Whos the president? Whats your name? Where are you? she asked, removing her stethoscope from around her neck. Barack Obama. Sierra. Im at the hospital, but I dont know why, I said as I tried to sit up. My head was pounding. Every bone in my body ached. Advertisement Article continues below this ad You were rollerblading. You fell and hit your head. The next several hours at the Atlanta Medical Center were a blur. I was wheeled to the imaging center. The CT scanner rattled and banged around me. I drifted off. Then I woke to the nurse gently tapping my arm to get back into the wheelchair. My consciousness teetered. I woke up again in my dimly lit room. It was quiet, unlike the chaos of a TV medical drama. Monitors beeped and dinged; sounds that make my heart pound years later. A new nurse stood at the computer near my room. People came in and out. I dont remember when my husband, Nate, arrived and sat at my side. My friend Kari gripped the bed rails, shock on her face. My boss and her partner arrived shortly after, looking at me with the same expression. The neurosurgeon was my next visitor. While I had seen her more than a dozen times in the past 24 hours, it was like meeting her for the first time. Advertisement Article continues below this ad We wont have to do surgery because the blood reabsorbed , she trailed off as I drifted to sleep. While I had to stay another night, I was wheeled from intensive care to a regular room. I was no longer in immediate danger. The hours that followed were rough though. My head pounded. The back of my skull was black and blue with bruises, making it painful to lie down. I could barely move my legs. Sleep was impossible, especially with the nurse coming in every hour. The next day, a doctor I didnt recognize came in to discharge me. We were worried about you. You look so much better than you did when you came in, he said with a beaming smile. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Two weeks earlier, I had ordered my first pair of rollerblades. I thought they could help me break up the monotony of sitting at a work desk for long hours. When I strapped them on for the first time it was supposed to be a trial run just to get a feel for them. I wasnt wearing a helmet. Outside, I slowly rolled my feet from side to side. Right, left, right, left. I picked up a little speed as I turned onto the path in front of our building. We lived on a rolling hill, and without much warning, I suddenly started picking up much more speed. I began to panic when I realized I couldnt stop. Quickly, I decided to roll over to my husbands SUV in the parking lot and catch myself on the passenger side door. I turned my head to the left, looking at the cedar trees whizzing by me. Thats the last thing I remember. According to a couple who lived nearby and saw what happened, I fell backward, slamming the back of my head against the pavement. Thats when my brain bounced into the front of my skull. Blood vessels bursting, blood pooling in my temporal lobe. The couple called an ambulance and the woman held my head in her hands, terrified to let go until EMTs arrived, strapped me to a gurney and wheeled me away. I never found her to say thank you for saving my life. Several CT scans showed a subdural hematoma right behind my left ear in my temporal lobe. I vaguely remember coming back into consciousness. I was vomiting as loud beeps sounded around me. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Youre dreaming, I said to myself, and it was black again. When I came home from the hospital three days later, my health insurance provider notified me that they would not cover my intensive care unit stay as it was deemed unnecessary. The bill was more than $60,000. I wailed on the floor, thinking my mistake would cost me my livelihood. It would take months of fighting my insurance company over the phone and by mail before they eventually approved the cost. But even then, my ordeal was far from over. For the next year and a half, I continued to receive related medical bills and, every time, I had to get back on the phone and fight to get them covered. Sometimes I managed to. Other times, I paid out of pocket. All the while, my pain and mental anguish continued. Fearing I would have to fight or pay for any further treatment, I opted to stay home and deal with the pain on my own. Years later, I now know Im not alone. Advertisement Article continues below this ad I cant help but wonder if I hadnt had to go to battle with my insurance company, and if I had had the money, could I have prevented everything Ive endured in the years since? For many, the financial burden of receiving care outweighs healing. A 2024 survey conducted by the California Health Care Foundation found that more than half of Californians skipped or postponed treatments due to the cost. In addition, over half also had trouble finding mental health providers to accept their insurance. Its all too common to hear stories from patients who say their insurance, or lack thereof, prevented them from accessing care. It shouldnt be this way. Its been nearly a decade since my accident but sharp pains still shoot through my head. I regularly see a neurologist to control my migraines but I still dont have an answer for the debilitating exhaustion, brain fog, dizziness and tunnel vision. I dont know if I ever will. In 2019, I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. I have undergone cognitive behavioral therapy and EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) therapy. Every morning and night, I take a handful of pills to control my anxiety and depression. 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 Living with a traumatic brain injury can be defeating. More often than not, there are no answers. For many of us, our disability is invisible; its isolating, and getting the help you need can feel impossible when navigating finances and a broken health care system. But I am hopeful and determined. During a recent EMDR session, I had a vision: My body was covered in smoldering ash in a pitch-black room. Then a light emerged from the ceiling. With wings on my back, I rose, reborn. Esmeralda Marie Pineda found after being missing for nearly two weeks A California woman who went missing from a campground last month was found alive, but severely dehydrated and emaciated, the Nevada County Sheriffs Office said in a . Esmeralda Marie Pineda, 24, disappeared from a mining camp in a remote area of Nevada City, which is 60 miles northeast of Sacramento, on Aug. 26. A search was started immediately. The area was treacherous, requiring search and rescue volunteers to repel into and out of the canyon to look for her, the sheriffs office said. The search included using an off-road vehicle for more mountainous areas. Officials dont know how Esmeralda Marie Pineda survived for 12 days. Nevada County Sheriff's Office She was found on Friday, nearly two weeks later, on top of the river canyon, not far from where she went missing 12 days earlier. Pineda, who hails from Sacramento, was airlifted from the canyon and received treatment at a hospital. Officials did not know the extent of her injuries. The Sheriffs Office and our search and rescue volunteers covered extensive ground throughout our search, and we are thankful today to find her alive, said Sgt. Dustin Moe, who along with his partner found Pineda. Search and rescue had to contend with treacherous, conditions to find Pineda. Nevada County Sheriff's Office Pineda was found nearly two weeks later on top of a river canyon. CBS NEWS Moe said officials hadnt been able to talk to Pineda since they found her, so they didnt know how she survived for nearly two weeks, KCRA reported. Who knows? I mean, maybe she had good survival instincts, Moe said. By Joshua McElwee PORT MORESBY (Reuters) -Pope Francis on Saturday called for better treatment of workers in Papua New Guinea, a nation of some 600 islands in the Southwestern Pacific that has become a major target of international companies for its gas, gold and other reserves. In a speech to political authorities in the country, which is home to hundreds of tribal groups and more than 800 spoken languages, the 87-year-old Catholic pontiff also made a heartfelt appeal for an end to a spate of ethnic violence that has killed dozens in recent months. The pope, visiting as part of an ambitious 12-day trip to four countries, said PNG's natural resources were "destined by God" for the whole community. "Even if outside experts and large international companies must be involved in the harnessing of these resources, it is only right that the needs of local people are given due consideration when distributing the proceeds and employing workers, in order to improve their living conditions," said Francis. The pope said natural resources should be developed in a sustainable manner that "improves the wellbeing of all, excluding nobody, through ... international cooperation, mutual respect and agreements beneficial to all parties". Arriving for his speech at the APEC Haus, a conference centre built for the 2018 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, Francis was greeted with a dance from a group of Papua New Guineans wearing traditional outfits featuring feathered headdresses and beaded skirts. The pope, who uses a wheelchair due to knee and back pain, was rolled past an entry foyer with a curved timber screen inspired by a typical lakatoi tattoo design. In a speech welcoming Francis, PNG Governor-General Bob Dadae thanked the pope for his humanitarian advocacy and called the Catholic Church one of the country's "key development partners". PNG contains some of the largest known gold deposits and is a major exporter of natural gas and oil. The government, led by Prime Minister James Marape since 2019, has sought to boost local benefits from projects undertaken by international conglomerates such as Exxon Mobil Corp and Newcrest Mining. An economic update in May said that growth in the country was a modest 2.7% last year. The World Bank has said it is suffering a "human capital crisis," with nearly half of children showing stunted growth. Home to hundreds of tribes, PNG has a long history of ethnic warfare. Violent attacks in three remote villages in July likely killed at least 26, according to the United Nations. Francis on Saturday said it was his "particular hope that tribal violence will come to an end". He said he was appealing "to everyone's sense of responsibility to stop the spiral of violence and instead resolutely embark on the path that leads to fruitful cooperation". He called for a "definitive solution" to the status of Bougainville Island, the largest island in the Solomon Islands archipelago. Currently an autonomous region of PNG, the island voted overwhelmingly for independence in 2019. But years of political deadlock in PNG's parliament have stalled the vote's ratification. A sprawling country of mountains, jungle and rivers, PNG has a population estimated at anywhere from 9 million to 17 million. The Vatican estimates there are around 2.5 million Catholics in the country. Francis landed in PNG on Friday evening, after a trip to Indonesia, and will stay until Monday. He will then visit East Timor and Singapore before heading back to Rome on Sept. 13. It is his longest overseas trip yet. Although Francis' speech on Saturday touched on serious issues, the pope also showed some of his trademark humour. Noting the number of languages spoken across PNG, he said the diversity of expression fascinated him. "I imagine that this enormous variety is a challenge to the Holy Spirit, who creates harmony amid differences!" the pope said. (Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by Leslie Adler and Sam Holmes) Pope Francis, visiting Papua New Guinea, warned of a new arms race in the Asia-Pacific region - TIZIANA FABI/AFP The Pope has warned against a new arms race as he called for peace in the Asia-Pacific region. After a mass attended by tens of thousands in the Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea, Pope Francis asked for peace, in particular for this great region of the world, Asia, Oceania and the Pacific Ocean. No to rearmament and exploitation of our common home, the pope added, according to the Vatican News, the news portal of the Holy See. His 12-day trip, which will also include a stop in Singapore, is testing the 87-year-old popes stamina and health. He uses a wheelchair because of knee and back pain, and is prone to suffer breathing problems because he only has one lung. Spanning seven flights and more than 20,000 miles, his trip is one of the longest and farthest any pope has undertaken. His calls about peace comes amid rising geopolitical tensions in the region, with at-times violent standoffs in disputed South China Sea waters between China and the Philippines, growing fears that a conflict could break out in the Taiwan Strait, and a larger competition between Beijing and Washington for influence in the Pacific. The Pope during his trip to Papua New Guinea - ALESSANDRO DI MEO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock/Shutterstock The Vatican does not have official relations with Beijing, but it does with Taipei, and it is Taiwans only official diplomatic ally in Europe. While Pope Francis has been trying to improve relations with China, efforts have been strained by cases of Beijing appointing bishops without papal consent. Spending on defence has been on the rise in Asia, led by China. It spent an estimated US$296 billion in 2023, a rise of 6 percent from the previous year making up half of all military spending across Asia and Oceania according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. That increase has driven Chinas neighbours, Japan and Taiwan, to significantly build up their own defence capabilities. The U.S. and its allies in Asia, including Japan and South Korea, have warned that North Korea poses a mounting regional threat. North Korea is estimated to have a stockpile of 50 nuclear warheads and in recent years has accelerated its testing of ballistic missiles. On Saturday, the heads of MI6 and the CIA said they see China as the principal intelligence and geopolitical challenge of the 21st century. People in traditional attire use their phones as Pope Francis holds a holy mass in Port Moresby - Mark Baker/AP We have reorganised our services to reflect that priority, Richard Moore and Bill Burns wrote in the Financial Times. Thomas Ching-wei Tu, a researcher on the Vatican based in Taipei, said the Popes message on peace was aimed at Indonesia and East Timor two other countries on his trip that have a history of conflict and the region more broadly. We can see that he also knows [about tensions in] the South China Sea, in cross-strait relations and also between North and South Korea. We have some potential possible conflict there. And he is trying to be a bridge. He doesnt want to see any conflict here. I think verbal conflict is possible, as we have to define and defend our position. But we dont want to see physical battle conflict here, weaponised conflict. Pope Francis, who visited Vanimo, warned of a new arms race in the region - Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters During his trip to Southeast Asia, the Pope has also called for an end to tribal violence that has troubled Papua New Guinea for decades, and which has killed dozens in recent months. In Indonesia, he called on its leaders to guard against religious extremism, which he said uses deception and violence to distort peoples beliefs. Following mass on Sunday in Papua New Guineas capital, Port Moresby, the Pope flew deep into the countrys jungle to the remote town of Vanimo. There he and his entourage brought a tonne of supplies for the population, including clothing, medical items and toys. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Editors Note: For the latest, follow our coverage here. Raging wildfires in California and Nevada have led to mandatory evacuations of thousands of homes, as forecasters warn of record heat in the West for the next few days. There are 14 active wildfires currently burning across California with one so intense, its created its own weather pattern. Heres the latest: Californias Line Fire explodes in size: The wildfire has consumed 20,552 acres as of Sunday after igniting at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains on Thursday. The blaze has more than quadrupled in size since Saturday morning. Authorities urged residents in several areas to flee as the massive blaze shot bright red flames and thick, billowing plumes of smoke into the sky. More than 1,800 fire personnel are battling the wildfire, which was 3% contained as of Monday morning, according to Cal Fire. The blaze has injured three people, though authorities have not released any details about the extent of injuries. Thunderstorm winds are causing very erratic behavior on the blaze and vegetation is critically dry, the agency said Sunday. Smoke continues to be an issue for firefighters and residents, and afternoon thunderstorms have the potential to cause new ignitions. Hot and dry conditions mixed with thunderstorms are expected to challenge firefighters for the next few days, Cal Fire said. The fire prompted a smoke advisory to be issued by the South Coast Air Quality Management District. As a result, the Rancho Cucamonga Fire District recommended residents stay indoors if possible, keep windows and doors closed and reduce outdoor activities. A flash flood warning went into effect in Riverside and San Bernardino counties until Sunday evening, according to the National Weather Service office in San Diego. The storms producing localized, heavy rainfall are occurring near the Line Fire. The warning means flash flooding is ongoing or expected and could cause considerable damage. Landslides are possible, especially in recently burn-scarred areas. Doppler radar-indicated thunderstorms are producing heavy rain across the warned area at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour. Line Fire creates its own weather: As it burns through acres of land, its creating its own weather in the form of pyrocumulus clouds. The clouds can create erratic winds that push the fire outward, spreading it farther and challenging firefighters. If its hot enough, the clouds can produce lightning and rain, called pyrocumulonimbus. They can reach heights of 50,000 feet and generate their own systems of thunderstorms. Thousands evacuated in California mountain communities: As the flames move dangerously close, the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department announced mandatory evacuation orders for about 4,800 homes in the Running Springs and Arrowbear Lake areas. Hundreds more have been evacuated in the cities of Highland, Forest Falls, Mountain Home Village and Angelus Oaks. The Line Fire is very active and spreading in receptive fuels, Cal Fire said. There are currently 36,328 structures threatened, including single and multi-family homes, commercial buildings, and other minor structures. Firefighters have been successful in protecting homes from flames, Cal Fire Battalion Chief Brent Pascua told CNN on Sunday. Firefighters have been successful so far, even with the unpredictability of this fire, and we tend to keep it that way, were ready to stand and fight, Pascua told CNNs Fredricka Whitfield. He added because of the unpredictability of the fire, all areas of the blaze are of concern for firefighters. We have to make sure we have crews on all sides of the fire ready to stand their ground, Pascua said. Bridge Fire in Angeles National Forest: A fire has rapidly grown to 800 acres since igniting Sunday inside the Angeles National Forest, just north of the Los Angeles metro area. Several roads in the park have been closed, forest officials said in a Facebook post. Boyles Fire near Clearlake, California: Multiple structures are burning near Clearlake, California, about 100 miles west of Sacramento. At least 30 structures are involved and about 4,000 residents have been displaced by the growing 76-acre fire, which Cal Fire said is 10% contained. Emergency declared in California: Gov. Gavin Newsom has proclaimed a state of emergency in San Bernardino County due to the Line Fire. He has obtained a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ensure the availability of vital fire resources, he said in a statement. Fire crews monitor the Line Fire, in Running Springs, California, on September 7, 2024. - Eric Thayer/AP Emergency declared in Nevada: On Sunday, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo declared a state of emergency due to the blaze, he announced on X. Nevada wildfire destroys structures: The Davis Fire, a dangerous, wind-driven blaze south of Reno, has burned about 6,500 acres, damaged or destroyed 14 structures and remains 0% contained as of late Sunday evening. Truckee Meadows Fire and Rescue reported Heavy aerial resources and multiple agencies working to stop this wind-driven wildfire. The fire has caused the evacuation of about 14,000 people in affected areas of Washoe County, and more than 6,000 residents are without power, the emergency declaration detailed. Gusty winds are forecasted throughout the week, an update from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest said, adding customers who are currently without power should be prepared for prolonged outages and those who still have power should be prepared for potential additional de-energizations due to the dynamic nature of the fire. NV Energy said it cut power to prevent further ignitions and protect first responders. It also asked those who still have power and are near the fire to prepare for potential outages. Power has been restored to 12,500 customers, but 6,300 remain without power tonight into September 9th, NV Energy said in a social media statement. Sweltering heat will add to the regions misery: Excessive heat warnings and advisories are in effect for southern California, the Desert Southwest and the northern Great Basin. Temperatures in Southern California range from 95 to 105 degrees about 10 to 20 degrees above average for the region. An air quality alert has also been issued due to heat wave and elevated fine particle pollution levels due to wildfire smoke, according to the National Weather Service. Residents on edge as massive flames approach The Line Fire burns next to highway 330 near Running Springs, California, on September 7, 2024. - David Swanson/AFP/Getty Images The Line Fire has grown more than 14 times in size in just over 30 hours, from about 1,180 acres at 5 p.m. PT Friday to over 17,200 acres Saturday night. As the wildfire tears through the San Bernardino County mountains, some residents have tried to stop the blaze from reaching their homes. Highland resident Brian Gano told CNN affiliate KCAL News he was trying to hose down the flames with his wife and son. The flames were right up on us because the wind shifted, said Gano. I got a high-pressure line in my backyard. Another resident, Diya Hirpara, said shes been stocking up on groceries in case she needs to evacuate. It was pretty scary, Hirpara said. Were just kind of on the edge, just waiting. Larissa Gonzalez said she was standing on Highway 18 in Lake Arrowhead on Saturday when she captured a storm rolling through the Line Fire. There was a lot of thunder and lightning coming out of that flare-up; the wind was picking up and driving the fire over that ridge, Gonzalez told CNN. She watched the storm for about an hour while parked in front of the Rim of the World High School to see what direction it was heading and to determine if she needed to start getting ready to evacuate. Visitors to the area were also affected by the smoke and flames. Mark Weidhase told CNN on Sunday he and his girlfriend decided to head to the mountains to escape the heat while visiting from Canada. As they were leaving Big Bear and heading through Running Springs on Saturday, they found themselves near the Line Fire. Weidhase said they pulled off Highway 330 to get a good look at the massive wildfire after noticing it was closed and receiving notice of an evacuation order. I love the mountains, but not when theyre on fire, he said. Multiple agencies, including Cal Fire, San Bernardino County Fire and the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Office, are working together to manage the fire. The American Red Cross has set up an evacuation shelter at a local church for residents seeking refuge from the fire. California is seeing an active fire season. Wildfires have scorched over 838,000 acres throughout the state so far this year, compared to 255,144 acres by this time last year, according to Cal Fire. Adding to the chaos, a pair of earthquakes struck Saturday near Ontario, California, within a half-hour of each other, jolting the already rattled region. The first earthquake was recorded at 3.5 magnitude at 10 a.m. local time, and the next was recorded at 3.9 magnitude, according to data from US Geological Survey. It was felt by residents living as far away as Los Angeles. CNNs Faith Karimi, Ashley R. Williams, Artemis Moshtaghian, Sarah Dewberry and Eric Zerkel contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com A small plane crashed into a home in northern Arizona Sunday morning. The Verde Valley Fire District responded after 9:45 a.m. local time to the crash in Cottonwood approximately 50 miles south of Flagstaff that left residents unharmed but required the pilot to be airlifted to a Phoenix area hospital, according to the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office. The pilot was the only person in the plane when it crashed. The plane damaged a detached carport on the property, leaving the main house unscathed. The FAA will investigate the cause of the crash, according to the Sherrif's Office. This is a developing story and may be updated This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Small plane crash in Cottonwood, Arizona hits home, hospitalizes pilot WASHINGTON - Fifty years ago, newly installed President Gerald Ford simply got tired of questions about the legal fate of resigned predecessor Richard Nixon. So, on Sept. 8, 1974, Ford went ahead and pardoned Nixon - triggering a political and legal earthquake that still reverberates a half-century later in the age of Donald Trump. In the eyes of some legal analysts, the fact that Nixon never stood trial over allegations related to the Watergate scandal emboldened future presidents to test the system, especially the maverick Trump. "I think that if Richard Nixon had been convicted of a crime, it may have deterred his successors from pushing the limits of legality," said Barb McQuade, a former Obama-era federal prosecutor and now a law professor at the University of Michigan. The Ford pardon of Nixon also played a role in the recent Supreme Court decision granting presidents immunity from prosecution for actions that are deemed "official." Said McQuade: "Now we find ourselves in a world where it really is the case that when the president does it, at least within the scope of official conduct, its not illegal." As Trump faces sentencing later this year in the New York hush money case - and 2020 election trials still pending - the Ford pardon of Nixon will continue to hover of American law and politics. "We haven't heard the last of the Ford pardon, that's for sure," said Ford biographer Richard North Smith. 1973: Richard Nixon (right), the 37th President of the United States of America, with his Vice-President Gerald Ford. (Photo by Ian Showell/Keystone/Getty Images) A "full, free, and absolute pardon" Questions dogged Ford right after he took office on Aug. 9, 1974, the morning after Nixon announced he would resign the presidency. Ford, eager to put Nixon and Watergate behind him and the country, decided to move toward a pardon even though Nixon had not been formally indicted. "You can't pull off a bandage slowly," Ford said back then. Without the pardon, Nixon would have been put on trial for obstruction justice charges. Allegations against him stemmed from the attempted cover-up of Nixon campaign "dirty tricks" operations, including the 1972 break-in at Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate building in Washington, D.C. Ford questioned whether Nixon could receive a fair trial, and feared that a criminal indictment and jury proceedings surrounding an ex-president would inflame and divide large swaths of the country. As it turned out, that prospect was put off for decades, until Trump's trial in New York City in 2024. "Months and perhaps more years will have to pass before Richard Nixon could obtain a fair trial by jury," Ford said in granting a "full, free, and absolute pardon" to his predecessor. The announcement, made on a Sunday morning, stunned the political world. Critics, including some Republicans, said Ford appeared more worried that a Nixon trial would drag down his own re-election bid. They also questioned whether Ford cut some kind of "deal" with Nixon, a suggestion the new president vehemently denied in testimony before Congress. Then-Sen. Walter Mondale, D-Minn., a future vice president and Democratic presidential nominee, said "we don't even know what acts by Mr. Nixon the president is pardoning," and may never know. Now, without the help of the legal process, we may never know the full dimensions of Mr. Nixon's complicity in the worst political scandal in American history, even though the pardon itself is further evidence of his direct involvement, Mondale said at the time. Ford's first press secretary, Jerald terHorst, resigned over the pardon. It also contributed to Ford's loss of the 1976 presidential election to Democratic former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter. Over the years, however, Ford began hearing praise for the pardon. In 2001, he received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. "President Ford presided over this nation during one of its darkest hours, and in an effort to heal a divided nation, he made a very difficult decision that many believe may have cost him the presidency," said the announcement from Caroline Kennedy, president of the Kennedy Library Foundation. Ford had also long believed that, in accepting the pardon, Nixon acknowledged his guilt. Former U.S. President Gerald Ford (L) and U.S. Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) admire their John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage awards with JFK's daughter Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg during presentation ceremonies May 21, 2001 at the JFK Presidential Library in Boston. Ford was honored for pardoning former President Richard Nixon in 1974, while Lewis was given the first ever JFK "lifetime achievement award" for his civil rights work. JRB/RCS The pardon and Trump The Trump era has revived criticism of the Ford pardon, as Trump prepares to be sentenced soon in the hush money case. McQuade, author of "Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America," said "we will never know how history may have unfolded" if Ford had not pardoned Nixon and he had stood trial for Watergate. Even so, she said, "it seems safe to assume that President Trump felt emboldened by the lack of accountability for allegedly criminal conduct." When Ford issued his pardon, he said Nixon's acceptance of it meant he was acknowledging guilt. That interpretation is now under question because of the Supreme Court decision granting presidents immunity from prosecution for "official" acts. As the high court considered the case, various attorneys argued that the pardon of Nixon proved that presidents can be prosecuted for actions that are deemed to be criminal. Otherwise, they said, a pardon would have been unnecessary. In her dissenting opinion in the immunity case, Justice Sonia Sotomayor cited the Ford precedent in writing that "our countrys history also points to an established understanding, shared by both Presidents and the Justice Department, that former Presidents are answerable to the criminal law for their official acts." The court's ruling in the Trump case, she said, could make a president a king above the law." Legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, author of a forthcoming book "The Pardon: Nixon, Ford and the Politics of Presidential Mercy," said the Supreme Court immunity decision may well insulate future presidents from accountability. "The whole idea behind the pardon was that ex-presidents could be prosecuted," Toobin said. "Now that's an open question." Bradley P. Moss, an attorney who specializes in national security issues, said that before the ruling, "I always viewed the Ford pardon as a reminder that no one, not even the president, is above the law." Now? "The legacy of the Ford pardon is that the legal premise under which the public operated at that time was antiquated and, according to the Supreme Court, legally erroneous," Moss said. A bust of former U.S. President Richard Nixon is displayed in the corridor where Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) holds his weekly news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. December 17, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Nixon once famously said that "when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal," Moss noted. "And as Donald Trump managed to prove with his legal victory at the Supreme Court," he said, "Richard Nixon was apparently correct as a matter of law, and the Ford pardon was never necessary." A continuing legacy If Trump wins re-election to the presidency, analysts said, Trump will be in a position to dismiss or otherwise avoid pending legal actions against him. If he loses the election, some pundits have suggested that President Joe Biden - or President Kamala Harris - might pardon Trump in the name of national unity. Smith, the author of "An Ordinary Man: The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford," said the nation's 38th president did what he thought was right with respect to the pardon. "He certainly hoped that it would remain unique in American history," Smith said. "He certainly never expected the situation that we find ourselves in now." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How Richard Nixon's pardon has added fuel to Donald Trump's fight After an eerily quiet stretch in August and the first week of September, tropical activity in the Atlantic has ramped back up again. At 11 a.m. EDT on Monday, the tropical rainstorm that AccuWeather hurricane experts have been monitoring in the Bay of Campeche since Saturday, strengthened into Tropical Storm Francine. The storm is expected to curve northward and intensify into the next hurricane of the season over the upcoming days. This week, rounds of heavy rain, damaging wind gusts and saturated ground could lead to downed trees, power outages and structural damage from portions of northeastern Mexico to the southern U.S. Francine, currently located off the coast of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, is expected to maintain or slowly strengthen early this week as it drifts northward, thanks to the abnormally warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. By Wednesday, AccuWeather meteorologists say that Francine will reach hurricane strength (categorized on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale with sustained winds greater than 74 mph). Sea surface temperatures are currently ranging between 86-88 degrees Fahrenheit, plenty warm enough to fuel Francine. "As Francine continues to move over the warm waters of the western Gulf of Mexico, we expect it to become even more organized. Increased wind intensity is expected ahead of landfall on Wednesday evening," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Isaac Longley. A crucial window to monitor Francine will be from midday Tuesday to Wednesday, as this is when forecasters are most concerned about rapid strengthening. GET THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP While the wind shear will increase over the northern Gulf Coast as Francine approaches, near all-time record high sea surface temperatures and ocean heat content could allow for rapid strengthening into a strong hurricane prior to landfall. "We urge anyone with interests along the northern and western Gulf Coast to follow the progress of Francine very closely," explained AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva. AccuWeather forecasters expect that Francine will become a Category 2 hurricane (with sustained winds greater than 96 mph) prior to landfall. A hurricane watch is in effect for most of the coast of Louisiana, and tropical storm watch is in effect for New Orleans, Lake Charles and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. While rounds of rain and thunderstorms have already spread to portions of the northeastern Mexican coastline, a more persistent deluge of moisture is projected to surge into southeast Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama through Friday. Bands of rain arrived in far-southern Texas by Monday morning, and is expected to progress northward, reaching the Louisiana coastline, by early Tuesday. From McAllen, Texas, to Shreveport, Louisiana, rainfall totals from Saturday to Friday are projected to range between 2-4 inches. Directly along the Texas coast, including Brownsville, higher rainfall totals from 4-8 inches will be possible. The AccuWeather Local StormMax for heavy rainfall from Francine is 24 inches. A slight westward jog in the track of Francine could bring heavier rainfall to more of the Texas Coast. This heavy rainfall can lead to flash flooding and travel disruptions across the region, especially in areas that have already received ample rainfall in the first week of September. "One of the main concerns with this storm is that it is forecast to move into an area already impacted by heavy rain and flooding from a separate tropical rainstorm this past week. The ground across far eastern Texas and into Louisiana is already saturated, so it would not take much rain to cause flooding across these areas," pointed out Longley. Gusty winds upwards of 40 mph will reach southeast Texas and the southern Louisiana coastline by Wednesday, with the strongest gusts expected around or especially along the eastern half of the point of landfall. AccuWeather expert meteorologists say that 100- to 120-mph wind gusts are possible along the Gulf coast through Thursday. The AccuWeather Local StormMax is 130 mph. Wind gusts of this magnitude are likely to cause widespread power outages Impacts from wind will begin to subside as the storm loses wind intensity and tracks inland; however, rounds of rain and flash flooding will be possible along the Mississippi Valley into late week. Due to expected heavy rain, strong winds and storm surge, Francince is rated as a 2 for the U.S., and a one for Mexico on the AccuWeather RealImpact Scale for Hurricanes. Near the coast, isolated tornadoes will be possible as clusters of robust thunderstorms advance inland from mid to late week. Louisiana residents in the zone marked to have a 'high' risk to lives and property are advised to have a safety and evacuation plan in place, as conditions could become very dangerous. Rough surf and coastal inundation will also be expected as this tropical disturbance approaches the Gulf Coast. From Wednesday to Thursday, particularly from the eastern Texas coast to Louisiana, storm surge is likely to range between 1 and 3 feet from Galveston Bay, Texas, to Mobile Bay, Alabama. Near the point of landfall near the west-central Louisiana coast, an area of even higher storm surge of 10 to 15 feet can occur. The most recent hurricane to hit Louisiana was Ida in 2021. Between 2019 and 2021, Louisiana had eight tropical storms or hurricane landfalls, including major hurricanes Laura and Ida. In addition, Hurricane Sally tracked just east of the state's boundaries in 2020, and Tropical Depression Nicholas passed through the southwest part of the state in 2021. Two tropical rainstorms, previously tropical storms, also affected the state: Olga in 2019 and Beta in 2020. This is the first usage of the name "Francine" in the Atlantic. Previously, the alternate spelling "Francene" was a tropical storm in the Eastern Pacific in 1967 and 1975, and a Category 3 hurricane in 1971. None affected land. AccuWeather hurricane experts warn that tropical entities are likely to form further across the open waters of the central and eastern Atlantic over the upcoming week. Two waves are being monitored for tropical development. The first area of concern is located a few hundred miles west of Cape Verde and will slowly track westward across the open Atlantic over the upcoming days. From early to midweek, it will pose a high risk for development. The second tropical wave is expected to emerge off Africa over the upcoming days and is projected to advance in a generally westward direction as the week progresses. This feature poses a high risk for development from mid to late week. Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer. The West must stay the course in resisting Putins war in Ukraine, the spymasters warned (AP) The international world order is under threat in a way not seen since the Cold War, the heads of MI6 and the CIA have warned. In the first joint op-ed penned by the leaders of the British and American intelligence services in their shared 77-year history, the MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore and CIA director William Burns warned that both countries now face an unprecedented array of threats. Writing in the Financial Times, the intelligence leaders reflected on their decades of cooperation over the course of two world wars and in their fight against terrorism, warning: The challenges of the past are being accelerated in the present, and compounded by technological change. There is no question that the international world order the balanced system that has led to relative peace and stability and delivered rising living standards, opportunities and prosperity is under threat in a way we havent seen since the cold war, they wrote. For both agencies, the rise of China is the principal intelligence and geopolitical challenge of the 21st century, and we have reorganised our services to reflect that priority, they said. And they warned that staying the course in resisting Vladimir Putins war in Ukraine is more vital than ever, saying that Russia will not succeed in extinguishing Ukraines sovereignty and independence. The spymasters criticised the reckless campaign of sabotage across Europe being waged by Russian intelligence, and its cynical use of technology to spread lies and disinformation designed to drive wedges between us. In the 21st century, crises dont come sequentially, they wrote. While significant attention and resources are being deployed against Russia, we are acting together in other places and spaces to counter the risk of global instability. Britains MI6 chief Richard Moore and CIA director Bill Burns were interviewed by Roula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times (Reuters) Speaking on Saturday in London at an unprecedented joint appearance alongside Sir Richard, Mr Burns warned of the growing and troubling defence relationship between Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. Following reports by CNN and the Wall Street Journal that Tehran had defied G7 threats of further sanctions by supplying Moscow with hundreds of short-range ballistic missiles, Mr Burns warned that such a move would mark a dramatic escalation of the relationship between Iran and Russia. North Korea has sent ammunition and missiles to Russia to use against Ukraine, while Iran supplies Moscow with attack drones. Mr Burns said the CIA had yet to see evidence of China sending weapons to Russia, but we see a lot of things short of that. With Ukraine currently urging Western allies to allow Kyiv to use their weapons to strike targets within Russia, Mr Burns said the West should be mindful of the escalation risk but not be unnecessarily intimidated by Russian sabre-rattling. Disclosing that he had been sent by the US president Joe Biden to meet one of his Russian counterparts earlier in the conflict in order to warn him of the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons, he said: There was a moment in the fall of 2022 when I think there was a genuine risk of the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons. Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky has urged allies to allow Kyiv to strike Russian territory with Western weapons (AFP via Getty) Weve continued to be very direct about that. So I dont think we can afford to be intimidated by that sabre-rattling or bullying. Sir Richard added: I think Russian intelligence services has gone a bit feral, frankly, in some of their behaviour. The fact that they are using criminal elements shows you that theyre becoming a bit desperate ... its become a bit more amateurish. He added: Amateurish can actually be more reckless and more dangerous as well. The spymasters insisted that their agencies have exploited our intelligence channels to push hard for restraint and de-escalation in the Middle East. They wrote: Our services are working ceaselessly to achieve a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza, which could end the suffering and appalling loss of life of Palestinian civilians and bring home the hostages after 11 months of hellish confinement by Hamas. Mr Burns, who is also the chief US negotiator in talks between Israel and Hamas, told the FT Weekend Festival that a more detailed ceasefire proposal would be made in the next several days. After 11 months of conflict in Gaza sparked by Hamass cross-border attack on Israel on 7 October, Mr Burns said he was working very hard on texts and creative formulas with mediators Qatar and Egypt to secure a ceasefire. While 90 per cent of the paragraphs have been agreed, the last 10 per cent are always the hardest, Mr Burns said, adding that it was a question of political will and that he hoped leaders on both sides recognised the time has come finally to make some hard choices and some difficult compromises. Additional reporting by agencies A bicyclist ascends toward the top of Mount Diablo near a turnout as a car trails behind on South Gate Road. Stephen Lam/The Chronicle The effort to make Mount Diablo safer for the thousands of cyclists who pedal up the peaks narrow roads each year just reached a critical milestone with the completion of 22 new bike turnouts that have been shown to reduce deadly traffic collisions. Mount Diablo, the 3,849-foot peak in Contra Costa County, draws an estimated 150,000 cyclists each year, many of whom attempt the 26-mile round trip road ride to the summit from downtown Walnut Creek. Its an exhilarating ride but also a perilous one: riders share the winding roadways with drivers, and hundreds of blind turns along the mountain create a setting where collisions, near-misses and road rage incidents were somewhat common and even some deaths occurred. About 115 bike-car collisions were reported between 2010 and 2014, according to data from the California Department of Parks and Recreation. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In 2014, at the urging of community group Mount Diablo Cyclists and with funding support from the California State Parks Foundation, the department embarked on a program to install turnouts at key points along North Gate Road, South Gate Road and Summit Road. The turnouts provide narrow shoulder lanes where uphill-traveling cyclists can pull out of the main road without having to stop, thereby allowing cars to pass safely. By 2020, the department had built 17 of them. Early results were promising: just three collisions were reported between 2019 and 2021. There hasnt been a car-bike collision death since 2022, according to Mount Diablo Cyclists President Alan Kalin. Its not uncommon for cars to move into the oncoming lane to pass cyclists on Summit Road heading up Mount Diablo. Stephen Lam/The Chronicle 2021 In late August, the department finished installing 22 more turnouts, bringing the total to 67. These work, Kalin said. Theyre inexpensive. They save lives. The cyclists love them and so do the motorists. Advertisement Article continues below this ad by Dario Salvi An Italian Salesian nun who has been in the country for more than 30 years tells AsiaNews about the expectations of a people that has not yet fully emerged from the ordeal that led to independence. Education and health unresolved problems, the urgent need to train young people in politics. The desire to touch and receive a blessing from Francis. Milan (AsiaNews) - Francis in East Timor is a source of mercy because he is visiting a nation that has not yet come out of a troubled period although it is not spoken of at an international level. Sister Alma Castagna, an Italian-born nun of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, the Salesian Sisters, who have been in the country for over 30 years, tells AsiaNews about the eagerly awaited visit to what after Papua New Guinea will be the third stop on Pope Francis' apostolic journey to Asia and Oceania. In the spiritual preparation for his arrival, carried out in a capillary manner in all the parishes, three documents were chosen: Amoris Laetitia, because of the family, she recounts, which is also falling apart here; Laudato Si, because of the ecological theme; Fratelli tutti, because of the tensions between groups of young people, and the parties. These three were the texts to study in depth, so that they might be an inspiration for a life imbued with faith'. After leaving Papua New Guinea (and Indonesia before that), the Pope is expected in Dili, capital of East Timor, tomorrow, 9 September, where he will have a meeting in the afternoon with the authorities and civil society, after private talks with President Jose Ramos-Horta. The next day, 10 September, he will meet with children with disabilities in a Catholic school in the morning, followed by a meeting with the bishops and clergy in the cathedral, and in the afternoon mass in the Taci Tolu esplanade, the one where St John Paul II also celebrated in 1989, when East Timor was still a province of Jakarta. The nun of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, about 66 years old, half of which have been spent on the island that shares territory with part of Indonesia, 600 kilometres north of Australia, knows first-hand the recent history of the country: from the independence struggle, to the 1999 referendum that sanctioned its detachment, to the recent political turmoil. The nation is still led today by rulers linked to the struggle for resistance, while there is little room for young people in the political and social field, although the average age - according to figures for 2021 - is only 21 out of a total of about 1.3 million inhabitants. For this reason, the Church itself can perhaps contribute more than it has done so far to preparing the younger generations politically. Even in terms of education and health, there are critical elements, observes Sister Alma, who, with her medical degree and mission among people suffering from tuberculosis and other diseases in remote areas, underlines the problems. Education, she explains, is one of the sore points and this is where the work of the Catholics fits in, starting with the Salesian male and female institutes [10 and 11 respectively, spread mainly in the eastern sector, in addition to the capital], which want to qualify the spaces that are granted by the institutions. We try to provide a solid formation: we have girls, he says, who have completed their high school studies and wish to embrace the consecrated life, but cannot even read. Our presence in the schools is intended to strengthen the level of education, otherwise there will not be a ruling class prepared and able to take the reins of the nation tomorrow'. For the arrival of Pope Francis, there is great ferment among Catholics, who are nominally 90% of the population, although one fact deserves some clarification: With the arrival of the Indonesians, Sister Alma recounts, there was an obligation to include on the identity card one of the five religions recognised by Jakarta. Faced with the guns of the Muslims and the lack of knowledge of Hinduism and Buddhism, many chose Catholicism (or Protestantism)'. Also because, he continues, the missionaries were very active in helping the population, without forcing them to be baptised; hence many chose the Catholic faith. But only about 30 per cent probably had a more deeply rooted faith. Hence the motto of the trip, which reads Let your faith, become your culture. Today those who are really committed are a part, comments the nun, but up to 90 per cent still attend Mass on Sundays and the places of worship are always packed. The expectation for the pontiff's arrival, adds Sister Castagna, who now lives 150 km from the capital in a more remote area, also goes in this direction. In the prayers we recite in the parish and during masses, we pray that he will come to strengthen our faith. Coupled with the impossible wish that he might see the whole reality of East Timor, even the poorest and most peripheral areas, which have remained virtually unchanged since independence. Many of the faithful, especially the poorer ones, wish deep down that Francis, who has the issue of poverty at heart, could see where they live. They would like to touch him, to receive a blessing from him. Because the reality is not only that of the capital and the areas, pre-established, that he will visit'. Sr Alma has lived in Dili for a long time, but now spends most of her time in the women's orphanages in Venilale and Lava, villages 150 km further south, where we reached her by phone on this chaotic and hectic eve. She returned to the first mission, far from the capital,' she says, where we have a small clinic. Over the years, the Salesian mission has set up three large structures: an orphanage, the reason why we came here, which still welcomes 111 girls and young people from 4 to 17 years of age; then we have a small outpatient clinic that works in synergy with a state health centre; finally, a professional food and hotel institute, with 170 students, both boys and girls, the latter guests of the college. And it is precisely to women that the nun dedicates a final reflection: For them too, the pope's visit has great significance, she explains, They may not be able to express their expectations in words, but it will be an opportunity to recognise their presence, which is very strong in the Church, even if it is little recognised at a structural level. Where there is no parish or a shortage of priests, the catechists are almost all men,' she observes. Women are numerically few in the most prominent positions, but they are brilliant because they impose themselves through their work and dedication. There are many female educators, teachers, but at the official level it is always the male side that emerges. This is why,' he concludes, the presence of the pontiff [who has repeatedly stressed the role of women] will be an opportunity to recognise or re-evaluate the female figure and her work within the Church. ECCLESIA IN ASIA IS THE ASIANEWS NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES IN ASIA. TO RECEIVE A WEEKLY UPDATE EVERY SUNDAY, CLICK HERE. 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. 8 September 2024 20:00 (UTC+04:00) By Farman Aydin, AzerNews Everyone asks how an Armenian girl can speak Azerbaijani... Hi, I am Hasmik, I am Armenian and I was born in Yerevan I can speak 5 languages, and one of them is Azerbaijani And actually, there is an interesting story about Azerbaijan that my mother and grandparents told me First of all the father of my grandfather is an Armenian from Baku And my grandmother is Armenian from Garabagh and my grandmother lived and studied in Baku (for a while) And the family of my grandmother lived in Baku till 1990s And there is a story that my grandmother and grandfather met in Baku for the first time. I was born in Irevan, but lived in Turkiye 13-14 years. That is why I speak Turkish very well. And that time I spoke Azerbaijani a little bit. And after 2021 I was interested in Azerbaijani and I started learning by myself. And my Azerbaijani friends helped me a lot. And I want to say that after knowing Turkish, it is easy to learn the Azerbaijani language, and after learning 2-3 years I can speak with Azerbaijani people in their mother tongue Although this monologue is heard from the mouth of a simple Armenian girl, behind it one can see a great historical and ethnic struggle against the Turkic nation. Of course, if we consider each sentence more carefully... Let's make a short analysis of what this Armenian girl said: This girl named Hasmik says that everyone asks how she can speak Azerbaijani so fluently. In fact, it is Hasmik herself who created the question, and by posing that question, she tries to clarify her main goals. Her main goal is to focus on Azerbaijani Turkish rather than Turkish. This young Armenian girl, who says that she has lived in Turkiye for about 14 years, says that after 2021, she started to take a deeper interest in the Azerbaijani language. Hasmik, who first presents the love story of her grandparents, then turns the conversation to her interest in language. Yes, according to Hasmik, learning Azerbaijani Turkish is very easy. Because one of the Persian writers once said about the Turkish language being the language of courage and bravery: Lahzi Farsi Shakar ast, Lahzi Turki Honer ast (Persian is sugar, but Turkish is bravery). Hasmik devotes herself to the service of the entire Armenian people by learning the language of bravery. Her intention to learn this language certainly has historical and political significance. This is not the first Armenian who is so eager to learn Azerbaijani Turkish after the next biggest defeats of Armenia in history. At one time, during the Ottoman period, Armenians were very eager to learn the Turkish language. For example, at the end of the 19th century during the Ottoman period, Armen Karo (Karekin Pastermadjian), who was a member of the Federation of Armenian Revolutionaries, did not even hesitate to share his wife with the officials in order to seize the Ottoman Banks. Hasmik is young and has managed to stand out a little in the Armenian community, that is, this girl is confident that she will be successful in her future career with her language skills. The processes after 2020 deprived the Armenians of tactical attacks on all fronts. Whether in the press, lobbying, or on the battlefield, Armenians everywhere realized that they are powerless in front of Azerbaijani Turks. Now, the only way is to create an army of those who are slightly different and attractive with their appearance. This is the beginning of a new ethnic war. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 8 September 2024 13:21 (UTC+04:00) The central branch of Nakhchivanpocht, under the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of the Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan, has consolidated services for residents into a single location, Azernews reports citing the Ministry's press service. The central branch now handles citizen applications for telephone and internet services. Beyond traditional postal offerings, the branch also manages monthly landline subscription fees, internet balance top-ups, and various other services. This centralized approach aims to enhance user convenience and reduce wait times, streamlining access to essential services. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 8 September 2024 08:00 (UTC+04:00) Fatima Latifova Read more In Baku, Ganja, and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, specialized military colleges under the National Defense University, part of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, will be training professional sergeants (military personnel), Azernews reports. According to a decree signed by President Ilham Aliyev, which amends the Presidential Decree No. 2381 dated December 14, 2023, regarding measures to promote military education for youth, this training will start from the 20242025 academic year. The decree stipulates that starting from the 20242025 academic year, cadets admitted to higher education institutions and military colleges who graduate and serve in the Azerbaijani Army as officers or sergeants (military personnel) for 5 calendar years will be eligible for subsidized mortgage loans. These loans, provided by the Azerbaijan Mortgage and Credit Guarantee Fund, will cover up to 15% of the cost of housing from the state budget. According to Clause 5.1 of the decree, the funds accumulated in the account and the income derived from managing these funds will be paid under the following conditions: - To graduates of higher education institutions and military colleges upon being appointed as officers or sergeants (military personnel) in the Azerbaijani Army and starting their duties. - To graduates of military lyceums upon their admission to higher education institutions. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 8 September 2024 18:24 (UTC+04:00) In Pendik, Istanbul, a dispute broke out between two groups for unknown reasons, Azernews reports citing Turkish media. The discussion quickly escalated into a brawl. As a result of the incident, 1 person has died and 4 others are injured. In the Harmandere district, a dispute between the two groups eventually turned into an armed clash. As a result of the gunfire exchanged between the groups, 5 people were injured. Police and medical teams were dispatched to the scene. After providing first aid at the scene, the injured were taken to the hospital. One unidentified person died in the hospital. Investigation teams are conducting inquiries in the area where the dispute occurred and are continuing their efforts to apprehend the suspects. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Wang Fengping, Mo Honge (ECNS) -- At the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which concluded Friday, Chinese and African leaders, representatives, experts and scholars as well as foreign journalists have shared their insights on the strong China-Africa ties and the fruitful outcomes of the summit. Here are the key takeaways from their speeches and remarks. Modernization This year's summit is themed on "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future." The keynote speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony underscores the keyword modernization. Achieving modernization is the shared pursuit of China and Africa. The summit has charted a blueprint for China and Africa to jointly pursue modernization, which will further promote South-South cooperation and drive global development. The UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres also highlighted the partnership actions on modernization that were announced by President Xi. Chinas partnership with the African continent is the main pillar of South-South cooperation, he said. During the High-level Meeting on Industrialization and Agricultural Modernization of the 2024 FOCAC Summit, African leaders praised the achievements of China-Africa cooperation in the areas of industrialization, agricultural modernization and green development. The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) (Photo: Yi Haifei/ China News Service) We welcome that China has established 24 agricultural technology demonstration centers in Africa. These provide access to advance agricultural technologies, which has increased local crop yields in a number of African countries, said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. China-Africa cooperation has yielded fruitful results over the years. The two sides have joined hand in hand in many landmark projects that help African countries realize independent and sustainable development, including the hybrid rice variety introduced to Madagascar, the demonstration village for agricultural development and poverty alleviation built in Sao Tome and Principe as well as the 100MW Redstone concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) plant in South Africa. As the Chinese modernization is being advanced through deepening comprehensive reforms, it will provide new opportunities and new driving forces for African countries. Underlining the tangible achievements of bilateral cooperation, Ugandan Vice President Jessica Alupo said Uganda has drawn valuable lessons from China's modernization experience. Complementary advantages The China-Africa economic and trade cooperation is always at the spotlight of the summit. Since 2009, China has remained Africa's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years, with bilateral trade reaching a record $282.1 billion in 2023. During the High-level Meeting on High-quality Belt and Road Cooperation of the 2024 FOCAC Summit, Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang noted that the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between China and Africa has demonstrated clear complementary advantages and broad cooperation prospects. Chinas leading exports to Africa are mechanical and electrical products. In 2023, Chinas export of new-energy vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products to Africa increased 291 percent, 109 percent and 57 percent year-on-year respectively. A Rwandan man showcases the local chili. (Photo: Yang Huafeng / China News Service) Agriculture has always been the mainstay in many African countries. African exports of agricultural products to China have increased for seven straight years. Last year, Chinas import of nuts, vegetables, flowers and fruits from Africa went up 130 percent, 32 percent, 14 percent and 7 percent respectively. Apart from vegetables and fruits, Africas special agricultural products and processed products are also well-received in the Chinese market, including coffee from Ethiopia, chilli sauce from Rwanda, black tea from Kenya, and chocolate from Ghana. These products not only meet the diverse demand of Chinese consumers but also bring tangible benefits to African farmers. Win-win cooperation Statistics show that the FOCAC summit attracted over 3,000 registered journalists from China and abroad, setting a new record. When talking about the China-Africa cooperation, several foreign journalists used the word win-win to describe it. Algerian journalist Fatma Zohra Ferdjani said she learned about many cooperative projects between China and Africa during her previous interviews. She suggested that African countries and China cooperate in health care and digital development so as to help Africa usher in development and change. Some African leaders and experts also believe that the China and Africa exemplify a cooperative mode that is mutually beneficial. "As you look at our relationship with China, it is always based on values, sincerity, common good, respecting each other, win-win cooperation," said Allawi Ssemanda, executive director of Development Watch Center, a think-tank based in Uganda. The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation has achieved complete success, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The summit has demonstrated the Global South's firm confidence in solidarity and cooperation, he added. Melissa Hernandez, acting president of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, speaks at a special meeting on falsified votes Saturday at the LGBT Community Center in S.F. The revelation led to the resignation of the clubs previous leader, Jeffrey Kwong, for what he called the credibility of the club and endorsed candidates. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club members attend a special meeting to address falsified votes and recast ballots for endorsements in seven November races. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle Next to a painting depicting actress Laverne Cox, Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club member Christin Evans of San Francisco holds her dog, Molly, as she votes during the special meeting addressing voter fraud. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle After San Franciscos influential Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club discovered dozens of phony votes influencing its endorsements in seven November races prompting the resignation of its president the club met Saturday to revote on endorsements and explain more about what happened. Several ballots had been cast by people that were counted in our records as being present at our meetings as eligible to vote but when we did an audit, we realized several of them were either not eligible or not actually present, acting President Melissa Hernandez told dozens of club members who gathered at the San Francisco LGBT Center at 1800 Market St. or attended virtually to redo the vote in the disputed races. This time, however, Hernandez said the Milk club issued voter verification codes and required people voting online to keep their cameras on during the entire meeting. She said the club had hired an attorney to oversee an investigation into the fraudulent votes and expects to release a report about what happened within 30 days. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Hernandez, a vice president, has served as acting president since Jeffrey Kwong, the Milk clubs president since last year, quit on Aug. 30 for what he called the credibility of the club and endorsed candidates. A Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club member votes on a phone while holding a ballot card during the special meeting to address phony votes detected in the groups endorsements. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle A source close to the investigation told the Chronicle that roughly three dozen endorsement votes had been falsified. Endorsements by the Milk club are widely sought. Its namesake, former San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, was the first out gay man elected to office in California when he was shot and killed on Nov. 27, 1978, by fellow Supervisor Dan White, who also killed Mayor George Moscone. The club had been founded two years earlier as the San Francisco Gay Democratic Club and was named for Milk after his assassination. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Milk Club is a place for people to be political, left, and queer, says its website, which notes that it has consistently supported solidly progressive issues in San Francisco. By Saturday, the disputed endorsements no longer appeared on the Milk clubs website. But the Wayback Machine, which is part of the Internet Archive, documents the clubs website for Aug. 31 and shows the original array of more than 50 endorsements. These included sham recommendations in six races: U.S. senator, San Francisco city attorney, the citys Board of Education, the City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees, and two city propositions: F, to defer police retirement, and K, to close part of the Great Highway to cars to create a park. Gary McCoy, who was chosen as interim president, addresses the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle The seventh disputed vote was whether to rescind the clubs backing of state Sen. Scott Wiener, for reasons that remained unclear Saturday. Gary McCoy, the clubs spokesperson, said that during the earlier endorsement decision period, someone made a motion to rescind the Wiener endorsement, and the vote on whether to do so was among those that had been compromised. Advertisement Article continues below this ad McCoy, who also serves as House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosis political director, was voted in as interim president Saturday while the club seeks a permanent leader. The seven endorsements in dispute received two rounds of online voting: one from the Milk clubs political action committee and another from its general membership. The club posted its corrected endorsements Sunday. Results had changed for U.S. senator and city attorney, which have no endorsement; San Francisco Board of Education, with Matt Alexander receiving the only endorsement; City College Board of Trustees, with Alan Wong receiving the only endorsement; Prop F, which the club does not endorse; Prop K, which it endorses; and Wieners state Senate seat, which has no endorsement. It makes me sad, Alida Fisher, a club member and San Francisco Board of Education member, said of the fraudulent votes. Its part of why its so important that we have double-checks. Im grateful that our executive board is taking this very seriously. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Melissa Hernandez, acting president of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club president, discusses falsified votes. Members later voted anew on endorsements in seven November races. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle 8 September 2024 15:43 (UTC+04:00) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Great Britain on September 9-10 to engage in strategic discussions with British authorities on military cooperation and assistance to Ukraine, Azernews reports. Matthew Miller, head of the US State Departments press office, announced that Blinken will inaugurate a strategic dialogue between the two nations during his visit. He will also meet with senior officials in London to address key issues, including the Indo-Pacific region, the AUKUS partnership, and collaborative efforts in the Middle East and Ukraine. Additionally, it has been reported that US President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Washington on September 13 to discuss global matters of mutual interest, including continued support for Ukraine. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Many politicians puff themselves up, but sometimes it comes to a point that there have to be repercussions. George Santos, congressman from New York, criossed that line, and was kicked out of Congress and indicted criminally as a result. As more and more comes out on Tim Walz, it is becoming clear that the Democrats have the same problem with their vice presidential nominee Tim Walz. The Law Vegas Review-Journal just published an editorial on that subject: https://www.reviewjournal.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-walzs-biography-falls-apart-under-the-spotlight-3165223/ And there are other incidents beyond those mentioned in that editorial. When he was running for governor of Minnesota, Walz listed an award he claimed to have received from the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce when he lived there, but a check of that organization's records showed he never received the award he claimed. Tim Walz is the Democrats' George Santos, but unlike Santos, most of the corrupt MSM media will try to cover this one up. Kudos to the shrinking elements of media that still do real journalism like the Las Vegas Review-Journal. People took to the streets in droves in Brazil Saturday, the country's independence day, to support free speech and protest their leftwing globalist government's censorship of social media, particularly its banning of Twitter / X. The anti-censorship protests in the city of Sao Paulo alone were estimated at half a million people. The protests were led by immediate past President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro and their target was Alexandre de Moares, a hard left globalist Supreme Court justice who is the power behind the throne of socialist President Lula. It was de Moares who issued the ban on Twitter. Former President Bolsonaro pointed out that the fight against censorship was ongoing in Brazil, telling the people "I hope that the federal Senate puts the brakes on Alexandre de Moraes, this dictator who does more harm to Brazil than Luiz Lula da Silva himself." Unfortunately, organizations funded by the Biden-Harris US State Department are part of the organization pushing censorship in Brazil. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/massive-free-speech-protest-brazil-after-far-left-judge-bans-x https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2024/09/07/shellenberger_whats_happening_in_brazil_is_the_most_important_fight_for_free_speech_in_the_world.html https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/09/blob-brazil-tgp-exposes-million-dollar-us-censorship/ https://www.rebelnews.com/recap_day_one_of_brazil_s_massive_pro_free_speech_rally https://www.rebelnews.com/we_re_in_brazil_to_cover_the_anti_censorship_protests UPDATE: The totalitarian cabal running the Brazilian police state has responded to the protests by banning yet another free speech site, Rumble. https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/09/just-rumble-is-no-longer-available-brazil-direct/ Meanwhile, none of the US MSM are even reporting on the public disgust at government censorship in Brazil. Here in the US, free speech is also on the ballot, and Elon Musk is warning that if Kamala Harris is elected, the US will be facing the same censorship regime as in Brazil. If we want to preserve our freedom of speech, we must return President Trump to office. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/elon-musk-trump-must-win-civilization-line Meanwhile, Tony Blair, a former Labour UK prime minister and now a globalist authoritarian activist has called for a global agreement to crack down on free speech on the internet. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2024/09/07/shellenberger_whats_happening_in_brazil_is_the_most_important_fight_for_free_speech_in_the_world.html It is not just Blar. Germany's far left Green Party is also calling for a ban on Twitter and TElegram. https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/german-politician-threatens-x-telegram-bans Such politicians are totalitarians, no better than Stalin or HItler, and should be shunned by all freedom loving people. NI International Air Show in Portrush took place on Saturday and Sunday in Portrush. NI International Air Show in Portrush took place on Saturday and Sunday in Portrush. RAF veteran Margaret Robertson (100) was guest of honour at NI International Air Show in Portrush. Around 75,000 flocked to NI International Air Show in Portrush over the weekend. A 100-year-old Royal Air Force veteran was among the thousands of people who enjoyed the Northern Ireland International Air Show in Portrush, despite the event experiencing some turbulence at the weekend. Spectators faced delays on Sunday as shifting weather conditions wreaked havoc on the itinerary which included a Battle of Britain Memorial trio of Spitfire, Lancaster and Hurricane aircrafts taking part in mesmerising flypasts. It meant the worlds only aerobatic formation wingwalking team was pushed back from 1.05pm until 3pm. But sky watchers who lined the coastal route offering plane spotters panoramic views and prime viewing spots didnt seem to mind the inconvenience, including Londonderry resident Margaret Robertson. RAF veteran Margaret Robertson (100) was guest of honour at NI International Air Show in Portrush. The wartime Womens Auxiliary Air Force flight mechanic was the guest of honour as the RAF honoured NIs unique part in its history over the last century. Air Marshal Sean Reynolds said the people, and spirit of innovation, in the region which served as a hub of aircraft production during the Second World War have been central to the RAF's story NI was also a base for submarine-hunting aircraft that played a pivotal role in ensuring that the UK could be resupplied with key materials. And so we were delighted to welcome our centenarian Margaret to the Northern Ireland International Air Show to see our historic and modern aircraft, and meet todays aviators, the Air Officer Northern Ireland added. NI International Air Show in Portrush took place on Saturday and Sunday in Portrush. We continue to honour the sacrifice and bravery of Margaret and her generation, while recognising that Northern Ireland plays a significant role in todays RAF through its world class defence and cybersecurity industries, regular and reserve personnel. During the war Ms Robertson worked on the Lancaster aircraft which took to the skies over Portrush on Saturday afternoon alongside a display by a modern-day Typhoon Display Aircraft bearing the iconic D-Day Invasion Stripes. She served at RAF Disforth training facility for Bomber Command crews. A Vampire aircraft bearing the historic markings of the Aldergrove-based 502 (Ulster) Squadron, also graced the skies as around 75,000 people looked on from vantage points around north coast. On the ground, STEM teams showcased the skills needed to for the future. and the RAF celebrated its close ties with the local aerospace and defence sector which is worth 900m to the our economy- at a special reception. NI International Air Show in Portrush took place on Saturday and Sunday in Portrush. An array of vintage aircraft, live music, trade stands, fun zone, artisan food markets, and arts and crafts stalls provided plenty of family fun during the action packed event celebrating all things aviation. On Saturday, visitors were treated to spectacular aerobatic performance from Airbourne Pyrotechnics. Causeway Coast and Glens Council thanked the public for their patience and understanding as they explained the programme had been cut short on Sunday due to shifting weather conditions. A spokesperson expressed confidence that the show will still be enjoyable despite some aircraft being grounded. A 35-year-old lorry driver previously accused of causing the deaths of three young men on the A5 by dangerous driving has had the charges against him dropped and now faces a single charge of speeding. Donatas Timinskas, of Main Street in Belmayne, Dublin, faced three counts in relation to the devastating crash which happened on Omagh Road in Garvaghy just two days after Christmas in 2021. It was confirmed in Omagh Magistrates Court on Tuesday that the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) would no longer proceed with the most serious charges brought against Timanskas. Donatas Timinskas (Picture: Ulster Herald) The suspect was also previously accused of one count of causing grievous bodily injury by dangerous driving after initially being charged with speeding, possessing defective brakes, and driving without due care and attention on December 27, 2021. Peter Finnegan, from Clogher, Peter (Petey) McNamee, from Garvaghey, and Nathan Corrigan, from Sixmilecross, lost their lives in a horrific early morning crash. The funerals of two of the victims, Mr Finnegan and Mr McNamee, took place on New Years Day with Mr Corrigan being laid to rest the following day all three were aged in their 20s. Mourners were told the tragedy had cast a dark cloud over Co Tyrone and left residents shocked and bewildered. The PPS informed the court the decision to withdraw the most serious charges was made after significant developments in the investigation and after consulting with the victims families. The story was first reported by the Ulster Herald. The Belfast Telegraph understands the decision was taken after all the available evidence on a full police investigation file was carefully considered by a senior public prosecutor. Its also understood the views of independent senior counsel, and the test for prosecution was applied before it was determined that the appropriate charge was one count of excess speed. The families of the deceased were invited to a meeting before the case was heard in court earlier this week during which the reasons for the decision were explained to those who attended. The PPS said it would not be appropriate to comment as legal proceedings are ongoing. The case will be heard again on September 10. The stretch of road where the three young men died is considered one of the most treacherous in Northern Ireland. The friends were on their way home from a night out when the collision occurred. Speaking at Mr McNamees funeral in Beragh, Monsignor Colum Curry said: This terrible tragedy has cast a dark cloud over much of Tyrone and far beyond and it has left people shocked and bewildered and all of that is compounded even more because of the time of year. Mourners at the funeral of Mr Finnegan at St Patricks Church in Clogher were told on the same day that there was a deep void in the lives of his parents following the crash. The experience of death is always disturbing. But the death of a young person, in the prime of life, is overwhelming in its effects, Fr Noel McGahan said. A day later Mr Corrigans funeral took place in St Matthews Church close to the scene of the crash where Fr Michael ODwye praised the resilience of grieving relatives. Nathans life could mirror many young men of his age a life full of possibility, of hopes and dreams for the future, for all his tomorrows, the priest added. But tomorrow never came. His life was cut short. Belfasts new 340m Grand Central Station has officially begun the first part of its phased opening with the start of bus services from the new transport hub. The Europa Bus Station officially closed its doors at 11.30pm on Saturday, while the first people getting buses from the new location off the Grosvenor Road departed to Dublin and Belfast International Airport from 5am this morning. The new station will be the largest integrated transport hub on the island of Ireland and will feature retailers such as M&S, Brewdog and Pret a Manger within it with the hope it becomes a thriving retail centre. Watch: Sneak preview of huge Belfast Grand Central Station ahead of Sunday opening However, trains have not yet started running from the site, with Translink previously saying the date for the beginning of rail services will be before Christmas. The first passenger to enter Grand Central Station on Sunday morning was Amir Kumat, who got the bus to Belfast International Airport. Speaking to BBC NI he said: "When I started my day I never knew I was going to be the first guy probably Ill be in the history books. The first passenger Amit Kumar at Belfast's Grand Central Station Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph last week, Translink chief executive Chris Conway said Grand Central will be a game-changer for public transport, while the company, due to the new station, hopes to increase its existing rail service. Mr Conway said he is looking forward to showing off a world-class facility. He added: This weekend we will welcome people to Belfast Grand Central Station, and when they come they will see its a world-class facility and a game-changer for public transport. Translink CEO Chris Conway welcomes impending launch of new Belfast station People will see the modern features of a modern station and it will open connectivity across Northern Ireland. It will also be a real statement for people when they arrive here and [it will] benefit the economy. Everyone we have brought in has been wowed by the scale of it, the information that is displayed, the contactless ticketing, the access everywhere. But we still have much to build and in about a year, when its totally complete, it will be amazing. Were also very excited for the retail coming here. We hope its a location where people will come for coffee, for lunch, for shopping. A man is fighting for his life in hospital following an incident in Londonderry. He was found with serious injuries in the Sackville Street area of the city on Friday night. Police and paramedics attended the scene at around 9pm before the casualty was rushed to hospital where he remains in critical condition. PSNI Detective Inspector Connolly is appealing for information to establish the circumstances surrounding the injuries. I am appealing to anyone who was in the Sackville Street or Strand Road area at the time and witnessed anything or to anyone with CCTV, dash cam or other footage that could assist enquiries to contact detectives on 101 quoting reference 1606 06/09/2024, he said. State Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil, D-Jackson, faces a sexual harassment lawsuit from her former chief of staff. Rich Pedroncelli/AP The former chief of staff to state Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil, R-Jackson, has sued her for alleged sexual harassment and retaliation in an explosive lawsuit in which he accuses her of pressuring him into performing oral sex, at one point resulting in a severe injury. The lawsuit alleges that Alvarado-Gil, who recently switched her affiliation from Democrat to Republican, started grooming her chief of staff, Chad Condit, in late 2022. She eventually demanded Condit perform sex acts on her, the suit claims, adding that he acquiesced because he felt she had pressured him into a subservient position. When Condit began refusing her demands, Alvarado-Gil fired him, according to the lawsuit. Condit also accused the state Senate of failing to protect him from the alleged harassment, claiming in the suit that Alvarado-Gil used its human resources department to reprimand and eventually terminate him. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Condit was demeaned and made to feel empty and subordinate to his boss, a California state senator, with power over his career and livelihood, attorney Alan Schimmel wrote in the court filing. Condit is seeking compensation for his lost wages, employee benefits and emotional distress. Ognian Gavrilov, Alvarado-Gils attorney, said the allegations were from a disgruntled former employee (who) has fabricated an outlandish story. We expect the Senator will be fully cleared of any wrongdoing of these bogus, financially motivated claims, Gavrilov said in a statement. Condit was hired by Alvarado-Gil, who represents the region northeast of the Central Valley, to run her campaign in mid-2022, according to the court filing. After Alvarado-Gils election, Condit became her chief of staff, and she began making personal demands of him, the suit claims, which escalated into sexual harassment. Condit alleges that Alvarado-Gil would order him to walk her dog and started talking to him about their marriages, sex and psychedelics. Condit also said Alvarado-Gil used tax dollars to pay for travel to and from her horse riding lessons. At several points, Alvarado-Gil told Condit that she thought he would be like his father, according to the filing. Condits father, former Rep. Gary Condit, acknowledged having an affair in office with an intern, Chandra Levy, who went missing and was eventually found dead. (Gary Condit was never charged with any crimes in connection with the disappearance.) Advertisement Article continues below this ad The lawsuit claims that Alvarado-Gil started ordering Condit to perform oral sex on her. During the last occasion, he said in the filing, he suffered a back injury when he had to twist in the car seat they were in. He later discovered he had suffered three herniated discs in his back and a collapsed hip, according to the filing. After that incident, Condit started objecting to Alvarado-Gils demands, he said in the suit, which angered her. He alleged that Alvarado-Gil continued to harass him verbally, even telling his wife that he was having an affair, and reported him to human resources for inappropriate behavior. Condits personal and professional relationships were forever altered, and his employment record and opportunities in public employment are irreparably damaged and will never be the same, the lawsuit said. Condit was fired in December 2023, according to the lawsuit. Aerial Images from NIFRS showing the extent of fire damage at the church in Greenisland Three young boys have been charged in connection with a fire that destroyed a church in Co Antrim last week causing an estimated 2.5m of damage. The Greenisland churchs leader has said it believes that forgiveness and love is the way forward. Two of the suspects are aged 11 and the other is 10 years old. All three are due to appear at Belfast Youth Court on Monday, September 30. Firefighters attend major blaze at Greenisland Church "As is normal procedure all charges are reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service, a PSNI spokesperson said. The incident is not being treating as a racially motivated hate crime. The minister of the The Church of the Holy Name, which was gutted in the blaze last Sunday evening, told the heartbroken congregation to love the children who are accused of arson Nine fire-fighting appliances and 49 firefighters attended the scene of the blaze. Photographs showed substantial damage to its hall, where a section of the roof was destroyed in the fire which began around 9pm. An online fundraiser set up by Rev Isobel Hawthorne-Steeles niece to pay for the repair work has now reached almost 20,000 more than three times the initial goal. "Weve been overwhelmed by the love and support of the community after the devastating fire at the Church of the Holy Name (Church of Ireland) in Greenisland, the church said on the GoFundMe appeal page. Many of you have asked for a way to support us as we seek to rebuild, and one of the suggestions was a GoFundMe page. "We would really appreciate the support if you would like to contribute. Thank you. As of Sunday evening, a total of 468 generous donors had heeded the call and given 19,230. Worship went ahead earlier in the day at Greenisland Methodist Church, directly opposite the destroyed building where parishioners normally congregate. The service was streamed online and showed families enjoying the service which began at 9.30am. Prayers of thanksgiving were said during the service despite the devastation, tears and sorrow experienced over the past week. Rev Hawthorne-Steele took questions from church members and was explicitly asked what her message to those behind the fire was. "What I would say to them is that Jesus still loves you, she said. "I want them to know that we love them and are with them. "If anyone is seeking retribution them or their families then I want to speak to those people we as a church need to love those children. "In the eyes of Jesus we are all sinners. The clergywoman told members that the church itself will need to be completely demolished as a result of the damage which has made the building very unstable. It is also feared the church hall, which is used for youth programmes, will collapse. "The church will be fenced off by the council, Rev Steele said. The stained glass windows can be saved, however, only if the surrounding walls dont give way. Most of the furnishings have been destroyed including equipment such as the church organ and piano. Only three vases and a few stands were salvaged. Rev Hawthorne-Steele said it is now too dangerous to go near the building to see what else can be saved, including the chairs, as she explained that anything that had survived the blaze was likely ruined by smoke or water. All the stock from the church shops 464 item product lines has also been destroyed. "Two-and-a-half million pounds we have lost [in total], the minister said. The congregation was told that services will continue at the Methodist church until their harvest gathering on October 13. Future plans are still being discussed as offers from a lot of places including schools to use premises flood in. It is hoped a contractor can be found by Easter which will pave the way for the rebuilding project. The optimistic view is that the main church could be operational within 18 months, however the church hall will take a year longer to finish. Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph on Sunday evening, Rev Hawthorne-Steele said she has been inundated with calls and messages from those who attend the church. "The whole congregation fully supports what I said and believes that forgiveness and love is the way forward, she added. The minister said the hefty bill is an estimate only as she awaits an official assessment by insurers. Two women and a man have been arrested following an assault in Belfast city centre. A man was injured in the incident which happened on Ormeau Avenue on Saturday night. Police attended the scene shortly before 9pm. PSNI Detective Sergeant Ash said a 38-year-old man and two women, aged 39 and 41, were arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm with intent. All three remain in custody at this time," he added. Enquiries are ongoing and I am appealing to anyone who witnessed the assault or to anyone with CCTV, dash cam or other footage that could assist enquiries to contact detectives on 101 quoting reference 1798 07/09/2024. Prince is the name of Sir Keir Starmers new pet Siberian kitten, the Prime Minister has revealed. The kitten is white with blue eyes, Sir Keir said, as he spoke to the BBCs Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg. The Prime Minister had previously told broadcasters his two children had requested a German Shepherd dog once the Starmer family moved into Downing Street. But he said a summer of negotiations had led them to instead get the new cat, which will live in their Downing Street flat alongside their current pet, rescue cat JoJo, and the No 10s resident chief mouser Larry. After revealing the kittens name, Sir Keir said the new pet was there to help his children deal with the profound impact of being in the public eye. The Prime Minister and his wife Victoria have not named their children or appeared with them publicly in photographs to maintain their privacy. Sir Keir told the BBC: People asked me before the election what am I most worried about and I always said the impact on my children. He added: I have to acknowledge this is a big move for them and therefore negotiating a fantastic kitten called Prince was part of the deal that they extracted from me. Sir Keir revealed his family would be getting the new kitten when he was asked by the BBC for an update on remarks he made during the election about the family discussing a new dog. He also shared the difficulties of pet ownership at the heart of Government, as it had not been possible to install a cat flap in the bomb-proof door leading out of the familys Downing Street flat. Speculation remains about why Sir Keir, who was in his youth a supporter of abolishing the monarchy, will give his new pet a royal-sounding name. In 2021, footage surfaced showing the then-human rights barrister telling a film-maker in 2005: I also got made a Queens Counsel which is odd, since I often used to propose the abolition of the monarchy. But when Queen Elizabeth II died, Sir Keir paid a warm tribute, saying in the Commons: For the 70 glorious years of her reign, our Queen was at the heart of this nations life. Tom Tugendhat told the BBCs Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg that he wanted to leave parts of the European Convention on Human Rights (Jonathan Brady/PA) Tom Tugendhat said the UK needs a Conservative revolution, including higher wages and lower migration, rather than shouting at foreigners from the white cliffs. The shadow security minister appeared on BBCs Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg to discuss his bid for the Tory leadership where he said his party had lost the trust of the British people and some of their policies had failed. When asked what he would change about his party, the MP for Tonbridge said it had an extraordinary opportunity to rethink what it was offering to the public. In his leadership campaign, Mr Tugendhat has referenced his time as security minister and serving in the military (James Manning/PA) He continued: We need a Conservative revolution in four years time to return the country to the service of the people. We need to make sure the economy actually works for people, delivering a higher wage, lower migration economy not just shouting at foreigners from the white cliffs and pretending that you can fix migration by withdrawing from a single treaty or changing a single bill. In the interview, the former security minister said he wanted to leave parts of the European Convention on Human Rights immediately, enact reforms regarding the treaty and he was prepared to leave it entirely if reforms dont work. He said: What I want to do is right now is to derogate from certain aspects of the European Convention on Human Rights, to leave parts of it, which we can do now the French do it, other countries do it in different ways. The second thing is we need to reform it, because actually its become dynamic, as so-called, since the 1970s and 80, and its changed. And if we really cant get the reforms, then we need to be prepared to leave it prepared means actually doing the work in advance. This isnt something we can just tear off the band aid and pretend it has no consequences, it underpins many other treaties and we need to be absolutely ready, and my commitment is that we will be ready. When asked by Laura Kuenssberg whether he would reinstate the Rwanda scheme, he responded: You need a deterrent. Now, I cant predict whether itll be Rwanda or something else the Germans may have already taken on all the capacity of Rwanda by that stage, so we need to make sure we put a deterrent, as Italy does, as Germany is planning, and many others. Mr Tugendhat was then pushed by the host to respond yes or no to whether he would bring back the scheme, to which he said: Its impossible to answer a four-years-time question, forgive me. In the interview, the MP emphasised his experience as security minister and his time spent serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr Tugendhat refused to answer whether he would reinstate the Rwanda scheme (Jonathan Brady/PA) Speaking on Sunday morning, shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins told Sky News she will be supporting Robert Jenrick in the leadership content. She told the programme: We want a brighter future for our families, we want to have our own home, we want to ensure that our public services are well run, and I believe that Rob and I can find that common ground and reform the Conservative Party to attract those voters back to us. Asked why she favoured Mr Jenrick over other candidates, Ms Atkins said he had a really interesting story to tell about younger generations having set out plans to build more homes and spoken to younger people in his previous role as housing secretary. Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel has been eliminated from the Tory leadership contest (Stefan Rousseau/PA) This week, Mr Jenrick emerged as the frontrunner to replace Rishi Sunak as former home secretary Dame Priti Patel was eliminated from the contest. Former immigration minister Mr Jenrick picked up 28 votes in the first ballot of MPs, with bookmakers favourite Kemi Badenoch in second place on 22. Shadow home secretary James Cleverly was one vote behind on 21, shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat on 17 and shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride on 16. Another round of voting will take place next week before the final four take their campaigns to the Tory conference starting on September 29. After that, MPs will carry out further rounds of voting to select two final candidates for the partys grassroots to choose between, with the result of the members ballot announced on November 2. Pope Francis travelled to the remote jungles of Papua New Guinea on Sunday to celebrate the Catholic Church of the peripheries (Gregorio Borgia/AP) Pope Francis travelled to the remote jungles of Papua New Guinea on Sunday to celebrate the Catholic Church of the peripheries, taking with him a ton of medicine, musical instruments and a message of love for the people who live there. Francis flew in a Royal Australian Air Force C-130 transport plane from the South Pacific nations capital, Port Moresby, to Vanimo, on the north-west coast, where he met the local Catholic community and missionaries from his native Argentina who have been ministering to them. A crowd of an estimated 20,000 people gathered on the field in front of Vanimo Cathedral, singing and dancing when Francis arrived, and he promptly put on a feathered headdress that was presented to him. Indigenous people wait for Pope Francis in Vanimo, Papua New Guinea (Gregorio Borgia/AP) Speaking from a raised stage, he praised the church workers who go out to try to spread the faith, but he urged the faithful to work closer to home at being good to one another and putting an end to the tribal rivalries and violence that are a regular part of the culture in Papua New Guinea. He urged them to be like an orchestra, so that all members of the community come together harmoniously to overcome rivalries. Doing so, he said, will help to end personal, family and tribal divisions to drive out fear, superstition and magic from peoples hearts, to put an end to destructive behaviours such as violence, infidelity, exploitation, alcohol and drug abuse, evils which imprison and take away the happiness of so many of our brothers and sisters, even in this country. It was a reference to the tribal violence over land and other disputes that have long characterised the countrys culture but have grown more lethal in recent years. Francis arrived in Papua New Guinea to urge an end to the violence, including gender-based violence, and for a sense of civic responsibility and co-operation to prevail. The faithful wait for Pope Francis at the Sir John Guise Stadium in Papua New Guineas capital, Port Moresby (Gregorio Borgia/AP) The Pope had started the day with a Mass in front of an estimated 35,000 people at the Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby. Dancers in grass skirts and feathered headdresses performed to traditional drum beats as priests in green vestments processed to the altar. In his homily, Francis told the crowd they may well feel themselves distant from both their faith and the institutional church, but that God is near to them. You who live on this large island in the Pacific Ocean may sometimes have thought of yourselves as a far away and distant land, situated at the edge of the world, he said. Yet today the Lord wants to draw near to you, to break down distances, to let you know that you are at the centre of his heart and that each one of you is important to him. Francis has long prioritised the church on the peripheries, saying it is actually more important than the centre of the institutional church. In keeping with that philosophy, he has largely shunned trips to European capitals, preferring instead far-flung communities where Catholics are often a minority. Pope Francis is hugged by a blind pupil from the Holy Trinity Humanistic School in Baro, near Vanimo, Papua New Guinea (Gregorio Borgia/AP) Vanimo, which has a population of 11,000, is certainly remote. Located near Papua New Guineas border with Indonesia, where the jungle meets the sea, the coastal city is perhaps best known as a surfing destination. Francis, historys first Latin American pope, has also had a special affinity for the work of Catholic missionaries. As a young Argentine Jesuit, he had hoped to serve as a missionary in Japan but was prevented from going because of his poor health. Now, as Pope, he has often held up missionaries as models for the church, especially those who have sacrificed to bring the faith to faraway places. Father Martin Prado, an Argentine missionary from the Institute of the Incarnate Word religious order, is credited with having invited Francis to visit Vanimo. As he waited for him to arrive on Sunday, he told reporters the crazy story of how he accompanied a group of Vanimo parishioners to Rome in 2019, and ended up securing an audience with the Pope after his parishioners insisted they wanted to give him some gifts. The Pope talks with Father Martin Prado, a missionary from the Institute of the Incarnate Word, left, during a meeting with the faithful in Vanimo, Papua New Guinea (Gregorio Borgia/AP) Fr Prado, who has spent the last 10 of his 36 years working as a missionary in Vanimo, said he wrote a note, left it for the Pope at the Vatican hotel where he lives, and the next day received an email from Franciss secretary inviting his group in. I invited him, but he wanted to come, Fr Prado said. He has a big heart for people. Its not just words, he does what he says. Fr Prado said some people deep in the interior of the diocese, in the jungle where cars have yet to arrive, need clothes and for them a plate of rice and tuna fish is glorious. Francis was taking medicine, musical instruments and toys, the Vatican said. Fr Prado said he is also helping to build a new secondary school half of the children of the diocese are unable to go to high school because there simply is not enough room for them. The event had a very Argentine flavour to it: On the stage was a statue of the Virgin of Lujan, the beloved patron of Argentina who is particularly dear to Francis and whose name also graces the local girls school. When Francis met the nuns and missionary priests privately after the event, they served him mate, the Argentine tea. People wait for Pope Francis to arrive in Vanimo, Papua New Guinea (Gregorio Borgia/AP) There are about 2.5 million Catholics in Papua New Guinea, according to Vatican statistics, out of a population in the Commonwealth nation believed to be around 10 million. The Catholics practise the faith along with traditional indigenous beliefs, including animism and sorcery. On Saturday, Francis heard first-hand about how women are often falsely accused of witchcraft, then shunned by their families. In remarks to priests, bishops and nuns, he urged church leaders in Papua New Guinea to be particularly close to these people on the margins who have been wounded by prejudice and superstition. I think too of the marginalised and wounded, both morally and physically, by prejudice and superstition sometimes to the point of having to risk their lives, he said. He urged the church to be particularly close to such people on the peripheries, with closeness, compassion and tenderness. Franciss visit to Vanimo was the highlight of his visit to Papua New Guinea, the second leg of his four-nation tour of Southeast Asia and Oceania. After first stopping in Indonesia, on Monday Francis will head to East Timor and will end his visit to Asia in Singapore later in the week. Israeli police stand guard near the Allenby Bridge crossing between the West Bank and Jordan after three people were shot dead (Mahmoud Illean/AP) Three Israelis were shot dead at the border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan on Sunday, Israeli officials said, in what appeared to be an attack linked to the 11-month-old war in Gaza. The military said the gunman approached the Allenby Bridge crossing from the Jordanian side in a truck and opened fire at Israeli security forces, who killed the assailant in a shootout. It said the three people killed were Israeli civilians. Israels Magen David Adom rescue service said the three people who were killed were men in their 50s. Jordan is investigating the shooting, its state-run Petra News Agency reported. The Western-allied Arab country made peace with Israel in 1994 but is fiercely critical of its policies toward the Palestinians. The Allenby crossing is mainly used by Israelis, Palestinians and international tourists. Jordan has a large Palestinian population and has seen mass protests against Israel over the war in Gaza. Authorities in Israel and Jordan said the crossing has been closed until further notice, and Israel later announced the closure of both of its land crossings with Jordan, near Beit Shean in the north and Eilat in the south. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack and linked it to Israels larger conflict with Iran and allied militant groups, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Israeli-occupied West Bank has seen a surge of violence since Hamass October 7 attack out of Gaza triggered the war there. Israeli police stand guard near the Allenby Bridge crossing between the West Bank and Jordan after the deadly shooting (Mahmoud Illean/AP) Israel has launched near-daily military arrest raids into dense Palestinian residential areas, and there has also been a rise in settler violence and Palestinian attacks on Israelis. Meanwhile, in Gaza, an Israeli air strike early on Sunday killed five people, including two women, two children and a senior official in the Civil Defence first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government. The Civil Defence said the strike targeted the home of its deputy director for north Gaza, Mohammed Morsi, in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The army says it tries to avoid harming civilians and only targets militants. Authorities in Israel and Jordan said the crossing has been closed until further notice (Mahmoud Illean/AP) Gazas Health Ministry says more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war erupted 11 months ago. It does not say how many were fighters and how many civilians. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack on Israel. They abducted another 250, and are still holding around 100 of them after releasing most of the rest in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel during a weeklong ceasefire last November. Around a third of the remaining hostages inside Gaza are believed to be dead. The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to broker a ceasefire and the return of the hostages, but the negotiations have repeatedly bogged down. With just days to go before his first and likely only debate against Kamala Harris, former US president Donald Trump aired familiar grievances about everything from his indictments to efforts to keep him off the ballot as he campaigned in a staunchly Republican part of battleground state Wisconsin. Speaking at an outdoor rally at Central Wisconsin Airport, Mr Trump claimed: The Harris-Biden DoJ (Department of Justice) is trying to throw me in jail they want me in jail for the crime of exposing their corruption. There is no evidence that either President Biden or vice president Ms Harris have had any influence over decisions by the justice department or local jurisdictions to indict Mr Trump. Mr Trump made some unsubstantiated claims over his Democratic opponent (AP) The former president was speaking a day after appearing in court for an appeal against a decision that found him liable for sexual abuse returning attention to his many indictments and criminal conviction. After his appearance, Mr Trump delivered a lengthy statement to news cameras in which he brought up a string of past allegations of other acts of sexual misconduct at times in graphic language potentially reminding voters of incidents that were little-known or forgotten. Hours later, a Manhattan judge announced that the sentencing in his hush money case had been postponed until after the November election, granting the presidential candidate a hard-won reprieve. The sentencing had previously been scheduled for September 18, about seven weeks before election day. At the rally, Mr Trump again criticised Ms Harris in dark and ominous language, claiming that if the woman he calls Comrade Kamala Harris gets four more years, we will be living in a full-blown Banana Republic ruled by anarchy. 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 He also railed against the Biden administrations border policies, calling the Democrats approach suicidal. Both Ms Harris and Mr Trump have been frequent visitors to Wisconsin this year, a state where four of the past six presidential elections have been decided by less than a percentage point. Several polls of Wisconsin voters conducted after President Joe Biden withdrew showed Ms Harris and Mr Trump in a close race. The crowd in Mosinee was greeted by a big screen video of Mr Trump urging attendees to check their voter registration and make a plan for voting. Speaking from behind bullet-proof glass following an attempt on his life in July, Mr Trump said: If we swamp them, they cant cheat continuing to raise unfounded concerns about voter fraud, which is extremely rare. Democrats consider Wisconsin to be one of the must-win blue wall states. Mr Biden, who was in Wisconsin on Thursday, won the state in 2020 by just under 21,000 votes. Mr Trump carried it by a slightly larger margin, nearly 23,000 votes, in 2016. US vice president Kamala Harris visited Penzeys Spices on a campaign stop in Pittsburgh (AP) As Mr Trump was campaigning, Harris took a short break from debate prep on Saturday to stop at Penzeys Spices in Pittsburghs Strip District, where she bought a number of seasoning mixes. One customer saw the Democratic nominee and began openly weeping as Harris hugged her and said: Were going to be fine. Were all in this together. Harris said she was honoured to have endorsements from two major Republicans: former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, Liz Cheney, the former Wyoming congresswoman. People are exhausted, about the division and the attempts to kind of divide us as Americans, she said, adding that her main message at the debate would be that the country wants to be united. Its time to turn the page on the divisiveness, she said. Its time to bring our country together, to chart a new way forward. GAA Jim Gavin reveals the top five things people want to see ahead of interpro trial games for new football rules Fraudster facing potential jail sentence to learn fate this week Man of fraud Rev Adrian McLaughlin is still holed up in his luxury, church-owned home despite stealing 10,000 from its accounts. Three months after being found guilty by a jury, the shamed cleric has yet to quit the detached 500,000 pad next to St Colmans Church in Dunmurry, on the outskirts of Belfast. From left, Rhodesia Ransom, a candidate for state Assembly, talks with Richard Navarrette, president of KorpTech Services, at the Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce mixer in Stockton on Thursday. Louis Bryant III/Special to the Chronicle Twenty-five years ago, a young Bay Area prosecutor named Kamala Harris asked her friend, San Francisco fundraiser Andrea Dew Steele, I want to run for office. Where do I start? Steele, who was also a political adviser for top San Francisco Democratic donor Susie Tompkins Buell, showed Harris the basics, from creating a mini-biography to introduce herself to voters and donors to organizing her contacts. At the same time, Buell was creating an organization, Emerge, designed to help women advance in politics. Harris would be its test case. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Emerge has since expanded to 27 states. Youd be forgiven for assuming Harris candidacy would be a boon for a group like Emerge that helped nurture her earliest political ambitions. But Dew Steele is concerned that because Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the Democrats presidential candidate so late in the election calendar long after the deadlines for candidates to file their intention to run for office that the movement to recruit more women might not see the impact of Harris historic candidacy until early next year. So I am mostly looking to the future, Steele told me. What do we do when she gets elected, so that we can really create more of a movement, instead of just a moment? The organization has reaped some benefits. Roughly 250 women signed up for its Step Forward training on Aug. 8 that was held to capture the energy coming out of the announcement. Thats roughly five times as many as usual for the training, which helps candidates prepare to run a campaign. Advertisement Article continues below this ad But its a far cry from the 2016 presidential campaign, when Hillary Clinton was the presumed Democratic nominee for more than a month before the Democratic National Convention and organizations like Emerge could recruit women to run so they could appear on the same ballot as Clinton, who seemed poised to become the nations first female president. When she didnt, the victory by Donald Trump set off nationwide womens marches and helped encourage a record number of women to run for office in the ensuing years. Those factors, combined with the #MeToo movement of women calling out inappropriate behavior by men, helped usher in a record number of women to the House and Senate (and the California Legislature) in the 2022 election. Steele is working with other groups dedicated to recruiting or supporting women in office, like Emilys List and Vote Mama, to brainstorm ways to capture the massive wave of Democratic enthusiasm that accompanied Harris ascension to the top of the ticket. Others say they are already seeing that enthusiasm, albeit in different forms. Assembly candidate Rhodesia Ransom said she's seeing more women get involved with her campaign since Vice President Kamala Harris ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket. Louis Bryant III/Special to the Chronicle Rhodesia Ransom, a former staffer for Rep. Josh Harder, D-Tracy, who is running for the Assembly in the Stockton/Tracy area, told me that even though the filing period has closed, she is seeing a lot more women getting involved in her campaign. Harris elevation is shining a light on people like me who are already running. We see people reaching out, saying that they want to get involved. (Momentum is) definitely building, ramping up from where it was kind of flat. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Vote Mama, an organization dedicated to electing and supporting mothers, said it is seeing more momentum for its efforts to get all states to permit candidates to use campaign funds to pay for child care. Currently, 33 states including California have approved the use of campaign funds for this purpose. If more did, it would be a game-changer, Liuba Grechen Shirley, Vote Mamas CEO, told me. It seems like a small structural change, but honestly, it has the ability to completely transform the political landscape. Only 5% of state legislators across the county are the mothers of children under 18. One reason, Grechen Shirley said, is because of the challenges and costs of finding day care. She knows the struggle. In 2018, she ran for Congress as she was nursing two small children. Her mother, a teacher, would help after she finished her classroom work at 3:30 p.m., but Grechen Shirley still faced challenges keeping up with the demands of a campaign the rest of the day. She asked the Federal Election Commission if she could use campaign funds to pay for child care. That request was granted. Now she is trying to help state-level candidates do the same thing. The system isnt set up to make it easy for working mothers to run for office. Only four states pay their legislators a living wage, she said. Some states, like New Mexico, dont pay legislators anything. Others, like New Hampshire, pay a $100-a-day stipend. So what ends up happening is you have these people (running for office) who are independently wealthy and retired. There are very few people who can, you know, take six months off to go to the capitol and serve their constituents, and even when theyre not technically in session, theyre still providing constituent services, Grechen Shirley said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad State legislatures collectively passed 19,000 laws in the last election cycle, many of which affect the day-to-day issues that families face far more than those passed by Congress. These decisions are being made by people who, for the most part, have never lived paycheck to paycheck, who dont understand what its like to have student loans, who dont understand how difficult it is to find child care, and if they can find it and get off the wait list, how to pay for it, Grechen Shirley said. Thats why having Harris, a stepmother of two, on the top of the ticket, is helping immensely, she said. People are excited. People are so thrilled to see a mom at the top of the ticket, to see somebody who understands these issues. It also provides a contrast to the Republican ticket, whose vice presidential nominee, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, has been spewing a steady stream of attacks demeaning women, like when he said the country is being run by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that theyve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too. He has questioned whether Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, should be working on school policy, because she does not have children. He also opposes abortion, even in cases of rape or incest. So even though Harris might not inspire an immediate bounce in the number of female candidates on the ballot, her influence is being felt in other ways. She unknowingly became the inspiration for Emerge, whose alumni also include San Francisco Mayor London Breed, former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, state controller Malia Cohen and now Random, the Assembly candidate in the San Joaquin Valley. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Northern Ireland All you need to know: Belfast city centre street to close for a year as part of Grand Central Station work Supermodel friends and schools like Fort Knox Patrick Kielty and Cat Deeleys life in LA TV power couple hung out with 90s goddess Cindy Crawford, but scourge of gun violence one of reasons they returned to UK Paddy Kielty and Cat Deeley David O'Dornan Sun 8 Sep 2024 at 08:47 Patrick Kielty must have thought he was California dreaming when he was living the high life in Los Angeles. Adobe Stock Christians believe that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah of the Jewish people. And if that is true, wouldnt that make Christians followers of the Jewish faith? And why dont Jewish people believe in Jesus? Before answering these questions, lets frame the conversation by first asking, Why did anyone believe in Jesus? Perhaps the question might even be asked, How did Christianity even get started, let alone survive? The reason why these questions are pertinent derives from the fact that the Gospel that the early Christians preached was about a Jewish King whom the Romans killed on the cross. A Tough Message One might imagine the early Christians attempting to explain this to their neighbors: But Jesus really is the worlds true Lord. But, you said that the Romans killed him? Well, yes, they did, but then He rose from the dead? Oh, so let me get this straight: you want me to believe that a Jewish man (this Jesus) is the true God of creation that has come to Earth to save all of humanity and to establish a divine kingdom. But he failed because the Jewish leadershis own peopleturned him over to the Romans because they didnt believe he was the one they were looking for. The Romans then killed him. And now you want me to believe in this Jesus because God (the Jewish God) raised him from the dead?" Yes, exactly. Do you see the problem? The message was not very appealing. Paul addresses this in 1st Corinthians 1:18, 23: For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. . . . but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness. The foolishness to the Gentiles part is evident from the attempted dialogue above. A Jewish King who was killed by Rome and then risen from the dead sure sounds like foolishness. When Paul says that the message was a stumbling block to the Jews, at least two factors would have caused the Jewish world to struggle to receive Jesus, the second of which is likely the source of Pauls use of the stumbling block. First, the Jews were not expecting a suffering Messiah (King). They were expecting a king who would rule like King David did almost a millennium earliera Jewish king who would rule over a Jewish empire and punish their enemies. The idea that Jesus not only failed to defeat the Romans but also died for them would hardly have appealed to many of the Jewish people. The second reason, however, is likely why Paul states that the Christian Gospel was a stumbling block to the Jews. Namely, the Old Testament Law states emphatically, If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God) . . . (Deut 21:22-23a). In other words, Jesus could not be considered as the Messiah (i.e., the anointed One) because He was under the curse of Deuteronomy 21: a cursed Messiah is an oxymoron. A Different Kind of King Returning to the opening question, then, Why dont the Jewish people believe in Jesus? In response, some might ask, Why did anyone believe in Him?" Consequently, two responses might be given to the opening question: First, Jesus was not the kind of King they were expecting/wanted. Second, those who rejected Jesus then applied the curse of Deut 21:22-23 to Jesus, making the idea that He was the Messiah a stumbling block. There is more to the initial question, however, for it is not sufficient to claim that the Jewish people rejected Jesus. After all, many Jewish people did believe in Jesus. For at least the first decade after Jesus's death and resurrection, Christianity remained a Jewish religionor, perhaps, it is more accurate to say that Christianity remained a sect within Judaism. Acts 6:7, in fact, notes, a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith. It is also important to note that the early Christians began to welcome Gentiles (non-Jews) into the faith. As Peter affirms in his speech before the Roman centurion Cornelius, "God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation, the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him" (Acts 10:34-35). Consequently, as the Christian movement spread, more and more Gentiles embraced the new Christian faith. A Change in The Law This is another reason some Jewish people rejected Christianity in the early centuries. Namely, the Jewish religion was very particular concerning the notion that Gentiles were defiled (unclean). As a result, many Jews would not step foot into a Gentile home and most certainly would not eat with a Gentile. Peter affirms this when he enters the Roman centurion Cornelius house, You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him (Acts 10:28). NB: Peter only entered Cornelius home because God gave him a vision and told him that he should no longer call any man unholy or unclean (Acts 10:28). Because the Christians were fellowship and eating with Gentiles, many within the Jewish world took exception to the new Christian sect. They refused to join, for they considered the Christians to be living in violation of the Jewish Law. This fact provides another insight into the opening question. Since the first Jewish followers of Christ believed it was acceptable to welcome Gentiles into their community, they began intermarrying with them not long after. Thus, through intermarriage, many of the Jewish followers of Christ lost their ethnic identity as Jews. Finally, it must be noted that many Christians have held to the belief that the inclusion of Gentiles into the family of faith meant that they, too, have become children of Abraham. Paul explicitly states, Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham (Gal 3:7). Later, in the same chapter of Galatians, Paul adds, And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abrahams descendants, heirs according to promise (Gal 3:29). In the letter to Rome, Paul affirms that Abraham is the father of all who believe (Rom 4:11). Consequently, Peter asserts that the followers of Christ are, But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for Gods possession so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God . . . (1 Pet 2:9-10a). Therefore, if Christians are considered the children of Abraham, perhaps it might be said that there are billions of Jewish followers of Jesus. 1There is an excellent book by Elias Chacour titled Blood Brothers. Father Chacour is a Palestinian Christian, and the title conveys the fact that some Palestinians are descendants of the first Jewish Christians and, thereby, are "blood brothers" to the Jewish people. Rob Dalrymple, PhD has been a professor, dean, and lead pastor for over 34 years at colleges, seminaries, and the local church. He currently serves as the Executive Director of Determinetruth Ministries, which is a non-profit parachurch organization focusing on teaching and equipping pastors and leaders around the world. He is the host of the Determine Truth podcast and writes a weekly blog on Patheos. Rob also teaches Biblical Interpretation, New Testament Studies, and Philosophy at Grand Canyon University and the Flourish Institute of Theology. He serves on the leadership team for NEME (Network of Evangelicals for the Middle East) and is a board member of Evangelicals4Justice. He is also on the Editorial Board of the theological journal Sacrum Testamentum. Rob is the co-chairman for the Research group Scripture, Hermeneutics, and the Middle East at the Institute of Biblical Research. He is the author of several works on the Book of Revelation, including Follow the Lamb: A Guide to Reading, Understanding, and Applying the Book of Revelation and a commentary on the Book of Revelation titled Revelation: a Love Story. The mural by Silvia Lopez Chavez on the side of the Shipton Building on North Street is meant to convey "subtle joy and hope," she said, through its two subjects a pair of women embracing and looking to the future. The early education and child care system in Massachusetts has rebounded to and surpassed pre-pandemic capacity, with officials on Thursday touting the results of a grant program that the state has continued after the federal government stopped providing funding. The Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) program that provides stabilization grants to child care providers contributed to a 7 percent increase in child care programs last year, adding more than 10,600 slots across the state, the state said. Capacity now exceeds pre-pandemic licensed capacity by 7,100 child care spaces, representing a total increase of approximately 37,000 seats compared to the pandemic low in spring 2021, the governor's office said. Gov. Maura Healey, Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler and others were in Lowell on Thursday morning to tour a Head Start preschool classroom at the Community Teamwork. "Massachusetts I'm proud of this we were recently rated, voted, number one in education, number one in innovation, number one place to have a baby in this country, number one place to raise a family in this country, number one place to live if you're a woman. And, you know, a reason for that, is because what we're talking about today, which is the investments that we make in child care, early education and education generally," Healey said. "That matters. It translates to actual results and outcomes, and that's why we are at the top in all of those categories." The C3 grant program started with federal dollars during the pandemic and the fiscal 2025 budget Healey signed this summer makes the program permanent and funds it with a $475 million state appropriation. Healey said Thursday that Massachusetts is the only state in the country that has continued to fund the grants at the same level that the federal government did. "We just finished 14 listening sessions across the state and I can tell you with deep confidence that in every one of them, providers told us about how vital the C3 grants are to their program," Tutwiler said. "As the governor noted, this program has been a game changer for our most important levers for transformation." Alliance Party deputy leader Stephen Farry has announced his resignation. It comes after Mr Farry missed out on re-election to the North Down seat he previously held to unionist Alex Easton at the Westminster election earlier this year. Advertisement Mr Farry has been deputy leader of Alliance since 2016. Advertisement He announced his resignation from the role to delegates at the Alliance Party Council meeting on Saturday. The Party Executive meeting on September 12th will set the timescale for election of the partys new deputy leader. Any serving MLA or MP can be nominated for the role. Mr Farry will remain until his replacement takes up the role. He said it had been a privilege. Advertisement I have been privileged to have had so many opportunities in politics and to make a difference through being a Councillor, MLA, Minister and most recently as an MP, he said. Over that time, I hope I have made a significant contribution on many issues, and helped to make this place a more inclusive and prosperous society. I announced my resignation at Party Council as I wanted to take the opportunity to personally thank the party membership for putting their trust in me as deputy leader from 2016 onwards, and for their ongoing support for me during my 30 years in elected politics. Having helped the party to weather some difficult times in the past, I have been delighted to see the party flourishing electorally in recent years, and I remain committed to the vision, values and policies of Alliance and assisting colleagues in their ongoing work. Advertisement Mr Farry added: Since the general election in July, I have had many positive conversations regarding how I can make a significant contribution to society. I am currently considering several opportunities in this regard. Public service remains very important to me, and I will strive to make a difference through a variety of mechanisms to address the significant challenges facing society, both domestically and internationally. Here, we have a look at the issues likely to dominate political debate in the week to come. Sinn Fein's housing plan gives much-needed boost There has been a lot of doom and gloom for Sinn Fein with underwhelming local and European election results, followed by falling popularity in successive political opinion polls. Advertisement However, a new housing plan has given the party a boost. Sinn Fein has unveiled a plan to spend 39 billion on housing over the next five years to deliver 300,000 homes in a project the party described as the most ambitious housing programme in the states history. Entitled A Home of Your Own, the document runs to some 100 pages and sets out how the party will transform housing in Ireland if it is elected to government. Sinn Fein said it will phase out existing subsidies and shared equity schemes as well as reducing rent subsidies and delivering affordable homes between 250,000 and 300,000. Advertisement It also pledged to introduce a stamp duty exemption for First Time Buyers, which will see house buyers not paying stamp duty on a property valued at 450,000 or less. Government parties quickly went on the attack, with Taoiseach Simon Harris calling it "an almost Frankenstein arrangement". The main criticism is the fact it would scrap existing housing schemes and supports. Some economists have argued the plan is comprehensive and promising. Advertisement The reality may be somewhere in between, but it has given the party a much-needed boost. Dail return The Dail is set to resume on Wednesday, September 18th, after the summer recess. All attention will turn to Budget 2025, which is due to be announced on October 1st. Sinn Fein's housing plan will likely be another topic of discussion. Advertisement Another key question will be the timing of the next general election. Mr Harris has continued to insist it will come no sooner than March 2025, but sources have indicated that key Cabinet members are pushing for a November election. We are likely to have an answer soon, as the obvious time to announce a November poll would be after the budget. If it is to be March, Mr Harris could definitively rule out a November date. Advertisement Coalition tensions The budget is likely to bring simmering tensions within the Coalition to the surface. Sources have indicated Fianna Fail and Green Party figures are unhappy with what they perceive as Mr Harris already taking credit for the measures to be announced. Meanwhile, all three parties will likely attempt to use the budget to highlight their own identities, with an election on the way, whether it's in November or March. The Green Party, under new leader Roderic O'Gorman, has already shown it has no problem in calling out government colleagues as it picked a fight with Fianna Fail, and Minister for Finance Jack Chambers, over Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT). Abroad In the US, it's full election mode with November 5th and the US presidential election fast approaching. A poll from The New York Times and Sienna College on Sunday found Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are neck and neck. The presidential debate between Mr Trump and Ms Harris this week will be absolutely crucial. It will be aired on ABC News on Tuesday, September 10th, at 9pm Eastern time (2am Wednesday, September 11th Irish time). In the UK, prime minister Keir Starmer has said the NHS is "broken" as he outlined challenges facing the Brisith health service. He visited Ireland at the weekend, as Mr Harris met the prime minister and the pair targeted a reset in Anglo-Irish relations. Police in the US are searching for a gunman in a rural area of south-eastern Kentucky after up to seven people were hurt in a shooting near Interstate 75 and a crash that accompanied the violence. The shooting began just after 6.30pm on Saturday and was followed by an intense search for a suspect by multiple law enforcement agencies. Advertisement The Laurel County Sheriffs Office said in a post on Facebook that it was an active shooter situation and numerous persons were shot near the highway. Deputy Gilbert Acciardo said authorities received reports about gunshots along Interstate 75 at about 5.30pm on Saturday. When they arrived at the scene in London, a small city with a population of about 8,000 located about 75 miles (120km) south of Lexington, they found numerous vehicles on the side of the highway at Exit 49. When our first two units got to the scene there, they said it was a madhouse: people on the sides of the road, emergency flashers going, bullet holes, windows shot out, nine vehicles shot. Can you imagine that? Just chaotic, he said during a news conference on Sunday. Advertisement Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, of Laurel County Sheriffs Office, at a news conference on the shooting along Interstate 75 (Timothy D Easley/AP) Five people were shot and are all in a stable condition, although some have very serious injuries, including one person who was shot in the face, Mr Acciardo said. Two other people were hurt in the vehicle accident, he added. Advertisement Police blocked traffic in both directions on the highway because they did not know where the bullets came from. Were still attempting to determine that, Mr Acciardo said. Authorities believe there was only one gunman and Mr Acciardo said they do not believe the shooting was sparked by road rage. Officers from multiple law enforcement agencies searched a remote, wooded area, but eventually suspended the search because of darkness. The search will resume at daybreak on Sunday, he said. Advertisement We do have the area contained right now. Its a very fluid investigation. Our people are still on the scene. Our special response team is there. We are trying to find a shooter there, he added. The sheriffs office announced that a person of interest has been identified in connection with the shooting, saying he should be considered armed and dangerous and people should not approach him. He was named as Joseph A Couch, a 32-year-old white male, and anyone with information about his location was urged to call 911. Mr Acciardo warned that authorities have not determined that this is the individual that fired the weapon. Advertisement An image released by London Police Department in Kentucky of suspect Joseph A Couch (London Police Department/AP) State politicians from Laurel County urged residents in the area to stay at home as police continued to search for the gunman. Without a doubt, this is an act of senseless violence that does not reflect the values of this community, our commonwealth, or its people, they said in a statement. Mount Vernon Fire Department said a heavy presence of police and fire personnel was on the scene and working diligently to address the situation. It advised motorists to avoid I-75 and US 25. The interstate was closed 9 miles (14km) north of London but reopened about three hours later, according to the sheriffs office. In a video update on Facebook late on Saturday night, London Mayor Randall Weddle tried to calm fears as the search continued for the gunman. He urged residents to call 911 if they heard or saw anything suspicious near their homes. Were asking folks please do not go outside your home shooting because we might have first responders in that area. Its important to know you are safe. We have multiple agencies in this community, in the city of London and in Laurel County, he said. Mr Weddle said searchers know the general area where this individual is but would not give specific details. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said in a post on social platform X, formerly Twitter: I am receiving initial reports from the Kentucky State Police and our Office of Homeland Security together we are actively monitoring the situation and offering support in any way possible. Please pray for everyone involved. A 71-year-old man has gone on trial in France accused of drugging his wife and inviting dozens of strangers to rape her in their home over nearly a decade in a case that has shocked the country. The husband, Dominique Pelicot, offered sex with his wife on a website, and filmed the abuse, the prosecutor's office said. Fifty other men accused of raping his wife when she was knocked unconscious by the drugs are also on trial. Advertisement They each face up to 20 years in jail if found guilty. Due to the drugs, Pelicot's wife had been entirely unaware of the rapes, which took place at their home in the southern French town of Mazan, until police told her about them four years ago, her lawyers have said. "She knew nothing of what was inflicted on her. She had no memory of the rapes she suffered," lawyer Antoine Camus told France Bleu radio. French media, including Le Monde, have said that police stumbled upon Pelicot's thousands of pictures and video of his wife's abuse when investigating him after several women said he was using his phone to film under their skirts in a supermarket. Advertisement The alleged rapes took place at the couple's home in the southern French town of Mazan. Photo: AFP via Getty The men were of all ages and all walks of life, French media said, adding that some admitted to being guilty while others said they thought the wife had pretended to be asleep. The trial, which has included video footage of the rapes, has been a "terrible ordeal" for her, Camus said. The trial opened on Monday and is set to last until December. It is not being held behind closed doors as is common in cases of violent sex crimes. Pelicot's wife, now aged 72, said she wanted it to be held publicly to alert the public to sexual abuse and drug-induced blackouts, her lawyers said. Lawyer Stephane Babonneau, who also represents the victim, told French media she wanted to show "that shame must change sides". Beatrice Zavarro, a lawyer for Dominique Pelicot, has told French media he admits to his crimes. A Russian drone violated Romanias airspace during night-time attacks on neighbouring Ukraine, the Nato member reported on Sunday, urging Moscow to stop what it described as an escalation. The incident happened as Russia carried out attacks on civilian targets and port infrastructure across the River Danube in Ukraine, Romanias Ministry of National Defence said. Advertisement Romania deployed F-16 warplanes to monitor its airspace, and Nato allies were kept informed, the ministry said. Romanian emergency authorities also issued text alerts to residents of two eastern regions. NATO condemns the overnight Russian airspace violation into Romanian airspace. While we have no information indicating an intentional attack by Russia against Allies, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous. Advertisement Mircea Geoana (@Mircea_Geoana) September 8, 2024 Preliminary data indicates there may be an impact zone in an uninhabited area near the Romanian village of Periprava, the ministry said. It added that an investigation is under way. Advertisement Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Romania has confirmed drone fragments on its territory on several occasions and as recently as July this year. The Romanian Defence Ministry strongly condemned the Russian attacks on Ukraine, calling them unjustified and in serious contradiction with the norms of international law. Mircea Geoana, Natos outgoing deputy secretary-general and Romanias former top diplomat, said the military alliance also condemned Russias violation of Romanian airspace. While we have no information indicating an intentional attack by Russia against Allies, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Advertisement Later on Sunday, Latvias defence minister Andris Spruds said that a Russian drone fell the day before near the town of Rezekne, and had likely strayed into Latvia from neighbouring Belarus. Rezekne, home to over 25,000 people, lies 34 miles west of Russia and around 47 miles from Belarus, whose leader is an ally of the Kremlin. Meanwhile, in Ukraine, two civilians were killed and four others, including two children, injured in a night-time Russian air strike on the northern city of Sumy, the regional military administration reported. Relatives cry over the coffin at the funeral in Poltava of a Ukrainian serviceman killed in a Russian rocket attack on a military academy (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP) Advertisement In the Kharkiv region further east, overnight shelling killed two elderly women, according to local governor Oleh Syniehubov. During the night, Ukrainian air defences shot down one of four cruise missiles and 15 of 23 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia, Ukraines air force reported. It added that none of the cruise missiles had hit targets. Later on Sunday, three women were killed when Russian forces shelled a village in the eastern Donetsk region, governor Vadym Filashkin reported on the Telegram messaging app. Elsewhere in the province, rescue teams pulled the bodies of two men from the rubble of a hotel destroyed on Saturday evening in a Russian air strike, according to Ukraines state emergency service. That same day, the death toll from a massive Russian missile strike on Tuesday that blasted a military academy and nearby hospital in the eastern city of Poltava rose to 58, regional governor Filip Pronin reported. More than 320 other people were injured. Since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the Russian military has repeatedly used missiles to smash civilian targets, sometimes killing scores of people in a single attack. Poltava is about 200 miles (350km) south-east of Kyiv, on the main highway and rail route between Kyiv and Ukraines second-largest city, Kharkiv, which is close to the Russian border. The attack happened as Ukrainian forces sought to carve out their holdings in Russias Kursk border region after a surprise incursion that began on August 6, as the Russian army hacks its way deeper into eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian servicemen carry the coffin of a comrade who was killed in a Russian rocket attack on a Ukrainian military academy at his funeral in Poltava (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP) In Ukraines industrial east, Russian forces continued their months-long grinding push towards the city of Pokrovsk, and also ramped up attacks near the town of Kurakhove further south, Ukraines General Staff said. Russian forces continued their months-long grinding push towards the city of Pokrovsk, and also ramped up attacks near the town of Kurakhove further south, Ukraines General Staff reported. Russias Defence Ministry said on Sunday that its troops had taken Novohrodivka, a small town some 11 miles (19km) south-east of Pokrovsk. An update published on Saturday evening by DeepState, a Ukrainian battlefield analysis site, said Russian forces had advanced in Novohrodivka and captured Nevelske, a village in the south-east of the Pokrovsk district. Pokrovsk, which had a pre-war population of about 60,000, is one of Ukraines main defensive strongholds and a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region. Its capture would compromise Ukraines defence and supply routes, and bring Russia closer to its stated aim of capturing the entire Donetsk region. September 7, 2024: For the second time this year, Chinese students studying in neighboring countries were arrested for espionage activities in South Korea and Japan. This is nothing new as China has been expanding its espionage activities for some time. China has long developed an international network of spies, local agents, and operatives. The foreigners working for this network are often unaware that they are working for China. This is part of Chinas concealment of the extent of their operations. China also obtains the services of internet hacking groups through a third party to conceal the fact that data is being stolen for the Chinese. Despite years of successful efforts to conceal the extent of their espionage network, that anonymity has unraveled during the last year and the process continues despite Chinese efforts to delay, disrupt, or stop it. This result is that Chinese spies and espionage efforts are becoming known in Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Africa and south, southeast, and east Asia. An increasing number of arrests have taken place and subsequently been publicized. Its not just the espionage that annoys foreigners but the covert meddling the Chinese were engaged in worldwide. China sought to influence foreign governments to cooperate with local Chinese goals without knowing, or revealing what was being covertly done to benefit China. Many of the operatives were nor local Chinese but ethnic locals covertly hired to support the local Chinese agenda. Many of the Chinese operatives convincingly presented themselves as anti-Chinese. This sort of deception was particularly useful when it came to sabotaging efforts by the major foreign intelligence and counterintelligence agencies of countries like the United States (FBI and CIA), Britain (SIS), Germany (BND), France (DGSE), and Turkey (MIT). In Europe, the 27 members of the EU (European Union) concentrate on economic matters but are now more aware of the efforts and impact of foreign intelligence agencies and operatives. This is particularly true with the Chinese, who have the second largest economy in the world and want to obtain, one way or another, more market share from the United States, which has the largest economy in the world. American GDP is about $26.9 trillion while the Chinese economy is valued at $19.4 trillion. The global economy is currently worth $105 trillion with the Americans controlling 25.6 percent of it and China 18.5 percent. Government and corporate espionage are heavily involved with monitoring and sometimes disrupting foreign economies when it suits them. The countries with the largest economies, especially those in Europe and the Americas, also depend on non-government BI, or Business Intelligence. The Japanese pioneered the use of BI in the 1960s as they sought to establish foreign markets in the United States, Europe and, as the Chinese economy grew enormously from the 1980s to 2010, the Chinese commercial and consumer markets. BI played a major role in exposing and documenting Chinese efforts to gain large shares of foreign markets in Europe and the United States. With this evidence available American and European efforts to disrupt and eliminate illegal Chinese trading practices have become effective and the Chinese dont like it. With China on the defense, the Chinese have to use BI and other forms of espionage to get themselves out of that mess. The Chinese are patient and willing to wait a decade or more to do whatever it takes to recover their market share in western countries. European nations are now more aware of Chinese using BI as part of their economic trade practices. In the last few years European governments, as well as the Americans have come to realize the extent of the deceptive Chinese trade practices that brought great wealth to China without their foreign trading partners being aware of what was going on. Western BI efforts detected that something was up but not enough to act on. Chinese espionage was more effective at supporting Chinese economic efforts. Some European historians pointed out that, when Europeans began trading with China in the 1500s, the Europeans eventually realized that the Chinese were better at this trade business because they had an early version of BI while the Europeans were learning the hard way what they were up against. It took the Europeans several centuries to figure out how to deal with the Chinese trading practices and when the Americans came along in 1784, after the American Revolution, they started small but by 1844 had their first trade treaty with China and soon came to take a disproportionate share of foreign trade with China. That didnt last long because in the 1860s China entered a century-long cycle of civil war and economic disruption. China suffered greatly, with over 30 million Chinese dying and the economy collapsing. It wasnt until the 1980s that China began to rebuild their economy and trade with foreigners. Western BI was primitive during that period and the Americans and Europeans could not come up with an effective way to make it better. As large as the Chinese market was, the western nations prospered during the 19th and 20th centuries as they traded with each other and jointly created the largest economies the world had ever seen. That lasted until the late 20th century when the Chinese economy began to make a comeback. The Chinese frequently used BI to maximize their internal and foreign trade. The trade advantages China gained began to weaken in the last few decades as corruption in China and more efficient trade practices developed outside of China, especially in South Korea and Japan. These two nations took more of the trade that had long gone to China. The Japanese made good use of the BI techniques they had pioneered. South Korea followed suit and also became a major exporter. Both Japan and South Korea joined the list of top exporters, with Japan at number five and South Korea at number six. China had surpassed the United States in exporting activity to take first place, with the Americans close behind. This development stirred more American firms to use BI to recover their export markets. That will take a while because the other major trading countries are also using BI. The Americans also began to crack down on Chinese espionage. In 2023 the United States revealed that two American sailors were arrested and charged with spying for China. Both men were ethnic Chinese who were born in China but grew up in the United States, and one had applied to become a naturalized citizen. Both men provided confidential, not highly classified information, including technical manuals used by sailors to do their jobs on various warships. The two sailors also provided details on planned deployments of some ships. The mother of one of the sailors encouraged her son to cooperate with Chinese intelligence because that might enable him to move back to China and get a better civilian job. That will have to wait until they are out of custody. Both men were jailed pending trial because both were considered a flight risk to China. Despite years of growing numbers of arrests and prosecutions of Americans accused of spying for China, the Chinese persist. While ethnic Chinese Americans are prime targets for Chinese recruiters of pies or informants, any foreigners with pro-Chinese attitudes are potential candidates for Chinese intelligence officers looking for potential recruits. A favorite tactic of Chinese intel officers is to arrange for a financial arrangement between Chinese organizations and people China considers potential candidates for Chinese intelligence sources. Much of this effort is concentrated in large English speaking nations like the United States and Britain that have many trading relationships with Chinese firms and institutions. Western universities and faculty were always a prime target because these institutions and their key staff are not seen as a major target for Chinese influence operations. China understands that the staff of universities in the West are recognized by locals as a source of expert opinion on many matters. These faculty members can also be influenced by gifts of cash. These are not called gifts or, more accurately, bribes. Rather the money is considered a grant to support further academic studies on one subject or another. China arranges large grants for such purposes. Government and popular opposition to these programs has not eliminated them, just forced China to change how it implements the program. While Western intelligence agencies remain alert and aware of this program, few others in government or academia seem to be concerned. After several years of indifference by university administrators towards requests to monitor and block Chinese influence efforts, governments are becoming more energetic and aggressive about this. This was a return to methods last employed over a decade ago. For example, in 2020 an American and two Chinese were indicted for secretly providing China with U.S. technology. The American was Charles Lieber, head of the Harvard Chemistry and Chemical Biology department. He was accused of secretly establishing a working relationship with a Chinese university at Wuhan. Lieber established research efforts at Harvard, recruiting top scientists to work on projects of interest to China and secretly passing research results to China. He also received millions of dollars from China to further this research. During the FBI investigation Lieber repeatedly lied about these activities, which did not prevent the FBI from eventually gathering all they needed to arrest Lieber and indict him. It is rare for China to convince a senior American academic, like Harvard department head Charles Lieber, to get involved in illegal research projects. Why Lieber got involved in such blatantly illegal activities was not disclosed and details probably wont emerge until his trial. Also indicted for Harvard related espionage was a Chinese citizen, Zheng Zaosong, who was studying at Harvard on a student visa and was accused of trying to smuggle 21 vials of biological material and research data back to China. The third defendant was Yanqing Yeh, a Chinese student at nearby Boston University. She was also an active duty lieutenant in the Chinese Army who was supervised by a colonel at a Chinese military academy that was working on new technology for the Chinese military. This school was on an American list of Chinese educational institutions that were banned from working with anyone in the United States. Yeh was also caught trying to smuggle research data back to China. Yeh had lied about her military status when she applied for a student visa, asserting that she had been discharged from the army and left out her connections with the banned (in the U.S.) Chinese military academy she was working for as an army officer. She was also accused of being an unregistered foreign agent. Among the items uncovered by the FBI was that Yeh had been assigned to investigate one American academic at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School who was researching computer security. Given how active China has been using hackers to steal valuable data from the United States, that particular assignment was ominous. Yeh had presented herself as a student but further investigation showed she was a very active Chinese spy. It is illegal for American academics and researchers to secretly work for Chinese government or commercial firms. These restrictions wont trigger similar measures for Americans in China because China has long assigned police and intel specialists to closely observe who visiting Americans visit. This surveillance often involves MSS (secret police) agents advising Chinese to refuse such meetings or only do it with an MSS agent present, usually pretending to be an employee of the firm. Meanwhile, China has been making the most of their access. One recent FBI investigation documented the use of the Chinese Confucius Institute's cultural centers at American universities and how these programs were actually part of a widespread intelligence operation that employed visa fraud for Chinese visiting scholars who were actually MSS operatives. This program recruited Chinese-born businessmen, academics, and others, often naturalized American citizens, to participate in IP, or Intellectual Property, theft. Further encouragement was that some of these operatives could sometimes profit from it personally. Not all these recruits knew they were participating in espionage but the Chinese could effectively pressure their citizens to cooperate. Worse, the FBI discovered that many of the Chinese in the U.S. on J-1 visiting scholars visas spent most of their time on espionage and a bare minimum on actual research. As successful as this espionage effort was, most of the Chinese Americans approached by recruiters were not interested and politely declined. More importantly, many of them quietly reported their encounters to the FBI or to friends they knew could do it for them. The Chinese knew these alerts to the FBI posed a risk but considered it an acceptable risk given the amount of intellectual property that was being stolen and put to work back in China. The same thing happens when China seeks to recruit informants or spies in the American armed forces. The United States has been prosecuting and convicting a growing number of Chinese-born men and a few women conspiring to commit or actually carrying out economic espionage in the United States. Some of these suspects are naturalized American citizens but a growing number are Chinese citizens here on legitimate visas. As more suspects were identified, patterns began to appear which revealed the inner workings of known Chinese intellectual property espionage efforts. It was known that China had a state-sponsored program to make it easy for foreign-educated Chinese to return home and apply what they had learned in the West to start their own companies. China offered billions of dollars in venture capital for this program. This made it easier for Chinese moving back to China from the West to establish their own companies using what they learned in the West. This program helped create thousands of new firms. Many of these firms were using stolen trade secrets and patents that were being laundered. That is, changed sufficiently to make it difficult for the owners of the stolen intellectual property to easily prove theft. The FBI and CIA again noted several interesting patterns. While many of the returning Chinese students were operating legally, a large number of those new Chinese firms were operating illegally by depending on stolen IP. There were other patterns as well. A lot of the stolen tech seemed to involve Chinese and Americans associated with various Chinese efforts that helped returning Chinese to profit from what they had learned in the West. These programs involved establishing hundreds of Confucius Institutes associated with Western universities, including a hundred in the United States. Plus the aggressive recruiting of Chinese and non-Chinese academics willing to help China perpetrate the largest IP theft in history. Participating in this program has become riskier. The growing number of convictions are for conspiring to steal or actually stealing trade secrets. Many of the technologies involved are dual-use, for commercial and military applications. Many of these investigations began when American companies provided the FBI with documentation showing how the Chinese obtained and applied the trade secrets. What the American firms usually lack is information about who was getting the information, often including detailed manufacturing techniques, to the Chinese. The U.S. is not the only victim here. Many other Western nations are experiencing the same losses. Even Chinese neighbor and ally Russia has suffered heavy losses due to this Chinese economic espionage. There have been a lot more court cases about this because Chinese firms have become bolder in how they exploit stolen software, trade secrets and other technology. In the past, the Chinese were careful in the use of stolen tech when exporting their own military equipment copied from Russian designs. The Chinese had started doing this during the Cold War, which sometimes got fairly hot when there were some deadly border skirmishes in the 1970s, because China and Russia developed some territorial and ideological disputes that did not settle down until the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. The Russians are still angry about the continued Chinese theft of their tech, and growing Russian threats over this caused the Chinese to sign agreements in the last decade that declared Chinese firms would stop stealing and reselling Russian tech. In practice, this only slowed the Chinese down, but it placated the Russians for a while. Currently, the Americans are starting to sound like the Russians in the 1990s, but the Americans have more legal and economic clout to deploy and this situation is liable to get ugly before, if ever, it gets better. By 2012 most American officials had come to openly admit that a whole lot of American military and commercial technical data has been stolen via Chinese internet as well as with more conventional espionage efforts. Details of exactly all the evidence of this is unclear, but apparently, it was pretty convincing for many American politicians and senior officials who had previously been skeptical. The Chinese efforts have resulted in most major American weapons systems having tech details obtained by the Chinese, in addition to a lot of non-defense or dual-use technology. Its not just the United States that is being hit but most nations with anything worth stealing. Many of these nations are noticing that China is the source of most of this espionage and few are content to remain silent any longer. Its no secret that Chinese intelligence collecting efforts since the late 1990s have been spectacularly successful. As the rest of the world comes to realize the extent of this success, there is a growing desire for retaliation. What form that payback takes remains to be seen. Collecting information, both military and commercial, often means breaking laws and striking or hacking back at the suspected attackers will involve even more felonies. China has broken a lot of laws. Technically, China has committed acts of war because of the degree to which it penetrated military networks and carried away copies of highly secret material. The U.S. and many other victims have been warning China there will be consequences. As the extent of Chinese espionage becomes known and understood, the call for consequences becomes louder. China tries hard to conceal its espionage efforts. Not just denying anything and everything connected to hacking and conventional spying but also taking precautions. But as their success continued year after year, some of the Chinese hackers became cocky and sloppy. At the same time, the victims became more adept at detecting Chinese efforts and tracing them back to specific Chinese government organizations or non-government hackers inside China. Undeterred, China has sought to keep its espionage effort going and has even expanded operations. For example, starting in 2008 China opened National Intelligence Colleges in many major universities. In effect, each of these is an Espionage Department where, each year, several hundred carefully selected applicants are accepted in each school, to be trained as spies and intelligence operatives. China has found that espionage is an enormously profitable way to obtain military and commercial secrets and now China trains and rewards those who have a talent for such things and make a career of it. The Internet-based operations, however, are only one part of Chinas espionage efforts. While Chinese Cyber War operations in this area get a lot of publicity, the more conventional spying brings in a lot of stuff that is not reachable on the Internet. One indicator of this effort is the fact that American counter-intelligence efforts are snagging more Chinese spies. This is partly due to increased spying efforts by China, which puts more of their people out there to get caught, as well as more success by the FBI and CIA. All this espionage, in all its forms, has played a large part in turning China into one of the mightiest industrial and military powers on the planet. China is having a hard time hiding the source of the new technologies they are incorporating into their weapons and commercial products. Many of the victims initially had a hard time accepting the fact that the oh-so-eager (to export) Chinese were robbing their best customers of intellectual property on a grand scale. Now Western firms are a lot more wary about dealing with the Chinese. China has been getting away with something the Soviet Union never accomplished, stealing Western technology, and then using it to move ahead of the West. The Soviets lacked the many essential supporting industries found in the West. These firms were largely founded and run by entrepreneurs, which was illegal in the Soviet Union. Because of that, the Russians were never able to acquire all the many pieces needed to match Western technical accomplishments. Soviet copies of American computers, for example, were crude, less reliable, and less powerful. It was the same situation with their jet fighters, tanks, and warships. China got around this by making it seemingly profitable for Western firms to set up factories in China, where Chinese managers and workers were taught how to make things right. At the same time, China allows thousands of their best students to go to the United States to study. While many of these students will stay in America, where there are better jobs and more opportunities, a growing number are coming back to China and bringing American business and technical skills with them. Finally, China energetically uses the thousand grains of sand approach to espionage. This involves China trying to get all Chinese going overseas, and those of Chinese ancestry living outside the motherland, to spy for China, if only a tiny bit. This approach to espionage is nothing new. Other nations have used similar systems for centuries. What is unusual is the scale of the Chinese effort, and that makes a difference. Supporting it all is a Chinese intelligence bureaucracy back home that is huge, with nearly 100,000 people working just to keep track of the many Chinese overseas and what they could, or should, be trying to grab for the motherland. This is where many of the graduates of the National Intelligence College program will work. It begins when Chinese intelligence officials examine who is going overseas and for what purpose. Chinese citizens cannot leave the country legally without state security organizations being notified. The intel people are not being asked to give permission. They are being alerted in case they want to have a talk with students, tourists, or businesspeople before leaving the country. Interviews are often held when these people come back as well. Those who might be coming in contact with useful information are asked to remember what they saw or bring back souvenirs, legal or otherwise. There are over a million Chinese students attending foreign universities. Even more Chinese go abroad as tourists or on business. Most of these people were not asked to actually act as spies but simply to share, with Chinese government officials, who are not always identified as intelligence personnel, whatever information they obtained. The more ambitious of these people are getting caught and prosecuted. But the majority are quite casual and individually bring back relatively little and are almost impossible to catch, much less prosecute. Like the Russians, the Chinese are also employing the traditional methods, using people with diplomatic immunity to recruit spies, and offering cash, or whatever, to get people to sell them information. This is still effective and when combined with the thousand grains of sand method brings in a lot of secrets. Not getting caught is becoming more important because that can lead to increasingly dangerous diplomatic and legal problems. When the Chinese steal some technology and produce something that the Western victims can prove was stolen via patents and prior use of the technology, legal action can make it impossible, or very difficult, to sell anything using the stolen tech outside of China. For that reason, the Chinese long preferred stealing military technology and tried to avoid using stolen commercial tech in a way that made it easy to determine the source of stolen data. This meant keeping stolen commercial tech inside China. And in some cases, like manufacturing technology, there's an advantage to not selling it outside of China. Because China is still a communist dictatorship, the courts do as they are told, and they are rarely told to honor foreign patent claims when stolen tech is discovered in China by its foreign owners. Increasingly, Chinese firms are boldly using their stolen technology, daring foreign firms to try and use Chinese courts to get justice. Instead, the foreign firms are trying to muster support from their governments for lawsuits outside China. Naturally, the Chinese government will howl and insist that its all a plot to oppress China. This has worked for a long time, but many of the victims are now telling China that this conflict is being taken to a new, and more dangerous, level. Democratic vice president Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump face off in a presidential debate on Tuesday ahead of a November 5th election, upholding a tradition marked by some memorable moments of modern US political history: - 1960: The first televised debate pitted Democratic nominee John F Kennedy against Republican vice president Richard Nixon, who was recovering from a hospital visit and had a 5 o'clock shadow, having refused makeup. The 70 million viewers focused on what they saw, not what they heard. Mr Kennedy won the election. Advertisement - 1976: In the first TV debate in 16 years, Democrat Jimmy Carter faced unelected incumbent Republican president Gerald Ford. In remarks seen as a major blunder, Ford said: "There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, and there never will be under a Ford administration." Mr Carter won the election. - 1980: Mr Carter appeared in a second debate with Republican Ronald Reagan after boycotting the first for including third-party candidate John Anderson. The president accused Reagan of planning to cut Medicare healthcare funding for Americans 65 and older. Mr Reagan, who already had complained that Mr Carter was misrepresenting his stands on a number of issues, said: "There you go again" and chuckled, drawing audience laughter and coining a catchphrase. Mr Reagan won the election. - 1984: Mr Reagan, 73, successfully defused the issue of his age when he debated Democrat Walter Mondale, 56, quipping: "I want you to know that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience." Mr Reagan was re-elected. - 1988: A debate against Republican vice president George HW Bush opened with Democrat Michael Dukakis being asked whether he would favour the death penalty for someone who raped and murdered his wife. The question offered a candidate dubbed "the iceman" by critics a chance to show his emotional side. His laborious response did just the opposite. Mr Bush won the election. Advertisement The vice presidential debate came alive when Dan Quayle, Mr Bush's running mate, compared himself politically to John F Kennedy. Democrat Lloyd Bentsen replied in quiet, deadly tones: "Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." - 1992: Three candidates - Mr Bush, Democrat Bill Clinton and independent Ross Perot - shared a stage. Mr Clinton won the election. US presidential candidate Bill Clinton (R), and US president George Bush (L) listen as Independent presidential candidate Ross Perot (C) answers a question. Photo: Getty Images - 1996: In a debate with Mr Clinton, Republican Bob Dole was asked by a student whether, at 73, he was too old to understand the needs of young people. He replied that at his age, intelligence and experience meant he had the advantage of wisdom. Mr Clinton retorted: "I can only tell you that I don't think Senator Dole is too old to be president. It's the age of his ideas that I question." Mr Clinton was re-elected. Advertisement - 2000: In his first debate with Republican George W Bush, Democratic vice president Al Gore drew negative reviews for sighing loudly while Mr Bush spoke. "We all make mistakes. I've been known to mangle a syllable or two myself," Mr Bush said during their second debate, purposely mispronouncing "syllable". Mr Bush won the election. - 2004: The last debate between Mr Bush and Democrat John Kerry offered voters a stark contrast in styles, with Mr Bush sticking to simple arguments while Mr Kerry released an array of facts to make his case. Mr Bush was re-elected. - 2008: Sarah Palin, Republican John McCain's running mate, and Joe Biden, running with Democrat Barack Obama, clashed on the economy and Iraq during a lively but polite vice presidential debate. Ms Palin frequently displayed a folksy style. At one point, she said: "Aw, say it ain't so, Joe," adding a "doggone it" for good measure. Mr Biden and Ms Palin both vowed to make US economic policy friendlier for middle-class workers, but Mr Biden said Mr McCain had called the fundamentals of the economy strong as the financial crisis broke out. The Obama-Biden ticket won the election. Advertisement - 2012: Mr Obama stumbled in his first debate with Republican Mitt Romney, surprising and worrying his supporters. But in their second debate, Mr Romney, responding to a question about gender pay equality, said he had "binders full of women" as candidates for cabinet posts. The phrase became a meme on social media, with tweets, original artwork and a Facebook group spoofing Mr Romney. Mr Obama won again. - 2016: The first debate between businessman Donald Trump and Democratic former secretary of state Hillary Clinton drew 84 million US television viewers, a record for a debate and a rare number in an age of digital streaming. An exchange of insults dominated their second debate, with Ms Clinton jabbing at Mr Trump for sexually aggressive remarks about women he made on a just-uncovered 2005 videotape. Mr Trump sought to deflect criticism by accusing Bill Clinton, the candidate's husband, of having done worse to women. In her book published in 2017, Ms Clinton wrote that in their second debate Trump made her skin crawl by stalking her around the stage, and she wondered if she should have told him to back up, you creep". Advertisement Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton during one of their debates. Photo: Getty Images Instead, she said, I kept my cool, aided by a lifetime of dealing with difficult men trying to throw me off. In the third debate, Mr Trump called Ms Clinton such a nasty woman and declined to say he would accept the election results. Mr Trump won the election. - 2020: Down in opinion polls, then-president Trump came into his first debate with Mr Biden, the former vice president, looking for a fight. But his belligerence worked against him. He repeatedly interrupted Mr Biden and the moderator, Chris Wallace, to the point where the entire event veered out of control. He attacked Mr Biden's family. Polls and focus groups conducted afterward showed swing voters were repulsed by his behaviour. At one point when Mr Trump was interrupting him, Mr Biden said: "Will you shut up, man? This is so unpresidential." Mr Wallace told Mr Trump: "I think the country would be better served if we allowed both people to speak with fewer interruptions. I'm appealing to you, sir, to do that." Mr Trump, referring to Mr Biden, responded: "And him, too." Mr Wallace: "Well, frankly you've been doing more interrupting." Mr Trump would later drop out of the second debate after it was switched to a virtual format in the wake of his Covid-19 diagnosis. He then adopted a more restrained tone for the final face-off with Biden. At the vice presidential debate, a stray housefly briefly commanded the national stage, generating buzz when it perched on vice president Mike Pence's cropped white hair while he debated his Democratic rival, then-US senator Kamala Harris. - June 27th, 2024: President Biden, 81, delivered a shaky, halting performance while former president Trump, 78, battered him with a series of often false attacks, as the two oldest presidential candidates ever exchanged insults. World Harris and Trump effectively tied in final stretch... Read More Mr Biden's performance rattled fellow Democrats and deepened voter concerns his faculties had dulled with age. The two candidates appeared with no live audience, and their microphones automatically cut off when it was not their turn to speak - both atypical rules imposed to avoid the chaos that derailed their first debate in 2020, when Mr Trump interrupted Mr Biden repeatedly. The two men - who made little secret of their mutual dislike - did not shake hands or acknowledge each other before or after the debate. On July 21st, Mr Biden abandoned his re-election bid under growing pressure from fellow Democrats and endorsed vice president Harris as the party's candidate to face Mr Trump in the November 5th election. Ms Harris, 59, formally accepted the nomination on August 22nd. Former Venezuelan presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has fled into exile after being granted asylum in Spain, delivering a major blow to millions who placed their hopes in his campaign to end two decades of single-party rule. The surprise departure of the man who Venezuelas opposition and several foreign governments consider the legitimate winner of Julys presidential race was announced by Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez late on Saturday night. Advertisement She said the government decided to grant Mr Gonzalez safe passage out of the country, just days after ordering his arrest, to help restore the countrys political peace and tranquillity. Mr Gonzalez arrived on Sunday at a military airport near Madrid, accompanied by his wife and Spanish officials, Spains foreign ministry said. Supporters of Edmundo Gonzalez wait for his arrival outside the Torrejon Air Base in Madrid (Andrea Comas/AP) Advertisement Hours later, he sent a short voice message to supporters thanking them for their support. My departure from Caracas was surrounded by acts of pressure, coercion and threats, he said. I trust that we will soon continue our fight to achieve our freedom and the restoration of Venezuelas democracy. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said Mr Gonzalez feared for his life if he stayed in Venezuela. His life was in danger, and the growing threats, legal citations, arrest orders, and even blackmail attempts that he was subjected to demonstrate that the regime has no scruples or limits in its obsession to silence him and try to break him, Ms Machado wrote on X. Advertisement Spains centre-left government said the decision to leave Venezuela was Mr Gonzalezs alone, and he departed on a plane sent by the countrys air force. He stayed at the Spanish embassy in Caracas before leaving. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told Spanish national broadcaster RTVE that his government will grant Mr Gonzalez political asylum as he requested. Mr Albares spoke from Oman while en route to China with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on a state visit. I have been able to speak to (Mr Gonzalez), and once he was aboard the airplane, he expressed his gratitude toward the Spanish government and Spain, Mr Albares said. Of course, I told him we were pleased that he is well and on his way to Spain, and I reiterated the commitment of our government to the political rights of all Venezuelans. In a speech before Mr Gonzalezs departure was announced, Mr Sanchez said the opposition leader was a hero whom Spain is not going to abandon. Advertisement The European Unions foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, in a statement on Sunday described it as a sad day for democracy in Venezuela. Mr Borrell added that Mr Gonzalez appears to be the winner of the presidential elections and that the EU will maintain its support of the Venezuelan people in their democratic aspirations. In a letter sent on Sunday to lawmakers, Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Caspar Veldkamp said that the Netherlands had given Mr Gonzalez refuge shortly after the election at its embassy. He added that Mr Gonzalez said at the beginning of September that he wanted to leave the country and continue his fight from Spain. Advertisement The 75-year-old former diplomat was a last-minute stand-in when Ms Machado was banned from running. Previously unknown to most Venezuelans, he nonetheless rapidly ignited the hopes of millions of Venezuelans desperate for change after a decade-long economic freefall. Protesters in the Catia neighbourhood of Caracas demonstrate against Venezuelas official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro the winner (Cristian Hernandez/AP) While President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of the July vote, most Western governments, including Spain, have yet to recognise his victory and are instead demanding that authorities publish a breakdown of votes. Meanwhile, tally sheets collected by opposition volunteers from over two-thirds of the electronic voting machines indicate that Mr Gonzalez won by a more than two-to-one margin. The tally sheets have long been considered the ultimate proof of election results in Venezuela. In previous presidential elections, the National Electoral Council published online the results of each of the more than 30,000 voting machines but the Maduro-controlled panel did not release any data this time, blaming an alleged cyberattack mounted by its opponents from North Macedonia. Expert tips on what you need to do to successfully launch your small business idea. A great idea alone is rarely enough to secure business success. Small business owners must also arm themselves with knowledge about which sectors are growing, what problems other businesses are solving and where consumers are willing to spend their cash. Lisa Bora, KPMG partner in charge of clients and markets, says its crucial that for businesses to have a really clear proposition in the market. Credit: Louise Kennerley Successful companies evaluate the landscape and work out where they fit within it, says Lisa Bora, KPMG partner in charge of clients and markets. Its crucial that you have a really clear proposition in the market, she says. Who is my audience, what is my true proposition and how do I differentiate from competitors? Whether youre already up and running or toying with the idea of going out on your own, here are three growing sectors that hold valuable lessons for business owners of all kinds. Cavalcades of heavily laden 4WD adventurers roar along our remote country lane on Friday nights, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding bush and the animals that dart out unexpectedly at night. High-riding and extensively equipped, these warriors weekends have just begun. All is not as it seems, however, since their destination is a series of campsites easily reached by the smallest city runabout, via a cul-de-sac that goes nowhere else. Ive found firepits there stuffed full of glass beer bottles that, no doubt to these individuals great surprise, failed to burn. Perhaps its just a dry run for their next trip, to the Simmo (Simpson Desert) or beyond. The modern four-wheel drive is in your face and built, it seems, for the end of days. Credit: Hummer On darkened weekend highways, they can easily be mistaken for Christs second coming, heralding their arrival with an intense white aura just beyond the next crest. Unable to clearly perceive more humbly equipped drivers in time, they cause a second or two of blindness before they dip stadium-quality lights that are legally only allowed on 4WD tracks. Motoring has always been tribal, but this is a wave unlike any before it. Never before has there been a greater variety of ruggedly styled off-road vehicles sold, nor a greater zeal by city-based motorists to equip their cars with a dizzying array of awnings, fridges, winches and snorkels. Bro bling ready for Armageddon, or perhaps the ultimate showdown at the traffic-light grand prix. After all, nothing says tough like a 4WD with an imposing bull-bar and hi-lift suspension. A critical shortage of blood pressure medications considered safe for use in pregnancy is putting Australian mothers and babies at risk. Obstetric experts warned on Monday in The Medical Journal of Australia that supplies of several crucial blood pressure and other drugs considered safe for use in pregnancy are running short, which could leave women at risk of serious complications including brain bleeds. Doctors are warning that older blood pressure medicines, critical for use in pregnancy in Australia, are in short supply. Associate Professor Stefan Kane, director of maternity services at the Royal Womens Hospital in Melbourne, said the fact women of childbearing age and pregnant women are not included in clinical trials means no new blood pressure drugs have become available for use in pregnancy for 30 years. Existing, older-style drugs that have been used safely in pregnancy are so scarce that some women prescribed the medications, but unable to find them, are experiencing risky blood pressure. But whats this? Keep The Sheep website is extremely slick and seems to have a decent chunk of cash behind it for a movement that emerged with a sheep farmer in Ravensthorpe. Keep the Sheep is an initiative of Farming Families and Communities WA and is powered by hard-working Australians just like you, it says. Yet the email is produced using political campaign software Nation Builder no less. And the website is created by the digital agency Campaign Surge, founded by Peter Hosking, who once worked as a media adviser for Peter Dutton. CBD smelt a bush rat. Or was it a harvest mouse? Can we call this a bit of political astroturfing, the political practice of establishing a grassroots movement which just happens to sing the same song as more powerful, cashed up but less telegenic sponsors? We called the number on the media releases for an explanation. Its a movement started by WA farmers and WA shearers and WA livestock transporters association, said a voice at the end of the phone line which turned out to be Mark Harvey-Sutton, chief executive of industry group Australian Live Exporters Council. We are all involved in it and its definitely grassroots with the momentum that it has gained. Bar some seed funding. Keep the Sheep has 80,000 signatures on its petition and 1200 registrations for the rally and its campaign has raised $500,000 from contributions. It is a separate entity for the purpose for the campaign and a few organisations put in some amount to get the ball rolling, Harvey-Sutton said. It appears Keep The Sheep and its many admirers are pulling out all the stops for Tuesday. As the group says, See Ewe Next Tuesday, Albo. IF THE PRICE IS RIGHT Country Liberal Party senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price could find herself facing off in the Federal Court against defamation barrister Sue Chrysanthou. Senator Jacinta Price. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Les Turner, chief executive of the Central Land Council, has engaged Chrysanthou and is suing Price in the Federal Court for damages and aggravated damages. Price has engaged her usual defo go-to solicitor Bill Kalantzis, who in the past has acted for Russell Crowe and John Jarratt. In July Price issued a media release about a motion of no confidence in Turner. The NT News published a story which said the motion was defeated. But then the land council issued a release to say there was no such motion at its full council meeting and Price and The NT News were inaccurate. The NT News apologised, saying it had got the release from Central Land Council chair Matthew Palmer which was purportedly issued on behalf of the CLC. The newspaper is not part of the action, so CBD presumes it has already settled. The court filing says Price did not check her claims or withdraw them when told they were false. The CLC and Price declined to comment and Palmer did not respond. Stay tuned, folks. MR SMITH GOES TO MAROONDAH To the ranks of Lazarus with a triple bypass we can add former state MP Ryan Smith. The former Liberal MP infamously quit the Victorian parliament, forcing a byelection, after Liberal leader John Pesuttos conflict with banished womens rights activist Moira Deeming. On the way out he cited the growing negative tone of politics. Former state MP Ryan Smith. Credit: ABC Pesutto learnt about it from a press release at the same time Joe Public did. Smith went to work for the private sector, we heard a property developer, but had the reputation of hanging around Spring Street as one observer put it like a bad smell. CBD remains odour neutral on that issue, but Smith has told us that he is back and is a candidate in democracys basement tier in the McAlpin ward of City of Maroondah Council, centred around Croydon in Melbournes east. I still like that community engagement and getting down to the local footy club and helping people, he told CBD. He only quit parliament in July last year. We politely suggested local politics might be a bit of a step-down only to be told by Smith that if elected he would be on the right side of the budget which would be a step-up since the Liberals have been out of power in the state for a decade. As for the latest incarnation of Lazarus with a triple bypass the quote John Howard gave about his leadership prospects in 1989 when he lost the Liberal leadership. Howard later served 11 years as prime minister. I dont think council is on the same level, Smith responded sagely. TEAM JILLY LIBERAL Former North Sydney mayor Jilly Gibson may have left council with a bang last week, but her political ghost still haunts the hustings around Kirribilli. As CBD reported, Gibsons hand-picked successor Pallavi Sinha and the rest of her ticket have donned the trademark barbie pink and are running under the Team Jilly banner. And while Team Jilly are kind of identifying as independents, theyve got a helping hand from Liberal MP Tim James, who succeeded former premier Gladys Berejiklian in Willoughby. Hes added an endorsement to Sinhas campaign literature, and was even spotted out on the hustings with Team Jilly. Its drawn a few raised eyebrows among some Liberals given the party actually managed to get candidates on the ballot in North Sydney. But Sinha too is a Liberal member, getting a waiver from the party to run with Team Jilly. Coincidentally, so is Gibson, whom James is close with. And the MP told us his goal was simply to get as many Liberals elected as possible, regardless of what stripes they wore during the campaign. 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 Marcus Phillips is 12 months old and just beginning to explore the world around him. He picks at paint on windowsills. He smacks dust out of carpets. Outside, he flicks red desert dirt from side to side, scouring the backyard for unknown treasures. But what the toddler cant know is this dirt contains poison, dug up from one of the worlds largest lead deposits and blown off slag heaps onto the town below. It is brought inside by prevailing winds and dirty boots to hide in grooves of carpet. It settles on corrugated iron rooftops, ready to be collected by rain and pooled into drains and water tanks. It is painted into the walls of hundreds of Broken Hills old miners houses. Lead helped build this town, and now it is slowly poisoning its youngest inhabitants. Lead levels in the blood of Broken Hill children are on the rise again despite decades of remediation efforts, and Aboriginal children are most affected. They have double the amount of lead in their blood compared to non-Indigenous children well over the threshold for intervention set by the nations medical research authority. We get pretty revved up about it, says Lavinia Henderson, who oversees child and family programs at Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation. Lead is in every single bit of [the work we do], and its this extra work, extra stress, extra engagement, and we just dont get the support. Marcus, knees covered in red soil, is playing on the porch when The Sun-Herald arrives at his home in Broken Hill 13 hours west of Sydney alongside Maari Mas lead monitoring team. They are here to measure lead levels in the soil, carpet and paint, using a high-powered radiation gun to find hotspots needing remediation. Advertisement Marcus mother, Makaydee Leayr, points to one area where he likes to play the most. The reading here comes back at more than 800 parts per million almost three times the threshold for remediation work. In another patch, its six times higher. Loading Encouraged by her sister Tayla, who is part of the Maari Ma health team, Leayr brings Marcus into the clinic for a blood test. The results come back in minutes: he has just over 4 micrograms per decilitre (g/dL) of lead in his blood, within the target range of 5 g/dL set by the National Health and Medical Research Council, but still higher than normal for a child his age. Even at lower levels, lead can cause issues with a childs cognition and motor function. As levels increase, the bodys ability to use vitamin D and make red blood cells can decrease. In extreme cases, high lead levels can cause severe anaemia, kidney damage and seizures. In the latest lead monitoring figures, released by Far West Local Health District last month, the average blood level for children tested between 1 and 5-years-old was 4.4 g/dL, an increase on the two previous years when testing rates were lower due to COVID-19. Advertisement But for Aboriginal children, the average was 7.9 g/dL. Alarmingly, 1 in 10 Aboriginal children had blood lead levels above 20 g/dL. Thats the stark indicator that were not really closing the gap, says Hugh Burke, a public health physician who has worked with Maari Ma on the lead issue since 1994. The Line of Lode A 10-storey pile of waste material divides North and South Broken Hill. Two companies Perilya and CBH Resources still mine the vein that gave BHP its name and riches in the 1800s. Lead isotopes originating from those mines have been found in blood samples from children and even sparrows. Very clearly, the Line of Lode [Broken Hills iron ore deposit] is still yielding elevated levels of lead dust, says Mark Taylor, a professor of environmental science and human health at Macquarie University. The Aboriginal children of this community are currently bearing the brunt of the impact. Cathy Dyer from Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation Blood lead levels dropped dramatically in the decade following the introduction of Broken Hills lead monitoring program in the mid 90s. It was considered probably second only to the success of fluoridation in water as a public health project, says Cathy Dyer, who has also worked with Maari Ma on its lead response for decades. Advertisement But progress has plateaued. The average blood lead level for Aboriginal children tested between one and five years old has stayed above 7 g/dL in all but one of the last 10 years. Burke and Dyer say this is partly because a lack of social housing in Broken Hill is disproportionately forcing Aboriginal families into private rentals with lead paint and no landscaping, leaving children to play on bare soil rather than lawns covering the contamination. Loading The state government has committed more than $200 million towards a critical maintenance program for existing Aboriginal housing in NSW, but Burke says new housing was a major priority in Broken Hill. We can then move Aboriginal families out of those private rental shockers and put them into social housing that is hopefully good quality and lead safe, he says. NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson said the states Aboriginal Housing Office had recently completed 10 new homes in Broken Hill, with three more on the way. But cleaning up houses would be ineffective without stopping new pollution coming from the mines, Taylor says. You can cap it and clean it its a matter of cost and will. Broken Hill is a long-time mining town. Advertisement It is an unwelcome indicator of the horror of the Israel/Hamas conflict that it has rippled out to the most unlikely corners of the Antipodes. For example: symphony orchestras are not commonly regarded as hotbeds of activism and political controversy. But in recent weeks, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has been shaken by the extremely damaging fallout from a piano performance which touched on the horrendous death toll in Gaza. How is that even possible? Left: Pianist Jayson Gillham. Right: Sacked Melbourne Symphony Orchestra managing director Sophie Galaise. Credit: Simon Schluter, Laura Manariti In August, the MSO pianist Jayson Gillham gave a recital to a small audience, during which he played a piece called Witness by composer Connor DNetto. Gillham prefaced the piece with a speech dedicating it to journalists killed in Gaza (the International Federation of Journalists says more than 130 journalists and media workers have been killed since the horrific Hamas attacks on Israel). Gillham said that some of those journalist deaths had been targeted assassinations, a war crime allegation vehemently rejected by Israel. He also said: In addition to the role of journalists who bear witness, the word witness in Arabic is shahid, which also means martyr. But beyond the messaging mastery, the LNPs keystone youth crime policy for next months state election opens the door to a philosophical question that is harder to answer than one might think what, exactly, is an adult? We all need to fully appreciate what adult crime, adult time means. Credit: Illustration: Dionne Gain There it is. The perfect four-word slogan, tailor-made for a modern political campaign. The legal definition, in Australia at least, is pretty clear. Its someone who has orbited the sun at least 18 times. When youre 17 years and 364 days old, youre not an adult. Come midnight, youre suddenly a fully formed human being, at least in the eyes of the law. You are now bestowed with all the rights and responsibilities that come with adulthood. Its arbitrary and it ignores the individual rates of physical and mental maturing we all go through. Some 15-year-olds could certainly be considered more emotionally adult than some 24-year-olds, for example. But the law is the law, and the law says 18. So what happens when we, as a society, start to tinker around the edges of that legal definition and bestow adult responsibilities upon a childs young shoulders? Queenslands LNP opposition has promised to set up a public register for some child sex offenders if it wins government in the looming October 26 election. The proposed register sought by Daniel Morcombes parents for years and long supported by the LNP would operate with three tiers of available information. But experts have previously questioned the idea as they have with other such registers and its potential to provide a false sense of security or identify victims. Bruce and Denise Morcombe, whose son Daniel was murdered by repeat child sex offender Brett Peter Cowan. Credit: Nine News Queensland Reintroduction of a register to public debate by LNP leader David Crisafulli comes amid a key election campaign in which his party has focused heavily on crime. September 7, 2024: The increasing threat of more Russian violence led the United States to review and upgrade its ability to detect what is happening in the Arctic region. This is because the shortest air route from Russia to the United States is over the Arctic region. This was the case during the 1947-91 Cold War. Russia revived the Cold War in 2022 when it invaded Ukraine. NATO nations, especially the United States, have supported Ukraine with hundreds of billion dollars worth of military and civilian aid. This led Russia to declare the war in Ukraine was the fault of NATO and especially the United States. Russia has developed a new generation of high-speed, long-range missiles. These are being used in Ukraine and could also be used against the United States when launched from northern Russia, across the North Pole and Canada to hit targets in the United States. Now the Americans are reviving their Arctic military bases and over-the-horizon radars. To do this the Americans can call on Israel for advice because of the recent combat use of the Israeli Green Pine over-the-horizon radar. In late 2023 Israel used its Green Pine system to detect incoming Iranian missiles. At the end of October 2023, an Israeli Arrow 3 long range air defense missile made its first intercept of a hostile target. A Green Pine over-the-horizon Israeli radar detected a ballistic missile launch somewhere along the Red Sea coast which was headed for Israel. An Arrow 3 missile intercepted the threat in space, which was the first ever intercept of a hostile missile in space. The U.S. also has a network of orbital satellites that can detect intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs, being launched. This space-based detection system was developed in the early 1960s, a few years after the first U.S. over-the-horizon radar entered service. Both systems have been improved several times since. From 1991, when the Cold War ended, though early 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine, the main use of these early warning systems has been to detect long-range missile attacks from North Korea or Iran. Both of these nations have been developing such missiles for years and for over three decades the Iran/North Korea threat kept U.S. missile detection efforts going. Few nations can afford to develop a space-based early warning system. That is one reason why the U.S. cooperated with Israel to develop the Israeli Green Pine early warning radar. European nations are now seeking to purchase Green Pine radars and Arrow missile interceptors. Arrow 3 attracted attention from potential export customers. One of these was a European coalition consisting of Germany, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovenia, Latvia and the Netherlands. This coalition was formed to jointly select and purchase enough air defense systems to protect them all against missile attacks from Russia. These nations are only part of the coalition. Another nine nations in eastern Europe are making similar joint purchasing plans. The most likely purchases will be of systems like the American Patriot, the European IRIS-T, the Norwegian NASAMS and the Israeli Arrow 3 ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile) system for use against longer range, and thus faster, ballistic missiles. Iran has these and is now threatening to use them against Europe. Israel has been subject to that threat for over a decade and developed the Arrow system to deal with it. The war in Ukraine has caused several major NATO nations to increase their defense spending and change their weapons purchasing plans. Germany is considering purchasing the Israeli Arrow 3 to defend against Russian ballistic missile attacks. Arrow 3 is comparable to the American THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) system. The U.S. financed the research on Arrow 3 and U.S. firms built nearly half the Arrow system components. Arrow 3 is a two-stage high-speed interceptor able to hit long-range ballistic missiles. Arrow 3 entered service in 2017, complementing and eventually replacing Arrow 2, which entered service in 2009. The original Arrow 1 entered service in 2000 and was then the worlds most advanced ABM system. All three versions of Arrow have been successfully used in combat against incoming enemy ballistic missiles. Each generation of Arrow used a smaller but more capable interceptor missile and increased system capabilities. That was one reason for the United States long prohibiting Israel from exporting Arrow. That ban was recently lifted, which led to an Azerbaijan order and Germany seriously considering a similar purchase. Azerbaijan, which borders Russia and Iran and is a major customer for Israeli weapons, ordered two batteries of Arrow 3 in 2021 to protect itself from Iranian ballistic missiles. Germany and Israel have long been purchasing each others weapons and cooperating in weapons development. For example, in 2011 Germany agreed to lend Israel a Patriot anti-aircraft system radar so that the radars in Israel's six Patriot batteries could be sent back to the United States for upgrades. At the same time Israel was developing its own Magic Wand/David's Sling air and missile defense system as a replacement for Patriot. The David's Sling missiles have a longer range of 300 kilometers and improved capabilities. The American manufacturer of Patriot cooperated with an Israeli firm to develop and produce Davids Sling, which entered service in 2017, David's Sling depends on longer range radars to get target location and speed information to the David's Sling launchers. Once launched, the Stunner missile fired by Davids Sling is guided to the general location of the incoming rocket, until the Stunner's on-board sensors pick it up, and then home in and destroy the long-range rocket. Arrow was always meant to be a more capable ABM system than Patriot or American systems like THAAD and Aegis. This has helped American air-defense system manufacturers by providing a source of useful Israeli patents to use for American systems. Germany is a customer for German Spike ATGM (Anti-Tank-Guided-Missiles) and both nations sell each other weapons tech. Last year Israel joined a U.S. sponsored regional air defense network called MEAD (Middle East Air Defense Alliance). Israel is a vital component of MEAD, which includes other Middle East nations, like Saudi Arabia and the UAE that have purchased American air and missile defense systems like Patriot and THAAD. MEAD makes sense with Israeli participation because Israel not only purchased Patriot, but also developed a similar but superior system called Davids Sling as well as the unique Arrow anti-ballistic missile system. Israel also developed and uses Iron Dome against rocket and mortar attacks as well as new systems that can detect and destroy low and slow cruise missiles which Iran has successfully used to evade Saudi air defenses and attack oil infrastructure targets. Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been regularly attacked by Iranian ballistic missiles and cruise missiles launched by Iran-backed Shia rebels in northern Yemen. This need for Israeli air defense systems played a role in the 2020 American sponsored effort to secure diplomatic recognition of Israel by Arab states in the Middle East and led to Israel exporting some air defense systems to the UAE for protecting commercial aircraft from Iranian missile attacks. After that diplomatic breakthrough, MEAD became a real possibility at the end of 2020 after Israel conducted two weeks of anti-aircraft system tests in the eastern Mediterranean against targets simulating multiple missile and rocket threats. To handle this kind of multiple threat attack, Israel ran successful tests demonstrating three different air-defense systems communicating with each other using a centralized target detection and fire control network to take down multiples of different types of targets. This new fire-control network enabled each air-defense system to successfully attack the specific targets it was most capable of destroying. This test also showed that Iron Dome was capable of destroying an incoming cruise missile. Other incoming weapons included unguided rockets, a simulated ballistic missile and UAVs. The test was mainly about proving that a new integrated sensor and fire control system worked. The integrated system provided a single 3-D picture of the battlefield by combining data from the American Missile Defense Satellite early warning system plus the local radar systems used by Iron Dome, C-Dome (Iron Dome mounted on Israeli corvettes and offshore natural gas extraction platforms), Davids Sling (formerly Magic Wand), and Arrow 3, the Israel based ABM system. Such an integrated system was needed to protect Israel from a massive Iranian attack using rockets, explosives-laden UAVs and cruise missiles launched from Lebanon and Gaza as well as IRBMs (Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles) launched from Iran and shorter-range ballistic missiles launched from Syria or (illegally) Iraq. The IRBM interception capabilities of Arrow had already been tested in 2017 and Davids Sling had been used against incoming missiles from Syria in 2018. Iron Dome has intercepted nearly 3,000 rockets, mortar shells and UAVs since 2011 and demonstrated its ability to deal with cruise missiles during tests. Detecting and taking down cruise missiles is a new capability for Iron Dome and C-Dome. This new capability was seen as essential for Iron Dome because these can come from any direction and be used in large numbers in a single attack. Iron Dome is designed to deal with such mass attacks by rockets and, using the new integrated command and control system, it was found that the target data could quickly and successfully be used from other radar systems. In early 2017 Israel successfully completed a final round of tests for its Davids Sling anti-aircraft/missile system and began deploying it in late 2017. At the same time the new Arrow 3 completed its final tests and was cleared for mass production as the version of Arrow that can intercept the longer-range Iranian IRBMs. Iron Dome has a unique feature in which the radar system computes where the incoming rocket will land. If the rocket will not hit an inhabited area, it will be ignored. Otherwise, one or two interceptor missiles will be fired. Davids Sling adopted some of that technology for its anti-missile mode. The Davids Sling Stunner missile can be used against larger rockets that will be aimed (by Syria, Hamas or Hezbollah) at large urban areas, and these will almost always get a Stunner fired at them. Davids Sling is expected to eventually replace Israels old 17 Hawk anti-aircraft batteries as well and, eventually, the six Patriot batteries. Davids Sling is very similar to Patriot and one option is to offer Davids Sling components as upgrades for existing Patriot equipment. Stunner is already available as a Patriot upgrade because Stunner has a max range of 300 kilometers, which is longer than Patriot. Many of the Davids Sling technologies were developed jointly by American and Israeli firms with Patriot upgrades in mind. The Stunner missile's long range allows two Davids Sling batteries to cover all of Israel. A Davids Sling battalion would have three batteries each with six truck mounted launchers (each with four missiles), a radar vehicle and control vehicle. Arrow 3 was earlier tested in the Eastern Mediterranean against Israeli ballistic missile warheads launched from high-flying jets. In 2019 Arrow was also tested from the American PSCA (Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska) in Kodiak, Alaska against three different ballistic missile targets. Israeli Sparrow ballistic missile targets are often used for testing the ABM capabilities of Davids Sling, Patriot and Arrow. These targets are missiles carried to a high altitude by an F-16, F-15 or a large transport aircraft. When launched, the missiles fly higher and then plunge earthward at a speed and trajectory nearly identical to that of a ballistic missile warhead. This provides an adequately similar target for testing anti-ballistic missile systems. The 2020 tests completed a decades-long Israeli effort to provide an integrated air defense system that makes the most of their numerous innovative air defense weapons. MEAD needs a networked system and the only one that incorporates the latest Israeli and American air defense tech is what Israel successfully tested at the end of 2020. There followed a year of discussions and negotiations between the U.S., Israel and major Arab partners in the anti-Iran alliance. Arab members of MEAD were not announced initially because Saudi Arabia had to determine if Saudi public opinion would tolerate belonging to MEAD. The Saudis have been a leader in anti-Israel rhetoric since the 1950s and only in the last two decades, as the Iranian threat grew, did Saudi political and business leaders realize that they needed Israel as an ally, not an alien entity that must be removed from the Middle East. The Saudis are the guardians of the most holy of Moslem pilgrimage sites and Saudis are proud of that. Some Saudis are still unwilling to accept Israel as a valued neighbor and ally. So far, the Saudis have established informal but effective diplomatic, intelligence and military links with Israel. To use MEAD the Saudis would have to go public with their acceptance of Israel. Thats risky for the Saudi government but so is staying out of MEAD. It is even more risky in 2023 because of the after-effects of the Hamas attack on Israel. For Israel and the Gulf Arab states the major threat still comes from Iran. Because of that Iran would like to see MEAD fail and Arrow 3 be kept as far away from Iran as possible. The news Queenslands state Labor government will investigate a second potential tolled tunnel between Darra and Toowong to deliver a long-touted western bypass of Brisbanes inner-city. Advice is being sought by the governments investment arm on how the Centenary Motorway bypass would stack up against surface upgrades already being considered. The state and federal governments have already started work on a $300 million duplication of the Centenary Motorways Brisbane River crossing at Jindalee. Credit: Dan Peled For decades now, weve been building out the tunnel network here in Brisbane, and Ive been particularly interested to see that mega project reach its fruition, Premier Steven Miles told journalists on Sunday. Russian Strikes Target Ukrainian Air Bases Amid Anticipation of F-16 Deliveries (Photo: U.S. Air Force photo / Public domain) Russia announced on Sunday that its forces had captured the town of Novohrodivka in eastern Ukraine, marking one of its most significant territorial gains in nearly two years. The seizure of Novohrodivka brings Russian troops closer to the strategically important city of Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region. The capture is part of Russia's broader effort to secure the Donbas area, which President Vladimir Putin has declared as a primary objective after 30 months of conflict. The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed the town's capture, stating, "Our forces have successfully liberated the settlement of Novohrodivka." The town, located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Pokrovsk, had a pre-war population of over 14,000. Its fall underscores Moscow's ongoing push in eastern Ukraine, where it has intensified military operations following a series of Ukrainian counter-offensives. This military development coincides with a significant escalation in air strikes by Russia across Ukraine. In the past week alone, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Russia had launched over 800 guided aerial bombs, 300 Shahed drones, and 60 missiles at various targets within Ukraine. These attacks have resulted in widespread devastation and significant civilian casualties, with seven deaths reported on Sunday due to Russian rocket and missile strikes across the country. Amid this heightened aggression, Ukraine has been urging its Western allies to allow it to carry out retaliatory strikes inside Russia, arguing that such actions are necessary to deter Moscow's continued bombardment. Zelensky, in a Facebook post, emphasized the need for more extensive use of Western-supplied weapons, stating, "Terror can only be reliably stopped in one way: by striking Russian military airfields, their bases, and the logistics of Russian terror." As Ukrainian forces continue their offensive in Russia's western Kursk region, designed to force Russian troop redeployments from the eastern front, Moscow has managed to maintain and even expand its territorial control in the Donbas. The capture of Novohrodivka is a testament to Russia's determination to solidify its hold on eastern Ukraine, despite the ongoing Ukrainian operations aimed at disrupting these advances. Adding to the tension, Russian military drones have recently breached the airspace of NATO members Romania and Latvia, triggering alarm and calls for a robust response from the alliance. On Sunday, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics confirmed that a Russian military drone had crashed in eastern Latvia, prompting an investigation. Meanwhile, Romania reported that a Russian drone had violated its airspace during an attack on Ukrainian infrastructure near the Danube River. The Romanian Ministry of National Defense responded by deploying F-16 jets to monitor the situation and issued alerts to residents in two eastern regions. These incursions have drawn sharp criticism from Kyiv, with Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, demanding that NATO take stronger action. "NATO must respond to the fact that Russian 'Shaheds' feel free to fly in the airspace of European countries. They need to be shot down," Yermak said on Telegram. The situation has also prompted calls for renewed peace negotiations. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, speaking on ZDF, emphasized the need for a new peace conference involving both Ukraine and Russia. Scholz indicated that he had discussed the possibility of such talks with Zelensky, and there appears to be a mutual understanding of the need to pursue diplomatic solutions, despite the ongoing hostilities. However, with Russia continuing to make gains on the ground and intensifying its aerial campaign, the prospects for a ceasefire or peace negotiations remain uncertain. The international community is closely watching these developments, particularly the implications of Russian drone incursions into NATO territory, which could escalate the conflict beyond Ukraine's borders. The human toll of the conflict also continues to rise. In the past week, Russian strikes have caused significant casualties across Ukraine, with the central city of Poltava reporting an increase in the death toll from an attack on a military education facility, now standing at 58. Additionally, seven people were killed in Lviv, a western city far from the frontlines, in a rare but deadly strike by Russian forces. As the war grinds on into its third year, the conflict shows no signs of abating, with both sides entrenched in a battle for control of eastern Ukraine. September 8, 2024: Russia is accusing dozens of minority ethnic groups of being disloyal to Russia. There are still a lot of minorities in central, southern and far eastern Russia. Simply because these minorities are not ethnic Russians, the government assumes they oppose the war in Ukraine. Russia has arrested and imprisoned some of these minority individuals on false charges of anti-war activity. Some members of these minority groups live in exile outside Russia. From these safe locations the exiles can report on the continuing repression of their groups inside Russia. It is still possible for the minority peoples inside and outside Russia to communicate with each other and the government does not like what is being reported by the minority exiles. The criticism makes Russia look bad and that makes it more difficult for Russia to develop better relations with foreigners. Russia needs these contacts to support its smuggling operations and sustain their propaganda effort to portray Russia as the victim in the Ukraine War. This propaganda campaign is running into problems because of past Russian behavior towards minorities. For example, in 2019 Norway increased its military forces along its 193 kilometer border with Russia. This buildup came eight years after Russia did the same on its side of the border. On the Norway side there are a lot fewer people, as in only 75,000 in Finnmark. Covering 48,000 square kilometers, this is the largest region in the country and the only one above the Arctic Circle. For two months a year the sun never comes up in Finnmark and the major economic activities are fishing, reindeer herding, tourism and oil and natural gas production. There are also a lot of government jobs, like maintaining the largest military firing range in Norway and the NATO Arctic Warfare training center. Another major military activity in Finnmark is monitoring Russian troops. Across the border is the Kola Peninsula where there are several naval bases for the Russian Northern Fleet. Norway has a major military radar station on the north coast of Finnmark as well as an ELINT (electronic intelligence collection) ship permanently stationed up there in addition to maritime patrol aircraft. The recemt military expansion in Finnmark mainly consists of restoring some of the forces that were removed in the 1990s after the Soviet Union dissolved. A military base near the Finnmark firing range was revived and a 400-man mechanized cavalry battalion stationed there. Another 200 rangers were added to the border patrol and arrangements made to bring more Home Guard units to Finnmark if there was an immediate threat. The Home Guard is a reserve force trained, equipped and organized for rapid mobilization. There are 45,000 Home Guard troops countrywide but several thousand of these are organized as rapid reaction forces and some of these were trained to quickly move to Finnmark. Most of the Home Guard are assigned to local defense in wartime. For many rural areas some of the Home Guard, consisting of people who work as herders or hunters, are organized for operating in thinly populated areas like Finnmark and along the Russian border. Norway only has 5.5 million people so these numbers mean a lot more than they might indicate. The active duty armed forces are only 17,000 personnel and about a thousand of them are the active duty component of the larger Home Guard. In wartime, with all reservists and Home Guard activated, total military personnel reaches 63,000. For nearly a century the main threat to Norway was Russia. The German attack and occupation during World War II were unexpected but the Russians have always been right on the border. Since 2011 there have been more armed Russians on the border. Because of growing oil and natural gas discoveries along Russia's northern border, the Russians ordered the formation of a special brigade of arctic troops to patrol the vast region and be ready to deal with any problems that might require military force. The 8,000 troops in the Arctic Brigade were stationed in the Kola Peninsula, near the borders with Finland and Norway. The Kola Peninsula has long contained key air, naval and army bases. The new brigade took a few years to get organized and trained and Norwegians began to take notice. The need for more troops in Finnmark became obvious in 2014 when Russia invaded eastern Ukraine and made it very clear that NATO was considered an active and growing threat to Russia. For their Arctic Brigade Russia looked to other arctic military powers for ideas, and sources of the best equipment available. This was part of a trend in Russia, to seek new military equipment wherever it can be found, and not depend on the often second-rate stuff produced by Russian defense firms. That ended in 2014 when sanctions were placed on Russia because of its aggressive military moves towards Europe and the West in general. By then the Arctic Brigade had its equipment and some of it was airmobile. There were also specialized vehicles that can move over snow and ice. Many of the communications are satellite-based, and everything is able to handle the extreme cold found along Russia's northern coast. Russias new Artic brigade, like most Russian ground units on its borders and even the guards of Russian air bases and ICBM silos, has been stripped of most personnel since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Those have almost all become casualties and not been replaced. All Arctic nations have specialized units like this, which often contain a large proportion of tribal peoples long native to the Arctic. The United States, for example, has a Winter Warfare School in Alaska, and a reserve brigade there organized and trained to deal with situations in the vast Alaskan backcountry. Canada also has an Arctic Warfare School, and troops recruited from native Inuit/Eskimo/First Nations populations. Finland has a similar system, and Russia sought to implement something similar. There are about 100,000 Sami people in Finland, who are similar to the Aleuts of North America and northeast Russia. Several thousand Sami are in Russia. Most are in Norway and Sweden, which was more tolerant of the traditional Sami lifestyle consisting of fishing, hunting and herding reindeer. Because of this Norway has a lot of Sami Home Guard and reservist personnel who are available to monitor what Russian armed forces might do along the border in wartime. Northern Finnmark and the Russian Kola Peninsula are not conducive to large scale military operations. Even during World War II, when the Soviet forces advanced into German occupied Norway at the end of the war, they did not advance far into Finnmark once they realized the Germans had withdrawn and burned down most of the civilian structures and forced Finnmark civilians to move south. Most of Finnmark had to be rebuilt and cleared of landmines right after the war. That has not been forgotten and was one of the reasons the Home Guard was formed in 1946. Norway then became a member of NATO and created a rather formidable air force relative to its population size. Norway has recently received American F-35s and its pilots have always been trained to head to Finnmark to deliver some air support for the soldiers and National Guard forces up there. With the advent of smart bombs in the 1990s, that air support became even more effective, especially when delivered by a stealthy F-35. Norway received its first four F-35s in 2017 and will have 52 by 2025. These are replacing 56 modernized F-16s. With the F-35, and any other NATO warplanes in the area, the small number of Finnmark troops have far more firepower available than at any time in the past. September 8, 2024: A Ukrainian intelligence operation carried out a surprise attack on a Russian air base near the Arctic Circle. This is 1,800 kilometers from Ukraine and was apparently carried out by Ukrainian operatives who, pretending to be Russian truck drivers, transported the drones to northwest Russia. This is a heavily forested area that is sparsely populated. It is also where several Russian naval and air bases are located. The Ukrainians attacked the air bases and the long-range Russian bombers that operated out of these bases for attacks on Ukraine. Russia believed these bases were safe because they were so far from Ukraine and had about a dozen Tu-95MS, Tu-22M3, and Tu-160 long-range bombers. These bombers fly to the Ukraine border, launch air-to-ground missiles and return to their base in the north. The Ukrainian attack put several Russian bombers out of action. The Russians were mystified and the Ukrainians would only say that they did it without supplying any details. Given the geography of the situation, it was deduced that the Ukrainians transported the attack drones to northwest Russia and launched them from there. Because the Ukrainian and Russian languages are so similar, it is easy for Ukrainian intelligence to recruit Russian speaking Ukrainians to carry out this mission. Western economic sanctions and the usual lousy Russian maintenance practices have caused the Russian railroads to fall into such disrepair that they are no longer able to move much cargo. That means more work for commercial truckers and their vehicles, which can be smuggled in from China and Central Asia. Russian security forces have much else to do and dont spend much time monitoring who is doing what with trucks. The attack up north caused Russia to cancel an event in the Baltic Sea city of St Petersburg where two nuclear powered submarines and two surface ships were on display for the public to admire. These four navy vessels were withdrawn from the event and moved to an undisclosed location. Dharam Singh Chokker also deposed once before the ED but after a special leave petition (SLP) filed by him was dismissed by the Supreme Court in this case, he is "absconding". Photo: X @dir_ed The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a petition seeking quashing of criminal proceedings and arrest of a Haryana Congress MLA's son by the ED, citing 10 judicial pronouncements made by the Supreme Court on these issues. The Court of Judge Mahabir Singh Sindhu in Chandigarh on August 27 held that prima facie, the offence of money laundering was "clearly made out" against the petitioner Sikandar Singh Chokker and that his plea was "nothing but complete misuse of the process of Court as well as law." Sikandar Chokker is the son of Dharam Singh Chokker, sitting Congress MLA from the Samalkha (Panipat district) seat of Haryana. Dharam Singh Chokker has been recently given a ticket by his party for contesting the forthcoming assembly polls in the state from the same seat. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp Sikandar Chokker was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on April 30 from a hotel in Haridwar, Uttarakhand on the basis of a special PMLA court issued arrest warrant against him in a money laundering case related to alleged duping of homebuyers funds by a company (Mahira group) "beneficially owned" by him. He (Sikandar) appeared for questioning before the ED initially but did not depose later despite repeated summons and a non-bailable warrant issued by a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Gurugram on the request of the ED. Similar warrants were issued against Dharam Singh Chokker and his another son Vikas Chokker, being co-accused in the case. Dharam Singh Chokker also deposed once before the ED but after a special leave petition (SLP) filed by him was dismissed by the Supreme Court in this case, he is "absconding". Sikandar Chokker filed a petition before the HC under section 482 of the CrPC to set aside the arrest warrant issued by the court against him, his arrest and the remand given to the ED by the court, essentially reasoning that the "grounds of arrest" and "reasons to believe" were not supplied to him at the right time in apparent breach of section 19 of the PMLA. "There is no quarrel that object and purpose of section 482 of the Code (CrPC) is to secure the ends of justice and not to frustrate the same....in the present case, huge proceeds of crime have been identified, and prima facie, the offence of money laundering is clearly made out against the petitioner. "Petitioner is the beneficial owner of Mahira Group of companies as well as other shell companies and has been found involved in money laundering; thus present petition is nothing but complete misuse of the process of Court as well as law," the HC said. It said about 1,500 prospective home buyers invested their hard earned money with the hope that they will get shelter, but the entire money of Rs 363 crore was "misappropriated and laundered" by the petitioner (Sikandar) in conspiracy with other co-accused. The court, however, underlined that the these observations were "not to be" construed as an expression of opinion on merits of the case but only confined to this petition. The HC gave its order to reject Sikandar Chokker's plea after discussing as many as 10 judicial pronouncements made by the Supreme Court on the subject of issuance of arrest warrants apart from apprehensions made by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering cases, including the one pertaining to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Citing Raghuvansh Dewanchand Bhasin's case which lays guidelines for issuance and execution of NBW, the HC said, "meticulous compliance of the provisions (section 78 and 79 of CrPC) was made while executing the arrest warrant with the help of local police" in this case. In the context of the Pankaj Bansal and Kejriwal case, where it was ruled that the grounds of arrest have to be supplied to the arrestee and reasons to believe that person is guilty of the offence have to be recorded, the HC order said both these directions were "duly followed" in this case. In the case of Pranav Gupta, where it was observed by the court that in pursuance of summons ED officials cannot put restraint on the liberty of the accused, the HC said Sikandar Chokker was apprehended in pursuance of non-bailable warrants legally issued by the special court. The order also noted that Sikandar Chokker tried to escape on the pretext of urinating while he was being brought from Uttarakhand to the Gurugram zonal office of the ED in April. It said, this incident apart from the fact that he had four other FIRs against him, show that the petitioner has "no respect" for the rule of law and that he made the process of law a "mockery". It noted that Sikandar Chokker "used" home buyers' funds to book rooms at a five-star hotel in Delhi between February 22 and March 13 last year for a family wedding. The HC said provisions section 19 of the PMLA were complied "in letter and spirit" in this case. TMC MP said he has not seen 'such angst and total no-confidence' against a government. | Representational TMC MP Jawhar Sircar on Sunday wrote to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, the chief of his party, and said he has decided to quit Rajya Sabha and leave politics altogether, describing the steps taken by the state government in handling the rape and murder of the doctor at RG Kar hospital "too little and quite late". In the letter, Sircar said he became increasingly "disillusioned" with the state government as it seemed "quite unconcerned" about corruption and "strong-arm tactics" of a section of leaders. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp Terming the protests over the doctor's death spontaneous, the retired IAS officer said he had not seen "such angst and total no-confidence" against a government, even when it was saying things that were correct or factual. "The primary purpose of joining as an MP, without any direct involvement in party politics, was that it offered an excellent forum to carry on the struggle against the autocratic and communal politics of the BJP and its Prime Minister. To that extent, I have some satisfaction and my several interventions in parliament...," he said in the letter. Sircar said that in 2022, a year after he joined the TMC, he was "quite shocked" to see the "open evidence of corruption" that former education minister Partha Chatterjee had indulged in. "I made a public statement that corruption must be tackled by the party and government, but I was heckled by senior leaders in the party. I did not resign then as I had hoped that you would carry on your public campaign against 'cut money' and corruption that you had started a year earlier," he said. The former bureaucrat said that he was persuaded by well-wishers to remain an MP to "carry on the battle" against "a regime that is the greatest ever threat to Indian democracy and civil liberties". "Though I carried on my task in parliament with fervour, I became increasingly disillusioned as the state government seemed quite unconcerned about corruption and the increasing strong-arm tactics of a section of leaders," he said. Noting his middle-class way of living, Sircar said he was amazed to see that several elected panchayat and municipal representatives of the TMC acquired big properties and moved around in expensive vehicles. "This hurts not only me, but the people of West Bengal," he said. "It is also true that leaders in other parties and other states have amassed much more wealth, but West Bengal is unable to accept this extravagant corruption and domination. I know that the present Central regime thrives on the multi-billionaires that it has enriched, and not a day goes when I do not accuse it of dirty crony-capitalism. I just cannot accept some things, like corrupt officers (or doctors) getting prime and top postings. No," he added. Referring to the protests over the rape and murder of the doctor, he said the "spontaneous outpouring of public anger" is against this unchecked overbearing attitude of the "favoured few and the corrupt". "In all my years, I have not seen such angst and total no-confidence against the government, even when it says something correct or factual," he said. Sircar said he had "suffered patiently" for a month since the incident at RG Kar hospital, hoping for direct intervention with the agitating junior doctors, "in the old style of Mamata Banerjee". "It has not happened and whatever punitive steps that government is taking now are too little and quite late. I think normalcy may have been restored in this state much earlier, if the caucus of the corrupt doctors was smashed and those guilty of taking improper administrative actions punished immediately after the scandalous incident happened," he said. Sircar said the agitation was non-political and spontaneous and it was not correct to take a "confrontational stand, by labelling it political". "They want no politics: they want justice and punishment. Let us analyse frankly and realise that the movement is as much for Abhaya (name given to the victim) as it is against the state government and the party. This calls for course correction immediately or else communal forces will capture this state," he said. Sircar claimed he wrote the letter as he did not get the opportunity to speak privately with Banerjee for months. "I express my gratitude again for the opportunity you gave me to raise Bengal's issues in parliament for 3 years, but I do not wish to continue as MP at all. My commitment to fight corruption, communalism and authoritarianism in the Centre and the States is simply non-negotiable," he said. He said he would soon visit Delhi, and offer his resignation to the Rajya Sabha chairperson, disassociating himself from politics. TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said the party respects Sircar's decision, and he was hopeful that the leadership would address the issues that were raised, and take strong, clear, and positive actions. "We are also mindful of the other issues Sircar has recently highlighted and understand that as a person of integrity and deep emotion, he is entitled to respond as he sees fit," said Ghosh. The BJP said it would be unwise for it to comment before Sircar submits his resignation to the Rajya Sabha chairperson. "This is not the first time, earlier also he had expressed his desire to resign from the party and give up his membership of Parliament. Later he backtracked. Let us see what happens now. But if he really does so, the people of Bengal would be happy that at least he had the spine to stand against the corrupt regime," BJP MP Samik Bhattacharya said. Disney CEO Bob Iger (top) said he and Bob Chapek worked together extremely well, but in the next breath qualified that praise By James B Stewart & Brooks Barnes At 5 pm on February 25, 2020, Bob Chapek and Bob Iger settled into matching directors chairs on the Disney studio lot for a series of live media interviews. The company had just shocked pretty much everybody by announcing that the little-known Chapek would be replacing the wildly popular Iger as chief executive. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp In an interview with Julia Boorstin of CNBC, Chapek fawned over his predecessor. I obviously have huge shoes to fill, he said with wide eyes, hailing Igers magic running Disney. Igers 15-year tenure as chief executive had been so successful that he had considered running for president as a Democrat. Queen Elizabeth II knighted him just before she died. Iger said he and Chapek had worked together extremely well, but in the next breath qualified that praise: Actually, our senior management team has worked together quite well. Chapek listened in vain for something more effusive, more personal. As the questions and the attention shifted entirely to Chapek, Igers usually relaxed demeanor stiffened. His gaze shifted down, away from Chapek, and he looked uncomfortable. He crossed his arms. Chapek was intimately familiar with Igers body language and expressions. This is not good, he thought. He was right about that. But little did he realise that he and Iger were about to face off in an epic corporate power struggle with few rivals in business history. When Iger stepped down as chief executive abruptly, just weeks before the coronavirus pandemic plunged Disney into the worst crisis in its history the companys board agreed that he could stay on as creative director and executive chairman of the board for another two years. That agreement nearly fell apart over the issue of whom, exactly, Chapek would answer to: Iger or the board. A last-minute compromise, reached without a board vote, had Chapek reporting to both. That proved a recipe for conflict as Chapek soon began to realise. Just weeks into his tenure as chief executive, Chapek expressed frustration. I cant survive another two years of this,Chapek told Arthur Bochner, his chief of staff. Iger is not going to leave. Hell be here until he dies. Bochner worried that Chapek would quit. Chapek was ultimately deprived of even that option. The board fired him just before Thanksgiving in 2022. As he had feared, his successor was Iger. The New York Times has pieced together what happened inside Disney during those fateful months by talking to scores of people directly involved. Those problems have renewed importance now, as Disney embarks on yet another quest to find someone to succeed Iger, whose contract ends on December 31, 2026. 2024 The New York Times News Service MBABANE If a proposed review or amendment of an existing legislation becomes a success, the Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS) could retain over E500 million from revenue it collects annually. The money would add to the subvention that the tax collector receives from government and would assist in ensuring that it (tax collector) executes its mandate efficiently. That is if a proposed plan to have the entity take about five per cent of the revenue it collects eventually succeeds. Notably, the ERS, which is under the leadership of Commissioner General Brightwell Nkambule, has in the past two financial years managed to collect around E10 billion and more, after having faced challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Five per cent of E10 billion is about E500 million. Having excelled the last year by collecting around E12 billion, the entity would have pocketed about E600 million had the review been effected. Recently, Members of Parliament (MPs) sought answers following reports that employees of the ERS faced a challenge of not receiving their salaries on time. This, the MPs said, is because the entity is not receiving its subvention from government on time. In response to the concern by the MPs, the Ministry of Finance has said that it is aware of the current unfavourable cash flow position experienced by ERS. The ministry admitted that it has been making monthly releases of ERS subvention to circumvent any negative impact on payment of salaries to ERS staff and that remedial measures are being pursued going forward. The ministry, in collaboration with ERS, is currently reviewing and or amending law establishing ERS to ensure that ERS legally retains five per cent of revenue collected to cater for their budget. This best practice has been successfully executed by tax administrations in other countries in the region and globally. This will address the ERSs cash flow constraints, reads part of the response from the ministry. Growth It should be noted that in recent years, the ERS has recorded significant growth in terms of revenue collection. In its Annual Integrated Report 2022/2023, the ERS reported that it recorded the highest tax revenue growth since 2017/18. It was mentioned that the 11.6 per cent tax revenue increase was higher than the 6 per cent nominal gross domestic product (GDP) increase projected by the Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE) and the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development (MEPD) and this was characteristic of an improving revenue administration. The report highlighted that the even though it was two per cent below target, revenue of E12.037 billion in taxes was collected. It was mentioned that the high tax revenue growth was attributed to, in part, the deliberate efforts taken by the organisation to improve customer service and effective revenue improvement initiatives. For the financial year 2021/2022, ERS revenue performance was marred by the slow economic growth and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and political unrests. As a result, the entity collected a total of E10.786 billion in tax revenues, 10 per cent below the revenue target. The under collection in tax collections was observed across most of the major tax types. Although the shortfall was E1.235 billion, it was above the previous year by 8.5 per cent. For the financial year 2020/2021, the ERS, just like other entities and companies locally and worldwide, faced the most difficult time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Total tax revenue collections amounted to E9.945 billion against a target of E11.403 billion, which was a 13 per cent below target performance. The revenue collections showed a shortfall of E1.458 billion on the set target and were also lower than the prior years collections by 0.1 per cent. Meanwhile, for the year 2019/2020, the SRA managed to collect a total of E9.950 billion in revenue, an impressive 10.6 per cent growth that was far above the rate of nominal GDP growth. This collection fell three per cent below the target of E10.295 billion, being a shortfall of E344 million, which was cited as a close margin given the level of economic activity and delays in approval of planned policy related revenue improvements. Positive In addition to this positive growth in revenue, the ERS operational cost of collecting revenue, which is an important measure to determining its efficiency as an administration, decreased by 0.2 percentage points to 3.9 per cent, reaching the lowest since inception of the SRA, indicating an improvement in operations efficiencies. The parastatal is currently executing its mandate in accordance with its new 2024 2027 strategic plan, which is expected to transform it and provide efficiencies that will make compliance easier for clients, improve trade facilitation and in turn increase revenue collection. The strategic plan contains for strategic thematic areas and objectives that the entity will focus on for the next three years and they include employee experience whose priority is to create of a conducive work environment, with an engaged and productive workforce that possess the appropriate competencies for a digitalised ERS. In terms of background, the ERS is a semi-autonomous revenue administration agency. It was set up through the Eswatini Revenue Authority Act of 2008 (as amended) and it works within the broad framework of government, but outside of the civil service. The ERS is structured as a corporate entity and strives for operational excellence and efficiency. Mandate A commissioner general heads the organisation. It has a governing Board appointed by the minister of Finance. It gets its mandate from the Eswatini Revenue Authority Act, 2008 (as amended). The ERS mandate includes assessment and collection of all revenue on behalf of government, administering and giving effect to the laws or the specified provisions of the laws set out in the Schedule and account for all revenue to which they apply. The ERS also has a duty to promote compliance with the revenue laws, take measures needed to counteract tax or revenue fraud and other forms of tax or revenue evasion and ensure that all revenue collected is, as soon as reasonably practical, credited to the Eswatini Government General Account. Furthermore, subject to the provisions of the Act, the ERS has a duty to take such other measures as considered necessary or desirable for the achievement of the purposes or provisions of the revenue laws. In furtherance of its mandate, and in working towards adopting best practices, the ERS is a member of various international organisations, such as the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), World Customs Organisation (WCO) and the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrator (CATA). Furthermore, it collaborates with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to improve its efficiencies through conducting assessments, such as the Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool (TADAT). In terms of its budget to run its operations, the ERS receives grants from government. In the past financial year, the entity received grants amounting to E463 612 420 from government to facilitate the funding of recurring and capital expenditure incurred and for its daily operations. Just like other parastatals, the entity spends on salaries and wages plus other allowances, provident and pension contributions, plus leave pay provisions. In the financial year 2022/2023, around E300 million was spent on employees, while in 2021/2022, the figure stood at around E289 million. A fact worth mentioning is that the ERS has for quite some time been regarded as among the highest subvented entities by government. This is according to the report detailing the performance of the countrys state-owned-enterprises (SOEs), which was compiled by the Eswatini Economic Policy Analysis and Research Centre (ESEPARC), which was released in 2021. Allocation The report mentioned that despite receiving the highest allocation, the SRA suffered from lack of skilled employees to fully implement and enforce the tax regulations and even operate the software earmarked to do this. At the time, the report highlighted that the ERS was not fully utilising the IT systems due to lack of awareness and knowledge of some of the key functionalities in the deployed systems. In a broad assessment over the years, the report observed that the cost of collection did not seem to show any significant gains in relation to the investment in systems and new methods of tax collection that the institution has made. Even though SRA receives the highest share of government subventions, it still needs further funding to expand its reach on the economy for additional tax collection. For example, it still needs investment for capacity building, attachments, taxpayer education and publicity campaigns to improve customer service experience, the report highlighted. Meanwhile, in neighbouring South Africa, the tax collector, that being the South African Revenue Service (SARS), was recently put on the spotlight after the announcement of a proposed plan to cut its budget, which it receives from government. However, the South African media reported that some political parties were against the decision. The IOL reported that it rejected the proposed budget cuts to the SARS, citing that the institution in charge of running the nations tax and customs services will be severely damaged by the decision. The party has called on the government of national unity (GNU) to ensure that critical institutions are sufficiently funded to give full effect to their mandates. ActionSA MP Alan Beesley was quoted saying that reducing budget cuts will adversely impact the ability of SARS to collect revenue and perform its mandate effectively, potentially affecting the overall fiscal balance sheet. The proposed budget reflected that SARS faces substantial cuts, with a nominal reduction of E769 million and a real cut of E1.3 billion, which the critics contended would be unworkable. They argued that rather than cutting SARSs budget, SARS should be further capacitated to increase revenue collections by targeting the political elite and other criminal syndicates who, through illegal activities, remain outside the tax net. A young couple from Portarlington, Co Laois whose daughter will die unless she receives a bone marrow transplant have made a desperate appeal for help. Robyn Neville-Quinn is only one year old but has severe medical issues, since she was diagnosed with a one in a billion genetic disorder. Only a bone marrow transplant will save her life. An extremely rare life-threatening condition, Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome (WAS) mainly affects boys. Only 20 girls worldwide, including Robyn, have been diagnosed with the disorder. Robyns parents Meagan Quinn and Adam Neville, both from Portarlington, will travel to a London hospital in October when their little girl will have a pre-transplant assessment. Now aged 25, Meagan and Adam moved to Belfast seven years ago but have a large extended family in Portarlington who are supporting them every step of the way. Meagans mother Sabrina Moran, who lives at Cathair na gCapall in Portarlington, regularly travels to Belfast with other family members to see her beloved granddaughter and to help the couple with housework and everyday needs. Sabrina told the Laois Nationalist: Despite everything she has been through, Robyn is so bubbly and happy and gives her best side no matter what. She has to go into hospital every couple of weeks for platelet transfusions and cannot mix with other children, as her compromised immune system means that she is very open to infection. Yet she always keeps smiling. A past-pupil of Colaiste Iosagain, Adam has to take regular time off work due to Robyns medical needs, while Meagan had to give up work to care for her daughter full-time. As the family faces a big struggle financially, Robyns grandaunt Pamela Quinn from Bracknagh, Portarlington, set up an online fundraiser in August with a target of 50,000 (58,683.75). The gofundme titled Robyns Journey reached almost 15,000 by 5 September. Pamela explains on the fundraising page: We are reaching out to you to support the family of Robyn Neville-Quinn. Robyn is an adorable one-year-old girl who has unfortunately been diagnosed with Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome (WAS). WAS is a rare and life-threatening genetic disorder that primarily affects boys. For Robyn, a girl, to be diagnosed with this condition is incredibly rare, one in one billion. Since birth, Robyn has faced numerous health challenges; within her first few weeks of life, following countless visits to A&E for bleeding and severe eczema, it was discovered that Robyns platelets were dangerously low, at just five. Normal platelet levels range between 150 and 450. To manage this, Robyn needed a central line inserted and weekly platelet transfusions to support her immune system. Because Robyn has a compromised immune system, she is at serious risk of developing infections. Although a medication introduced after her first birthday has helped her to produce more platelets, this treatment is not a permanent solution. Eventually, it will cease to be effective, making a bone marrow transplant essential to save her life. Due to the rarity of WAS and the complexity of the transplant, the procedure is not available in Ireland or Northern Ireland and will have to be carried out at the renowned Great Ormond Street Childrens Hospital in London. Pamela said: Meagan and Adam are a young couple, both only 25 years of age, who moved from Portarlington to Belfast and started their family. Robyn does not have any siblings. Unfortunately, she does not yet have a donor. However, as soon as her match is found, this life-saving operation can go ahead. The projected timescale for her operation, treatment, and recovery is six to 12 months, or possibly longer if any complications arise. Meagan and Adam will face significant financial pressure over the coming years. Meagan has been unable to return to work due to Robyns illness, while Adam has needed to and will continue to need to take time off from work to travel to England and support his family, during Robyns transplant and recovery. Thankfully, Robyns treatment will be covered by the NHS. Any money collected will go towards flights, accommodation, meals and everyday costs during this time. Pamela added: We would be so grateful if you could donate to this fundraiser in any way you can and please share Robyns Journey. MANZINI Prime Minister (PM) Russell Mmiso Dlamini was yesterday shown drugs that are snorted in the country. The PM toured the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) stalls at the Eswatini International Trade Fair (EITF) held at Mavuso Trade Exhibition and Centre in Manzini yesterday. The PM was shown different types of drugs that are common in the black market. The police displayed them at their stalls to educate people about their effects. REPS displayed marijuana seeds, mandrax, heroin, cocaine, tobacco and crystal meth. Public On another note, sharing ideas with Nkosingiphile Gule, the Acting Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Eswatini Housing Board (EHB) during a tour of this public enterprises exhibition stalls, the PM said the construction of courts should be prioritised and be considered when infrastructural developments take place. Taken through a variety of programmes that EHB seeks to undertake throughout the country, the PM pointed out that courts should also be prioritised when spaces for offices had been being identified and reserved by EHB. He said they should not be left out in any developmental initiative. Gule and Khulile Dlamini, the Head of Operations, briefed the PM on the parastatals projects. He was impressed and looked forward to seeing them take off the ground. He was shown the architectural impression of the King Mswati III Housing Precinct at Sikhuphe, where EHB will facilitate the construction of commercial and residential structures. The construction of a stadium is part of the projects under the King Mswati III Housing Precinct. The PM toured the stalls unaccompanied by any of the Cabinet ministers. Bertram Stewart, the Principal Secretary in the Prime Ministers Office, said the premier was not able to communicate properly with them on time so that they could prepare to join him in the tour. The PM was out of the country to represent His Majesty King Mswati III in the Indonesia-Africa Summit. Indonesia hosted a gathering of African leaders in Bali last week in a bid to grow economic and trade ties. But many African countries were not represented, with leaders opting to attend a separate forum in Mainland China. The Indonesia-Africa Forum was seen as an opportunity for Southeast Asias largest country to boost trade ties with Africa and seek out new export markets. However, the three-day forum struggled to attract a large showing of African countries. Meanwhile, the PM visited his former employers stall the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), where he served as the chief executive officer. He took sometime there learning about what the NDMA seek to achieve. Another interesting moment was when he advised the Eswatini Posts and Telecommunications (EPTC) to invest in technology as opposed to wanting to get things free of charge. Nifuna tintfo tamahhala (you want things for free), said the PM who was in a jovial mood. Cellular He also spent time at the Eswatini Mobile where he was shown the Honour Brand phone. He was told that Eswatini Mobile stall is the first cellular company to bring this Huawei brand into the country. He was taken through by Nosipho Xaba, the representative of the Inyatsi Group. The cellphone, which supports 5G, has a smartwatch. The PM also went to the agriculture section, where he viewed the Boran bull. He was impressed by it, is such that he joked about it. He said it was a rare breed, very healthy and deserved to cost a high price. A woman was arrested early Saturday morning for burglary at Westview Elementary School. Hamilton County Sheriffs Office personnel responded at approximately 3 a.m. to a business alarm at the school. The HCSO deputies began searching the school's interior and soon located a suspect in one of the classrooms. Chandler Ison, 29, who appeared to be under the influence, was detained without further incident. She claimed an employee had let her inside the school and she was there to find her sons cell phone. A search of the suspects person resulted in finding: 13 Sharpie markers An unopened package of ink pens, Packaged hair bands Disposable gloves Pocket knife, wallet, keys, flashlight, sunglasses, and coins. A Red Bank Police Department K9 officer assisted the HCSO deputies in searching the rest of the building for additional suspects. During the search, school equipment was found staged near a side entrance and in a hallway.Those items included: A large printer A bag with three iPads Disposable gloves Sharpies, Markers, Post-it notepads, and another bin with additional classroom supplies Due to the womans claim she had a son whose phone may have been at the school, HCSO deputies conducted a well-being check at their home. The family advised that the suspect does not have a son, but an infant daughter, who is in the care of another family member. Ms. Ison was transported to the Hamilton County Jail and Detention Center where she was booked on a charge of burglary. County Mayor Weston Wamp on Friday took to Talk Radio to defend the $260 million bond issue that mainly will benefit the county schools. Despite the cynics and critics, this is a very exciting time for Hamilton County Schools and Hamilton County,. he said. He appeared on Talk Radio 102.3 with Jed Mescon and J.R. Jim Reynolds. County Mayor Wamp said, With the passage of $260 million in bonds, this is an historic moment in investing in our schools from Brainerd to downtown to Soddy Daisy. Mayor Wamp told the radio audience it has taken 18 months to design a comprehensive plan that he noted met with the approval of the school board and County Commission, without raising taxes. He said this investment will go a long way in relieving the facilities crisis in Hamilton County Schools. County Mayor Wamp responded to County Commissioner David Sharpe who has been critical of the large amount of bonds passed this week by the County Commission. He said the District 6 Commissioner has talked to him at least half a dozen times about raising taxes to fund school needs. County Mayor Wamp said this plan doesnt raise the property or sales tax a dime. Commissioner Sharpe sent a text to the program saying, You clearly misunderstand his position and are not telling the truth. County Mayor Wamp said there will be a lot of modernization in school facilities in a responsible way and, while Commissioner Sharpe doesnt like this plan, he voted for the bond issue. County Mayor Wamp said this emphasis on education doesnt stand in the way of infrastructure projects. When asked about a timeline, County Mayor Wamp said, The gateway (technical) school is funded through this bond issue. The details are being worked out. Lots of corporate partnerships are in the works, and were very excited. We believe later this year is when that project and others should go into design; groundbreaking could begin in six to eight months. County Mayor Wamp said, While this is the largest bond issue in Hamilton County history, the county is rated by the rating agencies, triple A, the absolute highest level of fiscal responsibility possible. Prince Harry might not be close with the royals, but he still has plenty of family members in the UK who love him -- specifically, his late mother Princess Dianas relatives. When Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped down from their senior royal roles back in 2020, they faced extremely harsh criticism. However, the two have continued to rally despite a difficult relationship with the media and are now living a more private life in the United States. Still, its clear that Harry isnt over his home country. He loves the United Kingdom, but support garnered from Princess Dianas family this year proves the prince will never fully cut ties from where he came from. Prince Harry and Prince William hug Princess Dianas sisters,Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes, respectively, in 2021 | Dominic Lipinski/Pool/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harrys relationship with Princess Dianas family proves hell always come home When Harry and Meghan stepped down, they cut ties with Harrys immediate family. Even if that was not part of their initial plan, Harry and Meghans decision to leave opened the royals up to major criticism, leaving many of them frustrated with the Sussexes decision. Harry went a long time without returning to the UK, but this year, hes garnered substantial support from his mothers side of the family. Back in May, Harry flew to the UK for a ceremony that honored his Invictus Games Foundation. And while none of the royals attended, Harrys aunts, uncles, and cousins on his mothers side were there to support him. And when the prince returned to the UK in August for his late uncles memorial service, he stayed at Althorp, his mothers family estate. The connection proves that Harry will never let go of the UK for a full life in the US. Many people thought that with Harry being so iced out by his family, he would disappear from his home country. But he actually has plenty of relatives who continue to show support. Princess Dianas family could help Prince Harry make a semi-permanent UK return Harry has said he longs to bring his wife and kids to his home country but that he hasnt been able to for security reasons. But should that situation ever sort itself out, Dianas family could potentially help Harry feel more at home in a place where other family members want nothing to do with him. It isnt hard to picture Harry and Meghan spending time at Althorp as opposed to staying with King Charles or Prince William. Harry remains close with Dianas family, likely as a nod to his late mother, with whom he shared a very close relationship. It wouldnt come as a surprise if, in the next few years, theyre the ones helping the Sussex family re-integrate into the UK with regular family visits. Queen Elizabeth died in 2022. Here are answers to questions about reign, marriage, death, and more. Two years after Queen Elizabeth II died, here are answers to some frequently asked questions about Englands longest-reigning monarch. They range from her age when she became the British royal familys leader to details surrounding her death. 1. Questions about Queen Elizabeth: How old was she when she took the throne? The queen took the throne at just 25 following the death of her father, King George VI, on Feb. 6, 1952. Prior to taking the throne, she spent 1949 to 1951 living in Malta while her husband, Prince Philip, was stationed there as a naval officer. Queen Elizabeths coronation took place on June 2, 1953, at Westminster Abbey. 2. Did she have a child when she became queen? The queen was a mother of not one but two children when she took the throne. She and the late Duke of Edinburgh welcomed their oldest son and heir, the now-King Charles III, in 1948, followed by Princess Anne in 1950. (They later become parents to Prince Andrew and Prince Edward in 1960 and 1964 respectively.) King Charles went to his mothers coronation on June 2, 1953, without his sister. The Princess Royal, according to the royal familys official website, was considered too young at the time. 3. How many years did the queen reign? Queen Elizabeth sat on the throne for 70 years before her death in 2022, making her Englands longest-reigning monarch. She celebrated the milestone during Platinum Jubilee Weekend in June 2022. During the festivities, she made two Buckingham Palace balcony appearances alongside other royals. 4. How old was the queen when she and Prince Philip married? On Nov. 20, 1947, then-Princess Elizabeth married Philip at Westminster Abbey. She was 21 at the time while he was 26. According to ABC News, the queens father gave Philip permission to marry his oldest daughter in 1946, but only if they waited until she turned 21. 5. Where did Queen Elizabeth die? The queen died at Balmoral Castle, the royal familys summer retreat in the Scottish Highlands. Leading up to her death, doctors put the queen on medical supervision when they became concerned for Her Majestys health. Prince William, who became next in line to the throne upon his grandmothers death, later shared hed been told Balmoral was the least planned-for plan of them all, (via Newsweek). Plans surrounding where Queen Elizabeth might be when she died were updated regularly starting in the 1960s known as Operation London Bridge to staff. Editors Note: The Crown series finale touched on it with Queen Elizabeth, played by Imelda Staunton, joked about dying in a convenient place for her funeral organizers. 6. Questions about Queen Elizabeth: When did the queen die? Queen Elizabeth died on Sept. 8, 2022, at 3:10 p.m. local time, or 10:10 a.m. EST. The exact time was revealed weeks later with the release of the monarchs death certificate. Two days prior to her death, on Sept. 6, 2022, the queen made her last royal appearance when she appointed former British prime minister Liz Truss at Balmoral Castle. Truss later opened up about the meeting, telling The Reaction, a weekly talk show from The Daily Mail, that she had no idea it would be the queens last meeting. She was physically very frail but mentally so alert. I had no idea on that day that things were so imminent, Truss said. I had no idea because she was talking as if this was the start of something. That I was the new prime minister, that shed be there, giving me advice, sort of talking through the issues of the day. She was across everything, Truss continued. We had a very detailed chat for 20 minutes. She met my husband. All of those things gave me no sense at all that her death was imminent. And she ended the meeting by saying, you know, I look forward to seeing you again. 7. What was Queen Elizabeth IIs cause of death? The queens death certificate also shed some light on the circumstances surrounding her death, namely the cause. It attributed her cause of death to old age. Subsequent reports and books have claimed Queen Elizabeth had cancer toward the end of her life. Furthermore, that she could hardly see and just didnt have the strength, (via Mail Online). Queen Elizabeth was buried at Windsor Castles King George VI Memorial Chapel in the Royal Vault alongside her husband, sister Princess Margaret, and parents. Donating a kidney is even safer now than long thought, US study shows In the 18th century, a ship was lost off the coast of Norway under interesting circumstances. Around 300 years after it sunk, researchers discovered the wreck of the Providentz in late 2020 near the town of Mandal, which is located in the south of Norway. This year, new investigations were conducted, which have yielded fresh information about the vessel. The Providentz was an Irish merchant ship. On September 22, 1721, it sailed out of Cork harbor in Ireland and headed for its destination of Arendal, Norway. At the time, the ship belonged to the extremely influential Lavit family of Cork. It was packed with a cargo of butter, corn, malt, and grain, according to archaeologist Sarah Fawsitt. The vessel arrived close to Mandal on October 16. Before making the rest of its journey, it stopped to wait for better weather conditions to continue sailing. A couple of weeks later, a local pilot helped guide the ship back out to sea, a practice that was totally normal back then. On the early morning of November 9, despite favorable weather and plenty of moonlight, the Providentz strayed into the islets and reefs off Mandel, ripping a gaping hole in its port side. The vessel sank quickly, but the crew managed to escape unharmed. Later that month, a court trial was held to get down to the bottom of what caused the ship to sink. The Norwegian pilot never showed up to the trial. Instead, he sent a letter stating that some of the crew members, including the ships mate, were drunk when the accident occurred. Therefore, they had been unable to steer the vessel properly. However, the crew blamed the pilot for the sinking. They claimed that he had issued an incorrect command in which he had mixed up the starboard and port. Sign up for Chip Chicks newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox. Home News Ketanji Brown Jackson shares Christian upbringing at National Baptist Convention U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson highlighted the importance of her Christian faith in her upbringing and professional and personal life as she reflects on her career following the release of her new memoir. Jackson appeared at the 144th Annual Session of the National Baptist Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, Thursday to discuss her newly published memoir Lovely One. Jackson, who has served on the Supreme Court since 2022, declared, My faith has sustained me in my professional life [and] in my personal life. Jackson described her faith as very much what I leaned upon in getting to do this position. She recalled how, when she gave a speech after President Joe Biden first nominated her for a seat on the bench, the first thing I said was, I need first to give thanks to God for delivering me to this point in my career. 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 said, I have been blessed beyond measure and that I know that I have only come this far by faith, she added. This was something that I learned from so little when going to church with my grandmother. Brown said while her childhood Sundays were traditional, grandmother cook a big dinner kind of thing in the middle of the day, that being in the church was the most important part of that experience. She brought up one of her fondest memories of her late grandmother, detailing how she took advantage of the point in the service at her church where people could get up and say whatever they wanted and they could give testimony in the church to say the same thing every time. I memorized it as a kid, Brown explained. She would stand up when it was her turn and she would say, When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all Hes done for me, my soul cries out, Hallelujah! I thank God for saving me. The crowd erupted into thunderous applause as Jackson recited her grandmothers weekly prayer of thanksgiving. She concluded her remarks by sharing a Bible verse that her grandmother used to say all the time. To whom much is given, much is required, Jackson asserted in response to a question asking if she had any advice for young people who wanted to become Supreme Court justices. While Jackson did not mention which part of the Bible the passage came from, it is found in Luke 12:48. Jackson elaborated on how she has applied this particular Bible verse to her life: For me, that ... always meant that I had to work hard, that I had to be kind, that I had to have faith and believe that anything is possible. And those core values have sustained me. Released Tuesday, Lovely One traces Jacksons familys ascent from segregation to her confirmation on Americas highest court within the span of one generation, according to a description of the memoir compiled by Amazon. The title of the book reflects the fact that her name, Ketanji Onyika, means Lovely One. Thursdays appearance at the National Baptist Convention wasn't the first time that Jackson has spoken at a faith-based gathering since becoming a Supreme Court Justice. Last year, she gave remarks at a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, by white supremacists. Home News This week in Christian history: German missionary arrives in India, Jesuit martyred in Japan, papacy leaves France Throughout the extensive history of the Church, there have been numerous events of lasting significance. Each week brings anniversaries of impressive milestones, unforgettable tragedies, amazing triumphs, memorable births and notable deaths. Some of the events drawn from over 2,000 years of history might be familiar, while others might be unknown to many people. 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 following pages highlight anniversaries of memorable events that occurred this week in Christian history. They include Johann Philipp Fabricius arriving in India, Carlo Spinola being martyred, and the papacy moving back to Rome. Thousands attend March for Life in London Thousands of people gathered in central London Saturday to take part in the annual March for Life UK. The march processed from the Emmanuel Centre in Westminster to Parliament Square. It was joined by Christians of different denominations, with Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox church services taking place in the morning. This year's theme was 'Abortion isn't Healthcare' and guest speakers included ethicist Dr Calum Miller, fertility specialist Ira Winter, ex-abortionist Dr Haywood Robinson, and pro-life campaigner Dawn McEvoy, of the Evangelical Alliance Northern Ireland and Both Lives Matter. "Pro-choice, that's a lie. Babies never choose to die," Haywood chanted from the stage in Parliament Square. "As a retired family physician who practised medicine for forty years, I know what real healthcare is and I assure you, abortion - the killing of our children - is not healthcare," he said. Joining the march was the Catholic Church's lead bishop on life issues, Bishop John Sherrington, who said he was there "to encourage and support all those many people across our countries who are passionate about the gift of life and want legislation that respects that gift". Also joining the march was Patrick Regan King, pro-life advocate and pastor of The Angel Church in London, who said that pro-life remains a 'taboo' subject in parts of the evangelical church. "People don't want to talk about it, they don't want to deal with it honestly from the pulpit - or only in very broad, vague terms. But the power of redemption is recognising abortion for what it is, recognising the sin that it is against God, but also recognising that there's freedom," he said. COLUMBUS, Ohio In a federal prison about halfway between Toledo and Detroit, Matt Borges has his eyes on the mail. Once a well-paid lobbyist and Ohio GOP chairman, hes now serving a five-year sentence for racketeering by way of bribery. The man who once mingled with Ohios powerful lawmakers now spends his time with violent criminals. 1 killed, 4 injured in blast in NW Pakistan Islamabad, Sep 8 (UNI) At least one person was killed and four others were injured when a blast went off in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police officials said on Sunday. The blast occurred near a vehicle in the Wana area of South Waziristan, the country's tribal region bordering Afghanistan, said police officials in South Waziristan. Following the blast, rescue teams along with security forces reached the explosion site. Police cordoned off the area and launched a search operation in the surroundings to arrest the culprits. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 20, 2024. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on Sunday said Vice President Kamala Harris should increase her proposed 28% tax rate on long-term capital gains, marking his latest divergence with the Democratic presidential nominee's economic platform. "I would go higher than that," Sanders told NBC's "Meet the Press" of Harris' proposed capital gains tax rate. "I think she's trying to be pragmatic and doing what she thinks is right in order to win the election. My own view is slightly different." Harris on Wednesday announced her plan for a 28% tax on long-term capital gains, assets that are owned for more than one year, an increase from the current maximum rate of 20%. That proposal softened the party line on tax reform. President Joe Biden previously proposed a capital gains tax rate of 39.6% in his fiscal 2025 budget. In 2016, Sanders campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination with an even higher desired rate of 54.2%. Sanders said Harris' economic platform should go further in taxing the wealthy. "I think what the vice president needs is a strong agenda that speaks to working people," he said. Sanders also remained steadfast in his opposition to the political influence of billionaires, even as Harris cultivates ties with major megadonors. She has also collected endorsements from Mark Cuban, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and dozens of other wealthy corporate leaders. "Am I concerned about billionaire influence over the Democratic Party? I truly am, just as I am over the Republican Party," he said. Since Harris launched her campaign in July after Biden dropped out and endorsed her, Sanders has backed Harris but offered lukewarm support for her economic proposals. Along with tax reform, Sanders has openly disagreed with Harris' shift against supporting "Medicare for All," the proposal to provide free universal public health care to all Americans, which she backed during her first presidential run in 2019. Harris has been walking back some of her more progressive 2019 stances to garner wider appeal with the undecided, moderate voters who will likely determine the race. As the summer holidays end, investors in China are coming to accept that consumption and growth will remain sluggish for a while. JPMorgan on Wednesday was the latest firm to downgrade its opinion on Chinese stocks to neutral from overweight, "due to a challenging outlook," a team led by emerging markets equity strategist Pedro Martins said. Instead, JPMorgan increased its overweight recommendations on other emerging markets. Even after the change, JPMorgan still holds 18 China stocks in its global emerging markets model portfolio. "We keep our preference for select Internet names on [growth at a reasonable price] and rising shareholder return basis, and AI thematic plays once the current consolidation completes," the analysts said. "Consumption and Real Estate sectors remain marred by domestic concerns with few bottom-up stock picking opportunities." Chinese policymakers have acknowledged softness in domestic demand, but have yet to take meaningful action to boost consumer sentiment. The JPMorgan analysts said uncertainties about the China economic outlook range from tensions with the U.S. to "lingering deflation pressure." In contrast to the U.S., consumer prices in China have barely risen in the last year, dragged down by the real estate slump and worries about future income. China's consumer price index for August, due out 9:30 p.m. Sunday Eastern time, is expected to have risen just 0.7% on an annual basis , according to analysts polled by Reuters. JPMorgan's downgrade follows Nomura's demotion of MSCI China to neutral, from overweight, late last month. 'Consistent disappointments' "There has been consistent disappointments in the form of lack of meaningful measures to support the economy and the property sector while the economy remains at best 'tepid,'" a team led by Nomura's Asia ex-Japan equity strategist Chetan Seth said in an Aug. 25 report. "We are concerned that U.S. elections are likely to prove to be an overhang for the market," the Nomura analysts added. The analysts noted attractive valuations and the possibility of short-term rallies spurred by stimulus expectations as reasons why they didn't cut China stocks to an underweight rating altogether. U.S.-China relations have stabilized in the last year, but analysts cite uncertainty around the U.S. presidential election in November as a reason why Beijing has held off on domestic stimulus. U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan visited Beijing in late August for three days of official meetings during which he said Vice President Kamala Harris shared President Joe Biden's view that maintaining high-level communication is the way to responsibly manage the bilateral relationship . Harris and former President Donald Trump are set to debate on Tuesday. During three periods of escalating U.S.-China trade tensions in 2018 and 2019, the MSCI China index fell each time, according to JPMorgan China Equity Strategist Wendy Liu. But she found China's utilities sector outperformed, showing an average return of 12.8%. As part of its China stock downgrade, JPMorgan added shares of state-owned utility operator CR Gas , while removing shares of PDD, China Construction Bank and Kingdee International. The bank's updated global emerging markets model portfolio includes internet-related names Alibaba , Tencent , Kuaishou Technology and Meituan all of which are individually rated overweight by JPMorgan. Only one But when it comes to what JPMorgan calls its emerging markets growth and value picks, only one Chinese stock makes both lists: Hong Kong-listed short video company Kuaishou . The video app, a smaller rival to TikTok owner ByteDance, reported revenue and earnings for the second quarter that beat analysts' expectations, according to FactSet. Average daily active users rose to 395.3 million, up from 376 million a year ago. JPMorgan has a price target of 65 Hong Kong dollars on Kuaishou, implying upside of more than 60% from Thursday's close. The stock is down more than 20% for the year thus far. The Wall Street investment bank selects its value stock picks based on cash flow and upside potential, and growth stocks by their historical and expected sales increases. CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report. In this article ESALY 4523.T-JP BIIB Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Hannah Yoon | The Washington Post | Getty Images Leqembi, an Alzheimer's drug from Biogen and Eisai , isn't a cure for the mind-damaging disease. But the treatment promises to give patients such as Missie Meeks more time to live their daily lives normally and independently of others. Meeks, an English professor based in Ellisville, Mississippi, was diagnosed with an early stage of Alzheimer's last summer ahead of her 50th birthday. That eventually made her a good fit for Leqembi, which won regulatory approval in the U.S. in July 2023. Meeks received her first infusion of Leqembi in September 2023 after overcoming a few logistical hurdles, such as securing an appointment with a neurologist and getting insurance to cover the costly treatment, which it initially denied because of her age. Since then, she has been taking infusions of the drug every two weeks. Meeks is no longer teaching, but she said Leqembi is "extending my time of a normal life." "I still have fumbles. I'm not perfect by any means. But I can function every day pretty much normally. I can drive, I can go to the doctor, I can go out to eat," Meeks told CNBC. "It's extending my time of a normal life." Leqembi is considered a breakthrough for a progressive disease that has proven notoriously hard to treat. Leqembi is a monoclonal antibody that moderately slows the decline in memory and thinking in patients in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's. Only a narrow swath of the nearly 7 million U.S. patients with the disease are in those early phases. Still, the drug carries risks of brain swelling and bleeding. Some neurologists and other experts also say patients taking the drug haven't had it long enough to see a substantial clinical benefit, which was observed at 18 months in Biogen and Eisai's late-stage trial. Meeks' experience also points to the new and complicated system associated with taking Leqembi, which has hampered the drug's rollout. There are bottlenecks related to reimbursement uncertainties, diagnostic test requirements, the need for regular brain scans and difficulties finding neurologists. Some hospitals and clinics simply aren't equipped to accommodate the new flow of patients who could take the drug. Some doctors are also reluctant to prescribe Leqembi, citing their concerns about its risks and skepticism around how much it meaningfully benefits patients. Some experts say those issues partly reflect the steep learning curve that comes with a new drug such as Leqembi, which has ushered in a new era for the Alzheimer's treatment space. "Every time there's new technology or medication, it puts a little stress on the system, because change is hard," said Dr. Julio Rojas, a professor and behavioral neurologist who is involved with administering Leqembi at the University of California, San Francisco Health. "We're still figuring out how to use the drug, how to monitor it, when to stop it, how to decide if it's working or not." Nonetheless, some patients and their caregivers say the risk and grueling process is worth it. "I know Leqembi does not cure Alzheimer's. The focus is to stop the progression," said Meeks' mother, Patricia Waldrup. "She has two children, and she'll have more time to enjoy their lives and her husband's life. ... We have praises for that." Meanwhile, the number of patients taking Leqembi appears to be increasing. The treatment raked in nearly $60 million in sales for the first half of the year, up from the $10 million the drug brought in during its first year on the market in 2023, according to Biogen's first and second quarter earnings reports. In Biogen's most recent update, in May, it said roughly 5,000 people were taking the drug at the time. A long road to diagnosis Leqembi's rollout has been gradual in part due to the arduous process involved in diagnosing a patient with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia, the earliest two stages of Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, a general term for loss of memory, language and other thinking abilities. Brian B. Bettencourt | Toronto Star | Getty Images Tracey Collins, a global public relations officer based in Portland, Maine, said it took her roughly 2 years to receive a diagnosis for early Alzheimer's after she started experiencing symptoms of cognitive decline, such as memory loss. Collins, 54, said that was in part due to her being younger than the typical Alzheimer's patient and her physician attributing symptoms to other factors, such as trauma from recent family-related issues and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Collins was also recovering from a benign meningioma a non-cancerous tumor that forms in tissue covering the brain and spinal cord which can also cause cognitive dysfunction. But Collins' physician eventually referred her to a neurologist in Boston who performed a spinal fluid test to diagnose her with early Alzheimer's in 2022. Simply finding a neurologist can be a difficult task, since there are not enough of them practicing in the U.S., Alex Scott, Eisai's chief administrative officer, told CNBC. "Once you are told to go see a neurologist, guess what? That puts you in the position of waiting anywhere between four and eight months or so to get to see one," Scott said. That was the case for Meeks, who said she waited a few months to get her first appointment with her neurologist in South Mississippi. A 2020 study of Medicare enrollees found that only 24% of patients with a neurologic condition were seen by a neurologist, with notable regional differences. For those with dementia, 38% of people in more rural areas saw a neurologist, compared with 47% in urban areas. Eligibility and insurance bottlenecks Even after a diagnosis, patients and neurologists must jump through several hoops to determine eligibility for Leqembi, experts say. The drug works in part by clearing toxic plaques in the brain called amyloid, a hallmark of Alzheimer's, according to its manufacturers. That means patients must undergo a PET scan or a spinal fluid test to determine if amyloid has accumulated in their brains. Patients typically prefer PET scans, which are painless, for detecting amyloid, according to Scott. But, he said, Medicare only decided to broaden coverage of those scans for Alzheimer's in October, which contributed to Leqembi's sluggish initial launch. Neurologists also perform an MRI scan to ensure that patients don't have other brain diseases that may be causing cognitive issues, Dr. Ronald Petersen, the director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, told CNBC. Neurologists use the MRI to evaluate whether patients have microbleeds in their brains, which could make them ineligible for Leqembi because it puts them at a higher risk of its serious side effects, according to experts. Jay Reinstein, a patient with Alzheimer's, sits on a bed after receiving a PET scan at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C., June 20, 2023. Michael Robinson Chavez | The Washington Post | Getty Images Some hospitals and clinics also require genetic testing for two copies of the so-called APOE4 gene variant, which is also associated with an increased risk of brain swelling and bleeding, according to experts and Eisai. Those side effects are also known as amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, or ARIA. Once those tests are complete, a panel of 20 to 30 neurologists, radiologists, psychiatrists and other experts vote on whether they think a patient qualifies for treatment with Leqembi, Petersen said, referring to the process at the Mayo Clinic's Alzheimer's center. He said roughly 60% of people evaluated by the Mayo Clinic's panel end up being eligible for the treatment and that most of those patients agree to take it. The Mayo Clinic's center, which began screening patients for Leqembi in October, has 50 to 60 patients currently taking the drug, according to Petersen. Petersen said the center evaluates three to five new patient referrals at the beginning of each week and his team determines whether they are eligible for Leqembi by Thursday. Still, Petersen said it can take months for a patient at the Mayo Clinic to receive Leqembi due to other hurdles, such as insurance issues. While Medicare covers Leqembi, some patients who aren't old enough to enroll in the federal program may struggle to get coverage. Some commercial health plans simply don't cover the drug, experts say, which has a $26,500 annual price tag before insurance. Collins, the patient from Portland, said her insurance denied her request for Leqembi coverage three times, delaying her ability to start taking the drug. She was referred to a neurologist in April 2023 and received her first infusion in January. It can take other patients even longer, particularly if they are going to health centers that aren't fully equipped to perform MRI scans or other requirements. Michael Irizarry, Eisai's senior vice president of clinical research, acknowledged the lengthy process that patients have to undergo to receive Leqembi. But he noted that "all those steps are completely new, essentially since the approval of [Leqembi], and really is a transformation in the care of these patients." Infusion clinics can be hard to find Once a patient gets coverage for Leqembi, they can start biweekly intravenous infusions of the drug. But some neurologists don't have infusion clinics in their office, so they have to send patients to another health center that does. In some cases, the nearest infusion clinic may be dozens of miles away, which can be a huge obstacle for patients and caregivers who don't have reliable access to transportation or time to drive to another location. An analysis published in April by Being Patient, an online news source dedicated to Alzheimer's disease, estimated that there are more than 850 infusion sites in the U.S. offering Leqembi. But the analysis found that 11 states had five or fewer infusion clinics administering the drug. Eisai | via Reuters A spokesperson for Eisai did not provide a specific number of Leqembi infusion clinics in the U.S. but noted that the company has a tool that helps patients locate sites in the U.S. near them. But Eisai and Biogen said they are working on more convenient forms of Leqembi that could reduce the burden on patients and their caregivers and potentially expand uptake. The companies are hoping to win regulatory approval for a so-called "maintenance dose" of Leqembi, which would stretch infusion intervals to once per month after an initial period of receiving biweekly infusions. Eisai's Scott added that the company is hoping to win regulatory approval for a version of Leqembi that is injected weekly under the skin at home or in a medical facility. The approval would allow patients to eventually switch to that subcutaneous form of the drug as a maintenance dose of Leqembi. Collins drives 20 minutes to her primary care doctor in South Portland to receive Leqembi infusions, which she said feels like "a spa day" despite having an IV in her arm for almost an hour. "They give me coffee, snacks, and I sit and read on reclining chairs. I kind of make it a fun event," she said. "My kids have sometimes come to hang out with me. It's not really in a hospital setting so it doesn't feel scary." Meeks said her infusions feel like "therapy sessions" because she gets to talk to other patients and their caregivers at her clinic about their experiences with the disease. "It's just comforting to hear other people's stories as you sit in there," Meeks said, adding that the roughly 40-minute infusion is "done before you know it." Patients may experience infusion-related reactions during their first two sessions, such as flu-like symptoms, according to Irizarry. Neurologists also conduct regular MRI scans on patients to monitor for ARIA, or brain swelling and bleeding, side effects, according to Eisai. Side effects Leqembi has so far been well-tolerated by patients, according to Rojas. But he said the risk of ARIA is "always in the back of our head at all times." UCSF's clinic will have patients skip infusions of Leqembi until ARIA goes away, or use steroids to decrease brain inflammation. The Mayo Clinic's Alzheimer's center similarly stops dosing patients if ARIA appears on an MRI, according to Petersen. The center has seen a few cases of those side effects, but "nothing too dramatic, nothing fatal," he said. "Our experience thus far has generally been positive," Petersen said. Meeks' neurologist, Dr. Wendell Helveston, said a follow-up MRI picked up one small area of bleeding in her brain that didn't cause any symptoms. Helveston, who practices at the Hattiesburg Clinic in Mississippi, said Meeks' bleeding was "well below the level where we would need to stop dosing" Leqembi. He also said Meeks' rate of cognitive decline has stabilized after several months of treatment, which is "exactly what we would like to see" from patients taking the drug. The promise of Leqembi But even as uptake of the drug ramps up, Petersen said it may still be too early to say how much patients are benefiting from the drug. Leqembi reduced cognitive decline by 27% after 18 months in Biogen and Eisai's pivotal late-stage trial data that supported the treatment's approval in 2023. Eisai in July also released new data showing that the progression of the disease in patients on Leqembi continued to slow after three years, suggesting the need for them to take the treatment long-term. Mr. Bobby Pugh, 91, cares for his wife Bessie Pugh, 90, an Alzheimer's patient at the Ave Maria Home, an assisted living center for seniors, in Bartlett, Tennessee, U.S., September 13, 2023. Karen Pulfer Focht | Reuters Norfolk Southern's board is examining allegations that CEO Alan Shaw engaged in an inappropriate workplace relationship, according to three people familiar with the matter. The company confirmed late Sunday evening it was probing Shaw over "possible conduct" that violated the company's code of ethics and that it had hired outside legal counsel to investigate. The probe is in its early stages. The company is working with outside legal advisors on the probe, two of the people said. Shaw did not return phone calls or text messages requesting comment. The board is chaired by former Canadian National Railway CEO Claude Mongeau, who also did not respond to requests for comment. Norfolk Southern, a $57 billion company, is one of just a handful of Class 1 railroads left in the United States. Class 1 railroads haul huge amounts of commodities and freight, and are critical to the nation's economy. Norfolk Southern's operations span 22 states across the Eastern U.S. Norfolk Southern's board has undergone dramatic change over the last few months. An activist investor earlier this year sought to oust Shaw from the top job at the railroad over his handling of the toxic East Palestine derailment, the poor performance of Norfolk Southern's stock and what the activist described as a flawed operating strategy. Activist Ancora did not manage to fire Shaw, although shareholders did elect three of its candidates to the board, and roughly 36% of shareholders voted against Shaw's reelection. A spokesperson for Ancora did not respond to a request for comment. Shaw has been CEO since 2022. Were Shaw to step down, the two likeliest internal candidates to replace him on an interim basis would be COO John Orr or CFO Mark George. Orr joined the company in the midst of the proxy fight and has spent a significant amount of time working in the field to turn around the company's operations. Orr is a longtime and respected railroad operator he was previously an executive at Canadian Pacific Kansas City but he has faced allegations of misconduct that Ancora resurfaced during its campaign. At the time, Norfolk Southern defended Orr's track record and accused the firm of trying to distract from the qualifications of its own executive candidates. George has been Norfolk Southern's CFO for roughly five years, joining the railroad from HVAC maker Carrier . The company could also look to tap board member Sameh Fahmy, who was previously Orr's boss and was most recently in charge of the former Kansas City Southern's precision-scheduled railroading program. WATCH: Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw on earnings, East Palestine Israeli security forces gather at the scene of a reported attack near the Allenby Crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan on September 8, 2024, where the Israeli military said a truck driver opened fire, killing three Israelis. The (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images) Three people were shot and killed Sunday at the border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, Israeli officials said, in what appeared to be an attack linked to the 11-month-old war in Gaza. The military said the gunman approached the Allenby Bridge Crossing from the Jordanian side in a truck and opened fire at Israeli security forces, who killed the assailant in a shootout. It said the three people killed were Israeli civilians. Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said they were all men in their 50s. Jordan is investigating the shooting, its state-run Petra News Agency reported. The Western-allied Arab country made peace with Israel in 1994 but is deeply critical of its policies toward the Palestinians. Jordan has a large Palestinian population and has seen mass protests against Israel over the war in Gaza. The Allenby crossing over the Jordan River is mainly used by Israelis, Palestinians and international tourists. The Israeli-occupied West Bank has seen a surge of violence since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza triggered the war there. Israel has launched near-daily military arrest raids into dense Palestinian residential areas, and there has also been a rise in settler violence and Palestinian attacks on Israelis. In Gaza, meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike early Sunday killed five people, including two women, two children and a senior official in the Civil Defense first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government. The Civil Defense said the strike targeted the home of its deputy director for north Gaza, Mohammed Morsi, in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The army says it tries to avoid harming civilians and only targets militants. Gaza's Health Ministry says over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began. It does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count. The war has caused vast destruction and displaced around 90% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million, often multiple times. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in their Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel. They abducted another 250, and are still holding around 100 of them after releasing most of the rest in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel during a weeklong cease-fire last November. Around a third of the remaining hostages inside Gaza are believed to be dead. The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to broker a cease-fire and the return of the hostages, but the negotiations have repeatedly bogged down. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem territories the Palestinians want for a future state in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel withdrew soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005 but maintained control over its airspace, coastline and most of its land crossings. Along with Egypt, it imposed a blockade on Gaza after Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Domestic air traffic grows 8 pc in September: ICRA 08 Oct 2024 | 4:06 PM New Delhi, Oct 8 (UNI) The domestic air traffic rose 8.1% year-on-year to 132.3 lakh in September 2024, research and rating firm ICRA said on Tuesday. see more.. Will analyse after final results are out in Haryana: AAP 08 Oct 2024 | 3:37 PM New Delhi, Oct 8 (UNI) Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Environment Minister in Delhi Government Gopal Rai on Tuesday said that the ground messages received after the Assembly election in Haryana was different than the exit poll predictions shown on various television channels and an analysis will be done after the final results are out. see more.. Alert BSF foil attempt by Bangladeshi smugglers to infiltrate, one BSF man injured 08 Oct 2024 | 2:07 PM New Delhi, Oct 8 (UNI) Alert personnel of the BSF foiled an infiltration attempt by a group of around 12-15 Bangladeshi smugglers armed with sharp weapons who were trying to smuggle contraband into India on Monday (October 7). see more.. Cong objects to delay in updating of results on EC website 08 Oct 2024 | 1:04 PM New Delhi, Oct 8 (UNI) While the counting of votes for the Haryana Assembly was underway, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday wrote a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner alleging delay in updating of results on the ECIs website. see more.. The fashion section, curated by Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, a fashion editor and stylist. Photo: Simon Leung After seven successful runs in its native Brussels, the Collectible design fair makes its American debut this weekend. It picked a fittingly hip venue: Fidis adapted office high-rise with a wait list the WSA building on Water Street. There, under the exposed industrial I-beams and wiring, more than 100 galleries and designers are spread across its third and fourth floors. The venues likeness to the fairs home base (a modernist retail building turned museum) was a deciding factor in the New York launch, co-founders Clelie Debehault and Liv Vaisberg said. And thankfully it has little resemblance to the Javits Center. Beyond the fairs no historical, no brands, no vintage restrictions, the focus is on concept-driven, unique, and one-off design works. This 21st-century focus shows a clear snapshot of design today: Theres less formalism and staying in your lane, with furniture by fashion designers and architects doing industrial design (a path so well-trodden they have their own category: ARCHITECT DESIGNER). While the fairs sections were not always easy to parse with categories like Bespoke, New Garde, and Curated its fairly concise selection against the venues raw finishes offered a brutalist intimacy to the viewing experience. There was a lot of meticulously crafted wood on display, patchworked and grooved, alongside metal that was sculpted, pulled into hairs, draped as chain mail, even stacked and jigsawed together in large-scale pieces. Then there were artists who turned to the natural world and its processes, with a table of leaves and fungus that was made to decompose and a sculptural bird-house cabinet made from eggshells. What follows are a few selections that stood out. Nicholas Devlins Fantastical Plaster Gazebo Photo: Simon Leung Few could hear giant strawberry as their brief for a functional outdoor sculpture and return with a seven-armed ivory gazebo, fitted with overhead light and a sculpted bench and table. An inhabitable surrealist strawberry was what Nicholas Devlin said he took from his clients direction and ran with. The hand-sculpted, reinforced plaster sculpture is a twisting concoction that seems like it might float away despite its scale and weight. In a fair full of solid, chunky forms and industrial materials, Devlins Alchemists Folly appears ethereal. With two works at Collectible and other striking commissions, Devlin continues to build a distinct fantasyland full of details that are worth looking at up close. A New Chinatown Gallerys Chair Lineup From left: Karina Sharif chair. Photo: Courtesy of Lyle Gallery Michelle Jiaxin Huangs chair. Photo: Courtesy of Lyle Gallery From top: Karina Sharif chair. Photo: Courtesy of Lyle Gallery Michelle Jiaxin Huangs chair. Photo: Courtesy of Lyle Gallery Five months-ago Lyle Gallery launched its Chinatown space with a group show Metal, exhibiting designs made out of said material. In its deep red booth at Collectible (painted by the married co-founders just hours before), they brought some of the artists from their opening show back, with a focus on their chairs. But Karina Sharif is a new name, and her peacock-like chair is captivating; it fans out dyed cotton paper along its solid steel frame; those delicate shell shapes in deep blues allude to the water that the artist (a former fashion designer) wanted to reference. Michelle Jiaxin Huangs compressed steel chair, somewhere between a metal airbag and a paper cutout of a chair, seems to float. In making its Bone Chair, London design duo By Jamps used a pool noodle to cast its aluminum legs, between which its draped an intricate woven metal seat that resembles something you might see slung over a taxi drivers car seat. A Console-Hardware Collaboration by Petra x Sight Unseen Photo: Courtesy of Sight Unseen and Jesse Groom It takes aluminum, heat, filler rods and a lot of Jesse Grooms time to make his Cicatrix console. But at Petra x Sight Unseens booth, the wonky, webbed console looks worth the nearly 200 process hours it took. The console is held together with many individually hand-welded lines, and flimsy aluminum sheets allow ripples to form and warp along the edges before Groom welds over the body to reinforce the structure. Each bead not only makes marks like a drawing but also deforms the aluminum into something more like fabric, or even skin, the upstate New Yorkbased designer said. The console drawers are paired with colored stone knobs by The Perfect Nothing Catalog, which are encrusted with stones, shells, and sometimes gems by the artist Frank Traynor, who collects them himself. Beehive and Dried Flower Lamps at Jack Simonds From left: I Captured Their Light beehive lamp, by Jack Simonds. Photo: Courtesy of Jack Simonds Studio What Nature Brings Is Fire and Brilliance, a preserved flower, brass, and bamboo lamp by Jack Simonds From top: I Captured Their Light beehive lamp, by Jack Simonds. Photo: Courtesy of Jack Simonds Studio What Nature Brings Is Fire and Brilliance, a pre... more From top: I Captured Their Light beehive lamp, by Jack Simonds. Photo: Courtesy of Jack Simonds Studio What Nature Brings Is Fire and Brilliance, a preserved flower, brass, and bamboo lamp by Jack Simonds Jack Simonds takes more than just inspiration from nature in creating his pieces; he incorporates real flowers, plants, and beehives into them. Because of how fragile these materials are, the artist had to wait a long time to ensure his lamps and furniture could survive over time (they can, after a drying process, he says). Organic matter may not be for everyone, but few catch a glance of his beehive lamp or dried-plant lights without stopping to inspect them. A table lamp with a plant head, leaves of bronze cast from the plants original, and a burnt bamboo stem sprouting from a slab of veined red marble might look too delicate to function, but it gives off a muted glow and looks almost alive. Soil Partitions and Interlocking Tables From Indian Designers From left: Mati Deewar, a partition made by The Vernacular Modern. Photo: Courtesy of The Vernacular Modern Swati Jains Table on a Walk. Photo: Courtesy of The Vernacular Modern/Hunar Dega From top: Mati Deewar, a partition made by The Vernacular Modern. Photo: Courtesy of The Vernacular Modern Swati Jains Table on a Walk. Photo: Courtes... more From top: Mati Deewar, a partition made by The Vernacular Modern. Photo: Courtesy of The Vernacular Modern Swati Jains Table on a Walk. Photo: Courtesy of The Vernacular Modern/Hunar Dega Indias flourishing collectible design scene was represented at Collectible by Bangalore-based studio The Vernacular Modern. Architect Abhirup Dutta and interior designer Deeptashree Saha created a three-tiered wall partition with a richly textured terra-cotta portion made from soil and inspired by sustainable mud homes found in rural India. Elsewhere in this section, a wooden leg carved in the likeness of a human leg was actually one of the last things I noticed about a desk of interlocking elements that resembled the inner workings of a watch. What initially caught my eye were the gem-colored chalk stems threaded through a metal chain on its side (which are in fact incense). Its maker, Indian-born New Yorkbased architect Swati Jain (a.k.a. Unown Space) tells me the piece, Table on a Walk, is intended to embody the five natural elements, and it completely dismantles into separate parts, including pull-out trays, a basket, and a side table with handle. Zeppelin Lamps by Vy Voi Studio Vy Voi Studios San Light on the IMOLE side table by RIA Design Studio. Photo: Simon Leung, courtesy of the artist Perched on a floating island of deep purple carpet, a paper lamp by New Yorkbased design studio Vy Voi glowed warmly on its porcelain totem base. The contrast between the narrow base and the delicate paper zeppelin on top is typical for designer Steffany Tran. Her gravity-challenging lights appear twice at Collectible once in WSAs own section, curated by South African designer Mzwakhe Ndlovu, and another at Erria, an online directory for emerging designers. Partially based in Ho Chi Minh, Tran works with local artisans to create the structural lantern tops from Do paper, an 800-year-old material that has deep roots in Vietnamese folk art. Other lamps in the show also used simple materials to big effect, Freddy Tuppens cotton string and aluminum lamp and Tino Seuberts wicker floor lamp. Also hard to forget: the angel lamp (also in WSAs presentation), by garbage specialist designer Madeline Isakson. A Fungal Table by Fefo Studio x Kamilla Csegzi From left: The dinner phase of the Ephemeral Table. The table at Collectible, holding amber glass vessels. Photo: Photo by Simon Leung, courtesy of the artist Photo: Photo by Simon Leung, courtesy of the artist From top: The dinner phase of the Ephemeral Table. The table at Collectible, holding amber glass vessels. Photo: Photo by Simon Leung, courtesy of the... more From top: The dinner phase of the Ephemeral Table. The table at Collectible, holding amber glass vessels. Photo: Photo by Simon Leung, courtesy of the artist Photo: Photo by Simon Leung, courtesy of the artist Rarely does anyone think about the life cycle of a table. But Fernando Aciar and Kamilla Csegzis Ephemeral Table is designed to decompose. The collaborative project between New York-based artist and chef Aciar and designer Csegzi is made of mycelium (a root-like fungus that takes the form of any mold its grown in) combined with leaves, leftover cardboard, and corn husks. The designers then molded it from the casting tables in their studios. The table is designed to appear in three acts: Act I was a dinner at event space OStudio, its Collectible showing is Act II, and next year in May, Design Week is the third. For Collectible (Act II), bowls and plates were used to mold and sculpt the table, creating the indentations that are now filled with amber glass vessels imprinted with the textures of the tables surface. As the piece continues to degrade, it will in essence be a different work every day. A local ambulance and its team of emergency medical technicians responds to a call at your house. They take the time to evaluate your medical Jerusalem, Sept 8 (UNI) Two battalion commanders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement were killed in a recent Israeli airstrike in the central Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Saturday. The IDF said that Israeli aircraft on Thursday carried out a "precise strike" on a command and control center in the city of Deir al-Balah used by Hamas and PIJ militants. The attack killed "a number of" militants, including Abdallah Khatib, commander of the PIJ's Southern Deir al-Balah Battalion, who commanded the battalion's operations in the Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel, according to the statement. The IDF also reported that Hatem Abu Aljidian, commander of the PIJ's Eastern Deir al-Balah Battalion who was involved in planning attacks against Israeli forces during the conflict, was also killed in the strike. Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage. The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 40,939, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Saturday. UNI/XINHUA AKS A cat shocked its owners by walking through the cat flap - days after it was meant to have been cremated. Nicci Knight, from Newby, North Yorkshire, was on holiday with her husband, Maaz, and their four children in Turkey when she was told by her neighbours that they had found her cat, Ted, drowned in their pond. The family was relaxing by the pool in the resort of Dalaman when the message came through on Nicci's mobile phone via her video doorbell camera, that their beloved family pet was dead. Her neighbours, who were minding the cat while the family were away on holiday, even held up five-year-old Ted's distinctive black and white body to the camera as proof of his untimely passing. Speaking to BBC News, Nicci said: 'I had to break the news to my husband and our four children and we were all absolutely devastated, because Ted is a huge personality and a beloved member of the family.' Nicci Knight, from Newby, North Yorkshire, was on holiday with her husband, Maaz, and their four children in Turkey when she was told by her neighbours they had found her cat, Ted, (pictured) drowned in their pond After getting over the initial shock Nicci quickly arranged for Heavenly Pets Crematorium to collect the body and cremate it, as she didn't want to burden her neighbour with Ted's body. However, four days later, Ted shocked the cat sitters by walking through the cat flap of their home. The neighbour had to make yet another ghastly, yet bittersweet, phone call to the family in Turkey. Nicci said: 'I didn't believe it at first, I had to get her to FaceTime me live so that I could see that Ted was actually alive.' Adding: 'I've paid 130 to cremate someone else's cat.' When she later went to collect the other cat's ashes, she saw the box had been labelled 'Not Dead Ted'. Nicci went to the pet crematorium only to be given a memory bag including the unknown cats ashes, framed paw-print, nose prints, a tiny jar with a fur sample, a sympathy card, packet of forget-me-not seeds, and an official certificate of cremation. The family have not been able to trace the owner of the dead cat, and reckon he must be a local farm cat but no one had yet claimed his ashes. The family are ecstatic to have Ted back and said they have been through 'a rollercoaster of emotions'. After getting over the initial shock Nicci quickly arranged for Heavenly Pets Crematorium to collect the body and cremate it, as she didn't want to burden her neighbour with Ted's body The crematorium later confirmed that they would be donating the cremation fee to a local cat rescue centre. In the meantime, Teds enjoying life back home and is none the wiser of the family's emotional turmoil. However this isn't the first time this has happened. In 2021, another family were left shocked when their pet cat miraculously returned home after they believed he had been cremated. Rachel Fitzsimons, 40, from Stretton, Cheshire, and her family were devastated when their 16-year-old pet cat, Frankie, failed to come home on May 19. She searched for the cat with husband, John, and their children, Thea, 10, and Remy, seven, and eventually spotted a dead cat on the hard shoulder of the motorway which they believed might be him. Rachel organised a creamtation to help give her children 'closure', but the family were left shocked when Frankie strolled back home unharmed 22 days after going missing. Rachel said: 'We drove past a few times, obviously at speed, but the cat looked like Frankie. The framed paw-print which Heavenly Pets Crematorium arranged for the family of the unknown cat 'My husband managed to get a photo too, but the cat was very badly injured and hard to identify.' After giving a description of the cat, which was a fluffy tabby with a white tummy, the Highways Agency went out to look for the body, and the dead cat matched. She added: 'They couldn't chip it because it had been decapitated. We live very close to the motorway, so it seemed likely that it was our cat. 'We went to collect the body, and of course didn't look at it because it was too distressing.' Rachel paid for a cremation, believing it would help to give her children a chance to grieve. She said: 'Remy usually slept with Frankie on his bed every night, so he was distraught when he went missing. He cried and cried. 'When we got the ashes, Remy put them by his bed. We were all in tears for days afterwards.' But 22 days after Frankie first went missing - he miraculously strolled back from the dead, as if nothing had happened. Rachel says: ''My husband heard a meow outside and then I heard him shouting. We all ran out and there was Frankie! A lawyer who is obsessed with true crime revealed the 'dark tourism' destinations he's travelled to all around the world - and which one left him 'fearing for his life'. Tony Taouk, from Sydney, Australia, has visited some of the most notorious mob cities in the US, sites of horrific murders, and underground tunnels housing six million bodies in Paris. Speaking about what sparked his interest in the dangerous - yet captivating - locations, Tony said it goes back to when he was 16 and he started reading true crime material at school. He said: 'I remember I borrowed a book about the Prohibition-era gangsters from the school library and was fascinated by the stories. When you go to the scene you have read or watched documentaries about, it kind of brings it to life. 'Reading a book or watching a clip might give you an intellectual understanding of a historical event, but it doesn't give you that sense of nostalgia and familiarity that you get when you visit the actual site after reading about it for years. Tony Taouk, from Sydney, Australia, who is obsessed with true crime revealed he has travelled to many dark tourism destinations all over the world (Pictured at Catacombs of Paris) 'On some level, it's like you're stepping back in time. When I became a lawyer, I also developed an interest in famous trials.' A lot of Tony's travels have revolved around mob and gangland crime scenes from the 90's - including some of Al Capone's ordered hits. 'The creepiest places are the ones where you can still see vestiges of the crime,' he recounted. 'One example I recall is Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. 'It's infamous as the place where North Side Gangster Hymie Weiss was murdered in a hail of bullets in 1926, allegedly on the orders of Al Capone. 'The actual bullet holes from a Capone-era hit in the Cathedral's exterior around the cornerstone which says AD 1874. They are very faint and you have to look closely to make them out. 'Another creepy thing I have seen is the brick wall from Chicago's Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929, which is on display at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas.' The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was the murder of seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang on Saint Valentine's Day 1929. Tony explained: 'Seven members and associates of Bugs Moran's gang were lined up against a wall and shot dead in cold blood inside a Chicago garage allegedly on the orders of Al Capone. You can still see the bullet holes in the wall. A lot of Tony's travels have revolved around mob and gangland crime scenes from the 90s- including some of Al Capone's ordered hits (pictured in front of Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago (which is the site of the Hymie Weiss assassination in 1926) Tony was pictured at the site of Colosimos Saloon Chicago (Big Jim Colosimo assassinated there in 1920) The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was the murder of seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang on Saint Valentine's Day 1929 'I have also visited the actual site of the St Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago. The only thing left of the scene of the most notorious mob hit in history is a small parking lot and lawn. 'The original garage where the massacre took place was demolished in 1967. There is nothing on the site that alludes to the infamous history of the location apart from a building across the street where Capone's gangsters allegedly kept lookout from the upper floors. That building is now a popular pizza restaurant.' Meanwhile Tony also made a trip to New York to take a look into the deep history of the notorious Irish gang The Westies. The Westies dominated Hell's Kitchen in the 1970s and 80s and they were, in the words of then-prosecutor Rudolf Guiliani, 'the most savage organisation in the long history of New York street gangs'. Tony said: 'I visited the site of the 596 Club in Hell's Kitchen in New York. The bar was once owned by Jimmy Coonan, head of the notorious Irish gang The Westies. 'On my second trip to New York, I actually stayed in Hell's Kitchen. From what I've read, Hell's kitchen was a really rough neighbourhood back in the day but today it's a glitzy neighbourhood that consists of luxury condos, chic restaurant and funky bars. Tony revealed if he was to visit anywhere again it would be the Mob Museum in Las Vegas - pictured He said: 'When you first go in, there's a police lineup booth where a visitor can step in and become a "suspect"' Green Mill Chicago (Al Capone was said to sit in a specific booth which afforded clear views of both the front and back entrances to the place) Pictured: Tony at Columbus Circle, in New York, which is the scene of the Joe Colombo shooting in 1971 'Nothing like the place I've read about in the books and seen in gangster movies The 596 Club is now a bar and grill. 'The Westies were known for their penchant for dismembering bodies (their reason for dismembering bodies was ''No corpus delecti, no investigation', meaning no body of crime, no investigation. 'The 596 Club is infamous for the 1977 murder of loan shark Ruby Stein. The Westies murdered and dismembered Stein at the 596 bar. Stein's torso was later retrieved from the East River.' Away from crime, Tony revealed another harrowing visit to the Catacombs of Paris, where the remains of more than six million people are kept. In the 18th century Paris was experiencing major public health problems because overflowing graveyards were causing sanitary issues for the surrounding neighborhoods. In 1785, the city's authorities were left with no option but to relieve congestion by digging up graves and relocating the bones into underground tunnels. It took over 12 long years to relocate the remains of six million bodies to their final resting place in the catacombs. The process of transferring the bones was labor-intensive, involving diggers, cleaners, drivers, horses, torchbearers, and even priests. The task had to be done secretly at night to avoid upsetting the local communities. Speaking about a time he was truly scared for his life he said passing through some neighbourhoods in Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, was a terrifying experience. Tony posed in front of the Bugsy Siegel Memorial in Las Vegas. The lawyers said he became interested in true crime from a young age Elsewhere Tony revealed if he was to visit anywhere again it would be the Mob Museum in Las Vegas. He said: 'When you first go in, there's a police lineup booth where a visitor can step in and become a "suspect". Some more of Tony's dark tourism hotspots: The Bugsy Siegel Memorial in Las Vegas Bugsy, a notoriously dangerous celebrity gangster from the mob who had ties to other American mafias, built the Flamingo Hotel and Casino. However he was shot and killed before he saw it finalised and open to the public. His memorial on the grounds of the hotel is a simple stone pillar, bearing his picture and some brief details about him. It stands behind the resort's flamingo habitat and waterfalls on the site of the original Flamingo hotel built by Bugsy in 1947. Colosimo's Cafe, in Chicago Colosimo Cafe is the world famous restaurant and nightclub, where crime kingpin Big Jim Colosimo was assassinated in 1920 allegedly on orders of mobster Johnny Torrio (Al Capones predecessor). There isn't much left of the original establishment the original buildings were damaged in a fire and later demolished in the 1950s. Likewise, Capone's Lexington Hotel has been torn down and replaced with high rise apartments. Little Italy, New York A great visit is Ravenite Social Club which is the former headquarters of the Gambino's that were bugged by the FBI. The FBI used the recordings to bring down John Gotti. The brick facade has been removed and replaced with shop front glass and is now a shoe shop. Also Ferrara Bakery, where Carlo Gamino held court in his heyday and the Mulberry Street Bar, where a low of mob movies and shows were filmed. The famous scene in Donnie Brasco where Johnny Depp tells Al Pacino that the ring is fake was filmed there. I visited the Umberto's Clam House, which I understood was the site of Joey Gallos murder in 1972, although I later discovered that the original restaurant where the shooting took place was at a different location nearby. Sparks Steak House, in Manhattan Sparks Steak House in midtown Manhattan looks more or less the same as it did on 16 December 1985, when mob boss Paul Castellano was gunned down in front of it by a group of hitmen dressed in hats and trench coats. Foley Square in Lower Manhattan The square contains civic buildings such as the New York State Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse and United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Ironically, Foley Square falls within the area that used to be known as the Five Points - crime-infested slum portrayed in the movie Gangs of New York. In Foley Square, you'll recognise the steps of the New York State Supreme Court from the movie The Godfather it's where the character known as Don Barzini is shot at the end of the movie and rolls down the long flight of stairs. United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is where the Commission Trial and other important mob trials took place. Advertisement 'The museum also displays items like guns, jewellery, and other possessions that belonged to infamous gangsters such as Meyer Lansky, Al Capone, Bugsy Siegel, Lucky Luciano, Sam Giancana, Mickey Cohen, among others. 'My personal favourite was seeing the sunglasses that belonged to Bugsy Siegel I took a photo. 'There is also a wire-tapping station where you can listen in on actual tapped conversations recorded by law enforcement. 'Throughout the tour you see hundreds of old photographs related to organised crime. At the conclusion of the tour, you visit actual courtroom used in the 1950-51 Kefauver Committee hearings were held when they came to Nevada. There, you watch historic clips related to organised crime.' Another dark tourism favourite for Tony was the Green Mill in Chicago, which was a speakeasy partly owned by Jack 'Machine Gun' McGurn. Tony explained: 'Capone visited the Green Mill regularly and had a reserved seat there his preferred booth is still there as a main attraction it was positioned so that he could observe who entered the bar from either entrance to the establishment. 'Apparently there is a trapdoor which is still there behind the bar that hid a hydraulic elevator that once brought up booze to bar patrons and it also led to a series of tunnels under the building that were used for escapes from police or other mobsters. 'It has live jazz bands playing and come across as an authentic 1920s speakeasy. If you want to listen to some jazz and while sitting in Al Capone's booth, this is the place for you.' Tony still has a few locations on his bucket list to visit including Alcatraz in San Francisco which held criminals such as Al Capone, George 'Machine Gun' Kelly, Robert Franklin Stroud and Bumpy Johnson. He would also like to visit Dealey Plaza, the scene of the JFK assassination, in Dallas. Im grandmother to six gorgeous children and its unbearable for me to think of the desperately lonely summer millions of grandparents will have had after being banned from seeing grandchildren whose parents are divorcing. The number of grandparents seeking legal advice on this issue has exploded. Grandparents who were the backbone of a family, who had a close, loving relationship with their grandchildren are being brutally cut off as a result of divorce. When a break-up turns nasty, they can pay a collateral price and are cruelly punished. And the sorry victims, Im sad to say, are also the millions of children who suddenly find themselves in an emotional tundra, bereft of the wonderful bond with their grandparents. Lawyer Vanessa Lloyd Platt warns of a large rise in the number of grandparents seeking legal advice after being banned from seeing grandchildren whose parents are divorcing Research by my firm has discovered that in most cases during divorce the falling-out is between wives and their mothers-in-law, primarily as the result of attempts to punish sons and soon-to-be ex-husbands. Grandparents with deep pockets, who are often paying school fees and doing unpaid childcare, are not taking it lightly. When they come to me, they are prepared to spend tens of thousands on regaining access. One of my clients, whom well call Agatha, had lost her husband Andrew. As a relatively young widow, she took solace in her close relationship with her three grandchildren Chloe, Samantha, and George. They adored her. She spent time with them most days and they regularly enjoyed sleepovers with her. She took them to museums and the theatre, and loved devoting time to research fun activities she could do with them. She was the fun granny, always attentive to their needs and always treating them. So imagine the unbearable distress it caused when their mother declared she wanted to divorce their father and within a week refused to allow them to see their grandmother again. To compound matters, she took out a prohibited steps order which stops someone making decisions about a childs upbringing against her husband and his mother, falsely stating that Agatha presented a risk to the children. Agatha refused to walk away, but she paid a high price. She had to produce detailed evidence that her daughter-in-laws claims were completely false. It cost around 30,000 to prove her daughter-in-law had lied to get an advantage in the divorce. The case dragged on for more than a year, and the grandchildren became so alienated by their mothers destructive agenda that Agatha has not seen them since. She is distraught that the children will have suffered a double loss from the divorce of their parents and the loss of their relationship with her and the impact that will have on them. In another heartbreaking case, it didnt matter that Sarah and Manny took on childcare and housekeeping for their two grandsons so their daughter could work three days a week. When divorce struck, they were barred from seeing the boys. They sought legal advice and began a painful, costly process. They had to seek leave of a court to be allowed to apply to see the children, followed by an application for a child arrangements order. Children may suffer a double loss, from the divorce of their parents and the loss of their relationship with their grandparents Sarah and Manny produced evidence of the grandchildren making secret phone calls to them to say they missed them and begging for their grandparents to visit. Every moment, Sarah told me, was like torture for her grandchildren and particularly for one with ADHD, for whom change is particularly painful. Not seeing his grandparents was so distressing that he was doing badly at school. The court agreed that they could see the children every week. It cost most of their savings, but they say the joy of cuddles from the boys has been worth every penny. But Sarah and Manny are the lucky ones. The UK lags behind on this issue. The European Convention, to which Britain is a signatory, recognises the right of every grandchild to have grandparents in their lives. But right now, it costs too much money to make this a reality for the many grand- parents caught up in their adult offsprings divorce proceedings. Have you spent a fortune to see your grandchild? Email: money@mailonsunday.co.uk She founded a multi-million-dollar fashion business by 29 and wrote a bestselling book at 30. But for Sophia Amoruso, 40, from California, it wasn't establishing the fast-fashion brand Nasty Gal or writing the New York Times bestseller #Girlboss that made her have her best year to date. Instead, the newfound freedom and confidence she has experienced since turning 40 is giving Sophia her favourite year yet. Taking to Instagram, Sophia explained: 'Built a $100 million business at 29. Wrote a New York Times bestseller at 30. Married at 31. Divorced at 32. Nasty Gal fell apart the same year.' 'I'm 40, single, no kids, happier, freer, and more confident than ever. What's for you will find you. What's not will be your teacher.' Sophia Amoruso has revealed that she is '40, single, [with] no kids, happier, freer, and more confident than ever' (seen in 2014) Sophia's words of wisdom follow her tumultuous life story that saw her rifling through dumpsters as a teen to becoming the Forbes richest self-made woman in 2016 with an estimated net worth of $280 million (213 million). Talking to Perth Now in 2016, Sophia revealed that she left home at 17 after her parents filed for bankruptcy and admitted to scrounging through dumpsters in order to survive. After reading Starting an eBay Business for Dummies, Sophia, who dropped out of community college, settled on selling thrifted items for a higher price on her eBay account. 'I didn't have any grand aspirations,' she told Perth Now. She added: 'I wanted to make some money doing something I thought was fun.' In 2006, she launched an eBay store, Nasty Gal Vintage, selling clothes she'd found at thrift stores. She sourced vintage pieces and started bidding wars that saw her items sell for thousands more than she bought them for, including a Chanel jacket she found for $8 (6) and sold for $1000 (761). By 2008, she launched her stand-alone e-store, and her entire collection sold out in one day. 'Growth has been explosive, Ms Amoruso told the publication on the topic of Nasty Gal's success at the time. The 40-year-old community-college dropout founded Nasty Gal in 2006 by selling thrifted clothes on eBay at higher rates She revealed that despite her successes in previous years, she is now 'happier, freer, and more confident that ever' In 2014, Sophia established herself as a successful author with #GirlBoss, which shares her extraordinary story and offers career advice to young women. Despite her successes in the literary world, Sophia stepped down as CEO of her company, Nasty Gal, one year later, naming the online retailer's president at the time, Sheree Waterson, as her successor. Ms Amoruso told Re/Code that she decided on her own, noting that she would continue to serve as Nasty Gal's executive chairman and oversee the company's creative and brand marketing teams. But by 2017, business turned for the worst, and the company was declared bankrupt and purchased by retailer Boohoo. The state of her business was reflective of her marriage, which in the same year ended after her former husband unexpectedly woke up one day and decided they weren't right for each other. Streaming giant Netflix adapted Sophia's autobiography Girlboss into a television series in April 2017 The business mogul - pictured - is seen here at the premiere of Girlboss in Los Angeles in April 2017 In conversation with InStyle, Sophia explained: 'The divorce came first. Totally unexpectedly, the man I had just married woke up one day and decided that we weren't right for each other. 'There I was, that lady screaming into a pillow at the Beverly Hills Hotel for four nights, unable to eat, heartbroken.' She continued: 'Then came the bankruptcy. Nasty Gal had struggled for years, so, sadly, this was less of a shock.' Sophia explained that despite putting her all in the company and playing to her strengths, her efforts came too late to save Nasty Gal. Still, she continued to find success with her novel that year when streaming giant Netflix adapted into a television series. Inspired by Amoruso's autobiography and starring Britt Robertson, the 13-episode series debuted on the streaming platform in April 2017. Now, Sophia runs multiple business websites, including Trust Fund, which invests in small start-ups The 40-year-old author has revealed she is single with no children, but is happier than ever Girlboss followed rebellious Amoruso (played by Robertson) and her path to becoming an unlikely businesswoman after finding her passion for selling vintage clothes online. Three months later, Netflix cancelled the show. Talking on Instagram at the time, she said: 'So that Netflix series about my life got cancelled. 'While I'm proud of the work we did, I'm looking forward to controlling my narrative from here on out. 'It was a good show, and I was privileged to work with incredible talent, but living my life as a caricature was hard, even if only for two months. Yes, I can be difficult. No, I'm not a d**k. 'No, someone named Shane never cheated on me. It will be nice to someday tell the story of what's happened in the last few years. People read the headline, not the correction, I've learned.' The show was poorly reviewed, garnering only 32 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, which some blamed on its 'unlikeable' central character. 'We're creating a show in which the lead is maybe unlikeable,' executive producer Kay Cannon said at a panel in February, adding that Netflix was OK with the idea of having a female lead as complex as any male lead. 'We pitched the show elsewhere and the feedback was absolutely shocking,' she revealed at a second panel. Sophia regularly appears in high spirits when sharing photographs of herself to her 644 thousand Instagram followers Fast forward to today, and while Sophia might not be running a fashion label or working on a Netflix show, she's happier than ever. She's by no means stepped out of the public eye, and the business mogul now works across numerous pursuits, including writing a newsletter to over 130,000 subscribers on topics like business and marketing. At the same time, she invests in start-ups, including water company Liquid Death, via an early-stage venture firm called Trust Fund. Meanwhile, she educates future business founders via Business Class, a membership-based digital entrepreneurship community. It's a combination that, paired with her newfound confidence and freedom, has made her realise she is living her best year yet at 40. While urging her 644,000 Instagram followers to subscribe to her newsletter, she explained: 'I'm 40, single, no kids, happier, freer, and more confident than ever. 'What's for you will find you. What's not will be your teacher.' A travel influencer has revealed how she was stopped at the Senegal border over a tampon in her bag and was forced to give an impromptu demonstration. Tara Katims, 25, was traveling across from The Gambia when baffled border security staff pulled out the item from her purse. There was some confusion as the agents asked her to explain what it was. But luckily, the quick-thinking traveler managed to overcome the language barrier with a demo. 'They didn't give any suggestions as to what they thought it was, but after they pulled out 10 from my purse and said 'open it,' I decided to take matters into my own hands and explain,' Katims told Newsweek. Influencer Katims is a CTA certified travel agent and full time traveler (pictured on vacation in Costa Rica) Despite a language barrier she was able to explain the object by using a physical demonstration She described the situation as 'hilarious across the board' and later posted a TikTok about the incident. In the video, certified CTA travel agent Katims is seen pushing the tampon out before motioning to her crotch, prompting smiles and laughter from the border agent. After a thorough search, she and her party were allowed to advance on their journey. 'There are no X-rays, so I understand the precaution,' Katims said. The exchange caused amusement online with others sharing similar experiences. 'Hahah no you having to show him,' one person said. 'Aw this is genuinely wholesome hahaha. He seems like a good sport,' another added. However, some took the opportunity to raise the issue of period poverty. Influencer Tara Katims has revealed how she was stopped at the Senegal border over a tampon in her bag and forced to give an impromptu demonstration 'I did a medical trip to Guatemala and nobody knew what a tampon was. and most didn't know pads either,' one person said. 'Same thing happened to me in Dubai. They didnt know what a tampon or pads were.' Period poverty is, 'the inability to afford and access menstrual products, sanitation and hygiene facilities and education and awareness to manage menstrual health,' according to the UN. In Senegal, as well as many parts of West Africa, menstruation is still considered a 'taboo subject', according to non-profit Speak Up Africa. The organization says Senegal women lose 40-45 percent of their income during menstruation, and 40 percent of girls aged 9 to 17 miss school at least once a week during their period due to lack of resources to manage their period. The issue has been noted globally, particularly in places like Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Madagascar and Zimbabwe. But it is also a domestic issue and in the US, one in 4 teens and one in 3 adults struggle to afford period products, per UN data. Queen Letizia and King Felipe VI led mourners at the funeral of the Spanish King's first cousin, Juan Gomez-Acebo, in Madrid on Sunday. Juan died on August 12 at the age of 54 following a battle with cancer - less than six months after his younger brother, Fernando Gomez-Acebo, passed away at the age of 49. Juan's funeral, which took place at the Cathedral of the Armed Forces in the Spanish capital, was also attended by King Felipe's parents - former monarch King Juan Carlos I, 86, and Queen Sofia of Spain, 85. According to Spanish publication TodoAlicante, Juan, who was the son of Infanta Pilar and Luis Gomez-Acebo, kept a low profile working as a painter after studying fine arts. Before his death, Juan was in a relationship with architect Teresa Veret. He also had a son, Nicholas, 11, from his first marriage to Winston Holmes Carney. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain (pictured) attended the funeral of the Spanish King's cousin, Juan Gomez-Acebo, in Madrid on Sunday Queen Letizia, 51, wore a demure black A-line dress with puff sleeves for the solemn occasion Queen Sofia of Spain (pictured), 85, King Felipe's mother, was also in attendance at the Cathedral of the Armed Forces in Madrid Walking arm in arm, Queen Letizia and King Felipe were greeted by royal fans hoping to get a picture of the royal couple. Both the King and Queen, along with the other mourners, were dressed in black for the solemn occasion. Tanned after the Spanish royal family's annual summer break in Mallorca, Queen Letizia, 51, wore a demure black A-line dress with puff sleeves, which she accessorised with a pearl necklace. She added a pair of patent black kitten heels and a small leather handbag. The mother-of-two wore her shoulder-length, brown hair in a side-parting and brushed back behind her ears to reveal a pair of silver and pearl earrings. King Felipe, 56, meanwhile, looked smart in a black suit with a white shirt and black tie. Queen Sofia of Spain looked equally formal in a long, pleated black skirt and a black jacket with embroidery around the shoulders, which she paired with black shoes with block heels. The elegant mother of King Felipe wore three strings of pearls around her neck and a pair of dainty earrings, as well as numerous bracelets on her right wrist. Her husband, Juan Carlos I, who made use of a walking stick, chose a navy suit to pay his final respects to Juan Gomez-Acebo. King Juan Carlos I (pictured), 86, attended the funeral of his nephew Juan Gomez-Acebo, who died at the age of 54 following a battle with cancer King Juan Carlos I used a walking stick and was supported as he made his way into the cathedral The former Spanish monarch, who abdicated in 2016, wore a navy suit for the sombre occasion Princess Anne of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (right), 85, and her daughter Princess Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (left) attended the funeral on Sunday King Juan Carlos I was pictured greeting another mourner at his nephew's funeral Among the mourners gathered at the Cathedral of the Armed forces in Madrid were Princess Anne of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, 85, and her daughter Princess Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. The King and Queen's daughters, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia, did not appear to be present. It was only in April that Queen Letizia and King Felipe attended the funeral of Juan's younger brother, Fernando Gomez-Acebo, who died atthe age of 49 on March 1 from Covid-19. The royal couple looked sombre as they paid their respects to King Felipe's cousin at the mass at Castrense Cathedral in Madrid. Fernando was the Spanish monarch's first cousin and a nephew of King Juan Carlos. He was the youngest son of Infanta Pilar and Luis Gomez-Acebo. When King Felipe and Queen Letizia arrived at the funeral mass, they were welcomed by waving crowds. There was an air of melancholy as they walked hand-in-hand through the cathedral's grounds. Queen Letizia donned a form-fitting black dress with detailing at the waist and cuffs for the occasion. Crowds gathered near the Cathedral of the Armed Forces in the Spanish capital, with royal fans hoping to get a picture of the King and Queen Queen Letizia accessorised her demure dress with a pearl necklace and a pair of matching earrings The mother-of-two, 51, wore patent black kitten heels and carried a small handbag King Felipe wore a black suit with a white shirt and black tie for the occasion Walking arm in arm, the royal couple appeared to greet onlookers in Madrid Queen Letizia wore her shoulder-length brown hair loose and brushed back behind her ears to reveal a pair of pearl earrings King Felipe and Queen Letizia both bowed their heads as they paid their respects Queen Sofia of Spain accessorised her black outfit with three strings of pearls and numerous bracelets She accessorised her outfit with a black leather handbag and stunning pearl brooch. Queen Letizia kept her make-up subtle and wore her brunette locks in a simple style. King Felipe paid respects to his cousin in a navy blue double-breasted blazer and matching trousers. He paired the suit with a crisp white shirt and a black tie. Fernando's funeral came soon after another poignant event for the Spanish royals - a remembrance service for victims of terrorism. At the commemorative event paying tribute to the nearly 200 victims of the 2004 train attack in Madrid, Queen Letizia looked sophisticated in a navy long-sleeved gown. The royal acessorised her outfit with matching kitten heels and a leather clutch bag for the event, which took place at Spain's Royal Collection Gallery. Are you an expat who has done the same? Email carina.stathis@mailonline.com Scottish high school sweethearts Ruthie Ellis and John first backpacked around Australia in 2005 and had always dreamed of moving Down Under for good. After they'd settled down, bought a house and had children back home in Dunbar, they felt that dream slipping away. So they decided to make it a reality and move. In September 2019 Ruthie, 37, was granted a visa with permanent residency as a midwife but couldn't fly for three months as she was pregnant with their third child. After she gave birth, they bit the bullet and sold their house, packed their things and moved to Sydney in January 2020. Unfortunately it was the 'worst time' to move. Most of the country was engulfed in flames from wild bushfires and the covid pandemic was just taking hold. 'It was terrifying. The sky was black, there was smoke everywhere, then a few weeks later we started hearing about the illness overseas and I was like "Oh my god what is happening?"' she told FEMAIL. Despite the beauty and relaxed lifestyle of Australia, the family moved back to Scotland in August 2021 - a move many are making due to the rising cost of living. However, they've now returned - and stress the grass isn't always greener overseas. Ruthie Ellis (far right), her husband John (far left) and their three kids moved from Scotland to Australia for the first time in January 2020 but it was a 'disaster' due to bushfires and the pandemic Despite the beauty and relaxed lifestyle of Australia, the family moved to Scotland in August 2021. Now they're back Speaking to the family's adventurous nature, Ruthie laughed and described themselves as 'ping pongs' because they've moved back and forth across the world. Breathtaking beaches, remarkable landscapes and new places to explore appealed to the couple, who have been together for 21 years and have three children - Brooke, 16, Alfie, 11, Jonah, four. 'The weather in Australia is absolutely brilliant, it's lovely. We spend so much time outside whereas in Scotland you get into a bad habit of coming home from work and staying inside the house,' she said. 'We don't do that here - we're always outside, at park or the beach, and we're always looking for an activity to do together as a family. 'So it's a huge change and we're much more active over here, even just subconsciously.' As for other cultural differences, Ruthie poked fun at the 'strange' habit Aussies have of not wearing shoes in public - particularly at the supermarket. Other than that, she absolutely loves it. Before leaving Scotland family and friends questioned the decision to move overseas with a newborn After they moved to Australia Ruthie's mental health took a hit due to the strict lockdowns so she thought about moving back home, which they did. 'I eventually said to John, "I can't do this anymore",' she said Before leaving Scotland family and friends questioned the decision to move overseas with a newborn. 'When I was pregnant people are like, "What are you doing? Why are you leaving?" And I said, "I'll be fine, I'm really strong and resilient",' she said. But the move was far more challenging than expected. 'Homeschooling and feeding a newborn once the pandemic kicked I thought maybe I wasn't as strong as I think,' she said. The harsh lockdown also took a toll on Ruthie's mental health and at times she wished she could go back home. At the time their oldest daughter Brooke became very sick and was having a hard time at school so Ruthie pondered the idea of relocating. 'We put so much time, effort and money into the process of coming over to start with,' she said. 'I eventually said to John, "I can't do this anymore. I'm going to have to go home". He was absolutely devastated. I felt like a failure because we made all these plans to start a new life and it was just a disaster. 'We did have some fun but it was a horrible time for everybody. Then it was really hard to make friends and there weren't any mum and baby groups.' So the family packed up and moved back to Scotland in August 2021. But it wasn't the same. The family struggled and were homeless for nine months due to the housing crisis at the time so they stayed with Ruthie's sister. The family were homeless for nine months after moving back to Scotland due to the housing crisis. Their oldest daughter Brooke, now 16, (pictured centre) was diagnosed with epilepsy in January 2022 But it was a wise decision because Brooke, now 16, was diagnosed with epilepsy in January 2022. 'She was sitting on the sofa in my sister's living room one Sunday morning. Then she went down to the side and I looked at her and said "Oh my god". Her face was totally contorted. It was like an exorcism. She was going all blue in the face,' Ruthie recalled. 'All of a sudden she started shaking which I now know we a tonic-clonic seizure. At the time I thought she was having a stroke. I thought she was going to die in my arms.' The seizures occur randomly and Brooke has suffered minor injuries as a result because she has no control of when she'll be hit again with another episode. Ruthie said she would just 'drop' without warning at any time, meaning planning holidays, outings or even going to school is terrifying. Now to stabilise it, all she can do is take dozens of tablets per week and will live epilepsy for the rest of her life. The 18 months following Brooke's diagnosis were incredibly traumatic for the whole family, and Ruthie felt she would not have coped without the support of her family in Scotland. Ruthie does not regret the decision to move back to Scotland, as it allowed them to get the care and support they needed for Brooke during that difficult time. 'We were absolutely in the right place. Yes, it's cost us a whole lot of money but I felt like it was meant to be. We couldn't have gone through the trauma without family,' she said. Ruthie does not regret the decision to move back to Scotland, as it allowed them to get the care and support they needed for Brooke during that difficult time. The couple even purchased another property in Scotland The couple even purchased another property in Scotland which they still have today, but the downward spiral of Brooke's condition lead Ruthie to consider moving to Australia again. 'She was spending all her time in her room and wasn't having a good time at school - I hated seeing her like that. So I said to John that we should travel more and go back to Australia. He was thrilled because he was so upset to go home when we left,' Ruthie said. In December 2023 the couple decided to commit to the move back to Australia for a second time. They touched down on the Gold Coast two weeks ago and are settling in well with plans to explore other parts of the country. Ruthie is also set to start work and so far the family have explored the entire eastern coast from Cairns to Sydney. In December 2023 the couple decided to commit to the move back to Australia for a second time. They touched down on the Gold Coast two weeks ago At the moment the couple aren't sure if they'll remain Down Under 'for good' but it's certainly a goal. 'I've learnt to never make assumptions. You don't know what will happen,' she said. 'I used to always be about being mortgage-free by 50 or having a big car, but in recent years our view on life has totally changed and what richness is.' 'Richness now to us is experiences. That's what I want life to be about. When you've been through trauma, you want to live.' But Ruthie understands how things can change at any moment and their goal right now is to see as much of Australia as possible. As for money, she hasn't tallied up how much they've spent moving overseas twice but she estimates it to be around $50,000. She urges those hoping to following in their footsteps to 'grab the opportunity with both hands'. For this family-of-five, it's been the adventure of a lifetime. It's a painful fate that befalls about 150 men in England each year, according to official data. Penile fractures, or a 'broken penis', is an agonising injury that normally occurs as a result of vigorous sexual activity gone wrong. Now a new viral video, using a penis harvested from a donated cadaver, shows exactly how the eye-watering injury occurs and how the boneless organ can actually 'fracture'. Posted by the Institute of Human Anatomy, an American cadaver laboratory, the video features the institute's Jonathan Bennion discussing the parts of the male anatomy that actually break during a penile fracture. He said: 'Contrary to one of the slang terms used for an erect penis there are no bones in the penis and so a penile fracture is not like a typical bone fracture.' Now a new viral video, using a penis harvested from a donated cadevar, shows exactly how the eye-watering injury occurs and how the boneless organ can actually 'fracture' Instead he explained what actually breaks is a piece of internal connective tissue called the tunica albuginea, which is mostly made of collagen, that surrounds and supports the parts of the penis that fills with blood during an erection. When a penile fracture occurs, it's the tunica albuginea that breaks, and such an injury is usually accompanied by a distinct cracking, popping or snapping sound as it gives. As to what activities cause such a break, that can vary, Mr Bennion explains. One of the most common is what he called an 'aiming issue' during vigorous sexual activity. 'You missed the target you were going for and hit an immovable object, or in other words, another part of the body that was not meant to receive the penis,' he said. 'Typically this occurs during vigorous sexual activity because there has to be some level of vigorous force and/or velocity to damage the penis.' This most commonly occurs as a result of the penis snapping under the weight of a partner's body, or from a poorly aimed powerful thrust hitting a hard part of the body. Penile fractures could also occur if, for whatever reason, a man with an erection was playing a contact sport like rugby, or if they received a physical blow to their erect penis during a fight or accident. Mr Bennion said another potential cause was men trying to physically bend their penis in order to stop an erection perhaps due to embarrassment or cultural or religious shame. Signs of a penile fracture, in addition to the aforementioned popping or cracking sound, include, perhaps unsurprisingly, a great deal of pain and sudden loss of an erection. Official NHS data shows 164 penile fracture repairs were carried out in England in 2022-23, that latest data available Mr Bennion adds that bruising, swelling and an 'abnormal bending of the penis' usually follows. While the circumstances of a penile fracture can be embarrassing men shouldn't delay seeking immediate medical help. Mr Bennion explains not seeking urgent help increases the risk of complications such as erectile dysfunction, abnormal penis shape medically called Peyronie's disease, and pain during erections. Surgery is normally required to fix penile fractures with a surgeon stitching the tunica albuginea back together and repairing any other tissues like the urethra, the tube urine passes through. General advice for avoiding penile fractures in the first place is to ensure that any sex you participate isn't the kind that will increase the odds of it happening. Mr Bennion says this includes being cautious about vigorous movements and 'unusual or acrobatic positions' and stopping if things feel physically awkward or painful. For men seeking to stop erections Mr Bennion advised that instead of physically bending the penis doing some exercise like jumping jacks to redirect blood to other areas of the body. Official NHS data shows 164 penile fracture repairs were carried out in England in 2022-23, that latest data available. This is a rise of 40 per cent compared to a decade ago when only 119 such ops were carried out. The average age of a penile fracture repair patient was 44 in the latest round of NHS data, with the youngest being under 15 and the oldest over 75. A scientific study in 2015 revealed the cowgirl, doggy style and missionary positions were most likely to cause penile fraction. A treatment for endometriosis will not be rolled out on the NHS despite getting approval for use in the UK last week. The new pill, a combination of the drugs relugolix, oestradiol and norethisterone acetate, has been shown to dramatically reduce the disease's painful symptoms. Endometriosis occurs when the uterine lining grows outside of the uterus itself, and affects one in ten women in the UK. Patients in the UK wait, on average, more than eight years from the onset of symptoms to get a diagnosis. The new daily tablet reduces levels of the female sex hormone oestrogen and progesterone. Endometriosis occurs when the uterine lining grows outside of the uterus itself, and affects one in ten women in the UK (stock image) A study from 2022, published in The Lancet, found that 75 per cent of women on the new combo reported having reduced pain. However, earlier this year the NHS spending watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), said it would not offer it to the 78,000 women in the UK living with endometriosis. It argued there is not evidence to show that the drug combo is more effective than existing treatments. Currently, endometriosis patients typically receive anti-inflammatory drugs or the birth control pill, which suppresses progesterone. Surgery is sometimes carried out to remove patches of endometriosis tissue. After medical safety regulators concluded the combo was safe last week, it will now be available privately. Currently, endometriosis patients typically receive anti-inflammatory drugs or the birth control pill, which suppresses progesterone (stock image) A month's supply is expected to cost about 75. But experts have called on NICE to fund the new treatment, as they argue that thousands of women do not respond to current treatments. 'With limited treatments available in the UK, relugolix combination therapy may help people take control of their endometriosis pain,' said Professor Andrew Horne, a reproductive health expert at the University of Edinburgh. 'The intense pain associated with endometriosis can be crippling and have a devastating impact on people's lives, from their work to intimate relationships and mental health.' NICE is expected to make a final call on whether it will fund the new treatment in 2025. A bowel cancer treatment that gives hope to people with the same aggressive form that hit Dame Deborah James has been approved for use on the NHS. The drug combination two medicines called trifluridine-tipiracil hydrochloride and bevacizumab will be introduced following a US trial which found that for patients who had run out of treatment options it bought nearly an extra year of life. And in some rare cases, it gave patients up to seven more years. Experts say it is a significant step in the fight against the BRAF V6004E mutation, an incurable genetic form of bowel cancer which often affects the young. Dame Deborah James had the aggressive BRAF mutation. Under the name Bowelbabe, the deputy headteacher went on to build up a massive social media following A blood sample taken as part of testing for the mutation. Most sufferers do not live longer than ten months after diagnosis Of the 42,000 Britons diagnosed with bowel cancer every year, about one in ten carry the BRAF mutation. Chemotherapy and other medicines quickly become ineffective, and most sufferers do not live longer than ten months after diagnosis. Dame Deborah was just 35 in 2016 when she was diagnosed with BRAF bowel cancer. Under the name Bowelbabe, the deputy headteacher went on to build up a massive social media following while documenting her progress and raising awareness of the disease and its symptoms until her death in 2022. The drug combination has been available privately in the UK for eight years, at a cost of about 2,000 a month. However, last month the NHS spending watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), gave it the green light for patients who have already undergone two failed treatments. It is predicted that it will benefit about 1,000 people a year. Many patients have been on the regimen for years privately, stalling the cancer in its tracks, says Anna Bennett, from the patient group Breaking BRAF, which campaigns for new treatments. Some have achieved stability in excess of a year or two and we know of one patient who lived for nearly seven years more. We are delighted by this decision. Professor Marco Gerlinger, head of gastrointestinal cancer medicine at Barts Cancer Institute in London, says approval of the drug combo is a fantastic development. For the past ten years there have been no highly effective drugs for this type of cancer, he adds. But now we have a really great option for patients. The BRAF mutation causes cancers to grow quicker than they would otherwise. For this reason, people who carry it often see symptoms arise at an early age. The mutation is also linked with skin and brain cancer, and appears to be more common in women. BRAF cancers rapidly become resistant to treatment, meaning patients require different interventions to keep them alive. During her six-year battle with bowel cancer, Dame Deborah underwent more than a dozen surgeries, 100 rounds of chemotherapy and more than ten targeted drug therapies. Trifluridine-tipiracil hydrochloride also known as Lonsurf is a daily tablet that stops the growth of new cancer cells. Bevacizumab, also known as Avastin, works by blocking the formation of new blood vessels which feed tumours and allow them to grow. It is given intravenously every two weeks in hospital. Both drugs are taken for as long as they remain effective. The clinical trial, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine last year, concluded the combo provided an average of ten months extra survival, but many patients lived up to a year-and-a-half longer. The drugs also triggered few serious side effects, with the most common being nausea and vomiting. While patient groups welcomed the decision by NICE to fund the treatment, they criticised the delay which meant many desperate patients ended up going private. Its unforgivable that we got into such a situation whereby so many patients died without access to a drug that could have given them months, if not years, more life, says Ms Bennett, whose sister Rebecca died from bowel cancer, Mother-of-two Emily Georghiou, 47, from London, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2021 People now have hope when they previously faced the hideous decision of life versus debt. One patient who stands to benefit from the combo is mother-of-two Emily Georghiou, 47, from London, who was diagnosed in 2021. Ever since chemotherapy failed for me, and I discovered I have the aggressive BRAF mutation, I have felt like a ticking time bomb, says Emily a former healthcare policy adviser. We dont have the money or private insurance to pay for drugs, and while I started a fundraiser I knew eventually I would run out of money to stay alive. When you have this condition you very much live scan to scan at any point your condition can change. This announcement gives me hope, because if that time comes I now know it is there. It is incredibly important I can be around for as long as possible for my beautiful boys. The patient group Breaking BRAF hopes to see another promising drug combo botensilimab and balstilimab approved in the near future. It also argues it is crucial that GPs are reminded of the signs of bowel cancer in young people, such as blood in faeces, unexpected weight loss, fatigue or feeling that the bowel doesnt fully empty. So many patients, including my sister, were dismissed by GPs until it became an emergency, says Ms Bennett. With bowel cancer becoming more common in young people, its crucial doctors know the early symptoms. Johnny Depp seemed to have a lot to smile about while on holiday last week in the Bahamas, not least because of a sparkling new set of gnashers. In a clip posted to social media by a bartender on the island, the actor grins broadly and gleamingly leading fans to point out his dental transformation. It is indeed a dramatic change. In May 2023, at the Cannes Film Festival, people were shocked by Depps apparently damaged and discoloured teeth, with some concerned they appeared to be rotting, and others urging him to go to a dentist. It seems he took notice and good for him. He looks much healthier and happier for it. Johnny Depp caused shock at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, with his apparently damaged and discoloured teeth. Some observers were concerned they appeared to be 'rotting' In a clip posted to social media by a bartender in the Bahamas, the actor grins broadly, and gleamingly, leading fans to point out his dental transformation Im a great fan of people getting their teeth fixed. I know how much better it can make you feel about yourself, as well as improving your bite and reducing the risk of long-term dental problems. When I was in my late teens, my teeth suddenly started to move. Horrifyingly, within a year, at the age of 19, the teeth on one side of my jaw began collapsing in a change in pressure which made several of my front teeth start to stick out at almost right angles. My lip sat over one like a permanent snarl. I soon became absolutely paranoid about my goofy teeth and found myself covering my mouth when I smiled. I went to the dentist who said that the problem was so extensive (it had been caused by bad dental work when I was a child) that the best option was to remove the teeth and give me dentures. At 19! I was devastated. Thankfully a very kind elderly aunt, who knew the perils of false teeth, on hearing about this paid for me to have orthodontic work which took, all in all, about five years. It meant I kept all my teeth and Im not being dramatic when I say it changed my life. Its hard to feel happy when you dont want to smile. Suddenly, though, all I wanted to do was beam at everyone. I felt happy and confident. People often say Im always smiling and I like to think Im making up for those years when I was too embarrassed to do it. Having been through it myself, I often spot people who are paranoid about their teeth. They cover their mouths or look down when they speak, or pull their upper lip over their teeth. It makes me sad to think that people go through life feeling like this. Studies have shown the benefits of smiling, from increasing mood-_enhancing hormones such as dopamine and serotonin, to decreasing stress-enhancing hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. This is so marked that when people are depressed, its advised that they practise smiling even when they dont feel like it, since it boosts their mood anyway. It has been shown to reduce overall blood pressure and, because you typically smile when youre happy, the muscles used trigger your brain to produce more endorphins the chemical that relieves pain and stress. Researchers have even found that one smile can generate the same level of brain stimulation as 2,000 chocolate bars! At the age of 19, the teeth on one side of my jaw began collapsing in - a change in pressure which made several of my front teeth start to stick out at almost right angles, writes Dr Max Pemberton Interestingly, smiling isnt a learned behaviour, but an innate one. Babies smile regardless of their culture or environment and 3D ultrasound scans have shown that babies even smile in the womb. It has an important social function, promoting camaraderie and helping to create social bonds. A smile signals a willingness to engage in a positive social interaction, that you are open to someone and that you essentially come in peace. One study in 2015 analysed how people described the way they first met their partner, and found the amount of conversation that took place while smiling or laughing was positively associated with closeness and relationship quality. It deepens relationships. Yet if someone is self-conscious about their teeth, and therefore feels wary of smiling, all these benefits are lost. Sadly orthodontic work is rarely available for adults on the NHS but I still tell everyone that if there is any way they can afford it, its worth it. Yes, it can run into thousands of pounds, but the whole amount is rarely expected up front and can often be spread out over several years. There are also lots of cheaper treatment options. If youre feeling unhappy or self-conscious about your teeth, then speak to an orthodontist. It might well put a smile on your face. Elle's unwise confession If you are someone with a global presence like Elle Macpherson, then there are consequences when you publicly state you have turned your back on conventional medicine, writes Dr Max Elle Macpherson has come under fire after she shunned chemotherapy for breast cancer in favour of alternative medicine. I believe each of us should be allowed to make decisions about our health even if that includes unwise choices. Providing the risks are explained, people should be free to do as they please. But if you are someone with a global presence like Macpherson (left) then there are consequences when you publicly state that you have turned your back on conventional, evidence-based medicine. Your celebrity lends weight and credibility. I get that alternative therapies sound appealing. Theyre described using terms like holistic and balanced, and whats dangerous about that, you might ask? By contrast, the harsh, brutal realities of orthodox treatments are scary and off-putting. But this is how alternative medicine takes hold. It piggy-backs on the wellness trend and passes itself off as something innocent and benign when in fact you are taking an enormous risk. Ive nothing against complementary therapies. But its something entirely different when you choose this over chemotherapy. You must be told that you are risking your life. Taking aim: Chancellor Rachel Reeves Labour is committed to levy taxes on those who can afford to pay. Among the known targets for Rachel Reeves in her October 30 Budget are the private equity barons. A lengthy undervaluation of UK equities, against comparators in New York, means that the London-listed firms have offered rich pickings for buyouts. There has been a lack of resolve in government and among regulators to protect enterprises from public to private ownership. This has been particularly unfortunate for utilities. The financially driven ownership of Thames Water is the most grotesque example. Once companies vanish into the private equity universe it is almost impossible to track their progress. There is no shareholder scrutiny and the consumer, worker and supplier interest can be neglected. Until Asda fell into private hands it was among Britain's most admired grocers. It was a real competitor to German no-frills rivals Aldi and Lidl. It now struggles under a debt mountain. Elsewhere, pet lovers, complaining about excessive bills, can track the rise in prices back to private equity ownership. The presence of the American barons and their UK imitators in London has helped to drive the continued success of the City post-Brexit. The 2023 Global City report, co-produced with the HM Treasury, estimated that private equity and venture capital activity generated 32billion income for the financial services sector in 2022 almost five times more than its nearest rival Singapore. Data from London-based Prequin shows that private equity firms currently hold some 2 trillion of capital giving them huge fire power. In the past week New-York-quoted Blackstone splashed 12billion on its biggest move into Australia with a bid for data centre operator AirTrunk. Here at home there was the baleful sight of one of the UK's tech innovators Poppy Gustafsson hurriedly quitting Darktrace after it was swallowed by US private equity firm Thoma Bravo. Far too much of British high-tech has been spirited away overseas by predators. The manner in which the richest of the private equity barons are taxed is highly contentious. 'Carried interest' is the device used by the chieftains of the sector to lower their tax bills. Principals are paid by 'carrying' forward profit on transactions. These are taxed as capital gains rather than income. Beneficiaries, earning tens of millions of pounds, are allowed to pay the capital gains levy at 24 per cent rather than the top income tax rate of 45 per cent. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is targeting this loophole as she seeks to stabilise the public finances. Ed Balls and Gordon Brown considered a move against 'carried interest' during the last Labour government but backed off. The big question for Reeves is whether a higher tax on carried interest would be counter-productive. CVC, which recently listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange, argues that such a charge might cause it to shift base. If all private equity firms chose to do the same, would they take the investment banking, legal and other firms with them? One suspects not. The UK's financial services eco-system is so strong that it could probably survive the shock. And, who knows, the monopoly board prices of Mayfair property could fall. Taxing wealth is generally a terrible idea because it penalises investment. The low taxation of the robber barons of private equity is unfair. Or as one prominent financier told me last week it is 'an outrageous distortion of economic interest'. Building a million-pound investment portfolio by retirement may sound a glorious pipe dream. It couldnt happen overnight, of course, but with careful planning and regular savings, it is more achievable than you might think. Savvy investors can put a rocket under their investments if they use the power of dividends by reinvesting them over time rather than spending them. An investor who had put 500 a month into the UK stock market over the past 40 years would have a 1.4million pot today but thats only if they reinvested the dividends they had received. Investing wisely when you are young could make a big difference to your retirement Without this it would be worth a less impressive 506,000, according to investment platform Bestinvest. Current high yields in the UK mean a million-pound pot is possible for those with time on their side, and who pick the right funds to benefit from the magic of compounding. This is the snowball effect that increases the value of portfolios as money is reinvested. The UK stock market is a happy hunting ground, with some stocks yielding more than 9 per cent, which means a cash payout of 9 a year for every 100 you invest. These payouts have made up more of the return for UK investors than any share price growth. Jason Hollands, of Bestinvest, says: Where these are reinvested back into shares rather than banked, the effect is particularly powerful. The investments that can bring a 1million pot So how can you get started today if you want to hit that million-pound mark? Many UK companies that are household names offer dividend payouts which dwarf the returns available from a bank account. These include insurance businesses Legal & General and Phoenix Group, which yield more than 9 per cent. A 9 per cent annual return would give you a million-pound portfolio in just 31 years, but Hollands cautions against simply picking the stocks with the highest yields now and expecting to become a millionaire over time. Follow Albert Einstein's advice on interest It is unwise to select a fund or stock solely based on a high dividend yield, without first checking that its sufficiently covered by profits and that the dividend is not at risk of being cut, he says. Instead, he suggests starting by using funds that invest in high-yielding shares with strong business prospects to build a million-pound portfolio. And always ensure youve ticked the right boxes to ensure that your dividend helps your money to grow. Albert Einstein called compounding the eighth wonder of the world. And you may find plenty to marvel at in the cumulative power of reinvesting dividends. Staying the course over decades means you could end up with a huge sum before retirement, with the bulk coming from dividends, rather than share price growth. Making a plan to be a dividend millionaire To set out to become a dividend millionaire is a long-term undertaking. Make sure youve set everything up correctly in the first place to give your money the best chance to grow over time. That means picking an investment platform that gives you access to the funds youll be buying and with the lowest charges. Then, set up a regular payment into your chosen funds and ensure you have ticked the right boxes so dividends are reinvested. Most platforms allow you to set preferences to automatically reinvest any dividends paid from exchange-traded funds, shares, or investment trusts. If you buy other types of funds, ensure you pick the accumulation units rather than the income units of the fund. This means income paid out from these will be automatically reinvested. To avoid dividend tax, levied at 8.75 per cent on any dividends over 500 for basic rate taxpayers 33.75 per cent for higher rate taxpayers set up an Isa for your dividend portfolio. Compounding gains and reinvesting dividends over time can help your pot grow substantially Stock picking vs funds and investment trusts While buying individual high-yielding FTSE 100 stocks is a tempting way to take advantage of the compounding effect of dividend payments, theres a danger that the companies behind them will stop paying dividends, and that yields will fall over time. Dividend yields are not fixed and will vary year to year based on the share price as well as actual payouts, Hollands warns. If you buy individual high-yield stocks, check that the company is able to pay out its dividends by using a measure known as dividend cover. This divides the earnings per share by the dividend per share and shows how many times a company could afford to pay its dividend from its profit. A low measure suggests a firm may fall into trouble or cut its dividend later. Buying a high-yielding fund or series of funds may be a safer way to build your portfolio. Alex Watts, data and fund analyst at investment platform Interactive Investor, says active managers who focus on dividend-paying firms can ensure these are financially sound and generating enough cash flow to maintain or grow distributions. He suggests putting money into Artemis Income, which yields 3.4 per cent, but also concentrates on capital growth. The fund has risen 27 per cent in the past three years as well as paying out cash. Management on the fund has a clear mantra of cash flow first and dividends second: in short, they prefer to hold companies that can consistently generate strong cash flows, which is key to fuelling the dividend shareholders receive, he says. Laith Khalaf, senior financial analyst at investment group AJ Bell, suggests buying City of London investment trust, which focuses on dividend growth. The trust yields about 5 per cent annually and has seen 57 consecutive years of dividend increases. The trust up 26 per cent in the past three years has been run by Job Curtis since 1991, and focuses on UK large-cap companies. Rob Burgeman, senior investment manager at wealth manager Brewin Dolphin, suggests Murray Income, another investment trust. He reckons these trusts, which are stock market-listed and can hold back some profits in good years to pay out in lean times, are attractive for anyone wanting to build a portfolio with dividends. He says: They hold decent levels of reserves to smooth out the income they provide over difficult periods there are many considered dividend heroes, having increased their dividend every year for 50 years or more. Murray Income has returned 281 per cent in capital terms over the past 35 years. But, with dividends reinvested it returned 1,498 per cent, Burgeman says. The trust focuses on large UK firms such as Unilever, AstraZeneca, and RELX. Invest in a pension to grow your savings faster Exploiting the power of your pension could get you to millionaire status far more quickly. This is because the Government allows pension tax relief on any contributions made at your marginal rate of income tax, whether a basic, higher, or additional rate taxpayer. A 500-a-month contribution into a Sipp attracts 250 of tax relief for those paying tax at 40 per cent. Adding this in, and assuming a 6 per cent annual growth rate, with reinvested dividends, would make you a millionaire in 35 years. If you could achieve a 9 per cent return as offered by the current yield on stocks like Phoenix and L&G you could reach the magic million in under 28 years. Of course, all this depends on no major changes in the next Budget. We are living in dangerous geopolitical times. Except for the UK, led by Labours vacillating clowns, governments in the West are responding by committing to spending ever larger sums on defence. Everything from submarines and missile defence systems through to aircraft and military communications. The latest data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute shows that total global military expenditure increased last year by 6.8 per cent to an astonishing $2,443 billion (1,856 billion) with the United States and China spending the most. For the big defence companies in the UK, Europe, and the United States, it is bonanza time with them awash with cash as orders come in. A soldier with a Carl-Gustaf M4 Saab ground weapon. Total global military expenditure increased last year by 6.8 per cent to an astonishing $2,443 billion The Panther KF51 main battle tank is manufactured by German company Rheinmetall According to analysis for the Financial Times by equity research company Vertical Research Partners, the cash that the 15 largest Western defence companies generate after covering their operating expenses and capital expenditure will hit $26 billion (17.4 billion) by the end of 2026. This will be double the equivalent figure at the end of 2021. So, boom time for defence companies. And if its boom time for manufacturers, it is likely that investors in the shares of these companies could do rather well too. Jason Hollands, a director of wealth manager Evelyn Partners, says the upsurge in defence spending makes for an interesting investment case. He adds: Apart from the uncertainties in the UK caused by Labours bizarre decision to undertake a strategic review of the countrys security priorities, defence spending is relatively untangled from the ups and downs of the economic cycle and divorced from consumer spending. He continues: Defence projects are multiyear in nature, making the sector defensive from an investment point of view. But what about ethical or so-called ESG (environmental, social and governance) issues? Are defence stocks non grata by many investors who like to invest with a conscience? Well, the tide is turning, thank goodness. Work by fund analyst Morningstar indicates about a third of ESG-focused investment funds in Europe and the UK have a combined 7.7 billion (6.5 billion) invested in defence stocks, compared with 3.2 billion (2.7 billion) in the first quarter of 2022. In other words, ESG-conscious investors are buying into the argument that the security of the Western world cannot be guaranteed without defence spending. Saab GlobalEye and Gripen E aircraft. The Swedish defence systems company (no, it doesn't make cars any more) is committed to 'supporting nations to keep people and society safe' It is a view shared by Christopher Rossbach, chief investment officer of asset manager J Stern & Co, who points to a United Nations sustainable development goal of peace, justice and strong institutions. He says: Economies, companies and individuals can only enjoy peace and prosperity if there is a stable geo-political system and global security is maintained. As a result, we believe that investing in defence-related companies is compatible with investing sustainably. Rossbach adds: Defence stocks play an important social role because they are fundamental to the ability of governments to provide safety, maintain the rule of law, support stable markets, and deliver prosperity. We are careful and thoughtful about the areas we invest in. Controversial weapons, for example, are unequivocally excluded. But the Russia-Ukraine war has highlighted that conflicts are not going to go away. Demand for defence systems, sadly, is going to be here for a long time. Well said that man. So, how can you embrace this investment theme within your Individual Savings Account (Isa) and self-invested personal pension (Sipp)? Last week, we asked leading financial experts to identify some of the defence-related stocks listed in the UK, Europe, or the United States which investors should consider. They are not recommendations, just investment ideas. Also, they should be held only as part of a balanced portfolio, preferably inside the tax-friendly wrapper of an Isa or Sipp which, hopefully, Labour will leave well alone in next months nasty Budget. All investing platforms allow you to buy overseas shares. Wealth has also identified stock market-listed investment trusts and exchange traded funds (ETFs) that either have exposure to defence stocks or are 100 per cent invested in the defence theme. The UK: A narrow defence pool HMS Anson, the fifth Astute class submarine, which BAE Systems has designed and built for the Royal Navy BAE Systems is seen by experts as the classic UK defence stock. Its shares are part of the FTSE 100 Index and it pays a decent dividend that has been in growth mode for the past two years. This years interim dividend of 12.4p a share to be paid in December and available to all shareholders in the company before the shares go ex-dividend on October 24 compares to last years payment of 11.5p. The shares trade at around 12.92. Evelyns Hollands reveals he likes the companys global diversification generating earnings in various key defence areas for example air systems, marine, space and intelligence. This diversification, says Hollands, is enhanced by contracts with multiple governments for example, the United States (a big buyer of its military equipment) and Australia where the company is involved in the AUKUS project that will provide Australia with its first conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine fleet. Sam North, market analyst at investment trading platform eToro, says BAEs shares are up 29 per cent over the past year. He adds: Its shares are trading a touch off their all-time high which gives me confidence that they have room to go further. It is a business that generates lots of cash, is in growth mode and has a decent annual dividend yield of 2.3 per cent. Other UK defence-related stocks liked by panellists include BABCOCK INTERNATIONAL, CHEMRING, QINETIQ, SENIOR and ROLLS-ROYCE HOLDINGS. Ben Kumar, the head of equity strategy at investment house Seven Investment Management (7IM), is a big fan of FTSE 250-listed Babcock. He says: The company does a lot of defence business worldwide and has key contracts with the Ministry of Defence, such as providing engineering support for the Royal Navy. Although the shares are up 30 per cent over the past year, Kumar says they are still undervalued. The business has also started paying a dividend again after three barren financial years. Richard Hunter, head of markets at investing platform Interactive Investor, says recent share price gains make FTSE 250-listed Chemring less compelling as an investment on valuation grounds but nonetheless interesting. The shares are up 36 per cent over the past year. Chemring makes products that enable military aircraft to fool ground-to-air missiles as well as sensors that can detect biological and chemical weapons. Hunter likes the fact that Chemrings order book is in growth mode. For the current financial year, it has paid an interim dividend of 2.6p a share up 0.3p on last year. He says Qinetiq, like Chemring FTSE 250-listed, is another interesting UK defence stock. He explains: The breadth of its offerings ranging from air engineering, reconnaissance technology through to cyber threat security products underlines its ambitious plans to consolidate its growing reputation and increase profits over the coming years. Its shares are up 41 per cent over the past year, and in the last two financial years, its dividend payments have grown. Last month, Senior, a FTSE 250-listed manufacturer of technology components and systems for the aerospace industry (civil and defence), said it was in good growth mode when reporting half-year results for the first half of 2024. North, from eToro, says Senior is undervalued compared to some of its peers and believes its share price (currently 1.62) could push beyond the 1.81 highs of 2021. Hollands says Rolls-Royce Holdings is a business in rude health although the recent failure of one of its engines on a Cathay Pacific Airbus A350 plane has caused its share price to wobble. The shares are still up 118 per cent over the past year, which may prompt investors to think twice about buying into the company. It has also failed to pay shareholders a dividend since the 2019 financial year. Defence wise, Rolls-Royce supplies engines for combat aircraft and nuclear submarine propulsion systems. Opportunities within Europe and the US A LEAP engine at the French aerospace giant Safran, which operates across the civil aviation, defence, and space markets For investors prepared to look outside the UK, numerous European and US defence stocks are worthy of consideration. In Europe, defence stocks which catch the eye of panellists include French aerospace giant SAFRAN which operates across the civil aviation, defence, and space markets. Also, Swedish defence systems company SAAB (no, it doesnt make cars anymore). The company is committed to supporting nations to keep people and society safe a message that boss Micael Johansson claims has been embraced by many ESG-focused investors. Sevens Kumar says Saab is underpinned by a strong order book but states the shares look a little expensive given a 50 per cent rise this year. He says the same of RHEINMETALL, a German manufacturer of the Panther KF51 main battle tank. Its shares are up 80 per cent this year. Its not a value stock, says Kumar. But the business is flourishing. J Stern & Cos Rossbach says the World Stars Global Equity Fund, which he manages, has four holdings in US defence stocks. He says: We invest across the defence value chain, which means we often find opportunities in companies which provide mission-critical components. The four are: RTX, manufacturer of Patriot and missile defence systems; HONEYWELL, which equips military helicopters with autopilot and communications systems; plus AMPHENOL and EATON, both producers of components used in communication systems, military aircraft, and unmanned vehicles. Interestingly, legendary investor Warren Buffett also recently took a stake in aerospace and defence company HEICO through his holding company Berkshire Hathaway. Where Buffett goes, others follow. And finally - defence oriented funds Two UK listed ETFs have portfolios built around leading global defence stocks. They are HANETF FUTURE OF DEFENCE and VANECK DEFENSE. They invest respectively in 51 and 28 defence stocks. Evelyns Hollands says the Hanetf fund has a competitively priced annual charge which totals 0.49 per cent and has generated returns of more than 40 per cent since launch in July last year almost twice the return from the MSCI World Index over the same period. The VanEck fund is up 64 per cent since launching on the London Stock Exchange in March last year. Kumar quips: VanEck has just invited me to an event aboard HMS Belfast in London and Grant Shapps, former Secretary of State for Defence, is a guest speaker. Clearly, there is great interest in this defence investment theme. According to the Association of Investment Companies, investment trusts with key holdings in defence stocks include Henderson Opportunities. Among its top ten holdings are Rolls-Royce and AIM-listed Cohort Group, a military and naval tech company. City of London has BAE Systems as a top 10 holding while Schroder Mid Cap and Schroder Income are both investors in Qinetiq. Plenty of investment ideas for all kinds of investors, including the ESG-brigade. Fashionable: Asos revealed it has agreed to sell a 75 per cent stake Fast fashion giant Asos sold Topshop to a Danish billionaire despite a higher offer from Chinese rival Shein. Asos last week revealed it has agreed to sell a 75 per cent stake in Topshop and Topman to its largest shareholder, Heartland, which is owned by retail tycoon Anders Holch Povlsen, for 135m. However, Shein and Authentic Brands Group had made a joint 215.5m bid, according to the Sunday Times. Shein has swooped in and stolen market share from Asos and its competitors Boohoo and PrettyLittleThing. It is eyeing a 50billion stock market float in London, possibly this autumn. Hundreds of British jobs are at risk if a mega-merger between Three UK and Vodafone gets the green light. A deal between the two rivals would create the UK's largest mobile firm with an estimated value of 15billion. But Three UK finance boss Darren Purkis who will be chief financial officer of the combined group confirmed that some workers will lose their jobs. The group also expects to create new roles as the merged company has pledged to invest 11billion in Britain over the next ten years. That is part of its push to 'create one of Europe's most advanced standalone 5G networks'. Purkis told the Mail: 'It's too early to say what jobs will go and what jobs will stay but clearly there will be synergies there will be rationalisation. Mega-merger: A deal between the two rivals would create the UK's largest mobile firm with an estimated value of 15billion 'But there will be job creation through the transaction. The building out of a nationwide 5G network will create thousands of jobs. 'There will be new jobs created. There will be rationalisation of jobs.' He added: 'We don't know where yet, it's too early to say in the process. The job rationalisation will be through the UK business.' Unite The Union has warned that 1,600 roles could be cut if the megamerger gets the go ahead from regulators. The deal which would reduce the number of operators in the UK from four to three is being investigated by the competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority previously said it is concerned that a merger could push prices up for consumers. It will make a final decision by December 7. If it gets the go ahead, the combined mobile operator will serve around 28m customers, surpassing EE and Virgin Media O2. The merger has already been approved under the National Security and Investment Act. Ministers probed the deal because Three UK is owned by China's CK Hutchison and Vodafone holds sensitive government contracts. A baby girl allegedly beaten to death by her aunt and their boyfriend while they babysat her lived among guns, death, and chaos. Kiya Moore, 21, and her boyfriend Dejon Smith, 34, were charged with first-degree murder after Moore's one-year-old niece Kali Moore was found dead. The baby girl was rushed to LeBonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis about 3am on August 17 and pronounced dead at 4:01 am, police said. Doctors said she had a skull and neck fracture, massive bruising on her back, rectal bleeding, a brain bleed, bruised kidney and blood in her lungs. But even before Kali's mother Kyera Moore left her in the care of her sister, the environment the baby grew up in appeared concerning. Kali Moore was pronounced dead after she was was rushed to LeBonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis about 3am on August 17 Kiya Moore, 21, and her boyfriend Dejon Smith, 34, were charged with first-degree murder. Moore is the baby's aunt On Kyera's profile, mingled in with adorable snaps of Kali, were photos of the infant playing with a suspiciously large pile of banknotes of $20 to $50 Kyera and Moore's brother Antarius Walton, 24, died only a month earlier, and she posted a photo him holding Kali, captioned 'both of y'all together now'. How her brother died is unclear, but it was sudden and he was mourned with a riotous evening that laid bare the family's social circles. Kyera posted photos of a woman who looked similar to herself holding a pistol, standing in front of two men, one of whom gripped a sub-machine gun. Several other photos showed a group of men and women posing on the street, openly holding guns in the air. More photos showed Kyera and other friends of her late brother posing next to a memorial with photos of him carrying guns and dressed like a gangster. Walton was arrested in 2020 for aggravated assault after allegedly beating a woman and causing serious bodily injury, according to an arrest photo by local police. Kyera posted photos of a woman who looked similar to herself holding a pistol, standing in front of two men, one of whom gripped a sub-machine gun Kyera and Moore's brother Antarius Walton, 24, died only a month earlier, and she posted a photo him holding Kali, captioned 'both of y'all together now' A group of men and women posing on the street, openly holding guns in the air, as they mourned Walton's death Elsewhere in her profile, mingled in with adorable snaps of Kali, were photos of the infant playing with a suspiciously large pile of $20 to $50 bills. Photos on Smith's profile were no more complimentary, showing him with expensive cars, bling around his neck and seemingly flashing gang signs. He was arrested in 2022 for firing a gun at a car while children were present, because he was angry that the mother of his child took her new boyfriend with her to pick up their son. Smith took a plea deal in that case, but it was not known how long his sentence was. His mother Stephanie Redd did her best to portray him as a good son and loving father to his two children. 'I'm so proud of the man you're growing to be. Mother loves you,' she wrote in a tribute on his 32nd birthday in 2022. How her brother died is unclear but it was sudden and he was mourned with a riotous evening that laid bare the family's social circles More photos showed Kyera and other friends of her late brother posing next to a memorial with photos of him carrying guns and dressed like a gangster One of many photos of Walton holding a gun and waving it around She posted photos of him in respectable clothes, smiling and embracing his family and holding his kids, and made a similar tribute in July. '34 years ago God blessed me with my one an only Dejon Adre the reason I'm a MOM!!!! I thank God for the gift,' she wrote. 'I pray He blesses you with all the desires of your heart. So Happy Birthday son enjoy your special day as if your life depends on it.' Bianca Crump, the mother of his two children, also chimed in with a comment on Kyera's profile defending him. 'You don't know me, but I am the first baby mother of the guy that was arrested in your daughter's case,' she began. A photo of Walton posted to social media after his death as part of a tribute post, showing him with a gun and a bag with an unknown substance inside Walton poses with a gun and a mask in another photo posted online to memorialize him 'Your daughter deserves justice in this. I have a daughter by him and he will never ever hurt a child. He loves children with everything in him. 'He wasn't the best father to my daughter but I don't think he would beat a baby to death. 'I was actually cool with your sister. Your sister does not give off as a child abuser. She has kept my son once before. 'I'm so lost for words and I've dried for this baby ever since I've heard the news. I honestly don't know who to believe but justice will be served.' Kiya's past is not clean either, as she was charged with four counts of aggravated child abuse and child neglect in February 2022 in a separate case that is still ongoing. The alleged abuse caused serious bodily injury to a child under eight, though the details are unclear. Smither's mother Stephanie Redd (pictured together) did her best to portray him as a good son and loving father to his two children 'I'm so proud of the man you're growing to be. Mother loves you,' she wrote in a tribute on his 32nd birthday in 2022 Redd posted photos of him in respectable clothes, smiling and embracing his family and holding his kids, and made a similar tribute in July Kyera, in a series of heartbreaking Facebook posts, insisted her sister was innocent and explained the bruises and rectal bleeding. 'Please, my sister didn't do it... my baby has birthmarks on her back that never went away and rectal bleeding is caused from her being constipated,' she wrote. Kyera explained that the constipation was so bad that she she used Vaseline and frequently fed Kali green vegetables so she could go to the toilet. 'My sister ain't did s**t, that's just the n***a she live with,' she insisted. Police declined to comment on her claims. Kyera left her daughter, who only turned one in June, with the couple about 5pm on August 15 in what was believed to be her home. Detectives found no baby food in the home on University Street in Memphis, and it was not clear where the baby was sleeping. Moore's sister Kyera Moore, in a series of heartbreaking Facebook posts, insisted her sister was innocent Doctors said she had a skull and neck fracture, massive bruising on her back, and rectal bleeding when they examined her body Moore and Smith gave conflicting statements to police blaming each other for Kali's death after they were arrested, as detailed in a charging affidavit. Smith claimed he heard Moore yelling in the back room and the baby crying, then her slam Kali into the floor, walls, and wooden furniture six to 10 times. He told police that when he asked her what she was doing, she said it was nothing and that the baby was crying too much and getting on her nerves. When Smith entered the room, he claimed, Moore stopped and he saw Kali was unresponsive and began CPR, stopping to pour cold water on her. When Kali didn't wake up, Moore called a family member to take her to hospital. Smith claimed Moore told him Kali was injured when she fell off the bed and hit her head on the nightstand. Smith has two children of his own from an earlier relationship, one about to start kindergarten. Smith (pictured) claimed he heard Moore yelling in the back room and the baby crying, then her slam Kali into the floor, walls, and wooden furniture six to 10 times Smith posies next to a convertible in one of many social media photos with bling Photos on Smith's profile were no more complimentary, showing him with expensive cars, bling around his neck, and striking gangster poses Moore claimed she went out and left Smith alone with Kali and when she came home, the infant was unresponsive and he refused to tell her what happened. Instead, he allegedly told her to say she fell asleep holding Kali and the child fell out of the bed and hit her head on the nightstand - just as he claimed she told him. Moore agreed that it was she who called a family member to take Kali to hospital. Police decided to charge both of them with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and aggravated child neglect. Kyera appeared to have learned of her daughter's death later on Saturday morning when she began a series of mournful Facebook posts. In several posts she begged for God to kill her and let her daughter live instead. 'Please take me lord please I'll do anything pleaseeeeeee god pleaseeeeeee take me,' one of them read. Moore (pictured) claimed she went out and left Smith alone with Kali and when she came home, the infant was unresponsive and he refused to tell her what happened Kyera appeared to have learned of her daughter's death later on Saturday morning when she began a series of mournful Facebook posts 'My heart my literal heart in tiny human form is gone... why god please tell me why help me understand why. 'My reason for not giving up on myself is gone... what [am I] supposed to do now?' Kyera's most recent post wondered if her daughter's death meant she didn't deserve her, and explained how Kali kept her depression at bay. 'I swear I was great to her I loved her with my whole heart she wanted and needed for nothing,' she wrote. 'She knows she was loved by everyone and made anybody she came into contact with happy y'all, I swear she was a angel and didn't deserve this.' America's buggiest city has been revealed as Atlanta, Georgia, for the second year in a row. The data collected by Thumbstack recorded requests for 'pest control services, pest inspections, bed bug exterminations and outdoor pesticide applications' between August 2023 and July 2024. Its findings showed that the majority of the 10 buggiest cities are also among the most sweat-inducing metros, with six of the top spots in Texas and Florida. Here we reveal where in the country you most need your fly swatters and Raid spray... Bugs are more common in the summer because of warm temperatures, moisture, and abundant plant life Seven of the 10 buggiest metro areas in the US have been labeled as some of the sweatiest cities, four of them being in the top five Atlanta Atlanta, Georgia, is the top buggiest US city for the second year in a row. All pest-related services request went up 1.5 percent Atlanta, Georgia, is the number one buggiest city for the second year in a row, according to Thumbtack. This year, requests for all pest-related services were up 1.5 percent. If that wasn't daunting enough, the city also reached 100-degree temperatures more than once this summer, and its June weather was recorded as the city's hottest ever. As of 2024, the average cost of pest control in Atlanta is $473, which is above the nation's $450 average. In addition to its top position as the buggiest metro, it is also one of the least air condition areas of the country and was named the second sweatiest city in America. Washington, DC Washington, DC, is known for its high rate of mosquitoes and bed bug infestations Washington, DC, has a variety of pests that can aggravate residents, but one of its most common problems is bed bugs. Not only was it ranked amongst the top 10 worst US cities for bed bugs, but it also ranked third in the country for mosquito populations. The metro area, which ranked tenth on the least air conditioned cities list, is also the third sweatiest city in the country. Its service requests increased by 20.6 percent in a year, and depending on the type of treatment required, a homeowner in the nation's capital could spend anywhere between $50 and $5,000 to get rid of their unwanted little critters. Dallas, Texas The average cost of pest control in Dallas, Texas, is $466 per routine visit, which is higher than the national average Dallas' weather conditions is one of the main reasons this city is one of the buggiest in the US. The Texas area's long and tangled weeds also offer attractive living conditions for pesky critters. The city's pest service requests have increased by 7.7 percent since 2023, and the average cost of pest control in Dallas is $466 for a routine visit, which is higher than the nation's average. However, some companies like Brooks Pest Control offer packages ranging from $540 to $1,026. It also makes sense for Dallas to follow DC on this list, because the Texas city is right behind the nation's capital in terms of its sweaty population. Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore, Maryland, is full of older and historical structures that could be populated with bed bugs Baltimore, Maryland, may be a beautiful town, but it saw a 26.4 percent increase in pest-related service requests over the last year alone. This Maryland city, which sixth on the list of sweatiest cities, consists of older and historical structures where bed bugs thrive. The metro area has an average of nearly 2,000 monthly bed bug searches, according to LaJaunie's Pest Control. To deal with the issue, Baltimore's pest control costs are either around $479 per appointment, or between $266 to $719 for monthly treatments. Houston Houston, Texas, has been featured in multiple lists for its high bed bug and mosquito population Houston is another Texas city known for its insect population, which includes mosquitoes, ants, bed bugs, and ticks. With pest service requests up 8.8 percent YoY, Houston's muggy weather and flooding have been contributing factors in its years of being featured on insect population rankings. The cost of pest control in Houston, which is also ninth on the sweatiest city list, can vary depending on the problem, but it's usually between $30 and $300. However, organic pest control could potentially cost a Houston resident $100 a month. Austin, Texas German, brown-banded and American cockroaches are the three most common subspecies of the pest present in Austin, Texas Austin has been one of the top growing cities in the US for over 10 years, and growing with it are pest-related service requests, which are up 3 percent from the same time last year. Cockroaches are common household critters in Texas, with German, brown-banded, and American cockroaches being spotted most frequently in Austin. Most exterminators in Austin, which is the sweatiest city in America, charge residents anywhere between $150 and $300 per visit. However, Austin residents could spend anywhere from $45 a month, to $500 a year for continuing treatment. Charlotte, North Carolina The average cost of pest control in Charlotte, North Carolina, is around $427, but monthly prices can be anywhere from $237 to $640 Charlotte is the most populated city in North Carolina, and its year-on-year pest service requests increased by 21.9 percent. This city is also one of the top 50 cities in the US with a high bed bug population, and it's known for having a serious mosquito problem. The average cost of pest control in Charlotte is around $427, but monthly prices can be anywhere from $237 to $640. Residents who may need their homes fumigated should also expect to spend between $2,000 and $8,000. West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach, Florida, is a home for paper wasps and mud daubers - critters that are attracted to spiders West Palm Beach, Florida, has recorded a 18.5 percent year-over-year increase in pest service requests over the last year. The metro area, which is eighth on the list of sweatiest cities, normally has beautifully warm weather, which unfortunately also attracts insects. Besides mosquitoes and bed bugs, West Palm Beach is home to paper wasps and mud daubers - critters that are attracted to spiders. Pest control in this Florida city can be pricey, and cost anywhere between $150 and $300 for an exterminator to visit, However, regular maintenance plans could cost a West Palm Beach resident $500 to $1,000. Miami, Florida The average pest control cost in Miami, Florida, is $527, which is nearly $100 more than the national average Another popular Florida vacation city, Miami, has also seen an increase in pest-related services - with requests rising more than 10 percent. The average cost of pest control here has also gone through the roof compared to other metro areas. The average price is $527, which is nearly $100 more than the national average. The service prices are usually decided based on factors including pest and treatment types, infestation severity, property size and the time of year. Tampa, Florida Orkin ranked Tampa, Florida, amongst the top 50 worst US bed bug cities by Orkin earlier this year Tampa, Florida, may not be the buggiest US city, but its pest-related services requests did increase by 15.6 percent. It was also ranked among the top 50 worst cities for bed bugs by Orkin earlier this year. The average cost of a regular exterminator visit is $426, but a one-time visit and treatment can be priced anywhere between $200 and $600. In most cases, Tampa residents should expect to spend $100 to $500 for ant infestations, and $300 to $700 for wasps. Cornwall is one of the staycation capitals of the UK with tourists flocking to its quaint seaside towns and packing out its beautiful beaches. But while locals appreciate the custom of holidaymakers - not everyone is welcome. Influencers have been slammed by Cornish residents after a slew of posts featuring local beauty spots on Instagram and TiKTok. They say the stampeding crowds of TikTokkers looking for the perfect selfie are ruining sites loved by communities and turning them into 'no-go areas'. Influencers have been slammed by Cornish residents after a slew of posts featuring local beauty spots on Instagram and TiKTok Despite disgruntled Cornish residents hitting out at social media users, social media's influence on getaways shows little sign of abating, as new figures suggest video sharing site TikTok is the 'go-to platform for travel inspiration' One influencer account even labelled Cornwall as the Bali of the UK in a recent post Cornwall has long been a treasured spot for Brits looking for a serene holiday break by the beach without the need of having to spend big to go abroad One local also highlighted the damage done to spots of natural beauty, such as Wistman's Wood on Dartmoor, in neighbouring Devon, because of increased numbers of people flocking to the area. Speaking to CornwallLive, they fumed: 'Online influencers and vapid 'bucket listers' have caused some of our most special, sensitive and unspoilt places to become no-go areas. 'People don't seem to get it that with huge audiences reachable online, such recommendations can quickly lead to areas becoming overwhelmed with unimaginative bandwagon-jumping types who have it 'on their list'. 'Take Wistman's Wood on Dartmoor, now requesting that people don't walk in it due to the incredible damage done by hordes in the past several years who have seen online influencers describe it as some kind of real life Fangorn Forest. 'Locals who sensitively and quietly respected that place for years have had it taken from them due to the insensitivities of others'. This was a sentiment echoed by another local, who blamed 'internet vermin' for increased tourist numbers to the area. They said: 'It's the same with every nice part of UK, these internet vermin encourage way too many people to visit.' A further comment read: '[An influencer] calls the smoothies in one place and sausage rolls in another ''insane''. 'My idea of insane is these so-called influencers' ''bucket lists''. Attracting exactly the wrong people to the county'. The wishes of upset locals for tourists to stay away come after visitors have been previously been shamed online for driving their cars on to Cornish beaches and leaving them there - with one even spotted submerged in the sea. Instagram influencer Jessica Skye poses on a coastal rock face in Cornwall Almost half of adults, or 47 per cent, are now turning to the website to plan their holidays Locals set-up a Facebook group called 'Utterly Preposterous Parking in Cornwall'. People in the Cornish seaside town of St Ives say it has been turned into a 'theme park' after being swamped by tourists and Airbnb rentals. And three people were seen holding up a crude banner on a bridge over the A30 at Bodmin in Cornwall, telling drivers: 'Turn around and f*** off.' At the same time, tourists arriving in Dawlish in neighbouring Devon were greeted by a man dressed as the Grim Reaper with a sign saying: 'Welcome holidaymakers.' Despite disgruntled Cornish residents hitting out at social media users, social media's influence on getaways shows little sign of abating, as new figures suggest video sharing site TikTok is the 'go-to platform for travel inspiration'. Almost half of adults, or 47 per cent, are now turning to the website to plan their holidays - with 39 per cent spending an extra four to seven hours each week doing so compared to two years ago, according to research by Tourism Australia. Their survey of 2,000 Britons found 46 per cent say they trust TikTok recommendations more than other holiday review websites. Meanwhile, 57 per cent told of being more likely to visit a place after seeing it on TikTok. Democrats are facing an unfriendly map to hold their Senate majority come November, but they are defiant that they can keep control of the chamber despite Republicans having an advantage in several key states. Currently, Democrats hold a slim 51-seat majority in the Senate thanks to 47 Senate Democrats and four Independents who caucus with them. Senate Republicans are not far behind, holding 49 seats. If Democrats lose any seat they currently hold without picking up any, they are expected to slip to below 50 seats and forfeit the coveted majority. It would then come down to whoever wins the presidential race in November, handing the vice president a deciding vote in a tied Senate. But that scenario is unlikely, as the GOP has a good shot of picking up a few seats - including in several swing states. Despite the uphill climb facing Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer boldly declared last month at the Democratic National Convention that they will keep the Senate come November. Several incumbent Democratic senators are up for reelection in battleground states or ones that Donald Trump handedly won in 2020 The majority leader did not say what states he believes the Democrats will 'pick up' in the Senate, but when it comes to the map - there's a rough road ahead with just two months to go before Election Day. DailyMail.com breaks down the Senate races that Democrats must keep to maintain power, and those that could be potential pickup opportunities: West Virginia Democrats are expected to lose West Virginia with Independent Senator Joe Manchin - who caucuses with Democrats - retiring at the end of the year. The state has grown increasingly red with Donald Trump winning it in 2020 by nearly 40 points. In the open Senate race, Republican Governor Jim Justice, who was once a Democrat, is leading his Democratic opponent Glenn Elliot by more than 30 points according to recent polls. If that seat flips as expected, it splits the Senate 50-50, but Democrats have several other tight races they need to hold in red states. Independent Senator Joe Manchin's retirement means the West Virginia Senate seat is likely to flip red come November Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer argued at the Democratic National Convention that Democrats can hold the Senate come November The West Virginia seat is expected to go red with Sen. Manchin retiring. Montana, Michigan and Ohio are rated toss-ups Montana The toughest race for a Senate Democrat looking to hold his seat is Senator Jon Tester who is up for reelection in Montana. Trump won the state by more than 16 points in 2020 and has visited just weeks ago to campaign for Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy. Tester, a third generation Montana farmer, was leading in several polls over the Republican businessman earlier this year, but over the past few months, the race has flipped and the Real Clear Politics average has Sheehy up by five points. Democratic Montana Senator Jon Tester is in a tough race against GOP challenger Tim Sheehy in a state Trump won by sixteen points in 2020 A series of recent Senate elections where Democrats have eked out victories suggest Tester could still pull it off, but it is an uphill climb for him in a presidential election year. Cook Political Report rates the race a 'toss up.' It's already one of the most expensive Senate races this cycle with another more than $100 million slated to be spent on advertising between Labor Day and Election Day. Republicans are poised to slightly outspend Democrats with more than $55 million in reservations to more than $53 million during the final sprint. Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown also faces a tough reelection bid in Ohio where he's being challenged by Republican Bernie Moreno in a state that has been trending further red. It has the largest amount of ad spending between Labor Day and Election Day, according to tracking by AdImpact with more than $177 million. Recent polls have Brown up by five points, but Cook Political Report also rates the race as a 'toss up.' Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown is fighting to hold a seat against Republican challenger Bernie Moreno in a state that has been trending further red Michigan Meanwhile, there is also an open Senate seat in the swing state Michigan with Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow retiring. Cook Political Report rates the race as a 'toss up.' The latest polling has Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin up by nearly five points against former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers. In Michigan, Democrats are outspending Republicans massively, nearly four to one in a sign of trouble for the GOP. Slotkin and Rogers are in a race to fill the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow Your browser does not support iframes. Democrats also need to hold onto seats in the battleground states of Nevada, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Arizona where the seat is open with the retirement of Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema. Those seats are rated 'Lean Democrat.' As of Labor Day, Democrats were set to outspend Republicans in the Senate race advertising in Arizona and Nevada nearly three-to-one through Election Day, according to tracking by AdImpact. Arizona Arizona has one of the tightest presidential races in the country, but it also has an open Senate seat due to Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema retiring. However, Democrats appear to have an advantage in the Senate race. Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego is up against Republican and close Trump ally Kari Lake who ran for governor there but lost in 2022. The Real Clear Politics average shows Gallego with a more than eight point lead in the Senate race while Cook Political Report rates it as 'Lean Democrat.' Democrat Ruben Gallego and Republican Kari Lake are looking to fill the seat being vacated by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema Pennsylvania In Pennsylvania, Democratic Senator Bob Casey is being challenged by Republican businessman and former hedge fund CEO David McCormick. It's a battleground state Trump won in 2016 but swung back to blue for Biden in 2020. In 2022, Democratic Senator John Fetterman won his race over Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz. The latest polling shows the presidential race in the state is razor-thin, but Casey appears to have a slight advantage with a more than six point lead according to the Real Clear Politics average. Voters in the Keystone state will play a major role in deciding who controls the Senate as well as the White House Nevada Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen who has served since being elected in 2018 is looking to win a second term. She's facing a challenge by veteran Republican Sam Brown. The Real Clear Politics average has her up by double digits in the race with a ten point lead over Brown. It is a wider gap than seen in the presidential race where average of recent polls shows Trump and Harris locked in a tied race. The Cook Political Report rates the Senate race as 'Lean Democrat.' Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen is looking to be reelected for a second term amid a challenge from Republican Sam Brown Wisconsin Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin is looking to hold onto a seat in the battleground state that elected Trump in 2016 before going blue again in 2020. It's a deeply purple state that reelected Republican Senator Ron Johnson in the midterms but also reelected Democratic Governor Tony Evers. Baldwin is being challenged by Republican businessman Eric Hovde, but the latest polls show her with a more than six point lead. Senator Tammy Baldwin appears to have a slight advantage in her battleground state race against challenger Eric Hovde Where Democrats have a chance of potentially picking up a Senate seat, as Schumer suggested, it is hard to predict. The likeliest options are in Texas or Florida but both are considered a stretch. Cook Political Report rates the races in both states which were won by Trump in 2016 and 2020 and more recently by Republicans statewide in the 2022 midterms as 'Likely Republican.' Democrats see an opportunity to flip Senate seats in Florida and Texas with Republican incumbents but both states have been decidedly red in recent statewide elections Rep. Allred is looking to unseat Republican Senator Ted Cruz in Texas Texas In Texas, Democratic Congressman Colin Allred is looking to unseat conservative incumbent Republican Senator Ted Cruz. Democrats have been eyeing Texas for some time but have not won a statewide race in thirty years despite it trending more purple in recent years. The latest polls in the Texas Senate race have yielded a wide variety of results. One recent poll from the University of Houston last month show Cruz ahead of the Democrat who has served in the House since 2019 by just two points among likely voters. It is a sign the race is tightening. Polls earlier this summer had Cruz up by as much as eleven points in the state. Congresswoman Mucarsel-Powell is looking to flip the Senate seat in Florida by ousting Republican Senator Rick Scott Florida In Trump's home state of Florida which he won in 2016 and 2022 and Republican Governor Ron DeSantis also won by a whopping nineteen points, the Senate also appears to be tightening, but GOP Senator Rick Scott has maintained a lead. The latest polls have Scott up nearly six points on average over Democratic former Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, but the latest poll from Florida Atlantic University last month has him up just four points. The narrowing gap comes as Democrats also argue Trump's home state is competitive at the top of the ticket. They believe access to abortion rights directly on the ballot after Florida passed a six-week abortion ban helps put the state in play. The polling in the state shows Trump a couple of points ahead of Scott down-ballot. A female solo traveller has revealed the five countries that she felt safest in while holidaying around Asia. Posting to TikTok about her experiences on the continent while voyaging alone, Courtney, under the handle @shetravelledtheworld, shared her list on the social media platform - after visiting 19 countries across Asia. First up, she said Kyrgyzstan was fifth on her list. Being the first country she had visited in central Asia, the solo backpacker admitted that she was unsure about what to expect. She said: 'I was pleasantly surprised by how safe I felt the whole time, even in the capital city of Bishkek. English is not that widely spoken but people were always more than happy to help'. Next, Courtney praised Thailand for being one of the safest countries she has visited in Asia - pointing that it is 'called the land of smiles for a reason'. @shetravelledtheworld Disclaimer: this is based purely off my own experience and what Ive seen/felt during my trips. Please always practice caution everywhere you go original sound - shetravelledtheworld Posting to TikTok about her experiences on the continent while voyaging alone, Courtney, under the handle @shetravelledtheworld, shared her list on the social media platform - after visiting 19 countries across Asia She continued: 'I always felt right at home [in Thailand]. I would actually say that, more than anything, the people who make you feel unsafe in the country are the rowdy tourists'. 'If that's not what you are looking for though, there are many more tranquil spots in the country which are off the beaten trail'. Thirdly, Courtney picked Indonesia as another Asian country that she felt deserved to be praised for how safe she felt while visiting. Singling out Bali in particular for how hospitable they were towards her, the vlogger remarked: 'It is true that Balinese people are ridiculously kind and helpful'. 'I also ventured to East Java and Lomboc along with some of the smaller surrounding islands by Bali and I can confirm people are just as friendly'. Picking the penultimate area on her list, Courtney opted for Taiwan, despite only spending a few days on the island. The solo traveller said: 'This was my first introduction to eastern Asia but I felt unbelievably safe, especially when walking around alone at night'. Earning top spot on her list was Singapore, which is consistently ranked as one of the safest countries in the world due to enforcing tough laws to prevent crime 'Taiwanese people are a bit more reserved and it can feel a bit more daunting because it's a big city, however, it's a new favourite destination of mine'. Earning top spot on her list was Singapore, which is consistently ranked as one of the safest countries in the world due to enforcing tough laws to prevent crime. Indeed, it is one of the only remaining countries in the world where the death penalty is still used. Courtney stated: 'Singapore is a great starting point for anyone who wants to delve into Asia or wants a tester of solo travelling'. A child care centre manager credited with attempting to expose one of Australia's worst paedophiles is now fighting to clear her own name after being accused of sharing confidential material. Grandmother Yolanda Borucki has been portrayed as a whistleblower whose actions could have ended Ashley Paul Griffith's offending against children almost a year before he was finally caught. Griffith pleaded guilty in Brisbane District Court on Monday to 307 offences including 28 of rape, 67 of making child exploitation material, and 190 of indecent treatment of a child. He also admitted 15 counts of repeated sexual abuse of a child, and seven of possessing and distributing child exploitation material. Australians were horrified in August last year when police revealed the Gold Coast child care worker, who could not then be named, had been charged with 1,623 offences against 91 girls. Griffith's crimes, all of which he recorded, were committed over 15 years between 2007 and 2022 while working at 10 child care centres in Brisbane, one in Sydney and one in Italy. Assistant Commissioner Justine Gough said at a press conference: 'The AFP had no information from parents or any other person prior to this man being arrested and charged'. Three days later, Ms Borucki, 59, appeared on A Current Affair claiming she had been involved in reporting Griffith to police in October 2021 after a colleague saw him kissing a sleeping girl at a Brisbane child care centre. A child care centre manager credited with attempting to expose one of Australia's worst paedophiles is now fighting to clear her own name after being accused of sharing confidential material. Yolanda Borucki is pictured outside court Griffith was stood down while police investigated the allegations, which could not be substantiated, and he went back to working with children. The local detectives who investigated the complaint about Griffith had not searched his home or examined his electronic devices. Griffith was arrested in August 2022, by which time he had reportedly abused at least four more girls, but the extent of his offending was not publicly disclosed for another 12 months. The October 2021 complaint was not lodged by Ms Borucki but was made by another employee of the child care centre's operator, the Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland. The Queensland Police Service confirmed Ms Borucki was not the informant who tipped them off and was never a witness in its original investigation. Ms Borucki's appearance on A Current Affair came four days after she had been made redundant by her former employer. Six days after Ms Borucki told her story to the Nine program, the Uniting Church reported her to police for allegedly hacking a computer to access confidential information. Five days later, detectives from Task Force Argos, the specialist Queensland team which hunts the state's worst paedophiles, executed a search warrant on Ms Borucki's home. Yolanda Borucki was the manager of a Brisbane chain of child care centres run by the Uniting Church of Australia, Queensland, when a colleague reported Ashley Paul Griffith (above) to police in October 2021 after he was seen kissing a sleeping girl There, they seized a number of electronic devices and subsequently charged Ms Borucki with one count of computer hacking. 'It will be alleged the woman illegally accessed confidential documents relating to her former employment at a Brisbane child care centre, and distributed those documents to other persons,' police said at the time. 'These documents allegedly contained the private information of children allegedly victim to abuse, their families and a male person who allegedly committed sexual offences against those children while in his care at the relevant child care centre.' That person was Griffith, who could not be identified until October 3 last year when a change to Queensland laws allowed accused rapists to be named. 'It will be alleged these documents were accessed and released after he had been charged,' police said. 'The impacted families have been notified and are being provided ongoing support.' Police allege Ms Borucki hacked the computer on August 3, three days after she had been made redundant, while she still had possession of a work laptop and phone. In the year since Griffith's crimes were made public Ms Borucki has repeatedly been portrayed as a whistleblower who had unsuccessfully tried to expose him. A Facebook page set up by supporters is full of comments describing her as a hero who should never have been charged with the computer hacking offence. Members of Task Force Argos, whose gruelling work has been hailed internationally since the unit was established in 1997, have been pilloried for charging her. Australians were horrified in August last year when police revealed Griffith, who could not then be named, had been charged with 1,623 offences against 91 girls. He is pictured in a court sketch drawn on Monday 'Argos is very upset about all the reporting on this,' a police source said. 'It's been really tough on them. They do incredible work. 'If they receive a complaint about computer hacking they have a duty as police officers to investigate.' Daily Mail Australia put a series of questions to Queensland police about what role Ms Borucki played in the October 2021 investigation into Griffith. '[Ms Borucki] is not recorded as either an informant or witness in the mentioned complaint made to Queensland Police Service,' a spokesman responded. The Uniting Church could not comment on the hacking allegation against Ms Borucki but stated it had been responsible for reporting Griffith to police. 'In October 2021, the Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland made a complaint to the Queensland Police Service,' a spokeswoman said. 'We responded promptly and cooperated fully with the investigation. 'We are committed to the safety and wellbeing of children and vulnerable people, and we share the horror of our community if any child is harmed. 'We can't comment further on the case again Ms Borucki as it is still before the court.' Ms Borucki launched an unfair dismissal action against the Uniting Church in the Federal Court's Fair Work division but discontinued the case in June. Griffith became an AFP target in August 2022 when officers traced a bedspread which featured in images and videos posted on the dark web to a Brisbane child care centre where he had worked. Griffith pleaded guilty in Brisbane District Court on Monday to 307 child sex offences. The parents of one of his victims are pictured outside the court Investigators seized Griffith's electronic devices and began reviewing almost 4,000 images and videos he had created to view and share with other paedophiles. Ms Borucki is due to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court for a hearing on November 25. She told Daily Mail Australia she could not comment on the hacking charge, her role in Griffith being reported to police or anything else related to her previous employment. 'We will see what is going to happen in November,' Ms Borucki said. Griffith will be back in Brisbane District Court on September 9 for discussions about setting a sentencing date. More than a dozen London pubs have been saved from being shut down at the eleventh hour by a major chain. Selected pubs owned by Antic hospitality group had entered into administration in July, after the company was struggling financially since the coronavirus pandemic and had 'legacy liabilities'. This meant that the end looked nigh for various popular watering holes across the capital but the intervention of an established chain that already owns 44 venues in London has saved the day. The potential closures had led to concerns for the trade of venues predominantly in south-east and south-west London. However, they will now be able to remain open for business thanks to a last-minute intervention from one company. A number of London pubs have been saved from being shut down at the eleventh hour by a major chain after they were earmarked for closure by administrators. Pictured: Dogstar in Brixton Selected pubs owned by Antic hospitality group had entered into administration in July, after the company was struggling financially since the coronavirus pandemic and had 'legacy liabilities'. Pictured: Balham Bowls Club The potential closures had led to concerns for the trade of venues predominantly in south-east and south-west London. Pictured: The Clapton Hart, which, along with the two venues above is earmarked for closure Urban Pubs & Bars have saved 11 pubs from having to shut down immediately after they took on ownership of the spots previously owned by Antic. However, three pubs - Dogstar in Brixton, Tooting Tram and Social, and Coppers in Crystal Palace - were not included in the sale, leaving their futures up in the air. Urban Pubs & Bar managing director Chris Hill said: 'We are delighted to be acquiring these fantastic pubs - and we can't wait to bring them into the Urban family. 'Like so many existing corners of UPB, these newly acquired sites are iconic in so many individual ways - and we can't wait to work with our new colleagues to realise the full potential of them, and their brilliant businesses'. While selected pubs across London have been saved, the trend of pubs closing at an alarmingly high rate is something that will concern owners and punters alike. Figures show that the number of pubs disappearing from communities across England and Wales jumped a third over the first months of 2024 amid pressure on punters' budgets. Official Government statistics revealed that 239 pubs were demolished or converted for other uses over the three months to March 31. It means around 80 pubs shut each month, representing a 56 per cent increase on the closure of 51 pubs a month over the first quarter of 2023. Pub sector bosses have said the data reflects the impact of high energy and food costs, tighter consumer spending and a significant tax burden on hospitality businesses. Figures show that the number of pubs disappearing from communities across England and Wales jumped a third over the first months of 2024 amid pressure on punters' budgets The data, which was compiled by commercial real estate specialists at Altus Group, showed that the overall number of pubs in England and Wales, including those vacant and being offered to let, fell to 39,162 at the end of March. It compared with 39,401 pubs at the end of 2023. London suffered a net loss of around 40 pubs and bars in 2023, while at the same time employing a record high number of staff in the sector. According to data for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), London went from 3,575 pubs in March 2022, to 3,535 a year later while in 2001, the figure stood at a noticeably higher number of 4,835. Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade body UKHospitality, said: 'It's disappointing and frustrating that we're continuing to see pub closures across the country. 'This level of closures is the result of sky-high costs that are putting business owners under considerable pressure. It's vital that we see urgent action to bring these operating costs down to a more manageable level, in order to help our historic pub industry not just survive, but thrive. 'It is particularly important that the new Government delivers on its manifesto commitment to fix the broken business rates system, which will help not just pubs, but the wider hospitality industry, bounce back.' Two drug lords whose bloody reign inspired brutal scenes in hit TV drama Sherwood still have a 'huge influence' on the streets, a gang expert has warned. Notorious Nottingham gang leader Colin Gunn and 'international drugs kingpin' Robert Dawes are both serving lengthy jail sentences in Category A prisons - the former in Britain and the latter in France. Colin and his brother David Gunn built up a multi-million-pound empire based on drugs, extortion and violent crime during the early 2000s when Nottingham had a reputation for being Britain's gun crime capital. The city dubbed 'Shottingham' at the height of its brutal crime wave, much of the violence was was being fuelled by Dawes, who was running his cartel from Spain until he was arrested in 2015 for trafficking 1.3 tonnes of cocaine into Europe. The petty criminal who went from growing up on an estate in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire to becoming a narcotics boss with links to South America was jailed for 22 years in 2018. Colin Gunn, whose savage reign included orchestrating the execution of grandparents John and Joan Stirland in a savage revenge hit, was jailed for life in 2006. He is currently an inmate at high-security HMP Long Lartin in Evesham, Worcestershire. MailOnline can reveal today how despite both gang lords being behind bars, Gunn and Dawes are still in contact. Nottingham crime boss Colin Gunn (pictured) was jailed in 2006 for conspiring to murder John and Joan Stirland Robert Dawes (pictured) was pulling the strings in Nottingham from Spain until he was arrested in 2015 for trafficking 1.3 tonnes of cocaine into Europe Author Carl Fellstrom, whose book 'Hoods' gives an in-depth history of Nottingham's crime gangs, told MailOnline: 'Colin Gunn and Robert Dawes still communicate with each other right now. They're both in Category A prisons. One's in France and one's in the UK. 'I think from that, you can ascertain that they are still doing business. So although their power at its base in Nottinghamshire has been fairly well dismantled, they are still operating. 'I think that Colin Gunn still pulls the strings on the estate, and continues to have an influence. But it's not the same influence as he had during that 2000 period where to his people, his word was the law.' In 2010, Gunn was caught using Facebook to threaten his enemies from behind pars. In one post, he wrote: 'I will be home one day and I can't wait to look into certain people's eyes and see the fear of me being there.' In another, he said: 'It's good to have an outlet to let you know how I am, some of you will be in for a good slagging, some have let me down badly, and will be named and shamed, f****** rats.' Although Gunn and Dawes were initially operating around their own patches, Nottingham became a hub for activity with gangs in Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and London thanks to its geography in the Midlands. Dawes was the more significant figure because he was international and the Gunns were his clients. But even though it was a business relationship, they were also close, Mr Fellstrom explains. 'Although Dawes was supplying everything and had much more power globally, Colin Gunn had the power on that estate,' he said. 'But his [power] didn't translate to power beyond these shores, he wasn't an international criminal. Dawes very much was, dealing with people at source in South America regarding cocaine and at source in Afghanistan regarding heroin. 'He also had set set up in Netherlands to produce amphetamine and ecstasy. He's worth a lot of money. One of the ironic things is they've never really been able to track all of that money down. He was pretty clever at that.' This is the moment Dawes was arrested following a raid on his mansion in Benalmadena, Spain Dawes was thought to be of being one of the biggest drug dealers in Europe, running an empire that stretched across eight countries and dealt in cocaine, heroin, money laundering and murder. Pictured: Drugs that were seized Officers are pictured arresting drugs kingpin Robert Dawes after they raided the home of the UK criminal in Spain Colin Gunn (pictured) was jailed in 2006. He is being held at HMP Long Lartin Dawes was convicted of arranging an estimated 216million worth of cocaine to be trafficked into France on an Air France flight from Venezuela to Paris. His criminal empire stretched from Portugal, France and Belgium to Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Venezuela and Mexico. He grew up on the Leamington estate in Nottinghamshire, and is thought to have begun his criminal career in the 1990s working as an enforcer. Dawes left Nottinghamshire for the Costa del Sol in 2009, moving to a villa in the resort of Benalmadena. His brother John also received a 24-year sentence for drug dealing and money laundering in 2005, but is now free. When asked how dangerous it is that Gunn and Dawes are still communicating, he said: 'These guys aren't getting any younger and I don't see them being interested in creating the kind of violence that was kicking off in the 2000s. 'The other thing that people have to remember is that these guys still have huge amounts of influence in terms of they have good contacts out in the environment, that can get things sorted out for them, even though they're in prison and they also have still have support on the estates where they once lived. 'So although their general level of power is diminished, they can still be dangerous in in respect to other individuals. 'But not to the community anymore. I don't see that that they still have large swathes of the community behind them. 'I think that all changed because the police eventually got their act together and and took down the most important parts of that and also re-engaged with the community which was really important. 'Because the only reason why these guys gained power was because some of the community believed that they looked after them better than the police did. 'I think very much the the atmosphere has changed in in Nottingham. 'Now if the community sees something wrong, they will actually ring the police, whereas before they tended to ring up Colin Gunn on the estate. 'It's not what it was but you have to kind of also taking the fact that the ripple effects of all of the things that did go on will go on for years for the families that were all impacted by it all. It doesn't go away.' The violence came to a head when Jamie Gunn (pictured, in a tribute) threw Michael O'Brien out of the Sporting Chance pub O'Brien (left) and an associate tried to kill Gunn but instead fatally wounded Marvyn Bradshaw (right). Jamie Gunn later died from pneumonia after his life fell apart after the death of his best friend, Mr Bradshaw In a revenge plot, Colin Gunn conspired to kill Michael O'Brien's mother Joan Stirland (left) and step-father John (right), who were found dead in Lincolnshire The violence in Nottingham came to a head in August 2003, when the Gunn brothers' 19-year-old nephew Jamie was a bouncer at the Sporting Chance pub in the Bullwell area of the city, where the crew would meet. When convicted criminal Michael O'Brien was refused entry to the pub, he returned with an associate, Gary Salmon, and a single-barrelled shotgun. Jamie's friend Marvyn Bradshaw arrived to drive him home but as they left, O'Brien and Salmon approached the car, with one firing a shot. It missed Jamie and struck and killed Marvin. After O'Brien's arrest, bullets were fired into windows of the house of his mother, Joan Stirland, and her husband, John. They fled to Lincolnshire but refused witness protection. Jamie's life was destroyed by his friend's death and he died from pneumonia after turning to alcohol and drugs to cope with his grief. Devastated at the death of his young nephew, Colin Gunn promised to exact revenge on O'Brien, who would later be jailed for 18 years for Mr Bradshaw's murder. Six days after Jamie died, a hit squad of Gunn and his associates tracked down the Stirlands to their Lincolnshire home on August 8 2004. The gunmen, who have not been identified, killed Mr Stirland on the sofa while his wife was shot in their bedroom. Nobody has ever been charged over the double execution, but Colin Gunn was sentenced to life with a minimum of 35 years for conspiring to murder the couple. When the murder trial came to an end at Birmingham Crown Court in March 2006, Gunn turned to the jury and said: 'Thank you, you scum bags. I hope you die of cancer.' He then turned on the judge and called him a paedophile. Colin's brother David, who now claims to be crime-free, was also charged in relation with the murders but was cleared. John Russell, of Bulwell, and Michael McNee, no fixed abode, were handed sentences of 30 years and 25 years for conspiring. Danielle Beccan (pictured), 14, was shot as she walked home from a Goose Fair through the St Ann's area just two months after the Stirlands' death Junior Andrew (left) and Mark Kelly (right) were found guilty of murdering Danielle Beccan in 2005 Critically-acclaimed series BBC Sherwood, which is set in Nottingham, was inspired by real-life murders in 2004, returned for a second series earlier this month (Pictured is David Morrissey as Ian St Clair) Another innocent victim caught up in Nottingham's horrifying tit-for-tat gang violence was 14-year-old Danielle Beccan. The schoolgirl was gunned down in a drive by shooting as she walked home from a fair through the St Ann's area of the city just two months after the Stirlands' death in October 2004. Danielle was shot by two gunmen from The Meadows area of Nottingham who had 'historical beef' with St Anne's. Mark Kelly, then 23, and Junior Andrew, then 26, fired from a car at the teenager and her friends as they walked home, Birmingham Crown Court heard. Danielle fell to the ground fatally wounded as her friends tried to run to safety. Her mother Paula Platt was at the scene within minutes and cradled the teen in her arms as they awaited for an ambulance in an alleyway. In 2005, Kelly and Andrews were found guilty of killing the teenager and jailed for at least 32 years. Trial judge Mr Justice Butterfield said: 'You robbed a bright young girl of her life and blighted forever the lives of her family and friends. 'This was a terrible killing. You armed yourselves with a handgun and set out cruising around St Ann's looking for likely victims. 'It was what you told (a witness in the case) you wanted to do. 'Your pathological and illogical hatred of everyone from St Ann's was so intense you did indeed want to kill.' Kelly later had his sentence reduced to a minimum of 29 years on appeal. 'The ripple effects from that particular killing were really big because of her age, and the fact that, it was the case of somebody being in the wrong place at the wrong time,' Mr Fellstrom explained. 'That history [of gang rivalry] went back quite a few years, back into the eighties and it was totally tragic. Danielle's shocking murder was the front page of the Daily Mail on October 11 2004 'It was sort of the beginning of what was to become a a fairly difficult period for Nottinghamshire Police which wasn't helped, maybe, by some of the headlines that that came off the back of that which was 'Shottingham' and 'Gun Crime Capital' and so on,' he said. Mr Fellstrom said that although the number of murders has certainly gone down from that period, he fears it still has a poor reputation when it comes to crime - as people still refer to the city as 'Shottingham' whenever there's an incident. At the height of its crime, parents had stopped allowing their children to apply to Nottingham because they did not want to say their kids were going there. Mr Fellstrom was speaking as James Graham's Sherwood returned to our screens for a second season. The drama, although fictionalised, is inspired by the real life murders that rocked Nottingham in 2004 during a time of huge crime. It comes in a period when community was already fractured by the 1984-85 miners' strike. Mr Fellstrom said: 'As a drama, I think it's brilliant, and it perfectly evokes some of the issues that lead to these kinds of explosions of crime which are the fact that so many of the communities were hit by the the demise of the mining industry. So I think that general theme that he's weaved throughout the whole of the two series is very pertinent, because, a lot of this conflict is really all about money, and it's about surviving. 'And the gap that exists between the haves and the have nots, which has been festering for quite a while as we've seen as a result of the recent riots.' September 8 marks International Literacy Day, an important occasion celebrated by UNESCO since 1967 to emphasize the significance of literacy for individuals, communities, and society as a whole. This year's theme, "Promoting Multilingual Education: Literacy for Mutual Understanding and Peace," highlights the value of learning in multiple languages to foster understanding and harmony. UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay addressed the global community, underscoring that children learn more effectively in their native languages. However, approximately 40 percent of people worldwide do not have the opportunity to study in a language they understand. In Africa, 8 out of 10 children start school in a language different from their home language, contributing to a literacy gap where three out of four children under ten in developing countries cannot read or comprehend simple texts. Additionally, 754 million adults globally are still illiterate, with two-thirds being women. The full text of Azoulays appeal is available on the UNESCO website. UNESCO, a specialized UN organization in science, education, and culture, was established with its charter signed in London on November 16, 1945. The organization began its activities on November 4, 1946, with 20 member states. Today, UNESCO has 193 member states and 11 associate members, and is guided by three main bodies: the General Conference, the Executive Council, and the Secretariat. Audrey Azoulay has been serving as UNESCO Director General since November 15, 2017. Azerbaijan, which joined UNESCO on June 3, 1992, after regaining its independence, has actively participated in UNESCO's initiatives. The National Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan on UNESCO was established following a decree by President Heydar Aliyev on February 21, 1994. First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva was honored as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in September 2004 for her contributions to preserving Azerbaijan's rich cultural heritage. Azerbaijan's cultural heritage is well represented in UNESCO's listings. The country's tangible cultural heritage includes the "Inner City, Maiden's Castle, and Shirvanshahs Palace Complex" (2000), the "Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape" (2007), and the "Historical Center of Sheki with Khan Palace" (2019). Its intangible cultural heritage encompasses elements like "Azerbaijani Mugam" (2008), "Traditional Azerbaijani Carpet Art" (2010), and "The Legacy of Dede Korkut" (2018), among others. Additionally, two Azerbaijani heritage elements, "Chovgan Traditional Karabakh Horse Game" (2013) and "Yalli Traditional Group Dances of Nakhchivan" (2018), are included in UNESCOs List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Protection. Azerbaijan's contributions to UNESCO's International Register of Memory of the World include "Medieval Medical and Pharmaceutical Manuscripts of Azerbaijan" (2005) and "Copy of Fuzuli's Divan Manuscript" (2017). The country has also celebrated several significant anniversaries recognized by UNESCO, including the 600th anniversary of Imadaddin Nasimi (2017) and the 100th anniversary of the founding of Baku State University (2019). In support of global education initiatives, 18 Azerbaijani educational institutions are part of the UNESCO Associated Schools Network Program (ASPnet). On September 21, 2020, Baku, Gabala, and Ganja joined UNESCO's Global Network of Learning Cities. Azerbaijan hosts three UNESCO Chairs: "Human Rights and Right to Information" at Baku State University (2015), "Strengthening Professional Development of Teachers through an ICT-Based Approach" at the Center for Innovative Technologies in Education (2017), and "A??q Shamshir" Chair on Folk Music Heritage and Storytelling Traditions at the Folklore Institute of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (2020). The city of Shaki was included in UNESCO's Creative Cities Network in 2017 for its crafts and folk creativity, and Baku was added in 2019 for design. Additionally, UNESCO Clubs have been established in six Azerbaijani educational institutions, including the Academy of Public Administration and Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University. Azerbaijans robust engagement with UNESCO reflects its commitment to advancing education and preserving cultural heritage, aligning with International Literacy Days goal of fostering global literacy and mutual understanding. Americans want to stop foreign countries like China from purchasing U.S. land and operating critical infrastructure, a new exclusive poll finds. U.S. farmland purchases by individuals with connections to the Chinese Communist Party have become a recent concern in Congress, prompting a flurry of proposals. Repeated instances of foreign entities snatching up land - some estimates project they own over 40 million acres - near critical U.S. infrastructure and military installations have deeply exasperated those worries. And it's not just lawmakers who are concerned, but everyday Americans too. A new poll from CRC Research conducted for the 85 Fund shared exclusively with DailyMail.com finds that nearly two in three Americans are sick of the land grabs and want China and other countries banned from doing so. Gotion, a Chinese battery manufacturing company, purchased acres of land in rural Michigan to build a brand new manufacturing facility close to a local National Guard base, prompting concerns among locals in 2023. After being briefly paused, the plant's construction is ongoing Your browser does not support iframes. Exactly 66 percent of respondents indicated they believe countries of concern to the U.S. should not be able to purchase land in the U.S., according to the poll. It also found that 67 percent of respondents agree with implementing legislation to prevent foreign adversaries from supplying their states with critical infrastructure components. The poll was conducted among 2,800 likely voters in the critical battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The findings indicate voters clearly want state-level safeguards against foreign influence, State Armor CEO Michael Lucci told DailyMail.com. His group focuses on helping states defend themselves against foreign influence, particularly that from the Chinese Communist Party. He shared several reasons why voters want laws constricting the CCP's power. Chinese entities own farmland in 29 out of the 50 states, totaling 347,000 acres 'Americans are understanding more and more the danger that foreign adversaries like the Communist China pose to their states,' he said. 'China's Communist Party is an intractable adversary that is willing to do anything it can to undermine American security, especially during our Presidential election.' 'China's efforts to target our critical infrastructure, to monopolize and control essential technologies like drones, and to use American investment dollars to fuel their expanding and belligerent military are all top of mind for American voters.' Foreign entities own a total of 40 million acres of U.S. farmland and China has bought up nearly 347,000 acres, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Some Chinese land purchases near important U.S. military instillations have been a particular concern for lawmakers and government officials. (L-R) Kelly Cushway, 63, Lori Block, Deborah Dygert, 71, and Jeffrey Thorne, 64, spoke to DailyMail.com about their concerns regarding Chinese-backed company Gotion purchasing land for a battery plant in their community. Local residents gather to discuss their concerns regarding Chinese-backed company Gotion purchasing land for a battery plant in their community in Big Rapids, Michigan, on August 5th, 2023 In 2022, for example, the China-based food producer, Fufeng Group, acquired 300 acres of land in Grand Forks, just 20 minutes down the road from the Grand Forks Air Force Base, where some of the nation's sensitive drone technology is based. Air Force Major Jeremy Fox wrote a memo that year characterizing the move as being emblematic of Chinese efforts to install themselves close to sensitive U.S. defense installations. He argued that the Fufeng property is located at just the right location for the company to intercept communications coming from the Air Force base. Now lawmakers are working to further restrict China and other adversaries from snatching up coveted land in the fiscal year 2024 'Farm Bill.' The concerns over the CCP's influence over U.S. land and infrastructure motivated Rep. Ashely Hinson, R-Iowa, to propose new rules in the upcoming Farm Bill to better follow China's moves. U.S. President Joe Biden (R) and China's President Xi Jinping (L) shake hands as they meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit Her reforms to the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) would help the government more easily track foreign entities' purchases of U.S. agricultural land. The bill is expected to be voted on in the coming weeks once Congress returns from recess. Millions of schoolchildren have now returned to the classroom from their summer break - meaning bugs and colds will reach their peak. With teaching plans prepped and new uniforms bought, there is one crucial area where parents must be prepared according to one of Britain's leading pharmacies. George Sandhu, deputy superintendent pharmacist for Well Pharmacy, has warned that there are several bugs that thrive on 'back to school' season in order to spread across the playground. The pharmacist has listed several key areas where parents and guardians should aim to be well equipped to ensure the children in their life don't miss too much school. Read on below for the eight back-to-school bugs that you should be keeping an eye out for if your child is returning to the classroom. Colds and flu The return to school often brings about a large increase in some of the most common ailments that are seen in children such as colds and flu (File image) The return to school often brings about a large increase in some of the most common ailments that are seen in children such as colds and flu. Parents can help keep their child safe and sound by visiting their local pharmacy to purchase antibacterial wipes, hand sanitiser and soaps which all aid in stopping germs from spreading. Whilst these hand-washing essentials are essential, there are several other items which can also aid in keeping children healthy including vitamins and minerals. The vitamins which are usually purchased in the form of a chewy sweet will boost the immune systems of the child and allow them to feel fit and healthy through the schoolyear. It is possible to aid your child's immune system by giving them some key vitamins including vitamins A, C and D. Sore throat While children might try to avoid getting sick, pharmacists expect to see a spike in sore throats (File image) While children might try to avoid getting sick, pharmacists expect to see a spike in sore throats, impetigo and earache as children come into close contact with each other. The close contact allows for the viral infections to spread from class to class as hundreds of children share the same playgrounds. Impetigo Impetigo is a very contagious skin infection, but often not serious. It is most common in young children (File image) Impetigo is a very contagious skin infection, but often not serious. It is most common in young children, who tend to get much closer to each other when playing, however anyone can catch it. The first signs of impetigo are the emergence of red sores and blisters the redness may be difficult to see on brown or black skin. These sores or blisters soon burst, leaving crusty patches that can look like cornflakes stuck to the skin. These patches can also grow bigger, spread to other parts of the body and can be itchy and painful. Impetigo is one of seven conditions that can be treated by a pharmacist as part of the Pharmacy First scheme. A GP or pharmacist can check to see whether the condition is indeed impetigo, or something more serious like cellulitis. If the spread is limited to one area, a pharmacist is likely to prescribe hydrogen peroxide cream, however the outbreak is more areas, treatment is likely to include antibiotics. You should keep your child away from school if they have impetigo, and make sure you wash your hands and all affected areas thoroughly, including things that have come into contact with the infection like pillow cases and toys. Earache Earache is common in young children and is usually not a sign of anything serious (File image) Earache is common in young children and is usually not a sign of anything serious in most cases it is likely caused by an ear infection. Your child could have an ear infection if they are persistently rubbing their ear, do not react to sounds, have a temperature above 38C, are restless or irritable, off their food or seem unable to balance. Painkillers like paracetamol or ibuprofen are advised initially, and placing a warm or cold flannel on the ear might help but you should not try to remove earwax or let any water get inside your child's ear. Head lice Children who have lice should avoid head-to-head contact with others until they have been treated to rid themselves of the dreaded head lice (File image) Pharmacy staff play a crucial role in educating and advising customers about how the infections of parasites spread from child to child. There are several different types of parasitic infection with each requiring its own treatment with one of the most common being head lice which parents dread. Pharmacists will discuss with parents the best way to try to delouse their child's hair with instructions to regularly check behind ears and neck for lice and nits. Pharmacists can recommend on lotions and sprays which kill head lice in all types of hair. Head lice should die within a day and some treatments need to be repeated after a week to kill any newly hatched headlice. You should also check everyone you live with, or have close contact with and treat all those with head lice on the same day. Children who have lice should avoid head-to-head contact with others until they have been treated to rid themselves of the dreaded head lice. Scabies Scabies causes intense itching especially at night and will present with a pimple like rash which can appear anywhere but is common areas such as between the fingers and wrists (File image) Pharmacists can offer aid to parents if they suspect that their child has picked up a nasty case of scabies which is highly infectious. The parasite causes intense itching especially at night and will present with a pimple like rash which can appear anywhere but is common areas such as between the fingers and wrists. If your child contracts scabies, it is advised to strip all bedding and clothing in the house and washing in hot water of at least 60C or higher. For clothing that cannot be washed, place it in a sealed bag for three days until the mites die. Threadworm Threadworm is a parasite which can cause itching around a child's backside particularly at night with worms often being visible in the child's stool (File image) Threadworm is a parasite which can cause itching around a child's backside particularly at night with worms often being visible in the child's stool. They are very common in children and spread easily. Pharmacists would offer mebendazole medication commonly given as one of two brands either Ovex or Vermox which should be taken by all family members who share a home with the child. It is also important that good hygiene is practiced whilst dealing with the threadworm infection so ensure that children are washing hands regularly, keeping their nails short and wash their bedding and clothes in hot water. Ensure that the bathroom is cleaned regularly and ask children to wear underwear at night pharmacists will reassure customers that these conditions are common and can be effectively treated with proper measures. George Sandhu, deputy superintendent pharmacist for Well Pharmacy, said: 'As children return to school, there will be a chance for bugs, colds and flus to thrive. 'It is important that parents know that they can seek out their local pharmacist for helpful advice in order to best look after their child. 'If a child has a cold or flu then our pharmacist will be able to offer a range of medication which will ensure that the patient is able to be on the mend as quickly as possible. 'Children catch all sorts of bugs at school and if they catch a parasitic infection there are a range of treatments available to try and eradicate the child of threadworm, lice, nits and scabies. 'One of the best ways to ensure that your child stays healthy and avoids too many illnesses is to ensure they are given enough vitamins through both food and also oral capsules. 'If you have any concerns about your child feeling under the weather, speak to your local pharmacist to see what help can be offered.' The thug who murdered schoolboy Jimmy Mizen by slashing him with a glass plate has been released from jail and is back on the streets, MailOnline can reveal. Jake Fahri was jailed for life over the attack on the 16-year-old in a south London bakery in 2008. But after serving 14 years behind bars, for a crime that shocked the nation, we can reveal that Fahri was released in June 2023. The wannabe gangster struck after starting a petty row with Jimmy, who police described as being of 'immaculate character', and his brother. He started an argument at the Three Cooks Bakery in Burnt Ash Hill and then hurled a Pyrex dish at the former altar boy which shattered. Glass was driven deep into his neck, severing an artery and his jugular vein. Jake Fahri, (pictured at 19) murdered 16-year-old schoolboy Jimmy Mizen by smashing a glass dish into his face. He was released from prison after 14 years last June Jimmy Mizen (pictured) who had just turned 16, was murdered in a London bakery in 2008 Jimmy bled to death in the arms of his older brother Harry, then aged 19. He had been out to buy his first lottery ticket on his 16th birthday when he was attacked. Fahri, who pleaded not guilty to murder, ran out of the shop and was described by one eyewitness as 'walking with a swagger' while another said 'he had a big grin on his face'. Three days after the killing he booked himself into a hotel room under the name Jack Walker where he said goodbye to his girlfriend before turning himself into police. He was found guilty of murder after a two week trial at the Old Bailey in 2009 and was sentenced to life with a minimum of 14 years. But Fahri was desperate to keep up the tough guy facade even while facing years in prison and as he was taken away shouted out to his mum Shirley in the gallery 'don't worry, I love you', and she shouted back 'be strong, Jake'. When MailOnline visited the south east London home of Shirley Fahri this week she refused to comment on her son's release. Even before the brutal murder of Jimmy Mizen, Fahri had a shocking past of violence and aggression. He had previously bullied one of Jimmy's brothers at school and later attacked him. The teen thug had also attacked a girl when he was 16, kicking her and spitting in her face. Fahri was then expelled from his state comprehensive, Crown Woods in Eltham, after a so-called 'happy slap' attack. In July 2004 he was handed a 12-month supervision order for his part in a knife point robbery. And in 2007, a charge of rape against Fahri was dropped at Camberwell Youth Court. Pictured: The Pyrex dish Fahri threw at Jimmy Mizen which caused fatal injuries Jimmy, (pictured) described as of 'immaculate character' by police, bled to death in the bakery, dying in his brother's arms. He was the 13th teen to be murdered in London that year Jimmy died from his injuries at the Three Cooks Bakery near the family home, in Lee, South-East London. Pictured: Forensic officers investigate the scene in 2008 In 2013, Fahri's ex girlfriend Chantelle Lewis, 17, claimed he attacked her after cocaine and alcohol binges. She told the Mirror: 'He started hitting me and would regularly leave me with bruises all over my body - which I'd hide from my parents and friends. 'He'd come home drunk and beat me up. 'But the worst beatings came when he was high on cocaine and he'd pin me against the wall. 'Once he punched me on the left cheek and I had to hide it with foundation.' Local sources told MailOnline they hoped he would not return to the streets of south east London. Former Met detective Peter Bleksley said: 'Once again, you could argue that the criminal justice system is on the side of the wrong and not the right. 'This was a senseless and evil attack. Many believe life should mean life. 'It certainly does not in this case. My heart goes out to Jimmy's family. It is appalling. 'I hope Fahri avoids south east London.' Even after being sentenced, he could not escape getting involved in trouble. In 2009, while serving out his prison sentence for murder, Fahri was stabbed by Sean Mercer, the gang member who shot dead schoolboy Rhys Jones. Mercer, then 18, stabbed Fahri in the back four times with a home made knife during a fight at Moorland young offenders institution in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Barry and Margaret Mizen, with their son George, outside London's Old Bailey following Fahri's guilty verdict Jimmy's parents, Margaret and Barry, have previously told how they had forgiven Fahri and may want to meet him in the future. Speaking on Good Morning Britain last year, Margaret said: 'After Jimmy was killed I had to learn to live a new life and that meant forgiveness. 'If I didn't forgive this boy I would never smile again. 'I found it very difficult last week. The verdict hit me much harder than I expected. 'I think it'd be very difficult (to meet him). It probably will never happen but we will have to wait and see what happens.' Barry added: 'It's been a bit harder this year but we have determination that we will bring some good from what happened to our son.' The Ministry of Justice and Parole Board confirmed that Fahri was released in June 2023. A spokesman for the Parole Board said: 'We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board has directed the release of Jake Fahri following an oral hearing. 'Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community. 'A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims. 'Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing. 'Evidence from witnesses such as probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements may be given at the hearing. 'It is standard for the prisoner and witnesses to be questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more. 'Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.' Twin sisters from Missouri have helped secure a major breakthrough in the cold case murder of their father - as cops announce an arrest 35 years on. Andrea Lynn and Angela Williams have been on a mission to find out who killed their father, Jimmie Wade Martin, who died on October 14, 1989. Martin was fatally struck in the head during a bar brawl at the Coal Bin Tavern, in the east Missouri city of Bon Terre, and the killer fled without a trace for decades. 'I want the truth,' Williams told KMOV. 'We can't even go anywhere without someone going, "Do you know who killed your dad?"' But last month, Missouri State Highway Patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control detained a suspect - 69-year-old Wesley P. Marler. He has denied the charge. Twin sisters Andrea Lynn and Angela Williams (pictured together) have been on a mission to find out who killed their father, Jimmie Wade Martin, who died October 14, 1989 Jimmie Wade Martin (pictured) was fatally struck in the head during a bar brawl at the Coal Bin Tavern, in the east Missouri city of Bon Terre, and the killer fled without a trace for decades 'I want the truth,' Williams told KMOV . 'We can't even go anywhere without someone going, "Do you know who killed your dad?"' (Pictured: the girls with their father as children) His arrest came after Martin's daughters resurrected the case in 2017 when investigators hit a wall. They became citizen detectives - returning to the scene of the crime to scour the bar for any clues, and interviewing residents nearby. One key interviewee was David B. White - a man who was initially arrested and charged over the murder in 1989. The case against White was dropped after three years just days before he was due to stand trial when cops apparently realized they had snared the wrong man. In 2017, Lynn and Williams met with White, who gave them a tranche of evidence police had shared with him about their father's case. Williams said the files were eye-opening. Their first challenge was to convince law enforcement it was worth re-visiting the case. 'We felt so alone. We couldn't get anywhere. We had all this information but didn't know where to turn,' Williams told KMOV. The police did eventually refresh the case in December 2020 in response to the family's efforts. At this point, the twins' cousins Shawn Martin and Chris Hulsey joined the mission to track down the killer. They suggested launching a crime podcast in 2022. Missouri State Highway Patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control detained a suspect last month - 69-year-old Wesley P. Marler (pictured). He has denied the charge Twin sisters Andrea Lynn and Angela Williams (pictured together) have been on a mission to find out who killed their father, Jimmie Wade Martin, who died October 14, 1989 In 2017, Lynn and Williams (pictured together) met with White, who gave them a tranche evidence police had shared with him about their father's case Dubbed 'Small Town Forgotten', Hulsey hosted conversations with other members of the family who outlined the evidence they had gathered. 'I've known about this story my entire life. I remember my mom telling me about what happened,' he told KMOV. 'Before this, I didn't know much about Jimmie,' he added. 'I was four years old when he died. Now, I feel like I know a lot about him.' Missouri State Highway Patrol. Lieutenant Donnie Crump said the podcast convinced investigators to revive their investigation. 'Would we be here without the podcast? No way,' Williams told KMOV. Then last month, police made a breakthrough with the arrest of Marler - in what the family hopes is the first step toward the 35-year cold case being cracked. Lynn and Williams said the arrest fit with their own investigations and rumors in the town. They said their emotionally turbulent investigation also came with an unexpected silver lining, after hearing the same thing from townspeople when they asked them what Martin treasured most in life. 'Every single one of them said family,' Williams said. 'How ironic is it that his family are the ones who worked so hard to get justice for him?' The twins' cousins Shawn Martin and Chris Hulsey (pictured) joined the mission to track down the killer. They suggested launching a crime podcast in 2022 Missouri State Highway Patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control detained a suspect last month - 69-year-old Wesley P. Marler. He has denied the charge Marler was indicted on August 22 by a St. Francois County grand jury and charged with one count of first-degree assault. He made his first court appearance, pleading not guilty, before being held on a $500,000 bond. Marler will next appear at a bond reduction hearing, where his lawyers are set to argue that his bond should be removed because he has no plans to run away. However, questions swirl around why prosecutors are pursuing a first-degree assault charge rather than murder. It may be because it's easier to prove. But for Martin's family, their main emotion is relief that they finally got a long-awaited breakthrough in the decades-old murder case. 'It was a long time coming,' Williams told KMOV. Experts have warned NSW residents to be prepared for 'all weather conditions' as the state is at increased risk of severe storms and increased temperatures heading into storm season. Bureau of Meteorology hazard preparedness and response manager Steve Bernasconi said above average rainfall and temperatures are anticipated going into storm season, which typically runs between September and April. 'While the overall flood risk has been assessed as near average, severe storms can bring significant rainfall in short periods, so flood risks remain for some catchments,' Mr Bernasconi said. 'We are also very likely to see above median maximum and minimum temperatures during spring.' Mr Bernasconi said there is a chance of unusually high rainfall for parts of northern NSW going into spring, with temperatures set to be 'similar to winter'. August was the warmest winter on record for NSW, while the entire country is having one of the warmest winters on record this year. 'The forecast for Spring is for warmer daytime and warmer night-time temperatures on average,' Mr Bernasconi said. The warmer weather is set to be driven by warmer sea surface temperatures across the globe, with NSW on a 'La Nina watch'. There is a high chance that spring's rainfall will be 'unusually high' with winter temperatures (pictured stock photo of a commuter walking in the rain in Sydney) NSW SES crews responded to more than 3,000 incidents in the last week of August and the first week of September. (Picture: NSW SES) Mr Bernasconi warned the forecast could mean an increased chance of severe storms. 'Severe storms can bring damaging winds, can bring heavy rain, intense rain, and that rain can lead to flash flooding. At its worst it can also lead to giant hail and lightning,' Mr Bernasconi said. 'And given the conditions, lightning is also not one of our friends with regards to fire. 'So with this outlook ... we really need to prepare for all weather types, all weather conditions, including fire. Storms can happen at any time of the year and at any season.' The NSW SES has responded to more than 21,000 storm related incidents over the last year, with more than 3,000 incidents in the last two weeks alone after the state, along with much of the country, was battered by severe and damaging winds. NSW SES Acting Commissioner Debbie Platz said storms can happen 'all year round', urging residents to prepare their homes. 'Have a home emergency plan and kit, clean your gutters, downpipes and drains, secure loose items around your backyard and balcony, and trim trees and branches that could fall onto your home,' Commissioner Platz said. Parts of the country have already experienced damaging winds and destruction. (Pictured crews work to get a fallen tree off a car in NSW in early September) NSW saw property damage due to severe gusts and residents are being warned to be prepared all weather types (pictured a destroyed shed on a NSW property in early September) 'Make sure that everybody who resides in your house knows what that plan is and what their role is, so that when a storm does hit, they can actively take part in making sure the family is safe.' Commissioner Platz also urged people to check in on neighbours who may not be able to access internet or apps. 'Some of our neighbours are unable to make sure that they can keep themselves safe, so I'm encouraging everyone in the community to make sure you check on them and help them in their times of emergencies as well,' she said. 'Our SES volunteers are incredibly prepared for this storm season. They train every week to make sure that they can keep the community of NSW safe.' Commissioner Platz encouraged people to download the Hazards Near Me app to stay up to date on weather events, and put out a call for SES volunteers. Acting NSW SES Commissioner Debbie Platz urged people to prepare their homes. Picture: SES NSW Brisbane Sunday: Sunny. Light winds becoming north to northeasterly 15 to 25 km/h in the middle of the day then becoming light in the late evening. Monday: Partly cloudy. The chance of fog in the early morning. Slight chance of a shower in the afternoon and evening. Light winds becoming northeasterly 15 to 20 km/h in the early afternoon then tending easterly in the late afternoon. Tuesday: Partly cloudy. The chance of morning fog. Medium chance of showers, most likely in the morning and afternoon. The chance of a thunderstorm in the west. Light winds becoming east to southeasterly 15 to 20 km/h during the afternoon then becoming light during the evening. Sydney Sunday: Partly cloudy. Light winds. Monday: Sunny. Winds west to northwesterly 15 to 20 km/h tending west to southwesterly in the late morning and early afternoon. Tuesday: Mostly sunny. Light winds. Melbourne Sunday: Mostly sunny morning. High chance of showers developing during the afternoon and evening, increasing to a very high chance over the southeast suburbs and Dandenongs. Winds northwesterly 25 to 35 km/h. Monday: Cloudy. High chance of showers about the Dandenongs, medium chance elsewhere. Winds west to northwesterly 20 to 30 km/h becoming light in the late evening. Tuesday: Partly cloudy. Light winds becoming northwesterly 15 to 20 km/h during the morning then becoming light during the evening. Adelaide Sunday: Mostly cloudy. High chance of showers, most likely from this afternoon. Winds northwesterly 20 to 30 km/h turning westerly 25 to 35 km/h in the middle of the day. Monday: Cloudy. High chance of showers, most likely in the morning. Winds westerly 15 to 25 km/h becoming light in the late afternoon. Tuesday: Partly cloudy. The chance of morning fog about the northern suburbs. Slight chance of a shower about the hills and southern suburbs, near zero chance elsewhere. Light winds. Perth Sunday: Partly cloudy. The chance of fog early this morning, mainly about the hills. Light winds. Monday: Sunny. Light winds becoming south to southwesterly 15 to 20 km/h in the early afternoon then becoming light in the late evening. Tuesday: Partly cloudy. Winds southerly 15 to 20 km/h turning southeasterly 20 to 30 km/h during the day. Canberra Sunday: Mostly sunny. Winds northwesterly 15 to 20 km/h tending west to northwesterly 25 to 35 km/h in the middle of the day. Monday: Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower in the morning. Winds west to northwesterly 20 to 30 km/h becoming light in the evening. Tuesday: The chance of fog and frost in the morning. Sunny afternoon. Light winds becoming northerly 15 to 20 km/h during the afternoon then becoming light during the evening. Hobart Sunday: Cloudy. High chance of showers, most likely in the afternoon and evening. Winds northwesterly 25 to 40 km/h turning westerly 25 to 35 km/h in the evening. Monday: Partly cloudy. Medium chance of showers, most likely in the early morning and late afternoon. Winds westerly 25 to 35 km/h turning northwesterly 20 to 25 km/h during the afternoon and evening. Tuesday: Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower. Winds northwesterly 20 to 30 km/h. Darwin Sunday: Sunny. Winds east to southeasterly 15 to 25 km/h turning north to northeasterly 15 to 20 km/h in the late afternoon. Monday: Sunny. Light winds becoming easterly 15 to 25 km/h in the morning then becoming light in the evening. Tuesday: Sunny. Light winds becoming east to southeasterly 15 to 25 km/h during the morning then turning north to northeasterly 15 to 20 km/h during the afternoon. Life begins at 40, as the saying goes. Yet as he approaches his milestone birthday next Sunday, Prince Harry has already done a lot of living. Perhaps even too much. However, it is not his fault, as he often points out, that he has been in the public eye since birth. He didnt ask to be born into the House of Windsor or paraded on the hospital steps when he was barely a day old; a little blueblood nugget of princely promise and aristocratic genes, swaddled in centuries of royal breeding. Over the decades since, many different Harrys have floated across the world stage: adorable schoolboy in cap and piped blazer, tragic bereaved son, teenage tearaway, brave soldier, helicopter pilot, best man, worst option. As his 40th birthday looms, Harry is described on his Archewell website as a humanitarian, military veteran, mental health advocate and environmental campaigner Then there was Mahiki nightclub regular, husband and father, royal tormentor, exiled prince, self-appointed caped crusader. It is no secret he has also been a joker, a smoker and a midnight toker. But these days, as he struggles to establish himself as an homme serieux in America, Prince Harry likes to present his most solemn persona to the world. As his 40th birthday looms, he is described on his Archewell website as a humanitarian, military veteran, mental health advocate, and environmental campaigner. Marvellous of course, especially for someone who left Eton with only two O-Levels. Yet four years after he crossed the Atlantic to build a new life for himself and his family, how successful has Prince Harrys US mission really been? From some aspects, it is clear he has struggled to find a meaningful role and a personal brand that resonates with the American public. Perhaps he thought hed go over there and enchant his way to the top with some good ol British charisma and polished vowels, while maximising his mothers golden legacy and his wifes glimmer of celebrity. But that plan failed to land, while there have been many missteps and miscalculations along the way. Almost right from the start. The whiny interviews, the mockery of the Royal Family, the couple setting themselves up as self-appointed experts who lecture us all on everything from mental health issues to climate change to world poverty. Show up, do good is the mission statement on their Archewell website, which perfectly sums up the kind of self-congratulatory performative philanthropy at which the Duke and Duchess of Sussex excel. Who is that fooling? Nobody. Recent Sussexian do-good international jaunts include giving laptops to impoverished children in Colombia and the Duchess telling impoverished children in Nigeria that I see myself in all of you. When launching their online network for bereaved parents recently, Prince Harry waffled on incoherently about the dangers of the internet while the Duchess of Sussex told these shattered mothers and fathers that do you know what, she had suffered suicidal thoughts, too. Not forgetting the photoshoot in a Los Angeles military cemetery on Remembrance Day in 2020, which appalled many US veterans and no wonder; it takes a special kind of thoughtlessness to use a sacred site as a marketing opportunity. Other low points have been Prince Harry accepting an award from John Travolta for being a Living Legend of Aviation, and telling an Apple documentary called The Me You Cant See: Ive got a hell of a lot of my mum in me. On and on it goes, a slow boil of utter cringe. That is not to say that Prince Harry does not mean well or deserve credit for some of his initiatives. The Invictus Games is certainly the best of him and has been a triumph around the globe. Yet as a pair of full-time activists, the Sussexes just dont seem convincing or dedicated enough. For a start, the sight of Prince Harry being eaten alive by his own piety as he or his wife climb aboard another private jet is hardly encouraging. And there is little transparency about money: how much they donate, how much they keep, who gets what and why. His love and respect for his grandmother the Queen did not prevent Harry from causing her much trouble and worry in her old age Cheeky chappie Harry with his beloved mother Princess Diana at Trooping The Colour Their concerns about privacy are genuine, but you can take a personal quest for confidentiality too far. If they want people to believe in them, I believe they have to be more open. Perhaps part of the problem is that in exile, Prince Harry has adopted the Royal Family model of patronages of embracing multiple causes instead of focussing on one project where he could make a real difference. The patronage system works in the UK because charities and organisations benefit hugely from the prestige of a royal imprimatur or interest respect for the monarchy is naturally inbuilt in this country. The system is not so effective in a land where being royal is meaningless or carries less cachet. Harry is a prince in a republic, something he might do well to remember now and again. And it doesnt help that he now accepts awards rather than gives them out. That is not a good look for a royal. One could argue that his unique and cloistered life experience as a royal has not equipped the Duke for life in the boisterous meritocracy of America. He is a man who is so privileged he does not realise the depth of his privilege, remaining blind to the free pass that this privilege brings him. On the infamous Oprah Winfrey interview in March 2021, the great moment that was supposed to be the Sussexes very own declaration of independence after stepping back as royals, he detailed his grievances like a hawker laying out his trinkets on a blanket. One of the chief beefs was money. My family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford security for us, he said, adding: Ive got what my mum left me, and without that we would not have been able to do this. He was 36 years old at the time, whining about a lack of funds from the Bank of Daddy while admitting that stashes of loot from the Bank of Mummy were all that was keeping him going. Given that the concept of the self-made man is engrained in the American Dream, many Americans must have looked askance at this grumbling Brit man-child with his inherited millions and wondered why they were being asked to sympathise. Yes, Harry wanted to break free of his inherited social position, but he didnt want to give up any of the advantages that came with it. He didnt want to give up any of his royal titles or prestige. He didnt want to begin modestly and work his way back up in a way that might have earned him some respect. Never mind the rags, his great American reset was hard-launched on a strictly riches-to-riches trajectory. Prince Harry didnt go to America to create a new identity for himself, he went there to replicate the old one. So, four years on, where is he now? Certainly not in the important position of Prince Philanthropist he might have fondly imagined. He has little to zero political clout, not much veneration and a lack of public support from big hitters such as the Obamas people he once considered friends. The Sussexes had big hopes of being important, but does it amount to more than a hill of beans? Despite their best efforts, Harry and Meghan are not Amal and George and theyre not Barack and Michelle. Increasingly and inescapably, perhaps even inevitably, the couple the Duke and Duchess of Sussex most resemble are Edward and Wallis Simpson. The former Duke and Duchess of Windsor were another pair of royals in exile who failed to find meaning and traction in their post-monarchy lives. As Prince Harry faces another birthday and another year, what does the future hold? It can only get harder. As time goes on, the bloom fades on the rose and the cheeky charm that once endeared him to the world is rarely glimpsed these days. Often there is a touch of disdain in his blue-eyed gaze; sometimes he looks downright miserable. Perhaps he is thinking to himself, where did it all go wrong? He launched his great charitable American adventure with much fanfare in 2020. Back then it was all about fixing the world and finding a cure for coronavirus; now its about jars of jam. Spread it around. Life among men but shaped by women As he got older, there were all the beautiful girlfriends who blew in like petals on a summer breeze, such as Chelsy Davy Despite his military background and growing up with only a father and brother, Prince Harry is perhaps defined by the women in his life. The late Queen Elizabeth, for a start. She was his much-loved Gan-Gan, my granny, my commander-in-chief; the tiny but powerful figure around whom his duties revolved for the first three decades of his life. However, his love and respect for HM Gan-Gan did not prevent Harry from causing her so much trouble and worry in her old age. Nor has he been above tormenting another queen, publicly blaming Camilla for many of his woes when he was still an active member of the Royal Family. There was his mother, Princess Diana, above all the absence of whom has had such a continued and profound effect on his happiness. Then there were the nannies, including Tiggy Legge-Bourke, the favourite nanny who blooded him after he killed his first animal (a rabbit) when still a boy. In his memoir Spare, he does not spare readers from embellishing the moment with a queasy erotic frisson. Now, she said in her throaty voice, you are blooded, he writes. Dear God. Sometimes it is not hard to see why Harry has been in therapy for much of his adult life. Still, there was none of this sauce with Olga Powell, the no-nonsense nanny who would occasionally smack the naughty prince. Harry, I love you, but I dont like you, she would tell him, when he was being particularly bad. As he got older, there were all the beautiful girlfriends who blew in like petals on a summer breeze; all the Chelsys and the Cressidas and the Camillas and the Flos, few of whom lingered long. There were the rumours, too, of flings with the Carolines, the Astrids and the Cassies, the showgirls and the lingerie models and the TV stars who moved in his orbit. He had the pick of all the pretty women in the world, said actor Sir Ian McKellen recently. It is true. Yet Harry still hadnt found what he was looking for until he met Meghan Markle in the summer of 2016. She did listen to Harrys problems. And she went on to save him from a life he didnt want to lead. There are those who believe the Duchess of Sussex has been a pernicious influence on Prince Harrys life. Yet there is another way of looking at it, which is that she was the making of him, giving his life a structure, a purpose, an escape route and the children he craved. He is the husband with all the medals on his chest, but perhaps she is the wife who really deserves them. Adolf Hitler never had any doubt about where a woman's place was in the home, looking after the family and providing support to their menfolk on the political and military battlefronts. His Third Reich was one of the most male-supremacist regimes in history, based on a concept of hyper-masculinity expressed through 'toughness' and 'hardness'. 'Men make history!' he proclaimed. 'The more masculine a man is, the more effective he will be.' Women retained the vote in Nazi Germany, but they had no independent political role because the Nazis believed they were incapable of decision-making or even political judgment. Hitler let them continue to vote only to reinforce the impression he wanted to give the world that the entire adult population of Germany was solidly behind him. It is perhaps because of this inherent misogyny that many of his biographers have presented him as being cold, unemotional, asexual and afraid of women. There seems a general agreement that Hitler was a man without a personal life, devoid of normal human feeling, who threw himself into politics not least as a way of escaping his inner emptiness. Hitler began an affair in 1932 with Eva Braun, a young woman from a petit-bourgeois family who worked in the studio of his photographer Those drawn into Hitler's inner circle by his undoubted charisma included a number of women 'He lacked the courage for a private life,' says one. Another wrote of Hitler's 'disturbed sexuality, his recoiling from physical contact, his inability to forge genuine friendship and his emptiness in human relations'. A third declared: 'Hitler did not have a private life.' These biographers were, perhaps unconsciously, echoing Hitler himself, who insisted repeatedly that he had sacrificed his private life and happiness for Germany. Single and, as far as the public was concerned, without a life-partner, he was 'married to Germany'. But the truth is somewhat different. Yes, he cultivated the image of himself as a loner. And yes, the more he emphasised his charismatic, suprahistorical nature the more he concealed his feelings behind the mask of the 'great man'. Yet behind the scenes he craved human company. Eva Braun rowing on the Worthsee near Munich in 1937. She had started a relationship with Adolf Hitler in 1931 and moved into the Berghof, his residency near Berchtesgaden, in 1936 For an historian to venture down this road invites criticism for daring to humanise Hitler. But that must be done. To categorise him as a monster misses the point. Hitler was a human being, and the terrible things he instigated therefore raise difficult and troubling questions about what it means to be human. The same goes for those who so eagerly did his bidding the Goerings, Himmlers, Eichmanns and so on. They were not psychopaths, nor were they insane, despite the portrayal of many of them as such in historical literature. From very early on in his rise as a politician, Hitler created a kind of private court for himself. His burning, uncompromising belief in himself and his ideas drew people in, often disarming even those who were initially sceptical about him. Hitler was mesmerising. Anyone who came into his presence almost invariably found themselves overwhelmed they hung on his every word, impressed by his apparent calmness and self-control. Followers spoke with some awe of his blue eyes, which he had a disconcerting habit of fixing on them with a stare, sometimes warm, sometimes cold, always hypnotic. And flock to him they did. His entourage grew so that by the time he was appointed Reich Chancellor in 1932 it included those with military, paramilitary and ultra-nationalist backgrounds. He established an aura of unquestioning obedience and unchallenged leadership. Those drawn into his inner circle by his undoubted charisma included a number of women. They were generally older, wealthy and well-situated, such as Winifred Wagner. She was the English-born wife of the composer Richard Wagner's son Siegfried and ran the annual Bayreuth Festival, which she allowed Hitler to turn into something of a Nazi event. But there are also accounts of his admiration for younger indeed, much younger women. Hitler had always been susceptible to feminine charm, though was uneasy in pursuing women. Among the young women Hitler courted were Maria Reiter, who worked in a hotel where he stayed His best friend during his teenage years was August Kubizek, a music student, who reported that the young Adolf fell in love with a girl called Stefanie, but was too shy to do anything about it. And though Hitler's strict, bourgeois, moral opinions, inculcated in him by his parents, kept him away from brothels and street-walkers, who were used by many of his contemporaries, Kubizek considered his friend's sexuality 'absolutely normal'. Years later, among those young women Hitler courted were Maria Reiter, who worked in a hotel where he stayed, and Henriette Hoffmann, daughter of his personal photographer. True to form, he apparently made clumsy attempts to seduce them, which they seem uniformly to have rejected. More serious was his relationship with Angela 'Geli' Raubal, daughter of his half-sister. Just 20 years old, Geli was 39-year-old Hitler's regular companion from 1928 on trips and at political events. In October 1929 she moved into his Munich apartment. But the jealous restrictions that he imposed on her independence eventually became unbearable and, two years later, she was found dead on the apartment floor, blood streaming from a gunshot wound to her lung with a pistol next to her right hand. The post-mortem left no doubt that she had committed suicide. Wild rumours about Geli's relationship with Hitler circulated, encouraged by his political enemies, but Hitler and the people around him managed largely to keep them out of the media, claiming that she had accidentally shot herself while playing with the weapon. This seems unlikely, since she appears to have been familiar enough with guns, but the damage limitation worked. Hitler was briefly upset, but after secretly laying flowers on Geli's grave he barely mentioned her again. Eighteen months later, in the spring of 1931, he fell in love with the elegant Magda Quandt. Well-educated and from a well-off background, she had split from her industrialist husband with whom she had a son. The divorce settlement left her as a woman of substantial independent means. She had joined the Nazi Party and met propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels. He had a strong sex-drive and had conducted several affairs during the 1920s, some more serious than others, but in Magda he found a kindred spirit. They were on the brink of getting married when he introduced her to Hitler, and it quickly became clear that the party leader was smitten, leaving Goebbels consumed by jealousy and suspicion. The delicate situation clearly could not last. It was resolved by Magda, who forced the issue by bringing forward the date of her wedding, informing Hitler of her intention. 'Hitler [is] resigned,' reported a relieved Goebbels in his diary: 'He really is very lonely. Has no luck with women.' But then the trio came to an arrangement. Magda would remain married to Goebbels, but was to function platonically in public as Hitler's companion when the occasion demanded. 'We will all three be good to each other,' Goebbels wrote. 'He [Hitler] intends to be our most loyal friend. He wishes me the best of luck; he has tears in his big, astonished eyes.' As a result, Hitler became a regular visitor to the Goebbels, who signalled their closeness to him by giving each of their children a name beginning with 'H' Helga, Hildegard, Helmut, Holdine, Hedwig and Heidrun. More serious was his relationship with Angela 'Geli' Raubal, daughter of his half-sister. Just 20 years old, Geli was 39-year-old Hitler's regular companion from 1928 on trips and at political events By now Hitler had made the acquaintance of 20-year-old Eva Braun, a young woman from a petit-bourgeois family who worked in the studio of his photographer. They began an affair in 1932, after the death of Geli Raubal though not before Hitler had her ancestry checked to make sure it was 'Aryan'. There's little doubt it was a sexual relationship his medical records indicate he took a sexual stimulant made from bull's testicles when he was with her. However, Hitler did not allow Eva to be seen with him on public occasions. Feeling both hemmed in and neglected, she twice tried to commit suicide, which threatened another scandal. Hitler gave in and allowed her to appear with him in public, though billed as a 'secretary' or 'staff member'. He settled her into a flat in Munich near his own, and eventually provided her with accommodation in the Reich Chancellery in Berlin. Over time she played hostess in the Berghof, Hitler's rural retreat in the Bavarian Alps, where she filmed home movies in colour showing him relaxing with his entourage. But there was no question of marriage or children, and her role, indeed, her entire existence, remained carefully concealed from the public until the very end. He was, as he continued to insist, 'married to Germany'. Meanwhile, among his inner circle he could indulge his private enthusiasms cinema, Wagner's music, fast cars and planning huge, elaborate public buildings to glorify his greatness. Sometime these passions found their way into policy. For example, his dislike of tobacco smoke led to a ban on smoking in Nazi buildings. But he kept his vegetarianism and his teetotalism to himself, as well as his frequent indulgence in cream cakes. From within the safe space offered by this surrogate family of friends and intimates, Hitler plotted war with the rest of the world, the elimination of a whole race of human beings in the Holocaust and the transformation of the German people into merciless killers. Some of those close to him stayed with him to the bitter end. However, as the Third Reich collapsed in 1945, others deserted him Hermann Goering, his second in command, moved to replace him as Fuhrer, and Heinrich Himmler, the architect of the Holocaust, tried to do a deal with the enemy. But as the Soviets' Red Army closed in, Magda and Josef Goebbels joined Hitler in his last-ditch bunker under the Reich Chancellery. They took with them their six children the youngest just four years old. They would remain united in death. It was Hitler who took the decision, after being shown photos of the naked corpse of Italy's dictator Mussolini hanging upside down from a petrol station gantry next to that of his mistress. He told his staff he was determined to avoid a similar fate he would kill himself and his body was to be burned until no trace remained. With death certain, there was nothing to lose in yielding to the ever-loyal Eva Braun's longstanding wish that he should marry her. They went through a formal, legal wedding, with him certifying, as he was obliged to by his own laws, that he was of Aryan descent. There was a brief champagne reception before Hitler dictated to his secretary, in an almost mechanical monotone, a last testament in which he blamed everything on the conspiratorial machinations of 'world Jewry'. Hitler then retired with Eva to his study. Sometime later, his valet, gingerly opening the door, saw Hitler's lifeless body slumped on the sofa, blood oozing from a gunshot wound in his right temple. Eva Braun (now Eva Hitler) was beside him, a strong smell of bitter almonds coming from her corpse: she had taken cyanide. The Goebbels followed suit, in the most barbaric fashion. They got the SS dentist Helmut Kunz to inject their six children with morphine, after which either he, or Hitler's physician Ludwig Stumpfegger, put cyanide capsules into their mouths and crushed them, killing them instantly. After murdering their children, the couple bit on cyanide capsules and killed themselves. Hitler and Eva Braun, the young photographer who stayed with him to the end Magda explained in an earlier letter to her adult son from her first marriage: 'We have now only one aim, loyalty unto death to the Fuhrer. That we can end our lives with him is a mercy of fate that we never dared hope for. 'The world after the Fuhrer and National Socialism will not be worth living in, and therefore I have taken my children away. They are too dear to endure what is coming next. A merciful God will understand my intentions in delivering them from it.' It was the end for the Fuhrer and the end of the Third Reich that he had built and then destroyed. Richard J. Evans lAdapted from Hitler's People by Richard J. Evans (Allen Lane, 35). To order a copy for 29.75 (offer valid to 21/09/24; UK p&p free on orders over 25) go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937. An 'obsessed' father who hoarded his daughter's underwear fled the country by assuming the identify of his twin brother after the body of the young Salt Lake County deputy was found strangled in the home they shared. Hector Ramon Martinez-Ayala, 54, had placed a tracking device on the car of daughter Marbella Martinez, 25, and filled their home with spy cameras before her body was found dead in her bed on August 1. Investigators say his text messages were 'more of the nature of a jealous lover than a father', and he confessed his 'unforgivable sin' as he used the ID of his identical twin brother to escape the country hours later. 'My brother, you know much I love you, I made a big mistake, an unforgivable sin, now I'm too scared and I don't know what to do,' he texted. 'I think I will never come back.' Marbella Martinez, 25, was found dead on her bed at the home she shared with her father Father Hector Ramon Martinez-Ayala, 54, told his twin brother he had committed an 'unforgivable sin' as he fled from the home in Tooele, Utah on July 31 Marbella had only joined the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office on January 11, but quickly became a 'cherished friend and an integral part of our team', according to Sheriff Rosie Rivera. Three days before her body was discovered, Martinez-Ayala had confronted her after tracking her down to nearby Bates Canyon where she had gone with a romantic partner. Charging documents state that she stayed in a hotel rather than return home after the confrontation but security footage records her arriving at the house on East 970 North at 11am on July 31. Other cameras in the home record her walking upstairs at 12.23pm and her father pulling up to the home in his truck at 2.17pm. 'Any video after (his) arrival at 2.17pm was deleted or never existed because of the disabling of the cameras after his arrival,' the charging documents allege. That morning she had called her mother Barbara Jimenez to tell her she was not feeling well and was going to tell work she was too sick to come in. Jimenez, who was in daily contact with her daughter, received a final text message at 2pm and grew increasingly concerned as her messages went unanswered. Hours later she contacted her ex-husband who at first said Marbella was at work, and then started avoiding her messages. Marbella had only joined the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office on January 11, but quickly became a 'cherished friend and an integral part of our team', according to Sheriff Rosie Rivera Martinez-Ayala used the ID of his identical twin brother, Jesus Martinez, to flee the country Investigators say his text messages were 'more of the nature of a jealous lover than a father' Marbella's mother Barbara Jimenez, desperately tried to contact her missing daughter from her home in Belize and has no doubt that her ex-husband killed her 'He responded that he was busy and would call me back later,' she told KSL.com from her home in Belize. 'Then he said he was busy feeding his cats and dogs. Later, he stopped answering me.' The by-now frantic mother repeatedly attempted to reach her daughter and eventually called her ex-husband's brother, Jesus Martinez, who lives in Salt Lake County and promised to drop by. 'I think he got to the house, and it was locked, so he asked me to give him 30 more minutes,' Jimenez said. Martinez then called back to tell her that police had found Marbella dead in her bed and his brother gone in an 8am welfare check. 'When Marbella's uncle called me, he just said, 'I'm so sorry' and I knew it,' Jimenez said. 'I could just feel something had happened to my daughter,' Jimenez said. 'And I know Hector did something to her.' Investigators said that Marbella had found a collection of her underwear in her father's room in February and that text messages revealed he was 'becoming increasingly obsessed and controlling'. 'I really love the look!!' he wrote to a picture she posted on Facebook of a herself relaxing on a beach less than two weeks before her death. 'Blood was observed in the victim's mouth, and there were visible apparent fingernail claw marks on the victim's face and neck,' the charging document states. Martinez-Ayala, pictured with Marbella, right, had moved to the US from Honduras Under the handle Hector Martinez he posted on a Facebook picture of his daughter's less than two weeks before her death Investigators say that Marbella found a collection of her underwear in her father's room at the house they shared in Tooele five months before she died there 'Fingernail claw marks' were found on Marbella's face and neck according the charges Cell phone data suggests that Martinez-Ayala, who was originally from Honduras, went to Salt Lake City International Airport after the killing, and threw his daughter's phone out of the window as he drove down the I-80. 'He then flew to San Francisco, then to Houston,' investigators said. 'There are no cell records after the defendant left Houston, but (he) used his twin brother's identification when he landed in another country and is seen on surveillance video. 'His whereabouts are unknown, but his last known location was outside of the United States.' He was charged in his absence on Friday with murder, two counts of obstructing justice, stalking and unlawful possession of a bank card. He also faces two counts of unlawful use of a bank card and unlawful possession of someone else's identification according to charges filed in the 3rd District Court. Meanwhile a memorial service will he held for the young deputy on Monday at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in her native Belize. Tributes to the young officer have flowed in from friends and colleagues as the search for her father continues. 'She was such an amazing person and deputy!! I'm so glad I got to work with her!' wrote Andrea Barnett. 'I hope she finds peace.' Martinez-Ayala is thought to have flown from Salt Lake City before crossing the border Distraught colleagues of the popular new recruit have paid tribute to their amazing colleague 'It was an absolute honor working beside you, and having you as such a great friend.' wrote another colleague. 'Please rest easy Martinez, we miss you very deeply, forever and always.' Marbella's mom has no doubt that she lost her life to her father. 'We know he killed her,' she said. 'I just want justice for my daughter. She was beautiful and kind and had the rest of her life to live.' Male police officers are complaining their ill-fitting trousers are so tight their manhoods are at risk of being crushed. The arresting uniform has been narrowly cut in such a way that there is barely room to swing a baton, they say. Women officers meanwhile are unhappy about the lack of space given 'between waist and the crotch'. The damning verdicts on their official issued uniform came about as part of the first ever police uniform and equipment survey run by Lancaster University and the Police Federation. In July, more than 200,000 police officers and staff were invited to give their views as part of a new national initiative. Beaten bobbies: Male police officers are complaining their ill-fitting trousers are so tight their manhoods are at risk of being crushed (file pic) The damning verdicts on official issued uniform came about as part of the first ever police uniform and equipment survey run by Lancaster University and the Police Federation Lancaster University Law School researchers Dr Camilla De Camargo and Dr Stephanie Wallace spearheaded the survey to understand key issues and areas needing improvement. In a press statement, they said: 'This is an exciting opportunity for those wearing uniforms to voice their concerns and influence changes in uniform policies.' Dr De Camargo had previously written a doctoral thesis which found police uniforms and stab vests were traditionally designed by men, for men and tailored to masculine body shapes, which was impacting female officers' performance, health and safety, morale and psychological wellbeing. However, the current designed trousers appear to be having a similar negative effect on policemen. Belinda Goodwin, national board member and wellbeing lead for the police union, told The Sun: 'During a survey, Gwent police male officers complained of experiencing crushed testicles. 'All of this plays into how officers and staff feel on the job and that cannot be understated.' But Benjamin Elk of the Taxpayers' Alliance dismissed the survey as a 'farce' and 'distraction' to officers fighting crime. A doctoral thesis written by one of the survey leads found that police uniforms and stab vests were traditionally designed by men, for men and tailored to masculine body shapes, which was impacting female officers' performance, health and safety, morale and psychological wellbeing (file pic) He said: 'Police forces should cut out waste and put bobbies on the beat.' In 2021 it was reported that the Metropolitan Police - Britain's biggest force - was considering plans to introduce gender-neutral uniforms. MailOnline has contacted the Police Federation for comment. A tenant who was forced to live in a mouldy property for months with her family has been awarded $5,000 after taking her landlord to court. Charisse and her partner, as well as her elderly parents, were forced to live in the house of nightmares at Officer, in south-east Melbourne. The family were subjected to persistent flooding, mould growth, and a foul odour due to unresolved plumbing issues. However, when she could finally move out her landlord refused to return their bond claiming one of the reasons was because the lawn hadn't been mowed. The dispute lasted nearly two years with the matter taken to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. A judge ultimately awarded Charisse $2,800 for the bond along with an additional four weeks' worth of rent in compensation last week. The issues began immediately after Charisse and her family moved into the Victorian property in December 2021. The home experienced significant flooding due to heavy rains and dodgy plumbing, which affected the bath, shower, and toilets. Charisse (above) spent an anxious two years for her bond appeal to be heard by a tribunal It led to a persistent, unpleasant smell and water damage throughout the house. Charisse reported that despite sending 48 seperate complaints to the real estate agent, her family received minimal assistance. The only action taken was to unblock the gutters, which did not alleviate the issue. 'We had standing water on the verandah from literally the day we moved in to the day we moved out,' Charisse told Yahoo. 'The water seeped in through the bricks and there was mould coming through the walls. The carpet got mouldy. We had to move out of our bedroom and my husband and I slept in the lounge room.' Toward the end of 2022, Charisse found another property and was able to move out. She said her elderly father passed away three months after they left the property and doctors found a 'black mass' in his lung which couldn't be identified, though a doctor said it 'may have been related to mould'. Victoria's tenancy laws mandate minimum standards for rental properties, including requiring all rooms are ' free from mould and damp caused by, or related to, the building structure'. Rental providers are also required to provide urgent repairs for related issues that arise after the tenant moves in. Despite the property's constant failings, Charisse was denied her bond for 'ridiculous' reasons. Her property was subject to severe water logging the moment she and her family moved in One of the reasons given by the landlord was that the lawns hadn't been mowed, which Charisse said is blatantly untrue. 'We'd taken excellent care of the place and they hadn't taken care of us,' she said. 'He could of just let us have our bond back and there would have been no issue, instead of it carrying on for two years.' The damp ruined many of Charisse's possessions, and reportedly caused visits to the vet for her horses who were left to stand in a waterlogged paddock. Charisse took her 200 pages of evidence to the courts, but her case was postponed seven different times before it was heard. She wasn't expecting the case to be treated fairly after two years of delays, but ultimately the judge firmly found in her favour and found for a reimbursement of Charisse's claims for rent, lost possessions and vet bills. A Portland nurse who recently got married has been found dead after she was reported missing earlier this week. Officials found the remains of Melissa Jubane, 32, three days after her coworkers, friends and neighbors said she had disappeared - which was unusual for the for the dedicated nurse. Concerns for her safety arose after she did not report for her morning shift at St. Vincent Hospital in Portland on September 4. Well-wishers quickly phoned the police and at around 10am, officers responded to Melissa's residence at 1050 SW 160th Avenue in Beaverton to conduct a welfare check. Officials found the remains of Melissa Jubane, 32, three days after her coworkers, friends and neighbors said she had disappeared - which was unusual for the for the dedicated nurse 'Upon arrival, officers were met by staff from the apartment complex and conducted a search of Melissa's apartment. Melissa was not present, and her absence without communication was deemed unusual and alarming,' the Beaverton Police Department explained in a Facebook post. Later that day Melissa was entered into national law enforcement databases as a missing person. Once her remains were found, authorities also arrested her Beaverton neighbor Bryce Johnathan Schubert, 27, as murder suspect. According to Fox12, Schubert worked as a nurse at Providence Portland Medical Center from September 2022 to October 2023. The accused was not employed at Providence St. Vincent, where Melissa worked. The young medical professional had married her boyfriend, Bryan of 10 years on August 24 in a ceremony with family and friends at Waimea Valley 'She is very humble, she's very pretty, she's smart, she's very intelligent, and very respectful. She's like a daughter to me, she's very close to me,' Imelda Llantero, her mother-in-law said Her husband is from Kalihi and the pair had met when she was visiting Hawaii with her friends from Washington The young medical professional had married her boyfriend, Bryan of 10 years on August 24 in a ceremony with family and friends at Waimea Valley. Her husband is from Kalihi and the pair had met when she was visiting Hawaii with her friends from Washington. 'She is very humble, she's very pretty, she's smart, she's very intelligent, and very respectful. She's like a daughter to me, she's very close to me,' Imelda Llantero, her mother-in-law told KHON2. Providence St. Vincent also released a statement after Melissa was found and said: 'Our hearts are broken at the news of the death of our Providence St. Vincent nurse and colleague, Melissa Jubane. Once her remains were found, authorities also arrested her Beaverton neighbor Bryce Johnathan Schubert, 27, as murder suspect 'This comes as a shock to us all and she is mourned by her co-workers. Melissa was an exceptional nurse, committed to our Providence Mission and daily demonstrating our values of compassion, excellence and integrity.' 'We stand in support of her loved ones and those who worked so closely with Melissa. We appreciate all the expressions of concern from the community.' 'Melissa was a person of Providence and we will miss her.' Schubert is currently being held in Washington County, Oregon. A court date has not yet been set. Officials have confirmed that the investigation remains ongoing. A real estate executive who stabbed a friend's wife close to her heart in a horrific attack has learnt his fate in court. Matthew Brian Ramsay, 48, confessed to stabbing the woman in the chest with a 25cm kitchen knife in Sydney's eastern suburbs on the afternoon of August 8, 2022. Ramsay had been charged with wounding with intent to murder, but that was withdrawn in a plea deal where he pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. At the NSW District Court on Friday, Judge David Barrow sentenced Ramsay to a jail term of six years and eight months, while his victim said she wished he had been given a longer sentence. A non-parole period of three years and eight months was set, meaning with time already served, Ramsay could be released in October 2026. The incident marks a fall from grace for the high-flying real estate executive who brokered sales worth tens of millions of dollars. The court heard that Ramsay suffers from treatment-resistant addictions to prescription drugs and alcohol, and was probably in a prescription drug-induced delirium on the day he stabbed the woman in her exclusive home. He had taken a cocktail of psychoactive drugs and sedatives at the direction of doctors in the days before the incident, while staying at The Sydney Clinic rehabilitation centre, the Daily Telegraph reported. Real estate executive Matthew Ramsay (pictured), who stabbed a friend's wife close to her heart in a horrific attack, has learnt his fate in court Ramsay left the clinic on the morning of the crime, went to his own house, which was close by, got a kitchen knife and drove to the woman's home in Dover Heights, 8km east of Sydney's CBD. Ramsay was a friend of the victim's husband and she was aware of his addictions, so she was not concerned for her safety when he knocked on the door. But as soon as Ramsay went into the house, his mood changed, she told the police. He looked at her with an intense expression on his face, said 'sorry', then pulled the knife out of his jacket and stabbed her on the left side of her chest, near her heart, the court heard. The woman fought back and Ramsay tried to stab her again before she ran out the front door. He then jumped on her back and put his hand over her mouth to try to stop her screaming, but tradies working nearby heard her screams and rushed to help. They distracted Ramsay and the victim was able to go back inside the house and call the police. She was later taken to hospital and got stitches for a 3cm wound to her chest and was discharged the next day. Ramsay left the scene, but was arrested a short time later on Campbell Parade in Bondi Beach. He was initially remanded in custody, but was later given bail to live in and get treatment at a rehab centre. However, he breached his bail and was taken back into custody, the court heard. Medical reports revealed Ramsay had been a chronic alcoholic for his entire adult life, and that he had an alcohol-related brain injury due to this. He was prescribed antipsychotics and sedatives, including Baclofen, Valium and Stilnox, in very large doses in a bid to control his alcoholism, the court heard. His use of these drugs, and his effort to quit another drug, probably put him in a state of delirium at the time of his crime, Judge Barrow heard. The judge said Ramsay's state on the day significantly reduced his moral culpability and he found he was remorseful for his crime. Judge Barrow said Ramsay had written to the victim saying he was sorry and that he was sober in jail and wanted to get 'back to the person I used to be'. Ramsay (pictured left) was arrested a short time later on Campbell Parade in Bondi Beach When he is released, Ramsay plans to live with his cousin and work for his brother, the court heard. His victim, who has a scar above her heart, said she wished Ramsay had been given a longer sentence. 'I just really wanted a few more years up my sleeve before he was out of jail,' she told the Sydney Morning Herald. 'This offender has taken away my sense of safety.' Aussies have been left divided over who is to blame after wild footage captured dog owners clashing over an unleashed pet with one of them threatening to call police. Video showed a woman standing near the entrace of the park and telling a man with an unleashed dog outside of the area to put his pet on a leash so she could leave. 'Can you hurry up and get your dog so then we can go? You're blocking us from leaving,' she yelled at him. His manic dog continued skitting back and forth between them. 'Stop talking, stop talking,' the man said in response. 'He's not an attack dog.' 'Mine is,' the woman said, as the man's dog continued to run around them. 'Get your dog so we can leave. We can't leave because your dog's there.' 'And what's mine going to do?' the man asked. Three dog owner's clashed in a dog park with one woman's behaviour sparking heated debate 'My dog will grab your dog. Can you get your dog?' she shoutd at him. 'So yours is the problem,' he responded, still refusing to leash his dog. Then the confrontation escalated with the woman telling her partner to call the police. 'I'm calling the f***ing cops p****. F*** off or I'll call the cops right now,' her partner yelled off-screen. 'You're literally blocking us from leaving, yeah, I can't grab (the dog) until he's gone,' she said. The man then slowly trundled away with his dog still unleashed. Social media users were left divided with many defending the woman. 'Irresponsible dog owner. She's got every right to complain,' one person wrote. 'She's absolutely right here. He's being an irresponsible tool. Seen too many dogs on leashes lash out at off leash dogs with no respect for boundaries,' wrote another. 'That dog is totally out of control, and my dog would bite it if it came near him like that,' a third wrote. 'I would just tell the guy that I'm leashing my dog and coming out with him, but if his dog approaches mine its not on me when my dog bites his.' But not everyone was on her side with many saying her dog was the problem. 'Has anybody else noticed that Karens have become an invasive species in Australia?' one asked. 'That man did nothing of the sort, you two are overreacting,' another wrote. One man sarcastically wrote: 'My dog will attack your dog so I'll call the police if you don't leave'.' The brother of British aid worker David Haines says he has given up on searching for his body 10 years after he was beheaded by a member of the notorious ISIS cell known as The Beatles. Charity worker David, 44, was one of two British citizens and four Americans to be murdered by the Islamist thugs, who cut off his head and broadcast the sickening images online in September 2014. He had arrived in Syria in March 2013 working for a French aid agency - and had only been in the country for three days when he was kidnapped and held hostage for 18 months, to the agony of his family, including older brother Mike. After spending years vowing to retrieve his brother's remains, Mike says he is now at peace with the fact he may never find them. And the Dundee resident, who has since set up a charity to encourage tolerance and understanding in schools in his brother's memory, says he has learned to forgive his younger sibling's killers despite what they have done. Aid worker David Haines was murdered by ISIS in 2014 after being kidnapped days into his time in Syria as an aid worker David with his older brother Mike in a photograph taken in the late 1990s. Mike says he has forgiven his brother's killers Haines was among a number of Westerners in the Middle East to be kidnapped by ISIS during the terror group's peak in the early 2010s Mohammed Emwazi, known by the alias Jihadi John before he was identified, was one of the ISIS 'Beatles' who may have killed David Haines Mike Haines, who now runs a charity promoting tolerance and defiance in the face of hate, says he does not think he will find his brother's remains Speaking to the Mirror, Mr Haines said: 'I don't need David's body to find closure. I accept that his remains lie somewhere in the Syrian desert. 'In finding forgiveness for ISIS I realised I had to accept many things that I can't change. It is part of the process for me, that allows me to break free of the hold ISIS had over me while I felt hatred for them.' The four ISIS members known as The Beatles are Mohammed Emwazi, Aine Davis, Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh. Emwazi, known as 'Jihadi John' before he was identified, was blown up by an ISIS drone in 2015. All four hailed from London. Mr Haines and his brother had hailed from Perth, Scotland - 20 miles from where Mike lives now in Dundee - after moving there at a young age from Yorkshire. Both followed their father into the RAF, where David served as an aircraft engineer before leaving to become an aid worker in 1999 - a career he embraced for more than a decade before making the fateful trip to Syria. David's family had been sworn to secrecy after he was kidnapped - but he appeared in a video showing the execution of American journalist Steven Sotloff, in which Emwazi vowed the British man would be killed next, in early September 2014. A rescue attempt on an unspecified date to retrieve American hostages and David failed - and the barbaric footage was published online. David is shown in an orange jumpsuit next to his executioner, who is dressed entirely in black and holding a knife. Seemingly under duress, David tells then-Prime Minister David Cameron that he is being held 'entirely responsible' for his death. He is then executed on camera. His daughter Bethany said Kotey had fingered Emwazi for the execution - and that her father had begged him to 'make it quick'. David Haines with his daughter Bethany - who, as an adult, was able to see one of the men who was responsible for her father's death being sent to prison El Shafee el-Sheikh and Alexanda Kotey (left and right), two of the four 'Beatles' who left the UK to join ISIS Bethany Haines later revealed her father's executioners had begged them to 'make it quick' when they prepared to execute him Aine Davis (front of image) is in a British prison after serving time in Turkey for being a member of ISIS Mr Cameron said following the killing: 'David Haines was a British hero. The whole country, like his grieving family, can be incredibly proud of what he did and what he stood for in his humanitarian mission.' Kotey, one of the four Beatles, was jailed for life in the US in April 2022 after being linked to the killings of US citizens. While Haines' killer has never been identified, one of the four Beatles is believed to have been responsible. Mike was able to stare Kotey in the eye after being invited by US prosecutors to address one of the men who may be responsible for his brother's death. He said of the experience in May 2022: 'I expected to feel anger, I expected to feel hate. When I faced him it was grim satisfaction that he was in a court of law with his rights held up to the highest degree. It was a sense of closure.' Elsheikh remains in prison for his acts of terror while Davis was jailed in November 2023 after admitting charges of funding terrorism and possessing a firearm for terrorism purposes. He had been freed from a Turkish prison in August 2022 after being convicted of being a member of ISIS and arrested immediately upon his return to the UK. Davis' wife had been stopped at Heathrow Airport en route to Istanbul in 2014 with 20,000 Euros in large denomination notes - and evidence suggested she was on her way to deliver it to her husband or an associate to fund terrorist activities. Mike, who is recovering from a stroke he had earlier this year, says he does not hold hate for ISIS - believing that forgiving his brother's killers gives him power over them. He added: 'Do I have hate for Isis? No. Do I hate, even though hes dead, Jihadi John? No, because hes faced justice. 'There isnt a day that goes by that I dont think of David. Theres a thing that runs in my family, we say that you never truly die until your footsteps fade away and Davids steps arent fading away.' ISIS has been largely contained in the years since David's death, losing its grasp on the Middle East and retreating to pockets of Africa. Fanatics have been attempting to revive the group - including suspects alleged to have plotted a terrorist attack at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in the summer. Mike, however, has previously vowed through the work of his charity Global Acts of Unity not to let hate triumph. He said in 2022: 'Every time that we hear of an attack, there is sadness in our hearts, because we know that this club that we belong to has just expanded - that club that nobody wants to be a part of who've had family members and loved ones injured, maimed or murdered in an act of terrorism. 'However, what we have seen over and over and over again is the way that people respond to attacks of terror. 'What we try to do with Global Acts of Unity is show that if we react with hate, the extremists and terrorists win. And they will not win.' Thirteen people have been killed after a tanker filled with petrol slammed into a bus, igniting an inferno of 'terrifying intensity'. The bus and tanker collided on a highway between Bouake and Korhogo, two large cities located in the north of the Ivory Coast, at around 11pm on Friday. Fourty-four have also been injured - among them are 19 children - who were rushed to hospitals in the nearby cities of Katiola and Niakara, the Ivorian Press Agency reports. The two vehicles crashed after the road had been narrowed by a freight tuck parked without indicators, according to Police Secours - a platform monitoring deadly accidents in the country. 'The collision between the bus and the tanker set off a fire of terrifying intensity,' the Police Secours said. Thirteen people have been killed and 44 more have been hurt after a bus and a tanker collided in the Ivory Coast on Friday sparking a blaze of 'terrifying intensity' They added that 13 bodies had been 'charred' by the terrifying blaze which was sparked by the collision. The death toll and report have been confirmed by the state television channel Radiodiffusion Television Ivorienne as well as the Ivorian Press Agency. Deadly accidents are common in the Ivory Coast due to both cars and roads often being in poor condition, as well as reckless driving. Over 1,000 people have been killed in road accidents in the West African state, according to their Ministry of Transport. In the last year, a point-based drivers licence system was introduced in the country, meaning each motorist was granted 12 points on their licence. These points would be slowly taken away from the driver depending on if they committed a road violation. Ivorian authorities have also set up cameras dotted along the country's main roads to fine offenders. A 'rogue' doctor who treated 721 children at Great Ormond Street Hospital left young patients with different length legs and needing amputations, it has been claimed. The hospital has launched an urgent review of all the youngsters treated by former surgeon Yaser Jabbar, 43, in its orthopaedic department, The Times has reported. Out of 37 cases checked already, 22 children have reportedly come to some degree of harm with 13 classed as severe harm, according to leaked documents. One child needed to have a leg amputated following a surgery carried out by Jabbar and another is facing the threat of amputation. Some have been left with different length legs, in some cases by as much as 20cm, while other injuries include muscle damage and nerve injuries. Great Ormond Street has launched an urgent review of all the youngsters treated by former surgeon Yaser Jabbar, 43, (pictured) in its orthopaedic department Pictured: A male leg with an Ilizarov's external fixator on it Parents have said they are 'very upset' with the treatment that their children received under Jabbar's care. One father of a six-year-old boy said his child suffered 'terrible pain' after undergoing a lower limb reconstruction in July 2021. This procedure involved surgically breaking the bone, then inserting metal rings, known as Ilizarov frames, and tension wires to hold the leg in place. He said however that he raised concerns when a different frame was reportedly used during the operation. 'After a couple of days the frame became loose and my child was in a lot of pain. You could feel the bone in his leg, which felt out of position, like it wasn't lined up and was protruding the wrong way,' the father told The Times. 'We tried to raise our concerns repeatedly through the official complaints procedure, and I copied the clinical director into many emails, but heard nothing back', he added. The father said the initial investigation that was carried out just felt like everything was being 'brushed under the carpet' which was 'very upsetting'. He said his child was in 'terrible pain' and was forced to undergo more surgeries to correct 'errors' made in the initial operation. A review of the youngster's case found Jabbar's surgery was 'incorrect and unsuitable' for the patient. The investigation by the hospital comes following a confidential investigation by the Royal College of Surgeons who produced a damning report on Jabbar's practices earlier this year. It said he had shown 'unacceptable and unprofessional behaviour', which included being aggressive with colleagues. The 100-page report also noted that young patients were subjected to procedures that were not beneficial or justified. It is understood the concerns relate to lower limb reconstruction, which included limb-lengthening operations involving a clinical device called a Ilizarov frame. The front entrance of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children where Yaser Jabbar worked as an consultant orthopaedic surgeon The metal apparatus, invented by Soviet physician Dr. Gavriil Abramovich Ilizarov, is composed of stainless steel rings which are fixed to the bone with wires and pins and is gradually stretched to lengthen the bones. The functions of the apparatus were derived from the mechanics of a shaft bow on a horse's harness. Jabbar left Great Ormond Street last September after an 11-month sabbatical that he took after concerns were raised about his practices. A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children said: 'We are committed to learning from every single patient that we treat, and to being open and transparent with our families when care falls below the high standards we strive for. 'Following concerns raised by our staff and families, we asked the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) to review our paediatric orthopaedic service. We accept the findings in full and are taking steps to act on all its recommendations. 'As part of the review, the RCS raised concerns around the practice of a surgeon who no longer works at the Trust, and other practice within the service. We are taking these concerns incredibly seriously. 'We have contacted all patients of the surgeon and a group of independent experts from other paediatric hospitals are reviewing the care of all the patients of this surgeon. We are incredibly sorry for the worry and uncertainty this review may cause them. 'There are a number of clear routes for staff to raise concerns the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian service, the Patient Safety team, any member of the Executive team and a Non-Executive Director with responsibility for Freedom to Speak Up. 'Despite thorough investigations, we can find no records of concerns being raised by any of these routes prior to June 2022. 'Staff made senior management aware of concerns in June 2022 and a fact-finding investigation started shortly after, with follow up actions and reviews to address immediate issues, leading us to contact the RCS within 18 working days from the point senior management were made aware to discuss commissioning an external review. 'Following the return of the reports from the RCS, our Orthopaedic Service Review Improvement Programme has since April 2024 been overseeing work to review the patients of the surgeon and wider service improvement work. We apologise to patients and families who have been impacted. 'Reviews into services or individuals are an important part of our work to ensure the quality and safety of our services. We will ensure that the all the findings of this review are addressed at pace, and we will reflect on any wider learnings around our culture. 'We have contacted all patients and families who have been impacted and where harm has been identified, discussed their cases with them under our duty of candour. To all of them, we wish to convey our sincere apologies.' A former state MP charged over alleged historic child sexual abuse has been spotted reporting to police after he was released on bail. Rory Amon, 35, was snapped leaving a police station in the coastal northern Sydney suburb of Dee Why on Sunday morning wearing a blue jumper. The former Pittwater Liberal member resigned from the party and parliament on August 30 after he was arrested and charged with child sexual offences. He was granted strict conditional bail in the Manly Local Court the same day. In a statement, Mr Amon denied the allegations, saying he would 'make my case in the courts, not the media'. The former opposition assistant spokesman for transport and roads, infrastructure and youth, was elected to the seat of Pittwater last year. He has been charged with five counts of sexual intercourse with someone aged 10-14, two counts of attempted sexual intercourse with a child, two counts of indecent assault on a child and committing an act of indecency. After his arrest, NSW Police said an investigation commenced in June 2022 following reports of alleged sexual assault in July 2017. A former state MP (pictured, Rory Amon) charged over alleged historic child sexual abuse has been spotted reporting to police after he was released on bail The former Pittwater Liberal member resigned from the party and parliament on August 30 after he was arrested and charged with child sexual offences After news of Mr Amon's arrest broke, state Liberal leader Mark Speakman said he had asked for the former MP's resignation. 'While Mr Amon is entitled to the presumption of innocence, a criminal trial will be some time away and in the meantime the citizens of Pittwater are entitled to have a Member of Parliament who can discharge their duties in the community fully,' he said. Mr Amon will return to court in October. A major Australian medical organisation has sparked outrage after claiming that every school-aged child in the country should be weighed. The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) has recommended that kids should have ready access to a registered school nurse 'to provide care and guidance to ensure the maintenance of healthy weight'. ACN's interim CEO Leanne Boyd said the proportion of Australian children above a healthy weight - currently at 26 per cent - is continuing to increase. She said nurses are best positioned to identify at-risk children, educate families and combat weight stigma. 'Nurse-led interventions, which are proven effective in various settings, offer a flexible and cost-effective solution,' professor Boyd said. 'Supporting nurses with training, resources and leadership opportunities is crucial to optimise impact in combating childhood obesity.' But Sydney mum Kate McKenna slammed the ACN's thinking on the issue, telling Daily Mail Australia: 'What is the link between taking a measurement and changing outcomes?' 'What's their plan post measurement? What will they do with the data? Do you need weigh kids to know they're fat?' A major Australia medical organisation has caused outrage by saying that every school-aged child in the country should be weighed. Stock image The ACN, in its Working with Children Above a Healthy Weight: Nurse-led interventions position statement, recommends the 'collection and discussion of height and weight data of all children'. It also wants nurses allowed 'to identify children at risk and provide timely, sensitive interventions targeting a whole-family approach to improve eating and activity behaviours'. To do that would require ensuring 'every school-aged child has access to a qualified nurse,' professor Boyd said. 'Measuring a child's weight every day isn't going to make them less fat,' Ms McKenna said. 'Imagine the poor fat kids on the day the nurse comes to the school. The nit nurse becomes the fat nurse.' There was some support for the plan online, though, with one commenter on X writing that it was the parents' fault if children were overweight. 'Lazy fat parents produce lazy fat kids. For me this is child abuse,' they wrote. 'Back in the 1950s we were svelte. The future cost to the health system is immense.' Though the plan to weigh children at school is being pushed by experts at ACN, other experts disagree. Dr Zali Yager, of body image advocacy group The Embrace Collective, said weighing children and identifying them as 'overweight' can lead to feelings of shame and stigma. The Australian College of Nursing has recommending kids should have ready access to a registered nurse 'to provide care and guidance to ensure the maintenance of healthy weight'. Stock image 'I support the idea that ensures every school-aged child has access to a qualified nurse but suggest that this should be to support their health, not focus on their weight,' she told the Sydney Morning Herald. 'The US is currently rolling back their widespread BMI (body mass index) screening programs because they were not helpful in changing weight, but very harmful for children's psychological health.' She added that weighing kids at school could have the opposite effect and lead to eating disorders, avoiding exercise and weight gain. Lisa Chalmers, the director of health and wellbeing at Barker College in the northern Sydney suburb of Hornsby, said focusing on a child's weight could lead to body image concerns and make parents feel they were being judged. 'We don't have scales in our (school) health centre,' she said. 'We talk about how students can get the best out of our brains and bodies, how certain foods make them feel rather than look. 'We don't focus on physical appearance.' The number of Australians who are obese rose from 3.9million in 2012 to 6.3million in 2022, according to an Obesity Collective report earlier this year. The group said being overweight or obese was linked to dozens of diseases, including 17 types of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, musculoskeletal conditions, type 2 diabetes, dementia, asthma and chronic kidney disease. A man accused of throwing hot coffee on a defenceless nine-month-old baby at a Brisbane park could still be found despite fears he may have fled overseas. Queensland Police have been working with partner agencies around the world amid fears the man responsible for the sickening attack has fled interstate or the country. Little Luka Burgic had been on a picnic with his mother, Erna, in Hanlon Park, in inner south east Brisbane, when the man approached them at about midday on August 27 and poured a thermos of scalding coffee over the infant before fleeing. The baby suffered life-threatening burns to his face, upper body and arms and as a result of the unprovoked attack has undergone four operations in Queensland Children's Hospital. There are serious concerns the unknown assailant is trying to evade justice by hiding out abroad. But former investigator Charlie Bezzina said the man's act was so heinous it was only a matter of time before he was apprehended - and that even the poorest third-world countries would be quick to dedicate their limited resources to finding the fugitive. 'If he's fled interstate, he won't last long,' the decorated detective, who led multiple manhunts throughout his career, told Daily Mail Australia. 'Interstate relationships between police agencies are very strong. Within Australia, there won't be a problem (finding him). Veteran detective Charlie Bezzina has urged anyone with information to come forward Luka Burgic's mother, Erna, says she has been suffering flashbacks of the horrendous ordeal 'If he's gone overseas, there is sometimes a concern that in some third-world countries they don't particularly have a "care factor" about crimes committed outside their borders. 'But in this case, given the enormity of the hideous act that this man has allegedly perpetrated on a young baby, that will pull at the heartstrings of any government - and any police agency - in the world. 'And no one will want the bad publicity that would come with them having this suspect, who has allegedly committed this heinous crime, in their country and that they're not co-operating.' Mr Bezzina, who has solved some of Australia's most brutal murders, said he had been gutted after seeing the heart-breaking images of the man's infant victim. 'Hearing about it was absolutely horrific,' he said. 'But what really pulled at my heartstrings, and I think the community at large, was when we saw the images of the poor baby all bandaged up. 'We've all got feelings, and when people attack the elderly, the children, the defenceless, that really hits home.' He urged anyone with any information about the crime to come forward for the sake of little Luka and his grief-stricken family. Police are seeking this man in connection with the shocking attack on August 27 in Brisbane Little Luka has undergone four surgeries following the sickening, unprovoked attack 'My heartfelt sorrow goes out to them, because with burns, the scars will always remain,' he said. 'And unfortunately, that'll be a daily reminder of this buddy, heinous act that's been perpetrated on such an innocent, innocent child. 'We need to bring someone to justice and have them answer to these allegations.' An image of the man auhtorities believe is responsible for the attack has circulated online, with Queensland Police saying they would provide a further update on their investigation on Monday. The man is described as being in his 30s or 40s and of a proportionate build with tanned skin. He was wearing a black hat, glasses, a shirt and shorts at the time of the attack. The incident occurred at the family-friendly Hanlon Park in Brisbane's inner south-east Police have tracked his movements after the attack to the southern Brisbane suburb of Tarragindi, where he changed his clothes outside a church. He then caught a rideshare car into central Brisbane, before moving onto Caxton Street. Luka Burgic has meanwhile returned to hospital after a short stay back at home. His mother, Erna, previously said she fears he may need skin grafts and laser. She also told Nine news last week that she was having flashbacks of the nightmare incident. 'It's torture and I'm supposed to be his protector and I couldn't protect him,' she said. 'I'm just having flashbacks all the time about what happened. Nine-month-old Luka suffered life-threatening burns after being attacked in a Brisbane park 'I don't know who would think that is okay to harm a little, innocent baby.' A gofundme has been set up by Zara Mazza, a friend of Ms Burgic who was with her at the time of the attack. By Sunday afternoon the page had raised about $150,000, hugely surpassing its initial goal of $5,000. Criminal psychologist Dr Tim Watson-Munro previously told Daily Mail Australia he was concerned the offender could harm another baby. 'Two things could occur. It may have been a one-off incident and we hope that he's caught or he may have found it - for some perverse reason - exciting and daring and that may embolden him to do it again,' he said. Criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro has a shocking theory about the attack 'The notoriety surrounding this case has been quite high. It's been well described in the media and sometimes these people become emboldened and enlivened by the press, they get off on it in a way and that may lead to further offending.' He said he was surprised that not one person had come forward with information about the 'cruel and callous offender'. 'He may well be protected by people who know him or family members but I don't think that the lack of detection to date means that the police are not doing their job,' Dr Watson-Munro said. 'But the fact that this photo has been published, that it's out there in cyberspace, I'm a little surprised that no one has come forward and he hasn't been detected yet. 'I would have thought somebody might have come forward by now and said "I recognise this person" but as far as I'm aware, unless the police are keeping their cards pretty close, that hasn't occurred.' An Alabama woman has been arrested for allegedly shooting and dismembering her partner with a chainsaw in the presence of their four-year-old child. Joselina Elizabeth Lopez, 26, has been charged intentional murder of Benito Morales Guzman, 41, after authorities found his 'dismembered and decapitated' body at a house in Slocomb on August 27. The search for Guzman began when his boss reported him missing last week, prompting authorities to visit his home he shared with Lopez. On arrival, deputies noticed a 'strong odor of decomposition' - which they discovered was emitting from a Toyota Corolla filled with garbage bags nearby. Joselina Elizabeth Lopez, 26, has been charged intentional murder of Benito Morales Guzman, 41, after authorities found his 'dismembered and decapitated' body at a house in Slocomb on August 27 As cops began searching, they found 'a body believed to be that of Benita Morales Guzman, mutilated into multiple pieces', according to AL.com. Detectives soon also discovered that the accused recently bought four electric chain saws from Lowe's and returned one. 'The chainsaw found in the vehicle still had human flesh on it,' arrest records read. A gun was found in the house out of which five of the six cartridges were fired from the revolver. Two bullets were removed from Guzman's body. As of now, SBI investigators believe that the accused shot Guzman five times, dismembered his body in nearly 15 pieces using a chainsaw and then stuffed him in trash bags to put in the trunk and back seat of the car. SBI investigators believe that the accused shot Guzman five times, dismembered his body in 10-15 pieces using a chainsaw and then stuffed him in in trash bags to put in the trunk and back seat of the car The accused is currently being kept at the Geneva County Jail, where she reportedly told a relative that 'I should have left earlier' during a phone conversation Prosecutors and investigators suspect that their autistic child was present during the alleged killing. Investigations also believe that the accused was planning to flee to Mexico - once they discovered a car seat, a packed diaper bag, the child's birth certificate and Lopez's passport in another car. 'Further, blood was found on the box of baby formula in the diaper bag,' court records said. The accused is currently being kept at the Geneva County Jail, where she reportedly told a relative that 'I should have left earlier' during a phone conversation. During a bond hearing, she told the judge that she was acting out of self defense after she and her family were 'threatened after Guzman supposedly owed someone money for drugs,' according to WDHN. Lopez also told the court that the victim was attempting to isolate her from her family. Investigations also believe that the accused allegedly was planning to flee to Mexico - once they discovered a car seat, a packed diaper bag, the child's birth certificate and Lopez's passport in another car Jennifer Wilkerson, Guzman's ex-wife said that Lopez's claim was 'unbelievable' and that he would never try to distance her from her family. 'I knew she was going to say something like that. Its just unreal; its like she doesnt care in the world about what happened. To hear all of that what she did to him like that- it sickens me to my stomach. He didnt deserve any of that. I mean, she already shot him five times. What else did she plan on doing here? 'Benito would never do anything like that. He was not that type of person; he would avoid it if something happened. He wouldnt argue with nobody. 'He deserves justice, and I believe Im the one to stand up for him because if anybody knows him, its me. I lived with him, and justice has to be served. Hes not here, so someone has to stand up for him,' she said. Lopez has her next court hearing scheduled for September 11. ANZ has been accused of breaking its promise to not close any regional branches after announcing one of its premises would be shutting down in a matter of weeks. The bank revealed it would be closing its branch at Katoomba, in NSW's Blue Mountains region, next month with fired-up locals labelling it a 'bloody disgrace'. The bank vowed in June not to close any regional branches for three years in return for federal treasurer Jim Chalmers approving its acquisition of Suncorp Bank. However, they will shut their Katoomba branch next month, despite the public's belief the town is indeed regional. Following the closure, Katoomba residents will need to travel 46km to reach the nearest branch in Penrith, western Sydney, a journey of about 70 minutes. ANZ defended the decision, stating that the closure does not violate its commitment because Katoomba is 'classified by the Australian Bureau of Statistics' Australian Statistical Geography Standard as a major city location'. Locals are outraged, claiming the bank looked for a 'loophole' to strip them of their branch from October 23. On local Facebook groups, dismayed locals indignantly argued: 'We are regional.' Katoomba residents are 'appalled' by the major bank's decision to close their only local branch The branch will be closed defnitively on Octover 23, at 1.30pm as ANZ defends their position 'The attitude of banks towards customers is apalling these days,' one woman wrote. 'Customer service is going downhill everywhere'. A local business owner said she'd closed her accounts because the lack of a 'brick and mortar' bank branch meant she couldn't deposit her business earnings. 'I am a small business owner and even though I have a 'square' most of my customers still like to pay with cash,' she said. 'I have had no choice but to close my ANZ accounts after banking with them for decades, because I need to be able to deposit my cash takings.' Local Kim Grace told Yahoo the closure plans were a 'kick in the guts', for the community, which, like many non-metropolitan areas, has a high number of ageing Australians. 'I just thought that's just freaking rude, you know?' he said. 'Banks used to be community-based, everyone knew the bank manager, and the bank manager knew everyone. Now it's just for the shareholders.' ANZ cited the 2021 ABS map showing Katoomba just falling within 'major city' designation ANZ defended the decision and confirmed they would proceed with the closure citing declining in-branch transactions. 'Transactions in our branches nationally have halved over the past five years. Today just one per cent of all transactions are done over-the-counter and almost four million customers use our mobile banking App,' a spokesman said. 'We are working with our Katoomba branch customers to ensure they are well supported and aware of all the ways they can complete their banking, including utilising nearby branches, local atmx ATMs, phone banking, or our team of community-based bankers, like mobile lenders.' A Woolworths worker has detailed the disgraceful abuse they constantly receive from customers as they take out their frustration with the supermarket on staff. The part-time worker and university student, 19, wrote a note detailing the awful behaviour from customers, including being spat on, hit with trolleys and copping a tirade of verbal abuse. The teenager estimated 40 per cent of their customer interactions were 'outright abusive' and shared five-word message. 'Why do they hate us?' they wrote. 'I have been physically jammed in the back with a trolley by a customer, due to not opening a register, as I was the self-serve attendant. '(I have been) spat on because I couldnt offer a refund for a product purchased at Coles, had things thrown at me because we didnt have an item in stock. 'I was called a C-bomb because I couldnt serve smokes to a young boy without proof of age, threatened in the car park after my shift because I work for the "price gougers", and more.' The teenager clarified that working at Woolworths was great when there was no abuse, and said interacting with friendly customers makes them happy. A Woolworths spokesperson has condemned the negative behaviour and revealed the supermarket has taken active measures to reduce harm to staff and customers. Many supermarket workers agreed with the teen, with one saying in-store abuse from customers was 'getting out of control' (pictured a stock photo of a Woolworths supermarket) 'In the last year, the abuse me and my coworkers seem to cop is in comparison to the way we were treated during Covid, if not worse,' the worker told Yahoo. 'I just dont understand why so many of you, hate us. 'By "us" I am not referring to the company, the CEO, the upper management, or [the] head office team. I mean the everyday workers on the shop floor, checkouts, dock, office, deli, bakery.' The teen worker thought it was ridiculous that the 'everyday' workers were getting blamed for things they had no hand in deciding or controlling. 'We dont make the decisions on behalf of the company, but we are the frontline workers who get all the abuse,' they wrote. 'And it seems, at least from the comments Ive read, so many people dont lose a wink of sleep over it. 'I just dont understand what it is that we everyday people (just like many of you) do, to make you so angry and cruel towards us, due to the decision or decisions from a company we simply cannot control.' The 19-year-old supermarket worker struck a nerve with other grocery workers, who agreed there is a lot of shocking customer behaviour. 'I totally agree with you the abuse is getting out of control,' one worker wrote. 'I worked for Coles and Woolworths, got things thrown at me, ducked a punch from a guy on a high from drugs, spat on, yelled at,' another customer said. They added: ' (I was) cornered by an angry customer who couldn't find the use by date on honey, almost hit when doing the trolley in the car parks....list goes on!'. 'It happens way too often when we are just doing a job we get paid to do...I too have been physically attacked and threatened and I'm 70yrs old, some people think it's their right to treat us like crap,' a third wrote. Woolworths recently spent $40 million to help protect their staff, including issuing body worn cameras, as well as headsets and personal duress devices. A Woolworths spokesman told Daily Mail Australia they were 'alarmed' by the experience detailed by the 19-year-old worker. Woolworths has spent $40 million dollars in security upgrades to keep their team members safe, including body worn cameras (pictured a Woolworths worker wearing the safety camera) 'The majority of our customers do the right thing but we have a number of initiatives that we use, both covert and overt, to help reduce violence and aggression in our stores,' he said. 'All of our team are trained and have a number of tools available to keep them and our customers safe in the event of conflict or anti-social behaviour.' The spokesperson said the company 'supports legislation' to increase penalties to customers who are abusive or harm staff. 'Violence and aggression in the retail environment is not an issue we can solve on our own, which is why we are engaging with stakeholders across the country to actively find solutions,' they said. Daily Mail Australia understand all Woolworths team members have access to councelling services . Ongoing support is also offered in the event of an incident. Donald Trump has warned Kamala Harris's campaign donors that they will not escape his retribution if they play a role in a 2024 election 'steal'. The GOP candidate promised he would not allow a repeat of the 'rampant Cheating and Skullduggery' he claims cost him the White House in 2020, and threatened unprecedented legal action against those who try. Posting on X and his own Truth Social channel under the heading 'cease and desist' he said 'lawyers, political operatives, donors, illegal voters, and corrupt election officials' would all find themselves targeted. The swipe at donors came as Trump's Democrat rival reported raising a whopping $230 million more than Trump in campaign contributions during the month of August. 'Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country,' Trump wrote. Donald Trump demanded a change to the 25th amendment to allow for the impeachments of vice-presidents as he campaigned in Wisconsin on Saturday Kamala Harris was meeting voters during a campaign stop in Pittsburgh on Saturday Three days before he faces Harris for their first presidential debate Trump repeated his charge that she covered-up Joe Biden's cognitive decline and promised a constitutional amendment to prevent it happening again. Speaking at a campaign rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin, he said he supports 'modifying' the 25th Amendment to target any US vice president who 'lies or engages in a conspiracy to cover up the incapacity of the president of the United States'. 'If you do that with a coverup of the president of the United States, it's grounds for impeachment immediately and removal from office, because that's what they did,' he told his supporters. Harris has denied misleading voters about the President's condition and insisted last month she was right to claim the 81-year-old was fit to serve out a second term. 'He has the intelligence, the commitment and the judgment and disposition that I think the American people rightly deserve in their president,' she told CNN's Dana Bash in her only sit-down interview since securing the Democrats' nomination. The 25th amendment deals mainly with the circumstances in which a sitting president can be removed from office between elections and has little to say on the removal of a vice-president. But constitutional amendments require the support from the legislatures of 38 of the country's 50 states, while the Republicans control just 28. A VP can remove his or her boss with the support of half the cabinet and Harris resisted pressure from leading Republicans to wield the knife in the aftermath of Biden's disastrous debate performance against Trump at the end of June. Wrangling continues over the precise rules for Tuesday's crucial 90-minute debate on ABC which will be hosted by World News Tonight anchor David Muir and ABC News Live prime anchor Linsey Davis. Biden's team insisted that the candidate's microphones were muted when they are not talking during his debate with Trump. Harris's team unsuccessfully demanded the reversal of that rule ahead of her first debate, reportedly hoping to use one of Trump's characteristic outbursts to her advantage during the face off. The pair will have two minutes each for their answers, two minutes for rebuttals and one minute for follow-ups. There will be no studio audience, and each candidate will be allowed two minutes for a closing statement. And he warned his rival's campaign donors that they will not escape his retribution if they play a role in a 2024 election 'steal' Around 7,000 Trump supporters turned out for his Mosinee rally in the hotly contested state of Wisconsin on Saturday Earlier on Saturday Trump insisted that his 5ft 4inch opponent will not be allowed to stand on a box behind her lectern at the Philadelphia event in a bid to match his own 6ft 3ins frame. 'No boxes or artificial lifts will be allowed to stand on during my upcoming debate with Comrade Kamala Harris,' he wrote on Truth Social. 'We had this out previously with former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg when he was in a debate, and he was not allowed a 'lift'. 'It would be a form of cheating, and the Democrats cheat enough. 'You are who you are', it was determined!' But the Republican candidate was still reflecting on his former rival as he spoke at the event in Wisconsin on Saturday, telling his audience it was a 'miracle' that Biden secured the Democrats' nomination in 2020. 'We're run by stupid people. Stupid, stupid people,' he said.'And we found that out at the debate with Joe. How did that work out? 'You know, think of it. If he didn't go to that debate, he'd still be running. 'We're going to find it out again on Tuesday night. Is anybody going to be watching? 'If I destroy her in the debate, they'll say Trump suffered a humiliating debate tonight.' A Sacramento woman who had gone missing from a mining camp last month has been found 'severely dehydrated' and starving - but alive, in the wilderness. Esmeralda Marie Pineda, 24, was last seen at a mining camp near the middle fork of the Yuba River and Sweetland Creek in Nevada on the morning of August 26. Rescuers went on an extensive search over the span of two weeks. Eventually, a 'severely dehydrated and emaciated' Pineda was found on the canyon's rim near the Yuba River and Sweetland Creek by Nevada County Sheriff's Office deputies. Sargent Dustin Moe explained search crews were only able to notice her when she sat up and looked in their direction. Esmeralda Marie Pineda, 24, was fond alive 12 days after she went missing from a mining camp near the middle fork of the Yuba River and Sweetland Creek in Nevada 'She had a difficult time talking, so we didn't want to pressure her into talking and we didn't want her to excerpt any unneeded energy that she had left,' the official said. Nevada City is located just over 60 miles north of Sacramento, where Pineda is from. Less than an hour after she was found, Pineda was airlifted from the canyon by the California Highway Patro and taken to a hospital for treatment. The extent of her injuries has not been clarified by officials. The lost victim had been camping with three friends in the canyon by the Middle Yuba River when she she wished to return home. Less than an hour after she was found, Pineda was airlifted from the canyon by the California Highway Patro and taken to a hospital for treatment The lost victim had been camping with three friends in the canyon by the Middle Yuba River when she she wished to return home. Pineda was found on the canyon's rim near the Yuba River and Sweetland Creek by Nevada County Sheriff's Office deputies. But when her friends woke up the next day, they noticed she was missing. 'So, her friends went searching for her during that day and couldnt find any signs whether she had made it out,' Moe said. He is also explained that there are not trail systems in the area on the middle fork where she was found which is usually why people avoid the area. When asked how he thinks Pineda may have survived for nearly two weeks, he responded: 'Who knows? I mean, maybe she had good survival instincts. She had luck behind her and she managed to pull through those 12 days.' An Oregon chaplain is helping eco-warriors cope with 'climate grief' as part of a growing movement of religious leaders addressing people's eco-induced existential anxiety. Rev. Liz Olson, a trained hospital chaplain, now runs the Sustaining Climate Activists group after turning her to those struggling with 'saying goodbye to species.' Her group's difficulties were profiled this week by NPR, which sat in one of her sessions as members - reportedly made up almost entirely of retired adults - talked through their issues. 'I need support in my grief process,' attendee Diane Ware told the outlet. Rev. Liz Olson, a trained hospital chaplain, is leading 'climate grief' religious sessions as part of a growing movement of religious leaders helping people handle eco-induced anxiety Climate chaplaincy is a new strain of religious teachings, and notably veers away from focusing on faith in favor of climate anxiety. Olson's group meets at a public library once a month, as attendees say it is one of their only sources of support over their fears of global warming. For Ware, she began attending after horrific wildfires swept through the Hawaiian island of Lahaina, in August 2023. Despite reports that the wildfires may have been triggered by downed powerlines, Ware said she was upset by the failure of some news organizations to link the tragedy to climate change. 'I just thought how on Earth are we ever going to get this problem solved if we cant even talk about it and get good information from the newspapers that we think are the guardians of truth?' she told NPR. 'And then I just thought, Wow, I am fried.'' The group began in 2016 when activists affiliated with the Southern Oregon Climate Action Now group panicked over the election of Donald Trump. 'Trump's election freaked everyone out,' Alan Journet, a co-founder, said. 'Group members wanted a way to deal with fears and anxieties about climate and politics.' Olson's sessions allow members to talk out their fears over global warming, and reportedly include passing around of a box of Kleenex and using a color wheel of emotions A group member said she began attending the sessions after the huge wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Lahaina last year At the recent meeting sat in on by NPR, Olson worked through the methods she uses to help her constituents through the day. 'Just breathe normally,' she told the group. 'You can use this breathing any time you are panicking or worrying, knowing that we have this symbiotic relationship with the plants and the trees, and that as you are exhaling they are inhaling, and as you are inhaling, they are exhaling. We are always connected to the plants and the trees.' While the rest of the group discussion was reportedly confidential, it included the passing around of a box of Kleenex and a color wheel of emotions such as fear, anger, loneliness, and anxiety over a warming world. Ware and others said that at the end of the sessions, they have enough strength to carry on after realizing their years of focus on climate change made little difference. The retiree said that while she often feels despair, she leaves the meetings with a renewed hope. 'It may not come during the meeting or right after,' Ware said. 'But it comes, like a cat creeping on, when my whole being is ready for it. It returns me to myself with a different level of awareness and trust.' Group members say their eco-anxiety sessions were launched in 2016 because the election of Donald Trump 'freaked everyone out' Olsen's group was born out of the newfound rise of 'eco-chaplaincy', which only begun in recent years and is not a recognized branch of any church. The title may have been invented by student Sarah Vekasi at Naropa University, and was popularized in 2015 by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen when she wrote of 'A Call for a New Kind of Chaplain.' Her article, published by the Association of Professional Chaplains, read: 'We are stuck here on our shrinking, warming planet that we love so much and depend on so totally... We are all in the sort of place where a chaplains presence is needed.' With roughly 100 eco chaplains working today, their methods take a variety of forms, mostly similar to Olsen's group sessions as well as one-on-one therapy. One chaplain, Rev. Alison Cornish, told NPR that she was surprised when she offered a training course for other reverends that drew 80 applicants. 'They are asking how do we deal with regret, with complicity, with lament, with saying goodbye to species,' she said. 'They are creating rituals that honor all of those.' A couple in their early 20s who both work for Woolworths are about to buy their third property, and they did so without any help from their parents. Terry Talarico and his fiance Monique Chetcuti work as a manager and assistant manager respectively in two different Woolworths supermarkets in Victoria. The couple, both aged 23, also work second jobs as disability support workers on weekends and evenings to make their home ownership dreams come true. Mr Talarico said though he and his partner spend a lot of time apart now due to working such long hours, they are setting themselves up for years to come. 'You have to sacrifice for the future if you want to get ahead,' he told realestate.com.au. Having grown up with his mum and three brothers, with the family spending several years living in a rental home, Mr Talarico wanted to have his own place as soon as he could. He bought his first house in Melbourne's northern suburbs in 2022, which is where he and Ms Chetcuti live. They also own a home at Fraser Rise, in the north-west suburbs, and rent out the property. Terry Talarico and his fiance Monique Chetcuti (pictured), who are both in their early 20s, are about to buy their third property, and they did so without any help from their parents And they have also bought a block in Ballarat, 124km west of Melbourne, where they're going to build their next investment property. Though he was keen to get set up on his own, Mr Talarico said living with his mum during Victoria's long pandemic lockdowns helped him hugely. He was earning around $70,000 a year at the time and was not paying rent, which helped him save a $50,000 deposit for the house in Mickleham which cost around $500,000. He also got a $25,000 HomeBuilder Grant from the federal government. Ms Chetcuti is also a keen saver, and accumulated around $90,000 over two years, which the couple put towards their first investment property. They then used the equity they had built up to buy the Ballarat block. Mr Talarico has shared some tips which he has used on his way to building a property empire. The first is to seek professional help from a property market expert. 'They don't teach this stuff in school that I would consider important,' he said. When talking to the expert, he said to remember that they have 'all the knowledge and expertise and (are) able to deliver it in a really digestible way'. The couple, both aged 23, each work second jobs as disability support workers on weekends and evenings to make their home ownership dreams come true. Stock image Mr Talarico also said to ask lots of questions and that 'there are no stupid questions'. His second tip is that you need to be prepared to make sacrifices, such as getting a second job or not taking a holiday every year. Thirdly, he said not to be in a rush to move out of their parents' home. 'A lot of young people want to move out as soon as they turn 18 but that will set you back drastically in terms of trying to save,' he said. Former President George W. Bush has made an announcement about the 2024 presidential election in November - but he's taking a less prominent stance than his vice president. Bush, a Republican who served from 2001 to 2009, said in a statement on Saturday that he had no plans to make a public endorsement - refusing to back Donald Trump. 'He retired from presidential politics many years ago,' a spokesman said, adding that neither Bush nor his wife Laura would reveal who they are voting for in November. Bush's bitter swipe at Trump comes after he refused to back the Republican candidate in 2020 and voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. The last time he endorsed the GOP candidate was Mitt Romney in 2012. Last week, Bush's former vice president Dick Cheney sent shockwaves through the political sphere as he revealed that he plans to cross party lines and vote for Kamala Harris. Former President George W. Bush does not endorse and candidate ahead of the 2024 election Bush has decided not to endorse either candidate in this November's presidential election Cheney, who served as vice president under Bush from the duration of his two terms said on Friday that 'in our nation's 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump.' He added: 'As citizens, we each have a duty to put country above partisanship to defend our Constitution. That is why I will be casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.' Cheney has faced criticism over the years from human rights groups as he played a large role in planning the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which produced a heavy civilian death toll and human rights abuses. His daughter Liz Cheney, a former U.S. Representative, said on Wednesday she would vote for Harris, calling Trump a 'danger.' She had also been a vocal critic of the current Republican presidential candidate, including over the January 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. Harris said on Saturday endorsements of her by the Cheneys were 'courageous' for them putting country ahead of political party. 'I'm honored to have their endorsement,' said Harris at Penzeys Spices in the Strip District, on a break from debate preparation where she greeted patrons and bought spices. Former Rep. Liz Cheney threw her support this week behind Kamala Harris. She said on Friday that her father Dick Cheney would be voting for the vice president as well Both Cheneys are former House Republican leaders with the elder Cheney serving two terms as George W. Bush's Republican vice president between 2001 and 2009 Harris was in Pittsburgh preparing for the September 10 debate against her Republican rival Donald Trump, with whom she is locked in a tight race for the November 5 vote. She said both Cheneys were making a courageous statement that 'it's okay, if not important, to put the country above party.' 'And them stepping up to make this public statement, I think is courageous, but also for the folks I was just talking with, it really reinforces for them that we love our country and we have more in common than what separates us,' Harris said. Trump called Dick Cheney an 'irrelevant RINO along with his daughter' in a social media post on Friday, using a term he applies to Republicans not loyal to him, which stands for 'Republicans in Name Only.' Mike Pence, who served as Trump's vice president for four years, has said he will not endorse his former boss but he has also not backed Harris. When Elia Norman's second floor Sydney unit caught fire after spreading from a neighbouring flat, he quickly grabbed his asthmatic son, car keys and rushed down the stairs to safety. The former information systems professional watched on as the flames charred his family's precious belongings. The late night emergency in Sydney last month happened after his neighbour's faulty mobile phone charger blew up a socket, sparking a small fire that eventually set the whole block of eight units ablaze. Hailing from the port city of Latakia, the Normans left war-ravaged Syria in 2018 to reunite with the rest of their family in Australia. The country was plunged into a civil war that killed over 500,000 people after a revolution in 2011 turned violent, with several terrorist groups emerging on the scene including Islamic State, as leader Bashar al-Assad battled to remain in power. 'From 2011 the economic conditions were rubbish and now it's even worse - air-strikes from the rural outskirts used to fall on the city and it wasn't safe at all,' Mr Norman said. 'It was scary. You used to step out of your home not knowing if you'd come back alive or not,' the father of two boys said. Mr Norman and his wife, Noor, said the fire alarms in the two-bedroom unit in the western suburbs were recently changed but did not go off when smoke started billowing. The couple's rental unit caught fire after a neighbour's faulty mobile phone charger blew up a socket, resulting in the whole block of eight apartments going up in flames (pictured) Noor (left) and Elia Norman (right) were left homeless left month after the fire. The couple had moved to Australia from Syria to start a new life It capped off a tiring few years since moving to Australia but he remains optimistic and strong in his Christian faith. 'We escaped with the clothes on our backs and thank God, I don't know why, but I luckily grabbed my car keys so at least we can be mobile.' He worked as a cleaner at fast food giant McDonald's sustaining major injuries to his leg and has had operations but he remains disabled walking with a crutch. Worker's compensation has been a long drawn-out process as he tries to make ends meet with a meagre income from social welfare payments. The Norman family has been staying in temporary accommodation in a motel, provided by Housing NSW, for a few weeks. An online fundraising campaign to help the family rebuild their lives has been set up by their local church and the children's school has chipped in for uniforms and clothes. Researchers from Western Sydney University estimate there are about 18,000 residential fires nationwide with over 6500 in NSW alone. Maiy Azize, spokesperson for Everybody's Home - a national campaign to end Australia's housing crisis - said tragic cases like the Normans' are more common in an increasingly tight rental market, where vacancies in NSW hover around the 1.5 per cent mark. The couple (pictured) and their asthmatic son escaped the fire with just the clothes they were wearing. An online fundraising campaign to help the family rebuild their lives has been set up by their local church 'Refugees have got fewer options in the rental market because fewer people want to take them on, especially if they're not drawing an income ... so they're much more likely to accept whatever conditions they're given,' she said. She explained the lack of a national code for tenants and an independent oversight body as reasons behind the situation. 'There aren't good minimum rental standards in just about any part of the country,' Ms Azize said. 'When you compare housing to just about any other essential service that we think of, like a water utility and electricity utility or even a workplace ... there's an independent authority in every state but there's nothing like that for housing.' Sadiq Khan's hated expansion of the Ulez scheme to outer London has failed to lower pollution levels in the capital's biggest borough, it is claimed. The zone, which charges some motorists 12.50-a-day to use their vehicles in the city, was expanded to cover the entirety of Greater London last year. The Mayor of London claimed that the move would help combat pollution emitted by vehicles, including harmful gas nitrogen dioxide (NO2) which is linked to respiratory issues. However, a report by Bromley Council has found that after the Ulez was put into place in the borough there was no 'overall lowering in pollution' in the months that followed. The borough, which is partly rural and the largest in London, saw vehicle pollutants rise after the charge was implemented on August 29, 2023, according to a report by the council's environment committee. The Ulez scheme was expanded to cover the entirety of Greater London in August, last year., Pictured: A map showing where the Ulez scheme is in effect Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has claimed the expanded Ulez scheme will combat pollution in the capital. Pictured: Mr Khan outside Downing Street on July 9, this year The document, details of which were first reported in The Telegraph, said that when measurements of NO2 were taken in November last year, the levels were higher at all 32 air quality monitoring stations in Bromley than the previous August. The report blamed 'seasonal weather and temperature variations' for the rise, with data from December 2023 showing that only eight locations had higher levels of NO2 compared to the same August. It concluded that when data was compared with 2022 there does not appear to be an 'an overall lowering in pollution levels that can be directly attributed to the implementation of Ulez'. The report added that part of the rise in pollution levels may have been due to measurements in 2022 being lower than expected as an after-effect of the Covid pandemic when travel restrictions were in place. This is in contrast to research conducted by City Hall, which claimed in July that the scheme was working 'even better than expected'. It released a report claiming that exhaust emissions were an estimated 22 per cent lower in outer London than they would have been if the expansion had not taken place. A spokesman for Mr Khan told MailOnline: 'The mayor is committed to improving air quality in London and has taken world-leading action to tackle toxic air pollution, which prematurely takes the lives of an estimated 4,000 Londoners each year. 'One year on, millions of Londoners are now breathing cleaner air and all the evidence shows that it was the right decision. 'The London-wide ULEZ six month report shows the scheme is working even better than expected, with pollutant emissions lower than if the Mayor hadn't expanded the scheme. 'Air quality in London is improving at a faster rate than the average for the rest of England, and with 96 per cent of vehicles now ULEZ compliant, thousands of Londoners have made the switch to cleaner vehicles. 'It's thanks to the ULEZ and the other policies the Mayor has put in place to tackle air pollution that we are now set to get London's air within legal limits by 2025.' Mr Khan has been heavily criticised for his decision to expand the scheme, sparking protests from those living in the affected boroughs and scenes of vandalism as so-called 'Blade Runners' repeatedly saw down the cameras that enforce the rules. A vandalised Ulez camera in Court Road, Bromley, after it was targeted by vigilantes in August 2023 In August footage emerged showing a masked vigilante hacking down an Ulez camera in Uxbridge with an electric saw. Last October a member of the group vowed to continue destroying the equipment until they are no longer replaced or the scheme is removed. In an interview with Talk TV, the masked maverick - who used Ben as a fake name - claimed to have wrecked 150 of the traffic cameras since they were expanded across the capital's boroughs on August 29. Ben, wearing a balaclava and hood, is seen in the footage using an angle-grinder to cut down a Ulez camera mounted on a traffic light in just four seconds. The father-of-three, aged in his forties, said he goes out in the dead of night several days a week flouting the law to carry out what he calls 'unpaid voluntary work'. Speaking to TalkTV, Ben claimed he's behind a near total blackout of enforcement cameras in the Bromley area, one of the Greater London boroughs where the scheme has been extended. Ben insisted support among the public was widespread with many hailing them as heroes, saying, 'We are the voice of the people. You experienced the cheers against ULEZ right there and then you can see we are reflecting the voice of the public.' Ben - who has been a member of the group for several months, and said membership is growing: 'It started off as a small group of people and it has gradually grown. 'Since the expansion went live on August 29, numbers have increased significantly. We're like a pack of lone wolves. We sometimes work together, we work in isolation, and we all have this common goal.' Ben said mayor Sadiq Khan is targeting the most vulnerable people at the worst possible time as they struggle through a cost of living crisis. He explains: 'The members of society that have less disposable income are hit the hardest because if they can't afford to change their vehicle, they'll be subject to that daily charge no matter what. He claimed the ULEZ network has been installed to 'catch everyone out'. Police have been ordered to open a new investigation into how complaints against a vile child predator, alleged to be Australia's worst pedophile, were handled in the years before his arrest. Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan said the new internal probe needed to be conducted as to how initial complaints about former childcare worker Ashley Paul Griffith were handled after the 45-year-old was convicted on hundreds of charges relating to the abuse of children in Queensland childcare centres. Griffith pleaded guilty to 307 child abuse-related charges in the District Court on Monday. The charges include multiple counts of rape and indecent treatment of young girls across Brisbane between 2007 and 2013 and again from 2018 to 2022. It is alleged another 180 offences occurred against children at a childcare centre in Sydney. Griffith is yet to appear in a NSW court to answer to these charges. Complaints of his abuse in Queensland were first raised to police in 2021, but Griffith was not arrested until August 2022 when he was initially charged with two counts of making child exploitation material and one count of using a carriage service for child pornography material. Investigators were able to trace objects identified in the background of images and videos - which had been posted on the dark web between 2013 and 2014 - back to a Brisbane childcare centre where Griffith had worked. Thousands of additional charges - which have since been discontinued - were laid by federal police after more child abuse material was found on devices belonging to Griffith in August 2023. Police have been ordered to open a new investigation into how complaints against Ashley Paul Griffith (pictured), alleged to be Australia's worst pedophile, were handled in the years before his arrest After Griffith's arrest, Yolanda Borucki revealed she first raised concerns about the Griffith while she was working alongside him at a Queensland childcare centre in 2021. Speaking to A Current Affair in 2023, Ms Borucki alleged Griffith had been seen kissing a child at the centre, raising her concerns with management and eventually passing on concerns to police. Queensland Police investigated the October 2021 complaint and another in April 2022 but found there was insufficient evidence to establish a criminal offence. In a statement, the Queensland Police Service (QPS) confirmed both were subject to an 'internal review' by an independent senior detective with significant child protection experience. 'This review found both investigations had been conducted according to QPS policy and concurred with the original findings that there was insufficient evidence to substantiate a criminal offence based on what was known at the time,' a spokeswoman said. 'Once further information and evidence was identified as part of the Australian Federal Police's (AFP) Operation Tenterfield, the AFP executed a search warrant at the man's residence in August 2022.' But Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan has now demanded a new internal probe into how the complaints were handled after Griffith's conviction. Ashley Paul Griffith (pictured) was convicted of 307 child abuse-related charges. Court sketch by Scott Breton 'The level of trauma he has inflicted upon so many is almost beyond comprehension,' Mr Ryan said. 'Speaking generally, I know police will always do their very best to act upon complaints and conduct thorough investigations to ensure that perpetrators are held to account. 'Notwithstanding this matter having been previously reviewed, I have asked the commissioner if this matter could be examined again. 'If any improvements or learnings can be identified, then it is my expectation they should be implemented as soon as possible.' Police said the 2021 complaint did not relate to physical contact with a child. Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan (pictured) has now demanded a new internal probe into how the complaints were handled after Griffith's conviction 'However, the QPS will continue to consider this investigation as legal proceedings progress,' the spokeswoman said. 'Some evidence that was presented during the recent prosecution was not known at the time of the original QPS investigations.' Griffith was committed to the District Court earlier in 2024 on a heavily reduced indictment of 320 charges - another 13 of which were dropped at the start of his arraignment on Monday. It was standing room only as family members of victims packed the public gallery and stared down Griffith, who was dressed in jeans and a striped shirt. He did not make eye contact with the public, instead darting his eyes around the room and remaining silent. Griffith pleaded guilty to 307 charges - 190 counts of indecent treatment of children, 67 counts of making child exploitation material, 28 counts of rape, 15 counts of maintaining an unlawful relationship with a child, four counts of producing child exploitation material, one count of distributing child exploitation material, one count of possessing child exploitation material and one count of using a carriage service to access child pornography material. The charges cover offending in childcare centres across the Brisbane region as well as in Pisa, Italy. Griffith's NSW charges include 68 counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10, 42 counts of aggravated sexual intercourse with a child under 10, 69 counts of aggravated indecent assault and one count of producing child abuse material. It was standing room only at the District Court (pictured) as family members of victims packed the public gallery and stared down Griffith Court proceedings in NSW will begin when his Queensland matters are finalised. Griffith is alleged to have recorded his abuse of children - all of them allegedly pre-pubescent girls - working at 10 childcare centres in Brisbane between 2007 to 2013 and 2018 to 2022. Police allege further offences took place at a location in Europe between 2013 and 2014 and in a Sydney centre between 2014 and 2017. Griffith has worked at other centres but is not alleged to have offended while working there. British taxpayers have footed a 825,000 bill for a study on the monarchy's future in the Caribbean as anti-royal activists continue to 'agitate' for its abolition. The UK's Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) gave 825,417 to Visible Crown, a project seeking to explore the 'political and cultural significance of Elizabeth II in the Caribbean, from 1952 to the present day'. The project, which organisers say is of 'immense value', comes amid increasing pressure on the royal family as it grapples with the UK's troubled colonial legacy in Commonwealth countries and beyond. At home, a series of high-profile recent events including the coronation of King Charles III last May, have seen a heavy anti-monarchy presence by protesters and activists. Against this troubled backdrop, the study will 'seek to better explain the durability of monarchy in the Caribbean since the end of empire'. British taxpayers have footed a 825,000 bill for a study on the monarchy's future in the Caribbean (Pictured: Queen Elizabeth II visits Antigua and Barbuda, 24th October 1985) Charles and Camilla visit Saint Kitts and Nevis in 2019 and pose with local dancers It follows several high profile trips by members of the royal family to countries including Jamaica which have seen local protesters demand reparations for the slave trade and brand the royals 'genocidal'. One of the study's researchers, Professor Anna Whitlock, is a historian of the monarchy and media commentator. She previously wrote that unless the monarchy modernises, it will not survive until the end of the 21st century - and has argued it owes much of its wealth and power to 'colonial violence', which she said sustains 'white inherited privilege', the Telegraph reports. And shortly before the late Queen Elizabeth II died, she told the Express the monarchy is 'ageing', and that 'adjustments must be made'. Among the institutions listed as partners to the project are the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Historic Royal Palaces UK. The researchers say it will address all eight Caribbean 'realms': Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines - as well as ex-Commonwealth nations which are now republics: Dominica, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago and, most recently, Barbados. Research is expected to focus on the Queen's role in the Caribbean and her legacy, as well as the accession of King Charles III. One of those listed as 'advisors' to the researches is Major J.W David Clarke, Extra Equerry to the Royal Household. Protesters in Jamaica during the Prince and Princess of Wales' tour of the Caribbean nation in 2022 Local school children wave to Queen Elizabeth II as she embarked on an eight-country tour of the Caribbean in 1994 The late Queen visited the Caribbean numerous times during her reign, including with her husband (centre) in 1983 The Conservatives' shadow science secretary Andrew Griffith told the Telegraph the AHRC has a history of splashing out on projects that are 'at odds with British values' But the project's social media page on X has just 127 followers and has not posted anything since retweeting an article by one of its team, Dr Grace Carrington, in November last year. The AHRC, which is bankrolling the research, is one of multiple councils funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), which has been handed a budget of 207 million of taxpayer cash for 2022 to 2025. The UKRI also sponsors vital scientific research. The Conservatives' shadow science secretary Andrew Griffith told the Telegraph the AHRC has a history of splashing out on projects that are 'at odds with British values'. A spokesman for UKRI told the paper: 'UKRI invests in a diverse research and innovation portfolio. 'Decisions to fund the research projects we support are made via a rigorous peer review process by relevant independent experts from across academia and business.' The AHRC has been contacted for comment. Half a million protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv last night to protest the Israeli government's failure to secure the return of the remaining hostages in Gaza. The rally, which organisers claim is the largest ever held in Tel Aviv, saw a 'small cadre of protesters' lighting bonfires and creating roadblocks, police told The Times of Israel. At least five activists were arrested at the demonstration for allegedly fighting with officers, including a minor who crossed the road after officers said to clear off of it. Angry protesters chanted 'Officer! Officer! Whom are you protecting?' as the detainees were dragged away. Last night's protest capped off a week of nightly demonstrations demanding a ceasefire after the discovery of another six dead hostages in Gaza, while hospital and local authorities said Israeli air raids in the territory killed more than a dozen people overnight into Saturday. It also comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week pushed back against pressure for a cease-fire deal and declared that 'no one will preach to me'. Half a million protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv last night to protest the Israeli government's failure to secure the return of the remaining hostages in Gaza A protester in Tel Aviv dressed as the Statue of Liberty calls out US President Joe Biden for a hostage deal as thousands of Israelis stage a demonstration by blocking roads and lighting fires as they demand ceasefire and a hostage deal The Hostage Families Forum, which planned last night's demonstration, reported that 500,000 people turned up to the rally in Tel Aviv, a tally echoed by police. Another 250,000 activists simultaneously demonstrated in other areas around the country, including Jerusalem, Haifa, Rishon Lezion, Beersheba, Netanya and elsewhere, the newspaper reported. It comes after the bodies of six hostages, taken alive by Hamas during its incursion into Israel on October 7, were found in a tunnel 20m (66ft) underground last weekend and less than a mile away from where fellow hostage Qaid Farhan Alkadi had been found. The army identified the others as Ori Danino, 25; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Almog Sarusi, 27; Alexander Lobanov, 33; and Carmel Gat, 40. Shay Dickmann, a cousin of deceased hostage Gat, told the crowd at the demonstration last night that the 40-year-old 'was so close' to being released as part of a hostage deal put forward in July 'but Netanyahu said no'. '[Last] Thursday, Carmel was alive. A terrorist put a Kalashnikov to her head, and when he felt the military pressure, he pulled the trigger. Military pressure led to her death,' Dickmann said. An aerial view of thousands of Israelis gathering with banners to protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on Saturday night The rally, which organisers claim is the largest ever held in Tel Aviv, saw a 'small cadre of protesters' lighting bonfires and creating roadblocks Demonstrators took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday night, capping off a week of nightly demonstrations demanding a ceasefire The Hostage Families Forum, which planned last night's demonstration, reported that 500,000 people turned up to the rally in Tel Aviv, a tally echoed by police Efrat Machikawa, niece of hostage Gadi Moses, also participated in the rally last night, saying: 'I think even those who were maybe reluctant to go out, who are not used to protest, who are sad but prefer to be in private space within their sadness, understood our voice must join together to one huge scream: Bring the hostages with a deal. Do not risk their lives.' Former hostages Danielle Aloni and Andrey Kozlov also addressed the rally, taking aim at Netanyahu for claiming in recently leaked documents that the hostages were merely suffering. 'Let me remind the prime minister, today is September 7, and today we mark exactly 11 months since the awful disaster. Who would believe that eleven months later, the hostages still wouldn't be here,' she told the rally. 'As someone who was there in the tunnels, I can testify that they're not just suffering, they're also dying, very much dying.' Kozlov, who was freed from Hamas captivity in June, added: 'I don't know why, but I am blessed, I am here. Hersh, Eden, Carmel, Ori, Almog and Alex are not.' Israel has been under increasing pressure from the United States and other allies to reach a cease-fire deal, but Netanyahu insists on continued Israeli control of the Philadelphi corridor, a narrow band along Gaza's border with Egypt where Israel contends Hamas smuggles weapons. Egypt and Hamas deny it. Demonstrators gather around a fire during a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government on Saturday night Demonstrators in Tel Aviv last night hold signs demanding a ceasefire and a hostage deal Families of hostages and their supporters hold signs featuring photos of hostages at a rally in Tel Aviv last night calling for an immediate hostage deal Demonstrators gather around a fire in the streets of Tel Aviv last night during a rally demanding the release of hostages in Gaza Inside Gaza, health workers wrapped up the second phase of an urgent polio vaccination campaign designed to prevent a large-scale outbreak. The drive, launched after the first polio case in the Palestinian enclave in 25 years, aims to vaccinate 640,000 children during a war that has destroyed the health care system. The third phase of vaccinations will be in the north. Israel kept up its military offensive. In central Gaza's urban refugee camp of Nuseirat, Al-Awda Hospital said it received the bodies of nine people killed in two air raids. One hit a residential building, killing four people and wounding at least 10, while five people were killed in a strike on a house in western Nuseirat. Separately, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, central Gaza's main hospital, said a woman and her two children were killed in a strike on a house in the nearby urban refugee camp of Bureij. In northern Gaza, an airstrike on a school-turned-shelter for displaced people in the town of Jabaliya killed at least four people and wounded about two dozen others, according to Gaza's Civil Defense authority, which operates under the territory's Hamas-run government. Israel's military said it struck a Hamas command post embedded in a former school compound. The war began when Hamas and other militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people, primarily civilians. Hamas is believed to still be holding more than 100 hostages. Israeli authorities estimate about a third are dead. Demonstrators in Tel Aviv last night use smoke bombs and wave flags during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas since the October 7 A woman blows a horn during a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government on Saturday night A man holds a menorah while standing atop a bust stop as people take part in a protest calling for a ceasefire and for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, near the Kirya in Tel Aviv on Saturday night A protester gestures during a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and to call for the release of hostages in Gaza, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Tel Aviv, Israel, September 7, 2024 Israel's retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. The ministry says more than 94,000 people have been wounded. Violence has also spiked in the occupied West Bank. A dayslong military operation in Jenin left dozens of dead. A day after an American protester was shot and killed in the West Bank, her family urged President Joe Biden to order an independent investigation, saying that 'given the circumstances of (her) killing, an Israeli investigation is not adequate.' Their statement called the 26-year-old recent university graduate a 'ray of sunshine' and an advocate for human dignity. Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who also holds Turkish nationality, was shot in the head, two Palestinian doctors said. She had been demonstrating against Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Witnesses said she was shot during a moment of calm following earlier clashes. The White House has said it was 'deeply disturbed' and called on Israel to investigate. The Israeli military said it was looking into reports that troops had killed a foreign national while firing at an 'instigator of violent activity.' More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, a territory captured by Israel in 1967. Israeli raids, attacks by Palestinian militants on Israelis and attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians have left more than 690 Palestinians dead since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, according to Palestinian health officials. In Gaza, Hamas has accused Israel of dragging out cease-fire negotiations by issuing new demands. Hamas has offered to release all hostages in return for an end to the war, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants - broadly the terms called for under an outline for a deal put forward by Biden in July. A man holds the number 337 (the days passed since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel) as people attend a protest in Tel Aviv last night calling for a ceasefire An Israeli policeman puts out a fire set by demonstrators during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held captive since October 7 Thousands of Israelis stage a protest by blocking roads and lighting fires as they demand ceasefire and a hostage deal, in Tel Aviv, Israel on September 7, 2024 People attend a protest calling for a ceasefire and for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, near the Kirya in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday night Along the border with Lebanon, near-daily clashes continued between Israeli forces and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. An Israeli drone strike hit a Lebanese Civil Defense team fighting a fire in the town of Froun, killing three volunteers and wounding two others, Lebanon's Health Ministry said. The blaze was sparked by a previous Israeli strike, the statement said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel's military said some 45 rockets were fired at northern Israel in several barrages, many targeting the Mount Meron area but falling in open areas. Several rockets fell in Shlomi and around the city of Safed. There were no injuries. The military later said its jets struck Hezbollah military infrastructure and a rocket launcher in the area of Qabrikha in southern Lebanon. A mother has revealed how she was arrested after reporting a toe-sucking sex attacker to police - while the twisted predator prowled the streets for nearly two years without being caught. Helen Ingham, 48, called police to report she had been a victim of the reign of terror carried out by hotel manager Ahmed Fahmy, 45, against women that spanned more than 15 years. But detectives missed the chance to arrest him and handcuffed Ms Ingham instead - locking her in a cell overnight when she became angry her accusations were not taken seriously. Perverted Fahmy was allowed to walk free and was only brought to justice nearly two years later, when two more women reported he raped or sexually assaulted them at another hotel. Police then contacted Ms Ingham for a statement and a two week trial heard he raped a woman and sexually assaulted another in January 2024 at a hotel - 22 months after attacking Ms Ingham. Helen Ingham has revealed how she was arrested after reporting a toe-sucking sex attacker to police Perverted Ahmed Fahmy (pictured) was allowed to walk free and was only brought to justice nearly two years later, when two more women reported he raped or sexually assaulted them at another hotel. He was found guilty of sexually assaulting Ms Ingham - and another woman years earlier in 2008. Ms Ingham, from Warrington, Cheshire, said: 'The police failed me, and that's more upsetting to me than what that man did. 'They got in touch years later to talk to me about what he did to me - but when I told them at the time they ignored me. 'I tried to tell the police that he would offend again but they didn't listen - the rape could have been avoided but instead they arrested me.' Ms Ingham, who has waived her right to anonymity, said she had been staying at an upmarket 'yacht hotel' after a Stormzy concert when she was attacked. The waitress called police immediately but claims they didn't take her seriously, or take a statement or arrest Fahmy for the March 2022 attack. Instead, she was arrested after becoming upset and abusive because the officers seemed disinterested in her assault claims, and was put in a cell for the night. After the incident Ms Ingham initially opted not to proceed with the allegation because of how she had been treated, and no further action was taken. Metropolitan Police confirmed the wider investigation has prompted a review into the actions of two of the officers who responded to the incident and both remain under investigation. Ms Ingham, who has waived her right to anonymity, said she had been staying at an upmarket 'yacht hotel' after a Stormzy concert when she was attacked Ms Ingham and her daughter, Rheanna Talmage, 23, arrived back to Sunborn Yacht Hotel, at Victoria Dock, east London, in the early hours of March 30, 2022. The pair had splashed around 500 for two nights in the 'yacht hotel' built into a decommissioned superyacht, for Ms Ingham's birthday. They entered the foyer of the hotel and then-manager Fahmy approached them and escorted them back to their room because they had been drinking. When her daughter went downstairs to smoke a cigarette, twisted Fahmy sexually assaulted Ms Ingham after she sat down on her bed. She said: 'He let us into our room and I thought it was strange when he came in with us. 'I had sat on the bed and taken off my socks and shoes, and I thought he would leave at that point. 'But he sat down at the end of the bed, pulled my foot off the bed, and put my big toe in his mouth. 'I shouted at him to get out of the room, then I went to go and find my daughter in case he went to find her. The earliest offence, in 2008, saw him attack a woman who was living in a flat near a Hilton hotel in Watford (pictured) where he was a manager 'When we tried to get back inside, our cards wouldn't work, because he had locked us out. 'Like a normal person I called the police to report the incident. 'I was drunk and swearing when they arrived, because I was angry about what he did to me.' Ms Ingham claims officers asked Fahmy 'what do you want us to do with her?' to which he responded 'take her away'. She said instead of taking her statement, she was 'grabbed'. She said a physical conflict ensued, she was arrested and taken to the police station. Ms Ingham said her daughter was 'dumped at a train station' to make her way home alone, and she spent a night in the cells. She said: 'They didn't investigate my claim at the time - they weren't bothered about what happened to me.' She was contacted in January this year - when Fahmy was due to appear in court for several other sexual offences including raping a woman. The earliest offence, in 2008, saw him attack a woman who was living in a flat near a Hilton hotel in Watford where he was a manager, Hendon Magistrates Court heard. Some of the offences took place at the Anchor Guest House in Golders Green, where Fahmy was living He was also convicted of raping a woman and sexually assaulting another at Anchor Guest Hotel, in Golders Green, on January 20, 2024. A group of four women were staying in the hotel where he worked, and one of them woke up to him in her bedroom, licking her foot. The following morning, he came across another of the women in the hotel and manoeuvred her into his bedroom where he raped her. He was found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault at Hendon Magistrates Court on July 25 and will be sentenced in September. Ms Ingham lodged a complaint with the Metropolitan Police against the two officers who attended, and the force says both remain under investigation. Detectives believe there may be more victims who have yet to come forward and are urging them to do so immediately. Ms Ingham said: 'That night, I felt like anyone could do anything to me and I would have been the one who got in trouble. 'I reported a crime and then I got arrested - if you can't trust the police, who can you trust? 'His later crimes could have been avoided if the police had listened to me. Fahmy attacked Ms Ingham at the Sunborn Yacht Hotel in London 'The police waited for a crime to happen when they could have prevented one..' A spokesman for the Met Police said: 'The investigation into Ahmed Fahmy was led by a team of experienced detectives specialising in investigating sexual offences and providing victim support. 'As part of their enquiries during a rape investigation, these detectives actively sought to identify any previous offences Fahmy was linked to. 'One of those was an incident at the Sunborn Yacht Hotel in Western Gateway E16 on 30 March 2022. 'On that night police were called by a woman alleging that she had been sexually assaulted by a man at the hotel. 'Officers responded and spoke to the woman and man. The woman was arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence and assault on an emergency worker. The man was not arrested. 'The woman was interviewed in custody and it was later decided no further action would be taken against her. 'No further action was taking regarding the alleged sexual offence after the woman decided she did not want to wish to proceed with the allegation. 'When officers investigating the rape allegation contacted the victim from this incident, she agreed to support police. Her support, along with all the other victims, was instrumental in securing Fahmy's convictions. 'The wider investigation also prompted a review into the actions of two of the officers who responded to the incident. Both remain under investigation. 'Tackling violence against women and girls is a key priority across the Met.. We are doing more to support communities and people who've had their trust damaged, focusing on protecting women and girls from violence and targeting predatory men who commit those crimes. 'As part of the New Met for London, the Met offers victim-survivors specialist support and have committed to involving them in the decision-making process throughout the investigation.' Post Office campaigner Sir Alan Bates has married his partner Suzanne Sercombe on Sir Richard Branson's private island in the Caribbean. Touching photographs showed the couple, both wearing brightly coloured clothing, tying the knot as Virgin tycoon officiated on Necker Island, the British Virgin Islands, on August 27. Sir Richard invited the couple to the island after Sir Alan, 70, said in an interview in January: 'If Richard Branson is reading this, I'd love a holiday.' He said he couldn't think of 'anyone more deserving of a break', and quipped that millions of people had sent their congratulations, but 'there was an issue at the Post Office!' The wedding came as a surprise to the new Lady Bates, 69, who had to wear a patterned sundress she had packed for the holiday, the newspaper reported. Post Office campaigner Sir Alan Bates has married his partner Suzanne Sercombe on Sir Richard Branson 's private island in the Caribbean Richard Branson officiated the wedding of Alan Bates and Suzanne Sercombe (pictured together) on Necker Island Sir Alan kept the wedding a surprise for his partner, and joked that King Charles III had forced him into it by awarding him with a knighthood Alan Bates and Suzanne Sercombe kissing during their wedding Sir Alan, 70, joked the wedding was the fault of King Charles III, who awarded him with a knighthood in June, because since the ceremony no-one had known how to address his now-wife. He told the Times: 'Personally, I blame the King. It's been 34 years and we've managed to never do it but he really dropped me in it.' His wife will now be addressed as Lady Bates. As he officiated, Sir Richard said: 'What you have accomplished together is no small feat and I'm sure beyond what you ever thought was possible. Your journey began the moment you first met. 'You took the time to learn what makes the other person smile, what makes them laugh and how to best support each other when life is less than simple. And thanks to your commitment to others, it's certainly been less than simple. 'Marriage can bring difficult days, just as they bring beautiful ones. Today is a reminder of what your love has already accomplished, and the amazing possibilities of what it can continue to accomplish in the many, many years ahead of you.' He added: 'It was an absolute joy to play a small part in Alan and Suzanne's love story, and I know they will continue to spread the beautiful light they share with everyone around them.' After hatching his plot, Lady Bates found out the true extent of their trip on Necker Island, where they stayed for a week before heading to Antigua to celebrate. Campaigner Sir Alan shot to fame after a TV drama shone a spotlight on how he was forced to lead a campaign on behalf of subpostmasters following one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in UK history. He was played by Toby Jones in the ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office. The show drew renewed public attention to the subpostmasters who were wrongly prosecuted during the Horizon IT scandal. Sir Alan (pictured with Suzanne) founded the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance, and led a group of 555 subpostmasters who took the Post Office to the High Court The happy couple had been together for years before finally getting married last month In a ITV drama Sir Alan was played by Toby Jones in a series on the scandal that touched the hearts of the nation More than 700 subpostmasters were prosecuted by the Post Office and given criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015, as Fujitsu's faulty Horizon IT system made it appear as though money was missing at their branches. Many were sent to prison and felt compelled to plead guilty in a bid to avoid jail. Actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, who played Sir Alan's wife in the ITV drama, said Suzanne is 'the wind beneath his wings'. Sir Alan founded the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance, and led a group of 555 subpostmasters who took the Post Office to the High Court. An enquiry into the scandal is ongoing with campaigners calling for better compensation packages for those affected, many of whom had their lives destroyed after the wrongful convictions. In May, Bates said he would reject compensation over the scandal for the second time after the Government offered just under a third of what he has requested. He revealed he was offered just 30 per cent of what he believes he is owed. This was the second offer that Mr Bates had rejected, the first offer in January was around 16 per cent and he described it as 'cruel, offensive and derisory'. Mr Bates was sacked from his Llandudno branch in 2003, when he refused to accept blame for shortfalls on his account. After years of campaigning against this decision, he would uncover that he was just one of around 900 sub-postmasters who were wrongly prosecuted over the software issues. Some of these people were sent to prison after being convicted of false accounting and theft, some had their finances left in tatters and some will never see justice as they have since died. The Government set up a compensation scheme for these postmasters called the Group Litigation Order (GLO), that opened last year to ensure the claimants received extra money to reflect the gravity of their situations. Applicants in this scheme can also opt to settle their claims on a full and final basis for a total fixed sum of 75,000, inclusive of interest, instead of making a claim for their individual losses. The Post Office Inquiry will resume on September 23. A British tourist has told of his holiday hell after he was arrested in Tunisia when bungling cops mistook him for a convicted cigarette smuggler. James Colley, 57, known as Jim, jetted off on a package holiday to the North African nation with wife Louise Colley, 51, on August 2 to celebrate his retirement. But he was quizzed by armed police upon his arrival at at Enfidha-Hammamet International Airport and then told to report to a court in the capital, Tunis. Baffled Jim later learnt that cops were actually looking for a man called James Coyle, convicted in his absence of smuggling cigarettes into the country in 2012. The panicked couple spent the rest of their holiday fighting the bewildering charges. They had to fork out a further 800 on three eight-hour round trips to Tunis and lawyers fees. James Colley, 57, known as Jim, jetted off on a package holiday to the North African nation with wife Louise Colley, 51, on August 2 to celebrate his retirement He was quizzed by armed police upon his arrival at at Enfidha-Hammamet International Airport and then told to report to a court in the capital, Tunis When Jim finally went before a judge on the last day of their 'holiday' the case was dropped against him in seconds, because the charges were 'too old'. Speaking about his ordeal, dad-of-three Jim said: 'We still don't know if it was a scam to make money. Were the police involved? The passport people? 'I'm quite a calm person, but honestly, you don't argue with someone with a gun* You've got no idea - are they trigger-happy? It was absolutely terrifying. 'I've never had any mental health problems in my life, but honestly, this was mentally draining.' Louise, a community staff nurse, who was by Jim's side throughout their 'holiday from hell', has now warned Brits not to head to Tunisia. She said: 'Don't go. It sounds terrible as there are some nice people over there, but it's just not safe - I just don't think it's safe for any British tourists to go at the minute. 'It could have been our kids. They could have been on holiday, and it could have happened to them. They might not have coped as well as we did. 'We didn't know if Jim was going to get locked up or what the hell was going to go on.' 'It was completely terrifying. It should have never happened. I don't know why we've been picked on. It's total corruption over there.' The couple, from Newcastle, booked their week-long package holiday following the Jim's retirement as a Nissan car plant worker earlier this year. They paid 1,400 to stay at the five-star rated El Mouradi hotel, in Mahdia. But they never got to enjoy its facilities after Jim was was stopped by police at the airport and questioned for around four hours. The couple, from Newcastle, booked their week-long package holiday following the Jim's retirement as a Nissan car plant worker earlier this year He said: 'They kept on taking my passport away and asking us the same two questions: Had I been to Tunisia before and where did I work? 'I said I'd 'only been once on my honeymoon in 2009.' They didn't believe us, they said, 'You've been before.' 'They had guns, and you don't argue with someone with a gun. 'They then got an interpreter down, and he basically said, 'You're going to have an invitation to appear in court'.' Jim and Louise made it to their hotel in the early hours of August 3 after they were forced to pay 95 for a local taxi ride. On August 5, at 4am, they paid a local man to drive them four hours to Tunis along the Trans-African Highway in a beaten-up VW polo for the court appearance. James remembered how the building looked like a '1960s bank' with 'paper files piled high everywhere' and all the staff smoking. After he arrived, he was presented with a court document, which bizarrely named him incorrectly as 'James Coyle'. Jim added: 'In this court, they said 'English?' I said yes. And then they said, 'You need to sign this'... But it had the wrong name on it. 'They took us into another room, and there was a superior guy, and he said, 'So you are innocent then?' I thought that would be the end of it. 'But he said, 'You need to come to the police station tomorrow to hand this form in.' I said, where's the police station?' It was in Tunis again.' The couple went to the 'sweltering' local police station the next day - with James then told he needed to appear before a judge at the courthouse on August 8. A local English-speaking lawyer, who they had approached, first said she could represent them in court for 530. But they later secured the services of another lawyer for 130 after they gave a court usher a backhander for their help, they claim, and went before a panel of judges. Fearful Jim said he was unsure which way the case was going to go and was deeply worried he may be fined or end up in prison Jim added: 'I was sitting in the public gallery. There were three judges. 'The doors opened from the side and they started dragging prisoners from the jails out downstairs in handcuffs. 'Our driver, he'd come in to interpret for us, and he was saying, 'That man, he tried to have sex with a lady when she didn't want it, this man beat his mother up.' 'I was the last one, even though we'd paid the usher to be in first. 'I had to stand with my hands behind my back, my head bowed in front of these three judges. There were police officers with their guns. 'I got called, so I stood up and the lawyers stood up.' Fearful Jim said he was unsure which way the case was going to go and was deeply worried he may be fined or end up in prison. But within 30 seconds, he said one of the judges had 'waved their hand in the air' and an usher came and whispered to him: 'It's all over, you're free to go.' The astonished couple later learned from their hastily formed legal team that the case should never have gone ahead due to the age of the offence. Jim said: 'Basically, what they knew all along was that the case was for cigarette smuggling in 2012. This James Coyle was convicted in his absence. 'Because the case was over five years old, it just got thrown out anyway - not the fact that it wasn't even me, mistaken identity.' The Tunisian Embassy in London has been contacted for comment. A beauty pageant hosted at a tranquil spa resort on a South Pacific island descended into a storm after the winning model was controversially snatched of her crown. As the competition drew to a climax on Friday night, Manshika Prasad, 24, was crowned Miss Fiji at the Pearl Resort & Spa after securing her title with a 4-3 vote from pageant judges. But it was at this point that things 'turned really ugly', according to one judge who witnessed a 'conspiracy' unfold in front of their eyes. Prasad's celebrations were quickly cut short as she was dethroned by one of her rivals, Nadine Roberts - a 30-year-old model and property developer from Sydney, Australia. Miss Universe Fiji (MUF) was forced to select a new queen because of a 'controversial decision' by judges, which saw Prasad 'incorrectly awarded' the crown. Prasad will no longer be travelling to Mexico to compete for the Miss Universe title in November after officials claimed the contestant was declared winner in a 'rigged vote' favouring a 'Fiji Indian' winner because it would financially benefit the event manager. A heartbroken Prasad has said she will be taking a break from social media and claimed that there was 'so much the public did not know about'. Roberts has also spoken out since taking the throne, saying 'we are all impacted by this' and thanking MUF for its 'swift action' on the matter. Manshika Prasad, 24, (centre) was crowned Miss Fiji on August 30 after securing her title with a 4-3 vote from pageant judges. But the Miss Universe Fiji (MUF) competition, in a statement reviewed by MailOnline, has said a 'controversial decision' by judges at the finalists' event resulted in Prasad being 'incorrectly awarded' the crown Officials alleged that 'correct procedures' were not followed during the pageant and that Prasad (pictured) had been declared winner in a 'rigged vote' favouring a 'Fiji Indian' winner because it would financially benefit the event manager Prasad, a MBA student, was voted the majority winner of the Miss Fiji title by a panel of seven judges, including one who was a representative from Lux Property Bali, the company that bought the licence to hold the pageant, FBC News Fiji reported. The other six judges were reportedly all independently confirmed and originally presented on the official pageant website. But the MUF organization later said Prasad was incorrectly awarded the winner and instead proclaimed Roberts as Miss Fiji 2024. MUF alleged the organiser had not followed correct procedures when it allegedly failed to count the licensee vote and consult them in the event of the tie. In its statement, which was reviewed by MailOnline, MUF stated the contracted organiser, Grant Dwyer, 'wanted a Fiji Indian winner to leverage potential Global Business deals'. The organisation alleged that Dwyer deliberately failed to count the licensee vote 'to ensure only the Fiji Indian contestant would win by the judges, against a local Fiji non Indian contestant winning'. MUF stated that there were a total of eight votes that should have been counted, seven from the panel judges - which included a local Lux Property representative - and one from the licensee. 'The contracted organiser failed to count the licensee vote, and failed to then consult in the event of a tie, who has the determining vote to decide who is best to represent MUF at the finals in Mexico, in November later this year,' the statement continued. 'Despite concerns raised on the night by the local licensee representative that was in attendance, that the Licensee vote must be counted, and then consulted in the event of a tie, to then decide on the winner. 'The contracted organiser rushed to announce their favourite candidate as the winner on the night, creating unnecessary confusion and controversy.' Dwyer, however, has disputed the claim, alleging Prasad was 'judged fairly' and that her crowning 'holds substance'. MUF then revealed that runner-up Nadine Roberts (pictured) - a 30-year-old model and property developer from Sydney, Australia - will compete for the Miss Universe title as Miss Fiji in Mexico in November Prasad (front, right) is pictured after having been crowned Miss Universe Fiji. Roberts (left) is pictured in her runners-up sash But the MUF organization later said Prasad was incorrectly awarded the winner and instead proclaimed Roberts (pictured) as Miss Fiji 2024 Some of the judges have also questioned the organisation's decision, claiming that Prasad was the 'clear winner' in the contest. The panel were asked to write down the name of who they thought should be crowned Miss Fiji 2024 as the pageant came to a close on Friday, August 30. Jennifer Chan, an US-based TV host, style and beauty expert who was one of the judges, told the BBC that she was '100 per cent confident' that Prasad was the best candidate to represent Fiji in the Miss Universe competition. She also argued that it is 'just gross to even bring up race' in determining the competition winner and claims 'it was never, ever once uttered amongst any of the judges'. Chan, recalling the final night of the competition, said: 'By this stage, Manshika was the clear winner. Not only based on what she presented on stage but also how she interacted with the other girls, how she photographed, how she modelled.' But as Prasad took to the stage, wearing her sparkling tiara, after being crowned the judges could tell something was 'wrong', Chan alleges. She recalled how Roberts, who was stood on Prasad's right in her runners-up sash, was 'seething' at the results. Chan claims she asked her self 'how could someone feel so entitled to win?' and assumed that Roberts, a 'seasoned' pageant contestant, should know that when it comes to competitions 'you win some, you lose some'. She also thought it was strange that on Saturday, despite Prasad taking a celebratory boat trip with the judges, there had been no official confirmation of her victory. Additionally, judge Riri Febriani, who had represented Lux Projects, was absent from the trip. 'I remember thinking that was odd,' Melissa White, who was one of the competition judges and had shared a room with Febriani, told the broadcaster. 'But she just said she had lots of work to do and she needed to talk to her boss.' One judge has alleged that she was '100 per cent confident' that Prasad, pictured during her crowning, was the best candidate to represent Fiji in the Miss Universe competition The judge also recalled how Roberts (pictured) was 'seething' at the results came in and Prasad was crowned Miss Fiji Febriani reportedly claimed she couldn't go on the trip because she needed rest, but White alleges she was fielding phone calls and messages from a man called 'Jamie'. White further alleged that 'Jamie' was actually Australian businessman Jamie McIntyre, who has been married to Roberts since 2022. McIntyre in 2016 was banned from doing business in Australia for a decade due to his involvement in a property investment scheme that cost investors more than A$7million (3.6million or $4.7million USD). Despite Febriani having been a judge on the panel, Lux Projects was allegedly unhappy with the vote and two days after the crowning, in a press release, said that Dwyer had 'failed to count' the vote it should get the licensee. The firm said it would have voted for Roberts, bringing the count to tie of 4-4. It also alleged that as the licensee it had the 'determining vote', which would make Roberts the winner of the contest. It is also alleged that McIntyre had been on the phone during calls between Roberts and Dwyer. 'Never at any point were we told about an eighth judge or any kind of absentee judge,' Chan told the BBC. 'It wasn't on the website, it wasn't anywhere. Besides, how can you vote on a contest if you're not even there?' Representatives for McIntyre, in a statement to MailOnline, claimed the allegations that he was involved in the judging controversy were part of a 'smear campaign'. 'Despite the evidence clearly showing he isn't the licensee holder of Miss Universe Fiji, I'm simply a shareholder in a associated company that they deliberately try to link to be deceptive, and adding a link by over a previous relationship, creating a nonsensical conspiracy theory,' McIntyre said through his reps. 'But let's assume I was. If I was the licensee, the licensee is fully entitled to appoint all judges. If I wanted to rig the result, why wouldn't I simply have appointed all 8 judges, plus ensure they were all family, friends, associates or business partners to ensure an outcome. Yet I didn't. I wasn't involved. Wasn't a judge, wasn't there and quite frankly have more important things to do then be judging a Miss Universe Pageant let alone own Miss Universe. 'But we all know who did appoint the judges, who ensured they were all his family, friends, associates or business partners and continually told the licensee,' trust me, it will be all done fairly'. BBC alleges the Miss Universe Organisation (MUO) is 'extremely unhappy with the events in Fiji and, after having established the facts, worked hard to reinstate Ms Prasad (pictured on August 30) as the island's queen' The mutli-million-dollar Miss Universe Organisation (MUO) operates under a franchise system, meaning a competitions must buy a licence that enables them to use the firm's branding and sell tickets to Miss Universe branded events. The licences are expensive, so it is often hard for small countries to find a person or company willing to fund the licence for a national pageant. This expense is understood to be the reason why Fiji has not entered a Miss Universe contestant in 43 years. The MUO did not respond to the BBC's request for comment, but the broadcaster alleges the firm is 'extremely unhappy with the events in Fiji and, after having established the facts, worked hard to reinstate Ms Prasad as the island's queen'. MailOnline has approached MUF, the MUO, Prasad and Roberts for comment. Sir Keir Starmer has said his government must 'speed up' the review of buildings with potentially dangerous cladding after the damning Grenfell fire report was released this week. The Prime Minister said he was frustrated by the slow progress of replacing dangerous cladding, after most recent figures showed that as of the end of May, just one in four high-rise blocks had completed refurbishment works. It comes after the inquiry's final report was released this week and found that all of the 72 deaths in the June 2017 tragedy could have been avoided. Asked about how he would speed up the safety programme by the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Sir Keir said: 'We will accelerate the programme, I am frustrated it is going as slowly as it is, to deal with the cladding. 'A lot of that is to find true responsibility and to hold people to account for getting on with the job. The money is there, the intention is there. We need to move more quickly on it.' The final report into the Grenfell Tower fire found all 72 people who died could have been saved Asked about how he would speed up the safety programme by the BBC 's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Sir Keir said: 'We will accelerate the programme, I am frustrated' Your browser does not support iframes. Pressed for a date when will people feel safe in their homes, Sir Keir said he could not give one, telling the programme: 'We are speeding up the process, I want to get this done as quickly as possible. Each block will be on a different timetable. 'I am not able to give you and end date, but I can tell you I meant when I said when I responded to the report, I said this has to be a turning point.' Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said his Government needs to 'speed up and get on with it' in reviewing flammable cladding in the wake of the Grenfell inquiry report. Sir Keir further stated: 'A lot of this now is identifying and pushing those who are really responsible to do this, to do the work that they are required to do. If we need more powers to do that, we'll pass those powers.' The report, published earlier this week, found Grenfell was turned into a deathtrap which claimed 72 lives due to 'serious deficiencies' in building standards, 'dishonest' manufacturers and a local authority with an 'indifference' to fire safety. It also slammed successive governments and multiple firms involved in the refurbishment of the tower in 2015-16. Sir Martin Moore-Bick, author of the report, said: 'None of those involved in the design of the external wall or choice of materials acted in accordance with the standards of a reasonably competent person in their position.' He said the fatal choice of combustible materials for the cladding of Grenfell Tower resulted 'from a series of errors caused by the incompetence of the organisations and individuals involved in the refurbishment'. But he also pointed the finger at industry body the British Board of Agrement (BBA), who he accused of incompetence for failing to carry out proper checks on building products used in the refurbishment before issuing compliance certificates. Sir Martin pointed the finger at industry body the British Board of Agrement (BBA), who he accused of incompetence for failing to carry out proper checks Your browser does not support iframes. Sir Martin accused successive governments of an at-times 'complacent and defensive' attitude to safety, while the response to the tragedy from Theresa May's own administration and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea local council in the immediate aftermath was 'muddled, slow, indecisive and piecemeal'. Sir Martin said both the council - which owned the tower - and the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (TMO) which ran it showed a 'persistent indifference to fire safety', particularly that of its many vulnerable residents. But he reserved some of his most powerful criticism for those responsible for firms involved in the refurbishment. The 77-year-old former Court of Appeal judge also took aim at 'dishonest' manufacturers, as well as local and central government, the construction industry and associated organisations. Sir Martin said the 'simple truth' was that the 72 deaths were 'all avoidable'. Survivors of the fire and bereaved friends and family members faced another blow in their search for justice this week after the CPS said it would not be in a position to press charges against any individuals until the end of 2026. They have spent years since the 2017 fire calling for criminal charges to be brought and reiterated their calls for justice following the report's publication. Former housing secretary Michael Gove also said criminal prosecutions should be brought against Grenfell Tower cladding firms. Companies that are 'still making vast profits without acknowledging their full responsibility' must also be punished financially, he suggested. Writing in the Sunday Times, Mr Gove claimed attempts to punish Kingspan, Arconic and Celotex when he was in government had been blocked by 'bureaucracies'. There was 'insufficient action' from foreign governments on responsible companies based abroad, he said, adding that attempts to restrict imports of their products ran up against the 'commercial purism of Treasury Mandarin Brain'. The final report said the west London tower block was covered in combustible products because of the 'systematic dishonesty' of firms who made and sold the cladding and insulation. The Grenfell Tower fire in West London in June 2017 left 72 people dead in a shocking tragedy The report officially lifted the curtain on the businesses responsible for the cut-price refurbishment of Grenfell Tower in 2016, which saw dangerously flammable polyethylene-cored aluminium cladding panels plastered to the exterior of the high-rise building. Pictured: A composite photograph showing how the fire swept through Grenfell Tower in 2017 Kingspan had, from 2005 and even after the inquiry began in the wake of the fire, 'knowingly created a false market in insulation' for use on buildings over 18 metres tall (59ft), it said. Celotex then, in an attempt to break into the market created by Kingspan, 'embarked on a dishonest scheme to mislead its customers and the wider market', inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said. Mr Gove apologised to the relatives and survivors of the tragedy who were 'let down by successive governments, including governments of which I was a part'. Companies which manufactured materials used on the tower have 'still not shown proper awareness of their guilt, contrition for their crimes or restitution for their wrongs', he added. 'Because Kingspan is based in Ireland, and Arconic's European operations and Celotex are in France, our jurisdiction was limited. But we were determined to go after them,' Mr Gove said. The former Conservative Party leadership hopeful pressured Ulster Rugby and Mercedes' F1 team, asking them to reconsider their relationship with Irish insulation firm Kingspan in 2021. Last year, he warned shareholders in cladding companies that the firms will face 'severe consequences' if no post-Grenfell financial support package is forthcoming. Mr Gove said taking the 'necessary action' against cladding firms 'will require toughness... I know there will be voices opposed to robust action'. 'You cannot purchase prosperity at the price of justice. Those who are the guiltiest must pay, and pay the most,' he added. Sir Keir Starmer revealed today that his family's new pet cat is called Prince. The Prime Minister told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg the Siberian kitten, which has white fur and blue eyes, entered No10 after a 'summer of negotiations' with his children. They were promised a German Shepherd dog when they moved into Number 10, but he backtracked over space fears in the small flat the PM lives in. Sir Keir told the BBC today: 'This change has a profound impact on our children. 'People asked me before the election what am I most worried about and I always said the impact on my children.' He added: 'I have to acknowledge this is a big move for them and therefore negotiating a fantastic kitten called Prince was part of the deal that they extracted from me.' The Prime Minister told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg the Siberian kitten, which has white fur and blue eyes, entered No10 after a 'summer of negotiations' with his children (file pic) They were promised a German Shepherd dog when they moved into Number 10, but he backtracked over space fears in the small flat the PM lives in. The kitten will join Downing Street's Chief Mouser Larry, who has previously fought with other cats The new addition to the Starmer family will take up residence with Jojo who moved with them from their home in north London and Larry, the resident mouser. The PM revealed earlier this week that the only issue was with installing a cat flap because the door to the Prime Ministers flat is bomb-proof. Their confinement may be of some comfort to Larry, Downing Sts resident mouser, who is territorial and has fought with other cats. Originating from Russia, Siberian cats have long and fluffy coats to protect from the cold. They are hypoallergenic, so compatible with those with allergies. They are known for being dog-like, which may have helped lessen the blow of not getting a dog for Sir Keirs children. The Downing Street pet has become a tradition for new residents. Former prime minister Rishi Sunak bought Nova, a Fox Red Labrador, while his chancellor Jeremy Hunt moved in a labrador named Poppy. Boris Johnsons adopted Jack Russell Dilyn took up residence during his time in power. During the war years, Sir Winston Churchill kept two cats, Nelson and Munich Mouser, and a poodle named Rufus at Downing Street. Sir Keir Starmer removed a portrait of Margaret Thatcher from a No10 study because he doesn't like people 'staring down at me' from the wall, he revealed today. Sir Keir has been criticised by Tories for rehanging the 100,00 likeness of the Iron Lady elsewhere in No10 after taking power. No 10 announced that it would be rehung in a 'first floor meeting room' because the Labour Prime Minister found it 'unsettling'. And speaking to the BBC today he confirmed he has a longstanding aversion to portraits hanging over him while he works. It came as he defended making 300 winter fuel payments for pensioners means-tested, saying his government would have to do 'unpopular things', ahead of a Commons vote. The Prime Minister and Chancellor Rachel Reeves are mired in the first controversy of his premiership, with as many as 30 of his own MPs threatening to refuse to support it, and peers trying to kill it off entirely. He also used the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg interview to hammer the Tories over their management of the NHS, saying it was 'broken' with almost a million children on hospital waiting lists. Sir Keir has been criticised by Tories for rehanging the 100,00 likeness of the Iron Lady elsewhere in No10 after taking power. No 10 announced that it would be rehung in a 'first floor meeting room' because the Labour Prime Minister found it 'unsettling'. The work by Richard Stone, one of Britain's leading portrait artists, depicts the Iron Lady in the immediate aftermath of the Falklands War in 1982. Former prime minister Boris Johnson said that the 'petty' removal of the painting shows he misled the public when he praised Mrs Thatcher during his election campaign. Writing in his Daily Mail column, Mr Johnson said: 'We are entitled to ask: which is the real Starmer? Is he a Thatcher fan, or a visceral Leftie? The answer, my friends, is now clear: not just from his petty decision to remove her picture, but in everything he is doing in Government.' But speaking to the BBC today the new PM said: 'I use the study for quietly reading most afternoons ... where there is a difficult paper. 'This is not actually about Margaret Thatcher at all. I don't like images and pictures of people staring down at me. 'I've found it all my life. When I was a lawyer I used to have pictures of judges. I don't like it. I like landscapes. 'This is my study, it is my private place where I got to work. I didn't want a picture of anyone.' Sir Keir is facing a major cross-party effort to kill off plans to cut winter fuel payments for pensioners. One Labour rebel, York MP Rachael Maskell, has already warned that the decision could lead to 'excess deaths' this winter. And Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield, a long-term Starmer critic, suggested that it would be 'shameful' for MPs earning 91,346 a year to cut aid to elderly people living on about 13,000 a year. As many as 30 of his own MPs could ignore threats to strip them off the whip and refuse to back the plan in a Tory-organised vote in the Commons on Tuesday. Yesterday, Labour backbencher Rosie Duffield told Radio 4's Today programme she intended to abstain. And at the same time peers are set to attempt to kill off the change in the House of Lords, led by former Tory peer Baroness Altmann, who branded it 'one of the worst decisions I have ever seen'. At the same time peers are set to attempt to kill off the change in the House of Lords, led by former Tory peer Baroness Altmann, who branded it 'one of the worst decisions I have ever seen'. In response the PM said his government is prepared to be 'unpopular' to get things done. He said the previous Tory administration had 'run away from difficult decisions'. 'I'm absolutely convinced we will only deliver that change, I'm absolutely determined we will, if we do the difficult things now. I know they're unpopular, I know they're difficult, of course they're tough choices,' he said. 'But it's a bit like building a house: if you know your foundations are rotten, if you know you've got damp or cracks, you can paint over it and pretend that you've got a beautiful new house and within six months it all falls apart. 'Or you can say, ''we're going to strip it down, we're going to fix the foundations,'' and what then will happen this is where the hope is there, what then happens is you've got a much better house at the end of the exercise, a country built to last, and that's what I'm determined I'm going to bring about in the time that we've got in office.' A review by eminent surgeon and independent peer Lord Darzi due to be published on Thursday is expected to highlight how children are being let down by the health service. It is expected to show that 175,000 children are waiting between six months and a year for treatment and 35,000 more than a year, the Sunday Times reported. Additionally, it will show 100,000 infants waited more than six hours to be seen in accident and emergency departments last year, with waiting times for the under-twos rising 60 per cent in the past 15 years. It is also likely to pinpoint falling vaccination rates, and rises in ADHD medication and in eating disorder-related hospital admissions for children. The Prime Minister claimed the health service's problems stem from 'the money that was taken out of the NHS, particularly in the early years of the coalition from 2010 onwards, the (Andrew) Lansley reforms, which were hopelessly misconceived. And then, of course, Covid on top of all that, which has put us in this awful position for the NHS'. A review by eminent surgeon and independent peer Lord Darzi due to be published on Thursday is expected to highlight how children are being let down by the health service. Sir Keir also pinned the blame of NHS failings on the previous government, as he has done with the UK's economic situation. The Prime Minister added: 'Our job now through Lord Darzi is properly understand how that came about and bring about the reforms, starting with the first steps, the 40,000 extra appointments. 'But we've got to do the hard yards of reform as well. And as I say, I think it's only a Labour Government that can do the reform that our NHS needs, and we'll start on that journey.' Shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins accused Labour of using Lord Darzi's health review as 'cover' to raise taxes in the upcoming Budget. Speaking to Sky News, Ms Atkins said: 'I was clear as secretary of state that to build an NHS for the next 75 years, we have to marry reform with investment, and I tried to do that through the productivity plans, bringing tech to the frontline of NHS services, which I hear that Labour is cancelling. 'What worries me is what we've seen so far from the Health Secretary, the only thing he's done is to give junior doctors a pay rise with no productivity reform.' Kate Winslet was almost caught out using risque language on the BBC to describe a famous photo of Hitler's bathtub. The actress joined Laura Kuenssberg for her Sunday morning show to discuss her upcoming film Lee, about American photographer Lee Miller, a fashion model who became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II. The 48-year-old was describing a photo of Lee herself sitting naked in Hitler's bathtub at the end of WWII, in which she claims Lee said: 'Make sure you frame out my t*ts or we will never get it past the censor.' It is also believed that after David E. Scherman took the bathtub picture, Miller actually enjoyed a bath in the tub and slept in Hitler's bed. Kate Winslet was almost caught out using risque language on the BBC to describe a famous photo of Hitler's bathtub The actress joined Laura Kuenssberg for her Sunday morning show to discuss her upcoming film Lee, about American photographer Lee Miller, a fashion model who became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II The 48-year-old was describing a photo of Lee herself sitting naked in Hitler's bathtub at the end of WWII, in which she claims Lee said: 'Make sure you frame out my t*ts or we will never get it past the sensor' Born in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1907, Miller started out as a model after a chance meeting with Vogue's owner, tycoon Conde Nast. When Nast put her on the cover of the March 1927 issue, Miller's star was firmly on the rise. But in 1929, her modelling career took a blow when her image was used in a menstrual pad advert. She opted to travel to Paris, where she apprenticed herself to the surrealist artist and photographer Man Ray, who became her lover. Her work would later take her across the whole of Europe, working for the Allied forces and teaming up with fellow American photographer David E. Scherman, a correspondent for Life magazine. Miller's shocking images of the dead and dying at Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps after their liberation by Allied troops sealed her status as one of the most important photographers of the 20th century. This single boot with discarded ammunition next to it seems to give a full picture of the chaos and destruction following the Siege of Saint Malo in France. Female war correspondents were not allowed near the front line, but Miller broke that rule Miller's photo of women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service operating a searchlight battery at South Mimms, Hertfordshire, during the Second World War. After this picture had been taken, raiders came over and raked the battery with machine fire Winslet went on to add 'life is too short' to worry about physical appearance after she was allegedly told to sit up to hide 'belly rolls' on the set of her latest film. She said she thought the comments were 'absolutely bizarre' because her character's body 'would be soft', adding she intends to 'live my life' and 'enjoy it' rather than worry about her appearance. She said: 'It's interesting how much people do like labels for women. 'And they very much liked them in Lee's day, and, annoyingly, they sort of still do - we slap these labels on women that we just don't have for men. It's absolutely bizarre to me. 'It was my job to be like Lee. She wasn't lifting weights and doing Pilates, she was eating cheese, bread and drinking wine and not making a big deal of it, so of course her body would be soft. 'But I think we're so used to perhaps not necessarily seeing that and enjoying it - the instinct, weirdly, is to see it and criticise it or comment on it in some way. 'And people were saying 'God, how wonderful, you know. She's saying that she doesn't care about her body'. 'I was talking about the character that I'm playing, but of course I don't care. 'But it was through the conversation about playing Lee... and I think my point is that, as women, we so need to be having that conversation and just celebrating just being a real shape and being soft and maybe having a few extra rolls. 'Life is too short, do you know? I don't want to look back and go 'Why did I worry about that thing?' And so, guess what? I don't worry anymore. I don't care. 'I'm just going to live my life, going to enjoy it, get on with it. You've got one go around - make the most of it.' Winslet went on to add 'life is too short' to worry about physical appearance after she was allegedly told to sit up to hide 'belly rolls' on the set of her latest film She said she thought the comments were 'absolutely bizarre' because her character's body 'would be soft' Winslet began her acting career at the age of 15 in 1991 BBC children's TV series Dark Season, before soaring to international fame with 1997's Titanic Kuenssberg asked Winslet if she still wants social media companies to 'stand up and do something' about the impact on children and families, as she had after starring in Channel 4's I Am Ruth, a film about a family whose lives are turned upside down by social media. The actress replied: 'I do still think 'Stand up and do something'. 'I'm just finding it staggering that more isn't being done. It's an extraordinary thing as an actor - sometimes when you can just open that door to a conversation, and I was overwhelmed by how much we really did ignite debate. 'There has been this real upswell in communities and, in fact, entire towns, it turns out, in this country, where they are making them social media or even smartphone-free zones for children, under-16s. 'And that's why we made I Am Ruth, it's because I was realising that so many people I was coming across and hearing about their awful, sad stories. They just felt so isolated and alone and shameful, thinking 'Oh my God, it's just me, how has this happened to me, to my child?' 'So I do think it's changing. I'm hoping it will change a lot more, but hopefully little by little we might get there.' Winslet began her acting career at the age of 15 in 1991 BBC children's TV series Dark Season, before soaring to international fame with 1997's Titanic. She has gone on to win an Oscar, a Grammy, two Emmy Awards, and five Baftas. Lee will be released in UK cinemas on Friday September 13. Confronting CCTV has emerged of a Good Samaritan being stabbed multiple times after rushing to the aid of a woman who had been assaulted. The man, 44, remains in hospital after he was repeatedly stabbed along the main strip of Liverpool in Sydney's south-west early Sunday morning. CCTV captured on Macquarie Street around 2.22am showed a man running into shot followed by a woman who attempted to grab him before he pushed away. Police allege the man earlier assaulted the woman in a parked car before the Good Samaritan, who was not known to the pair, intervened. The Good Samaritan is captured on the CCTV as he spotted the man and woman tussling near a car. He took off his jacket and walked over to break up the altercation. The man was seen getting a knife out of his car before the approaching the Good Samaritan, who was stabbed several times. The Good Samaritan flees clutching at his wounds as the knifeman gives chase but stumbles to the ground. In the CCTV footage, a man and a woman are seen in an altercation in Liverpool's Macquarie Street moments before a Good Samaritan stepped in to intervene Shocked bystanders rush to the aid of the wounded man as his attacker leaves the scene in a White Honda Accord. Emergency services treated the Good Samaritan for multiple stab wounds before was taken to Liverpool Hospital in a stable condition. A crime scene was established and an investigation launched into the matter. The woman involved in the incident is helping police with their inquiries. She was uninjured. The alleged knifeman remains on the run. The Good Samaritan (pictured being help by bystanders) was stabbed multiple times Police are determined to hunt the knifeman down. 'These crimes are disturbing for the community but be assured that we are doing everything we can and using every resource we can' Chief Inspector Rob Duncan told reporters 'If there is no justifiable reason to have a knife on you, you will be facing a substantial prison sentence.' Police urge anyone with information or dashcam to come forward. The British Army has recruited Terminator-style robots to help train soldiers in battleground scenarios. The machines, created with the same-size head and torso as an average male, are able to speak and react to soldiers as they are fitted with AI software Chat GPT. If the soldier becomes angry, the robot, called SimStriker, can become hostile and fire BB pellets from its abdomen. In contrast, a calmer soldier will help control the situation. In one battleground scenario, soldiers must face SimStriker in a village where locals need food, electricity and medical supplies, The Telegraph reports. The robot will react differently depending on whether the soldier decides to help the locals. The British Army has recruited Terminator-style robots to help train soldiers in battleground scenarios The machines, created with the same-size head and torso as an average male, are able to speak and react to soldiers as they are fitted with AI software Chat GPT It comes amid a move to use better technology and AI to prepare for complex future warfare. Pictured: Soldiers in Salisbury demonstrate the EXO Insight glasses which are an eye tracking virtual behaviour monitoring system Army trainers can also manually alter the robot's mood from a control room if they want to make the scenario more challenging for the soldier. It is an unprecedented breakthrough in technology for the army, who can now train its soldiers against a 'thinking' enemy. Soldiers are used to training with static wooden targets. The SlimStriker project, which started in 2020 and is in use at 16 Air Assault Brigade in Colchester, has seen robots fitted with sensors capable of recording the precision and fire rate of soldiers. It also has a camera fitted in its forehead to allow it to detect motion and light. It then sends a signal for the robot to engage if a soldier walks in the room. When resting, it can burp to simulate a guard who isn't focused. And when active, it will say things such as 'Who's there?' and 'Stop' from a speaker in its collarbone. The robot was created by 4GD, a company launched by two former royal marines which trains soldiers using virtual reality and special effects. The robot is set to be developed even further to virtually simulate organs on its torso to make combat injuries look more realistic. The company has shared footage online of soldiers entering a room, where they are confronted with the robot. James Crowley, 4GD business development director, told The Telegraph: 'Although it gives the impression of a terminator, unlike the movie we aren't trying to subordinate soldiers to a robot. Rather, we want to use a robot to enhance the soldier. Soldiers are seen preparing to enter a room where an AI robot is lying on the other side 'We want to use it to bring the training environment as close to the operating environment as possible. That's why it shouts, talks and fires back. It is a leap forward in how the military can train for urban environments.' This is the latest AI move the army has made, having already used Capita to speed up the hiring of new soldiers using AI. AI software helps process prospective recruits' medical records provided alongside their application. Capita claims it can cut the time needed to process medical records by almost a third. It comes after the Ministry of Defence said last year that fewer troops will be needed on any future front lines because of the rise of AI. In its updated Defence Command Paper in July 2023, it said the conflict would 'change the way we think about the 'size' of our Armed Forces'. In July, MailOnline revealed that British soldiers will soon be aided by a 'game-changing' AI app that will sift through the huge volume of battlefield data and tell commanders how to defeat the enemy in record time. The state-of-the-art tech is currently in development, with military chiefs set to get their first taste of the kit during experimental trials later this year. Elon Musk has said that astronauts could land on Mars within just four years, as NASA faces pressure over its delayed plans to land on the moon. Space X will launch its first uncrewed Starships to Mars in two years when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens - which is the point at which Earth and Mars are closest - to test the reliability of landing intact on Mars. If these tests are successful, Space X, which Mr Musk founded in 2002, will launch crewed flights to Mars in four years. Mr Musk posted on X on Saturday: 'The first Starships to Mars will launch in two years when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens. 'These will be uncrewed to test the reliability of landing intact on Mars. If those landings go well, then the first crewed flights to Mars will be in four years. Space X founder Elon Musk (pictured) claimed astronauts could land on Mars within just four years The billionaire tweeted on X that Space X will launch its first uncrewed Starships to Mars in two years when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens The billionaire said in April that the first uncrewed starship to land on Mars would be within five years, with the first people landing on Mars within seven years. (Pictured, a stock photo of Mars) 'Flight rate will grow exponentially from there, with the goal of building a self-sustaining city in about 20 years.' He added that being multiplanetary will 'vastly increase the probable lifespan of consciousness' as we will no longer have our 'eggs' on one planet. The billionaire said in April that the first uncrewed starship to land on Mars would be within five years, with the first people landing on Mars within seven years. It comes after it was announced in January that NASA's planned manned trip to the moon, Artemis II, would be delayed until September 2025. Meanwhile, the eagerly anticipated follow-up, Artemis III, won't take place until September 2026. NASA cited safety concerns as the reason for the delays to its Artemis programme the successor to the Apollo programme of the 1960s and 1970s. Artemis II will send four astronauts on a trip around the moon and back home, while Artemis III will actually land humans on the lunar surface. If all goes to plan, Artemis III will mark the first time humans have walked on the moon since the Apollo 17 mission of December 1972. Mr Musk said being multiplanetary will 'vastly increase the probable lifespan of consciousness'. (A picture of a Falcon 9 rocket launching on August 28, 2024) NASA is relying heavily on private companies for its Artemis moon-landing program, including Elon Musk's company SpaceX. (Pictured, stock photo a Falcon 9 rocket is prepared for launch of Polaris Dawn) NASA's moon-landing effort has been delayed repeatedly over the past decade, adding billions of dollars to the cost. Government audits project the total programme costs at $93billion (73billion) through 2025. Giving a reason for the new delays, NASA administrator Bill Nelson said safety was a 'top priority' for the next stage of the programme. However, NASA is still pressing on with its mission and has recently given Intuitive Machines a $116.9 million deal to carry six agency science instruments to the lunar south pole in 2027. Chris Culbert, manager of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program at NASA's Johnson Space Center, said: 'The instruments on this newly awarded flight will help us achieve multiple scientific objectives and strengthen our understanding of the moon's environment. 'For example, they'll help answer key questions about where volatiles such as water, ice, or gas are found on the lunar surface and measure radiation in the South Pole region, which could advance our exploration efforts on the moon and help us with continued exploration of Mars.' Earlier this year, the Houston-based company successfully pulled off the first-ever private lunar landing. In February, a solar-powered craft called Odysseus touched down near the moon's south pole and operated for seven Earth days. This artist's depiction shows the Orion spacecraft - containing crew - while in lunar orbit during Artemis II Pictured, the crew of Artemis II, which was supposed to take place in 2024. Victor Glover (second from left) is the first person of colour selected for a moon trip, while Christina Koch (second from right) is the first woman. They have been chosen alongside Reid Wiseman (left) from Baltimore, Maryland and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen (right) A second trip is expected later this year atop Space X's Falcon 9 rocket to carry a NASA payload called PRIME-1 (Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1) to hunt for water ice. Intuitive Machines plans to launch the IM-3 moon mission next year and the new contract will support the company's fourth lunar effort. All of these missions are an initiative that seeks to gather a wealth of moon data ahead of the planned arrival of astronauts later this decade via the Artemis programme. NASA is relying heavily on private companies for its Artemis moon-landing program, including Elon Musk's company SpaceX. For Artemis III, SpaceX's Starship mega rocket will be needed to get the first moonwalkers from lunar orbit down to the surface and back up. In June, a Starship rocket survived a fiery, hypersonic return from space and achieved a breakthrough landing demonstration in the Indian Ocean, completing a full test mission around the globe on the rocket's fourth try. Musk is counting on Starship to fulfil his goal of producing a large, multipurpose next-generation spacecraft capable of sending people and cargo to the moon later this decade, and ultimately flying to Mars. Keir Starmer blasted racist rioters who took to the streets after the Southport child murders today and warned they would not dictate government policy. The Prime Minister 'there was racism there' as he was asked about the motives of those who took to the streets after three young girls were killed on July 29. In a BBC interview the PM acknowledged that people have strong views on immigration, but that he was 'not prepared to tolerate that sort of disorder'. On Friday a far-right thug who helped set fire to a hotel filled with asylum seekers during a copycat riot in Rotherham was jailed for nine years - the longest prison sentence handed out yet. Thomas Birley, 27, pleaded guilty to arson with intent to endanger life after he stoked a fire in a bin by an entranceway to the Holiday Inn Express on August 4. Sir Keir also said he was concerned by the resurgence of the far-right in Germany and France, saying they offered 'the snake oil of the easy answer'. In a wide-ranging interview he also defended cuts to the winter fuel allowance for pensioners saying he was willing to make 'unpopular' decisions, and accused the last Tory government of leaving the NHS 'broken'. The Prime Minister spoke out as the courts continue to hand out hefty prison terms to those arrested three young girls were killed on July 29. In a BBC interview the PM acknowledged that people have strong views on immigration, but that he was 'not prepared to tolerate that sort of disorder'. The Prime Minister also said he did not think Britain was a racist country, and pointed to the 'decent' people who joined clean-up efforts following August's unrest. Hundreds of people have now been through the court system for riot-related offences, after clashing with police and attacking hotels housing asylum seekers, among other actions. The Prime Minister told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg there was 'racism there' during the unrest in the early weeks of August, adding: 'Yes I accept that across the country people have strong views about things like immigration. 'I accept that, but I am not prepared to tolerate that sort of disorder under any circumstances. 'Nor will I change Government policy one bit as a result of that sort of violence.' The actions of Birley - who previously posted on social media 'I can't be racist because my wife has two black eyes' - and his fellow rioters caused those inside the hotel to fear for their lives, and staff were so afraid they barricaded themselves inside a panic room, the court heard. The self-described 'God's gift to decorating' has previous convictions including criminal damage, attacking emergency workers and racially aggravated harassment. Birley, who had also pleaded guilty to violent disorder and possessing an offensive weapon, was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court by Judge Jeremy Richardson, who said his actions were 'suffused with racism from beginning to end'. Thomas Birley (pictured), 27, pleaded guilty to arson with intent to endanger life after he stoked a fire in a bin by an entranceway to the Holiday Inn Express near Rotherham on August 4 Sir Keir said he did not think Britain was a 'racist country' but one of 'decent people, tolerant people'. 'The real Britain was the people who came out the day after in Southport. It was incredible, people came out with their trowels, with their brooms, they cleaned up, they rebuilt. 'They are the real face of Britain and that is the Britain that I think is essential to reuniting and bringing this country back together.' Sir Keir shared concerns about the rise of far-right political parties across Europe, pointing to recent victories by Alternative For Germany (AfD) in German regional elections, and the gains by Marine le Pen's National Rally in the French parliament. Birley, pictured with the red face covering, threatened officers with a police baton in 'grotesque' violence that left staff at the Rotherham hotel fearing for their lives, the court heard He told the BBC: 'I am worried about the rise of the far right. 'I mean, we can see what is happening in Germany with the recent election, see what is happening in France and other countries. 'I am worried about the far right because it is the snake oil of the easy answer. 'I am convinced that the answer to it is delivery in Government.' The hard-right AfD has insisted they should be included in state coalition talks after securing 32.8 per cent of last weekend's vote in Thuringia in eastern Germany. They also came a close second in neighbouring Saxony, taking home 30 per cent of the vote after the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Alice Weidel, the AfD's national co-leader, has called on opponents not to freeze the party out, insisting 'firewalls are undemocratic'. And fellow co-leader Tino Chrupalla said there would be 'no politics without the AfD'. Bjoern Hoecke, the AfD's top candidate in Thuringia, where the Nazi party first came to power in 1930, hailed the 'historic result' after securing 32.8 per cent of last weekend's vote in German state elections Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SDP) walked away with just 6.1 and 7.3 per cent of votes in Thuringia and Saxony respectively Bjoern Hoecke, the AfD's top candidate in Thuringia, where the Nazi party first came to power in 1930, hailed the 'historic result'. 'We need change and change will only come with the AfD,' said Mr Hoecke, who was twice fined this year for using a banned Nazi slogan at political events. The Prime Minister and Chancellor Rachel Reeves are also mired in the first controversy of his premiership over the decision to make the 300 handouts means-tested. As many as 30 of his own MPs could ignore threats to strip them off the whip and refuse to back the plan in a Tory-organised vote in the Commons on Tuesday. One, York MP Rachael Maskell, has already warned that the decision could lead to 'excess deaths' this winter. As many as 30 of his own MPs could ignore threats to strip them off the whip and refuse to back the plan in a Tory-organised vote in the Commons on Tuesday. Yesterday, Labour backbencher Rosie Duffield told Radio 4's Today programme she intended to abstain. And at the same time peers are set to attempt to kill off the change in the House of Lords, led by former Tory peer Baroness Altmann, who branded it 'one of the worst decisions I have ever seen'. And Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield, a long-term Starmer critic, suggested that it would be 'shameful' for MPs earning 91,346 a year to cut aid to elderly people living on about 13,000 a year. At the same time peers are set to attempt to kill off the change in the House of Lords, led by former Tory peer Baroness Altmann, who branded it 'one of the worst decisions I have ever seen'. In a key Commons vote, the Government will seek approval for plans to stop the payments to about ten million pensioners. Ms Reeves has justified the shock cut as necessary to combat an alleged 22 billion blackhole left by the previous Tory Government. But the move has angered many Labour MPs amid warnings that cutting the payments, which are worth up to 300, would lead to 'excess deaths' this winter. Embarrassingly for the Prime Minister, union leaders at this week's TUC conference are also set to vote on the policy on the same day he addresses the event. This morning he said he is prepared to be 'unpopular' to get things done. He said the previous Tory administration had 'run away from difficult decisions'. 'I'm absolutely convinced we will only deliver that change, I'm absolutely determined we will, if we do the difficult things now. I know they're unpopular, I know they're difficult, of course they're tough choices,' he said. 'But it's a bit like building a house: if you know your foundations are rotten, if you know you've got damp or cracks, you can paint over it and pretend that you've got a beautiful new house and within six months it all falls apart. 'Or you can say, ''we're going to strip it down, we're going to fix the foundations,'' and what then will happen this is where the hope is there, what then happens is you've got a much better house at the end of the exercise, a country built to last, and that's what I'm determined I'm going to bring about in the time that we've got in office.' A review by eminent surgeon and independent peer Lord Darzi due to be published on Thursday is expected to highlight how children are being let down by the health service. It is expected to show that 175,000 children are waiting between six months and a year for treatment and 35,000 more than a year, the Sunday Times reported. Additionally, it will show 100,000 infants waited more than six hours to be seen in accident and emergency departments last year, with waiting times for the under-twos rising 60 per cent in the past 15 years. It is also likely to pinpoint falling vaccination rates, and rises in ADHD medication and in eating disorder-related hospital admissions for children. The Prime Minister claimed the health service's problems stem from 'the money that was taken out of the NHS, particularly in the early years of the coalition from 2010 onwards, the (Andrew) Lansley reforms, which were hopelessly misconceived. And then, of course, Covid on top of all that, which has put us in this awful position for the NHS'. A 'rogue' children's doctor who treated 721 children at Great Ormond Street Hospital, leaving some with serious injuries, different leg lengths and even requiring amputations is continuing to operate on unsuspecting patients in Dubai, MailOnline can reveal. Former NHS surgeon Yaser Jabbar, 43, stopped treating patients at the hospital in 2022, after concerns were raised about his work, before moving to the Middle East and claiming to be one of the most sought-after doctors in his field. Now he is living in Dubai where he speaks about his 'expertise' at conferences and continues to operate on children at the Clemenceau Medical Center and at hospitals for orthopaedics specialists Orthocure, their websites show. Great Ormond Street has launched an urgent review of all the youngsters treated by Jabbar in its orthopaedic department after colleagues and the families of his patients complained about his conduct. Out of just 37 children treated by Jabbar at the hospital who have already been assessed, 22 of them have come to some degree of harm with 13 classed as severe harm, according to The Sunday Times, which received leaked documents from a review by the hospital. One child needed to have a leg amputated following a surgery carried out by Jabbar and another is facing the threat of amputation. Some have been left with different length legs, in some cases by as much as 20cm, while other injuries include muscle damage and nerve injuries. Yaser Jabbar, 43, is living in Dubai where he speaks about his 'expertise' at conferences and continues to operate on children at the Clemenceau Medical Center and at hospitals for orthopaedics specialists Orthocure Jabbar treated 721 children while working at Great Ormond Street Hospital, a report has revealed But despite leaving the London hospital facing a storm of complaints, Jabbar seems to have continued his career with no interruptions in Dubai. He is due to speak next week at a Dubai medical conference, the MENA International Orthopaedics Congress. Announcing him as a speaker in July, organisers encouraged attendees to register for the event, saying: 'Join us to gain knowledge from his wealth of experience!' That 'wealth of experience' ended with Jabbar taking an 11-month sabbatical before leaving the hospital altogether as concerns mounted over his treatments. He is accused of carrying out an unknown number of unnecessary and harmful surgeries on children as young as four-months old. A confidential report into his work found young patients were subjected to procedures that were not beneficial or justified. In May, he spoke at another conference in Dubai where he discussed the role of AI in healthcare. Posting on social media, Jabbar said at the time: 'Healthcare is in crisis almost universally and presents unique challenges for the personnel journey. 'Hopefully, by sharing the experiences of myself and others we can have a small but profound impact, starting in a region that still has so much to offer. 'Let's not repeat the mistakes of others, but learn and forge a new way'. Jabbar continues to operate on both adult and children at the Clemenceau Medical Center (CMC) and is also listed as a consultant at Orthocure, both in Dubai. CMC describes Jabbar as 'internationally sought for both adult and paediatric trauma and reconstruction, and is considered a leading figure in the region.' Jabbar has been paraded at various professional conferences around Dubai Pictured: A male leg with an Ilizarov's external fixator on it - many of the concerns over Jabbar's surgery came from this type of procedure Describing his career, it adds Jabbar was 'recognised for his expertise and appointed as a consultant limb reconstruction surgeon at the world-renowned Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.' It makes no mention of the reasons for his departure. Orthocure also heaps praise on Jabbar, describing him as 'internationally sought after' with more than 20 years of clinical experience. It claims he has a 'sizable international and embassy patient base'. While Jabbar has moved away from UK jurisdiction, parents of his patients at Great Ormond Street have said they are 'very upset' with the treatment that their children received under Jabbar's care. One father of a six-year-old boy said his child suffered 'terrible pain' after undergoing a lower limb reconstruction in July 2021. This procedure involved surgically breaking the bone, then inserting metal rings, known as Ilizarov frames, and tension wires to hold the leg in place. He said that he raised concerns when a different frame was used during the operation. 'After a couple of days the frame became loose and my child was in a lot of pain. You could feel the bone in his leg, which felt out of position, like it wasn't lined up and was protruding the wrong way,' the father told The Times. 'We tried to raise our concerns repeatedly through the official complaints procedure, and I copied the clinical director into many emails, but heard nothing back', he added. Great Ormond Street has launched an urgent review of all the youngsters treated by former surgeon Yaser Jabbar, 43, (pictured) in its orthopaedic department The front entrance of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children where Yaser Jabbar worked as an consultant orthopaedic surgeon The father said the initial investigation that was carried out left him feeling as if everything was being 'brushed under the carpet' which was 'very upsetting'. He said his child was in 'terrible pain' and was forced to undergo more surgeries to correct 'errors' made in the initial operation. A review of the youngster's case found Jabbar's surgery was 'incorrect and unsuitable' for the patient. An investigation by the hospital comes following a confidential investigation by the Royal College of Surgeons who produced a damning report on Jabbar's practices earlier this year. It said he had shown 'unacceptable and unprofessional behaviour', which included being aggressive towards colleagues. During his UK career Jabbar worked across several different hospitals and also travelled abroad to perform operations. Social media posts show he also participated in teaching exercises at universities including Imperial. It is understood the concerns relate to lower limb reconstruction, which included limb-lengthening operations involving a clinical device called a Ilizarov frame. The metal apparatus, invented by Soviet physician Dr. Gavriil Abramovich Ilizarov, is composed of stainless steel rings which are fixed to the bone with wires and pins and is gradually stretched to lengthen the bones. The functions of the apparatus were derived from the mechanics of a shaft bow on a horse's harness. Jabbar left Great Ormond Street last September after an 11-month sabbatical that he took after concerns were raised about his practices. Jabbar left Great Ormond Street last September after an 11-month sabbatical that he took after concerns were raised about his practices A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children said: 'We are committed to learning from every single patient that we treat, and to being open and transparent with our families when care falls below the high standards we strive for. 'Following concerns raised by our staff and families, we asked the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) to review our paediatric orthopaedic service. We accept the findings in full and are taking steps to act on all its recommendations. 'As part of the review, the RCS raised concerns around the practice of a surgeon who no longer works at the Trust, and other practice within the service. We are taking these concerns incredibly seriously. 'We have contacted all patients of the surgeon and a group of independent experts from other paediatric hospitals are reviewing the care of all the patients of this surgeon. We are incredibly sorry for the worry and uncertainty this review may cause them. 'There are a number of clear routes for staff to raise concerns the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian service, the Patient Safety team, any member of the Executive team and a Non-Executive Director with responsibility for Freedom to Speak Up. 'Despite thorough investigations, we can find no records of concerns being raised by any of these routes prior to June 2022. 'Staff made senior management aware of concerns in June 2022 and a fact-finding investigation started shortly after, with follow up actions and reviews to address immediate issues, leading us to contact the RCS within 18 working days from the point senior management were made aware to discuss commissioning an external review. 'Following the return of the reports from the RCS, our Orthopaedic Service Review Improvement Programme has since April 2024 been overseeing work to review the patients of the surgeon and wider service improvement work. We apologise to patients and families who have been impacted. 'Reviews into services or individuals are an important part of our work to ensure the quality and safety of our services. We will ensure that the all the findings of this review are addressed at pace, and we will reflect on any wider learnings around our culture. 'We have contacted all patients and families who have been impacted and where harm has been identified, discussed their cases with them under our duty of candour. To all of them, we wish to convey our sincere apologies.' Dr Jabbar, MENA, the CMC and Orthocure have been contacted for comment. Meghan Markle spoke at her close friend Oprah Winfrey's book club session last night in California where her husband's controversial memoir Spare was proudly on display. The Duchess, 43, was one of several 'light-filled' speakers who addressed the crowd at Goodmothers bookstore and gathering space in Summerland, located just miles from where she lives in Montecito. The star-studded event was attended by actor Marco Leone, astrology and psychology expert Dr Jennifer Freed, and author, teacher and psychic medium Laura Lynne Jackson, all of whom highlighted Meghan on their Instagram stories. Godmothers, co-owned by literary agent Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, just celebrated its grand opening weekend by hosting a slew of events and 'conversations' with celebrities and authors. The bookstore appears to be promoting several popular celebrity books including Meghan's children's book The Bench and Prince Harry's memoir, which can be found front-and-centre in the shop, on its 'hometown heroes' shelf. Harry, the son of King Charles, spent his entire life in Britain before relocating to the US with Meghan in 2020. Meghan Markle spoke at her close friend Oprah Winfrey's book club session last night at Goodmothers bookstore and gathering space in Summerland, California Prince Harry's controversial memoir Spare was proudly on display during last night's event Meghan appeared at the event last night, on the eve of the second anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's death. While it is unclear what the Duchess said in her address, the crowd appeared to be eating it up with Jackson branding Meghan as one of the evening's 'light-filled speakers'. Godmothers, which is concluding its grand opening weekend with events today, is seemingly proud of Meghan and Harry, whom the owner has hailed as a 'hometown hero'. Walsh, in a video promoting the store, has put Harry's memoir on display with a collection of books penned by local writers. Meghan's book The Bench, a picture book for children published in 2021, is also on the shelf. 'This is our local authors shelf when you first walk in,' she said of the display. 'I want it to be when you first walk in so that authors who are local to the area know that this is their hometown bookstore. 'And we celebrate our hometown authors as if they were our hometown heroes, because to us they are.' Meghan watches on as her close friend Oprah Winfrey seemingly promotes a book during her book club session at Godmothers yesterday Meghan is met with an embrace as she takes the stage at the event Meghan's book The Bench, a picture book for children published in 2021, is also on the store's hometown heroes shelf It is not surprising that Meghan, who lives in the same city as Winfrey, was invited to the talk show host's book club session yesterday. Winfrey has been close friends with Meghan for several years now and was a guest at the royal wedding in May 2018. Their relationship appears to have grown even stronger over the years after the Sussexes moved into a $14million Montecito mansion, which is located just a stone's throw from Oprah's own sprawling home. Then, in March 2021, she sat down with the couple for a bombshell 85-miniute tell-all interview that aired on primetime TV, in which the couple aired a series of very damaging allegations about the royal family. She even publicly weighed in on whether she thought the should attend King Charles' Coronation in May 2023. 'I think they should do what they feel is best for them and their family. That's what I think,' she said on the CBS Mornings show ahead of the event, adding: 'They haven't asked me my opinion.' Harry ultimately attended the Coronation without Meghan and left immediately after the ceremony to return to California. Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in March 2021 Oprah Winfrey was a guest at the 2018 wedding of Meghan and Prince Harry. She is pictured arriving at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle before the nuptials In January 2020, the Sussexes fled the Royal Family and the UK to begin their new life in America, ostensibly to be far from press intrusion and media attention. But it didn't take them long to return to the public eye. Chatting in the sun-kissed garden of a Californian mansion - which turned out to owned by a friend of Oprah - then-heavily-pregnant Meghan described her time in the Royal Family as a nightmare that she'd barely survived. She claimed she had to turn over her passport, driver's licence, keys and other personal belongings when she moved into the cramped confines of Nottingham Cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace. 'I left the house twice in four months,' she told Oprah on March 7, 2021, adding, 'I couldn't feel lonelier.' She compared herself to Ariel, the main character in the Disney animated film The Little Mermaid, which sees a mermaid princess exchange her voice for legs in order to marry her prince. 'She falls in love with a prince and because of that she loses her voice,' Meghan said, alleging she had been 'silenced' by the family. She further claimed the situation had deteriorated to the point that she'd even contemplated suicide. Meghan alleged that Palace staff didn't offer her help when she went to them begging for support even though she was then six months pregnant with Archie. A tearful Meghan tells 'her truth' to Oprah Winfrey in the bombshell March 2021 interview that was watched by 50 million people Chatting in the sun-kissed garden of a Californian mansion - which turned out to owned by a friend of Oprah - Meghan described her time in the Royal Family as a nightmare that she'd barely survived The other bombshell was the Sussexes' suggestion that the Royal Family was collectively racist, pointing the finger at one - unnamed - member who, they alleged, had speculated about the colour of their son Archie's skin when Meghan was pregnant in a racist way. Harry, who looked tense during the interview, confirmed Meghan's accusation, saying he was the one who'd heard these comments and had told his wife. Harry and Meghan said they would not reveal who made the statement, with Meghan saying, 'I think that would be very damaging to them [to reveal].' Yet later on - in particular when Harry published his memoir, Spare - this particular controversy appeared to have been forgotten. The Duke and Duchess also raised eyebrows by claiming to have been officially married by the Archbishop of Canterbury three days before their actual wedding day in May 2018. Whatever did take place before the official ceremony at St George's Chapel, the Archbishop of Canterbury denied it was a wedding. Meghan used the interview to quash reports that she had made her sister-in-law Catherine, the then-Duchess of Cambridge, cry in the run-up to her wedding over Princess Charlotte's bridesmaid's outfit. In fact, said the Duchess of Sussex, the opposite was true, the Duchess of Cambridge was the one who made her cry. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex at San Basilio de Palenque during The Duke and Duchess of Sussex Colombia Visit on August 17, 2024 in Cartagena, Colombia Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex at the Escuela Tambores de Cabildo during The Duke and Duchess of Sussex Colombia Visit on August 17, 2024 in Cartagena, Colombia Harry didn't pull his punches where the Royal Family was concerned either. He accused members of The Firm of jealousy towards Meghan for the 'effortless' manner in which Meghan had captivated the public during their tour of the Commonwealth and 'how good she was at the job'. And for the first time he made it clear that he and Prince William were at odds saying that, 'he loved him to bits', but that, 'we're on different paths'. He also described the then Prince Charles and William as 'trapped'. 'They don't get to leave and I have compassion for that,' he said. What the members of the Royal Family feel about the interview isn't known as most of them have remained silent in response, but Prince William's own response to a reporter was simply the passing comment: 'We are very much not a racist family.' The Queen, who has since passed away, only released a statement hinting that the Sussexes account might not be the same as hers. 'The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,' Queen Elizabeth II said at the time. 'The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. 'Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.' A beloved father-of-two and business owner who died after a ferocious blaze ripped his warehouse has been remembered as the 'most honest, genuine and vivacious human'. Marine technician and businessman, Rob Lo Presti, was working at the marine engineering facility in O'Connor, in Perth's south-west on Saturday when the premises went up in flames after an explosion. He was trapped inside and couldn't be revived. Mr Lo Presti is survived by his wife Rebecca and two young children. Floral tributes were left for the avid fisherman alongside his coffee cup outside the guttered warehouse on Sunday. '(His) love of life was was noticeable to everyone who knew him and his infectious smile (was) like no other,' his grieving family said in a statement. 'He has left behind two amazing children who will live on in the memory of their loving father.' Perth father-of-two and businessman Rob Lo Presti (pictured) was killed in a ferocious factory fire on Saturday Two others were injured in the blaze which is being treated as a tragic accident by WA Police. The two-storey warehouse stored a range of petrol motors and engines, fuelling the fire which quickly engulfed the building. State premier Roger Cook said the fire appeared to be 'a tragic, horrible event'. 'I don't have any other details, but obviously that must have been very distressing for those first responders,' Mr Cook said on Sunday. 'We thank them for their for their work, and of course, we've had a loss of life too. He said emergency services were yet to determine the 'really sad' circumstances surrounding the fire. Rob Lo Presti is survived by his wife Rebecca and their two children The marine engineering business owner (pictured) was also an avid fisherman More than a dozen firefighters raced to the scene to put out the ferocious fire. Witness Candice Waugh told reporters she heard a loud bang before she saw smoke fly into the sky. 'We heard a big, big boom and felt a shockwave, a little bit of a tremor, through the ground,' she said. 'It sounded like a gas explosion, we could see black smoke coming out of the door.' WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services acting area manager Shaun Gilbert, said firefighters struggled to enter the factory. '(The fire was) very, very hot which did impede access into the building,' he told Nine News. 'No entry at the rear of the premises, either, so it did make it incredibly difficult to try and access the fire.' More than a dozen firefighters raced to the scene (pictured) to put out the fire which is understood to have been started by a gas leak Mr Gilbert said it seemed that 'some sort of fuel leak' had caused a vapour flash and explosion which led to the boat and factory going up in flames. Arson investigators returned to the site on Sunday to continue inquiries into what sparked the blaze. A report will be prepared for the coroner. A man once famous on TikTok for his Scarface impressions has learned his sentence after being convicted in May of killing his wife and her friend in San Diego in 2021. A California judge slapped Ali Abulaban, 32, with two consecutive life sentences without parole for the first degree murders of Ana Abulaban, 28, and her friend, Rayburn Barron, 29, plus 50 more years in prison for gun enhancement charges. Throughout the course of the trial, Abulaban never denied murdering his estranged wife and Barron, who were snuggled up together on a sofa in her San Diego apartment when they were shot. Judge Jeffrey Fraser said Abulaban committed a 'cold-blooded killing without remorse,' adding that his actions were 'chilling' and very selfish.' 'The bottom line here is he will die in prison,' Fraser said in court. 'He will never be a free man. He will take his last breath there.' Ali Abulaban shoots Judge Jeffrey Fraser an offended look after he tells him 'he will die in prison' Abulaban, left, claimed he was 'a drug-induced psychosis' when he barged in and killed Ana, pictured, and her friend This pronouncement from the judge got the entire courtroom to erupt in cheers and claps, almost identical to the reaction friends and family had when Abulaban was found guilty in May. Frustrated, Abulaban mimicked the crowd by clapping and mouthing an expletive. His bizarre behavior didn't end there, deciding to get into a screaming match with Ana's distraught sister while she was giving her victim impact statement, NBC San Diego reported. 'Ali, if I had known what my sister had been through with all that abuse, if I had known, if I had known!' she screamed, 'I would have flown again to see her and to take her and Amira from you.' Amira is the couple's daughter, who was just five years old when Abulaban committed the murders. 'You promised my mom that you would take good care of them like my parents did for Ana Marie and Amira back in the Philippines,' she said. 'But I had no idea that my sister's life would be miserable living with you. You treated my sister like she didnt matter, but she mattered.' Pictured: Ana's sister screamed at Abulaban before starting her victim impact statement Abulaban shouted right back at her, while his defense attorney tried to calm him down The family of Rayburn Barron, pictured, also gave victim impact statements Barron's family also took the stand to tell the court what he meant to them. They described him as caring and a family man who went out of his way to help others. 'We are often told that we are such a strong family for surviving this tragedy,' Barron's sister Lizbeth Baron said. 'But the reality is that this has been the most difficult thing we have ever experienced and many of us are left broken. The pain and trauma of losing our brother the way we did is so painful that we have difficulty living a normal and healthy life.' When it was his turn to address the victims, Abulaban pleaded with the judge and expressed regret for what he admitted to doing. He apologized to Ana's family members and claimed he was in 'a drug-induced psychosis' when he barged into her high-rise building on October 21, 2021. 'My response in that moment was an unintended impulsive reaction against my better judgment to the discovery of Ray's romantic involvement with my wife,' he said. 'Being sent to prison forever feels like Im being sent to hell, and I dont think thats fair.' The judge didn't buy his 'heat of passion' explanation, even citing how good of an actor he was from his Tony Montana impression videos. Judge Jeffrey Fraser, pictured, commented on Abulaban's Scarface videos and said, 'Any tears he's cried in this courtroom have been for himself' 'Firing within seconds of entering the apartment, clearly showing an intent to kill. Not heat of passion. Willful, deliberate, premeditated, cold-blooded murder. 'He is a very talented actor. When I saw the Scarface videos, it's as when if you committed these crimes, you became that persona of Scarface,' the judge said. 'Any tears he's cried in this courtroom have been for himself.' Abulaban, who has a history of domestic violence, was allegedly kicked out of the his and Ana's apartment at the Spire San Diego luxury apartment complex. He believed his wife was cheating on him with Barron, with San Diego Deputy District Attorney Taren Brast saying the couple had already been separated 'for quite some time' before that. After Ana told him to move out, prosecutors said he secretly made a copy of the apartment key so he could install a listening device on his five-year-old daughter's tablet. From there, prosecutors believe he snapped when he heard his estranged wife and another man talking. Security camera video showed him running out of the elevator on the 35th floor toward the apartment. Brast said Abulaban shot Barron three times at close range - in the neck, cheek and back of the head - before he turned the gun on his wife, shooting her once in the forehead. He then called his mother to confess, while also telling his daughter he 'hurt mommy.' Ana used to appear with some regularity in Abulaban's comedy videos on TikTok, where his now-deleted account once had more than 980 thousand followers. Liberals have hit out at Donald Trump after he vowed to prosecute election 'cheaters' if he wins in November. The former president threatened to target, 'lawyers, political operatives, donors, illegal voters and corrupt election officials' in a rant on Truth Social. It came as he reiterated his false claims about election fraud during his unsuccessful run for office in 2020. His remarks enraged left wing commentators, who accused the presidential hopeful of 'publicly promising to lock up his political enemies'. 'I together with many Attorneys and Legal Scholars, am watching the Sanctity of the 2024 Presidential Election very closely because I know, better than most, the rampant Cheating and Skullduggery that has taken place by the Democrats in the 2020 Presidential Election. It was a Disgrace to our Nation!' Trump wrote on Saturday. Donald Trump has vowed to prosecute election 'cheaters' if he wins in November 'Therefore, the 2024 Election, where Votes have just started being cast, will be under the closest professional scrutiny and, WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again.' 'We cannot let our Country further devolve into a Third World Nation, AND WE WONT! 'Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country.' Among those to hit back at his pledge was Kamala Harris spokesman, Ammar Moussa. 'Donald Trump told us he wants to be a dictator on day one. He said he wants to terminate the Constitution,' he wrote on X. 'Now he's publicly promising to lock up his political enemies. And, now, he has the blueprint and Supreme Court to let him do whatever he wants. Take him seriously.' Prominent Democrat lawyer Marc E. Elias, who recently joined Harris' team, blasted Trump as 'desperate' Prominent Democrat lawyer Marc E. Elias, who recently joined Harris' team, also joined the criticism. 'Donald Trump is desperate because he is going to lose this election,' he wrote. 'Let me be clear: We won't let Donald Trump intimidate us. We won't let him suppress the vote. We won't let him subvert the election. We won't let him cheat. We will fight and we will WIN.' Meanwhile liberal journalists including CNN's Edward-Isaac Dovere and NBC Capitol reporter Garret Haake expressed concern. 'A few days ago, Trump said he lost the 2020 race by a whisker. Now he is spending his Saturday evening vowing long term prison sentences for anyone responsible for him losing, if he wins again in November,' Dovere said. 'In a lengthy Truth Social post, Donald Trump escalates his threats to prosecute political opponents - now vowing long term prison sentences for anyone who cheated in the 2020 or 2024 election,' Haake wrote on X. Ammar Moussa warned Trump's threats should be taken 'seriously' and accused him of aspiring to become a dictator Trump is currently a defendant in two criminal trials over alleged election interference which he denies. He is accused of pressuring Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to try and find additional votes to overturn the result of the election in the state. He has also been accused of involvement in a plot to send fake electors to the Capitol to fraudulently declare him the winner in various states and pressuring his Vice President Mike Pence into accepting them over the electors certified by each state. Fans are asking about the whereabouts of famed reality TV star Julie Chrisley after the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) revealed she is no longer in their custody. The discovery was made last week, when a Reddit user posted a screenshot from the agency website showing how the former Atlanta resident - found guilty of financial crimes alongside husband Todd in 2022 - was no longer 'in BOP custody'. That still stands, after the US Marshals Service said Thursday the 51-year-old was in their custody, as she awaits re-sentencing in federal court. The agency handles the transport of federal prisoners, though her whereabouts remain unknown. There is a federal prison transfer facility in Atlanta, Georgia, and Chrisley is due in court September 25. It remains unclear why The Chrisley Knows Best star BOP custody so early, and the BOP declined to provide location information due to 'safety, security, or privacy' concerns. Fans are asking about the whereabouts of famed reality TV star Julie Chrisley - seen here just before her incarceration in 2023 - after the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) revealed she is no longer in their custody The discovery was made last week, when a reddit user posted a screenshot from the agency website showing how the former Atlanta resident - found guilty of financial crimes in 2022 - was no longer 'in BOP custody' 'Incarcerated individuals who were previously in FBOP custody and who have not completed their sentence may be outside FBOP custody for a period of time for court hearings, medical treatment, or other reasons,' a spokesperson said. The bureau's inmate locator still shows the convicted fraudster's release date as May 7, 2028. Her location, as of Sunday morning, says 'Not in BOP custody.' Daughter Savannah, who starred alongside her imprisoned parents and recently appeared at the RNC, spoke about the pair's criminal case on her podcast Tuesday, but did not mention her mother's whereabouts. During an episode in July, she revealed how the heat in Julie's Kentucky prison had caused her mother to become 'physically ill.' 'In the visitation room, thank goodness, there's air conditioning,' Savannah said about the alleged prison conditions at FMC (Federal Medical Center) in Lexington, 'But outside the visitation room, there is zero air conditioning. 'The heat index was 105, 110 and that's what Mom's living in - in conditions like that with absolutely no air. 'And it can be 100 degrees inside the building,' The 27-year-old continued. Julie and husband Todd were found guilty of 12 counts of financial crimes in 2022, before being sentenced to a combined 19 years in federal prison. The pair appeared for 10 years on Chrisley Knows Best Both sentences have since been reduced, after an appeals court found a judge in the 2022 trial miscalculated them. Julie's sentence, 'She literally said that she got physically sick because she got so hot. 'So, you have these women who are suffering from heat exhaustion and they're passing out. But yet, there's service dogs that have air conditioning,' Savannah said. 'None of it makes sense to me. 'It is so beyond inhumane that you cannot make it up. And it's tough.' Airing the comments days before appearing at the RNC in Milwaukee to bash the Biden Administration for her parents' imprisonment, she added: 'Mom is super excited for visitation because she got to be in an air-conditioned room. 'It makes me realize how much we take for granted.' Her parents were found guilty of 12 counts of financial crimes in 2022, before being sentenced to a combined 19 years in early 2023. Both sentences have since been reduced, after an appeals court found a judge in the 2022 trial miscalculated them. Daughter Savannah, who starred alongside her imprisoned parents and recently appeared at the RNC, spoke about the pair's criminal case on her podcast Tuesday, but did not mention her mother's whereabouts During an episode in July, she revealed how the heat in Julie's Kentucky prison - seen here - had caused her mother to become 'physically ill.' She had been imprisoned at the FMC (Federal Medical Center) in Lexington after being convicted in 2022 of bank fraud and tax evasion Then, in June, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated Julie's sentence, due to insufficient evidence linking her to financial crimes feds had said she committed before 2007. The court did still affirm the lower court's guilty ruling for the party, paving the way for Julie to be resentenced by the lower courts this month. Patriarch Todd, meanwhile, is still set to serve out the duration of his now-10-year sentence for defrauding banks with fraudulent loans and conspiring to commit fraud against the IRS until January 2033. As of writing, he will not be resentenced. Both made their name on Chrisley Knows Best, which premiered in 2014. It followed Todd, an Atlanta-based, self-made millionaire, and the family's various exploits. It came to abrupt close in 2023 following the couple's convictions, which came after an in-depth probe from the Department of Justice. Julie's hearing is still slated for September 25,where she will receive a new sentence for her bank fraud and tax evasion. DailyMail.com has reached out to the BOP and US Marshal Service for an update. Jeremy Clarkson has revealed he is likely losing '10 per customer' at his new pub in the Cotswolds because of his strict business model. The Farmer's Dog which open its doors last month only uses produce from Great Britain - this includes even the less obvious seasonings such as pepper and salt - all in the hopes of further supporting British farmers. However, this has left the former Top Gear presenter in a bit of a pickle as he quickly discovered the significantly higher costs for home-grown products. For example an imported kilo of black pepper costs 10 but the British alternative costs ten times more. The TV star said he hoped to make a success of The Farmers Dog but added using only British produce meant that profit margins would be much lower. Jeremy Clarkson has revealed he is likely losing '10 per customer' at his Cotswold pub because of his strict business model The Farmer's Dog which open its doors last month only uses produce from Great Britain - this includes even the less obvious seasonings such as pepper and salt - all in the hopes of further supporting British farmers He said using pork from his Diddly Squat farm would cost 0.74p to turn into sausage to be sold at the pub. But if he used imported pig meat it would be 0.18p. It costs us 0.74p to get a sausage into here, but if I buy imported pig meat it is 0.18. There is something wrong with the food system in this country,. As well as his financial woes, Clarkson revealed he has created a VIP bar at the pub, but it is just for farmers. The 64-year-old former Top Gear presenter said that only agricultural workers were allowed in the 'upstairs bar' at his boozer, called The Farmer's Dog. Speaking today, Clarkson - who runs the 1,000 farm Diddly Squat in nearby Chadlington, just 12 miles from the pub - said staff found it easy to recognise who was a farmer and who wasn't. More than 400 people waited hours to be the first to enter Clarkson's new pub A board placed outside The Farmer's Dog stating the everything inside Clarkson's new pub is grown and raised in Great Britain He said the 'guys at the upstairs bar' had no problems with knowing who their punters were, adding: 'Only farmers (are) allowed in here. 'Many asked how we'd be able to tellyou just can.' He said, however, that when the pub opened its doors for the first time last month, he quizzed a bloke trying to get into the upstairs VIP bar. Writing in The Sunday Times today, Clarkson said: 'On the morning of our soft opening, someone whose wardrobe was pretty convincing did go up the stairs. 'His shoes, though, were wrong, so I asked him 'What's glyphosate?*he said 'Weedkiller', and I let him past. 'But Kaleb (Cooper) still wasn't convinced. How many acres are there in a hectare?' he asked, the man replied 'Er twelve?' - 'Out', Kaleb ordered.' There are 2.47 acres in a hectare. People waited patiently for a taste of his 6 pint of Hawkstone beer or the chance to tuck into an 18 plate of sausage and mash at the opening. However, one disgruntled Instagram user slammed the prices as 'sick' and said: 'Really necessary to charge those prices? Absolutely ripping people off because it's on TV.' Soap on sale in The Farmer's Dog A wide variety of Diddly Squat Farm products were on sale at a pop up shop in the grounds of The Farmers Dog pub But Clarkson defended the prices and said: 'Every single thing was grown by British farmers, even the black pepper and sugar!' But buying directly from local producers and guaranteeing fair pay for British farmers means an increase in price for pub customers. Hawkstone IPA, Hawkstone Premium, Hawkstone Hedgerow Cider, and Hawkstone Cider all come in at 6 a pint, a half-pint will set punters back 3.10. Hawkstone Session Lager comes in at the fractionally cheaper cost of 5.50 per pint, which is the same price for a Hawkstone Pils, Hawkstone Breeze, and cask ale - halves of which are 2.90. The pub also sells cans of alcohol-free Hawkstone Spa lager for 3.10. Along with steak pie and mash (19), other main courses include gammon steak (19), sausages and mash (18), as well as a vegetable and cheddar crumble (15). Puddings cost around 8 with both apple crumble and cheesecake on the menu. An influential evangelist preacher from the Philippines accused of sex trafficking and sexual abuse has been arrested, the interior minister said on Sunday. Apollo Quiboloy, self-proclaimed 'owner of the universe' and 'appointed son of god', is wanted on charges of child and sexual abuse and related allegations of human trafficking. He has denied wrongdoing. 'Apollo Quiboloy has been caught,' Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said on his Facebook page, without specifying how or where he had been. Pictured: Apollo Quiboloy, head of The Kingdom of Jesus Christ, a non-Catholic religious group and spiritual adviser Apollo Quiboloy (L) welcomes senator and presidential candidate Manuel Villar (C) and his vice-presidential candidate Loren Legarda in 2010 Supporters of Apollo Quiboloy hold a prayer rally at a park in Manila on March 4, 2024 The pastor is also on the FBI's 'most wanted' list in the United States on separate charges of sex trafficking and bulk cash smuggling, over which he has also denied wrongdoing. Over 2,000 police were deployed last month to search a sprawling compound in the southern city of Davao owned by Quiboloy's church, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), on suspicion that he was hiding there in a bunker. Quiboloy is followed by millions of people in the Philippines, where church leaders hold heavy sway in politics. He is a longtime friend of former president Rodrigo Duterte. Twin toddlers were found dead in the back of their family's hot car after being 'accidentally left in the vehicle for an extended period of time.' Ariel and Avery, aged two, were found around 3pm Thursday in Norman, Oklahoma. An unnamed family member had started driving the white car, before turning around and realizing that the twins were dead in the backseat. Officers pronounced the children dead at the scene after being called for a wellness check. Police are still investigating how or why they were left in the scorching car. On that day, the temperature in the area was about 90F outside. According to the National Weather Service, a vehicle can reach up to 120F in just 30 minutes when it is 88F outside. Twin toddlers, Ariel and Avery, were found dead inside a hot car around 3pm Thursday in Norman, Oklahoma The two-year-olds were found after the Norman Police Department responded to a welfare check request made by a driver who discovered the car stopped in the 1000 block of W Brooks Street. (Pictured: Ariel and Avery with their father Marshall Suter) 'We would have had to determine that there was probable cause indicating a willful negligence directly linking them to the death of those children, and at this time, the investigation is just showing us that its far more an accident,' Sarah Schettler with the Normal Police Department told KOCO 5. Police are not currently recommending charges and said the family is cooperating with the investigation. Officials said the family member had set off for a journey in the car when they suddenly noticed Ariel and Avery were dead in the back seat of the vehicle. Cops believe the children had been in the car all day - but the timeline of events is still unclear. Early on Sunday, the children's father Marshall Suter took to Facebook and posted: 'I can't believe this,' as family and friends showed their support. Katherine Dawson, Ariel and Avery's mother, also took to social media on Saturday about their tragic deaths. 'I know at this time lots of people are wanting to reach out and be there for us. Both Marshall and I are struggling more than imaginable. 'We ask that you please respect that we need some space right now while we process and grieve. 'If you need to reach us we have lots of family on both sides that can get in contact with us,' Katherine said. Suter and Dawson, who share four children together including Ariel and Avery, often post loving photos of their kids on social media - commemorating birthdays and holidays. Officers soon located the vehicle (pictured) and pronounced the girls dead at the scene. Police are still investigating why they were left in the scorching car Andrew Kabara, a neighbor in the area, said cars often park on the street because a lot of parents drop off students at McKinley Elementary School or the University of Oklahoma - a couple blocks from where the toddlers were found. 'We pay attention to most of them,' Kabara told The Oklahoman. 'This is a close-knit neighborhood, and we want to know who's coming through here and all of that, but never thought something like this,' he added. The girls were described as 'precious little babies' On the day the girls' were discovered Kabara said he grew worried after he spotted multiple cars pull up across the street. 'We feel for the children who passed and their parents and the rest of their family. 'We can't imagine. After we heard it [Friday] morning, our hearts just broke that they were just two little kids across the street from us. 'That just broke our hearts. We can't believe something happened so close. It's a shame,' Kabara said, adding that their deaths were 'a tragic mistake.' Flowers have been placed on the lawn near where Ariel and Avery were found. A GoFundMe page was created by Kourtnee Usey, the cousin of Marshall Suter, the girls' father. 'All funds will be used to give these precious little babies the funeral they deserve, and take some weight off of this fathers shoulders after dealing with such a tragic and HEARTBREAKING loss,' Kourtnee wrote. 'No one truly knows the pain of losing a child until you are going through it.' As of Sunday night, the page raised more than $3,700. The twins are seen with their mother Katherine Dawson (right) and their other siblings in December 2023 Police are not currently recommending charges and said the family is cooperating with the investigation DailyMail.com contacted the Norman Police Department. The horrific incident marks the first heat-related child death in the state this year. A three-year-old boy was found dead inside a roasting SUV on August 13 after his father abandoned him to go shopping. The child died inside an SUV in the parking lot of a supermarket in Kalamazoo County, Michigan when his father stopped there after work. The Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office is treating the death as a heat-related incident. Temperatures in Vicksburg, a village in Kalamazoo County where the death took place, reached the mid-80s that day. With just two months until Election Day, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump enter the final stretch with a nonsignificant polling split. But despite the tiny gap, the results show a shifting back towards the former president after Harris entered the race at the end of July. Just two days until the presidential nominees' first debate, a New York Times/Siena College poll puts Trump 1 percent ahead of the vice president 48 percent to 47 percent within the survey's 3-point margin of error. The latest was conducted September 3-6 and is largely unchanged from the same national survey of likely voters taken in late July after President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign and endorsed his No. 2. Notably, the polling suggests that despite Harris' 'honeymoon phase,' support for Trump's bid for a second, nonconsecutive White House term remains strong. Donald Trump leads Kamala Harris by one point in latest NYT/Siena Polling The national outcome is largely in-line with how Americans are feeling in the seven swing states key to winning the 2024 election. Of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the preference of Trump and Harris still falls within the margin of error of likely voters and they are even tied in some of the states. Trump and Harris are neck-and-neck in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina at 48 percent each. Then Harris squeaks ahead Pennsylvania by 1 point and 2 points in fellow rustbelt battlegrounds of Michigan and Wisconsin. Overall, the latest results reveal a tight race where the outcome still alludes some of the most experienced political scientists, pollsters and experts in the homestretch of the election. On Tuesday, September 10, Harris and Trump will meet on stage in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for a debate hosted by ABC News their first head-to-head. Donald Trump's support is holding strong in national polling But when broken down by battleground swing states, Trump is either tied with Harris or the vice president pulls ahead by one or two points Biden's debate with Trump in late June is ultimately what led to the President's demise in the 2024 election because the disastrous performance led to a chorus of calls from within the Democratic Party for him to step aside for Harris to take over. There are only eight weeks until Election Day on November 5 in the shortest presidential race in modern American history after Harris entered the race on July 21. Many MAGA supporters and Republicans claim that Harris' polling and enthusiasm bump are part of a honeymoon phase and feel it will wear off before voters cast their ballots. But mail-in ballots are already going out to voters in some states for early and absentee voting. Eamonn Holmes has landed in Spain for a late summer getaway with his new girlfriend after his split from Ruth Langsford. The broadcaster, 64, travelled to country with Katie Alexander, 42, to go on a sun-soaked Mediterranean cruise months after his 14-year marriage collapsed in May. The couple, who were revealed to be dating after the split, flew from Heathrow Airport this morning before landing in Barcelona for the luxury holiday. Eamonn, who has struggled with back problems in recent years, was seen driving a mobility scooter through the terminal while Katie pushed their luggage and a walking frame. They were later seen at the Port of Barcelona where they were seen laughing and joking with other cruise passengers. Eamonn Holmes and Katie Alexander talk to a fellow passenger at the Port of Barcelona ahead of their cruise today Eamonn was seen leaning against a taxi after arriving at the port ahead of their cruise ship's departure The broadcaster, who has suffered with back problems in recent years, was seen using a mobility scooter to get around Eamonn was seen riding ahead in his mobility scooter while Katie carried luggage and a walking frame behind The GB News Breakfast show presenter is currently on a summer break from the programme The holiday, which has been taken during Eamonn's summer break from his GB News Breakfast show, is said to have left Ruth and her friends shocked, a source claims. Speaking about the holiday, which is set to last a week with Eamonn scheduled to be back on TV next week, a source told The Sun: 'The cruise is just the latest proof of their closeness. 'Katie has been telling pals she and Eamonn are going to be for keeps and now everyone is starting to believe her. 'Eamonn's zest for her the latest being this all-expenses-paid trip has wowed Ruth and pals. He has found a new lease of life for sure. Everyone is amazed.' It isn't the first trip the pair have been on this month, as Eamonn took his girlfriend Katie to visit his hometown of Belfast amid claims they are 'in it for the long haul.' During his time off, he was spotted by locals in Carrickfergus, dining at the same budget restaurant, Papa Browns, for four days in a row, The Sun reports. A member of staff at the American diner told the publication: 'He came in four days in a row. I noticed his girlfriend had an English accent. They looked happy.' They continued: 'He appeared quite frail and it took a minute to recognise him, but he was always very polite and friendly. 'Both of them appeared at ease with being seen together. Eamonn really enjoyed it.' He is set to make his comeback on GB News Breakfast next week with co-host Isabel Webster, who has been hosting the show solo during his time off, reports the Express. Katie was seen crouching down as she adjusts the mobility scooter on their arrival into port today The couple are heading on a luxury cruise of the Mediterranean in a late summer getaway Eamonn was helped from the taxi into a mobility scooter after arriving at the Port of Barcelona The couple joined other passengers at the port as they waited for the cruise to get started Eamonn was seen holding a bag in his lap as he drove the mobility scooter through the docks The broadcaster shook hands with one passenger and appeared in good spirits at the start of his holiday Katie was seen queuing up at the boat terminal as she and Eamonn arrived for the start of the cruise The blonde relationship therapist also appeared in good spirits ahead of the holiday and was seen smiling as she spoke to a fellow passenger Eamonn shakes hands with a passenger at the terminal in the Port of Barcelona on Sunday Eamonn is said to be smitten with Katie and their relationship has been 'taken to the next level', MailOnline previously revealed. Friends claimed they are now spending most weekends together at his Richmond flat after his marriage to Ruth ended. Eamonn and Katie are mulling over when to take their relationship public and are said to have been offered 'big money' for the official first pictures of them together. The source told us: 'They've been offered some decent money for the first pictures of them together. 'Katie and Eamonn are definitely in it for the long haul. She says she loves him and he loves her.' In terms of his health woes a source recently told The Mirror: 'He is doing the best he can under the circumstances but there is not too much to smile about. 'He is not looking to do any interviews and is just keeping his head down and just doing work at GB News and physio sessions to try to improve his mobility.' In 2016, Eamonn underwent a double-hip replacement operation lasting three-and-a-quarter hours after living with acute pain for many years. Eamonn Holmes has reportedly taken his new girlfriend Katie Alexander, 42, on luxury holiday, after his split from Ruth Langsford The presenter, 64, and his estranged wife Ruth, also 64, announced their plans to divorce after 14 years of marriage in May and it later emerged that he was dating the blonde relationship therapist, 42 Katie, 42, is said to be desperate to go public with their romance but the TV presenter, 64, has been delaying announcing the news in order to protect his estranged wife's feelings Speaking about his operation at the time, Eamonn said: 'Was I nervous? No! It was just like being on television. In the build-up I was stressed can I do this? Will I handle it?' Two years later, Eamonn detailed his battle with shingles and how he was struck with the virus on his son Declan's wedding day. During an appearance on Loose Women in September 2021, he spoke about his health battle which left him unable to work on This Morning three years ago. He also shared images of his puffy face covered in marks and scabs during his battle. Shingles is a viral rash caused by varicella zoster virus, the virus which causes chickenpox, being reactivated. In the UK, 90 per cent of adults have had chickenpox, so will have this virus lying dormant in their nervous systems. His years of chronic back pain started in spring 2021 - which came completely out of nowhere. The pain become so severe that it left Eamonn reliant on a walking stick, but soon found out the root cause. He eventually discovered it was three slipped discs that affected the movement of his right leg. Police Scotland has been criticised for allowing rapists to 'self-declare' their gender identity to foster 'a strong sense of belonging' - with campaigners describing it as 'deeply offensive' and 'appalling'. MSPs at Holyrood's Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee received a written explanation from Police Scotland, following a petition submitted in 2021 by policy analysists Murray Blackburn Mackenzie (MBM). Analysts raised concerns that an offender self-identifying as female would be recorded in crime statistics as a woman - although the legal definition of rape involves penetration by a penis. It follows high-profile cases in Scotland such as trans rapist Isla Bryson, who was originally sent to serve sentence at a women's prison. This was later reversed after an outcry by women's campaigners. A petition called on MSPs 'to urge the Scottish Government to require Police Scotland, the Crown Office and the Scottish Court Service to record accurately the sex of people charged with or convicted of rape or attempted rape' - described as a 'moral obligation', necessary for 'trust in official statistics'. Trans rapist Isla Bryson transitioned during their trial and was originally sent to a women's prison, before this decision was reversed Since 2021 MSPs have taken evidence from the public bodies involved as well as the Lord Advocate, and the petition remains 'under consideration', The Herald reported. In January, the committee wrote to Police Scotland to 'seek a clear explanation of how its policy on recording the sex of perpetrators of crimes aligns to the organisation's values' - which MBM said was its fourth request. A response from Police Scotland, submitted in March, said the 'sex/gender identification of individuals who come into contact with the police will be based on how they present or how they self-declare'. However this was branded 'statistically incoherent,' by Dr Kath Murray, of MBM, who responded on X, formerly known as Twitter. In a letter, Police Scotland cited 'legislative compliance, operational need and the values of respect, integrity, fairness and human rights while promoting a strong sense of belonging', it was reported in The Herald. It added: 'Police Scotland requires no evidence or certification as proof of biological sex or gender identity other than a person's self-declaration, unless it is pertinent to any investigation with which they are linked as a victim, witness or accused, and it is evidentially critical that we legally require this proof, or there is reason for further inquiry based on risk.' The force said it would be guided by the Scottish Government's ongoing review into collecting data on sex and gender. A statement from MBM said: 'There is no 'legislative' requirement for Police Scotland to allow men accused or charged with rape to be recorded as female. Nor are we aware of any 'operational need'. 'We think the policy is morally indefensible and indicative of an organisation that does not take the interests of women seriously.' It added: 'After three years, we hope that Police Scotland will now be asked to provide oral evidence to explain this wholly unjustified and deeply offensive policy.' Dr Kath Murray, one of the team at MBM, tweeted today: 'Police Scotland recording policy (based on self-id) is statistically incoherent, but to tell a Scottish Parliament Committee that it promotes 'a strong sense of belonging', in the context of recording rape, is appalling.' Before identifying as transgender Isla Bryson was known as Adam Graham, and was arrested and charged as a male In a letter, Police Scotland cited 'legislative compliance, operational need and the values of respect, integrity, fairness and human rights while promoting a strong sense of belonging' for the policy Last year, trans rapist Isla Bryson was convicted of attacking two women following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow, and in February 2023 was sentenced to eight years in prison. A decision to remand Bryson in all-female prison Cornton Vale sparked outcry, and they were later moved to HMP Edinburgh, a male prison. The attacks were committed while Bryson was living as Adam Graham, and was arrested and charged as a man - but transitioned while awaiting trial. Campaigners have long feared that dangerous male sex offenders are claiming to be transgender so they can be housed alongside women. Bryson first appeared in court as Adam Graham in 2019, but in 2020 was named in court papers as Isla Annie Bryson, formerly known as Adam Graham. Lisa Mackenzie, a member of the MBM group, told The Herald: 'Current policy means men charged with rape or sexual offences can be recorded as women. 'For Police Scotland to claim this fosters a 'strong sense of belonging' is deeply offensive. It suggests an organisation that does not take the interests of women seriously.' A statement from For Women Scotland told the newspaper: 'We were beyond shocked and dismayed by the treatment of victims by the Scottish judicial system. 'We never expected that Police Scotland would rate a rapist's 'strong sense of belonging' above the law as set out in the Court of Session's ruling last year, and above the impact of such a grotesque lie on women who have already suffered so much at the hands of an abuser. 'This is a gross insult to all women who are being told, without irony, that some of the most violent men in society want to 'belong' to the sex they target and that we have to accommodate them and affirm their delusions.' A Police Scotland spokesperson said: 'The sex/gender identification of individuals who come into contact with the police will be based on how they present or how they self-declare. 'Police Scotland requires no evidence or certification as proof of biological sex or gender identity other than a person's self-declaration, unless it is pertinent to any investigation with which they are linked as a victim, witness or accused and it is evidentially critical that we legally require this proof, or there is reason for further inquiry based on risk.' A spokesperson for Holyrood's Petition's Committee said: 'The Committee considered the petition early this year and at that meeting agreed to write to Police Scotland. 'The committee will consider the petition again and it will be for the committee to agree what further action it next wishes to take.' The new Business Secretary has backed remote working, saying it is good for the economy because people are more productive when they are 'happy at home'. Jonathan Reynolds said he was happy for staff in the Department for Business and Trade he leads to work from 'in any part of the UK' where it is possible. His remarks further signalled the new government's U-turn from the previous Tory administration's attempts to get workers back to the office. The previous government told officials to spend at least 60 per cent of their time the equivalent of three days in a week in the office. But speaking to the Sunday Telegraph today Mr Reynolds said: 'You do your best work when you're happy at home and when you're happy at work, you're happy at home. Jonathan Reynolds said he was happy for staff in the Department for Business and Trade he leads to work from 'in any part of the UK' where it is possible. The previous government told officials to spend at least 60 per cent of their time the equivalent of three days in a week in the office. 'For this department, which employs nearly 8,000 people, I want it to be a department where people can, as much as possible, live in any part of the UK and work for it. 'It's a UK-wide department with an international remit, but also one that is UK-wide. I think it's incredibly important. 'Sometimes, I've got people in the room, sometimes I've got people at home. Sometimes I've got people in many of the different offices that we have I often have people who are in completely different time zones. I think being open to that kind of talent makes the organisation I lead far more effective. I think a lot of business leaders recognise that. 'Look at the UK compared to other European countries we do have a very pronounced regional inequality housing market that's very different in different parts of the UK. So where businesses can be open to UK-wide talent and have the opportunity to access that talent, I think that's got to be a good thing.' Last month Cabinet ministers backed civil servants working from home in a green light for 'WFH Whitehall' as Home Office bosses struggle to get staff to come in even two days a week. Transport Secretary Louise Haigh and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told staff they support 'flexible working'. Their comments have been interpreted by civil servants as a 'relaxation' of the drive to force them back to the office. Meanwhile the team at the Home Office tasked with tackling illegal migrants is struggling to impose its own attendance policy. In an email leaked to The Mail on Sunday, a senior official told the Immigration Enforcement unit that too many of them are failing to comply with the 'minimum' attendance policy of two days a week and those who ignore the '40 per cent' rule from this month onwards would be penalised. Civil servants faced heavy criticism for continuing to work from home after the pandemic and the last Government tried to force thousands back to the office. Former Cabinet Office minister Jacob Rees-Mogg famously left notes on officials' desks when they worked from home saying he was sorry to have missed them. Fears have been raised that Labour is plotting to rush through new workers' rights without a debate or vote in Parliament. Under the biggest reform of employment rights in a generation, staff will be able to demand flexible hours from their first day in a new job and win the 'right to switch off' outside office hours. The plans have alarmed business leaders and prompted predictions of a flood of tribunal cases brought by employees refused permission to work a four-day week. The Albanese government is being called on to give all workers 12 days reproductive leave to cover IVF treatments, severe period pain, menopause, vasectomies and gender transitioning therapies. The powerful Health Services Union (HSU) on Monday will begin a national campaign for the leave entitlement to be enshrined into the National Employment Standards (NES). Union representatives seeking meetings with senior cabinet ministers including Health Minister Mark Butler, Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt and Minister for Women Katy Gallagher. This most recent push goes beyond the 10 days of reproductive leave the union movement, including peak body the ACTU, is currently calling for. The wide-ranging leave would allow also employees to take time off for contraception appointments, to seek fertility treatments, hysterectomies, hormone therapy, health issues, miscarriage, screenings for breast and prostate cancer, abortions plus health issues related to endometriosis, pregnancy, polycystic ovary syndrome. The HSU has already signed an agreement with Scope, one of Australia's largest disability services provider, giving hundreds of its Victorian workers granted access to the entitlement. However the union's national senior assistant secretary Kate Marshall, who received fertility treatment to conceive her twin daughters after two miscarriages, said all workers deserved to have the 'critical' leave. 'It shouldn't be down to being lucky enough to have an understanding boss,' she said. The Albanese government is being called to give all workers 12 days reproductive leave to cover IVF treatments, severe period pain, menopause , vasectomies and gender transitioning therapies (stock image) 'Making 12 days' reproductive leave part of the minimum entitlements for all workers will have incredible benefits across the entire economy. 'Women will be able to stay in the workforce longer, build more superannuation and help us close the gender pay gap.' In Queensland, public sector workers were given 10 days of reproductive leave as of July this year, which covers fertility and IVF treatment, chronic reproductive health conditions, hysterectomies, vasectomies and preventive screenings for breast and prostate cancers. Globally, Japan and South Korea have up to 10 and six days a year for fertility treatments. When contacted, Minister Butler and Minister Watt's office did not confirm the government's support for the HSU's proposed reproductive leave scheme. A government spokesperson said there were already legislated leave requirements which allow workers time off for some reproductive health concerns like personal/ carer's leave. Compassionate leave can also be used in circumstances involving a miscarriage. The spokesperson also said pointed towards enterprise agreements which were now beginning to included entitlements such as reproductive health leave or menopause leave. 'The Albanese government recognises that reproductive health issues can impact women's health, wellbeing and economic security,' they said. When contacted, Minister Butler and Minister Watt's office did not confirm the government's support for the HSU's proposed reproductive leave scheme (stock image) 'The NES in the Fair Work Act provide legislated minimum employment entitlements and are a safety net for Australian workers. 'Employers and employees can also bargain for entitlements that improve on minimum standards.' Earlier this year, union groups also told a senate committee on menopause and perimenopause on reproductive leave also heard from worker bodies calling for specific leave entitlements for reproductive health concerns, with the committee set to release its findings later this month on September 17. A woman who's been exposed as 'America's biggest catfish' for her incessant lies on dating apps is now working as a gynecologist in New Jersey. Dr. Emily Marantz, 39, from Livingston, works at Jersey City Medical Center, owned by RWJBarnabas Health. Along with being a doctor, Marantz has been branded a repeat catfisher, according to a new book 'There is No Ethan,' by sociologist Anna Akbari. Akbari is one of many women who say they were personally victimized by Marantz, who they knew as a good looking six-foot tall Upper West Side man named Ethan Shuman. 'There are 10 victims that we know of and this went on for the better part of a decade,' Akbari, a former NYU professor, told the New York Post. Dr. Emily Marantz, 39 (pictured in 2023), who works as a gynecologist at Jersey City Medical Center in New Jersey, has been branded 'America's biggest catfish' Sociologist Anna Akbari (pictured) outed the medical professional's past online dating history in her new book 'There is No Ethan.' Marantz went by the name Ethan Shuman on her OKCupid profile Although the medical professional of 11 years uses her married name at work, Akbari referred to Marantz by her maiden name, Emily Slutsky in her non-fiction, part memoir novel. In 2010, Marantz created a dating profile on the website OKCupid, where she convinced women that she was a Jewish economic analyst that studied at Columbia and M.I.T. She also told her love interests that she drove a BMW and had a dog named Harvey. After being ghosted numerous times by the doctor, Akbari soon tracked down two other women that experienced similar interactions with Marantz. Akbari, Gina Dallago, and another woman named 'British Anna' all grew suspicious of the catfish-turned-doctor after she failed to turn up for video chats and canceled dates at the last minute. When Akbari first connected with who she thought was Ethan, the pair quickly became close after he confided in the author about his esophageal cancer diagnosis. Marantz told Akbari - who lost her grandfather to lung cancer - that her fake persona needed immediate surgery for Ethan's condition. A spokesperson for Jersey City Medical Center (pictured) said the hospital 'has full confidence in Dr. Marantz's ability to continue providing the highest quality of care to her patients' despite the new details of her past coming to light 'Emily chose to have Ethan fake having cancer, to be diagnosed with cancer while we were talking, already knowing I lost someone close to me a month prior,' Akbari told the outlet. At that point, Akbari felt so connected to Ethan - something that she said Marantz planned. In the he book, released in June 2024, Akbari detailed the conversations she had with Marantz, highlighting moments where the catfish would fight with her and then subsequently ignore her 'Of course, she knew I wasnt going to abandon someone whod told me that, because by then, there was an intimacy and a closeness that was well established,' she said. In the book, which was released in June 2024, Akbari detailed the conversations she had with Marantz, highlighting moments where the catfish would fight with her and then subsequently ignore her. Akbari said the gynecologist would also erase Ethan's dating profile at times. The author, who has been featured in the New York Times, recalled feeling like she's 'stepped into an emotional blender' after meeting Ethan. 'The emotional abuse, that was a character choice she made. 'Why? I dont know. But she was starting to make us question ourselves,' Akbari said. Akbari previously told DailyMail.com that Ethan would suddenly have to travel for work, or the bad weather made it impossible for him to get into Manhattan from New Jersey to visit her. 'When you have an attractive, chatty, articulate guy, and you are an educated woman living in New York, you think, "All right, this seems promising.",' Akbari said. Dallago said her interactions with Marantz were just as peculiar as the doctor would compliment her and then mention that Ethan's mother would never approve of her because of his Catholic upbringing. After more than a decade, Marantz has never faced consequences for her actions online being that she hasn't technically violated any laws Ethan would also plan trips with Dallago and then cancel right before without a reason why, according to the book. After more than a decade, Marantz has never faced consequences for her actions, being that she hasn't technically violated any laws, but Akbari is focused on making sure the doctor is held accountable for her past actions against her and many others. She asked: 'Would someone who hasnt suffered any consequences for their chronic bad behavior, would they stop?' Its an interesting question. 'Its not my call to say what is a violation of medical ethics or the Hippocratic oath, but its shocking to me if this doesnt qualify. 'This brings up so many questions, like should we be held accountable for our digital behavior in the same way we are for our physical behavior? 'In a culture where it feels like everyone gets canceled so easily, this is a remarkable case. Akbari added: 'It brings up so many other questions, like who is allowed to get away with this type of behavior and why, and are we okay with that?' Marantz was featured in a promotional video for the hospital a year ago, where she talked about her experience not only as an employee there, but a patient, while pregnant with her son at the time. Akbari (pictured) is focused on making sure that the doctor is held accountable for her past actions against her and many others 'It's really about finding somebody who understands where you're coming from, who knows how to listen to everything that you've brought up, and who knows how to make you the best, most comfortable patient that you could possibly be,' Marantz said in the clip. Marantz could not immediately be reached for comment. The hospital told DailyMail.com that it 'has full confidence in Dr. Marantz's ability to continue providing the highest quality of care to her patients.' 'The events from more than a decade ago have been reviewed and addressed to the satisfaction of the medical center,' the spokesperson added. Despite all of the hardship Akbari's been through, she hopes that her journey will help others in similar experiences 'triumph.' 'I think there's something valuable in showing how any person can find themselves in one of these situations and still find a way to triumph. 'I think my hope honestly is that it will start some really important conversations,' she told DailyMail.com. ITV News presenter Julie Etchingham has issued a savage dig at the arsonist who has been given the longest prison sentence yet in the migrant hotel riots. Ms Etchingham, while presenting the 10pm newscast on Friday, seemingly took aim at Thomas Birley, a thug who stole a police baton and helped set fire to the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, which was filled with asylum seekers, on August 4. 'The longest prison sentence yet for someone involved in last month's riots has been handed down to a former painter and decorator. The only walls he'll be staring at for the next nine years will be those of a prison cell,' she said, apparently reading from a tele-prompter. It is unclear if Ms Etchingham wrote the news script or merely just read a snarky jab penned by the show's producers. MailOnline has approached ITV for comment. Birley, 27, was sentenced on Friday to nine years in prison, with five years on licence as part of a 14-year extended sentence. He previously pleaded guilty to arson with intent to endanger life, violent disorder and possessing an offensive weapon. ITV News presenter Julie Etchingham, while reading the 10pm news on Friday, (pictured) seemingly took aim at Thomas Birley, a thug who stole a police baton and helped set fire to the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham on August 4 Thomas Birley (pictured), 27, was sentenced on Friday to nine years in prison, with five years on licence as part of a 14-year extended sentence. He previously pleaded guilty to arson with intent to endanger life, violent disorder and possessing an offensive weapon Birley stole a police baton and stoked a fire in a bin by an entranceway to the Holiday Inn Express on August 4. It came amid a wave of riots across the country after the fatal stabbing of three young girls in a knife attack in Southport on July 29. The actions of Birley - who previously posted on social media 'I can't be racist because my wife has two black eyes' - and his fellow rioters caused those inside the hotel to fear for their lives, and staff were so afraid they barricaded themselves inside a panic room, the court heard. The self-described 'God's gift to decorating' has previous convictions including criminal damage, attacking emergency workers and racially aggravated harassment. Birley was sentenced to nine years in prison at Sheffield Crown Court by Judge Jeremy Richardson, who said his actions were 'suffused with racism from beginning to end'. Judge Richardson said his case was 'unquestionably' one of the most serious of the dozens he has dealt with in the past month in relation to the rioting outside the Holiday Inn. Sheffield Crown Court heard how the painter and decorator of Swinton, Rotherham, was involved in many of the worst incidents, including adding wood to the fire in the large industrial bin which had been pushed against an exit and helping place a further bin on top of the one ablaze. Birley was also filmed throwing missiles at the police, squaring up to officers while brandishing a police baton and throwing a large bin which crashed into a line of officers with riot shields. The defendant became the first person to be sentenced for arson with intent to endanger life following the 12 hours of violence in Manvers which left 64 police officers, three horses and a dog injured. Birley, pictured with the red face covering, threatened officers with a police baton in 'grotesque' violence that left staff at the Rotherham hotel fearing for their lives, the court heard Windows are smashed as trouble flares during an anti-immigration protest outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham - Birley is circled Birley, who used the n-word in rants online, was seen throwing missiles and helping set fire to the hotel with 200 people trapped inside The self-described 'God's gift to decorating' and Barnsley fan was at the forefront of all of the worst incidences of violence, the court heard Birley helped to smash windows and block the hotel's fire exits, leaving staff fearing for their lives Judge Richardson heard how 22 staff in the hotel barricaded themselves into its panic room with freezers and 'thought they were going to burn to death'. Addressing Bailey, the judge continued: 'I have now watched much recorded CCTV and recorded footage of events. 'It is clear as clear could be, you and many like you were intent on spreading a hateful message of violence and racism. 'You were well to the fore in all of this. The disorder was grotesque.' Body worn video from officers showed Birley throw a bin and rocks at officers before deliberately blocking an entrance to the hotel, which was previously set alight, with a sheet of wood and a large bin. Judge Richardson said all those in the hotel were 'in peril of being killed or seriously injured' and told Bailey: 'You intended to endanger the lives of them all.' He also said Birley had been encouraged to join the disorder 'by malicious and ignorant posts' on social media. 'You were a leading participant in ignorant, racist attempts at mob rule,' the judge said. He said he needed to pass a lengthy sentence due to Birley's ongoing dangerousness, which included an extended five-year licence period. A pre-sentence report showed Birley held views which 'raised alarm' with a probation officer, the judge said, including hints of a 'white supremacist mindset'. Birley was seen squaring up to police officers and throwing missiles towards them Birley was seen jumping on top of the bins as the rioters set the hotel on fire He was seen stoking a fire in a bin pushed up against the hotel's fire exit before placing another bin on top The August 4 riots saw clashes with police and video emerged of some protesters appearing to threaten to slit hotel residents' throats A thug picks up a bin before throwing it towards police officers amid the violence Birley's social media shows a litany of sexist and racist posts in which he used racial slurs and joked about being in prison. In December, he wrote on Facebook: 'I can't be racist - my wife has two black eyes.' And before sentencing last night, he posted an Oasis quote: 'Don't look back in anger.' Older posts from his previous appearances at court show he called police officers 'piggy b******s' and told them to 'f*** off'. Birley has been sentenced to an extended sentence of 14 years, with nine years in prison for arson with intent to endanger life, two years and eight months for violent disorder and 12 months for possession of an offensive weapon. He will serve a five-year extended licence period. The hotel was targeted by Birley and around 400 others during days of rioting involving violence, arson and looting as well as racist attacks, which followed the killings of three young girls in the northern town of Southport on July 29. There were more than 200 asylum seekers in the building and the judge heard how automated fire alarms told them to leave but they were trapped inside. The Southport attack was initially blamed on an Islamist migrant, false claims based on online misinformation. An 18-year-old, Axel Rudakubana, who was born in Cardiff and has Christian parents, has been charged with three counts of murder as well multiple charges of attempted murder. A protest in Southport the day after the killings turned violent and riots spread across the country in unrest not seen in Britain since 2011, when the fatal shooting of a black man by police triggered several days of street violence. Police and prosecutors have responded rapidly, with roughly 1,300 people having been arrested and around 200 jailed one for as long as six years for violent disorder. Others have been charged for inciting racial or religious hatred online. Elsewhere on Friday, four teenagers were sentenced at Truro Crown Court for disorder that erupted in Plymouth in the days after the attack. Judge Richardson said Birley's case was 'unquestionably' one of the most serious of the dozens he has dealt with in the past month in relation to the rioting outside the Holiday Inn (Birley not pictured) Police faced hours of disruption after far-Right yobs attacked the hotel and threw missiles at officers At least 64 officers were injured in the violence outside the Rotherham hotel as 200 people were trapped inside the building Birley (second left) was caught on camera moving a bin to block the entrance of the hotel while it was alight So far, a total of 26 people have been charged in connection with the unrest which gripped the city on the evening of Monday 5 August. Yesterday, Thursday 5 September, a 16-year-old girl and three 17-year-old boys, appeared at Truro Crown Court after having been convicted of violent disorder. All four, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were given referral orders which impose strict conditions on each individual. They were also ordered to pay court costs. Chief Inspector Tom Cunningham said: 'We continue to pursue those who were involved in the violent disorder that night and hold them to account. 'Last month, the city saw dozens of people intent on violence which has had an understandable effect on our community and continues to cause concern, particularly among our diverse communities. 'Our neighbourhood officers, including those within the Devon & Cornwall Police Diverse Community Team, have been working closely with groups to ensure that anyone who has concerns knows where to seek support and anyone who has been a victim of hate crime has the confidence to come forward. 'There are many ways to report incidents, including third party reporting; by visiting a local hate crime reporting centre where a specialist or representative from your protected characteristic community can help you through the reporting process and offer support. The below link outlines where you can find these centres. 'There are also many charities, groups, and organisations which can offer support, advice, and ways to report the incident without having to talk directly to the police.' A man was also jailed for more than two years for his role in violent disorder in Southport on 30 July. Connor Ashley Piggott, 25 years, of Landsdown Road, Chester appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday 5 September, after pleading guilty to violent disorder. He was sentenced to two years, four months in prison. Birley wore a face covering that appeared to be made out of a plastic bag but kept removing it to shout at police officers Bodycam footage showed the moment Birley identified himself to police officers before being placed under arrest Detective Chief Inspector Tony Roberts said: 'The despicable actions of those involved that day left more than 50 officers injured and Piggott was seen on video repeatedly throwing bricks toward police officers. 'Like many others, he wore a balaclava in a bid to hide his identity. But thanks to officers who trawled many hours of CCTV and social media footage, his efforts were in vain. 'Piggott was positively identified as one of those launching objects towards officers who had been dispatched to the area to protect the public. 'He will now spend a significant amount of time in prison and I hope he spends that time reflecting on his actions that day. 'To date, we have arrested 96, charged 60 and sentenced 43 people, and there will be many more to come. 'We continue to identify more people who attended the disorder in Merseyside and we will not stop until we've put everyone we possibly can before the courts.' Moneysaving expert Martin Lewis has revealed how pensioners could secure themselves a handout worth 11,300 with just one simple step. With many elderly Britons worried about how they will make ends meet this winter, just one phone call could make a huge difference to their budgets. Amid the controversy surrounding Labour's plan to make winter fuel payments means-tested, many pensioners are facing a cold season and costly energy bills which may necessitate choosing between heating and eating. The 300 cost of living payment is also no longer available, meaning some could find themselves 600 worth off by Christmas. So Martin Lewis is urging all pensioners to check whether they are eligible for pension credit, something he often reminds his fans is under-claimed. Martin Lewis is urging all pensioners to check whether they are eligible for pension credit, something he often reminds his fans is under-claimed Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is under fire for his plans to scrap the automatic winter fuel payment and means-test it instead According to his website, close to one million households who are eligible for the additional payment don't currently receive it. Single pensioners who have a weekly income of under 218 or couples with a weekly income of under 332 are generally eligible, although some who receive over those thresholds may also be able to claim. The maximum payout - for someone who has no state pension - is 218 a week, or 11,300 a year. But as it is only available to the lowest-income pensioners, some may still struggle after winter fuel payments are expected to be cut off. Anyone wondering if they are eligible can contact the Pension Credit helpline or go online to see the full criteria. And if a household is able to claim pension credits, they can also access a free TV licence, a reduction on council tax worth up to 1,000 a year and a warm home discount - equivalent to 150 off energy bills. Martin Lewis said: 'If you're a single pensioner and you have total weekly income under 218 a week, you will likely get it, if it's under 235 a week you will maybe get it but it's still worth checking. 'If you're a couple - both of you are state pensioners living together - then my rule is you should check if it's under 350 total weekly income. 'Under 333 you're likely to get it, under 350 there's a chance.' Many elderly Britons are worried about how they will make ends meet this winter Pension credits are available to those on low incomes and have a maximum value of 11,300 per year In a key Commons vote on Tuesday, the Government will seek approval for plans to stop the payments to about ten million pensioners. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has justified the cut as necessary to combat a 22 billion blackhole Labour says was left by the previous Tory Government. But the move has angered many Labour MPs amid warnings that cutting the payments, which are worth up to 300, could lead to 'excess deaths' this winter. Rebel Labour MPs claimed last night that as many as 30 of them would defy the Government by refusing to vote for the measure. However, most are likely to do that by abstaining after seven Labour colleagues had the Whip suspended in July after openly voting against the Government to scrap the two-child benefit cap. Under the new proposals, pensioners living on just above 13,000 a year will lose the winter fuel help. The Government has already launched a campaign to get up to 880,000 people who miss out on pension credit to apply for the benefit, which also entitles them to keep winter fuel payments. With its huge Commons majority, Labour is assured of winning the key vote this week. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he is not 'remotely happy' about having to vote to 'take money away' from pensioners by cutting the winter fuel allowance, but argued it is essential to balance public finances. He told Sky News: 'I think it is a tough choice, and we've had plenty of political criticism for it, I think, which demonstrates the political pain of it. 'I'm not remotely happy about it, and I'm not remotely happy about having to say to some of my constituents, I'm sorry that I'm going into work this week to v An eyesore bus kiosk that was transformed into an art space by a community group was ripped down by the local council without warning, leaving people 'heartbroken'. Art collective Kabinett spent around a month clearing out the dirty bus shelter in Camberwell, south London, which was constantly used as a rubbish tip. They decorated it and began hosting art performances for the local community. But videos emerged of council workers tearing the structure from the ground with Kabinett claiming no one warned it was going to happen. Camille Moreno, a member of the Kabinett team, said although some of her colleagues were 'heartbroken' by the kiosk's removal, it had brought more attention to their projects, including a newly refurbished bus kiosk in Crystal Palace in southeast London. Pictured, the eyesore bus kiosk before it was restored and turned into an art installation by a community group The bus kiosk pictured after its transformation. Art collective Kabinett spent around a month clearing it out The bus kiosk being removed unexpectantly by the council. Some members of the art group were 'heartbroken' Ms Moreno said: 'The art installation started last October, and we had the first show in the Camberwell Kabinett at the beginning of December. 'It took about a month to really clean it up. We emptied the trash and sanitised it and from then on we started having programming. 'It developed organically as more people started to become involved. We would encourage artists to see how they could create street art. 'Sometimes we would put objects inside the Kabinett to be taken, like potatoes and onions. 'At Christmas, we filled it with plants and encouraged people to take them home with them. It was an experimental project space for artists. 'We had a team of volunteers keeping an eye on it, making sure it was still clean. 'I never got negative feedback about it from members of the community. 'Bus drivers would smile and wave as they passed. People said it made them happy. But anything was an improvement on what it was like before. It was a health hazard.' The dirty bus shelter in Camberwell, south London, was constantly used as a rubbish tip before being restored Southwark Council claimed the box was 'a hotspot for fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour' and was ripped down by council workers in July (pictured) Ms Moreno said: 'Sometimes we would put objects inside the Kabinett to be taken, like potatoes and onions' Southwark Council claimed the box was 'a hotspot for fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour' and so it was suddenly ripped down by council workers at the end of July. Ms Moreno said she felt the had to be 'sacrificed' to provide more opportunities for the art collective. 'On July 31 we discovered it was gone,' she added. 'It didn't belong to us, but I didn't expect it to go this soon. 'The council had wished me good luck at the beginning, but said they wouldn't be able to help me directly. 'I still don't know who made the decision to take it down. 'But what we built is the community around the Kabinett, and that community still exists. 'I don't see it's removal as a setback, necessarily. I'm keen to find more Kabinetts now. Art collective Kabinett restored and decorated the kiosk (pictured) and began hosting art performances for the local community Ms Moreno said she felt the had to be 'sacrificed' to provide more opportunities for the art collective Southwark Council claimed the kiosk 'remained a hotspot for fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour' after the transformation. (Pictured, the kiosk after its transformation) 'Some of my colleagues were pretty heartbroken about it, but there's lots more opportunities to do this. 'I almost felt it had to be sacrificed so that more people could learn about it.' Southwark Council said: 'We are big advocates for unused spaces being reworked for the benefit of the local community, as we have done at locations all across Southwark. 'It's really important that these spaces are maintained properly so that they can be safely enjoyed and add value to their surroundings. 'This wasn't the case for the bus controller's box, which remained a hotspot for fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour. 'We'd urge the artists involved to speak to our culture team about other opportunities in the borough to present work and to connect with local people.' Kevin McCarthy says he has first-hand experience with Kamala Harris' leadership and is warning Americans against letting her lead the country. The former House Speaker represented a southern California district for more than eight terms through when Harris served the state as Attorney General and then as a U.S. Senator. But McCarthy says her leadership led to the demise of the Golden State. 'I'm from California. I do not wish what she did to my state [on] the rest of the nation,' he told John Catsimatidis on his radio show Cat's Roundtable on Sunday morning. He was referring to the massive crime spikes in California cities and other urban areas across the country and said that a Harris presidency would exacerbate the already rising crime levels. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he wouldn't trust Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the country after how she handled crime in his home state of California 'Think about the crime that is going on,' the former California lawmaker said. 'This all hinges from what Kamala has done in San Francisco.' 'She was a DA who wouldn't prosecute,' McCarthy lamented. He also said that Harris is just a puppet of former President Barack Obama and suggested that is one reason why she is being kept away from the press. 'Barack Obama's team has taken over,' McCarthy alleged in the Sunday morning interview. Since entering the race on July 21 when President Joe Biden said he would no longer seek reelection, Harris has only sat down for one formal interview, which critics claimed was a 'softball' discussion with CNN's Dana Bash. She has not held any press conferences and rarely gaggles with reporters in the 49 days of her campaign. 'The idea is don't talk to the press,' McCarthy said of Harris' campaign, adding that they intentionally had her take over the race at the last second before the Democratic National Convention in August. 'The idea that Kamala could never win a long election let's make it short,' he speculated on the strategy. 'That is not right.' Harris entered the race on July 21 after President Joe Biden said he would no longer seek reelection. Her short campaign and 'coronation' as the Democratic nominee has been widely criticized by Republicans who point to the fact she never received a single vote to be president McCarthy claims that former President Barack Obama and his team are the ones actually running Harris' campaign There are only eight weeks until Election Day on November 5, making this the shortest presidential race in modern American history. Harris was historically unpopular in her bid for the White House in the 2020 Democratic primary. She was one of the first to exit the race even before the Iowa caucuses in February. Republicans claim she was illegitimately 'coronated' as the candidate because not one person cast a vote for her to be the Democratic nominee ahead of the nominating convention last month. 'I believe at the end of the day the election will not be close,' McCarthy predicted. A KFC worker who miraculously survived a suicide attempt has taken her first steps since the incident which left her in a coma. Emma Price attempted to take her own life in July after allegedly being bullied while working at the fast food company's branch in Pitsea, Essex. Emma, 32, was placed in a coma and declared brain dead before waking up - but has since begun to recover and has taken her first shuffling steps with help. Her family are now growing more confident that Emma will be able to return home in the coming months. Mother Samantha Day, 56, said: 'Her speech is coming along much better, it is near on perfect and that is a really good bit of progress. KFC team leader Emma Price (pictured) was in an induced coma after overdosing on painkiller medication having twice complained to managers that she was being treated unfairly Emma (pictured), a 'homey' animal-lover, reached out to the mental health charity MIND and was due to have her first appointment with them on Monday, July 15 'She can feed herself but she does have a right-side weakness. 'Getting dressed she needs help and to get washed, everything else, including walking, is progressing at least. 'She is taking a couple steps and she can stand by herself. It's more of a shuffle but she is getting there. 'We hope she will walk, she can take a couple of steps and that is more than we expected.' Emma can now speak but is yet to walk unaided and has faced difficulties with her memory as a result of brain damage. Ms Day added: 'She has some short term memory loss where she can't quite remember what she's said or just done. 'We have told her she's damaged her brain and she might not be able to do the things she's done before. 'But she's doing so much better. Thinking to where we were two months ago to now, we are so happy.' Ms Price had told her family that she was being overworked while other staff members did nothing and that she caught them talking about her behind her back. She said she was told she was 'causing trouble' and would regularly come home crying from the stress of being over-worked. Emma, a 'homey' animal-lover, reached out to the mental health charity MIND and was due to have her first appointment with them on July 15. Emma's family, Essex, said her first words to them when waking from a coma were: 'hi mum, hi dad' David Price (pictured with his daughter Emma) said 'he is taking tiny steps down a long road to recovery' However, just days before the appointment, Emma took an overdose and suffered a stroke and brain damage as a result. Emma's mum Samantha claims KFC have not been in contact with them about her recovery but the fast food chain insists it has spoken to them. KFC said an 'urgent' investigation has been launched into the incident, and that maintaining a 'safe and inclusive' working environment is essential for the business. A KFC spokesperson said: 'What Emma and her family have been through is devastating, and our thoughts are still with them as she recovers. 'Ensuring an inclusive working environment is our utmost priority, and we take the safety and wellbeing of our people extremely seriously. 'We've had contact with Emma's family since the incident and during her recovery, and these allegations are being fully investigated through a formal process, which is still underway.' For help and support, call the Samaritans for free from a UK phone, completely anonymously, on 116 123 or go to samaritans.org. Codebreaking Second World War veterans smiled as they reunited at the scene of their wartime service in Bletchley Park, near Milton Keynes. British codebreakers, including Alan Turing, were based at the site during the war and fed crucial information to Allied forces in the weeks leading up to the largest sea invasion in history on D-Day in 1944. The veterans smiled and chatted as they gathered at the annual reunion held at the site on Sunday and posed for photographs in the sunshine. Among them was 99-year-old Dorothy Doll, who is turning 100 later this month and worked at the facility between 1943 and 1945. During the visit, which was Ms Doll's first time attending the reunion, she was shown a Hollerith machine that allowed code-breaking work, previously done by hand, to be conducted much more quickly. Among them was 99-year-old Dorothy Doll, who is turning 100 later this month and worked at the facility between 1943 and 1945 Veterans Alice Wolynskyj, Ruth Bourne and Beryl Taylor chat infront of Bletchley Park Mansion, as they return to the scene of their wartime service at the annual Bletchley Park reunion at Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes Pictured above is a file image of the mansion at Bletchley Park near Milton Keynes Veterans pose for a group photograph in front of Bletchley Park Mansion Ferdynand Vanke attends his first reunion as he returns to the scene of his wartime service at the annual Bletchley Park Ms Doll had worked as a Hollerith Operator at Bletchley Park and, after the war, for the Red Cross in Germany where she married her husband. Ruth Bourne, who was among a group of five British veterans that were awarded France's highest military honour in 2018 for their role in liberating the country, was also in attendance and smiled as she posed for a photograph among her fellow ex-servicewomen. At the once-secret venue, codebreakers used early forms of computer intelligence - cryptanalytical machines called Bombes - to break the Enigma code used by the Nazis to encrypt messages, changing the course of the war and saving millions of lives. Veterans Ferdynand Vanke and Mollie Muetzel laugh as they attend the reunion During the visit, which was Ms Doll's first time attending the reunion, she was shown a Hollerith machine that allowed code-breaking work, previously done by hand, to be conducted much more quickly Codebreaker Charlotte Webb also attended the reunion of veterans at Bletchley Park Veterans Olive Mitton and Alice Wolynskyj chat in front of Bletchley Park Mansion At the once-secret venue, wartime codebreakers used early forms of computer intelligence - cryptanalytical machines called Bombes - to break the Enigma code used by the Nazis to encrypt messages, changing the course of the war and saving millions of lives in the process Their work enabled British intelligence to move more quickly and act upon the information the Bletchley team gave them, contributing to a number of key military victories during the war. It also sparked the industrialisation of codebreaking and helped pave the way for the first forms of the computers used today. The Princess of Wales has visited the site in previous years, where a memorial features the names of her grandmother, Valerie Glassborow, and her twin sister, Mary, who both worked at the code-breaking facility. Veteran Audrey Mather attended the reunion on Saturday, having previously met Kate during her visit to Bletchley Park in May 2019. During the visit, Kate told a group of children it was 'really cool' that members of her family had served at the codebreaking centre. Walter G. 'Walt' Ehmer, the president and CEO of Waffle House, has died at 58 years old, the Atlanta Police Foundation announced. He served on the foundation's board of trustees and has been running the Atlanta-based breakfast chain since 2012. 'Walt was a dedicated leader, tireless advocate for public safety, and an unwavering supporter of our mission to build a safer, stronger Atlanta,' according to a statement from the police foundation. The statement continued: 'His passion for community service and steadfast commitment to improving the lives of others will leave a lasting impact on all who had the privilege of knowing him. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time. He will be greatly missed.' Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens also released a statement following his death. Waffle House CEO Walter G. 'Walt' Ehmer died Sunday at the age of 58 'I am saddened to learn of the passing of Walt Ehmer, the CEO of Waffle House and a proud Georgia Tech alumnus. His leadership, dedication, and warmth touched the lives of many, both within the Waffle House family and beyond,' Mayor Dickens said. 'He leaves behind a remarkable legacy. My thoughts are with his family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time. May they find comfort in his enduring impact and the lasting mark he made on so many.' Georgia Congresswoman Nikema Williams, whose district encompasses the majority of Atlanta, shared her condolences as well. 'Deeply saddened by the passing of Waffle House CEO Walt Ehmer. His commitment to our communities and the opportunities he created will never be forgotten,' she wrote on X. 'Sending heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and the entire Waffle House team during this difficult time.' The circumstances of Ehmer's death haven't been released to the public yet. Ehmer joined Waffle House in 1992 before quickly rising to senior leadership within the company, according to an interview he did this year with the Georgia Tech Alumni Association after winning its Joseph Mayo Pettit Alumni Distinguished Service Award. The award honors alumni who have provided outstanding support to the Georgia Tech community and have become leaders in their careers. Ehmer became Waffle House's chairman in 2022 and led the chain through the COVID-19 pandemic, an incredibly rocky time for restaurants large and small According to that same interview, he became Waffle House's president in 2006, then ascended to the CEO job six years later. He was named chairman of the board in 2022. He also described his leadership style in a 2020 address to Georgia Tech students. 'It would be easy for me to sit in my office all day and send a memo out, send out a video, but is that what the business needs? We have 45,000 employees that's over 2 million shifts a year that have to be staffed, have to be managed, where we have to treat customers right,' he said. 'We are one family,' he added. 'Everybody does the same thing, everybody wears one uniform. But uniquely, every restaurant is also its own family.' Ehmer's philosophy was put to the test during the COVID-19 pandemic, when lockdowns were destroying the revenue of restaurants large and small. In response, Ehmer cut his own salary in half along with the rest of senior management to keep Waffle House afloat, Business Insider reported. 'The stimulus helped a lot of restaurants and more importantly a lot of people early on,' Ehmer said in November 2020. 'But, what you can't value enough is someone's peace of mind and security that they have a job that they can count on.' There are now more than 1,900 Waffle House locations across 25 states. The main draw is that all of them are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Ehmer was also lauded for his response to a young woman who was shot to death inside a Tennessee Waffle House back in 2018. He's seen here speaking about the tragedy at a press conference He's been described as an active member of the Atlanta community, serving on the boards of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, the city's police foundation and the Metro Atlanta Commerce. Ehmer was also lauded for his response to a young woman who was shot to death inside a Tennessee Waffle House back in 2018. DeEbony Groves, 21, was singing a gospel song when she died, Ehmer said at her funeral service. 'We went and visited with the survivors, and they talked about the people who were in that restaurant before what happened happened, and specifically remembered your daughter,' the CEO told the hundreds of mourners at the First Baptist Church in Gallatin, Tennessee. He continued: 'You will get through this because I know by watching this is a very strong, faith-filled community.' Ehmer's speech was met with applause and cheering and was embraced by friends and family at the funeral who took comfort in his words. Ehmer is survived by three children, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. An off-duty police officer who was allegedly intoxicated crashed his car into two people on a motorbike - leaving the pair fighting for their lives in hospital. The collision happened around 9:21pm in Illinois Thursday, and left Chelsey Farley and boyfriend Trevor Hopkins severely injured. They were ejected from their vehicle. The couple were hospitalized, and the driver who hit them was identified as Springfield Police Sgt. Michael Egan. He is seen stumbling and struggling to stand in footage filmed shortly after the crash. Deputy Chief Sara Pickford of Springfield Police said Egan's last day of employment was the same day as the collision, and that he had just retired after 20 years. Egan - who was allegedly fed water and gum by the responding officers - was not arrested or breathalyzed on the scene, and got away with just a ticket. An internal investigation has since been launched 'to ensure that all policies and procedures were adhered to by Springfield Police personnel at the scene.' The collision happened around 9:21pm in Illinois Thursday, and left Chelsey Farley and boyfriend Trevor Hopkins severely injured. They were ejected from their vehicle The couple were hospitalized, and the driver who hit them was named as Springfield Police Sgt. Michael Egan. He is seen stumbling and struggling to stand in footage filmed after the crash Illinois State cops, meanwhile, are handling a probe into the crash, as Egan was said to have refused a sobriety test, and was only taken for a blood test four hours after the fact. 'If it weren't a cop in these videos, he would be in jail like anyone else,' said Chelsey's sister in a post to X Saturday, where she shared footage filmed by witnesses showing Egan at the scene of the crime and revealed the victim is a mother-of-two. '[He] received special treatment while my sister is fighting for her life. 'They did a field sobriety test on my unconscious sister & her boyfriend but not on the officer who hit them. 'They state he used his right to refuse a breathalyzer & did not arrest him on a DUI,' she wrote. She went on to claim that Egan 'was NOT retired at the time of the crash', as his superiors have insinuated. 'F**k that bastard,' the woman who lives in San Diego but is originally from Springfield said. 'They are stating he's retired in all the local headlines.' Chelsey's other sister, Caitlyn Weiss, told Fox Illinois how the family wants answers, speaking to the station Friday ahead of her sister's first of what she said is set to be several surgeries - a procedure that lasted more than 10 hours. 'Our family is just outraged,' she said, citing the now viral footage of what appears to be a visibly inebriated Egan at the scene as member of his own department stand around him. Egan - seen here receiving a Letter of Appreciation following a gun bust in 2022 - had a retirement party scheduled the day after the crash, at the same bar he reportedly exited before cutting off the couple Egan - who was allegedly fed water and gum by the responding officers - was not arrested or breathalyzed on the scene, and got away with just a ticket In the footage filmed by an outraged bystander, the cop who colleagues claimed had retired hours before is seen going in and out of his vehicle in the footage, stumbling several times It also shows how he was neither handcuffed nor placed in the back of a police vehicle during the stop Instead, he was allowed to sit in the front seat of an Illinois State Troopers vehicle with the front passenger door open for an unspecified amount of time. Witnesses said he was there for four hours, during which time he was fed gum and water by officers to sober up 'We want accountability and justice from the Springfield department for this type of egregious act, and for all the families who have had this type of trouble and heartache all year,' she said. 'It's been all over social media since 9pm,' Weiss continued of the clips, seemingly filmed by a bystander who is heard expressing disbelief over what he sees as Egan's drunkenness. 'This officer is clearly drunk, clearly stumbling in the videos that everyone can reference and see all over,' Weiss agreed. 'The state police told me that I shouldn't believe things on social media and that I need to put trust in them. 'They wouldn't give me an answer, the answer that we all need, of why there was no field sobriety test given to the Springfield police off duty officer,' she added of the department's handling of investigation, as state troopers were at the scene as well. The following day, Weiss revealed Farley underwent strenuous surgery to repair her hips and legs, as her boyfriend is said to be dealing with head injuries and has to have work done to his face by a surgeon. The Illinois State Police said in a statement that Egan's Toyota Tundra was traveling north on East Lake Shore Drive near Laconwood Drive around 9:20pm when it cut off a Kawasaki motorcycle carrying the couple, failing to yield the right-of-way. Corruption blog Springfield Leaks, meanwhile, offered a more in-depth account of the stop that ensued, reporting that Egan refused a field sobriety test and waited four hours to take him to a hospital. An internal investigation has since been launched 'to ensure that all policies and procedures were adhered to by Springfield Police personnel at the scene' Farley underwent strenuous surgery to repair her hips and legs, and is still in the ICU, her family said Her boyfriend, seen here, is said to be dealing with head injuries and has to have work done to his face by a surgeon The website received the account from an eyewitness, who said he saw Egan turn left into the Anchor Boat Club, cutting off a motorcycle carrying the couple. The bystander, identified as Jason Rule, saw Hopkins and Farley treated and taken to a hospital as Egan remained behind. Rule went on to claim he saw Egan receive special treatment by police - an assertion seemingly substantiated by the footage and accounts from Springfield Leaks journalists who arrived at the scene. Rule said of the reckless maneuver that caused the motorcycle to collide with the rear passenger side of his Toyota, 'He didnt even turn into the Anchor Boat Club from the turning lane; he pulled right in front of the motorcycle.' A family friend told the Eagle that Farley is awaiting surgery and the family is still waiting to hear if she will pull through. Having been driving behind the motorcycle, he added how he was Egan being given repeated cups of water and gum by Springfield police. '[He] smelled like bourbon,' Rule recalled. Egan, meanwhile, is seen going in and out of his vehicle in the footage, stumbling several times. It shows how he was neither handcuffed nor placed in the back of a police vehicle during the stop. Instead, he was allowed to sit in the front seat of an Illinois State Troopers vehicle with the front passenger door open for an unspecified amount of time. The footage further shows Egan being led to the front seat of an Illinois State Police patrol vehicle without being arrested, spurring questions from those gathered roadside watching the events unfold. 'Why does he get special privileges?' one observer reportedly asked. Another witness claimed he heard Egan - who was promoted to sergeant in 2022 - saying, 'My buddies are going to take care of me.' Illinois State Police, meanwhile, confirmed Egan refused to perform a field sobriety test, but did not say why troopers kept Egan on the scene for what witnesses said was four hours before taking him in for a blood test. Egan was within his right to refuse the blood test, but still could be charged pending the results of the toxicology report. No further information was available about the status of the tests Sunday. Weiss, meanwhile, said she was shocked by the message she received from State Police, as her sister remains in intensive care. Egan was scheduled to have a retirement party Friday at the same bar he allegedly pulled out of on Thursday, Springfield Leaks reported - but that morning, the restaurant reportedly wrote on their Facebook page 'This evenings retirement party for Mike Egan has been cancelled.' 'Our family is just outraged,' she said, citing the now viral footage of what appears to be a visibly inebriated Egan, seen here. An internal investigation into his colleagues' actions - which comes on top of the criminal investigation being conducted by state police is underway Egan was ticketed for the crash, cops confirmed. His old department is still looking into the actions of officers at the scene, with Springfield Police Chief Ken Scarlette, 'Both and active and retired law enforcement officers must be held to the same standards to maintain public trust and uphold the integrity of the Springfield Police Department.' A separate statement from the Springfield Police Department added 'to maintain transparency and accountability, an internal investigation is currently underway... to ensure that all policies and procedures were adhered to by Springfield Police.' The department directed all other inquiries to the Illinois State Police. The force did not immediately respond to a DailyMail.com request for comment Sunday. A D-Day hero who fought the Nazis before going on to help liberate Bergen-Belsen concentration camp has died aged 104. Donald 'Don' Sheppard, a dispatch rider for the Royal Engineers, landed on Juno beach on June 6 1944 in a landing ship tank. Some 156,000 British, American and Canadian troops launched from the sea and air on to French soil in one of the most successful military operations in history, which this year marked its 80th anniversary. After breaking through Nazi lines in the August, he continued through to Belgium, Holland and eventually Germany - including to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Donald 'Don' Sheppard (pictured), a dispatch rider for the Royal Engineers, landed on Juno beach on June 6 1944 in a landing ship tank has died aged 102 Mr Sheppard when he was in the army. Speaking in 2019, Mr Sheppard, from Basildon, Essex, described D-Day as a 'waste of life' but recognised the landings as being 'so important' Speaking of his experience liberating Bergen-Belsen, Mr Sheppard said: 'I shall never forget that for the rest of my life. How one human could do that to another' What was Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp? Bergen-Belsen was opened in 1941 on the edge of the Bergen Military Training Area in northern Germany. Although it was initially set up to hold French and Belgium prisoners of war, the camp was expanded to hold Soviet POWs in the autumn of that year. In April 1943 the SS took over the southern section of the camp and turned it into an 'exchange camp' for Jewish prisoners. One of the most famous inmates at the camp was Anne Frank and her family. Prisoners in the camp lived in squalid conditions. When British and Canadian troops liberated Belsen in April 1945 they were shocked to find thousands of unburied bodies and thousnads more severely ill prisoners. In total 52,000 people perished in the camp. Source - Gedenkstatte Bergen-Belsen Advertisement The infamous concentration camp in northern Germany had over 100,000 inmates. More than 50,000 prisoners - including Jews, political prisoners and prisoners of war - perished in the camp. Speaking in 2019, Mr Sheppard, from Basildon, Essex, described D-Day as a 'waste of life' but recognised the landings as being 'so important'. He said: 'I know we had to defend ourselves... but young guys like me 20, 21, who never lasted five minutes, some of them got killed before they got off the boat. 'Tragic, absolutely.' When he arrived at Juno beach around 4.30pm, Mr Sheppard said the Germans had 'really got the distance and shells were coming over like rain', with battleships also firing over their heads. 'We lost quite a few guys,' he said. 'We (the survivors) were lucky really.' Speaking of his experience liberating Bergen-Belsen, Mr Sheppard said: 'I shall never forget that for the rest of my life. 'How one human could do that to another.' The only wound he received during the war was a cut to his leg as he took cover in a ditch as German bombs fell. But after medical tests and scans some seven decades later, it was discovered he had a sliver of shrapnel sitting in his lung. The only wound Mr Sheppard received during the war was a cut to his leg as he took cover in a ditch as German bombs fell. But after medical tests and scans some seven decades later, it was discovered he had a sliver of shrapnel sitting in his lung Mr Sheppard holding sand taken from Juno beach. On D-Day 156,000 British, American and Canadian troops launched from the sea and air on to French soil in one of the most successful military operations in history, which this year marked its 80th anniversary The Liberation of Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp. The infamous concentration camp in northern Germany had over 100,000 inmates and more than 70,000 prisoners - including Jews, political prisoners and prisoners of war - perished in the camp Mr Sheppard said the piece of metal had never caused any health problems. On Sunday, the British Normandy Memorial account posted on X: 'We are saddened to hear of the death of 104-year-old D-Day veteran Donald Sheppard. 'Donald attended the virtual opening of the Memorial in 2021 & features in the Winston Churchill Centre at the Poppy Legion exhibition. 'Thinking of Donald's wife Sandra & family. Rest in Peace Don.' A liberal pollster's latest projection shows Donald Trump securing a blowout victory over Kamala Harris. Nate Silver's prediction places the Republican hopeful's chances of winning the electoral college vote at 63.8 percent, compared to 36 percent for Harris. Silver's modelling, published on his blog Silver Bulletin, also places Trump ahead in all of the crucial swing states. He predicts 312 electoral college votes for Trump versus 226 for Harris in a no toss-up map. The figure is a massive upswing on the 227 Trump secured against Biden in 2020 and even an improvement on his victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016 when he romped to the White House with 304 electoral college votes. A liberal pollster's latest projection shows Donald Trump securing a blowout victory over Kamala Harris Silver had been forecasting a Harris victory until August 29, the date of her CNN interview alongside her running mate Tim Walz. From then, Trump has steadily been gaining the advantage in his predictions and is now favored to win by the widest margin in several months. However, other pollsters are more conservative and have Harris marginally in the lead. RealClear's modelling shows the Vice President winning with 273 electoral college votes against Trump's 265 on a no-toss up map. No less than 270 votes are required to secure the White House. Project 538's latest forecast is completely at odds with Silver's and puts the electoral college vote at 281 for Harris, 257 Trump. It comes as a New York Times/Siena College poll released two days ahead of their debate showdown put Trump 1 percent ahead of the vice president 48 percent to 47 percent within the survey's 3-point margin of error. Silver's estimation for the popular vote still has Harris ahead, with her chances of securing the popular vote at 56 percent compared to Trump's 44 percent. But his margins are tiny, with Harris narrowly edging up on Trump with estimated 49.8 percent of the popular vote versus 49.1 percent for the Republican nominee. 'The good news for Harris is that theres a debate on Tuesday, and if she turns in a strong performance, nobody is going to care so much about the Times poll,' Silver said. Nate Silver's prediction places the Republican hopeful's chances of winning the electoral college vote at 63.8 percent, compared to 36 percent for Harris Crucially, Silver placed Trump ahead in for electoral college votes in all swing states 'A relatively high percentage of voters in the NYT poll said they didnt know what Harris stood for, which means theres room for these numbers to move. 'But they could move in either direction as Team Trump circulates sound bites and video clips.' The presidential hopefuls are due to face off in Philadelphia on Tuesday. Last week, polling suggested that Harris received little to no boost following the Democratic convention and showed Trump ahead of the vice president in several crucial swing states. A Trafalgar Group survey of seven of the toughest contests - considered by experts to be Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina and Nevada - show Trump either in the lead or even with Harris. Russian drones have violated the airspace of two NATO countries during an air raid on Ukraine. A drone entered Romanian territory early on Sunday as Moscow struck 'civilian targets and port infrastructure' across the Danube river in Ukraine, Romania's Ministry of National Defence reported. Romania deployed F-16 warplanes to monitor its airspace, and Nato allies were kept informed, the ministry said. Emergency authorities also issued text alerts to residents of two eastern regions. Preliminary data indicates there may be an 'impact zone' in an uninhabited area near the Romanian village of Periprava, near the Ukrainian border, the ministry said. It added that an investigation is underway. Meanwhile, Latvia's Defence Minister Andris Spruds said that a Russian drone fell the day before near the town of Rezekne, and had likely strayed into Latvia from neighboring Belarus, the Kremlin's close and dependent ally. Since the reported invasion of its airspace, Romania urged Moscow to stop what it described as an escalation, which comes as tensions between Vladimir Putin and the West threaten to spiral out of control. Romania deployed F-16 warplanes to monitor its airspace, and Nato allies were kept informed, its ministry of national defence said. Emergency authorities also issued text alerts to residents of two eastern regions (file image of Romanian air force F-16 fighter planes) Since the reported invasion of its airspace, Romania urged Moscow to stop what it described as an escalation, which comes as tensions between Vladimir Putin and the West threaten to spiral out of control n this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defence Ministry on Aug. 18, 2024, Russian soldiers fire a Giatsint-S gun toward Ukrainian positions at an undisclosed location near the Russian-Ukrainian border area in the Kursk region Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Romania has confirmed drone fragments on its territory on several occasions and as recently as July this year. The Romanian Defence Ministry strongly condemned the Russian attacks on Ukraine, calling them 'unjustified and in serious contradiction with the norms of international law'. Mircea Geoana, Nato's outgoing deputy secretary-general and Romania's former top diplomat, said the military alliance also condemned Russia's violation of Romanian airspace. 'While we have no information indicating an intentional attack by Russia against Allies, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous,' he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Meanwhile, in Ukraine, two civilians were killed and four others, including two children, injured in a night-time Russian air strike on the northern city of Sumy, the regional military administration reported. In the Kharkiv region further east, overnight shelling killed two elderly women, according to local governor Oleh Syniehubov. During the night, Ukrainian air defences shot down one of four cruise missiles and 15 of 23 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia, Ukraine's air force reported. It added that none of the cruise missiles had hit targets. Later on Sunday, three women were killed when Russian forces shelled a village in the eastern Donetsk region, governor Vadym Filashkin reported on the Telegram messaging app. This undated handout photograph released on September 1, 2024, on the official Telegram account of the Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, shows a firefighter extinguishing a car after a recent shelling by a Ukrainian strike in Belgorod This handout picture taken and released by Ukrainian emergency service on September 5, 2024 shows Ukrainian rescuers working in a military educational facility which was hit by missiles in Poltava, eastern Ukraine on September 3, 2024 A still image taken from an undated handout video made available by the Russian Defence Ministry Press-Service on 23 August 2024 shows Russian servicemen firing a 122-mm howitzer D-30 towards Ukrainian positions at an undisclosed location Civilians look at a heavily damage and partially collapsed house after a Russian shelling in the town of Kostiantynivka, Ukraine on September 05, 2024 Elsewhere in the province, rescue teams pulled the bodies of two men from the rubble of a hotel destroyed on Saturday evening in a Russian air strike, according to Ukraine's state emergency service. That same day, the death toll from a massive Russian missile strike on Tuesday that blasted a military academy and nearby hospital in the eastern city of Poltava rose to 58, regional governor Filip Pronin reported. More than 320 other people were injured. Since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the Russian military has repeatedly used missiles to smash civilian targets, sometimes killing scores of people in a single attack. Poltava is about 200 miles south-east of Kyiv, on the main highway and rail route between Kyiv and Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, which is close to the Russian border. The attack happened as Ukrainian forces sought to carve out their holdings in Russia's Kursk border region after a surprise incursion that began on August 6, as the Russian army hacks its way deeper into eastern Ukraine. In Ukraine's industrial east, Russian forces continued their months-long grinding push towards the city of Pokrovsk, and also ramped up attacks near the town of Kurakhove further south, Ukraine's General Staff said. Russian forces continued their months-long grinding push towards the city of Pokrovsk, and also ramped up attacks near the town of Kurakhove further south, Ukraine's General Staff reported. Russia's Defence Ministry said on Sunday that its troops had taken Novohrodivka, a small town some 11 miles south-east of Pokrovsk. An update published on Saturday evening by DeepState, a Ukrainian battlefield analysis site, said Russian forces had 'advanced' in Novohrodivka and captured Nevelske, a village in the south-east of the Pokrovsk district. Pokrovsk, which had a pre-war population of about 60,000, is one of Ukraine's main defensive strongholds and a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region. Its capture would compromise Ukraine's defence and supply routes, and bring Russia closer to its stated aim of capturing the entire Donetsk region. The city's innovative approach to tackling a common EV issue isn't new but it shows how far Australia lags behind. Boroughs have had lamp post charging for EVs for some seven years, and one Aussie tourist thinks it shows how far behind we are. Source: Facebook As Australia drives ahead with the transition to electric vehicles, our overseas counterparts are leaving us in the rearview mirror. That's the lament of one Aussie EV owner who couldn't help but share a common street detail he noticed while holidaying in the UK. Taking to an online EV group for Australia owners, he shared a photo of how lamp posts had been retrofitted to provide charging outlets along London's roads. "Spoiler alert EV in cities are possible," he wrote about the nifty charging solution. And it's certainly not new, the London borough where the photo was taken switched on its first lamp post EV chargers back in 2018, with some being installed in London the year prior. The charging technology, which easily fits inside the lamp post, is developed by a German company and has been proliferating across European cities. "My boy and I stopped counting the EVs we saw ... Simply too many," the Aussie traveller said. "Basically every lamppost has a charging port as seen in pic, residents living in the area can charge and park, even if they dont have a garage. "So its possible after all. What a surprise huh? "And with that, a major yet flawed argument against EV uptake in Australia is unceremoniously dismissed," he added. Electric cars using street charging stations in Paris. Source: Getty The city of London has had a number of incentive programs in place and offered benefits to encourage drivers to make the switch to electric, such as exempting EV owners from a congestion charge as well as charing higher emission vehicles to drive in certain zones (some of which are due to end in 2026). Much like Australia's bigger cities, residents in London face similar issues about the lack of garage space (or off street parking), which makes it trickier to leave your car charging for long periods. However overall, the country has seen a much higher uptake of EVs in recent years. According to ZapMap which tracks EV sales in the UK, there are currently more than 1.2 million fully electric cars on the country's roads. Comparatively, there are more than 180,000 EVs on Australian roads, according to a tally by the Electric Vehicle Council. Accounting for population, the UK has about three times the EV take-up compared to Australia. The perception that Australians are anti-EVs, expressed by the Aussie tourist in London, is often borne out in surveys that show many drivers here are at best circumspect about making the change, with some appearing downright hostile to the transition. In fact a rolling poll of Yahoo readers with more than 53,000 responses shows 70 per cent of people say they are simply not interested in making the switch. Aussie councils and energy providers bringing street charging online While Australia is behind our European counterparts, similar initiatives are starting to be rolled out in suburbs across the country as private companies and local councils with the help of state governments push to support the EV transition. For instance, the Northern Beaches Council in Sydney earlier this year began a 12-month trial which will see several power poles on streets turned into charging points while the city's Inner West Council has also secured funding to roll out 136 public kerbside charging points in the next year. Meanwhile major energy provider Ausgrid wants to retrofit its power poles to boost charging infrastructure along the eastern seaboard, allowing drivers to pull up, plug in and charge. The company currently supplies more than 1.6 million properties with power across Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter. It believes almost 40 per cent of its more than half a million power poles could be fitted with EV charging ports. Speaking to Yahoo News Australia last month, a spokesperson for Ausgrid said there's only 150 EV charging outlets on its power poles at the moment, but the hope is that will soon change significantly. "We believe around 190,000 (or 37 per cent) of Ausgrid poles may be suitable for further assessment to have pole-mounted chargers installed," the spokesperson said. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Nikki Haley opened up about how she was informed how her campaign was being targeted by Iranians. The former 2024 Republican presidential candidate said the FBI told her Iran was meddling in an effort to harm her bid for the White House. The latest disclosure comes after Congress divulged last week that Iranian-backed entities plotted to assassination American 'politicians, military people or bureaucrats,' including Haley, former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) discovered the latest through a review of unclassified FBI documents that he sought after Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to assassinate Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. Some Republicans think the would-be assassin was connected to a foreign entity like Iran or Pakistan. Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley revealed on Sunday how she was told during her 2024 bid for the White House that Iran was trying to meddle to hurt her campaign Trump's right ear was grazed by a bullet during Crooks' attack. One rally goer died and two others were critically injured before agents were able to take out the 20-year-old shooter. The Iranian plans to take out top American leaders was a retaliation plot against the U.S. for the death of Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani. Haley says Iran and other foreign adversaries have been running efforts for years to 'divide Americans and cause chaos.' 'This has been going for a long time, and Americans need to wake up,' she told CBS Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan on Sunday. 'Don't just look at Russia. Don't just look at China. Don't just look at Iran,' she warned. 'The biggest lesson we need to take is when you look at social media, I bet you a larger percentage of those are foreign engagements.' Haley, a hawk on foreign involvement and national security, was the last candidate in the Republican race trying to take out Trump for the 2024 general election. She dropped out of the primary race following sweeping losses on Super Tuesday. By winning the primaries in Washington, D.C. and Vermont both very blue areas where even Republicans are more left-leaning Haley became the first woman to win a state or territorial GOP primary contest. Rep. Mike Waltz, who is on the House task force investigating the assassination attempt against Trump, told DailyMail.com that he isn't convinced Crooks was a lone wolf. The latest revelations of an Iranian-backed plot on Trump and other U.S. politicians' lives is bolstering the doubt over claims Crooks did not have foreign ties. Asif Merchant, a Pakistani native with Iranian ties, provided the latest evidence of the scheme in FBI proffer agreement, which has not been released by Sen. Grassley. The Iranian plot was reported in days after the assassination attempt on Trump's life at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13 Iran has vowed revenge ever since the January 2020 attack under President Trump that took out Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps General Qasem Soleimani (pictured) The Justice Department has charged Merchant for his involvement in the revenge plot. Just four months before the attempt on Trump's life this summer, the FBI posted a notice requesting information on an alleged Iranian spy the agency believed to be involved in assassination plots. Majid Farahani, 42, was accused by the FBI of plotting revenge killings after Soleimani was killed in a Trump administration-led attack on January 3, 2020. Ever since the attack that took out the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, Iran has vowed retaliation. The FBI claims Farahani was acting in a plot on Trump's life on behalf of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence. Due to worries about a plot against Trump, Secret Service detail around the former president was actually ramped up before the Butler rally but the heightened security did not prevent the shooter from his attack. The latest revelations on the plot came from an FBI proffer agreement with Asif Merchant, a Pakistani native with Iranian ties, that was released by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) Remote workers typing away in coffee shops at all hours of the day while nursing a single drink has become a regular sight since the pandemic. But some cafes are now fighting back by banning laptops to try and make room for customers who are prepared to spend more money. They also claim people working on computers ruin the atmosphere of cafes by 'bringing the vibe of the place down'. The Collective in Caversham no longer allows the use of laptops between 11:30am and 1:30pm on weekdays - and has completely banned the devices at weekends. Newbury-based coffee shop Milk and Bean has also implemented similar policies by introducing a cap on laptop use to an hour on weekdays and banning them on weekends. Cafes are now fighting back by banning laptops to try and make room for customers who are prepared to spend more money (stock image) The Collective in Caversham no longer allows the use of laptops between 11:30am and 1:30pm on weekdays - and has completely banned the devices at weekends Newbury-based coffee shop Milk and Bean has also implemented similar policies by introducing a cap on laptop use to an hour on weekdays and banning them on weekends Milk and Bean owner Chris Chaplin told the BBC: 'Having [people using] laptops isn't really ideal - it does mean a lower turnover and quite a low spend compared to people that aren't on laptops. 'It also brings the vibe of the place down with people on laptops.' He told the broadcaster he relied on them for revenue, but they had to be reasonable and have some self awareness. The Collective manager Alex Middleton said the policy was about finding a 'balance', where it 'doesn't compromise us losing money'. He said as a small independent business it needs to keep tables busy and turned around and 'we can't have people hogging the table and we don't want to disrespect people that come in with laptops either'. Mr Middleton said that people coming in with laptops often had 'quite a low spend', but would sit at tables for 'quite a long time'. Although many of his customers were regulars and respect the policy, some people can get a 'little bit antsy about it', said Mr Middleton. Cafes also claim people working on computers ruin the atmosphere of cafes by 'bringing the vibe of the place down' (stock image) One cafe that has already banned laptops is the Fringe and Ginge in Canterbury One cafe that has already banned laptops is the Fringe and Ginge in Canterbury. The decision has divided customers with many weighing in on the review site TripAdvisor with their opinions. 'No laptops - superb decision,' writes one alongside their five star rating. 'Absolutely sick to death of people with laptops, sitting on their own at a table for four, with a glass of water, occupying prime space all bloody day. 'Wish more cafes would introduce this initiative. Get back in the office for god's sake.' However another disagreed, commenting: 'This policy is quite unusual in my experience, as I've visited numerous coffee shops globally and have never encountered such a restriction. 'While I understand that each establishment has its own rules, this particular policy seems overly restrictive, especially for travellers or locals looking for a cosy corner to work in.' A reporter from KentOnline visited the laptop-free cafe in May and wrote they 'absolutely support the move to ban laptops' after visiting. Remote workers typing away in coffee shops at all hours of the day while nursing a single drink has become a regular sight since the pandemic (stock image) Alfie Edwards (pictured), who owns the Fringe and Ginge with his partner Olivia Walsh, said it was a 'tough decision' to ban remote workers but has been ultimately successful Fringe and Ginge's decision to ban laptops divided customers with many weighing in on the review site TripAdvisor with their opinions They said: 'Even as a remote worker, I totally see the need for spaces where the stress and worries of work can be left at the door and you can just connect with others away from the screen while relaxing over a delicious cup of coffee.' Alfie Edwards, who owns Fringe and Ginge with his partner Olivia Walsh, said in May it was a 'tough decision' but has been ultimately successful. He said: 'I think what has changed massively in the dynamic and the way that people work. We had some really bad experiences with people, asking us to turn music off so they could do Zoom meetings. 'Then we just sort of figured out it - this is not what it is about.There are so many places you can go and rent desk space, you can work in the libraries. 'There are loads of places where they're dedicated to people working - and they have cafes as well. Here, we just realised we wanted to take hospitality back, have it dedicated to just serving people and letting them have a nice experience.' Mr Edwards and Ms Walsh set up the cafe in July 2020, shortly after the first Covid lockdown restriction was lifted during a high point for remote working as thousands worked from home or faced furlough. But as time progressed and lockdown rules were removed, workers would spend hours hunched over their computers, typing away in silence. Describing how the atmosphere changed since the laptop ban, Mr Edwards said: 'It's just so nice to have people who were previously strangers that now chat regularly. Mr Edwards and Ms Walsh set up the cafe in July 2020, shortly after the first Covid lockdown restriction was lifted during a high point for remote working as thousands worked from home or faced furlough Describing how the atmosphere changed since the laptop ban, Mr Edwards said: 'It's just so nice to have people who were previously strangers that now chat regularly' 'To see people connecting, we've kind of built a community here. 'It's a neighbourhood hangout for a lot of people. 'There are already many places where you can rent desks, or people can work in the library. We aren't a big space and we're social here - that's a big part of it. 'It's just something we had to do, you don't want upset people, but it was the right decision.' Britain is not the only country experiencing a backlash against remote workers hogging cafe tables. In Europe there has also been a crackdown on 'digital nomads' with coffee shops and snack bars from Paris, Berlin and Barcelona having already established rules for so-called 'laptop squatters', according to EuroNews. Raquel Llanes, who runs a cafe in the Raval area of Barcelona, explained to local website Barcelona Secreta that the situation was out of control. Some cafes in Spain and France, one of the most desirable locations for digital nomads, have even turned off WiFi to dissuade laptop workers (stock image) She wrote: 'We've had customers who have ordered an espresso and sat for eight hours, people who have asked us to turn the music down so they could have meetings, customers who took out their Tupperware to eat. 'At first we adapted the space with sockets and to work, but after two years we realised that the numbers weren't working out.' Some cafes in Spain, one of the most desirable locations for digital nomads, have even turned off WiFi to dissuade laptop workers. Other cafes in European cities charge an hourly rate for the privilege of using laptops. A 'Sugar Daddy' accused of murdering a Texas student was snared by police after a woman 'instantly' recognized him on a dating app from footage released by police. Muna Pandey, a 21-year-old from Nepal who was studying nursing at Houston Community College, was found dead inside her apartment on August 26. Bobby Shah, 51, was charged with capital murder over her killing after security footage placed him at her home. Police revealed the slain student had been shot three times in the torso and once in the back of the head when her body was discovered. After security footage from Pandey's front door was released to the public, a woman called the Houston Police Department and said she knew Shah from a 'Sugar Daddy' website, according to the complaint, reviewed by Fox News. Muna Pandey, 21 (pictured), an only child from Nepal who was studying nursing at Houston Community College was found dead insider her apartment on August 26 Bobby Shah, 51, was charged with capital murder over her killing. After security footage from Pandey's front door was released, a woman called the Houston Police Department and said she knew Shah from a 'Sugar Daddy' website. (pictured: Shah in court on Tuesday) The owner of the local restaurant that Pandey used to work at also recognized Shah from the video and said he was a frequent patron that reportedly lavished big tips for women he took a liking to. Shah was arrested during a traffic stop on August 28 wearing the same blood-stained clothes he was also seen wearing in the footage, prosecutors said. CBS Austin reported that Shah may have had a profile on a so-called 'Sugar Daddy' website, a service that connects men who want to buy gifts for women in exchange for sexual favors. It's unclear if Shah and Pandey had a pre-existing relationship of this nature, but court records obtained by KPRC say the apartment's security footage showed Shah approaching her door armed with a pistol. According to court documents, Shah held Pandey at gunpoint while she was holding a shoe box, a shopping bag, a black jacket and a purse. The owner of the local restaurant that Pandey (pictured) used to work at also recognized Shah from the video and said he was a frequent patron that reportedly lavished big tips for woman he took a liking to After repeated threats, he was able to enter her apartment and lock the door behind him. He left an hour later, and police say he was holding Pandey's purse After repeated threats, he was able to enter her apartment and lock the door behind him. He left an hour later, and police say he was holding Pandey's purse. During his court hearing on Tuesday Shah was seen in an orange jumpsuit as he looked at the floor. He was denied bond and could be sentenced to death if convicted. Pandey's friends and family were heard sobbing in the courtroom as prosecutors detailed what happened to their loved one, KPRC reported. Several members from the Nepalese Association of Houston also showed up to show their support. The association's vice president, Drona Gautam, was Pandey's friend and couldn't understand why anyone would kill her. 'How could that person do it?' Gautam said. 'I cannot even think about it.' Anita Pandey, the mother of the victim, wasn't present in court Tuesday because she's still in Nepal, but her visa was reportedly approved so she can attend her daughter's funeral on Monday at 4pm in Southwest Houston. 'I can only imagine what Muna's mother is going through being halfway across the world, so I wanted them to know what would happen in court, what they could expect,' prosecutor Rebecca Marshall told reporters after the hearing. Before Shah was identified as a suspect and charged, Anita said last week she wanted the maximum punishment for her daughter's killer. Shah was arrested during a traffic stop on August 28 wearing the same blood-stained clothes he was also seen wearing in the footage, prosecutors said Pandey's friends described her as 'loving' and 'confident.' They never heard anything from her about Shah Anita was in regular contact with her daughter who mentioned being in a relationship with a white American man, and had expressed concerns about the relationship's stability. Pandey was an only child and her mother raised money for her to study thousands of miles away at the community college. She traveled to the US in 2021 to start her undergraduate degree and had not returned to her home country since, the Kathmandu Post reported. Anita received the news of her daughter's death from Gautam, the day after her body was discovered. 'Her friend informed me of Muna's death early on Tuesday. I was devastated when the caller broke the bad news while sobbing,' Anita said. 'I fainted as soon as I heard the news. I've lost my support, my everything. I don't know what to do next; I can't think ahead.' Her heartbroken mother said that Pandey had planned to visit Nepal next year after completing her studies. 'But now she's gone, never to return,' Anita said. Pandey's friends described her as 'loving' and 'confident.' They never heard anything from her about Shah. Her heartbroken mother said that Pandey had planned to visit Nepal next year after completing her studies at Houston Community College (pictured) Anita Pandey, the mother of the victim, wasn't present in court because she's still in Nepal, but her visa was reportedly approved so she can attend her daughter's funeral on Monday at 4pm in Southwest Houston A GoFundMe page was created to raise money for the young student's funeral expenses. As of Sunday afternoon more than $37,000 was raised to give Pandey 'the farewell she deserves.' Prosecutors recommended Shah's bail be denied until his next hearing in December. 'I felt it was incumbent upon us to definitely ask for no bail in this case,' Marshall said. 'I believe he poses a grave risk of danger to our community.' Under his present bond conditions, he must surrender any passports he has and not contact Pandey's family. Shah's defense attorney said his client is innocent and is in good spirits. 'We're looking forward to proving his innocence in the court of law,' Defense Attorney Wilvin J. Carter said. Carter revealed Shah is from India and moved to the US during his childhood. 'He was a V.P. at a company, and I'm not at liberty to give that name, but he's a pretty smart guy, well-educated, very articulate,' Carter said. President Joe Biden pushed ahead with his plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan despite multiple warnings of devastating consequences, according to a damning congressional investigation published Sunday, which reveals a catalog of missteps and missed opportunities. It reveals how Washington's most senior official in Kabul went on vacation even as the Taliban was closing in on the capital city. And it accuses Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their officials of prioritizing politics and optics over operational needs, such as planning for an emergency evacuation of civilians. The resulting chaos, with tens of thousands of foreign nationals and Afghans crowding into Kabul's airport after the Taliban seized the city in August 2021, triggered the first crisis of the Biden administration. And it descended into tragedy when a suicide bomber killed 13 American service personnel and about 170 Afghans. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the U.S. military's evacuation efforts in Afghanistan, while flanked by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (L) and Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R), on August 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. Your browser does not support iframes. The findings come in a report by Republican members of the House Foreign Affairs committee. 'Our investigation reveals the Biden-Harris administration had the information and opportunity to take necessary steps to plan for the inevitable collapse of the Afghan government, so we could safely evacuate U.S. personnel, American citizens, green card holders, and our brave Afghan allies,' said Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the committee. 'At each step of the way, however, the administration picked optics over security.' He described the withdrawal as an 'unconditional surrender' and said the failure to plan for all eventualities was a 'dereliction of duty,' that directly led to the 'preventable' loss of American lives. For its part, the White House National Security Council accused McCaul of producing a 'partisan' report based on 'cherry-picked facts' and 'inaccurate characterizations'. And an official said preparations for withdrawal included 'planning for all contingenciesincluding a rapid deterioration of the security situationeven though intelligence at the time deemed this situation unlikely.' The report calls for Congress to condemn Biden, Harris and 13 officials. And it says procedures and responsibilities for 'noncombatant evacuation orders' or N.E.O.s should be codified so that politics cannot drive the process. The order to leave Afghanistan after 20 years of bloodshed may have been the most consequential decision of Biden's time in office. Afghan women wait to receive food rations distributed by a humanitarian aid group, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, May 23, 2023. Two top international rights groups on Friday, May 26, slammed the severe restrictions imposed on women and girls by the Taliban in Afghanistan, saying they amount to the 'crime against humanity of gender persecution' A Taliban fighter stands guard as a woman walks past in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Dec. 26, 2022 It stunned NATO allies, who later said they were blindsided, and horrified Afghan leaders and military commanders. It left the Taliban in charge of the country, setting back the cause of human rights in general and women's rights in particular by decades. The three-year investigation by House Foreign Affairs Committee Republicans reveals how at every step the reality of a worsening security situation was ignored. The original deal with the Taliban to leave Afghanistan, the Doha Agreement, was negotiated without input from top military leaders, concludes the report. Promises by U.S. officials to assess whether the Taliban was abiding by the deal, particularly the commitment to prevent Al Qaeda operating in its territory, turned out to be hollow. And the decision to leave was flawed from the beginning, flying in the face of military and intelligence assessments. 'Despite President Biden's public assertions to the contrary, our investigation has revealed the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the Commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the Secretary of State, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and the Commander of NATO's Resolute Support Mission and United States ForcesAfghanistan all advised against withdrawing all U.S. troops from the country both during and after the interagency review,' the report concludes. In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Air Force, a U.S. Marine Corps carry team transfers the remains of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui of Norco, California, Aug. 29, 2021 at Dover Air Force Base. He was killed in the August 26, 2021 suicide bombing at the Abbey Gate of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul during the scrambled U.S. evacuation Pictures show the haphazard conditions at the airport before the attack The Americans killed in the blast were: (left to right, starting with top row) Cpl. Daegan W. Page - Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo - Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover - Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza - Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum - Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui - Cpl. Hunter Lopez - Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz - Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss - Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez - Navy Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak - Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola - Sgt. Nicole L. Gee Afghanistan report's key recommendations 1. Congress should pass resolution condemning Biden, Harris and 13 top officials 2. Congress should codify rules for NEOs 3. Reestablish a crisis response bureau in the State Department 4. The Pentagon should declassify CentCom investigation into the Abbey Gate bombing 5. The Pentagon should adhere to its policy on personal effects (after items were not returned to victims' families) 6. Set up eyewitness portals for witnesses who were not interviewed 7. Selection of leaders in high-threat posts should be more rigorous 8. Congress should designate the Taliban as a foreign terrorist organization 9. The State Department should improve efforts to track Americans in dangerous places 10. Congress should request testimony from Pentagon, National Security Council and White House officials Advertisement Biden announced his decision to withdraw the last remaining troops on April 14, 2021. His original timetable set September 11, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, as the deadline, reflecting what the report says was a political decision rather than a decision made on conditions on the ground. With foreign contractors already on the way out, limiting the effectiveness of the Afghan air capability, the Taliban made rapid advances through the country. Within a couple of months of the exit announcement, the Taliban controlled 221 of Afghanistan's 407 districts, compared to the Afghan government's 73, while the rest were contested. Their fighters swept into Kabul on Aug 15. It was only after that that Ambassador Ross Wilson, who was in charge of the embassy, ordered a 'non-combatant evacuation operation' or N.E.O. The report called that an 'inexcusable failure.' 'The investigation has revealed senior State Department and National Security Council officials equated a N.E.O. with failure' it said. 'This explains, in part, the decision to keep Embassy Kabul open no matter the cost and their refusal to plan for a NEO. Indeed, testimony obtained by the committee reveals the administration failed to even contemplate a plan for a NEO with the Taliban in control of the country.' It also describes how officials failed to understand the severity of the situation as the Taliban made rapid advances in July. 'Yet with Afghanistan teetering on collapse, a limited military presence, and Embassy Kabul ill-prepared, Secretary Blinken went on vacation, abdicating leadership to Ambassador Wilson, who was fresh off his own vacation and mired in inaction,' it states. Taliban forces took control of Kabul on August 15, 2021, triggering a haphazard evacuation of foreign nationals and vulnerable Afghans. And it meant US forces had to rely on Taliban help The bodies of the service members who fell defending the airport from which the U.S. military was evacuating American forces and allies 'The crisis in Afghanistan was in part a crisis of leadership.' McCaul added that the U.S. was still suffering from its loss of standing that the scenes of chaos. 'It has damaged U.S. credibility,' he said. 'It has emboldened our adversaries, and it has made the United States more at risk of an attack emanating from Afghanistan. And the moral injury to our veterans and servicemembers is generational. 'The administration's unconditional surrender and the abandonment of our Afghan allies, who fought alongside the U.S. military against the Taliban their brothers in arms is a stain on this administration.' A spokesperson for the National Security Council said the U.S. was in a stronger position by leaving Afghanistan. 'Everything we have seen and heard of Chairman McCaul's latest partisan report shows that it is based on cherry-picked facts, inaccurate characterizations, and pre-existing biases that have plagued this investigation from the start,' said Sharon Yang, a spokesperson for oversight and investigations. US President Joe Biden, US Vice President Kamala Harris, and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin participate in a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in honor of Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on May 30, 2022 'As we have said many times, ending our longest war was the right thing to do and our nation is stronger today as a result. 'Bringing our troops home after 20 years put us in a stronger position by allowing us to redirect our resources to confront threats to international peace and stability, such as Russias war in Ukraine, an ongoing crisis in the Middle East, Chinas increasingly aggressive actions, and terror threats that exist around the world.' But one staff from the committee allege that the White House and its executive branch allies in the State Department, Pentagon and myriad other agencies concocted a 'cover up' to distort reporting on the withdrawal. They condemned the administration for misleading and at times directly lying. The panel's investigators stressed to DailyMail.com that the White House was aware of brutal Taliban actions long before they publicly ordered U.S. civilians and forces out of the country. The Scottish Conservative leadership contest is more than an internal election. It is a do-or-die moment. In Julys general election, the Conservatives vote halved to only 12.7 per cent, the lowest share of ballots cast in Scotland in the partys 200-year history. Most Scottish Tories assume 2026 will see them returned to third place at Holyrood and are psychologically preparing for that outcome. Im here to tell them they are being unduly optimistic. If the party can drum up only 13 per cent of the vote in two years time, or if it falls even further, it could be looking at fourth place, behind the Greens. If Reform steps up its Scottish operation in the next 18 months, it would need only contest the regional lists to deny the Conservatives a significant number of seats, whether by capturing them directly or splitting the vote. The fact they managed to return five of their six MPs in July is no cause for complacency. Those were all local results, reflecting years of vote-building and strong anti-SNP sentiment in rural areas 12.7 per cent was an existential result, which makes this an existential leadership election. Structures Some take from this that the Tories must disband north of the Border and form a new, assertively Scottish centre-Right party. This is a classic case of politicians misunderstanding the voters and, funnily enough, misunderstanding them in a way that endorses what those politicians have wanted to do all along. Russell Findlay is the strongest Tory voice in Scotland, Stephen Daisley says Voters didnt abandon the Conservatives this summer because the party wasnt talking enough about its own internal structures; they didnt switch parties or stay home for want of a Scottish Tory debate about the partys organisation chart; punters do not yearn for a commission into the relationship between the Holyrood leaders office and the Westminster MPs. Anyone who thinks otherwise is so out of touch with the electorate that they either shouldnt be in politics at all or ought to be a minister in John Swinneys government. The punters couldnt care less what political parties are called, what their constitutions say, or if their MSPs feel unloved and unlistened to by the hierarchy; their priorities are the cost of living crisis, housing, jobs, schools and hospitals. Any party that would rather talk amongst itself about itself will be regarded with contempt, brushed aside as clueless and dismissed as uninterested in the concerns of ordinary folk. Whats more, it will deserve to be. If you dont listen to the voters, dont expect them to listen to you. The entire political class increasingly seems as alien to me as a Martian fresh off a spaceship. I know Im not the only one who feels that way. Readers and friends alike, people of all political persuasions, tell me the same. There is just no party that represents them. Politicians of all stripes feel more remote from them and their concerns than they can ever remember. We need a thorough shake-up of the political class to allow in more outsiders. Sensible people with experience from all walks of life; folk who have done things, built things, started businesses, created jobs; people with sound ideas that originate outside the politician-pundit-activist feedback loop. The only candidate in this contest who comes close is Russell Findlay. He is the strongest Tory voice in Scotland since Ruth Davidson and his appeal is much the same: he is an outsider who understands the voters far better than the insiders. He knows what makes them tick and where they reckon the country ought to be going. Decline The Tories have to decide if they want a future in Scottish politics or if they would prefer to be a closed-door debating society that leaves the business of government up to others. Findlay stands the best chance the only chance on offer of growing the Tory vote rather than presiding over its continued decline. Hes not your man if you think the answer is commissions, rebrands and tending the fragile egos of disgruntled MSPs he is the candidate of common-sense conservatism who aims to offer a Right-of-centre alternative to the SNP and Labour. He wants to stand up for the Union but he wants to stand up for plenty else besides, including hard work, personal responsibility, enterprise and wealth generation. His priorities include helping young couples buy their first home, supporting small businesses and bringing back discipline to schools. It doesnt mean I agree with him on everything. I dont. But he has sound ideas, solid judgment and something the Scottish Tories desperately need: guts. Then there is Murdo Fraser. I like Murdo. He is a man of principle. My criticisms of him in this contest have been about policies, not character. Unfortunately, his proposals are a recipe for disaster, not least his party commission which, as Ruth Davidson says, would be about splitting the party via the back door. Division and self-obsession are the last things we need from the Scottish Tories. Weve already got a whole other party for that. As to what Findlay should do behind the scenes, I have plenty of thoughts but Ill limit myself to a few reflections. Tactics Id like to see him make better use of Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, one of only five Tories to win a constituency seat last time and the only one to win an outright majority of votes cast. She gets Tory politics on an instinctual level rather than viewing everything through the lens of Holyrood tactics and messaging. Shes a Conservative of the soil, not the strategy meeting. Another priority for Findlay should be a rapprochement with Meghan Gallacher. She is standing for leader for reasons I dont fully understand and which I suspect she doesnt either. Her resignation as Douglas Rosss deputy midway through the contest was unfortunate, by which I mean baffling, but she is young, shows a bright glimmer of talent and was impressive in her parliamentary battle against Nicola Sturgeons gender reforms. It would have been easier for her to go along with the latest political fad but instead she took a stand. It was unpopular at Holyrood but principled. A young woman from a blue-collar background in Scotlands former industrial heartlands, she is exactly the sort of voter the Tories need to win over and should be recognised as an asset. If Findlay wins, he should not only nurture talent but clear space for it, too. There are any number of MSPs who have been in Holyrood for too long with nothing to show for it other than a few non-binding motions and a good pension. Those who will not or cannot shape up must be told theyre shipping out at the next election, making way for fresh faces who bring something more than a sense of entitlement. There is no overstating just how perilous the situation is for the Scottish Conservatives. The party is in ten minutes to midnight territory. The wrong choice in this contest could prove fatal at the next Holyrood election. Only Russell Findlay shows the way forward and the Scottish Tories should trust him to lead them. A father has flown 10,000 miles from his home in Australia to meet the British woman whose donated stem cells saved his life. Kate Heron's stem cells travelled all the way from Sheffield's Royal Hallamshire Hospital to the hospital in Perth, Australia, where Matt Skeet, 44, was being treated for leukemia. Once the stem cells arrived surgeons had a matter of minutes to perform the life-saving transplant before Mr Skeet would have died. Now, Mr Skeet and his family have retraced the mammoth journey to meet Ms Heron to say thank you in-person. Speaking to The Daily Mirror, Ms Heron said: 'We had the most amazing day, all together, and I couldn't believe that he had travelled so far to meet me. Kate Heron's stem cell transplant travelled 10,000 miles to Perth, Australia, where Matt Skeet was being treated for Leukemia. Once the stem cells arrived surgeons had a matter of minutes to perform the life-saving transplant before Mr Skeet would have died In February 2021 Ms Heron was contacted by Anthony Nolan to say that she had been matched with someone who needed a transplant. And then over a two day period her stem cells were removed at hospital, frozen, and shipped to Australia After chatting online Ms Heron and Mr Skeet met up in Bakewell, Derbyshire, where their families spent the afternoon 'I felt an instant connection with him when I saw him for the first time. We all hugged each other and it was amazing to meet his family, and for him to meet mine.' The 31-year-old added that Anthony Nolan, who run the stem cell register, said it's the furthest anyone has travelled to meet their donor. Mr Skeet was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in 2020 and he was rushed to a hospital in Perth the same day his condition was discovered. Doctors then gave him the damning prognosis that his only chance of survival was if a stem cell donor was found. Ms Heron had joined the stem cell register all the way back in 2011 at a fresher's fair at Leeds Metropolitan University. In February 2021 she was contacted by Anthony Nolan to say that she had been matched with someone who needed a transplant. And then over a two day period her stem cells were removed at hospital, frozen, and shipped to Australia. Recipients have to wait two years before they are allowed to contact the donor and once that had elapsed this year Ms Heron was told that Mr Skeet was keen to meet up with her. Ms Heron said: 'I'd always wondered if the transplant had been successful, so when I heard that Matt wanted to contact me, I knew that it had been. I was excited to hear from him.' After chatting online the families agreed to meet in Bakewell, Derbyshire, where they spent the afternoon. Ms Heron said: 'I'd always wondered if the transplant had been successful, so when I heard that Matt wanted to contact me, I knew that it had been. I was excited to hear from him' Henny Braund, chief executive of Anthony Nolan, told MailOnline: 'Stem cells donated by the wonderful people who have signed up to the Anthony Nolan stem cell register have been transported all over the world, saving lives not only in the UK but as far as South Africa, central America and in this case, Australia. 'September is Blood Cancer Awareness month which serves as a reminder of why we do what we do. 'For patients with a blood cancer or blood disorder, a stem cell transplant can be their last chance of survival. Finding a match isn't always easy but thanks to donors like Kate, Anthony Nolan has been able to celebrate 50 years of saving lives, like Matt's, through stem cells.' It was a relationship which began when a widowed dentist sought 'companionship' following the death of his wife. But after David Pagliero and dental nurse Sophie Colwill split, she embarked on a stalking campaign against him which has ended up in court, with her receiving a suspended jail sentence. The obsessed 30-year-old fitted a tracking device to Mr Pagliero's car and followed him. She also bombarded her victim with up to 1,000 telephone calls in a single day and even managed to gain entry to his house, waiting for him in his bedroom before fleeing through a window. Colwill, who worked with Mr Pagliero, 54, at the Smile Dental Centre in Exeter, which dubs itself The Gentle Dental Centre, pleaded guilty to stalking involving serious alarm or distress. Dental nurse Sophie Colwill pleaded guilty to embarking on a stalking campaign against widowed dentist David Pagliero after their relationship ended But she was spared a jail sentence on Thursday after Mr Pagliero urged the district judge to be 'kind' and not lock her up. Prosecutor Alistair Verheijen told the court Colwill carried out the stalking campaign in May. Colwill followed the dentist in his car to various locations and he felt he was being tracked by her, Mr Verheijen said. The victim noticed that Colwill started turning up at the same locations as him - such as a service station when he was buying petrol. He drove to a local business called Dart's Farm near his home and, after leaving his vehicle, saw Colwill open his car - and he thought she must have a spare car key. Mr Pagliero was forced to leave his car in the car park because he believed he was being tracked by her. When he returned to the vehicle, Colwill was there again, Mr Verheijen said. He added that when Mr Pagliero attempted to talk to Colwill - who handed over the tracker - 'she became very distressed and he said she had a meltdown'. The court was told that the dentist returned to his home and 'barricaded himself into his own bedroom'. But Mr Verheijen said: 'At 2am, he found Colwill in his own bedroom, there without his permission. 'She went for his mobile phone and there was a tug of war.' David Pagliero (pictured right), who worked with Colwill (pictured left) at the Smile Dental Centre in Exeter, said he was bombarded with phone calls and followed by the 'obsessed' dental nurse Colwill then fled through a window. Details of how Colwill entered her former lover's 1.35m five-bedroom detached home in Exton, Devon, were not revealed in court. She also harassed him by phone, making 965 calls to him in a single day and the next day over 1,000 calls. 'The calls did not stop,' Mr Verheijen said. Mr Pagliero contacted police and Colwill, of Ottery St Mary, east of Exeter, was arrested but made no comment. The court heard an audio recording from when she entered his bedroom where the victim could be heard shouting 'help, help, help'. Mr Pagliero - whose late wife Sharon, the mother of his two teenage children, died in 2021 - told the court he had wanted companionship from Colwill but the impact of her stalking had been huge and 'worn me down'. He said he feared she would be hiding in bushes by his village home, or lurking in side roads as he drove his car. In a victim impact statement, Mr Pagliero said Colwill had been a 'companion' and it was a 'tonic and nice'. But things changed and it became very traumatic for him. He said he was worried she was following him constantly and hiding in bushes by his driveway. The dentist said he was left on 'tenterhooks' because 'you will be there somewhere.' Colwill now faces potential disciplinary action from the General Dental Council (pictured) But he implored the judge to be 'kind to Sophie' and said he tried to help her but realised now that was not possible. Mr Pagliero said he did not want vengeance, adding: 'I never wanted that. But your actions wore me down'.' Peter Seigne, defending, said: 'This is a serious matter of stalking, particularly entering his property.' He said Colwill had been left 'fragile' by the whole experience and was 'incredibly distressed and finding it difficult to cope', adding: 'Her issues are significant.' Colwill, who qualified as a dental nurse in 2021, wept in the dock as her solicitor explained how the case may affect her career - as she faces potential disciplinary action from the General Dental Council - and future intimate relationships. He said Colwill found the end of the relationship very difficult and she was incredibly distressed, but knows the relationship is over. Colwill - who has one previous conviction for drink driving in 2020 - was given a 20-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, after the district judge said her behaviour had a 'huge impact' on her victim. She was also made subject of a five-year restraining order banning her from contacting Mr Pagliero or going to his home or dental surgery. A 41-year-old father-of-two had to be put on a ventilator after he miraculously survived being stuck in a 15 foot deep ravine for multiple nights without food. Ian Goodsell, who lives on the big island of Hawaii, was crossing an old bridge near a forest off Kamaili Road when it collapsed underneath him, KITV reported. 'He fell into a ravine about 15 feet deep and was in there for three nights,' said Garrett Goodsell, Ian's brother. Based on what they've heard so far, the family believes Goodsell was able to survive as long as he did by using a tank top to soak up any available water to drink. His brother also thinks he stayed strong for the sake of his two sons. 'He has two young boys and I think he just held on to the idea of them not knowing that their dad died in a ditch. I think that he just held on to the love for his children and that kept him alive long enough to find someone to save him,' Garrett Goodsell said. Ian Goodsell, pictured, narrowly survived falling into a 15 foot ravine in Hawaii. He was stuck down there for three nights until his screams managed to be heard by someone Goodsell, center, fell through the weak bridge around three days before August 21, when he was rescued Since Goodsell has serious injuries that mostly preclude him from communicating, the family isn't entirely sure why he was out there. Alta Goodsell, Ian Goodsells ex-wife, said she believes he was out on land he was taking care of. She isn't sure if he was in the process of clearing a trail or doing something else. 'I still dont know any of the details. I know that he said he had numerous seizures while he was down there. He has epilepsy medicine he takes every day and didnt have access to that so he was there having seizures. I know it rained a lot, thankfully it was before the hurricane,' Alta Goodsell explained. Goodsell was discovered by a passerby on August 21, while Hurricane Hona delivered 85 mph winds and limited flash floods to the island on August 25, missing him by four days. When the passerby heard Goodsell's screams for help, they alerted the authorities. Brother Garrett Goodsell and ex-wife Alta Goodsell were both extremely happy that Ian was alive, with them both saying he had epileptic seizures while down in the ravine A GoFundMe has been created by a family member to help pay for Goodsell's recovery. So far, it's raised $9,414 toward its $10,000 goal Firefighters responded quickly after and sounded their sirens to let him know they were there to rescue him. They found him 600 feet from the road. 'He had just enough energy to tell them that he had been down there for three nights and he had been having seizures down there,' Garrett said. 'They had to intubate him when he got into the hospital because basically, his body just shut down. They put him on a ventilator. He was like that for a week.' Goodsell is off the ventilator now but is struggling to speak. Hawaii Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Daniel Volpe warned other hikers about the dangers of travelling alone on potentially treacherous paths The approximate location where the bridge collapsed underneath Goodsell 'The ER nurse described it as having full body wounds, full body bruising, and acute liver damage from severe dehydration. He had really bad pneumonia, and he was having a hard time breathing on his own,' Garrett said. Hawaii Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Daniel Volpe took an opportunity to warn other hikers about the dangers of travelling alone on potentially treacherous paths. 'If youre gonna go hiking, and this wasnt necessarily a hiking trail, and even more so if youre gonna go out there, make sure you stick to the trails, as much as possible,' Volpe said. 'Dont hike alone, make sure you let people know where youre going and kind of when you expect to be back.' A GoFundMe has been created by a family member to help pay for Goodsell's recovery. So far, it's raised $9,414 toward its $10,000 goal. A candidate vying to be the next Scottish Tory leader claims there have been sexist undertones to the campaign - as she faces the threat of legal action from a colleague. Meghan Gallacher claims to have experienced sexism while pushing for votes from members in the contest. It comes as Shadow Scottish Secretary John Lamont instructed his lawyers to write to her to withdraw false and defamatory claims that he threatened her political career. Ms Gallacher had claimed that a senior member of the party - who she did not name - had been briefing against her and suggested to members she was going to drop out. Ms Gallacher has claimed a senior member of the party - who she did not name - had been briefing against her She then subsequently made a complaint to the party that Mr Lamont, who heads the board in charge of candidate vetting, left her feeling that he threatened her about her career prospects after receiving a call in which he warned her their relationship had been damaged and was likely beyond repair. In an interview with the Herald on Sunday, Ms Gallacher said there is a culture of sexism in politics which is not unique to her party, and claimed she has experienced comments about balancing the role with childcare in a way the other candidates, Russell Findlay and Murdo Fraser, had not. She said: What has been striking - and I know that my male colleagues have not been getting this - Im constantly being asked how are you going to balance childcare, how are you going to manage having a young daughter and also having the top job? But if we dont prove that someone else can do it, were just going to have that same old narrative that women cant get that top job. I think there is still that sort of culture instilled in people. I dont think everyone necessarily means it, but there are definitely quiet (sexist) undertones. I dont think they understand the impact that can have on the individual. At the weekend, Mr Lamont instructed his lawyers to write to Ms Gallacher demanding that she withdraw the claims about their telephone conversation. He is understood to be adamant he has not been involved in phoning members as part of Mr Findlays campaign and insists she can provide no evidence because it didnt happen. He also insists he did not threaten her career and had instead said their relationship had been damaged by false claims and they would need to work together after the contest. It is understood that another MP heard Mr Lamonts call - while Ms Gallacher said the call was heard by her husband. Mr Lamont said: These claims are defamatory and false. I am now considering further action including legal options. The Mail yesterday contacted Ms Gallachers campaign team to ask if she had received the letter from Mr Lamont and if she would be withdrawing her claims but did not receive a response. After details of Ms Gallachers complaint were first reported, Mr Fraser called for an investigation. He said: This is a deeply disturbing report. These claims by my friend and fellow candidate Meghan Gallacher need to be thoroughly investigated and appropriate action taken. I have contacted Meghan to offer my support at what must be a very difficult time. A Scottish Conservative spokesman said: The party has received a complaint and this will be investigated in the usual way. Twenty XL Bully dogs owners have received compensation from the Scottish Government after they were forced to put their pets down following a ban on the breed. Figures released under Freedom of Information show there have been 19 claims for 200 compensation to help cover the cost of euthanasia and for the loss of each dog since tough new ownership rules were brought in earlier this year. The Scottish Government also received one separate claim for 100 compensation from an individual for the loss of their dog only. Restrictions on ownership were introduced on February 23 and from August 1 it became a criminal offence to own an Xl Bully dog without an exemption certificate. Anyone who breaks the law risks up to six months in prison and/or a fine of up to 5,000. Owners in Scotland who wished to keep their XL Bullies had to apply online for an exemption by the end of July. Owners have until the end of this month to apply for compensation to the Scottish Government, which can be done online. Lindsay Fyffe-Jardine, CEO of Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home, yesterday said she disagreed with the ban. She said: Adding XL Bullytype dogs to this banned-breed list, in our opinion, falls short of understanding the real challenges happening in communities up and down the country where their breeding practices, control and training is not effective. We feel there is a need to look at dog control as a wider issue of public safety, which is not breed-specific. The ban was introduced to bring Scotland in line with legislation passed south of the border on February 1, following a spate of attacks involving the breed. The dogs have also been responsible for a number of horrific incidents in Scotland. In March a Chihuahua was killed and its owner suffered a hand injury they were attacked by two XL bully dogs in Finnart Street, Glasgow. While in May a 26 year old woman had her hand ripped off in an attack by her two XL bully rescue dogs at a flat in Academy Street, Edinburgh. Both dogs were later put down. Minister for Victims and Community Safety Siobhian Brown said: XL Bully dog laws support responsible ownership and public safety as effectively as possible. The Scottish Government continues to engage closely with Police Scotland, local authorities, the SSPCA and others to help ensure effective implementation of the safeguards. We have no plans to reopen legislation. Owners in Scotland who wished to keep their dogs had to apply online for an exemption by the end of July. New exemptions can be granted by a court order only. Not only is this mail unwanted, it is also causing major problems down the track. Here's what you can do about it. Junk mail is never a welcome sight, but one type is actually harmful to the environment. Source: Supplied/Getty The majority of Australians are happy to do their little bit for the environment. We conscientiously put the glass in the yellow bin and the paper in the blue one for the weekly garbage collection. We avoid flushing things down the loo that will take 200 years to break down and try not to overdo the takeaway coffee cups. When it comes to shopping, most of us have been trained to bring our own bags to further cut down on waste from plastic. And we know single-use water bottles are not ideal and cable ties are the devil's rope. But every now and again, an environmentally-damaging item slips through to the keeper and leaves you thinking: "I never thought of that". In this case we're talking the humble fridge magnet, folks. They're in millions of Australian homes, keeping kids' school certificates, sporting achievements, shopping receipts and family photos in place each time you open the Fisher and Paykel. The prevalence of promotional magnets is getting out of hand in some areas. Source: Getty They're usually magnets we've picked up on our travels or had placed in our letterbox by the local plumber, or the bloke offering to unclog your gutters and pressure wash your driveway. When they're doing their job on the fridge, thats okay. The problem arises when we get stuck with too many of these suckers and end up tossing them out. Petition calls to ban magnets: 'Unnecessary burden' The supply of fridge magnets to Australian households via letterboxes has reached such a saturation point that a petition to ban the practice has been put to federal parliament. "The delivery of fridge magnets via Australia Post mass mail outs (or hand delivery) is environmental vandalism as the vast majority end up in landfill," the petition reads. "Magnets are made from non-renewable rare-earth metals which are mined causing significant destruction and degradation of natural ecosystems. "We therefore ask the House [of Representatives] to make the mass distribution of fridge magnets illegal as the vast majority end up in landfill and are an unnecessary burden on our fragile environment." Adam's household has been overrun by promotional magnets. Source: Supplied What you can do with your unwanted magnets Environmental organisation Planet Ark is also taking up the fight, suggesting ways for people to "repurpose" the magnets for use in artwork or as paper clip storers. Reuse centres like Reverse Garbage are also happy to receive your unwanted magnets. But it seems the strongest action we can take is boycotting the very businesses bombarding us with their unattractive attractors. Planet Ark stated: "The last step to reduce the magnet flow is to go back to the business who sent you the magnet and let them know you are not interested, and, instead of inspiring you to use their services, they encourage you to actively avoid them." Residents frustrated by magnets: 'From the mailbox to the bin' And judging by the comments on one community Facebook group in Sydney, it seems some residents are doing just that. "From the mailbox to the bin. Terrible waste of resources. Triples the chance that I will never ever use them or their services," wrote one unimpressed magnet receiver. Another posted: "Awful s**te for the environment that 99% of ends up in landfill never to break down. Send a message to their number and let them know." Is it time for all of us to detach from these magnets? The negatives seemingly outweigh the positives. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The threat to the SNPs Budget has grown after the Greens said they are unlikely to support it - as experts urged ministers to have a grown-up discussion about the future of free universal services. Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater yesterday condemned the SNP for ditching policies her party supported in government as part of the 500 million of cuts unveiled last week. She said the situation of the upcoming Budget winning the support of her party when it is published later this year is now an unlikely outcome. It comes as the respected Fraser of Allander Institute called on the Scottish Government to consider an end to some universal services like free university tuition as part of efforts to address tough financial challenges. Since the breakdown of the Bute House Agreement, the SNP is in minority government and will need the support of opposition MSPs to get its Budget passed - and any failure to do so could trigger a Holyrood election. Scottish Greens MSP Lorna Slater said her party is unlikely to support the SNP budget Speaking to the BBCs The Sunday Show, Ms Slater said: Ill be honest, theyve cut all the Green stuff that weve put in it. We worked really hard within government to make sure there was funding for nature restoration, to make sure we had funding for things like Zero Waste Scotland, all the net zero, transportation, active travel - the Greens worked really hard to make sure our core priorities were funded. We had to make difficult decisions for that to be the case. The SNP have now rolled back on all of that, so it doesnt look like theyre wanting our votes, so they need to get the votes from another party in the chamber. But if they wanted Green votes I think they would have signalled that more strongly, so it is hard to imagine who is going to sign up to this Budget because I think the SNP right now are in a difficult place. She said it was absolutely the case that the Greens will not vote for the Budget if Green priorities arent covered by the Budget. Asked what it would take to win the partys support, she said: To be honest, I think that is an unlikely outcome because what we would need to see is a return to the priorities that were under the Bute House Agreement - all the things which were in those 55 pages of policy, making sure we had money for active travel, money to retrofit homes, money to improve bus services and trains, all that good stuff - looking forward to a carbon land tax. She added: The swathe of cuts that have gone through those areas of policy, it just doesnt look like the SNP will be even trying to get our votes on those things. Ms Slater and her party colleagues are unhappy as they feel their priorities were dropped Last weeks savings unveiled by Finance Secretary Shona Robison included 160 million on scrapping universal winter fuel payments, 115.8 million from health and social care, including mental health services, digital technology and providing more disabled toilets, 60 million from emergency spending controls on recruitment, overtime, travel and marketing, 40 million from ending the ScotRail pilot scheme which scrapped peak fares, and 37 million from council money for pupil iPads and nature and flood defences. There was also a 23.4 million cut to the net zero and energy portfolio, 6.7 million from education and skills, and 2 million from ending free bus travel for asylum seekers. Mairi Spowage, of the Fraser of Allander Institute at Strathclyde University, said the cuts were down to measures like higher public sector pay deals in Scotland than other parts of the UK and the council tax freeze. On the future of universal benefits like free university tuition and prescriptions, she said: I think its important to think about how we can deliver public services most efficiently, and in the end where the burden of paying for services should fall. We talk about free tuition, for example, in Scotland but it isnt free - we are paying for it through our taxes. And theres questions over the sustainability of the current model for university tuition because essentially universities arent getting enough money to cover the costs of educating students and they are having to get income from other sources, like international students. So there are questions about the sustainability of some of these things which we should have a grown-up discussion about. She added: There are questions we should all be asking about how we can deliver public services more efficiently, and where the burden for funding should fall. Public Finance Minister Ivan McKee insisted that there is no threat to tuition fees and no threat to free prescriptions and accused Ms Slater politicising issues around the Budget. He said: Lorna is going to come on and play politics, of course she is, but the reality is this government is focused on the First Ministers four missions: growing the economy, providing excellent public services, tackling climate change and the move towards net zero, and tackling child poverty, and weve made significant inroads over the last couple of years to do that. So I think there will be scope to have conversations with all of the other parties. At least six civil servants and special advisers were part of a plot to get Alex Salmond prosecuted, a former SNP minister has claimed. Fergus Ewing alleged that the former First Minister was victim of a hounding from within government in what he dubbed the greatest scandal of my lifetime. Mr Salmond, 69, was cleared of a litany of sex offences against nine women at the High Court in Edinburgh in March 2020. In a statement released yesterday, Mr Ewing, a former minister under both Mr Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon, said: The hounding of any individual is always abhorrent. But the concerted action taken against former First Minister Alex Salmond by a group of top civil servants, and by Scottish Government special advisers, apparently with the objective of ensuring that [he] was reported to the Crown with a view to his being charged with serious criminal offences, is in my view the greatest political scandal of my lifetime. Fergus Ewing claims there was a grotesque campaign against Alex Salmond Mr Salmond was awarded 512,000 at the Court of Session in 2019 following a judicial review into the Governments handling of complaints about him, which concluded that the process had been tainted with apparent bias. Mr Ewing said he believed the outcome proved that there had been serious misconduct in the handling of the case by the civil service. In his statement, originally given to the Sunday Mail, Mr Ewing said: The concerted actions revealed by documents already in the public domain demonstrate clearly that there was a determination to see that Alex Salmond was reported to the Crown Office to see him prosecuted and jailed. Whatever happened to the duty of impartiality of the civil service? I find this campaign against Alex Salmond to be grotesque, bizarre, unprecedented and almost unbelievable. But it is all there in black and white... goodness only knows what further revelations will emerge when the whole truth is exposed. Mr Ewing also said: There are in my view at least six senior officials in the Scottish civil service, and current or former special advisers, who also have the gravest of questions to answer. Mr Ewing said there was a determination to see that Alex Salmond, above, was reported to the Crown Office Earlier this year, Tory MP David Davis used parliamentary privilege in the Commons to read out a series of messages which he claimed pointed to a conspiracy against Mr Salmond. Mr Ewing said the UK Government has pledged that similar parliamentary privilege powers would be devolved to Holyrood. He added: I wonder if the SNP Government will welcome this transfer of power to Holyrood...perhaps this will be, for them, a devolution too far. He also claimed the Holyrood committee which held an inquiry into the issue had been hamstrung by overt party partisanship and a long battle to obtain heavily redacted key documents from the Government. Mr Ewing added: What happened was scandalous and wrong by any standards. The courts may yet determine whether what happened was also illegal. A Government spokesman said: It would not be appropriate to comment on live litigation. King Charles is said to be losing patience with his brother Prince Andrew over his continued refusal to leave Royal Lodge. Charles has long been trying to get the Duke of York out of the 30-room, 30milliion property in Windsor, which he lives in with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. Andrew, 64, has insisted on staying in the mansion despite stepping down from official duties nearly five years ago. The King has been funding private guards at the mansion since Andrew's armed cops - costing 3million a year - were removed in 2022 amid the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Charles is said to be at the end of his tether and has made it clear there are now only 'two possible options' for Andrew, The Times reported. King Charles is said to be losing patience with his brother Prince Andrew over his continued refusal to leave Royal Lodge. Pictured: The pair in 2022 Andrew, 64, has insisted on staying in Royal Lodge (pictured) despite stepping down from official duties nearly five years ago The first is for the duke to find a way of being financially independent by paying for his own expenses, which would cover his security and the maintenance on his home. The second, according to sources close to the King, is for Andrew to move into 'more suitable accommodation'. Charles has encouraged Andrew to move into Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor estate, which is the former home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex before their move to California. The cottage comes with being within the existing security cordon of the royal Windsor estate and was refurbished by Harry and Meghan. The Duke may have been set an autumn deadline to leave Royal Lodge, it was reported last month. The ultimatum reportedly came from the monarch, who has long been trying to get his disgraced younger brother out of the property. Andrew has been reluctant to leave, having signed a 75-year lease with the Crown Estate when he moved in in 2003 on condition of making a 1million down payment and paying 260,000-a-year in rent. Royal Lodge in Windsor is surrounded by stunning grounds and scenery Andrew rejected the opportunity to move to nearby Frogmore Cottage (pictured) Royal Lodge (pictured) was once known as King's Lodge but its name was changed by the Duke of Cumberland when he became King George IV in 1820 Prince Andrew has been refusing to leave the mansion to the King's frustration. Pictured: Prince Andrew Duke Of York rides out at Windsor Castle There is also the added complication of much-needed repairs to the buildings on the property, some of which have fallen into disrepair and the bill for renovations already rising to 7million. Charles's overtures to get Andrew to leave appeared to have taken a twist after it was reported he told his brother's security team their services will no longer be required. Charles has been 'letting his feelings' towards Andrew be known by getting rid of the security team guarding his brother's home, it was also claimed last month. The ten-strong team of security guards, who were being funded by Charles, were told they will not be required from the autumn prompting speculation the duke will be forced to move. In June, it was claimed Charles 'wants to rent out Windsor Royal Lodge for 1million a year' but Andrew will have to move out of the mansion first. The King is reportedly eager to generate commercial revenue from the stunning home - just as soon as he boots out the disgraced Duke of York who is refusing to pack up and leave, The Sun reported. Thousands of pensioners could die if winter fuel payments are cut, according to Labour's own research. The shocking analysis was published in 2017 when Sir Keir Starmer sat in the Shadow Cabinet. It warned that Conservative plans to axe the allowance for ten million elderly voters would increase excess deaths by 3,850 that winter. And it called Theresa May's proposal, which was later abandoned, the 'single biggest attack on pensioners in a generation in our country'. The revelation has sparked accusations of 'blatant hypocrisy' from Labour's own MPs as the party now forces through the deeply unpopular means-testing of the energy bill subsidy. Thousands of pensioners could die if winter fuel payments are cut, according to Labour 's own research. Pictured: Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves Under the new proposals, pensioners living on just above 13,000 a year will lose the winter fuel help (stock image) Published during the 2017 election campaign, the research said: 'Since the introduction of the winter fuel payment by Labour in 1997, allowing for significant variation in winter weather, deaths among the elderly have fallen from around 34,000 to 24,000. Half of the almost 10,000 decrease in so-called 'excess winter deaths' the rise in mortality that occurs each winter between 2000 and 2012 was due to the introduction of the winter fuel allowance.' Last night one Labour MP told the Mail: 'This is blatant hypocrisy. All those now reversing Gordon Brown's winter fuel allowance were Labour MPs when we fought against Theresa May's government's plans to scrap it in 2017. 'Times change but the basic ethos and political principles of the largest parties should not be quite as interchangeable.' Labour MP Rachael Maskell, who last week warned the plan would lead to more pensioners dying from the cold, said: 'My concern is that an NHS under extreme pressure will experience even more pressure if people who are fuel-poor are ending up there because they can't heat their homes. 'Labour has got to find a solution to assure people they can get through this winter.' Labour MP Rachael Maskell, who last week warned the plan would lead to more pensioners dying from the cold, said: 'My concern is that an NHS under extreme pressure will experience even more pressure if people who are fuel-poor are ending up there because they can't heat their homes' Yesterday even the Health Secretary Wes Streeting admitted he is 'not remotely happy' about stripping the annual fuel bill subsidy, worth up to 300 The revelation that Labour itself warned of the deadly risks of the policy it is now driving through could prompt yet more of its MPs to rebel when they come to vote on it tomorrow. Yesterday even the Health Secretary admitted he is 'not remotely happy' about stripping the annual fuel bill subsidy, worth up to 300. Wes Streeting told Sky News: 'I think it is a tough choice and we've had plenty of political criticism for it, I think, which demonstrates the political pain of it. 'I'm not remotely happy about it, and I'm not remotely happy about having to say to some of my constituents, 'I'm sorry that I'm going into work this week to vote for something that will take money away from you'.' He insisted the Government had to act to fill the 22billlion 'black hole' in the public finances which the party claims was left by the Conservatives. Mr Streeting added: 'We didn't come into government determined to take away people's winter fuel allowances. That's not the primary motivation here. The motivation is to balance the books.' Labour dissenters previously warned that the plan to axe winter fuel payments would save little money once the cost of treating pensioners hit by the cold had been factored in (file photo) But, hinting at further cuts, he warned: 'It's not just pensioners. We've got the Budget and the spending review coming up.' Both he and the Prime Minister refused to say if Labour MPs would be punished for rebelling against the Government amid rumours that dozens may abstain in tomorrow's Commons showdown. Asked if Labour MPs who vote against the legislation will have the party whip withdrawn as seven did in July for opposing the two-child benefit cap - Mr Streeting replied: 'Well, that's a matter for the Prime Minister and the Chief Whip.' When Sir Keir was asked the same question by the BBC, he replied: 'Well, that'll be a matter for the Chief Whip and we'll assess that as we go along.' Initially Labour had attempted to introduce the cuts through secondary legislation without any scrutiny in the Commons, before performing a U-turn under pressure from the Tories. But the PM said he is now 'glad' a vote is going ahead, adding: 'I think it's very important for Parliament to speak on this. This is really tough, and I do get that it's tough, it's not easy, and no Prime Minister wants to take a decision like this. Last night Tory chairman Richard Fuller said: 'This week's vote on the Conservatives' motion is a vote to protect millions of vulnerable pensioners' 'But the winter fuel payments are now to be targeted, they were untargeted before, and I think everybody thought that wasn't a particularly good system, so it needed to be targeted.' Asked whether he was 'willing' to be unpopular, Sir Keir replied: 'We're going to have to be unpopular. Popular decisions aren't tough, they're easy.' Last night Tory chairman Richard Fuller said: 'This week's vote on the Conservatives' motion is a vote to protect millions of vulnerable pensioners. 'No MP from any party should run scared from stopping Labour's cruel plans to cut the winter fuel payments. 'It's time for all Members of Parliament to put aside party politics and do the right thing.' Labour MP Rosie Duffield has said she 'absolutely' can not support the Government but will abstain rather than vote against. Labour MP Rosie Duffield has said she 'absolutely' can not support the Government but will abstain rather than vote against Yesterday independent MP John McDonnell who spoke out against the winter fuel cuts back in 2017 when he was shadow chancellor said he thought some pensioners would die as a result of the cuts She told Times Radio: 'This government has made it very clear that Labour MPs who vote against this new government will be punished and have the whip removed. But I will be showing that I don't agree with them by abstaining and I know a few colleagues are doing the same.' Yesterday independent MP John McDonnell who spoke out against the winter fuel cuts back in 2017 when he was shadow chancellor said he thought some pensioners would die as a result of the cuts. He wrote on X: 'I remain in hope ministers will come forward with an alternative to protect my constituents, who will suffer badly from this change of policy. If not I can't in all conscience do anything else but vote against.' Despite opposition from the Tories, Liberal Democrats, the Scottish National Party and independents, as well as likely Labour abstentions, the policy will sail through the Commons because of Labour's huge majority. Last night, a Government spokesman said: 'We do not recognise these figures. 'We are committed to supporting pensioners through the triple lock, which means that over 12 million pensioners will see their state pensions increase by almost 1,000 over the next five years. 'Given the dire state of the public finances we have inherited, it's right that we target support to those who need it most. 'Over a million pensioners will continue to receive the winter fuel payment, while many others will also benefit from the 150 warm home discount from October.' Three toddlers are fighting for their lives after an inferno engulfed their Melbourne home, as police bring in arson and explosives experts. Emergency services were called to a home in Fergus Court in the northwestern suburb of Sydenham about 9.30pm on Sunday following reports of a house fire. Firefighters entered the home to tackle the blaze and rescued three children, all believed to be aged five and under, who were treated at the scene by paramedics. The three youngsters were then rushed to Royal Children's Hospital with life-threatening injuries. An investigation has now been launched after neighbours reported hearing a loud bang shortly before the blaze broke out. Explosives experts among the teams of investigators at the scene, Victoria Police confirmed on Monday. 'Detectives and an arson chemist will attend the scene this morning,' said a police spokesman on Monday morning. Three toddlers are fighting for their lives after an inferno engulfed their Melbourne home, as police bring in arson and explosives experts An investigation has now been launched into the circumstances of the blaze at the home in Fergus Court in the northwestern suburb of Sydenham about 9.30pm on Sunday Forensic police were seen combing through debris outside the home after they joined fire investigators and Victoria Police's Arson Squad at the scene 'No one else was injured in the fire with investigators working to determine if anyone else was present in the home at the time or just prior to the fire.' Forensic police were seen combing through debris outside the home after they joined fire investigators and Victoria Police's Arson Squad at the scene. Detectives are also canvassing the area in search of CCTV they believe might help determine where the children's guardians were at the time of the blaze. Neighbours have claimed a car had been parked under the home's carport before the fire, but was not there when the inferno take grip of the building. It is understood police are working to establish if anyone in the home had left around the time the blaze erupted. The crime scene remains taped off as police continue to probe inside the house for clues. Neighbours claim the family had only recently moved into the property. A dog was carried out of the backyard by a firefighter about 9.30am on Monday. It appeared uninjured and is believed to have fled the fire and returned home later. The dog is being kept in a fire duty pod, along with a child's couch, outside the property. A dog was carried out of the backyard by a firefighter about 9.30am on Monday. It appeared uninjured and is believed to have fled the fire and returned home later Detectives are also canvassing the area in search of CCTV they believe might help determine where the children's guardians were at the time of the blaze Police have urged anyone with information to come forward. Fire Rescue Victoria said they found smoke and flames billowing from the brick home's roof. 'Firefighters arrived on scene within six minutes to find a single storey brick dwelling fully involved,' an FRV spokesman said in a statement. 'Crews wore breathing apparatus to tackle the blaze and conduct an internal search of the property.' Fire Rescue Victoria said the properties either side of the house were not affected but would be checked for smoke damage. Power and gas companies have been requested to attend the site. A Jordanian gunman has shot dead three Israeli guards at a border crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan before being shot and killed - as the fighting continues to rage on in Gaza. Jordan's interior ministry identified the shooter as Maher Diab Hussein al-Jazi, after Israel's military confirmed he had been 'eliminated'. The military said 'a terrorist' reached the crossing area, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, in a truck 'from Jordan'. The driver 'exited the truck and opened fire at Israeli security forces operating at the bridge', a military statement said. The rare attack at the Allenby Bridge crossing comes amid soaring violence in the West Bank with major Israeli raids and attacks by Palestinians. Jordan's interior ministry identified the shooter as Maher Diab Hussein al-Jazi, after Israel 's military confirmed he had been 'eliminated' (pictured: Israeli soldiers walk, at the Allenby Bridge Crossing between the West Bank and Jordan) The rare attack at the Allenby Bridge crossing comes amid soaring violence in the West Bank with major Israeli raids and attacks by Palestinians (pictured: Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip) Violence in the West Bank has surged alongside the war in Gaza which began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 (pictured: People are seen at the area after Israeli army's attack on Amr Ibn al-Aas school in Gaza City) The military told AFP that three Israelis working as 'security guards' were killed in the shooting, adding they were not in the army or police. The attacker was shot dead, the military said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the assailant as a 'despicable terrorist' inspired by 'a murderous ideology' which he said was fuelled by Iran. Hamas praised the attack but did not claim responsibility for it, adding it 'affirms the Arab peoples' rejection of the (Israeli) occupation, its crimes, and its ambitions in Palestine and Jordan'. The crossing, in the Jordan Valley, is the only international gateway for Palestinians from the West Bank that does not require entering Israel, which has occupied the territory since 1967. Violence in the West Bank has surged alongside the war in Gaza which began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7. Israel's military on August 28 launched simultaneous raids across several cities and refugee camps in the northern West Bank, killing at least 36 Palestinians, according to the Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry. The military said it killed 35 militants. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed at least 14 of the fatalities as members. Since October 7, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 662 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The military told AFP that three Israelis working as 'security guards' were killed in the shooting, adding they were not in the army or police The military said 'a terrorist' reached the crossing area, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, in a truck 'from Jordan' (pictured: Israeli forces investigate at the site after a truck driver opened fire) The driver 'exited the truck and opened fire at Israeli security forces operating at the bridge', a military statement said At least 23 Israelis, including members of the security forces, have been killed in Palestinian attacks during the same period, Israeli officials say. The Hamas attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians including some hostages killed in captivity, official Israeli figures show. Militants seized 251 hostages during the attack, 97 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory offensive in Gaza has so far killed at least 40,972 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. The UN human rights office says most of the dead are women and children. On Sunday, Israel pounded Gaza with air strikes and shelling as prospects remained dim for a ceasefire, while in the evening the military said two rockets were fired from northern Gaza towards the area of Ashkelon. One was intercepted, while the other fell off the coast of Ashkelon city, it said. Gaza's civil defence agency said nearly a dozen people were killed in Israeli air strikes on Sunday, including five in Jabalia refugee camp. The Israeli military said it had struck around '25 Hamas targets' across Gaza over the past day. There has been no respite for the 2.4 million Palestinians living in Gaza, almost all of whom have been displaced at least once. 'Moving from one area to another is distressing because there is no safe place in Gaza,' said Raeed Hamad, 51, a cancer patient from the southern city of Khan Yunis. People check a burnt car a day after an attack by Jewish settlers on the village of Jit near Nablus in the occupied West Bank that left a 23-year-old man dead and others with critical gunshot wounds, on August 16, 2024 There are now at least 196 with 29 appearing last year in flagrant violation of UN resolutions and international law, according to an analysis by the BBC 'We are displaced under heavy bombardments... I have lost weight and I'm exhausted.' Defence Minister Yoav Gallant toured the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza on Sunday, where he vowed again to eliminate Hamas. But he said the military was focusing on the northern front also, where Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israeli forces traded fire on Sunday. 'While you are fighting here in Gaza, we are preparing for anything that may happen in the north,' Gallant told soldiers, according to a statement issued by his office. 'The shift of the centre of gravity can happen quickly and can also involve you in a short period of time.' Hamas is demanding a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza as part of a ceasefire deal, but Israel insists troops must remain along the Gaza-Egypt border. The United States, Qatar and Egypt have all been mediating in efforts to forge a ceasefire. Palestinians have warned of rising attacks from armed settlers who they say are often backed by the military and forcibly remove them from their homes Israeli protesters numbering in the tens of thousands have for weeks mounted pressure on the government, demanding a deal that would mean the release of hostages. A smaller crowd of several hundred people gathered in Tel Aviv on Sunday night holding Israeli flags and signs demanding the government 'stop the war' and free the hostages. 'We will not leave them in Gaza,' they chanted, some pounding on drums. 'We will not leave them down there... We don't want more deaths, it's time for agreements.' International pressure to end the war has also intensified after Friday's fatal shooting in the West Bank of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was demonstrating against Israeli settlements in the territory. Her family, Turkey and the UN rights office all said Israeli forces killed her. Israel's military said the incident is under review. Domestic abuse survivors are facing 'sleepless nights' ahead of Labour's mass prisoner release next week, a government advisor has warned and said victims are 'paying the price' for the UK's overcrowded jails. The government's early-release scheme will see prisoners automatically freed after serving between 40 to 45 per cent of their prison time as ministers attempt to tackle the overcrowding crisis in UK prisons. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously told the BBC no high-risk prisoners will be released, but confessed the risk could not be entirely quashed. He added on Sunday: 'We are doing everything we can to make sure that high-risk and domestic abusers, domestic violence cases are not released.' But Nicole Jacobs, the domestic abuse commissioner, warned that about a third of domestic abuse survivors were likely unaware that their perpetrators are due to be released on Tuesday. She told the Times that victims were 'paying the price' for Britain's overcrowded prisons, warning that survivors are at risk of their attackers getting in contact with them, with them likely knowing their workplace and home address. Domestic abusers are set to be released from behind bars under Labour's new early release scheme (Pictured: Keir Starmer) But Nicole Jacobs (pictured), the domestic abuse commissioner, warned that about a third of domestic abuse survivors were likely unaware or unsupported that their perpetrators are due to be released on Tuesday Newly appointed Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood (pictured) has declared several offences would also be exempt from the new scheme in a bid to keep the public safe from the most dangerous criminals 'We must ensure that victims aren't lost in the shuffle of the changes that are being made in the prison release schemes and the perception of justice and fairness. 'Victims of domestic abuse are very focused on those release dates, it causes them sleepless nights, they will change so much of their daily activities knowing that their perpetrator is being released, the uncertainty of not knowing if that person will comply with licensing conditions and of release. 'This is incredibly stressful in the normal situation so for those dates to change unexpectedly or without them knowing that is a huge consequence for them to pay.' A senior probation officer said that even though the scheme was announced eight weeks ago, most officers were only given four weeks or less to prepare for offenders who the Prisons Service determined eligible for release. It comes as probation staff issued a warning over the 2,000 inmates set for early release, with an insider telling the Sun: 'This is a risky move . . . probation staff are being asked to fly blind.' Newly appointed Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has declared several offences would also be exempt from the new scheme in a bid to keep the public safe from the most dangerous criminals. Mahmood also aimed to curb the amount of domestic abusers set free from prison, by ensuring those serving time for coercive control, stalking, harassment or breach of a restraining or non-molestation order as well as non-fatal throttling would be exempt. But prisoners convicted of broader offences like assault or criminal damage, which are not specific to domestic violence, are not excluded - therefore they can qualify for the government's scheme. A senior government source told the Times that a high proportion of those released on Tuesday would be domestic abusers after the Ministry of Justice said it couldn't say how many of those due for release were domestic abusers as they were difficult to distinguish from other violent convicts. Among the prisoners set to walk free are a man who told his partner he was 'enjoying' attacking her, The Times reports. Shane Riley, who said he 'enjoyed' attacking his partner after she broke off their relationship will also be free after serving barely nine months of his sentence Jordan Green, who was put behind bars after he pleaded guilty to robbery and dangerous driving in March, will also be released under the new scheme The governments 'SDS40' scheme, could see prisoners automatically freed after serving between 40 to 45 per cent of their prison time, as ministers attempt to tackle the overcrowding crisis in UK prisons (Pictured: HMP Wandsworth) Under Sir Keir's new scheme, an abuser who will be granted freedom after serving barely half of his prison sentence is Shane Riley. The then 44-year-old said he was 'enjoying' assaulting his partner as he punched, kicked ,and headbutted the victim in her Soham home when she broke off their relationship on June 8, 2020. He was sentenced to 23 months for causing actual bodily harm, common assault, making threats to kill, and criminal damage. He will serve less than nine months. Another offender who will also taste freedom thanks to Labour's new scheme will be Jordan Green, who was put behind bars after he pleaded guilty to robbery and dangerous driving in March. He was jailed for 27 months after an incident saw him approach a woman's window in Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees and screech: 'Get out of the f***ing car' He proceeded to hurl her mobile phone out of his window as he sped off, which allowed her take an image the criminal. Green, who was previously handed a prison sentence after he attacked his own mother. will only spend four months in jail. Inmates now behind bars will be set free after serving only 40 per cent of their sentence - lowered from the previous 50 per cent - in a fresh bid to tackle prison overcrowding. The emergency plan, also known as standard determinate sentence 40 SDS40, will mark the first time the automatic release point for prisoners fell below half sentence served. Crimes exempt from the new early release scheme include prisoners with sentences for sexual and violent offences of over four years (stock image) It comes as official figures showed there were 88,521 people behind bars on Friday, 171 more than the previous record set at the end of last week. The prison population has now risen by 1,025 people over the past four weeks and now stands at its highest level since weekly population data was first published in 2011. Crimes exempt from the new early release scheme include prisoners sentences for sexual and violent offences of over four years. The Justice Secretary was previously advised that the emergency early release plan could prevent prisons running out of space within weeks. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) was been told by officials that the move would give them an extra 18 months to allow more prison places to be freed up. It would also allow for a wider review of sentencing to take place. Thousands of holidaymakers have been affected by travel chaos at Gatwick Airport as an air-traffic control staff shortage sees at least 100 flights cancelled. According to Nats, the air-traffic control provider that runs the tower, temporary air traffic restrictions are currently in place at the airport 'in order to maintain safety'. This is expected to cost airlines millions of pounds and lead to more than 15,000 passengers having their travel plans disrupted. At least 64 easyJet arrivals and departures have been grounded at the Sussex airport on one of the busiest and most lucrative days of the summer. The mass cancellations are a repeat of problems suffered at the same airport a year ago and in June 2024. A Nats spokesperson apologised for 'the inconvenience caused' but gave no indication as to when the disruption would end. According to Nats, the air-traffic control provider that runs the tower, temporary air traffic restrictions are currently in place at Gatwick Airport 'in order to maintain safety' (file image) At least 64 easyJet arrivals and departures have been grounded at the London airport on one of the busiest and most lucrative days of the summer (file image) In a statement, the spokesperson said: 'NATS air traffic control staffing shortages at Gatwick has led to a significantly reduced flow rate being imposed on all airlines today which is resulting in flights to and from Gatwick Airport being subject to disruption including some cancellations. 'This has been further exacerbated by air traffic control restrictions due to adverse weather in Europe. 'We are extremely disappointed that customers are once again being impacted by this and while this is outside of our control, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused to our customers. 'We are doing all possible to minimise the impact of the disruption and have notified those on cancelled flights of their options to rebook or receive a refund and are providing hotel accommodation and meals where required.' A Brit set to fly to London Gatwick this evening from Nantes in Brittany, France, revealed the travel chaos to MailOnline. The holidaymaker had to shell out an extra 130 on top of his original 110 flight - which he has applied to get a refund for. He said: 'It's an absolute nightmare. I'm meant to be at work tomorrow and now I might have to take an extra day's annual leave. 'I'd already started making my way to the airport when EasyJet said the flight was delayed. I can't get a refund on my train and I'm out of pocket more than 240 now. 'EasyJet also said there weren't enough air traffic controllers because of illness. Then finally they cancelled the flight because of bad weather in London. Four EasyJet round-trips between Gatwick and Amsterdam have been axed, along with two return journeys to each of Faro, Paris, Geneva and Belfast (file image) 'The flight wasn't due to leave until 9pm this evening and of course there was no number to call from EasyJet. 'It's not like the thunderstorms were a surprise, it's just so annoying. 'If they made it easy to sort an alternative it would be better but now I've had to shell out another 130 to get a flight from a different airport tomorrow evening.' Four EasyJet round-trips between Gatwick and Amsterdam have been axed, along with two return journeys to each of Faro, Paris, Geneva and Belfast. Key easyJet holiday flights to and from Heraklion in Crete, Naples and Lisbon are also cancelled. A spokesperson for easyJet said: 'Nats air-traffic control staffing shortages at Gatwick led to a significantly reduced flow rate being imposed on all airlines today which is resulting in flights to and from Gatwick airport being subject to disruption including some cancellations. 'We are extremely disappointed that customers are once again being impacted by this and while this is outside of our control, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused. 'We are doing all possible to minimise the impact of the disruption and have notified those on cancelled flights of their options to rebook or receive a refund and are providing hotel accommodation and meals where required.' British Airways grounded its evening flights to and from Bordeaux and Jersey, while its sister airline, Vueling, cancelled 16 flights,. Wizz Air grounded flights serving Vienna and Venice. A spokesperson for Gatwick said: 'Due to short-notice absence in the air-traffic control tower, temporary restrictions have been put in place today, in addition to existing restrictions in place due to adverse weather across UK and Europe. These may result in some delays and cancellations. 'London Gatwick apologises to any passengers impacted by these restrictions. Please contact your airline for more information.' A Canadian man was shocked to learn that a mysterious hole he found on Google Maps could actually be a massive crater from an ancient meteor. Joel Lapointe was looking at locations in Quebec's Cote-Nord region, where he planned to go on a camping trip, but he soon stumbled upon a 'suspicious pit.' On Google Maps, he was able to determine that the crater was about fifteen kilometers in diameter. But something about the way the pit curved seemed unnatural to him. A Canadian man was shocked to learn that a mysterious hole he found on Google Maps could actually be a massive crater from an ancient meteor Lapointe then noticed a ring of mountains roughly eight kilometers in diameter surrounding the nearby Marsal Lake- another unusual feature for the area. He turned over his findings to expert researchers, including French geophysicist Pierre Rochette, who revealed that the pit could be the site of an ancient meteor crash. 'Looking at the topography, it's very suggestive of impact,' Rochette told the CBC. After receiving material samples from the pit, the geophysicist identified the presence of zircon- a mineral that preserves microscopic damages caused by a meteor's impact. Although the evidence suggests that the crater was made by an ancient space rock, the experts are waiting to conduct further tests before offering a final verdict. If the pit really is the crash-site of a meteor, Rochette told the CBC, the discovery would be 'major,' as the last such find was in 2013. On Google Maps, he was able to determine that the crater was about fifteen kilometers in diameter According to NASA, impact craters form when an object travelling thousands of miles per hour slams into the surface of a planet, releasing a flood of shockwaves that melt and recrystallize the rock. Certain craters- such as potentially this one- can date back millions or even a hundred million years, Tara Hayden, a postdoctoral associate at Western University, told the CBC. Hayden added that meteorites can be composed of different substances, like 'ancient planets' and material from the birth of the solar system. 'It could tell us about when it was delivered to Earth,' she said. 'That's the wonderful thing about impact craters. We get to have this link between Earth and the outside universe.' Gordon Osinksi, an Earth Sciences professor at Western University, said that the pit is a 'strong contender' for a meteorite crash site. Zircon, a mineral that preserves microscopic damages caused by a meteor's impact, was discovered in the pit The professor hasn't travelled to identify a crater in over a decade, and he said that the prospect for doing so now is 'super exciting' because it 'doesn't happen too often.' 'It's quite easy with Google Earth these days to go on and find structures that a circular or semi-circular in origin,' he explained. But 'nine times out of 10 they're not [craters.]' However, Osinksi believes that this site could be an exception. He has argued that the location is 'promising' enough that scientists should study it. The Earth Sciences professor plans on examining the suspicious pit next year. A former detective has revealed that the coward who allegedly threw scalding hot coffee over a nine-month-old baby may have been able to flee the country because authorities might not have known his name. Queensland Police have been working with partner agencies around the world amid fears the man responsible for the sickening attack has fled interstate or even left Australia altogether. Little Luka Burgic had been on a picnic with his mother, Erna, in Hanlon Park, in inner south east Brisbane, when the man approached them at around midday on August 27 and poured a thermos of scalding coffee over the infant before fleeing. The baby suffered life-threatening burns to his face, upper body and arms and as a result of the unprovoked attack has undergone four operations in Queensland Children's Hospital. There are serious concerns the unknown assailant is trying to evade justice by hiding out abroad. Former Queensland police superintendent Jim Keogh was asked on Sunrise how the alleged offender could have possibly fled the country when his face was everywhere in the hours after the heinous crime. 'As far as getting on a plane goes, if you are going to go to an airport alert or passport alert, you've got have to have a name. You can't just go with an image. 'They can certainly get through and certainly leave the country.' Queensland Police have been working with partner agencies around the world amid fears the man responsible for the sickening attack has fled interstate or even left Australia altogether (pictured: the suspect) Former Queensland police superintendent Jim Keogh (pictured) was asked on Sunrise how the alleged offender could have possibly fled the country when his face was everywhere in the hours after the heinous crime However, Mr Keogh said he was surprised someone hadn't identified the offender through the images. 'I think you will find police have a pretty good idea of who the offender might be and certainly if they are going internationally, there must be information or intelligence to indicate that the offender has fled Australia,' he added. Queensland Police are due to give an update on Monday morning. Mr Keogh warned that if the alleged assailant had fled overseas, it 'won't be as easy' to track him down because the images wouldn't be circulated. 'Though Interpol and the policing authorities over there will covertly and stealthily look for the offender, you won't have the support that we have here in the community here in Australia,' Mr Keogh added. Former investigator Charlie Bezzina previously told Daily Mail Australia that the the man's act was so heinous it was only a matter of time before he was apprehended. 'If he's fled interstate, he won't last long,' the decorated detective, who led multiple manhunts throughout his career, said. Luka Burgic's mother, Erna, says she has been suffering flashbacks of the horrendous ordeal 'Interstate relationships between police agencies are very strong. Within Australia, there won't be a problem (finding him). 'If he's gone overseas, there is sometimes a concern that in some third-world countries they don't particularly have a "care factor" about crimes committed outside their borders. 'But in this case, given the enormity of the hideous act that this man has allegedly perpetrated on a young baby, that will pull at the heartstrings of any government - and any police agency - in the world. 'And no one will want the bad publicity that would come with them having this suspect, who has allegedly committed this heinous crime, in their country and that they're not co-operating.' Mr Bezzina urged anyone with any information to come forward immediately. The man is described as being in his 30s or 40s and of a proportionate build with tanned skin. He was wearing a black hat, glasses, a shirt and shorts at the time of the attack. Police have tracked his movements after the attack to the southern Brisbane suburb of Tarragindi, where he changed his clothes outside a church. He then caught a rideshare car into central Brisbane, before moving onto Caxton Street where the trail went cold. Liana Vagnoni, 22, scored a large sandwich and croissant last week for only $8 in Melbourne using the Too Good to Go app. Source: TikTok As the cost of living continues to bite, Aussies are trying to figure out how to secure a decent meal without breaking the bank. And, as some turn to dumpster diving, a new alternative is now available that taps into the large volume of wasted food without so much as opening a bin. Liana Vagnoni, 22, managed to score herself a large ciabatta sandwich and an almond croissant for $8 this week at a local cafe near her home in Bundoora, Melbourne collecting it directly from the venue despite only paying a third of its original price of $24. It is thanks to the new social impact app Too Good To Go that allows hospitality venues to sell food that would otherwise be thrown out. "From a consumer perspective, I will eat anything for a cheaper price," student Vagnoni told Yahoo News. "[It] feels like you are buying food out, minus the cost." Started in Denmark in 2015, the free app launched in Melbourne, its first Australian location, last Thursday following its success in other countries, including the UK and US. The company plans to also make the app available in Sydney before the end of the year. "For around a year now I had been seeing videos of it operating in America... I saw last week that it had been brought to Melbourne. In university I'm studying impacts of food waste and the amount there is, [so] I was so excited to see that there was now an app to deal with this," she said. Vagnoni has only used the app once but confirmed she intends to use it frequently, saying she's eager to recruit some of her favourite venues so she can reap the benefits. Over $36.6 million worth of food is put in the bin every year in Australia. Source: Simon Eden/Getty Aussies score cheap food during food waste crisis Every year roughly 7.6 million tonnes worth of food is wasted in Australia, meaning despite the food going through a process of being grown or imported, handled, transported, prepared, cooked and even paid for, it lands in the bin. In trying economic times, with over 20 per cent of Aussies admitting food is a major source of money concern, tapping into this large volume of food waste is in the best interest of the country and Too Good To Go is attempting to tackle this, with hospitality venues also benefitting from the initiative. "It's a $36.6 billion food waste problem in Australia, and that's just mind-blowing... we're super motivated to contribute to that kind of massive problem," Country Director of Too Good To Go, Joost Rietveld, told Yahoo News. Country Director of Too Good To Go, Joost Rietveld, hopes the app will help tackle food waste in the country. Source: LinkedIn/TooGoodToGo How does the Too Good To Go app work? Hospitality venues flag when they have food available in the app and Aussies can select and pay for a "surprise bag" from whichever retailer they select, collecting it from the premises at a time set out by the venue. There is no guarantee what the food will be, as knowing what will be leftover by the end of the day is difficult to predict, however, those using this food source are guaranteed to get value for money. "They have a guarantee to the value they get... they will get three times the value that they pay for," Rietveld explained. "You can also see that in the app, it will show you not only what you're paying, but also the original value that you would get. So that's something you can rely on." Customers cop 'trade-off' for paying one-third of food value This "trade-off" allows Aussies to get food at a cheaper price but without knowing exactly what they're buying, accommodating for allergens and food intolerances can be tricky. However, in most cases, Rietveld said vendors do their best to find suitable food for the customer, or they are able to get their money back. "This is the trade-off, of getting that value but then accepting you don't know what you'll get," he said. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. It was two years ago today that Queen Elizabeth II passed away peacefully at the age of 96, after a 70-year reign that many hoped would somehow go on forever. King Charles, as he became near the Royal Family's Balmoral estate in Scotland on September 8, 2022, had been the longest-serving heir apparent in British history. The day when he both lost his mother and finally fulfilled his destiny was revealed in intimate detail by the Mail's Robert Hardman in his recent book, Charles III New King. New Court. The Inside Story. The biographer told how Charles was addressed as 'Your Majesty' for the first time over the phone, when he had been driving back to Balmoral to be with his mother, who he knew was seriously unwell. His Majesty had stopped his car and took a call from his late mother's private secretary, Sir Edward Young, who informed him of her passing. The Queen died in bed at her Scottish retreat just two days after accepting the resignation in person of former prime minister Boris Johnson and meeting with his successor, Liz Truss. One of the final acts of the late Queen Elizabeth II was to welcome new prime minister Liz Truss and accept the resignation of Boris JOhnson The late Queen Elizabeth II shaking hands with the new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, on September 6, 2022 King Charles III addresses the nation and the Commonwealth after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, September 9, 2022 Princess Anne curtsies to the Queen's coffin alongside her husband Timothy Laurence, sister-in-law Sophie, the then Countess of Wessex, and Prince Andrew at the Palace of Holyrood House, September 11, 2022 Mr Hardman wrote: 'King Charles succeeded to the throne at the wheel. 'To be more precise, he had just turned off the B976 onto the back drive of the Balmoral estate and was driving through a part of the world as dear and familiar to him as any, when he learned that he was now sovereign of the United Kingdom and fourteen other realms, covering a large part of the Earth's surface. 'Schoolchildren are taught that the longest reign in British history began at a Kenyan watering hole; that Princess Elizabeth was watching wildlife from the branches of a giant fig tree when King George VI died in his sleep on 6 February 1952l that his dutiful daughter, having climbed up as a Princess, climbed down as Queen. 'History will record that, seven decades later, on the afternoon of 8 September 2022, her son and heir was on an unmarked Scottish country road, at the wheel of his car, when he was first addressed as 'Your Majesty'. 'He had been to visit the Queen at Balmoral Castle earlier in the day and had then spent a few hours at his nearby home, Birkhall, before returning to the castle. 'In the manner of his late mother, he had climbed into the car as both Prince of Wales and Duke of Rothesay (his title when in Scotland).' 'Twenty minutes later, he would climb out of it as King Charles III - with the new Queen at his side.' Her Majesty had kept her promise to serve the country until the very end, despite her declining health. The Queen had intended to travel from Balmoral to London to meet with Mr Johnson and appoint Ms Truss. However, Mr Johnson and Ms Truss instead came to her because of her frailty. She was pictured in the Drawing Room at Balmoral beaming in front of a roaring fire and shaking Ms Truss's hand on September 6. Observers were quick to spot that the Queen's right hand appeared bruised and she was holding a walking stick. For some time, the Palace had been referring to the her 'mobility issues' but did not disclose any details of her health problems. The logistics of the meetings with Mr Johnson and Ms Truss had been planned by her private secretary Sir Edward Young, Palace doctors and the Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case. The last time the world saw the Queen. She was pictured in the drawing room at Balmoral before she met with Liz Truss, September 6, 2022 The Palace graphic that was released to announce the death of Queen Elizabeth II, September 8, 2022 Charles, then the Prince of Wales, boards a helicopter from Dumfries House to get to Balmoral to see his ailing mother. A few hours later he would become the King The Royal Banner of Scotland flying at half mast above Balmoral Castle following the announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth, September 8, 2022 The coffin carrying Queen Elizabeth leaving Balmoral Castle, September 11, 2022 Princess Catherine, Prince William, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle viewing flower tributes outside Windsor Castle, September 10, 2022 They timed it so that the Queen would meet with both in the same hour at lunchtime. Mr Johnson said of the meeting: 'Given how ill she obviously was, how amazing it was that she be so bright and focused.' While Ms Truss said: 'She stood up to greet me. She was clearly physically not very well but we talked for about 20 minutes. She was alert.' After meeting with the two politicians, she made sure to watch her horse, Love Affairs, win at Goodwood Racecourse in West Sussex at 3.05pm later that afternoon. Despite it being a busy day for the 96-year-old monarch, she was in good spirits and was described as being 'quite buzzy over pre-dinner drinks'. However, Elizabeth decided to have dinner alone and went upstairs. The Queen's coffin being carried into the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on September 11. Princess Anne curtsies while Timothy Laurence, Sophie, then the Countess of Wessex, and Prince Andrew watch on Crowds gather to see the Queen's coffin proceed down the Royal Mile in Edinburgh on September 11, 2022 The Queen's coffin being carried into a RAF C17 aircraft at Edinburgh airport before beginning the journey to London, September 13, 2022 On the morning of September 7, her health took a turn for the worse. She wanted to stay in bed during the day but still wished to appear at that evening's Privy Council meeting over video. Provisions were put in place so she could be audio-only if she stayed in her bedroom. However, moments before the meeting was due to begin, the Queen cancelled on the grounds of 'medical advice', as was reported at the time. Penny Mordaunt, who had been appointed as Lord President of the Council, recalled: 'For me, that was testament to the depth of [the Queen's] devotion to her duty and us: the day before she passed, she was still trying to fulfil her obligations as sovereign, which I find incredible.' Her private secretary would later find the Queen's final completed red box which had been given to her two days before her passing. It contained a letter to Charles, another to him and a shortlist of people to join the Order or Merit. The Queen's granddaughters, Lady Louise Windsor and Princess Beatrice, as well as Sophie, the then Countess of Wessex, look at tributes left outside of Balmoral Castle, September 10, 2022 The hearse carrying Elizabeth's coffin travels to Edinburgh as people stand by on the side of the road to pay their respects Hundreds of bunches of flowers seen outside the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, September 11, 2022 The Queen had successfully carried out what would be her last acts of duty for the country she had served for 70 years. On the day she died, her daughter Princess Anne was in fortunately in residence because she had a diary of engagements in Scotland, so she was with her mother as her health deteriorated. Also staying at Balmoral was Anne's son Peter Phillips, who had been set to go to a shooting party that was then cancelled. The Princess Royal called Charles, who was also attending official engagements but was more than 150 miles away in Ayrshire. He had to decide whether to cancel his appointments for the next day and go to Balmoral in the morning, or continue. One official told Mr Hardman how both Anne and Charles's private secretary, Sir Clive Alderton, were saying to Charles: 'Think how you would feel if you never said goodbye.' Princess Anne called Charles again the next morning and told him to come immediately. At around 9.30am Charles was taken by helicopter with Camilla, then the Duchess of Cornwall. Operation London Bridge - the code word for the Queen's funeral plans - began. Members of the public gather in Banchory, Aberdeenshire, to watch the cortege carrying Queen Elizabeth's coffin drive past Sophie, then the Countess of Wessex, comforts Princess Anne as they watch the Queen's coffin arrive at the Palace of Holyroodhouse The heir to the throne read the briefing papers on his final day as a prince. Soon, Charles contacted Prince William, Prince Harry and his younger brothers, Andrew and Edward, and suggested they come to Balmoral. He arrived to nearby Birkhall - his and Camilla's homely retreat - before 10.30am. He borrowed a Land Rover from a staff member - their usual cars had not yet arrived - and they drove to Balmoral to spend an hour at the Queen's bedside. Local GP Dr Douglas Glass had visited again and determined Elizabeth was stable but coming towards the end of her life. One of the officials involved told Mr Hardman that it was expected to be a 'day or two, not an hour or two'. It was then decided that a statement would be made on the Queen's health and every major news outlet in the country was notified of the situation at 12.32pm. The momentous statement said: 'The Queen's doctors are concerned for Her Majesty's health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision. 'The Queen remains comfortable and at Balmoral.' Charles' two sons began to make travel arrangements to get to the royal residence. Prince William flew alone in an RAF plane and Harry travelled separately, though he claimed in his memoir Spare that he had tried to liaise with his brother but received no response. However, a senior Kensington Palace aide told Mr Hardman that no contact was received from Harry. Harry also claimed that his father was 'nonsensical and disrespectful' when he told him that he did not want Meghan to come to Balmoral. The family gather to see the Queen's coffin as it arrives at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh Prince Andrew greets members of the public who have gathered outside Balmoral to pay their respects to the Queen, September 10, 2022 The hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped with the Royal Standard of Scotland, leaving Balmoral, September 11, 2022 Charles is said to have explained that he did not want lots of people in the house and added that Kate was not coming either. 'Then that's all you needed to say,' Harry replied. After spending time with his mother, Charles went to the grounds of Birkhall to gather mushrooms and Camilla headed out on a walk. Meanwhile, Princess Anne and the Queen's personal assistant Angela Kelly took it in turns to sit with the Queen, while Reverend Kenneth MacKenzie read the bible to her. Then, at around 3pm, Dr Glass was asked to quickly get to the Queen's side. Anne contacted Charles and told him to return. Mr Hardman told how, when Dr Glass arrived at 3.25pm, the Queen appeared to have stopped breathing. As Charles drove back to Balmoral, Dr Glass confirmed that the Queen had passed away. He agreed a time of death of 3.10pm with Sir Edward Young, and the private secretary then went on to contact Charles. When the call reached the new monarch, he pulled over and stopped the car on the back drive of Balmoral. After being called 'Your Majesty' for the first time, Charles simply said, 'We're nearly there' and then continued up to the castle. The new King and Queen were greeted by Princess Anne and Sir Edward. The late Queen's private secretary asked Charles what name he would reign under, and was surprised to find that the newly-bereaved King consoling him too. While Charles contacted his immediate family members - firstly Prince William as he was now next in line to the throne - Parliament was also notified. Liz Truss took the news on just her second day of being prime minister. Charles called William through the switchboard but did not want to tell the operator before his son, so instead introduced himself as 'it's me'. The operator recognised his voice and put him through to William, and then to Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. However, Mr Hardman wrote how Harry was not contactable due to him being in the air. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, had already headed home early from his holiday after reading the earlier news of the Queen's health and assuming the worst was the come. The Daily Mail's historic issue reporting on the death of the Queen is seen being printed on September 8, 2022 Princess Anne looks at flowers left outside of Balmoral Castle in tribute to her mother, the Queen King Charles enters Buckingham Palace for the first time as the new monarch, alongside new Queen Consort Camilla, on September 9, 2022 His concerns were confirmed when his chief of staff called him to say 'London Bridge'. Just hours after his mother's death, the new King Charles issued a heartfelt tribute to his mother in a statement to the nation. He said in a written statement: 'The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family. 'We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. 'I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world. 'During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held.' Ms Truss, who was PM for just 50 days before being forced to resign following her disastrous mini-budget, said: 'Today the crown passes, as it has done for more than 1,000 years, to our new monarch, to our new head of state, His Majesty King Charles III.' Ms Truss also paid tribute to the late monarch's 'great legacy' and said: 'Queen Elizabeth II was the rock on which modern Britain was built. Our country has grown and flourished under her reign. Charles III New King. New Court. The Inside Story by Robert Hardman, was published by Macmillan in January 'Britain is the great country it is today because of her.' She added: 'Through thick and thin, Queen Elizabeth II provided us with the stability and the strength that we needed. 'She was the very spirit of Great Britain and that spirit will endure.' In a statement, the Palace said: 'The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.' Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to London to pay their respects to the monarch. Many of them queued overnight across London to see the Queen's coffin as it lay in state in Westminster Hall ahead of her funeral. And a sea of flowers, as well as Paddington Bear toys and marmalade sandwiches, were laid by the public in the royal parks and outside Buckingham Palace The Queen's funeral on September 19 was watched by 28 million people. Charles III New King. New Court. The Inside Story by Robert Hardman, was published by Macmillan in January Many atheists, including eminent scientist Richard Dawkins, believe religion is antithetical to science. But a blockbuster study reporting evidence of ancient traces of hemoglobin, a key protein in blood, encrusted into the famed 'Shroud of Turin' contradicts this 'black and white' vision of science and spirituality. Believed by many to be the burial cloth used to entomb Jesus Christ, the shroud has long been regarded a hoax perpetrated by medieval painters despite a growing body of X-ray and chemical analysis suggesting the artifact may be genuine. DailyMail.com has heard from scientists in other fields whose life-long pursuit of empirical truth in the lab has led them to 'believe in God as the author of creation.' The 'Shroud of Turin' (pictured) has captivated the imagination of historians, church chiefs, skeptics and Catholics since it was first made public in the 1350s. A growing body of X-ray and chemical analysis suggests the artifact may be a genuinely unique, 2000-year-old burial cloth Experts found another type of blood that was shed while Jesus was still alive. It also contained signs of radiation, which Christians believe was released when Jesus rose from the dead British filmmaker and self-described former atheist David Rolfe has been documenting the Shroud of Turin since 1978 - decades of scientific research which have slowly come to convince him the cloth is authentic Their comments provide modern echoes of Albert Einstein's famous declaration that 'God does not play dice with the universe' and Charles Darwin's own belief in God. Dr Denis Alexander, a biomedical researcher and past chair of molecular immunology at the UK-based Babraham Institute in Cambridge, told DailyMail.com his decades in immunology has only increased his belief in an omnipotent creator. 'I see the sheer complexity of the immune system as truly staggering,' Dr Alexander explained. 'For sure, as an evolutionary biologist, I see that complexity as the outcome of millions of years of evolution,' the scientist clarified. 'But at the same time the finely-tuned immune system reflects the intelligibility of the universe we inhabit.' 'The fact that we have a system that can, in principle, defend ourselves against pretty much any invader that we might encounter during life on this planet,' he said, 'is remarkable.' 'It looks like a rational universe with a rational Mind behind it.' Dr Alexander co-edited a book of essays written by scientists who ultimately came to find Dawkins' critiques of religion lacking, after their own bouts of atheism: Coming to Faith Through Dawkins: 12 Essays on the Pathway from New Atheism to Christianity. He found examples, across disciplines, of fellow researchers whose rational exploration of the laws undergirding our universe brought them closer to God. But two emerging scientific discoveries stood out to him as the most compelling. The Universe's Physical Constants Beginning in the late 1970s, cosmologists Bernard Carr and Martin Rees became increasingly aware of a disquieting fact. The statistical chances that the universe's so-called 'physical constants' would be exactly what they are is astonishingly low. In other words, our universe is uncannily well-suited to creating and fostering life. Physicists were left with two options to resolve this mathematical case for a created universe, as Carr put it: 'If you don't want God, you'd better have a multiverse.' In other words, it would require an infinitude of other random universes, with their own random 'physical constants,' for our own to be attributable to happenstance. Above, the intricate network of gas and dust in spiral galaxy NGC 7496 as imaged by NASA. Cosmologists Bernard Carr and Martin Rees were among the first to argue that even slight changes to the universe's physical constants would prevent planets and stars from forming Physicists were left with two options to resolve the growing mathematical case for a created universe. As Carr put it: 'If you don't want God, you'd better have a multiverse.' Above, a timeline from 'big bang' to present, in which the universe's 'fine tuning' gave rise to the cosmos Astrobiologist Dr Caleb Scharf at NASA Ames, and many others who study space, call this conundrum over all these unlikely 'cosmic coincidences,' the phenomenon of 'fine tuning' or the 'anthropic principle.' But given that, as Dr Scharf admits in his book The Copernicus Complex, we have no 'direct evidence for there being a multiverse,' Dr Alexander said he's happier to argue in favor of the former option. 'Whether or not we understand some aspect of that existence at the scientific level is really irrelevant to our belief in God,' he told DailyMail.com. 'But when we do understand it scientifically, this just increases our awe at the amazing way that everything is put together in this intelligible universe,' Dr Alexander opined, 'in which God is the Author.' 'Convergence' in Evolution 'Just as there is a fine-tuning of the physical constants that render the existence of this anthropic universe possible,' according to Dr Alexander, 'so in the past few decades it has become apparent that there is also a biological fine-tuning.' Biologists and other academics, including Cambridge paleontologist Dr Simon Conway Morris, have called this 'evolutionary convergence' or the phenomena of different species, worlds apart, evolving along parallel trajectories. 'Eyes have evolved more than twenty times independently,' Dr Alexander noted. Camera eyes, for example, evolved in both humans and octopus species despite an evolutionary path that split more than 550 million years ago, from a share ancestor whose only vision was a simple 'pigment spot ocelli.' Similarly, compound eyes, like those of many insects, evolved independently at least four times. Above, an young 'larval' North Pacific Giant Octopus - in a prize-winning photo from the 2021 International Photography Awards. Octopus species, like humans, other vertebrates and some spiders, are understood to have evolved their 'camera-type' eyes independently of one another Above, a close-up of a human's 'camera-type' eye - which is similar to those from many octopus species. Like other land animals who share this kind of eye, human eyes are more flat and have also evolved with eyelids to help move moisture around the eye to aid with land-based vision 'Evolution is not a chance process, it is channeled along certain paths,' he said. 'The same bit of anatomy or the same biochemical pathway keep evolving in independent evolutionary lineages.' 'All this is highly consistent with God as the Author who has intentions and purposes for the whole drama of life,' Dr Alexander noted, emphasizing that the phrase 'consistent with' is not that same as saying 'proof of.' Dr Morris similarly draws a clear line between 'intelligent design' theories and what is meant by 'evolutionary congruence.' 'Far from evolution being random and inherently directionless, perhaps it speaks to a deeply ordered world,' he said. 'How is it,' he asked, 'that our world is so ordered that we can understand it?' Faith and Reason For the 13th century Italian monk St. Thomas Aquinas, 'To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.' The theologian gained renown to the present day for his impassioned case that religious beliefs and materialist, evidence-based rational inquiry were not themselves irreconcilable. In more recent times, the late sociologist Rodney Stark has argued that it was this very perspective articulated by European Christians like Aquinas that made the conditions for the Enlightenment and the scientific revolution possible. Christianity's belief in an orderly and rational universe created by one God, and its belief that humanity was made in God's image, he argued, made the quest to rationally understand that world appear feasible and worth undertaking. The 13th century Italian monk St. Thomas Aquinas (above), argued there was no contradiction between faith and rationality 'Theological assumptions unique to Christianity explain why science was born only in Christian Europe,' according to Stark. 'Contrary to the received wisdom, religion and science not only were compatible,' he wrote in his 2003 book For the Glory of God, 'they were inseparable.' The view is, of course, world's apart from Dawkins disdain for faith as a replacement for science, as in his common refrain: 'I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world.' That sort of belief in God is one that Dr Alexander disagrees with as well. 'I believe in God as the Author of creation,' the immunologist told DailyMail.com. 'This concept of God as Author which Im outlining is diametrically opposite to the idea of a 'god-of-the-gaps a god that lazy people use to try and plug their present scientific ignorance,' he said. This version of belief, in his opinion, like Aquinas before him, shows no gap conflict between the human states of faith and reason. 'The job of scientists,' as Dr Alexander put it, 'is to explore this created order and therefore understand how God does things with more and more complete explanations at the scientific level.' The moment that Apple fans have been waiting for is finally almost here, with the iPhone 16 set to be revealed to the world tomorrow. Apple is hosting an event on Monday 9 September where it's expected to unveil its latest flagship devices. The event has the tagline 'It's Glowtime', but beyond that, Apple has remained tight-lipped about what to expect from the event. However, rumours are already rife, with leaks flying left, right, and centre on everything from the price to key features. Here's everything we know so far - and how you can watch Apple's event live tomorrow. The moment that Apple fans have been waiting for is finally almost here, with the iPhone 16 set to be revealed to the world tomorrow When will the iPhone 16 be unveiled? Apple is hosting a launch event on Monday 9 September at its headquarters in Cupertino, California. The invite confirms that the event will take place at 10:00 PT (18:00 BST). This date - a Monday - comes as somewhat of a surprise, with Apple having hosted the majority of its previous iPhone launch events on Tuesdays. 'It's Glowtime. Please join us in person for a special Apple Event at Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park. September 9, 2024 10:00a.m. PT,' the full invite reads. Apple's invite includes the classic Apple logo with a redesigned twist. An animation sees the logo swirl between hues of blue, purple, orange, and pink, seemingly in reference to the 'It's Glowtime' tagline. The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are expected to come in blue, green, white, black and pink The Pro models will likely come in slightly more muted tones white, black, grey, and bronze While the reason for this feature remains unclear, it could be a tease for the full release of Apple's highly anticipated AI system, Apple Intelligence. How can you watch the Apple event live? MailOnline will be covering the launch event live on 9 September from 10:00 PT (18:00 BST). Alternatively, you can watch it at apple.com or on the Apple TV app. When will the iPhone 16 go on sale? If the iPhone 16 is unveiled at event tomorrow, pre-orders will likely go live on Friday September 13. The first devices will then likely be sent out next week, on Friday September 20. What devices do we expect in the iPhone 16 lineup? Rumours suggest that we can expect four new iPhone models called the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are expected to be sticking with the current 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch sizes. However, rumours suggest we'll see larger iPhone 16 Pro models this year, with the iPhone 16 Pro expected to measure 6.3-inches and the iPhone 16 Pro Max 6.9-inches. Rumours suggest the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will have the same camera setup as their predecessors, with a 48MP main lens alongside a 12MP ultra-wide lens on the rear, and a 12MP front-facing camera What is Apple Intelligence? Apple Intelligence is essentially a snazzy brand name for Apple's new-found focus on AI, triggered by the huge success of the ChatGPT chatbot 18 months ago. The tech giant announced Apple Intelligence with great reverence as 'the personal intelligence system that combines the power of generative models with personal context to deliver intelligence'. To put it more simply, it's an umbrella term for all the jobs AI will be able to do on your iPhone, iPad and Mac computer - as long as it has the upcoming iOS 18 software and an all-important AI chip inside the device. The biggest part of Apple Intelligence is the integration of OpenAI's hugely popular chatbot ChatGPT with Siri, Apple's in-built virtual assistant. It also includes tools like AI-generated emoji, an image generator and a 'Clean Up tool' that makes subtle edits to photos. Advertisement What colours will the iPhone 16 come in? When it comes to colours, leaked images suggest that fans will have a range of stunning hues to choose from. The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are expected to come in blue, green, white, black and pink. Meanwhile, the Pro models will likely come in slightly more muted tones white, black, grey, and bronze. How much will the iPhone 16 cost? Leakers disagree over the iPhone 16 pricing. Some claim that it could be the same price as its predecessor, the iPhone 15, which starts at 799/$799. However, with the cost of phone components increasing, others argue that the iPhone 16 will be at least 100/$100 more than the iPhone 15 putting starting prices at 899/$899. If this is the case, the iPhone 16 Plus could be 999/$999, while the iPhone 16 Pro could be 1,099/$1,099, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max 1,299/$1,299. What camera will the iPhone 16 have? Rumours suggest the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will have the same camera setup as their predecessors, with a 48MP main lens alongside a 12MP ultra-wide lens on the rear, and a 12MP front-facing camera. However, upgrades are expected to come in the form of improved AI-powered editing tools, like those seen in recent rival devices, including the Google Pixel 9. Meanwhile, the Pro models are expected to have larger sensors, allowing for brighter, more colourful photos. 'Apple Intelligence' refers to a slew of new AI-powered features coming on Apple's upcoming software update, iOS 18, from AI-generated emoji to a new version of Siri that uses ChatGPT, OpenAI's notorious chatbot Are there any new features we expect? Last year, Apple introduced a brand-new button on the two iPhone 15 Pro models, called the Action Button. This replaced the long-standing mute switch, and allowed users to access almost any shortcut with the touch of a button. Rumours suggest the Action Button could be included on all four iPhone 16 models this year. What's more, a second new button is also tipped to be included, dubbed the 'Capture' button, which could allow users to quickly trigger the camera app's shutter. However, the biggest changes to this year's iPhones are expected to come in the form of software. Back in June, Apple announced a new AI architecture dubbed Apple Intelligence, which will feature in the iPhone 16. The biggest part of Apple Intelligence is the integration of OpenAI's hugely popular chatbot ChatGPT with Siri, Apple's in-built virtual assistant. Back in June, Apple announced a new AI architecture dubbed Apple Intelligence, which will feature in the iPhone 16 Users will be able to press and hold the side button to activate Siri as normal, but with ChatGPT behind it, Siri will be able to 'answer thousands of questions about how to do something' that it couldn't before. For example, you could say, 'Play that podcast that Jamie recommended' and Siri will locate and play the episode, without the user having to remember whether it was mentioned in a text or an email. Or you could ask, 'When is mum's flight landing?' and Siri will find the flight details and cross-reference them with real-time flight tracking to give an arrival time. Meanwhile, one of the more fun parts of Apple Intelligence is AI-generated emoji, which Apple has called 'Genmoji' (a mix of 'generated' and 'emoji'). In the Messages app, you can type a short description of the emoji you want such as 'smiley relaxing wearing cucumbers' or 'squirrel DJ'. Apple is preparing to release the 'Apple Watch X' which could feature a radical redesign, according to a leaker Will Apple announce any other devices? Apple is preparing to release the 'Apple Watch X' which could feature a radical redesign, according to a leaker. Akin to the iPhone X in 2017 that celebrated a decade of the iPhone, Apple Watch X could mark 10 years since the world glimpsed the first Apple Watch. The claim comes from respected Apple tipster Mark Gurman based in California, who says Apple is 'preparing a big update' in his weekly newsletter. 'Apple Watch is nearing its 10th birthday and the company has a chance to mark the occasion,' he says. 'With the X model, Apple designers are working on a thinner watch case and have explored changing the way bands are attached to the device.' Gurman says the watch could have a larger display and 'other enhancements under the hood' in terms of hardware. For example, new AI-capable chips 'could lay the groundwork for some AI enhancements down the road'. NASA's radar gives off a ping, notifying scientists that a world-destroying asteroid has been detected and could hit Earth in 10 years. World governments are quickly alerted about a potentially catastrophic event, allowing them to formulate a plan to inform the public. One year before impact, space agencies from every country launch nuclear deflection missiles with hopes of pushing the giant asteroid away from our planet - but the mission fails. FEMA orders mass evacuations in the impact zone months in advance and the public is told to expect the worst with hours left on the clock. While NASA has said such a scenario is unlikely to happen in the near future, an asteroid hit Earth this week and was detected only eight hours before impact. An asteroid hit Earth on Thursday that was detected on eight hours before impact. However, NASA would have about 10 years to save the world from a world-destroying space rock Most asteroids are not on track to hit Earth - but in the event that one is, here above is the sequence of events that would spring into action after the space rock is spotted The small space rock that soared over the Philippines on Thursday was only three feet in diameter, which was not large enough to sound any alarms. A report published by the White House in 2021 recommended that a reconnaissance mission would be necessary if an asteroid measuring at least 165 feet could hit Earth within 50 years is detected. The document categorized a 3,300-foot-wide asteroid as a 'possible global catastrophe,' a three-mile-wide space rock as 'above the global catastrophe threshold,' and a six-mile-wide object as capable of causing a 'mass extinction.' However, NASA, FEMA, and the United Nations conducted an exercise in April to assess how prepared Earth would be if a world-destroying asteroid were detected, finding that we would need at least 14 years' notice. Detecting the world-destroying asteroid - 10 years out NASA's ground-based telescopes identify the giant asteroid, comparing it with other space rocks in a database to ensure it is newly discovered. The space agency has several projects that scan the skies, including the Catalina Sky Survey which spotted Thursday's asteroid. These early-warning systems also include NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer), a spacecraft equipped with a wide-field, 20-inch infrared telescope that operates in two wavelength ranges. Once the object is detected, astronomers look at the data for brightness and movement to double-check that it is not a known one. Teams then report their findings to the Minor Planet Center (MPC), the single worldwide location for reporting asteroids, minor planets and comets. The MPC and NASA team up to determine the asteroid's orbit to predict if the path poses a threat to Earth. The team discovers that the space rock is likely to come within five million miles of our planet and sends alerts to other agencies around the world, according to NASA. Now that the world is aware of the impending threat, space agencies from every country join forces to deflect the asteroid about two years after detection. A report published by the White House in 2021 categorized asteroid sizes, deeming one at least 3,300 feet wide could be catastrophic The scenario begins with NASA detecting a world-destroying asteroid 10 years before it hits Earth. The agency has telescopes around the globe, like Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona that detected Thursday's asteroid that hit our planet Launching an asteroid deflection - two to five years before impact NASA tested a strategy in 2022 called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) that plowed into an asteroid at 14,000 miles per hour, leaving a massive plume of dust and rocks, and successfully altering its trajectory. That asteroid did not threaten our planet, but the space agency could use the strategy to deflect the world-destroying asteroid. This February, however, NASA's planetary defense chief warned that a DART-like mission would not be able to get off the ground if the impact needed to occur in less than five years. Leading up to the launch of humanity's Hail Mary, NASA and international partners are studying a range of options, including a spacecraft and nuclear weapons. The group decides to attack the asteroid with nuclear bombs about five years after detection and begins testing a prototype. Then, two years before impact, teams send explosives and a detonation device at some short standoff distance from the asteroid. Kaliat Ramesh, a professor of mechanical engineering and material science at Johns Hopkins University, told VOX: 'We would estimate that it would take energy equivalent to about 200 gigatons of TNT to fully disrupt an asteroid with a 12-mile diameter.' One gigaton is equal to one billion tons of TNT, which means we would need 10 million Hiroshima-size bombs to destroy the massive asteroid hurtling toward Earth. The only rockets capable of carrying such massive payloads of nuclear bombs would likely be NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) and Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship, but neither have been proven in this type of mission. One year before impact, space agencies from every country launch nuclear deflection missiles with hopes of pushing the massive asteroid away from our planet Billy Bob Thornton as Dan Truman, a a scientist at NASA, in Armageddon. Although a trope of sci-fi films, deflecting asteroids bound for Earth is a real concern The nuclear option would be faster, a concept familiar to fans of the 1998 film Armageddon, starring Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck. In the movie, NASA sends a group of deep-sea drillers to blow up an Earth-bound asteroid and save humanity with just 18 days of lead time. Evacuation Plan - months to hours before impact In the months leading up to impact, global organizations like the Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) would create detailed impact scenarios, estimating the destruction radius, atmospheric effects and potential global consequences. Refined calculations forecasting the exact spot where an asteroid would impact Earth would, however, only become available as the asteroid comes into radar range, a process that new deep-space radar could accelerate. FEMA would order evacuations around the impact zone to save as many lives as possible And hours before the asteroid makes impact, the world will be told to shelter-in-place and hope for the best The information collected by global organizations is sent to FEMA and other emergency groups to alert people in the impact zone, allowing for mass evacuations months before the space rock smashes into Earth. Teams would also begin formulating rescue plans and assembling relief teams that would be deployed almost immediately after impact to salvage as many lives as possible. A NASA report published in 2023 estimated that everyone within 300 miles of the impact zone, about 150 million people, 'would need to either evacuate or find an appropriate shelter or build one.' As the clock ticks down to hours, the public would be ordered to shelter in place while they receiving continuous updates and directions. After impact The asteroid impact would cause widespread devastation, triggering tsunamis that devastate coastal regions and massive shockwaves and earthquakes. Electrical and communication systems around the globe fail almost instantly. The plan to save Earth would include a deflection strategy, evacuations and shelter-in place The sun has been blocked by a massive dust plume released from impact, causing a significant drop in temperatures and a 'nuclear winter' that could last for decades. Earth would be shrouded in darkness as massive fires rage that deplete oxygen levels. Billions of people are dead, but those who did survive are now suffering from starvation, freezing temperatures and the collapse of civilizations infrastructure. Envious fans have always wondered how Hollywood muse Demi Moore has maintained her radiant and youthful looks. Although she might look remarkable on the outside, Demi recently admitted she suffers with many insecurities about her body - despite being dubbed the queen of nude scenes. At 61-years-old, Demi is reported to have undergone 250,000 worth of cosmetic surgery including breast implants, a nose job and plenty of anti-ageing procedures. Over the years fans have speculated she has gone under the knife but in 2007 Demi denied any plastic surgery rumours. Years later, speculation started to swirl again when she walked the Fendi runway show with a dramatic face change. So how does she do it? MailOnline explores exactly how Demi keeps up her youthful appearance. Envious fans have always wondered how Hollywood muse Demi Moore, 61, has maintained her radiant and youthful looks Over the years fans have speculated she has gone under the knife but in 2007 Demi denied any plastic surgery rumours Although she might look remarkable on the outside, Demi recently admitted she suffers with many insecurities about her body - despite being dubbed the queen of nude scenes Teeth Demi revealed her front teeth are fake after she lost them due to 'stress' in 2017. The actress made the admission that her front two teeth fell out on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. She even shared a photo of her without dentures - although the snap only showed one missing. Demi explained: 'I sheared off my front teeth. I'd love to say it was skateboarding or something really kind of cool. 'But I think I think it's something that's important to share because I think it's literally, probably after heart disease, one of the biggest killers in in America, which is stress.' Demi explained: 'I sheared off my front teeth. I'd love to say it was skateboarding or something really kind of cool, but I think I think it's something that's important to share because I think it's literally, probably after heart disease, one of the biggest killers in in America, which is stress. 'So you lost your front tooth?' Jimmy asked, incredulous. 'Both, actually, but the picture's only minus one,' she replied. 'I literally knocked it out,' Demi said of how her teeth went missing. 'I knocked it out. It was almost like it fell out and my warranty was up.' 'Thank God for modern dentistry!' she raved. Plastic surgery So how does she do it? MailOnline explores exactly how Demi keeps up her youthful appearance The actress made the admission that her front two teeth are fake after they fell out in 2017 due to 'stress' Demi (seen left in February 2020) sparked rumors that she's had plastic surgery when she showed off a dramatic new look in Paris Demi caused wide speculation when she appeared on the Fendi runway show in 2021. As she graced the catwalk, Demi's cheeks looked full and plump with no sign of the eye-catching defined cheekbones she had sported on the runway, as well as the downturned lips with the bottom lip much more fuller. The actress was almost unrecognizable as she joined a host of A-list models on the catwalk for designer Kim Jones' Fendi Spring Summer 2021 presentation in Paris. She left many social media users questioning whether her transformation has come as the result of cosmetic enhancements, or 'terrible' makeup. Within minutes of Demi's appearance on the couture catwalk, X had been flooded with questions from perplexed users about the Striptease star's new look. Comments read: 'I wouldn't have thought that was Demi Moore without the headline,' one user wrote in reaction to a news story about the actress's surprise catwalk appearance. 'Is that all bad fillers? Or is there some horrible contouring happening there also? 'That face just doesn't look right but I can't figure out if it's all plastics or of the makeup artist was doing something odd.' Another cheekily wrote: 'Demi NoMoore plastic surgery! That's a shame! I wish women would allow themselves to age gracefully. 'It's so much more attractive than when they start messing with their face.' Lip flip, Botox, laser surgery and nose tweak Plastic surgeon Dr Mark Solomos suggests Demi may have had a lip lift, a youth-enhancing procedure that reduces the distance between the base of the nose and the upper lip Her youthful look could also be down to anti-wrinkle injections like Botox around her eyes, Dr Solomos said, which relaxes the muscles in the face to smooth out lines and wrinkles He also said it was possible she may have had a face and neck lift or laser resurfacing surgery Plastic surgeon Dr Mark Solomos, of Channel 4's 10 Years Younger, told Hello! magazine that he believes she started getting surgery young and kept up her youthful appearance with minor interventions. Praising her 'incredible bone structure', he suggests she may have had a lip lift, a youth-enhancing procedure that reduces the distance between the base of the nose and the upper lip. This also irons out some of the creases between the nose and the upper lip that appear as the face ages. He also said it was possible she may have had a face and neck lift or laser resurfacing surgery a popular anti-aging treatment that works by destroying the first layer of skin, which allows fresh, youthful skin cells to grow underneath. Her youthful look could also be down to anti-wrinkle injections like Botox around her eyes, Dr Solomos said, which relaxes the muscles in the face to smooth out lines and wrinkles. He suggests she may have also had an eyelid lift, which is a cosmetic surgical procedure that removes excess skin, fat, and muscle from the eyelids to change the shape and get rid of any droopiness. Dr Solomos suggests the actor has 'overdone' her cheeks. He says they look a 'bit too big' for her proportions, with either fillers or fat transfer used to give the plumper look. Demi shares her body insecurities She's done multiple nude scenes throughout her career, even posing on the front of Vanity Fair completely naked (pictured in 2020) Demi (pictured left in 1993 and right in 1996) has long been known for maintaining incredibly youthful looks, having been in the spotlight since the early 90s Demi revealed the 'biggest misconception' of her is that she 'loves her body' and says that she took certain roles to help her overcome insecurities (pictured in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle) She's done multiple nude scenes throughout her career, even posing on the front of Vanity Fair completely naked. Demi revealed the 'biggest misconception' of her is that she 'loves her body' and says that she took certain roles to help her overcome insecurities. Since launching into the limelight in the Eighties, Demi hasn't shied away from a full frontal nude scene - from playing a dancer in Striptease in 1996 to a 17th century Puritan in The Scarlet Letter in 1995. She's posed for her fair share of nude magazine covers too. Demi appeared on the cover of the January 1981 issue of the adult magazine Oui, taken from a photo session in which she had posed completely naked. In August 1991, Moore appeared nude on the cover of Vanity Fair seven months pregnant with the second of her three daughters. The following year, Moore again appeared nude on the cover of Vanity Fair, this time modeling under the title Demi's Birthday Suit. Most recently, she posed nude on the cover of Harper's Bazaar in October 2019. Speaking on her nude scenes in an interview with Variety on Tuesday she said: 'One of the biggest misconceptions about me is that I loved my body. 'The reality is, so much of it was me calling in certain projects that would give me an opportunity to help me overcome insecurities about my body. 'It was the same with the Vanity Fair covers; it was not that I loved it it was about trying to free myself from the space of enslavement that I had put myself in.' Khloe Kardashian took to instagram on Saturday to share a sexy new selfie with her 307 million followers. The 40-year-old Good American founder posed in a white bikini top as she relaxed on a lounge chair. The mother-of-two flashed her pert cleavage and wore a pair of oversized sunglasses with transparent frames as she puckered her lips. Engaging her online audience, the Los Angeles-based star wrote in the caption, 'Hidden Hills. Yesterday 109. Today 104.' She added, '#heatwave #Scary #staysafe.' Khloe Kardashian took to instagram on Saturday to share a sexy new selfie with her 307 million followers Kardashian's recently dyed chocolate-toned brunette hair was pulled into a ponytail. She wore layered silver-toned necklaces with pendants, include one with a diamond-encrusted cross. Also on Saturday, the reality television personality took to her Instagram Stories to post video clips of her nieces Chicago West, six, and Dream Kardashian, seven, showing off homemade cakes. 'Cake baking party at my house last night,' she wrote over a snippet of her sister Kim Kardashian's third child, Chicago. The youngster was a bit camera shy as Khloe asked, 'Can you please tell me the story about your cake?' to which she replied by shaking her head 'no.' 'Oh, okay,' Khloe said before asking, 'Is there anything about it you want people to know, or just that you made this cake?' Chicago then nodded her head to imply 'yes' as she hesitantly held up her round baked good, which was coated in blue icing and multicolor sprinkles. Dream, on the other hand, was happy to interact with the camera as she described her confection. Also on Saturday, the reality television personality took to her Instagram Stories to post video clips of her nieces Chicago West, six, and Dream Kardashian, seven, showing off homemade cakes Last week Khloe treated a lucky fan to a Good American shopping spree It comes after last week Khloe treated a lucky fan to a Good American shopping spree. Taking to social media, she shared a slew of photos that showed her smiling alongside a girl named Hannah, who is a 'Make-A-Wish kid.' Kardashian wrote in her caption, 'I had the greatest honor of meeting Hannah this week. The sweetest soul and oh so beautiful inside and out!' The Hulu star continued in her Instagram note, '@_hannahlasley_ said she was a fan of @goodamerican so what's a girl to do when they may be able to pull some strings and close down the store- DUH! WE WENT SHOPPING!!' Nicole Kidman shared her heartbreak on Saturday as she revealed that her beloved mother sadly passed away at the age of 83. The Australian actress, 57, was forced to leave Venice Film Festival to return to her native Sydney to be with her family after the devastating news. Her mother Janelle tragically died just hours before Nicole was awarded Best Actress for her role in Babygirl on the final day of Venice Film Festival in a huge achievement. 'Today I arrived in Venice to find out shortly after, that my beautiful, brave mother Janelle Ann Kidman has just passed,' Nicole revealed in a statement read by director Halina Reijn upon her win. 'I am in shock and I have to go to my family, but this award is for her, she shaped me, she guided me, and she made me. 'I am beyond grateful that I get to say her name to all of you through Halina, the collision of life and art is heart-breaking, and my heart is broken. We love you all.' Nicole has long had an incredibly close relationship with her beloved mother Janelle and often spoke about her support and influence on her career over the years. Nicole was born in Honolulu and raised in Sydney by her beloved mother Janelle and her psychologist father Antony, who died in September 2014. Nicole Kidman shared her heartbreak on Saturday as she revealed that her beloved mother sadly passed away at the age of 83 Nicole has long had an incredibly close relationship with her beloved mother Janelle and often spoke about her support and influence on her career over the years After spending time in the United States, the Moulin Rouge star and her younger sister Antonia, 54, spent much of their childhood in Sydney. Nicole pursued her passion for acting when she was a teenager and was supported by both of her parents as she soared to global fame. They both remained closely involved with her career over the years, with Nicole recently admitting she would still go to her mother for advice. In November, the Big Little Lies star told how she would often ask her mother Janelle for advice on her outfits, despite working with a whole string of professional stylists. In a sign of their close bond, Nicole told People: 'My mother is still she's so involved in what I wear.' Nicole is known for her daring fashion choices but told how it was her mother and grandmother who first fostered her love for clothes. 'I love fashion. I've always loved fashion,' she gushed while speaking at the Planet Omega pop-up launch in New York. 'I grew up as a little girl with a grandmother that loved fashion and could sew and my mother the same. They loved beautiful clothes. They could make beautiful clothes,' she went on. 'I watched them sew, embroider, and knit, crochet. And I think when you grow up seeing the people in your household do that, then you love that.' Nicole was never shy of gushing over her affections for Janelle, sharing a touching tribute on her mother's 82nd birthday last year. Nicole was born in Honolulu and raised in Sydney by her beloved mother Janelle and her psychologist father Antony (she is pictured as a baby with her mother in Hawaii) The Big Little Lies star recently told how she would often ask her mother Janelle for advice on her outfits, despite working with a whole string of stylists (they are pictured in 2018) Taking to Instagram, she posted a gallery of photographs of herself and her family celebrating with Janelle at a party and penned some sweet words in a caption. 'Happy birthday, mumma. You are so loved by all of us,' Nicole wrote. She had also taken the time to send her mother birthday well wishes while on the Oscars red carpet in Los Angeles with her husband Keith Urban. 'It's my mum's birthday today. Happy Birthday, mama. We love you soo much,' Nicole said to the camera. 'We did a party for her when we were back in Sydney. She is the heartbeat of our family, so we love you, mama.' On Australian Mother's Day in 2022, Nicole had also shared sweet throwback photographs of Janelle holding her as a baby in Hawaii, where she was born. 'Reminiscing wonderful memories with my mumma back in Hawaii,' Nicole wrote in a reflective caption. 'Happy Mother's Day mumma, and to all the mothers in the world Happy Mother's Day.' Earlier that same year, Nicole - who splits her time between Australia and the US - also spent a long period of time in her home country to be with Janelle. At the time, Nicole told how she was taking some time out to care for her mother, who was going through a period of illness amid the Covid-19 pandemic. 'We're down here primarily to take care of my mother and to have her surrounded by her grandchildren,' she told the Fresh Air podcast. Nicole said they'd managed to visit the Art Gallery of New South Wales after hours to see the Matisse exhibition, describing it as 'soothing balm'. Nicole was never shy of gushing over her affections for Janelle, sharing a touching tribute on her mother's 82nd birthday last year along with some polaroid snaps from their family party Nicole - who splits her time between Australia and the US - also spent a long period of time in her home country to be with Janelle as she went through a period of illness She went on: 'So luckily yesterday, even though Omicron is raging through this country, we were able to take her into the gallery after hours and show her the Matisse exhibit, which coming from a mother who's raised me in the arts, it was soothing balm. Matisse was soothing balm last night.' Nicole also gushed that she felt privileged to be able to see the world through her mother's eyes, describing it as 'so beneficial'. 'I'm at the place where I'm being given the chance to view the world, because of how close we are, my mum is giving me the chance to view the world through an 81-year-old woman's eyes,' she explained. 'That is so beneficial right now, because she's so cognisant. She has every brain faculty available, so she hasn't lost anything. She hasn't lost any memory, which is fascinating, and she's extremely bright. 'She's giving me access, because she's also very direct and very honest, and so I'm getting access to the world through her eyes, my mother's eyes, so therefore a part of me almost at 80.' 'It's her perspective, obviously. There's many different 80-year-old perspectives, but it's her perspective, and her particular path, but I'm drinking it in and learning,' she added. In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald in May 2020, Nicole also spoke about missing her mother while living abroad in the United States. 'I would love to be able to have a cup of tea with Mum and sit on the balcony and talk about life, and have her tell me what I should be doing,' she said at the time. Nicole had an equally close relationship with her father Antony and was left devastated when he died of a heart attack in September 2014 at the age of 75. The Oscar-winning actress previously revealed that the 'sudden' death of her father, as well as a string of other losses, had deeply affected her. 'I've been given death as a very sudden thing. I've not nursed someone through a slow death, I've just had people taken,' she told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2020. 'I've now had it happen repeatedly, I almost get scared saying it because I get terrified it's going to happen again. I still have a lot of fear of that.' Nicole once gushed that she felt privileged to be able to see the world through her mother's eyes, describing it as 'so beneficial' (they are both pictured with Nicole's niece Lucia Hawley) Nicole had an equally close relationship with her father Antony and was left devastated when he died of a heart attack in September 2014 at the age of 75 (they are pictured in 2005) After the news of her mother's death, Nicole has travelled back to Australia to be with her family, including her younger sister Antonia, 54 (both pictured in April) That same year, Nicole also shared a tribute to her father on the anniversary of his death, telling how she and her sister Nicole could always go to him for advice. 'My sister and I were talking recently about how lucky we were, because I would turn to my father for advice all the time, and to my mother too,' she said. Nicole also revealed that she was reminded of her father while starring alongside Donald Sutherland in 2020 thriller series The Undoing. 'Donald is my dad's height, and he reminds me of my father,' she said. 'So I'd go up to him and snuggle him all the time.' Home and Away star Ada Nicodemou has opened up about her struggles with embracing her Greek heritage during her childhood. The beloved actress, 47, who has portrayed Leah Patterson-Baker on the hit soap since 2000, shared intimate details of her battle to fit in while growing up in Western Sydney. In a piece for Stellar, Ada revealed that much of her school life was spent hiding the rich and flavourful meals her Greek mother Jenny lovingly prepared. 'Growing up in Western Sydney, where I was one of the few Greek kids in school, I often felt like an outsider,' she wrote, admitting that she craved the typical Aussie lunches her classmates enjoyed. 'I vividly recall the one time my mum packed me a ''normal'' sandwich. It tasted awful but I ate it to fit in, not to stand out.' Ada recalled sitting at lunchtime, eyeing the Devon and tomato sauce sandwiches of her peers, all while she reluctantly tucked into her gourmet Mediterranean spread. Despite the mouth-watering array of Greek delights her mother would send her off with, Ada admitted she was embarrassed by the very things that made her unique. She would often give away her lunches to classmates, unaware that she was sharing culinary treasures that she would deeply cherish later in life. Home and Away star Ada Nicodemou has opened up about her struggles with embracing her Greek heritage during her childhood The beloved actress, 47, who has portrayed Leah Patterson-Baker on the hit soap since 2000, shared intimate details of her battle to fit in while growing up in Western Sydney 'As a child, I was embarrassed by the things that made me different. I remember handing out my lunch to classmates, not realising the culinary treasure I was giving away,' she explained. But with time, Ada's perspective on her culture and its traditions shifted and she began to recognise the profound love behind her mother's insistence on preserving their Greek customs through food. 'My mum's efforts to keep our culture alive through food felt like an imposition. Now I see them for what they were: a beautiful expression of love and heritage,' she added. Ada, who was born to Greek Cypriot parents, has previously spoken about her pride in her heritage as an adult. Now, a mother herself to son Johnas, 12, Ada said she's come to fully embrace the Greek traditions she once tried to hide. She now believes in the importance of passing these customs down to future generations, recognising them as a symbol of love and a way of keeping her family's rich heritage alive. Now, a mother herself to son Johnas, 12, Ada said she's come to fully embrace the Greek traditions she once tried to hide (both pictured with Ada's mother Jenny) Ada and her ex-husband Chrys Xipolitas welcomed their son Johnas in August 2012. In late 2015, Ada and Chrys called time on their nine-year marriage and publicly confirmed news of their split just months later. Ada went on to date millionaire businessman Adam Rigby but the couple went their separate ways just before Christmas last year after eight years together. She has since found love again with her Home and Away co-star James Stewart, with news of their romance emerging when they were seen kissing on Anzac Day. The pair have known each other since 1998 when they co-starred on the short-lived Channel Ten soap opera Breakers and have both been staples on Home and Away since 2016. Ada described her blossoming romance with James as 'unexpected' as she broke her silence on their relationship last week. 'Jimmy and I are together, yes. It's only early days. It's very recent and very unexpected. I'm super happy. It's really lovely,' she told Stellar Magazine. Ada recently found love with her Home and Away co-star James Stewart (both pictured this week), with news of their romance emerging when they were seen kissing on Anzac Day She insisted their Home And Away characters Leah Patterson and Justin Morgan getting married on-screen was not an early sign of their real-life romance. The wedding episode aired on April 9 but was filmed around six months earlier, with Ada insisting their 'genuine feelings' only emerged later. 'There weren't genuine feelings then,' she explained. 'It was shot last year. But I think whenever you're watching any TV couple, you're always wondering if they really do have feelings.' The couple began dating after Ada split from Adam Rigby and James finalised his divorce from Sarah Roberts in March. Stephanie Rice delighted fans earlier this week by announcing her engagement to Aussie pastor Mark Lassey after a whirlwind seven-month romance. But it wasn't just the news of their Dubai proposal that had everyone talking, with her jaw-dropping 18-carat white gold engagement ring instead stealing the show. The swimmer, 36, shared the news of her engagement on Instagram on Thursday, flashing her sparkling ring designed by renowned Perth jeweller Charles Edward. Further details have now been revealed about the lavish custom piece of jewellery, which was specially crafted for the sporting legend at her partner Lassey's request. While its price isn't known, the intricate piece boasts an 18-carat white gold band with a large centre stone and is flanked by eight stunning diamonds on each side. Jeweller Charles Edward, who shares his name with the workshop's original founder despite taking over the store in 1999, shared the fascinating backstory behind the dazzling one-of-a-kind ring. He said he was introduced to Rice's partner through a fellow pastor at the Kingdomcity Church in Canning Vale, where Lassey works, but had no idea who the special ring was intended for at the time. 'He mentioned Stephanie Rice, and I said, ''Oh my gosh!'', this is the lady you've been talking about?' Edward told PerthNow, recalling the moment he learned of the Olympian's involvement. Stephanie Rice delighted fans this week by announcing her engagement to Aussie pastor Mark Lassey after a whirlwind seven-month romance, but her dazzling ring stole the show The intricate custom piece, created by Charles Edward Jewellers, boasts an 18-carat white gold band with a large centre stone and is flanked by eight stunning diamonds on each side The stunning engagement ring, which Edward describes as 'individually crafted', is a one-off design, made exclusively for Rice. 'This is a once-off because I haven't done it for anybody else,' Edward confirmed, proud of his craftsmanship on such a significant commission. Lassey, 46, spoke warmly about the experience of working with the jeweller to create the bespoke ring, crediting their shared faith for the smooth collaboration. 'It was a one of one design that we had the opportunity of developing together step by step, and that was really important to Steph and to me,' Lassey said. On Thursday, Rice took to Instagram to confirm that she and Lassey were engaged, just weeks after they first went public with their romance in July. She shared an array of sweet snaps of the moment pastor and Aussie father-of-three Lassey popped the question at Dubai's luxury Atlantis The Royal hotel. The couple, who met around seven months ago, looked overjoyed as they beamed from ear-to-ear and shared a kiss, while Rice flashed her diamond sparkler. The stunning engagement ring, which Edward describes as 'individually crafted', is a one-off design, made exclusively for Rice On Thursday, Rice took to Instagram to confirm that she and Lassey were engaged, just weeks after they first went public with their romance in July In a caption, Rice gushed: 'Here's to fresh starts and second chances Yes to a lifetime with you.' She concluded the post with a Bible verse, writing: '''Seek your happiness in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desire.'' Psalm 37:4.' Rice had been quietly dating the Australian pastor for five months before officially confirming their romance at the start of July. 'When we met almost 5 months ago, we both knew this was different,' she gushed at the time in an Instagram post alongside cosy snaps of herself and Mark. 'From the start, there was a deep intentionally between us, and because of the complexities of our lives we wanted to keep these first few months between close family and friends, and enjoy the wonder of falling in love.' Lassey has been the lead pastor at Perth's Kingdom City Church since June 2015 and is 'committed to creating thriving community and guiding individuals transformed by gospel' They were introduced through a mutual friend and then started a long-distance romance as Lassey is based in Perth while Rice moved to Dubai in November. The couple bonded over their faith, with Rice having joined the church when she relocated to Dubai late last year and she is now heavily involved with Kingdom City. Lassey has been the lead pastor at Perth's Kingdom City Church since June 2015 and, according to an online profile, is 'committed to creating thriving community and guiding individuals transformed by gospel'. The energetic preacher is the father of three grown sons - Tyler, Joel and Luke - from his first marriage, which ended at the start of 2021 after 25 years. He is also active on social media and frequently shares photos of him giving sermons to Instagram, along with heartfelt messages about his faith. Although he is currently resides in Perth, he often flies across the Asia-Pacific region as part of his role, which is how he met Dubai-based Olympic gold medallist Stephanie Rice earlier this year. Eamonn Holmes has reportedly taken his new girlfriend Katie Alexander, 42, on luxury holiday, after his split from Ruth Langsford. The presenter, 64, and his estranged wife Ruth, also 64, announced their plans to divorce after 14 years of marriage in May and it later emerged that he was dating the blonde relationship therapist, 42. Now, a source has told The Sun about their lavish getaway: 'The cruise is just the latest proof of their closeness. 'Katie has been telling pals she and Eamonn are going to be for keeps and now everyone is starting to believe her. 'Eamonn's zest for her the latest being this all-expenses-paid trip has wowed Ruth and pals. He has found a new lease of life for sure. Everyone is amazed.' The romantic holiday has left Ruth and her close friends gobsmacked, Eamonn Holmes has reportedly taken his new girlfriend Katie Alexander, 42, on luxury holiday, after his split from Ruth Langsford The presenter, 64, and his estranged wife Ruth, also 64, announced their plans to divorce after 14 years of marriage in May and it later emerged that he was dating the blonde relationship therapist, 42 It isn't the first trip the pair have been on this month, as Eamonn took his girlfriend Katie to visit his hometown of Belfast amid claims they are 'in it for the long haul.' Eamonn is currently on a summer break from his GB News Breakfast show and is set to return next week. During his time off, he was spotted by locals in Carrickfergus, dining at the same budget restaurant, Papa Browns, for four days in a row, The Sun reports. A member of staff at the American diner told the publication: 'He came in four days in a row. I noticed his girlfriend had an English accent. They looked happy.' They continued: 'He appeared quite frail and it took a minute to recognise him, but he was always very polite and friendly. 'Both of them appeared at ease with being seen together. Eamonn really enjoyed it.' He is set to make his comeback on GB News Breakfast next week with co-host Isabel Webster, who has been hosting the show solo during his time off, reports the Express. Eamonn is said to be smitten with Katie and their relationship has been 'taken to the next level', MailOnline previously revealed. It comes after earlier Eamonn took his girlfriend Katie to visit his hometown of Belfast amid claims they are 'in it for the long haul' Katie, 42, is said to be desperate to go public with their romance but the TV presenter, 64, has been delaying announcing the news in order to protect his estranged wife's feelings Friends claimed they are now spending most weekends together at his Richmond flat after his marriage to Ruth ended. Eamonn and Katie are mulling over when to take their relationship public and are said to have been offered 'big money' for the official first pictures of them together. The source told us: 'They've been offered some decent money for the first pictures of them together. 'Katie and Eamonn are definitely in it for the long haul. She says she loves him and he loves her.' In terms of his health woes a source recently told The Mirror: 'He is doing the best he can under the circumstances but there is not too much to smile about. 'He is not looking to do any interviews and is just keeping his head down and just doing work at GB News and physio sessions to try to improve his mobility.' In 2016, Eamonn underwent a double-hip replacement operation lasting three-and-a-quarter hours after living with acute pain for many years. Speaking about his operation at the time, Eamonn said: ' Was I nervous? No! It was just like being on television. In the build-up I was streEamonn Holmes, 64,ssed can I do this? Will I handle it?' Two years later, Eamonn detailed his battle with shingles and how he was struck with the virus on his son Declan's wedding day. Ruth and Eamonn pictured in 2018 together before their split During an appearance on Loose Women in September 2021, he spoke about his health battle which left him unable to work on This Morning three years ago. He also shared images of his puffy face covered in marks and scabs during his battle. Shingles is a viral rash caused by varicella zoster virus, the virus which causes chickenpox, being reactivated. In the UK, 90 per cent of adults have had chickenpox, so will have this virus lying dormant in their nervous systems. His years of chronic back pain started in spring 2021 - which came completely out of nowhere. The pain become so severe that it left Eamonn reliant on a walking stick, but soon found out the root cause. He eventually discovered it was three slipped discs that affected the movement of his right leg.